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Thursday 26th August 2010

Wednesday 18th August 2010

WHAT A STORMER!!

The Formula Grasstrack Association staged the 2010 Best Pairs meeting on Saturday as a support event to the Bewdley Bonanza and what a success it has turned out to be.  Not run for 4 years, this event must now be back as a regular feature in the FGA racing calendar I’m sure.

The interval after heat 20 saw Thunder, Lightning and a torrential hail and rain storm which threatened to cause the meeting to be called off but after a short break and some minor adjustments to the track, all the riders went back out and dug deep in tricky conditions to complete the race card.

With all pairings put together from this season's league points averages and new and former riders on assessed averages, it went down to the wire, needing the last batch of heats to determine the victors.

The youth classes were combined with Junior / Cub pairings.  Despite 3 non-finishes between them in the first half of the meeting, the duo of Harry Slack and Tom Davis stormed ahead to take the top spot on 44 points.  Davis positively revelled in the wet conditions producing 2 of his best rides to date when the track was at its trickiest and this with good support from his partner, they edged ahead at the final reckoning.

Runners up were Megan Holtby, who appears to be taking to FGA racing like "a duck to water"! and Cub Championship leader, Jack Walton.  After 3 straight wins, Walton looked very much like he was going through the card unbeaten but a fall on the top bend in the next race seemed to unsettle the young Shropshire based rider.  Megan again rode well producing a valuable 10 points, taking their total to 41 after 6 races.

Last spot on the podium went to Greg Howells and Ellie Cotterill, Howells having an off day by his usual high standards couldn’t manage a race win.  Add this to a DNF in race 21 due to electrical gremlins, it kept him in the middle order.  Ellie looked more confident at this event, fast gating again was the order of her day and this, with some terrific scraps with her fellow lady rider she has to be pleased with this performance!!

The Senior section on paper looked like the winner was coming from one of the middle order pairings but one or two other riders had very different ideas!!  Again there was a tie for the winning spot, the third time it has happened this year.  The new points scoring system is certainly keeping things interesting right down to the last few races.

Dave Meredith / Luke Keeling and the Father and Son duo of Richard Guest and our own "Very Special Agent" Mark "007 - Bond" - ooops...sorry Guest emerged the victors.  The lead rider in each of these pairings delivered a master class of skill, control and balance and showed all how to ride an FGA bike in the wet.  Neither were troubled all day , often shepherding their partners home for valuable points, they each got 6 wins apiece.  If only they had met in the heats!!??  Nine points each for Luke and Mark were vital at the end of the day.

Third place again could not be split between FGA veteran, Sam "Paddy Power" Flowers / Gareth Tregilgas and the pre-meeting favourites, Andrew Griffiths / Michael Guest.  Good solid riding from the Midlands based pairing kept them there or thereabouts all day but a chain off in the last bend of his last race saw Flowers coast over the line, just keeping his 4^th place position.  A fall and remount in race 17 for Griffiths got him a well deserved point and a superb heat 29 ride for Guest aboard his brothers machine saw him come from last to first.  43 points apiece for joint 3^rd.

A single point was all that kept the next four pairs off the podium.  Ross Wharton/Nigel Slack, Elvis Jones / Zoe Keeling, Andy Binns / Mick Hartley, Adrian Guest / Paul Jones each totalled up 42 points.  Wharton featured in one of the races of the day with FGA returnee, Tommy Crewe.  Heat 27 saw them side by side for all four laps and it was left to the lap scorers to make the final call.  Slack had a DNF in Race 3 - how costly this proved to be!  Jones was back to his best as the 3^rd highest scorer on the day, sliding his machine "speedway style" in every heat.  Zoe supported him well scoring in each of her rides.  Hartley got quicker as the day went on obviously not feeling any ill-effects from his recent injury.  Binns was consistent with his individual tally reaching 26 points.  First time out in 2010 saw Paul Jones ride well and spare a thought here for poor Adrian Guest who got the "Muckiest Rider of the Day" award after getting totally filled in from Tommy Crewe's back wheel in race 22.

Only 2 behind were Chris Moseley and Daniel Crutchington.  Moseley riding fast and controlled got him 2 wins and 4 seconds, he was the next highest Senior scorer.  Credit here must go to "DC" who not only scored in all heats, he put a huge amount into the pre-meeting administration too.  Well Done Dan!

Len "The Crazy Frog" and Geoff Davis were next.  Sanders was not looking as comfortable as he normally does whilst FGA debutant, Davis in his first FGA event scored 9 points.  Last but by no means least were Tommy Crewe / Mike Flynn and Marcus Crutchington / Graham Gordon on 38 points. 

Across all the pairings there was only a 7 point difference!  All in all, a good day at the office!  Roll on next year.

The next meeting will be "business as usual" with a return to the Championship which will see Round 7 run by the Wrekin Club at Shawbury.  Regulations will be available shortly on the diary page.

REPORT: Mark Evans

Wednesdy 11th August 2010

This Saturday will see the return of the Best Pairs event into the FGA racing calendar and what a success it is turning out to be, with thirty competitors lined up its the best attendance this year and I'm sure it is going to produce some cracking racing.

A big thanks to the Bewdley Club for this invite and all that have contributed to get this event of the ground, lets hope that its back to be a regular feature of the season for our Association.

We determined each pairing on a points average basis to try and keep them as fair as possible, while some stronger pairings seem to come from the middle order I'm sure there will be a few surprises with a couple of riders returning to FGA action. See Sam’s the man top tips on the forum !!!!!!!!!!!

With this being an Association Trophy Event, awards will be presented at this years NITE OUT...... Which is on

 Saturday 4^th December, same venue as last year . More details will follow after Saturday’s meeting.

Look forward to seeing you all there on Saturday, lets put on a good show..............Mark

Monday 26th July 2010

As the season passed the halfway stage, Round 6 of the 2010 FGA Championship at The Rally Site again didn't disappoint with quality, close racing being enjoyed by Riders and spectators alike all day.

Once again the cub winner was Jack Walton who withstood strong challenges from Tom Davis and Ellie Cotterill.  Four wins from six pushes him further ahead in the Championship.  Tom and Ellie finished the day in that order and are now split by only one point in the overall standings.

Walton gained his advantage in the first batch of heats.  Two straight wins put him two points clear and on target for a maximum.  But, in their next race, Davis hit back with a strong ride to take the victory, aboard his ex-John Jones machine.  Race 16 saw Walton again take the chequered flag ahead of his rival putting the gap back up to two points.  It was the same story in the last batch of heats each with one win apiece.  If Davis, in only his first season of FGA racing, could have got  his nose in front early on??  Credit again goes to Ellie Cotterill, superbly turned out, ultra consistent often out of the gate first, she had some great battles with Junior Megan Holtby.  These two young ladies have certainly added a touch of  glamour to the youth classes.

In the Juniors, Harry Slack showed everybody what he is capable of.  Often coming through the pack, he only dropped one point all day looking stronger in every outing, he dominated this class.  On her FGA debut, on a borrowed bike from John Cox, Megan Holtby got faster and more comfortable with each race to take the runners up spot.  Series leader Greg Howells, had a day to forget.  Two falls whilst leading his heats and failing to start his last two races relegated him to third.

Slack again set the pace early on with back-to-back wins in his first two outings, looking more at home now his new CB motor is running well.  Howells hit back in the next but that was the only time the young Cheshire rider was beaten.  He went on to win all his remaining races, making him the top scorer on the day with 35 points.

Youth and experience again came to the fore in the Seniors, with a repeat of round three's result which saw Len Sanders and Richard Guest tying on points after six races.  However, going into the last batch of heats it was looking a very different story.  Elvis Jones was one point in front and needed a race win to secure his second overall victory.  An uncharacteristic last place in his race spoiled his chances and left him in third.  He can't be too disappointed, as at one stage on the morning of the meeting, it was doubtful he would even make it to ride at all due to Carburettor problems.

"Mr Consistency", Shrewsbury's Ross Wharton continues to impress.  Battling hard all day notching up six, second places in his heats left him in fourth place by one point.  There was a three way tie for fifth place.  Dave Meredith, Chris Moseley and Andy Binns could not be split at the final reckoning.

Mike Guest continues his move up the table now mixing with everyone, he scored well in each of his 6 rides, taking 8^th place.

With only six points between the top seven riders, this is proving to be one of the closest championships for many years. So, who is going to be the one who lifts the Crown from Mr Mildoon at season's end???

Other riders that deserve a mention; the Crutchington brothers, both gave better performances and this must fill them with more confidence going into the 2^nd half of the season; Graham Gordon had his race of the year in his first heat, passing and re-passing the more experienced Ross Wharton. obviously Mick Hartley's coaching is paying off!! And finally a mention must go to Len Sanders, now riding at the same age as his racing number (66), The "Crazy Frog" is showing he is as keen and competitive as ever, always doing as much racing in the paddock as on track J 

The FGA now have a short break from League racing and the next meeting will be the Association Best Pairs, as a support meeting on the Saturday before the Bewdley Bonanza.   Reminder that Regulations must be in by 3^rd August.  Failure to do so means it will not be possible to include you in the programme.

Tuesday 20th July 2010

The regs for the Best Pairs on the 14th Aug are now on the diary page!

Wednesday 30th June 2010

Saturday's round of the FGA Championship undoubtedly produced the best racing of the season so far with all classes needing the last batch of heats to determine the victors. The racing on the track certainly hotted up along with the weather as we all enjoyed glorious sunshine at Crewe. Copious coverings of sun-cream were splashed around although the marshal's did end up looking a little like fine-grade sand paper by the end of the day, the only burn was to Amanda Keelings leg (she was attacked by a motorcycle - see forum!) - Amanda, hope the leg is healing well now? 

Recovering from a hi-side in his first race where he clipped the back wheel of rival Tom Davis, Jack Walton again took the honours as Cub Class winner, with Tom taking second only two points behind in the final reckoning on the day. Ellie Cotterill had another consistent day to take third. The hi-side temporarily shook young Jack but after the first interval having had a breather, he was consistently fast from the gate and was challenging the Junior riders for placings.  Tom, riding his new bike won the first 2 legs of racing and then settled for a series of seconds to ensure another good tally in the league standings.  Ellie appeared to find the going particularly hard but continued to show developing track-craft skills so it's only a matter of time before she sneaks another win onto the tables.

The Junior Championship continues to be a close affair between Greg Howells and Dale Hunter. A single point was the difference that gave Howells the edge over his main rival to take first place. This win puts him firmly at the top of the leader board. Dale was sporting the must-have of race wear with his new helmet-cam – is this a sign of things to come on FGA? With both Dale and Greg winning 3 legs each, the differences in score was purely down to a change in finishing position in 1 heat. Harry Slack had a quiet day by his own standards, improved gating would make his life much easier! He took third. 

With all riders dropping points, this was the toughest test yet for young Richard Guest. He claimed his first outright Senior win of the year with a solid performance. Four wins, a second and a third was enough to take the honours. Second place was shared between Round One winner Chris Moseley and Elvis Jones, victor last time out. This keeping the pressure on Guest as they go Second and Third in the Championship respectively. Dave Meredith battled hard all day for Fourth place.  Long distance traveller from Carmarthenshire, Andy Griffiths continues to impress, getting his best score of the year taking Fifth. Sixth place and Rider of the Day was Michael Guest. Getting his first Senior race win and right in the mix all day now puts him as another top rider in only his first year of Senior racing. To show just how competitive this round was, only 5 points separated the top 6 riders. 

The day was wrapped up with the running of Trophy finals in all classes. The trophies will be presented at the night out - details of which will be available soon.  The Cub trophy was keenly contested with all 3 riders going well with Jack Walton just gaining the edge over Tom and Ellie.  However, it is of note that he was also the overall heat winner which included our Junior class riders. In the Junior class, only 2 riders contested the trophy race with Dale Hunter not riding and this was won by Greg Howells.

The Senior Trophy race for the prestigious Jonathan Rodgers Memorial platter was keenly contested. In fact, it was so keen that the race had to be re-started twice! In the first two attempts, Dave Meredith made the break from the start only for the racing to be stopped due to spills. In the first running, Richard Guest was lucky to come away with no damage to either himself or machine after a heavy tumble on the first straight whilst Ross Wharton was not so lucky in the second when the spokes from his front wheel were badly damaged after an altercation with Chris Moseley's foot rest. Fortunately, no riders were hurt and at the third time of asking, we got a result. Elvis Jones and Dave Meredith again made good gates and appeared to have the race under control with a toss up between who would be the victor, only for John Cox, returning to the fray after seeing his partner Rachel and father Norman ride in recent weeks, to come storming through in the last lap to take the chequered flag from both Jones and Meredith.

Thanks to all those who helped on the day with setting the track up, marshalling, the raffle and generally making sure it all went with a swing.  Without those people, Saturday would not have happened.  Also thanks to Procare999 who came from Wakefield to cover the event and ended up helping put pegs back in .

Reminders to all: If you want to ride in the Pairs at Bewdley on 14^th August, please pass your name to Sam Flowers urgently.  The next championship round is at the Rally Site on 17^th July 2010 - regulations are available to download from the Diary page.

The Championship table will be updated tomorrow (Thurs)

Tuesday 15th June 2010

MAXIMUM MEN

Dale Hunter and Elvis Jones were the star performers at Round 4 of the 2010 FGA league championships on Saturday, run by Whitchuch MCC at their Malpas, Rally Site venue.

Both riders went through the card unbeaten to take victory in the Junior and Senior classes respectively.  Hunter often coming through from the back had his best meeting to date, this result putting his title hopes right back on track.

Jones on a new motor after his round 2 blow up won all his races from the gate to take, what was in the end, a comfortable Senior class win.

Four wins from six rides gave Cub, Jack Walton the top spot, fast starting and tight racing lines just kept him ahead of the fast improving Tom Davis who had two race wins over Walton in legs 1 and 4.  Third podium spot went to lady rider, Ellie Cotterill, who thankfully overcame a nasty fall in practice, she took 6 third places.

Greg Howells rode steadily, finishing runner up in the Juniors with Cheshire's Harry Slack in third.

Dave Meredith, getting back to his best form, dropped his only points to Jones in leg 5 when they met for the first time, he took second overall.  Richard Guest and Len Sanders again scored equal points for joint Third place.  Sanders managed to battle on after a nasty crash with FGA returnee Norman Cox in leg 4 when both riders went for the same piece of track.  Thankfully, both managed to walk away.  Chris Moseley had a quiet day by his own standards finishing Fifth with Shrewsbury's Ross Wharton making up the top six.

At the time of going to press it is anticipated that the Association will be running the 2010 FGA Best Pairs on Saturday, 14^th August at the venue for this year's Bewdley Bonanza after a much welcome invitation from the Bewdley Club.  More details will follow and will be published on the FGA website.

Round 5 of the FGA championship will be on Saturday, 26^th June 2010 at Crewe and will incorporate the Jonathan Rodgers Memorial trophy finals. Regulations for FGA machines only are attached to the website, entries close on Tuesday 22^nd June 2010.

Wednesday 2nd June 2010

IMPORTANT NOTICE 

ATTENTION ALL RIDERS

The next FGA meeting is running at the Rally Site on 12^th June (Regs available on the diary page).  To allow those who wish to watch England in their first World Cup match (kick off 7.30pm) to take part in the meeting and still be home in time for the match, we have revised the timings as follows;

Technical Inspection / Signing On:            12.30 pm

Practice:                                                  1pm

Racing:                                                    2pm

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ONE HOUR EARLIER THAN SHOWING ON REGULATIONS 

All other details remain the same.  Please spread the word when you are talking to Riders.

Whitchurch Club Members, please can you be at the Rally Site to help set the track up by 10.30 am. As they say, Many hands make light work!

More fixture updates to follow in the next few days.

Monday 24th May 2010

With three meetings in four weeks it's been a busy start to the 2010 FGA season and the leader board is now starting to take shape in all classes.  The Wrekin club hosted  round 3 last Saturday at Chetton.

In the 12 - 16 years event, Shropshire's Greg Howells took full advantage of Dale Hunter's non-start by taking maximum points so extending his lead in the Junior Championship.

Riders in the 9-12 years races all changed positions from the previous week, this time young Jack Walton was back to his best, even pushing Howells in a couple of his rides, he went unbeaten.  Frantic repairs to a puncture early on meant that Tom Davis completed all his races, going one better this time, he took second from round two's winner Ellie Cotterill.

Still waiting for his first outright victory, Richard Guest had to share the spoils again in the Seniors, this time with Len "The Crazy Frog" Sanders who is finally looking more at home on his Honda 125.  Inconsistency from the tapes put John "Mick" Jones on the last podium place.  A hard draw in all of his races saw the stylish Dave Meredith down in fourth place.  Round one winner, Chris Moseley battled all day taking fifth, and was again seen in the pits frantically helping other riders.

Cheshire based "OUR" Graham Gordon, in only his third FGA meeting, must be pleased with his first top six finish, gaining him ten valuable championship points.

Other riders on the day that deserve a mention are Marcus Crutchington who was flying until a big crash in race two, thankfully he was OK.  2009 Junior Champion, Michael Guest gave all a chance to see what he is capable of, almost claiming the scalps of the vastly experienced Jones and Steve Carvill and finally to FGA stalwart, Wallasey's "Flying" Mike Flynn who at the ripe old age of 78 took his first race win of the season!

Nice to Rachel Tetley make it back into the re run of race of 22 after she hi-sided after being closed in at the gate.  Zoe Keeling's appearance made it three ladies in one event a new record for FGA Racing, is this the sign of a new class to come ????

The days hard luck stories must go to Sam Flowers and Elvis Jones both experiencing machine problems keeping them from starting. Both hope to be up and running at the next event.

Credit again to the Wrekin club and its members for staging this event.

The next meeting for the FGA will be round four on 12^th June 2010 at the Rally Site and is hosted by Whitchurch MCC.  More information and regulations for this event are available on the diary page.

Friday 13th May 2010

Round 2 of the 2010 Championships at The Rally Site on Saturday saw different winners in all 3 classes. 

 Run by the Whitchurch club, the weather certainly played its part with overnight rain and showers continuing virtually to the start of practice leaving the track slicker than normally enjoyed.  The re-shaped circuit for 2010 dished up a high level of entertainment all afternoon with points being dropped and gained elsewhere it made for an interesting meeting overall.

 The 2 youth classes were again combined and dished up a good standard of racing.  Young lady rider Ellie Cotterill showed great composure and track craft in the tricky conditions and negotiated her bike to take her maiden Cub Class victory.  The current Cub Champion, Jack Walton suffered misfortune, and more broken fibreglass for his dad, Andy, to pay for, when he fell heavily whilst leading his first race.  The exclusion from the re-run and being shaken from the fall, relegated him to 2^nd overall. Newcomer, Tom Davies raced well and showed he has recovered from his knock a fortnight ago to take another good 3^rd place overall on the day.

 Greg Howells was left cursing when a fall on the second bend and the resulting 0 points in his 3^rd ride whilst in the lead cost him the an outright win in the Junior Class.  At the final count up, both Greg and Cheshire based rider Harry Slack shared the spoils.  Dale Hunter was left to claim the 3^rd place when again, mechanical trouble meant that he only scored points in 4 of his races of which he won 3.

 There was a shared win in the Senior Class with 18^th Birthday Boy, Richard Guest celebrating in style and tying on points with seasoned campaigner, Steve Carvill.  At the end of the 6 races, the two could not be split and in the last race that they met, a spectacular game of "cat and mouse" was seen with Carvill stalking Guest and first meeting winner Chris Moseley and timing his move to perfection with a win on the last bend of the race. 2010 returnee Ross Wharton had what must arguably be his best Senior FGA finish to date with a fine 3^rd place.

 Crewe based rider Andy Binns continued to show his good form with solid and consistent riding all day taking him to the 4^th position, surely it can't be long before he steals a win.  Seizing a motor in his 3^rd ride did not assist Elvis Jones and kept him in 5^th place overall, this despite 2 heat wins before the motor seizing and then jumping on Andy Binns and Luke Keeling's bikes to take a further 2 wins after.  A vote of thanks both riders for showing great sportsmanship in lending their equipment to the former Belle Vue Colt and allowing him to continue racing.  Looking increasingly at home on the 4-stroke motor, Len "the Crazy Frog" Sanders rode to a well deserved 6^th place.

 Marcus Crutchington rode to a good 7^th place in his first season with the Seniors looking sharp all day and is certainly one to watch.  Chris Moseley, winner of the first round, found conditions tricky and with a tapes break unsettling him and then a heavy fall serving to add to his misfortune, he managed shared 8^th place with our new long distance traveller from Carmarthenshire, Andrew Griffiths.  However, when adding in the fact Chris spent most of his afternoon helping other riders, he surely cannot be too downhearted.  10^th place was shared between current Junior Champion, Michael Guest who found the track very much to his liking and looked more and more comfortable as the day went on, and another Cheshire based rider, Graham Gordon who having sorted his mechanical "gremlins" from the first meeting could cause a few upsets this season.

 Mick Hartley had a better meeting and rode to a steady 12^th place whilst another new lady rider, Rachel Tetley, partner of former FGA'er John Cox rode to a creditable joint 13^th with Nigel Slack who was doubling up as spanner man for son Harry.  Rounding off the scorers were Luke Keeling, son of Mick who had a good first meeting and Daniel Crutchington home from University for the weekend.

 The club wishes to thank all those who made the day possible in setting up the track, signing on, marshalling and lap scoring, without you people, the FGA wouldn't be racing.  Additionally, a big vote of thanks to Elvis's partner, Sal, who did a cake-sale during the interval to help with fund raising for the club.  The cakes certainly went down well with everyone there.  Sal also made a cake for Richard for his birthday which was "specially" decorated by Elvis himself, and this was enjoyed by all.   For those who didn't see the cake Judy Guest brought along, you missed a treat, with a spectacular picture of Richard, in icing, in FGA action.

 The day was rounded off with a well supported raffle so many thanks and the April draw of the Formula 50, results below;

 1^st: Brian Crump, 2^nd Harry Goodwin, 3^rd Michael Guest.

 Next meeting is at Chetton on Saturday coming.  See you all there.

Tuesday 4th May 2010

Regs for the 15th May 2010 are now online to download via the diary page!

Tuesday 27th April 2010

FGA FIRST

 The FGA kicked off their season with the opening round of the 2010 Championship at the popular Shawbury venue on Saturday.  Track conditions were near perfect  and so produced lots of fast, close racing in all classes.

 With the 2009 Senior Champion, Steve Mildoon now concentrating on mainstream Grasstrack  and Michael Guest, last year's Under 16 winner moving up into Senior racing, the classes were really wide open with all competitors now on 125 Honda's.

 A small but competitive entry saw the youth classes combined.  Here, the vastly improved Jack Walton set down an early marker as to his intentions for this season by scoring a six-ride maximum in the Cub class, gating well and riding with a lot more composure, you can see this young man is really up for it.  Young lady rider, Ellie Cotterill, in her first formula event rode smoothly and consistently to take 2^nd place, her many laps around the Burton training track have certainly made a difference, with another newcomer, Thomas Davies completing the top three, this even after a heavy fall in his third race when he clipped a post with his footrest. Thankfully he managed to walk away just with bad bruising,  a definite name to look out for in the future, he looked really on the pace.

 Despite a big "off" and bike problems in his first meeting back from a broken shoulder, the hard charging Dale Hunter took the Junior honours from the quickly improving Greg Howells another junior who I'm sure is going to make the grade.

 In a well supported Adult class, Midlands-based rider, Chris Moseley finally got the monkey off his back by winning his first Senior FGA event.  Fast starting and hard riding just managed to keep him ahead of the talented teenager, Richard Guest and "Mr Consistent" Mick (John) Jones.  A return to FGA racing saw Steve Carvill take a credible fourth place.  Elvis Jones, back on the grass after a long lay-off, took fifth, but only after burning the midnight oil when he had to repair a blown engine after it went warming it up on Friday evening! Thanks here go to Dave Meredith for the new parts!!

 It was a case of "All Change" for the riders sharing sixth place.  Having not ridden for eighteen months, Ross Wharton, with Paul Cooper acting as his mechanic, made a welcome return to the FGA fold and looked like he'd never been away.  Len Sanders in his first full meeting on a 4-stroke, showed he is still a force to be reckoned with, this despite having two races where he did not get away from the line due to electrical trouble. See ingenuity winner on the forum !!

 Andy  Binns was there or there abouts all day, suffering from a poor start in his first race just kept him out of the top six while Marcus Crutchington in his first Senior event mixed it well. Both riders scoring 21 pts to get joint 8^th.

 Welcome to new riders Andrew Griffiths 16 pts and Graham Gordon 11pts

 Thanks must go to the Wrekin club and all helpers for running a thoroughly enjoyable, 1^st class event.  Also, thanks to the Crutchington Family for the overall organisation of the day.

 The next meeting for the FGA is on 8^th May 2010 where Whitchurch MCC host the 2^nd round of the Championship at their Rally Site venue in Malpas, Cheshire.  Regulations are available to download from www.formula-grasstrack.co.uk for FGA machines only.

Wednesday 21st April 2010

The 2010 season kicks off this Saturday (24^th) with the Wrekin club hosting the first round of the FGA Championship at their popular track at Shawbury.  With a good line up confirmed, the meeting is sure to give us some really good, close exciting Honda racing and fingers crossed for another lovely sunny day.  Technical Inspection and Signing on will be at 13:30 with Practice at 14:00 and racing at 15:00.  For those who don't know where the venue is, for Sat Nav (and Route Planner Website users) the Postcode for the farm is SY4 4JW.

As agreed at the AGM, the points scoring system has changed slightly for this year, Scoring in heats will be 6 points for a win, 5 for 2^nd and so on.  The reason for this was to keep each and every meeting as close as possible throughout the day.  One other change is to the overall scoring on the Championship Table.  Winner of the meeting will now score 15 points (as opposed to 10 points), 2^nd will score 14 and so on.  The extension to the points will give riders at the lower end of the table a chance to feature in the published tables and keep as much interest in the Championship for all riders, supporters and followers alike.

On Saturday, track building will start at 12:00 and as always, many hands make light work.  Please get there as early as you can to support the Wrekin Club.  Also, we will need marshals on the track during the meeting so if you are interested, please see Dave Crutchington on the day.  If you have concern as to what the marshal’s role involves, please come and talk to the Clerk of the Course.  

Finally, as always, the club would appreciate any Raffle Prizes to help with fund raising on the day.

See you on Saturday. M & S

Regs for 8th May & 3rd July are also on the Diary page!

Thursday 15th April 2010

FGA Championship 2010 gets under way with the first round on 24th April at the Shawbury site (Little Wytheford Farm, Poynton Green, Nr Shawbury, Shrewsbury SY4 4JW), Practice starts at 14:00hrs, Racing starts at 15:00hrs!

All spectators welcome and entrance is free!

Saturday 3rd April 2010

Regs for round 1 are now online via the diary page.

Sunday 28th March 2010

2010 Fixtures now online!

Tuesday 2nd March 2010

 Formula 50 Draw Update

For reference, January and February's draws were made in the presence of an independent adjudicator.  Payment of winnings for January and February will be available at the AGM or posted if you are not attending.

The next draw will take place on 7^th March 2010 at the AGM, Raven Hotel Prees Heath, Whitchurch with a 1pm start time.  Draws for the coming season will take place at race meetings each month.

For those who may be a bit peckish, there is a carvery at The Raven with a cost of 5.75 per head from noon onwards.  Additionally, there is a full bar menu available with very reasonable prices.  Again, this is available all day.

Other News

There have been 2 proposals received to be discussed at the AGM.  These will be posted mid-week for viewing.  NB only Formula 50 members can vote at the AGM and you need to be present to make your vote count.

The provisional fixture list is coming together with the first meeting to be run by the Wrekin club on 24^th April at Shawbury.

Thursday 11th February 2010

NOTICE OF AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Formula Grasstrack Association will take place on Sunday, 7^th March 2010 with a start time of 1pm.

The venue will be The Raven Hotel, Prees Heath, Whitchurch, SY13 2AF. We expect to be able to use the Snooker Room as normal.

All are welcome.  Usual items for discussion: meeting dates from  the 2 organising clubs, Association officials, review of previous year, financials and any rules/regulation changes for the coming season.  If you do have any serious proposals for this meeting, please submit in writing at least 14 days before the meeting to Sally Evans: email is salpal181@googlemail.com

OTHER NEWS

After the changes in organisation for  the Whitchurch and Wrekin clubs, we are pleased to confirm that a full fixture list is planned for 2010.  We are looking to start the season around the 3^rd weekend in April.  Provisional Fixture list is expected to be available at the AGM and then posted soon after on the website.

50 club money will be due in March (it is possible to pay at the AGM - thanks)

Congratulations to Elvis Jones and his partner who became proud parents for the first time in December with their daughter, Lily.

Welcome to new members: Ellie, Graham and any other new comers for the current season.

Going forward, we plan to list each month's 50 club winners on the website and any other hot news as it happens!  The aim is to put a news item on each week.  If anyone has any hot news, please feel free to pass to us to add to the site.