F2WF14 - 13 Days to Go - The Semi Report

My thanks to Steve from Stoxmania for this excellent report from the Semis

The venue for the Brisca F2 Semi-Finals this year was Mildenhall for the first time in a good many years, the weather forecast was for some heavy showers and maybe this influenced the crowd size as it seemed lower than might have been expected which is a real pity for a fantastic venue and a promoter who really deserves some solid support after their recent problems with fools in wigs. Anyway after enjoying Whale and Chips from the superb on site chip shop it was time to settle down for the semi-finals and then the heavens opened!

In reality both races were fairly typical semi-final affairs with few willing to chance taking themselves out but both did have their talking points nonetheless;

Goldin for Gold?

As the semi-one drivers came out for a parade and to collect their medals the previously well -prepared track was a quagmire and it was clear that the tarmac boys had effectively kissed their chances goodbye unless they were in more specialist borrowed machinery, to this end we saw Neil Hooper in a Bingley shale special complete with a Rob Speak wing, George Macmillan was in the Polley tank (what chances of Dave making the consolation semi, will his wrist be mended in time?) (Jho - can't race in it because he didn't race in the semi) and familiar looking DK car bore the number 187 of Pete McCallum.

The race got underway with several early spinners as expected, Hooper and Burgoyne the most obviously impacted; the Chris Burgoyne car was running so low over the mud that it resembled a plough in the early laps. Chris Bradbury had taken an strong early lead and was using the bumper to keep it that way until he tangled with Mark Gibbs a few laps in delaying him enough for Barry Goldin to go through into the lead but Bradbury fought back very effectively until inadvertently collected by a spinning 259 which saw him trapped by the fence only getting free when the yellows were starting to come out which must surely have been more than a full lap later.

On the restart there is still over two thirds of the race distance to cover but Hooper, Burgoyne, Mark Simpson and Ollie Skeels are parked on the centre with the running order being Goldin from Sam Wagner and Daz Shaw with a few back markers sprinkled between the second and third places but the key debate was where Bradbury should start, surely at the back and a lap down but it seems not with the steward placing him just a few cars from the back but crucially on the same lap as the leaders (a view upheld after an enquiry and video evidence I believe). The remainder of the race was less uneventful other than Bradbury was flying and Liam Bentham's car had lost that much of the side panels that we could see through it but he finished well in the places. Half time in proceedings and so far only one Scot through to Cowdenbeath. Commiserations to Kelvyn Whalley and Wagner who both succumbed to mechanical problems in the dying laps whilst still in with a shout;

Result: 401, 886, 377, 100, 488, 542, 995, 954 560, 597

The Coleman's Gold Mine;

Further car swaps found Wee Dennis Middler out in a 77 car and Adam Rubery in the Sarge rental machine.

The cars came onto the now perfect track (even having been watered lightly) for the second semi-final with loud boos ringing out for Gordon Moodie and a fair few for Rob Speak, obviously the boos were mixed with cheers depending on what side people were on but it was clear that the general consensus was not in Moodie's favour. The mood was building, this was what the crowd has been waiting for, could Speak catch and dispatch the tartan terror?

Moodie had clearly had his thinking hat on and lead the field away on a very slow rolling lap making his start at the worst point on the track for Speak as he moved clear away at the front of the pack. Liam Rennie's race lasted barely a lap as he spun into retirement and when we looked back Speak was already up into second and driving on the very edge, nobody was looking elsewhere and Moodie was rapidly reeled in as we waiting for the killer blow. Was it kidology or a word from the steward, we will never know but Speak calmly half spun Moodie and took the lead without ordeal, just at this point Micky Brennan spun on the pit bent and receive a heavy head-on for his trouble bringing out the yellow flags.

At the restart the order was Speak from Moodie, a lap down Rubery and then Josh Coleman. Ir was very quiet with everyone watching front two but speak got the break and moved clear with Moodie railroaded and slowing losing several places, the race then became a little more settled until Speak slowed towards the end and Coleman pounced on the last bend to take a very good win.

Result: 615, 218, 788, 49, 136, 7, 448, 19, 846, 641

When interviewed after the race Rob Speak did indicate that he would not contest the world final so we will have to see what develops over the next couple of weeks as the majority of fans surely want to see him there. Whatever happens most of the Scots will be hoping to qualify via the Consolation race of their favoured surface and circuit as to date only Macmillan, Moodie and Middler are through. More success for some of the lesser lights includes qualification for Kyle Taylor and John Wright so hopefully they will enjoy the big race, also commiserations to Mossy who raced every qualifying round but will have to try again in the consolation.
Thanks to Derek Cayzer for his excellent videos....

F2WF14.... 14 Days to Go.... Wafflely Versatile... Up Before the Beaks

Some years ago, there was a chap who frightened Bill Batten with a laptop. That man was Ian "Beaks" Bennett. Now residing on the K Foundation Ranch somewhere in Moo Moo land, Beaks now winds up all and sundry on Twitter and writing F1 programmes for Coventry...Anyhow, I decided to hand over the blog to his justified and ancient wisdom....

Hello F2 Stock Car Fans. 

Aside from taking the piss out of all and sundry during my Unloaded 7.3 days and occasional rants on FTooz (that’s the website that once was similar in some ways to the F2 drivers committee, i.e. it actually had a voice) it has been a while since I wrote anything about the F2 world.

Anyway, JHo or whatever he’s called asked me to talk about some F2 stuff, so here we go, let’s talk about some F2 stuff. As many of you may know I’ve been involved in F2’s one way or another for around 20 years. Originally I started swapping bumpers and fixing damage for Drippy Sworder, then moved into the Elite days with ‘the Guinch’ and then the final run at F2’s with the MTEC posse. Of course, we ended up doing the ultimate dirty – no, not gardening of the uphill variety, but going racing with those Spedeworth shitbags and their so called ‘Super’ Stox.

Uphill gardeners, really are Super...

Anyway, the reason for my F2 CV above is to try and explain that I’m not just another dickhead who likes to drone on about anything and everything around the F2 world just for ‘shits and giggles’. Despite how it may appear sometimes, I really do care about the F2 world. If it wasn’t for my ‘career’ in F2’s I’d not be enjoying my day job which is twiddling knobs and stroking keyboards in the F1 GP world.

So, hells bells. Where on earth do I start when taking a look at how things are in the F2 world? It’s easy to throw a simple ‘dogshit’ quote out there, but it’s not as easy as that. I don’t know much, but I do know there are some really good people working in the F2 world, so to summarise it all as ‘dogshit’ wouldn’t be fair on them. However, and choosing my words carefully, there clearly are some complete fucking morons out there that seem hell bent on losing the sport the scraps of credibility that it’s desperately hanging on to.

The current hot topic is of course ‘donut gate’ the happened at the Master’s retirement do. It’s a real shame all of this went on, but with the general panto of it all along with Billy B berating the kids who were dicking around on the back straight it was worth the entrance fee alone. I’m sure most of us went away thinking that it was handbags and Gordon was a bit of a bellend for doing donuts around the centre green (ok, tarmac), but it wouldn’t go any further. Well of course, the jungle drums beat pretty loud and I don’t need to tell the story again.

There were loads of chaps booing the #7 pilot at Mildenhall last weekend. That’s standard these days and of course with all that has been going on it’s to be expected. Now, sitting on the fence I’d say that Gordon has done what each and every driver who had a slot on the semi-final grid would do. And that’s appeal. He did it in time to win the Gold Cup out in Venray, which he managed to keep despite the Dutch pretty much atomising his car in a desperate attempt to prove that he really is a cheating little Scottish fucker. This time it would appear that there was a complete lack of ‘lucky’ components so all was well with his car. Anyway my point, if any, is that we shouldn’t be giving Gordon a hard time. It’s the jokers who appear to be running the show that need beasting.

I speak to lots of F2 drivers, and all they want is consistency and transparency within the sport. Of course all disciplinary cases have individual circumstances that have to be taken into account. But Christ, it really isn’t that hard to enforce the rules. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re Gordon Moodie, Rob Speak, God Almighty or Kevin Dick that races a 1000 year old Higgy. If you fuck up and do something wrong, you should be punished. It’s a simple as that. What use is a suspended sentence for the #7 pilot? Sure, it means he’s got to chill out and not annihilate anyone for the next few months, but aside from that I doubt Gordon really gives a shit. And to be honest, more power to him. If he can do these things and get away with it then fair play.

As for the #218 pilot, well what can you say? That BriSCA have stated that they are going to ‘consider’ the ORCi’s suggestion of a suspended sentence is simply bullshit. What do they need to consider? How they can expect him to race with the potential of an ORCi ban over his head is beyond me. Should he choose to fire the #7 up and over the wall at Cowdenbeath there’s ever chance that it’ll stop him racing in the tractor World Final and also the race for Silver. Do I think that Robert is going to race at Cowdenbeath? Well actually, yes, I think he will. I’d like to think that BriSCA will realise what a pile of shit all of this is, and just tell him to go race and try to leave a least one bolt on the #7 car not smashed in half.

There’s a lot of talk going around that so called ‘fans’ aren’t going to attend the World Final due to the potential of Robert being there. Well for me, I think that’s a load of old pony. I’m a big fan of Robert and the thought of him and Gordon going ‘toe to toe’ around the Racewall is something to be relished, but if he’s not there is it really going to make the big race rubbish? Of course it’s not. Starting where he is there’s every chance he’ll get fired into the wall on the first bend anyway. Robert is good, but he won’t be able to avoid a train of cars pushing him towards the wall no matter how much of a legend he is.

I guess one question that’s always asked at this time of year is who is going to win the WF? Well, for me I’d have to say that unless he gets buried, Bazza Goldin has to be the favourite. He’s super-fast on tarmac and knows his way around the Racewall. He also knows how to take one from behind (so to speak) and he isn’t afraid to use the front bumper either. Aside from him, we all know Gordon is rapid up there, but the chances of him getting to the front without someone knocking his wheels off appears to be slim. Bradderz of course is also quick, but he does seem to be one of those guys who has shit luck. If Robert does decide to turn up you can’t count him out, but if he wins it’ll be due to a liberal amount of bumper work and not outright speed. Who would I like to win? Well, after the monstrous whack he had with the proverbial shitty stick last year at Toytown, I’d love to see George MacMillan Jnr win the race. He and his team always race (and play) hard and with the might of Dave Polley in his corner he’s really come good over these last few years. The heartache his family has had in recent times is something that nobody should ever have to go through – so if he gets the number one spot next month I’m sure there’ll be a lot of tears shed. Only from us Southerners though as we all know that the Scottish are ‘double hard’.

So, what about the rest of the F2 scene? Well from what I’ve seen this year, aside from the insane politics it seems to be in pretty good shape. Lots of morons out there like to come out with the old ‘RCE cars are ruining the sport, it’s more like hot rod racing’ bollocks. Stock Car Racing, especially in the F2 world seems to have cycles of a particular make of car dominating. Back in the day you had HCD’s, Elite and Randall Motorsport cars whooping arse on a weekly basis in their own particular eras. The best drivers tend to get drawn to the best car of the time (no shit Sherlock) and this is why you’ll find RCE’s doing the business right now. Dave knows what he’s doing when it comes to putting a car together and what with his supercomputer by his side his cars are super quick these days. But is it ruining the sport? Is it hell. All F2 cars come with bumpers and side irons. If people are too scared to use them then they’ve only themselves to blame.

As for car construction, well that’s a big old can of worms that I’ll save for another day. What I will say though is some of it really makes me laugh. Limited mounting holes for suspension pick up points? Comedy. I’ve always thought that this sport favoured people who don’t have £5k to spend on an engine but do have some knowledge of how to set up a car. Adding holes when a car is built to allow suspension geometry changes costs jack shit but can make all the difference if you’re struggling to get your car around. Anti-squat, anti-dive, anti-Cornwall of whatever you want on your car is something drivers should be able to add. Still, some things never change I guess. The on-going madness with a replacement engine for the pinto seems to have been dragging on for ages. I’m all for a bit of a development, but they do seem to be kicking the arse out of this one.

Anyway, I’d better stop now as I’ve just read this through and it’s starting to sound like I’ve got beef with the F2 massive. This really isn’t the case. As stated earlier, I’ve a lot of love for the sport and all I want is it to be fair for everyone taking part and not just a select few.

Enjoy your racing folks, and I’ll see you around.

Ian Bennett

F2WF14 15 Days to go..... The Coleman Cometh

Now starting your first world final is an achievement in itself. But starting your first world final on pole, that's something else. So hello Joshua Coleman (615) let's have a chat!


NUMBER 615 
PREVIOUS FORMULAE National Ministox
CURRENT F2 Mark Webster (MW Fabrications) home built shale car 
SPONSORS Lucas Oils LFB Motorsport 
NICKNAMES Josh 
FAVOURITE TRACK Mildenhall close 2nd Belle vue 
TRACKS RACED AT Barford, Belle Vue, Birmingham, Buxton, Coventry, Hednesford, King's Lynn, Mildenhall, Northampton, Onchan, Sheffield, Skegness, Stoke, (some of those from my mini days)
JHo - Nervous?

Two world finalists in their early days

Josh - Not yet most defiantly when it comes to Friday night before the WF I'll get the stomach churning going on. But for now it’s just a mad rush to get the tarmac car I’ve borrowed from Billy Webster ready to race and to squeeze in some practice. Plus it still hasn’t sunk in properly so still on Cloud 9.

On the tarmac

Jho - You are starting on pole, does that throw a few more nerves into the mix?

Josh - Definitely on the day the nerves will be kicking in....but for now I am OK because people keep congratulating me and also got a tarmac car to prep. but I just hope Speaky turns up because then its like I am racing with the best and its the full field that qualified.

Jho- Even though you could be feeling the might of his bumper first corner??

Josh - Yes for sure who ever it is on 2nd row whether its Speaky or a white top, someone will always have a go. He owes me two now anyway, did a last bender on him at Belle Vue for the heat win yesterday aha. But I like racing with him I've grown up watching him and spent so long on Youtube watching his videos so to be now on his pace and be able to hit him wide is a dream come to true in itself.

JHo - What's your game plan? How do you see it panning out for you? 

Josh - Go for the win.... I don’t race for points or roof grades don’t really chase championships just because I don’t do enough meetings so when I do race it’s just purely to win nothing else. As far as it goes I think I’ll either get round the first corner or wont after that who knows its stock cars, just hope it’s a good race that will entertain the crowd.

JHo - If you became world champion - whats the first thing you would do? 

Josh- Wow ermm, tough question I day dream about stuff like this always wanted to stand on the roof and hold the chequered but realistic probably cry my eyes out haha.....!

JHo - Away from the world, what else would you like to achieve in the sport? 

Josh- Defiantly win the World of Shale, as a shale only racer thats likethe biggest championship we can win, and just to be winning on a regular basis and be in the mix of it.

Jho - Any thanks?


Josh - Not only to be in world but to get Front inside pole is so surreal. The amount of congratulations is unreal, just people you don’t know come up to you and want to talk and am just a normal shale racer than wins every so often so to get people noticing you is damn good feeling...plus the amount of Facebook notifications is over whelming so thanks to every one for their kind words

Can I just add a massive thank you to Mark Webster for spending endless hours on my car with me and guiding me through and keep me learning each week.

Billy Webster for the loan of the car and making me plenty of spares this year and also for his patience of putting up with me nagging at him for his help, also got Josh, My grandad, Norman, Julie and just to all the team sorry if I missed any one. O sh** and my Mum and Dad for sticking with me and keeping me going when you get the bad times without my dad none of this would of been possible. Apart from that thanks to everyone for their words and support still living the dream and will be trying my hardest to win!!!!

LFB Motorsport for the sponsorship this year massive thanks to them.

F2WF14 ..... 16 Days to Go - Burgyone's Big Day

Of we go in the time machine to another Scottish World Final. The year, was the year of home winner. 
It was also the time that celebrities went in the jungle for the first time. 

The Sugababes (in one of their many lineups) were Number 1 with Round Round. Quite apt as it was the World Final. Our stock car Tardis, brings us to 2002, the last time the legendary Racewall held it.

2002 saw many things. Speak was long gone and he'd even got himself a gold roof in the Tractors. Kitson took up his mantle with back to back title wins, and the Yorkshireman was aiming for 3 in a row.

With both semis being held on the same day for the first time, Buxton held them and it was Kitson and Goldin who took them both. Goldin looked ready to take a title, having the silver roof in his possession. He had the black and gold Higman at his disposal, and much fancied James Thackra (324) was a non starter due to a broken hand.... Scottish hopes laid with the next generation, Gordon Moodie (then 79), Stuart Gilchrist (477) and youngster Chris Burgoyne (647). Mike James (717) led the westcountry charge, moving up to the 2nd row following Thackra's withdrawl, with regular stagers Luscombe, Batten and Farrell coming form the west.

After pleasantries and pedants were exchanged, including Thackra as "Guest of Honour". It was go time. Commentator Stephen Madman McDiarmid gave those immortal words and a clean start for the front runners was this years call. However, further back the grid Richard James (then 817) clobbered the wall with Bryan Forrest (309) for company.

With the grid reformed, sans those drivers, it was go time again. Goldin got closer to the 732 back bumper, but behind him, another pile up, including Farrell, Batten, Irishman Jeff Minnish and Graham Kelly brought out another set of reds. It was becoming into a war of attrition.

3rd time lucky, you might think, but another pile up laps later saw the end of Bryn Tootell and Dutchman Toon Schut....

So with restart 4 now on the cards, 22 cars were left. Kitson got away. Both Ian Thompson Jnr (901) and Burgyone went firing in on James and Goldin. Thompson overcooked one hit and found himself of the racing line, allowing Sworder, Luscombe and Moodie past. Moodie over took the 152 machine.


Kitson now had a half a straight gap on the rest, with Burgoyne and James in third. Sworder lunged at Moodie, which almost meant curtains for the Scot as the cars clashed and saw Moodie's aerofoil, half scalped in the process. This hindered their progress.

Halfway and Kitson still lead from Burgoyne and James, with Goldin in 4th and the rapidly charging Gilchrist from the back was now in 5th. A pile up between backmarkers Mike Marr (461) and Steve Green (15) saw the leaders left in a quandry. Kitson took the high road and Burgoyne the low road, and it was Burgoyne that emerged in the lead to raptures from the stands. However, it was shortlived as 2 more cars joined the pile up and the yellows were brought out with 10 laps remaining.

Burgoyne led them away, with the buffer of Manxman Mike Booth (IOM1) behind him before Kitson. However, a lap later, Booth came to a stop, bringing the yellows out again. Gilchrist was now on a charge. With 8 to go, Kitson's race was over, as the 732 ground to halt, with mechanical problems. Burgoyne's lead was a full straight over Gilchrist, who was now second. Jamesy's car expired with one to go, which meant Goldin inherited 3rd.

As the 647 entered the final bend, the entire grandstand erupted in a wall of noise, to greet a new Scottish World champion. Stuart Gilchrist (477) moved up to 2nd in what was the driver of the day from the very back. Goldin recovered to 3rd, his time was to come the following year. Tears flowed on the track with father Ernie and all in situ came and congratulated the new champ.
Following in the footsteps of father Ernie, and Uncle Harry, as a wearer of the Gold Roof, Chris turned up the following day with a Gold Roof, as "uncle Harry had some in the garage so he thought we'll just spray it"

Chris Burgoyne won the title at the tender age of 18 years. Too much too soon, perhaps, as a period of disillusionment came pretty soon after. But as last year proved, he still is one of the big title contenders and certainly this year is probably Scotland's biggest opportunity to reclaim the gold. And don't forget, he was leading until the last couple of yards last year.


FULL RESULT

Chris Burgoyne (647)
Stuart Gilchrist (477)
Barry Goldin (401)
Gordon Moodie (79)
Mick Sworder (152)
Ian Thompson Jnr (NI901)
Dave Luscombe (642)
Mark Helliwell (170)
Graham Kelly (721)
Mike Marr (461)

F2WF14 ...... 17 Days to Go.... Raceweek ummm 26?27??

So with the talk of what is coming, lets have a look at some appetisers to the main course...

SCOTT SWEEPS STOKE MIDWEEK

A midweek visit to the Potteries saw a heat and final double for white top Glenn Scott (177), with Paul Prest (49) taking the other heat, and a GN win for Rob Mitchell (905)

WRIGHT STUFF FOR MILDENHALL

Semis aside, cos we know what happened there, lets have a look at the support races. The Support heat was won by Antony Winters (260). Another shale consolation for the consolation king Sam Wagner (823) in the first consolation, whilst in the second consolation went the way of former world champ Mark Simpson (871). Final time saw John Wright (448) hit the front and hold  off both Bradbury and Simpson, which also meant Semi 2 got the inside line. Another win for Winters in the National rounded off a ruddy muddy Mildo

BRADDERS WAY AT ST DAY

A slightly damp affair, not helped set the mood as Her Majesties Vehicle Inspectorate were ready to pounce on all trailers, which kinda curtailed some Banger boys, obviously running their cars on Cherryade or other such fizzy drinks. So with 21 cars, and plenty of Cornish no shows, things are starting to look a bit bleak at the Kernowring... Dale Moon (302) took Neil Langworthy (740) for a trip and race up front, of which the Ladies Favourite took. Heat 2 saw a first win in a while for Paul Rice (890) who gamely held off Bradbury. Heat 3 was the race of the day, James Lindsay (572) was on a mission. He sped away, and Richard Beere (254) persued him down the straights and dealt with the traffic as the boards came out. Going into the last lap, Beere was on the Lindsay bumper, and for the second meeting in a row, Lindsay held firm, however as he looked to have held the hit, he spun and race over for the white top. So close, but yet so far to the maiden win. Final time and an early yellow flag saw Bradbury move ot the front. And thats where he stayed with comeback king Lewis Geach (111) taking second from Justin Fisher (315). The national was a more seadte affair with two yellow tops battling it out Tom Clark (575) getting the better of Gary Sillifant (627)

listen to ‘Stoxcast - Chris Bradbury (886)’ on Audioboo

BANK HOLIDAY BARFORD BLASTED BY MOODIE

Andrew Hingley was there....

16 cars made it out onto track this week. Moodie quickly got to the front in heat 1. He was clear of all by about lap 5. In heat 2 he was fastest again, but while passing the leader 402 he got caught on the Nerf rails of 425 and could end get off. We were looking for a different winner on the restart, 854 got a puncture and 3 sped away for the win. Final time and Moodie was quickest again with 3 in second and 854 in 3rd. 3 took the GN with Moodie getting up to third without the aid of any yellow flags

RICHARD GETS THE BEERE'S IN AT A SOGGY SMEATHARPE

One Bank Holiday a year is often wet. Sadly this year, it was torrential rain that greeted us back to Taunton. Numbers were somewhat down on a usual Taunton, and a 2/3rds format was deployed. Whether it was the weather, or a general F2 apathy sweeping across the country has reached the Westcountry. Phil Mann (53) was the furthest travelled, he's often at Bristol, and with no Bristol, a rare visit to Taunton was on the cards. And the last shoot of the calendar starring MADame Starter, Sammy B, who was wearing a set of boots, certain to bring out an immediate red flag, with many drivers coming to a abrupt halt! Don't think they have steel toe caps. I didn't ask! Everyone was soaked to the skin before the meeting began. Proper miserable weather. It was like everyone had done the ice bucket challenge!

With the sodden track (and sodden jeans and clothing for most) in was race time and father and son, Richard (254) and Jamie (954) took the opening heats. A late yellow flag for the Zetec powered Matt Linfield (464) allowed a win for Chris Bradbury (886) in heat 3.

The final was led away by James Lindsay (572) until Mike Rice (438) took over, only to be charged down by the regenmeister Beere Snr, who got clear from the pack. Fellow Newton Abbotian Jamie Avery (126) was giving dear ol' Bradders a hard time as the pair scrapped through the traffic. Veteran Beere took the win, another in the wet and a good way to signal off the yellow roof as Richard was due to go to Blue for September anyways.... Bradbury finished as runner up and 3rd home was Avery. The national was the best race of the day. Those who stayed were greeted with blue skies but a challenging track, as Matt Brewer (206) sped away. Returning driver, Lewis Geach (111) broke from the reds and was catching Brewer, until he lapped Justin Fisher (315) who either by design or accident, span Geach, to which the Alphington red top took umbridge with the Fisher car and promply shoved him in down the bottom corner. Bradbury got past Brewer on the penultimate lap allowing the red top past. However, the plucky Cornish yellow top had a last bend nibble at Bradders and then over shot and hit a parked car.

ENGLAND WINS AT SKEGNESS

Another fun coast Bank Holiday and after Mike Green (115) and Jimmy The Wriggle (527) took the heats. Ashley England (846) took the final. Green winning the GN.

BATE BEST AT BUXTON

Over up on the peaks, it was another Bank Holiday showdown. Sunday saw the wins go in a game of tennis between Richard Bowyer (761) who took heat 1 and the final, and Michael Green (115) taking the other heat and the GN. Monday saw Tim Bailey (817) taking a heat, the remaining 3 races were won by Ben Bate (242). Heat, Final and Handicap. But young Mr Bate did not start from the front of the grid. Therefore, technically, he should have been docked for not starting in his correct position. The Grand National Handicap is not an option in F2.

FLYING FORD AT BANK HOLIDAY BELLE

Off to the nations second city (is it or is it 3rd) to Belle Vue for a spot of F2 action. With shades of Saturday night Heat 1 was won by Josh Coleman (615) from Rob Speak (218). Andy Ford (13) took the 2nd heat, and then supersized it with a win in the final. In the GN Andrew Palmer (606)| found himself  in a situation described in the Viz Profanisaurus as motorboating (In between the Mitchell Brothers). Chris taking the win, Palmer second, Rob third....

POINTS OF ORDER

The Most unique way of changing a diff. Skills and resources utilised.

Handicap. Sorry, the rule book clearly states that the winner of the final if he intends to race the Grand National, then he must take the full lap handicap. In F1 the rule is different its "taking the handicap". Maybe Buxton got confused, but it is certainly not something that F2 does. You take the lap, whether your Gordon Moodie or Gordon White Top. Another inconsistency that needs to be ironed out, and its one that isn't hard!

Countdown is a counting down.... keep it locked to this...

F2WF 14 - 18 Days to Go..... When Alistair was King

So we venture back to the Death throws of the Margaret Thatcher
era, and the charts had a Ninja Turtle or Timmy Mallet feel to them. Stock car was no exception as for the 1990 World Final  we went north and the World went to the Wall. If it wasn't there already!

I went to both Semi Finals that year. The Northampton semi saw my favourite at the time Graham Luscombe track Alistair King all the way round. Taunton was definately a rare event, with the win going to blue top Chris Emery (133), definately a pub quiz question of the future. However that semi final was dogged in controversy, as a bit of Scottish "team" racing prevailed, and Batten found himself entangled in the Smeatharpe wires on the Honiton bend, aerofoil scalped, by Ali Forsythe (251) in his F2, which looked like it had a fight in a scaffolding factory and lost.

It was also the first year of having a consolation semi final. An aggrieved Batten trudged up to Skegness for the first ever consolation semi. 2 last chance semi places were up for grabs, and Batten was determined to get one of those. His car expired, and ever the gentleman, Rob Speak offered Batten his car, and as the recent story unveiled at the Batten tribute,  both Howard Cole and Crispen Rosevear set to some cardboard with some felt tips to get Batten in the Speak car. That he did and took stalwart Andy Morris (753) along for company.

The first world final at Cowdenbeath had a fair amount of no shows. In the pre meeting practice, Keith Stanford (33) blew an engine and failed to find a spare car to his liking. (If I remember correctly Big Keef was a tall chap). 3 drivers from overseas failed to show and 2 of the reserves didn't turn up living the grid 2 short. More gremlins struck on the rolling lap as unlikely pole sitter Emery suffered gearbox problems which curtailed his race before it began.


With the green flag, saw King speed away but behind him bedlam followed. Error McGill (696)'s race was over before it begun, as he rolled and passed the starter's gantry upside down. Westcountrymen Paul Shepherd (161) (who many say should have won the controversial world the year before) and Garry Hooper (686) also retired. The restart saw the race settle down, with King leading, Jimmy Moodie (7) second, from Malc Locke (698) and defending champion Jimmy Wallace (16).

At the midway point, it was Graham Luscombe's turn to ride the wall and over he went, bringing out the yellow flags and with it a few more retirements, including Wallace, who's reign was over thanks to a puncture. At this point, the 1-2-3 was King, Moodie and Locke. Another 5 laps, and the yellows were out for........ errant wheel. At this point, the threat of Batten was clear. He was in third and clearly the quickest out there. Moodie's car started to miss, and once we were racing again Batten swooped for 2nd. With the boards out, Batten charged through the traffic and set about the 74 car.


With the laps dramatically dropping down, the Batten car was certainly catching the 74 car. As King himself said "Billy was catching really fast in last 4 laps. I feel it should have been Billy's race if he hadn't challenged too early" He saw his opportunity to take it with 6 corners left to go, he pounced, but failed to connect and ended up out of the race. An all or nothing move which sadly, ended in nothing, the partisan crowd going bonkers as another one of their own would have the gold roof again.



Meanwhile, Rob Speak (218)'s engine expired from 3rd. Alistair crossed the line and he was the champion. Speak and Batten's misfortune and misjudgement allowed perennial podium botherer Jimmy Moodie (7) with his ailing car up to second, bridesmaid again and Steve Green (90) coming home to third.

King reminds us of the post race "Billy like the true sportsman he is was one of the first to congratulate me on my win". He admits that it wasn't going all his own way. "It was a hard fought race as Jimmy Moodie challenged me for two thirds of the race until Jimmy's car started misfiring and then Billy made his challenge towards the end.  So I was kept on my toes the whole race"

King's win signaled a start of a new era. It was the first win for Brisca's new power unit, the Pinto. King also set a record, as he became the youngest man to win a world title, at the age of 19 years. However that title was short lived, as the following year, some whippersnapper called Speak nicked that record by the space of three months.....

FULL RESULT
Alistair King (74)
Jimmy Moodie (7)
Steve Green (90)
Ian King (804)
Steve Widdowson (635)
Errol McGill (696)
Martin Briggs (944)
Andy Davies (252)
Buster Sage (602)
Graham Bunter (28)

F2WF14 ---- 19 Days to Go...... SPEAK SCOTTISH GOLD

With 19 days to go, its  time to remember of a time when the charts had Men in Black at the top, from the film of the same name starring Will Smith. Greg Rusedski became the fastest serving tennis player, with a rocket of a ball at 141 mph. Then the World's eyes were on a tunnel in Paris where Princess Diana was killed. World Final 1997. A Scottish one, as Cowdie played host for the 2nd time.

For Jonny this was a first ever trip to Scotland. I had heard in wonderment about this mystical place called Cowdenbeath where they race every Saturday, and as I was old enough, and stupid enough, we set out to travel the umpteen miles from Cornwall to Scotland for the 3 day meeting. At around 6am on the M5 just past Bristol, we saw en route to the Racewall, Mark Green aka Trav, with his Formula 2 and his dad, and we passed sweets from car to van at 70 mph.....

For the Westcountry, our sacrificial lamb to the Speak Altar that year was Tim Farrell (667). Never one lacking self confidence, Timmy won his semi on the unfamiliar shale surface of Mildenhall. Speak had the somewhat easier task of negotiating a rather sodden Smeatharpe, in what proved to be one of Trevor Redmond's last F2 meetings, as the hat wearing promoter passed on in the following month.

With the cauldron of the Racewall ranked up a notch, fans were behind their adopted son Rob Speak, who's father in law (at the time) happened to be the promoter, with Speak being an almost regular at the Scottish track. 3 other Scots were a fair way down the high street, Steven Paterson (532), Robin Drysdale (464) and Stuart Gilchrist (477), probably due to the fact that the semis were at Mildenhall. History repeating itself???

So with a fair amount of no shows, including previous years runner up Mike James (717), the grid made its way out. Legendary Scottish commentator Chris John led them out and described the action, and it was go time.

The first start saw 2 massive rollovers on the first bend. No sooner had legendary Racewall commentator Chris John called his immortal catchphrase "clean and green", than console guru Lee Guinchard (258) and Lancaster Bomber Dean Mason (658) flipped over, bringing the red flags out for the restart.

With many of the main rows obliterated they lined up again. Scot, Steven Paterson (532) was now in a reasonable position to launch and assault, as also Barry Goldin (401) , but it was Farrell and Speak who led them away, to the strains of "Fanfare of the Common Man"

Murray West (NZ98) was by far the slowest car out there. A token entry from New Zealand, he was one of the Kiwi's top drivers. However with limited experience of the UK tracks and the Russell Taylor car, he struggled to get to grips. So it was little surprise that Speak was soon on West's back bumper. However West was not going to move easily. He caused Speak to slow, which allowed Farrell and the chasing pack to catch. West was soon dispensed with as spun around up the top corner. however the car was roll back into the racing line which brought out another yellow flag.

With 10 laps remaining, Speak took the cars on one of his trademark slow warm up laps, as they exited turn 4, Speak seemed to miss a gear, and stuttered at the start. Farrell, Paterson, Luscombe and Gilbert moved to swoop on the 218 car, but normal service was resumed and the Manchester based driver sped away into the distance again. A real battle then developed for the remaining places between Farrell and Paterson.

Title no 6 for speak, and for those so looking forward to someone else winning, they were to be disappointed. For the Scots, some hope in a quiet period with Paterson's third. However, more hope was to come towards the end of the next season, as a big Scottish hero was just around the corner, a certain G. Moodie.

Durable for any occasion, Avon Tyres. Heh Gordon, this is where you do donuts!

The Full Result
218 Rob Speak, 667 Tim Farrell, 532 Steven Paterson, 642 Dave Luscombe, 542 Peter Gilbert, 
732 Daz Kitson, 622 Darren Bingley, 335 Mark Woodhull, 273 Rob Fountain, 344 Phil Woodhull

F2WF14 - 20 Days to Go - Gridded and guarded...

So after a hectic couple of semi finals last night at Mildenhall we have the makings of a grid. And what a grid it is. A few surrprises and a few expected, certainly going to be more

So here it is....

BRISCA F2 WORLD FINAL GRID 2014 13th September 2014 - Cowdenbeath
INSIDE	ROW	OUTSIDE
615 Josh Coleman	1	401 Barry Goldin
218 Rob Speak	2	886 Chris Bradbury
International Entry	3	International Entry
788 Stephen Mallinson	4	377 Daz Shaw
49 Paul Prest	5	100 George Macmillan Jnr
International Entry	6	International Entry
136 Kyle Taylor	7	488 Liam Bentham
7 Gordon Moodie	8	542 Steven Gilbert
International Entry	9	International Entry
448 John Wright	10	995 Michael Lund
19 Martin Ford	11	560 Luke Wrench
International Entry	12	International Entry
846 Ashley England	13	597 Barry Clow
641 Dennis Middler	14	578 Mark Gibbs
Consolation Semi 2	15	Consolation Semi 1
Consolation Semi 4	16	Consolation Semi 3
Consolation Semi 6	17	Consolation Semi 5
783 James Rygor	18

CONSOLATION SEMI GRID
979 Paul Moss	1	676 Neil Hooper
476 Ryan Wadling	2	823 Sam Wagner
126 Jamie Avery	3	921 Jack Aldridge
522 Chris Mikulla	4	103 Carl Issit
725 Paul Broatch	5	647 Chris Burgoyne
968 Mickey Brennan	6	871 Mark Simpson
700 Adam Rubery	7	48 Ryan Morgan
452 Mark Armitage	8	219 Chris Mitchell
618 Ben Lockwood	9	606 Andrew Palmer
16 Craig Wallace	10	362 Dave Harley
169 Richard Stott	11	722 John Broatch
954 Jamie Beere	12	290 Jay Tomkins
124 Ollie Skeels	13	854 Robbie Dawson
299 Steve Smith	14	187 Pete McCullum
887 Neil Brigg	15	298 Jake Walker
59 Lee Dimmick	16	994 Paul Hopkins
259 Simon Farrington	17	417 Allen Weston
3 Liam Rennie	18	178 Mark Dews
935 Nathan Maidment	19	527 James Riggall
817 Tim Bailey	20

Initial thoughts are this.

The grid is incredibly random. With a fair few shale specialists and the more tarmac based drivers on the wrong side of the grid. If it is as is, then Rob Speak (218) stands to be kingmaker once again. However, Speak has announced that he is not racing, it allows the grid to shuffle up, allowing nemesis Moodie further up the road. To race the semi and not do the world is a very baffling decision. Not all the shale drivers are mugs on tarmac. Paul Prest (49) has been a regular at Barford and that could play into his hands. Goldin, Bradbury and Macmillan will have their work cut out to survive the first corner. If they do, they will survive and be very much in the mix. There are very much shades of 1990 with the surprise pole sitter in Josh Coleman but.... this World Final jamboree isn't a predictable beast anymore.... and you gotta be in it to win it.....