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November 2nd Grimley FUN DAY
Billed as a "fun day" with all of the championships and the
National Points chart being completed, eleven Grand Prix Midgets
made their way to Grimley Raceway in Worcestershire.
With the overnight torrential rain, pit and track conditions
were always going to be difficult. Promoter Alan Lewis had
reserved an area where the Midget Club set up camp in preparation
for an end of season barbecue.
Two new drivers made their debut at this meeting. Mark de
Land (15) has purchased the Sayell Racing Vauxhall powered
car and Jessica Retchless was borrowing the Gordon Pooley
(33) Scorpion. Mark has not raced any form of car previously
to this meeting but he does come from a racing background
with his father Gordon (150) racing Hot Rods at Wimbledon
and other venues in the seventies and eighties. Jessica is
the nineteen year old daughter of former Midget driver Marcus
Retchless and the niece of returnee Phil Retchless (9). She
currently has a Formula 2 stock car that she has been practicing
at Swaffham with a view to racing it there in the near future.
The format for the day was a normal graded heat and final
for regular drivers and a further race for mechanics.
The rain managed to hold off as heat one lined up. Track conditions
were greasy and the drivers had chosen differing tyres with
some on full wets, some on full slicks and some on intermediates.
Gary Grimsley (2) and Peter Dorrell (8) made up the front
row of the whites with Jessica on row two. With no yellow
grade, the blues came next with Neil Clarke (77), Allen Herbert
(76), Geoff Bunn (28), Phil Retchless (9) and Steve Young
(59). The red grade was made up of Steve Brattan (75) and
Cliff Bunn (23) with Mark de Land (15) electing to start from
the back. Steve Young was showing his liking for the wet conditions
making a lightening start and hanging the tail of the Mk 18
Dastle out to take up the lead early on. Geoff Bunn was trying
to hang onto Steve and follow him through the pack. Gary Grimsley
was having trouble with his car "pushing on" and he had a
coming together with Neil Clarke on the pits turn. Steve Brattan
was also making good progress until he span out trying too
hard exiting the pits turn also. Cliff Bunn had to remove
his silencer prior to the start of the race on the grid as
it had worked loose. This caused a smile or two in the pits
after the race as it is normally his brother Geoff, the British
Champion that suffers from exhaust problems! Young continued
on in stretching his lead to take the chequered flag from
Geoff Bunn as Brattan recovered for third. Both Mark and Jessica
finished their first Midget race with smiles on their faces
accrediting themselves well holding tidy lines.
The next race of the day was the mechanics race. There was
a few "ringers" in this race namely former Midget legend John
Lowe in the Herbert car that he looks after, F1 and F2 pilot
Clinton Dorrell in his dad's car, current F2 driver Jamie
Young also driving his dads car and former Stock Rodder Kev
Butcher in Steve Brattan's car. Geoff Bunn's car was being
driven by a former Legend and Hot Ford driver whose name I
unfortunately did not get. Jessica Retchless and Mark de Land
also took up positions on the grid with Gary Grimsley. Clinton
managed to claim the inside pole position which he put to
great effect winning the race. Rumour has it that he may make
a few appearances next season in his dad's spare car once
built. As the race progressed all of the drivers grew in confidence
getting quicker. A special mention must go to Jamie Young.
You can see that he is a "chip off the old block" with his
all action, tail out style of driving. He even did the Young
trademark move of exiting the pits turn and waving with his
right hand whilst sideways! This is the position from where
all of the regulars were watching their cars being raced.
The Skylighter final was the last race of the season for the
Midgets. Once again Steve Young was away taking an early lead
after passing Dorrell and Jessica Retchless and the rest of
the blues around the outside. Allen Herbert managed to hit
the pits turn fence after getting out of shape on the straight
to cap a poor week for the Bedfordshire based driver. Brattan
passed Geoff Bunn for second place and Cliff was running in
fourth. This was how the race progressed with there being
no chance of catching Young, Brattan and G Bunn had a mini
battle which appears to have been the norm for most of the
season, with Cliff latching onto the back. At the chequered
flag Young won by the length of a straight from Brattan and
the two Bunns with Geoff beating his brother for third. Something
for them to talk about at work methinks!
Just to prove that Midget racing is a family affair, Christine
Young, Steve's wife and the Bunn's sister had started the
BBQ aided by Linda, Steve Brattan's better half, to welcome
the drivers back into the pits with welcome hot food and drinks.
Thanks must go to Christine and Linda for undertaking the
cooking (well it is woman's work) and Phil Retchless for supplying
the gas BBQ.
To summarise, a good meeting which was a "fun day", although
the racing was serious once on track, with smiling faces,
especially the mechanics on return to the pits.
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