Chris Fort stamped his authority all over Northampton International Raceway to leave all those chasing him wondering just what it is they have to do to not just beat him but, keep up!. Glorious sunshine for what was a late addition to the Hotstox calendar with 21 cars in attendance - never the less the action was very good.

Heat 1 saw 430 Paul Stevens lead them away before 16 year old Terry Hawkins took it up in the 75 car. The blue tops were getting aggitated as they swapped positions and battled away. 187 Craig Smith briefly headed the field but had to give best to a flying Chris Fort. Further back 147 Colin Taylor hit and spun 281 Lee Summers who headed fencewards backwards on turns 3 and 4. Taylor tried to go round the outside of Summers but ran out of room and the pair tangled with Taylor climbing the fence to bring out the yellows. Taylor exited ok. Fort led the restart but struggled to find a gear to allow 131 Kevin Stuchbury to close up but ultimately fail to take advantage as Fort pulled a gap to take the win.

Heat 2 saw Hawkins pace the field with 187 Smith taking over on lap 4. 2 laps later, Fort arrived on the scene and eased by Smith to lead the race. 210 Matt Smith and 575 Darren Cottrill were scrapping well, the pair making their way through the field swapping paintwork as they went. Both were overhauled by Stuchbury and all three caught and passed 178 Richard Burt to go 2nd, 3rd and 4th . Fort was well clear and took a comfortable win of the chasing pack.

The final was barely 1 lap old when the restless blue tops went on attack mode. 237 Daz Parker found the fence on turn 4 with Summers also in the vicinity - spun to face the traffic on the inside of the exit of turn 4. The yellow flags flew to caution the field to remove Summers from the racing line and allow Parker to rejoin. Summers was not allowed to rejoin as he was the reason for the stoppage. Hawkins led the restart but struggled to keep 187 Smith at bay who went clear and pulled a big gap on the field. By this time, 473 Chris Bracher was going extremely well in 3rd and moved by Hawkins for 2nd. Soon enough, Bracher had company in the shape of Stuchbury who had managed to pass Fort earlier on. Stuchbury bumpered by Bracher and the pair were joined by Fort who also passed Bracher. Stuchbury began to wind in the leading Smith with Fort hot on his tail. Fort forced his way past Stuchbury and then put Smith behind him to gain a buffer. Stuchbury made it past Smith but ran out of laps as Fort took his third Final in as many meetings. Smith finished a strong third with Bracher doing very well to fend off 161 Mark Allen for 4th and 5th respectively.

Fort took the handicap for the Grand National. Hawkins led them away with Smith passing him on lap 4 to build a substantial lead. Fort made short work of catching the tail enders in his bid for double points. A lively 184 Carl Boswell tried to fend off Bracher who eventually bumpered his way by. Parker also made it by Boswell but had his mirrors full of 210 Matt Smith and 131 Stuchbury who both relegated the blue grader. Stuchbury caught Bracher and muscled by but could not catch the leading Smith who went on for a well earned victory. Parker surprised 210 Smith as he passed the red grader to claim 4th with Fort returning to 6th from the handicap to end an enjoyable day's racing.

The Hotstox will be back at Northampton on October 25th to contest the British Championship with I suspect, quite a few more cars..

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