With the news that US Flat Track legend, recently-crowned Indy Mile champ and the holder of the motorcycling world land speed record, Chris Carr is to be riding next month in the STUK championship, the talk of last weekend’s British Motorcyclists Federation show at Peterborough: no wonder that the intrepid Short Trackers stole the show on two days of racing at the East of England Showground!

No Carr, of course, on this occasion: but a committed field of 34 racers all subjecting bodies and machines to the ultimate test of powersliding led to excellent entertainment for a large crowd.

A weekend of much-to-be welcomed early autumnal sunshine bathing the racers taking part in two main events: the first-ever ACU accredited British championship in the Short Track class sponsored by Silkolene plus the monster, multi-cylinder machines doing to-be-seen-to-be-believed close contact battle on the 336 metres shale circuit in the appropriately-for-once named Sunnydecks Thunderbikes championship.

And appropriate too that the victor’s spoils in both events went to the man who brought this fantastically exciting motorcycling discipline from over the Atlantic to these shores, one-time King’s Lynn Speedway rider and many times an Isle of Man TT racer, Peter Boast.

Boast who hails from Market Rasen took the slow-burning route to success: progressing through Saturday’s heats with economy and then nestling in behind fast-rising star of Europe’s fasted growing motor sport, Aidan Collins in the semis on the Sabbath.

But for the 42 year-old this was to be a personal Indian Summer, storming past Collins on lap eight of the 12 lap Grand Final, with reigning Short Track UK champ, the Italian Stallion, Marco Belli also taking advantage of Collins’ (of the legendary Manchester-based Speedway racing family) slip under pressure to bag second on the day.  The Honda-mounted Ben Wells continued his rise up the STUK rankings to grab fourth place –his efforts seeing him selected as the winner of Helments4u Rider of the Day Award.

Meanwhile in the Thunderbikes, sponsored for the first time by Sunnydecks who specialise in vinyl decking, fencing and verandas (see www sunnydecks.co.uk for full details),  Boast transferred onto his V twin Suzuki 650 only to duel in the sun in the Grand Final with the monster-proportions of Jon Lee’s 710 V twin Honda.  The initial challenge actually came from Paul Harrison on his 600 Honda single-cylindered machine, with Steve Coles chasing on the 650 Honda V twin.  Lee though joined battle with Boast after two laps and for the remainder of the Final, the large crowd packed around the main arena in the Showground  were to marvel at the skill and tenacity of the two racers throwing their machines into the tight dirt-surfaced bends with just a rear brake!  Boast it was who held on, to cement his position as leader in the Thunderbikes division of the STUK championship.

In the junior event, the first accredited GB championship for the Under 16s age range was grabbed by Derbyshire’s prodigious teenager, Tom Woolley.  14-year-old Woolley has recently made his Speedway debut at Hi-Edge, Buxton and must rank as an early outside bet to challenge for British Under 15s glory on the shale should he take advantage of the new training track planned for his own back-yard in Burton-on-Trent in 2009.

Meanwhile for Woolley and the seniors it’s next onto the Norfolk Arena on Saturday October 4th. for the thrills of the unique Track’n’Trail round – the penultimate in the series – before the 2008 denouncement at Scunthorpe a fortnight later when a certain Carr will be stealing the show from the motorbikes!

2008  ACU  British Short Track Championship (incorporating Round 5 Silkolene STUK Championship 2008)
1st Peter Boast             450 Team Suzuki
2nd  Marco Belli             510 CCM
3rd Aidan Collins            450 Honda
4th Ben Miller    450 Honda
5th Glyn Pocklington      450 Honda
6th Jon Bell                               525 KTM
7th Geoff Bull     450 Yamaha
8th Ben Wells    450 Suzuki
9th Geoff Boldock          525 KTM
10th Richard May           450 CCM
11th Adam Allott            450 Honda
12th Chippy Wood         450 Suzuki

2008 Sunnydecks Thunderbike Championship Round 5
1st Peter Boast 650 Team Suzuki
2nd Jon Lee       .710 Scooter Farm Honda
3rd Paul Harrison           600 Honda
4th Richard May            710 CCM
5th Steve Coles             650 Honda
6th Luca Talamona         600 Harley Davidson

2008 ACU Junior Short Track Championship (incorporating CCM Flattrack Experience Junior STUK Championship.
1st  Tom Woolley                       CCM 230
2nd Joe Moore                            CCM 230
3rd Adam Thomas                      .Honda FT 250