KENT OUTLAW OVAL RACING
Lydden Hill 23 November 2024
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The biggest battle at the final Kent Outlaw Oval Racing meeting of the
year at Lydden was between the KOOR team and the heralded “Storm Bert” –
and KOOR definitely came out the winner, with the race programme
completed 15 minutes before the 4pm curfew. Admittedly, Kent was
probably the best place to be as the first “named” storm of this winter
arrived, but it was still a bit of a wild, windy and wet afternoon, that
proved both drivers and officials equal to the challenge.
Obviously with the lack of daylight at the late November fixture, the
usual timetable had to change, with the regular 3pm to 6pm slot for
racing coming forward by two hours, following a fairly thinly attended
track day in the morning. There were one or two regular officials who
were absent due to other commitments, and so we saw a return to the
flags for the legendary Arena-Essex starter Henry Ashworth, deputising
for his daughter Sharon.
The rain more or less held off for the first heats, arriving in earnest
during a red flag period in the Open Rods’ second heat, and by final
time, as the already dull day saw the remaining light disappear, the
track was pretty well awash.
Racing started with the LYDDEN RODS in which, unusually, only six
of the programmed dozen entries appeared, with points leader Scott
Dalton being among those who didn’t need to attend. The first heat saw
Pete Harris’ Fiesta get the better of Dave Burke’s Swift after several
side-by-side laps, while Christopher Gibb’s Puma and Gemma Bernhauser’s
CRX closed up to make it a four-car battle. Dave Burke spun into
Pilgrims at the start of heat two, sending Zack Heaps and Gemma off in
avoidance. Christopher Gibb’s Puma emerged in front, but Pete Harris
found a way past for another win, with Christopher holding off the
recovering Gemma. The final was missing Liam Tanner, making his KOOR
debut in Phil Kennewell’s Fiesta, and the race developed into another
duel between Dave Burke and Pete Harris. Dave held on until the last
corner when Pete’s final challenge went wrong and sent Dave spinning.
Pete crossed the line first but was excluded, with Dave awarded the win
ahead of Christopher Gibb and Gemma, with Zack Heaps’ Puma completing
the field.
Next up were the OPEN RODS, with a 14-car grid including several
additions to the regular field. Swaffham Lightning Rod gold top Russ
Thornton got away in the first heat and took advantage of the battling
behind to win by two thirds of a lap, Ricky Beazzer pulled his Sierra
out of second in the closing stages and Chris Reeve took the place,
holding off Andy Burbridge’s Lexus, Tommy Parker, Shay Anderson,
reviving Jason’s old Zetec-powered Sapphire, and Marcus Reeve. Second
time out the Reeve family had problems with Marcus having a first lap
spin that sidelined Tommy Parker as several cars scattered in avoidance;
then Chris and Connor were both casualties, with Chris losing a rear
wheel to bring out the red flags. From the restart, pole position man
Neil Tiffin made no mistake to lead all the way in his BMW, with Ricky
Beazzer right on his tail by the end and Russ Thornton third after
launching himself over the finish line bank with a lap to go – something
Ricky had earlier tried, with a less dramatic result. Marcus Reeve
battled back to fourth ahead of the strikingly painted Granada of Martin
Bowmaker and Shay Anderson, while it was hard keeping track of all the
spinners as the rain worsened, including Paul Apps, who’d switched class
with an ex-Ray and Darren Goudy Lightning Rod, and Jack Sugden in Darren
Parker’s Sierra.
The final was a pretty chaotic race which took some time to sort a
result for. Early leader Neil Tiffin rejoined nearly a lap behind after
getting out of shape and collecting Russ Thornton. Marcus Reeve took it
up to lead the rest of the way, with father Chris and Ricky Beazzer
closing right up after both recovered from an off track moment - however
Chris had actually lost a lap, while Ricky had got straight back on
course, so Ricky claimed second, with Tommy Parker just pipping Andy
Burbridge for third. Paul Apps and Shay Anderson both had moments that
put them a lap down, while first time visitor Scott Carter in a classic
Pinto-powered Starlet had a last lap incident with Jack Sugden.
Group B of the MINI RODS had the closest championship fight
coming into the last round, with ex-Autograsser Dean Raggett
two points ahead of Dave Maher
and Darren Edwards. Darren took the advantage as he passed Wayne Wallace
and held on to win the first heat, with Dave Maher just ahead of Dean
Raggett and Kev Ellis. Two more Autograss racers also joined in the fun,
Stock Hatch contender Phil Button in Dean Raggett’s spare car and Class
8 driver Haydon Bushell in the ex-Bradley Needham car. In the second
race Darren Edwards again caught and passed Wayne Wallace to win, but
Wayne’s car slowed to a crawl on the last lap, letting Dave Maher take
second from Dean Raggett, Kev Ellis and Phil Button. Wayne Wallace was
again first away in the final, but Darren hit the front to complete a
clean sweep of wins, while Kev Ellis snatched second in a three abreast
finish with Wayne and Mick Ramsay, first time out in the ex-Piers Shaw
car, with Haydon Bushell close behind and Dave Maher and Terry Pithers
completing the finishers after Dave Wimble found himself facing the
wrong way on the Dover Slope, with Dean Raggett and Phil Button also
retiring, while Lewis Follett dropped out after problems in the first
race.
The 1400 HOT ROD group has steadily grown in its first year, with
nine cars on the grid. Chris Goldsmith’s Corsa ran away with the first
heat with Aaron Keynes’ Corsa second as Alfie Gibb’s ex-Robin Bishop
Micra held off Doug Constable’s Corsa and the only RWD car to appear in
the class so far, Scott Ruggins’ crossflow-powered Starlet. As the rain
set in, Chris Goldsmith won again in the second heat, but this time with
Doug Constable and Aaron Keynes right on his tail and points leader
Grayci Burbridge beating Alfie Gibb for fourth. Doug Constable made the
early running in the final before Chris Goldsmith got past, only for
Chris to spin and get stranded on the infield grass in the oval link,
bringing out the reds. Aaron Keynes came through on the restart to take
a close win over Doug, with Scott Ruggins bringing the pink Starlet home
in a creditable third, ahead of Alfie Gibb, Lily-May and Grayci
Burbridge, first time visitor Steven Arthur’s Corsa and Mark Narroway in
the Burbridge “hire car” Corsa.
Unfortunately the six-car OUTLAW HOT ROD field lost Dan Rolfe
before the meeting start, and points champion Colin Smith, whose diff
let go on the first warm-up lap. Then Joe Cato spun at the start and
collected Chris Young, leaving Jason Anderson to hold off Billy Perry.
The shortened second heat saw Joe Cato driving well to hold the lead
until Jason came by on the last lap, while Chris Young and Billy Perry
circulated at reduced pace. The final saw Jason take the lead at the
start and hold it all the way, chased by Billy, with Joe third ahead of
Chris.
The last group to run were the MINI RODS Group A, no doubt
because they were the most likely to have working lights! Ex-Class 3
driver Adrian Fryer led the first heat away, but took to the grass as
Graham Ives emerged from Chessons with a lead that he held to the end as
Lee Pullen held off Nick Ring, Adam Rossiter, points champ-elect Matt
Haines and Bill Barlow. The action got too close in the second heat as
Bill Barlow dived for the lead but hit the growing lake in the link road
instead, getting collected by Graham Ives and Tom Merry to bring out the
reds, while Harry Davies’ run of bad luck continued as he pulled off.
From the restart Adrian Fryer led, but Nick Ring had made the right tyre
choice and was flying in the wet, pulling away until he lost his
throttle, only for it to kick back in as he headed up the hill to
retire. Rob Barlow and Tom Merry were left racing side by side for the
lead, so close that something was bound to happen in the last corner,
where Tom went flying over the kerb, Rob taking the win as Tom, Adrian
and Matt Haines crossed the line three abreast.
Although they’d been warned to expect to race their final in the dark,
there was just enough daylight left as Adrian Fryer led the race away,
only to spin backwards into the bank in the oval link, bringing out the
reds. When restarted for a 6-lap dash, Nick Ring grabbed the lead and
this time his car behaved as he held off Tom Merry all the way to be the
well-deserved last winner of the season, with Rob Barlow in third from
new champion Matt Haines, Lee Pullen and championship runner-up, despite
his partial season, Adam Rossiter.
With the meeting, as always, finding sponsorship via one of the KOOR’s
loyal supporters, the usual very impressive array of trophies was
presented on behalf of Pegasus Performance, the only problem being that
nobody could find the light switch in the Lydden marquee! So it was time
to head off home through the remains of the storm, after a very
successful third season for Kent Outlaw Oval Racing.
For us, it was unfortunate that clashing commitments meant that, after
getting to most of their 2022/23 meetings, we only made three of the
2024 Lydden dates, but we’re still very impressed with the impact that
this new group has had in developing its unique style and model of
racing. KOOR’s promotion is currently second to none in UK oval racing,
maybe only held back by Lydden’s location in the extreme bottom right
hand corner of the map! Although the timing of the Saturday afternoon
meetings means that shouldn’t be too much of a problem, the state of
Brenley Corner permitting!
One thing we must highlight is the extremely professionally presented
race programmes prepared by a young supporter of the club, Jake Wardle,
and printed thanks to the support of Dave Wimble and “Looker Print,
Design and Media Services”. Glossy race programmes are a thing of the
past in most forms of motorsport, but still highly valued by most
followers of the sport!
KOOR’s style of racing has proved to have a great appeal to those
wanting to move up, at an accessible cost, from traditional oval or
Autograss racing, while also drawing in enthusiasts who’d never be able
to afford a full-blown circuit racing campaign, but can get out on track
in this halfway house between oval and circuit racing. The Mini Rods in
particular, a unique oval formula visibly similar to the many, but
infinitely more expensive, BMW Mini-based circuit formulae, are
attracting widespread interest, some of which is aimed at making cars
easier to put on track, with the additional possibility of
arrive-and-drive hire deals.
With dates already announced for 2025, and lots of interest from those
hoping to join in, we hope to get to more of the events in which Tony
Rolfe and his band of helpers will continue to put fast, competitive and
well-disciplined racing within the reach of every enthusiast.
KOOR 2025 PROVISIONAL DATES
Saturday 22 February (Open Practice Day)
Saturday 29 March
Saturday 10 May
Saturday 7 June (Concept Cup for Outlaws, 1400 |Hot Rods and Open Rods)
Saturday 5 July (Concept Cup for Mini Rods and Lydden Rods)
Sunday 24/Monday 25 August (Thunder 650)
Saturday 13 September (The Andy Tait Memorial)
Saturday 11 October
Saturday 15 November
The June, July and September meetings follow bike track days; other
Saturday dates follow car track days.