Live from Pastyland - "Lampy Talks Tooz..."
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F2 � 8 years of bliss!!! With every season that passes, F2 stock car racing gets faster and faster. When is it going to end? I find that I have to buy something to keep up with the pace every year. This year it is a new Redline Cam and carburretor. Went to the annual Taunton practice meeting today, 10th Feb, to test it out and WOW I was flying! Time to reminisce now, sorry everyone. It all started nearly 9 years ago now in 1993, I was watching F2 at Bristol and decided there and then that I was tired of watching, I wanted to race. I told my brother, Mike, who was then living on the Isle of Wight. We got hold of a copy of the plan for the latest Higgy chassis and set to work. We ordered the steel and that was the beginning of 8 years of fun. My first meeting was on the 4th April 1994, Easter Monday, at Newton Abbott, god rest it�s soul. Bearing in mind, I had never raced before and had never even set foot on a track, I joined the grid at the back with the big black cross painted on the car. I think I was lapped about 20 times in 16 laps, I was that slow! Things gradually got better, until I eventually scored my first points at the end of July 94. Then came a very special day, that will go down in Lampshire History, 13th August 1994!. I had booked in for a Birmingham / Warton weekend, one of the semis being at Warton on Sunday 14th. We got to Birmingham wheels early and paid for the afternoon practise. Practise went well and was looking forward to the meeting proper, I was in heat one and lined up on row one of the whites. The green flag dropped, I put my foot on the accelerator and there was nothing, the throttle cable had snapped. We quickly replaced it and joined the grid for the consolation, I away well and promptly span out, that was it now I thought, I joined after the reds had gone by and promptly began to catch them, as they were passing everyone so was I, it felt great! I ended up 4th and in the final. Managed to start outside front row for the final, promptly drove around the outside of the � Shed � that was inside me, into the lead. Another white top was following me in close attention, I was so enthralled in our little battle, I noticed the 5 lap board was out and I was still leading, now my heart started racing, I saw the laps go down , 4 ,3,2 and then the one lap board came out, this is when I saw Speaky in my mirror, I nearly pulled off, I went into the last corner so fast, it was shit or bust time. Unbelievably to me I came out of the corner first and Won. What a way to win my first race, beating Speaky into 2nd, he shook my hand and said well done and I will remember that moment till the day I die. I have had several wins since, but that will be always be special. As a team we have had several run ins with different drivers, which owing to the nature of the sport, is unavoidable. I remember the time that MR Bill Batten, legend of his own lifetime, buried me in practise at Bristol, for no apparent reason, I had to be towed of by one of the breakdown trucks back to the pits, upon return to the pits, world war 3 had broken out, my brother had Bill hold by the neck, my dad was holding Tim Farrell back. What a nightmare, but we all made up in the end! I remember the time I did my using finger pointing act when letting Peter Gilbert overtake at Bristol, then went into the corner too fast after him and buried him into the fence. I was ready to retire there and then. But he was Ok about it. Another time, I had span out on the corner at Ringwood and clipped the fence, when scrambling out of the car, I knocked it out of gear and all I could do was look on in horror as the car started to roll towards the infield. The oncoming field of cars was hurtling towards the corner at full speed, as they reached the corner the leader�s engine blew and slammed into the fence, where my car was originally parked!! God was looking down on me that day. 1998, well what a year that was! Started off as yellow and dropped to white after a dismal opening grading period, promptly managed to score nearly 100 points in the next period and moved from white to blue roof. I was over the moon at this, as I had narrowly missed blue top at the end of the 1997 season by one point. My second meeting from blue was the St Day QR, I qualified for the final then disaster struck, the reds started before the blues and as I put my foot down I got drilled fencewards, I remember thinking � this is going to hurt� and it did, I spent the next three weeks in hospital with a broken back, vowing never to race again. Mike james came to visit me in hospital and I will never forget his words. � give it 3 months and you will be itching to race again� it was true and not only was I itching to race I actually raced 3 months after getting out of hospital , at Birmingham, the final F2 meeting of 1998 in November. I have never looked back since and 2002 is the year when Neil Lampshire has a full on assault at a semi final place. I realise I will never get to red top, funds will not allow and sponsors are non existent these days, so the only thing I haven�t achieved is a Semi place. I will be seen far and wide this season as well as at all the local meeting in the SW. See you all around, if you see me in the pits come and say hello. Neil Lampshire F2 737
