We parked the truck just 20 minutes drive away from King’s Lynn, so a nice easy drive in the morning. Stopped at a truckers cafe for breakfast first then off we went.
In pits prior to the meeting (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
The F2 World Final had been on the night before so as expected the pits were pretty busy, looks like the weather had been as equally wet as Stoke too. It’s just me racing tonight, Danny fancied a night off.
Outside row 1 of the Shoot-Out grid in Heat 1 (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
Action from Heat 1 - Under pressure from Tom Harris (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
I’m in two heats out of three, and go out for Heat 1. The car feels okay but the racing is a little manic between the Shoot-Out drivers. I lose a bit of ground here and there, but on the last lap I see contenders Scriven and Craig Finn both go wide. I saw a chance to pass on the inside and went for it finishing in fourth place.
I’m out for the second heat shortly, we make a few small alterations to the car and go back out hoping for a better result. On the rolling lap I see Stuart 390 set off and went to follow him until I noticed Craig Finn, who I was lined up next to, wasn’t going so I backed off, and then the green flag dropped.
Ready for Heat 2 (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
Frankie was the winner of Heat 2 (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
The race starts well, and I manage to gain some ground on the other drivers. Stuart is going well and looks pretty fast, I’m in second place behind him. Stuart takes the chequered and I’m happy to finish second but as I start making my way off the track a marshal tells me that 390 had been docked for jumping the start so I had won.
It’s been raining on and off for most of the evening so as I line up for the final the track looks quite slick. There’s a lot of fast cars out there and they take some catching! Still, I manage a credible fourth place, and I’m happy to say that I’ve picked up some good Shoot-Out points so far.
Frankie Wainman Junior and Dan Johnson side by side the Final (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
So the last race is on, I’m quite impressed how the meeting has been run, it helps to get home at a half decent time. I get a good start and the car feels great. The big screen is cool, and a quick look tells me that I’m in second place. Nigel Whalley is in front and the lap boards come out. The only way I would catch him would be a waved yellow or if he suffered some bad luck. Neither of these happened so I finished in second spot.
Frankie leads the shootout pack in the GN (Photo: Martin Fitzgerald)
Glad I managed to score some decent points, 42 I think? We get back home and spend 20 minutes unloading everything from our living quarters, as for the cars they can wait for tonight.
I’ve got a very busy week ahead. I’ve had 6 F1 orders for new builds over the winter and it’s only September! Also quoted for another 5 so will wait to see what comes back from those. Lots of hard work ahead but it keeps the sport alive and people racing. Long Live F1s!
Cheers!
Frankie Wainman Junior
Massive thanks to George Melville for this selection of great photos from the meeting. Make sure you check out his website
