'.......Gentlemen, are you ready? Start your engines.....'
1995 WORLD FINAL at HEDNESFORD RACEWAY on SUNDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER
With 53 John Lund and 515 Frankie Wainman Jnr on the front row and 391 Andy Smith on the inside of row two, this World Final had all the commentators predicting that the winner would be one of these in-form drivers.
But it was to be a day of surprises
33 Peter Falding had been racing his Ford Mondeo at Mallory Park and thanks to a helicoptor ride, just made it in time to join the grid. It was quite a sight to see him running down the pit slope already in his racing overalls and carrying his crash helmet.
Two ladies were competing, G31 Sabine Rode from Germany and 24 Lisa Harter - one of them would achieve the best ever finish by a female driver.
H217 Ron Kroonder was expected to top the timed laps to decide the grid positions of the foreign entrants but he was only quick enough for the inside of row six alongside Sabine Rode. It was USA59 Bob Cicconi who was the quickest and on the inside of row three with Dutchman H240 Henk Jan Ronitz next to him.
The top New Zealand entry NZ1 Lyall Rumney was starting from the back row of the grid but was destined to make a name for himself.
As was the driver in only his second full season of F1 stock car racing who was considered at the start to have a long shot at a podium finish. He was about to turn the form book on its head.
The atmosphere around the raceway was electric with the massed ranks of spectators sounding their presence with blaring air horns and shouts of encouragement to favourite drivers. As the pace car sought refuge on the centre, Lund and Wainman held the pack over the last half rolling lap and when the green flag was waved, it was Lund who roared past the starter ahead of Wainman. He went wide out of turn one letting Wainman through into the lead. As the leaders completed the first lap it was Wainman followed by Lund, Andy Smith, Bob Cicconi, Keith Chambers, Murray Harrison and Peter Falding.
Cicconi lost ground over the next two laps and there were stranded cars in turn two, including that of Lisa Harter, that were to affect the outcome of the race. John Lund timed his attack on the Wainman bumper to perfection and 515's race was over, his car damaged by the impact with the parked cars and the armco.
Lund led from Smith, Chambers and Falding. But Andy Smith saw his opportunity going into turn one and clattered Lund towards the parked cars on turn two. Lundy skilfully avoided them but scraped the armco, losing valuable time.
After eight laps, the defending champion, Smith, led Chambers followed by Falding. On the next lap Cicconi collided with an out of control H22 Louw Wobbes on turn four and Keith Chambers made sure Andy Smith joined them with a superbly timed thump with his front bumper.
Against the odds, Keith Chambers led with Falding trying desperately to close the gap. He was assisted by waved yellow flags. 128 John Wright had collided with the stranded 391 car and the officials on the spot were unable to establish whether Andy was ok.
On the restart, the order was Chambers, Falding, Lund, who had made an amazing recovery, 41 Gaz Bott, Murray Harrison and 64 Kev Smith. It seemed only a matter of time before Falding launched his attack on the Chambers' back bumper and Lund was still a threat but some distance behind Falding. For lap after lap Falding followed, patiently waiting for the right moment to strike. Lund noticeably started closing the gap to the first two but as he did so he sustained a puncture.
On lap twenty-four came the decisive moment of the race. Falding dramatically slowed with a deflated front tyre.
Keith Chambers took the chequered flag and became the 1995 World Champion in only his second full season of racing. Murray Harrison was second and 213 Des Chandler third. NZ1 Lyall Rumney had driven a fantastic race, elevating himself from the last row to a fourth place finish and G31 Sabine Rode finished eighth - the best ever finish by a lady driver in a World Final.
What a marvellous moment it was for Keith Chambers who was rapturously received by an appreciative crowd. They knew it was no mean feat for such an inexperienced driver to have the likes of Peter Falding breathing down your neck and shadowing you for lap after lap waiting to strike. That he didn't appear perturbed and was cool under so much pressure displayed a maturity beyond his years. Luck may have been on his side when Peter sustained the puncture but such is stock car racing.
Below is my model of Keith's 1995 World winner:
Another Hednesford World Final classic.
1991 WORLD FINAL at HEDNESFORD RACEWAY on SUNDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER
This was one of the memorable World Finals finishing in a cloud of rubber smoke and confusion that inspired a Michael Turner painting and 500 limited edition prints, one of which hangs proudly on my office wall.
The Meeting lacked the usual Hednesford efficiency and the resultant delays and cancellation of the £1500 World Sequel Race could have overshadowed the proceedings but the really special World Finals can truly transcend such frustrations and still send the fans home with a warm glow and the knowledge that they have witnessed a rare classic. This was one of those occasions and I remember it well.
33 Peter Falding was on inside front row with 55 Bert Finnikin, defending World Champion, on the outside. Behind them were the hard charging 471 Bobby Burns and 272 Andy Hodgson ahead of the fastest foreign competitors, H217 Ron Kroonder and H8 Martin Verhoff. Further back were 85 Ray Tyldesley on row 5, 162 Richard Pratt on row 7, 309 Jayne Bean on row 8 and on row 10, the looming presence of 53 John Lund.
The rolling lap was one of the slowest I can ever recall. It caused some drivers to stall their engines and when others anticipated the green flag, a false start ensued. There was the inevitable delay to allow drivers with damage, that included Falding and Burns, to get their cars raceworthy. At the second attempt the 1991 World Final was underway.
Into the first bend, Burns hammered Falding's back bumper and both went wide. Finnikin was held up and this allowed Hodgson into the lead ahead of Kroonder. Burns had recovered to lie third with Falding in fourth. Into turn three Burns struck again, thumping Kroonder who caused Hodgson to brush the armco fence. This allowed Finnikin up the inside and into the lead as they completed lap one, ahead of Falding, Kroonder and Burns.
During the next few laps, Burns forced Kroonder into the armco causing him to lose valuable time but shortly after Burns sustained tyre damage and retired along with Hodgson. As the race settled into a pattern, Finnikin led with Falding, desparately trying to close the gap, in second place. Further back, Lund had made amazing progress from row ten to be third. In the timed laps earlier in the meeting, Lund had been the fastest driver over one lap with a time of 15 seconds and he was now reeling in the first two. But John had a cunning plan! He consciously stopped pushing on in order to conserve his tyres for the second half of the race. The trouble was he didn't see the union jack flag go out and when the five laps to go board appeared he thought he had left it too late - the first two, Finnikin and Falding, were both ahead of him by the length of the straight.
And then the fun and games began!
Kroonder had recovered to fourth place and clashed with 162 Richard Pratt who didn't take kindly to the attention and a further coming together caused the two of them to collide with the armco on turn two. Pratt got going again as the leaders came past and he found himself not far behind Falding as the laps counted down. As Finnikin went into the last bend on lap 25, Falding launched his car and made contact with Finnikin's nerf rail, taking the two of them into a stationery Dutch car and shredding Finnikin's outside rear tyre in the process. Falding bounced back on track and aimed for the finishing line, so tantalisingly close. Cue the sudden appearance of Richard Pratt who locked on to Falding's front end taking both cars into the armco. Pratt's car bounced onto its side as a surprised John Lund motored by to take the chequered flag. Finnikin, on only three wheels, collided with Pratt's car, knocking it back onto four wheels and then crossed the finishing line sideways in a great cloud of rubber smoke. Falding limped home in third place as Kroonder also hit the Pratt car and couldn't reach the line.
It was an incredible finish. With rubber smoke obscuring the finishing line, confusion reigned for a short time but it quickly became clear that John Lund was World Champion again. Behind Peter Falding, 85 Ray Tyldesley had finished fourth and 309 Jayne Bean an excellent fifth.
Richard Pratt suffered four cracked vertebre from the hits on his car and it was fair to say he was not one of Peter Falding's favourite drivers!
Many times a stock car race is decided on the last bend. Seldom has so much action ocurred in so short a section of track as happened in the 1991 World Final. The essence was captured magnificently by Michael Turner in that painting I referred to earlier. The fans there that day took home vivid memories of one of the great World Finals.
Below is a picture of my model of John Lund's 1991 World Championship winning car - his then third World Title.
1976 WORLD FINAL at WHITE CITY MANCHESTER on SATURDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER
Heavy rain during the day had turned the tarmac oval into a skid-pan with the outside line virtually undriveable.
There was no 391 Stu Smith or 396 Doug Cronshaw or 252 Dave Chisholm on the grid. Between them they had won six out of the last seven World Finals. This suggested the most open title race for some time.
On inside front row, 2 Willie Harrison had won the last two Meeting Finals at White City, one of them in record time. Alongside him 261 Johnny Goodhall was in the form of his racing career and riding the crest of the 'Gimpy for Gold' wave. In the rows behind these two drivers were the talented skills of 306 Mick Noden, 199 Mike Close, 212 Frankie Wainman Snr, 16 Frank Bourne, 175 Glyn Pursey, 3 Stu Bamforth, 260 Dave Berresford and 293 Gordon Smith, any one of whom was capable of lifting the World crown. When the green flag fell Goodhall was away and led Close and Harrison down the back straight but behind them chaos reigned as Glyn Pursey from row four barrel-rolled down the home straight taking out several other cars including Frank Bourne and Stu Bamforth. The red flags came out and a full restart was ordered. Fortunately Glyn Pursey emerged shaken but unhurt from his terrifying roll-over but his car and that of Frank Bourne were unable to rejoin the grid.
At the second attempt the race was underway with Willie Harrison sloting in behind Goodhall and Close as they roared down the back straight again. His intentions were clear as they approached the bend. Close went in on Goodhall and Harrison thumped his front bumper into Close. On the slippery tarmac there was no room for error of judgement and all three tangled into the fence letting Stu Bamforth through. They all eventually got going again but well down the racing order.
For the rest of the 25 laps, 293 Gordon Smith, who finished second, and 212 Frankie Wainman Snr, who finished third, did their level best to reel in Bamforth, taking advantage of the dry racing line that emerged, but Bammy always seemed to be able to put a car or two between them and stretch his lead.
199 Mike Close drove like a man possessed to finish fourth and was clearly the fastest car on track. 261 Johnny Goodhall also drove a tremendous race to finish fifth.
Although not one of the classic World Finals, the 1976 event was well presented and had the fans on the edge of their seats throughout.
In the rest of the meeting, 391 Stu Smith, driving the ex 364 Derek Coleman car, showed that he could win with unfamiliar machinery taking heat and grand national wins and third in the Final. 199 Mike Close won the Final and was second in the grand national.
What a superb car the No 3 Challenger looked on the grid with its dark green body and red roof. Originally built by Brian Powles and rebuilt by Allan Barker and powered by a Powles modified LS7 Chevy it looked even more the supercar with a gold roof.
Here is a picture of my model of Stu Bamforth's 1976 World Final winning car:
Stu Bamforth started his racing career in 1964 and came to prominence in 1976 with the number 353 racing a polished copper bodied Stu Smith lookalike car, nicknamed The Challenger. What an incredible sound that engine made! His first Final win was in 1974 and in 1975 his racing number became 3.
But Bammy is remembered for being far more than just a talented stock car racer. During his reign as World Champion he acquired the promoting rights at Odsal Stadium Bradford. A steel plate fence was installed around the track, the tarmac racing strip was relaid and with his unique flair for presenting just what the fans wanted, massive crowds descended on the Odsal Bowl. With continued innovative changes Bammy quickly became BriSCA's premier promotor.
But he refused to stand still and added even more kudos to his promoting status by purchasing the old Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester in 1984. He soon stamped his passion and flair on that Mecca od stadiums for all fans from far and wide but even Bammy couldn't swim against the tide of Health and Safety legislation. The huge wooden stands fell victim to the aftermath of the tragic fire at Valley Parade, Bradford and eventually Bammy was forced to sell in 1987.
Fans from Bammy's promoting era will never forget his outstanding World Final presentations or the Stuart Smith testimonial at Belle Vue in 1986. I can still see him striding around the Odsal Bowl resplendent in his gold-coloured jacket, issuing instructions and making sure everything was running as he wanted. As a showman he was undoubtedkly the Barnum of his generation.
Despite being a driver himself, as Chairman of BriSCA he did not enjoy the best of times with the Drivers' Committee and while he continued with promoting at Bradford after Belle Vue was sold, he scaled down his involvement in stock cars to concentrate on outside business activities such as the Meltham factory site he had purchased with the net sale proceeds. This development did include an indoor karting track that became very popular with stock car fans.
Sadly in 2000 Stuart was diagnosed with cancer and despite a valiant battle in the ensuing months, his fight was tragically lost in January 2002 just before his 56th birthday.
Throughout his stock car career as a driver and a promotor Stuart was the ultimate 'larger than life' character. A man with that extra special ability to turn everything he touched into gold. His commitment, energy, hands on approach and his vision and passion for all things stock car related were inspirational and he thoroughly deserved all the success that came his way. The World Championship win in 1976 was but another stepping stone in a remarkable career.
2001 WORLD FINAL at HEDNESFORD HILLS RACEWAY on SATURDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER
Heavy rain during the day had turned the tarmac oval into a skid-pan with the outside line virtually undriveable.
There was no 391 Stu Smith or 396 Doug Cronshaw or 252 Dave Chisholm on the grid. Between them they had won six out of the last seven World Finals. This suggested the most open title race for some time.
On inside front row, 2 Willie Harrison had won the last two Meeting Finals at White City, one of them in record time. Alongside him 261 Johnny Goodhall was in the form of his racing career and riding the crest of the 'Gimpy for Gold' wave. In the rows behind these two drivers were the talented skills of 306 Mick Noden, 199 Mike Close, 212 Frankie Wainman Snr, 16 Frank Bourne, 175 Glyn Pursey, 3 Stu Bamforth, 260 Dave Berresford and 293 Gordon Smith, any one of whom was capable of lifting the World crown. When the green flag fell Goodhall was away and led Close and Harrison down the back straight but behind them chaos reigned as Glyn Pursey from row four barrel-rolled down the home straight taking out several other cars including Frank Bourne and Stu Bamforth. The red flags came out and a full restart was ordered. Fortunately Glyn Pursey emerged shaken but unhurt from his terrifying roll-over but his car and that of Frank Bourne were unable to rejoin the grid.
At the second attempt the race was underway with Willie Harrison sloting in behind Goodhall and Close as they roared down the back straight again. His intentions were clear as they approached the bend. Close went in on Goodhall and Harrison thumped his front bumper into Close. On the slippery tarmac there was no room for error of judgement and all three tangled into the fence letting Stu Bamforth through. They all eventually got going again but well down the racing order.
For the rest of the 25 laps, 293 Gordon Smith, who finished second, and 212 Frankie Wainman Snr, who finished third, did their level best to reel in Bamforth, taking advantage of the dry racing line that emerged, but Bammy always seemed to be able to put a car or two between them and stretch his lead.
199 Mike Close drove like a man possessed to finish fourth and was clearly the fastest car on track. 261 Johnny Goodhall also drove a tremendous race to finish fifth.
Although not one of the classic World Finals, the 1976 event was well presented and had the fans on the edge of their seats throughout.
In the rest of the meeting, 391 Stu Smith, driving the ex 364 Derek Coleman car, showed that he could win with unfamiliar machinery taking heat and grand national wins and third in the Final. 199 Mike Close won the Final and was second in the grand national.
What a superb car the No 3 Challenger looked on the grid with its dark green body and red roof. Originally built by Brian Powles and rebuilt by Allan Barker and powered by a Powles modified LS7 Chevy it looked even more the supercar with a gold roof.
Here is a picture of my model of Stu Bamforth's 1976 World Final winning car:
Stu Bamforth started his racing career in 1964 and came to prominence in 1976 with the number 353 racing a polished copper bodied Stu Smith lookalike car, nicknamed The Challenger. What an incredible sound that engine made! His first Final win was in 1974 and in 1975 his racing number became 3.
But Bammy is remembered for being far more than just a talented stock car racer. During his reign as World Champion he acquired the promoting rights at Odsal Stadium Bradford. A steel plate fence was installed around the track, the tarmac racing strip was relaid and with his unique flair for presenting just what the fans wanted, massive crowds descended on the Odsal Bowl. With continued innovative changes Bammy quickly became BriSCA's premier promotor.
But he refused to stand still and added even more kudos to his promoting status by purchasing the old Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester in 1984. He soon stamped his passion and flair on that Mecca od stadiums for all fans from far and wide but even Bammy couldn't swim against the tide of Health and Safety legislation. The huge wooden stands fell victim to the aftermath of the tragic fire at Valley Parade, Bradford and eventually Bammy was forced to sell in 1987.
Fans from Bammy's promoting era will never forget his outstanding World Final presentations or the Stuart Smith testimonial at Belle Vue in 1986. I can still see him striding around the Odsal Bowl resplendent in his gold-coloured jacket, issuing instructions and making sure everything was running as he wanted. As a showman he was undoubtedkly the Barnum of his generation.
Despite being a driver himself, as Chairman of BriSCA he did not enjoy the best of times with the Drivers' Committee and while he continued with promoting at Bradford after Belle Vue was sold, he scaled down his involvement in stock cars to concentrate on outside business activities such as the Meltham factory site he had purchased with the net sale proceeds. This development did include an indoor karting track that became very popular with stock car fans.
Sadly in 2000 Stuart was diagnosed with cancer and despite a valiant battle in the ensuing months, his fight was tragically lost in January 2002 just before his 56th birthday.
Throughout his stock car career as a driver and a promotor Stuart was the ultimate 'larger than life' character. A man with that extra special ability to turn everything he touched into gold. His commitment, energy, hands on approach and his vision and passion for all things stock car related were inspirational and he thoroughly deserved all the success that came his way. The World Championship win in 1976 was but another stepping stone in a remarkable career.
2001 WORLD FINAL at HEDNESFORD HILLS RACEWAY on SATURDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER
With 391 Andy Smith, 515 Junior Wainman and 318 Rob Speak on the first two rows this race was always going to be eventful and even the grey, overcast conditions couldn't ruin the anticipation.
After three laps, the red flags came out as 335 Mark Woodhull appeared to be suffering from concussion in the middle of a melee of cars on the West bend. Before the stoppage, Speak had nerfed Junior Wainman aside and forced an error from Smith; Junior Wainman had eased Smith into the armco and Andy had retaliated by sending him into parked cars. As the race was halted and a complete restart ordered, Speak had pulled out a lead over Smith and 247 Gary Castell.
A considerable delay ensued while Mark was cut from his car and there followed the disconcerting sight of an Air Ambulance helicoptor flying in to land trackside and transport him quickly to hospital for a precautionary brain scan. (I'm delighted to say he went on to make an excellent recovery).
The track lights illuminated the restart and added to the already highly charged atmosphere. Andy Smith led the pack away but moisture on the track slowed him up sufficiently for Junior Wainman to seize his opportunity and nail him on the West bend, but in doing so he lost adhesion and made contact with the wall in turn two. It was all Rob Speak needed. He shot into a lead that he held for the remainder of the race, skilfully negotiating his way past slower cars.
Andy Smith, who was racing with a damaged front axle and a bent steering wheel, got past Junior Wainman only to feel the full force of the Wainman bumper again; Junior going on to finish 2nd with Andy 3rd, 2 Paul Harrison 4th and 247 Gary Castell 5th.
The defending champion, 53 John Lund came from row 17 to finish 6th.
Out of the first six cars, only 515 and 247 had big block Chevy power. The others were all powered by the small block version.
318 Rob Speak became only the second driver to have won both the BriSCA F1 and F2 World Titles, the other being, of course, the incomparable 252 Dave Chisholm.
The Rob Speak car was an Elite built by Terry George and Cecil Sayers for 464 Jamie Davidson (hence the two different numbers on the car.)
Here is a picture of my model of Rob's World winning car:
Rob, Andy and Junior continued to slug it out on track for the remainder of the season with Frankie topping the National Points with a meeting average of 30.8 from 56 meetings, followed by Rob in 2nd place with an average of 29.8 from 49 meetings and Andy in 3rd place with an average of 29.5 from 37 meetings.