Arena Essex Raceway - Meeting 05/35 Sunday, October 9, 2005 Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 2005 Index > Meeting 05/35

PRI Banger Teams Head to Head Final & 3rd place playoff BriSCA F2 Stock Cars Rose Cassidy Memorial/White & Yellow Series Final Lightning Rods

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
In a late change to the programme, the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars competed for the Rose Cassidy Memorial Trophy at Arena Essex on October 9 in their last meeting of the year at the popular Essex tarmac oval, Mick Sworder successfully defending the title after a mixed day in the early heats. The first heat also doubled as the end of the White and Yellow series, so there were plenty of trophies on offer that day.

The first race, despite being a final for the White and Yellow grade series, was an all in affair that was eventually won by Stewart Chalkley whilst Richard Shearing, who had led early, took second place and, as first white or yellow to finish, also got one of the three trophies on offer for that race, the others going to Matt Linfield, who took fourth behind former World Champion Daz Kitson, and to Craig Tomlin who finished sixth behind Ian Chalkley. Tomlin would go on to win the first of the supporting heats, barely holding off Chris Bradbury at the end, Bradbury charging through the field, only really needing one more lap to grab the win. With this second place, however, and a seventh place win in the first heat, Bradbury had made things that much tighter in the overall local drivers' championship, Sworder only able to get sixth place in this race. That was all resolved in the final of the meeting, the Rose Cassidy Memorial, as Sworder swept through the ranks, grabbing the lead after Shearing failed to remove Tomlin at the front, with David Polley chasing after Sworder to take second place in the race ahead of new World Champion Willie Peeters, making his first visit since crashing out big time on the bridge end many meetings ago. Bradbury could not go higher than fourth, so Sworder kept the drivers' title for this year as well as the Rose Cassidy Memorial trophy for the fifth year running. Tim Farrell won comfortably in the final race of the day, a Grand National race, with Chris Roots making good time but unable to catch up, and Bradbury in third as the lead pair lapped much of the field on the way.

Lightning Rods
It was triple time for Dale Atkins at Arena Essex on October 9 in the Lightning Rods in a meeting which sported one of the heaviest wrecking races of the season at this circuit, Atkins leading eight cars home in the first race which sported more cars on the infield nursing various wounds than actually finished the race! The second heat was a little quieter, Gary Greenland penalised two places after spinning John Christie off the lead, Atkins taking advantage of the confusion to grab a second win with Paul Harris in tow. It was left to comparative newbie Darrel Smith, another graduate from the Ministox, to burn up the track to take the one trophy that Atkins wasn't allowed to race for, finishing well ahead of Stuart Palmer. Atkins then shut out Terry Shelvey in the final, making things very interesting for the last meeting for the Lightning Rods at the end of October and the conclusion of the Yokohama Tyres Championship.

PRI Banger Teams
The Gravesend Condoms completed their total domination of the PRI Banger Team series by destroying Bad Company in the Head to Head final at Arena Essex on October 9 during the final wind up to the series. Rob Farrington led the surviving Condoms home, Andrew Davies and Billy King providing escort whilst John Harris just about managed to pull himself free of the wreckage as the only other running car, the Condoms having won every single stage of the series except for the playoff.

The playoff was eventually taken by last years' team champions, the Gladiators, despite a late surge and a return to form by the Midnight Runners who had managed to outlast the teams that had been after them throughout the series, Jason Jackson taking his first final winners' trophy of the season ahead of team mate Davey Cox. Actually, it had been business as usual for Boxer and the Runners in the heats, with most of the early running in the points being made by the Menace and EastEnder teams along with the Gladiators, with wins for Darren Lee and Ray Layton in the heats but, with so much wrecking going on in both these heats, the consolation was called off and the final turned into an allcomers' event. It could have been different, given that only Ricky Korpiela had taken any points in the heats for the Runners but, with most of the Runner cars still up to racing, they took a massive 42 points away from the playoff final, taking them from nowhere to second place. However the Gladiators also took 42 points in that race and, with a better starting position, they easily won the title, a meagre eight point finish for the Menace giving them third place. Cruncher Cox then went on to win the Rawlins qualifier as the Runner team cleared out the rest of the trophies, Korpiela having to settle for sharing the last car award with Jimmy Randall.

© 2005 Chris Johnson (Crashnet) / Promotasport Raceways