2003

4th May, Great Yarmouth, Derek Kisby Memorial
Report by Gavin Terry

Alan Buckland took a dramatic win in the Derek Kisby memorial final at Great Yarmouth on 4th May, withstanding an intense 5 laps of pressure from Gary Bonner who came 2nd. In a meeting that saw a turnout of 17 cars, there were 5 making their first appearance of the season. Amongst these were Daz Rycroft, John Bilby, Rob Sayell, Andy Collins (who had turned up at Peterborough but unfortunately could not race due to car troubles), and newcomer Steve Terry in a Dastle, one of Andy Collins' old cars. Brian Gough's appearance also meant that there were 3 of Andy Collins' cars on track from past and present, with the Dastle, Fireball, and the Gazelle.

The first heat saw Alan Buckland take his first of two victories in which he led from lap 3 and eventually won by about half a straight from an ever closing Gary Bonner in 2nd, and an impressive 3rd for Rob Sayell from the back of the reds. This heat also saw Gordon Pooley pull out after inning, as well as a spin from John Bilby.

Heat 2 saw a good start for Steve Terry who took an early lead until the race had to be stopped when Andy Smith's car stopped coming onto the home straight due to gearbox failure. The restart saw Brain Gough take the lead, however a good start by both the yellow and blue grade drivers saw Alan Buckland take the lead before being overtaking by a very quick Gary Bonner who went on to take the race win. Alan Buckland came 2nd and Gary Granger came 3rd. This heat also saw Gordon Pooley drop oil, Steve Terry pull out when hot oil from his engine spilled onto his leg, John Salter retire, and Rob Sayell stop with gearbox problems.

Only 12 cars gridded for the Derek Kisby Memorial with John Salter, Rob Sayell, Gordon Pooley, and Andy Smith unable to participate due to car problems. Alan Buckland took the early lead after a good start from the Yellows and pulled out a good lead for himself until an incident on Caister corner between Peter Bourn and Brian Gough brought out the waved yellow flags. Neither Brian Gough nor Peter Bourn continued the race, and the result of the waved yellows had meant that Alan Buckland had lost the lead he had built up. The restart resulted in a 5-lap sprint to the finish between Alan Buckland and Gary Bonner both of whom looked capable of taking the victory. Alan eventually held on with Gary Bonner a very close 2nd, Andy Hinch 3rd, Gary Granger 4th both of which had been very consistent all evening, Mark Hodges 5th, Andy Collins 6th, Neil Clarke 7th and John Bilby in 8th rounding off the top eight.