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 Having been spoilt by the lavish facilities offered by the Lydden International complex for rounds
seven and eight it was something of a shock to be faced with an even shorter, narrower, dustier and more distant race track in the form of Anglesey, a circuit that appeared liberally
sprinkled with rocks which turned in to projectiles to add an additional element of excitement for drivers. Twenty cars formed a capacity grid, and with two races and two qualifying sessions there
were plenty of points on offer.
Three new cars joined the championship, including the 1986 ex Andy Rouse (British Touring car) Alfa GTV6, now owned by James Diffey. This is a most interesting car and
went like a rocket despite having been repaired with "home made" head gaskets about five minutes before the first qualifying session. New driver Daniel Woodard
experienced a character building weekend with the ex Mark Baker class E Fiat Uno and an Alfa 164 made a racing return in the hands of Tony Soper.
 Round 9 Graham Scott dominated Saturdays qualifying, his Corse Stratos now sporting another 100bhp, and he posted a time 1.4
seconds clear of the field. Kevin Griffiths (his 33 repaired and looking pristine following it's off at Lydden) led class B whilst just 0.3s slower was Andy Thompson from class D. Ron
Davidson pipped Minette Rice Edwards by 0.2s for class C whilst Neil Smith took just 7 laps to take class E pole before exploring some of the more rural areas of the circuit.
Delayed until Sunday the first race was held after the qualifying session for the second race. As the race started Graham Scott sportingly slammed on his brakes
and engaged 5th gear, presumably to give everyone else a chance, whilst at the front of the field Derek Jones and Andy Thompson sandwiched Daniel Woodard and
the three of them headed for the Irish sea. The ensuing dust storm allowed Graham Scott to slip around the outside of everyone and secure a lead he was
never to lose. Julian Birley found himself boxed amongst traffic and by the time he cleared this Graham was away, however  Julian found himself defending his second position to James Diffey and the pair
finished 28s adrift of the winner. Mike Watson was not far back with the class B win, however Kevin Griffiths secured fastest lap. Gary Buckland took advantage of Andy's misfortune to take another class win, class E
went to Neil Smith and Ron Davidson won class C. In trouble was John Griffith's group N Alfa 156 whose transmission let go on the green flag lap, spewing oil and smoke. John Brookes 33 was also in distress and
haemorrhaging lubricant.
Round 10 Qualifying was held first thing Sunday morning and saw a repeat of the first session, except for class B where Mike Watson secured pole, presumably before he spread compost and front
splitter around the track.
 When the grid assembled two men were absent. Julian suffered catastrophic gearbox failure in the preceding Alfa
race and despite frantic effort there was just not enough time to replace it. John Brookes car could not be repaired. John Griffiths lined up in brother Bryn's similar 156. Three
men felt confident, with Jokers deployed by Graham Scott, Mike Watson and Trevor Nicosia. At the start Daniel Woodard made it to the second corner before being engulfed and helped into retirement by the 156 of John
Griffiths. The race settled in to a familiar routine with Graham Scott taking a comfortable lead from James Diffey, but after seven laps the Corse Stratos slowed and pitted
with a snapped drive shaft. James looked good for a maiden win, but a lap later his GTV6 stopped. This left Andy Thompson in the lead. In the meantime James had been under his car, had the bonnet up, found a wayward
cable and got the GTV6 going again and rejoined the race, albeit four laps down. With one lap to go Mike Watson found himself just behind Andy Thompson and eased ahead to take an unexpected
race win. Kevin Griffiths was third, Gary Buckland fourth and Neil Smith fifth. Ron again won class C and class A was taken by Tony Soper. Derek Jones run of bad
luck continued as he was shown a black and orange flag for a bit dangling from his undercarriage. Not responding to black and orange flags really irritates clerks of
course's, who subsequently black flagged Derek from the race.
The championship looks mighty close with just five points separating Gary Buckland, Mike Watson and Neil Smith, whilst Kevin Griffiths and Graham Scott are
not far adrift (all have played their jokers). Andy Thompson and Julian Birley are still in touch and have yet to play their jokers. The Tramontina team challenge is
led by "Monza sport" from "Rare".
(by Tony Soper)
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