3rd March 2018
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DOUBLE TROUBLE!
Well, I never expected that! After all the worry, panic etc about the snow stopping us all from getting to the track for tonight's meeting, it was all but gone by the time we got there, and we spent the evening trying to dodge the rain on our runs to the loo! I don't think I've ever seen that much snow disappear so rapidly! But thankfully for us, it did, and we could all get on with the real business of racing!
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CHAINED PAIRS BANGERS
Tonight was our annual event of Chained Paired Bangers! This is so much fun! Twenty one couples made it to the track, with some great pairings. Some couples found their form and made it round the track really well. Others hadn't got a clue, and were there for the sheer hell of it! It was constant carnage from the off for every race, with pairs getting caught up all around the track! But despite the damage, the banter was just as loud and humourous as always! The joke of the night has to go to 233 Dave Nash, who, with a transit van shell on his head was asking, "What do you call a guy with a Transit on his head?" Answer? "A Tranny" Add to that, his hand on his hip and a bum wiggle, and the sight was hilarious! Only Big Dave! Anyway, enough of that, back to the racing....
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HEAT ONE - Dave Nash & Kerry Nash, James Donovan & Midge, JJ Brownlie & Joey Nash, John Hillyard & Jay Hennessey, Nicola Want & Luke Want, Charlie Aylward & Jack Aylward, Dan Morgan & Dave Sullivan, Paul Aylward & Alan Gray, Dave Lungley & Tom O'Sullivan, Shaye Hunter & Daniel Jordan, Tony Hills & Shane Clarke.
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ROUND ONE - The Aylward twins got off to a great start and took the early lead, but soon found racing boring, so went wrecking! I don't think they passed another pair the whole race, they either knocked them out the way or followed them in! Taking no prisoners, no-one was safe with these two about! With some wrecking along the way, Paul & Alan picked their way through to take the win, with Shaye & Daniel finishing 2nd a lap behind, and Charlie & Jack came home in 3rd. 4th place went to Dave & Tom, with John & Jay in 5th, and Dan & Dave in 6th. JJ & Joey finished 7th, James & Midge came home in 8th, Dave & Kerry were 9th and Tony & Shane finished 10th. 11th place went to Nicola & Luke, who unfortunately registered no laps as the wire had come off the transponder!
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ROUND TWO - This time it was John & Jay who found form and took the chequered flag, NINE laps ahead of Paul & Alan in 2nd place! Charlie & Jack came home in 3rd place once again, with Dave & Kerry finishing 4th. Dave & Tom crossed the line in 5th place, with 6th place going to Shaye & Daniel. Dan & Dave finished 7th, and with transponder newly soldered, Nicola & Luke finished 8th. In 9th place was James & Midge, with Tony & Shane in 10th, and JJ & Joey in 11th place.
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ROUND THREE - At last, Shaye & Daniel found their mojo and crossed the line in 1st place. Paul & Alan again took the 2nd position, with John & Jay coming home in 3rd. Dan & Dave improved to take 4th place, with Dave & Kerry finishing in 5th place. JJ & Joey followed across the line in 6th, Dave & Tom came home in 7th, and 8th place went to James & Midge. Charlie & Jack crossed the line in 9th place, with Nicola & Luke in 10th, and Tony & Shane finished 11th.
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HEAT TWO - Abbie Pullen & Harry Palmer, John Donovan & Andrew "Dinky" Donovan, Dean Conyard & Jak Conyard, Divvy & Sean Foley, Harley Donovan & Jamie Townsend, Carl Maslen & Joe Maslen, Bob Beswick & Cara ??, Kerry Goldstone & Jack Booker, Roy Childs & Carole Butcher, Elle Pullen & Dave Palmer.
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ROUND ONE - As with heat one, the carnage was all around the track and there was plenty of wrecking taking place! A huge cheer resounded around the Cow Shed as the first win went to Harley & Jamie, with a lead of EIGHT laps over Carl & Joe in 2nd place! Bob & Cara finished in 3rd place, with Divvy & Sean following them across the line to take 4th place. Abbie & Harry fared well and finished in 5th, with Roy & Carole coming home in 6th, and John & Dinky finishing 7th. In 8th place was Elle & Dave, with Kerry & Jack in 9th and Dean & Jak in 10th.
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ROUND TWO - This race had an exciting finish with Bob & Cara taking the win on the line from Harley & Jamie on splits! And when I say on the line, I really mean, on the line! Harley & Jamie had taken the lead and held it all the way, with Bob & Cara reeling them in lap after lap, to catch them right on the finish line! Well done to Bob & Cara, and commiserations to Harley & Jamie, so close! In 3rd place was Kerry & Jack, and then the remaining result is all a blur, as the race programme developed a hitch, refused to print out the result, and when we checked back, was telling us the race had not been run!
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ROUND THREE - Bob & Cara expertly picked their way through the carnage once more, to take the lead and finish the race three laps ahead of the field! Abbie & Harry had a great run and finished in 2nd place, with Harley & Jamie finishing 3rd. Divvy & Sean came home in 4th place, with Kerry & Jack crossing the line to take 5th, and Carl & Joe finishing in 6th place. Roy & Carole came home in 7th, Elle & Dave finished 8th, Dean & Jak crossed the line in 9th, with Dean having gone up in smoke! and John & Dinky finished 10th.
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FINAL
An amazing All-In Final, with 42 cars, 21 pairs, all out together! Having collated the points from the heats, the grid line up was as follows -
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Pole Position - Bob & Cara; P2 - Paul & Alan; P3 - Harley & Jamie; P4 - Shaye & Daniel; P5 - John & Jay; P6 - Abbie & Harry; P7 - Charlie & Jack; P8 - Carl & Joe; P9 - Dave & Tom; P10 - Divvy & Sean; P11 - Kerry & Jack; P12 - Dan & Dave; P13 - Dave & Kerry; P14 - Roy & Carole; P15 - JJ & Joey; P16 - Elle & Dave; P17 John & Dinky; P18 - James & Midge; P19 Dean & Jak; P20 - Nicola & Luke; P21 - Tony & Shane.
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Chaos ensued from the off with a thundering sound of crashing! Gradually, they sorted themselves and the racers headed off, all chasing the chequered flag! The wreckers were in full destruction mode and creating havoc all around. The only way to have any idea who the leaders were was to watch the computer screen! Sod that! The action on the track was far too exciting! The final result -
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1st - Bob & Cara - 50/ 5m 41.92
2nd - John & Jay - 44/ 5m 51.26
3rd - Harley & Jamie - 39/ 5m 52.19
4th - Paul & Alan - 33/ 5m 52.12
5th - Dan & Dave - 30/ 5m 49.24
6th - Shaye & Daniel - 29/ 5m 51.96
7th - Carl & Joe - 28/ 5m 51.29
8th - Abbie & Harry - 22/ 5m 41.44
9th - Dave & Kerry - 20/ 5m 42.59
10th - Divvy & Sean - 19/ 5m 54.94
11th - Charlie & Jack - 18/ 5m 46.08
12th - James & Midge - 14/ 6m 4.16
13th - Dean & Jak - 13/ 4m 41.95
14th - Roy & Carole - 12/ 5m 43.68
15th - John & Dinky - 9/ 2m 55.58
16th - Nicola & Luke - 9/ 5m 55.39
17th - JJ & Joey - 8/ 2m 47.80
18th - Elle & Dave - 7/ 4m 35.07
19th - Kerry & Jack - 7/ 5m 2.94
20th - Dave & Tom - 1/ 15.80
21st - Tony & Shane - DNS
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A grand finish there for Bob & Cara, and well deserved, they'd figured out how to race together and picked their way through all the carnage to finish the race 6 laps ahead! Well done John & Jay on finishing 2nd, they too raced well, especially considering they'd only been thrown together at the start of the meeting! And another great result for Harley & Jamie, coming home in 3rd place, leaving Harley one very happy little boy! (Dad donned the ear muffs as Harley would not stop talking about it all! At least he'll have something to say in "show and tell" at school this week, bless him!) Well done to everyone who took part, making this a fun and enjoyable evening for racers and spectators alike!
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DD
The DD was fun as usual, with drivers taking part individually this time, not chained as pairs. Plenty of crashing, plenty of action and plenty of banter. Last Juniors running were Harry Palmer and Nicola Want, yet again! These two are making a habit of taking a draw, and there was a draw with the last two Seniors too, with Divvy and Paul Aylward collecting the joint win. Well done everybody!
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Bangers return next weekend, on Sunday 11th March, with the Mother's Day Special, All Volvo Dutch Open! Get your clogs on and make sure you don't miss it!
Many thanks to Midge, Elle Pullen, Dave Lungley and Paul Aylward for providing these great pics.
2L SALOON STOCKS
In addition tonight we launched the start of the 2L Saloon Stocks Championship. Seventeen Saloons made it to the track today, split into two heats. The racing was ferocious, and at times, very scrappy, but some great skill on show too. Remember, these may be full contact, but follow-ins, head-ons etc are not permitted, and we will be watching closely! If you need more experience, that's what Thursday practice nights are for!
HEAT ONE
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ROUND ONE
1st - 383 Divvy - 50/ 3m 9.12
2nd - 65 Alan Clarke - 49/ 3m 11.84
3rd - 27 Jamie Townsend - 46/ 3m 10.78
4th - 4 Kev Hunt - 44/ 3m 9.85
5th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 44/ 3m 10.14
6th - 186 Gary Palmer - 38/ 3m 10.08
7th - 29 Steve Donovan - 14/ 1m 22.68
8th - 371 Sean Foley - 1/ 4.44
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ROUND TWO
1st - 383 Divvy - 50/3m 9.88
2nd - 65 Alan Clarke - 48/ 3m 13.69
3rd - 4 Kev Hunt - 45/ 3m 10.94
4th - 27 Jamie Townsend - 45/ 3m 11.74
5th - 371 Sean Foley - 43/ 3m 12.48
6th - 186 Gary Palmer - 40/ 3m 11.64
7th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 7/ 31.61
8th - 29 Steve Donovan - 2/ 8.86
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ROUND THREE
1st - Divvy - 50/ 3m 6.72
2nd - 65 Alan Clarke - 44/ 3m 8.83
3rd - 166 Dougie Donovan - 43/ 3m 7.26
4th - 4 Kev Hunt - 40/ 3m 8.28
5th - 186 Gary Palmer - 40/ 3m 8.70
6th - 371 Sean Foley - 37/ 3m 10.62
7th - 29 Steve Donovan - 20/ 2m 10.62
8th - 27 Jamie Townsend - 19/ 1m 35.48
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A great start there for 383 Divvy, with a hat-trick of heat wins! Well done Divvy! Three great 2nd places for 65 Shaky, and a happy 166 Dougie, making his debut in this formula. Great racing boys!
B FINAL
1st - 19 Tubbs - 50/ 3m 27.00
2nd - 371 Sean Foley - 48/ 3m 28.92
3rd - 222 JJ Brownlie - 46/ 3m 33.47
4th - 471 Roy Childs - 43/ 3m 32.03
5th - 186 Gary Palmer - 43/ 3m 35.42
6th - 25 Carl Maslen - 38/ 3m 31.71
7th - 22 John Hillyard - 6/ 30.84
8th - 29 Steve Donovan - DNS
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A well run race, with Tubbs finally getting the win he craved! What a pity there was no promotion to the A Final!
HEAT TWO
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ROUND ONE
1st - 183 Shaye Hunter - 50/ 3m 8.03
2nd - 403 Daniel Jordan - 48/ 3m 8.22
3rd - 19 Tubbs - 44/ 3m 9.21
4th - 233 Dave Nash - 42/ 3m 11.52
5th - 203 Jack Booker - 41/ 3m 11.84
6th - 222 JJ Brownlie - 38/ 3m 11.80
7th - 471 Roy Childs - 35/ 3m 9.56
8th - 22 John Hillyard - 23/ 2m 17.02
9th - 25 Carl Maslen - 9/ 50.65
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ROUND TWO
1st - 183 Shaye Hunter - 50/ 3m 0.44
2nd - 403 Daniel Jordan - 47/ 3m 2.27
3rd - 203 Jack Booker - 45/ 3m 3.58
4th - 22 John Hillyard - 44/ 3m 4.41
5th - 233 Dave Nash - 43/ 3m 4.73
6th - 19 Tubbs - 41/ 3m 4.89
7th - 222 JJ Brownlie - 35/ 2m 40.03
8th - 471 Roy Childs - 34/ 3m 5.50
9th - 25 Carl Maslen - 33/ 3m 4.70
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ROUND THREE
1st - 183 Shaye Hunter - 50/ 3m 4.03
2nd - 403 Daniel Jordan - 48/ 3m 4.48
3rd - 233 Dave Nash - 44/ 3m 4.38
4th - 203 Jack Booker - 44/ 3m 8.03
5th - 22 John Hillyard - 41/ 3m 5.31
6th - 222 JJ Brownlie - 41/ 3m 7.36
7th - 19 Tubbs - 35/ 3m 7.00
8th - 471 Roy Childs - 26/ 3m 8.76
9th - 25 Carl Maslen - 25/ 3m 10.78
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And a great start for young Shaye, also scoring a hat-trick of heat wins! Daniel chased hard and completed a hat-trick of 2nd places; and both drivers did well to pick their way through the rest of the field, well done boys!
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A FINAL
1st - 183 Shaye Hunter - 80/ 4m 40.25
2nd - 403 Daniel Jordan - 80/ 4m 43.04
3rd - 383 Divvy - 77/ 4m 42.97
4th - 65 Alan Clarke - 73/ 4m 42.43
5th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 67/ 4m 40.67
6th - 203 Jack Booker - 38/ 2m 31.20
7th - 233 Dave Nash - 18/ 1m 24.92
8th - 27 Jamie Townsend - 8/ 33.79
9th - 4 Kev Hunt - 2/ 12.96
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A grand A final, with an exciting finish between Chelmsford boys! Well done to Shaye, scoring a full house and launching him to the top of the points chart, gaining the twin silver stripes! Great stuff Shaye! A terrific effort from Daniel too, leaving him in 3rd position after divvy claimed 2nd place by just one point! Looks like this could be a close run championship this year, let's hope so!
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So a great evening for the Saloons, who return to the track on 22nd April for round two of the championship. We look forward to another great evening of close racing! Well done guys!
Some great shots there, courtesy of Elle Pullen
F2 STOCK CARS
To complete the trio tonight we launched this years F2 Championship, with seven F2's in attendance. Always entertaining to watch, these guys skillfully maneuvered around the track to provide some exciting racing!
ROUND ONE
1st - 676 Bob Beswick - 50/ 3m 4.22
2nd - 183 Shaye Hunter - 50/ 3m 6.20
3rd - 383 Divvy - 46/ 3m 6.24
4th - 65 Alan Clarke - 44/ 3m 7.87
5th - 186 Tom O'Sullivan - 43/ 3m 4.83
6th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 1/ 2.94
7th - 258 Dave Lungley - DNS
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ROUND TWO
1st - 183 Shaye Hunter - 50/ 3m 8.83
2nd - 676 Bob Beswick - 50/ 3m 13.95
3rd - 65 Alan Clarke - 45/ 3m 9.08
4th - 186 Tom O'Sullivan - 45/ 3m 9.95
5th - 383 Divvy - 45/ 3m 12.09
6th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 19/ 1m 49.88
7th - 258 Dave Lungley - DNS
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ROUND THREE
1st - 183 Shaye Hunter - 50/ 2m 57.56
2nd - 676 Bob Beswick - 48/ 2m 58.56
3rd - 383 Divvy - 45/ 2m 59.29
4th - 186 Tom O'Sullivan - 44/ 3m 0.64
5th - 65 Alan Clarke - 21/ 1m 30.04
6th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 13/ 54.11
7th - 258 Dave Lungley - DNS
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A FINAL
1st - 676 Bob Beswick - 60/ 3m 35.20
2nd - 183 Shaye Hunter - 60/ 3m 38.40
3rd - 186 Tom O'Sullivan - 56/ 3m 36.35
4th - 383 Divvy - 56/ 3m 37.85
5th - 65 Alan Clarke - 53/ 3m 37.69
6th - 166 Dougie Donovan - 3m 56.62
7th - 258 Dave Lungley - DNS
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Such close racing there between Shaye and Bob! They certainly gave each other a run for their money, finishing on splits in all but one race! Exciting stuff guys! This placed Bob just one point ahead of Shaye in the points charts, so we're looking forward to a good run championship this year! Dave Lungley ran in every race, but with his transponder not registering, we have no idea how well he did! Not that he was bothered, he just enjoys getting out there and racing, which is what it's really all about! Let's hope the next meeting for the F2's on 22nd April will be just as exciting to watch!
AVERAGE LAPS
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Chained Pairs - 22 John & 801 Jay - 5.75
2L Saloon Stocks - 183 Shaye Hunter - 3.50
F2 Stock Cars - 183 Shaye Hunter - 3.55
So another great evening comes to a close at the Cow Shed. Many thanks to Midge and Divvy for organizing a great time for all. Any many thanks to you all for coming to join the fun! We're back here again on Sunday 11th March for the All Volvo Dutch Open, kindly sponsored by Rob "Norbs" Gymer. Also running will be Drifts and Reliant Robins, opening their club Championship for 2018. Until then, be safe people.