NEIL Shenton made a steady start to the stock car racing season at the weekend.

The Winsford racer won the B Class Grade award and notched the biggest points score at the second Formula One meeting of 2001 at Swindon on Sunday.

But in the first, a day earlier at Coventry, things didn't go so smoothly.

"They were good results, but I suppose we could do better," said Shenton. "I've had some teething problems.

"Saturday was not as good as I expected. There were some mis-fires with the engine, but we got it sorted by Sunday.

"The rain made it very treacherous so I had to be careful. Quite a few crashed out rather than using their heads and concentrating on finishing the race."

The results leave Neil 20th out of the 150 registered Formula One competitors. A place in the top 16 would put him in the star graded class.

Neil takes his custom-built stock car to Belle Vue in Manchester on Easter Sunday for the next round, which starts at 6pm.

Winsford firm Combined Tyres, and Powerloyal Golf and Amenity Machinery, are sponsoring his rides this term.