2010 World of Shale Championship

186 George Turiccki became the eighth and youngest ever World of Shale champion at Mildenhall on Saturday 28^th August.  The meeting attracted 62 cars, 32 of which gridded for the feature event.  After the presentation of commemorative awards to each driver, plus the usual trophies for the top three drivers in the points table and the presentation of the four grade awards the cars set off on one slow rolling lap.

When the green flag dropped, pole man and defending World of Shale champion 606 Andrew Palmer surged into the lead with 702 Allen Cooper and 401 Barry Goldin side-by-side behind him.  Cooper and Goldin tangled on turn two with both cars drifting out to the armco.  The 702 car rejoined the race after a delay but Goldin's race was over.  In the confusion George Turiccki nipped by to take up the second spot.

871 Mark Simpson and 38 Dave Polley were running third and fourth and, as the race progressed, these two drivers swapped places a couple of times.  But Palmer and Turiccki had opened up a considerable gap on the chasing pack and a good race was developing between the two lead cars.  Each time there was a clear track George Turiccki would close up to within about ten metres of Palmer but the 606 pilot seemed better able to negotiate back markers, increasing his lead again on such occasions.

Turiccki closed right up on Palmer when the leader's back bumper was rattled by a back marker midway through the race but the 186 car was unable to find a way past.  At this point in the race the leading duo were three-quarters of a lap clear of Polley who was now running third.

With Palmer seemingly just about having the measure of Turiccki and with the race approaching its closing stages, disaster struck the defending champion.  As the two leaders exited turn four the engine in the 606 car let go and Palmer drifted helplessly to the armco and Turiccki found himself in the lead with four laps left to run.  Meanwhile, Mark Simpson had repassed Polley and was now running second, albeit nearly a lap adrift of the leader.

Palmer's exit from the race meant that we would never know what Turiccki might have had planned for the last lap of what, until that point, had been an intriguing and exciting race.  The leader was able to ease off over the remaining laps and concentrate on keeping clear of back markers; he took the chequered flag over half a lap ahead of the second placed Simpson.

The first man to congratulate the new champion and shake his hand as he climbed from his car at the end of the race was the outgoing title holder Andrew Palmer who must have been bitterly disappointed in the way his race ended, so close to the chequered flag. 

Result:

1. 186 George Turiccki
2. 871 Mark Simpson
3. 38 Dave Polley
4. 886 Chris Bradbury
5. 13 Andy Ford
6. 702 Allen Cooper
7. 798 Mark Sargent
8. 379 Stuart Cayzer
9. 968 Micky Brennan
10. 495 John Cayzer 

Other trophy winners:

Top three in points table:

1. 606 Andrew Palmer
2. 702 Allen Cooper
3. 401 Barry Goldin

Grade Award Winners:

Red: 38 Dave Polley
Blue: 379 Stuart Cayzer
Yellow: 488 Liam Bentham
White: 369 Ben Atkinson