National Hot Rods return to Foxhall Stadium on Saturday evening (6.45 start time) for the first time since their World Championship in July, they are featuring in a three formula line up of non contact racing all night. Chris Haird (Newmarket) took the World Title that memorable day ending the four year run of Ipswich star Carl Boardley, who went out of the race after a clash with Niel Stimson left him with a flat tyre. Boardley has now moved on to race in the Pickup class and Haird buoyed by his World Final win has a new found confidence and is absolutely flying in his Vauxhall Tigra and is well placed in the points chart in 6th place. The cars arrive at Foxhall for round 4 sponsored by Ludlow Motorsport and its Scotland’s Willie Hardie leading the points chart who along with Haird is a man on top of his game right now, could that be something to do with the fact that he has the ex-Boardley Tigra sitting in his workshops? Well he hasn’t raced it yet but the confidence of knowing that he has the set up as well as the very car that won so many races over the last 5 years must be a big boost. Notable newcomers into the class this year have been former Superstox World Champion Jason Cooper (Thetford) and Norfolk Stock Rod driver Carl Waller-Barrett and it is good to see that both of these drivers are inside the top eighteen after just 3 rounds. The big revelation has been Scott Bourne aged just 19, Bourne came through the ranks of Ministox and into the Spedeworth 2.0 Hot Rods and now has a beautiful looking Ludlow Peugeot 206CC at his disposal as well as a very committed race team behind him. As he continues to find his feet he can only get faster and a World Final qualifying place next July looks a foregone conclusion. The established National Hot Rod names are all riding high in the points, among them Matt Simpson who will be keen to put the disappointment of last season’s events behind him, despite the knocks Simpson managed to stay focussed and professional all the way through and will be looking forward to a keenly fought qualifying series for 2011. Looking at the list of drivers with names like Simpson, Haird, Blackman, Holtby and Steve Thompson you can’t help wondering who the last four World Champions would have been had they not picked the same time to race as Boardley’s period of domination.

Stock Rods race for the M&R Travel Foxhall 500 trophy Stuart Smyth and Andy Sturt head the line up, Kim Carter is making the journey up from the south coast and usually goes well at Foxhall. The nights sponsor Paul Frost from Woodbridge still has a question mark over his booking has he struggles to prepare his Vauxhall Tigra, Frost is one of the longest serving Stock Rod drivers but is having a rough season as his new cars reliability issues causing him problems on several occasions in 2010. Peterborough’s Mark Shinn is racing and on his day he can be very quick, Dean O Dell is establishing himself as a regular front runner, another driver who came through the Ministox on his way to a main formula. It will be a big day for Filby’s Carl Mann who is making his debut in the Stock Rods. Mann has enjoyed a successful and colourful career in the Spedeworth Rookie Rods and for the past two years has been the top scoring East Anglian driver, but he has coped well with the pressure to win and with pressure from his competitors. During August he felt the time was right to make the move into the faster Stock Rods and Mann acquired the ex John Madden Vauxhall Nova. The team have adjusted the car to suit their driver and Mann has spent a day testing the car prior to making his debut. Given his speed and commitment in the Rookie Rods Carl Mann will be a force to be reckoned with in the Stock Rods and despite his blue grade starting position he could well get noticed at Foxhall this weekend.

American style Stock Cars are back in town, a great sucess at Foxhall these cars look and sound just like the NASCAR American Stock Cars. They race in the UK and Europe and attract drivers from England, France , Belgium and Holland, Gary Ellis is the local driver who really knows the his way around the Foxhall oval after a career in the Spedeworth Superstox. Last time these cars were at Foxhall they put on a memorable show with plenty of action in the final race of the night which proved to be quite destructive despite the class’ non contact status.