Arena Essex Raceway - Meeting 04/09 Sunday, May 2, 2004 Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 2004 Index > Meeting 04/09

Group A Hot Rods Supreme Championship Qualifier 1 Outlaw Hot Rods Ministox

Group A Hot Rods
The May 2 meeting at Arena Essex for the Group A Hot Rods was hard and fast, the weather letting up for once, though controversy ruled as Chris Fuller took a heat and final double and was denied a win in his first outing, whilst Dave Lamb collided head on with the meeting steward. All this, and it was a Supreme Championship Qualifier too.

It was already looking tense in the first heat as Fuller dominated the race, only to be caught by Lamb in the closing stages. As Lamb tried to pass outside on the pit bend, the pair came together, both spinning down the order which let Andy Beverton grab the first trophy of the day ahead of Gary Rouse and Ricky McCatty. Fuller made up for it by pulling out a considerable lead in the second heat, taking full advantage of the battle behind him for the lower places which was ultimately won by Jason Griffiths, with Terry Bearman getting third. It was, however, the third heat that saw the biggest controversy as Lamb scooted away with the race, only to be denied on the line by the steward for perceived contact on Lee Hall. Lamb was docked two places, leaving Chris Smith with a win ahead of Nichola Bearman, the steward then having to field a vociferous complaint from Lamb following the race. This led to the ultimate result in the final as Lamb pulled out all the stops and romped away with the lead, only to spin on the final turn as he attempted to showboat around the corner, effectively gifting the race and a grade promotion to Fuller ahead of Smith and Lady Bearman. Following the race, there was plenty of speculation about whether Lamb had really meant to spin his car yards from the finish, though Lamb himself was saying nothing!

Ministox
Two wins for Daniel Moulton in the Ministox at Arena Essex on May 2 set him up well for an assault on the points championship. He ran away with the first heat, beating out Samantha Hayfield and Dan Melluish, then repeated the trick in the helter-skelter race at the end, this time holding off Craig Oliver and Kerri Witherington. Lee Middleton comfortably won the other heat of the day ahead of Paul Scully and Phillip Smith, whilst Ben Murray took the consolation ahead of Danny Stevens and George Goodearl. Jack Harrington kept a grip on the track in the final as he took to the outside line to take the lead and eventual win ahead of Middleton with Murray third in a race that provided one of two rollovers that day, Gavin Ward slowly rolling for a one point roll after clipping the kerb on the pit end. The more spectacular roll was saved for the last race where Dan Weeks also caught the kerb but at some considerable speed which sent his car flying over on its nose.

Outlaw Hot Rods
The Outlaw Hot Rods had the advantage of good weather at the May 2 meeting at Arena Essex, though they had to wait until quite a long way into the meeting for their first drive, a warm up race, which was won convincingly by Trevor Ward ahead of Fred Smith. The car to watch, however, was Jimmy Bryan's, as he went around the outside of Smith to win the final and just lost out on the helter-skelter win as Smith protected his line in the somewhat disaster laden race which saw first race winner Ward getting caught up in a big smash as Rick Fray lost control on turn one as his engine seized.

Penalties
A82 Penalised 2 places in event 7 for contact

Points after meeting 04/09

Please note that the points shown are unofficial and are given as a guideline only. For the official standings, you should consult the monthly newsletter or contact the PRI Office during office hours on (01708) 867728.

Also see Matthew Bull's website for more pictures from this meeting!

© 2004 Chris Johnson (Crashnet) / Promotasport Raceways