Colchester based racing driver Gordon Barnes swapped his regular Formula race car for an 430HP Chevrolet Monte Carlo late model stock car. Over the Easter weekend he travelled to the 3/8th mile banked oval track at Warneton, Belgium where he raced in the opening rounds of the European Late Model Series.

The European Late Model Series was set up for NASCAR-style American Stock Cars and takes place on some of the premier oval circuits throughout Europe. The series see entries racing in a variety of Chevrolet Monte Carlo's and Impalas, Dodge Intrepids, Ford Taurus and Toyota Camrys with drivers coming from Europe.

After an initial fitting in the car at Birmingham, Gordon travelled with the team to Belgium in order to spend a couple of days at the track prior to the start of racing in order to get acclimatised with the race vehicle and the track. Previously, all of Gordon's racing experience has been with open-wheeled, single seat racing cars on permanent road ciruits such as Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Snetterton. This would be his first experience of any form of saloon car and racing on an oval track. During these sessions, Gordon was able to get up to speed with the car on the track whilst being instructed on the nuances of oval racing. At the end of Saturday, Gordon had shown more than sufficient competence to be allowed to race on both Sunday and Monday.

After a brief shower on Sunday morning the cars were able to take to the track for first events of the weekend. Racing on a short track, crowded with cars was a new experience for Gordon but he managed to complete the day without incident and received a commendation from the race stewards for adapting well to the demands of oval track racing.

For the Monday races, Gordon was now more comfortable with the car and with oval racing. He showed more aggression and confidence around other cars and was not afraid of running closely with over vehicles. During one of the races Gordon made a pass on a slower car who attempted to defend the inside line too late, showing he wouldn't be intimidated, Gordon held his line despite contact between the two vehicles and completed the pass into the next corner. After the race, the car sported a large tire mark as a result of this. For the final on Monday, Gordon managed to muscle his way past the other cars in front and managed to lead a few laps of the race early before being passed by quicker cars.

After the events, Gordon enjoyed his time in the Chevrolet Monte Carlo stock car and gained respect from his fellow racers. With luck, Gordon should be able to race the car again this year and potentially could be able to race it in the UK, at Ipswich, later in the year.

Based on information supplied by Gordon J Barnes.