Disappointment for Mark in world qualifier

There was disappointment for national hot rod racer Mark Shelper in yesterday's (Sunday 7 September) world championship qualifying round at Hednesford Raceway.

He finished well down the order in both heats, before a more promising performance in the final ended in a crash into the tyre wall.

"The first race was wet, and our wet weather tyres aren’t very good to say the least, after we burnt them out in the Aldershot meeting," said Mark. The second race was a bit better, but after the restart I got stuck outside a couple of times.

"We made a few changes for the final, and the car was really good. I was running third with a car on the outside, when someone decided to try make a gap on the inside and sent me spinning down the start-finish straight flat-out. I managed to slow it a little but went into the inner tyre wall. That bent the front end so we had to retire".

Mark and the Bristol-based team are now assessing the damage to the car before deciding whether they can make it to the next qualifying round at Aldershot on 12 October.

The team is sponsored by The Injection Centre, JB Race Engines, Harrison Bryant Motorsport, Picksons, Arebee Signs, and Woodfield Stables.

National hot rod racing is the top level of short track racing in the UK, featuring lightweight, space-frame replicas of road-going sports cars and coupes, using modied 2-litre engines, producing around 240bhp.

Mark is competing in the English national series, bidding to secure a place in the 2026 world championship final. In the previous meeting at Ipswich, he secured a podium place in a thrilling photo-finish.

Weltch Media has supported Mark and Team Shelper Racing with promotional expertise since 2022. In the past we have also worked with Legends Car racers Ben Power in the UK Championship and James Holman in the Irish Championship. We’ve also backed James in several online iRacing events.

Action photos: Martin Kingston

To see how we could promote your race team, organisation, event, or venue, contact us and check out our success in publicising the Formula 2 stock car world championship final at Mendips Raceway.