UK Oval Track Legends - Race Reports

added 3rd September, 2009

HEDNESFORD HILLS
Monday 31st August, 2009
Round 8

BAZ REVELS IN OVAL LEGENDS!

Baz Randall (395) revelled in taking his first Legends victory at Hednesford in
front of the Bank Holiday crowd. He came fresh out of the Rookie pack in July
and, sporting a fresh paint job on the car for Hednesford, took a fine win in heat
two. He wasn't so fortunate in the final after qualifying on pole.  He was running
well until 6 laps from the end and the axle gave way.
Phill Moore (465) notched up another victory in the first heat, his third race win
over the weekend and Ian Hales (6) was back on form to take a win in the final.
Heat one needed the red flag in the closing stages when Dan Holden (161) got
his car wide coming out of turn 4. Dave Watkiss (4) gave room but both cars
ended up heavily damaged and in the wall.
The final had only 25 cars on the grid and suffered more than its fair share of
accidents. Simon Rourke (60) qualified well in 4th and soon took up the lead.
Peter Blundell (156) and Jon Evans (11) both crashed out at mid distance on
turn 1 which brought out the yellow flags.   Simon then had Russ Bull (100)
and Ian in his mirrors once the race was restarted but retirement came when he
and Russ collided on the back straight, landing Simon on the ramp. Dan
Hughes (48) ended up on his roof soon into the restart which took Harry
Nicklin (75) in for retirement too.
Biggest point score of the day went to a very consistent Tim Hudson (64). He
raced well to clock up three 4th places for 420 valuable National Points.
The meeting marked the arrival of another Rookie driver, namely Jason Worrall
(15), son of Mike Worrall (50) and nephew of Harry Nicklin (75) having recently
purchased the 1934 Ford Sedan from Steve Stretton (15).
A WARM WELCOME TO THE FORMULA JASON! FROM EVERYONE AT
OVAL TRACK LEGENDS.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 31 cars
         Fastest Lap - 6 IAN HALES in Heat 2, Lap 12 - 15.248 (58.788mph)
               Weather Conditions - dry and overcast

RESULTS
Heat One : 465, 23, 395, 64, 21, 60, 7, 55, 48, 95, 19, 266, 11, 100, 22, 182, 75, 8, 156, 6, 516, 555, 45, 50, 105, 578, 15. DNF 5 (accident damage), 4 (accident with 161), 33. DISQ 161 (cause of accident with 4)
Heat Two : 395, 100, 6, 64, 60, 21, 48, 156, 7, 11, 182, 55, 8, 19, 22, 23, 75, 266, 95, 105, 555, 50, 516, 578. DNF 15, 5, 465 (all retired).
Final : 6, 100, 465, 64, 55, 8, 7, 182, 22, 5, 21, 23, 266, 105, 555, 50, 578, 95. DNF 395 (accident - hit wall/mechanical - rear axle), 60 (accident), 19 (accident and retired by Race Steward for front end damage), 75 and 48 (accident), 156 and 11 (accident).

added 6th October, 2009

GREAT YARMOUTH STADIUM
Sunday 4th October, 2009
EAST ANGLIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

WINNERS AT THE YARMOUTH MEETING TO FIND AN EAST
ANGLIAN CHAMPION

Eight drivers contested the two heats in the East Anglian
Championship meeting at Yarmouth on Sunday to gain pole for the
feature final. The Championship has only previously been run once,
over a two meeting event with the first round at Ipswich followed by
Skegness the next day. That was back in 2005 and Pete Jenkins
took the title. Sunday evening at Yarmouth gave way for a clear win
for Tim Hudson (64) from Stu Blyth (35) second and Ian Hales (6) third.
The heat wins were one a piece to Stu and Ian.
Tim was fastest in the final but Barry Randall (395) set the fastest lap
through the whole meeting.
Daniel Holden (161) blew his engine in the second heat, forcing
retirement for the feature final and John Townsend (17) clocked up a full
amount of laps in his first rookie meeting.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 8 cars
         Fastest Lap - 395 BARRY RANDALL in Heat 1, lap 16 - 14.871 (best speed 96.833mph)
               Weather Conditions - dry

RESULTS
Heat One : 35, 6, 161, 60, 64, 465, 395, 17.
Heat Two : 6, 35, 64, 395, 465, 60, 17. DNF 161 (engine blew).
Feature Final - 64, 35, 6, 465, 395, 60, 17.

added 4th August, 2009

HEDNESFORD HILLS
Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd August, 2009
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

IAN HALES DOES IT AGAIN!

Under the warmth of the sun and on a perfectly dry track, Ian Hales (6) won the
National Championship for a record 6th time at Hednesford Hills. He went without a
heat win during the qualifying heats in the very wet conditions on Saturday to finish
up 5th on the starting grid for the 'big one' on Sunday.
Dan Holden (161) took pole through good results in the heats, including a win in the
second heat on Saturday from young rookie Dan Hughes (48). If the weather had of
been wet on Sunday we may have seen Holden take the championship honours
judging by is form so far this year but Hales Jnr was out on his favourite track.
Naturally, Holden was in the lead into the first corner and it would seem he would
lead for a while. Mark Dews (78) overtook him by the end of the first lap to be then
issued with the black cross for contact on Holden and five laps later was given the
black flag for another misdemeanour. It seemed all was not well in the Dews camp
after the race for something the Race Officials may have missed seeing but after
much deliberation the Race Stewards stood by their decision.
Derek Hales (8) missed seeing Holden, in third place, launch an outside line attack
for second on the back straight in the last lap! Hales Snr was busy struggling with
a steering problem and Holden came home to feature as runner up.
The other two qualifying heats on Saturday were won by Peter 'The Blade' Blundell
(156). He cut through the traffic, like a knife through butter in heat two, to unluckily
crash out with Mitch Millard (17) for a DNF and, like Holden, would have preferred a
wet final. Nevertheless, he had earned 4th on the grid to come home 5th. Russ Bull
(100) hauled in a good place from a 10th position start to finish just ahead of Blundell
and heat three was a good win for Hales Snr.
Tim Hudson (64) spun out on the first lap of the National Championship and decided
to retire the car. He came back out in the all comers race, the Grand National, to a
blaze of glory for a flag to flag victory pulling out a half lap lead in the opening stages.
The gap was closed when the yellow flag came out for a crash involving Stef Lloyd
(21) and Nathan Nicholls (16). Baz Randall (395) looked like he was giving it hell for
leather to feature as runner up. Hales Jnr must have been giving it the same to start
at the back of the grid and finish in third.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 30 cars
         Fastest Lap - 6 IAN HALES in the Grand National, Lap 19 - 15.219 (58.900mph)
              Weather Conditions - Saturday : Wet and cold, Sunday : Dry and sunny

RESULTS
Heat One : 156, 60, 161, 465, 395, 100, 5, 6, 516, 75, 78, 105, 8, 7, 16, 95, 19, 33, 22, 11, 64, 55, 115, 48, 29, 182, 4, 21, 50. DNF 17 (spun and stranded).
Heat Two : 161, 48, 465, 78, 182, 7, 100, 19, 22, 5, 115, 64, 16, 6, 105, 60, 29, 4, 395, 75, 95. DNF 55 (retired), 33 (spun and stranded), 8 (accident), 17 and 156 (accident), 50, 21, 11, and 516 (all retired).
Heat Three : 8, 6, 64, 78, 22, 115, 161, 156, 516, 19, 395, 182, 29, 60, 100, 7, 105, 21, 48, 4. DNF 95 (spun and later retired), 465 (retired), 16 (forced to retire - faulty exhaust), 33 (accident with 17), 5 (accident), 17 (accident), 11 (retired), 50 (retired), 75 (spun and retired).

THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GRID : 161, 465, 78, 156, 6, 8, 60, 48, 64, 100, 22, 395, 182, 115, 5, 7, 19, 516, 75, 105, 29, 16, 4, 95, 21, 33, 11, 55, 50, 17.

Feature Final : 6, 161, 8, 100, 156, 182, 19, 7, 5, 11, 16, 22, 105, 465, 29, 95, 50. DNS 516, 55, 17. DNF 60 (accident), 48 (spun and hit by 60), 4, 21 (accident), 115, 75, 33, 64. DISQ 78 (contact), 395 (forced to retire - damaged car).
Grand National : 64, 395, 6, 465, 22, 156, 100, 11, 182, 161, 19, 105, 95, 29, 4, 50. DNF 16 and 21 (accident), 75, 7, 60, 5 (accident), 8 (accident).

added 7th June, 2009

BIRMINGHAM WHEELS
Saturday 6th June, 2009
Round 6

DAN'S THE MAN AT BIRMINGHAM

Dan Holden (161) pulled out all the stops at Oval Track Legends first
Birmingham Wheels meeting and first night meeting of the year too.
Conditions were difficult to start with but, on a drying track, Dan flew
through the final from a pole start. Ian Hales (6) and Russ Bull (100)
stayed with him to finish second and third respectively for a fast and
furious 25 laps with a full track of cars and no huge accidents to
speak of. It was excellent to watch! In fact the whole meeting was
a credit to the drivers who have been clamped down on by the Race
Stewards. All have been given fair warning over the last two meetings
to tidy up their act and race in true 'non-contact' style.
Racing has its ups and downs, especially for Andy Hartwell (55). He
took his first win of 2009 in the first heat but unluckily bent a half shaft
in the second to suffer a DNF.
Back on the up is Ian Hales (6) for a win in heat two. He gained
enough good results from a red grade status to qualify 3rd on the grid
for the final and feature as runner-up to Dan. Steve Jay (95) was
retired under the black flag in the same heat for an incident on the
home straight with Peter Blundell (156).
Local star, Dean Thompson (19) carefully picked his way through the
grid from a 9th position start to win the third heat and received the
biggest cheer of the night from the spectators. The win along with
good results in the other races sees Dean move from 20th in the
National Points to 13th and possibly the highest climber on the night.
Into his fith meeting now, rookie, Kev Kettlewell (29) drove well to his
best result to date for a second place finish to Dean.
Two new rookies were introduced at the sixth round meeting and
they couldn't have chosen a worse debut as conditions were fairly cold
and wet. Rick Lee (578) all the way from St. Austell in Cornwall, had a recent try-out in a car from Race Car Direct and signed a lease to race for the rest of the year. He started along side fellow newbie Barry Randall (395) in the recently acquired ex #77 Terry Pullen car. Both raced clean and well for a finish in all their heats and the final.
Back to Terry, he has reluctantly retired from the formula for the time being, having to give in to elbow problems which will lead onto a couple of operations in the near furture.
EVERYONE FROM OVAL TRACK LEGENDS WOULD LIKE TO WISH TERRY ALL THE BEST IN THE COMING WEEKS AND HERE'S TO A SPEEDY RECOVERY - We all look forward to seeing you at a track soon to pass on our good wishes personally!

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 35 cars
            Fastest Lap - 100 RUSS BULL in the Final, lap 4 - 15.649 (51.459mph)
                  Weather Conditions - Wet start, slow to drying

RESULTS
Heat One : 55, 161, 65, 78, 48, 6, 95, 156, 516, 4, 465, 10, 2, 64, 182, 395, 22, 17, 75, 50.
Heat Two : 6, 33, 100, 29, 19, 115, 17, 516, 2, 75, 5, 156, 65, 465, 45, 60, 21, 110, 578, 11. DNF 55 (bent half shaft). DISQ 95 (contact on 156).
Heat Three : 19, 29, 161, 33, 45, 48, 78, 5, 60, 100, 64, 182, 22, 21, 395, 4, 11, 110, 50, 578. DNF 10 accident, 115 blown engine.
Final : 161, 6, 100, 19, 33, 78, 156, 5, 22, 182, 45, 29, 64, 395, 48, 2, 465, 65, 55, 4, 516, 17, 75, 110, 21, 578. DNF 95 spun and retired.

added - 27th May, 2009

NORTHAMPTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Monday 25th May, 2009
Round 5

BULLS EYE IS AIMING FOR THE TOP! RUSS CLIMBS HIGHER IN THE POINTS STAKES

Russ Bull (100) has moved from 8th place in the National Points to 3rd spot following a near perfect score at Northampton on Bank Holiday Monday. A win in the second heat was matched in the feature final from pole postion. Russ also put in the fastest time of the day during the final on lap 5. His only 'blot on the landscape' came in heat three by finishing in second place.
Heat one produced the first win of the year for Andy Embery (45) in a cool, clean drive for the honours.
The win in heat three was a maiden victory for top rookie Branson Poyner (5). That performance was followed up with a second place finish in the final to Russ and enough points won throughout the day to sit him in 4th place in the National Points Chart.
Peter Blundell (156) didn't put a foot wrong in the final and put in a superb drive for a 3rd place finish. Good to see the trophies to the top three in the final were presented on the track by Des Chandler.

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 29 cars
            Fastest Lap - 100 RUSS BULL in the Final, lap 5 - 15.487 (46.49mph)
                  Weather Conditions - Dry and sunny

RESULTS
Heat One : 45, 78, 60, 115, 55, 33, 22, 29, 465, 11, 4, 110. DNF 48, 52, 65, 161 and 6 - all in accident, 35 engine, 2 accident damage. DNS 19 engine.
Heat Two : 100, 45, 516, 5, 156, 115, 65, 21, 6, 182, 11, 7, 2. DNF 17 engine, 465 spun and retired. DNS 35 engine. DISQ 60.
Heat Three : 5, 100, 516, 33, 22, 156, 16, 7, 182, 161, 48, 78, 29. DNF 21 (spun and retired), 110. DISQ 55 (contact on 100).
Final : 100, 5, 156, 78, 22, 33, 115, 11, 7, 29, 65, 60, 55, 161, 16, 516, 48, 52, 465. DNF 45 engine, 182 and 21 accident, 35 engine, 6 accident.

added - 16th March, 2009

HEDNESFORD HILLS
Sunday 15th March, 2009
Round 1

STEVE DAKIN LEADS THE NATIONAL POINTS
The first lead of the 2009 National Points Championship goes to Steve Dakin (99)
after Round 1 at Hednesford Hills yesterday. Positions in the heats set him up
in 7th place on the grid for a clear win in the grand final from Daniel Holden (161).
Ian Hales (6) had come home 3rd in the final but was issued with the black cross
and docked two places for contact on Harry Nicklin (75) in the closing stages.
Winner of heat one, Stu Blyth (35) and rookie, Adrian Wylie (129) also faced
discipline from the Race Steward in the final and were both issued the black flag
for contact in seperate incidents. Robie Jukes (22) got off to a good start with a
win in heat two but bad luck struck in the third for a DNF after an accident with
rookie Dan Hughes (48) which took the front right wheel off Robie's car. Paul
Fiore (516) was in close proximity and cleared the incident to go on and win the
third heat.
Leader of the rookie pack after the first round is Branson Poyner (5) with 150
points, followed closely by Mitchell Millard (17) and Kevin Kettlewell (29) on an
equal 60 points each.

TRACK FACTS
     Car Count - 35 cars
          Fastest Lap Time Recorded - 6 IAN HALES in the Final, lap 24 - 15.118
                                                                                                     (59.532mph)
               Weather Conditions - Dry and sunny

RESULTS (Unofficial)
Heat One : 35, 6, 516, 52, 156, 19, 7, 16, 182, 161, 808, 78, 55, 45, 5, 2, 75, 4, 10, 29, 48, 129. DNF 21 (stranded turn 2).
Heat Two : 22, 45, 65, 100, 182, 78, 6, 99, 11, 5, 4, 10, 95, 17, 16, 29, 129. DNF 8 (accident turn 2 hit wall), 33 (accident turn 3 with 16), 110, 60, 156 (accident turn 4).
Heat Three : 516, 65, 100, 99, 60, 52, 161, 35, 11, 95, 7, 808, 55, 75, 2, 19, 48, 115, 21, 110. DNF 17, 22 (accident with 48 turn 2).
Final : 99, 161, 78, 6, 52, 11, 182, 156, 7, 19, 55, 16, 100, 5, 45, 95, 60, 65, 10, 75, 4, 2, 29, 21. DNF 17 (accident with 48), 48 (accident with 17), 516 (retired accident damage). DISQ 35 (contact on 516), 129 (contact on 100).

added - 6th April, 2009

ALDERSHOT RACEWAY
Sunday 5th April, 2009
Round 2

IAN HALES ON TOP
In round 2 of 2009 at Aldershot yesterday, Ian Hales (6) won the
grand final and goes to the top of the National Points chart after
one of his main rivals Steve Dakin (99) didn't show. The biggest
points haul of the day went to Derek Hales (8) with 550 points
from two second places and a heat win.
Pete Amas (33) kicked the day off to a good start to win the first
heat. Steve Jay (95) went on to take a cracking victory and
maiden win in heat two. Pete had to retire in the final with
accident damage and was running well until unintentionally taken
out by John Hudson (65). Both retired to the centre track, John
had to go under the dreaded black flag.

TRACK FACTS
     Car Count - 26 cars
          Fastest Lap Time - 8 DEREK HALES in Heat 1, lap 8 - 14.751 (74.680mph)
               Weather Conditions - Dry and sunny

RESULTS (Unofficial)
Heat One : 33, 8, 516, 6, 100, 60, 19, 182, 35, 7, 5, 4, 45, 95, 48, 50, 21.
Heat Two : 95, 22, 6, 16, 182, 65, 52, 45, 4, 5, 2, 115, 10, 75. DNF 161 (accident damage), 516 (spun in incident and retired), 48 (accident).
Heat Three : 8, 33, 100, 75, 65, 2, 7, 52, 22, 10, 35, 19, 115, 50, 21. DNF 60.
Final : 6, 8, 22, 52, 182, 7, 5, 19, 75, 95, 2, 60, 10, 115, 4, 16, 48, 21. DNF 33 (accident damage), 100 (accident damage), 50, 35, 45. DISQ 65 (contact on 33).

added - 16th April, 2009

HEDNESFORD HILLS
Easter Monday 13th April, 2009
Round 3 - THE MIDLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

EVENTFUL DAY FOR TEAM HALES
Easter Monday at Hednesford saw long awaited wins for drivers Nathan
Nicholls (16) from a front row start for heat two and, for heat three, Jeff
Pritchard (808) who luckily cured a misfire problem which made him
miss his heat earlier.
It was a clear win for yellow grader Nathan as all of the white tops were
missing from the starting grid. Through retirement, after a chaotic first
heat, Mike Worrall (50) had blown his machine up and team mate Harry
Nicklin (75) had picked up too much accident damage. Paul Smith (110)
had felt unwell from the outset and missed the entire meeting while Jeff
kept his car back in the pits, frantically trying to solve the misfire problem.
Tim Hudson (65) made a welcome return in his first appearance of the year and, in his smartly liveried car, he took a good second place to Jeff in heat three. Not bad for his first day back! Good results have already gone to his father John Hudson (65) in that he was flying high, in 6th place, of the National Points Chart going into this round. Then bad luck struck John on Monday with a DNF in heat one through accident damage and a DNS in heat two while still trying to repair the car in readiness for the Midland Championship final. He made it to the grid for the final although was too far back, on the back row, to make any real waves but didn't give up the fight for at least a finish.
Kev Hughes (105) had been kept waiting for the return of his engine and was another making a first time appearance this year. He is now joined in 2009 by his son Dan, a Rookie in the #48 car, making another father/son team to join the Hudsons, the Hales and the Marshalls. Dan will leave the rookie ranks, having served three meetings at the back, and grid proper with the white tops for the next round.
The first heat of the day was stopped after the first lap for an accident which saw John Hudson and Mark Dews (78) retire. Steve Dakin (99) was also caught up in the accident and forced to retire by the Race Steward for a loose front bumper. The race was stopped again on lap 9 as quite a few cars were locked in battle going into turn 3 and it all went a bit 'pear shaped' for Derek Hales (8) on the outside line that landed him heavily in the wall. Medical attention was needed for Derek and it can be happily reported that he is OK, albeit a bit shook up at the time! Ian Hales (6) took the chequered flag two laps short of full distance from Simon Rourke (60) who had enjoyed being in the lead for the best part of the race.
The Midland Championship title in the feature final was won by Ian in a flag to flag victory from Nathan which puts Ian nicely at the top of the points with Nathan now 4th. Robie Jukes (22) featured well in the results throughout the day with two second places in the heats and a fifth in the final. Some good strong finishes from Robie in the previous rounds sees him currently sitting second to Ian in the points with last years top rookie, Mike Walmsley (182) in third.

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 32 cars
           Fastest Lap - 6 IAN HALES in heat 2, lap 6 - 15.213 (59.160mph)
                Weather Conditions - Dry and sunny

RESULTS
Heat One : 6, 60, 22, 16, 100, 161, 5, 105, 156, 55, 29, 4, 17. DNF 75, 52,
95, 8, 50, 78, 99, 65.
Heat Two : 16, 33, 99, 6, 64, 161, 19, 516, 11, 182, 7, 52, 115, 17. DNF 48.
Heat Three : 808, 64, 22, 33, 5, 19, 55, 7, 182, 105, 60, 29, 4, 115, 11, 48.
DNF 100, 516, 156.
Feature Final : 6, 16, 99, 33, 22, 161, 55, 182, 5, 156, 64, 60, 7, 808, 11, 52,
19, 516, 105, 29, 95, 65, 115, 48, 17, 4.

update - 8th May, 2009

HEDNESFORD HILLS
Bank Holiday Monday 4th May, 2009
Round 4

DEREK HALES GETS A HAT TRICK AT HEDNO
The May Day Bank Holiday meeting at Hednesford on 4th May saw Derek
Hales (8) score a hat trick of wins for heats 1 and 2 followed up with a win in
the final. He battled only from the yellow grade, having quickly fallen from
blue grade status through a succession of bad crashes this year. He made
a clean sweep through to the front on the field in the heats to sit on pole for
a scheduled 25 lap final. Peter Blundell (156) took his first win of the year in
the third heat and raced Derek hard in the final to come home in second place.
The large field of 30 cars in the final meant the duelling pair had to quickly deal
with backmarkers. They were constantly in traffic whilst dishing out some
excellent side by side battles which saw Peter emerge as race leader through
the middle section, for a third of the race distance. It was then a case of 'race
called' by the Steward when Ian Hales (6) and Mark Dews (78) and careered
into the wall on turn one at the start of the 23rd lap, with Ian's car coming off
the worse. Dan Holden (161) came home in third for valuable points when Ian
and Mark were excluded from the result.
Phill Moore (465) made his debut in heat two for a finish but unluckily got
stranded on turn two in heat three for a non finish. He qualified for the final but
was unable to start the race due to brake trouble and has vowed to race the
car, on hire from the Hales, again soon.
After finishing the day on a high, Derek was rumoured to be retiring from the
sport but he will only be missing from some of the rounds. ''I need a few
meetings off to draw breath!'' he said shortly after taking the hat trick. ''It's been
a bit hectic around here lately.''

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 34 cars
           Fastest Lap - 8 DEREK HALES in the final, lap 2 - 15.193 (59.238mph)
                Weather Conditions - Dry and cold

RESULTS
Heat One : 8, 156, 78, 48, 161, 95, 11, 6, 115, 105, 5, 182, 22, 33, 45, 64, 19, 55, 35, 21, 17. DNF 75 retired. DNS 60 fuel leak.
Heat Two : 8, 78, 161, 6, 100, 65, 516, 7, 33, 52, 64, 16, 48, 45, 17, 10, 465, 29, 115, 35, 95, 4. DNF 50 spun to face infield wall and stranded.
Heat Three : 156, 516, 105, 11, 65, 182, 7, 22, 19, 5, 52, 10, 16, 21, 29, 4. DNF 75 spun out, 465 spun out and stranded, 60, 55 spun out, 50 retired. 100 excluded - not reporting to Tech Bay.
Final : 8, 156, 161, 11, 52, 100, 182, 7, 22, 65, 5, 95, 33, 64, 115, 10, 29, 35, 45, 21. DNF 78 & 6 excluded - accident, 17 spun and retired, 48, 16, 516, 105 accident, 19 accident, 55 retired, 4 engine, DNS 465 brakes.

added 3rd July, 2009

ARLINGTON - EASTBOURNE
Wednesday 1st July, 2009
Non Points Round

BLYTH BRINGS HOME TWO WINS

Stu Blyth (35) headed for Eastbourne on Wednesday evening to come home with a win in heat one and the final. The race format had just two heats and the second was a splendid maiden win for rookie Paul Bullock (115) who had travelled a fair distance from Oldham in Lancashire.
Peter Blundell (156) also made the trip from Lancashire and with the likely thought that he would get home quicker, posted the quickest time in the final on lap 20 to come home 5th to Trevor James (7) in 4th.
In the final, Phill Moore (465) came home for a good result to finish in second place and Richard Stagg (2) enjoyed a lap of honour with Stu and Phill on the Pace Car for a third place finish.
Wednesday night also marked the welcome return of Karl Monnery (23) in the ex Ricky Wilkes car and Race Car Direct ace Rob Preece (37).
The nineteen cars that made the trip soon got to grips with the tight track and the first thoughts were that it would be difficult but still possible to overtake. Tight race lines were called for and some caution or respect in places, but it all made for some terrific side by side battles which went down well with the spectators and officials that had seen very little of the Legends cars at their track. It has been 10 years or more since they last appeared at Eastbourne and back then with only 10 or so cars.
Staggy was well chuffed with his top three result and said ''I loved the track, it was really a good night!''

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 19 cars
            Fastest Lap - 156 PETER BLUNDELL in the Final, lap 20 - 15.787 (49.593mph)
                  Weather Conditions - Sunny, dry and very warm

RESULTS
Heat One : 35, 115, 64, 8, 465, 2, 7, 6, 48, 156, 105, 16, 65, 516, 37, 395, 95, 23. DNF 45 engine problems
Heat Two : 115, 35, 95, 465, 8, 6, 48, 64, 16, 7, 2, 156 (docked 2 places for contact on 16), 105, 395, 65, 37. DNF 45 engine problems, 516 accident damage.
Final : 35, 465, 2, 7, 156, 115, 23, 48, 105, 395, 65. DNF 37 accident damage, 6 retired, 16, retired, 64 puncture, DISQ 95 not obeying blue flag.

added 14th July, 2009

BIRMINGHAM WHEELS
Saturday 11th July, 2009
Round 7

RAIN MASTER HOLDEN'S HAT TRICK

Dan Holden (161) put the dampeners on his rivals of ever getting a 'look in' for a win Saturday night at Birmingham. The track was wet throughout the meeting and he was unbeaten in his two heats. He took charge of the final for an excellent win from pole postion and maximum points from the meeting to see him only 300 or so points behind Ian Hales (6) in the National Points Chart. Increasingly, Dan is becoming known as the Rain Master and admits racing in the wet doesn't faze him at all. Legends Cars are notorious for being difficult to handle in wet conditions due to the hard compound tyres and Dan, European Champion and Long Track Champion, seems to relish in it! To the point, in fact, where he says ''I'm just praying for rain on Saturday at Ipswich for the British Championship!''
Jon Evans (11) led them away for a fine win in the first heat followed over the line by Andy Hartwell (55). More success went to Andy later in the final, from qualifying in 3rd spot, to feature as runner-up to Dan. Ian had come home for third but was docked two places for contact, giving Jon the surprise of actually finishing third.
Placings in the heats were always precarious due to the adverse weather conditions and no more so than in heat two. It looked to be a win for Richard Stagg (2) in the early stages for the good lead he pulled out . He succumbed to a spin and Simon Rourke (60) picked up the lead and looked strong for the next few laps until he spun out and hit the inside wall. Jon then looked all set for another heat win but Ian and Dan were looking (or lurking) from second and third respectively. In a split moment Dan pulled out a good move into turn three and cleared Ian and Jon for the lead with only two laps to the chequers.

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 32 cars
            Fastest Lap - 100 RUSS BULL in Heat One, lap 1 - 15.644 (51.476mph)
                  Weather Conditions - Wet

RESULTS
Heat One : 11, 55, 48, 6, 182, 60, 100, 16, 5, 29, 2, 156, 21, 555, 37, 17, 578, 23, 105.
DNF 115, 65, 7 all accident damage.
Heat Two : 161, 11, 6, 19, 45, 78, 516, 2, 4, 395, 16, 64, 578, 555, 21. DNF 60 spun and retired, 33 spun and retired, 100 accident, 48 retired.
Heat Three : 161, 45, 105, 156, 55, 78, 64, 19, 29, 23, 182, 33, 395, 37, 5. DNF 4 mechanical, 17 accident, 516 accident.
Final : 161, 55, 11, 156, 6 (docked 2 places contact on 395), 45, 19, 182, 105, 29, 100, 60, 64, 2, 5, 4, 33, 23, 578, 16, 21, 395, 37, 555. DNF 78.

added 19th July, 2009

IPSWICH RACEWAY
Saturday 18th July, 2009
BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP

DAN HOLDEN TAKES HOLD OF THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Dan Holden (161) is proving a difficult man to beat in the Legends series
this year with a run of three succesive final wins in a row. The third win
at Ipswich Saturday night also crowned him the 2009 British Champion. Ian Hales (6) came home for a close finish in third having just being beat over the line by Peter Blundell (156).
A win in the first heat set Dan up well for pole position in the Championship Final. Mark Dews (78) put him under pressure until time ran out when the whole race was called 5 laps short due to the third stoppage when Karl Monnery (23) hit the wall coming out turn 2.
Ian Hales took the win in heat two from a front row start, next to top rookie Branson Poyner (5). The red flags came out after a nasty looking accident on the turnstile bend which started in a large pack of cars which knocked Pete Amas (33) from one end of the corner to the other. Thankfully Pete was ok but the car looked very worse for wear.

TRACK FACTS
      Car Count - 30 cars
            Fastest Lap - unavailable due to transponder system failure
                  Weather Conditions - Dry

RESULTS
Heat One : 161, 78, 182, 156, 55, 11, 33, 48, 100, 35, 19, 6, 22, 64, 5, 95, 465, 266, 115, 29, 2, 7, 105, 75. DNF 37 accident damage, 45 electrical, 395 bent half shaft, 21 front bumper missing and forced to reture, 23 accident damage, 4 retired.
Heat Two : 6, 5, 100, 7, 45, 64, 115, 29, 21, 22, 156, 161, 11, 55, 2, 78, 465, 35, 48, 95, 23, 266, 75, 4, 395. DNS 19, 37. DNF 105, 33 and 182 - all accident damge.
Feature Final : 161, 156, 6, 5, 100, 78, 182, 7, 64, 11, 22, 48, 115, 95, 465, 23, 365, 266, 35. DNS 105, 45. DNF 2 accident damage, 29 loose bodywork and forced to retire, 55 accident damage, 75 retired.

added - 30th August, 2009

SKEGNESS STADIUM
Thursday 27th August, 2009
SKEGNESS OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

PHILL MOORE SECURES SKEGNESS OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Phil Moore (465) scored well enough in the heats against his rivals to earn pole and take his first ever victory in Legends for the Skegness Open Championship title. The former Lightning Rod driver, from Eye in Suffolk, has looked likely for a big win since starting Legends back in June this year. It all came at once for him on Thursday night as he raced straight in there for a feature final win in front of a very large, excitable holiday crowd. Russ Bull (100) and Dan Holden (161) were hot in Phill's tracks but locked in battle to come home second and third respectively.
A low car count didn't detract from some good racing throughout. Time didn't allow a practice session which didn't distract Kev Kettlewell (29) from taking a marvelous maiden win in the first heat on a track he had never raced on!
Ian Hales (6) worked hard to win heat two and was out in the spare dark blue Hales car, saving this regular race car for the pending points round at Hednesford just four days away.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 12 cars
         Fastest Lap - not available
               Weather Conditions - dry and warm

RESULTS
Heat One : 29, 465, 161, 100, 156, 11, 6, 2, 266, 4, 555. DNF 35 mechanical (battery)
Heat Two : 6, 11, 465, 161, 266, 4, 100, 2, 555. DNF 29 spun & stranded, 35 mechanical (battery), 156 retired.
Feature Final : 465, 100, 161, 6, 11, 156, 29, 266, 4, 2, 555. DNF 35 mechanical (battery and brakes).

added 30th August, 2009

SKEGNESS STADIUM
Saturday 29th August, 2009
DES CHANDLER TROPHY

RUSS BULL TAKES FIRST CHARGE OF THE DES CHANDLER TROPHY

Star driver, Russ Bull (100) raced for the best finish in two of his heats to feature on pole for the inaugural running of the Des Chandler Trophy on Saturday at Skegness. A win in heat one from a second row start looked easier than his third heat win from the fifth row as the yellow flags went out with 4 laps to go.  On the restart, the cars had bunched up and Jon Evans (11) was in the lead, followed by Dan Holden (161) and Russ in third spot. Dan got through to the front on the back straight and Russ took that lead from Dan by the time they exited turn 4. Jon hung on to second place and Dan was docked 3 places for using the bumper, promoting Derek Hales (8) to third.
Heat two was clear win for Phill Moore (465). He initiated the lead from the outset but was very nearly beaten over the finish line by Dan.
In the feature final, Russ feared he would loose the win when the red flag came out for an incident involving Derek and Dan. Robie Jukes (22) launched off the two cars to career into the wall on the exit of turn 4 and, with safety paramount, the race was stopped. The race restarted with only a handful of laps to run and Russ was home and dry.
''I didn't think I would do it!'' he claimed after the race, mainly due to the stoppage. Peter Blundell (156) was hunting him down throughout to feature as runner up followed by Phil.
Des Chandler was track side to present the trophy to Russ which will be kept within the formula and raced for every year.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 14 cars
        Fastest Lap - 8 DEREK HALES in Heat 2, Lap 13 - 14.205 (48.819mph)
               Weather Conditions - dry and warm

RESULTS
Heat One : 100, 8, 156, 22, 161, 11, 29, 15, 266, 4, 37, 555. DNS 2, 465 (Raceceiver failed).
Heat Two : 465, 161, 11, 156, 100, 22, 2, 266, 555, 29, 8, 37. DNF 15 Paul Bullock (engine), 4 (engine).
Heat Three : 100, 11, 8, 465, 156, 161 (docked 3 places - contact), 2, 29, 22, 4, 266, 555, 37. DNS 15 (engine ceased - retired from meeting).
Feature Final - 100, 156, 465, 29, 266, 2, 555, 4. DNF 37 (retired), 22 (accident damage with 161 and 8), 11 (accident damage - steering), 8 (accident damage - retired by Race Steward), DISQ 161 (contact on 8).

added 23rd September, 2009

ALDERSHOT RACEWAY
Sunday 20th September, 2009
Round 9 & ARTHUR BRIGHT TROPHY

STEVE JAY HAS A FIELD DAY

Steve Jay (95) had his best day to date at Aldershot on Sunday for two heat wins, earning him a pole start in the feature final.  He raced through the final to take home third and also the top points haul of the day.  Ian Hales (6) moved into first place, from a third place start, at about mid-distance and stretched out a considerable lead to take home the Arthur Bright Trophy. Dean Thompson (19) battled it out well with Steve for many laps to clinch a second place finish and a good points boost to his National Points tally with other good finishes taken in the heats.
The outcome of heat one produced a fantastic maiden victory for Ipswich's Stef Lloyd (21) and a black flag to Paul Fiore (516) for contact on Richard Stagg (2).
More incident came in the third heat for a false start, Andy Hartwell (55) then hit the wall with the throttle stuck wide open and Derek Hales (8) blew the engine up while crossing the finish line. Andy felt worse for wear after his harsh visit to the wall which left the car in a complete mess. Luckily the car will repair easily but Andy suffered a bad head through the jolt received and hopefully he will feel better in the next few days.
SPECIAL THANKS GO TO ANGIE and FAMILY FOR BEING TRACKSIDE AND ESPECIALLY TO ZAK and ZOE FOR PRESENTING THE TROPHY IN MEMORY OF ARTHUR BRIGHT.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 24 cars
         Fastest Lap - 6 IAN HALES in the Final, lap 17 - 14.909 (best speed 73.888mph)
               Weather Conditions - dry, sunny and warm

RESULTS
Heat One : 21, 8, 19, 55, 156, 100, 465, 266, 395, 182, 48, 23. DNF 2, 65 (both retired). DISQ 516 (contact on 2)
Heat Two : 95, 7, 19, 5, 45, 100, 6, 23, 33, 161, 395, 22, 182, 266, 516, 2. DISQ from 2nd place 48 (technical infringement - car too 'long').
Heat Three : 95, 21, 7, 6, 5, 8, 55, 33, 22, 161, 465, 45, 156. DNF 65 (retired).
Feature Final : 6, 19, 95, 5, 156, 100, 161, 22, 33, 182, 45, 395, 7, 48, 465, 266, 23. DNF 21 (spun and retired), 55 (accident).

update - 11th October, 2009

BIRMINGHAM WHEELS
Saturday 10th October, 2009
Round 10

RANDALL REVS UP FOR MORE WINS

Barry Randall (395) was the news at Round 10 for Oval Track Legends in Birmingham last night for a heat win and a splendid first time win of a final. 'Baz' has gone from strength to strength since joining the series mid way through this season and looks to be strong opposition in 2010.
On the night Martin Lamb (52), having served a 10 meeting ban, marked his comeback with a fine drive in the final for third and all was a whole lot better for second over the line, Andy Hartwell (55). He had crashed heavily at Aldershot last time out and came back to the fore with some good results on Saturday night.
Lee Holden (266) was back out on track for only his third meeting this year and clinched two second places in the heats to take pole for the final.
The other heat wins were a maiden victory a piece for Simon Rourke (60) in the first heat and Dan Hughes (48) in the second. Simon had taken the chequers in heat two but was given full disqualification for avoidable contact on Dan in the closing laps, giving the win to Barry.

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 31 cars
         Fastest Lap - 6 IAN HALES in Heat 3, lap 9 - 15.591 (51.651mph)
               Weather Conditions - Dry

RESULTS
Heat One : 60, 52, 16, 395, 55, 45, 33, 6, 161, 95, 19, 11, 156, 21, 182, 7, 29, 2, 37, 17. DNF 555 accident damage.
Heat Two : 395, 266, 105, 55, 100, 161, 516, 19, 21, 64, 29, 5, 22, 95, 465, 48, 23, 37, 11, 17. disq 60 (contact on 48).
Heat Three : 48, 266, 516, 52, 64, 45, 6, 2, 16, 5, 100, 156, 7, 465, 22, 23, 105, 555. DNF 33 accident, 182 accident.
Final : 395, 55, 52, 6, 161, 100, 60, 516, 5, 16, 45, 11, 105, 182, 7, 19, 266, 33, 21, 29, 2, 23, 17. DNF 156, 48, 465, 64, 95 all accident damage.

update - 27th October, 2009

NORTHAMPTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Sunday 25th October, 2009
Round 11 THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

IAN HALES STORMS TO VICTORY

With the 2009 National Points Championship already in the bag, Ian Hales (6) stormed to two more victories on Sunday at Northampton for a heat win and a feature final win. Heat three looked almost a maiden win for Karl Monnery (23) until Hales Jnr. loomed in his mirrors on the final lap to clinch the win. A pole start for the champ made for a clear win in the final and he cleared over 1000 points on his rival, runner up in the National Points, the British Champion Dan Holden (161).
Nathan Nicholls (16) opened the day with a clear win over Stu Blyth (35). Hales Jnr then raced through to take second spot from Stu but was unable to catch Nathan in time with only 3 laps remaining.
A flag to flag victory for Stu in the next heat was littered with black flags on Branson Poyner (5), Barry Randall (395) and Mike Walmsley (182).  All three came under heavy scruitiny by the Race Stewards for avoidable contact with Mike's black flag eventually being rescinded.
Derek Hales (8) started the feature final from a fourth row start to come home second with Nathan third.  They both battled through heaps of traffic after a yellow flag incident for Dean Thonpson (19) and Peter Blundell (156) which grouped the cars together. Ian, on a pole start, was clear at the front for all 25 laps and came home for the feature final win and a career third National Points Champonship title, back to back - the first driver ever to do that!

TRACK FACTS
   Car Count - 27 cars
         Fastest Lap - 6 IAN HALES in Heat 3, lap 16 - 15.430 (46.662mph)
               Weather Condition - Dry

RESULTS
Heat One : 16, 6, 35, 156, 516, 45, 60, 161, 52, 55, 5, 7, 19, 23, 105, 266, 465. DNF 29 accident damage, 2 mechanical (steering column).
Heat Two : 35, 60, 33, 95, 182, 161, 11, 8, 55, 2, 19, 29, 266, 555. DNF 516, 37 accident. DISQ 5 avoidable contact, 395 avoidable contact.
Heat Three : 6, 23, 555, 105, 156, 8, 16, 11, 33, 465, 45, 182, 7, 52, 37. DNF 95, 395 retired.
Feature Final : 6, 8, 16, 161, 35, 60, 11, 182, 55, 52, 33, 5, 23, 156, 555, 105, 465, 395, 45, 29, 7, 266, 2. DNF 516, 19 accident damage, 95 (retired - loose rear bumper), 37.