T
he third weekend of August saw the
annual World Cup, the biggest event
on the Dutch racing calendar.
Thousands of fans from the UK and the
Mainland made the journey to Raceway Venray
for a weekend that promised to be truly actionpacked. 2013 was special, marking the 35th
year of the partnership between BriSCA and
the Mainland racing association. Although the
World Cup was the main event of the weekend
F1 fans could also look forward to the Bev
Greenhalf Memorial and Long Track Memorial
races.
Formula 2 World Cup made their way on to the
track. Sebastiaan Vowinkel (H33) and Patrick
Hendriks (H80) led the very full field on the
rolling lap and after a few early skirmishes,
Vowinkel established a healthy lead. With no
leaderboard to refer to it was difficult to tell who
As the future of Venray becomes more secure,
greater numbers of UK drivers are making the
journey to The Netherlands. Three years ago,
the only big British names were the Wainmans.
This year, the pits were teeming with Brits;
including F1 drivers ‘Mr Box Office’ Mick
Sworder, defending champion Tom Harris and
World Champion, Lee Fairhurst. On the F2
front, eleven UK drivers made the trip, including
World Champion Micky Brennan.
Saturday’s weather was true to form, with
hardly a cloud in the sky. Practice began two
hours before the competitive racing, but many
Dutch fans had taken up their seats hours
earlier than that. With the facilities that
Raceway Venray has on offer, the eager fans
still had a lot to do before settling down to
watch the racing. Merchandise stands adorned
the road leading from the gate to the track and
stands selling food and drinks are found on
almost every turn. A full-colour programme was
available free of charge, most of it in Dutch but
some articles had complete English
translations.
Raceway Venray really tries to include
something for everyone in their big race
weekends. A clown, bouncy castle and face
painting were available to keep the children
entertained. Some young racers even took to
the track for their own special ‘Ukke Pukke’
race.
It was Venray veteran Frankie Wainman Junior
who dominated the time trials and claimed the
highest UK qualifying position. The other
qualifiers were Lee Fairhurst, Tom Harris, Mick
Sworder, Danny Wainman and Josh Smith. The
remaining British drivers had to qualify via their
performance in the afternoon’s heats.
Rob Speak dominated in Saturday’s F1 heats.
As well as the F1 and F2 action, there were
races from the Hot Rods, Late Model V8s and
Benelux Racing League.
As the light faded, the competitors for the
www.insidestockcarworld.co.uk
was where, but Jack Aldridge was really flying,
getting up to second spot before retiring with a
blown engine. This left Vowinkel clear to cross
the finish line nearly a half lap ahead of
Hendriks and defending champion, German
driver Peter Baer (D92). Best UK finisher was
Ashley England in fifth spot.
Tom Harris took the Bev Greenhalf Memorial
Trophy in Saturday’s final, only to have it taken
away from him after failing post-race
scrutineering, handing the win to Lee Robinson
(H107).
Before the fans had even made their way out of
the stadium to return to their homes, hotels or
tents, Team Hendriks , who boasted an
impressive 5 car display (2 F1s, 2 F2s and 1
BRL saloon), was blasting out AC/DC; showing
everyone that the night was far from over. The
camping field burst into life, with countless
barbeques and festivities. Dutch and British
fans alike gathered in their groups to discuss
the day’s events and speculate about Sunday.
Similarly, the excitement in the pits continued
for hours, with teams gathered around tables,
loud music and even a frantic midnight engine
change. Eating and drinking was the order of
the day (night) – don