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| Added: 13 Dec 2012 |
Category: Older Oval Racing |
| And The Year Was.... 2007 |
Ballymena hosted their big 30th Anniversary meeting, Glenn Bell won his second Stock Rod world title, Craig McConnell won the F2 European title,I got my first SLR camera, and got told not to come back to Nutts Corner Raceway, which has been a significant turn in what I’ve ended up doing ever since.
In 2007 NIF2 probably had it’s slickest and most ambitious build, accompanied by Simon Kennedy running NIRods.co.uk the site also featured splits for domestic classes, online racing and a dedicated section for the past. I remember well the hours and hours that went into trying to make quite complex graphics work together and in the end they got taken back out of the site one by one.
As with 2006 the sites were database driven and everything on those databases has gone, so an exact account of how it went down, may be a bit patchy.
My first meeting of the season was a very wet England V Ireland banger meeting in March and included the National Bangers Irish Open, won by Noel Reynolds.
Also in March Gary and Denver Grattan debuted two superbly turned out Randall F2’s at Cowdenbeath, with Denver having NIF2.co.uk on the inside wing panel, it was probably one of the most promenent places the web address has been over the years.
Before the NI season had got under way, Jeff Minish has also raced at Cowdie and Ian Thompson had picked up wins at Cowdie and Barford in his first RCE.
The Antrim forum also played host to the first Oval Racing and Motorsport show in many a year, which featured displays from Nuttscorner Oval and Ballymena Raceway, as well as many individual’s new cars on display too.
The local season kicked off at Easter as usual and to be honest I’ve quite no idea who won what, other than Ashley Riley winning Shamwreck at the end of April.
As the season moved in to May Ballymena Raceway and Nuttscorner Oval played joint host to the Lightning Rods ORCi Championship, which was won by Stephen Emerson.
May also seen my final meeting at Nutts Corner Raceway after a tongue and cheek comment about the gate price on the night of the Saloon Irish Open got me thrown out and told not to come back. I had much hope at the end of the 2012 season that a change of management for 2013 would see the arrival of a promotion I’d go back to, but it didn’t and so the wait can continue. To be honest, at the time of writing, as much as I try to cover as much racing as I can, I don’t know where I’d find the time anymore to even attend an extra meeting a week, let alone provide coverage.
As you’d expect having spent a good 5 years doing as much as I could to provide web coverage for the F2’s, not going to Nutts Corner Raceway had quite an impact on me, and in turn made it quite difficult to continue to cover F2’s. This also came as a bit of a wake up call that I shouldn’t be stressing myself putting hours of my own time into lining other people’s pockets, and so it was time to switch attention to those who did want to work with me, which at the time was Nuttscorner Oval. While it would be extremely hard to prove either way, I like to think my involvement at Nuttscorner Oval and now Tullyroan Oval has helped in it going from strength to strength in recent years, while my absence from Nutts Corner Raceway has seen it all but close.
It would be wrong to call it a switch of allegiance, as I was already working along with Nuttscorner Oval, but certainly the switch of my regular night of racing helped me take a step back from being perhaps too involved and frustrated with the sport itself. I was able to step back into a calmer roll of not having favourites, not really caring who wins, and was able to enjoy just watching good racing.
Getting back to the goings on of May 2007 though, the month ended with a bizarre and unfortunate incident when Wayne Woolsey, I think having just won a heat at Nuttscorner Oval had his blue Corsa heavily damaged when a Junior Rod came out the pit gate into him while he was doing a lap of honour.
With June came the F2 Irish Open and Challenge Trophy, visiting drivers included The Kelly Brothers, World Champion Gordon Moodie, Chris Burgoyne, Bryn Tootell, Chris Bradbury, Dave Polley, Gavin Miller, Trevor Harris and Paul Ford who had a huge roll at Ballymena.
Chris Bradbury won the Irish Open at Nutts Corner and Ian Thompson Jnr won the Challenge Trophy at Ballymena.
The end of June also seen another first, as I got my first photo into Motorsport News, after a back straight smash in the 2 Litre Hot Rods seen Gary Wilson’s car burst into flames.
July seen the usual treks across the UK for many of our local drivers, and it seen Craig McConnell crowned European Champion in the F2’s after those ahead of him failed scruitineering. From memory it wasn’t quite that straightforward and took a while before Craig actually got to race with the red and yellow chequered roof.
Back at home, Ballymena Raceway held a big meeting for their 30th Anniversary, a meeting which I’ve covered in more detail earlier this season in the build up to the 35th.
The following day Stewart Doak won the National Hot Rod British Championship at Nuttscorner Oval and I was unleashed with my first SLR camera, bringing a whole new angle for me to enjoy the sport from.
A week after the Ballymena 30th and NHR British, it was Speedweekend time at Nuttscorner Oval. William Buller and Andy Best had a fantastic scrap for the lead of the 2 Litre Hot Rod European with Best eventually coming out on top. The day would also see one of the strangest showers I’ve ever seen at the racing. In one of the 2 Litre support races, what could really only be described as a freak heavy shower put that much water down on the track so quickly that the cars literally came off the River bend in the dry and into the Nutts Corner end in the wet, causing several of them to end up in the wall.
In August (I think) Glenn Bell went on to add the Stock Rod European Championship to his increasing list of honours when he took the title at Ballymena. He later went on to add another World title to the list, leading home Stuart Fox and Robert McDonald at Cowdenbeath.
With September came the F2 world, and having attended the previous 10 World finals, I didn’t bother, and wasn’t even all that interested in it. Mick Sworder took the title at Arean Essex.
On the local scene there Scott Cochrane won the Junior Productions Irish Championship, Stephen Emerson won the Lightning Rods and Wayne Woolsey took the 2.0 Hot Rod title.
the season was rounded out with the festive meeting featuring 3 visiting drivers in the Robins, and Ian Bolton won the Irish Championship for the class.
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The first pic I had published in MN |
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Wayne Woolsey's Tigra arrived.... |
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..His Corsa NHR got damaged by a Junior |
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Robin Action |
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A Freaky Shower at Speedweekend |
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Nationals at NCO in July |
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NIF2.co.uk on a prize panel |
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BMR @The Oval Racing and Motorsport Show |
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Nationals under the lights at NCO |
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One of my last trips to NCR |
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William Buller in the 2 Litres |
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Challenge Trophy line up at BMR |
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Paul Ford on his Roof at BMR |
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BMR's 30th in July |
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Bell World Champion in the Stock Rods |
| More Photos from 2007 |
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