3rd July 2009: July News
The month of July will see Lee and the 217 car being graded to star grade for the first time in his career and the car will be sporting a freshly painted red aerofoil at the Skegness speed weekend and also at the European Championship back at NIR.
Lee raced at 6 World Qualifiers during May and June which has earned him 199 points and means he finished in 10th place in the points. This has earned him a row three starting spot in his Semi Final race.
Frankie Wainman Jnr as the top qualifier has selected to race in the Birmingham Semi Final which means that the 217 car has been allocated to race in the first Semi Final at Coventry on 1st August.
Semi Final Grid 1 – Coventry 1st August 2009
ROW |
INSIDE LANE |
OUTSIDE LANE |
1 |
Andy Smith (391) |
Matt Newson (16) |
2 |
Paul Hines (259) |
Mark Gilbank (21) |
3 |
Lee Fairhurst (217) |
Craig Finnikin (55) |
4 |
Danny Wainman (212) |
John Lund (53) |
5 |
Timmy Aldridge (257) |
Murray Harrison (97) |
6 |
Scott Davids (462) |
Mickey Randall (172) |
7 |
Chris Bonner (105) |
Dave Hopkins (447) |
8 |
Mark Woodhull (335) |
Peter Falding (33) |
9 |
Dave Willis (337) |
Carl Pickering (141) |
10 |
Lenny Smith (185) |
Hayley Parkinson (54) |
11 |
Dean Whitwell (195) |
Chris Brocksopp (338) |
12 |
Robert Broome (41) |
Mark Poole (276) |
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Semi Final Grid 2 – Birmingham 22nd August 2009
ROW |
INSIDE LANE |
OUTSIDE LANE |
1 |
Frankie Wainman Jnr (515) |
Paul Harrison (2) |
2 |
Stu Smith jnr (390) |
Lee Robinson (107) |
3 |
Dan Johnson (4) |
Michael Scriven (12) |
4 |
Tom Harris (84) |
Mick Harris (8) |
5 |
David Squire (311) |
Ed Neachell (321) |
6 |
Ivan Pritchard (434) |
Mal Brown (34) |
7 |
Joff Gibson (249) |
Spencer Taylor (498) |
8 |
Neil Shenton (35) |
Ian Venables (60) |
9 |
Rob Cowley (73) |
Steve Cayzer (380) |
10 |
Simon Panton (288) |
Luke Davidson (464) |
11 |
James Morris (463) |
Neil Scriven (11) |
12 |
Lee Dimmick (459) |
Steve Jacklin (136) |
Reserve drivers - Will Yarrow (22), Steve Hopkins (347), Ricky Wilson (502), Andy Ford (13), Joe Booth (446), Chris Cowley (37), Geoff Nickolls (215) and James Clement (158).
Lee has never raced the F1 on shale before, so the team are working hard this week to make the necessary changes to the car to convert it to shale set up. If all goes to plan, Lee will be racing at Coventry this weekend to enable him to get some practice on the loose surface ahead of his semi final next month.
Thanks to Chris Clarke
2nd June 2009: Birmingham
Lee made his final appearance as a white top at Birmingham where he opted to play his Joker. Lee average 40 points for the night as a result.
Lee and the Fairhurst team were also filmed all evening by the BBC for the up coming documentary featuring the sport and the 217 car was fitted with no less than 5 on board cameras to catch all the action. (See meeting reports for more details).
After the meeting finished the Fairhurst team were faced with more dramas when the team coach broke down at the track as they attempted to leave the pits area. The fault was traced to a problem with the fuel tank and a fungus build up in the tank. The fault was rectified and the team were able to continue the journey home.
On Sunday Lee removed the gearbox and started to strip it down to try and find the cause of why it is jumping out of gear during the races. The car should be ready to race again at the Scottish weekend in less than two weeks.
Lee will be racing the car again at both Knockhill ( a track he loves) and Cowdenbeath the following day. He will be starting from Blue grade for the first time.
Mike Ashcroft is repainting the wing at Boundary Garage this week and Brian Evans will once again be coming in to re sign write the wing.
Lee has entered 17 races this season and has won 8 Heats, 2 Finals and a Grand National. He has also finished 2nd in two other finals including 2nd place in the UK Open Championship behind Frankie Wainman. This run of form should mean that Lee will be graded up to Star grade in July and the 217 car will soon be sporting a red aerofoil.
Thanks to Chris Clarke
13th May 2009: New Season
The Team Fairhurst tarmac car has had a major refurbish over the winter, ready for the new season ahead. All the nerf rails have been replaced and the body panels either repaired or replaced.
The car has had a new coat of paint at Boundary Garage and Mike has painted it a darker, more sparkly shade of silver. The car looks stunning with it’s Brian Evans sign writing.
Support continues from the sponsors including; Go Goodwins Executive Coach Travel, T R Car Sales, J Davidison Scrap Metal Processors, Stevenage Insurance Services, Shaw Tyre and Exhaust, 3D Haulage, Standox Paints, Hi Spec Racing Engines, Tranzparts truck parts, Monaco Garage, and Stox Photos.
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Derek & Lee would like to thanks all their sponsors for their loyalty, without whom neither of them would be able to continue to race.
With Lee making his full debut in the Formula 1 this season, Derek opted to have the car painted up for Lee rather than for himself
Lee’s F1 campaign got underway at Skegness last weekend and continues throughout May with meetings at Buxton, Northampton & Birmingham to follow. It is Lee’s aim to gain experience at these meetings and hopefully enough championship points for a semi final berth.
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Derek will take over the car again later in the season and also attempt to qualify for the semi finals. Lee will also continue to compete in F2 whenever possible.
The Fairhurst team are currently constructing a new shale car which should debut later in the season which will also be shared by Lee and Derek.
The team continue to operate on a limited budget and with 3 cars to run, Team Fairhurst welcome any offers of support & sponsorship and still wish to find a diesel sponsor to enable them to travel to more meetings.
Derek and Lee wish to thank their family for their continued support with their racing endeavours as well as a big thank you to all the Fairhurst team mechanics, helpers and friends who give up their time week in, week out, to keep the 213, 217 & 218 cars on track.
Also thanks to Catherine & Hilary Prior for maintaining the website and to Chris Clark for the meeting reports, photos and media support.
30th April 2009: Birmingham Practice Day
Brian Evans finished the sign writing on Wednesday 22nd April 2009, so the team made the decision they'd have a practice day down at Birmingham on Friday 24th April.
The car newly painted and loaded with the sun shining down on them, Derek, Lee, Matthew, Steve, Dylan and Martin took the bus for a day trip to Brum.
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Photos taken and Lee wanting to practice, the decision to put a stop to the formalities was taken. Within a few laps it was evident that that the gearbox did not look to healthy, so Lee brought the car to the centre green and with the help of Andy Maynard (Hi Spec Engines) the gearbox was taken out, the fault was found, repaired and replaced. By now Tom from TR Car Sales had come to join us and helped with the afternoons events, the car was sounding very good and Lee completed enough laps to get a good feel of the car, he was happy with the performance of the car overall and he felt it was not a wasted day.
Roll on Skegness on the 9th and 10th May. This will be Lee's first meeting in the F1 for points!!
Bring on the racing.
Shale car has not been the priority for the past couple of weeks as we have been trying to get the tar car ready for spraying at Boundary Garage (thanks Mike). The signs have been done and there has
been some small improvements.
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