After dominating the last Belle Vue meeting, Frankie Wainman Junior carried on where he left off, and charged through the field to take the opening heat. He didn’t have it easy though, with new World Champion Peter Falding never far behind him. The leading duo of Karl Gilbert and Dave Russo set a cracking pace, with Frankie and Peter only catching and passing them with two laps to go. It would be Frankie’s only finish of the evening, the 515 car ending both the Final and the GN facing the wrong way against the turn three wires.
Steve Burgess led Heat Two past the halfway stage when Nigel Whalley bumpered his way past. Kev Smith moved into second place, sending Mark Taylor wide with a firm hit. Taylor repaid him a couple of laps later, but Smith wasn’t for moving. Smith took the lead when Whalley ran wide with two laps to go. Whalley promptly went in with the bumper, but Smith held it. Whalley then got tangled up with Steve Grindey, with a no finish for all his efforts.
The Consolation saw a great battle between white tops James Lund and Nick Read. Read led from the green, but Lund passed him on the opening lap. Read then retook the lead when the yellows came out to remove the stranded Colin Patten car. Read pulled away on the restart, but Lund slowly reeled him in. The 153 car moved ahead going into turn three, but Lund’s lead was short-lived as Read took a tighter line around the bend and came out in front. A lap or two later, Lund again passed Read entering the turn, and again Read passed Lund coming out of the turn. Mark Keeling was now getting close to the leading pair, and moved into the lead when Read ran wide and Lund got it out of shape. Lund was now on Read’s back bumper, but before he could make a move, the yellows came out to attend to the Nick Marsh car which was in flames. Read was passed by Fairhurst on the restart, and Lund lost momentum and dropped down the order, with just a ninth place to show for his fine drive.
Dave Russo raced away at the start of the Final and started to open up a lead, but a partially blocked track brought out the yellows after about 5 laps. This closed the grid, and on the restart Read bumpered Russo wide to take the lead. At the other end of the grid, Falding moved past Wainman with a decisive move. James Lund moved into the lead, while Russo’s race ended when Stu Smith fired him into Andy Robinson, both cars tangling onto the infield. Lund led past the halfway, but Smith (390) was closing. Lund withstood a hit from Smith before the 390 car moved into the lead a lap later, with Kev Smith some way back in second. John Lund passed Peter Falding, though Lund skidded wide when the 246 car dropped it’s water on turn three. As the lap boards came out, race order was 390, 64, 1, 53, and Kev was getting closer to Stu every lap. Going down the back straight for the last time, Kev went for the 390 car like a guided missile. Stu went hard into a fence post, Kev misjudged it and span the car through 360 degrees, which let Falding through for the victory.
A big field of 28 cars for the GN led to a hectic race. Lund led before Russo bumpered him aside and began to pull away. Waved yellows for a pile-up in turn two closed them up, with Lund wasting no time in putting the bumper in on the restart. Russo held it well, but Simon Gill came from nowhere and moved into the lead. Kev Smith was again flying around the track, but he couldn’t catch Gill.