A packed grid turned out for the eighth round of the Championship at Cadwell Park. On the front row were the usual suspects - Dalton and Sparrow.
Pete Sparrow made a poor start, wheelspinning his way back to fifth as Richard Dalton sped away. However, the race was stopped before it really got started after Mick Murphy crashed near the hairpin, leaving his car in a dangerous position and bringing out the red flags. This meant another start, and this time Sparrow got away cleanly to keep pace with Dalton.
Sparrow's good luck was Paul Robertson's bad luck. He made an good first start, but then stalled on the second green flag lap, sending him to the back of the grid for the re-start. A determined drive saw him claim a respectable 10th place finish. Mike Cooper's failed to make the re-start after suffering damage in a collision with the back of Mick Storey's car, which unseated the boot.
The race of the afternoon was the battle between Sparrow and Roy Eastwood for second place. Eastwood managed to squeeze past on a couple of occasions, but Sparrow had the edge at certain sections of the track and kept him at bay. It was Eastwood's best sprint race finish of the season, and he came close to claiming fastest lap as well.
Nick Woodward made a great recovery from his disappointing 12th place on the grid, but Simon Pearson's excellent 4th place grid spot was ruined by a spin, leaving him down in 11th place. Ainslie Bousefield had a miserable afternoon, his car low on power as it had an exhaust stuffed with wire wool in an attempt to pass noise emission tests at the track. He was eventually to finish two laps down. Paul Murphy, emulating his brother's driving skill, managed to loose a front wing but still brought the car home.
It was a welcome return for two cars not seen so far this season. Christine Savage rebuilt 'Stinky' after a near write-off accident at Silverstone last year, and Guiseppe Lorusso brought out his distinctive car for a first run after a long break.
