East Devon drag racing ace Mark ‘Wolfie’ Smith was in top form once again when he travelled north to take part in the George Brown Memorial Sprint held at the East Kirkby track in Lincolnshire.

‘Wolfie’ as he is known amongst the drag racing fraternity, competing in the Straightliner’s championship, ended day one of the two-day meeting, as the overall leader and he held that berth through much of Sunday before being edged out in the eliminators, losing in the semi-finals by the smallest of margins.

However, overall it proved to be a most successfully weekend for him. The highlights were arguably the sequence of runs from run 13 to 15.

The first of the sequence saw him set a new best time of 9.35, he then raced to an even faster time of 9.30 before then matching his previous ‘all time best’ of 9.38 – a time he had recorded on his last visit to the venue two months before.

So what are the ingredients for a super fast run and indeed, what makes the East Kirkby track so good!

‘Wolfie’ explained saying “It’s a smooth track up there, but you do also need the elements to be in your favour with wind in the right direction.”

The journey to and from Lincolnshire was not quite as long as the problem-laden trip two months before when the ‘battle bus’ he takes to the meetings suffered water pump issues – amongst other mechanical woes!

‘Wolfie’ said: “It took seven-and-a-half hours of travelling time to get there this time and eight for the return journey. Yours truly was in charge of the driving while the better-half [wife Terrie-Marie] enjoyed her latest novel and Max [the couple’s faithful hound] did not whinge for a single second – there or back.”

At the end of the two days of action, ‘Wolfie’ finished third with his Kawasaki ZZR14 clocked at a best speed of 150mph and a top time for the distance of 9.30.

Second was Stuart Donald on a Suzuki GSXR10 with a top speed of 152mph and a similar time of 9.30 and the overall winner of the 9.10 class was Chris Hodgson on a Hayabusa 1300cc on which he clocked a time of 9.18 with a top speed of 154mph.

‘Wolfie’ said: “I was very pleased with a third place finish. I was the fastest person on a normally aspirated bike. The only two to beat me had turbo, nitrous and supercharge, none of which I currently have.”

That did beg the question: “So how can you step up to the next level and get one over on the likes of the two chaps who beat you this time.?”

His answer: “It’s down to money and sponsorship now. Take a wheel, the back one costs £145 and that will be good for – at best – one-and-a-half meetings. In addition there are the modification costs for me to get the turbo, nitrous and supercharge elements in place. Of course, I would love to be on a level playing field with the really big boys – maybe one day.”

Can you help ‘Wolfie’ reach the next level? He’d love to hear from anyone who can help with sponsorship. He can be contacted on 07977346251.