Birmingham Wheels Saturday 5th March 2016

March....the Oxford English Dictionary simply says "the third month of the year" but to many motor racing fans (me included) it is simply the start of the "season" A time to emerge from hibernation and head to the great (and not so great) motorsport venues of the UK! 
So on a bitterly cold first Saturday in March it was off to the Second City for my first meeting of 2016. Birmingham Wheels is always a curious venue to visit. The bright lights and high rise buildings loom ever nearer as you travel down the A38 Aston Expressway always thinking "don't miss the exit" and breathe a sigh of relief when you recognise the right roads and within a mile or two of the city centre the less than salubrious surroundings of Wheels Park come into view.
A cracking meeting was in prospect with my favourite short oval formula, National Hot Rods on the bill along with Brisca Formula 2 and 2.0 Hot Rods. At the advertised start time of 6.30pm it was the first heat of the Brisca F2 stock cars that kicked off proceedings. 
Although car numbers have dropped significantly in recent years F2 is still one of THE staple categories in the oval racing world. Racing is always tough but comes without the obvious contact of its bigger brother Brisca F1. Indeed some of the best racecraft on the ovals is to be found in a F2 race as the quicker Red-roofed drivers fight their way to the front of the field. There were 3 Heats on the night for the F2's with a two thirds format so everyone got to race in 2 heats before the Final which was won by Chris Mikulla. A curiosity in Stock car racing is the Grand National race where the winner of the Final starts with a lap disadvantage and this was the final race of the evening won by Ryan Cattell.
2.0 Hot Rods are, in effect, the National Hot Rods of old with Nova's, Peugeot 206's, Fiesta's and Corsa's used as the baseline car. There was some very entertaining racing in the 2 heats and final which was won by Mitchell Souter. 
The National Hot Rods were the stars of the show on this particular night and the commentator, Dave Goddard, described the first heat as one of the best NHR races he'd seen in a very long time and throughout the 3 heats and Final racing was excellent. With powerful engines housed in light spaceframed chassis the NHR cars are a sight to behold especially under the floodlights of Birmingham Wheels. The raceway is probably just a little too small to be the ideal track for these cars but the majority of drivers managed to overtake without too much contact. If a driver can set his car up to run fast on the outside line then that seems to be the way to get past your opponent at wheels raceway. 
Emerging from the pack to win the Final was Kym Weaver who was initially disqualified along with 3rd placed Chris Haird for missing a post-race weight check but this was overturned and the win stood.
So 12 races run very efficiently by promoters Incarace which was a blessing on a very cold clear night in Birmingham. A thoroughly enjoyable meeting this was and a very good way to start The Season! Admission was £15 and a generic Spedeworth/Incarace programme was £2

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