Saturday 18th June 1955

Portsmouth

Portsmouth vs Brighton

Brighton Stock Car drivers failed to turn up on time for the racing at Portsmouth Stadium on Saturday night, but if the crowd of more than 1,000 was disappointed, it was cheered by the racing display put on by the other drivers. There were thrills and spills aplenty duing the four events, and the final race was one of the most sensational seen at the track. It was won by Southampton’s Norman Brown, but what a duel he had with his townsman Peter Cutler before he could be the first to receive the chequered flag. He held the lead for the first five laps, ran into trouble, and then Cutler took over. But after 12 laps he was back in front, only to see Cutler pass three cars inside 70 yards to regain the lead once more after another two laps. Cutler held his lead only briefly before being turned around on one of the bends, but he reversed quickly and chased Brown again. He had crept up to within a few yards of Brown’s tail by the time the last lap was reached, and appeared to have a distinct chance when he encountered further trouble on the same bend as before. There was no other driver in striking distance and Brown coasted home. Cutler had to be content with third place as Pete Tucker (Wembley) took advantage of his bad luck to follow Brown home. Perhaps the result was some consolation to Brown who had all the bad luck in the previous race when it was Cutler who took full advantage to win. There were several newcomers to stock car racing amongst the drivers, including Allen Bryant of the Portsmouth team. In the second race he finished fourth despite having his car turned over onto its side at one stage of the event. In the final race he received applause for finishing the course after completing the last three laps minus his offside front wheel. Ray Russell (Southampton) was the winner that time, and the first race was won by Pete Tucker. (Portsmouth Evening News, 20th June 1955).