Round 16 & 17 - Rockingham

Grindrod extends championship lead with double victories

Nic Grindrod has extended his lead in the Oval Championship following a perfect day yesterday at Rockingham Motor Speedway in rounds 16 and 17 of the LINE-X Pickup Racing Championship.

The #22 driver took a double victory, one of which was by just three thousandths of a second, at the Northamptonshire circuit to move 31 points clear of Phil White in the championship standings despite carrying the maximum 70kg ballast in both races.

Richard Novell began the first race on pole but it was Grindrod who took up the lead straight away ahead of Carl Boardley and Simon Carr. It was Boardley who was the leader on lap two while Grindrod was running two wide with Simon Carr.

As usual, the drivers did not disappoint and put on an amazing show and were constantly swapping places courtesy of their drafting. It was the draft that sucked #41 driver Boardley up on lap five to see the 60kg ballasted Phil White move to the front ahead of Grindrod while Team Rockingham driver Antony Hawkins moved into third.

White retained the lead for a further two laps but Grindrod was once again moving back up the tightly grouped front pack of six trucks. Viking Auto Dismantlers driver Grindrod was back in the lead again on lap ten though while Carr was up to third behind White.

Another driver having a great race was Lee Rogers who was with the leading pack and out performing several podium regulars. There was a heart stopping moment for Phil White on lap 11 as he had a major wobble coming off turn four. The rest of the pack did well to avoid him and both Hawkins and Boardley gained places from it.

Back up front Simon Carr was putting pressure on Grindrod, although there was also pressure from Hawkins who temporarily slipped into second. This was short lived though as White was back in the mix in second on lap 15, although Hawkins was still attempting to get second place back.

Lap 20 saw White back in the lead ahead of four time National Hot Rod World Champion Boardley and Grindrod. There were still eight trucks glued together and Carr was back in contention in second on lap 22.

On lap 25 it was all change again with Boardley returning to the lead from 2009 Champion Pete Stevens. Coventry-based Stevens took up the lead on lap 25 but once again Grindrod was working his way back to the front. The move was made on lap 31 as the Selly Oak driver decided it was time to take control. But Simon Carr had other ideas and made a final lap dash for victory with the timekeepers needing to confirm Grindrod’s third victory on the oval this season as he snuck over the line just 0.003 seconds ahead of Carr. Carl Boardley was rewarded for his efforts with a first podium at Rockingham in third place.

The heavens opened before race two which gave the teams a nightmare deciding on tyre choice as the track began to dry just before the Trucks took to the track.

Pete Stevens got the holeshot from row three to take the initial lead ahead of Phil White and Nic Grindrod but the #22 was in the lead before the end of the lap. With plenty of spray there was some gutsy driving.

Richard Novell got caught out in the wet on lap two and hit the wall at turn four, but amazingly this was part of the gutsy driving as he regained control to continue his race.

With Grindrod already making a healthy lead, second placed White had Michael Smith on his back panel while Lee Rogers was also up in the front group once again. It was Steve Dance’s turn to move through the field and into second on lap five but there seemed no way of catching Grindrod, who was already heading into turn one before the #16 Truck was in turn four. On lap seven Team Rockingham’s Antony Hawkins passed White for third place going into turn one for lap eight while Rogers was having his own battle with Simon Carr.

Hawkins would gain another place on lap 11 as he caught and passed Dance but with Grindrod out in the distance the spray was doing nothing to put off a tightly packed six Trucks behind him.

On lap 18 the safety car was deployed after Simon Carr took a huge hit into the wall at turn four, causing his brake disc to explode and drop onto the track. When green flag racing resumed leader Grindrod set about pulling clear again. He did manage to get clear air, but will have been pleased to see the chequered flag on lap 35 as Hawkins had reeled him in to cross the line in second just 0.253 seconds behind. Overall Championship leader Steve Dance took third place.