14th April 1973 - Wimbledon
London Diary by Man on the Terrace from Spedeweek no 10
I had not seen the Midgets this season until this meeting.
Reports had said that I would be delighted with the cars and
the racing, and I certainly was. With 27 cars arriving in
the pits, all looking good and going well we could expect
some exciting racing, and that was what we got.
Keith Fransella always had beautifully prepared cars when
he drove Superstox, but somehow never got the results I expected.
In his new formula he is certainly going very well and won
race 1 from Mick Bonner and Frank Boyles, just to show that
his second place in the Southern Championship was no fluke.
John Hawkins went off at tremendous speed in the second race
but Rod Tanswell nearly caught him by the end with Roland
Parker third. Fransella starting right at the back, on the
half lap handicap came through to sixth place. In the last
race we had a fierce struggle between Mick Bonner, Frank Boyles
and Rod Tanswell. Boyles spun out on the pits bend towards
the end, but recovered well to take 4th spot behind Bonner,
Tanswell and Pete Gutsell. Derek Johnson in his Auto Enthusiast
sponsored car finished 5th.
East Anglian Championship - Ipswich - June 17th, 3.00pm
British Championship - White City - August 27th, 3.00pm
National Championship - Wimbledon - November 3rd, 7.45pm
I am told that MARC drivers are to be invited to these Championships
so without a doubt the racing, will be terrific to say the
least. In turn I am told plans are afoot for our drivers to
compete for some of their Championships. All in all I can
foresee a really first class year for Midgets in 1973.
Post Script. It is with regret that I have to report the
death of Brian Summerskill, mechanic to Bob Elson for many
years. Those of us who knew Brian will miss his presence around
the raceways. I am sure that all the people that knew him
will join me in offering our condolences to his wife and young
family in this sad and tragic loss.
London Diary by Man on the Terrace from Spedeweek no 2
Also at Wimbledon will be those great little cars called
Midgets. Sponsorship has spread to them as well and both Rod
Tanswell and Frank Boyles will be appearing in the colours
of BP and Custom Car. Lot of news and rumours going around
about the Midgets but the only way we can find out if they
are true is by being at Wimbledon this weekend. One piece
of news that is great is that the MARC drivers will be seen
around the Spedeworth tracks again this year, the more times
the better as I see it! One worry about the arrangement is
that so far the MARC have not invited any of the Spedeworth
drivers to join in one of their meetings, how about some two
way traffic between Spedeworth and MARC?
