News Digest - stories from the front page

Update 14 January 2012
National Hot Rods at the NEC (Friday)
Martin Kingston’s story and photos: A small gallery of pictures from today (Friday) at the NEC. There were four cars in the Live Action pits ahead of Saturday’s racing; the biggest surprise was a new Tigra A for Colin Gomm to join his 206 and SLK. The Tigra is the ex-Polley car which has been stripped back and totally rebuilt - it was that new that Colin had not even sat in it!  Colin also had his SLK there for Dave Longhurst to drive.  Mikey Godfrey has his freshly rebuilt, repainted and re-stickered Tigra B: you have to take a close look at the vinyl on this Rod if you have the chance. Mikey was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gavin Murray who was apparently arranging the evening’s entertainment and drinking!  Meanwhile in the hall for the weekend’s show was Gavin Taber's very smart Tigra B and Willie Hardie's new Spedeworth Fabrications Tigra with the 2012 body kit, very smart it looked and a credit to the new Spedeworth Fabrications enterprise.  Colin Smith had his BMW there freshly repainted in his orange and silver livery.  Martin Kingston

Update 09 January 2012
National Hot Rod Awards Night
Saturday evening 7th January 2012 saw the Awards Night held in Berkshire and organised by Lucy Webster.  Drivers voted in the lead-up to the event in various categories contested through 2011, and the winners were as follows: 
Best Newcomer – Danny Hunn
Most Improved Driver – Jason Kew
Best Presented Car – Matt Simpson
Driver of the Year – Malcolm Blackman
and a special award to Angie Rowe and Graham Brown for their commitment to the sport over the past years.  The awards were each presented by legendary racer Barry Lee, and all the recipients are above in photos kindly supplied by Damian Savage.

Update 05 January 2012
Winternational Win for Doak
Ballymena Raceway, January 2nd 2012
Darren Black reports:  Former British Champion Stewart Doak started 2012 in fine style when he took the honours in the annual National Hot Rod Winternationals at Ballymena Raceway on Holiday Monday, January 2nd. After suffering a spin in heat one, he fought back to take the flag in both heat two and the final in his favoured damp conditions.

With the all-important World Championship qualifying trail on hold until Easter, there was a depleted field on show, but it was somewhat bolstered by a one-off return to the formula by British F3 front runner William Buller. For his first outing on the ovals in a few years he was equipped with Frankie Lynn’s ex-Gary Woolsey Corsa, suitably signwritten by its owner with William’s #302 number. He may be still a teenager, but many forget that William has been ORCi Champion in a Stock Rod, finished second in a 2.0 Hot Rod European Championship, as well as being a hat-trick winner at a meeting in a National Hot Rod . . . oh, and he’s been through Karting, Formula BMW and now into Formula 3 where he took a number of wins in the series last year, including two wins at the famous Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, before finishing fourth in the championship. To put things in perspective, William was more than capable to run wheel to wheel with eventual series winner Jean-Eric Vergne (and beat him regularly), and Vergne has just signed a deal to drive for Torro Rosso in Formula 1 in 2012! It was, however, to be no fairytale return for oval racing’s most famous recent graduate, as problems finished his day early after a promising start.

There were of course others in action besides Buller, with David Casey making the trip up from his Waterford base for a very welcome visit. Adam Heatrick was out again in the family’s now for sale Peugeot 206cc, and with Thomas Dilly’s RCE/Ludlow Tigra having been recently acquired by the Heatrick team, Adam is set for a full campaign in 2012. Gary Woolsey wheeled out his Mercedes SLK for a rare outing, whilst the others were all mounted as you would expect.

Defending champion Keith Martin got off to the best possible start by taking the honours in heat one, chasing down and putting a superb outside pass on early leader Gary Woolsey’s Mercedes. Woolsey followed him home ahead of Ian McReynolds, with Doak recovering to fourth after the merest of touches on the opening lap had seen him spin off and quickly rejoin. Buller had been revelling in the damp conditions, and could be seen on opposite lock at the start/finish line as he battled on slicks on the damp track. However when the rain came before the second heat, and with no wets at his disposal, he was forced to call it a day. He promises he will be back though, and soon, as he just loves the atmosphere and the racing on the ovals.

Casey set the early pace in heat two in his Tigra, before Doak stormed through to take it up and cruise home to the flag. Martin soon put a similar outside move on David to take second and set up an interesting battle for the title in the final. Heatrick took an excellent third in this one, whilst Casey nicked past Woolsey on the last lap to take fourth.

With the points calculated Martin and Doak shared the front row for the final. The biggest challenge was to be the weather though, and with the rain now falling again Doak opted for four wets whilst Martin gambled by staying on two and two like in the previous race. It proved to be the crucial move by Doak, who quickly moved clear at the drop of the green flag, whilst Martin fell into the clutches of McReynolds as he struggled for traction. McReynolds moved through to second and set off after Doak, but the Portadown driver was long gone by now and powered home to record an emphatic triumph. McReynolds took second after a super drive which saw him keep Doak honest all the way to the flag as he revelled on the very wide outside line around the Showgrounds track. Martin, Heatrick and Casey followed him across the line. Darren Black
Heat One: 994 940 977 996 261 342 302
Heat Two: 996 994 342 261 940 977
Final: 996 977 994 342 261
Brian Lammey’s photos at: http://mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom/2012-Winternationals-Brian/20876576_kT6HLn#1657592502_Gv 2KDHK

Update 15 November 2011
2011 WOMSA (South African) Championships that were held in Richards Bay, South Africa over the weekend:
NATIONAL HOT RODS
1. Neville Loosemore - Richards Bay (photo)
2. Raulph Nel - Polokwane
3. Jody Viana - Klerksdorp
4. Okkert Brits - Richards Bay
5. Marius Fourie - Polokwane
6. Rudy Myburgh - Pretoria
7. Phillip Els - Vryheid
8. Johannes Goosen - Vereeniging
9. Louw Du Toit - Richards Bay
10. Gavin Kruis - Richards Bay
2L HOT RODS
1. Dick Hillard - Spalding UK
2. Pieter Van Staden - Boksburg
3. Frans Joubert - Pretoria
With thanks to Hamish Marshall.

Update 09 November 2011
Racer Suspended. The NHRPA has held an inquiry following the European Championship at Tipperary on October 29th.  As a result of this, driver Tom Casey #961 has been issued with a ban for three National Hot Rod meetings (with two of the three meetings being a suspended ban) for abusive behaviour. The NHRPA informed Casey “If a similar incident was to occur again then very severe action would be taken. Your previous record of good behaviour has been taken into consideration when deciding on what action to take at this time...this type of incident in front of spectators and your fellow drivers cannot be taken lightly”. In a separate but related matter, a member of the public is being issued with a stadium ban by the local promoter, B.A.M. Motorsport.

Update 09 November 2011
National and 2.0L Hot Rod Awards Evening and Party!
Lucy wiil be collecting money and selling tickets for this event at BIRMINGHAM WHEELS on SATURDAY 12th NOV- last round of 2011.  Drivers will also be voting at Birmingham, so get your thinking caps on... Awards are:
Driver of the year 2011:
Best Presented Car:
Best Newcomer:
Most Improved Driver:
Any ticket request can also be emailed to: lucypurple@hotmail.com
Details: Saturday 7th January 2012 from 7pm until late. Drivers, mechanics and families are all invited to the  Copthorne Hotel, Cippenham Lane, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2YE http://www.millenniumhotels.co.uk/copthornesloughwindsor/index.html (01753 516 222).  Tickets Prices: £25 Adult, £10 Child, under 5’s go free!  Rooms Price: Single £75.00, Double £85.00.  To buy tickets please let Lucy know asap on 07752 522611 or email lucypurple@hotmail.com

Update 20 October
Spedeworth Fan Club Promoter Spedeworth International have launched a fan club in which you can receive e-mail alerts, press releases and up-to-the-minute news and information from Spedeworth Motorsports  Click the banner for details.

Update 14 October 2011
The Graham Brown Interviews Legendary chronicler of all things National Hot Rod for decades, our very own Graham Brown has started recording a brand new series of filmed interviews on and about our sport.  Early subjects include world champion Malcolm Blackman and former European champion Matt Simpson; future editions will include chats with heroes such as Ricky Hunn and George Polley, as well as stars from the Scottish, Irish and Northern Irish scene.

These interviews, along with race meeting previews and general news and features, will form the backbone of a new You Tube channel which will be used as a PR tool for National Hot Rod racing, as well as being available to view via this website for all fans. All of this can be seen as the early stages of a new high profile push for our racing, with negotiations pretty advanced to see National Hot Rods featured on satellite TV once again.

The Graham Brown Interview with Malcolm Blackman will be available for viewing on nationalhotrod.com very shortly, in association with Martin Hunt Video and Spedeworth International - check back soon for details.

Update 13 October 2011
Driver Suspended The NHRPA has announced that following events during the race meeting at Northampton on Saturday 8th October during which driver 306 David Polley was disqualified and ‘loaded-up’ from the event, an investigation was held. 

As a result of this, the driver has further been issued with a ban from racing equivalent to three world series meetings, which will also include the forthcoming European Championship. NOTE: The recent punishments have caused driver 306 to attain 20 penalty points. Standard issue for this is a two-meeting ban which will run concurrently with the three-meeting suspension.

Update 14 September 2011
Live Action Arena - National Hot Rods Dave Smith writes: As you may already be aware I am looking to race the National Hot Rods in the Live Action Arena on their own (i.e. no 2.0L Hot Rods racing alongside you) on Saturday and Sunday 14th & 15th January 2012.

To this end, I need 12 cars to race, so if you would like to be part of this event at the World's Greatest Motorsport Show at the NEC in January; please let Les Waller at the Spedeworth Head Office at Aldershot know as soon as possible so that I can confirm your race bookings. I would like to have race confirmations by November if possible - of course if you already know that you want to participate let us know sooner. I will send a letter direct to your home address, as in the past, and tickets/passes etc will be sent later.

Many thanks in advance.  Dave Smith.
Book-in by calling Les Waller on 01252 322920 or e-mail deanewoodexport@aol.com

Update 30 August 2011
Great Yarmouth:  Spedeworth wish to announce that, should a suitable number of cars book in, we will be running a practice session at Yarmouth Stadium prior to the World Qualifying Round there on September 11th. This session would run from 1:30pm until 3:30pm and cost £30 per driver. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity must book in with the Spedeworth Office by calling 01252 322920 or emailing deanewoodexport@aol.com.

Update 16 August 2011
Spedeworth South Africa tour: We can now confirm the race dates for the 2012 2.0 Hot Rod tour to South Africa. The race meetings will be on 14th January, 21st January, 28th January and 4th February.  Drivers are invited to come on the tour. If you cannot commit to all four then there is an alternative of doing just the first two. A limited number of race cars can be supplied in South Africa, but drivers will need to pay for their own flights and all parts and damage to the car - the cars are built in-house so the repair cost is nowhere near the equivalent prices in the UK. Spedeworth will pay for accommodation for the driver plus one for the duration of their stay between meetings. Anyone interested please contact us on 01252 322920 or Deane Wood direct.

Update 12 August 2011
September Speedweekend: September 3rd and 4th sees the annual international weekend in Northern Ireland for the National Hot Rods. Saturday evening September 3rd sees the 2011 Irish Open Championship sponsored by Dilly Roofing Supplies taking place at Ballymena Raceway, before the 2011 British Championship sponsored by Murrays of Randalstown takes place the following afternoon at neighbouring Nuttscorner Oval. We hope to see a very healthy field of Nationals for both events, with the aim of staging two great meetings like we have seen in the past. For this season we have also linked the 2 Litre Hot Rods onto this weekend, and they will contest the UK Masters at Ballymena and the Irish Open at Nuttscorner Oval, hopefully with a sprinkling of visitors too.

To help attract a top quality field, the two promoters are offering travel money to mainland UK drivers of £100 per meeting (£200 total) per car - by far the best package ever offered in Ulster oval racing. Discounts are also available on ferries by using the companies that we regularly deal with, and hopefully that can make it a cost-effective weekend away.

Tyre allocation, as agreed by the NHRPA, will be TWO new slicks and/or wets per day, again with the intention of reducing the costs of the weekend’s racing.

In recent seasons a few drivers have commented that a 'social' side to the weekend was missing, so on the Saturday night after the Irish Open at Ballymena we have organised a night's entertainment/fun (and drink!) in the lounge of The Fairhill Bar in Ahoghill, which is owned by Saloon Stock Car racer Ryan Wright and is just 4 miles from the track. All drivers and fans are welcome to come along and enjoy the legendary Ulster 'craic' and hospitality.

Anyone wanting any more details on anything concerning the event, or details of hotels or ferries, please contact me on 07980 630703 or email info@nuttscorneroval.com.  Bookings should be made through Les at the Spedeworth office as usual, including the local NI drivers who must also book in for the weekend.  Darren Black

Update 05 August 2011
To all National Hot Rod drivers & teams: For those of you who I did not meet at National Weekend, my name is Les Waller. I have worked for Spedeworth for some time now and have recently taken over some of the responsibilities within the NHRPA including driver bookings and points charts.

I am looking forward to working with all of you; as well as Deane, Carole, Dave, Brian and Chris to continue to promote and develop the formula and to continue the good work that Graham and Angie did doing during their years of sterling service.

As of now, all enquiries or driver bookings should be made with myself at the Spedeworth Offices by e-mailing deanewoodexport@aol.com or by calling 01252 322920. These bookings must be made by 5pm on the Thursday preceding the weekend of the event to allow us adequate time to produce grid sheets etc. We would actually prefer these bookings to be made even earlier to allow us to publicise events accurately and to ensure that driver lists in meeting programmes are a true representation of those attending.

Undoubtedly, we all want to see National Hot Rods continue to flourish as a formula and a vital part of this will be the communication between the NHRPA and its drivers. To that end, I would like to ask that as many drivers as possible supply us with an up to date email address as we intend on keeping you informed as much as we can with what’s going on in your formula. Some of the e-mail addresses in the NHRPA database would appear to be incorrect so I would ask that you all try and make sure that we do have the right address on file.

Round 1 at Northampton is just over a week away now and many drivers are yet to book in. I would urge you all to book in as soon as possible.

There will be no changes to the points system for this year – although this is something that we will monitor this season with a view to possible changes for 2013. It is our intention to ensure that National Hot Rod racing maintains its status at the pinnacle of short oval racing and I am sure that, working together, this is something that we can achieve. I look forward to working with you all. Les Waller (Spedeworth/NHRPA)

Update 04 August 2011
nationalhotrod.com Fantasy Hot Rod Racing
Fraser Green reports:  Welcome back for another season of Fantasy Hot Rod Racing, which now moves into my third year as the host and hopefully will continue for many years to come.  It’s going from strength to strength - perhaps we can beat the 120 team entry that played last season, but anywhere near that would be great.

So if you ever wanted to own a team of National Hot Rods, and think you've got what it takes, why not see if you can knock our defending champion “Skid Marks” off his perch, to become this year’s Fantasy Champion. It’s a must for all National Hot Rod fans and oval racing fans alike. You'll soon find yourself cheering on your six drivers, instead of just your one or two favourites.

So don't delay, enter now by logging in to the nationalhotrod.com Forum, click the Fantasy Hot Rods link, then choose one driver from each of the six groups. Send me your selection via the "Enter your team" tab, and don’t forget to find time to go though the game rules. Good Luck!

Update 27 July 2011
Race meeting bookings
All National Hot Rod drivers should note that bookings for ALL English World Series events and ALL international events MUST be completed by 5pm on the Thursday preceding they event at which they wish to race. This is to allow adequate time for the grid sheets to be formulated to ensure the smooth running of racing events.

Please note, however, that we would prefer this to be done earlier in order for the bookings lists in the meeting programmes to be an accurate reflection of the drivers who are taking part - early booking also allows us to ensure that bookings are publicised to their full effect.

Bookings for all the above events should be made through the Spedeworth office - telephone 01252 322920, or deanewoodexport@aol.com.  Many thanks, Les Waller (Spedeworth).

Update 26 July 2011
Stuart Carter
The above driver is presently supended from racing across all ORCi tracks for a scrutineering infringement.  However, out of respect for the driver and his family, the ORCi and the NHRPA have agreed that Stuart may race in the Linda Carter Memorial Trophy for Hot Rods at Buxton Raceway on August 14th, only.  Should he attain any race position that carries prizes, these prizes or their equivalent will be donated to charity.

Update 23 July 2011
Statements from the NHRPA:
Deane Wood: “Following the recently announced retirements of Angie Rowe and Graham Brown from the NHRPA, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the significant contribution and success achieved during their time looking after National Hot Rods.  The formula is currently in a very healthy position, and both Angie and Graham should feel very proud of the part they have played in taking National Hot Rods forward.

“Janet and I, and everyone connected with National Hot Rods, all hope to continue to see Angie and Graham at the race tracks and we offer them both very best wishes for the future.

“I am also delighted to confirm the appointments of Chris Earl and Brian Oliver - each with the role of NHRPA Racing Director - to manage the day-to-day running of the National Hot Rods with immediate effect.  Carol and Dave Longhurst will continue in their existing role of NHRPA Scrutineers.

“All National Hot Rod driver bookings in the future should be made through the Spedeworth Office, telephone 01252 322920 or fax: 01252 336760.”

Deane Wood
NHRPA Chairman

Chris Earl and Brian Oliver: “We are both proud and feel privileged to be given the opportunity to continue our long standing involvement with National Hot Rods.

“To Angie, Graham, and also to Neil Rowe, we would like to formally document our sincere thanks for giving us both the chance to get involved with the running of National Hot Rods all those years ago, for the support you have given us during that time, and more recently leading to our appointments as NHRPA Racing Directors. As colleagues and friends, we will continue to seek your support and experience moving forward.

“Our thanks also to Deane, for his support and recognition, in giving us this opportunity.

“The history of National Hot Rods and the associated responsibility to continue the success of the formula is firmly in our focus. We will always strive to ensure the ongoing enjoyment of National Hot Rod racing for fans and drivers alike.” 

Chris Earl
Brian Oliver
NHRPA Racing Directors

Update 28 June 2011
Hoosier Race Tires and Kent Cams double world final purse
Spedeworth International are very pleased to announce that for 2011, the title sponsors of the National Hot Rod world final - Hoosier Race Tires and Kent Cams - have doubled the prize money on offer for the sport’s biggest title.

Promoter Deane Wood said “We’d like to express our great thanks to Hoosier and Kent Cams for continuing to support and back the National Hot Rods in such a positive way.  I know that all our drivers will be happy to put an extra decal on their cars in order to be eligible for this vastly improved prize fund.”

The National Hot Rod Championship of the World 2011 takes place this weekend - July 2nd/3rd - at Foxhall Raceway, Ipswich.

Update 17 June 2011
World Series Scotland
The NHRPA is pleased to announce the following:  “As the Scottish Series has progressed well this season, the top 4 drivers in the 2012 Series will qualify for the World Final.”

Update 10 May 2011
To all drivers:
The entry for the Thunder 500 race meeting (Saturday June 18) will be limited to 40 cars. Priority will be given to World Qualifiers, then to drivers who have raced regularly this season. NHRPA

Update 09 April 2011
To All N. Irish National Hot Rod Licenced Drivers:
In order to fund needed improvements within the formula, without increasing the licence fee, all drivers racing at meetings held in Northern Ireland will be subject to a £10 fee per meeting, as is currently the case in England. This money is to pay the sport‘s administrators and for the benefit of National Hot Rod racing generally. It is not the Association‘s intent to make any financial gain from these revenues, and any profits will be returned to the sport, for example in scrutineering equipment and possibly increased prize money. With immediate effect, Darren Black will be the Race Steward for all Northern Ireland National Hot Rod meetings, and Mervyn Crawford will be the Scrutineer for the formula across all tracks in the province. Particular importance will be placed on the logging of tyres, as we strive to make the running of National Hot Rods more transparent and attractive to possible newcomers, as well as raising the profile of the formula for the current drivers. There will also be a Drivers Briefing before each meeting.

For the first meeting of 2011, the Challenge Cup at Ballymena on April 15th, drivers will be permitted to log FOUR new slick tyres alongside one used tyre, and these 5 tyres must also be used at World Series NI Round 9 at Ballymena on Good Friday. From World Series NI Round 10 at Nuttscorner Oval on Easter Monday, the tyre rules will revert to the usual one new slick per meeting. Any driver not contesting the Challenge Cup will not be permitted to use any new tyres at the Good Friday meeting.

Thank you for your continued support.  Angie Rowe - NHRPA

Update 03/03/11
Tigra Tim: First photos anywhere of the all-new 2011 Tigra of #17 Tim Moody.  Fresh out of the workshop, this is the car Tim hopes will continue to propel him up the world qualifying points chart, replacing last year’s SLK.


Update 28/02/11
Ipswich Testing
Martin Kingston reports:  The Ipswich open practice night (Saturday 26/02) saw 16 cars present, the night was extremely wet and some cars never ventured out of their transporters - including those of Chris Haird, James O’Shea (with his ex-Armiger 206cc), Tony Moss and the new Carl Boardley Tigra.

Those that were brave - or daft - enough to brave the conditions (although many only had one run and called it a day) were Mikey Godfrey, Gavin Murray, Wayne Lee with a striking new colour scheme, Shaun Taylor, George Turiccki, Jason Kew, Scott Bourne, David O’Regan having made the long trek from Ireland, Kym Weaver, Colin Gomm, Chris Harvey also with a new colour scheme and Malcolm Blackman. Hopefully it will be a bit drier when the season recommences in a couple of weeks time at Northampton! Martin & Matthew Kingston’s photos and Trevor Hill’s photos

Update 26/02/11
Northampton Testing
Martin Kingston reports:  Haird Motorsport held its annual test day at Northampton on Friday 25th February. Seven Haird cars were present including Jason Cooper in a brand new Tigra B, Jason is planning to concentrate on the Nationals this year with only the occasional outing in his Supertsox.

BriSCA F2 Star George Turiccki took his ex-Chris Haird World Championship-winning car out on track for the first time, George has moved to the Nationals to cut down on the amount of time and travelling you have to do in the F2’s just to be competitive. He was amazed at the amount of grip the car had after being used to sliding his F2 through the corners.

Another having a first time outing in a National was Stock Rod driver Shaun Taylor in the ex-Gavin Murray 206cc, Shaun was putting in as many laps as he could and was looking forward to his move up to the big league. Regular Haird drivers Gavin Murray, Mikey Godfrey, Tommy Maxwell and of course Chris himself were also on duty. Terry Hunn in his Corsa was also present, as were Peter & Jack Blood, they are still busy building Jack’s new car and hope to be on track sometime in April. Sonny Howard was also there offering help and advice to the drivers. Martin & Matthew Kingston’s photos


Update 25/01/11

SHP RX8

nationalhotrod.com
photo exclusive

First photo from SHP Engineering of the all-new Mazda RX8.

Presently under development, this car marks the return of SHP to National Hot Rod racing - the sport where the company originally established its motorsport credentials.

More exclusive photos and news on this car to follow later this week.


Update 17/01 More NEC photos.  Third album of Martin Kingston’s great photos from the NEC show, including Driver Award presentations to the winning drivers able to attend the Sunday session - GALLERY

Update 16/01
Indoor Racing Photos.  The second of Martin Kingston’s photo albums from the NEC features the National Hot Rods racing in the indoor arena at Autosport International, on Saturday evening.

Photos in the Gallery

More from Birmingham as it comes in.

Update 15/01/11  Driver Awards.  The winners of the Spedeworth International/Incarace Ltd National Hot Rod Driver Awards are being presented with their trophies at Autosport International at the NEC Birmingham.  The categories were voted in by readers of this website, and the results are as follows:
Most Improved Driver
1. Mikey Godfrey (136)
2. Wullie Hardie (109)
3. Jason Kew (98)
Plus - a further 39 drivers received votes in this category.
Most Entertaining Driver
1. John Christie (144)
2. Chris Haird (131)
3. Shane Murphy (117)
Plus - a further 28 drivers received votes in this category.
Supreme Driver - Ireland
1. Shane Murphy (297)
2. Des Cooney (71)
3. David O'Regan (59)
Plus - a further 3 drivers received votes in this category.
Supreme Driver - Northern Ireland
1. John Christie (309)
2. Glenn Bell (90)
3. Keith Martin (88)
Plus - a further 3 drivers received votes in this category.
Supreme Driver - England
1. Chris Haird (301)
2. Jason Kew (47)
3. Wullie Hardie (45)
Plus - a further 18 drivers received votes in this category.
Best Presented Car and Team
1. Chris Haird (143)
2. John Christie (131)
3. Malcolm Blackman (114)
Plus - a further 30 drivers received votes in this category.
International Driver of the Year 2010
1. John Christie (157)
2. Shane Murphy (145)
3. Chris Haird (129)
Plus - a further 17 drivers received votes in this category.
Congratulations to all our very worthy winners, and thank you to everyone who took the trouble to vote in these awards. 
More to follow on this story

Update 15/01 SHP & Haird to merge.  Two of National Hot Rod racing’s most successful car builders have announced a tie-up for 2011 and beyond.

At the Autosport International show, David Haird (Haird Motorsport) and Sonny Howard (SHP Motorsport) announced that the two companies will be merging their Hot Rod construction divisions for the benefit of their current and future customers.

It was also revealed that SHP will put a Mazda RX8 into production as a National Hot Rod early this year.

Full story at http://www.hairdmotorsport.com More to follow on this story on nationalhotrod.com early next week.

Update 15/01 First photos in Gallery.  Martin Kingston’s first batch of Friday NEC photos now in the nationalhotrod.com Gallery

Updated 15/01/11:
NEC show this weekend. There'll be lots happening at the NEC this weekend, and nationalhotrod.com will be on top of it all, whether you're able to be there or not.

Martin Kingston will be covering the photography for us and sending pictures through on a regular basis - exhibition and racing. As well as the cars we know will be there, we should also get the first shots of a brand new car for a well-known racer making good progress since he joined National Hot Rods.

We'll be announcing the results of your votes in the Spedeworth International/Incarace Ltd-sponsored National Hot Rod Driver Awards, along with Martin's photos of the presentations to the winning drivers in each category.

There will also be some major news announced regarding two of our sport's most famous National Hot Rod constructors, along with even more exciting news of an all-new brand new shape National Hot Rod to be launched in 2011.

That's just the stuff we know in advance that we'll be covering over the weekend on nationalhotrod.com, and you can be sure we'll have news of anything else that unfolds too...

Updated 13/01/11:
Kewy signs up for the NEC. Besides spending the winter becoming a new proud father to Finley, Jason Kew has been busy readying his #174 SLK - now featuring signwriting by himself - for the indoor racing at the NEC this coming weekend.

Any drivers who have new cars, new paint schemes, new signwriting etc, and would like to show them off on these pages, please e-mail neil@nationalhotrod.com

Updated 06/01/11:
2011 Winternational Championship.  Keith Martin made the perfect start to 2011 with a dominant win in the National Hot Rod Winter National Championship at Ballymena Raceway on New Year’s Day. The Dungannon driver qualified on pole position for the Derek McMillan Commercial Refinishers backed event after splitting the heat wins with defending champion Stewart Doak and would never be headed in the 25 lap final. Former British Champion Gary Woolsey from Portadown followed the new champion home, with current British Champion Doak in third, ahead of John Christie, Ian McReynolds and Glenn Bell.
Heat One: 994 – 940 – 962 – 977 – 996
Heat Two: 996 – 940 – 994 – 9 – 977
2011 Winter National: 994 – 940 – 996 – 962 – 977 – 9
Christie is Ballymena Raceway Driver of the Year.  National Hot Rod European Champion John Christie has been voted Ballymena Raceway Driver of the Year for 2010 by race fans. The popular National Hot Rod racer topped the poll which was run on the official Ballymena Raceway website during December. Christie received his trophy at the Ballymena meeting on New Year’s Day, along with Stock Rod racer Raymond Harper who finished as runner-up and Stock Rod Irish Champion Micky McFall who finished third. The awards were kindly sponsored by Greers of Antrim Volvo, The Fairhill Bar Ahoghill and trophiesni.com.

Updated 01/12/10:  2010 Spedeworth International/Incarace Ltd. nationalhotrod.com Driver Awards

After a short absence, the nationalhotrod.com Driver Awards are back - with trophies this year very kindly sponsored by Spedeworth International and Incarace Ltd.

The Awards are designed to recognise the drivers that we - the fans and fellow drivers - feel have excelled in their respective categories.

Just highlight the table below, copy it into an email, fill it in with drivers names or numbers, and send it to neil@nationalhotrod.com by December 31st 2010

The Driver Awards will be presented over the weekend of Autosport International at the NEC Birmingham, Saturday/Sunday January 15/16 2011.

Couple of T's & C's: One vote per person - this will be checked. Suspicious looking block multi-voting will be discarded at the webmaster's discretion.

Over to you... thanks for your support.

Category	1.(6pts)	2.(3pts)	3.(1pt)
Most Improved Driver (all series)
Most Entertaining Driver (all series)
Supreme Driver - World Series RoI
Supreme Driver - World Series NI
Supreme Driver - World Series Eng
Best Presented Car & Team (all series)
International Driver of the Year 2010

Updated 27/10/10:  Malcolm Goodman
The sad news has reached us that 1973 Hot Rod English Champion Malcolm Goodman recently died.  Malcolm was also known for racing Grand Prix Midgets in his competition career.  nationalhotrod.com has received the following with regards to Malcolm:

“I am Linda Cave, Malcolm’s ex-wife and thought I’d let you know the funeral arrangements for him.  I know he had a lot of friends/colleagues within (oval racing), who I no longer have contact with. If anyone who knew him wished to attend the service, the details are below.

“The service will take place on Thursday 4th November 2010 at 1pm at St. Nicholas’s Church in Dersingham, Norfolk. Afterwards there will be a gathering at The Feathers Hotel in Dersingham.  The funeral directors are:
John Lincoln
38 Manor Road
Dersingham
Norfolk PE31 6LH
Tel: 01485 540270
“Could you pass this information on to whoever may be interested.
Many Thanks
Linda Cave”.

Updated 22/10/10:

“Stock Car Racing - A Life Sentence” by Tim Moody

The autobiography we’ve all been waiting for... “Stock Car Racing - A Life Sentence”, by Tim Moody is the very personal story of Tim's racing career on the Stock Car tracks of the UK during the 80's and 90's.

It has its highs and lows, but is also filled with humorous anecdotes and stories from an era where racing was altogether more fun and innovative.

This is the story of an 'Ordinary Bloke' and his pursuit of an all encompassing hobby.

A must for all Stock Car fans and fans of Motor Racing in general.
Paperback, 48 pages, 160mm x 200mm, with many colour photos.
Ideal Christmas present!!  Just £12.50, postage included for the UK  Buy your copy here

nationalhotrod.com special offer on this book in the Forum


Updated 14/10/10:  Watch Jason Kew and Mikey Godfrey on TV
The week after racing at Great Yarmouth, Jason and Mikey got their race cars in tip-top condition to promote our racing on the on-line channel Witney TV, which covers all the goings-on local to where they live in Oxfordshire. See their interviews here www.witneytv.co.uk - programme 22, approximately 10 minutes into the show.

Updated 13/10/10:  Davy Evans Memorial Championship
The Tipperary Motor Speedway promotion have announced that they will be running the Davy Evans Memorial championship at Rose Green on Saturday evening, 30th October 2010. This will be the last meeting of 2010 at the Irish venue. All drivers from all regions are invited to contest this historic title. Any queries should be addressed to Bryan Allen at BAM promotions.

Updated 07/10/10:  Kym Weaver’s 2010 Tigra - testing

Photographer Martin Kingston - mkpics.net - captured Kym Weaver testing at Northampton, Wednesday 6th October. Martin said “The car is Hughie Weaver’s old one, but it has been rebuilt from the ground up and will be debuting at Ipswich next week. The car was putting in some quick times today and they were still making adjustments as I left”.  More photos in the gallery.

Updated 02/10/10:  Kym Weaver’s 2010 Tigra

Many thanks to Dave Smith for these exclusive shots of National Hot Rod #209 Kym Weaver’s 2010 Weaver Brothers Roofing Tigra.

Updated 06/05/10:  New look for Armiger

Luke Armiger will return from his NHRPA ban at round 16 with new paintwork and signwriting.  Photos with thanks to Richard Armiger.

Updated 01/04/10:  Moody SLK ready to race

Story - Webmaster: Following on from our recent story on returning racer Tim Moody, this is the SLK earlier photographed during the build process. Now fully assembled, painted and signwritten, the unusual colour scheme will make Tim’s comeback unmissable.

Updated 26/03/10:  Christie ready for Easter

Story - Webmaster: Crumlin star John Christie has spent the winter busily giving his Beggs Couriers/Wash ‘n’ Dash Tigra a complete makeover.  Now ready for the Easter racing in Northern Ireland, John’s upgraded the car for the new 2010 NHRPA rules, as well as treating it to new paint and signwriting.

Updated 22/03/10:  Easter venue switch in Northern Ireland
Story - BMR: Ballymena Raceway wish to announce that both meetings programmed for the Easter weekend (Good Friday and Easter Saturday) have been moved to the Nutts Corner venue. The classes participating and start times remain as per the original fixture list and the management would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause both drivers and spectators. Unfortunately it was not anticipated that the issues surrounding the Raceway track (see below) at the Ballymena Showgrounds would be resolved before Easter and this is the only course of action available to ensure that our fixtures can be fulfilled.

The management would like to stress that this is only a short term measure and are extremely hopeful that an agreed way forward can be reached with Ballymena Borough Council in the near future which will allow Stock Car racing to return to the Ballymena Showgrounds for the remainder of the 2010 season. Ballymena Raceway also wishes to express their gratitude to the Nutts Corner promoters for facilitating these two meetings at their venue

Updated 21/03/10:  Petition to help keep racing at Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Story - BMR: In recent weeks Ballymena Raceway has come under pressure from the local council which runs the facilities.  In a few weeks time the promoter will sit down with the council and present our wee sport, in a bid to show its importance to the local community, and keep the sport going.

A petition has now been set up to keep our racing at the Ballymena Showgrounds, home of Ballymena Raceway. We'd like to get as many signatures as possible to show the support for the continuation of racing. The petition is now online at these two sites:

http://www.ballymenaraceway.com

http://www.nif2.com/bmr_petition

Ballymena Raceway has a long tradition of running National Hot Rods, and to keep this tradition, signing the petition is quite simply a must to keep our tracks open and our sport alive. There can't be a single one of us reading this who can't relate to the importance of keeping our tracks alive. Many thanks in advance for your support.

Updated 10/03/10:

Stuart Carter’s new SLK

Story - Webmaster: First photos of Stu Carter’s new for 2010 SLK. Now fully resplendent in new paint and signwriting.

This is the former Darron Lewis Ludlow Motorsport car, Stu having sold his Tigra at the end of 2009.


Updated 08/03/10: Corrie Beggs joins NI series
Story - Darren Black: Randalstown teenager Corrie Beggs is the latest recruit to Ulster’s National Hot Rod ranks in this splendid Peugeot 206cc. The 16 year old is another product of Nuttscorner Oval’s Junior Production category, where he campaigned a Toyota Starlet for a number of seasons, and he makes the massive step up in the ex-Alvin Christie Ludlow Motorsport car.

Corrie’s father Daryl is a long time supporter of Northern Ireland oval racing through his Beggs Deliveries concern, sponsoring numerous race meetings as well as the Tigra of John Christie and various 2 Litre Rods, and his son will now join the #962 machine on the local grids at Ballymena Raceway and Nuttscorner Oval in 2010. Following a few test sessions towards the end of last year, the car has now been rebuilt ready for Corrie’s debut over the Easter weekend. He faces a steep learning curve, but most definitely has both the temperament and the talent to succeed at his latest challenge. The National Hot Rods last two recruits from Junior Productions were a certain duo called William Buller and Glenn Bell, so Corrie most certainly has the grounding to help him become a welcome addition to oval racing’s premier category in the province.

Updated 06/03/10: Northampton Testing - Friday March 5th

More photos in the Gallery. Story - Martin Kingston: Another test day at NIR on Friday 5th March saw three cars at the track on a sunny spring day. Des Cooney had travelled over from Ireland to test his new Ludlow Tigra. As no practice is allowed in Ireland until the first meeting of the season there, this was to be his first outing in it. Shane Murphy was with Des, albeit without his new Tigra, as he was still waiting for some parts for it. After some initial brake problems - like no brakes - Des sorted the problem and got a good number of laps in. Changing set ups etc, he was well pleased with the outing and extremely impressed with his new mount - claiming the session had been well worth the visit. Shane too had a few laps in the Tigra, and was equally impressed and looking forward to getting his out on the track.

Phil Spinks was also present in his black un-signwritten Tigra. Phil was keen to get back into the swing of things and plans to try and qualify for the world, as at the moment he has no clashing work commitments. The day was spent trying diffferent settings, and by the end felt they had improved the performance and handling of the car considerably, ready for next weekend.

Lastly, and by no means least, was Jason Kew in his Ludlow SLK. In between his banger outings over the winter, Jason had been busy sorting the car out to the 2010 regs, and he also got a large number of laps in. Neal Smith was there as part of the Kew Team, and he too put some impressive laps in - showing he has lost none of his driving style in a National.

So thats it, winter’s over, spring's here and it all kicks off again for another season at NIR next Sunday.
Martin Kingston's photos in the Gallery

Updated 02/03/10: Mark Paffey back in Nationals
Story - Webmaster: South-coast signwriter Mark Paffey is finally making his long rumoured return to the National class, after a long and successful spell back in 2.0L Hot Rods. Mark last raced National Hot Rods in the early 2000’s in a Mitsubishi Colt, but now finds the time is right to perhaps tackle some unfinished business at the top level.

He has acquired a brand new Mercedes SLK from Ludlow Motorsport which is currently being assembled at his Hampshire base. The car will be powered by a brand new Dave Longhurst (DLRD)-built engine.

Mark’s hoping to get three race meetings in at least before the end of the current campaign in June - two world qualifying rounds, and the Thunder 500 - before undertaking a serious campaign for the 2010/11 season.

Or as he said: “If I’m fast enough for the first round in July!”

Updated 01/03/10: Ipswich Test Session
Clive Marchants photo album in the Gallery
Story - Nick Thomas: A good dry - if cool - night at Foxhall, ideal conditions for testing. All three new Haird Tigra B's present, with Haird, Murray and Godfrey. Although Mikey was struggling to cure a misfire all night Gavin and Chris looked quick.

Boardley had both the Tigra and the SLK out, Wayne Lee in the ex-Chris Haird 206CC, Colin Smith in the newly painted NEC Z4, Colin Gomm had his usual 206 with both Colin and Dave Longhurst behind the wheel, James O'Shea with his Haird Fiesta, Tony Moss in his usual Tigra.

Interesting newcomer is Carl Waller Barrett. Making the step from Stock Rods to NHRs in the ex-Steve Burgess 206CC, he has the very wise Andre Paternoster on his team as well, who has worked with a lot of the big names in Nationals over the years - Facey, Peck, Haird, Skitmore to name just a few. Carl was always quich in Stock Rods so could be one to watch, and remember what happened last time a driver called Carl came to NHR out of Stock Rods?

Both Simpson cars as smart and quick as ever, with Dick Hillard having a couple of outings in Jeff's car. Terry Hunn out in the Corsa, and I believe Dick Burtenshaw out in an unsignwritten Tigra. Lap times will all be on MyLaps from Monday. A lot of attention from the Mitsubishi rally car which spat fire all around the raceway in quite a spectacular display of flames and drifting. In answer to the hundreds of questions as to why it was there, it belongs to a local rally driver who wanted to do some tarmac setup work so asked if he could bring it along. We will try and get it back during a meeting for another go. Maybe a match race against a NHR would be good to see, as the lap times got close once he got used to the circuit. Good to see so many NHR fans at Foxhall, some of you came a long way, thanks for coming and have a great season. Nick, Foxhall Stadium. Clive Marchants photo album in the Gallery

Updated 27/02/10: Haird Motorsport test day
Martin Kingston's photos in the Gallery Story - Martin Kingston: Haird Motorsport had a test day at Northampton International Raceway on Friday 26th February, The day started off wet and windy, however, by lunchtime the rain had stopped and the brisk wind had dried the track to allow some serious testing to begin. Six cars were present, the Nationals being represented by the three new Tigra Bs of Gav Murray, Mikey Godfrey and Chris Haird. This was the first time that any of the cars had been out on a proper oval. Also there was Wayne Lee, in the ex-115 206cc. Wayne has been away from the Nationals for the last ten years or so, occupying his time with some rallying and karting, but felt he still had some unfinished business and has made a welcome return. Kim Weaver was also there with both his Haird 2.0L Corsa and his older car, and was joined by Hughie. A seized diff in the silver Corsa early on limited their testing somewhat.

Back to the Nationals and all were well pleased with their mounts, Godfrey commemting after his first couple of runs that the new car was “awesome”, a totally different monster to his Saxo. He spent all day grinning like a Cheshire cat, and when asked about his new mount toward the end of the day he just said "It's brilliant, just brilliant!” Murray was rarely out of the car and then only to make some minor adjustments, another well pleased and looking forward to the new season and developing the car further. Although arriving a little later than the rest, Chris too was satisfied with the way his "B" was going. David Haird was happy with how the day had gone, and judging by the smiles all round, so was everyone else. All were next off to Ipswich for the Saturday test, and looking foward to the start of the 2010 racing when, as last year, the Haird cars will be a force to be reckoned with.
Martin Kingston's photos in the Gallery

Updated 23/01/10: Wilson Hamilton’s new Tigra
Story - Chris Sharp: England-based Ulsterman Wilson Hamilton’s new Vauxhall Tigra National Hot Rod is an ex-Ronnie McMillan car which Wilson bought on the mainland last year and rebuilt

The former Super Rod world champion still has his ex-Jeff Simpson Colt at home and intends contesting a few race meetings in the Tigra - but not a full season .
Photo - on track at Ballymena Raceway on New Year’s Day, by Chris 531

Updated 19/01/10: Four albums of NEC photos featuring new cars and new for 2010 refurbishments, by Martin Kingston and Steve Robey, NOW IN THE GALLERY

Updated 15/01/10: All-new Des Cooney Tigra - first photo

Story - Webmaster: Now freshly painted and signwritten, this is Des Cooney’s brand new 2010-spec Opel Tigra. The Ludlow Motorsport car is compliant with all the latest NHRPA rule updates, and ready for an upcoming test day at Northampton. Co. Tipperary-based Cooney is looking forward to putting his latest contender through its paces and racing it for real from April onwards.

Updated 07/01/10: Don’t miss British Champion at the NEC
Story - Webmaster: British Champion Andy Holtby heads the entry for the live indoor racing at the NEC on January 16/17. Andy hopes you won’t miss his Tigra under the lights, with its new glowing graphics freshly applied - especially the fluorescent nationalhotrod.com lettering!

Updated 04/01/10 National Hot Rod Winternational Championship
Ballymena Raceway, January 1st 2010.
Report with thanks to BMR/CA: Stewart Doak made the perfect start to 2010 with a hat trick of victories in the Winternational meeting at Ballymena Raceway on New Year’s Day.

The interesting entry of ten competitors which assembled to contest the championship included Republic of Ireland visitor Brendan O’Connell in his Peugeot 206cc, and ex-pat Wilson Hamilton, who brought his attractive Vauxhall Tigra along to Raceway for the first time. In the local ranks there was a National debut for Two Litre-Rodder Adam Heatrick in the Peugeot 206cc previously raced by his brother Mark, while John Christie was back behind the wheel of the Ford Fiesta which carried his father to world title success back in 1996 and 97. Glenn Bell put some more miles on his recently acquired Davy McCall-built Vauxhall Tigra, and former Stock Rod world champion Alastair Calvin had another outing in the Peugeot 206 occasionally raced by Mark Keys. The line-up was completed by Stewart Doak, Keith Martin, Mark Heatrick and Jason Winning, with all four driving their regular mounts.

Two reverse grid qualifying heats would determine the line-up for the Winternational Championship and it was Hamilton who occupied pole position for the first qualifier with O’Connell alongside on the front row. The pole-sitter’s Vauxhall Tigra didn’t stay there too long before it was tipped into a spin on the exit of Suffolk bend; Hamilton making it pretty clear who he felt was responsible for the rotation by taking a swipe at Mark Heatrick’s SLK as the field put a lap on the former Super Rod kingpin. O’Connell had taken up the running out front, but Doak had already charged through from sixth on the grid to second and quickly dispatched O’Connell too. Once in the lead Doak was never troubled, and opened his account for 2010 in comprehensive fashion. An entertaining scrap for second developed between Mark Heatrick and Martin in the closing stages with Heatrick just managing to keep his nose ahead all the way to the finish.

Heat two paired Martin and Christie on the front row and it was Martin who made the most of pole position to lead away. Second row starter Winning stuck at it for a few laps on the outside, before dropping back as Doak nipped under Christie at Fisherwick bend to run second. The Cirrus Plastics Vauxhall Tigra then closed in on the leader’s Peugeot 206cc and Doak immediately went on the attack around the outside line. A terrific - and fair - dice ensued for a number of laps, as the pair demonstrated great car control on the tricky track surface which prevailed during this cold afternoon. Doak eventually broke free from their scrap a few laps from home to claim his second win of the afternoon with Martin and Christie the next finishers.

Two heat wins ensured that Doak had pole position all wrapped up for the Winternational final where the reigning Northern Ireland Champion was joined on the front row by Martin. Mark Heatrick and Christie occupied row two, Bell and O’Connell shared row three with the remainder of the grid formed by Winning, Hamilton, Calvin and Adam Heatrick. Based on his heat performances it would have been easy to assume that Doak would simply disappear into the distance from pole position, but that theory was immediately dismissed as Martin tenaciously rode it out alongside the pole sitter for the first lap. Martin wasn’t giving this one up without a fight and the two leaders were inseparable over the opening tours as they circulated side by side. Just as the race fans settled back to enjoy a classic contest Martin went spinning out of contention after their cars touched down the back straight. Did Doak lean out on Martin, did Martin cut in on Doak, or was it one of those incidents which sometimes occur when two racers are competing on the limit? A clearly frustrated Martin obviously felt that Doak had played a telling hand in their clash and rejoined just ahead of the race leader. For a while it looked like Martin might influence the outcome of the final by baulking Doak’s progress, but the 2005 World Champion always had more class than that and eventually let the leading pack through before slipping quietly into retirement. With the interest now removed from the lead battle, attention switched to the squabble for second which was headed by Mark Heatrick. Christie was all over the back of the SLK however and eventually made a move stick that also opened the gate for Hamilton and Bell to relegate Heatrick further down the order. For a while it looked like Christie could mount a serious challenge for the top spot too, but Doak responded to Christie’s charge and increased the gap once again. With Christie’s progress being hampered by a slight misfire a stalemate ensured between the top two for the remaining distance as Doak secured the title for the second time in three years. The Portadown driver had been on it right from the first lap of the opening heat, and three wins out of three is an emphatic display in anyone’s book. Christie demonstrated that his Ford Fiesta is still a potent force with a strong charge to second and Hamilton will surely take encouragement from his most competitive outing in a while which netted him the final podium slot for third.

The new champion was presented with a set of Hoosier Racing Tyres courtesy of event sponsors Wash’n’Dash, Maxwell Freight Services and LM Paints, together with a £750 voucher courtesy of Ludlow Motorsport.
Heat One: 996 – 960 – 994 – 962 – 761 – 9 – 49 – 983
Heat Two: 996 – 994 – 962 – 960 – 983 – 9 – 904 – 761
2010 Winternational: 996 – 962 – 904 – 9 – 960 – 983 – 761 – 342

Updated 15/11/09 2010 National Hot Rod Calendar.
Story by Martin Kingston
Just 4 Fun Leisurewear & mkpics.net are pleased to announce our 2010 National Hot Rod Calendar. It is A4 in size with one month per page printed on quality graphics paper with a white metal spiral.

The Calendar features many of the top drivers of the 2009 season including multiple World Champion Carl Boardley, 2009 English Points Champion Chris Haird, European Champion Matt Simpson & British Champion Andy Holtby along with other drivers from the UK and Ireland. All photos are taken trackside by Martin Kingston of www.mkpics.net, an official ORCi & www.nationalhotrod.com photographer. It is only available exclusively from Just 4 Fun Lesurewear/mkpics.net - full details can be found at http://www.just4funleisurewear.co.uk/58227 It is priced at just £7 plus postage & packing of £1:50 to the UK & Ireland. They also have available a Scottish Hot Rod & a Classic Hot Rods Calendar along with a BriSCA F1 and the Official BriSCA F2 Calendar.

Updated 03/11/09 Tigra ‘B’ breaks cover
Story by Webmaster

This is the first sighting of the Tigra ‘B’ shape National Hot Rod panel kit from Boss Motors. This panel kit is destined for Haird Motorsport’s all new 2010 chassis and was on display at Birmingham Wheels on Saturday evening. The kit was only completed last Thursday, hence it’s still in white gel-coat - expect a completely built National Hot Rod with paint and signwriting at the NEC show in January. For more details, click the Haird Motorsport banner at the top of the page. Photos with thanks to mkpics.net

Updated 21/09/09 The 2009 NHRPA European Championship
Story by Tipperary Motor Speedway
Mr Bryan Allen is pleased to announce details of the travelling assistance that BAM Promotions is offering to drivers that enter the 2009 NHRPA National Hot Rod European Championship, on Saturday October 10th.

All visting NHRPA drivers who are booked in to race do not pay entry fees, and receive 4 free entry passes, (driver plus 3). Standard admission charges apply to any further persons (as at all tracks).

English and Scottish racers will receive €150 (euro), and Northern Irish racers will receive €70 euro. BAM Promotions look forward to welcoming as many drivers as possible to the Raceway in three weeks time to what is sure to be a great day's racing. Drivers: please book in with the NHRPA as soon as possible.

Gates to the raceway will be open from 1pm. Practice will be from 3pm - 5pm. Racing in the qualifying heats will start at 6pm, with the aim to hold the 50 lap European Championship final under lights at around 9pm.

Updated 26/08/09 British Championship/Irish Open Championship
Story by BMR
Drivers looking to race in the forthcoming Northern Irish championship weekend (Ballymena Raceway/Nuttscorner Oval, Sept 5/6) are urged to book in with the NHRPA as soon as possible. Thank you.

Updated 25/08/09 The 2010 South Africa Tour
Story by Webmaster: Once again it’s the turn of the National Hot Rods to tour South Africa in early 2010. European drivers taking part so far include Dick Hillard, Chris Haird, Les Compelli and Neville Stanley, for the race meetings that take in four SA tracks starting on January 9. Tour organiser Deane Wood has announced he has space for two more drivers to take part in the subsidised event - if you are interested in a winter racing break in the sun, contact Deane asap for more details on 01252 322 920

Updated 24/08/09 The 2009 NHRPA European Championship
Story by Tipperary Motor Speedway
Bryan Allen of BAM Promotions at Tipperary Motor Speedway has revealed that the 2009 NHRPA European Championship will be held on Saturday October 10th 2009.

Gates to the raceway will be open from 1pm. Practice will be from 3pm - 5pm. Racing in the qualifying heats will start at 6pm, with the aim to hold the 50 lap European Championship final under lights at around 9pm.

Allen said “Whilst we regret that the event won’t be a weekender, we are lucky that we still have the track at all, and are looking forward to welcoming all visiting drivers, teams and fans to what we hope to make a great and memorable day of racing for what is the last major title of the year. There will be assistance with travel expenses for visiting drivers and we’ll make further announcements as we get nearer the day.”

Updated 12/08/09 Andy Lane’s new Tigra
Story by Ludlow Motorsport:
Andy "it’s all about me" Lane debuts his new Ludlow Motorsport Tigra at Foxhall this weekend (15/08).

Andy's race technician for the meeting will be former Stock Rod world champion and south coast deviant Tim Moody - or Outsize Fella as he is known in the nationalhotrod.com Forum.

Good luck to the rest of the field, as they will need it racing against the highly erratic Ideal Commercials man. ludlowmotorsport.com

Updated 11/08/09 Ballymena 14th August NI WQ3
Story by BMR: The high-speed National Hot Rods return to Ballymena Raceway this Friday (August 14) to contest Round 3 of their World Qualifying Series. These explosive machines will set a scorching pace around the quarter mile oval as the drivers battle it out for those vital qualifying points.
Irish Open Champion John Christie heads the chart after the opening two rounds, with British Champion Gary Woolsey and World number two Glenn Bell also well placed. A fine grid of cars is expected with Keith Martin, Stewart Doak, Andrew Murray and Mark Heatrick also expected to go well.

Updated 29/06/09 World Final & Spedeweekend LIVE - 4/5 July
Story by Webmaster: If you're unlucky enough to be unable to attend this year's World Final and Spedeweekend, nationalhotrod.com will come to your rescue!

Saturday: As soon as the Hot Laps are complete, nationalhotrod.com will have the grid for the WF on the Home page. It's a tad too complex to add all the times set etc, but the grid itself should provide most of the story.

Then we'll have the results of the Support races uploaded as soon as each race is run.

Sunday: The World Final results and 2009 Champion of the World will be on the Home page as soon as the race is run. Should there be any stoppages/major incidents through the race, we'll have those, as they happen, too.

Then we'll have the result of the other Support race, and the Best in Britain, final, as soon as those races are run.

Updated 17/06/09 Stolen Stock Rod
Davy Evans Jnr. has been in touch with the disturbing news that his Vauxhall Corsa Stock Rod and car trailer were both stolen from the family home in Templepatrick on Sunday evening (June 14). Anyone offered a Vauxhall Corsa Stock Rod or trailer or even Vauxhall parts for sale should be alert to the possible source of these items.
If you have any information that may be of assistance to Davy in tracking the whereabouts of his property please contact him on 07720 716681

Updated 08/06/09 Pre-World Testing at Ballymena
Ballymena Raceway will stage an exclusive test evening for National Hot Rod drivers on Tuesday 16 June. The session will run from 6pm to 9:30pm, and is solely for NHRPA registered drivers. With no other formulas on circuit, this controlled test session guarantees drivers plenty of track time and will cost £25 per car. Any interested drivers are asked to book in with the promotion via telephone on 028256 45733, or by emailing bmrovalracing@yahoo.co.uk

Updated 07/06/09 From the NHRPA: Thunder 500 & Spedeweekend Instructions
THUNDER 500, SATURDAY 20th JUNE 2009
This meeting entry will be limited to 40 cars and priority will be given to World Qualifiers.
There will be 3 split heats.
The final will be limited to the 32 top points scorers on the day with the highest points scorers at the front of the grid.
Only 1 new slick or wet tyre will be allowed at this meeting.
Entry bookings for this meeting will close on 10th June 2009.

WORLD FINAL/SPEDEWEEKEND, 4/5 JULY 2009
This is a brief outline of the Spedeweekend events. A full racing schedule will be available from Spedeworth soon.
World Qualifiers:
There will be 34 cars in the World Final: 18 from England, 6 each from Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, 3 from Europe and 1 from South Africa.
There will be no reserves.
The tyre allocation for the weekend will be 4 new slicks and 4 new wets. All new tyres must be used, not stock-piled.
Non-English World Qualifiers will receive travel money.

World Support Drivers:
The entry will be limited to 32 cars from England, NI and ROI, decided by positions on the WQ points charts.
The tyre allocation for the weekend will be 1 new slick or wet.
Non-English Support drivers will not receive travel money.
Entry bookings for this meeting will close on 10th June 2009.

Racing Format – Saturday:
Practice for World Qualifiers.
1 Hot Laps for World Qualifiers.
2 Heat One for Support drivers (all in) drawn grid.
3 Heat Two for Support drivers (all in), reverse of heat one.

Racing Format – Sunday
2009 World Final
1 Second race for World Qualifiers, reverse of World Final grid.
2 Best In Britain Final. The grid will consist of the top 15 points scorers from the two support races on Saturday and the top 15 points scorers from the two World Qualifier races on Sunday. The grid for these 30 drivers will be ‘out of the hat’, drawn by the drivers concerned. (All WQ drivers must race on Sunday, unless excused by the NHRPA).

RULE CHANGE
NHR.2 TYPE OF CAR: ‘The only currently approved Sports Car is the Mercedes SLK 55 AMG.’
Change to ‘The only currently approved Sports Car is the Mercedes SLK’

Updated 03/06/09 New Ipswich hotel details
Nick Thomas (Spedeworth) reports: A new Ramada Hotel has opened in Ipswich this week and they have got plenty of rooms available over the weekend of 4th and 5th July (Spedeweekend).

The Ramada Encore Hotel is located in the town centre in Ranelagh Road, close to the railway station, it has a car park, but not a massive one so is probably not best suited to transporters. Bookings and details can be found at www.ramada-encore.com or by calling 08448010485.

Updated 29/05/09 Reminder to all National Hot Rod drivers and officials
From the NHRPA: Please note that in the event of a tie in World Qualifying points at the end of the season, for 6th place in N. Ireland or S. Ireland and 18th place in England, the driver who will qualify for the World Final is resolved by lap times.

The driver who puts in the fastest lap goes into the World and the slower driver(s) go into the support races.

The usual rule applies to drivers who straddle groups in England. The driver with the fastest lap time stays in the group and the slower driver(s) go down to the front of the next group.

Also, as already advised, this year, the fastest driver in lap times goes on to pole position, no matter where he is from or where he has qualified in the points.

Updated 27/05/09 Carl Boardley’s SLK
Nick Thomas (Spedeworth) reports: Here it is, seen for the first time this morning on the Spedeworth stand at the Suffolk Show in Ipswich, Carl Boardley’s new SLK.

The show is on for two days and we also have Jason Coopers HCD Superstox on display, so two World Champions and both from East Anglia.

Spedeworth would like to thank Carl and Jason and their race teams for getting the cars ready for us in the middle of a busy time for all of them, both on and off the raceways.

Updated 26/05/09 New Heatrick SLK
Mark Heatrick took his new SLK, the second to feature in Northern Ireland, out for practice last Friday at Ballymena, but raced his regular mount. Photo with thanks to Brian Lammey.

Updated 12/05/09 Ipswich resurfacing ready for Spedeweekend
Nick Thomas reports: The bends at Foxhall Raceway are being resurfaced this week, this should improve the racing tenfold and provide a good outside line. The work is being carried out by Tarmac, who are using a special race track compound which they developed a couple of years back when they were awarded the contract to resurface Brands Hatch

The top surface is being planed by Steve Lumley Planing and D Haird & Co. The middle photo shows top National Hot Rod racer Chris Haird doing his day job driving the Haird tipper and getting some practice hot-laps in...

Updated 24/04/09 Andrew Murray’s finished CC
Although he raced it over the Easter weekend in Northern Ireland, Randallstown’s Andrew Murray - a former European championship place-man - has now had time to apply his AMD signwriting to the ex-John Holtby CC ready for the next NI meeting.

Updated 21/04/09 Irish Grand Prix winner set-up for Ipswich
A late entry for this Saturday’s English World Series round 13 at Ipswich (25/04) is Irish GP winner Tom Casey. Tom told nationalhotrod.com he thinks that he can afford to miss Tipp. this weekend and count Sunday as his dropped round, still maintaining a good chance of winning the Irish points. He plans to use Ipswich as a test session along with the crew from Ludlow Motorsport to set up the SLK around the World Final venue - especially as we understand that there is no Press/test Day this year.

Also in Saturday's entry list is Dubliner James O'Shea - as predicted recently in this website’s Forum. James may prove to be a more regular competitor in the English series. FULL ENTRY LIST FOR ROUND 13

Updated 13/04/09 Ross Loram’s new Tigra
First photos of Ross Loram’s new shape Vauxhall Tigra. Ross told nationalhotrod.com: “It was finished just in time for its first meeting yesterday afternoon (12/04) at Bristol.

“It's all been done completely from scratch, starting from a standard Tigra (we inadvertantly scrapped quite an apparently rare MTV-edition Tigra in the process!), so it's quite different to the Ludlow’s design.”

Updated 03/04/09 Eddie Wall’s SLK
First photos anywhere of the new Ludlow SLK freshly ferried over to Ireland in time for the resumption of racing at Tipperary on April 5. Built and painted in England, engine rebuilt by Trevor Hill and Son in Northern Ireland, and signwritten by Sign Shop in Ireland, this car is likely to be Eddie’s best yet. A form man over the last few months in rather more elderly machinery, Sunday’s race meeting will be used as a test day as Eddie puts the new machine through its paces.

Updated 15/03/09 David O’Regan’s Tigra
First pictures of National Hot Rod newcomer David O’Regan’s ex-Sylvia Tobin Tigra. Signwriting was added Saturday 14th March in readiness for a St. Patrick’s Day parade near David’s home in Co. Cork. David is no novice to oval racing having competed in - and won - many Production class races at Tipperary Motor Speedway, and will debut his new, much more powerful mount, at Tipperary on April 5. He is the son of 908 John O’Regan, who is also readying his older 206 for a spin this year.

Updated 02/03/09 Ipswich Test Session 28/02/09
Various new and refettled National Hot Rods took to the track on Saturday night at Ipswich for a pre-season test session. Mark Fuller debuted his #68 Saxo - a rebuild of an elderly ex-Colin Gomm Clio - and the new Ricky Hunn ex-Stroud Tigra was tested by Terry Hunn and Chris Haird. LAP TIMES As well as setting fastest time of the day in his National, World Champion Carl Boardley also tried out a Tony Roots CAMSO V8. These cars will combine with the former ASCAR/SCSA formula this year in a new class, European Late Model Series, racing mostly at Warneton, but also taking in a couple of rounds on Spedeworth short ovals.
Photos and additional reporting by Graham Brown. Martin Kingston’s photos from testing at Northampton on Friday 27th February in the GALLERY

Updated 06/02/09 Ricky Hunn Tigra - progress update
Latest photos from the Scrapco/Team Stroud workshops show the Ricky Hunn Tigra now adorned with its new 2009 signwriting. Thanks to Terry and Andy.

Updated 05/02/09 New Tipperary promoter
nationalhotrod.com has learnt that racing at Tipperary Motor Speedway will be promoted, with immediate effect, by Bryan Allen. Bryan is well known to most raceway visitors both as a former Hot Rod racer himself, and as the proprietor of Great Stuff Catering.

It is understood that he has taken an initial three-year lease to run the track, and a full set of fixtures for 2009 will be announced shortly.

Updated 24/01/09 New Tigra for Ken Marriott
These exclusive photos show the ex-William Buller/Clive Richardson Ludlow Tigra being readied for Ken Marriott to race in England this year. Thanks to Paul Birkin.

Updated 17/01/09 New Tigra for Ricky Hunn
Our exclusive photos show the ex-Trevor Stroud Tigra being prepared in the Essex workshops of the Scrapco/RJK Salvage team for Ricky Hunn to campaign this year. More photos to follow when the car is signwritten. Thanks to Terry Hunn.

Updated 12/01/09 Driver Awards results
The NHRPA/nationalhotrod.com Driver Award results and winners were announced at the NEC Autosport Show over the weekend of January 10/11 2009. The running of this year’s awards was a rather short notice affair, members of the Forum having less than a week to make their choices in the five categories. Nevertheless, as always, the voters consisted of fellow racers and fans of the racing, and as such provided a fair reflection of who impressed over the last twelve months.

The photo on the left shows NHRPA Racing Director and Motorsport News journalist Graham Brown presenting three-time World Champion Carl Boardley with his Driver of the Year trophy, sponsored by Spedeworth International.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to either vote online or at the Autosport Show

Results are as follows

Rookie of the year 1. Glenn Bell 2 Luke Armiger 3 Mikey Godfrey
Driver of special merit 1. Gavin Murray 2 Dick Hilliard 3 Chris Haird
International merit award 1 John Christie 2 Shane Murphy 3 Tom Casey
Best presented car and team 1 Malcolm Blackman 2 Carl Boardley 3 Chris Haird
Driver of the year 1. Carl Boardley 2 Gavin Murray 3 Chris Haird
The votes were counted and independently scrutineered by Marlene Clarke. Trophies are for the winner in each category. With thanks to Marlene Clarke

Updated 28/06/08 World Final Press Day news & photos
Twenty-three cars were in attendance in all, including a couple of drivers not in the World Final this year - 25 Keith Woods, 41 Carl Boardley, 61 Andy Holtby, 66 John Van Den Bosch (Car being driven by Chris Haird), 67 Dave Brooks, 85 Stuart Carter, 95 Gavin Murray, 115 Chris Haird, 170 Steve Thompson, 278 Colin Gomm (using the 206), 303 Matt Simpson, 427 Jamie Austin, 491 Colin Smith, 761 Brendan O'Connell (ROI), 911 Malcolm Blackman, 921 Des Cooney (ROI), 960 Mark Heatrick (NI), 961 Tom Casey (ROI), 970 Shane Murphy (ROI), 996 Stewart Doak (NI). Non-qualifiers - 38 Richard Smith, 53 Waine Souter, 402 Trevor Stroud

Quite a few drivers will be burning the midnight oil next week, as several of the cars had no signwriting, and the likes of Colin Smith and Dave Brooks’ cars looked like they had seen better days, and will probably need re-panelling.

Despite the dustiness of the track, Irish qualifier Des Cooney set fastest time of the day, followed by England’s Matt Simpson. Reporting by Steve Robey and Martin Kingston. See their two photo albums in the GALLERY
Press Day LAP TIMES

Updated 22/06/08 Hoosier Tire Challenge Final - Tipperary - June 21
Heat 1: 74 961 420 777 87
Heat 2: 74 961 777 420 87
Final: 74 961 777 420 87

Updated 15/06/08 Hoosier Tire Challenge round 2 - Tipperary - June 14
Heat 1: 961 200 74 777 982 777 87
Heat 2: 74 300 777 982 961
Final: 74 961(X-1) 777 982 87 300

Updated 08/06/08 Hoosier Tire Challenge round 1 - Tipperary - June 7
H1: 74 961 761 200 925 87 300 777
H2: 200 777 74 300 961(X) 925 87
Final: 74 961 200 777 300 761 925 87

Updated 08/06/08 Thunder 500 & World Final support racing information
From the NHRPA: Thunder 500: Only 1 new tyre will be allowed at this meeting. There will be no travel money for visitors.
World Support Races: The Support entry will be limited to 30 cars. Drivers must book in by 21st June (Thunder 500 meeting). Priority will be given to drivers who have raced throughout the season. New/returning drivers will be added to a reserve list and offered places on the grid if available.

Updated 05/06/08 Hoosier Tire information
Hoosier Tire Co. would like all drivers to be aware that the tyre service trucks will not be attending World Series 16 at Birmingham Wheels on June 14. Full service will be resumed at the forthcoming Thunder 500, Press Day, and World Final events as normal.

Updated 18/05/08 Revised Tipperary fixtures
Sun May 25 - NHR WQ15 plus all classes
Sat May 31 - NHR WQ16 plus all classes bar Fiestas
Sat June 7 - NHR Hoosier Tire Challenge rd1 plus all classes bar Productions
Sat June 14 - NHR Hoosier Tire Challenge rd2 plus all classes bar 1600HRs
Sat June 21 - NHR Hoosier Tire Challenge final plus 1600 Hot Rod Championship, plus all classes bar 1300HRs
Sun June 29 - Practice race day. All classes bar Fiestas
Sat July 13 - NHR 2009 WQ01 plus Production Championship plus all classes bar Fiestas

Saturday race meetings: practice from 5.15pm, racing from 7pm
Further fixtures to be announced. European Championship still as on original fixture lists.

Updated 29/04/08 From the NHRPA
With Mallory on the horizon again, please remember: No windscreens of any type (safety glass, laminated, perspex, or lexan) are permitted.

Updated 24/04/08 Z4 breaks cover
Exclusive first photos of the all-new Autocross Z4 which arrived at the workshops of Timms Autoteille in Germany at the weekend. Volker Timm told us “We hope you like the car as much as we do - we can hardly wait to see it on the track. As you can see, there is still some “little” work to do”.

Added 14/01/07 Hoosier sponsor RACEceiver deal
Roy Eaton, the NHRPA Chairman, has negotiated a sponsorship deal with Andy Postance and Martin Lamb of Hoosier Tires, to provide 2007 licenced National Hot Rod drivers with RACEceivers. These NASCARstyle devices provide one way contact between the Steward of the meeting and the drivers on track during a race.

RACEceivers are used successfully by 99.9% of USA oval racers. We believe that introducing these devices to our formula is a positive move towards cleaner, safer racing. A RACEceiver consists of a small battery powered clip-on device and two hearing-aid type transducers, which fit inside your ears. The headsets have sound cancelling foam pads to cut out external noise.

When fully operational, every driver will hear the Steward's instructions or comments at the same time, which we envisage will bring about a number of benefits. For example drivers can be warned or advised:
1. Where they should be on the grid, enabling grids to be formed up more quickly and efficiently, particularly for a restart following a red or yellow flag situation.
2. About a rolling or clutch start and how many warm-up laps to expect.
3. Of a spun or stranded car or other obstacles on track.
4. That oil is on the track, and where.
5. That a yellow flag situation is coming, and reminded to slow down, and not get out of the car.
6. That a red flag situation has developed, and whether outside assistance is allowed or not.
7. Driver x, you are baulking driver y, allow him room to try and pass you.
8. Driver x, you have been observed making contact on driver y, a penalty may be imposed.
9. Driver x, you have been black flagged for . . . , pull off the track immediately.
10. Driver x, your transponder is not working.
11. Driver x, please report to race control.
etc. etc.

Needless to say, it will take a little time for both drivers and officials to get used to the new system, but we are confident that it will bring big improvements as the season progresses.

Colin Gomm tested the new system for us last year and commented, "This is the best thing that ever came into the sport. It will improve safety and help the organisers run better meetings".

You will be issued with your RACEceiver when you purchase your 2007 NHRPA licence and be informed in advance when your racing area (England, N. Ireland or ROI) is licenced for transmission and fully operational. From this point in time, you will not be allowed on track without a RACEceiver fitted and working with charged batteries. Please do not turn up at any track and expect to race without both a current licence and RACEceiver - you won't. Provisional Licence holders will have a RACEceiver 'on loan' for each meeting until their licence is upgraded.

We are sure you will support us in making this a successful venture for the progression and stature of National Hot Rod Racing. If you have any questions or queries concerning RACEceivers, please contact he NHRPA:

Added 16/01/06 nationalhotrod.com Driver Awards
The winners of the nationalhotrod.com Driver Awards were announced at Autosport International at the NEC over the weekend, and the five major titles were shared by just three drivers. Top accolade, Driver of the Year, was scooped by World and European Champion Keith Martin, who also was awarded Driver of International Merit. Dick Hillard was voted Best Presented Car and Team, as well as Driver of Special Merit, and newcomer Matt Simpson was named Rookie of the Year. The awards were voted for by readers of this website.

nationalhotrod.com Driver Awards for 2005 (no. & name)(votes cast) (top eight’s only)
Rookie of the Year
1. 303 Matt Simpson (147)
2. 901 Ian Thompson Jr. (121)
3. 2 Ken Marriott (72)
4. 75 Nigel Steward (51 ineligible)
5. 221 Neil Reeve (43 ineligible)
6. 103 Alan White (31 ineligible)
=. 262 Brian Loram (31)
8. 32 Stevie Williams (18)
Driver of Special Merit
(the driver recognised by voters as having made a special contribution to racing in 2005)
1. 31 Dick Hillard (117)
2. 41 Carl Boardley (65)
3. 198 Andy Steward (61)
4. 639 Ricky Hunn (56)
5. 14 Phil Spinks (51)
6. 115 Chris Haird (50)
7. 844 Billy Bonnar (48)
8. 291 Mike Thurley(41)
International Merit Award
(special award for drivers that race OUTSIDE of the English World Series)
1. 994 Keith Martin (142)
2. 961 Tom Casey (90)
3. 901 Ian Thompson Jr. (78)
4. 467 Winnie Holtmanns (60)
5. 142 Mike Riordan (57)
6. 970 Shane Murphy (56)
7. 177 Les Compelli (38)
=. 962 John Christie (38)
Best Presented Car and Team
1. 31 Dick Hillard (105)
2. 303 Matt Simpson (94)
3. 911 Malcolm Blackman (84)
4. 41 Carl Boardley (53)
=. 115 Chris Haird (53)
6. 75 Nigel Steward (51)
7. 170 Steve Thompson (46)
=. 994 Keith Martin (46)
Driver of the Year
1. 994 Keith Martin (195)
2. 41 Carl Boardley (68)
3. 639 Ricky Hunn (66)
4. 901 Ian Thompson Jr. (59)
5. 198 Andy Steward (50)
6. 75 Nigel Steward (43)
7. 911 Malcolm Blackman (40)
8. 115 Chris Haird (38)

Added 12/07/05 Hunn-believable - how Ricky sealed the 2005 English Points Championship
The final World Qualifier for the National Hot Rods took place at the Birmingham Wheels track on June 5th – where the ever-popular Essex denizen Ricky Hunn sealed his first ever English Points Championship.

This was no easy title though; a season’s efforts were still in doubt right up to the last race of the last of a packed seventeen round campaign. Taking no chances, with several drivers still in contention with Ricky, he prudently brought both of the trademark yellow RJK Salvage Corsas; contingency should disaster strike…

After a couple of placings in the heats, everything rested on what Rick could pull out of the bag in the final, and what his fellow competitors were capable of. At the green Keith Woods took the lead with Neil Stimson into second. Exiting the second turn Dick Hillard got a tap and spun in the middle of the pack. This led to everyone taking avoiding action. Two cars, Ricky, and Rob Hadfield, cut across the infield and rejoined just ahead of the leading group. It took a goodly number of laps, but he managed to race in clean air and make up the distance to the leading group, and soon started to pick off the places.

At the flag it was a win for Chris Haird from Steve Thompson and Simon Bentley. Next up - following superb drives – were defending English Champion Malcolm Blackman, then Ricky Hunn and Dick Hillard. For Hunn, the tough drive from a lap down was all worth it. He had done enough to finish top in the points’ standings, and with it, crowned English Points Champion for the very first time.

Interviewed shortly after confirmation of his worthy title, Rick said “The racing overall was good, it’s just a shame there was only sixteen cars. People are not coming to the final round because they can’t make up group places. Why are they not coming to race anyway?

“The final should have been red-flagged, it left us with a lot of work to do which made it hard. Malcolm Blackman was up with the pack and I was a lap behind; thought the points championship had gone!

“I’m pleased to win the points championship, its something I have never done before, not even in my World Championship year.

”I’m really pleased for Matt and Trevor Stroud, they made this happen for us. I would like to thank them for what they have done. Since we got the new car and they came on board to help, its all turned round.

“I don’t know what they do to the car but it works…”
Gary Malkin & Neil Rowe