1984

Saloon Stocks 60 cars

 *****  

Saloon Stock Points Champion 1984 Colin Noble (photo Jim Turner)

Saloon Stocks Points Championship 

most wins in 1984

most top scoring meetings

Attendance records (although records are reasonbaly good for 1984, these should still be considered the minimum attendances)

Out of 36 possible meetings.

Scottish Champion (again) Tommy Davidson (photo Jim Turner)

    West of Scotland Championship - 1st April                           Scottish Championship - 8th September 

Champion of Champions  18th November

In addition to the major championship wins at Newtongrange, a number of Finals attracted additional sponsorship, the winners of these were as follows:-

 *****

Andy Johnson Tests Out New Fence

January

The first meeting of the year was the New Year Holiday Meeting, it took place on the 8th January. The meeting was sponsored by” Motaquote Insurance Brokers” of Galashiels. 

The Saloon Stocks put on a bit of a display at this fixture, Jim Nightingale was the star on the day in this class with a heat & Final, Shuggy Brown won the other heat.

Jim made sure he didn't do this at the holiday meeting

March

The season proper commenced on 11th March. In the programme for the meeting Gordon McDougall stated that he was hoping to introduce Stock Car Racing to the Berwick Speedway track in early June.

To this end meetings were published in the fixture list for 3rd June, 1st, 15th & 29th July, 12th & 19th August. Sadly Council permission was never to eventuate.

As had now become traditional a number of number of Special Trophy events were scheduled at the opening meeting.

In the Saloon Stocks it was the "Anniversary Trophy" (donated Derek & Lorraine Donaldson), & also the "Polton Garage Trophy" (donated by Hamish Buchanan).

The Saloon races were interrupted with a number of stoppages & produced 3 different winners, Alan McHattie won the first points scoring race of the year in his new Sunbeam, Charlie Milne the 2nd after characteristically disposing of much of the opposition, & the first Final to Colin Noble winning the "Polton Garage Trophy". There were other trophies up for grabs in the Saloons for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd highest points scorers. They were awarded to Charlie Milne top points scorer, Colin Noble 2nd & Slammer Bell 3rd. This unfortunately was a bit of a stuff up as Tommy Thomson was the 3rd highest scorer.

The Saloon Stock racing at the 2nd meeting was full of action Colin Noble, in another Sunbeam was first heat winner. Ex banger star Sam Watt from Aberdeen took the 2^ndafter early leaders Alan McHattie was dispatched by Tommy Thompson & then Charlie Milne dispatched by Norman Walker & Sam Watt! The Final looked to be a shoot out between Colin Noble & Alan McHattie. Alan got past Colin only for Colin to then blast Alan into the fence in a miscalculated assault as both ended up out of the race. Tommy Thompson was the benefactor of this little tete a tete taking the Final win.

Colin Noble rounded off March with a dominant performance, heat win, heat runner up (to Alan McHattie) & Final win.

64 Don Wright on his side, 215 William Smpson

April

West of Scotland Championship day at the start of April, Colin Noble collected the title, already 3 Final wins now for 1984. Alan McHattie & Charlie Milne (in his Fiat) were the heat winners. Alan was actually past the flag first in both heats, however he was docked two places for one indiscretion or another. They followed Colin home in the Championship race in that order.

April's 2nd meeting marked the first new floodlit evening meeting of the season & it served up plenty of incidents. In the Saloon Stocks Tommy Davidson made a welcome return to action - dishing out a fair bit of bumper. It was another Tommy who had the most successful day though the Thomson variety with a heat win, heat 3rd & Final win. Amazingly this performance only gained 1 more point though than current points leader Colin Noble. Colin's points haul earned through a heat win & two 2nds in the other races. Charlie Milne was the first "name" to hit form in the Final, Colin Noble though ended Charlie’s hopes. Tommy Davidson in turn blootered Colin which allowed Tommy Thomson to nick the lead & Colin couldn't quite get back in contention, Alan McHattie collected 3rd & Tommy Davidson 4th.

15th April Colin Noble won a lacklustre heat 1, a bit more interest though in the 2nd heat, in fact Colin didn't even make the start line before getting spun out by Bobby Farrer! Colin fought back & made his way through the field until he reached Charlie Milne at which point they both ended up in the fence! Tommy Thomson went on to collect the win.

The Final was a ripper, about a dozen cars formed a pile up at the start which Bobby Farrer was able to avoid & compile a substantial lead. Colin Noble though, steadily made up ground & slipped through with two laps to go & then encountered some mechanical gremlins which slowed him up, allowing Bobby to stick him in the fence and collect the chequer & naturally in the circumstances a huge cheer from the fans!

The end of the first points period produced the following points tables:-

Saloon Stocks

1) 14 Colin Noble 146 points

2) 260 Tommy Thomson 124 points

3) 241 Charlie Milne 105 points

Ominous developments from the local council in Berwick, when the planning application decision to run Stock Cars at the Speedway track was deferred yet again. It is always a source of amazement to me that these "elected" individuals of councils always seem hell bent on preventing entertainments for the people they are purported to represent. The next Council soiree was scheduled for middle May. This made the hoped for opening meeting in June unlikely.

A very acceptable 23 car Saloon Stock field for the 21^stApril meeting. Heats went the way of Tommy Thomson & Tommy Davidson. Colin Noble interestingly was docked 4 places in this race, later revised to two places, so in the end he achieved 4th spot. He was in a class of his own in the Final especially after he dealt with Tommy Davidson on the first lap. Indeed that was a brilliant manoeuvre as Tommy was the man to beat, Tommy in fact recovered from his hit to finish 2^nd.

 Alan McHattie won the Final down at Aycliffe on the following day.

Last meeting in April & the Saloon Stocks were playing 2^ndfiddle to the F2 Stock Cars on their qualifying round. Saloon Stock action was a close rival to the F2 displays though. Tommy Davidson clattered everything he encountered in the first heat & was in front by some distance only to lose a wheel on the last bend - he still managed 2nd with only three wheels on his wagon! Tommy Thompson secured this one. The 2nd heat was awarded to Alan McHattie, it was one of these results which cause controversy, ie who was where when the yellow flags came out & whether it should be the results at the last completed lap. It was all too easy for decisions to be made to declare races when they were not complete. I have always been of the opinion that this should only happen where there are exceptional circumstances not "well it was almost finished anyway". Tommy Davidson then was only awarded 3rd spot after Tommy Thompson found himself on his roof (the reason for the stoppage). Colin Noble was 2nd. The Final though saw some luck return to Tee Dee & he collected the win after yet another stoppage. Tommy Thompson had ended up in the fence when Gordon Alexander collected the wreck & one of Tommy's wheels were ripped off & despite the catch fencing, ended up in the crowd, thankfully without anyone being injured. A salutary warning though, always be vigilant at a Stock Car Meeting - the unexpected can always happen. The mayhem in this race resulted in only 5 finishers. Tommy Davidson earning his first Final of the season from Colin Noble & Charlie Milne.

13th May & 2 wins to Bobby Farrer - but by staying on the track!!

May

May's fare opened with the major event being the "Davidson Plant Hire" sponsored Final. Sponsor Tommy commenced the day with a relatively easy win in the first heat. It was Harry Denholm who captured his first win at Nitten in the 2^ndheat, Tommy in the runner up position this time. Tommy looked the favourite to win his own trophy & so it turned out. Harry Denholm continued his heat 1 form heading out into an early lead, it was evident though that Tommy was circulating faster & in due course he nipped through. Alan McHattie also passed Harry but could not catch the winner. Tommy was more than pleased to accept the trophy from wife Babs.

13th May & the Border Trophies for F2 Stock Cars, Saloon Stocks & Hot Rods were the feature Finals on the day.

Bobby Farrer picked up wins in both the heats, however a trip to the fence in the Final scuppered the hat trick effort - not yet achieved in the saloon formula this season. It was Alan McHattie who was victorious in the main event. Much carnage was evident in all races, if fact only 5 cars finished the 1st heat & Final!

19th May commencing 2nd Grading Period Points

1) 14 Colin Noble 218 points

2) 260 Tommy Thomson 198 points

3) 241 Charlie Milne 181 points

The Saloon Stocks were racing for the “Gordon MacDonald (Butchers of Loanhead)” Trophy. Tommy Davidson was completely unstoppable in this meeting, he won every race with some comfort. Tommy Thomson was the 2nd highest point scorer on the night & in fact was only 6 points behind Tommy Davidson's total. This was the first Saloon Stock clean sweep of the season.

The final meeting in May was the "Willie Hunter Memorial Trophy" for each of the formulae.

The Saloon Sock races were full of incident, current form man Tommy Davidson still won the first race but came a cropper courtesy of John Bell's front bumper in the 2nd, Colin Noble stepped up to improve on his runner up spot in the first by taking the win. The Final was again full of action, this was a Trophy that all the driver's were determined to go all out for & there were many hard hits. Tommy Davidson was very happy to add this Trophy to his collection, Colin Noble was again runner up, from a very fast closing Alan McHattie.

Kenny Stewart mounts the tyres - so to speak

June

On the 2^ndJune Alan McHattie & Colin Noble were battling it out until they tangled up together leaving Alan Simpson to win the opening heat. Alan recovered his composure to recover for 2nd spot & ex Ministocker Liam Murray in his first venture in this formula in 3rd. Some normality was returned in the 2nd race when Tommy Davidson collected the win. Eddie Stanley hit the lead in the Final until the race had to be stopped when Bobby Farrer ended up on his side. Alan McHattie took advantage of the reduced gap on the re-start to capture his 2nd Final of the season, Tommy Thomson was 2nd & Liam Murray again picked up an excellent 3rd. Mind you only an unbelievable  4 cars finished the race.

Rather Cool BMW of Alan Simpson Heat Winner 2nd June (photo Jim Turner)

There was much nervousness about as the Newtongrange promotion were required to re-apply to the local council for planning permission.  Gordon McDougall had invested so much personal money & time into providing an entertainment to both drivers & spectators only for the possibility of it being taken away. Anyway on "this" occasion the "jobsworths" were defeated or at least "seemingly" placated by a new rule being introduced whereby a 9.30pm time restriction was placed on events. The "Sword of Damocles" was withdrawn - (for the time being).

9^thJune & some close battles in the Saloon Stocks with some of the usual combatants to the fore. Colin Noble captured the first reasonably comfortably from Alan McHattie. The 2nd race had these possies reversed. The Final was a beauty, Eddie Stanley in his Fiat was a quarter of a lap away from his first victory, with the crowd right behind the novice, only for him to spin out! Tommy Thomson was next in line & Colin Noble right on his bumper really wanting another win. He manouvered on to Tommy's passenger side rear and engineered the perfect spin - trouble was Tommy was now just in front as they crossed the line. Brilliant finish - the crowd would have been ecstatic for Tommy - yes? Sadly no - they were too pissed off that Eddie hadn't won!

Mid June bash produced a large crowd of spectators - in the Saloon Stocks it was the same three “amigos”  as the previous week Colin Noble, Alan McHattie & Tommy Thomson. So it was Alan Mchattie 1) Colin Noble 2) in the first heat & Colin Noble 1) & Alan McHattie 2) in the 2nd. The Final was another battle between the two – only it was over before the start line as Alan was despatched! That's just not Cricket! Your right it's Saloon Stock Racing. Colin crashed on through to the lead beating Tommy Thomson to the flag, Alan McHattie recovered for an excellent third.

The council at Berwick responsible for dealing out suffering to their local constituents had after many days of debate found a technical reason which forces a re-application for planning permission. There was now no chance of any Stock Car Racing in 1984. Council 1 Everybody Else 0. Congratulations.  

Points Positions after 15 meetings

1) 14 Colin Noble 315 points

2) 260 Tommy Thomson 302 points

3) 168 Alan McHattie 285 points

Last outing before the mid-season holiday break & the Saloon Stocks decided they would cram in 3 weeks of agro into one meeting!  Trouble is it was taken out on the pit gate!

The action commenced in heat 1 when again Alan McHattie & Colin Noble traded Sunbeam paintwork & metal. Alan coming out victorious. It was heat two where things got more heated due of course to the pit gate being closed before certian individuals had made their way on to the track. How often has this happened? I’m sure there have been promoters who have deliberately done this (with or without collusion of the affected drivers) to get the crowd going. Not that this was the case on this occasion! Those locked out included the two aforementioned plus Charlie Milne & Tommy Thomson. How dare the pit gate do such a thing - as they set about trying to demolish it. A demolished pits gate would never have been part of the promoters plan. This encouraged the patrons in the stand to voice their support / disapproval of developments & thus much amusement. Slammer Bell was the victor in this race, the fun however was not quite over as the pit gate demolition collective then refused to remove their battering rams from the pit entrance. In due course everything was resolved at least temporarily, and the guilty latecomers made sure they were not late for the Final. Slammer Bell proved that he didn't just win the 2nd heat due to the absence of a few stars, when he repeated the feat in the Final & indeed Tommy Davidson repeated his feat of 2nd in the 2nd heat to 2nd in the Final - for the 2nd time. Who would be a Stock Car Promoter?

80 William Moyles & 157 Sam Watt

July

On the return from the holiday break & for the first time this year & in the middle of summer we had a meeting which was affected by rain - luckily the downpour only came down in the latter stages of the meeting.

Alan McHattie & Colin Noble - not for the first time this season were the heat winners. 2nd to Alan in the first heat was Charlie Milne, & Alan himself was the runner up in the 2nd heat. So it was expected that there would be another close battle between Alan & Colin for the honours in the Final. However the aforementioned wet track served to mix things up a bit - but not too much. Slammer Bell made the best of the conditions to make it 2 Finals in a row, Tommy Thompson the runner up & a welcome more aggressive Wee Charlie in 3rd. Charlie had been noticeably more subdued this season (from time to time), maybe getting fed up with all his broken bones - & bans!.

The "Bayview Hotel Trophy" was the sponsored trophy Final on the 21st July. The sponsorship was put up by Alan McHattie of course & quite rudely he had the temerity to win the thing himself for the past two years! Charlie Milne picked up his first win since April in heat one where Alan could only finish in 6th. Heat 2 & it was Slammer Bell taking the win - he was indeed into a run of good form. Charlie was the runner up in this one. Charlie obviously knew he was in with a big shout in the Final & thought he would enhance his chance by planting Alan into the pits gate - unfortunately he planted himself as well! Bobby Farrer & Slammer Bell then enjoyed a spell in the lead until Colin Noble squeezed through. In view of the fairly intense rivalry between Colin & Alan in recent weeks it was very evident Colin was ecstatic in winning a race - sponsored by Alan!

The Scottish F2 Championship was scheduled for the 28^thJuly & the Saloon Stocks always seem to go harder at meetings where championships are up for grabs - in other formulae –why is that? It seemed so yet again as Alan McHattie & Tommy Davidson battled it out for honours in the first race, the former the winner. Charlie Milne got the better of Alan in the 2nd heat and was really flying in the Final, only he couldn't quite catch the man in front in the ex Hamish Buchanan car, piloted by a heat winner from the previous week Harry Denholm, acquiring this - his first Final win following on from his first heat win.

Tommy Davidson "William McBean Memorial Trophy"

August

First meeting in the month of August & current points leader Colin Noble was off on hols. No one driver really capitalised on his non-attendance. Charlie Milne ended up top points scorer with 27 points, however Bobby Farrer & Final winner Tommy Thompson finished up with 25 points. The heats were won by Bobby & Charlie.

11th August & a sponsored Final in the Saloon Stocks in the shape of "William McBean Memorial Trophy" sponsored by "JB McBean Haulage". 20 cars started the first heat , which Alan McHattie captured from Tommy Davidson. In the 2nd heat Alan had a bit more difficulty earning the win, he took advantage of a race stoppage while Charlie Milne who had been injured was attended to. Though Alan only achieved this on the last corner when he took out Colin Noble. Charlie quickly recovered to take his place in the Championship race, on the other hand Alan failed to appear having damaged his radiator & run out of time to fix it. Tommy Davidson shot to the front taking a deserved win & Charlie with renewed vigour raced through to 2nd.

18th August  

Kenny Stewart put up a great display in the heats with a couple of close 2nd places, the first heat to Charlie Milne & the second to Colin Noble. Sadly Kenny was a casualty in the Final. Much aggression was dished out among the red tops in this race- most of it at the hands of Colin Noble. An attempted spin on Charlie Milne actually resulted in Alan McHattie spinning out which Colin would have settled for! Colin's second attempt was far more successful, Charlie being biffed into a roll down the home straight. All this allowed Sid Threadgall to open up a substantial lead, the fans in the stand already standing up to applaud Sid's Final victory, only for his engine to falter on the last lap where he despairingly coasted to an eventual 4th position. Harry Denholm greatly accepted the gift, Colin Noble gained a well earned 2nd & Alan McHattie a good recovery from his spin for 3rd.

"Supporters Club Trophy" Winner 1984 Sid Threadgall (photo Jim Turner)

Sid Threadgall made up for his bad luck in last week’s Final by capturing  the "Supporters Club Trophy" Final on the 25^thAugust, a race that was made all the more difficult due the field being able to close up on his lead at re-starts through stoppages to rescue injured or drivers in precarious positions. The stoppages were principally to rescue Jim Nightingale & Charlie Milne (the latter carted off in an ambulance - yet again!) Nigel Atkinson & Kenny Stewart. Thankfully no serious injuries were incurred by the drivers.

Alan McHattie was the first heat victor & the aforementioned Nigel Atkinson the second heat, incidentally Nigel was making a re-appearance having broken his leg on his last Saloon Stock venture!

260 Tommy Thomson

September  

Opening meeting of the month, Colin Noble debuted his new car with a fine win in the first heat, but managed to find trouble in the next outing & in the Final (despite looking like a comfortable victory in the latter). Tommy Thompson stepped in for fine chequers in the 2nd heat & Final. Interestingly the podium spots saw Sid Threadgall in runner up spot & Jock Threadgall in 3rd.

8th & 9th September, 1984. The F2 world Final Speed Weekend .

However the other headliner formula during the Speed Weekend was undoubtedly the Saloon Stock Cars and their endeavours kicked off with their Scottish Championship on the Saturday night. The Championship was sponsored by "Alec Trench Ices" and was open to all competitors. Their race was scheduled  first up to ensure all would compete. All cars were drawn in grades to establish the starting line up. 31 Cars lined up for the start & mayhem ensued within a lap when a huge pile up caught a large number of the field including two of the favourites Charlie Milne & Colin Noble. One driver who got delayed in the melee was the holder of the Scottish Championship Tommy Davidson, being trapped behind a car crashed in the fence. Reverse gear was called for, however Tommy was now at the rear of the field, in an inspired example of the Saloon Stock art he made his way through his adversaries with a mixture of taps, spins & brutal hits until only one car stood in his way to make it three in a row. This climax of course couldn't have been scripted better, the last corner of the last lap & Tommy Thompson was pushed wide, Tommy Davidson blasted through to tumultuous applause from the large crowd to win by a metre.

The cheering as Tommy was presented with the trophy (to keep - I believe - as it was three in a row) was deafening & moving at the same time. In fact Tommy was quite overcome with the reception. The Final results were 1st Tommy Davidson, 2nd Tommy Thompson, 3rd Bobby Farrer, 4th "Slammer" Bell, 5th Ronnie Capper (from Northern Ireland) & 6^thIvor Thomson.

The Saloon Stocks took part in a further heat race on the Saturday night where only 23 runners were able to take part after the Scottish Championship soiree. Tommy Davidson made it a double followed home by Charlie Milne & Tommy Thompson. The track doctor Carlo Biagi "the track quack" sponsored this race. The Saturday & Sunday's Finals were sponsored by "Teague Homes" & herein Tommy Thompson got some reward for his fine displays of the evening by securing a dominant win from Colin Noble & Sid Threadgall.

Sunday's fayre comprised the traditional two heats & Final, Charlie Milne & Colin Noble shared the heats  sponsored by “Executive Taxi Hire” & “Screen Sport” respectively. Screen Sport were televising the action for their regular Friday Evening Stock Car Racing slot. The one two three in this race was Colin Noble, Charlie Milne & Slammer Bell.

Following Nitten's highest ever spectator turnout at the triumphant Speed Weekend the two week break brought the lowest ever attendance on a night of terrible weather.

Saloon Stock numbers were down on the 31 from the Speed Weekend to a disappointing 17. The racing could not have been more different to their last outing. It would be fair to say there was more contact in the Hot Rod events. Nonetheless skilfully mastering the conditions was Colin Noble with a hat trick of wins.

29th September and a number of trophies are up for grabs, Newtongrange Star FC Trophies for F2's, Saloon Stocks, Hot Rods, & Ministox.   This proved to be a disastrous meeting for Tommy Thomson, who had managed to get into a position as the points leader up to this meeting. Tommy failed to finish a single race whereas his closest adversary Colin Noble achieved a heat 2nd & Final win. Alan Mchattie won the first heat, his first win for quite some time in which Colin Noble featured in the runner up spot. The 2nd heat saw Colin Noble & Alan McHattie suffering mechanical maladies, Jimmy Nightingale drove a clever race to collect the win. He may have then gone on to collect a Final win as  well had he not tangled up with Norman Walker. Colin Noble was ultimately the winner from Harry Denholm & Kenny Stewart.

Very Emotional 1984 Scottish Champion Tommy Davidson

October

October’s opener witnessed the Saloon Stock action back to its epic best, there were still 3 drivers in contention for the track title Colin Noble with a slender lead over Tommy Thomson, while title holder Alan McHattie was a bit of a distant third & in truth it would need Colin & Tommy to all but crash out in every race & Alan to be very successful for Alan to retain his title. Charlie Milne took the opening heat, getting some form back prior to his defence of his British Championship at Hartlepool the following week. Of the track title contenders Tommy Thomson was 2nd & Colin Noble 3rd. Alan McHattie failed to finish. Heat two produced a victory to Alan, Tommy was 2nd, Charlie 3rd & Colin 4th. The big points of course were on offer for the Final - here Colin came out on top with Alan 2nd & Tommy 3rd.

The points title chase resumed on the 13^thOctober and all the title hopefuls were in the mix. Heat one and Tommy Thomson won a good race, Alan McHattie & Charlie Milne the followers. Heat 2 and the positions were Alan, then  Charlie followed by Colin Noble. Final & Colin Noble again  came good when the big points were on offer this time followed by Alan with Tommy Davidson in 3rd, this ensured Colin finished the meeting ahead in the points race.

Colin Noble virtually stitched up the title on the 20th October; he accomplished this with a heat win, heat 2nd & a Final win. Tommy Thomson did put up a valiant effort with a heat 2nd & a Final 2nd however he could only manage a 6th in the other Saloon Stock heat which was a victory to Kenny Stewart, in fact only 6 cars went the distance in this one.

Saloon Stock action on the 27th was sponsored by "Brock Roofing", unfortunately most discussions re this formulae centered on the British Championship which had been held at Hartlepool the previous week. It should have been in regard to Charlie Milne's fantastic defence of his British Championship where he retained the title, however it was more in connection with an altercation between Colin Noble &  Alan McHattie. The result of this altercation was that Colin received a 100 pound fine from the Hartlepool promotion which was paid at the meeting. Even though this all occurred at another track it was deemed that the Newtongrange Drivers' Commitee had also to consider the circumstances & indeed adjudicate. The result of this adjudication was that "in addition" to the fine incurred at Hartlepool, Colin would receive a one meeting ban, this to occur "after" the last point scoring meeting of the season. You will remember that Colin had all but sown up the points title the previous week, however had a ban been enacted immediately it is possible Tommy Thomson could have surged past with a top display at this final points scoring meeting. I don't suppose Tommy would have been happy with that though.

The ban would therefore take place at the Champion of Champions event at the end of the season.

Top Saloon Stock Driver Nitten 1984

November

So how did Colin react to all this? he finished 2nd behind Tommy in the first heat, did not finish the 2nd heat which was won by Tommy, & in the Final duly won the "Brock Roofing" trophy ahead of British Champ Charlie Milne with Tommy Thomson in 3rd.

Final points scoring clash of the year then & despite the close battle for the points title in the Saloon Stock formula there were only two race on the programme for them. In fairness this had been decided several weeks ago to enable such events as Mechanics Races in some formulae & Parents races in the Ministox. I have probably remarked on these "fun" events a number of times previously in relation to the "Cock O The North" Meetings at Cowdenbeath - easily in my opinion the worst meetings of the year. However I'm probably in the minority in preferring to watch good Stock Car Racing rather than novices having a bash. I think the truth is these meetings are more for the benefits of the drivers than the spectators. The Saloon Stocks races were won by Charlie Milne quite easily in the opener, Colin Noble received a fierce hit from Alan McHattie in this race, which in the end forced Alan out while Colin was able to continue and finish 6th. Tommy Davidson brought out a new Fiat 131 Sport for this last points earning meeting of the season (his previous car had lasted for the entire length of Newtongrange track). Tommy collected a fine win with the new steed Tommy Thomson trying to the last came through for 2^nd, Kenny Stewart was 3rd & Colin drove safely into 4th. Thus Colin Noble was confirmed as the Track Champion for 1984. It was just a great pity that he could not compete in the Champion of Champions event on the 18th November due to his looming ban.

Champion of Champions Victor Alan McHattie (photo Jim Turner)

The Saloon Stocks Champion of Champions race at the last meeting of the proper season only had 7 cars & was absolutely brilliant. How so? Harry Denholm managed to stick himself in the fence which necessitated a restart. Jimmy Nightingale & Bobby Farrer then had a dual fence visit. Tommy Davidson was in devastating form spinning Alan McHattie Tommy Thomson & Slammer Bell. All were able to resume save Harry Denholm. The race had an amazing conclusion with leader Tommy Davidson managed to tangle with 3rd placed Jimmy Nightingale who had spun out. Yes that's right 3rd place and in fact last place! This allowed the recovering Alan McHattie to slip through for the win, Tommy was able to continue for 2nd & Jimmy Nightingale was 3rd & last. Tommy Thompson won the first  Saloon Stock heat of the day from Alan McHattie & George Robertson & the Final saw another great drive from Slammer Bell with Bobby Farrer & Tommy Thomson following him home in 2nd & 3rd. Colin noble you will recall was serving his ban for this meeting.

Just Failing To Catch Colin In The Points Chase 260 Tommy Thompson (photo Jim Turner)

December

There was one more meeting that made it into 1984 & that was the winter holiday meeting on the 30th December. The disappointing news was announced in the programme for this meeting that there would be no Stock Car racing at Berwick in 1985. It was what it has to be said in typical "Council" form they spent 2 years debating the issue while indicating to those who were to invest considerable sums to bring some additional entertainment to the residents that it should be a formality, only for the initiative to be rejected.

Two ex Saloon Stock runners Eddie Stanley & Alan Simpson made an appearance in the F2's in first heat in the latter in the ex Phill Hiles car. He was able to retain his Saloon Stock No. 2 which was no mean feat. Tommy Thomson produced a dominating clean sweep of the heats & Final.

F2 Stock Cars   118 cars

*** These are probably temporary numbers issued by the Promoter for special 1 off meeting drives.

This list of drivers is based on records of drivers attending meetings not on the lists which appeared in the programmes. This is due to the large number of drivers which were listed not making appearances.

*****

Runaway Niiten Points Champ in 1984 Errol Johnston (photo Jim Turner)

F2 NEWTONGRANGE POINTS TABLE

**** We were at least provided with a top 10 in 1984, which was a bit of an improvement on 1983. The other points positions have been calculated from my records.

 *****

Attendance records (records are very good for F2 in 1984, these should still be considered the minimum attendances)

Out of 35 possible meetings.