Off the Wall - Issue Two
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Brilliant Brum and Buxton� With the latest bout of Uni exams completed on the Thursday before the aforementioned weekend, it was time to celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than to enjoy a great weekend of F2 racing at Birmingham Wheels and Buxton. 2002 is the �Road to the Racewall� as the BriSCA F2�s begin the World Championship trail which will be settled at the end of August at the infamous Racewall Cowdenbeath � an extremely mouth watering prospect. On the Saturday at Brum, even though the National Hot Rods were to be the headliners, the Formula Two�s had quite a line up of cars including the World Champ Daz Kitson and National Points Champ Barry Goldin. Throw in a pinch of Neal Smith and Mick Sworder along with a generous helping of lower graded drivers and you have the ingredients for an action packed meeting. As the Hot Rods served up their own contact action, the Formula Two�s were matching them with Neal Smith and Barry Goldin locking horns in the Final which saw the 657 pilot coming out on top. As those two battled it out for 3rd place, King Kitson had hit the front and didn�t look back taking a great victory. Daniel Rogers was making good use of his blue grading to get the breaks early on but once in the clutches of the World Champ, there was no way Dan could stop him. Was great to see a trio of Scottish drivers down in deepest darkest Brum for the racing despite Cowdenbeath running on the same night as well. Former Scottish Champion Scott Carstairs was there along with the Kelly Brothers Graham and Stuart all the way from Aberdeenshire � for those without their O-Level Geography, that�s a long way away! Stuart is undergraded at blue, and it shows as he was able to get quite a gap between himself and the red tops before eventually being caught � with Crimond now back with a full season, it won�t be long before both Kelly cars have red adorning their aerofoils. Also travelling long distances were the Westcountry, with yours truly hitching a lift with the pasty eating Neil Lampshire and his crew for the weekend. Neil�s still on a comeback after a nasty accident which saw him sustaining back injuries, so deserves a lot of credit for daring to race on such a busy weekend. Hopefully we�ll see the 737 car getting quicker as he gets a few more meetings under his belt, best of luck to him! Now, most of you probably think that commentators get to stay in a nice Guest House or Motel if they are planning a weekend of racing � not this chap! After the meeting at Brum, it was time to hit the road to Buxton with Team Lampshire with the conversation quickly turning to cries of �she�s nice� or �who�s she?� as a Top 100 list was studied�need I say any more? Anyway, I digress, things got a lot more interesting (and slower) as fog was encountered at Leek, leaving the rest of the journey rather hazardous as the terrain began to resemble a rollercoaster. The correct junction was taken and along the single track road we tootled, crossing numerous cattle grids leaving me very homesick for my old faithful Crimond� As I wipe the tears from my eyes, we arrive outside the track at 1am to find the gates locked, and some dodgy ground underfoot. Time to pitch the tent then! After finding a suitably dry spot, myself and the appropriately named �Tool� proceeded to bend our tent pegs upon reaching a depth of about 2inches whilst Gordon Grimley and Lampy took refuge in the 4x4. A Scottish commentator camping outside Hi-Edge Raceway in mid-March along with a Cornish F2 racer�and not a sheep in sight! Buxton on the Sunday was simply spiffing as the Jocks came, saw and conquered, claiming a clear victory in the Peak District. Stuart Kelly used his blue grade to great effect taking an early lead in the main event only to be passed on the last lap by Gordon Moodie. Dan Rogers was up there yet again, caught in a double Scotch sandwich as Chris Burgoyne and Bryan Forrest motored to 4th and 5th places. However, I will forever remember that meeting for the titanic scrap between Daz Kitson, Barry Goldin, Chris Burgoyne and Graham Kelly in Heat 2 which has us all absolutely wetting ourselves. Lap after lap the bumpers engaged and places swapped until finally something had to yield, giving Goldin the break � superb stuff chaps! So, a comprehensive victory for the Scots, I�m sure the words �Milk, Lemonade, Chocolate� spring to mind� Disqualified� My participation in the aforementioned weekend would not have been possible if my friend Postman Pixie aka Mark Green had not agreed to chauffer me to Brum. Even if you don�t know Mark personally, you will probably have heard this Rodney Trotter lookalike at some point during your spectating exploits. Proud chairman of the Barry Goldin and Frankie Wainman Junior Appreciation Choir is our Mark (or Speak and Moodie Fan Club for short�) and I have been guilty of joining in on more than a few occasions� Unfortunately (for me) Mark�s chosen viewing area at Brum is directly below Race Control where I was to be situated for most of the meeting. As soon as I mentioned our friend Mr Goldin during my stints on the microphone, good old Postman Mark was into full swing whilst I struggled not to laugh during the rest of my contribution. Just so he didn�t feel left out (and also to let the rest of the home straight know I didn�t mind his vocal contribution) after one such interruption I bellowed �Pixie!� from the Race Control balcony, and also offered a clenched fist. Unfortunately (for me again) come the Final, a dim eye was taken on the Postie�s disapproval for any mention of the F2 National Points Champion during my run-down of the Final grid, so I was duly dismissed to the terraces� Unfortunately (for you this time, haha!) I will be back, with even more of the Postman�s F1 and F2 stats, you can�t keep this muppet down for long�(unless you hold me down, but that�s unfair, so don�t do it!) Many thanks to Mark and Lampy for allowing me to travel with them. Goodbye! Before I get dismissed to the terraces for good, it�s time for my drivel to be halted for another issue. Pop along to the �Off the Wall� Website at stockcarracing.cjb.net to find out more about this here Pieman, until then, enjoy your racing and buy BriSCA Heat!
