ovaltrack

Last month I was pleased to include some information on Irish driver (according to Motorsport News!) Martin Pierce who is of course the son of Superstox legend Dave. This month I can report that Martin has again excelled at the very top level in Karting by taking third place in the World Championship at Salbris in Italy. He is now officially the World Masters Champion as he was the only over 30 to make it through to the finals. Last month I also made the comment that Martin is perhaps competing in a more competitive arena than Dave had. On reflection I don’t think you can compare the two disciplines just as you cannot compare today’s Grand Prix stars with the likes of Stirling Moss who raced all those years ago but however you look at it the achievements of both Pierce senior and junior are outstanding.

Although I am no longer active in the Grand Prix Midget Club I do retain an interest in preserving the history and records of the class via my website. I still think it’s the most detailed short circuit formula archive on the net and it’s all down to the people who take the time to contribute. I still take a keen interest in the formula and the current results and happenings but was sad to learn that there are moves to drop some of the memorial trophies that are run throughout the year. I can understand that if the families concerned think it’s appropriate but otherwise I think the club should be keen to hang on to its heritage. What other formula in the UK races for a trophy won by Graham Hill for example? OK so most people know of Graham Hill but what about the likes of the June Cochrane Trophy? The fact is that June helped steer the club through some very challenging times. She may not be around today but she should not be forgotten and that’s why the Trophy was commissioned in the first place. The 2009 season sees the Midgets having an ‘awayday’ to Cowdenbeath for the first time in many years. The ‘awayday’ has become something of a tradition for the club – recent years having seen one-off visits to places like Tipperary and Europe. I smiled when I heard they had decided to brand the event as the “Tourist Trophy”. Maybe 2010 could see a visit to Onchan on the Isle of Man – a trip was planned a couple of years back but did not happen.

Lawrence Davey finished 9th in the Legends Cars Pro Division World Championship in Las Vegas. Peter Morton took fourth place in the Masters. This year I think saw the lowest attendance from the UK for many years probably due to the choice of venue rather than our partly self generated economic panic. Those results put both drivers second in the World Legends Rankings for 2008 so well done lads. Third place went to another UK driver, Simon Belcher. Most of the UK drivers relish the challenge of the usual venue, Sears Point, which is a proper circuit whilst many referred to Vegas as ‘the car park’ – they don’t even use the main racetrack. The event was not listed on the circuit’s website and information was difficult to come by over the course of the weekend. Although non American drivers appeared to be few and far between this year there were two Russian entrants for the first time so the Legends phenomenon continues to spread across the globe.

You will have read in last month’s Short Circuit that we are planning a new magazine for 2009. Called Oval Track Classic the quarterly publication will celebrate the heritage of the sport with articles on circuits, personalities, cars and generally days gone by. It will also look at the current classic scene so well served by BriSCA Heritage, the Classic Hot Rods and Historic Stock Saloons. The first issue is out in March and we would welcome any contributions – particularly those old snaps you might have that have never seen the light of day… Please email us (insert email) if you have anything you think might be of interest.

This time of year is fairly quiet for me as my main work is usually on the long circuits which of course generally means race meetings being held from March to about October. I have to say I am wondering how the economic downturn will affect motor racing in the UK over the next 12 months. I did not see much in the way of reduced spending in the industry in 2008 although some people were later than usual settling my invoices... I guess people always need a hobby so hopefully there will still be a healthy sport at the end of it. They say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” so perhaps the sport will emerge all the better in a couple of years. Hopefully all this will benefit the budget classes out there because in theory people who like to race but can’t afford more expensive racing can take a step down. That’s what happened when Stock Rods were introduced in the 1970s – a number or drivers went into that class to save a bit of cash.

I was lucky enough to do a commentary for the excellent Mighty Mini Championship recently. The cars (the original Mini rather than the new one) were filmed back in June at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire and the racing was first rate with six cars dicing over the lead all race long (and that’s without even casting a glance to the other 18 drivers!). I think it’s that type of racing that will not only survive but thrive. It’s a well organised series with a popular and yet cost effective car.

Looking back over 2008 I have to say that the best day out I had at a race track was the Knockhill SMRC finale. That’s probably because I was not working that day and it blew away the personal myth that I did not enjoy race meetings any more just as a spectator. The events I worked at were good as well and I don’t think you can do too much better than go to a British Touring Car Championship meeting. Despite sky high petrol prices in the Summer these meetings continued to see bigger and bigger crowds up and down the country. I think the BTCC has to be my favourite championship of the year but the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup was mighty exciting as well. My tip for next season is the Scottish Legends Cars Championship as this year’s dominatrix(!) Carol Brown is looking to move on. This will leave the likes of Frank and Scott Hynds (uncle/nephew), Alistair Gauld, Gerard McCosh and Tony Caig as perhaps the main contenders. Keep an eye on former saloon ace Kenny Purdie as well – he’s surely the main contender for the rookie trophy.

Whatever your favourite formula I would like to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2009.

I've been writing but not posting on my blog so apologies to anyone who reads these and has missed out the last couple of months. Welcome to my final scribbles of the 2008 season!

My last race meeting of the season was the Brands Hatch Big Truck / Pickups / Legends meeting which I was interested to read that a certain Mr Huggett was going to attend – next time come up to the comms box and say hi Paul!! Gavin Seager won both the Pickup Truck races again and in doing so sealed a record breaking season. He’s the first driver to win three Pickup titles, has scored more points in his career than anyone else in the formula, has won more races in Pickups than anyone else, and broke two of Lee Caroline’s records – that of most wins in one season and the Brands Hatch lap record. I’m not sure if Gavin will take next year’s title as one of the four provisional dates at Rockingham clashes with his honeymoon! The meeting was a cracker although there were a lot of lengthy delays which I reckon might attract comment from Huggy this month. The racing was terrific though! Gavin and Steve Dance were separated by just thousandths of a second in the first race which I reckon was probably the closest finish many of the punters will ever have see on a ‘proper’ circuit. Pete Stevens, now 58 years of age, took a hard earned podium whilst Antony Hawkins took another fourth place – Ant’s first podium is long overdue!

The Legends had a photo finish as well as Simon Belcher, the former Jet Ski Champion, beat former Ministocker Lawrence Davey by a similar margin. I am so glad I was commentating on that race as you cannot beat it when a driver gains his first win which was the case with Simon. Lawrence meanwhile won the meeting outright and as I write is preparing to jet off to the USA to take part in the Legends World Championships at Las Vegas. He won’t, incidentally, be competing in his usual ‘Polley Purple’ #19 car (there’s a contradiction for 70s oval fans) but will be using a car already out there which is owned by former oval man Terry Grant (whom I always refer to - very carefully I might add - as the “Cunning Stunt Man”). Several top Legends UK men are off to Vegas so hopefully I will be able to report on a UK winner next month.

There was another first time winner in the Legends and that was Irishman Niki Meredith. Niki’s family are building the class up over in Ireland and his win also marked the first for a water cooled engine. You might be interested to know that a certain Martin Pierce is based out in Ireland as well – Martin being the son of Superstox hero Dave Pierce. You have to take your hat off to Martin because he has very successfully ploughed his own furrow in karts and, like his father, become a top racer at European and even World level. This year he won the Irish Rotax Max Championship and last year he was 6th in the European. We has been a podium finisher in the World and European Championships and was British Champion in 2001. It could be argued that Martin is competing in a tougher arena than Dave ever did. I emailed him recently and asked why he had not gone into oval racing and his reply was that his father’s shoes would have been too big to fill.

Another son of a former Superstox World Champion is Kai Goddard. Short Circuit featured Kai a little while ago so it is perhaps about time we caught up with him. His dad, Geoff, was World Champion in the Supers back in 1971 and 1972. He then emigrated to South Africa and raced on the circuits out there. Kai meanwhile is racing in the USA and has kindly been keeping me up to date with his own racing activities. He recently got married (congratulations mate) and then straight after honeymoon flew to Canada for a work commitment with Audi. He’s now back at home in Arizona and before his next assignment which is with Ford at the LA Auto Show press reveal. Kai tells me he will be one of four stunt drivers with the new 2010 Mustang. Following that he is hoping to drive in the 25 Hour Thunderhill Endurance race in California.

Back with the Pickups how good to see the Rogers Brothers racing team win the ‘Spirit of Pickup Truck Racing’ award. This particular award is voted for by all the drivers and officials in the Pickup Paddock so in many ways it’s one of the most prestigious awards that is made each year. The Brands meeting was Lee Rogers’ 20th anniversary in motor racing and of course like many of the Pickup lads he started off on the small ovals. The team have had so many problems over this season I was fully expecting them to retire at the end of the season particularly as Rogers jr, Ayrton, is now doing some Kart racing. We were all pleased to see them back in action at Brands and they have invested in a new motor which will also see them into next season. The Pickup paddock is a brighter place with Lee, his brother Dean and their families around. Sonny Howard has done exactly the right thing with the Pickups next year and that is to keep the fixture list stable. Provisionally the schedule starts and finishes at Brands Hatch – both meetings with the big Trucks. We also join the big Trucks at Pembrey and Thruxton (and there are always big crowds at those). I’ve already mentioned the four Rockingham meetings which just leaves the two remaining circuit meetings which see visits to Croft (a regular over the last few seasons) and a return to Oulton Park.

Congratulations to Carol Brown who has won the Scottish Legends Cars Championship with a round (three races) to spare. Carol is an ex Karter and has been racing against several oval related drivers up at Knockhill. Some time back I was trying to get a television company interested in a scholarship / competition to find a fast lady racer to take on the best of the blokes in a National formula. The favoured class for the idea would have been Pickups but it was not possible to get all the strands together to get the project off the ground. Carol was one of the drivers I’d had in mind for the scholarship and I would like to think that short oval drivers like Sam Holland and Jemmy Dendy might have been interested in taking part as well. Quick lady racers are becoming less rare as the seasons roll by. This year we have seen Alice Powell gaining podium finishes in the Ginetta Junior Championship and Abbie Eaton up at the sharp end of the Sax Max Championship. Abbie is the daughter of former Eurocar racer Paul Eaton who I primarily remember for being part of the exceptionally well presented Arco team although most people tend to recall the fact that he was the driver who ended up in the Mallory Park lake in his V6 Mondeo. Strange how things go isn’t it? I’d not had reason to give Paul much thought recently and then he cropped up twice in three days – once in the retro piece in Autosport magazine (the inevitable photo of his Eurocar in the water) and then I bumped into him in the BTCC paddock at Silverstone the following weekend. For the record Abbie is top three in the Saxo championship at the moment and looking to move to the Clio Cup next year.

Staying with Clios another Legends racer, Dave Newsham, has made his debut in the category with the Amery Motorsport Team. Dave was leading the Legends National Championship until John Higgins overtook his points tally at Croft recently. Dave took a very impressive third place in his first race - the first ever Clio podium for the Amery team. He was not so lucky in the second race having qualified a little further down the grid and was taken out on the first lap by Mini racer Max Hunter.

The Silverstone Touring Car meeting saw Nick Tandy make his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup and he won first time out! All credit to him for a stunning drive and also to Porsche for giving their guest drivers this year a decent car to play with.

Former Superstox driver Gavan Kershaw is well known on the circuits these days having been a front runner in British GTs amongst other competitions. I interviewed him recently when I was doing pitlane reporting at the Rockingham round of the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup. Gavan was driving the Energy Efficient MotorSport Honda Civic Petrol-Electric Hybrid - the first of its kind to be raced in the UK. Gavan, who now works for Lotus cars, spoke warmly about his short oval background. The hybrid car had a successful outing making it to the finish of the race.

Anyone interested in getting involved in a new publication that will champion the history of short oval racing in the UK (and Europe) should get in touch with me at ovaltrack@btinternet.com. Unlike my previous books I don't intend making the scope too narrow. I'm looking for all sorts of input - maybe you know a former driver who would make a good interviewee or perhaps you have some old snaps that would be interesting to see. I look forward to hearing from you.

Oval and Out – July

Good to see Lea Wood back out in action in the Elf Renault Clio Cup at Thruxton – the team were rewarded with a decent finish in the first race as well. Thruxton is a notoriously difficult circuit for those not familiar with it yet both Lea and Glenn Bell got to grips with it very quickly. Rob Collard told me at the preceding round that Thruxton, his home circuit, was also something of a bogey circuit for him. At least he did not have any major prangs over the weekend this time. Croft proved a lot better for Rob as he took fourth place – not the best ever for him but certainly the best ever result for his 2008 team Motorbase Performance – Rob’s experience is clearly bringing the team along. I also keep a keen eye on the Amery Motorsport team where Midget racer Mark Hodges is one of the engineers. The team had a fantastic time at Thruxton when ‘Dreaded Dave’ Shepherd had two really good top ten finishes. Sticking with Amery, Legends racer Simon Belcher is due to test a Clio with them later this month. As most of you know, former hot rod racer Jon Brookes’ son Lee runs the TCR team and they have really started to come on song recently in the Seat Cupra Cup with two wins at Thruxton for their driver Jonathan Adam. Adam is the defending champion and

Mike Doble had an outing in his old V6 Eurocar recently – he’d not driven it for quite a while having been doing the Seat Cupra cup until the end of last season when the old style cars were ruled out. You can see quite a few of them in multi class races like those that Rod Birley is still wiping up in down in the south east.

Quite a few oval people are getting to hang out at Touring Car rounds these days including a trio of former hot rod world champions. Barry Lee was at Donington Park with his son Freddy. Norman Woolsey was there supporting Glenn Bell. Freddy Lee is doing well in Super One Karting at the moment and he’s up against another front runner, Steve Mills’s son Connor. Steve, I remind you, is a former Group A hot rod and Legends racer. In addition to messrs Lee and Woolsey, Dave Longhurst was of course there as well assisting Lea Wood’s team. Despite some good results and drives in the Clios I am not sure if Glenn will continue in the formula as he was very enthusiastic about a drive he’d had in a National Hot Rod…

It is a shame to see the T-Car championship being ‘rested’ for the season as it was the original circuit championship for teenage racers. In many ways it’s been a victim of its own success really as other championships have come in with higher profiles or lower budgets. 750MC’s Saxo Championship does well and so does the Ginetta Junior championship. To add to all that there is now a fourth option for drivers of XR2s and I think I’ve spotted a good opportunity for junior racing to start in Scotland as they run XR2s for seniors at Knockhill… You read it here first.

The Pickups have added to their ranks again, this time with Portuguese driver Miguel Gomes who was due to make his debut on the Rockingham oval in May. Miguel had hoped to race in SCSA last year or the year before having completed his rookie test back then but licence issues got in the way. These have been sorted now – I would guess thanks to the efforts of Pickup Truck Racing who tend to work through such problems rather than just accept a ‘no’ from the powers that be. Sadly there was a bereavement in his family just a few days before the event so his debut is to be delayed. I find it a bit odd that the only driver with an SCSA background to make the move into big oval racing with the Pickups is from overseas! Maybe some of the British SCSA lads who are currently twiddling their thumbs will come and play too. John Mickel is already there – how about a few more? I understand that a former MG racer from the long circuits may be joining the Pickups later in the year and that will be another very welcome addition to the list.

Deadlines are funny things – I am hoping to go and watch the GP Midgets at the new Aldershot raceway on 29th June but that falls well after I write these words but before publication. If all goes to plan it will be my first visit to the new place and I am really looking forward to it. The Midgets will be contesting the Graham Hill Memorial Trophy – I wonder if Damon knows it is still being contested? The trophy was donated to the club by Graham’s widow, Bette and it was apparently originally won by the great man himself in an overseas Formula Two race. By the way that’s long circuit F2 not BriSCA – probably stating the obvious but you never know who might think otherwise. Neil Clarke recently pointed out to me that it is 30 years since the club first raced for the Hill trophy. It must be nearly 25 years since the last Midget meeting at the old Aldershot stadium as well. I hope the June fixture pays some kind of tribute to Rod Tanswell who passed away last year as he was very much a part of the history of both GP Midgets and the Spedeworth promotion when it was based at the old Oxenden Road stadium. The Midgets will be having a tough time at the moment what with soaring fuel prices. If you think about it, most of the promoters run their own formulas with a core of local drivers. Most circuits run Bangers and budget Rods of some description so there is no need for a driver in those classes to haul his car halfway up the country. Independent classes like the Midgets (still very much a budget class) are hit much harder as they have to travel around the country for their race dates. They probably wind up spending more on fuel than they do on the actual race car. Whilst I am still of the opinion that there are too many formulas racing up and down the country I would not like to see an independent one like Midgets disappear due to one or two seasons with low numbers – I hope the promoters will stick by them. The late John Salter always said to me that Midgets really needed a home circuit and I think that’s the case now more than ever.

My first TV show of the year is on Motors TV on Sunday 16th March - there will be several showings on Motors and it will also be broadast on Men and Motors at a later date. The Men and Motors version of the show may have subtle differences in the voiceover to meet ITV's advertising guidelines.

It's a 50 minute show covering the BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded celebrity karting challenge that was held at the NEC, Birmingham on January 11th. It was a star studded affair with the likes of Gil De Ferran, Johnny Herbert, Alan McNish and Darren Turner in a field of nearly 80 well known drivers. The event raised over £40,000 for charity.

I am already looking forward to the new racing season and thought that a few lines could be well spent outlining who might be worth looking out for this season on the long circuits.

The Elf Renault Clio Cup is always one of the most spectacular saloon car championships in the UK and its position on the British Touring Car Championship bill gives it a decent profile and a clear place on the racing ladder. This season sees former Legends man Derek Pierce back for a second season - people keep asking me if Derek is related to long time Superstox hero Dave but the answer is 'no'. Derek is a Scottish racer who was a late starter in racing (nearly into his forties) before his debut in XR2s. Derek moves from being a privateer to joining the Robertshaw Racing team. They're a good outfit who have won in the Mini Cooper championship and Derek will be able to share set up knowledge with them. I would be really surprised if he finishes out of the top ten.

Rob Collard could well find himself as a team mate of Derek Pierce as the former hot rodder has been testing a Robertshaw Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Touring Car. It would be good to see Rob back out there with the other top guns in the BTCC

Former hot rod and super silhouette champion Lea Wood is joining the Clios as well although the move from rear to front wheel drive may prove difficult. Another name that jumped out at me on the Clio list was the World Stock Rod Champion Glenn Bell who joins Full Speed Racing. The Essex based team run by former Mini Challenge man Mark Speller. I am assured that the cost differential between Stock Rods and Clios is huge so let's hope Glenn has the budget to do well. The Clio Cup, like all the BTCC supports, will be shown on Sunday afternoons on ITV4 this season - enjoy! The Clios have a further oval connection as former hot rod ace Jon Brookes is usually around with the Total Control Racing team run by his son Lee. TCR have still to confirm a few drivers in both Clios and the Seat Cupra Cup (where they are reigning champions) but it’s good to see Ben Winrow (a former Caterham champion) back with them in the Clios for 2008 and you can expect him to be up with the front runners once again.

The final date on the Pickup calendar was slotted into place just as I was putting together this month’s scribbles and it’s a slot on the DTM (German Touring Car) meeting at Brands Hatch, August Bank Holiday. That really is a great date to catch Sonny Howard’s wonderful formula in action and it means that all the Pickup dates are in front of big crowds with some superb accompanying machinery rather than with, and I use these words as quoted by my friends in the paddock, “a programme full of MOT failures”. Former champion Gavin Seager has already been out testing his new Truck and was reportedly inside the lap record at Brands once again – with three dates there this season that could stand him in very good stead. The Pickups start their 2008 Championship at Brands Hatch on Easter Sunday and Monday – the bill being shared with the big Trucks from the BTRA and the Legends Cars. Brands is also the place to be the following weekend as the Touring Cars commence their schedule.

The Tom Pryce Memorial Trophy is being resurrected this year – it was formerly contested by the Eurocar V8s all those years ago and won by both Kevin Clarke and Mark Willis (whom I believe was the last winner). I made a few enquiries about having it associated with either Legends or Pickups but am happy to report that it will be awarded during a classic race meeting at Pembrey (assuming the Welsh venue survives the noise complaints against it – all those sheep must have sensitive hearing for sure).

The SCSA cars will be interesting on the long circuits although quite why they fought for so long to avoid road racing and then take to it is a bit of a mystery. You will have already seen that the cars will run as part of the V-Sports Racing (VSR) series. There is a certain irony that VSR (nee Eurocar) turned out to be the retirement home for ASCARs (the original name for SCSA – and yes the formula has had more names than cars on the grid over the last two seasons) as it was the latter formula that tried to kill off the former just a few years ago. Don’t get me wrong – I do wish them well but if they’d stuck with Eurocar V8 in the first place I can’t help thinking that we might still have V8 racing to watch on the big oval at Rockingham.

Good to hear from overseas recently - former hot rod, stock car and stock rod driver Graham Kircher although I will save the details (and photos) for a future edition of Short Circuit.

Oh crikey - slipping behind a bit this month as I've normally written something before the latest SC hits the doormat. Nice to see loads of GP Midget stuff in the January magazine including Underground Ernie himself, Scott Roth. I never realised he was part of the Leon Smith team in hot rods.

Well, since last month I've finished my fourth book which will be out in the Summer. I did a fairly quick U turn as I was not originally going to do any more but having spoken to a different publisher things changed and I was back typing away again. The new book is, aside from one or two pictures, all colour and looks at the 1980s which was of course the era of the (dreaded?) Toyota Starlet.

I managed to avoid all the shows over the Winter again although I had intended to go to the NEC with an old acquaintance who'd not been since the days of the old BRSCC show when it was held in London. The NEC trip takes a fair bit of cash especially if you take a family, what with entrance, petrol, car parking, maybe the live action and of course food. I tend to visit perhaps every two or three years so I guess next year might see me make a trip although as I become less involved in racing I am less inclined to do things like that. Most people go for the social side of things which is always agreeable although I tend to get by with the various presentation nights which crop up over the winter. Both last year and this I’ve been privileged to be invited to talk at some of the regional club dinners and it makes you realise what good people there are out there – not just racing but also officiating and marshalling.

Reading through the list of 2007 champions in SC last month I noted that aside from one for the oval Legends there were no championships run on mainland Europe (in the SC list at least). Sad but true. I still reckon there are too many formulae racing these days and probably half of the ‘rod’ classes could / should be culled.

This is normally the time of year we get information about new drivers in the circuit formulae although things seem a bit quiet at the moment. No new names coming through in the Pickups so far although the circuit Legends have got three or four including the name Scott Booth (ex F1? Certainly connected to the Booth Metals/Peter Falding party) who is actually a returnee to the class having done a few races a several years back. Numbers in Pickups and Legends seem to go up and down over the years and last year was a good 'un number wise so perhaps things will be leaner this season. One thing is for sure and that is some great racing is on the cards. Sadly Legends have lost the defending champion Chris Grieve who is off racing Radicals (bike engined sports cars). Another ex Legends man who does that these days is Colin Noble who was also a bit of a legend in Scottish Stock Saloons. There are plenty of other drivers who could win the title and I know that John Higgins who is looking to become the first man to win three titles is bitterly disappointed he won't be up against Grieve this year.

The Legends calendar has worked out well this year with the finale being in November rather than at the end of August. The championship will come to a close at Brands Hatch (same day as the Pickup finale) at the big Truck meeting. It's certainly one worth going along to and I for one am pleased that the big, appreciative Truck crowd will see a proper National Championship round rather than a 'fun' Winter Trophy.

Legends racer Peter Morton has been honoured by 600 Racing (the organisers of Legends worldwide) and Bilstein in the USA by being presented with the Bilstein Madonna Award for Excellence in Racing.

The prize is awarded just once a year in recognition of outstanding racing achievements. Morton has proved not only to be an effective racer but one of the best ambassadors that Legends Racing has seen. Peter is a regular in terms of mentions in ‘Oval and Out’ as he used to race BriSCA F1 Stox and thought he was flying off to Charlotte to collect the first place trophy for successfully defending his World Road Course points title in 2007. Both he and his wife Jacqueline were stunned when it was announced that he had been presented with the Madonna. Winning the award places Morton in exalted company. Not only is he the first Englishman to be honoured in this way but he follows in the wheeltracks of NASCAR Legends Dale Earnhardt and Darrel Waltrip (both previous winners). I bet there are a few people around the small ovals who would like that kind of award on their CV! Once again a global achievement by a UK Legends driver was largely ignored by the national motorsport press. Sadly we’ve become used to this scenario but I think it shows most of the “journalists” are more content covering their favourite drivers and classes here in the UK which apparently are higher up the ladder. Of course it would not do to upset the people who let them into hospitality all year round either.

Peter is just about to embark on his 10th Anniversary Season with Legends Cars in the UK but his racing has been far and wide. He’s been a regular competitor at the World Finals (held at Infineon Raceway, Sears Point) each November for several seasons and has also made two appearances on ice with the Finnish Legends Cars. The 2008 World Legends Championship is being moved from Sears Point to Las Vegas. It’s also a few weeks later (first week in December) which means that a) the weather will be better and b) several drivers will want to go and race on a different circuit.

Great news from former 1600 hot rodder Daren Hills whose son, Aiden is moving into BRDC Stars Mini Max karts this season. Aiden won last year’s ‘O’ plate race and his move into Stars is very much the top rung of the ladder in Karting. Lewis Hamilton graduated from there and he still takes a keen interest in it. In actual fact, it’s not just Lewis – Martin Brundle and Jason Plato also add their support to the championship. All being well you should be able to see some of the action on TV this year – the last two seasons have been shown on Sky Sports. Another young driver who raced in Stars during 2006 is Rob Collard’s son Ricky. Keep an eye open for him as well.

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, or so they say. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Roger Fennings who was responsible for a lot of notable goings on in the short oval scene in the late sixties and early seventies. This came about as I tracked him down when I was putting together my book, Backtrack, as I’d wanted to include a pic of the Custom Car stock car (now there’s one of the classic Stock Saloon boys to copy!). Roger looked after Spedeworth’s PR and then set up Custom Car magazine whilst working at Link House. Custom Car ran some quality coverage on short oval racing for many years and that was down to ‘the Dodger’. Not only that but they put a lot back into the sport with sponsorship of team cars and events throughout the early seventies. I don’t think the coverage that CC gave short oval racing has ever been matched by any other magazine available on the national news stands. Roger also managed one of the Auto Spedeway Superstox teams, the White City / Walthamstow Lions in 1971. What I didn’t know was all the other stuff that Roger did outside of racing – before and since. He mentioned writing an autobiography at some stage and that sounds like it will be well worth a look if and when it comes out.

I was saddened to learn of the death of Jim Davey who, by co-incidence is in one of the photos that Roger has recently loaned me. The pic was taken at Cowdenbeath in the very early seventies. It’s Jim’s very distinctive cars that I remember most of all – very low looking Superstox. I think that design/model was also raced by Bert and Alan Hawkins and later Chris Knights and one of the Olding brothers. I seem to remember one on the PRI circuits as well. Jim also raced for the Wimbledon Canaries/Dons Auto Spedeway team and his team car was the first Superstox machine raced by Dave Willis. I can recall Jim’s most prolific win being in the annual Carnival Night ‘Golden Award’. A seventies programme caption states that he was the man to beat when Spedeworth operated grass track racing at Great Chart near Ashford in Kent and at Billingshurst in Sussex and he was certainly an expert on the shale at Wimbledon.

Wasn’t it good to see Robert Collard back out in the Touring Cars after a frustrating attempt at the Porsche Carrera Cup? The televised Touring Car finale was pretty good with the big showdown between Jason Plato and Fabrizio Giovanardi providing some great entertainment. No question in my mind that these two have been leagues ahead of the others in the formula this season and unfortunately that does not say a great deal about the overall quality of the championship.

The Renault Clio Championship is always a crowd pleaser but the amount of damage has done little for the driver base this year. The season started out with oversubscribed grids which meant qualifying races and less points on offer as the timetable could only facilitate one championship status race. By the end of the season less entrants meant that there were no qualifying races but that was of little consolation to those whose championship chances had evaporated in the first couple of rounds thanks to the antics of less experienced drivers or others who should have known better. Former hot rodder Sean Brown’s team driver Stefan Hodgetts nearly won the championship but was pipped at the post. Stefan did not do all the rounds so his performance was all the more remarkable. Former Stock Rodder Steve Collison also made good progress throughout the season in the Clios.

Short Circuit backed (?) Pickup Truck racer Antony Hawkins escaped unscathed after the first roll over in the formula for over ten years. This happened at Brands hatch in the last round of the championship. Ant clipped Martin Heath’s spinning car and dug into the gravel as he went off the circuit. The last round was a cracker but we were denied a true three Truck finale as Gavin Seager effectively ruled himself out of the running after having a blown engine at the penultimate round at Pembrey. The championship came down to Steve Dance and Nic Grindrod and it was the Reading man who nabbed a win and a second place to take the title whilst Grindrod had a mediocre weekend with transmission problems. Neil Tressler’s consistent run continued and he secured the Rookie crown for this year.

Great news from Legends is that Glenn Burtenshaw won the World Championship for “Semi Professional’ drivers at Sears Point, just outside San Francisco in November. Glenn is a second generation racer – his dad Alan was a multi champion in both Bangers and Stock Rods. Glenn has himself done a little short oval racing with a couple of outings in Rookie Bangers. As I have said on this page before the Legends World Championship is very much worthy of the tag – not like some of the short oval offerings with only local drivers taking part. Well done Glenn on a remarkable achievement – it was his first visit to Sears Point and he was not even racing his own car. The thing is though, I have given Glenn a lot of stick in my commentaries over the years about him being rubbish. I might have to change my tack next season.

More congratulations are due to Peter Morton who was third in the Masters event and has won the World Legends Points Championship for the second successive season. Interesting story about Peter – he had book to hire a car from top USA racer Steve Fensler but on arrival found that the car that was awaiting him had a pink livery. “Eeee, I’m not racing int’ car wi’ that colour scheme,” says the gritty Yorkshireman and therefore another vehicle had to be sourced.

The Circuit Legends are introducing optional water cooled engines for 2008. This is an exciting development and will only apply to the 1250cc engines which have to built by one of the three approved engine builders. Extensive testing of the new water cooling kits has taken place in America and there does not appear to be any performance advantage but it is expected that rebuilds will be less frequent.

I had the privilege of co presenting the annual awards night for the British Racing and Sports Car Club recently. How good it was to see a few ex oval racers having earned honours on the circuits including Jo Polley who won the Ladies Cup in the Mighty Mini Championship. Nick Tandy won the Formula Ford Festival and is one of the six finalists for the prestigious BRDC Autosport awards. Daniel Brown collected the T-Car crown with William Buller in second. Sadly none of the top three from the SCSA championship attended the event otherwise I could have added to that list!

Oh well – I guess that’s it for 2007. Have a good Christmas. See you next season.

After a couple of months away it’s nice to be back typing away at the keyboard (or is it?). The Legends season came to its’ usual early ending over the Bank Holiday weekend in August at Brands Hatch. The title itself was settled in the penultimate race of the day which meant that the final was a ‘no pressure’ race. It produced the race of the year with six cars thrashing it out for the lead and John Jon Higgins taking the win over Chris Greive who had just won the title. It sent everyone off home extremely happy and looking forward to the ‘Winter’ non championship races scheduled for Croft and Brands.

Former Legends man Ian Sturt went back to his roots this year and is racing on the Rolling Thunder Show in the Superstox. I’ve not been able to get over to Arena to see any of the races but am told it’s an excellent night out and Sturty is top of the points. Ian’s son, Jake, is hoping to make his debut some time soon as well.

Holiday this year was on Jersey and luckily there was some motor sport to watch on the beach just outside St Helier . The racing was on three different size ovals coned out on the sand. The smallest oval was used for the juniors on motorbikes. The intermediate circuit for slightly bigger bikes and the biggest one was for the cars and the grasstrack/speedway bikes. The cars ran in two groups – the productions which had a fairly decent looking grid and the lesser supported but spectacular Beach Cars which are essentially grass trackers. It was a nice event and there was a big crowd enjoying the racing – it’s all free to view and there was the opportunity to have a look around the cars in the pit/paddock area plus a decent public address system which kept everyone informed throughout the afternoon.

It was very sad to learn of the death of former Superstox and Midget driver Rod Tanswell. Rod was without doubt the first real superstar in the Midgets. Indeed he was one of the innovators of the class and won most of the major trophies in the early years. He was the first Points Champion (1968) and won the following two seasons as well. He was twice National Champion (1969 & 1972), British Champion (1972) and the inaugural European Champion in 1973. Up until the end of the 1972 season Rod raced a Dastle Mk3 but went on to race in the first front engine Fireball designed by Frank Boyles - the Mk3. Rod won with the Fireball on its' debut in the National Championship at Wimbledon in 1972.
His achievements should not be underestimated as all his titles were won when the formula boasted its biggest driver base through both Spedeworth and the MARC. Rod also did most of the early public relations work for the class in the Spedeweek race programme and Wheelspin magazine under the pen name "The Informer", never giving himself much in the way of self promotion but instead concentrating on others. He also wrote the 'Evolution of Midgets' chapter of the Spedeworth book 'Living With Spede' which provides a superb account of the formative years of the current formula.

Following his retirement from Midget racing at the end of the 1973 season Rod still supported the Midgets with the occasional presentation of the Rod Tanswell Challenge Trophy which was contested when the cars raced on Spedeworth circuits. He continued to work for Spedeworth and I remember him doing a lot to promote Arlington meetings and also editing Wheelspin.

Onto the circuits and my usual look at how ex oval racers are doing out there. Paul Lund won another two races in the Dunlop MAXX Sport Cup in his Alfa Romeo 147. As it’s the first year of competition there is no championship status as such but Paul is the top points scorer so far. Sad to report that Jo Polley had to miss a round of the Mighty Mini championship at Oulton Park due to budget problems. A look at the Formula 6 Karting website shows at least three oval related drivers in the Cadet category. Conner Mills (son of former Group A Hot Rodder Steve) is 3rd in class at the moment with Bobby Thompson (son of ex Superstox & Sprint Car driver Paul) in 6th. Lee Caroline’s young son Jamie is also racing in the cadets sporting the family number 38.

It was nice to see loads of cars in the car park at Rockingham for the August outing. I’ve long been saying that a good way to get new fans to racing is to invite and involve owners clubs in meetings. The RS Owners Club, as well as bringing some extra spectators, brought in some impressive machinery to look at. Unfortunately the weather let us all down once again at that particular meeting. Let’s hope for some sunshine next season.

The Brands Pickup meeting saw the debut of ex F1 Stocker Damien Carr. He had a good couple of races and wound up 13th in the second race out of an entry of 24. He started both races from the back of the grid too. More Rookies would be a good thing in Pickups! The meeting saw a win for Damo’s big brother Simon (his first for three years) and the first win of the season for a very much in form Nic Grindrod.