Arena Essex Raceway - Meeting 03/12 Sunday, May 11, 2003 Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 2003 Index > Meeting 03/12

All Sierra Bangers BriSCA F2 Stock Cars Ministox

Ministox
There were plenty of cars at the Arena Essex May 11 meeting, although the meeting was marred somewhat by the weather which slowed everything down as the day progressed. Andrew Taylor did well from the pole in the first race, pulling away from the field early on while some drivers came to grief. Stuart Palmer was successfully challenged and passed by Jack Tuffin for second place. Taylor was moved to the yellow grade for his next race after an error in grading was corrected following the race, but the result stood otherwise. the second race finished with a bang, however, when things started to get a little messy by the bridge, Jack Wheelwright and Billy Hobbs but two drivers to suffer there as the reds were brought out and the race declared, Gary Archer being given the honours despite crashing himself, though the last-lap rule soon sorted this out, Bradley Spicer and Dan Rolfe riding the pace car with him. The consolation stuttered a little as the yellow tops got a little too enthusiastic, but it eventually got going with the race for the lead eventually boiling down to a two way battle between Phillip Smith and Ben Murray, Smith holding the inside line as the weather started to take a hand in things. Murray had to settle for second with Paul Scully a distant third.

Just as the consolation, so the final, though this time the restart was due to a collision after Sam Warner got stuck after spinning, receiving Luke Hadlow on the nose amongst others, though the weather saw to the possibility of any high speed damage. The race saw few real exploits as everyone seemed more interested in keeping from emulating Warner or Hadlow, though Ricky Cooper did try the outside line to no avail. Consolation winner Smith was ahead at halfway, with Billy Standing on his tail, and Standing soon found a way past to get at the lead before going into the back markers, Smith eventually yielding to a black flag after ramming Bradley Thomas while Standing held on from Anthony Lawrence across the line, Michael Outen also up there. The weather didn't improve, so the Festival of Speed qualifier became a nightmare for some, though it certainly seemed that Hadlow was having a great time drifting in the wet! However there were no real shocks as all three trophies were awarded to second timers; Outen for an easy win, Standing and Murray getting place and show.

The Junior Ministox appear again at Arena Essex on Sunday, June 1st.

All Sierra Bangers
With much talk about what was to come in the next meeting, it was no real surprise that the Arena Essex May 11 meeting was a little underweight for the All Sierra Bangers. More than one reason was given for this, the most popular seeming to be "I don't want to get a ban before the big meeting". With one race dropped, things didn't get going until half way through the meeting with a fairly pedestrian heat which featured some big hits on Frankie Skinner, a head on between Alistair Cherrington and Si Warner and a double team on Sean Foley by the Desert Rats but nothing much more than that, with the win going to Paul Wilks.

What was left dragged itself up for the main event, which saw plenty of spinning though mostly because the rain had started by then. Indeed the one car that seemed to be keeping its line was the one driven by Kelly Wilson, and that may have had something to do with the serious tracking problem she was having which te rain effectively cancelled out! There were plenty of good hits, though possibly the biggest was Jason Jackson's. Nothing unusual, but pretty awesome to look at when it happens, John Harding picked up on the back straight by Boxer Jack and pushed, with little resistance due to the lack of grip, down the back straight, over the sleepers and into the pit wall, killing both cars! The race had become processional after that, though Darren Nash was pushed into the wreckage on the pit bend by Colin Voller, Kevin Elmore getting the win that time. There wasn't much left for the Rawlins 2000 qualifier, but what there was tried its best, starting with a nutting for Skinner from Harry Rawlins followed by the last rites from Matt Fuller, Nash and Harris playing by the pits and Boxer Jack winning the race segment with some well timed spins, despite the sauna he was driving in. Lee Woodards survived the destruction segment to grab te last car entry to the big final.

More All-Sierra Bangers on July 13, with Banger racing most weekends at Arena Essex.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
You never quite know what to expect of BriSCA F2 Stock Cars, but between the weather, the track and some of the drivers that showed up at Arena Essex for the May 11 domestic meeting, it didn't turn out too bad. Certainly it turned out well for Steve Green Jnr. who picked up the trophy for the main event as well as a second place in one heat, and it wasn't too bad for defending track champion Mick Sworder either as he won the Grand National Qualifier and plenty of points besides.

The first winner of the day, however, was Martin Coles who streaked through the field in a race heavily marked by damage, Coles included as his sorely tried engine gave up on the last corner. He coasted in as the winner, his lead giving him enough of a gap over Dave Harley in second spot, but that meant the end of the meeting for him. Adrian Blackwell had shown well early on in the first heat and did well in the second too, his second place being his best finish on the day, the inside barge on the Tavern corner by eventual winner James Rodgers being the only real mistake.

Andrew Palmer had been one of the casualties in the first heat, one of his front wheels coming away as he tested his front end on the armco, but he managed to repair the damage for the final which saw him come home in ninth in a race dominated by spinning, a light rainfall having made the circuit like ice for the open wheelers. Indeed it seemed that the whole race was more of a test of staying on the line than trying to outsmart your opponents, something that Steve Green Jnr. seemed up to as he slowly made his way through to the front, dodging spun cars on the way. If anything, the Grand National Qualifier was even worse, compounded by more rain and the oil of other crashes which meant that Green was never likely to get into the result from his one lap handicap, and Sworder had no real opposition once early leader Mark Guinchard put paid to Carl Issitt's hard work to get to the front, though if the second heat had been Blackwell's best, the end of this race was his worst as he ended up in a pile up with Jim Slater and Paul Bailey as the flag came down.

More BriSCA F2 action at Arena Essex on June 15.

Where shown below, "NOCR" indicates "No Other Car Running". All results are subject to confirmation by the steward and promoter of the meeting.

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