whistlinjacksmith Hot Rod Racing
2012 Spedeweekend ISSUE 8: JUNE 2012
preview edition
David Brooks qualified his home built Ford Puma 7th for the Thunder 500
WJS EDITORIAL What a busy month for my fingers on the keyboard as the National Hot Rods points are complete which mean the qualifying positions are decided, the formula warm up with the international Thunder 500 meeting and then its combined with the data from previous World Championships I am incredibly proud of this edition mainly due to the work that I put into to create such unique content for the approaching National Hot Rods World Championship and other title races at the Spedeweekend. I truly believe that there has never been a better guide created online and it was obvious that others felt the same. Some websites had the decency to ask if information could be reproduced on their site yet others blatantly copied with no regard for taking this which leaves a sour taste in my mouth after working on the preview. Anyway roll on Spedeweekend
PAUL BALLARD Picture above and front cover taken by Peter Ballard
whistlinjacksmith.co.uk
contents 4
News and Reports NI POINTS CHAMPION, LIGHTNING RODS, NATIONAL HOT RODS, 2L HOT RODS, ADDITIONAL FIXTURES, STEVE SKITMORE
8
Thunder 500 ENTRY, REPORT AND RESULT
10
Spedeweekend Preview HOT LAPS, QUALIFYING BLOCKS, HISTORY, NHR ENTRY
16
Pictures JASON KEW FIREBALL
News and reports Christie Northern Irish Champion
Lightning Rods: NORTHAMPTON: 4TH JUNE
Qualifying for the National Hot Rod World Championship has
A good field of Lightning Rods assembled though with the
been super tight this year and although the English series has
influx of Spedeworth based drivers it would have a poor field
grabbed the headlines the Northern Irish series ran down to
(same could be said about the Stock Rods last week). 629 John
the final round for qualifying places and the overall champion.
Sibbald made the long trip down from Scotland. Although 3
Entering the meeting at Ballymena in 6th place was 76 Adam
months till the World Final this was the last time the formula
Maxwell (outside the qualifying positions) there was the
would race at Northampton until that event.
chance he could displace the 2005 world champion 994 Keith Martin, his second place in the opening heat closed the gap
Heat 1
down to 8 points but a retirement from heat 2 ended his meet-
388 Darren Gibbs lead away the opening heat and was hunted
ing and the top 5 would make the World Final.
by by 355 Mick Walker who took the flag, he was deemed to used contact for this win and dropped two places handing the
With the points totalled and drop scores now applicable by the
win to yellow top 92 David York.
time the cars lined up for the final 962 John Christie and 996
Res: 92, 388, 355 (x-2), 633, 629, 346, 368, 503, 22, 526
Stewart Doak were level on 762 points with 940 Gary Woolsey only 6 points further back. Christie finished 2nd (behind 977
Heat 2
Ian McReynolds) and one place ahead of Doak to claim his
24 Daniel King led alot of this race from the white grade but he
second Irish title.
got out of shape allowing York to pass for his second win of the day. From the back 87 Frankie Cunningham charged up to
Christie, Doak, Woolsey, 9 Glenn Bell and Martin join the Re-
third place taking this place from King on the final lap. On the
public of Ireland drivers 970 Shane Murphy, 961 Tom Casey
final corner 386 Marcus Gridley was spun out by 503 Ben Mur-
and 261 David Casey who have already qualified for Ipswich.
ray for fifth place. Murray wasn't penalised while Gridley did-
The English series finishes at Northampton on the bank holi-
n't make the finishing line.
day Monday where 24 drivers still have a mathematical chance
Res: 92, 355, 87, 24, 503, 526, 633, 629, 346, 2
of making the top 20 places. Final King got himself into the lead while the big cars got themselves into the trouble the race fans usually expect. 633 Rob Gamble barged his way inside Walker for sixth place that picked up a black cross. Walker returned the hit, he passed and was also shown the black cross. York was taken out of this a few laps later in an incident that saw Sibbald and Walker in the fence with him on turn 4, Walker briefly becoming airbourne. Gamble was the highest placed of the star drivers and
Additional fixtures
he barged by 526 Paul Strawson on the last lap and again wasn't penalised. King's win for his first in the class since stepping up from Ministox.
The Swaffham 2L Hot Rod class has been given additional
Res: 24, 388, 633, 526, 2, 503, 346, 368, 386, 87
fixtures for the 2012 season: 21st July, 15th/16th September (Weekend meeting), 28th October (Gold Top meeting) and
The surprise fastest driver of the day was 368 Steve Santry,
18th November.
though Cunningham looked the most comfortable in traffic around Northampton. Only time will tell how well these two do during the summer of championship events for the class.
National Hot Rods WQR NORTHAMPTON ROUND 16: 4TH JUNE
The final round at Northampton has become traditional where
Heat 2
every position counts. Going into the meeting 303 Matt Simp-
When the green was dropped the first casualty was 174 Jason
son led 115 Chris Haird by 7 points, however with dropped
Kew who was spun off the exit of turn 4 (possibly pushed by
scores applied that difference was only three points. With 911
95 Gavin Murray), Kew was quickly back into action and only
Malcolm Blackman banned he would lose his group one posi-
Simpson was able to pass. Upfront Danny Hunn was into the
tion with 95 Gavin Murray the next in line. From 9th to 20th
lead with 162 Carl Waller-Barrett, Loosemore and Godfrey
there was only 30 points difference – that equates to turning up
behind. In the blink of an eye 116 Steve Burrows moved to the
and winning one race, the maximum a driver could score is 70
outside and beyond all into the lead however he was given a
points.
black cross. Again Taylor was in the wars bouncing into the fence at turn 3 but he continued, likewise with 72 Willie Hardie
Although it would take a lot of work to displace a driver in the
who was facing the wrong-way. The Hardie incident was trig-
top 20 the most vulnerable was 339 Danny Hunn who also had
gered by 39 Terry Hunn getting out of shape exiting turn 4 and
a drop score to deal with, however 21st placed driver 14 Phil
the car of Hardie being tagged at the end of the straight as the
Spinks didn’t race leaving a small opportunity for 10 Sam Hol-
pack raced as one mass.
land who would have to outscore Hunn by 18 points. Mathematically 27 Mikey Godfrey and 74 James O’Shea could make
Upfront Burrows was having to contend with traffic as 874
the world final entering heat one. These are based on points
James O’Shea and Taylor loomed ahead, this gave Simpson the
scored and do not include penalty points that could occur or
chance to close in and took fourth place on the road. Out of
bans driver could face between now and the world champion-
nowhere Kew had a big crash to the inner fencing at turn 1
ship.
bouncing across the track and collected by 44 Dave Garrett who had no chance of avoiding the car. Kew’s car was moved
Barring Blackman the top 20 were all present returning to the
to the centre, Kew went back to the pits to prepare the team for
fold for the first time in 2012 was 217 Brett Walter in the ex-
the big repair job required. When the green dropped Simpson
Willis 206cc and 271 Neil Stimson who had been away even
was instantly on the outside line and ahead of Loosemore by
longer, the pair raced from the back.
the time they entered turn 1 but couldn’t pass the front two.
Heat 1
Burrows took the flag but was docked two places for contact,
Danny Hunn led off the opening race with 780 Mike
handing the win to Waller-Barrett who in the quest for points
Loosemore in tow. On turn three 152 Shaun Taylor started a
had moved up a group. Simpson was now ahead of Haird but
poor day by crashing into the fence with 278 Colin Gomm,
he had a race in-hand. Danny Hunn’s sixth place hadn’t se-
Gomm was disqualified while Taylor limped off. During the
cured his qualification but would make it impossible for
first half of the race O’Shea held back the field in third place,
O’Shea to qualify.
he fell back and coming the other way was Haird. Loosemore
Res: 162, 303, 116 (x-2), 780, 278, 339, 31, 348, 27, 95
moved beyond Hunn for the lead, Haird was able to pass Hunn but Loosemore was too far ahead at this stage.
Heat 3 The final heat didn’t last very long as 67 David Brooks
The consequences of this race meant Haird was now leading
slammed into the wall at turn 1. Once restarted Godfrey was
the points. Holland had leap-frogged Spinks for 21st place but
spun out by Waller-Barrett on the exit of turn 2, his car was
was 2 further points away from Hunn. For O’Shea to qualify he
clipped by 555 Gavin Taber that caused the back straight to be
would need a first and second place in his remaining races
littered with debris. The yellow flags were aired to clear this,
with Hunn scoring zero.
O’Shea led the restart. O’Shea was shown the blue flag several
Res: 780, 115, 339, 10, 95, 303, 209, 155, 60, 31
times to hold his line, Waller-Barrett and Burrows both took to
the outside to move beyond O’Shea.
on fire for many laps at Spedeweekend or those that looked on helplessly as David Haird’s 205 melted away; we should never
The second half of the race O’Shea held back the majority of
forget motorsport is dangerous.
the field; Terry Hunn had positioned himself on the outside but just didn’t have the speed to go beyond. Moving up from
Waller-Barrett disposed Danny Hunn of the lead once the race
the back was Haird, he was quick but with cars on both lines
restarted, Godfrey moved into a decent place third place as
he had to hold station. With 2 laps to go Hunn lost out and
Loosemore found himself boxed on the outside line. From the
started to fall back, Haird was able to move to the inside and
back it was Haird making the moves while Simpson battled
when the line cleared, on the final tour he was able to blast off
with Hardie. For many laps these two raced side by side play-
the final turn and nick fourth place from 100 Dick Burtenshaw.
ing into the hands of Haird. When Haird approached the likes
Res: 116, 162, 74, 115, 100, 72, 39, 155, 348, 10
of 209 Kym Weaver and 348 Shane Brereton he flew past them, Simpson and Hardie lost ground; when the race neared its
The silver top see-saw swung again with Haird now back in-
conclusion Haird had put almost half a lap on his chief rival.
front but only by 1 point – remarkable considering both drivers had competed in 47 races. Holland’s tenth place meant the
Godfrey moved by Hunn for second place however he could-
only way she could qualify if she won the final and Danny
n’t hold off Haird who rounded off a great day with another
Hunn was disqualified from that race.
podium and his fourth straight English title, only Barry Lee has won this title more often. It was great racecraft during the
Final
final round that allowed Haird this title.
All eyes were looking at the back of the field to see how the
Res: 162, 115, 27, 10, 116, 155, 31, 348, 339, 72
two stars would cope with the traffic but it was a man who started a few rows in front that would hit the headlines. Kew
Once the points had been totalled (including dropped scores
had missed his second heat rebuilding the Tigra and it started
applied and penalties) Haird won the title by 14 points, alt-
the race with no issue; after a few laps when charging down
hough a quiet day for Murray he made the top group. In
the home straight flames started to cover the back of the car.
group 2 Waller-Barrett and Burrows had such good days rac-
This was quickly picked up by the control tower red flagging
ing they both jumped up from group 4 to 2 knocking out Kew
the race and telling Kew to pull off the track. Kew had com-
(who is aiming to be back racing for the Thunder 500), Weaver
pleted a full lap at this stage and pulled off at turn 4 splashing
and 60 Mark Paffey tie for the last place in that group. Shaun
through the puddle at the middle of the track where Incarace
Taylor had a crash in every race during the day and slumped
marshalls tackled the blaze. The rear of the car had been en-
from 9th to joint 18th place tied with Gomm and Danny Hunn.
gulfed in flames and Jason has pointed out through his fa-
7 drivers qualified through the English series for the first time.
vourite social website “the scariest moment of my life”. The
With the World Final approaching all roads lead to Ipswich.
fire was put out and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It is not
The open hot rod event and Thunder 500 in June give drivers
too common for a hot rod to catch fire whilst racing, there are
the chance to refine their race settings there before the big one.
those that can remember the iconic scenes of Robert Collard Group 1) 115 - 561, 303 - 547, 95 - 498, 72 - 497 Group 2) 911 - 464, 162 - 462, 116 - 461, 60 - 457, 209 - 457
Unofficial Points after 16 rounds Group 3) 174 - 445, 780 - 443, 31 - 440 Including dropped scores Group 4) 155 - 429, 100 - 425, 39 - 423, 92 - 420, 555 - 420 Group 5) 152 - 417, 278 - 417, 339 - 417 Non-Q) 10 - 401, 27 - 379, 74 - 379, 14 - 366
2L Hot Rods
Steve Skitmore
SWAFFHAM 9TH JUNE
There was a great turnout of 2L hot rods for there evening's action, 516 Shaun Lane was the first to come into trouble after his car strangely snapped left coming down the back straight on lap 1 collecting the armco hard which brung out the red flags, The 516 car had heavy front end damage and was not to be seen for the rest of the night, 150 Robin Ashman led the field away from the complete restart, 5 Terry Sewell spun on turn 4 after coming into contact with the 28 Richard Ansell car, 198 Steve Nash moved up past the 76 Neil Howitt car to take 2nd, 371 Mark Sewell made a nice move around the outside of 373 Andy Stevenson to take the place, 198 Nash was all over the back of 150 Ashman as the 3 lap board was shown but the 150 stood up to the pressure and took the Heat 1 win. 76 Neil Howitt moved into an early lead as heat 2 got underway, 198 Nash done well to hold on to hes car after getting very loose coming out of turn 2, 371 Mark Sewell made another nice outside move this time getting around 19 Luke Retchless, a 3 car battle was now taking place for the lead with 76, 150 and 198 tussling for the lead, As they bunched up 198 Nash collected the back wheel of the 150 Ashman car sending it spinning towards the armco with 198 Nash collecting 150 over the front wheel bringing out the Reds with the Victory being awarded to 76 Neil Howitt. 150 Ashman who had put in some great work to repair hes car led the field away for the final, 19 Rethcless moved into 3rd getting past 198 Nash, 371 Mark Sewell again was working the outside line this time trying to work hes way past 198 Nash and 19 Rethcless, The next bunch had now caught the pack with 5 Sewell leading the charge, making it a 6 car train, 371 Sewell went wide around Turn 4 which let 5 Sewell, 17 Benstead and 448 Farrington all to move past up the inside, up front though 150 Ashman made hes repair work count and took a comfortable victory.
Yellow Bumpers Following on from the tragic death of Steve Newman whilst racing last week at Mildenhall all oval based drivers are being urged to paint their front bumper yellow. Hot Rodders Willie Hardie, Jason Kew and Ed Trofer have already made changes. In memory of Steve Newman we stand as one.
It is always a difficult topic to report when a driver passes away, the death of Steve Skitmore is no different. Known as the nearly man of National Hot Rods during the 1990's he either won or finished second in all the major championships. Skitmore stepped up to the National Hot Rods in the late 1980's after a career at Swaffham in their hot rod class. Skitmore became a force in the National Hot Rods during 1990 World Final when he started racing a SHP Peugeot 205. Qualifying as the last automatic position by 1 point, during the race he spent the majority of the race battling for second place as McCall raced off into the distance. The following 12 months Skitmore embarked on a huge qualifying trail (where 48 rounds were the norm instead of the modern 16) that netted him the English championship and the first of three National points titles in a row. The white Peugeot of Skitmore became the most common sight during any National Hot Rod meeting. Although the domestic meetings brought success it was the World Final where he came close but not close enough. 1991 produced a second place behind Peck, 1992 was disasterous when he crashed out with Mark Jones while in a decent position. 1993 he retired whilst leading and 1994 another second this time by the length of bonnet behind Ricky Hunn. As car shapes changed the familar 205 became a Corsa and was used during his last World Final performance in 2002, after that his appearances gradually stopped. Although his racing career had ended he was still familar face around the ovals respected by fellow drivers and race fans.
National Hot Rods Thunder 500 IPSWICH:21ST JUNE
The traditional pre-World Final meeting often attracts a quality entry and yet again there were drivers from all the competiting countries for the forthcoming World.
Entry 10 Sam Holland 27 Mikey Godfrey 31 Dick Hillard 39 Terry Hunn 44 Dave Garrett 60 Mark Paffey 67 David Brooks 72 Willie Hardie 95 Gavin Murray 100 Dick Burtenshaw
South African 11 Neville Loosemore was out in a brand new Spedeworth built Tigra gaining more experience for the big race. Other notable entries was the 1994 World Champion 639 Ricky Hunn in his replica 205 car and 979 Andy Cochrane making his debut this side of the Irish Sea in the ex-Woolsey Mercedes SLK. 491 Colin Smith was back in the 206cc after crashing heavily the week previous at the Ipswich hot rod open. A big well done to the drivers that participated in repainting/ stickering their bumpers yellows in memory of Steve Newman. The meeting started with Newman and Steve Skitmore being remembered.
Stewart Doak eventually passed Hunn before he slide out to the wall with 467 Winnie Holtmanns and 116 Steve Burrows. Res: 174, 72, 27, 10, 261, 278, 117, 996, 316, 67
Heat 1 After several starts from the back 44 Dave Garrett made his first start from the front, however he was quickly sliding off line to allow 10 Sam Holland into the lead. She was passed by the fireball sensation 174 Jason Kew who had spent the last few weeks completely rebuilding his Tigra. The big battle was for sixth place held by Ricky Hunn, 261 David Casey had moved by quite quickly but the others couldn't do the same and the pack bunched up during the middle of the race. Heading towards the end of the race 117 Rob McDonald and 996
Heat 3 The annoying light rain continued but not enough for full wets, once off line many places were lost, 940 Gary Woolsey, 31 Dick Hillard and 66 John V.D Bosch found this out. From pole 962 John Christie blasted into a lead the length of the straight, 162 Carl Waller-Barrett held second but couldn't hold off the power of Haird who sped past. As a sign of things to come for the World Haird was able to half the distance but ran out of laps. Res: 962, 115, 162, 39, 72, 31, 60, 100, 117, 979
115 Chris Haird 117 Rob McDonald 152 Shaun Taylor 162 Carl Waller-Barratt 174 Jason Kew 261 David Casey 278 Colin Gomm 316 Pau l Frost 339 Danny Hunn 348 Shane Brereton 467 Winnie Holtmanns
Heat 2 The conditions had changed from wind to light drizzle. With the front row to himself 844 Billy Bonnar strolled into the lead, he found 95 Gavin Murray on his rear and then on his outside. Bonnar drove an aggressive race crossing the new white lines several times before the blue flags were being shown. Murray had to slip back behind to regroup before attacking in the final few laps. The majority of cars were involved in this battle and 115 Chris Haird once again used his superior racecraft to sneak in and out up to fifth place, they were there ready to pounce if Murray slipped back. Murray moved out wide and started to edge ahead but going into turn 3 with 2 to run Bonnar ran out wide enough to bump Murray aside but not enough to let third placed 67 David Brooks inside. Although a black crosses were shown and blatant contact made no punishments were handed out. Res: 844, 95, 67, 348, 115, 31, 130, 261, 278, 316
491 Colin Smith 844 Billy Bonnar 940 Gary Woolsey 962 John Christie 979 Andy Cochrane 996 Stewart Doak
The Final With plenty of time the race would be run over 50 laps. Consistency gave 72 Willie Hardie the pole and he turned that into the lead, Murray tried the outside at the start and he slide back to ninth place. Haird went to the outside and sat there for two laps before moving clear. Last year Brooks qualified well for this race but crashed out on lap one, this year he went further but again crashed out. Brooks had been smoking for several laps and was knocked into a spin by Waller-Barrett on turn 3, the axle was bent badly and with the car on the racing line he wasn't going to move it. As the yellows were coming out McDonald, 100 Dick Burtenshaw and 348 Shane Brereton got tangled up on the home-straight. Once the debris and damaged cars were cleared away the race could resume, Bonnar also pulled off here with a bent rim spotted by an eagleeyed supporter on the terrace. When the green dropped Haird and Hardie pulled away from Christie who was struggled on the wrong tyres and found Hillard trying the outside line, he fell back and Kew moved out wide and straight past. The group of Waller-Barrett, 261 David Casey, 278 Colin Gomm and Hillard breezed by as Christie parked up for the evening. The race
remained stagnant for the second half though leader Haird had a massive scare when the back -marking Garrett blew up directly infront of him. Several cars came through and the oil flag was being shown but it didn't stop cars flying into the fence. Garrett had rotated on his oil and sat on turn 3, the group of cars battling for fourth place were most effected. Waller-Barrett missed the back of Garrett car and ploughed on almost head-on to the fence while Gomm spun on the other side of Garrett. The oil flag was then removed for the red with 48 laps complete. The race was declared on the last completed lap, which at least allowed Waller-Bartett to keep his fourth place but little comfort when the car had to be cleared by two breakdown trucks. Res: 115, 72, 174, 162, 278, 31, 261, 39, 10, 27 While Waller-Barrett will have to burn plenty of midnight oil, Haird had sent out a warning shot to the fancied runners of Woolsey (DNF), Christie (DNF), Murray (DNF), Hardie (1/3 lap behind) and Kew (1/2 lap behind). His competition is likely to come from those that didn't attend the Thunder 500: Simpson, Blackman, Bell and Murphy. To put another spin on picking a World winner, the Thunder 500 is not always the best form guide and not all the drivers were racing on the same tyres in the final.
Grid Outside
Inside
115
72
95
962
31
174
162
67
844
261
278
10
117
27
348
39
130
316
60
100
979
996
339
940
639
44
491
152
Spedeweekend Preview QUALIFYING
Hot Laps
Qualifying Blocks
The National Hot Rods embark on a 16 round qualifying series
There are several phrases that are unique to the world of hot
just to work out which drivers make the cut for the big race.
rod racing that make no logical sense to the outside world, the
The main qualifying countries are England, Scotland, Northern
Malcolm Girling rule or Hodge Rods for example. Qualifying
Ireland the Republic of Ireland – the number of qualifiers from
blocks is something that would fall into that category. Qualify-
each country are relevant to the amount of drivers that partici-
ing block or groups essentially mean the better the qualifying
pate in those countries. Drivers are seeded into the World from
position in the English points series enables a better grid posi-
other countries that have hot rod racing. Those qualifying
tion for the World Final regardless of the time set.
rounds take place in typical oval fashion with the fastest drivers at the back. Once the World Championship begins on the
This idea worked very well when it was set out for 1994. That
Saturday a more common qualifying lap time creates the grid
year Ricky Hunn lucked in not just during the race but also in
positions for the 75 lap world final on the Sunday. There a few
qualifying as his lap time would have put him 10th on the grid
more complications to make life difficult for the new fan, the
but the block pushed him only down to 5th. John Steward was
English drivers are grouped into qualifying blocks. The top 4
the fastest but he could only start from 11th. The reason for this
drivers (from the points) have a shot a pole position and line-
mechanism was to stop drivers scrapping into the World Final
up in that block in order of their respective lap times with the 2
and starting higher than those that had spent a whole season
fastest non-English drivers. That format of 4 English and 2 non
racing in the class. At that time though National Hot Rods
-English continues down the grid. As a further twist any driver
were very different, the cars haven’t actually changed that
that sets the fastest time can automatically be seeded into pole
much nor has the performance. The biggest difference being
position.
the competitive of the class and the meetings. In the mid 90’s there were up to 48 qualifying rounds and meetings that strug-
The process of grid positions has changed many times but in
gled to achieve double figures, the international field was also
2010 ‘hot laps’ returned. From the years 1 – 2009 cars qualified
smaller. The Scottish formula was to change to all pinto en-
through timed sessions that failed to inspire the crowd. The
gines and in Northern Ireland racing stopped for a while.
hot laps are 3 lap times against the clock, the fastest time being counted as the drivers qualifying time. Only one driver is on
Skip forward five years and the formula had definitely
the track at once, with each driver taking roughly 45 seconds to
changed directions, Eurocar had died off, lots of new drivers
do their time. Considering 30 plus drivers have to get on and
had come into the formula all looking to knock Colin White off
off the track the process is short and sharp. It enables the
his perch. At that point a driver could still miss a handful of
crowd to be able to hear the commentator and understand
meetings and still make it into the World Final.
what lap times have been achieved. Jump forward to the current period and it has become the The order of drivers getting onto the track is done through a
norm for the qualifying drivers to have attended all 16 qualify-
public draw, as the only randomisation for the qualifying pro-
ing rounds. Miss a round and run the risk of not qualifying,
cess. Drivers have no choice when to get onto track, is this
the likes of Sam Holland, James O’Shea and Mikey Godfrey
fair? When is the optimum time to be on the track?
can vouch for that.
Optimum time would be incredibly difficult to ascertain as
That has in turn created a huge amount of pressure to attend
there are far too many variables: track grip co-efficient, track
every race for a driver who in reality still has a family, a job,
temperature, ambient temperature, humidity, etc. Logic would
etc. The desire to chase every point available has the negative
suggest that last would be the best option because rubber has
effect of contact – more repairs, more cost, unhappy drivers.
been laid down through the morning practice sessions and
The big question is: does the current points system need
straight after the hot rods leave the track will deteriorate when
changing?
the contact formulas race. There is a myriad amount of solutions ranging from fewer
rounds, different points on offer, etc. Let’s just assume the
a shot a pole and those that start at the back. The ones that
qualifying rounds during the season are the same, so is the
have a shot at pole have to score 80% of the silver top in their
scoring system and how the grids are formed for heats and
respective series.
finals plus lap times run for the grid position. Is the need for blocks still relevant? Is this adding excessive pressure?
Based on the points scored this year the top group in England would consist 561 points *80% = 449 points plus: Haird, Simp-
Of course it is, so let’s revise this system. There is also other
son, Murray, Hardie, Blackman, Waller-Barrett, Paffey, Weaver
problem at the moment where non-English drivers are penal-
and Kew. Add to that Bonnar and Callender from Scotland and
ised for a poor lap times. Silver top in England for example
all the Irish drivers. 20 drivers have a shot of pole.
will line up grid position 6 at worst, while the silver top in Northern Ireland could be grid 35 (dependent on entrants).
In reality these changes needed to made a while ago and the blocks have been the longest running format for lining up the
Add to that the other problem that the blocks system assumes
World Final. Is someone afraid of change or just tweaking the
the top 4 English are equivalent to 2 non-English, in reality this
system? Remember where you read this first when the Nick
isn’t true. Under the current system the fifth fastest non-
Knowles tries to explain this process at the 2013 World Cham-
English could line up in 13th place, not so good for this driver.
pionship.
Plenty of scenarios here, driver A is better off, driver B gets a
Just as a closing thought semi-finals were last used at a
raw deal. The crux of the matter is closing; the qualifying series
Spedeweekend in the 1990 World Final. Famously Mick Col-
needs to reward those that qualify better with being flexible
lard made the race tied in 20th place when about fifteen drivers
enough to keep quick drivers at the front. Here goes an idea
chased the last four places on the grid. Is the formula big
that has never been mentioned and will initially confuse, the
enough to have a last chance semi-final for non-qualifiers or
80% percentage rule
could a proper semi-final meeting be run like there was in the late 1980’s to decide the qualifiers? The forums and Facebook
Interesting you may think, what does it mean. Let’s explain, the qualifying drivers are split into two groups, those that have
will dictate the popularity of this option.
Spedeweekend Preview HISTORY
5 years ago - 2007
On the Saturday one of the sports rising stars Mark Boulden
Carl Boardley won his second World title in a row and due to
was remembered in one of the most moving yet eerie experi-
the incident on the final lap the year before it was his first title
ences ever at an oval track. Mark had been seriously injured at
where the stewards were not needed. After the clash in the
work and died a few days before the event, the title online that
previous year Andy Steward was still a hot topic and he
weekend for the 2 Litre Hot Rods was the European Champi-
pulled out of the race a few days before the event. Boardley
onship who which won the year before by Boulden (his only
had to do it the hard way when Blackman got the drop on him
title in the class). Boulden himself had excelled in bangers and
at the start and fell back several places, when leader John
made the switch to hot rods effortlessly when most take sever-
Christie hesistated in traffic Boardley slipped by with Chris
al seasons to refine their skills. It was decided that pole would
Haird in tow for the lead.
lie vacant in honour of Mark, a previous banger of his toured the track with Jim Gregory making an emotionally charged
The support grid was quality containing former champions
obituary on the mic, the whole audience spontaneously took to
Ricky Hunn, Colin White and Norman Woolsey. The last race
their feet during the silence to remember Mark before the race
of the weekend is a race that is still spoke about today; Phil
started. Dave Longhurst won the event and also completed in
Spinks made one his famous outside charges and while the
the National Hot Rod World final the following day.
pack queued up behind Les Compelli, it was Spinks who was progressing on an outside line that hadn't worked all week-
Rob Sore won the Stock Rods Euro Challenge Cup while the
end. In a photo finish Compelli just nicked the race.
battle for second wasn't entirely non-contact. The same could be said about the Lightning Rods, Daniel Smith won the Bud-
The other title races of the weekend in the hot rod classes were
weiser 500. His prize of 500 bottles of beer wasn't handed
won by Colin Smith (National Hot Rod support final), Andy
straight over as the officials were unsure if Daniel had reached
Sturt (Stock Rods ORCi Championship), Mick Walker
18 years old.
(Lightning Rods Budweiser 500) and Mark Paffey (2 Litre Hot Rods World Championship) - all from pole. After previous years of darkening conditions the 2 Litre Hot Rod World kicked off far earlier at 6:30pm in the evening and the sense of
15 years ago - 1997
electric had disappeared.
The state of hot rod racing was completely different to nowadays, the Vauxhall 16 valve engine had been wrote in the rule books and there was a glimmer of hope. The English qualifying had been changed from 31 rounds to 16 but drivers weren't
10 years ago - 2002
committing the series. Some rounds attracted just 10 cars, only
Davy McCall took his second World title and like the previous
28 drivers appeared twice of more. Even when Colin White
one, he had come to event not as a favourite. He simply
dropped his three best scores he was still 86 points clear of his
dropped the car on pole and pulled into the distance, even a
nearest rival (Longhurst) and had 3 times the score of 20th
brief stoppage to recover the damaged car of reigning champi-
placed Mark Turiccki. Compare that to 2012, the competition
on John Steward didn't effect him. Spinks had qualified poorly
for qualification has seriously increased. If people thought the
during the year and from the back of the grid he was challeng-
formula in England was staggering about, for Northern Ire-
ing for third place by the final lap but he collected a black
land there was a 9-count but it rose again. As per previous
cross for contact on Mark Willis. The entry that year was a
years if you had a hot rod you were in the World final and that
quality one and the class was on a real high having reached 42
angered some fans as Ormond Christie was seeded straight
cars in a qualifying round at Hednesford. Former Super Rod
into the race. Even if Christie had to qualify that year he
World Champion Mick Robertson, Willis and Chris Haird
would have walked it, he was on fire. He won his second suc-
were all making their debuts in the big race and all made the
cessive title again from pole position and most importantly the
finish line. The support grid attracted also 29 cars.
record breaking fifth title in the class.
The 1600 Hot Rod class had been changed to the 2 Litre Hot
Woolsey into second. The outside line had been hampered by
Rods at the beginning of the year and this rejuvinated it. The
the crashed cars of John Gray and Graham Holmes, but even
inspired decision to bring their World final back to the
they were cleared at a race stoppage for Mark Jones and Steve
Spedeweekend and run it under the lights of the Saturday is
Skitmore no one was able to get by White. The Nova had been
the success story of the 1990's. The most controversial race ever
protrayed as a poor handling car but it took White to his sec-
for the class took place and every decision the stewards had to
ond World title, Woolsey, Jeff Simpson and Keith Martin
make seemed to be a Northern Ireland v England incident. Rob
hounded White over the line. It should also be noted that
Collard's heat win and seventh was good enough for pole posi-
White was initially planning to race his Starlet but felt it was
tion, his father Duffy won heat two, Micky Jowers won the
unfair to give the Nova to South African Willie Olivier so set to
third heat. Rob Collard led the 50 lap race away (now only run
work on the Nova that became the first non-Ford engined car
to 40 laps) until Gary Wilson pushed him out to the wall, when
to win the World title.
Davy McCall took over at the front it did seem like game over. Unnoticed from the back Malcolm Blackman had made a charge up to fourth and aided with a stoppage for Alvin Doak was not far from the leaders. To make life easier for Blackman the back-markers that sat between him and the leaders were allowed to unlap themselves. When the green dropped Blackman picked them one by one and lined up McCall. He dived inside in a heavy-handed move that was returned with interest the following corner by McCall who spun him out. The race was red-flagged instantly and after a long (as the crowd became frustated, some even invading the track) McCall was announced champion when the 'Malcolm Girling' rule was applied. A few unsavoury hand gestures from the winning parties towards the crowd further aggrevated the crowd and a talking point for many years to come. All three hot rod formulas were being tweaked and the Stock Rods became 1.4 Hot Rods during the year. Charlie Weaver won the Euro Challenge Cup ahead of George Polley and Spedeweekend specialist Sean O'Leary. Our favourite friend of the weekend Mr Blobby was also up to his usual antics.
20 years ago - 1992 Times were very different and the Spedeweekend was split into two sections when the council banned camping after the 1990 event. Only the Saloon Stock Cars raced at Wisbech on the Saturday night and Sunday at Ipswich. The day schedule meant lap times began at 11am with the World final being the third event. Ricky Hunn set a blistering pace in qualifying with all his times underneath 15 seconds but he lost out to Phil White when the green flag was dropped. Hunn sat on White's rear bumper for half the race until he retired allowing Norman
2012 National Hot Rod World Finalists
9 Glenn Bell
72 Willie Hardie
152 Shaun Taylor
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Car: Peugeot 206cc
Best result: 2nd (2009)
Best result: 8th (2011)
W/F rookie
W/F appearances: 3
W/F appearances: 3
First qualified: 2009
First qualified: 2009
Best qualifying lap time: 14.51 (2011)
Best qualifying lap time: 14.53 (2011)
Best grid position: 8th (2009)
Best grid position: 11th (2011)
Other W/F results: Stock Rods 1st (2004, 07, 08) 11 Neville Loosemore Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result: 18th (2005) W/F appearances: 1 First qualified: 2005 Best qualifying lap time: 14.94 (2005) Best grid position: 25th (2005) 31 Dick Hillard Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result: 2nd (1993) W/F appearances: 18 First qualified: 1989
Best qualifying lap time: 14.78 (2009)
W/F rookie
Best grid position: 5th (2010)
95 Gavin Murray
162 Carl Waller-Barrett
Best result: 4th (2011)
Car: Peugeot 206cc
W/F appearances: 3
Best result: DNF (2011)
First qualified: 2008
W/F appearances: 1
Best qualifying lap time: 14.63 (2011)
First qualified: 2011
Best grid position: 6th (2011)
Best qualifying lap time: 14.74 (2011)
99 Wayne Lee
174 Jason Kew
W/F rookie
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Best result: 15h (2010)
Best result: 10th (2011) W/F appearances: 2 First qualified: 2001 Best qualifying lap time: 14.51 (2011) Best grid position: 10th (2011) Other W/F results: 2L Hot Rods 1st (2007) 66 John V.D Bosch Car: Peugeot 206cc Best result: 13th (2011) W/F appearances: 5 First qualified: 1990 Best qualifying lap time: 14.78 (2011) Best grid position: 17th (2009)
Best grid position: 18th (2011)
Car: Peugeot 206cc
Other W/F results: Super Rods 3rd (1986)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Other W/F results: 2L Hot Rods 1st (2000)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra B
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
60 Mark Paffey
W/F appearances: 2 First qualified: 2009
Best grid position: 3rd (1995)
W/F rookie
Best result: 5th (2009)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra B
100 Dick Burtenshaw
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Car: Peugeot 206
92 Jack Blood
Best qualifying lap time: 14.70 (2010)
39 Terry Hunn
155 Lee Pepper
W/F appearances: 2 First qualified: 2010 Best qualifying lap time: 14.70 (2011) Best grid position: 22nd (2011) 115 Chris Haird Car: Vauxhall Tigra B
Best result: 8th (2010) W/F appearances: 3 First qualified: 2009 Best qualifying lap time: 14.58 (2011) Best grid position: 12th (2011) Other W/F results: 2L Hot Rods 5th (2008) 187 Ronnie McKenzie Car: Peugeot 206 W/F rookie
Best result: 1st (2010)
209 Kym Weaver
W/F appearances: 10
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
First qualified: 2002
W/F rookie
Best qualifying lap time: 14.35 (2011)
Other W/F results: 2L Hot Rods 3rd (2008)
Best grid position: 2nd (2011)
261 David Casey
116 Steve Burrows
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Car: Peugeot 206cc
Best result: DNF (2009, 10, 11)
Best result: DNS (2011)
W/F appearances: 3
W/F appearances: 1
First qualified: 2009
First qualified: 2011
Best qualifying lap time: 14.65 (2011)
Best qualifying lap time: 14.71 (2011)
Best grid position: 7th (2009)
Best grid position: 28th (2011)
278 Colin Gomm Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result: 7th (2008, 09) W/F appearances: 13 First qualified: 1998 Best qualifying lap time: 14.62 (2011) Best grid position: 12th (2008 and 09) Other W/F results: 1600 Hot Rods 5th (1989) 303 Matt Simpson Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result: 2nd (2008) W/F appearances: 6 First qualified: 2006 Best qualifying lap time: 14.20 (2011) Best grid position: 1st (2011)
W/F rookie 911 Malcolm Blackman Car: Peugeot 206cc Best result: 1st (2004, 11) W/F appearances: 11 First qualified: 2001 Best qualifying lap time: 14.51 (2011) Best grid position: 2nd (2004, 07 and 09)
940 Gary Woolsey Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result: 4th (1999, 01, 03) W/F appearances: 12 First qualified: 1998 Best qualifying lap time: 14.20 (1998)
W/F rookie
(1993)
467 Winnie Holtmanns
961 Tom Casey
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Car: Mercedes SLK
Best result: 16th (2007)
Best result: 2nd (1998, 01)
W/F appearances: 13
W/F appearances: 17
First qualified: 1984
First qualified: 1993
Best qualifying lap time: 14.65 (2011)
Best qualifying lap time: 14.31 (1998)
Best grid position: 15th (2010)
Best grid position: 1st (2001)
555 Gavin Taber
962 John Christie
Car: Vauxhall Tigra B
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
W/F rookie
Best result: 3rd (2007, 11)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result:12th (2003) W/F appearances: 7 First qualified: 1999 Best qualifying lap time: 14.66 (2011) Best grid position: 21st (2003) 871 Graeme Callender Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Best qualifying lap time: 14.27 (1998) Best grid position: 1st (2005) Other W/F results: 1600 Hot Rods 1st (1996)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Other W/F results: 1600 Hot Rods 2nd
844 Billy Bonnar
First qualified: 1987
(1997, 98)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
W/F rookie
W/F appearances: 19
996 Stewart Doak
Best grid position: 1st (2003)
Car: Vauxhall Tigra
Best result: 1st (2005)
Other W/F results: 2L Hot Rods 2nd
339 Danny Hunn
780 Mike Loosemore
Car: Peugeot 206cc
W/F appearances: 6 First qualified: 2006 Best qualifying lap time: 14.47 (2011) Best grid position: 2nd (2006) 970 Shane Murphy Car: Vauxhall Tigra Best result: 2nd (2010, 11) W/F appearances: 8 First qualified: 2004 Best qualifying lap time: 14.36 (2011) Best grid position: 2nd (2010) 994 Keith Martin
Best result: 9th (2011) W/F appearances: 8 First qualified: 2004 Best qualifying lap time: 14.46 (2011) Best grid position: 4th (2011) Other W/F results: 1600 Hot Rods 4th (2000) Lightning Rods 9th (2000) Notes: Mainland Europe drivers have yet to be announced are expected to be V.D Bosch and Holtmanns. When cars fail weigh-in or suffer mechanical issues during the Spedeweekend meeting but before the World final race their times and grid positions have still been recorded in the above data.
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