Smeatharpe Stadium - Sunday 22nd April 2012

(Report by John Wyatt)

A very wet, windy and cold Smeatharpe stadium greeted both spectators and competitors to the 2nd 'Remembering Rog' F2 Stock Car tribute meeting and the annaul 'Crash for Cancer Care' race for the 2 Litre National Bangers. But if you thought the weather was going to put a dampner on things you were wrong - as the racing was excellent in all four formulas with incidents and/or accidents aplenty ! As is always the case when the heavens open, the form book goes out of the window and some surprising results were recorded, but it wasn't all rain, the sun did come out at times, giving the star men an opportunity to shine but the dampness also gave the oval racing wet-weather specialists the chance to show their skills and collect some of the quality silverware on offer.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

With the wet and miserable forecast well documented on the television, numbers in the BriSCA F2 entry were a little down on what was expected and so a two-from-three heat format was again adopted. Visiting interest included 38 Dave Polley and defending 'Remembering Rog' 2011 winner 886 Chris Bradbury - both having raced the previous evening at Birmingham and both having to do some burning-of-the-midnight-oil to enable them to race. Polley having to replace an engine and Bradbury a gearbox, with the latter probably wishing he hadn't bothered......... Also back after a year's sabbatical was 538 Chevy Mills, though he might have wished he had waited another week before making his comeback too.
Although the track was very wet the rain had eased a little as the 18 starters lined up for heat 1, including 830 Andrew Bennett, back up to the blue grade after his superb two-heats and final victories at Smeatharpe earlier in the month, in the rain. 302 Dale Moon was an early leader in this one chased hard by 31 Simon Bassett, with 830 Bennett already up into 4th by lap 4, 783 James Rygor also going well. 830 was soon up into 2nd and looking masterful in the conditions, with 783 Rygor up to 3rd after disposing of 31 Bassett, putting the young St Austell driver into a spin on turn 1 on lap 7. Unfortunately the 31 car had hit the fence hard backwards and with the driver in some distress the waved yellows came out and the cars lined up for the re-start. 302 Moon led the field away but by half distance 830 Bennett was right on his bumper and was through on the following lap, up the inside on turn 4, to take the lead which he kept to the chequered flag. 302 Moon hung on to 2nd right up until the last corner of the final lap, 783 Rygor pushing the youngster wide into turn 3 and taking the place in a textbook move. Moon recovering to finish just ahead of the charging 38 Polley in an excellent opening race. An emotional, popular and thoroughly deserved win for 830 Andrew Bennett.

The rain had actually stopped by the time the 14 starters came out on a still very wet track for heat 2, among them 'Shoot Out' Champion 886 Bradbury, but his race was over almost before it had begun with an engine failure seeing him retire to the infield. 916 Luke Thomas took the lead early, as the slippery track caught a lot of drivers out, but 783 Rygor was soon on the pace, as he had been in heat 1, and soon up into 3rd. 990 Paul Rice was another driver going well while further back 676 Neil Hooper was the pick of the red grade, but neither could keep up with the flying 783 Rygor who was looking the only threat to leader 916 Thomas. At one point he had almost a complete straight advantage over the 2nd place man but the gap was shorter by the the time the chequered flag dropped - and that gap disappeared completely AFTER the race when 916 Thomas was docked two places by the steward for a jump-start, with 783 Rygor collecting the winner's trophy and 676 Hooper promoted to 2nd.

Rain was falling once more as the 17 starters lined up for heat 3, including earlier heat winner and wet weather expert extraordinaire 830 Bennett at the back of the blues, and 38 Polley. 916 Thomas was again the early leader but this time he had in-form youngster 302 Dale Moon for company, very close company too. These two drivers pulling out an almost complete straight lead over the chasing pack. As the two yellow graders diced at the front, 38 Polley had moved up into 3rd after 990 Paul Rice and 676 Neil Hooper had a coming togeteher on turn 2 with 3 laps to go. Meanwhile, 830 Bennett had really got into his stride and was now right on 38 Polley's tail, and as they exited turn 2 together had the inside line but as he attempted to pass the 38 car down the inside, Polley moved over and with no where to go the unfortunate 830 car ended up on top of an infield marker tyre, his race, and indeed his meeting, over. As this was happening the leading duo were starting their final lap and were still nose-to-tail, and as they arrived at turn 3 for the final time 302 Moon goes for the lunge down the inside but 916 Thomas keeps his foot to the floor and they exit turn 4 neck-and-neck. As they both race toward the line 302 Moon just gets his nose in front, and I mean JUST, as there is really no more than several inches between them, probably one of the closest finishes seen for a long time. 38 Polley was the next man home in 3rd. Excellent stuff !!

The 'Remembering Rog' final, sponsored by the Willcock family, promised to be an exciting affair, with last year's winner, 886 Bradbury, sidelined with mechanical problems a new name was going onto the splendid trophy for sure. With the sun now shining, 21 starters lined up on a drying track and as the green flag waved, 916 Thomas was an early casualty, hitting the spun car of 476 Ryan Wadling on turn 1, also having problems was 734 Glenn Sanders, his car coming to a stop on the exit of turn 4 bringing out the waved yellow flags. At the re-start, with 17 laps left to run, it was white grader 245 Paul Milsom that led away the field from 302 Moon and 14 Mike Priddle but as soon as the green flag waved 302 Moon shot past 245 Milsom but he was then passed by 14 Priddle who led the field at the end of the lap. 76 Chris Rowe was the next man to pass 302 Moon and was soon right on the tail of the 14 car, these two putting a little distance between themselves and 302 Moon in 3rd. Two laps later and 76 Rowe passes 14 Priddle on turn 1 to take it up, as 783 James Rygor passes 302 Moon to move into 3rd, with 38 Polley passing 990 Paul Rice to take over 5th. At half-distance it is 76 Rowe from 14 Priddle, 783 Rygor from now 38 Polley but a lap later and Rygor is up into 2nd through turn 3, with 38 Polley passing the 14 car on the next lap. As the lap boards are prepared 76 is coming under a lot of pressure from the flying Rygor and with 5 laps left to run the Westbury man hits the front on the exit of turn 4, with 38 Polley then closing on the Rowe machine in 2nd. With 3 laps remaining, 76 Rowe goes wide through turn 3 which allows 38 Polley through up the inside to take over 2nd but there is not enough time or laps left to catch the leader and 783 James Rygor holds on, just, to take a thoroughly deserved win and the precious Willcock family 'Remembering Rog' trophy, from 38 Dave Polley and 76 Chris Rowe finishing an excellent 3rd. With 676 Neil Hooper the next man home in 4th. An excellent race and one that I am sure will have been enjoyed by anyone who may have been looking down from the skies above........

The Grand National produced 17 starters and as the cars lined up a few spots of rain began to fall. As the green flag waved, 476 Ryan Wadling and 734 Glenn Sanders had a big coming together on the entry to turn 1 as 14 Mike Priddle led the field. Lap 3 and the motor in the 302 car of Dale Moon lets go in a big way on turn 3, the stricken machine coming to a halt on turn 4 in a huge cloud of white smoke - bringing out the waved yellow flags, and the Moon Snr cheque book...... The 14 car re-start was led away by 14 Priddle, from 916 Thomas, with 676 Neil Hooper already up to 3rd, and handicap man 783 Rygor at the back of the now closed-up pack. Although Priddle made a good start, it wasn't too long before 676 Hooper was hounding him after passing 916 Thomas through turn 3. By half-distance it was indeed Exmouth man Hooper who led the pack but 14 Priddle kept the pressure on in 2nd, as handicap man 783 Rygor and 935 Nathan Maidment collided on turn 3. 315 Justin Fisher and 38 Polley were having a good battle for 3rd and 4th, the 38 man this time allowing the overtaking 315 enough room to pass him up the inside at the end of the main straight - where 830 Bennett had come to grief earlier in the afternoon. As the lap boards came and went it was 676 Hooper who took the honours, from 14 Priddle, 315 Fisher and 38 Polley, bringing to an end a good day's racing from the BriSCA F2's - and a fitting celebration of a young man much missed by his fellow drivers.

Saloon Stock Cars

With the World Final looming, several visitors arrived to re-acquaint themselves with the Smeatharpe track ahead of the event in August, including British Champion 156 Darren Goudy and English Champion 402 Shaun Webster. Also among the visitors were brothers Marty and Danny Colliver, 184 and 698, originally destined to race at Coventry on the shale on Saturday night but due to the cancellation of this meeting were welcome additions to the afternoon's entry.
With the rain-soaked track threatening to spoil things 22 cars lined up for heat 1, and as the green flag dropped the slippery conditions caught a lot of the drivers out with spins and adventurous lines around the bends the feature of the early laps. 156 Goudy though was managing to find the fastest route and was soon lapping quicker than anyone else, with fellow visitor 402 Webster also making excellent progress as the majority of locals struggled to come to terms with the wet conditions. The exception to this was 916 Ross Thomas, the man who had won a race at both his last two Autospeed meetings was going very well at the front after passing both Horwell brothers, 103 Chris and 104 Matt, who had been early leaders but there was no stopping 156 Goudy and the popular East Angian took the win, from 916 Thomas and 402 Webster.

With the track drying out a little, heat 2 produced 21 starters and began with 30 Barry Hollett losing his bonnet on the start/finish line, which brought out the red flags and a red-faced mechanic from the pit-area holding a pair of bonnet pins.......!! At the second attempt it was 11 Richard Paris who was the early leader from 916 Ross Thomas, as surprisingly earlier winner 156 Goudy has a spin on turn 4, putting him to the very back of the field. 916 Thomas manages to pass 11 Paris as the rain begins to fall again, which seems to kick-start wet weather maestro 402 Shaun Webster into life, as the Sheffield man begins to battle his way through the field and with just a couple of laps left to run moves into 2nd after 65 Ian Willis and 104 Matt Horwell have a coming together. At the flag it is 916 Thomas who takes a deserved win, from 402 Webster and 120 Shane Brown home in 3rd.

The 'P & A Oakley' sponsored final looked like being an open affair with two different winners in the earlier heats - though finishing 3rd in heat 1 and 2nd in heat 2, English Champion 402 Shaun Webster might have been worth a flutter but with the track now dried out, only time would tell. 20 cars made the start, with 184 Marty Colliver the only non-starter, the London based driver feeling a little Bill-and-Dick after racing in heat 1. At the green it was 94 Mark Johnson in the ex Ian Govier car that took the lead for the first few laps, from 995 Ben Goddard and 2 Paul Tuppen, but as the race progressed first 995 Goddard and then 2 Tuppen passed the white grader, before Tuppen took over at the front, passing the 995 car on the inside through turn 1. 65 Ian Willis, who had been having a fairly quiet afternoon by his recent standards, was soon up into 4th and looking menacing as he always does. At half distance it was still the two orange cars of 2 Tuppen and 995 Goddard that led the field with 65 'Pasty' now up to 3rd, the dry track producing a fast and furious race after the earlier wet heats. With 5 laps left to run the yellow grade pair were still driving with confidence at the front as the star men in the red grade struggled to match their pace. 65 Willis though was getting ever nearer and with the 5 lap board showing lined up 995 Goddard for the hurry-up into turn 3, pushing the youngster deep into the corner and nipping through on the inside up into 2nd. Knowing the way the man from Slough goes about his business, I think a lot of the watching crowd, me included, were fearing the worst for leader Tuppen as the 65 car closed on him down the main straight but an unexpected ally in the shape of 911 Pete Jennings suddenly threw himself into the mix, spinning on turn 4 right in front of the leaders. Somehow 2 Tuppen managed to miss him but 65 Willis braked and slid into the side of the stranded 911 car and by the time he had reversed and set off again the man from Rainham was far enough ahead to hang on to the lead and take his 2nd Smeatharpe win of the year, inspite of nursing a gearbox problem, with 995 Goddard finishing an excellent 2nd and 103 Chris Horwell an equally good 3rd - with 120 Shane Brown the only red grade to show any kind of form coming home in 4th. Top marks then to Essex boy Tuppen, a man who didn't even bother going out for pre-meeting practice as he said his car was hopeless in the wet ! After today's performance, I am sure a lot of Saloon Stock drivers will be looking at the long-range weather forecast for mid-August.

2 Litre National Bangers  (No Mondeos, Cougars, Jaguars)

With the weather forecast promising rain, a reasonable turn out of 16 'non-Mondeo, Cougar, Jaguar' National Bangers still made the effort and lined up for their first race, the 'Crash for Cancer Care' on behalf of St Margaret's Hospice in Taunton, feature race. Included in the entry was the used rapid Nissan 200 of 'Boneshaker' Champion 162 Brett Ellacott, with fellow team man 714 Paul Smaldon in his equally used Focus and 47 Marcus A'Lee in a fresh Honda Prelude, similar to the one he used at 'Boneshaker'. Strangely, with the 'Turning Japanese/One Sunny Day' meeting the next event for the National Bangers at Smeatharpe in a couple of weeks time, the entry included two Nissan Sunny's and an Almera. 133 Terry Hill was by far the 'wrecking' star in this one, starting his afternoon of  destruction by burying 607 Gary Sillifant hard into the 891 car of Darren Wade on turn 4 on lap 1. Meanwhile 162 Ellacott was giving 114 Nick Courtier some stick on turn 3, 114 then coming under attack from 133 Hill - at both ends of the track - finally pushing him into 162 Ellacott, who in turn ends up in the side of the stranded 607 Sillifant ! Meanwhile 45 Anthony Croshaw is the man doing the laps at the front, chased by 714 'No Show' in the Focus, as 133 Hill has another go at 114 Courtier on turn 4. 714 Smaldon then hits the already battered cars of 284 Leon Benjafield and 311 Simon Rogers on turn 2 which allows 891 Darren Wade in an immaculate looking Bluebird to move into 2nd, as the lively 133 Hill now attacks 708 on turn 3, before turning his attention to the car of 842 Jack Perkins ! At the chequered flag it is an easy win for 45 'Lips', from 891 Wade and team mates 162 'Bad Boy' and 714 'No Show'. A good showing from the National Bangers, with no obvious 'team racing' giving anyone anything to moan about (!) and an excellent performance by 133 Terry Hill, doing his best to not make friends with anyone !

The first allcomers race saw 13 starters on track and began with 841 Tom Perkins being spun by 714 'No Show' on turn 3. Further back, 162 Ellacott was flying in the rare Nissan and also going well was 133 Hill who seemed to be concentrating on doing the laps this time instead of wrecking, although he couldn't resist spinning 114 Courtier on his way to taking the lead. 162 Ellacott though was not to be beaten in this one and soon caught and passed 133 Hill to take it up and go on to win what was, after the earlier race, quite a tame affair, with 133 Hill home in 2nd and 45 'Lips' 3rd, with 714 Smaldon finishing 4th for the second time in the afternoon.

The final event of the afternoon was the second allcomers - which went straight into the DD - and fielded 12 starters which included the Nissan 200 of 162 Ellacott. After the green, 841 Tom Perkins was again the first casualty, being spun by 74 Adam Hitchcock into the fence on turn 4, and was then rammed by 47 A'Lee but all continued. 114 Courtier then puts 607 Gary Sillifant into a spin on turn 3 but again both get going but next lap 162 Ellacott picks up the unfortunate 607 at the end of the main staright and follows him in hard into the turn 3 fence, leaving the Sillifant car's back axle off the ground. Two laps later and 114 Courtier hooks onto the back of 842 Jack Perkins down the main straight and then along comes 162 Ellacott in the flying Nissan, picks up the pair of them and follows both into the stricken 607 car of Sillifant in spectacular style in what is the hit of the day ! And then just reverses and drives away, just as 841 Tom Perkins arrives, sees the 114 car of Courtier buried in the back of brother Jack's car and buries himself into it at speed - just as the red flags come out ! Thankfully no one is any the worse for wear and 841 'Dingle' Perkins exits his destroyed car to loud applause. The 8 car re-start was a little 'roddy' and was won by 162 Ellacott, from 714 'No Show' and 452 'Lurch' but as the chequered flag was replaced by the green to signal the start of the DD, most of the cars pulled onto the infield, leaving just 47 Marcus A'Lee in the still straight Prelude and 74 Hitchcock in the well battered Vectra to take on the DWO duo of 162 Ellacott in the mighty Nissan and 714 'No Show' in the Focus. Predictably in wasn't a long battle, 162 Ellacott taking care of the 74 Vectra by following it in hard on the Taunton bend and then t-boning the Prelude on the centre, leaving just the 714 Focus to dispose of. After a couple of laps circling each other Ellacott in the Nissan gives the Focus one up the chuff but then it is 714s turn and as he powers after the Nissan along the start/finish straight, Ellacott stands on the brakes and the little Focus buries itself in the boot of the 162 car - but still the two cars aren't finished. Smaldon repeats the move and again Elacott stands on the brakes and still the two cars are running, but 'No Show' being 'No Show' decides to take a different approach and after setting off on opposite the two battered cars meet in a stonking head-on and silence. But to loud applause one of the car's fires up again and the little 714 machine reverses and sets off again, building up a good turn of speed before crashing once more into the rear of the Japanese machine and this time it is all over - a deserved win for 714 Smalden. A fitting end to an entertaining afternoon from the National Bangers.             

Ministox

The weather failed to put off the youngsters and 16 Ministox arrived at Smeatharpe, joining the Autospeed regulars was sole visitor 143 Danny Hansford, one of the fastest young drivers in this formula in the country these days and therefore a good 'bench mark' for the locals to compare themselves against. Although the rain had stopped, the track was still very wet for heat 1 which fielded all available cars, including 143 Hansford in his 'shale' car. 935 James Flint was the early leader but young Hansford was not finding the wet track to his liking at all and to add to his problems was spun by 997 Kieren Bradford at the end of the main straight on lap 2, the Heathfield driver instantly receiving the black flag for removing the Spedeworth super-star illegally. 903 Adam Neville though was the real star of this one and by lap 4 was up into 2nd place and shadowing the leader, followed closely by 989 Joe Marquand. With 5 laps left to run 903 Neville moved up into the lead, followed by 989 Marquand, and these two then had a running battle with eachother right up to the chequered flag, with 903 Neville just finishing in front of the Notter Bridge man by just a few inches, with 932 Sam Moore finishing in 3rd. All 16 cars lined up again for heat 2 and at the green it was 925 Amy Collett that made the early running. Bad boy in this one was 951 Aiden Vincent, although only in his third meeting, and bearing the 'black-cross' on the back of his car, he spins the unfortunate 936 Alfie Whitelegg, incurring the wrath of the steward and the black flag - no doubting his keeness though ! As regards the racing, it was almost a repeat of the earlier heat, as 903 Adam Neville soon made his way to the front, once again closely shadowed by 989 Joe Marquand, although 932 Sam Moore and 935 James Flint did have a good battle for 3rd and 4th. 143 Hansford was still having not much luck at all, collecting a N/S/F puncture in the late stages of the race. At the flag it was another win for Helston boy Neville, from 989 Marquand, 932 Moore and 935 Flint - exactly the same order as they finished heat 1 - though 986 Sophie Fasey did her best to take 4th but was spun as she crossed the line by the lively 977 Kieren Bradford.

The 'Reg Thomas Memorial Shield' final was almost a carbon-copy of the earlier two heats result wise, with 903 Adam Neville recording his third win of the afternoon, but this time he had stiff competition from 986 Sophie Fasey who took 2nd place on lap 3 behind 935 James Flint before spinning him aside to take the lead half-way through the race. Going into the last lap it was still the girl from Sampford Peverell who held the advantage from 903 Neville but as the two youngsters arrived at turn 3 for the final time, 903 just managed to push the 986 car wide enough to enable himself to pass down the inside to take the victory, and his fourth win on the bounce, having also won the final at St Day earlier in the month. A very creditable runner-up finish for 986 Sophie, an overdue result for the talented youngster, with 942 Steven Gilbert saving his best performance until the last race, coming home in 3rd after a quiet afternoon by his very high standards. A good display by ALL the drivers, coping extremely well with the very wet conditions in the earlier heats. Big thank you to the Thomas family for their support, this being the 12th year they have presented the Memorial Shield.