Gavin Murray left frustrated at Hednesford in National Hot Rod

M & M Motorsport made the long trip up north to Hednesford Hills Raceway on May Day Bank Holiday Monday. It threatened to be a wet meeting with a quick downpour shortly before practice was due to get underway. The skies were dark but the rain stayed off and gave us 3 dry races.

Following the usual format, Gavin lined up for the first heat in 25th spot with only newcomers to the formula starting behind him. With Gavin's main rival for the points championship not making the start due to engine woes, it was Gavin's chance to capitalise. Sadly we couldn't find the balance in the setup of the #95 machine, meaning Gavin couldn't carve through the field in his normal manner. Gavin crossed the line 18th.

The team made some changes to the setup in preparation for heat two. Again, Gavin started 25th on the grid and the changes seemed to move the car in the right direction, making good progress through the grid in the early stages. However things took a turn for the worse on Lap 5 when Gavin got caught up in someone else's accident. From the teams view trackside it looked as though Gavin had only sustained superficial damage and when the race restarted Gavin got his head down and made up more spots, crossing the line in 13th. Upon closer inspection the whole left front suspension needed replacing as it was badly bent from the accident. The team worked extremely hard to repair the suspension and patch up the damaged bodywork ready for the final.

Due to our low finishing positions in the heats Gavin qualified 16th for the 35 lap final. A few positions were gained the the opening laps but Gavin couldn't get the car the perform how he wanted it to and squabbled for position in the high teens eventually crossing the line in 14th.

After a run of 5 good points scoring qualifying rounds this was certainly one to forget, with very few points scored and picking up plenty of damage along the way.

All is not lost, lying 2nd we are still in contention for the silver roof and the points championship. With two more qualifying rounds to go the team will reassess the setup on the #95 machine and get back to the sharp end of the grid.