ovaltrack

Oval and Out - July 2008

2008-06-17T02:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Oval and Out - April 2008

2008-03-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

The new season will be with us by the time you read this so a quick look at some of the other oval related drivers who are in action this year. In Formula Three (or the British Formula Three International Championship to give it the full title) you can all cheer for two short circuit related drivers: Alistair Jackson who remains part of the Räikkönen Robertson Racing squad but will do the whole season in the top class for new chassis rather than the national class which caters for older cars. Another oval driver of note is Nick Tandy entered under the Joe Tandy Racing banner. I cannot recall if Joe Tandy senior ever raced against Alistair Jackson senior in hot rods at all. I guess if they did it was probably 1977 when Jacko came over for the World Final with his brother Derek.

Sticking with single seaters, Sean Brown’s boys, Daniel and Robert are moving into Formula Palmer Audi from T-Cars and Renault Clio respectively. Palmer Audi is a one chassis championship that has been around a little while and is run by circuit owner and former Grand Prix driver Dr Jonathan Palmer. For those interested in the economics of such racing, a season of 20 races at seven circuits was advertised in Autosport recently at £59,950 plus vat. That might seem a lot when you are only hiring the car but it actually works out very favorably when you compare it to the cost of other single seater championships ‘on the ladder’. Palmer Audi’s paddock presentation and hospitality is also second to none.

Looking through the classified ads in Short Circuit I was quite shocked to see how expensive some of the oval cars are these days . OK so it’s not the same league as the aforementioned formula racing but you could easily go club racing on the circuits with something like a two litre hot rod and the prices do suggest they would be fit for purpose. Several of the drivers I have encountered at club level on the long circuits have said that it’s actually cheaper racing MSA style as they spent less on entry fees than they did on replacing body panels whilst racing on the short circuits.

Silverstone are looking to recreate the 1948 British Grand Prix grid in the Classic meeting at the end of July. You’re probably wondering what the connection with short oval racing is. Well it’s the fact that the entry included an Emeryson which was the marque built by Paul Emery (although Paul himself was not competing at the GP that year) – best known to us ovalteenies as a midget racer of note. I initially thought that 1948 was a little early for a Paul Emery car but on checking my records I see he was born in 1916 which of course not the case. Paul started Midget racing in the early 1970s and won the MARC points championship several years on the trot. The other recent connection between Midgets and Silverstone is the proposed half mile oval which I think has fallen by the wayside now. The drawings for the new circuit were produced by Tom Barnard who was of course the chap who facilitated the breakaway from Spedeworth by the MARC when he ran his own ill fated short circuit racing at selected stadia, again in the early 1970s under RAC rules.

There were a lot of Formula One connections with the GP Midgets from Cliff Davis through to Graham Hill and Stirling Moss who both are reported to have tested the cars. I did hear a conspiracy theory that it was a look-a-like rather than Stirling himself who drove the Midget although I recently found out that the great man himself was at a Legends test at Northampton back in 1994/95 so who knows. Someone like Alf Boarer would probably be able to clear up the mystery as he once told me about Graham Hill test driving the cars and said that he was quicker than the regular drivers as well. Graham’s son Damon was, according to an early edition of Short Circuit, at the presentation of the first Graham Hill Memorial at Bovingdon (well before it was a Spedeworth circuit) and Damon’s own son, Joshua, is going to be racing this year in the Ginetta Junior Championship on the Touring Car bill.

Anyway, all this talk about classic midget racing characters is beginning to veer into John Hyam’s territory so I’ll get back up to date. Talking of Mr Hyam – where are you John? We’ve missed you the last couple of months – hope all is well.

Last month I was talking about Rob Collard testing with Robertshaw Racing in a Chevrolet British Touring Car but he has in fact signed with Motorbase Performance as team mate to Steve Kane racing in BMW 320si. Other oval connections see Mike Jordan back for another year although this time he will be racing against his son Andrew – the first ever father and son pairing in the 50 year history of British Touring Cars.

How sad to learn of the death of Brian Sayers – Stock Car 402. I well remember the south coast racer’s Opel Manta – unique I think – in the early 1980s.

First TV programme of the year

2008-03-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Oval and Out - March 2008

2008-02-27T05:51:00.001-08:00

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.

Oval and Out - February 2008

2008-02-27T05:50:00.000-08:00

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.

Oval and Out - December 2007

2008-02-27T05:49:00.001-08:00

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.

Oval and Out - October 2007

2008-02-27T05:48:00.000-08:00

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.

August Oval and Out draft

2007-07-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

August Oval and Out… This particular blog entry did not make it to Short Circuit magazine...

The June meeting at Rockingham was another cracker for the Pickups although you have to question the sanity of the drivers. They’re the only ones in the world who race on a banked super speedway in the wet! I think the main point that everyone should take home from that meeting is that the drivers were willing to go out and race for the fans in what were very difficult conditions. Well done everyone.

Gavin Seager has now overtaken Pete Wilkinson as the all time top career points scorer in Pickups. Gav had that honour couple of seasons back but lost it to Wilky whilst playing with the SCSAs in the colours of Irwin Tools. It’s the Pickups tenth birthday this season and one of the things that strikes me is just how many drivers have stayed with the class year on year rather them move on elsewhere. The only other formulas that seem to have the same ‘staying power’ are professional top line ones like F1, Champ Cars and Touring Cars. What puzzles me is why we don’t get more drivers coming into it. It’s the highest level of oval racing in the country and, so I’m told, cheaper than National Hot Rods. The organisation is second to none with extremely tight regulations and almost military officiating. Maybe it’s because there’s no feeder formula as such and the class is unique being the only one in Europe to run on both road and oval courses.

I think the BRSCC have done a great job with the support races at Rockingham this year as well. The weather did put a dampener on some of it at the last meet but Saturday’s dry races had plenty to offer and we were treated to some excellent stuff from Club Formula Three, Legends, Midlands South Formula Ford and the Mazda Max 5 Championships. The Legends racing saw a ‘first’ from John Higgins who won all six races and was simply in a class by himself. John, an ex Stock Rodder (but hey, we forgive him for that), holds nearly every statistical record in the formula aside from most race starts and most career points (held by Peter Morton, ex BriSCA F1) and most consecutive wins (held by Tick Steward). Higgins is leading the championship as well at the moment heading Chris Grieve (ex Kartist), Jamie Clarke (no previous experience), Dave Newsham (ex Speedway and Karts) with Morton in fifth. An ex oval name also crops up in the Rookie Championship with Huddersfield’s Derek Linley (an ex World of Outlaws/F2 man) currently second in that table.

The Legends racing at the next meeting on Anglesey was superb. We used two different circuit layouts and both were fantastic. Saturday’s races were on the shorter Coastal circuit with Sunday’s on the full International layout which is just over two miles long. I’ve mentioned the place before but it really is an excellent circuit and probably the best road course the Legends race on in the UK. The circuit has fast sweeps, tight corners, uphill and downhill sections plus long straights and short straights. In short it has absolutely everything a driver could wish for – mainly because it was designed by a driver – the circuit owner, Richard Peacock. How nice to go to a new circuit that is not antiseptic and flat. Did I mention the banked corner as well? The first hairpin is banked, only to around 10 degrees but nonetheless offers two racing lines. If only they could join up the two straights at the other end it would make a superb quarter mile oval.

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.

As I write this column news is trickling through about Spedeworth winning the tender to run at the old Fleet Motor Club circuit. Aldershot being back on the ‘stadium’ roster can only be good for the sport and it looks like Fleet themselves will be relocating which is good for the club racers who enjoy being a part of that organisation as well. First reports say it is all subject to planning permission of course. 2008 could be a good year for new circuits at established stock car towns – Aldershot and Cowdenbeath! Who’d have thought?

Oval and Out - June 2007

2007-05-14T03:24:00.000-07:00

Paul Lund had a winning start to the Dunlop Maxx Sport Cup at Snetterton. Racing his Alfa Romeo 147 he qualified on class pole position and went on to take the two race wins. The championship is already being hailed as a feeder to the British Touring Car Championship and boasts an impressive mixture of cars which of course is good for spectators when a lot of people are arguing that there are too many one make series around.

The big oval season got underway with a belter of a meeting at Rockingham. Well done to everyone involved including the BRSCC who put together a terrific race programme for the weekend. There was something for everyone with the traditional circuit racing from the Mighty Minis, Fiats, Alfas, Silhouettes and LMA Saloons and of course the SCSA V8 Trophy and the Pickups.

Looking at the Stock Car entry this year I got the feeling that everyone on the grid was there for the right reason and with the right intentions. They did well too. The two races showed us some spectacular side by side pack running and then some serious challenging for places as evidenced by Shane Brereton’s attempt at the lead on turn four which resulted in him spinning and clipping the infamous turn four wall. Colin White and Hunter Abbott were very evenly matched and I reckon Hunter could bag a maiden win in June! Make sure you’re there to see if I’m right. The June meeting also includes Legends Cars and Mazda Max 5s.

The Pickups got off to a great start as well although Steve Dobbs is going to get some stick for being involved in the two biggest shunts of the weekend. The flying Kiwi’s Truck was in light contact with Gavin Seager on turn four early in race one and the aftermath caused the retirements of Phil White and Richard Grindrod. In race two, contact with Mark Willis left the 65 machine badly damaged and the team are now struggling to make the road course races that take place between now and the next Rock meeting. A few drivers posted career fastest laps at this meeting which is always good to see – particularly at the first meeting of the season. Gavin Seager was one of those and he’ll be pleased with that as his team has undergone a lot of personnel changes over the last few weeks. John Stant, Richard Novell and Steve Pearce were the other drivers setting personal bests. The Pickup rookie championship looks like being a three way affair with Neil Tressler leading at the moment after Arnie Arnold’s non start in the second race at the Rock. Ex Karter Paul Saunders will join in from the Croft meeting and he will soon grab some points I am sure.

Getting back to the Rockingham programme Jo Polley was out of luck in the Mighty Minis after a ding in testing and did not rediscover her form from the opening round (where she qualified fourth). Elsewhere on the National racing scene Stefan Hodgetts bagged another Clio win in the Sean Brown car (at Thruxton) whilst Sean will be pleased with his son Daniel’s progress in T-Cars as he won at Snetterton recently (young William Buller winning the other race to complete a good meeting for the short oval rooted lads). Neil Bray took a class win in his Ford Capri at Mallory Park in May. Former Stock Rodder Ken Selfe was at the same meeting racing in a production BMW and took a creditable 9th place from 28 starters.

Another young driver to watch out for as his career unfolds is Aiden Hills, the son of ex 2 litre hot rod and Legends Cars driver Daren. Aiden has been competing in Honda Cadet karting and recently won the ‘O’ Plate (British Championship in a quality entry up at the PFI facility near Nottingham. Also racing was another talented young driver with oval genes – Bobby Thompson – son of ex PRI Superstox, Sprint Car and Legends driver Paul. Bobby did not have the best of meetings at PFI but will soon add to the ‘Ace of Clubs’ inter-circuit championship he won last season.

Ex Superstox racer David Methley has for some time been making a name for himself on the long circuits racing historics and has recently made his debut in Formula One. This was at the confusingly named “Grand Prix Masters” event at Donington. I say confusing as many of you will be aware of the similarly named series featuring former grand prix stars like Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Derek Warwick. The version that David Methley is racing in is one for old cars rather than ‘past master’ drivers and I have to say is probably the one that appeals to me more as it gives you a chance to watch some ‘real’ F1 cars racing from the days when each manufacturer’s design looked totally different. For the record David was racing in a March 761 (which was the model raced by the likes of ‘Super Swede’ Ronnie Peterson during James Hunt’s championship winning season) and finished an excellent fourth from 23 starters.

Looking through the British Formula 3 championship results recently I spotted the name of Alistair Jackson racing in the National Class. How many of you remember the visit of the Northern Irish Superstox in the mid seventies when a driver of the same name lapped the entire field including the likes of Dave Pierce? Well the young lad racing Formula 3 is the son of the seventies driver. ‘Jacko’ went on to race hot rods but not with as much success as a certain Ormond Christie who was also part of the NI team at that Wimbledon meeting.

A couple of months back I mentioned that BBC Radio Two presenter Johnnie Walker (a former Superstox, Stock Saloon and Midget racer) was putting together his autobiography and I can tell you that by the time you read this column the book will have been published. Johnnie Walker – The Autobiography is published by Michael Joseph Ltd.

Oval and Out - May 2007

2007-04-11T03:21:00.000-07:00

The new racing season has got underway in terrific style and for me one of the best things was a weekend's work at a local circuit, Brands Hatch. The first round of this year's British Touring Car Championship was held in glorious weather - a stark contrast to the pouring rain the drivers had encountered on the Friday test day. The TOCA championships require a fair commitment from the drivers as I think they normally have to pitch up on a Thursday. This was certainly a problem a few seasons back when the Pickups were on the same bill as most of the drivers have business to run, work to do or children to get to school. Nonetheless it was a very impressive paddock at Brands which included more than a few ex short oval drivers.

Stepping away from the Touring Cars this season is Rob Collard who, as I mentioned last month, is racing in the Porsche Carerra Cup Great Britain. Rob's performance on race day was not wonderful but he should certainly take heart from the fact that he was quickest in the wet test session on the Friday. I always maintain that the wet is a great leveller and it was good to see car 21 at the top of the sheets.

Another car 21 with short oval roots was racing in the Renualt Clio cup. Ex Hot Rodder Sean Brown has bought two Clios for his sons to race but his younger son, Daniel, won't be of age until mid season and so Sean planned to race for the first few meetings alongside his elder son, Robert. Helping out in their awning was another ex Rodder, Colin Voyce (ex 21). Sean had not raced for the best part of ten years and yet still made it through the qualifying race into the televised event on Sunday. Robert did not finish his qualifier and had to content himself with watching dad take 20th place on Sunday - a good effort as there are forty or so Clios this season and he beat a former champion and several race winners from other classes. I caught up with Sean at the second round and he'd decided to step down from the 21 car and installed Daniel's race instructor, ex Touring Car racer Stefan Hodgetts, for the second round. The team had done well at the Rockingham test session earlier on in the year with Sean at the wheel but Stefan went a step further by winning the round!

Staying with the Clios, ex Stock Rodder Steve Collison had a difficult debut at Brands and lost out in the qualifying race after a pit stop. Rockingham was a different story however as he not only made it through the qualifying race but finished 28th.

Norwich based former Ministocker James Williams did well at the Rock too taking 11th place. Andrew Jordan (son of ex Eurocar, Stock Rod and Pickup ace Mike) took pole for his heat and was second in the main race at Brands but retired at Rockingham. Former Legends man Derek Pierce has taken two top 20 finishes so far and is looking forward to the next round at Thruxton. Derek has not raced at Thruxton before but could not really justify the cost and hassle of bringing down the race car from West Kilbride to Hampshire for the official Renault test at the circuit. Instead he flew down on a cheapo flight and used a hire car for a track day to learn the circuit!

The Seat Cupra cup includes Liam McMillan, the son of former Eurocar star Paul. Liam is coached by World Touring Car driver Robb Huff and is making great progress after winning the 750 motor club SAXMAXX title last year. The 'R' Class in the Seats includes ex Banger driver Tim Bevan who was going well at Rockingham before a driveshaft failure. My own (usually appalling) maths tells me that former Eurocar racer Mike Doble is leading the ‘R’ class after two rounds.

If you're unable to travel to the TOCA rounds this year then you can watch them live on Setanta Sports via your satellite dish. It's an extra subscription but I know many Short Circuit readers will already be subscribers to this growing channel thanks to their NASCAR coverage. I’m not sure that people understand the role of a TV commentator. A couple of people in the Rockingham TOCA paddock asked for requests… Could I “say hello to my wife Sue and our two children” during the race? Obviously they were confusing motor racing coverage with ‘Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs’ or something similar.

The Mighty Mini championship got underway at Mallory Park over Easter and there was a very good long circuit debut for Jo Polley who qualified in fourth place (out of 27!). Looking at Jo's times in the qualifying session she was getting quicker and quicker throughout which augers well for the remainder of the season. In the race Jo had a bad start and got stuck on the outside of the first bend losing several places but fought back for 8th overall, and 2nd in the novice class. Well done Jo.

The Legends Cars championship got underway at Mallory Park in April and I con honestly say I’ve never seen a championship season kick off as competitively without major damage. The big surprise at the meeting was Peter Morton’s ‘return’ to the sport. The ex F1 Stox man had intended to retire from the sport after winning the World title last season. None of the other competitors know he was planning to be there at Mallory and he pulled off a terrific surprise by wheeling the car out of a plain trailer just minutes before practice. Several of the drivers apparently did a double take on circuit when they saw the 32 car out there. The whole thing worked out well for Peter as he not only won the first heat but also took the overall win on the day. It was nice to see some of the ex oval boys beating the karters as Stephen Treherne took second place overall. Another ex BriSCA man, Iain Holden, won the driver of the day award.

Oval and Out - April 2007

2007-03-06T00:55:00.000-08:00

Oval and Out - April 2007

I’ve been doing a little more digging into the England / Denmark hot rod races that took place in the early seventies and it was largely John Hyam’s February column that got me looking at Danish stuff again. You may remember that John was talking about the Argentine speedway rider Carlos Villar who was paralysed in an accident here in the UK and is now looking at racing Midgets in his home country. The train of thought to Denmark was via Jason Watt – the talented young Dane who was also paralysed after a motor cycle accident. These drivers/riders have strong wills and Jason, after reaching formula 3000, was not going to let that be the end of his racing career. With assistance from Peugeot on Denmark he returned to Touring Car racing in a specially adapted car and went on to win the Danish Championship.

One of the drivers who raced in the first year of the England Denmark hot rod tests was Steen Erik Mikkelsen. Sadly no news on Steen himself but one of his dirt racing BMWs surfaced in pristine condition a little while back – apparently after being in storage for over twenty years. The car has had some TLC and is now competing in the Danish historic scene. The driver who replaced Steen in 1972 was Carl Erik Kristensen who has had quite a few mentions on this page in the past. Gamle-K’s grandson, Oliver, is now doing a bit of karting and there was a super picture of three Kristensen generations, Carl Erik, Tom and Oliver at a Danish Winter kart event on one of the Danish news websites.

A quick scout around the internet and two emails later I was in touch with Søren Meder who raced in both the 1971 and ’72 test matches in his fantastic looking Imp. Believe it or not Søren is still hillclimbing with a 1971 Lotus Elan which he says he is also using for daily transportation!

I was sorry to learn of the death of Les Lyons. Les raced hot rods in the seventies before moving onto the circuits with his mk 2 Escort. He was a quick pilot too. Sadly I never got the chance to chat to him but I lucky enough to have commentated on several races he took part in.

Thanks to one of my regular surfing visits to Roger Venison's excellent site I found the website of Jo Polley and was pleased to see that she will be taking part in the Mighty Mini Championship this year. The Minis are part of the bill at the Rockingham meeting on 28th and 29th April and I'm sure the crowd will a) enjoy the Mini racing and b) give Jo a lot of vocal support.

Rockingham should be a good show again this year with big things expected from the SCSAs as well as the Pickups. One question though: Please, please could someone from the stock cars get around to sending me the news updates???? It’s impossible getting to see all the drivers on a race weekend and a formula with such potential should not have such problems getting the information out. And yes, I have asked people for information… I’ve already mentioned the Minis who will be racing at the Rock that first weekend – the other formulae on duty are the BRSCC Alfa Romeo’s, Fiat Racing Challenge, VSR Super Silhouettes and the LMA Euro Saloons. It’s going to be a great weekend!

I must be getting old. I went down to Arena a couple of Fridays ago and actually struggled to work out which formulas some of the cars were in. I suppose it could also be that there are too many classes these days...

Legends driver Peter Morton has been over in Finland again. As reigning world champion it's good for him to be doing things like that although he reports that the ice racing this year was more like Rallycross as there wasn't much snow. No doubt the environ-MENTAL-ists will enjoy this piece of news and blame global warming on anything car related.

Rob Collard has moved from the British Touring Car Championship to the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. It’s a shame for BTCC to lose a driver of Rob’s ability but the ex hot rodder finds himself in a competition which is every bit as keen. His main rivals will include 1992 Touring Car champion Tim Harvey.

If you’ve ever fancied having a go at piloting a late model V8 around a big oval yourself then you can now do just that thanks to ex Superstox World Champion Tony Roots who has set up an American style experience at Warneton. It’s only an hour or so from Calais so is very accessible. You can find out more on Tony’s website www.rootsv8racing.com.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Renault Clio Cup this year has a number of ex short oval racers taking part. One name I missed from previous scribbles was Steve Collison. I think it’s the ex Stock Rodding Steve C (from Sussex) rather than the Bucks based Superstox Steve C. The latter has been a decent circuit racer in the past having competed in Caterhams so it was nice to see ‘Sussex Steve’ on the list. Also moving into the Clios (from Legends Cars) is Scotsman Derek Pierce who could find himself at home back in front wheel drive as he kicked off his circuit racing career in the Scottish XR2 championship where he won the newcomers cup.

A new long circuit initiative this year is the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup for production specification cars. The championship is seen as a cost effective stepping stone to the British Touring Car Championship. The Cup is class structured according to power/weight and is open to cars up to five years old, so there will be an opportunity for existing race cars such as the Seat Leon Cupra and Renault Clio to run in production spec alongside potential new entries representing other manufacturers. I mention the new competition as sometime Rookie Banger pilot Paul Lund has entered an Alfa Romeo 147. Paul’s something of an all rounder (and a good ‘un at that) – an ex motorcycle champ (he won the 1989 Shell Production championship) and has won races in other saloon car championships. More recently he’s been doing ‘tout terrain’ rallies (a bit like raid rallying) in France in a production Toyota RAV4.

Gavin Seager's Website

2007-02-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

I'm very pleased to announce the launch of Gavin Seager's website.

Gavin is a twice former Pickup Truck champion and certainly a stong contender for this year's title as well - that would make him the first driver to have won the title three times. At the moment only Nic Grindrod can beat him to that honour during this coming season and thoughts of the battle they had at Snetterton last year come to mind - Nic just getting the better of Gav on the last corner of the second race. Fantastic stuff just thinking about those two but there are other former champions - Steve Dance and Mark Willis plus the likes of Kelly-Jayne Wells, Pistol Pete Wilkinson and many more who are capable of taking the most competitive title in Europe.

Oval and Out – March 2007

2007-02-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Speedway promoters have come up with a good idea which is to host some of the big individual events on neutral tracks. For example the Elite League riders’ championship will be held on a Premier league track and vice versa. This will ensure some terrific action as no one will have home advantage. It will also benefit the tracks as Premier league venues get events and coverage worthy of Elite league status.

The word is that Paul Sheard is moving from the Mazda Max5 Championship into the long circuit hot rod formula, the Super Silhouettes. Jeff Simpson is also rumoured to be having a go as well. The Pickups have been having serious talks about getting back on the telly and that can only benefit the formula. This year’s Truck dates are very good and can probably be seen elsewhere here in SC. There are two areas of focus in the Pickups – the overall championship and the oval one. The oval dates are over five rounds at Rockingham with the final being the Ovalfest which should mean a decent number of Short Circuit fans cheering on their own favourites. The last two circuit dates happen after the last oval round and this really does build to a climax as they share top billing with the big BTRA Trucks at Pembrey in Wales and then Brands Hatch.

Talking about Wales I was pleased to see that Anglesey circuit’s plans to expand have now started to happen. There will be several different configurations to race on but sadly no oval. The plans show that there are several parts of the new track where a little extra tarmac is all that would be needed to complete a short oval. One reply I had to the suggestion was: “There’s no short oval racing in Wales .” Of course not, that’s why I suggested it. Maybe one for the future then? The owner, Richard Peacock is a decent bloke with his head screwed on so who knows, one day it might happen. If you’ve never been to Anglesey circuit then I would heartily recommend it – the island is a great place to holiday and the Legends have got a two day meeting at the UK ’s most picturesque circuit at the end of June which would make it a very good time to visit.

Short oval Legends driver Brian Barlow is making the move to the long circuits this year, at least for part of the season. I understand that Brian is also continuing his involvement in rallying as well so it won’t be a full season but I look forward to seeing him in action nonetheless.
It was interesting to see that a Superstox veterans’ race was held last year at Great Yarmouth and apparently some of the old boys really got stuck in with a few cars not being able to make the following race for the regular drivers. I’m not sure if full contact racing is the order of the day for those events although as has been said many times before it’s difficult to limit contact between cars. Some of the Southern vets felt they have missed out as it was a bit far for them to go and asked if a more local one could be arranged maybe later this year? How about Arlington on one of the late season Wednesdays? What would be even better would be a vets hot rod race as well at the same meeting – maybe with the drivers using Stock Rods which are of course that much closer to the specs of the 1970s cars.

It’s good to hear that Radio Two presenter Johnnie Walker is currently writing his autobiography. Johnnie’s name kept cropping up in my earlier years – first as a pirate radio DJ and then later as a racing driver – two of my big interests. Johnnie raced in stock saloons, superstox and, I think, midgets in the late sixties / early seventies before a nasty accident in the stock cars put a halt to things. These days he presents a regular Sunday afternoon slot on Radio Two which often ties in with a drive home from the circuits.

The grand prix midgets overcame their fixture problems and have put together a very decent looking schedule which also introduces ‘regional’ points challenges as well for the first time. That’s something I speculated about a good few years ago and will hopefully encourage ‘one track’ drivers to venture elsewhere. The only problem I can see is the extra work for the club sec and of course the webmaster who will have to post four different points tables – the overall one and the three regional ones.

I recently read the views of touring car boss Alan Gow who reckons that there is too much motorsport on television. I’m not really sure it’s his place to say that – after all it was his formula that gobbled up most of the air time last year and is the only national on live terrestrial television during normal waking hours this year. What I would say is that there is a lot of motorsport coverage that is simply not up to scratch being broadcast. Some channels take absolutely anything and some of the stuff I’ve seen recently could well have been done with a couple of camcorders then edited on a home computer. These programmes do no-one any favours at all as the organisers get hooked in on the basis of a cheap appearance on the box and then won’t pay decent production companies for something which would frankly make them look better to potential sponsors and drivers. The cheap programmes also do nothing for potential spectators who might take one look and decide not to go and watch.

Ex hot rodder Sean Brown will be back on track this year in the Renault Clio cup. The championship is likely to be oversubscribed as 53 of the new cars had been sold as of early February. The entry list also includes Mike Jordan’s son Andrew.

Oval and Out – February 2007

2007-02-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

These are worrying times as Spedeworth withdraw from Swaffham and a non-ORC organisation take on Ringwood. It’s particularly worrying for a formula close to my heart, the GP Midgets who had both tracks as regular and popular venues. The cars could of course race at Ringwood but sensibly do not want to jeopardise their own ORC status.

For those of you who think there is very little to race organisation this situation should make you think again. The promoters are struggling to find circuits and independent clubs like the Midgets are finding that their options are becoming more limited. The club’s board of control has been working harder than you would ever imagine trying to work out different options to replace the two lost venues and the last thing they want to do is upset existing promoters and the ORC.

There was good news re the opening of Warren Taylor’s circuit at Teesside although whether that turns out to be too far North for the GPMs we’ll have to see. Some good news from the class is that Midgets are expecting to announce a visit to Holland for the first time for several seasons. I welcome this as it could lead to the World and European titles having some credibility for the first time in many years. Historically the Midgets had a good mix of UK and overseas champions – more so than any other short oval formula.

Most of the national motorsport rags fill their pages over the festive season with various reviews of the previous season. I tend not to contribute to ‘opinion’ in such compilations as it would be fairly obvious that I would vote for the formulas that I work on. That’s what the X Factor judges do, isn’t it? Not that I watch it you understand… My point is that although I do get to see a lot of racing throughout the season I only do stuff I enjoy so it goes without saying that I’m gonna vote for Pickups and Legends as the best circuit formulae. One make classes come in for a lot of stick from some quarters but you have to take your hat off to the drivers that do the winning in such classes. Last month I banged on about Nic Grindrod having won the Pickup title but the fact is that the regulations are as tight as a duck’s aftermath and he started most of his races from the back of the grid. Same with Legends. Mixed grids and equal machinery gave some great racing throughout the season. The fact is that these two classes provide more overtaking and entertainment than most of the other long circuit championships in the UK put together.

There was some talk that Lee Caroline might be coming back to Pickups but sadly that’s not the case for this season at least. I guess Lee thinks it’s finished business for him – he’s still the all time top race winner and a double champion. His young son will soon be making a name for himself in Karts too so his attention will be elsewhere. The Pickups still have all the ingredients to be the UK’s most popular championship. All the former champions who raced last season will be hard at it again this year along with a number of newcomers (we’ll keep you posted over the coming months). Final fixture details are being put together at the time of writing and I am hoping that the Pickups will continue to attract more spectators at Rockingham (the racing is sensational and is as near to American oval racing as you are going to get in Europe). If you’ve enjoyed Pickups at Rockingham then I can also highly recommend a visit to one of the road course dates as well. This season will see the Pickups having more dates with the Legends and Mazda Max 5 series which means more action for race fans.

SCSA had some exciting news with ex Boyzone singer Shane Lynch joining in this year. He’s a seasoned racer having competed in the Ginetta Championship and also the British GTs. I first saw him in the Old Spice Legends guest car (at Mallory I think it was) in the Eurocar days. He did ok in the Legends but we asked him where his ambition was. “I want to drive one of the big motors,” he replied, referring to the Eurocar V8s. Well it seems he’s got there as of course SCSA came from ASCAR which was formed by Mike Schmidt as an alternative to the Eurocar V8s. Mike was a good bloke on the whole although he had very little in the way of a sense of humour. He was racing at Knockhill once and went off into the gravel which I, as commentator, promptly renamed “Schmitty litter”. He had a right go at me after the racing!

Talking of Knockhill and Scottish racing ,ex F2 man Aly Hunter has introduced a Legends Scholarship. This is actually a joint venture between the Scottish Motor Racing Club, Aly’s Scottish Legends company and Knockhill. It’s being promoted to encourage potential new race drivers, current race drivers wishing to change discipline or former race drivers contemplating a return to circuit racing to take the plunge by way of a financial incentive towards the cost of hiring a Legend for the first three rounds of this year’s SMRC Legends Championship. I wonder if this will encourage any former oval drivers to have a go on the circuits and join the likes of former oval boys Colin Noble, Gary Crawford and co? Hope so.Finally, getting back to my opening gambit this month – that of worrying stuff – I have to say that the most worrying thing of all is that in December’s issue John Hyam admitted to watching ‘Deal or No Deal’ on daytime telly. Now that really is worrying.

Oval and Out - January 2007

2007-02-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

Another exciting year of racing has come to a close and the former short oval boys have more than held their own on the big circuits.

There were four overall champions. Good old Rod Birley dominated the Track and Race Car Championship in his Escort and I was lucky enough to see one of the later rounds when he was challenged strongly by former rallycrosser Greg Rose in his Mercedes. Anyone who thought Rod never had to race hard for his wins would have been silenced by two superb drives in the November racing.

Nic Grindrod’s win in the Pickup Truck Racing championship made him my ‘Oval and Out’ driver of the year. Pickups is such a hard championship. There can’t be a more level playing field anywhere in UK motor racing and yet he managed to defend his title without boring defensive or conservative drives. One thing that still niggles me about Pickups is that most of the drivers are ex oval racers. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy seeing the ex oval lads doing well but it I think the traditional long circuit people still look down acres of nose at it. The circuit boys are probably too scared to make the move for fear of getting thrashed. Eight out of the top ten were all ex short oval drivers. I could see the likes of the front running BTCC drivers holding their own in Pickups but of course they would have to be paid to do so which is not really what it’s all about.

Former Superstox man Neil Bray piloted his 3 litre Ford Capri to the Post Historic Touring Car title. Finally the Super Silhouette championship, which entertained us Rockingham regulars so well, went to Dave Longhurst. Well done to all four.

There were also a couple of ex oval drivers who took class titles in their respective championships. Former hot rodder Les Lyons can still be seen behind the wheel of a mk2 Escort and he won Class C of the Classic Thunder competition. Another ex Rodder, John Carding, is now racing single seaters and won the 1200cc class of the Monoposto championship.

The Legends Cars were good value throughout the year and it is a joy to report that former F1 Stox man Peter Morton won the World Championship at Sears Point in November. This is, as I am always saying, a proper World Championship and not like the pathetic short oval ones with just English and Scots. Mr Morton is the real deal having: a) travelled to the USA and b) beaten fellow UK drivers, Americans, Canadians, French, Belgians and Spaniards. Lawrence Davey did well too taking fourth place in the UK Legends Championship and also winning a heat at the World finals.

Anthony Denham (son of 70’s Superstox man Chris) was third in the Classic Clubmans championship whilst the Letts brothers, Geoff and Alan were third and fifth respectively in the Mini Se7en championship. Teenager Daniel Brown (son of hot rodder Sean) switched from T Cars to what I am guessing is the more cost effective Sax Max (stock hatch Citroen Saxo) championship and was runner up.

Last, but not least, it was good to spot the name of Ivor ‘the driver’ Greenwood in the Kirkistown Sports Car Championship taking fourth place. Ivor was probably the best Northern Irish hot rod driver never to have scooped a major title.

Looking through the entry list for a Brands Hatch meeting I spotted a familiar name, albeit one I’d not seen for quite a while. Mark Hobbs used to race in Spedeworth Formula Ones and later switched to circuit Legends Cars before taking a break for a few seasons. Mark’s now racing in the Mazda Max5 Championship which I’ve been praising highly before and it was good to catch up with him again. He’s buddied with ex Formula Vee champion Jez Clarke. Talking of the Mazda’s it was Paul Sheard who took second place in the championship. The Max 5’s will be sharing the bill with Legends and Pickups at several meetings during 2007 so I can guarantee you a good day’s entertainment at any of those.

The Brands meeting in question was also the Legends Cars tenth anniversary meeting which just really starts to make you feel old. Well actually it makes me feel old and perhaps a little jaded with motor racing in general. Politics are everywhere in the sport – from the short ovals to the so called top level on the circuits. Anyway, back to the anniversary meeting – the Smart Motorsport team (run by ex oval man Martin Davey) had been working on completing a two seater Legends Car for the organisers, 600 Racing Europe. I’m pleased to say that I was one of the lucky few who got to enjoy a passenger ride driven by former Scottish Champion Jamie Clarke. Two seater race cars have to be the ultimate white knuckle ride – especially around the ups, downs, twists and turns of Brands Hatch. Comparing it to a ride in an F3 car a couple of seasons back at Silverstone I have to say the Legends Car was much more fun. It didn’t seem that much slower although obviously there was much less grip.

The winter shows are already underway and having been to a couple of them last year I can’t really see that anything changes from year to year so it’s unlikely I’ll be parting with any hard earned to see them. I’d much prefer a proper evening’s racing at Wimbledon. Shame we can’t have more racing during the winter. Whatever your favourite formula – I hope you have a very happy and healthy 2007!

Two Seater Legends Car

2006-09-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

UK Legends Cars celebrated our tenth anniversary at Brands Hatch in August. As well as a full grid once again we were joined by several former drivers who came along to join the celebrations and enjoy some great racing once again.

The big surprise of the meeting was the unveiling of an unusual variation on the Legends Cars theme – a two seater! This did indeed provide a surprise to many people as construction had been a well guarded sectret over the past few months. Smart Motorsport’s team chief, Martin Davey, was the man who put the car together. It’s well known in the UK that Martin can turn his hand to pretty well any kind of engineering project and the two seater proved no exception. When the concept was initially dreamed up there was of course some debate as to whether the second seat would be alongside the driver or directly behind as has been the case with the equivalent projects in Formula One and Formula Three here in Europe. Ultimately it was decided to put the passenger alongside the driver which meant that the end product would be slightly wider than a conventional Legends although only by just over 20cm.

Other modifications included a different differential (a Ford Atlas) although Martin said that will change when the car goes out at other circuits. The car has a one piece propshaft and the gear linkage is on top of the tunnel but other than that it’s very much conventional Legends kit. The car was built over a period of time in Martin’s Workshop down in the picturesque Sussex village of Hartfield which, for the children among us, was where the author AA Milne lived and where the Winnie the Pooh stories where based and written. It’s difficult to measure exactly how many man hours went into the car but Martin reckons three and a half weeks work went into sourcing the parts and putting the car together.

I’m pleased to say that I was one of the lucky few who got to enjoy a passenger ride driven by former Scottish Champion and current National Championship front runner Jamie Clarke. Jamie had just won his race at Brands Hatch when I was strapped in alongside to my session around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

Brands Hatch, like most circuits in the UK, runs in a clockwise direction so that meant that Jamie was sitting on the outside of the car and, quite appropriately I thought, nearest the gravel traps and barriers. Once we were both securely strapped in Jamie was given the all clear to join the circuit. A blast from the throttle sent me back into the passenger seat and we were off down the pit road and onto the race track. The first corner at Brands is the notorious Paddock Hill Bend which is a tight right hander which falls away downhill. I must admit I was a little nervous about how that would feel in a full blown race car but Jamie treated the entry to it with all due respect. I wasn’t quite ready for the second part of the corner though as he nailed the throttle once again, the car moving right to the outside of the track and seemingly heading for the gravel trap. I held my breath as the car gripped and continued at full pelt down Hailwoods Hill and then climbed up to the slowest corner on the circuit, the Druids hairpin. The great thing about being alongside is that you can watch the driver plying his trade. Deft gear changes and braking, neat turn into the corner – all carried out with a mixture of racer’s aggression and precision. On the power again for the down hill run to Graham Hill Bend, a left hander this time. Jamie goes down a gear, dabs the brakes and turns in. The exit is a little wide, in fact we’re on the rumble strips which start to shake you up (by design as the circuit owner hates drivers using the run-off). Power on once again, up the gears and along Cooper Straight before the next left hander, Surtees. Amazingly John Surtees himself was there at Brands Hatch and was seen watching a couple of the Legends races. From Surtees it’s into the double right hander of McLaren and Clearways. The turn in to the latter is much tighter than it looks from the spectator’s view and Jamie’s heavy foot on the gas puts the car into a little oversteer. I look across and see that Jamie is grinning from ear to ear – he’s enjoying himself and entertaining his passenger at the same time. The run from Clearways onto the main straight is the fastest part of the circuit - top gear and top speed to complete a lap of Brands Hatch.

Two seater race cars have to be the ultimate white knuckle ride – especially around the ups, downs, twists and turns of Brands Hatch. Comparing it to a ride in a Formula Three car a couple of seasons back at Silverstone I have to say the Legends Car was much more fun. It didn’t seem that much slower than F3 although obviously there was much less grip. As well as the speed, the best part is being next to the driver and getting to see him work the car – there’s so much going on at the controls that it brings home just how much piloting these cars is an art form.

Pickup Truck Racing – A Look Ahead to the 2006 Season

2006-03-20T02:57:00.000-08:00

Another superb season is in prospect for the Pickup Trucks – surely the providers of the most consistently entertaining motor racing in Europe. For the last two seasons the championship has gone all the way to the wire with spectators only needing the edge of their seats for most of the year.

So what makes this season another potential cracker? On paper it’s the strongest entry we’ve had with the largest number of former champions all going head to head. Last year’s overall Champion Nic Grindrod will be back to defend his title in the Viking Rover/Vauxhall backed #22 machine. His arch rival and reigning Rockingham Champion Paul Poulter is also back in the class and looks hungry for the overall title. Having swept up in Superstox racing prior to joining the Pickups last season Paul wants the clean sweep in the Trucks as well. As well as our two reigning champions we also have our former titlists ready to return. Gavin Seager is back full time this year after taking the runner up slot in the 2005 SCSA Rookie points table. Gavin did a couple of road race Pickup meetings last year in one of the Team Forward Trucks and bagged a win and fastest laps at both races so he’s far from race rusty. I nearly forgot to mention his pedigree – twice champion in the Pickups – first in 2002 and then again in 2004. Sticking with 2004 for a moment we have the 2004 Rockingham champion Mark Willis back for another campaign too. Mark’s biggest love in motorsport is oval racing. He was known as the Mallory Mile Meister in his Eurocar days and he is, with Nic Grindrod, the joint top career points scorer at Rockingham. Mark had a difficult season in 2005 but is coming back with all guns blazing in 2006. Our final ex champion is Steve Dance who won both the overall title and was also top Rockingham scorer in 2003. The Reading man, like Paul Poulter, unveiled his stunning new livery at the Autosport Show in January with the Truck taking pride of place in front of the Rockingham stage.

Well that’s dealt with the champions but there’s bags more talent and character in the rest of the field. I have to start with the UK’s fastest lady racer Kelly-Jayne Wells who grabbed race win, podiums and the Rockingham lap record last season. KJW has become big fan favourite and not just the ‘housewives’ choice’ either as she seems to have as many blokes supporting her racing as well! One of Kelly-Jayne’s most prominent sparring partners last season was Phil White. The Berkshire car dealer may not have a Pickup title to his name yet but he was the first Rockingham lap record holder and is a triple world champion from the short ovals. Rockingham Radio often describe his as big grizzly bear and the place would be much the poorer without him.

Michael Smith is the sport’s longest serving driver having been with us non stop from the latter stages of our first racing season. Smithy is also the top career points scorer in the formula just ahead of the man they call ‘The Pistol’, Pete Wilkinson with Dave Briggs third. All three are back this season once again to add to their points tallies and fight it out for the honour of being the top all time scorer.

One of the most improved drivers last season was Karl Turner who took fifth overall. I’m sure he is not far off from his first win in the championship. Same goes for Rob Butterfield who is a demon at the Rock but has not had the luck to snatch that first win. Other potential winners must include Antony Hawkins who seems to spend longer and longer at the front of each event and the usually luckless Tony Mumford who is one of the firm favourites in the paddock. Graham France’s race day form (and luck) seems to vary but he’s up there with Rob Butterfield for pace and therefore could grab his first win this season. Paul Thurgood is back in his immaculate #5 Truck again this year having not been put off by a heft mid season shunt last year. If you look at Paul’s stats he’s only done a handful of races on the big oval but has made massive leaps forward in his lap times.

Last year’s rookies will be looking to build on their experience and climb their way up the order. Ex Hot Rodder Lee Rogers and his team were a superb addition to the pack last season adding colour and fun to the paddock. Lee was only beaten to the rookie title by Paul Poulter so I bet he almost wishes he’d deferred his debut to this season. Richard Novell was plagued with bad luck in his campaign but the former Super Silhouette / Rallycrosser seems really determined to move onwards and upwards this season. Willis Motorsport’s Steve Pearce enjoyed himself last year and gained some excellent finishes over the course of the season as his lap times improved. Last of the newcomers in 2005 was Pete Stevens who joined in the later stages of the season. Pete probably has to be the one who could upset the status quo at the sharp end – he was really getting his teeth into big oval racing at Rockingham last year and of course his road racing record (double Thundersaloon Champion) speaks for itself.

At the time of writing this preview there’s still over six weeks to go so a few additional runners and riders could still come into the frame. As things currently stand there are three drivers set to shoot it out for the Rookie title. First to confirm his addition to the ranks was Richard Grindrod who is the younger brother of 2005 champion Nic. At the young age of 19 Richard takes over from Simon Carr as the youngest driver in Pickups (by six years). Like his brother he has bags of short oval experience including plenty of time as the silver top in Ministox plus an Irish Championship title in oval Legends. Our second newcomer is John Stant, the affable Merseysider who has also dabbled in several other classes including Rallying, XR2s, Eurocar V6 and V8 and also Legends. John brings the Nestle Cheerios brand name to the sport so expect him to have a queue at his awning for the supply of cereal bars! The third newcomer is the UK based Kiwi Stephen Dobbs from Brixworth. Steve does not have any racing experience here in the UK but completed the Richard Petty Experience in the USA.

Once again the championship centres around the six Thunder Sundays at Rockingham but there are three road circuit outings to contest as well and these tend to shake up the order quite a bit. The first non oval meeting sees the Pickups visit Croft in North Yorkshire for the first time in a good few seasons. Croft is an excellent place to race – there are two long straights countered by several twisty bits so a good balance of driver skill and power is required. Brands Hatch is always a favourite venue and perhaps even more prestigious given the appearance of A1 GP last year. Having said that the Pickups will be racing on the Indy circuit rather than the full GP one which is better for spectators who can see most of the circuit from anywhere on the main straight around to the daunting Paddock Hill bend. The final road circuit outing is at Snetterton in Norfolk which again boasts two long straights and some technical corners.

Pickup weekends at Rockingham comprises a test / practice session on Saturday afternoon. Partytime on Saturday night and then two 30 lap, 45 mile races on the Sunday. Race one sees the top championship scorers start at the back of the field meaning more overtaking in one race than you’ll see in a whole season of other ‘top drawer’ motor sport. The second race grid is the reverse of the first race result meaning a level playing field and a sporting chance for all the competitors but most importantly the drama of ‘motorsport theatre’ for race fans.

Oval and Out - April 2006 part two

2006-03-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

Talking of classics I wonder if anyone had thought doing a replica control car to get some of those races underway? For me the Spedeworth Capris or Cortinas would be the obvious choices although I suppose you could plump for the Jaguar which was also produced by Corgi. Or maybe the Weaton Commercials fire engine which I seem to remember started a race at Wimbledon once. Whatever happened to that?

I think the winter we’ve just been through must have been the worst ever for circuit dates chopping and changing. Poor old Sonny Howard had already arrived at version six of his Pickups fixture list by the time we had the post Christmas drivers meeting. The problem (well it is a problem for national or club racers) with the long circuits is that the dates are done from the top down. The Grand Prix is fixed up first and then everything else cascades around it. The Pickups and Legends had a nice August Bank Holiday meeting pencilled in for Brands with the big British Truck Racing Association (BTRA) Trucks but then A1 GP shunted that out of the way, the meeting (now WITHOUT the BTRA boys) is taking place the weekend before. To add insult to injury I see today that A1 GP have now pulled out of the Bank Holiday date and will return to Brands in 2007. I think our racers have been treated very badly this year – it’s a family sport and it’s not always easy to schedule holidays, etc at the best of time let alone when the circuit owners keep moving the dates.

The 2006 Thunder Sundays look like being very entertaining affairs now that Waltham Services and the BRSCC have announced the races that will compliment SCSA, Pickup Trucks and VSR/Silhouettes. It’s a very good mix too. The first meeting in May sees a visit from the Club Formula Three boys. Club F3 is where you’ll see Formula Three cars racing in the following classes: Class A for cars built and raced between January 1996 and December 2004. Class B for those built and raced between January 1992 and December 1995. The masters class is for cars built and raced between January 1985 and December 1991. You should be able to acquaint yourself with the championship on TV beforehand as it’s being covered by Motors TV and round 1, Silverstone, should be on telly just before we go to Rockingham.

June’s meeting sees the Uniroyal Fun Cup which is for mechanically identical VW Beetle look-alikes doing endurance races. The cars are spaceframed underneath and powered by 130bhp VW/Audi engines. July has the T-Cars which was the first ever circuit racing class for teenagers and it has a superb record of finding very talented young drivers like Matthew Wilson and Tom Chilton. T-Cars are spaceframed saloons (and all originally built by SHP Motorsport) which are now run by circuit owner and ex Formula One racer Dr Jonathan Palmer whose son, Jolyon, debuted in the class last season. Martin Brundle’s son, Alexander will be racing in T-Cars as well this year. There are now three different ‘youth’ formulae on the long circuits (if you excluded Formula BMW which starts at age 15). T-Cars were the first to get going several seasons ago but last year the Ginetta Junior Championship offered some competition in the market and this year the 750 Motor Club have introduced a Citroen Saxo based championship for youngsters too. I must admit from my point of view they all have their merits. T-Cars has a pedigree, Ginettas and ‘SaxMax’ are probably more cost effective whilst the latter also offers a logistical bonus in that you can continue to race the car once you’re too old for the junior class by moving into one of the 750MC’s excellent senior hatchback championships.

Anyway, getting back to the Rockingham guest formulae, August sees the British GT Championship along with Formula Ford, September is the short oval meeting and things wrap up in October with the Mini Se7ens and Miglias which regulars at the Rock are already familiar with thanks to some entertaining racing last year. Last season saw the Miglias dominated by Peter Baldwin who was threatening to retire so things should be wide open this season. After that it’s back into hibernation and wait for my third short oval book to see the light of day!

Oval and Out - April 2006 part one

2006-02-22T05:12:00.000-08:00

For us short oval enthusiasts, circuit closures are something that crop up all too regularly. The daily papers were recently full of copy regarding the upcoming move for BBC’s Top Gear show which is filmed at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey. The show is being forced to relocate within the next three years due to plans to build more than 2,500 homes on the site. Good opportunity here then for it to move somewhere else. How about sticking some more tarmac down at Arena Essex or maybe a move to Rockingham? I think this one has been bubbling away for a while as I heard some rumbles about the show moving to Pembrey in Wales but that would have been a bit of a haul for the production team. Fifth Gear don’t have too many problems with their test track which is at the Anglesey Circuit. A flipping long way to go for us southerners but a really good circuit (and surely the most stunning views you’ll get at a racetrack anywhere). Anyway, it just goes to show that it’s not just oval racers that are up against the planners.

Sad news which took a while to get to us was that of the death of Adrian ‘Todd’ Sweeney, last November. Todd was the 1967 Superstox (nee Stock Car) World Champion. I didn’t get to see him racing during his first tenure with the sport but he must be one of the most well known drivers in the sport having had his car immortalised by Corgi toys in the early seventies. I was lucky enough to see both Todd and his brother Michael ‘Biffo’ Sweeney racing in the late seventies (around the time that Short Circuit was being produced with the now retro logo and in A5 size). They still had immaculate cars and were still capable of winning races.

Does anyone know what happened to their cars? The late seventies ones were originally sold to Mark Eaton (Biffo’s) and Paul Pearson (Todd’s) with the latter eventually selling (I think) to Dave Webb. Maybe the cars are sitting around somewhere and will emerge on the classic scene sometime.