GRAY TAKES ROUND 5 OF THE NKRA CLUB CHALLENGE
Stuart Gray, with points, takes round 5 of the NKRA BLUE CHALLENGE during a sun-drenched weekend at LLandow, South Wales, on the 12th & 13th July. Second on the day was David Watts, who came good in the Final having suffered a B/E failure whilst in the lead of the 1st heat. Third in the days’ points was Billy Thomas with 8 points, 1 point ahead of Dean Smithers on 9. Mike Bell came home in 5th with 11 points. This means, with 1 round to go, Watts extends his lead at the front. Harry Smithson, his main rival was unable to attend due to a back injury, which occurred at work. Smithers now takes up the chasing role, pushing Smithson back into third overall. Thomas moves up into 4th in the Championship, passing Callum Johnson, whose non-attendance causes him to slip from 4th to 11th! Bell, also takes advantage and moves up to 5th spot.
In the Masters sub-group, Gray again wins from Watts but it is Watts who, in the overall championship, is ahead of Smithson who, in turn, is ahead of Thomas by virtue of his points drop option.
Gray ( scottish superman !!) won the Veteran sub-class with 0 points, from Ron Shone, Robin Stoddart-Stones, Vickery and Graham Joseph. The overall picture has changed at the front. Shone now leads John Hartshorne by 3 points, with Joseph in 3rd, Stoddart-Stones in 4th and Gray in 5th.
It was a weekend’s clean sweep for Gray, as he dominated the Legend sub-section with a pole and win . Second on the day was Shone, followed by Joseph and Stoddart-Stones. At the front in the Championship standings, Shone now shares 1st place with Hartshorne, only being separated by the points drop option. Joseph remains in 3rd , with Stoddart-Stones in 4th and Gray in 5th.
In the Top Weight group, Smithers and Thomas shared the days’ points on 2 apiece, with Shone in 3rd. In the Championship standings Smithers is now in a clear lead from Thomas with Alex Fortune still in 3rd, 2 points ahead of Shone with Max Gunter in 5th.
Racers now have 6 weeks before the Final Round. The ‘BLUE’ grid’s attention however, now turns to the opening INDY BLUE TnT Championship round running along with the revamped TWO COUNTIES CLUB, first round (details to be circulated shortly) at the Clay Pigeon Circuit, on Saturday 26th July.