Phil Myatt took pole, although he was only two tenths ahead of a pleased Wayne Cowling. Panas, Sparrow, Simon Pearson and Paul Robertson made up the top six, whilst further back Peter Wann was glad to just be on the grid as his car had only be finished the night before, and had a completely untested (and slightly smoky) engine in it. Trevor Williams and Richard Hollis were both experiencing engine problems, which restricted not only their laps, but their best times as well. Matthew Hollis was going considerably better than his brother until it was discovered that he was 10kg underweight, which could have explained their speed differential. Matthew was put to the back of the grid with a 10 second penalty, allegedly so he could be closer to his brother.
Qualifying for race 2 saw different track conditions, but the same result. A heavy shower prior to the session meant the track was very greasy, as demonstrated by virtually every car. The spectators didn't know where to look as cars spun off left, right and centre, but ultimately it was still Myatt in front, this time joined on the front row by Sparrow, who proved that going backwards down Cascades was spectacular but slower than the recommended direction. Simon Turner took over Robertson's seat, again qualifying in that familiar 6th place. Peter Wann had discovered an oil leak following first practice, which was fixed for 2nd practice, allowing him to do one lap before deciding actually it wasn't fixed, and conking out.
RACE 1
As the lights went out, Wayne outdragged Phil into the first corner, but positions were reversed halfway round the first lap. Myatt then managed to gradually pull away form Cowling and Sparrow, who raced as one right up to the flag. Steve Panas had a good race for the first few hundred yards before coasting to a halt at the bottom of Cascades, perhaps taking the term �sprint' race a little too literally. This left Simon Pearson to come home a lonely fourth, following a spin at the first corner on lap 5 by Paul Roberston, which dropped him a whole lap and resulted in 13th place at the flag. Whilst the leaders may have been spread out at the front, the six-car battle for 5th was intense. Mr. Chairman Trevor Williams, Tim Williams (no relation!) and Jon Davis were the early leaders of the pack, before Andrew Smith and Christine Thompson took over the duty. However, with three laps to go, it was Matthew Hollis who headed the train of cars, having come from the back in a storming drive following the 10 second penalty. On the line it was Hollis who took 5th, ahead of Smith, Thompson, Trevor Williams, Tim Williams, and Davis. Katie Croucher had a good scrap with Wann, who had only just made the race thanks to help from Tete Rouge Racing. Croucher took 11th as Wann decided to finish the race one lap too soon. Richard Hollis only managed 2 laps before the fuel filler unit fell off his car. Claims of deliberately dropping parts of his car on the track to create obstacles for others were strenuously denied.
RACE 2
Perhaps Phil felt he should give everyone else a chance as at the start of race 2 he decided to drop to 5th by the first corner. Sparrow initially took the lead into the first corner, but at the end of the first lap it was Cowling in the lead, followed by Steve Panas, Myatt, Sparrow and Pearson. Phil managed to retake the lead on lap 2, but any hopes he had of repeating his comfortable victory in the first race were soon abolished as both Cowling and Panas stuck to his bootlid. Pearson slipped past Sparrow on lap 4, but on the 9th lap Simon went off heavily into the tyres at the exit of the first corner, which undoubtedly was not part of his race-plan. As in the first race, the battle for 5th involved a multi-car scrap, with M Hollis, Smith, Thompson and Trevor Williams again involved, this time joined by Simon Turner. Positions swapped constantly on every lap with regular 3-abreast racing. At the final corner it was Hollis who sneaked up the inside of Smith, with Turner following through for 6th place. Richard Hollis got to the end of the race this time, but with an engine down on power that meant he just didn't have enough grunt to get past Matt Riley (sharing the car with Tim Williams) down the straights. Katie had handed her car over to Graham Taylor who came home in 12th, despite trying to start the race in the wrong gear. Jon Davis dropped back into the clutches of Peter Wann by the end of the race, and later discovered that he had low compression explaining his change of pace from the first race. Wann's engine was itself very tired by now, but Peter had enjoyed the day, and had at least found out a lot more about his engines! By the end, Phil had managed to squeeze out a 3 second gap to Cowling, with Panas 3rd, though only just ahead of Sparrow.
Review of results
N.B. No. 72 demoted to back of grid + 10 second penalty for being