Sampson and Skoyles bid for World Final glory

Willie Skoyles and Lee Sampson will be looking to enter the history books and become the first West Norfolk drivers to win the 37th staging of the 2L Stock Car World Championship on Saturday.

The Adrian Flux Arena will be hosting the showpiece event for the fifth time before the Steve Newman Memorial takes place on the Sunday (1pm).

This year’s event features drivers from all over mainland Europe and is looking the most open and competitive event which the sport has ever seen.

Both Sampson and Skoyles are veterans of saloon stock car world finals which is indicative of how long they have spent at the top of the sport.

Sampson, 32, will be competing in his 15th world final while Skoyles, 30, will be making his tenth appearance.

Both drivers have qualified well and will start alongside each other on the third row – for many drivers this is the preferred starting position on the grid.

They enter the World Final in excellent form – particularly around their home circuit of Lynn.

Skoyles comes on the back of recording four victories in as many meetings whilst Sampson took a brace of meeting final runners-up spots a couple of months ago.

Sampson has shown blistering pace when the track is wet and he will be looking to make big strides in the early part of the race when the track will have been watered.

The pair were big players the last time the World Final was held at Lynn four years ago.

Skoyles qualified for the big race on pole but couldn’t stop the charge of Dave Aldous and eventually finished second.

Sampson’s best-ever World Final finish was a third.

Skoyles does not have the same pressure to win a championship after winning the European at Taunton two years ago.

Sampson is also a previous championship winner having won both the National and British titles on the Saddlebow Road shale.

They will be just two of more than 70 drivers who will arrive at the venue with the same dream.

National banger action also takes place with a throwback to the 1990s with an all Primera/Cavalier/Bluebird and Carina outing which were the staple date of Banger Racing in that era.

Other West Norfolk drivers in action will include Paul Lovick, Russell Gill, Sam Coote, Kieran Bowman, Shaun Clarke, Simon Eglen, Nick Ungermann, Tim Rees and Ady Groome.

The 2L stock cars will be back in action, along with the 1300 stock cars contesting the Steve Newman Memorial and national banger racing coming in the shape of a pre-1990 2L banger rear wheel drive meeting.