FINNIKIN WINS AGAIN BUT FIRE RUINS THE DAY
Craig Finnikin kept up his winning streak with his second-consecutive win on shale. It marked his fourth final win out of the last five meetings on the loose surface.
However, the winner’s joy was soured in the meetingending allcomers race, when he retired from the event after a ball of fire exploded from the engine bay.
The alarmed racer said: “I hope it is not as bad as it sounded and looks.”
Veteran driver Geoff Nickolls lead the early laps of the final with Dutchman Niels Tesselaar quickly moving through the field into second with Finnikin in third. Further back, shootout contenders Tom Harris, Frankie Wainman Jr and Mat Newson tangled coming off Turn 2. Wainman’s machine rode the wall and Newson’s suffered significant damage, sidelining them from the race.
Up front, Tesselaar nudged his way into the lead only for Finnikin to barge into the top spot with three laps to go. Harris recovered to biff Tessellar wide on the final circuit to claim second.
Finnikin said: “Tesselaar was very quick, and I had trouble catching him, but he got held up in traffic and I closed about three car lengths in one turn, and that gave me my chance. I had to deal with him straight away and barged him wide. I had brake problems in my heat, but we worked on it and the car was a lot better in the final.”
Second-placed Harris said: “I race to win and focus on my driving, so I didn’t see what happened to Wainman, and Newson. I was more concerned about where Finnikin was, he is starting in front of us shootout drivers and has a bit less to deal with that we have!
“I would like to be standing on the podium where Finnikin is, but I had a couple of hits from Lee Fairhurst and Irode the wall, so I am happy to finish second. It keeps me on track to win the shootout.”
Results
Organiser: Trackstar, BriSCA F1 When: October 22 Where: King’s Lynn Starters:
1 Craig Finnikin; 2 Tom Harris; 3 Niels Tesselaar; 4 Bobby Griffin; 5 Tyrone Evans; 6 Lee Fairhurst; 7 Callum Gill; 8 Danny Wainman; 9 John Dowson Jr; 10 Willie Skoyles.