Peter Carr retained his Scottish Open championship. He has now won te title three times in the past four years. This is an increadible record given the quality of the field.
As in 1999, Peter came from the back in the final passing Mick Powell and Ray Morton on his way to victory. Ray Morton came second, Robert Eriksson third and Mick Powell fourth. Peter also clocked the fastest lap of the season at Armadale after winning heat 2 in 56.7 seconds.
Qualifying scores:
Ray Morton (Isle of Wight) 13
Mick Powell (Workington) 12
Peter Carr (Edinburgh) 11
André Compton (Newcastle) 11
Carl Stonehewer (Workington) 10
Robert Eriksson (Edinburgh) 10
Les Collins (Glasgow) 10
David Walsh (Stoke) 9
Jesper Olsen (Newcastle) 8
Michael Coles (Exeter) 8
Ross Brady (Edinburgh) 6
Gary Stead (Hull) 5
Simon Stead (Sheffield) 4
Blair Scott (Edinburgh) 1
David Meldrum (Berwick) 1
James Grieves (Glasgow) 0
Derek Sneddon (Reserve) 1
Kevin Little withdrew prior to the meeting following the injury sustained at Workington the week before. James Grieves picked up extra drive and hit the second bend fence in his first ride and took no furter part in the meeting.
With Peter Carr collecting a tape exclusion he had his work cut out to qualify for the finals. Ray Morton and Mick Powell top scored over the qualifying events and went directly to the final.
Carr and Compton, both on 11 points, went to the semi-final where they were joined by Robert Eriksson and Carl Stonehewer on 10 points. Les Collins was also on 10 points but missed out on the semi-final because he only had one race win as against two each for Eriksson and Stonehewer. Carr and Eriksson went through to the final at the expense of Stonehewer and Compton.
Peter Carr missed the start in the final and looked in trouble with Ray Morton leading and Mick Powell occupying his favourite inside line. Carr managed to squeeze inside Powell, which is no mean feat! Carr then stalked Morton for a lap or so before he passed him on the inside of bend three of the second lap. Last year Peter Carr also had to come from the back to pass Carl Stonehewer and David Walsh to pick up the Cup.
The Scottish Open always seems to provide a classic finish in the final heat. Apart from Peter Carr's heroics in 1999 and 2000, few will forget the 1998 final won by Frede Schott after a superb three-way battle with James Grieves and Carl Stonehewer. This may be due to the fact the the Scottish Open is held in mid-summer as opposed to early season or late season for so many other major individual events.
The track was in excellent nick and provided some great racing notably when any of the six finalists or Les Collins, Jesper Olsen, and Michael Coles were on track.
Peter Carr picked up the £1,000 first prize from the meeting which was sponsored by Bert Harkins Racing.