1600cc Bangers Series 1 Final Ladies Bangers Group A Hot Rods 1300cc Stock Cars

Group A Hot Rods
It was a triumphant return for Steve Gooch in the Group A Hot Rod meeting at Arena Essex on June 3, though the talk of the meeting concerned Nick Hill who took wins in both heats.

Gooch was held off during much of the final by Rob West while Mark West kept the lead until the closing stages when Gooch hit the outside on the pit bend, grabbed second place, then pulled past Mark West easily for a comfortable win. Current defending drivers’ champion, Dave Lamb, was unable to get better than third place in this event after spending much of the race in combat with Chris Smith, but Lamb was a prime mover in the events of the preceeding races including the nailbiting first heat. This had already been delayed twice; first when Lee Hall lost control of his car by the gate and Scott Pinder spun in the middle of turn two, then again when Terry Bearman lost a tyre on turn four. This meant that, under waved yellow regulations, the cars closed up behind Nick Hill, removing much of his early advantage where he had pulled out a tidy lead. For several laps towards the end of the race, Hill had to hold back Mark West until, with only about three laps to go, Lamb joined in. Out of the last corner, Lamb and Hill raced for the line, Hill getting the win by inches! Hill would also win the second heat, though by a far larger margin as Rob West held off Dan Moulton for second while Dave Hutchins inherited third place when Moulton spun out close to the end.

1300cc Stock Cars
Scott Waite emerged from a frantic 1300cc Stock Car meeting at Arena Essex on June 3 with a heat and final double win.

With a number of ex-Ministox drivers now beginning to swell the numbers participating in the 1300cc Stock Cars, it isn’t too surprising that a number of old rivalries are now beginning to surface. This included Waite and newly promoted driver Jack Wheelwright who had raced each other many times in the junior formula and, as Scott readily admitted, it was with some satisfaction that he took the final win ahead of Wheelwright. Waite had survived some pretty vicious racing in the first heat, winning it despite a last attempt by eventual second place driver, Billy Kavanagh, to spin him by the pit gate on the last lap. Some old lags were also finding the going harder this year, past champion Derry Monk only getting the better of ex-banger ace Phil Wise once out of three attempts, that one time giving Monk a win in the second heat, while Paddy Palmer, taking a short break from his recent banger exploits, was spun more than once, failing to feature in any result.

Ladies Bangers
Lucy Finch romped home in the third round of this years’ Ladies Bangers Championship qualifiers at Arena Essex on June 3, finishing ahead of former champion Kelly Wilson, while Terri Wise bumped Lisa Bowes out of third place on the last lap.

1600cc Bangers
June 3 at Arena Essex, and the first 1600cc Banger Series of the year drew to a close with a clear overall victory for Jason Jackson ahead of team mate Matt Fuller and former rival Gary Brown. A heat and final victory for Jackson put the series beyond doubt during this meeting, though a number of visitors gave the meeting a little extra spice.

Two second places, heat and final, were not enough to get Brown ahead of Fuller, the first heat being fairly tame compared with the second heat which saw only six cars survive led home by occasional visitor Charlie Shanahan. With much of the wrecking confined to the second heat, the final was more of a spin and go session, even Jackson having to forego his usual leisurely sprint to the line to push the day licence drivers out of the way. Shanahan returned in the Rawlins Destruction Derby, winning the initial race following a stoppage before Jimmy Randall grabbed the last car running award in a four way battle that he won by getting a last few inches out of the car after battering Matt Fuller on turn four.

© 2007 Chris Johnson (Crashnet) / Promotasport Raceways