United Downs Raceway - Monday 4th June 2012

The sun shone brightly on the large Jubilee Bank Holiday crowd that gathered at the United Downs Raceway for the popular annual madness that is Bus and Coach racing ! Although down on numbers this year the big machines still managed to put on a thoroughly entertaining show, causing utter destruction not only on the track but also off it too ! Also on the packed 16 race programme were the Brisca F2s, a large entry of the Autospeed Bangers for their Cornish Championship and the juniors in the Ministox. The weather conditions meant that the track was in near-perfect condition for some fast and furious racing - and many of the spectators went home not only happy but with glowing limbs a brighter shade of red than many of the star-graders roofs!

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Not an overwhelming turnout by any means with only 22 cars arriving to determine who would win the unusual piece of auto-sculpture that is the 'Tyrone Snell Trailers' trophy. Defending champion 797 Dan Moss and previous winner 167 Bill Batten were among the entry, along with 'Novice of the Year' 921 Jack Aldridge and 476 Ryan Wadling making his track debut - but missing were 676 Neil Hooper, through suspension, and recent St Day heat and final winner 290 Jay Tomkins, who had been taken very seriously ill a week before and who I am sure we all wish a full and speedy recovery. Running to what now seems the norm at United Downs, a two-from-three heat format, the opening race fieded just 12 cars, including 167 Batten, 921 Aldridge and 522 Chris Mikulla. 797 Dan Moss took the lead of this one on lap number two and never looked back, though was followed for most of the race by 830 Andrew Bennett who in turn had reigning track points champion 315 Justin Fisher for company - complete with 'union-jack' crash helmet - but at the flag it was defending 'Tyrone Snell Trailers' champion 797 Moss that recorded an easy win, the boy-from-Fowey making his intentions of retaining the trophy clear from the start, with 522 Mikulla and 167 Batten finishing in 4th and 5th. Heat 2 saw 14 cars out on track, including fastest man in pre-race practise 783 James Rygor, at the green it was 550 Andy Sobey who made the initial running but he pulled onto the infield on lap 3 handing the lead to 31 Simon Bassett. The youngster from St Austell held on to the lead past half-distance but 783 Rygor and 522 Chris Mikulla were flying from the reds and just as it seemed we had a real old battle on our hands the waved yellows came out for a problem with the 605 Liam Rowe car on the exit of turn 2 and we were lining up for a re-start. 31 Bassett led the cars away for the final 4 laps but he now had 783 Rygor right on his bumper and at the green it was the red grader that took it up, with 522 Mikulla passing 797 Moss into 3rd, with 921 Jack Aldridge doing likewise on the following lap. Both 522 Mikulla and 921 Aldridge then passed 31 Bassett and as the leaders started their final lap there was nothing to choose between 793 Rygor and 522 Mikulla, as the two cars entered turn 3 Mikulla went in with the bumper pushing the 783 car just wide enough to make the pass and take the win, but only by a few inches, with 921 Aldridge 3rd and the unlucky 31 Bassett 4th. 16 cars lined up for heat 3 with 785 Liam Deeble taking the early lead but 935 Nathan Maidment it was who was certainly on a mission in this one, taking the lead after a big pile-up on turn 2 briefly sidelined several of the mid-field. 31 Simon Bassett and 315 Justin Fisher did their best to stay on terms with the flying 935 but a big engine blow-up in the 31 Bassett car on turn 3 ended his challenge and 315 Fisher had to be content with 2nd at the flag, with 783 Rygor picking up 3rd. The 'Tyrone Snell Trailers' sponsored final had 18 starters and saw 476 Ryan Wadling the early leader from 785 Liam Deeble but already, by lap 3, 605 Liam Rowe had muscled his way into 3rd place shadowed by 315 Justin Fisher. Two laps later and 605 Rowe had moved up into 2nd, still tailed by 315 Fisher, and the next lap had slipped one up the inside of novice 476 Wadling at turn 3 to take it up. 315 Fisher also soon found a way past 476 and the two blue grade men then began to put some distance between themselves and the pack as the race reached half-distance. 167 Bill batten had been going well in both his heats but his car suddenly went right off song in this one and he retired to the infield, whereas fellow red graders 783 Rygor and 522 Mikulla were once again in close company, this time battling for the final place on the podium as 605 Rowe and 315 Fisher already had the top two places sorted. At the flag it was indeed 605 Liam Rowe that took the honours and the splendid 'Tyrone Snell Trailers' trophy, returning the unique award to the Rowe household - as brother Ross had won this event in 2007. Hard charging 315 Justin Fisher picked up his second runner-up spot of the afternoon and 522 Chris Mikulla pipped 783 James Rygor for 3rd. The Grand National raised 16 starters with 785 Liam Deeble taking the early lead but before long 430 Simon Edwards had taken over at the front with 315 Justin Fisher once more going very well from the blues and soon moving up into 2nd. 783 James Rygor and 522 Chris Mikulla were once more having a good tussle but this ended when they tangled on turn 4, with both failing to finish. 430 Edwards and 315 Fisher had an excellent battle at the front but at the flag it was 315 Fisher who took the win, to add to his earlier brace of 2nd places, with 'The Flying Jockey' 430 Edwards an excellent 2nd and 126 Jamie Avery finishing a good 3rd.

Bangers

An excellent entry included newly crowned British Champion 246 Ryan Sparks in his well-used Championship winning Honda Civic and defending Cornish Champion 654 Mark Pope in a very smart fresh Rover 400 Estate. 26 cars lined up for heat 1 with 222 Justin Herbert the early leader, fancied runners 28 Steve Linly and 83 Ben Styles both came to grief early on in this one on the exit of turn 4, as did 804 Treve Wills who rolled spectacularly as he clipped the inside curb, coming to rest on his roof and bringing out the waved yellows. 222 Herbert led the remaining cars away at the re-start but was soon passed by 735 Wayne Flint and 607 Gary Sillifant and the latter it was who took a deserved win after passing 735 Flint on the last lap when he went wide into turn 1, which also allowed 938 Ashley Rice through into 2nd and 289 Jamie Cocks into 3rd. Heat 2 produced 29 cars including multi-champion 246 Sparks at the back of the grid, 130 Chris Durrant was the early leader but he was passed by 38 Kevin Styles on lap 3. 741 Alex Waterman in a nippy Nissan 100 Coupe kept the pressure up on the leader to the flag but it was 38 Styles that took the win, with 246 Sparks passing 130 Durrant on the last lap for 3rd. Another 26 starters made it out for the consolation which was a fast and furious race, 320 Dan Abbott was the star of this one, taking the lead early on and keeping his head and foot down to take the win, though 475 Ben Sealy was very close behind in 2nd at the flag. The Cornish Championship had the full-quota of 30 starters, with 246 Ryan Sparks in his Civic and defending champion 654 Mark Pope in the Rover starting at the very back of the field. At the start, pole-position man 311 Simon Rogers spun on turn 1 and was then collected by half the field, with 18 cars facing in various directions causing those starting toward the back of the grid to take to the infield to get round the bend. This obviously giving the advantage to the star men and their cause was helped even more when the waved yellows came out for a problem with the 677 car of Glenn Nash closed the field up before the re-start. 994 Kirstin Stone led the field away but before she had even completed a lap she was spun by 289 Jamie Cocks at the end of the main straight and then hit hard on the nose by 977 bringing out the waved yellows once more. At the re-start 847 led away the remaining 20 runners, with 246 Sparks already now up into 5th, a lap in and 246 was in 3rd behind 991 Ben Hale but the writing was already on the wall. By half-distance 246 Sparks had taken over at the front and the man from Torquay romped away, well clear at the finish, adding the Cornish Championship to his already impressive list of titles for the 2012 season. 158 Sean McCarthy produced some excellent late race speed to pip 991 Hale for 2nd, with 60 Andy Bulled coming home in 4th, but 246 Ryan Sparks really is becoming unbeatable in this formula - though that might all change when he eventually retires his current battered little Honda and builds a 'new' car ! An impressive 34 cars came out for the allcomers which began with a huge pile-up on the first lap on turn 1 after 185 Richard Coaker spun, which involved over half the field with 511 Dan Crosbie and 194 Alistair Buchan coming off worst, the front of the latter's BMW Compact completely trashed which brought out the waved yellows and an eventual complete re-start. 22 cars survived to fight on and it was 38 Kevin Styles that took the early lead from 847 Andy Whatley, meanwhile 246 Sparks' progress was hindered by a rear puncture, though he still managed to lap quicker than most ! 38 Styles looked to have the race sewn up but somehow, completely unaided, manage to clobber the abandoned 333 Craig Partridge car, damaging his steering and handing the lead to 847 Whatley which he kept to the finish, bringing to an end another lively session from the Autospeed Bangers.

Buses and Coaches

There were just 4 entrants for the annual Bus and Coach meeting, three 55 seater coaches and an LDV Convoy mini-bus but they still made an awesome sight when they lined up on the tight United Downs track. Two of the 55 seaters were straight-off-the-road paintwise but 998 Martin Knowles' had made a splendid effort to transform his mount into a black-and-white cow - complete with a tail at the back ! Heat 1 went the way of 16 Simon Ferris in the LDV Convoy, the smaller machine managing to weave his way in between the larger vehicles, taking his life in his hands every time he did so. And talking of near death experiences (!) the luggage lockers on the near-side of the 131 coach driven by the lively Stephen Cock somehow came open half-way through the race and almost demolished the starter's rostrom as it passed, I say 'almost' because on the very next lap it finished the job, completely destroying the structure and just falling short of wiping out Miss Starter and half of the Autospeed staff and St John's ambulance people that were loitering close by ! Heat 2 was another lively affair with the big coaches developing a fair turn of speed and each attempting to spin oneanother round or failing that just driving into the back of eachother everytime they caught up. Not to be outdone, the smaller mini-bus also tried to spin one of its larger cousins out, almost putting the 998 Knowles coach round on turn 3, but Stephen Cock in the 131 coach did manage to get the similar machine of 141 Toby Tiddy completely sideways on turn 2 - which was some feat - completely blocking the track ! After the 10 laps it was a deserved win for 131 Stephen Cock, picking up not only the chequered flag but the bill for a new starter's rostrom ! The last race of the day was the 'St Austell Bay Motor Auctions' final that went into the DD and this was another lively session, with all four drivers knocking the stuffing out of eachother even before the DD had started ! 998 Martin Knowles won the final but was the first casualty in the DD when his battered coach came to a stop half-way along the main straight. 131 Cock and 141 Tiddy exchanged several hard end-to-end hits, with their vehicles getting shorter and shorter with every crash, with the little LDV Convoy of Simon Ferris running around like a little mischiveous Terrier, having a nibble at either of the two bigger machines at every opportunity. The 'race' was a rather long and drawn out affair but these large vehicles are built strong and the repeated heavy hitting certainly kept the crowd entertained but eventually all good things come to an end and it was 131 Stephen Cock that came out the eventual winner after one sideways hit too many on the 141 Toby Tiddy coach fractured the engine's sump, leaving a large Torrey Canyon like oil slick around the raceway.......... A valiant display from all concerned and the large Bank Holiday crowd went home happy and will all be back next year for more of the same I'm sure.
Oh, and if anyone was wondering how these large vehicles arrived at the United Downs raceway I would just like to say this: any connection between the sightings of three stripped-out, window-less and numbered 55-seater coaches being driven in convoy, on the road between Falmouth and St Day in the early hours of Monday morning are purely coincidental................

Ministox

With no visiting interest once again it was down to the Autospeed regulars to entertain the large crowd and entertain they did. A healthy 18 starters lined up for heat 1 which was a bruising affair at the start with several of the over-keen youngsters getting a little carried away over the first couple of laps but after things settled down it was 951 Aiden Vincent who led but he soon lost out to 994 Toby Johnson. 986 Sophie Fasey was in her usual sparkling form and with 5 laps left to run took over at the front, hotly persued by 942 Stephen Gilbert in the latter stages. At the flag it was 986 Fasey who took the win from 942 Gilbert, with 903 Adam Neville home in 3rd after spinning out 994 Johnson spectacularly inches from the finishing line. Heat 2 began with big problems for 987 Ethan Pope and 955 Frankie Radmore, having a big coming together on turn 2 bringing about a lengthy delay before a complete re-start. Then it was the the opposite result to heat 1 with 942 Stephen Gilbert this time taking a well deserved win from 986 Sophie Fasey but not before we'd had a further stoppage after the 916 car of Keiran Brodie parted company with a front wheel on turn 1 had closed the field up. 14 youngsters took to the raceway for the 'H N Sillifant Transport' sponsored final and once again the race was dominated by 942 Stephen Gilbert and 986 Sophie Fasey, after 994 Toby Johnson had led the opening laps. 907 Ben Sillifant had a problem on turn 2 which brought out the waved yellow flags, so with still 8 laps left to run 994 Johnson led away the re-start from 936 Alfie Whitelegg but already 986 Miss Fasey and 942 Master Gilbert were sitting pretty in 3rd and 4th. 942 Gilbert got the better of 986 Fasey and before long had passed leader 994 Johnson, but the young lady from Sampford Peverell hadn't given it up and was also soon passed 994 Johnson, who did almost re-pass the 986 car. There was a fair amount of action as the race reached the final three laps with novice white grader 901 Cameron Lawrence surviving a very hard rear-ender from 936 Alfie Whitelegg on turn 2 for which he was about to receive a black flag but before this could be administered he parted company with a wheel which rolled harmlessly onto the infield. 942 Stephen Gilbert meanwhile took the chequered flag, followed closely by 986 Sophie Fasey, an excellent afternoon's work from these promising youngsters, with 935 James Flint promoted to 3rd after 994 Toby Johnson was docked two places for a jumped start.