With Autumn closing in, we have two meetings left for 2009. August Bank Holiday was very good for the raceway, with good crowds on both days, despite the threat of a foggy afternoon! We were really lucky on both events to be able to run full programmes, and we had good driver support and some great entertainment. The Caravandalism event once again served up the goods, and is probably the best one ever, due, as always, to the time and effort, and bravery of the drivers, and the way our marshals quickly dealt with some serious untangling to get the race underway after two huge pileups.!
Our final 2009 meeting includes the final of the Rookies Reward series, and you will have had a letter confirming your entry if you have qualified. There is another good prize fund and eight tyres to be won, so please come along if you can. The two safety changes will need to be in place for those of you local racers-the centralising of your aerofoil and the welding in of the 3mm steel plates in the sides of the footwells. If you need any advice, please give us a ring and we’ll talk you through it.
We are delighted to have the opportunity to stage the 2010 Brisca F2 Nationals event next year, and will be looking to attract a good sponsor for this Championship, for which the winner receives that beautiful silver stock car created by Jon Padgett. National Fixture planning for 2010 is well advanced, and this meeting will be an extra F2 event for us.
Despite his disappointment in the World Final, Chris Bradbury will retain the Points Championship at the Raceway, having put it safely out of reach on August 30th.
886 | Chris Bradbury | 164 |
152 | Mick Sworder | 97 |
677 | Chris Roots | 86 |
315 | Justin Fisher | 73 |
676 | Neil Hooper | 69 |
105 | Ross Rowe | 68 |
877 | Eddie Darby | 63 |
642 | Dave Luscombe | 62 |
189 | Paul Butcher | 59 |
812 | Scott Williams | 56 |
530 | Matthew Deeble | 55 |
Two more meetings to go and the next one is an 1800cc World Qualifying Round, just to top up the points for Ipswich and the 2litre World at Hednesford. If you wish to race at either of these two meetings let me know as soon as possible. There have been places available in the Taunton and the Arena World Final this year, so if you want to go, just ask!
The next meeting is a chance for all you Rookie drivers to have a go in National Bangers and finish off your car before the winter! There is to be very little change in Banger rules for 2010, except for what was notified in the last Newsletter, and the major change allowing full injection cars into unlimited bangers will be worded up soon.
The later date of the West of England Championship –October 18th- will attract a better field of drivers, we hope, and will be the final 2010 meeting. We have decided that if the Banger Points Championship is won by a visiting driver, which does seem possible, we will award a trophy to that driver to acknowledge his achievement, but the Points Championship Trophy and prize will be given to the highest Mendips Raceway points scorer.
The two Rookie Banger meetings over the August Bank Holiday were a great success, with fields of 51 and 42 cars respectively, and culminated with a Points Championship win for Kenny Dalton(458). It was great to see all those Old Skool cars out, which would never be seen in National Bangers. We are working on our dates for 2010 at the moment, and we have been asked for more Rookie meetings, although it is difficult to see how we will be able to find room for any more.
458 | Kenny Dalton | 86 |
58 | Martin Dalton | 78 |
133 | Jody Jeanes | 52 |
15 | Brett Sedgbeer | 49 |
49 | Rob Bevan | 44 |
149 | Lee Norman | 33 |
441 | Craig Griffin | 31 |
282 | Steve Hunt | 29 |
117 | Ollie Starr | 28 |
677 | Glen Nash | 28 |
Two Mini Mums have been brave enough to suggest that we might have a Disco/Buffet evening for all MiniRod drivers, possibly at Farrington Gurney where the Driver Meeting is held. If you would be interested, please contact Mandy Mulley on 01179 140840, email Lin Milverton @ linmilverton@aol.com, or make contact at the track.
Mini Mums and Dads are always welcome at the Dinner and Dance in February!
New grades will be in force for the final meeting of 2009, which is the West of England Championship meeting, as shown below.
Red | Blue | ||||
60 | Steve Sayer | 150 | 91 | Sam Bartlett | 52 |
7 | Aaron Charles | 130 | 21 | Emily Moulton | 45 |
23 | Jack Stuckey | 128 | 15 | Shane Jennings | 38 |
11 | Tony Munden | 127 | 56 | Ryan Mulley | 34 |
43 | Sam Howard | 82 | 61 | Alex Sloggett | 29 |
404 | Macauley Mills | 71 | 9 | Jaz Skyrme | 25 |
22 | Jordan Puddy | 66 | 16 | Daniel Milverton | 25 |
501 | Sam May | 65 | 111 | Natasha Howe | 22 |
127 | Louis Aldom | 57 | 342 | Ben Elliot | 21 |
79 | Mason Thomas | 56 | |||
796 | Daniel Steeds | 56 |
One more meting for 2009, and the Points Championship looks nicely poised for a close finish. At this time of the season it can get a little too serious, so we shall be watching extra carefully for any foul play between the top contenders. Thanks to Robin Bath and AREBEE SIGNS, the West of England Championship will have some extra nice trophies, so we hope everyone manages to get out to the last meeting.
There will be a proposal at the Drivers Meeting to open up the engine regulations be allowing any cylinder head and camshaft, so everyone needs to put some thought into whether this change is for the best. Some drivers have intimated that they think there may be some cheating going on, and this would be an easy way to stop it, although not necessarily the right way.
There are new grades for the last meeting, as detailed over the page.
Superstar |
Blue | ||||
47 | Richard Howard | 119 | 33 | Shaun Norton | 34 |
42 | John Major | 113 | 136 | Jason Horseman | 34 |
23 | Ross Stuckey | 95 | 993 | Darren Foss | 34 |
Red | 83 | Doug George | 33 | ||
198 | Marcus Goldsmith | 94 | 930 | Nick Simons | 32 |
173 | Alan Cambridge | 81 | 19 | Matthew Tegg | 30 |
25 | Robin Bath | 70 | 407 | Nigel Gissing | 29 |
144 | Mark Thompson | 63 | 45 | Shaun Jennings | 29 |
10 | Stephen Hine | 56 | 8 | Andrew Morgan | 29 |
41 | Dene Howard | 48 | |||
43 | Andy Howard | 47 | |||
17 | Lee Robins | 46 | |||
48 | Steve Hodge | 38 |
Congratulations to Ross for retaining the Points Championship over a much improved season for the Hot Rods. Although it has been difficult for visiting drivers with the costs of fuel, we have had some excellent sessions, and look forward to some more in 2010. Wilson’s new car made the West of England look easy, but I’m sure there will be drivers updating their equipment over the close season to give him more of a challenge. It was great to see John Wood back at the raceway, although he wasn’t able to stay for long-he has been a good friend to Hot Rod racing at the Mendips, ands we hope to see him again next year. We will, of course, be discussing the 2010 season at the Drivers Meeting, of which we will be writing to you again after the September and October races.
26 | Ross Loram | 88 |
205 | Mike Norton | 85 |
117 | Dave Tossell | 77 |
88 | Alan Shelper | 77 |
718 | Colin White | 68 |
904 | Wilson Hamilton | 63 |
775 | Phil Parkhouse | 48 |
18 | Larry Langmead | 42 |
734 | Ralph Sanders | 37 |
35 | Neil Mewdell | 28 |
Another great finale to our Reliants’ 2009 season, with the Figure of Eight and the Destruction Derby, and congratulations go to Points Champion Barry Richards and DD winner Mark Bowskill. We are working hard to come up with some different events for the Robins, that will bring the fun back into the racing without the all out wrecking that happens at other tracks. We know that not everyone wants to have flat out racing, although this does have a place in the sport. Any suggestions will be welcome at the Drivers Meeting.
87 | Barry Richards | 127 |
58 | Martin Dalton | 107 |
59 | Mike Jones | 104 |
78 | Mark Bowskill | 93 |
46 | Jon Coombs | 71 |
658 | Ken Burrows | 53 |
250 | Ryan Withers | 51 |
909 | Dan Moss | 43 |
3 | Dan Tytheridge | 32 |
159 | Katie Jones | 32 |
39 | Simon Faulkner | 19 |
48 | Barry Dalton | 18 |
348 | Shane Brereton | 16 |
24 | John Brereton | 12 |
444 | Mark Loader | 12 |
707 | Jeremy Moss | 10 |
7 | Jamie Charles | 10 |
21 | Brad Worthington | 3 |
308 | Andrew Harrison | 3 |
Cancer Research
We are delighted to be able to announce that Filo’s Crashmania made £2855 00 for Cancer Research UK, and that our running total to date is £10,857 78p. We’ll be looking to increase that total again in 2010. Well done again to everyone who has worked for the cause.
Driver of the Year 2009
We have decided to change the way this is voted for in 2009, and as many of you will know, Nicci port has been going round asking each and every driver to vote for Driver of the Year, so that it is a drivers’ decision rather than a public decision. We felt that it was possible to swing the voting in the previous method, so this year we’ll see who comes out on top! All of our Staff will also have the chance to vote, as well, so if Nicci doesn’t find you over the next couple of meetings make sure that you find her and register your vote. Remember, it is a vote for a driver who is registered with Mendips Raceway only.
Photos - If you wish to buy photos from any of our meetings-check out the track shop, or select them from the website and email gmmcleod@supanet.com
Still buying Reliant axles and propshafts-£30 each See Graham or phone 01963 220028.
Dvds available for all of our meetings-contact Chris Dalton 01454 319000 or chris@cvs-yate.co.uk
Dinner and Dance Tickets available now! At the Office or 01963 220028
Jason Horseman has a 2door Sierra Shell for sale-£200 phone. 07826 436162.