SMITH JR WRAPS IT UP IN THE HEATS

BRISCA F1: Birmingham

Going into the final round of the shootout at Belle Vue, Stuart Smith Jr knew that if he won his two heat races the title would be his no matter what happened in the final.

Smith duly took the first step to the title when he barged his opposition out of the way early in heat one to claim a comfortable victory.

In his second heat, Smith once again made short work of his fellow title contenders and he tracked down race leader James Morris, punting his rival wide on the final turn to take the victory and clinch the crown.

“I came here to win and not to ride around,” said the title winner. “It’s great to win the National Series Shootout. I have raced every round to win, not just to collect points and it has worked.”

Smith’s luck ran out in the final when he tangled early in the race and was forced to retire. Danny Wainman avoided several spinning cars to claim the lead of the race, but as he attempted to pass some backmarkers he lost momentum allowing John Dowson Jr to grab a race-winning lead.

“I don’t know what it is about this place, but I just go well around here,” said the victor. “The car and the set up just seems to suit the track. I know Danny isn’t happy about the end of the race as they were giving him the lap boards [to indicate he was first], but I knew I was leading. I was just hoping they hadn’t docked me for some reason.”

“I looked in my mirror and there was no one behind me so I slowed down to make sure of finishing,” said a confused Wainman. His mood changed when he realised his second place was enough to move him into second in the National Series Shootout standings. Result 1 John Dowson Jr; 2 Danny Wainman; 3 Frankie Wainman Junior Jr; 4 Ben Riley; 5 Paul Hines; 6 Russell Cooper; 7 Lee Fairhurst; 8 Bouwe-arjen Hiddinga; 9 Sam Makin; 10 Billy Johnson.