United Downs Raceway - Sunday 1st May 2011

After the glorious weather of Easter, a day of rain and drizzle greeted racegoers at the Mayday Sunday fixture at the United Downs Raceway, St Day.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Just under 30 F2s were present, and the damp and slippery conditions, coupled with a reshuffle of the starting grid as a result of new national grades, brought a starkly different complexion to the racing when compared with recent meetings.
76 Chris Rowe was first to make an impression, as he romped to victory in the opening heat.  In heat two, Rowe fought out a close battle with 797 Dan Moss.  The two yellow tops set a fast pace, with Moss keeping ahead to take the flag and his first win of the season.  Heat three saw Moss out in front again, but 315 Justin Fisher reeled him in to take what was also his first victory of 2011.
The final was a superb race, which needed a trio of caution periods, one of which was caused by a stray marker tyre on the track, which had been blasted off the infield by a combination of 290 Jay Tomkins and 374 Gary Stephens after they tangled and collided with it.  Each time the yellow flags appeared, Moss was out front, and as the race moved into its latter stages, it was 116 Ashley Rundle and 189 Paul Butcher who emerged as his main challengers.  However, Moss showed great maturity in handling the situation with aplomb.  He kept good control of his car in the trying circumstances, and proceeded to reel off the closing laps to clinch a first ever feature final win.
676 Neil Hooper took the Grand National, to become the only star grade winner of the afternoon.

Siamese Bangers

In comparison to last year, more than twice as many Siamese Banger pairs were in action, and they served up a real treat, with entertainment galore.  Indeed, there were scores of incidents where a Siamese pair toppled over on to their side.  141 Toby Tiddy and 142 James Herman won the first race, and 479 Jamie Jenkin and 947 Luke Purdy took the next one.  The third race was the most chaotic, with scores of upsets and spills.  The flag fell on 248 Jon Sparks and 247 Richard Sparks, whilst another father and son pairing - 66 Dave Spooner and 99 David Spooner, took the honours in the DD.

Stock Rods

A tremendous showing of 23 Stock Rods contested their latest fixture, and the recent grade changes certainly brought some new faces to the fore.  There was also a sensational debut for 406 Chris Bridger.  In the loaned Corsa of Points Championship leader 181 Lindsey Jones, Bridger swept to heat and final victories.  The final saw 30 Rob Peters excluded for spinning 853 Sam Matthews, but Peters bounced back in the Grand National to score his first win of the season.

Ministox

The youngsters again served up some fine racing, with a different winner in each of their three races.  991 Ryan Hoskin just caught 932 Sam Moore to win the opening heat, and Moore then landed a text book last bend hit to spin long time leader 936 Alfie Whitelegg in heat two.  The final brought a win for long distance traveller 210 Tristan Claydon, who was racing in the Ministox at St Day for the last time, before he moves into a senior class.