Neil wins again.

Another class win Neil, but only ten points this time as there was only one other starter in his class and he didn't get fastest lap on a day marred by a nasty off for title contender Steven Young.

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Mike Hayward checking the axle U bolts after qualifying.	Mark Aistrup and James Christie heading Roger Bowman across the line.
Neil taking the flag for his fourth class win of the year (picture by Alistair Bray).	Al Weyman and Neil Bray on the podium
Jason Christie showing evidence of his contact with Mark Lucock.	Steven Young came off worse in the rough and tumble for the second lap lead.

Practice was damp. Neil didn’t qualify well and was ninth on the grid, half a second slower than his only class rival, the smart Jaguar Mk 1 of Roger Bowman who was half a second quicker and on the row in front. The conditions certainly suited Steven Young and his Mini, who was no less than two seconds quicker than fellow front row man, Mark Lucock in one of many very smart RS2000’s in the field. David Howard could only qualify his big Jaguar third fastest, three seconds slower than the Mini. The incorrigible Al Weyman only managed one lap, with a shortage of gears, brakes and probably other things as well on his big Yellow Camero,. Big Al remained laid back with a smile on his face as he tried to get his car sorted for the afternoon.

Non-starters decimated the race itself. Among the big bangers neither Pete Halford (Camero) nor David Howard could come to the line. In David’s case he had fractured an oil pipe in the earlier Group 1 race. Al Weyman came to the grid but started from the back because in addition to his other problems the clutch wasn’t working properly. Stephen Primett probably breathed a sigh of relief when Dave Nixon’s Mazda RX3 also failed to materialise when engine problems in qualifying proved terminal.

When the lights went out the front row all held position but Neil got a flyer, nosing ahead of class rival Roger Bowman, only to fluff a gear change and let him get away again. Neil wasn’t deterred and squeezed by round the back of the circuit to establish a class lead of nearly three seconds at the end of the first lap. Admittedly, Roger says the Jag prefers the wet to the dry.

Steven Young that led the field over the line at the end of lap one, just in front of Jason Christie, Stephen Primett and Mark Lucock. They were very, very close and amongst the fast bends at the back of the circuit, a determined Stephen Primett muscled his way into the lead and Steven Young’s Mini ended up in the barriers in the process. Steven emerged unscathed but the Mini was looking very sorry for itself.

Stephen Primett pulled slowly ahead of Mark Lucock who had Jason Christie right behind. That’s the way it stayed until just before the end when Jason and Mark had a coming together, allowing Tony Crudgington to get by both of them to finish second.

In class B Neil had been building his lead over Roger Bowman and it was up to 12 seconds by lap seven when Neil eased off to ensure his class win as it had started to drizzle and become slippery. Roger had been overtaken by both James Christie (Avenger) and Mark Aistrup (Escort) but stormed the last lap to pip Neil for the honour, and extra point, of the fastest lap.

With David Howard not scoring any points, Neil increased his lead in the championship and now has 41 points, ahead of James Christie and last years champion Stephen Primett, both with 34.

Race Result

Championship Position:-

Neil Bray 41 points
James Christie 34 points
Stephen Primett 34 Points
David Howard 27 points
Dave Nixon 26 points

More Details on The MST Site:-

Page added 8 May 2006, updated 9 May 2006

 
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