Steve Newman, who died at West Row.

East Anglian motorsport was in shock today following the death of a well-known driver in a race at the West Row Stadium in Mildenhall.

Steve Newman, 36, of Spalding, Lincolnshire, had earlier won a heat at last night’s meeting to qualify for the final.

Shortly after the start of the race he was involved in a major accident. Staff and paramedics freed him from his vehicle and spent 20 minutes in vain trying to revive him.

Sunday’s races at the stadium were cancelled as a full health and safety investigation got underway.

Co-promoter Ron Coventry said: “This looked like a freak event. We have been holding these kind of events for 20 years here and we have not have serious injury, let alone a fatality like this.

“It is dreadful. Steve was well known in motoring circles. He was a top racer – he had won his heat earlier in the evening to qualify for the final.”

He said the stadium had high safety standards. There were paramedics at the meeting. It has its own heavy-duty metal-cutters to deal with any crashes and its staff are trained in how to use the equipment.

Mr Coventry said: “In many ways this is a better place to have an accident than the roads but there was nothing we could do on this occasion.”

The coroner has been informed about Mr Newman’s death and a post mortem examination is being carried out.