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23 July 1988 - Swindon
Dave Cox, Short Circuit, September 1988
It has
been a quiet month for the Midgets in the run up to the World
Championship with just the one meeting at Swindon. It was
the Midgets first appearance at the Abbey Stadium and it proved
to be a highly successful evening apart, that is, from the
weather. A downpour brought the meeting to a premature close
as the shale track became waterlogged.
Paul
Rodgers will remember the occasion for some time, for after
seven years in the sport the ex-motorcycle racer, who always
goes well in slippery conditions, finally made it past the
chequered flag first. Paul dominated the opening race, taking
the lead on lap two he pulled away from the rest of the field
to win by the best part of half a lap. Philip Retchless and
Eddy Ricketts had a right old ding-dong as they dead heated
for second place with Mike Fowler, newcomer David Shreeve
and Harry Sayell completing the top six.
The second
race was designated to be the trophy final and it was Shreeve
who was finding the now drying track to his liking. The newcomer
set a fast pace, opening up a good lead in the early stages
until Rodgers moved through to second position and started
whittling away his advantage. Shreeve's enthusiasm got the
better of him as Rodgers closed in and he spun onto the infield
but managed to regain the track in second place. Rodgers went
on to take his second win of the night from Shreeve, John
Lowe, Sayell, Nigel Brake and John Weston.
The last
race was a handicap chase with the winner of the final, regardless
of grade, starting from the rear of the grid. It started to
rain as the cars lined up asn as track conditions worsened
it proved too big a handicap for Rodgers. Shreeve was the
initial leader but on this occaision it was Retchless who
was master of the track. Philip was well clear when the race
was red flagged in the interests of safety with two laps to
run. The heavens had opened and cars were spinning in all
directions. Shreeve was one of the victims but with red flag
rules applying he found himself awarded second place ahead
of Sayell, Brake, John L and Rodgers.
Top of
the table man, Basil Craske, had a night he would rather forget.
He finished out of the points in the first race and suffered
engine problems in the subsequent races. Basil's misfortune
allowed John Lowe to close the gap and he is only 18 points
behind Craske now. Harry Sayell is having his best season
ever and has now moved up to third place in the table ahead
of early season pace setter David Wesbroom, Marcus Retchless
and Anthony Brewer.
Results
as follows;
Race 1, 20 laps. 42, 32, 62, 17, 92, 1, 14, 34.
Race 2, 25 laps, Grand Final. 42, 92, 33, 1, 43, 55, 14, 62.
Race 3, 20 laps. 32, 92, 1, 34, 33, 42, 14, 91.
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