GP mIDGETS yAHOO discussion gROUP
Daniel met the West Country Challenge but who will meet the European challenge?
The Grand Prix Midget’s second outing of the season at Grimley on 5 May certainly proved a challenge for some with several cars breaking down over the course of the day. Nonetheless Daniel Pooley proved to be the driver of the day winning both the second heat and Final.
Daniel lost a tyre in heat one and had he not done so could well have taken the first hat track of the season, but once he retired it left the way open for Andrew Bilby’s VW to take the flag.
Andrew’s celebrations were short lived with clutch problems forcing his retirement one race later. Allen Herbert recent returnee to the formula took second in heat two with Geoff Bunn coming out new points leader having scored a very worthwhile second and two third places on the day.
The Club’s next outing is the European Championship at Hednesford on 18th May and it’s hard to pinpoint who the winner will be. 2007 winner Jason Carnwell was not at Grimley and had a problematic first meeting but has nonetheless qualified in pole position with the grid decided on race points accumulated since the previous European Championship last May. The Cheetah car which took Jason to 25 wins last year is currently up for sale and Jason’s outings are likely to be limited this year he will therefore be keen to defend his title successfully.
Jonathan Pooley was Jason’s closest rival in last year’s event finishing runner up. He has been shaking down a new car and is currently lying 4th overall but has qualified alongside Jason for this event and will no doubt hope that this will be his first win of the year as well as his first major title.
Row two of the grid will be made up of Steve Young and current points leader Geoff Bunn. Geoff’s has had two second and two third places from six races and of all the contenders Geoff’s results this season are the most consistent.
Row three will include Gordon Pooley and Andrew Bilby. Both drivers have had a win already this year. Steve Brattan won this year’s Southern Championship and is currently third in the series, he starts alongside Cliff Bunn on row four whose best result this year is a third place.
Scott Roth who starts alongside Neil Clarke’s new car, could well be the dark horse of this race. Scott was points leader after the first round and as well as improving the handling with some winter changes to the car he has a pretty lively VW – and VW engines have won many a European Championship as Harry Sayell, Stuart Haynes and Daz Rycroft could testify!
Neil’s new car is behaving badly – apparently it goes well when it has all the parts but the first two meetings have proved trying with a coming together at round one sidelining Neil due to suspension failure and a drive shaft failure sidelining him from the heats at round two and retiring again after a few laps of the final. Neil would be delighted with a win having been close in the distant past but would probably be equally pleased to finish on this occasion.
Finally look out for Daniel Pooley the junior member of Team Pooley and West Country Challenge winner, who is putting his brother Jonathan’s 2007 car to very good use as seen above. Daniel’s 2 wins at Grimley was one more than any of those in front of him have scored so far this year; he’s certainly got the determination and enthusiasm to pull a surprise out of the bag.
Spring Sale
Most unusually for the Grand Prix Midget Club there is an albeit small "glut" of cars for sale at the start of the 2008 season. Its good for would be new drivers or returnees to have a good choice of cars at a range of prices to suit most serious buyers. Ironically the more usual situation is that there are rarely cars for sale. Anne Sayell Press Officer commented "There are some drivers whose cars are habitually up for sale and even when they are not advertising they would part with their car. But its often been a problem that the formula attracts drivers but then they cannot find a car. With no dedicated manufacturer new cars tend to come about from owner drivers building a new one for themselves but this also means that often they use parts from their original car to build the new one leading to part-cars coming on the market. These need a certain kind of buyer as not everyone is a builder. Midgets look quite "technical" so to face building up a car either puts them off or they take several years to bring them out. Those currently up for sale are mostly ready to race complete cars being sold for a variety of genuine reasons some due to a change of formula, some retirees and so on. There are some bargains to be had right now".
Check out the For Sale page and grab a bargain in time for a near full season campaign.
Steve’s season opener at Bovingdon 13 April 08
Vice Chairman Steve Brattan kicked off the trophy collections at the weekend winning the Southern Championship at Bovingdon in a very close final finish. Steve took the lead early on but by no means had an easy run with Geoff Bunn hounding him most of the way to the flag. It was very close on the finishing line but Steve Brattan was just enough ahead to take the trophy.
The first heat saw Neil Clarke and new driver Gary Grimsley in the ex Rycroft car have an unfortunate coming together. Neil’s new car did not fair well losing rear suspension and was not repairable at the track sidelining him for the rest of the day. Prior to the subsequent stoppage Gordon Pooley and Scott Roth had been very close for several laps with some excellent driving from both men, the result was declared as at lap 18 with Gordon Pooley awarded the win.
Heat two saw the worst of the day’s weather conditions resulting in every car spinning with the exception of eventual winner Scott Roth. Scott added a 6th place in the final and this together with a second in heat one saw him end the day as the season’s first points leader and a silver fin.
The star men appeared to struggle to make significant places all meeting. Reigning World Champion Jason Carnwell had problems with a brand new plug breaking down at high revs in the first race and the rear axle tie bar bracket broke in the second sidelining him from the final , Jason’s only consolation was that main rival Jonathan Pooley seemed to be having no more luck with his new car scoring two 5th places. 5 times World Champion Klaus Kilianski made the trip from Germany and is said to be planning a bid for the points championship this year but will have had a slightly disappointing meeting if this is the case with a third place in heat one but failed to score in either of the next 2 races.
The days results see Scott Roth head the points table with Gordon Pooley, Steve Brattan, Geoff Bunn, Steve Young and Andrew Bilby making up the top 6.
The Midgets move on to Grimley on May 5th with the last opportunity to score qualifying points for the European Championship on May 18th at Hednesford.
Photo courtesy of Paul Huggett – look for lots more Midget shots from the meeting on www.racepixels.co.uk by the end of week.
Barry for President as the Midget Club looks to the future.
This year’s AGM saw the first major constitutional changes in the way the Grand Prix Midget Club is run since its formation in 1975.
A new (non voting) post of President was created in order to provide advice and continuity for the new Board of control made up almost entirely of new members. Outgoing Chairman Barry Goldsby was unanimously elected.
It was also agreed that anyone taking on the role of Vice chairman in future would be elected on the basis that they would eventually take on the role of Chairman having gained experience for the position whilst supporting the Chairman’s role thus ensuring continuity.
The Grand Prix Midget formula has for several years been a sanctioned formula with the ORC; Spedeworth’s Roy Eaton initially providing the Midget formula representation at ORC meetings. More recently ORC Secretary Paul Gerrard and Incarace have taken on the promoter rep role. This has provided the formula with a lot of support in the form of advice particularly with regard to safety.
The meeting passed a proposal to allow the promoter’s Steward to deal with discipline issues on the day including docking of places or suspending drivers as necessary in line with that promoters rules. Any physical violence will as result ion an automatic 12 month ORC ban. Any appeals would be heard by the next available Incarace Appeal Committee.
New President Barry commented “ I see my as role as a link between the ORCi / Incarace and to advise and support, when necessary the Club Chairman Gordon Pooley with regard to, dare I say, the politics of the sport. In addition, and as required, to advise and discuss with the ORCi / Incarace issues relative to the GPMC and Midget Racing as a sport.
At Paul Gerrard's invitation I have been asked to join the Incarace BoC. I shall endeavour to support Paul and his team in whatever way I can and welcome this opportunity to gain a closer insight into the promotional and strategic management of Oval Racing.
As part of the continuity of expertise during the 2008 season former Club Secretary of 6 years Ann Goldsby will be retaining her Assistant Steward's licence and will provide race day support to the new BoC as required.
If I can be a small part in bringing that to fruition then I would be very proud to have been a part of what the Club has achieved since it's first days as an independent Club nearly 33 years ago.”
New Chair Gordon Pooley welcomes the continued support from the more experienced Goldsbys. He also welcomed the moves regarding discipline feeling it will be a good thing. On asked how he saw the season ahead Gordon commented that he felt the fixture list was about right given that soaring fuel prices made travelling to the tracks the main concern for many racers.
He is also looking forward to the season on a personal level with son Jonathan having a new car for the 2008 championship bid and his brother Daniel taking over the car that took Jonathan to runner up in 2007’s championship.
As expected the Club did agree to use transponders with immediate effect; brake lights are no longer compulsory and the double points awarded for the World and European events in recent years have been reduced back to single points.
The Midget Club season gets underway on April 13th at Bovingdon with the Southern Championship.
Drivers planning to race at Bovingdon should contact the Secretary urgently about booking in and getting their transponder.
Looking ahead to 2008 season
One major change for the Midget formula in 2008 will be the move to run transponders at last. This should go down well with promoters and the Club is looking forward to the extra information on lap times the move will bring which many drivers feel will confirm that the cars are still one of if not the quickest on the ovals.
Scott Roth’s VW and Nigel Robinson’s Dart are expected to take on new appearances this season and Neil Clarke’s latest new build is rumoured to be his most radical design yet.
The AGM on 27th January saw a brand new Board of Control with the majority of the 2007 members not re-standing having already served several years.
Looking back at 2007, the final points table is now online. The final regional championships can be viewed here along with details of all the winners announced at the DInner Dance. Thanks to Anne Sayell for the information.
?? January 2009 - AGM
A quick reminder... Grand Prix Midget Club;Annual AGM previously held at Toby Carvery and Innkeepers Lodge, London Road, Wootton, Northampton just off J15 M1 2009 is a long way off as yet but any ideas where the best venue for 2009 AGM would be??
Dinner Dance 2008
The Gala Grand Prix Midget Club Presentation Dinner Dance takes place at Greetham Valley, Rutland about November each year. All club members, families and friends of the club welcome. Tickets at £30 each will be available from Chris Young, club treasurer. while for those wishing to stay overnight rooms are available at £75 including breakfast - contact Greetham Valley on 01780-460444. If previous events are anything to go by this will be a night not to be missed! (prices are approximate at this early time)
11 October 2007 - Carnwell is Champion
Jason Carnwell was on top form at Bovingdon taking all three race wins including the Graham Hill Memorial and wrapping up the points championship in the process. Congratulations Jason. The meeting was well attended and included overseas visitors Klaus Kilianski, Toni and Ritchie Scheepens.