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27th September,
Ringwood, Southern Championship
Mark Hodges won the
Southern Championship at Ringwood on Saturday 27th September,
taking the chequered flag with ease by the length of the straight
from Daz Rycroft and Andrew Bilby. With the top three drivers
in the Championship separated by just a couple of points as
they entered the penultimate round of the Championship, and
with a healthy 17 cars turning up, some exciting and very
close racing was expected by all.
It wasn't long in coming
either, as heat one (The West Country Challenge) got under
way. Dave Smith was the early leader from the Whites, however
he was unable to keep a charging Mark Hodges at bay for long,
as Mark took the lead, closely followed by the blue graders
Joe Bourn and Andy Hinch. Although Joe appeared to be quicker,
Mark defended the racing line with supremacy, leaving Joe
crawling all over his back but unable to pass. Andrew Bilby
and Alan Buckland were also having a good battle as they made
their way through the pack, and started to close in on the
leading group. However it was Mark Hodges who was just able
to hang on and take the win by a nose, from Joe Bourn, Andy
Hinch, Andrew Bilby, Alan Buckland, Ez Walker, Harold Lowe,
and Daz Rycroft.
Heat two got off to
a dramatic start, as the red flags were brought out just seconds
after the green flag. A charging pack of reds into the first
corner, had resulted in Alan Bucklands car making heavy contact
with wall, leaving his Stealth stranded and ending his race.
The restart once again saw Joe Bourn and Mark Hodges locked
in battle for the lead, with their positions from the previous
race reversed. Gary Bonner was going well from the front of
the reds, sliding his car masterfully out of the corners and
looking to catch the leaders. Joe Bourn held on to take the
win, followed closely by Mark Hodges, Dave Smith, Gary Bonner,
John Salter, Andy Hinch, Daz Rycroft, and Ez Walker.
The Southern Championship
was the final race of the evening, and consisted of a qualifiers
grid followed by a non-qualifiers grid with drivers lined
up one behind the other in order of their grades. This closed
up the field up giving everyone that had qualified a good
chance of doing well. It was Mark Hodges who got the best
start, driving into the lead on the first lap and never looking
back. Gary Bonner also made a flying start and looked to be
the only one capable of catching Mark after Joe Bourn spun
at the start. Dave Smith was doing an excellent job holding
back many of the quick reds, although Daz Rycroft, Andrew
Bilby, and World Champion Andy Collins did eventually find
a way round the outside. Gary Bonner was reeling Mark Hodges
in, until a spin from Bonner left Hodges with no real threat
to the lead, allowing him to go on to take a comfortable win,
and with it the Southern Championship. He was followed over
the line by Daz Rycroft, Andrew Bilby, Andy Collins,
Dave Smith, Alan Buckland, Harold Lowe, and Neil Clarke who
rounded off the point's scorers.
With just one more
meeting left of the 2003 season, Alan Buckland is leading
the points championship and will have to start from the back
of the grid at Buxton in two weeks time, making for an exciting
climax to what has been a very close Midget season!
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