C-100 End of Season Review 2005 - HW

Introduction

As the new season rapidly approaches, its time to look back at 2005 and also make some predictions about 2006 in terms of who I think will be champion and who will be the race winners etc. As in previous years I’ve created my own top ten and categorised others based on what I believe has been their individual performances over the course of the season. I should point out that these are my own views and you should enjoy the praise and also take some of the criticism on the chin with a view to considering it as constructive feedback from 2005. I’ve added a ‘best race’ and ‘worse race’ within the top 10 and this relates to what I consider was that drivers strongest/weakest race performances of the year.

In the main, I’ve limited my review to the drivers who finished in the top 30 overall but pulled in one or two others from outside the top 30 for reasons you can read about later within this review.

Just before I start, I couldn’t help reading my 2005 predictions from the 2004 end of season review and with one notable exception just see how close this was - for once!!!!

“2005 Predictions.

So, who will be champion - well it’s a close call but I’m going for Trott again on the grounds that he has so much self belief than the others and I think this will be enough to see him through, although it will be a damn site hardly than 04. Kieran is going to provide the main challenge (subject to engaging brain before racing!) along with Phil Ingram and Rob will be there or there abouts. I think Liam is going to have an inconsistent season (no logic, just a feeling!) whilst Stuart (I fear) will again not do enough to mount a serious title challenge. “

Heavyweights

Actual Championship position in brackets.

1 (1) Brian Trott
2 (2) Rob Hart
3 (3) Kieran McCullough
4 (5) Dave Lewis
5 (4) Trevor Randall
6 (6) Paul Kaye
7 (7) Dave Pethers
8 (9) Stuart Symonds
9 (10) Liam Hegarty
10 (8) Phil Ingram

Just missing out on my top 10:

• Simon Mace
• Tim Hill

1. Brian Trott

As with the LW class, there is no doubt who reigned supreme in 2005 and in doing so Mr Trott became the first driver to win 3 HW titles - and he did it with ease. After the first 3 races it looked like Rob Hart would be the main challenger having won 2 out of the first three races but after a small blip at Clay (where Brian was pushed off on the opening lap) he stormed back to take podium finish after podium finish and build up what would become an unassailable lead that would net him a third title with one race still to go. The season got off to a great start with a storming drive up to second although he just failed to get the better of the super defensive Hart on that occasion. A straight forward win at round 3 put him in the driving seat but the off at Clay opened the door to Hart once more before Brian reasserted his championship lead with two consecutive second places at GYG and Lydd.

Having dominated at Whilton Mill in years gone by, everyone expected another repeat performance but this actually turned out to be his weakest race of the season if you can call 7th place in an A final a weak performance! A stunning drive from the very back of the A final (after winning the B final) all but secured the title at Fulbeck and this was a classy drive and one that proved his status as top driver in the class in my eyes, pulling out all the stops to rip through the field to an eventually third in what I consider to be his best race of the season. At Ellough, he just drove his own race to score sufficient points to win the championship, wrapping it all up with one race to go with 6th place and looking very relaxed about the whole thing after the race, although by that time I think everyone knew the championship was a forgone conclusion.

Having been convinced to race at the final round, he showed his class by putting it on pole and leading the early laps until an altercation with Randall left him awaiting the pusher kart which sort of took the shine off an all but perfect season although that should not distract from what was pretty much a white wash in terms of pace, results and a lesson to the others about how far they are going to have to improve to beat him in 2006. Brian has that rare ability to drive the wheels off any kart you give him and he is a great overtaking with heaps of race craft as well. He had 6 podium finishes in all and added a 6th and a 7th to his overall points scoring results which really sets the benchmark for the others. 2006 will be really interesting, on the one hand he has the advantage of knowing his current opposition well and knows how to race with ballast that may give him a slight advantage over the likes of Jakins, Craddock and Garford but only time will tell. For now, he reigns supreme as the leading HW driver and a deserving champion.

Best Race Fulbeck
Worst Race Whilton

2. Rob Hart

No doubt about the driver at number 2 in my top ten, this was an easy choice even though second place overall was so damn close. With three race wins to his credit he deserved to be second overall and was a clear second when it came to my top 10. His race wins were superb, starting with one of those great defensive drives from the front at Rye House and followed a few races later with another blinding drive at Clay which saw him fend off Randall in the closing laps. Bayford was one of those ‘average Rob’ races whilst GYG and Lydd were races to forget and I sensed his relief that GYG will no longer be on the calendar in 2006, a track he hates as much as I hate Birmingham Wheels!!!!

Win number three came at Whilton Mill (although I wasn’t there that day, so I can’t comment on the nature of that win that day - sorry!) and at this point he still had a chance of catching Brian but only if the latter started dropping points over the last three races. After making steady progress up the order at Fulbeck he made a rare error of judgement and spun himself out of contention on the last lap of the race, pretty much handing the championship to Brian at that point. At Ellough, he was running in third for most of the race but allowed himself to get shuffled back to 5th as endurance team-mate Dave Lewis sneaked past, followed on the last lap by Randall leaving Rob a rueful 5th in what was (my opinion) his worse race of the year.

The one thing I’ve learnt about Rob through is to never right him off and when it comes to reading situations well - Rob is the man. At the final round on the very last lap, he found himself down in 5th and heading for 5th overall in the championship. However, he could see that Kieran was going to try to pass Dave and he knew the latter would not give in easily and he just positioned himself waiting for the inevitably clash, diving past the pair of them in the process for third on track and second overall! That is what differentiates Rob from so many other drivers and I see it time and time again and just admire him for being so patient and so smart at times! So, second overall in the championship despite winning more races than Brian but it was his lack of consistency that cost him in 2005 and I still worry about those odd ‘average Rob’ races that happen two or three times every year.

Best Race Rye House
Worst Race Ellough

3. Kieran McCullough

On the whole, Kieran did exactly what I wanted to do in 2005 by tidying up his act, qualifying further up the grid and getting results that reflected his true ability. There were still moments of madness, none more so than at Fulbeck when he clashed with Dave Lewis on the final lap, an incident that was pretty much repeated at the final round where they tripped over each other again, costing the pair of them vital points and second/third overall in the championship! The season started well with a storming drive to 4th at Rye before the drive of the season which saw Kieran win the C final, storm through to a top 4 in the B final and then somehow muscle his way through to 6th in the A final! A strong third at Clay was followed by the first of two wins with a runaway, effortless drive at GYG.

The second half of the season had its ups and downs, starting with a down at Lydd and then picking up a penalty after finishing second on track at Whilton, an incident that dropped him to a disgruntled 4th that day. Having led the final at Fulbeck for a while, he got embroiled in what was a battle for second with Dave Lewis but when neither gave the other any room on the final lap it was Kieran that came off worse, loosing a lot of points on that occasion which was little short of stupid in my opinion. At Ellough, he was on top form, slicing past Symonds who had cold tyres on the opening lap, and then just disappearing into the distance once again as he notched up his second win of the season to put him firmly in contention for second overall as the season drew to a conclusion at Buckmore.

What happened on that final lap is already documented above (and further on below!) but the net result was yet another unnecessary coming together with Dave Lewis that allowed Rob through to third and second overall. I just can’t understand why both Kieran (and Dave to that matter) can’t work out what is the bleeding obvious to me - sometimes you have to give up the corner and/or back off a little in order to score sufficient points that help your overall total! On both occasions, both lost out to others behind them and they both need their heads banged together to stop this on track feud before it escalates. That aside, I can’t really criticise Kieran as he put right most of the wrongs from 04 although he still drops the odd heat or two which sometimes costs him a good grid position for the final. Looks like he is heading towards the LW class in 06 and although his driving style is more suited to the HW class, I think he may have just positioned himself as a championship challenger as long as he can get down to 76 or 77 kgs. LW’s beware, this man is quick.

Best race Ellough
Worst race Fulbeck

4. David Lewis

The battle for second overall was so tight and it was decided on the very last lap of the final race of the season when Kieran muscled his way past Dave for 3rd, allowing Rob past the pair of them in the process - all of which left Dave 5th overall instead of second! Had it not been for a number of runnings with Kieran during the season, then Dave would have taken second overall quite easily but neither Dave or Kieran are prepared to give an inch when it comes to racing - so inevitable they always ended up falling over each other, costing each other points in the process. That aside, I think Dave had a really good year and although he never won a race he was really consistent, picking up 8 top 6 finishes, making the podium 4 times and really improving his qualifying which consistently saw him up in the top 2 or 3 rows of the A final.

The season started well with a 5th at Rye, followed by second at Bayford after which he struggled a little with only very average results at the next three races. Second at Whilton set him back on track which was followed by third at the rescheduled round 1 and then a 4th at Fulbeck which could so easily of been second or third had he and Kieran not locked horns on the final lap (although he salvaged 4th which was at least decent points compared to Kieran who came off!). His best race (my opinion) was at Ellough where he mustered all his patience (yes, I know it sounds strange but he was oh so patience that day and even said so in the post race interview) to set up Rob around mid distance to snatch 3rd away. The final round saw him qualify on the front row but a dreadful opening lap left him fighting his way back up the order and he was through to third and heading for second overall until that infamous last lap coming together with Mr McCullough. On the whole, I thought Dave did actually curb his overly aggressive style in 05 although he was forceful when required and there is no doubting that he is one of the best overtakers in the business, even if some of them are a little risky (but impressive!) at times. I think this was his best season to date and even I felt for him a little bit after the race at Buckmore back in November….

Best race Ellough
Worse Race Buckmore Park (round 10)

5. Trevor Randall

The reason I put Trevor below Dave is that he really didn’t deliver the sort of results I felt sure he would upon his return to the HW class. I was really looking forward to seeing Trevor battle it out with Brian for the championship as soon as I heard he was coming back to the HW class, having given up the fight to keep the weight off during 2004 in the LW class. I felt certain that Trevor would come straight in and start winning races whereas in fact he didn’t achieve his first race win until the very last race of the season! Like a number of other drivers, I think is at his best when the kart is working for him, I remain less than impressed at his ability to extract the maximum from a less than perfect kart although I give him 10/10 for his efforts and perseverance at Fulbeck this year!

The season started with a very average 7th at Rye followed by 3rd at Bayford although his move on Liam (think it was Liam) was a little messy to say the least. Pole and second at Clay was a step in the right direction and I think he could have won that day which in my eyes was a lost opportunity. Lydd and GYG were awful whilst he took third at Whilton which was a little lucky as others picked up penalties. After Fulbeck, I though he put in his best drive of the season to snatch 4th at Ellough with a series of stunning outbraking moves into the hairpin on Trott and Hart as he moved through to 4th whilst he caught and passed Trott at the final round to take the win although both drivers still have a difference of opinion as to what really happened at the second hairpin that day! Never-the-less, he ended the season on a high with that win which was enough to tie him on points with Rob and Kieran but his inferior amount of wins left him 4th overall which could so easily have been second overall but for one extra point somewhere down the line! Having adjusted to life back in the HW’s and extra ballast needed to make the 85 kg limit, I think Trevor will be a championship contender in 06 and I think this will just spice things up even more with the likes of Craddock, Jakins and Garford coming into the class as well….

Best race Ellough
Worst Race GYG

6. Paul Kaye

After a really poor 04, Paul bounced right back to form in 2005 and not only won a race but took a couple of well deserved podiums as well which saw him end up the best of the rest outside the top 5 (the top 5 being a little further ahead then the rest in my opinion). The season started a bit slowly, but a 7th and 8th at Bayford and Clay were the springboard to a hard earn’t third at GYG, having led that race for a little while before eventually having to give best to Keiran and Brian. He then qualified on the front row at Lydd and made easy work of getting past Dave Lewis on the opening lap before disappearing into the distance as the others fought over the places.

Whilton, Buckmore (rescheduled round 1), Fulbeck and Ellough were a little average but he was right back on form at the final round where he took second place, closing down Trevor Randall over the last few laps although he had to settle for second, his third podium of the season, good enough for 6th overall. One thing I really admired about Paul in 2005 was that he admitted during the Lydd post race interview that he had been over driving and getting overly aggressive in 2004 and he curbed both of these things in 2005 and surprise, surprise - the results started to flow once again. Sometimes its hard to take stock and analyse where (as a driver) you are going wrong but I think Paul did a good job of that in 2005, maybe aided by the arrival of his first child in 2005. Much improved season, easy win at Lydd all aided by a less aggressive approach to his racing.

Best race Lydd
Worst race Ellough

7. Dave Pethers

7th in the championship (his best ever) and 7th in my rankings after a year which saw Dave take a number of podiums although that elusive first victory escaped him once again. The season got off to the best possible start with a cracking drive to 3rd at the season opener, this after running second to Rob for most of the race before Mr Trott sneaked past towards the end of the race to snatch second away. A good run to 4th at Clay was followed by another podium after a great race at GYG which was followed a few races later with another terrific result as he charged through to second at Fulbeck although he was a little lucky that Dave and Kieran tripped over each other on the final tour!

The one thing I still think is lacking is his ability to get the better of the likes of Rob or Brian when in a position to challenge for the lead of races (i.e. Rye in 05, and Lydd in 04). He really didn’t seem to have any answer to Rob at Rye House and it appeared to me as if he was just waiting for a mistake from Rob, which really is a low probability! Take nothing away from his drive that day, but when presented with such opportunities he has to go for the win and not settle for the lower podium places. On the whole, this was better than 04 and it seems he gets a little better each year and another 6 points would have seen him take 6th overall. What price a first win in 2006?

Best race Rye House
Worst Race Ellough

8. Stuart Symonds

If 2004 was a little lack lustre at times, then 2005 was a near disaster only really salvaged by a brilliant second at Ellough Park which was his one and only podium of the year. The year started in the best possible way with the arrival of baby Jessica but maybe she proved a distraction of maybe the sleepless nights that followed took Stuart’s focus away from his racing! I think Stuart suffers from being too nice and too sporting at times and although I think this is a strength and a core value of any driver, I think that others take the p*ss a little bit and if I were Stuart I would begin to start giving as good as I got, even though its not within his character and not something he wants to do. I also worry about the amount of karts he changes prior at most A finals, this has to be unsettling although I think 2006 will be better for him with the arrival of a new fleet of karts and engines, which should be a positive to his 06 campaign.

On his day, he is capable of being as good as anyone else and pole at GYG and Ellough proved this although at GYG he really suffered with a lack of top end in the A final, suffering a similar (but worse) fete at Fulbeck later in the year. Elllough was an outstanding race and he defended superbly for the entire race keeping the likes of Rob and Dave at bay having succumbed to Kieran on the opening lap. A top 5 at Lydd was his only other half decent result although he was usually in the top 10 with the exception of Clay, GYG and Buckmore (final round). As the years roll by I worry if Stuart will ever fulfil his ambition of being champion and 2006 will again be a pivotal year, although he is really going to have to raise his game big time if he wants to challenge the likes of Brian, Rob and Trevor let alone the host of other superstars heading to the HW class in 2006.

Best Race Ellough Park
Worst Race Fulbeck

9. Liam Hegarty

As I noted above within the 2005 predictions, I just had this feeling that 2005 would be a tough year for Liam after a very impressive 2004. Sure enough, he struggled throughout the season and didn’t even make a single podium and although he showed similar pace to 2004 at times the results just didn’t come to fruition. The low point was that awful accident at GYG where he flipped the kart at the first corner, thumping the barrier at speed and being tossed around like a rag doll. I think all that witnessed that accident were so relieved to see him finally get up and walk (limp!) away, none more so than yours truly who had the honour of being first on the scene. Nasty…

In terms of the rest of his season, he was 4th at Bayford (where he won in 04) and then 4th again at the rescheduled round 1 which for me was his best race of the year, as he was up there dicing with the battle for third and looking at his most competitive in a long time. He put in a solid performance at Ellough once he caught the battling pack who were squabbling over second place whilst 7th at Fulbeck and 10th at the final round were none to shabby. At the time of writing (end of Jan), Liam is unsure of his plans for 2006 which may see him go down to the LW class, if he can lose sufficient weight to be competitive. I’m not sure if he will compete in the Endurance races this year, and this might limit his sprint performances once again. Not the best of the seasons by a long way, but I’m confident of a return to form in some shape or form in 2006.

Best Race Buckmore (re-scheduled round 1)
Worst Race GYG, purely for that accident alone…

10. Phil Ingram

I expected so much from Phil this year, especially after he finished a well deserved second in 2004 and won three races in impressive style along the way. It was a bit 50/50 as to whether he was going to race or not in 05, but it was great to see him on the grid when the season finally kicked off at Rye after round 1 was postponed. 8th at Rye was followed by a slightly better 5th at Bayford whilst Clay and Lydd were rather average events to say the least. A couple of 6ths at GYG and Whilton looked slightly more promising and then he bounced back to form with a hard earnt second to Trott at the rescheduled round 1, looking just like the Phil Ingram of old. However, Fulbeck was a real disaster and then he disappeared for the rest of the season and although I don’t know the exact reasons, I expect it was results related!

Hard to pin point his lack of form this year, I think he sometimes suffers from just being too ‘polite’ on track and others perhaps take advantage of this although I don’t see how this really impacted him given that it hasn’t been a problem in the past. He won heats and looked on the pace, but frequently struggled to make up ground or get to the front in the A finals themselves. He did enough to take 8th overall, aided by his consistency which is undoubtedly one of his strengths. I just hope that 2005 has not put him off because Phil is both a great driver and a true C100 competition who just gets on with his racing, never complains and is both fair and sporting in every sense of the word. To lose the likes of Phil would be a travesty so fingers crossed that he is on the grid come the end of Feb. 06…

Best Race Buckmore Park (rescheduled round 1)
Worst Race Fulbeck

Just outside my Top Ten.

• Tim Hill
• Simon Mace

No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that Tim needed to be in the top 10, I just couldn’t find a way of squeezing him in there! I think he had a good season but in the end I gave it to Phil Ingram because he did drag himself onto the podium, something that Tim didn’t quite manage to achieve. That said, he was damn close taking 4th three times mid season at Lydd, GYG and Whilton and just for once he made every A final and never went home early at any of them! Poor results at both Buckmore events and Rye kept him outside the top 10 overall but this shouldn’t distract from a good season and some fine races (C final to 10th at Bayford - remember!!) although I was disappointed that he didn’t make the podium. Life in the old dog - think so……

Simon Mace found himself in the same category last year and I have to be honest and say that he didn’t quite make the impact that I thought he might in 06. He had some great races in 04 and I figured this was the year when he would drag himself onto the podium and be a regular front runner. Sure enough, he made every A final and took a well deserved 5th at GYG and capped the season off with 6th at the final race, but he just didn’t seem to be high enough up the grids for the finals and when he was, he didn’t really turn it into an outstanding result. No doubting his pace, but he still makes a few too many mistakes in the heats and I think he still needs to be a tad more aggressive to get through the pack at times. Bit of a stagnate performance in 05, but the potential is there, I just hope he continues to race with us as I know he has mentioned he may not be able to race in 06 which would be a real loss in terms of a great up and coming driver and a really likable bloke.

Those that didn’t ‘cut the mustard’

I have to be honest here and say that there are no drivers outside of the top 10 that really deserve to be here. Most drivers either improved or stagnated although it’s fair to say both Stuart Symonds and Phil Ingram can think themselves lucky that they are in my top 10 because they were potential candidates for this category!

Those making Progress.

• Gavin Knight
• Steve Gibson
• Eddie Hal
• Richard Donovan
• Nick Bilsborrow
• Martin Gurnett

At the top of this pile in terms of major progress is of course Fulbeck A final winner Kevin Coombes. Kevin did a smart thing in 05 by moving up to the HW category and on his debut he certainly made a few people sit up and take notice by taking 9th at Rye House. A final after A final followed but he just didn’t seem to get it all together until Fulbeck where he looked really rapid in the heats which was rewarded by a decent grid position from which he drove a brilliant race to catch and pass both Randall and McCullough before pulling clear for a first ever win. He wrapped the season up with another 9th at the final round and finished 15th overall, a really sound achievement in his first year in the class. Top ten material in 06 without any doubt.

Gavin Knight qualified on the second row at the very first event of the year but a first lap off put paid to a good start to the year. After that, his season was a little up and down but there were real flashes of pace at times, capped off with a season best 10th at Ellough park. Inconsistency was his achilles heal but there is little doubting his outright pace and if he can learn to qualify better and make more A finals then 2006 should be a good if not a great year. Steve Gibson has of course raced with C100 on and off for a number of years but he committed himself to a full season and was another driver who probably didn’t do himself justice but was mightily impressive at times, perhaps more so during qualifying than the final itself. He took 6th at Rye after looking really quick in the heats and made most of the other A finals he contested throughout the year taking 8th at GYG and then going on to qualify well up for the final race which saw him running as high as third before an altercation with David Wright. I hope he is back again in 06 as he has such potential but he needs to start getting a few more results and top 6 finishes under his belt.

Eddie Hall made a quantum leap forward in 2005, primarily because he leant to keep himself out of trouble and combined with a lot more confidence and more track time (inherited from the Endurance series), he made 5 out of the 10 A finals he contested, taking two 11th place finishes at both Buckmore events. His qualifying was still a little inconsistent but he put in a number of solid drives in the finals and just seemed a much more rounded driver in 05. Richard Donovan so nearly won the rookie championship but he improved just a little too much and therefore made his second A final at Ellough which eliminated him from the rookie championship! This was probably academic as it turned out because he made the A final again at the final round just to underline the fact that he really had upped his game over the course of the season. What he now needs to do is establish himself as a regular A finalist and start to claw his way up the order, towards the top 10.

Nick Bilsborrow seemed to lose his way a little over the latter course of the season but I was impressed by his early season form despite the fact that he was new to C100. After a poor start at Rye he made the A final at Bayford, Clay and GYG and although the results didn’t really reflect his pace, he seemed to have all the credentials that would move him up the order in the second half of the season. This just didn’t seem to happen although he finally got it all together for the final round when he made the A final once again, but I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t really feature in the top 15 in any of the A finals. That said, it was his first season and I think he could be a rising star and one to watch in the future. Last but by no means least is Martin Gurnett who is another driver that appears to have been around for ages, but still manages to improve slightly each year. He made 8 A finals which really impressed me and although he never got into the top 10, he had a number of solid races which helped boost his points tally sufficiently to place him 16th overall. Maybe he can improve just a fraction more in 06 and sneak into the elusive top 15.

And what about the rest?

• Gary Howse
• Spencer Walker>
• Jamie Bird
• Peter Harris
• Steve Jennings
• Barney Langley
• Pete Watson
• Mike Bodnor
• Rob Watkinson
• Vince Cogzell
• Spencer Fortag

This is my category for those that neither had a great season or a really poor season but are worthy of a mention anyway!

One of the things that ill miss in 2006 is not having Gary Howse around on a permanent basis. After 5 or 6 years of racing Gary bowed out and advised that he would only do the odd race or 2 in 2006. He spent most of 05 running just inside or outside the top 10 but never really looked like taking a podium finish, his best a 6th place at Clay where he traditionally goes well. Maybe he will change his mind as he never really fulfilled his potential but at least I know he will be at Clay to entertain us all! Whilst I can’t really criticism Spencer Walker’s season, I sort of think he didn’t build on his 2004 results sufficiently during the season. He made all but one A final (the last round) but only contested 8 races which was good enough for 17th overall when I was expecting a solid top 15 performance. His season best was 10th at both Rye and Fulbeck and I’m hoping for a bit more from Spencer in the coming season.

Jamie Bird did better this year than in 04 but he is another who didn’t really do as well as I thought he might. He made 5 A finals and was perhaps getting his act together over the last 3 races more so than in the early part of the season and was quite impressive at Ellough where he took a season best 11th place which enabled him to finish 19th overall. Pete Harris suffers from a lack of track time as he only races in the sprints and he just about did enough to finish 20th overall , missing a few races and making 5 A finals with a season best 16th which is a little short of some of his 2004 results.

Steve Jennings showed some improvement this year, in particular at Lydd where he romped home for a best ever 9th place finish but it was his inconsistent form that really let him down over the course of the season. He must hate Buckmore Park as he didn’t contest either of those 2 races whilst he also made the A final at both Bayford and GGY which probably made the long drive worth it. He needs to sort out his qualifying and drag himself into the A final on a regular basis and then start producing the sort of results he can produce on a good day. Barney Langley had a bit of a purple patch mid season as he made three A finals on the trot before slipping back into the B final where he tended to spend most of his season although he produced a season’s best 13th at the final round which is good preparation for 2006. He is another inconsistent driver and still tends to get himself involved in other people’s incidents too much, although this aspect of his driving was a lot better in 2005.

Pete Watson had one of his best seasons for a long while in my opinion, making 4 A finals and taking a brilliant 4th at Clay although by his own admission he had a great kart that day (although as I always say, you still have to drive it and he certainly made the most of it at Clay). He was his usual casual, laid back self on occasions, picking up too many unnecessary penalties and getting involved where he shouldn’t but he also enjoyed seeing son Sam start to make progress in the LW class so maybe its time for Dad to move over once and for all? Mike Bodnor only managed 7 races this year but despite his lack of track time he did pretty well all things consider. He made 5 A finals, putting in a very solid performance en route to 7th at Ellough (a track he tends to go well at) and was in the top 10 at both Buckmore races which proves the pace is still there. Rob Watkinson snatched the rookie championship from Vince Cogzell at the very last race when Vince got snowed in whilst in Germany on business, all this after making his first A final of the season at Ellough park a month prior to the final round. Rob missed a couple of races but was generally consistent enough to be well up in most of the B finals but he really needs to start getting into more A finals as he will run out of room to put these rookie trophies (he was 2nd overall in 04) if he doesn’t improve soon!

I felt so sorry for Vince Cogzell. He appeared to have the rookie championship in the bag and even when I heard he couldn’t make the final round, I thought he may have done enough to win it although Mr Watkinson proved me wrong on that occasion. Vince made one A final and took a commendable 12th at Whilton Mill but the rest of his season was spent in the middle of the B final in or around the top 10 which is where he has been for a few seasons now. My final driver here is Spencer Fortag who managed to make 3 A finals, starting the season with a quite impressive drive to 13th at Rye House, after which he was frequently in the B final and his usual inconsistent self. I’m not sure if he racing in the Endurance anymore, but he certainly hasn’t really made any inroads into progressing further up the order although he is always entertaining to have around on race days!

Worthy of a mention are a number of drivers that didn’t compete much but impressed me when they were around, namely Phil Moreton, Andy Jarman, James Draper, Matt Liston, Paul Williams, David Bright and Michael Thurston. I would love to have these drivers commit to a full season of C100 as they all have great potential to be regular A finalists, some potential race winners in there as well. James Draper is an up and coming driver who made his debut this year, qualifying straight into the A final at both Lydd and Whilton but then he didn’t race again which was disappointing. David Bright qualified on the second row for his debut at the final round and despite a weight disadvantage he looked very rapid indeed. Andy Jarman is an ex MSA driver who took an excellent 5th at Fulbeck mid season and is very capable of being a top 10 driver whilst Matt Liston showed he has lost none of his pace with a couple of fine performances at Bayford and Lydd. I’m hoping Phil Moreton will do a full season in 06 and it was good to see him back at the final round where he made the A final and looked as rapid as ever whilst Paul Williams should do a full season of sprinting, its time he focused his attention where it matters - in the sprint championship. Michael Thurston must be on the weight limit as he is sometimes a LW, sometimes a HW but again, I’m hoping to see more of this driver in 2006 as he never quite fulfilled his potential during his races in 05.

2006 Predictions.

This is not an easy one. The trouble with making predictions about the HW class is that I just don’t know how the likes of Marc Craddock and Jamie Jakins will perform as they make the step up, although both will have a lot of eating and drinking to do to ensure they make the weight limit at round 1! That said, both of them are quality drivers and I think they will be ultra competitive from the word go along with HW debutant Sam Garford who is an ex British TKM champion who is committed to a full season in the HW class having done a few LW races in 05.

I also happen to know that Kieran McCullough is heading in the opposite direction (which is a great loss to the HW’s but it should spice up the LW class!) along with (possibly) Liam Hegarty provided he can lose some weight. So, you have to look at whose left and say that the usual suspects will still be out front winning races with Brian Trott still the man to beat but you can also expect race wins from all three drivers I noted above from the LW class (Craddock, Jakins and Garford) along with Rob Hart, Trevor Randall and Stuart Symonds who I think will be much more competitive this year. I can see Dave Lewis, Dave Pethers and Paul Kaye all getting on the podium now and then whilst I expect to see continued improvement from the likes of Simon Mace (if he races), Kevin Coombes and Gavin Knight. I’m also hoping to see Phil Moreton, Andy Jarman and James Draper in action as much as possible over the course of the season and I’ve been told to watch out for another newcomer called Tom Wilson provided he can lose some weight!

This has the billing of the best ever HW season ever and I think it may take the likes of Marc and Jamie a few races to get used to racing at the 85KG limit (i.e. carrying a little extra ballast which may seem a little strange for a while) but I can’t help feeling that armed with a new challenge it will be Marc Craddock that ends up as champion once again, although this will be his first HW title. I think Brian Trott will push him all the way and it will be close, but I think Marc will come out on top more often than not. I think Jamie and Sam will be title contenders as well but they may suffer from only competing in the sprints (I’m not sure if they intend to do the Endurances and I think this will just take the edge off their Sprint races although this may also be true of Marc this year as well??). I think the other contender must be Trevor Randall who has taken a while to dial himself back into the HW class, but I expect a concerted challenge in 06. Never write Mr Hart off and I think the new chassis and engines will play to Stu Symonds strength which will hopefully see him re-emerge as a front runner in 06. I enjoy the 3 months off over the winter but I have to confess that I really can’t wait for the season to start as I really want to see what I believe will be a great encounter between the leading LW’s from 2005 and the leading HW’s as well. Roll on Buckmore and GET YOUR ENTRIES IN!!!