Pickup: Grindrod and Dance looking for victory on the oval

Oval Championship leader Nic Grindrod is raring to go ahead of this weekend’s LINE-X Pickup Racing Championship Rounds 16 and 17 at Rockingham Motor Speedway.

The #22 driver was a double victor the last time out at the Northamptonshire circuit and is keeping his fingers’ crossed of similar success on Saturday, although he has a small issue of an additional 70kg in ballast to overcome.

Grindrod said: “As we are carrying the maximum ballast, this is going to affect the truck towards the end of the race when the tyres have "worn" but I will be in "championship mode" trying to get through the pack early and get as far out ahead as I can, which is rarely possible when you have the likes of Steve Dance, Phil White, Pete Stevens etc to compete with. But the aim is when the weight affects he will still stand a high chance of scoring maximum points to extend the Rockingham championship.”

Overall Championship leader Steve Dance is hoping to extend his lead at the top of the points table. The Ben Ten-backed driver picked up two podiums at the opening meeting of the season on the oval and managed to grab his first win of 2010 at Thruxton, but is still looking for a first victory this year at Rockingham.

Carl Boardley has been busy since Pembrey not only preparing his #41 Truck but also carrying out interviews with media interest from his local paper, the East Anglian who are following his progress since switching full time from National Hot Rod racing to Pickups.

The Truck has seen a few changes in the past ten days, requiring some cosmetic surgery following Boardley’s grass track excursion which ripped the front bumper. The Ipswich-based team has also changed the rear axle plus complete front suspension, wishbones, shock absorbers and springs before Rockingham. And if this wasn’t enough work in a fortnight a new fuel pump was required after ‘surge’ problems caused an engine misfire at the meeting which saw Boardley collect two more podiums.

Exeter’s Lee Rogers finished Pembrey with high water temperatures so as a precaution he has replaced the head gasket on his Exon Vauxhall engine. It was also found whilst preparing the Truck that the rear brakes pads were totally destroyed so this has now been rectified for the oval. Team Rogers are hoping for better weather than the rain-hit meeting in May so he can build on the seventh and sixth place finishes earlier in the season on the oval.

Third placed Oval Championship sitter Michael Smith has been forced to change the gearbox in the #93 Truck since Pembrey. The Hartlepool-based driver’s main aim for the weekend is to try and haul back as many points as he can having had two tough weekends at Thruxton and Pembrey which has left him in fourth place in the Overall Championship.

Stuart Annible returns to the Pickup Truck paddock this weekend in the #31 truck, although new-to-the-championship Charlie Weaver will not be able to make his first outing on the oval as he has not yet been able to undergo the required ‘oval training’ for rookies to the circuit.
Also missing on Saturday will be Tony Mumford, who received the bad news last weekend that the engine problems which saw him forced to sit out the final race at Pembrey is worse than first thought. His engine builder, Toovey, has reported back that there are bent valves in his Vauxhall engine.

Watch highlights of five rounds on Motors TV.


Sarah Jane Carnell