Smeatharpe Stadium - Monday 2nd May 2011

Mayday Monday at Smeatharpe featured a slightly different format to previous years, and even though there were some unhelpful showers during the afternoon, drivers did their level best to produce an entertaining day of action.

National Bangers

In the first ever 10 v 10 head-to-head challenge, The Dingles comprehensively outgunned the Red n Blacks.  Both teams had been beset with pre-event problems.  For The Dingles, 843 Toby Hodges had had to withdraw the night before the event, when he suffered a cut to his hand which necessitated a trip to hospital.  For the Red n Blacks, three drivers from their original line-up, withdrew on the morning of the meeting, and to further compound matters, transportation problems saw two drivers break down on route to Smeatharpe, and they arrived late.  Gallantly and sportingly, Reapers 410 Dan Galley and 58 Paul Rubery guested for the Red n Blacks.
17 drivers thus gridded for the event, which exploded into life at the drop of the green flag with a succession of crashes at either end of the circuit.  When the dust had settled from those early exchanges, it was obvious that The Dingles were in a very strong early position.  Out front, 841 Tom Perkins was able to control the race, which duly became quite processional for a number of laps.  There was a late flurry of action when a quartet of Dingles descended on Rubery in the closing stages, to eliminate him from the race, and at the finish, six cars made it home, with the first five places filled by The Dingles.  189 Ry Beardwell was the only Red n Black to go the distance.  The winning prize of £250 was duly pledged by The Dingles to the charity, Cancer Research UK.
With the 10 v 10 event out of the way, the National Bangers then turned their attention to the Spring Open Championship.  Much interest centred on 190 Steve Bailey, whose car was in the blue colours of his own Pikeys group, rather than the Midnight Runners livery he has run in for some time.  Bailey duly won the opening heat and then the second heat for good measure, with 239 Steve Carter the runner-up on each occasion.
A puncture forced Bailey to retire early from the Spring Open final, which began with a lively display from 113 Jack Gill and 451 Nigel Belfield.  Indeed, Belfield even threw away a good lead to bury Rubery.  That promoted 719 Chris Storey into the lead, whilst 111 Ray Rowe despatched 162 Brett Ellacott into the west bend.  Storey kept up his advantage at the front, and went on to win, with Belfield the runner-up, and Carter in third.  891 Darren Wade railroaded 47 Marcus A'Lee into some parked cars in the pits bend on the last lap, and neither driver made it home.
Using the Darryl Cock car, 842 Jack Perkins won the DD, seeing off Gill, 266 Ian Meaker in his splendid old P4 Rover, and 642 Nigel Thomas to end an intriguing day for the National Bangers, which had seen almost 40 drivers in action.

Saloon Stock Cars

National Champion 120 Shane Brown again showed imperious form as he swept to two more race wins.
After the hectic Easter schedule, numbers were slightly down for the Saloon Stock Cars, but again the grid was supplemented by some excellent travelling efforts.
698 Danny Colliver stormed to victory in the opening heat, but Brown was not to be denied in the second heat, as he effected a successful last bend challenge on 103 Chris Horwell to clinch the win.  Horwell led the final, too, but once more it was Brown who went on to win, with 30 Barry Hollett completing the top three.

Ministox

Both heats for the youngsters brought race wins for 991 Ryan Hoskin, who reeled in 932 Sam Moore just in time before the chequered flag fell.  Unfortunately, there were also a couple of heavy crashes, which saw 997 Frankie Radmore and 923 Bradley Bryant sidelined for the rest of the meeting.
The Final for the Ministox was arguably the race of the day.  On a wet and slippery track, three drivers battled and fought for the lead over a number of laps which made for compelling viewing.  In a photo finish, only the electronic lapscoring system could separate the drivers, with 903 Adam Neville taking the win, just, ahead of 945 Ashley Prisk and 989 Joe Marquand.  Neville was delighted, and Prisk was also to be commended for bouncing back from a rollover earlier in the meeting.