Nottingham and South Wales stage season openers as numbers continue to rise.

The Autograss season began two days ago with the first meetings of 2013 being held in Nottingham and South Wales. 
Both meetings had fewer cars than perhaps we would expect for the start of the season, as the forecast predicted the kind of weather that blighted the 2012 season. The two fixtures were run in muddy conditions, but still served as a useful test bed for many new cars and drivers, ahead of the start of the British Autograss Series at South Wales in May. The total number of entrants stands at just below 400 and has been rising steadily, and with a little less than two months left in which to apply for the Series, this number is commensurate with previous years.
The last time the Series visited the picturesque Camarthenshire venue was for a dry and dusty opening round in 2010, the highlights of which were Dan Mackenzie’s long overdue first victory in Class Eight, and Graham Bennett’s stunning drive in Class Seven, using Dave Chapman’s Mini-bodied machine. 

Main: Dan Mackenzie started on the outside of the pack in the final in 2010, but outclassed everyone. Top: ‘Spanner’ in Chapman’s Class Seven. Above: Jordan Blore, pictured here at Nottingham’s season opener, has made the transition from front- to rear-wheel drive look easy.

Pictures: Dan Moffatt and Chris Goodwin.