Mid Wales racing driver Ben Power has powered his way to the top of the MRF National Legends Car Championship after winning three races in a two-day meeting at Anglesey Circuit.
Power, aged 27, from Guilsfield, near Welshpool, won the opening heat on the first day, he went on to win the first race on day two and concluded the weekend with victory in the final.
He had a lucky escape in race two on Saturday, when another driver, Mick Mercer, lost his brakes and hit Power’s front wheel – catapulting Mercer’s car into the air, and leaving Power to complete the race with a bent steering arm and a buckled wheel.
“Apart from that incident and one or two other minor issues, It was one of my best racing weekends ever,” said Power. “Great weather – and almost everything went right for us.
“We had good pace all weekend, and the next round is at Cadwell Park. I really like it there, the Legends haven’t been there for a few years and neither have I so I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll go there with a positive frame of mind, see what we can do.”
Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire hosts the next round on 13th and 14th May.
Provisional MRF Legends Cars National Championship Points:
1st Ben Power, 2010pts; 2nd John Mickel, 1980pts; 3rd Steve Whitelegg, 1765pts;
4th Paul Simmons, 1700pts; 5th Jack Parker, 1540pts; 6th Miles Rudman, 1385pts.
Power made his debut in the Legends Car series in 2009 – finishing 8th overall and 2nd in the rookie table, having switched to the circuits after winning the Junior Rallycross crown in 2006 and Supermodifed Rallycross titles in 2007 and 2008.
His progress in Legends racing has seen him climb from a 10th place finish in the 2010 championship to 6th in 2011, 4th in 2012, 3rd in 2013, 2nd in 2014, and 3rd in 2015. Last year he only raced in one round, as he focused on his off-track career commitments.
The formula originated on the US oval tracks, and the cars have an American look, being 5/8-scale replicas of classic US models. Guttercrest Racing runs a Ford Coupe 1934 replica, with a 1250cc Yamaha motorcycle engine.
With identical cars and the fastest drivers having to start at the back of the grid, there is said to be more overtaking in a single Legends race than in a whole season of Formula 1.
*Guttercrest Racing is backed by the family-owned aluminium guttering company Guttercrest, based in Oswestry. The team has further support from award-winning Cardiff-based PR and communications consultancy Weltch Media.