World Series Northern Ireland

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 08
Christie back on track with a treble
Ballymena, Friday 7th October 2011
Darren Black reports:  European Champion John Christie has been off the boil of late, but he charged right back into World Series NI contention with a well earned treble of both heat wins and the feature final at Ballymena on Friday October 7th. Once again it was a night of changeable track conditions, which led to a very intriguing final which saw the leading runners all finish together having started on differing set-ups

There were ten cars for this the last outing of the domestic Ulster season for the Nationals, including a return to action for Stephen Nevin. He had completely refurbished the ex-Lee Wood Peugeot 206cc that he collected at the Hednesford National Weekend, and it looked splendid in its new yellow livery. Thomas Dilly chose to stick with his yellow Tigra in preference to the RCE-engineered version which had taken him to a hat-trick at the previous Ballymena round, whilst Irish Open Champion Glenn Bell was back behind the wheel of his Tigra, to give it a final run out prior to the European at Tipperary later in the month.

Nevin elected to start at the rear for heat one as he eased his 206cc back into competition, leaving Dilly to take up the running on the wet track, ahead of Ian McReynolds. Christie had started well from the back group to head the surge forwards, whilst Doak was again looking good on his favoured track conditions as he relegated Bell and then Davy McKay.

Further back a tense tussle was taking place between Gary Woolsey and Adam Maxwell, something of the old guard against the new, with Adam receiving a warning before executing a pass on the outside line. At the front Christie was utilising the wide line often favoured at Ballymena in the wet, and he quickly outfoxed Dilly and then McReynolds to take up the running. He duly took the first chequered flag of the night, with McReynolds great value in second and using possibly an even wider line than John! Doak and Bell relegated Dilly nearing the end to nab third and fourth, with Thomas fifth ahead of McKay and Maxwell; the latter (fortunately for him) going unpenalised.

It was wet yet again, but drying for heat two, leading some to gamble on a ‘two and two’ set up tyre-wise, but the return of the rain just as they set off on the rolling lap didn’t help them much at all. The weather does seem to be playing havoc with the racing in the province of late – it’s actually hard to remember when the last fully dry meeting actually was! Nevin had taken up his rightful place for this one, and led them away at the second time of asking. That was after the first start was aborted as the rolling pace had been much too fast, and had saw the whole field end up taking the green at nowhere like what the grid should have looked like.

Nevin was in trouble straightaway when they did get going, with smoke billowing from the front of his car and he duly received a red and white flag to put him on the infield. Christie made even shorter work this time of blasting into the premier position, with McReynolds still in second but with Bell and Doak bearing down on him fast. Stewart was all over the back of Glenn’s car, and harried him up the inside of McReynolds before finding a gap himself underneath the #9 car to go second. Christie eased home to his second win of the night ahead of Doak and Bell, with McReynolds doing well yet again in fourth this time in front of Martin, Dilly and Woolsey, after Keith and Gary had a fine battle during the race.

It was all about the conditions again in the final, as it was now drying somewhat, even if there was still plenty of water on the track. As in heat two there were differing set-ups on show, ranging from full wet through the compromise ‘two and two’ to even a few on four slicks. Nevin again led them away as Dilly was the first to show that he had slicks on board as an awkward moment saw him take the green flag on the grass! Christie was on a mission and quickly moved ahead as he was on a full-wet car. It even looked already as though it was all over, as he soon had a full straight of an advantage over Doak, who was one of those who had gone with the compromise. Another in that category was Bell, and he was next up and slipped past Nevin to go third with Martin also in the mix too.

Things then settled down somewhat, until it became noticeable that Christie was going wider and wider looking for moisture for his wets – the track had gone away from him and his tyres were quickly following suit. All of a sudden Doak and Bell were taking huge chunks from his advantage at a serious rate of knots, and John was obviously struggling to maintain any decent pace at all. From looking like a lacklustre run to the finish, this was now game on for sure, and that wasn’t it all!!! Not only were Doak and Bell clawing onto the back of Christie, but Woolsey on four slicks was coming even faster!

As the three lap board came down all four were together, and a grandstand finish was on the cards. Christie had to forego his wide line to hold tight, and Doak quickly took to the outside looking for the most unlikely of wins. But off line his slicks just didn’t have the grip, and despite his gallant attempts it was Christie who just held on to complete his hat-trick. Bell took third in the blanket finish ahead of Woolsey, who had been the fastest car at the end but even with more laps he would surely have struggled to go around any of the others. McReynolds, Martin and Nevin were next up, after Maxwell was docked two places to eighth for contact on McKay earlier in the race.

With World Qualifying over for the year, next up is Christie’s defence of the European title at Tipperary at the end of the month, before the annual Winternationals back at Ballymena on Monday January 2nd. Darren Black
Results
Heat One: 962 977 996 9 966 943 76 994 940 952.
Heat two: 962 996 9 977 994 966 940 76 943.
Final: 962 996 9 940 977 994 952 76(x-2) 943 966.
Penalties: 76 docked two places in final for contact on 943.
Brian Lammey’s photos at http://mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom/2012-World-Series-NI-Round-8/

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 07
Martin Just Hangs On To Snatch Double
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 1st October 2011
Darren Black reports:  Former World and European Champion Keith Martin held off a determined challenge from Stewart Doak to land a heat and final double when round seven of the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI was staged at Nuttscorner Oval on Saturday October 1st. Doak took the opening heat win on a night which saw wet conditions prevail throughout (Indian Summer obviously doesn’t apply in NI), whilst the controversial point of the evening was the exclusion of a number of cars from heat two, rather than the superb final fought out by Martin and Doak.

At the end of a long hard season the entries are unfortunately starting to tail off, although the nine car entry was an improvement on what we had at the previous encounter. That was due to the return of Ian McReynolds to the fold in his Citroen, whilst everyone else was mounted as they have been recently, save for Thomas Dilly who had reverted to his regular Tigra in preference to the RCE version used so successfully at the previous round at Ballymena.

With conditions as poor as they were, due to heavy rain over the past couple of days in the region, rolling starts were the order of the evening. McReynolds was a lone starter up front, and he duly led them away, with Dilly getting his debut in the back grouping off to a good start by leading them off. Unfortunately for Thomas that didn’t last long, as a spin into turn three left him right out of contention, and he unfortunately took Irish Open Champion Glenn Bell’s Peugeot around too.

That left Martin to chase after McReynolds, but he was soon under pressure from Doak who was looking in excellent shape indeed and revelling in his favoured conditions. He slipped past the #994 Tigra with ease, before running down the leader and taking it up around the outside.

Doak went on to wrap up a comfortable win, with McReynolds doing well to hang onto second ahead of Martin, Gary Woolsey and Bell, who had put in a storming recovery drive to just relegate John Christie and Adam Maxwell at the flag.

With a packed race schedule and pressure from the local council as regards finishing time, all drivers were well aware that things were tight for time on the night’s race programme. As well as various announcements over the PA system, and indeed a warning over the Raceceivers prior to the start of heat one, only four cars arrived on track for heat two. Even when the cars from the previous race had left the track, there were still no more forthcoming, so promoter Davy McCall made the call to shut the pit gate, and we were left with just Martin, Doak, Davy McKay and Maxwell for the race. Many thought it was harsh, but the drivers were well aware of what was expected of them – i.e. be sitting in pit lane as the previous race finished. The fact that the weather had dried slightly might have had an impact too, as many had opted for at least two slicks at this stage but it had just started raining again…but alas their gamble to get an advantage over those who tracked on time backfired. Better to be on track on the wrong tyres, than not on track at all…

So, off the four set for heat two then, with Martin leading them away ahead of McKay. Doak soon found a way up to second and quickly began challenging Keith for the lead, but Stewart got way out onto the mucky outside line on his four slicks and lost a lot of time. Maxwell and McKay soon slipped into second and third with Doak relegated right back to the rear of the line up. Martin held on for a win when most of the attention was to what was going on off the track rather than on, with Maxwell (fresh from a second spot in the BriSCA F2 Irish Championship the previous Wednesday) taking second, ahead of Doak and McKay.

Not surprisingly all the cars gridded in time for the final, and some were even lined up before the previous race had started, never mind finished! Nevertheless, we were once again about to be treated to a blinding final. McReynolds set the early pace as before, with Christie running second for a short while before being relegated by both Martin and Doak, as John continues to struggle with his Tigra ever since that British Championship shunt.

The battle for the lead quickly commenced, and there was still some considerable way to go, with Doak taking to the wide outside on what was now a fully wet track again. Woolsey boxed Christie in behind McReynolds to catapult past both in one move to go third, but the lead duo were already well down the road.

Back to the front and we were witnessing a truly remarkable battle. Martin and Doak continued to circulate lap after lap, side by side, with nothing at all to separate them. As they headed for the chequered flag, Stewart actually managed to clip the transponder first on four of the last five laps, but on the one that counts, the last one, it was Keith who held on for a superb victory. Doak was excellent value in second having spent almost his entire race outside of Martin in what was a blistering drive, whilst Woolsey closed on them nearing the end to take third.

Christie’s woes continued as both Bell and Maxwell relegated him further, the latter pipping John by just three thousandths of a second on the line to take fifth spot, with Christie sixth ahead of McKay.  Darren Black
Results
Heat One: 996, 977, 994, 940, 9, 962, 76, 943, 966.
Heat Two: 994, 76, 996, 943.
Final: 994, 996, 940, 9, 76, 962, 943, 977, 966.
Brian Lammey’s photos at http://www.mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom/2012-World-Series-NI-Round-7/

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 06
Ballymena, Friday 23rd September 2011
Darren Black reports: When the National Hot Rods contested the sixth round of the 2012 World Series NI at Ballymena Raceway last Friday night, Dungannon driver Thomas Dilly went through the card unbeaten to record a fine hat-trick of victories.

There was a disappointing entry for this one, with only eight cars congregating in the pits. That however included a new mount for Dilly in the form of an RCE/Ludlow Tigra. This was the car commissioned by James Jamieson Jnr but never raced by him, and came to Thomas via former British Champion Clive Richardson, who also never came to get behind the wheel of it. Of those present, Glenn Bell continued in his 206cc, whilst Gary Woolsey once again raced his older Tigra at BMR with it looking like his Mercedes has been cast aside, for now at least.

All three races would follow a similar pattern on the night, but don’t let that for one minute depict any sense of boredom or stalemate! Dilly was starting at the front of the pack, with the rest lined up in the back group to chase him down, such were the differences in the averages. The first heat didn’t get very far though, as although we had a small entry even that was enough for them to trip over each other into turn one, lap one. An unsatisfactory start was called and they lined up again for take two…

Dilly quickly settled into the lead, with Bell breaking away from the main pack to give chase. At the rear of the line up, Adam Maxwell and Davy McKay were battling hard, and a couple of attempts by Adam to get across Davy from the outside line saw him receive a warning for his efforts. Behind Bell, Woolsey was next up but under severe pressure from Doak. A blue flag gave Stewart the opportunity to hit the outside, and he put a fine move on Gary to move ahead, albeit with little resistance. With the lap boards out Bell arrived on the tail of Dilly for the lead, but despite a few stabs at the outside Glenn couldn’t unseat Thomas before flag-fall, and he took the win in his first race in his new mount. Bell, Doak, Woolsey and Keith Martin followed him home, with the latter having fought off a late race bid from John Christie.

It was as-you-were in heat two, with Dilly again settling into the lead and Bell chasing hard. Glenn was most definitely on it, and quickly dropped Woolsey who once again had Doak in very close quarters behind. As Martin and Doak once again fought their private battle further behind, Bell again latched onto Dilly as the lap boards came out. With two to go Glenn went for the outside and the lead, but got checked back slightly entering the back straight. In a flash Doak, who had now arrived on the scene too having got under Woolsey, dived under him, and this gave Dilly the breathing space he needed to rack up his second victory of the evening. There was a drag race to the line for second, with Doak just getting the verdict ahead of Bell; Woolsey, McKay, Martin and Christie next over the stripe.

With extra laps on offer in the final, it was going to be very interesting indeed, and once again Dilly was playing the hare, duly leading them away. As before, Bell was next up, with Woolsey neatly slotting in behind him again ahead of Doak. Woolsey then decided discretion was the better part of valour and allowed Doak by him into turn three. Bell once again got himself onto the tail of Dilly, but this time with more laps to spare than before. He had Doak for company though, and a momentary hesitation from Glenn saw Stewart quickly hit the outside to box his rival in behind the leader.

Doak quickly pulled himself alongside the #966 Tigra, but was finding Dilly a tough nut to crack. The rest of the field were bunching up behind now too, and it was most definitely game on. Into turn one and Doak was right alongside the leader, but contact side-on-side between the two knocked the Cirrus Plastics machine slightly wide. Stewart - all of a sudden - had gone from potential winner to grappling for his life, and he was fortunate to be able to slot back into the train in fourth. Bell was now back in second, but reluctant to go the long way around given the limited grip out there. He looked intensely for an inside gap but it never came, allowing Dilly to storm home to seal a very impressive hat-trick indeed. Not bad at all for the first time out in his new machine! Bell, Woolsey, Doak and McKay followed him home, with a very subdued pairing of Martin and Christie next up. Darren Black
Results
Heat one: 966, 9, 996, 940, 994, 962, 943, 76.
Heat two: 966, 996, 9, 940, 943, 994, 962, 76.
Final: 966, 9, 940, 996, 943, 994, 962, 76.No penalties issued.
Brian Lammey’s photos at www.mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 05
Three out of three for Martin
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 10th September 2011
Darren Black reports:  Fresh from the local international weekend, the Ulster National Hot Rods were back in action just six days later when they gathered again at Nuttscorner Oval for Round 5 of the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI on Saturday night. At the last World Series round former World and European Champion Keith Martin had suffered a nightmare when early heat one damage had finished his night early, but he bounced back in the best possible manner by claiming a faultless hat-trick of victories.

A fine showing of thirteen rods were on hand in the pits, including a return to World Series action for Mark Heatrick, and for Will Scott, the latter after quite a while away too. Gary Woolsey and Paul Crawford had both missed the international weekend but were back in the fray too. Car-wise all were mounted as you would expect, except for Glenn Bell who was behind the wheel of his Peugeot 206cc for its first run out in a while.

Frankie Lynn had pole spot for the meeting, but he retired before the end of the warm-up laps in heat one with what looked like electrical trouble in his Corsa. That allowed Crawford to make the first moves to the lead, with Martin slotting in behind after Thomas Dilly dropped back from his start alongside Crawford. Martin was benefitting from a drop in average following his Ballymena woes, and was in determined mood to make up for it in style. He soon found a way past Crawford on the inside into turn one, but as Dilly tried to follow him he made contact with the #7 and was black crossed next time around. Crawford soon retired, and Dilly slipped down the order too.

With Martin clear at the front, Heatrick was leading the chase ahead of Woolsey, Stewart Doak and John Christie. Contact back in the pack led to a time consuming moment for Adam Maxwell, which earned Davy McKay the second cross of the race. Martin was well in command at the end, and took the win ahead of Heatrick’s Merc, Woolsey, Doak, Christie and Bell.

When the green flag went down in heat two, it all kicked off in the back pack and cars went in every direction into turn one. A red flag was called for an unsatisfactory start, and it was Lynn who duly led them away at the second time of asking. Dilly had beaten Crawford away at the first attempt, but couldn’t manage it this time, and so had to settle into fourth behind Crawford and Martin. This trio quickly relegated Frankie to take over the top placings, whilst behind Heatrick was again leading the rear group forward.

Doak then managed to find a gap inside Woolsey into turn one to go fifth, which in turn saw Gary get rail-roaded right out of it completely. Further back a slight punt from Maxwell put Christie onto the infield and lost him valuable time and gained Adam a black cross. In the midst of the confusion McKay lifted off momentarily, but when he tried to move back across, Woolsey was already up his inside and the #943 car spun to a halt on the infield.

Martin once again was in control up front though, and easily made in two from two. Crawford and Dilly underlined their recent improvements with solid finishes in second and third, with Heatrick, Doak and Bell next up.

With Lynn again starting on his own at the front for the final, he slotted into the lead, whilst Dilly tried hard to hang on the outside of Crawford. He just couldn’t manage it, and once again had to slot in behind Paul and Martin too. Down the back straight Heatrick got a run inside Dilly into turn three, and as Thomas came across for the bend it would have a calamitous outcome. The contact sent the Dilly car into a big drift, but Thomas couldn’t quite hang onto it and he spun across the following pack. Doak was the unfortunate one to be collected and he speared sharp left into the wall as the yellows came out. Both were out of the restart, as was Bell with what looked like radiator damage too.

Lynn led them off once again from Crawford and Martin, with Heatrick, Woolsey, Christie, Maxwell and Ian McReynolds next up. Lynn was soon relegated, before Martin found a way by Crawford to take up the running with the treble well within his sights now. Woolsey then found a way past Heatrick for the first time on the night and set about launching an attack on Crawford for second. After several blue flags for Paul, Gary found the slightest of gaps on the inside through turn one, with Paul’s attempt to close the door once Gary was there only resulting in the TRM-backed machine spinning to a halt and with it the end of his gallant effort.

Martin reeled off the laps to take the flag and complete his fine hat-trick, which would catapult him right to the top of the World Series standings alongside Christie who came home third behind Woolsey. Maxwell crossed the line fourth ahead of Heatrick, McKay, Lynn and Scott.

Whilst the local points charts have been close for the last number of years, we now find ourselves heading to Ballymena on the 23rd of this month with a mere ten points between the top seven drivers!  Darren Black
Results
Heat 1: 994, 960, 940, 996, 962, 9, 977, 76, 966 (x-2), 943 (x-2)
Heat 2: 994, 7, 966, 960, 996, 9, 941, 940, 76(x-2), 977, 962, 980
Final: 994, 940, 962, 76, 960, 943, 941, 980
Penalties: 943 docked two places for contact on 76 in heat one. 966 docked two places for contact on 7 in heat one. 76 docked two places for contact on 962 in heat two.
Brian Lammey’s photos at http://mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom/2012-World-Series-NI-Round-5/

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 04
No Dilly-Dallying From Thomas!
Ballymena, Friday 19th August 2011
Darren Black reports:  Despite not figuring at all prominently in the heats, it was Thomas Dilly who swept through to collect the final honours at Ballymena Raceway on Friday night for Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI Round 4. Earlier, the heats had been shared between Stewart Doak and Glenn Bell.

For this one we were down the holidaying Ian McReynolds, but once again had Shane Murray running off the back in the Hardie Motorsport Tigra, but looking much more comfortable than he had on his maiden outing. Gary Woolsey was Tigra mounted (the older of the two), which for Ballymena is a rarity as it was previously where he had preferred the Mercedes – is this another SLK to be cast adrift? Having missed the previous round, Paul Crawford was back out as well, and sponsoring the meeting too through his Tullymore Road Motors concern. The remainder of the 11 car entry were all presented as you would usually expect, with Adam Maxwell continuing in the family Tigra B.

Crawford set the early pace in heat one, on a track which had been left quite damp following a shower just prior to start time. It was still slicks all round though, leading everyone to ‘tread’ very carefully indeed. The more experienced Woolsey and Doak were the first to show from the back, before Adam Maxwell had a spin exiting turn two and whilst he gathered himself together he was clouted by the unfortunate Keith Martin. Frankie Lynn also got involved too, and with Martin stranded broadside across the track the yellows were called for.  Even worse for Martin and Lynn was that this would be the last we’d see of them for the evening, with Martin’s car being dragged from the raceway all but missing a rear wheel.

Crawford led them away at the restart, but soon had to give way to the flying Woolsey and Doak. Stewart always revels in these conditions, and he soon had Gary under enough pressure for the #940 to receive a blue flag and a Raceceiver warning to hold his line. This was Doak’s signal to go for the outside trip, and despite a few laps of side by side, door handle to door handle stuff, he made it past and on to the win in some style. John Christie and Glenn Bell also managed to overcome Crawford before the chequers for third and fourth.

There had been no more rain before heat two, but the track still wasn’t completely dry, so a rolling start was again the order of the day. They had to make a second attempt at it though, as Dilly managed to bring a marker tyre out onto the track whilst beaching himself on the kerb on the opening lap.

Take two saw Crawford again lead them away, fending off the attentions of form-man Maxwell before he went ahead down the inside. Maxwell then seemed to run way too deep into turn three, and Crawford was nearly back under him, until he seemed to have to hesitate too. Everyone else was tight behind and in an instant they all made contact, and then almost came to a complete halt too. Crawford spun onto the infield in the confusion, Woolsey nearly spun but was righted by Doak, and Christie lost a pile of time as well. It was hard to apportion any blame given the sudden reduction in speed, and with no cars stranded on track we even avoided a caution period!

Maxwell had grabbed the lead again, and a healthy one it was now too, whilst Bell and points leader Davy McKay also came up trumps and moved to second and third, ahead of Doak, Woolsey and Christie. As Glenn set about eating into Maxwell’s lead, Woolsey had his mirrors full of Christie, before John slipped under Gary into Fisherwick Bend. It looked hard but fair, but Gary obviously disagreed, and his antics down the home straight whilst the two cars were alongside each other earned him a black cross and a docking for ‘naughtiness’, shall we say….

Bell eventually did run Maxwell down, and duly took over at the front to record the win. Maxwell, Doak and the season’s surprise package McKay followed him home.

Just after heat two there had been a shower, and quite a shower it was too, and by the time the final came to the grid it was all about tyre choices. Some went wet, some went dry, but the one sure thing was that only some would be right!

Crawford again had the front row to himself following Lynn’s earlier demise, but his lead was quickly snatched from him after only a few laps by Dilly, who most certainly looked like a man on a mission. Notably too though, he was a man on a mission on slicks! Already Woolsey, Doak and Maxwell knew they were in big trouble on wets, and the race just disappeared from them from that point on.

With Dilly storming away, Crawford held second from Bell, Christie and McKay, whilst the rest just fell further off the pace. Before the 15 lap mark we had the unusual sight of Doak - usually the expert in the damp - being lapped, and the squabbling Murray and Woolsey were next in the sights of Thomas. They delayed him significantly though, and a huge chunk of his lead disappeared, but although Bell got within sight of him Dilly managed to keep the status quo all the way to the flag and record a very pleasing win. Bell took quite a handy haul of points for the night in second, ahead of Christie, Crawford and McKay who had done more than enough to hang onto his series lead. Behind them trailed Woolsey, Doak, Murray and Maxwell with some of them not only ruing the poor decision but the fact they had just all but ruined four wets!

World Series NI gets a break now as we now have the Ulster international weekend, with the Irish Open at Ballymena on Sept 3rd and then the 2011 British Championship at Nuttscorner Oval on Sunday September 4th. Decent incentives are being offered by the promoters in the hope of attracting a good field, and already World Champion Malcolm Blackman and National Champion Chris Haird are two of quite a number who have signalled their intentions to be present.  Darren Black
Results
Heat 1: 996 940 962 9 7 76 966 70 943.
Heat 2: 9 76 996 943 962 70 7 940(X-2).
Final: 966 9 962 7 943 940 996 70 76.
Penalties: 940 docked 2 places for contact on 962 in heat two.
Brian Lammey’s photos at http://mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom/2012-World-Series-NI-Round-4/

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 03
Maxwell makes it two in a row
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 6th August 2011
Darren Black reports:  Following his hat-trick at the previous meeting a fortnight earlier, Adam Maxwell didn’t have things all his own way when the National Hot Rods gathered for Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI Round 3 at Nuttscorner Oval on Saturday night. He did however take the chequered flag when it mattered most – in the final – after reigning NI Champion Gary Woolsey had claimed victory in both heats.

There were 11 cars in action for this one, most notably including a debut for 2.0 Hot Rods National Champion Shane Murray (70), in a Willie Hardie Tigra. Although this was to be a one-off outing, Shane didn’t discount the chances of him appearing again, to get rid of his provisional tag if nothing else at present. Of the others, Maxwell had decided that giving World Final qualification a decent shot was the way forward, and the #76 now adorned the much more purposeful Haird Motorsport Tigra ‘B’ raced recently by his father Terry.

With Maxwell and Frankie Lynn still not having a three-meeting average from the front, yet being out of their provisional period, they were seeded onto row one as they were at the previous encounter, but this time with Lynn on pole. The former Stock Rod man soon settled into the lead in the first heat, ahead of Maxwell and Woolsey – Gary having started up near the front courtesy of his torrid meeting last time out. Woolsey wasted little time sneaking under both those ahead to take it up, whilst the main pack, headed by points leader Davy McKay, relegated Thomas Dilly to chase after the two recent newcomers.

McKay was under serious pressure from Keith Martin though, and that pressure paid off when Keith slipped under the #943 Tigra into turn one, and then quickly relegated Lynn to go third. Lynn then found himself facing the wrong way on the entrance to the back straight, and the yellows were called for to remove the stricken machine.

Woolsey again moved ahead on the resumption of racing to claim the first win of the night, whilst nearing the end Martin outfoxed Maxwell to gain a deserved second. Glenn Bell came through for fourth ahead of Stewart Doak and McKay.

Lynn again led the early exchanges of heat two, with Woolsey soon filling his mirrors looking for the lead once again. A blue flag to hold his line allowed Woolsey his chance, and he quickly darted right around the wide line to take it up. As he did so, Lynn seemed to run slightly wide into turn one, and when he came back on line Maxwell’s Tigra was already making a move inside him. The resultant contact saw the yellow Corsa spin once again, and this time he was collected by the helpless Martin. With both stranded on the entrance to the back stretch it was caution time once again, and even though Martin was able to eventually keep running, the new rules of racing dictate that all causes of the stoppage must be removed from the restart – the yellows were thrown for two cars stranded on track.

Woolsey again led the rolling lap restart away, and easily lapped the remainder of the race to take his second chequered flag of the night. Maxwell this time held on for second, with Dilly an impressive third ahead of McKay, Doak, Bell and a somewhat subdued John Christie.

After two very watchable heats, we were then treated to a superb final. Lynn had loaded up by now, which gave Maxwell the opportunity to dive inside into the gap at the green, which he duly did to take up the running. Woolsey soon wriggled himself into second, and quickly set about Maxwell on the outside, For a number of laps Gary tried as best he could, but just couldn’t make the move stick, and he then had Dilly nibbling up the inside of him too. For a moment it looked as though Woolsey might even get railroaded right out of it, but he managed to get back in and then relegate Dilly to go second once again.

Whilst Bell, Doak and Christie fought their own private battle further back, McKay and Martin were the ones making the headway towards the leading trio. Keith was again looking the fastest on track, and he soon found a way past McKay before quickly relegating Dilly to run third. All the while Woolsey had been chasing down Maxwell (who had broken away slightly), and he soon hit the outside with the hat-trick on his mind. But Martin was coming like a train now, and for the final tours the three were locked together in a fantastic scrap. Maxwell just held on for another excellent victory by the length of a bonnet from Woolsey, with Martin super value in third too, ahead of Dilly, McKay, Doak, Christie, Bell, Murray and Ian McReynolds.

The drivers now have a well earned week off, before we gather again at Ballymena Raceway on Friday August 19th for round four. Darren Black
Results
Heat One: 940, 994, 76, 9, 996, 943, 962, 977, 966, 70.
Heat Two: 940, 76, 966, 943, 996, 9, 962, 977, 70.
Final: 76, 940, 994, 966, 943, 996, 962, 9, 70, 977.
No penalties issued during meeting.  Brian Lammey’s photos at http://mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom/2012-World-Series-NI-Round-3/18416255_rp25kQ#1419845161 _LX9xnB3

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 02 Adam to the Max Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 23rd July 2011 Darren Black reports:  Just 24-hours after getting the NI World Series underway at Ballymena, the cars descended on Nuttscorner Oval for round 2 as part of the 2-Litre Hot Rods World Championship Speedweekend, incidentally won by Englishman Will Reed after a faultless drive. The twelve from the previous evening were joined for this one by Adam Maxwell, and it was the young Crumlin driver who picked up all the spoils with a flawless hat-trick of victories, including the fine Tullymore Road Motors-sponsored TRM Gold Cup, kindly donated by Paul Crawford. As per usual, Gary Woolsey had swapped to his older Tigra for this one, but an early run in practice saw the motor expire in alarming fashion. Gary immediately set off for home for the Mercedes, but as the Tigra had already been presented for scrutineering, it was it that had to be used. Thus whilst he raced back to Portadown, the team removed the blown unit and then fitted the motor from the Merc once it arrived. After a fine effort they made heat one, but that was as far as the good news was to go… After the warm up laps preceding heat number one, a number of drivers could be seen pointing at the track, and indeed it was coated in oil, whilst Woolsey’s car was sounding far from healthy with a bad misfire. Given the engine change, it was assumed it was from it, but all seemed fine, and a quick check of the other cars failed to find the cause. With the oil mopped up, they set off for three more laps to clear the cement dust, only for Stewart Doak to pull up with a blown diff...oil problem solved! So they finally set off minus Stewart, with his fine points haul from the previous night now counting for zero. Adam Maxwell and Frankie Lynn, fresh out of their provisional periods, had been seeded onto row one, and it was Maxwell who quickly assumed the lead. Lynn hung on bravely for a lap or two before being railroaded right out of it, which left Davy McKay, Ian McReynolds, Thomas Dilly and Paul Crawford next up (Paul being back in the front group for this meeting). Heatrick and Martin were leading the charge from the back, but as they would find all night, the star men were struggling to make any impact through the front starters. Woolsey meanwhile was circulating at the back nursing a shocking sounding motor, and his worst fears were realised when it blew as well putting him on the infield in an expensive cloud of smoke. Two engines gone in the space of a few hours must have been hard to take, and in true Woolsey fashion Gary retired to the bar for the evening... Back at the front, former F2 Superstar Maxwell took his first National Hot Rod win with ease from McKay and McReynolds, whilst Martin and Bell slipped past Thomas Dilly late on to take fourth and fifth. Adam then had his Uncle Tommy waiting on him with the radio mic for a family interview! Heat two followed a similar pattern, and this time included Doak who had replaced his diff, but the only suitable one had ‘seen better days’ so to speak, so he was destined to struggle for the rest of the night. Maxwell again led them away and quickly built up a cushion that would see him through to the chequers once again. McKay took his second runner up spot of the night, with Dilly this time taking third from McReynolds. Once again the top names struggled to make an impact, even though they were starting not very far off the front pack, with Bell the top finisher in fifth ahead of Martin, Heatrick and Christie. The final was minus meeting sponsor Crawford - after his diff had cried enough too - and once again Maxwell made no mistake at the green to lead them away. With the meeting running very late (we had kicked off this one at 11.15pm!) the Nationals looked as good as ever under the lights and in front of the big crowd. McKay and McReynolds settled into second and third respectively, with Dilly next up ahead of the race from the back headed by Heatrick and Martin. Bell and Doak had a little coming together mid-race which shoved a marker tyre onto the track and caused a quick caution period, but save for that it was a lightning fast run to the flag for them all. Maxwell took the treble in fine style to get his points total up and running, whilst McReynolds found a way past McKay to take the second placed trophy in the TRM Gold Cup. Heatrick finished fourth after he, Martin and Christie all found a way past Dilly nearing the end. And so finished two intriguing days of National Hot Rod racing which got the “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series underway. From looking like ‘normal service resumed’ after Friday night at Ballymena, the so called lesser lights certainly gave the big names some food for thought around Nuttscorner Oval. We will certainly have a points chart with some different names at the top being published very soon, and at this early stage of the season with 3-meeting averages still being used, the grids for the next round back at Nuttscorner Oval on August 6th will have a very peculiar look. Anyone for McKay etc towards the back and Woolsey on the front row? Darren Black Results: Heat One: 76, 943, 977, 994, 9, 966, 7, 962, 960, 941. Heat Two: 76, 943, 966, 977, 9, 994, 960, 962, 996, 941. Final: 76, 977, 943, 960, 994, 962, 966, 9, 996, 941.

2012 “Wash ‘n’ Dash” World Series 01
British Champ Doak at the Double
Ballymena, Friday 22nd July 2011
Darren Black reports:  Less than three weeks after the 2011 World Final, the Ulster National Hot Rods set off on the 2012 qualifying trail at a sun-drenched Ballymena Raceway on Friday July 22nd. Close racing was the order of the day, too close in some instances, and it was British and Irish Open Champion Stewart Doak who took away a handy haul of points with an excellent heat and final double. The other heat on the night saw Davy McKay take the win in a photo finish from Keith Martin.

There were twelve cars in attendance for this opening round of the season, with the usual suspects joined by Stephen Nevin. The former rally man and Classic Hot Rodder was behind the wheel of the ex-Keith Martin 206cc, but also has a new steed coming on-line very soon too. Thomas Dilly had built his Mercedes into a Tigra frame over the break, and quite stunning it looked too in his new livery – I say yellow although some call it green!  Of the others, Gary Woolsey was in his Mercedes for this one, with the rest mounted as you would expect.

Unlike down at Tipperary, the average system was in use for this meeting, and it was Davy McKay who set off at the head of heat one. Stewart Doak was leading the charge of the star men, and soon shook off the attentions of Keith Martin to begin heading forwards. With Martin stuck on the outside, John Christie nipped through as well, trailing Gary Woolsey with him, although quite a bit of paint was exchanged between him and Martin over a couple of corners which earned both a black cross next time around.

Doak soon worked his way through to the tail of leader McKay, and quickly nipped by on the inside to take it up and claim the first win of the campaign. Christie followed him through but was never close enough to mount any sort of attack, whilst McKay hung on for third. Woolsey, Martin, Mark Heatrick and Glenn Bell were next home (Gary and Keith avoiding penalty for their earlier contact), whilst there was late drama for Dilly as he lost a door which sent the marshal on turn 1 scurrying for cover as it took off like a frisbee!

McKay once again led them away in heat two, but noticeably Martin had beaten Doak away this time and it was he who made the first moves towards the front. Further back Woolsey was looking for a way past Paul Crawford, who was making his first start from the back group. This only allowed Bell inside the Mercedes though, and when he finally made it past Crawford, Woolsey followed him through.

Martin was looking very sharp indeed, and he dropped Doak and Christie behind him as he set about reducing the deficit to McKay. As the 3-lap board came out he was within touching distance almost, and a do-or-die attempt around the final turns of the last lap saw McKay just hold on at the line for a morale boosting win by the length of a bonnet. It was a fine effort from Keith, but he had to settle for second ahead of Doak, Christie, Bell and Woolsey.

McKay once again held the baby early on in the final, but a twitch into turn one early on signalled that all was not well in the gearbox of the #943 machine. Davy then ran out wide and dropped to the back before retiring, which left Ian McReynolds in the lead from Dilly. Doak meanwhile was again leading the rear group through, and this time made short work of those ahead to slide through to the lead in the Cirrus Plastics machine.

Martin soon followed him past to second but could make no inroads into his lead, leaving Stewart to take the flag and with it his second win of the night. Martin, Christie, Bell and Woolsey followed him home. Heatrick and Crawford had been at it hard all race, and when Heatrick spun the TRM-machine he was instantly disqualified, whilst Paul suffered the same fate for earlier contact and then failing to hold a racing line. Darren Black
Results
Heat One: 996, 962, 943, 940, 994, 960, 9, 7, 977, 941.
Heat Two: 943, 994, 996, 962, 9, 940, 960, 7, 977, 941.
Final: 996, 994, 962, 9, 940, 977, 941, 952 nof

*  * *

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 16 Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 4th June 2011 Darren Black reports:  After a year and fifteen rounds of excellent racing in Northern Ireland, the National Hot Rods arrived at Nuttscorner Oval on June 4th for the final round of the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series, with the NI Championship and the qualifiers for Ipswich both still undecided. Rab Forsythe grabbed both heat wins on the night, with John Christie taking his second final win of the weekend. It wasn’t enough for John to retain his points title though, as that fell to Gary Woolsey in a stunning finale. After the previous night’s goings on at Ballymena, Doak had another motor fitted to his Tigra, whilst Adam Maxwell had remedied his engine problems. Not so lucky was Ian McReynolds, who sat this one out with engine woes of his own – his place on the grid taken by Rab Forsythe to give us another ten car entry. Of the others, Gary Woolsey had switched to his older Tigra, and Frankie Lynn took his Nuttscorner bow in the Nationals. With the grid shuffled about yet again overnight, Doak had pole spot in the group of the stars at the rear of the line up, courtesy of his non-finish in the previous night’s final. As Forsythe led them away from Paul Crawford, Heatrick and Bell got ahead of Doak at the off. Stewart then got it all wrong into turn three, clouting the back of Bell’s Tigra. This sent Glenn into a half spin, and he came back across the pack where he was collected by a hapless Keith Martin. The impact dislodged a huge portion of the #9 bonnet, and a caution was called as it was quickly recovered from the track. Forsythe led them away again from Crawford and Heatrick, with Mark soon slipping past Crawford to go second. Bell got back past Doak and quickly by Crawford too, and we soon had a three way battle for the lead. When Heatrick caught Forsythe, he hesitated momentarily behind him allowing Bell up alongside. This was what won it for Forsythe however, as he got enough breathing space to get him to the flag ahead of Heatrick who hung on from Bell. Woolsey was fourth ahead of Crawford after Doak was docked two spots for the earlier incident, whilst Martin trailed home eighth with obvious damage from his contact with Bell. Doak’s relegation put him between Woolsey and Christie, increasing Gary’s lead at the top to 7 points, whilst Heatrick was now just 17 points behind Martin for the last qualifying spot. Both Maxwell and Crawford were done for the night before heat two with clutch trouble, leaving Forsythe to hold the baby early on once again. Doak settled into second, with Bell getting in behind him to relegate Heatrick.  Christie got a nose inside Mark onto the back straight in a move that was robustly brushed aside, as Doak got onto the tail of the leader. It then looked as though the Cirrus Plastics machine may have been leaking fluid onto his tyres such was the smoke/vapour coming from the front nearside arch, and Stewart’s pace began to drop. This gave Forsythe the chance to grab his second win of the night, with Doak holding station in second ahead of Bell, Martin, Heatrick and Christie. Woolsey had looked outside nearing the end but had to be content with seventh. So going into the final race of the year, Woolsey now had a six point advantage over Christie, who now had Doak equal with him in second. Forsythe once again settled into the early lead, chased by Heatrick, Doak (looking much quicker this time), Bell, Martin, Woolsey and Christie. Heatrick got relegated and his chances of the World Final were gone, and when Martin, Christie and Woolsey all got past Bell we had the unbelievable position of Doak and Woolsey tying at the top of the points chart! Doak was now on the tail of Forsythe, and being the driver he is never even thought of sitting tight. He hit the outside straight away, but it just didn’t work out for him. He got relegated by the train and his title hopes went right out the window. Martin was next to try the outside, and despite Forsythe’s attempts to hold him off, he eventually did take the lead and what looked like the last win of the year. Christie followed him through, but with Woolsey not far behind it looked like the drama was over. However, as Martin took the two to go board his diff exploded and he coasted into retirement. All eyes turned to Heatrick, but that was all immaterial as the meeting would now become Keith’s dropped score, and it had been basically mathematically impossible for Heatrick to overcome him even before the race had started. Christie came home to his second final win in as many days, followed by the new NI Champion Woolsey in second, and then Bell, Forsythe, Heatrick and Doak. There then followed some superb donuts by Gary in front of the large crowd as he celebrated his hard fought success, it all only coming to an end when he beached it on the kerb and it briefly went on fire as the air filters caught alight! The outright Wash ‘n’ Dash Series win was Woolsey by four points from Christie, Bell, Doak and Martin, who all go on now to the World Final next month. We must mention Mark Heatrick, who raced hard all year but just missed out on qualification. Mark could quite easily run with all the top names of the sport at any venue, but there were only five spots available and someone had to miss out. He will no doubt return more eager than ever, and deserves credit for helping to make the 2010/11 World Series NI the most keenly contested ever.  All points and calculations are of course unofficial and unconfirmed by the NHRPA at the time of writing. Darren Black Heat 1: 960 9 940 7 996(X) 962 994 941 Heat 2: 992 996 9 994 960 962 940 941 Final: 962 940 9 992 960 996  Brian Lammey’s photos at www.mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 15
Ballymena, Friday 3rd June 2011
Darren Black reports:  The Ulster National Hot Rods arrived at Ballymena Raceway on Friday June 3rd with two days of hot and heavy action ahead of them, with the NI Championship and the Province’s five World Final qualifiers both still to be decided. It was a dramatic evening to say the least, with heat wins falling to Paul Crawford and Glenn Bell, before John Christie took a decisive victory in the meeting final.

Just ten cars were in the pits for this one, the most notable being a debut for local driver Frankie Lynn. The former multi-champion in the Stock Rods wheeled out the former Gary Woolsey, Davy McCall-built Corsa to fulfil a long held ambition to get behind the wheel of a National. The car has been completely refurbished and is now looking superb in his usual yellow colour scheme. Frankie has of course raced in the elite class before, at the wheel of Ricky Hunn’s car at Tipperary back in the late 90’s, in one of several meeting finals on the European Championship weekend that were declared ‘new meetings’ to allow different drivers on track.

Of the others, Gary Woolsey was back behind the wheel of his Mercedes as is the norm at BMR, whilst Glenn Bell was Tigra-mounted after his 206cc’s recent outing.

If anyone was in any doubt about how much tension was in the air, it was proved beyond doubt when heat one took several attempts to get going. Bell jumped early on the initial attempt and took several with him, so the reds were called and all lined up again. After another false start which only got them a few yards, we did get going for real at the third time of asking, and again Bell got a flier which earned him a black cross as he shot away early from the outside of the back group. Professional foul anyone?

Bell made short work of Ian McReynolds to quickly grab second, as behind, Mark Heatrick was holding off the other contenders in Christie, Stewart Doak, Woolsey and Martin. Bell then took up the running as he swept by Crawford on the outside. Heatrick looked outside McReynolds for third, but only succeeded in letting Christie past and was indeed lucky to get slotted into the train again ahead of Doak. Bell took the flag but was docked three places for his jump start, with Crawford inheriting the win ahead of Christie, who had worked his way past McReynolds late on.

Adam Maxwell had loaded up before heat two as his 206 had lost oil pressure, and Bell made no mistake this time, beating Heatrick away completely legitimately to set off after the front duo. McReynolds soon dropped off the pace, whilst Bell again nipped around Crawford to take it up. As Glenn extended his lead, Heatrick was struggling to get onto terms with Crawford whilst Christie lost a few spots further back. Martin was all over Doak, as Christie edged back past Woolsey nearing the end, but Bell took the chequers once again and this time got to keep the win. Crawford was good value for second, from Heatrick and Doak – Stewart now inheriting the lead in the series when dropped scores had been taken into account.

With darkness having descended by final time, the now floodlit Showgrounds added to the atmosphere even more. Crawford and McReynolds set off at the front, and this time Heatrick notably beat Bell away to head the chase in third. Only two laps in though the fun began, as Doak had some component in his engine make a hasty exit from the sump on the home straight, coating the track in a liberal amount of oil. It wasn’t enough to call a suspension as the drivers all coped well, but enough to make things ‘interesting’! Doak meanwhile was left on the centre-green, pondering how his points lead less than an hour previously could now be going disastrously wrong....although in a way I’m sure he was glad it happened in the final and not heat one...

Those remaining pressed on regardless, but the Suffolk Bend could be at best described as tricky. Bell got a good run out of it looking for a way by Heatrick, only to end up in the midst of an enormous moment where he was on the grass and facing headlong into the grandstand at one stage! He gathered it all up, but Christie was now on a charge, enjoying his wide line through Suffolk that is usually reserved for wet nights. John relegated Heatrick, before even his wide line had him in trouble as he almost rubbed the wall at the old pit gate, but fortunately escaped unscathed.

Christie got by McReynolds to go second, whilst Bell recovered from his heart in mouth moment to follow him by, although some distance behind. Woolsey got by Heatrick and McReynolds for fourth, with Christie now on Crawford at the front. John found a way past Paul on the outside to take it up with five to go and race home to a very popular victory indeed, with Bell snatching second before flagfall too. Crawford was a gallant third from Woolsey, Martin, Heatrick and McReynolds. Lynn meanwhile had circulated quietly at the rear all night, but was well enough in touch to show that he’ll be more than a threat when he heads up the grid once his provisional period is over.

With the calculations completed, the cars now headed to Nuttscorner Oval for the sixteenth and final round, with Woolsey holding a slender 2 point lead over Christie in the points once the dropped scores were taken into account, and Doak now 11 off the pace. Heatrick meanwhile, was looking downbeat as he now had 27 to claw back to his nearest challenger Martin to make the Ipswich grid.  Darren Black
Heat 1: 7 962 977 9(X-3) 960 996 940 994 941.
Heat 2: 9 7 960 996 994 962 940 977 941.
Final: 962 9 7 940 994 960 977 941.
Brian Lammey’s photos at www.mkpics.smugmug.com/Nationalhotrodcom

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 14
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 14th May 2011
Darren Black reports:  Just 24 hours after the previous encounter at Ballymena, the Ulster Nationals were pressed back into action for Round 14 of the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI at Nuttscorner Oval on Saturday night, May 14th. After a welcome opening heat victory for Rab Forsythe, the second race of the night fell to Mark Heatrick, before Paul Crawford did exactly what he’s been threatening to do lately, and won his maiden final.

Fortunately everyone had made it through the ‘Friday the 13th’ meeting at Ballymena unscathed, but we did lose Thomas Dilly to a family wedding for this one. Corrie Beggs and Forsythe were back though, giving us eleven cars on the grid. Glenn Bell continued in his Peugeot, whilst Gary Woolsey had reverted back to his older Tigra as is the norm for the Nuttscorner meetings.

After the excellent set of races the previous evening, the first heat was very tame by comparison, but it was in the dry at least! Beggs made the opening moves in the lead, followed initially by Crawford, whilst McKay found himself relegated to the back of the pack as the star men thundered towards the front. Forsythe found a way past Crawford to go second, as Heatrick, Bell and Keith Martin all squared up to get by Ian McReynolds. Ian soon succumbed and they all slipped underneath him, but by now Forsythe had got himself around Beggs for the lead, followed by Crawford. The rest all jostled past Corrie too, but it was too late to challenge the frontrunners leaving Forsythe to take a rare but very welcome victory from Crawford and Heatrick.

Beggs once again led the early exchanges in heat two, by which time we’d had a heavy shower and the track was wet again. McReynolds had now loaded up for the night with engine trouble, whilst McKay also sat out this one too. Heatrick was leading the pack through from the back as he still fought to hang on to contention for Ipswich qualification, quickly relegating Forsythe and Crawford this time to go second. Beggs had got himself a decent lead, but Heatrick soon ran it down and relieved the youngster of the top spot. Corrie was driving really well – probably his best race to date and in tricky conditions too – but he soon had Martin, Bell, Doak and John Christie bearing down on him. Keith briefly looked to challenge nearing the end, before deciding the discretion was the better part of valour and settling for third. Heatrick coasted the last lap a country mile ahead, with Beggs ecstatic with his runner-up spot.

It was completely dry again for the final, and McKay had rejoined the troops after missing heat two. We didn’t get far before the drama began, as Heatrick got into the back of McKay into turn 3.  In the ensuing melee as Davy struggled for control, Bell and Christie both made contact too which saw all three relegated to the role of spectator for the rest of the race. The yellows got an airing whilst the cars were facing every way but the right one!

Crawford soon relieved Beggs of the top spot once we got going again, whilst behind, Forsythe was under severe pressure from Doak, Woolsey and Martin. As Rab obeyed the blue flag to hold his line, Doak’s hesitation in hitting the outside line quick smart proved fatal to his chances, as he found himself boxed in and Woolsey went the long way around to nab second, followed by Martin and Heatrick. Woolsey went on to greatly reduce Crawford’s lead out front, but time was against him and Paul came home to take his first ever National feature race win, and a well deserved one at that. Woolsey was second to continue his Mr Consistency role, with Martin third ahead of Doak and Forsythe, after Heatrick was docked two places for his earlier contact on McKay.

With just two rounds to go, things are as tight as ever at the top of the points table. The NI Championship title could go any way at all, whilst a bad run for any of the top five will still see Heatrick there to gather up the pieces and take up a slot on the World Final grid in July. It all comes to an exciting climax over the two days of Fri/Sat 3rd/4th June at Ballymena Raceway and Nuttscorner Oval. Darren Black
Results
Heat 1:  992 Rab Forsythe, 7, 960, 9, 994, 962, 940, 996, 977, 943
Heat 2:  960 Mark Heatrick, 147, 994, 9, 996, 962, 940, 7, 992
Final: 7 Paul Crawford, 940, 994, 996, 992, 960, 147

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 13
Ballymena, Friday 13th May 2011
Darren Black reports:  With it being Round 13, and on Friday the 13th too, the weather was never going to play ball at Ballymena Raceway on Friday night, but thankfully the on-track action was second to none. All the drivers and teams spent most of the night looking skywards as the meeting was blighted by squally showers making tyre choice decisively important. Mark Heatrick claimed the opening heat before European Champion John Christie took the flag in the second. In the final however it was Ian McReynolds who was able to hold off British Champion Stewart Doak to land the silverware.

The news amongst the entry was the return of Davy McKay to the fray after a week off, at the expense of the holidaying Adam Maxwell, giving us another ten car entry, whilst we also had Glenn Bell reverting to his Peugeot 206cc as opposed to the Tigra. The big talking point was the weather though, with frequent, heavy showers and a ‘fresh’ wind leaving track conditions changing by the minute.

Thomas Dilly led them off in a ‘greasy’ first encounter, but his choice of wets all round was far from the best, at this stage anyway. Paul Crawford, Davy McKay and McReynolds were next in line, but McKay and McReynolds soon tripped over one another and they were out. The other pace-setters were soon relegated by Mark Heatrick, Mark obviously knowing that he had to deliver to keep his qualification hopes alive, and deliver is exactly what he did! He zipped through to the lead and held sway to the flag from Bell and Christie, even overcoming another heavy shower late in the race.

For heat two, things were greasy again, but turned very wet early on indeed. Doak had been forced to change a diff in between races following a half shaft problem, and his very late arrival on track perhaps helped him make the right call on tyres, given as the others had been in the assembly area before the rain really started again in earnest. Dilly got off to a much better start this time, and indeed pulled out a handsome advantage early on. As McReynolds went for a spin, rain master Doak and Christie were making great strides forward, utilising the very wide line at Ballymena to its full potential. Christie was able to sneak ahead of Doak, before relegating Dilly to take it up and run home to a great win. Doak grabbed second by flagfall, with Dilly an excellent third ahead of an entertaining dice which fell to Gary Woolsey ahead of Heatrick.

It was wet again for final time, and we were set to witness a wonderful race, indeed one of the best witnessed at the Showgrounds in quite a while. Dilly once again led them off, as Crawford spun away any chance he had on the entrance to the home straight. McReynolds and his Saxo are admittedly no big fans of the Ballymena oval, having struggled around it for quite a while, but he was looking good in second and ready to challenge for the top spot.

Doak was leading the charge through from the back this time once again, and was keeping Christie at bay. McReynolds swooped past Dilly for the lead, tracked now by Doak. These two were now at it hammer and tongs for the lead, with Ian trying to drive the wide line and covering the inside as best he could at the same time. Woolsey had joined Christie for third, as things almost came to tears as they put a lap on Crawford, who switched lines to get himself out of the way right in the midst of the battle.

British Champion Doak asked every question of McReynolds over the final laps, but Ian hung on gamely to take the win after a race which saw great battles right throughout the field. Christie got third after a great dice with Woolsey, with Dilly, with Bell and Heatrick next up.

The drivers now had just one day’s rest before the battle switched to Nuttscorner Oval for Round 14 on Saturday night.  Darren Black
Results:
Heat 1:  960 9 962 940 996 994 7 966
Heat 2:  962 996 966 940 960 994 9 7 943 977
Final: 977 996 962 940 966 9 960 943 7 994

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 12
Ballymena, Friday 6th May 2011
Darren Black reports:  Three different winners in three races is always the recipe for an entertaining meeting, and that’s exactly what we got when the National Hot Rods contested round 12 of the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI at Ballymena Raceway on Friday May 6th. It was a night of changing weather and track conditions, and Thomas Dilly made the most of his front row start to secure a morale-boosting final win. Earlier the heats had been shared by Stewart Doak (now becoming something of a rain-master!) and Paul Crawford.

We were down to just ten cars for this one, with Davy McKay, Rab Forsythe and Corrie Beggs not in attendance. Adam Maxwell did continue his Provisional Licence period from the back, whilst the only other point of note was Gary Woolsey returning to his Mercedes, as has been the case at Ballymena recently.

With the track wet for heat one, rolling starts were deployed, allowing recent form-man Ian McReynolds to set the pace from Crawford, as Dilly slipped back through the field. Having taken the British title on a very wet Ballymena track last September, Doak was always going to be worth keeping an eye on, and indeed he soon was making great strides towards the leaders. John Christie was tracking his every move too, as they both swooped round the oval on a very wide line looking for grip.

Doak soon relegated both Crawford and McReynolds as he revelled in the conditions, and led the way to flag-fall from Christie. Glenn Bell netted third after an interesting battle with Woolsey, all after Mark Heatrick had lost ground demoting Crawford.

The track was noticeably drier for heat two, which left everyone wondering just what to do tyre-wise. Some went for four slicks, whilst some hedged their bets with a two and two combination. As they say, sometimes it pays to speculate to accumulate…

Dilly didn’t make the grid for this one with hub problems in the pits, so it was McReynolds who led them away but he was soon deposed by Crawford. Christie had looked relatively good in the opening encounter but had a very bad getaway in this one, as we got set for the race of the night.

So Crawford had the edge up front, and Heatrick was running him down, as Doak fought a concerted rear-guard action against allcomers, led by Bell and Woolsey. Martin had somehow ended up deep into turn one, and dropped right to the back of the field, and so began a stirring comeback drive.  Doak was struggling on his compromised tyre choice whilst anyone making moves was on four slicks, but Stewart just stayed tight by the kerb and let the others do what they could. Bell was boxed in right behind him, and indeed was black crossed when the ‘love taps’ became just a little too much.

With leader Crawford now being blue flagged to give Heatrick an opportunity to challenge for the lead, Martin appeared in third, having pulled off a fantastic drag right around the outside of Christie, McReynolds, Woolsey, Bell and Doak – no mean feat in anyone’s book! Keith wasn’t done there though, and quickly tracked down the lead duo but time just ran out too quickly for him. Crawford took the flag and a welcome win, from Heatrick who had been thwarted in every attempt to pass. Keith was excellent value in third ahead of Woolsey, Doak and Bell.

Dilly returned for the final, and with the curfew fast approaching and the track now almost completely dry, the warm-up laps were dispensed with and a clutch start called. Winner of the previous race Crawford soon saw his hopes of the double disappear as he got himself railroaded back down the field, and he was soon joined by McReynolds who was having what must be said was his first ‘off’ night in a number of weeks. Dilly still held station though, as Heatrick, Doak and Bell moved onto his tail to challenge.

That was how they stayed all the way to the flag, as a jubilant Dilly took the honours having driven a perfect defensive race and allowed the others plenty of room to attempt the outside pass. Heatrick took a handy haul of points in second, ahead of Doak, Bell and Christie.

Next we head onto the first of the two double headers that will finish the series off and decide the new NI Champion and the World Final qualifiers. First up this weekend are Ballymena on Friday and then Nuttscorner Oval on Saturday evening. That’s Round 13, on Friday the 13th. . . double jeopardy?  Darren Black
Results
Heat 1:  996 962 9 940 977 960 994 76 7 966
Heat 2:  7 960 994 940 996 9 962 977 76
Final: 966 960 996 9 962 940 994 7 76 977

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 11
Nuttscorner Oval, Monday 2nd May 2011
Darren Black reports:  Ian McReynolds was the hat-trick hero when the Ulster National Hot Rods contested Round 11 of the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series at Nuttscorner Oval on Bank Holiday Monday May 2nd. In racing circles the same winner in each race usually suggests that someone had quite an easy time of it….but that was far from the case in this instance!

As the local Nationals scene continues to flourish, we had an increase to thirteen cars for this one, with the welcome addition of Adam Maxwell. The young driver is of course the son of sometime racer Terry, and nephew to Tommy who is currently doing rather well in World Series England (a fact that isn’t going unnoticed over at home either). Adam has a number of years in BriSCA F2’s behind him, and having reached Superstar status and competed in the big events on the mainland, he comes to us with quite some pedigree as well. By the way, he was behind the wheel of the SHP 206 last used by his Dad.

Of the others present, all were as they had been on Easter Monday car-wise. There were a few busy drivers about during the day, including young Corrie Beggs who doubled up his National efforts with an outing in a borrowed ProStock. But that was nothing compared to John Christie, who not only pedalled his National and his Uncle Andrew’s 2.0 Hot Rod on the day, but earlier in the morning had completed a 6 mile stint as part of a charity relay team in the Belfast Marathon!! Somewhere around the 50 minute mark I believe, which is certainly good going indeed, although I doubt it is recommended within a few hours of the start of a race meeting!

Beggs led them away for heat one and the young Randalstown driver held sway for quite a while. Behind, Davy McKay and Rab Forsythe tripped over each other on the opening tour and Rab’s race was run, as Thomas Dilly settled into second in his Merc, ahead of Paul Crawford and McReynolds. Crawford soon attempted the outside pass on Dilly but couldn’t make it stick, and as Paul got railroaded McReynolds found a hole down Dilly’s inside to head after the leader, with the others trailing through in his wake.

Mark Heatrick was the man on the move, and as they caught leader Beggs he was harrying the Citroen of McReynolds for all he was worth. McReynolds made the most of the slower Beggs car however, and when they both appeared past on the outside Ian had edged out a gap that would see him take the flag. Heatrick netted second but only by a fraction as he, Glenn Bell, Keith Martin and Gary Woolsey all crossed the line as one.

Beggs was again the early leader in heat two, but this time McReynolds made short work of Dilly to stretch after him early on, and indeed took up the running after half a dozen laps. Heatrick was again leading the charge from the back, and chasing hard after placemen Crawford and McKay, until he allowed Bell a run down his inside. Doak then tried a move into turn three on the #960 Merc, but didn’t quite make it, before getting himself much further up the inside down past the start/finish. Mark tried desperately to defend, turning across Stewart as they headed to turn one. Contact was inevitable, and the instant puncture on the Cirrus Tigra saw the duo skew head on into the wall, bringing out the yellows. Both eventually crawled into retirement, Heatrick for the day with back axle issues and Doak with a front corner out of his car.

McReynolds led them away at the restart, and held off Crawford and McKay to the flag, with Bell, Woolsey and Christie next up.

Both eatrick andHHHeatrick and Forsythe didn’t grid for the final (Doak did make it after what must have been excellent pit work), and Crawford and McReynolds soon worked their way past Dilly to head after leader Beggs. It was frantic stuff in the pack, with almost the whole field locked in one big group. It looked like something or other had to give, and when McKay looked to get on the outside it all did kick off. Martin had already committed to Davy’s outside, and when Glenn Bell then found a gap under him down the back straight they just ran out of room at turn three. Martin and McKay headed fence-wards, whilst Bell slowed into retirement with a flat. McKay soon joined him, although Martin did gather everything together again, albeit now a lap down.

Martin quickly unlapped himself from leader Beggs, who soon had Crawford and McReynolds right on him. Crawford was looking good as he zipped to the outside, and it all pointed towards his trophy as he worked himself alongside in one of his best drives to date. Fate can be cruel though, and just as everything was coming together for Paul, his diff cried enough and he was out.

McReynolds soon put the outside pass on Beggs to take it up with Christie and Woolsey now next up, before Maxwell rotated at the entrance to the home straight. It had been quite an impressive debut for him until that point, to which he later admitted to becoming just a little “over-excited”! Dilly got caught up with him, and both were excluded from the restart once the yellows had gone out to rescue them.

McReynolds now had the unwelcome sight of the #962 Tigra filling his mirrors at the restart, but although John did draw level at one stage, he only succeeded in allowing Woolsey by in the end. McReynolds thus hung on for his hard-earned hat-trick, with Woolsey, Christie, Doak, Martin and Beggs the only others to go the full distance.

So, yet another intriguing encounter in World Series NI, which now heads back to Ballymena on Friday night. When all the dropped scores come into the mix, it is going to be very tight indeed; the only thing for sure is that NI is most definitely going to produce the fastest car not going to make the cut for Ipswich.  Darren Black
Results
Heat 1:  977, 960, 9, 994, 940, 943, 996, 147, 962, 7.
Heat 2:  977, 7, 943, 9, 940, 962, 994, 147.
Final: 977, 940, 962, 996, 994, 147.
Brian Lammey’s photos in the Gallery

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 10
Nuttscorner Oval, Monday 25th April 2011
Darren Black reports:  Just three days after the previous encounter, the Ulster National Hot Rods were back on the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI trail once again on Easter Monday, this time at Nuttscorner Oval. As with the previous round there were twelve cars in attendance, with the heats falling to European and defending NI Champion John Christie and Glenn Bell respectively, before Ian McReynolds took the final honours after missing the second heat whilst repairs were carried out to his Citroen.

Not too many ‘parish notices’ for this one (copyright GB and Jim Gregory), with the same twelve cars in the pits as at Ballymena on Good Friday. Rab Forsythe and Thomas Dilly had affected the necessary repairs to get them in action again, whilst Gary Woolsey wheeled out the older of his two Tigras for this one in preference to the Mercedes.

Corrie Beggs once again led them away for heat one of the day, but we didn’t get far before the yellows were flying after McReynolds and Paul Crawford tagged entering turn three. Crawford’s 206cc ended up in the wall backwards which ended his day with a bent rear axle. Forsythe had been badly delayed in the incident and took the restart from the back, whilst Dilly fared much worse as he was excluded for breaking the Indian file and circulating the track whilst the others had been brought to a temporary halt to allow the Crawford car to be recovered.

McReynolds wasted little time in jumping ahead at the restart from Friday’s double winner Davy McKay and Mark Heatrick, before Ian pulled the Saxo up with an obvious front suspension problem. Ian admitted after the race that as he didn’t have the necessary spares he was done for the day, but more of that later!

McKay was now left holding the baby so to speak, before Christie swept through on the high side to take it up. Glenn Bell then put what could best be described as a ‘robust’ move on Woolsey out of turn four, before relegating Heatrick on the outside to go third. Luck wasn’t with Glenn however, as he was soon on the infield with a blown diff. Heatrick was defending hard from Keith Martin as we entered the closing stages, before being clouted up the back end by Woolsey into the River Bend, which would see the NW Developments driver penalised in the final analysis.

Christie took a well earned win from McKay, with Heatrick inheriting third once Woolsey had been docked three places for his earlier misdemeanour which had allowed him past both Mark and Martin.

Down to ten cars for heat two with Crawford and McReynolds sidelined, and once again Beggs led them away but was soon under pressure from the pack. Dilly and McKay both lost out as they hesitated whilst relegating Corrie, and cue Heatrick who forged ahead and into the lead, towing Christie through with him. As Woolsey looked outside Dilly for third, Bell spotted a gap underneath entering the home straight. Dilly came back across and tagged Bell, before going on a wild roller-coaster ride the length of the home straight, with Woolsey also dealing the out of control Merc a telling blow too. Thomas hung on bravely as he fought to keep her on the island as they say, but at turn one he got onto the marbles and slid backwards into the wall – cue the yellows and the end of his afternoon.

Heatrick led them away again on the restart from Christie and Bell, and at this late stage many would have played the percentage game and settled for what they had. Not Christie though, and a few times he feinted outside Heatrick without really looking all that meaningful. Going into the last lap he did get right alongside into turn one though, only for Heatrick to pick the worst time to run way too deep into the turn. In a flash Bell was looking the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, and dived under the duo to take it up and grab the most unlikely of wins. Woolsey accepted the gift too for second, with Heatrick and Christie having to make do with third and fourth.

After the drama of the heats, the final was always going to struggle to deliver anything even close, but the big surprise was the return of McReynolds. The team had enlisted Team Buckle National Banger star Davy ‘BooBoo’ Patton to weld up the broken suspension parts simply to get the Saxo loaded onto the lorry, but the repair was deemed effective enough to go racing and the #977 duly rolled out onto the grid!

Beggs this time held on for half a dozen laps before McReynolds demoted him down the outside, followed swiftly by McKay and then Heatrick as he led the pack from the back. As  Beggs and Forsythe got tangled and ran wide, Christie lost out badly in the shake-up and Woolsey, Martin and Bell all managed to get by in what the photos now show was at one stage a four-abreast moment!

McReynolds was in easy street by now, and came home for a well earned victory which had looked anything but likely earlier in the afternoon, when he’d taken a seat in race control for a time after heat one with his day seemingly over… McKay followed him over the line for another handy points haul, which has hopefully signalled a change in fortune for the Cullybackey driver. Heatrick came home to complete his hat-trick of third place finishes from Woolsey in fourth.

Woolsey has now regained the points lead from Martin in the chase for the NI Championship, but all eyes are firmly focused on Heatrick who currently lies sixth and outside the qualifying slots for Ipswich. However, when dropped scores come into the equation, Mark is right back in contention as he missed a round earlier in the series, leaving it all to play for over the coming weeks. The tension is rising, and it all continues on MayDay Monday at Nuttscorner Oval once again. Darren Black
Results
Heat 1:  962 943  960 996  994 940(X-3) 147  992
Heat 2:  9 940  960 962  943 994  992 996  147
Final:  977 943 960 940  994 9  962 996  992 147
Brian Lammey’s photos in the Gallery

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 9
Ballymena, Friday 22nd April 2011
Darren Black reports: The Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI resumed after the winter recess at Ballymena Raceway on Good Friday evening, with a pleasing twelve car entry in the pits. It would be an evening when the ‘big names’ would struggle to make much of an impression, and local racer Davy McKay took advantage to claim a heat and final double in his Tigra. The other heat on the night fell to the Citroen Saxo of Ian McReynolds.

Amongst the entry Mark Heatrick and Rab Forsythe had returned having missed the previous week’s Challenge Cup (in their Mercedes and Tigra respectively), whilst Glenn Bell had switched to his Tigra following his three dnf’s last time out in the Peugeot. Only eleven cars would make the racing however, as Thomas Dilly had the mother and father of all spins during practice after a drivetrain failure, and the diff and half-shaft problems could not be rectified by start time.

Young Corrie Beggs stepped off the line to lead heat one, although he would soon be relegated by McKay who was off like a train. The same couldn’t be said of Stewart Doak, who dropped well back early on from his start at the front of the ‘stars’. It was tight going as they all scrambled to relegate Beggs, with both Paul Crawford and Rab Forsythe losing time as they got boxed in. European Champion John Christie was chasing Mark Heatrick on the charge from the back, and successfully fended off an assault from Bell on his outside, which only resulted in Glenn losing a spot to Woolsey’s Merc.

McKay was well clear at the flag to record his first win of the night, from McReynolds in second and Heatrick.

Beggs was struggling with a troublesome clutch and started heat two at the back, whilst Forsythe was done for the night after an engine-bay fire in the pits. McReynolds tellingly beat McKay away from the line this time, and together with Crawford they settled into line astern at the front. Heatrick again led the back pack, but they were struggling to run down the frontrunners this time once again. Despite McKay’s best efforts, McReynolds took the chequers with Crawford third and Heatrick fourth. Doak held off all-comers to nab fifth ahead of Christie.

McKay was never going to make the same mistake again in the final, and he grabbed the lead with both hands at the green. McReynolds once again was the big challenger as the two edged clear. The back group had been started slightly closer this time, and Heatrick was once again leading their surge from Doak and Martin. Keith really had the bit between his teeth this time, slipping under Doak’s Cirrus Plastics machine before relegating Heatrick too. Next up the road was Crawford, and after a struggle Keith got by him too on the outside line.

By now though the lead duo were gone, and McKay reeled off the laps to notch up an impressive heat and final brace. McReynolds kept him honest all the way to the chequers in a close second, with Martin having to settle for third after a great drive. Crawford was next up from Heatrick, with Doak holding off assaults from all angles to hang onto sixth as he continues to struggle to get his Tigra back to its best after that European flip at Tipp in October.  Darren Black
Results
Heat 1:  943 977  960 962  940 994  9 996  7 992
Heat 2:  977 943  7 960  996 962  994 9  940 147
Final:  943 977  994 7  960 996  940 9  962 147
Brian Lammey’s photos in the Gallery

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 8
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 23rd October 2010
Brian Lammey reports:  Eleven cars were in action at Nuttscorner Oval on Saturday 23rd October for round 8 of the Wash ‘n’ Dash world series.

Paul Crawford and Ian McReynolds led away the opening heat with Crawford getting the better start and leading into turn one, Rab Forsyth dived through into second briefly before McReynolds re-took the spot. John Christie moved through into third mid-race, and then up to second taking Gary Woolsey through and into third behind him. As the laps counted down Christie caught and was pressuring Crawford. At the start of the last lap Christie made a move up the inside and collected the number 7 car, taking both of them into the turn one wall and collecting Keith Martin in the process. At the same time Adam Maxwell ended up in the wall on the exit of the bend and the race was declared, with Crawford and Christie removed from the result as the cause of the stoppage. Gary Woolsey was the benefactor getting the win, with Mark Heatrick second, and Keith Martin third.

The second heat became a continuation of heat one, Crawford led the cars off, with fellow front row sitter McReynolds going straight into the wall in turn one. Christie was soon on the back of Crawford again, and as he tried to get through Crawford ended up in the wall in turn four accompanied by Mark Heatrick, bringing out the yellow flags. Christie led away the restart followed by Forsythe and Stewart Doak. Glenn Bell and Keith Martin moved past the 996 car, and set about chasing down Forsythe coming close in the closing laps, but no one could touch Christie who took the win.

Crawford, McReynolds and Maxwell were all absent for the final, leaving an eight car grid which was led off by Rab Forsythe. Fosrythe led the opening stages of the race before running slightly wide into turn one and allowing Christie the opportunity to get up the inside, which he duly took. Christie went on to take the win, smashing his own lap record in the process, with Keith Martin taking second and Gary Woolsey third.  Brian Lammey
Heat 1 - 940 (Gary Woolsey), 960, 994, 996, 9, 992
Heat 2 - 962 (John Christie), 992, 9, 994, 940, 996
Final - 962 (John Christie), 994, 940, 9, 960, 996, 992
Brian’s photos in the Gallery

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 7
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 2nd October 2010
Brian Lammey reports:  Rab Forsythe took a comfortable heat and final double at Nuttscorner Oval in round 7 of the Northern Ireland World Series on 2nd October.

Forsythe started the opening heat alongside Paul Crawford and sped off into the lead. Mark Heatrick was the first to catch Crawford but got boxed in behind him, and lap after lap the field streamed by, while all the time Forsythe built up a lead and took the flag for his first win of the evening, John Christie took second with Glenn Bell third.

The second heat started with the same pattern as the first, Forsythe took the early lead while the pack hunted down Crawford, but this time Heatrick was more forceful and pushed his way past the TRM backed 206cc.  The move led to only a short term gain as within a few laps Heatrick’s engine bay was in flames and the race was stopped to allow the marshals to deal with the blaze. The stoppage saw Heatrick removed from the race and Forsythe’s lead reduced to nothing. Glenn Bell got through to take the win, with Stewart Doak second and Gary Woolsey third.

The final went along the same lines as the opening heat, with Forsythe getting into the lead and simply building on it, to take a comfortable win, Mark Heatrick was second and Glenn Bell third. Brian Lammey
Heat 1 - 992, 962, 9, 940, 994, 996, 960, 7
Heat 2 - 9, 996, 940, 992, 994, 962, 7
Final - 992, 960, 996, 9, 962, 994, 940, 7, 977
Brian Lammey’s photos

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 6
Ballymena Raceway, Friday 24th September 2010
Results:
Heat 1: 1st 960 2nd 9 3rd 996 4th 962 5th 940 6th 994 7th 7 8th 49 9th 977
Heat 2: 1st 960 2nd 962 3rd 9 4th 996 5th 994 6th 940 7th 7 8th 977
Final: 1st 962 2nd 9 3rd 994 4th 996 5th 940 6th 977 7th 960 8th 49 9th 7
Brian Lammey’s photos

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 5
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 4th September 2010:
Darren Black reports:  Ian McReynolds was the toast of Nuttscorner Oval on September 4th when a controlled drive saw him lift the silverware in the Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI round 5. From a pleasing 13-car entry, the earlier heats had fallen to Stewart Doak and Glenn Bell.

Whilst both Davy McKay and Wayne Woolsey sat this round out after the excellent turnout at the previous Ballymena encounter, the entry was swelled by Scotsman Wullie Hardie, behind the wheel of his ‘older’ Tigra which had been in the province getting refettled at the workshops of Davy McCall. Any ideas Wully had though, of getting some meaningful practice before the international weekend later this month, were blighted by a persistent misfire all night.

McReynolds soon stepped into the lead in heat one, and built up a handy enough advantage over the rest who were challenging Paul Crawford for second. Chris Foster was the first to try Crawford’s outside, but he ran wide and clouted the wall exiting turn four before plummeting headlong into the turn one wall with obvious suspension damage, and his night was instantly over.

Crawford now had the leading ‘big boys’ on his tail, and as he became ever more erratic Stewart Doak slipped round the outside to take the spot. As Glenn Bell cleared Crawford too, Doak was on a mission to run down McReynolds, which he did as the laps ran out. Stewart was obviously in the mood to make up for his disaster at the previous round where he was blighted by mechanical troubles, and he hit the outside with just 2 laps to go. Ian wasn’t giving in easily though, and although he made it as hard as he could, Doak just snatched the win on the line by inches. Bell claimed third from Keith Martin and Gary Woolsey.

A shower had left the track very tricky for heat two, and perhaps it was a lack of wet tyres that kept a number of cars in the pits as only nine took to the grid. McReynolds dropped out early on in this one, leaving Crawford to hold the baby out front.

Crawford’s recent changes to his car, courtesy of Davy McCall, have certainly seen him up his game, but he could do nothing to stop Bell and Doak slipping under him into turn one to take it up. As these two ran clear of the pack, Paul drove a defensive race to keep Mark Heatrick at bay. Bell romped home to the win from Doak, with Crawford good value in third having held Heatrick off all the way to the line.

The track had dried substantially for the final, with just the odd wet patch left, but once again as in heat two, a rolling start was deployed. Alastair Calvin and Rab Forsythe had come back out to play for this one, but McReynolds again set the early pace. Doak was again the leading star man, soon settling into fourth behind Forsythe and Calvin.

Doak soon worked his way to second and set off after McReynolds, as Calvin went for a spin for which Christie got black-crossed. Stewart was on the back of McReynolds nearing the end, and looked odds on for the win, but as they caught the back-marking Calvin whilst side-by-side, Stewart had to check up to squeeze by and all his good work was gone. McReynolds saw out the last lap or two to take the flag and the Andy Best Body Repairs trophy. Doak took second to grab a hatful of points on the night, with Forsythe hanging on for an excellent third. Bell was next up ahead of Christie, who escaped punishment for the earlier incident.

Next up in Ulster is the British Championship at Ballymena Raceway on September 18th, followed by the Irish Open Championship the next day, back at Nuttscorner Oval.  Darren Black
Results:
Heat 1: 996 977 9 994 940 992 962 49 7 960
Heat 2: 9 996 7 960 962 940 994
Final: 977 996 992 9 962 994 940 960 7 49
Brian Lammey’s photos

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 4
Ballymena Raceway, Saturday 21st August 2010
Results:
Heat 1:  962 50 960  994 9  940 992  147 7  943 901  977 49
Heat 2:  994 962  960 50 940  49  7 901  992 147  (9 disq)
Final: 50 960  9 962  940 994  7 943  49  147

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 3
Ballymena Raceway, Friday 13th August 2010
Results:
Heat 1: 996 962 994 940 9 7 992 901 977 49
Heat 2: 962 940 996 994 49 7 901 9
Final: 996 940 994 9 992 901 7 49

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 2
Nuttscorner Oval, Saturday 24th July 2010
Darren Black reports: On an evening of poor discipline from a number of drivers, Stewart Doak crossed the line first in all three races at Wash ‘n’ Dash World Series NI Round 2 only to lose two of the wins to penalties, handing a double victory to former World Champion Keith Martin.

The meeting was part of the 2010 Nuttscorner Oval Speedweekend, which incidentally saw Andy Best clinch the 2.0 Hot Rods British Championship and Stephen Emerson the Lightning Rods European. There were 13 cars in the pits, including Nuttscorner Oval bows in the formula for Chris Foster in the ex-Richsardson/Thompson McCall-built 206cc (and very splendid it looked too in its blue and yellow livery) and Ian McReynolds in his home brewed Saxo. Ian has indeed circulated Nuttscorner a number of times in various different machinery over the years, but most of his previous National Hot Rod experience was gained at Tipperary.

Rab Forsythe gave a debut to a pristine Tigra from the workshops of local F2 specialists A&D Race Prep. Glenn Bell had swapped back to his Tigra having campaigned the 206cc at Ballymena the previous night and Gary Woolsey was giving his SLK a rare Nuttscorner appearance to leave us with an excellent turnout.

Only twelve for heat one though, as Forsythe had still not arrived at the track at this stage. Alastair Calvin led them off for this one, from Davy McKay, whilst Doak was already on the move from the back group as he led the big names on the charge towards the front.

There was already various nerfing and nudging going on, with most notably Bell and Mark Heatrick squaring up to each other, as Doak got in amongst McReynolds and Corrie Beggs to relegate them. Martin wasn’t far behind however, and soon forced Doak past McKay for second. Stewart then took a dive up the inside of Calvin for the lead into turn one, resulting in the #49 eventually spinning and a black X for the Cirrus Plastics driver.

McKay and Heatrick then managed to spin in unison exiting turn four, as Doak took the flag from Martin and Woolsey. A two place penalty was imposed though, handing Keith the win and dropping Stewart down to third.

McKay was first to show in heat two, with Calvin pressuring him before Davy was able to pull into a clear lead, Once again Doak was the man on the move from the rear grouping, as Heatrick had himself a massive moment on the home straight.

Doak soon was challenging Calvin for second, eventually making it by on the outside to go second. McKay was his next target and with the #996 car fully wound up, Stewart soon ran him down. He quickly went for the pass and got inside into turn three in what was a very robust manoeuvre indeed, but one that this time went without penalty. Martin, Woolsey, Bell and John Christie got inside McKay before the end too, but it was Doak who took the flag and this time kept the win.

As the greens fell to signal the start of the final, you would almost have thought you were watching a Banger final late on a Saturday night, as the bumping, barging and side-swiping that went on for the first lap or so was ridiculous. Calvin took the early advantage, before a challenge from McKay saw him spin in front of the marquee, and with Gary Woolsey going round too the waved yellows were called for.

At the resumption McKay had Doak right on his tail, and pressurising him hard. A blue flag was shown to Davy, but Doak made contact with the rear of the Tigra into turn one. Unfortunately Davy then locked the car up and slid into the wall, when it did look as though he may have been able to steer it out of trouble. Doak meanwhile collected a cross next time around...

The shenanigans weren’t just up front, and things in the pack were equally as fraught, with Heatrick picking up a cross for helping Christie out of his way, and John quickly receiving his own for “paying back the compliment” shall we say.

Doak led them home from Martin and Bell, and after a stewards inquiry, Stewart was unfortunately docked two places for the incident with McKay, which gifted a second win of the night to Martin, with Bell moving up to second. Behind Doak, in third came Woolsey, the penalised Christie, and Foster - who is looking like, given time, he could be more than handy in a National indeed.

Certainly not the best advertisement for National Hot Rod racing ever, and in front of the large Speedweekend crowd too, it was most disappointing. Let’s hope things improve before we lose any of the drivers who have helped get us back up to decent numbers we had on grid over the opening weekend of the 2010/11 campaign. Darren Black
Heat 1: 994 940 996(X-2) 962 9 977 901 49 147 943
Heat 2: 996 994 940 9 962 943 49 901 977 960
Final: 994 9 996(X-2) 940 962(X-2) 901 960(X-2) 992 49 977
Brian Lammeys photos

“Wash ‘n’ Dash” 2011 World Series 1
Ballymena Raceway, Friday 23rd July 2010
Colin A. reports: A warm and sunny evening at Ballymena Raceway on July 23 beckoned in the start of the 2011 World qualifying series for Northern Ireland where Gary Woolsey collected a maximum haul of points after a dominant hat-trick of wins in his Mercedes SLK.

Twelve entrants assembled for the first round of the campaign, the six qualifiers from the 2010 series being joined by Corrie Beggs, Davy McKay, Paul Crawford, Robert Forsythe, Ian McReynolds and Chris Foster. For Foster this was his debut in the class at the wheel of the revamped ex-Ian Thompson Peugeot 206cc, while McReynolds was making his first foray into the Northern Ireland Series after some previous outings at Tipperary Raceway in his Citroen Saxo. The other car catching attention in the pits was the immaculate A&D built Vauxhall Tigra of Robert Forsythe which was breaking cover for the first time.

McKay and Woolsey occupied the front of the grid for this round with Forsythe and Doak next in line. Woolsey is much more accustomed to starting from the back of the pack and this advantageous starting position always looked like offering up a great opportunity for Gary to put some good points on the board. That’s certainly how it panned out too, the former British Champion taking maximum benefit from the situation with three comfortable victories. Doak chased the winner home in heat one, where the main attention focused on a good scrap for third between Heatrick and Christie; the current N.I. champion sitting it out on the wide outside for a number of laps before making the move stick.

Woolsey was quickly away into the distance at the beginning of heat two as well, but a tardy start for Doak cost him a number of places in the opening exchanges. Heatrick held down a comfortable second place in this one and once again the main battle was for third. It was Martin against Christie this time around, but unlike the opening heat John could not get his nose in front and eventually dropped back to finish fifth behind Bell.

Christie and McKay tangled on the opening lap of the final as Woolsey assumed his usual position out front. Doak and Martin stayed with the leader over the opening laps, but Woolsey seemed able to pull clear with ease and soon put some clear track between his SLK and the chasing pack. The battle for second would eventually be settled when the group came upon the backmarking Beggs. Doak went to overtake on the outside, while Martin managed to find a line through on the inside. The trio went three abreast down the back straight into Suffolk bend, but it was the closely following Heatrick who somehow managed to out fumble both Doak and Martin and emerge with second. Bell followed Heatrick’s line through to snatch third, with Doak, Martin and McReynolds completing the top six.
Heat One: 940 – 996 – 962 – 9 – 994 – 960 – 943 – 977 – 901
Heat Two: 940 – 960 – 994 – 9 – 962 – 996 – 901 – 943 – 147 – 992
Final: 940 – 960 – 9 – 996 – 994 – 977 – 901 – 992 – 962 – 147
Brian Lammeys photos

World Serie NI 2010/2009/2008 archive