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Pembrey gears up for thrilling finale among fearsome trucks
publication date: Aug 13, 2010
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author/source: Peter Hughes
| The high speed heavyweights of the motor racing world
will be in action August 14/15 when competitors in the British Truck
Racing Championship pay their third and final visit of the year to
Pembrey Circuit for the Pembrey Truck Festival. |  | The competitors
come fresh from a successful contest with France’s leading truck racers
at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire where Stuart Oliver took
the individual honours. The Hexham racer will be looking to tighten his
grip on a tenth British title.
He was pushed hard at Thruxton by David Jenkins and the
flamboyant racer with Welsh roots will be keen to secure a ‘home’
victory as the 5.5 tonne gargantuans battle it out at speeds up to
100mph.
Sharing the bill with their bigger brothers will be the
Line-X Pickup Truck Racing Championship contenders. These purpose built
racing machines with space-frame chassis and multi valve twin cam
engines are renowned for their hard fought door handle to door handle
racing.
The championship is currently led by Hartlepool racer
Michael Smith but he holds only a narrow advantage over two times pickup
champion Steve Dance from Reading and former Hot Rod Champion Antony
Hawkins, making this weekend’s trio of races crucial in determining the
destination of the 2010 title.
| | Also racing at Pembrey this weekend
are the Legends, 5/8 scale racers based on pre-war American Ford,
Chevrolet and Dodge coupes and powered by 1250cc Yamaha motorcycle
engines. The championship comes to Wales with the top three drivers
separated by just 25 points. Three times Legends Champion John Jon
Higgins tops the points table but the Chester driver is just 20 points
ahead of Surrey man Lawrence Davey with Londoner Stephen Treherne a
further five points back. |  |
These small but powerful cars are ideally
suited to the 1.5 mile circuit and are with the championship battle so
delicately poised they should provide some of the closest racing of the
weekend.
But there is also plenty more on offer for race fans over
the course of the weekend. With 11 rounds of the Welsh Sports and Saloon
Car Championship completed the lead in the championship is currently
shared by 2009 champion Russell Haggerty in his Raw Striker sports car
and Rover saloon car driver Kareem Elsorafy while Neil Watts is only
three points behind driving his Westfield sports car. With three races
on the programme this weekend could be pivotal in this title fight as
well.
Completing the packed programme, single seater action will be
provided by the Classic Formula Ford and Formula Ford 2000 championships
for race cars from the 1970s and 80s. | | | | Qualifying begins at 9:30 on Saturday with a seven race
programme starting at 12:50. No fewer than 13 races are scheduled for
Sunday, getting underway at 10:00.
Admission is £12 each day with accompanied children up to 14 years old admitted free. |
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