The third round of the E8 and Truck National series was recently held at the Westmill track, in Hertfordshire. The HNMC track has been host for many large events, with its impressive facilities and track layout. This weekend was like all others at the circuit, with the track very well prepped and ready to be race upon.
The event was underway by 9AM with the first electric buggy practise heat going out on the track then followed by the trucks. The electric buggies get 2 practise rounds and the truck 1 round, to balance the longer truck finals.
The practise rounds were strong for the team, with them all getting their buggies and trucks further dialled into the surface, the BETA Volante tyre was looking quick as normal at the track, with many drivers opting to use them.
After qualifying the positions went as follows: Josh Graham qualified 6th in the C final, Mark Everitt 9th in the C, Mike Williams 8th. In the B final electric we had Ollie Currie Qualifying 2nd, just missing out on the straight A position. William Skidmore getting the BQ, and Richard Barton giving us a cameo performance and sending himself straight into the B final in 6th place. Tony Truman qualified 6th in the A, Joni Skidmore 4th, and Darren 3rd.
In the truck class, we had Dom Powles starting 5 in the C final. In the B final we had Dave Stanley in 6th, Stephen Brunsden 4th and Allan Bridgeman just missing out on the A in 2nd place. Straight into the A we had James Tatlow in 9th, Michael Shorey 8th and Jon Hazlewood 2nd.
The finals we up, in the C final in truck we had a great performance from Bernard Wija, bumping into the B final after a 4th place finish. And in the B final truck we had Dave Stanley and Allan Bridgeman wheeling their A215T’s superbly well with them both bumping into the A final. The truck A final was underway and a great start from Jon Hazlewood allowed him to stay hot on the heels of TQ man Elliot Boots for a portion of the final, until some unfortunate traffic put him on his roof allowing a couple of racers who were close behind to get past, the BULLITT B-221 motor in Jon’s truck put him in the position to be able to run a 10 minute stop in the 30 minute final, with 12:30 known in the tank a 10 minute stop was no issue. Jon drove well but just couldn't quite catch up after a couple of hold ups out on track he finished in 4th place, Michael Shorey in 7th place, Dave Stanley in 8th, James Tatlow 10th and Digger 14th after a switch failure let him down. 5 A215T’s made for Agama being the most represented manufacturer in the A final.
In the Electric finals we had Josh Graham bumping out of the C final into the B final after winning, great drive Josh ! and in the B final, Ollie Currie and William Skidmore would be the bumpers putting themselves into the A final. The main A final was up and it was a close race between Darren and Jamie upfront ahead of the field, Elliot had a small tumble initially but pushed hard to catch up to the front runners until a electrical issue ended his race whilst he was in 3rd, just leaving Darren and Jamie to battle it hard up front, Jamie had great pace and it was an impressive drive from the Junior driver….. Darren just had more in his pocket to take from and he would push forward and take the win. This was followed up by Callum in 4th, just missing out on the podium spot, Tony Truman 6th, William Skidmore 7th, Ollie Currie 8th and Joni Skidmore 10th. Again 6 Agama A215E’s in the main final would make Agama the most represented manufacturer. Great job all drivers !
Huge thanks to the club and to Chris Jeffreys for again another flawless race meeting, we look forward to the nitro national at this venue.
Next up we are in Ireland for the 2017 Paddy Piston Race.
Mark Rumble
