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Rob Sayell in action
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25th July, Great Yarmouth -
East of England Championship
report by Gavin Terry
Chris Phillips took a comfortable final win
at Yarmouth Raceway on Sunday 25th July to win the East of
England Championship. Chris made a terrific start and never
looked back, leading from the end of the first corner until
the chequered flag.
The first race of the night saw Andrew Hinch
make a flying start from the front of the blues. He was quickly
past Barry Mayfield for the lead and was soon pulling out
a gap from the rest of the pack. Gary Bonner had also made
a quick start, leading the reds onto the back of the blues
and past Neil Clarke. The trio of Dave Smith, Alan Buckland,
and Rob Sayell were all following closely behind. Gary Bonner
looked to be the quickest driver out there and was all over
Ez Walker, until an unfortunate spin coming out of turn two
ruined his hopes of taking the win. This allowed the other
red graders to put Ez under pressure in what was virtually
a repeat of the British Championship from the previous night
at Swaffham, all be it with Andrew Hinch a long way in the
lead. This was how it remained till the chequered flag, apart
from Andy Collins finding a way past Rob Sayell in the closing
stages. Andrew Hinch took the win from Ez Walker, Dave Smith,
Alan Buckland, Andy Collins, Rob Sayell, and Neil Clarke,
with Andrew Bilby rounding off the top eight.
The second race saw Barry Mayfield take the
early lead, with Gary Bonner once again making a flying start
from the reds. Gary started to lead the reds through the field.
Meanwhile at the front, Chris Phillips had passed Barry Mayfield
for the lead, with Ez Walker following very close behind,
eventually finding a way past and snatching first position.
Further down the field Andy Collins and Andrew Bilby were
having an excellent battle, with Andrew Bilby eventually coming
out on top. Dave Smith was all over Gary Bonner for third
place, until Dave's brakes failed approaching turn one, causing
him to collide with Gary, putting them both out of the race.
Ez Walker went on to win, from Chris Phillips, Alan Buckland,
Rob Sayell, Neil Clarke, Andrew Bilby, Andy Collins, and Andrew
Hinch, who rounded off the point's scorers.
The final saw Chris Phillips make an absolute
flyer of a start and was able to dive through the middle of
the front row to take the lead, a position he never looked
back from. The red graders were again providing the best entertainment
as they carved through the field, and tried to pass each other.
Alan Buckland soon found his way to the front of the reds
and was looking for a way past Ez Walker in second. Rob Sayell
was also all over Alan, and with no way down the inside he
was forced to go the long way round the outside. Although
this took a number of laps Rob eventually pulled it off taking
third place. However Chris Phillips had managed to gain a
considerable lead and went on to take the chequered flag,
with Ez Walker rounding off an impressive weekend in second,
and Rob Sayell in third. They were followed over the line
by Alan Buckland, Gary Bonner, Andrew Bilby, and Andy Collins
with Barry Mayfield rounding off the point's scorers.
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