Durham Indoor Regional Round 3.
Report by Brian Hopps

Race Data
Championship Tables (2wd) (4wd)

The third round of the NE indoor series was held at the large sports facility at the Nissan factory, just off the A19 near Sunderland. There had been some criticism in past years about the polished floor and how it didn't provide any grip, one Regional only a couple of years ago here there was no carpet whatsoever. Some drivers like it that way, and it is difficult to please everyone, but as you can see below, the organisers had laid carpet over most of the hall, and it was really grippy! Just like Teesside you could get away with using old yellow compound tyres all day, making the event economical.


At least it was cheap on tyres, the artificial jump in front of the rostrum proved to be less so. There were some adjustments made to it before the racing got underway which improved things, but if you were too enthusiastic and didn't land on the soft matting then it meant a broken car. Everyone has different views though, and one driver said it was the best part of the track.



 

This is the large track pictured from the first floor Gallery, where you could also get excellent food !

It certainly didn't stop the racing from being close and exciting though. The 4WD A final was won by Adam Skelding entering his first event this year by .4 of second from Dave Bailey, and Stephen Adams, Carl Hopps and Kash Khan had a battle for honours in the 4WD B with the lead changing several times.

Tom Cockerill still leads the championship by 3 points from Stephen Adams with Chris Long, Andrew Brown and Anthony Walker in close attendance. But with the 101 points that Adam Skelding has, and Ben Riley only scoring in one round so far, with 2 rounds to go, it's sure to change.

2WD was no less exciting either. The B final's lead changed 6 times and it seemed no-one wanted to win, Stuart Evans eventually took the lead late in the race and finished 3 seconds in front of Adam Clarke and Dougie Pratt. After a poor start Paul Bradby was a convincing winner of the A final.

Richard Lowe maintained his consistency so far this year and came home second, and like the 4WD championship will probably find Paul Bradby and Ben Riley challenging for the title by the time the last round in York.

Drivers who attended the drivers briefing were advised by Tony Snee that he will be standing down as our regional representative as soon as a replacement can be found. If you think you can take on the job, please contact Tony or any of our NE clubs secretaries to let them know you are interested. You can see what the job involves at any regional meeting, other than that it means spending time organising things and attending meetings. The general workload is shared amongst several people, so you are not left high and dry on your own. Have a chat with Tony at the next meeting, and see what's involved.

Batley is the next regional, and Channel 4 Television may be covering the event for a programme being screened in Spring. We don't expect a massive amount of screen time, but if you want to be part of it, get your entry in as soon as possible. Either fill in the online entry form on Fullthrottle or contact Dianne Harrison at Batley Buggy Club.