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2025-11-05
The GBE UK National Points Championship Shootout headed North to the always visually impressive Odsal Stadium, Bradford. Round 10, sponsored by ex-F1 driver Carlos Perez and his company Total Action Vehicles Ltd. Quite a unique business, and one which Carlos details in his BSCDA TV interview, as always, give it a watch!
With 27 cars booked, the decision was a 2/3rds format with White and Yellow-roofed drivers permitted to race in all three heats. What this meant for the Shootout was that we would see four per heat. Which two of the three heats? This was determined by the Shootout Junior grid draw that took place pre-meeting.
I am convinced that Bradford has its own microclimate. Earlier in the afternoon, the BSCDA PR team had visited headline sponsor Anthony Flannagin at the GBE UK HQ in Leeds. Part of the 'headline sponsorship package' is a feature on 'your business' , which is publicised across all our social media. Back to the weather, yes, it wasn't warm in Leeds, but upon arrival at Odsal a couple of hours later, it was like the temperature had dropped a further 10 degrees! BSCDA TV embossed thermals are a must for next season!
Defending champion 1 Tom Harris certainly laid down the gauntlet early doors, taking victory in Heat 1 and 2. 217 Lee Fairhurst had been drawn in the same two qualification races as Tom. Good, as going into the meeting, Lee was Tom's closest challenger on points. Lee was strong in Heat 1, coming home 2nd, being the World Champ.
In the second heat, whilst chasing Tom, Lee went up the inside of Bradley Blyth exiting turn 2. Catching the inside nerf of the 352 machine, Lee momentarily tangled, taking him way down the race order. A recovery to 7th was good given the circumstances. In discussion with Lee post race, he detailed that because you're racing on the absolute limit around the vast Odsal bowl, you are prone to mistakes happening. You just don't have the option to not be 'on the limit' if you want to win races.
515 Frankie Wainman Jnr had a poor start to his Stage 3 Shootout at Northampton Shaleway the week previous, heading to Bradford in 5th position, 30 points behind leader Tom. Frankie needed a very good Bradford to eat into that points deficit. First race...did not go according to plan, struggling to find any real pace in the car and delivering a disappointing 9th. The night would get better for this hard-hitting Shootout contender.
212 Danny Wainman was full of confidence going into Bradford, believing he had a real opportunity this season to become a 'first-time National Points Champion'. Disaster struck, however, in outing one. Unable to select a race gear, causing an aborted start.
With the car moving, Danny was able to make the re-run, but a lap in, he broke a half-shaft. Not the beginning he was looking for. The 212 machine was able to place in the next heat - important to enable 'final' points scoring opportunities in the meeting feature.
While the three heats were good, it was the Final and Grand National where the racing went up a level...and then to a level after that. This was Bradford at its best...Lee and Frankie both knew that Tom could not be allowed an easy ride if they were to remain in the hunt for Silver.
Big hits, defensive driving, cars riding the wall - this trio delivered action aplenty. Mid-race, Lee was able to break free and raced to a well-deserved 2nd place behind Birthday Boy (the next day), 138 Dave Polley.
Tom eventually delivered a killer blow to the 515 machine and pulled clear to take 3rd. Frankie, despite his best efforts, slipped to 5th as the race reached its conclusion. Sitting in the grandstand and witnessing the cheers and the shouts from the crowd throughout the course of the race was brilliant to see - it certainly warmed us all up, that's for sure!
A real buzz was evident back in the pits, and the three protagonists certainly fired up for the fifth and final race of the night. In summary...Tom won the battle with Frankie, putting him into parked 526 Finn Sargent on the exit of turn 4. Tom then lost the battle with Lee, suffering an offside front puncture as the duo tussled down the home straight.
Frankie recovered for 5th, Lee claimed 3rd. For Tom, it was a DNF. A night that started brilliantly for Tom ended with him still at the top of the points table, but his lead was reduced to 10 over Lee. Frankie's results moved him up two places into third spot, 34 points behind Tom.
What of the others?... Danny scored 11, 526 Finn Sargent 7 and 368 Callum Thornton 5. This leaves the three somehow adrift; however, we change surface to tarmac this coming weekend, and we know just how good Finn and Callum are on the hard stuff!
Of note, and unseen by many, an altercation in the Grand National between Finn and Callum - not sure what went on there, so of course this will be the first point of call for yours truly on Sunday!
As referenced, the Shootout heads to Hednesford Hills Raceway this Sunday for the penultimate round in the 2025 National Points Championship. The round, sponsored by American Racer, gets underway at 1 pm and all the details you need can be found below. It was the Hednesford session last year that Tom dominated, taking a firm hold of the Silver roof. His rivals know this; they cannot let history repeat itself, surely?!
Pre-meeting, why not visit the Shootout Hub, where we will have the grid drawn by our junior competition winner. To get fully up to date with all things Shootout, head over to the BSCDA TV YouTube channel for our latest episode, which covers the brilliant Bradford Round 10. It's quite a sensory experience, and I genuinely believe you can see just how cold it was!
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