Meeting Preview: 

The 26th July will see the Brisca V8 Hotstox make their final appearance at Bradford’s Odsal stadium before the 2025 World Championship final takes place at the venue on September 20th!

The Hotstox were last in Bradford on May 31st when heat 1 was won by the in-form Thomas Brighton (#329) who managed to catch Guy Jolly (#222) who had been engaged in a battle with white grader Ethan Pratt (#454) for several laps. Heat 2 was won by Evan Bullock (#110) who seems to be returning to the top form that saw him win the 2023 National Points Championship. The meeting final saw Guy Jolly (#222) show that he wasn’t prepared to be held up again as he started the race with a no nonsense attitude. During the closing laps Guy had a significant lead and opted to slow his pace down to avoid becoming tangled with the battling red top back markers ahead of him. An intelligent drive from the experienced Hotstox driver resulted in a popular win in front of the huge Bradford crowd. The Grand National saw Evan Bullock make a brilliant turn 4 lunge on Micheal Boswell (#328) to take his second win of the meeting. Boswell’s impressive meeting showed that he is just as quick on shale as he is on tarmac.

Jolly will be taking to the Odsal shale again on July 26th however will have his work cut out for him as he now starts amongst the red graders. Drivers further forward on the grid to look out for include Hotstox novice Ethan Pratt (#454) who performed well at Odsal in May. Sam Knight (#202) has impressed in his debut season and the eye catching #202 machine is definitely a car to keep a close eye on. Abigail Stansfield (#153), who suffered a huge rollover at Cowdenbeath earlier this year, will be looking to fight her way to the front from the white grade alongside 16 year old Ruby Lomax (#369) who became a Hotstox race winner at Buxton last month.

The July 26th meeting at Bradford also includes the Brisca Formula 1 stock car shale semi-final and action from the Heritage F1 stock cars!

Later in the season, September 20th will see the 2025 running of the Brisca V8 World Championship final at Bradford with the title currently being held by the retiring Grant Leather (#1). Grant won the title at one of the most talked about stock car races of 2024. The 2024 Bristol World Final race was brutal, chaotic and unpredictable with many of the formula’s top drivers appearing to “lose their heads” and very few finishers. As the race neared its conclusion, Leather was seen wrestling the car to the finish. The final act of the action packed World Final was Dan Poole’s unbelievable last bend lunge which didn’t quite make contact and saw the #296 car firing into the wall. There was an air of disbelief amongst drivers, mechanics and fans after the event as those that had witnessed it could not quite believe what they had seen. When the stakes are high, the action provided by the Hotstox drivers rivals that of any stock car formula. With the Brisca F1 stock cars, Brisca F2 stock cars and classic F1 stock cars also appearing at the meeting, September 20th is a meeting that simply cannot be missed. The Hotstox also take part in a full day of racing at Bradford on September 21st to finish off the World Final weekend.

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Meeting preview by Pete Savage