GBE UK National Points Championship Shootout

GBE UK National Points Championship Shootout

2025-09-25

After a short break in all things Shootout, the Championship resumed at Odsal Stadium Bradford. Round 2 sponsored by Neil Fitton Racewear was looking like a must do event. Thirteen of the sixteen contenders were booked to race, and after 1 Tom Harris claimed his 6th World Final the previous weekend, for the sports leading lights, the GBE UK sponsored National Points Championship would be the last major title available this year.

The culmination of Round 2 would mark the halfway point of Stage 1, and with only two drivers from four progressing, nobody could really afford a bad meeting. A couple of days prior there were indications that this could be a wet meeting. As the day drew closer, the forecast only worsened. Many, including 'Mr Shootout Paul Hines were hoping that they were wrong - we've all been places when the weather was nothing like 'they said it was going to be'.

Scunthorpe stock car racing

Well, they weren't wrong! Not at all. I have been to many wet and windy stock car meetings, but cannot recall anything like Saturday...biblical is a word that springs to mind. It really wasn't pleasant, and huge kudos to everyone in attendance, especially the drivers who went out and tried to put on a show.

At this juncture, I would now go into a number of paragraphs detailing the racing, but to be honest, this doesn't feel appropriate. A number of drivers, including those in the Shootout decided that one race was enough and elected to take no further part in the meeting.

There were others that persisted, and were rewarded with, in some cases a decent points haul. The end result, a very different look to the four groups, one that you wouldn't have necessarily predicted from the outset.

In Group A, 212 Danny Wainman has retained his lead, 6 points ahead of 259 Paul Hines who claimed a heat win at Bradford, dealing with the man in 3rd place along the way. That man - 515 Frankie Wainman Jnr. Frankie has 33 points and it looks like a great tussle between the three of them for those all-important qualification places. The 4th and final driver in this group, 166 Bobby Griffin. Bobby has yet to race in the Shootout but is currently booked to race Rounds 3 & 4 this weekend. Can he make up a 40 point deficit? Well, it is certainly possible.

Group B and 138 Dave Polley had a commanding advantage going into Round 2, but this was cut significantly by 175 Karl Hawkins following his 28 points haul. This leaves 3rd place man 16 Mat Newson, coincidently 16 points adrift of a top two spot. 5 Charlie Sworder, another driver to not race the Shootout, has not booked to race at Buxton or Scunthorpe, so can be removed from the equation.

Possibly the biggest surprise so far is the position 55 Craig Finnikin finds himself in. Craig has just 9 points on the board in Group C - something you certainly wouldn't have predicted ahead of two shale rounds. Craig is very vocal of his dislike of tarmac and has elected to not race Buxton. It could be a huge ask of Craig to overtake 526 Finn Sargent or 1 Tom Harris from just the Scunthorpe meeting alone. It certainly could be entertaining watching him try though!

The final group, Group D and assuming no disasters, 217 Lee Fairhurst is on track to make it through. Currently in 2nd spot, Wildcard entrant 554 Sierd de Vries. Sierd has certainly taken to 'Shootout racing', and it is great to see him in such an elevated position. Behind him 368 Callum Thornton and 8 Catherine Harris, two drivers who have a real strength on tarmac. It is possible they will make up the current points shortfall at Buxton, leading to a very interesting 3-way battle the following day.

So, with everything pretty much to play for...this upcoming weekend certainly has 'Shootout Fever'. On Saturday night at Buxton, racing gets underway at 5pm. The next day, and after a 10 year absence, Formula 1's return to Scunthorpe. This meeting has certainly sparked interest across the board, and 56 entrants clearly shows that amongst the driver base. Start time is 1pm and of note, this is an 'all ticket' only event due to capacity restrictions. To purchase your advance ticket, head over to the Yorstox website to avoid disappointment.

BSCDA TV will be in attendance at both events, as will the 'all new' BSCDA Shootout Hub. Why not head over and pay us a visit. Available from the Hub both days will be the 2025 Shootout wall chart and driver postcards. Plus, you could possibly listen in on one of our exclusive driver interviews.

In summary, a big weekend is definitely incoming!