Smeatharpe Stadium - Sunday 20th May 2012

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Report by Jon Wyatt

A dull, breezy and overcast day greeted racegoers to Autospeed HQ at Smeatharpe for the British Banger Championship - but things certainly warmed up when the racing started. With a packed seventeen-race programme which also featured the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars and the excellent youngsters in the Ministox we were certainly in for a busy day. And sure enough there were a lot of spins, some big crashes and an epic 'follow-in' - and the Bangers were pretty lively too!

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

This was the 5th meeting at HQ for the BriSCA F2s in 2012 and the big question was whether we were going to see the continuing trend of a different final winner at each meeting. The 29 car entry was not exactly overwhelming but visiting interest in the shape of Novice Champion 921 Jack Aldridge and British Champion 401 Barry Goldin was certainly going to keep the Smeatharpe regulars on their toes. Running to the usual these days two-from-three heats format, heat 1 saw 19 cars line up including both 921 Aldridge and 401 Goldin. Also among the red grade was 167 Bill Batten, the veteran recording the fastest lap in pre-meeting practise. 476 Ryan Wadling in the ex Rob Batten 467 car was the early leader, with 167 Batten and 401 Goldin the first of the reds to show. Also going well from his new blue grade was 290 Jay Tomkins as was 189 Paul Butcher from the yellows and just as 189 took the lead on lap 6, 167 Batten and 401 Goldin tangle on turn 1 which brings out the waved yellows. 189 Butcher led the re-start, from 476 Wadling and 290 Tomkins, but just after half-distance 290 Tomkins took over at the front and went on to win comfortably, with 189 Butcher, 430 Simon Edwards and 522 Chris Mikulla having an excellent battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th, which 189 eventually won. Heat 2 fielded 18 starters including on-form man 886 Chris Bradbury, fresh from racing on the shale the night before at the Stoke World Qualifier, where he won a heat and finished 2nd in the meeting final, and local favourite 676 Neil Hooper in his 'older' black car. At the green it was the constantly improving 734 Glenn Sanders that led the field away, but 254 Richard Beere in his smart new 'Motorworld' car was soon in front and looked very much at ease with his new toy. There was spilt oil or some other fluid on turn 3 and 4 which was making it difficult for most of the drivers but not 886 Bradbury, who was already up to 5th by lap 4, shadowed closely by 676 Hooper. With 254 Beere comfortable at the front, he was soon joined in 2nd by son Jamie in the 954 car, and at half-distance the positions remained the same, with 886 Bradbury now running 3rd. At the flag it was 254 Beere Snr the easy winner, with 886 Bradbury demoting 954 Jamie to 3rd on the very last lap. Heat 3 included both 401 Goldin, 167 Batten and 886 Bradbury among the 20 car line-up and at the start it was 734 Glenn Sanders who once again made the early running, chased by earlier rivals 189 Paul Butcher and 430 Simon Edwards. At half-distance it was still 734 Sanders but as the pack caught up and with 5 laps left to run 430 Edwards had moved just in front of 189 Paul Butcher to head the field, with 783 James Rygor now running in 3rd. 3 laps to run and 783 slips past 189 Butcher and sets his sights on 430 Edwards, 2 laps to go and as the two leading cars race down to turn 3 together, 783 Rygor pushes 430 Edwards deep into the corner and goes down the inside to take the lead going into the final lap thinking 'job done'. But 430 Edwards has other ideas and slams into the 783 Rygor rear bumper going into turn 1, pushing him wide and re-takes the lead, 783 Rygor's car then stops on the exit of turn 4 with a broken rotor-arm and 189 Butcher passes him into 2nd. If you thought that was it you were wrong, 189 Butcher then catches 430 Edwards on the main straight and the two yellow grades round turns 2 and 3 and come onto the start/finish straight neck-and-neck, at the line it is 430 Edwards that just gets the verdict, in a finish that was tighter than the trophy girls' leggings ! So, a deserving win for the talented 'Flying Jockey' Edwards who never fails to entertain, and an excellent drive too from the always smiling 189 Paul Butcher, 315 Justin Fisher came in 3rd. The 'Andy Wilson and Son' sponsored 'Dave Wilson Memorial' final had a bit of everything, with action and controversy aplenty, and one driver finishing with one wheel less than he started with, and another finishing with a tyre MORE than he started with AND a pocket full of cash ! To add to the usual prize fund there was a £5 bonus for the leader of each lap, and at the green it was 734 Glenn Sanders who headed away the 26 car field with £ note signs in his eyes ! Almost immediately there was a big pile up on turn 2 involving the blue grade cars of 315 Justin Fisher, 990 Paul Rice and 31 Simon Bassett, with 783 James Rygor also coming to a halt on turn 4. With 734 Sanders still heading the pack just ahead of 954 Jamie Beere, the folding stuff piling up nicely, others were piling up on turn 2 as 189 Paul Butcher, 797 Dan Moss and 167 Bill Batten joined the still stricken 990 car of Rice, with 189 Butcher losing his NSR wheel bringing out the waved yellows. At the re-start, 954 Beere soon moved past 734 Sanders to take up the lead as further back 676 Neil Hooper had pushed 605 Liam Rowe wide to move up into 5th, as 886 Bradbury moved into 6th just behind. Next lap and 886 Bradbury gives 676 Hooper the big hurry-up into turn 3, the two cars clattering into the fence, with 886 emerging just in front as they both exit the corner. As the 886 Bradbury car powers down the start/finish straight 676 Hooper latches on to the back of the Winnersh man's car and follows him in hard into the turn 1 fence in spectacular fashion, in a move that any National Banger man would be proud of, not content with that he then continues to push the stricken 886 car down the main straight, with the two cars eventually coming to a stop on the infield. All this brings out the waved yellows for the second time and 954 Beere Jnr leads away the re-start, from 254 Beere Snr and 734 Sanders - with 401 Barry Goldin having worked his way up into 4th, and we are not even at half-distance. Three laps in and 401 Goldin has moved to the front, with 522 Chris Mikulla moving up into 3rd, briefly, before being pushed wide and passed by 921 Jack Aldridge at turn 3. 522 did manage to re-take the place and at the chequered it was a fine win for British Champion 401 Goldin, comfortably from 522 Mikulla, 921 Aldridge and 254 Richard Beere. So, the Bolton man picked up the superb 'Dave Wilson Memorial' trophy, 734 Sanders picked up a spanking new Yokohama AO21R tyre for being the first white grader home (which Goldin offered him £40 for !) - and 676 Hooper picked up an invitation to the steward's office......... So, the different-final-winner-at-each-meeting trend continues. The GN, of course, saw handicap man 401 Goldin starting in front of the whites, but big surprise was 886 Bradbury among the 20 car line-up after some frantic repairs to his car. 734 Sanders was again the early leader, with 783 James Rygor making an excellent start from the reds. 189 Paul Butcher moved into 2nd on lap 5, with 783 Rygor up into 4th by lap 6 and looking threatening, as 522 Chris Mikulla spins on turn 2. 734 Sanders continued to lead, a half-straight advantage over 2nd place man 189 Butcher at half-distance, but 783 Rygor was on the move and past 189 Butcher into 2nd a lap later and as the lap boards come out it is 783 that takes it up, holding on to take the win, from 189 Butcher, and 167 Bill Batten - with handicap man 401 Goldin finishing in 8th.

Autospeed Bangers

This was a hugely anticipated meeting for the Banger formula and an excellent entry of just over 90 cars assembled in the crowded pit area to determine who would become the 2012 British Champion. With each driver having the opportunity to race in 2 of the 5 heats to gain points to qualify for one of the two semi-finals, before the big race itself, the racing was always going to be fast, furious and indeed, at times, hectic. There were some superb paintjobs and the standard of preparation was excellent, the Autospeed Banger boys are a credit to the promotion, the standard we get is by far the best of any promotion in the country for this class - by far.
27 cars lined up for heat 1, including Devon Champion 186 Leon Fasey, with 667 Shaun Welsby on the inside and 38 Kevin Styles on the outside of a all Mondeo front row. At the green it was 38 Styles that dominated, with a flag-to-flag victory, a strangely 'cambered' NSR wheel - from race damage not a clever modification I hasten to add - helping the car into the corners obviously not a disadvantage. There was plenty of action around the raceway, including a big roll-over along the start/finish straight by 58 Greg Stevens which brought about a stoppage, but after the re-start 38 Styles managed to keep his head and carved his way through the battling field with ease, even surviving a last corner attack from 2nd place man 186 Fasey, the two cars coming across the finishing line almost neck-and-neck, with 991 Ben Hale a very worthy 3rd. 28 starters made it out for heat 2, among them 242 Ben Ellacott in an unusual Honda CRX, the defending British Champion, already assured of a back row start, taking the gamble to try and better his starting position in the big race. 31 Liam Shipway was on the inside of row 1, with 42 Dave England on the outside and as in the previous race it was the man on the outside 42 England that got away first. From the back, 242 Ellacott made a flying start but then got caught up with 668 Paul Mortimer, which put him right to the back of the pack, as leader 42 England stormed through the field chased closely by 100 Alec Jenner and 700 Les Brice. With not quite as much action as heat 1, the racing was fast, with the big battle being between the first 3, the lead changing hands more times than the Olyimpic torch but at the flag it was 42 England that sneaked it from 100 Jenner - with 242 Ellacott home in 10th. So, the gamble hadn't paid off for the defending champion. The sun decided to make an appearance as the 26 cars ventured out for heat 3, with 45 Big Mike Reed on the inside and 199 Micky Gunns the outside of row 1. At the green it was 45 Reed that took it up and apart from an initial challenge from 991 Ben Hale, who he spun out on turn 2, it looked like a convincing win for the Plymouth man but just as the lap boards came out, 372 Jay Matthews and 654 Mark Pope met in a big unintentional head-on along the main straight, bringing out the waved yellows. At the re-start, 45 Reed led 511 Dan Crosbie, and these two battled for the honours right up until the last corner when 45 Reed just managed to push 511 Crosbie wide through the final bend to take the win, with 38 Kevin Styles also passing the 511 car before he could recover to snatch 2nd. Heat 4 had 28 starters, including earlier roll-over man 58 Stevens and National Banger material man 266 Ian 'Tiggy' Meaker. 42 Dave England and 41 Sam Hollis made up the front row and unsurprisingly it was heat 2 winner 42 England that shot off into the distance as the green flag waved but before he had a chance to stamp his authority on things the Nissan 100 Coupe of 741 Alex Waterman rolled on turn 1 to bring out the waved yellows. At the re-start it was again 42 England that led the way, persued by Smeatharpe local 556 Peter Hollis, in a well battered Mondeo, and these two dominated the race and at the flag it was 42 England that took his second victory of the afternoon, with the 'hanging' Ford of 556 Hollis finishing in a deserved 2nd, 100 Alec Jenner adding to his earlier good haul of points finishing in 3rd. The last heat saw another healthy 29 starters line up, with the super-smart Rover 400 Estate of 475 Ben Sealy on the inside of the front row. Proving that it was not just all-show-and-no-go it was 475 Sealy that recorded a flag-to-flag victory in what was essentially a bit of a 'roddy' race, with 117 Ollie Starr a fine 2nd, from veteran Banger man 406 Chris Bridger. So, with all the heats concluded, and all race winners having started from row 1 - it was going to be interesting to see if this rather disturbing pattern (if you were not a front-row starter) was to continue....... Semi-final 1 had favourite 42 Dave England on the inside of row 1 and 100 Alec Jenner the on the outside ahead of a 24 car line-up. At the green it was infact 100 Jenner that got his nose infront, but 42 soon saw to that by spinning him, only to be spun himself by 511 Dan Crosbie handing the lead to 83 Ben Styles. 100 Jenner and 511 Crosbie had a good fight for 2nd which also involved 991 Ben Hale, but a problem for 183 at the end of the start/finish straight bought out the waved yellows. At the re-start 83 Styles drove his smart Mondeo Estate to the win and secure his front row start for the big race, followed home by 991 Hale and 778 Paul May. 511 Crosbie continued his lively afternoon by spinning out 735, who was in 3rd, and then wiping out the smart Rover Estate of 475 Ben Sealy on turn 1 on the last lap. Semi-final 2 fielded 21 starters, with the front row made up of 38 Kevin Styles inside and 186 Leon Fasey the outside. The line-up included both the Sparks brothers for their first race of the day, 246 Ryan in a well-used Honda Civic and 247 Richard in a fresh and very smart Honda Accord, the gambler 242 Ben Ellacott was also among the starters. As the green flag waved, 186 Fasey just had the edge on 38 Styles, with the 186 man waving his arm out of the window like a jockey, trying to 'whip' his Mondeo into going a little faster ! Lap 2 and 186 leads just but is soon overtaken by the flying 246 Sparks, as 242 Ellacott once again encounters problems at the back of the pack. 28 Steve Linly has now moved ahead of 38 Styles to take up 3rd, as at the front 246 Sparks has increased his lead over 186 Fasey, running out an easy winner, with 38 Styles re-taking 28 Linly in the closing stages to finish 3rd. So, the front row for the big race is now set. The 'SJD Autos' sponsored British Championship Final saw 83 Ben Styles on the inside of row 1 after winning the toss, next to 246 Ryan Sparks, with 991 Ben Hale on the inside of row 2, next to 186 Leon Fasey - with defending champion 242 Ben Ellacott at the back of the grid. At the green it was no surprise to see 246 Sparks hit the front, and the watching crowd was then treated to a master-class of Banger driving by the Torquay man who simply drove away from the pack, increasing his lead with every lap. Behind him things were far more exciting, with 28 Steve Linly moving into 3rd from his third row start, behind 83 Styles, at the expense of 186 Fasey. Further back and 242 Ellacott was storming through the field in the little CRX. At half-distance it was 246 Sparks by a country mile, from 83 Styles, 28 Linly and 186 Fasey with 242 Ellacott still making excellent progress and now just outside the top 10. With 6 laps left to run 83 Styles' Mondeo Estate begins to falter and 28 Linly soon passes the ailing car to move into 2nd, next lap and the 83 car retires promoting 186 Fasey back up into 3rd, as 242 Ellacott charges his way to 6th. Three laps to go and with 246 Sparks over half a lap in front, the battle is on for 2nd, with 28 Linly encountering traffic allowing 186 fasey to close, as 242 Ellacott somehow moves into 5th. Last lap and as 246 Sparks takes his battered Civic to the win from 28 Linly, 242 Ellacott gives 475 Ben Sealy a big helping hand into turn 3, destroying his radiator in the process, but amazingly taking 4th place behind Devon Champion 186 Fasey in the drive of the day - with Sealy recovering for 5th in the Rover Estate. An excellent race and a thoroughly deserved win for multi-champion Ryan Sparks, the British title to add to his collection of awards. A deserved 2nd place too for St Austell man Linly, and good to see 186 Leon Fasey return to form after being absent from the formula this season, and an absolutely superb drive from 242 Ellacott. An amazing 39 cars came out for the last race of the day, the Banger Allcomers, but a horrible accident involving the unfortunate 358 Mark Davis on turn 3 marred what was always going to be a lively affair. 100 Alec Jenner was the leader at the time and was rightly awarded the win, from 475 Sealy and 113 Chris Jeanes. Under the circumstances it doesn't seem right to say any more than that.

Ministox

With again no visiting interest, a good showing of 19 youngsters lined up for heat 1 of the Ministox, with new points leader 903 Adam Neville sporting the silver stripe on his roof - just reward for some excellent driving of late. A mention must go to newcomer 901 Cameron Lawrence who, in his first ever race at Smeatharpe, lined his very smart car up at the back of the reds. At the second time of asking, when the green waved it was 919 Jack Clegg who took the lead, and the boy never looked back or, indeed, did his lead look threatened and despite a spirited drive from 942 Steven Gilbert in 2nd from the reds, the young man from Bridgwater recorded his maiden Smeatharpe win, punching the air as he crossed the finishing line, with points leader 903 Neville doing well to finish 3rd. 951 Aiden Vincent was the long time leader of heat 2, having a good tussle with 916 Keiran Brodie before 989 Joe Marquand arrived on the scene to spoil things, pushing 916 Brodie wide into turn 3 to move up into 2nd and then repeating the move the following lap to dis-place leader 951 Vincent to take it up with 5 laps to go. 942 Steven Gilbert drove well once more to be on terms with the leading pair as the lap boards came and went but was not quite close enough to alter the result, with 989 Marquant taking the win from white grader 951 Vincent and 942 Gilbert finishing 3rd, just surviving a late lunge from 903 Adam Neville on the last bend. 'The Collett Family' sponsored final saw 15 starters take their place on the track and at the green it was 916 Keiran Bodie who led from 919 Cleggy,  with Steven Gilbert in the 942 car already up into 3rd and on a flyer. 986 Sophie Fasey was following 942 Gilbert closely and as he moved up into the lead, she moved up into 2nd and this is how it remained to the chequered flag, with 942 Steven Gilbert recording a deserved win after an excellent afternoon's performance, with young Sophie runner-up - just as her dad Leon had been twice in the Bangers! - with 932 Sam Moore home in 3rd, just ahead of 903 Neville. Another good showing from the 'stars-of-tomorrow'.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Heat 1 290 189 430 522 126 954 315 830 921 756
Heat 2 254 886 954 990 783 522 734 676 935 605
Heat 3 430 189 315 126 990 401 734 676 886 921
Final 401 522 921 254 315 835 954 935 105 734
Grand National 783 189 167 954 315 290 921 401 734 935
Grade Awards W 734 Y 430 B 315
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Heat 1 919 942 903 932 987 989 946 977 910 936
Heat 2 989 951 942 935 903 986 910 977 932 919
Final 942 986 932 903 910 989 935 901 977 905
Grade Awards W 919 Y 936 B 989 R 942
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Heat 1 38 186 991 415 511 158 735 667 654 87
Heat 2 42 100 700 406 938 46 60 741 133 242
Heat 3 45 38 511 113 991 677 293 881 154 134
Heat 4 42 556 100 158 186 133 165 132 87 41
Heat 5 475 117 406 778 999 677 175 134 143 46
Semi Final 1 83 991 778 158 741 117 475 938 133 451
Semi Final 2 246 186 38 28 113 247 677 556 235 293
British Championship 246 28 186 242 475 133 113 991 143 677
Allcomers 100 475 113 87 117 58 556 31 366 438
Best Presented 46 56 83 113 133 415 475 677 700 717
 

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