Go mm’ sf in al, but it’ s Wood’ s points crown
Organiser: Spedeworth When: June 10 Where: Aldershot Starters: 16.
As has almost become customary the National Hot Rod season came to a finish at Aldershot and with a somewhat depleted entry as only those with something still to vie for at either end of the points table mostly came out to play.
While it was Paul Gomm who raced to a brace of wins, it was Billy Wood who finally saw off the challenge from Chris Haird and lifted the trophy for wrapping up victory in the points championship.
And as is also almost becoming customary, this was another meeting run in hot sunshine on a bone-dry track.
Jason Kew had his beautifully turned out new Ginetta on hand as he tried to assess which of his two cars will be the one which goes to the World Final grid. Carl Waller-barrett on the other hand, had a seemingly incurable misfire with his still unusual Ford Duratec motor and missed the first race altogether.
It was Gomm who set off in a determined manner from the front row of the grid in heat one but it wasn’t long before fellow white graders Lewis Shelley and Colin Hitch were hard after him. The two of them stuck with the leader for a long time, with Shelley following in Gomm’s tyre tracks for many laps without being able to make even a half chance appear for himself.
Haird was really the man to watch here. Although still well back in the pack, his constant attempts to pass down the outside (making up places fast was the only way he stood a chance of thwarting Wood’s championship ambitions) were the most entertaining feature of the race, even if all they eventually achieved was to actually lose some positions instead.
Gomm stayed out front from flag to flag, with Shelley still shadowing him at the end, Ivan Grayson eventually rising to third after Hitch was forced out nearing the finish.
The second encounter began much the same way, although this time with Hitch getting away fast into the lead, leaving Shelley to try and fend off Gomm for a bit. But it was Shelley who forged to the front taking Hitch along the inside of the back straight as Gomm also followed him through.
Now it was Shelley’s turn to simply sit implacably out front despite Gomm’s best efforts to unseat him, but this time it wasn’t Hitch who was sticking with them but Danny Smith, who was forging on towards the sharp end. It was still to be Shelley and Gomm who decided the eventual fate of the race though, both men diving into a thorny knot of backmarkers which looked as though it might just give Gomm a last lap passing shot, but it wasn’t to be.
It was no big surprise that Gomm (pole) and Shelley had locked up the front row for the final but by this time, the title race was all over and Wood had done enough to secure victory.
It was Gomm who leapt away on the opening lap, although row two man Danny Smith was stuck to the leader’s back bumper like a limpet, giving third man Shelley no chance of pulling off any surprise ambushes, particularly as Wood went past him to set off after the frontrunners.
Wood eventually made his way through to second but never with any real chance to upset Gomm’s troublefree run to win number two.