Swaffham - Norfolk Championship - 1-2/08/20

18 cars were in attendance for Swaffham’s August weekender, this time competing for the Norfolk Championship.  The now customary invasion from Standlake was headlined by current Swaffham and Standlake gold roof 856 Paul Webb.  Amongst the visiting Standlake entry were 2 Craig Passey, 96 Don Pugh, 321 Maisie Emms and 418 Robert Casey making their track debuts (with the latter making a complete F2 debut).  13 Gavin Ward was the sole visitor from Ringwood and the entry was completed by 12 Vince Foley and 221 Tom Sneddon as the only ‘home’ drivers.

After grid positions were drawn, Heat 1 started with 47 Jake Perry and 509 Jordan Butcher on the front row and it was the former who got the early lead ahead of 105 Louis Williams, who passed Butcher on the opening lap while Passey was a first lap retirement.  Perry lost his lead to Williams and then Butcher also made a move on lap 2, while Paul Webb made a strong start from row 4 and quickly passed the latter pairing to sit 2^nd.  

Casey was another earlier retirement while Pugh spun on turn 2 and become stuck on the inner kerb.  352 Andy Webb reeled in Perry for 4^th but the 47 car went wide and this allowed the chasing pack through, dropping him down to 10^th as the yellow flags came out for the stranded Don Pugh.

The restart saw 563 Keith Walding move past 508 Terry Butcher for 7^th as Sneddon spun out on turn 2.  Walding then caught Foley into turn 3 as Andy Webb claimed 3^rd from Jordan Butcher, with the latter being passed by Ward shortly after.  Emms retired on turn 4, while at the head of the field Paul Webb had caught Williams and put the bumper in on the penultimate lap to take the lead, holding on to come through for the win.

Result: 856, 105, 352, 13, 509, 563, 12, 508, 421, 185

Down to 17 cars for heat 2 with Perry out for the rest of the weekend with engine problems.  Walding was the lone front row starter and took the early lead ahead of Gary Webb and 185 Jess Webb.  Passey spun into the first corner while Ward and Paul Webb both gained several places thanks to quick starts, sitting 4^th and 7^th respectively.

Casey then came under attack from the chasing pack, dropping several places as Andy and Paul Webb took 5^th and 6^th, with Terry Butcher not far behind in 7^th.   Gary Webb retired a few laps in to leave Walding with a gap out front ahead of Jess Webb and Ward.  Paul Webb moved brother Andy wide and then reeled in Ward a lap later for 3^rd as Emms spun on turn 1.

This caused Jess and Paul Webb to tangle with Ward also involved, leading to all 3 cars retiring shortly after with damage.  Walding now had a clear lead out front, with Andy Webb and Williams now promoted behind and only 6 cars remaining on the lead lap.  The final 3 laps settled down as the latter pair chased after Walding but never got close enough to challenge, as Walding came through for his third win of the season and first at Swaffham.

Result: 563, 352, 105, 508, 509, 418, 261, 2, 623, 221

The final heat on Saturday saw the field line up in graded order, as 15 cars made the start.  Passey and Jess Webb were on pole and it was the former who lead the early laps ahead of Webb and Casey.  The latter lost 3^rd as Ward moved through, passing Emms and Pugh in the process.  Further back Walding and Williams were away quickly from the red grade, passing 261 Roger Mountney, Jordan Butcher and 623 Rob Dobie early on.

Casey continued to come under threat from the chasing pack as he lost out to Terry Butcher into turn 1, before both Walding and Williams gained on him on the exit of turn 2.  Butcher passed Emms for 4^th as Jess Webb made a successful challenge on Passey for the lead.  Ward then took his opportunity and jumped from 3^rd to 1^st in one corner passing the pair, before Webb spun on turn 3 to end her chances of a points finish.

This allowed Terry Butcher to inherit 3^rd ahead of Walding while the hard-charging Paul Webb was now up to 5^th after moving Williams wide.  Webb then passed Walding a couple of laps later as Gary Webb gained on Williams and then Passey, who dropped back as the reds came through.  With 2 laps remaining Gary Webb hit Walding wide into turn 1 for 4^th and Paul Webb was able to steal 2^nd from Butcher.  However, no one could watch Ward who came through for his first Swaffham win and 6^th overall for the season.

Result: 13, 856, 508, 421, 563, 105, 2, 509, 321, 261

Sunday’s final qualifying heat was again run in graded order and this time for double points.  The grid was back up to 17 cars, and it was pole sitter Emms who took the early lead from Jess Webb and Passey.  The lead was short lived however, as the spun onto the infield from turn 1, sending a cloud of dust up over the bend.  This allowed Passey to snatch the lead from Webb as Ward took 3^rd and Walding’s fast start saw him already running 5^th.

A lap later and Ward moved Webb wide for 2^nd as Walding snatched 4^th from Terry Butcher and then 3^rd from Webb.  A lap latter and Walding passed Passey on the exit of turn 2 and then reeled in Ward almost immediately to take the lead on turn 3.  Butcher relegated Passey to 4^th, before Williams and Paul Webb made their move on both the latter pair for 4^th and 5^th respectively.  Casey then retired to the middle as Ward slowed on the back straight allowing several cars to move through on the inside.  Paul Webb used the bumper on Williams and moved him wide for 2^nd as they exited turn 4. 

With 3 laps remaining Foley’s car dropped water on turn 1 as he spun into the fence, with Passey also getting caught out.  Paul Webb moved up the inside of Walding to take the lead and as the leading trio came around for the penultimate time, Williams hit Walding wide which sent the 563 car into the fence meeting Foley’s stranded car head on.  Although he was able to find reverse and re-join, he had lost a full lap and was out of the points as a result, while Paul Webb came through for his 2^nd win of the weekend ahead of Williams and Terry Butcher.

Result: 856, 105, 508, 421, 2, 509, 185, 13, 623, 563

Disappointingly only 12 cars made the track for the Norfolk Championship race, with damage and possible confusion over non points scorers leading to a couple sitting the race out.  The drivers that were out there gridded as follows:

856         105

508         509

                563

421         352

2              185

623         321

96

 

Paul Webb took the lead over the start line, but Williams used the bumper on turn 1 and got into the lead, as Walding got stuck in and passed both Butchers on the opening lap.  On lap 2 Williams got sideways around turns 1 and 2, but Webb’s hit managed to straight the 105 car back up and he somehow kept his lead.  Webb managed to regain the lead half a lap later as Williams also lost out to Walding and Terry Butcher on the back straight, before Gary and Andy Webb also made their moves to drop Williams down to 6^th.

Andy Webb was then forced to retire as the battle for 2^nd intensified, all the while allowing Paul Webb to gradually extend his lead at the front.  With bumpers flying in, Butcher moved Walding wide on turn 3 which also allowed Gary Webb to sneak under.  The latter then went in on Butcher into turn 1, moving him wide as Walding and Williams both got by.

Emms spun on turn 1 which slowed Gary Webb just enough to allow Walding back through for 2^nd at the halfway stage.  Williams then had a good run as he was able to get ahead of both the former pairing for his turn at running in 2^nd place.  With 5 laps remaining, Webb regained 3^rd from Walding as the top 5 now started to gradually spread out.  Up front Paul Webb had a huge lead and was able to hold this until the end to claim another title and his first final win of the season.

Result: 856, 105, 421, 563, 508, 185, 509, 2, 623, 96, 321

ANOTHER TITLE FOR 856 PAUL WEBB, WINNING THE NORFOLK CHAMPIONSHIP (PETER BARBER PHOTO)

The Allcomers race to finish a long weekend saw 9 cars on track.  Jess Webb took the early lead from pole ahead of Passey and Pugh.  Emms snatched 3^rd from the latter who also lost out to Dobie, before leader Webb spun on turn 2.

Jordan Butcher bettered Dobie for 3^rd before the pair were caught and past by the hard-charging Walding and Gary Webb just half a lap later.  The two red graders then reeled in Emms on turn 1 with Walding surviving a hit from Webb in the process.  The following lap saw Passey surrender the lead to Walding, with Gary and now Paul Webb not far behind as they also passed the former leader.

With 3 laps remaining Dobie passed Emms for 6^th while upfront Paul Webb made a well-timed attack to knock brother Gary into lead Walding, sending both wide enough that he was able to take the lead and drop Walding from 1^st to 3^rd.  The places then remained unchanged over the last laps as Paul Webb came through for a hattrick of wins on the day.

Result: 856, 421, 563, 2, 509, 623, 321, 185, 96, nof