United Downs Raceway - Easter Sunday 31st March 2013

Report by Jon Wyatt

Dull, cold and breezy conditions greeted the still fairly good crowd of hardy Banger souls for the annual pilgrimage to United Downs for Boneshaker. Although perhaps this event will never again live up to its early, fully-subscribed stagings a perhaps below par entry of 27 drivers were still determined to entertain in the cold - and entertain they did. Also on the packed programme on this cold day were the mighty Saloon Stock Cars competing in their Western Championship and the talented youngsters in the Ministox. For the first time too, Autospeed Bangers were added to the cold Easter Day programme, and what an excellent idea that was. And did I mention it was cold.............?

2 Litre National Bangers

The Boneshaker event was the first race for the National Bangers and among the starters were defending champion 162 Brett Ellacott in a lightly used Ford Cougar and DWO team-mate 239 Steven Carter, who had been racing - and partying - the night away at Ringwood/Bournemouth the previous evening. With no vintage cars in attendance the unusual Ford Probe of 47 Marcus A'Lee turned a few heads and rightly won an award for presentation - and it went as well as it looked too. After the grid draw the 27 drivers were led away by 97 Craig Deer and 406 Chris Bridger but a big pile-up on turn 4 saw 637 Dan Smith take it up. 99 David Spooner was the next to come to grief on turn 1 as 239 Carter moved up into 4th and 891 Darren Wade took over at the front, with incidents breaking out at each end of the raceway. Lap 3 and just as 239 Carter moved into 3rd a big surprise when the DWO man caught the inner curb on turn 4 which ripped out his Mondeo's N/S/F suspension and saw him retire to the infield mortally wounded. The positions now 891 Wadey leading, from 452 Anthony Sleeman and 141 Toby Tiddy - with 47 A'Lee now up into 4th in the Probe. 162 Brett Ellacott meanwhile was doing his best to entertain in his usual menacing way, spinning anyone who got in his way as he barged his way up into 5th. At the front though 891 Wade looked comfortable and with 5 to run was lapping the track in confident style, still persued by travelling companion 452 'Lurch' with 162 Ellacott now past the Probe and up to 3rd. With 2 to go, 163 Ellacott catches 2nd place man Sleeman and as the 452 car tangles with back-marker 453 Ricky Indge on turn 1 Ellacott pushes him aside to move into 2nd but leader 891 Wade is far enough ahead and it is the heavy haulage driver from Roche that takes the thoroughly deserved win and the second major title of the 2013 Banger season in the South-West. 162 Ellacott finished in the runner-up spot after a lively drive in the still smart Cougar, with the equally smart Probe of 47 A'Lee coming home in 3rd. Allcomers 1 fielded 22 starters and was a real Banger race, beginning with 97 Craig Deer spinning on turn 2 which started a big pile-up with cars firing in at speed, including 714 Paul Smaldon, much to the delight of the pit-bend crowd. Meanwhile 114 Nick Courtier was doing the laps as once again it was 97 Deer in trouble, taking a big one from 714 'No Show' who then took a big portion himself from 637 Dan Smith - who then got a boot-full of 452 'Lurch' on turn 2. Half-distance and 239 Carter's day wasn't getting any better either, retiring the car for for the second time in the afternoon, this time with a hole in the sump. Leader 114 Courtier had also come to grief - along with most of the field in one incident or another - and 141 Toby Tiddy was the surprising leader as the race concluded, taking the win from 133 Terry Hill and 47 A'Lee's Probe - with 50 Neil Rogers the only other finisher in an excellent race from the hard-hitting Nationals. Just 12 made it out for the second allcomers race which began with 714 'No Show' and 79 Adam Brocks coming together on turn 3 and 162 Ellacott burying himself in the back of 99 Spooner's already severely flattened Mondeo estate as 47 A'Lee briefly took the lead before being spun aside by 45 Anthony Croshaw. 511 Dan Crosbie then hits the 47 Probe before taking a hit himself from the Mondeo estate of 776 Terry Senford before 162 Ellacott demolishes the back of the 776 car big style. A good battle at the front between 45 'Lips' and 133 Terry Hill is resolved in 45's favour on the final lap. The last event of the day was the King of Crash/DD and a surprising 8 starters lined up around the raceway to do battle. After the initial exchanges - with 714 Paul Smaldon particularly brutal -  it came down to 3 cars, the Mondeos of 714 'No Show', 99 'Bam' and 74 Adam 'Scratchy' Hitchcock. 'No Show' gave 'Bam' a big rear-ender on the start/finish straight, before getting one himself from 74 'Scratchy' - which more or less finished off the DWO man. The 74 driver then turning his attention to the almost destroyed limping estate of 'Bam', giving it a big one on the nose - but still the 99 machine kept moving. Unimpressed, 74 backed off, drove to the end of the straight and, after getting the thumbs up from young Mr Spooner, powered in head-on in a stonking hit - but still the black Mondeo estate refused to die. With further thumbs-up exchanged, it was back up to the end of the straight once more for the 74 car and again it thundered into the front of the 99 machine and this time it silenced the battered Ford, to great cheers and applause from the crowd. A superb display from all 3 drivers in exactly the right spirit, with 74 Hitchcock a well worthy winner, bringing to an end an excellent session from the Nationals. Winner Adam commented afterwards that his car had handled badly all day up until the DD - one thing was certain though, it certainly wasn't going to handle particularly well after it..............!

Saloon Stock Cars

Day 2 of the Autospeed Saloon Stock Car Easter 'Triple-header' saw 16 cars assemble in the United Downs pit area, with no less than 3 visitors from north-of-the-border - and I don't mean Devon! One of those was sole white grader 611 Adam Low, the Scottish driver's last appearance at the Cornish raceway two years ago was memorable for a heart-stopping crash that saw the 611 car engulfed in flames, a frightening event that thankfully he has now fully recovered from - so much so that he was the runaway winner of heat 1. From his starting position at the front his lead never looked under threat - though there was plenty of argy-bargy going on down the field. A surprise addition to the entry was 207 Darren Bradford driving the car he built for white grader 460 Cliff Friend who had fallen foul of an illegal carburettor judgement at the Good Friday Northampton meeting, and what a impact his inclusion was on the afternoon. At times it must have been uncomfortable for Cliff as he watched his beautiful machine put through its paces as Bradford barged his way through the field from the back of the grid, even giving World Champion 1 Eddie Darby the hurry-up on his way to a superb 2nd place after pushing aside the unfortunate 2 Paul Tuppen on the final lap, finishing just in front of the ever lively 56 Georgie Boult. Heat 2 began badly for 995 Ben Goddard, spinning on turn 4 - and for ex Banger World Champion 158 Shane Davies who retired onto the infield. Things weren't going much better either for earlier race winner 611 Adam Low, coming to grief against the wall on turn 3 and handing the lead over to Essex boy 2 Paul Tuppen who then came under pressure from 103 Chris Horwell who had the close attentions of 56 Georgie Boult to contend with. The red grade were having their own battle at the back of the field and whilst they jostled for position 103 Horwell took over the lead, with 56 Boult following him through in to 2nd. With 2 laps to go 56 Boulty cleanly passes 103 Horwell and the likeable youngster goes on to take the win, with 103 Horwell holding on for 2nd and a late charge from World Champion 1 Darby seeing him move into 3rd on the final lap. The 'NOW Kitchens of Helston' sponsored Western Championship was another fast and furious affair with 103 Chris Horwell an early spinner on turn 4 as 611 Adam Low leads the field from 2 Paul Tuppen and 158 Shane Davies - with 207 Darren Bradford already up into 4th. As the leaders get up among the back markers, 2 Tuppen moves into the lead but this is short lived as at half-distance 158 Davies takes over, followed closely by 30 Barry Hollett and we have a real race on our hands. 30 Hollett then takes the lead but then is re-passed by 158 Davies who is in turn passed by 207 Bradford just as 1 Eddie Darby muscles his way into 3rd - with 56 Georgie Boult and 120 Shane Brown also now joining in the fun. With 4 to go it is 207 Bradford from 158 Davies, 1 Darby and 120 Brown  - with 1 Darby then passing 158 Davies to move into 2nd. For a moment it looks as if 1 Darby might just catch the flying Bradford but the 207 driver manages to hold on and take an excellent and well deserved win, from World Champion Darby and the smart new car of 120 Brown. An excellent Saloon Stock car race then, and with 460 Cliff Friend unfortunately likely to be sidelined for a month or two hopefully we will see some more of 207 Bradford. And just maybe he might be persuaded to build himself a new car and make a permanant return to the ranks...............

ORCi Ministox

Although no visiting interest on this occasion the 12 Autospeed regulars were as usual excellent value, and with some smart new cars on show it was encouraging to see that interest in this excellent formula is as high as ever. Heat 1 was the first event of the afternoon and on a dry track the youngsters really showed their skills, in a fast race there was the usual pushing-and-shoving but thankfully no stoppages to spoil things. From the white grade, and in his first full season, it was 945 Charlie Porter that was the runaway winner, taking the lead on lap 1 and simply pulling away at the front and winning by the margin of a complete straight from 946 Emily Hector who had done well from her starting position among the red grade. Cameron Lawrence in his smart 907 car also did well to finish 3rd from the back of the grid but neither 'star' drivers had an answer to the pace of 945 Porter. Heat 2 was almost a re-run of the earlier race with 945 Porter hitting the front on turn 1 as the green flag waved, though at the start he had 255 Frankie Radmore for company but this was only short lived as 945 Porter soon got into his stride and began to pull away once more at the front. 987 Ethan Pope in his immaculate car then held 2nd for a while but already 946 Emily Hector was making rapid progress from the red grade and with 5 to run she moved up into 2nd. As in the earlier race 907 Cameron Lawrence was also putting his car to good use and was now up into 3rd and at the flag it was the same result as heat 1 with the uncatchable 945 Porter taking his second win of the afternoon, from 946 Hector and 907 Lawrence. There was a superb trophy on offer for the winner of the afternoon's final courtesy of sponsors Tyrone and Diane Snell but despite this added incentive there was little the assembled field could do to stop the domination of things by the pride of Glastonbury 945 Charlie Porter. 931 Jack Manhire led the opening couple of laps before 945 Porter took over at the front - as 916 Keiran Bodie parted company with a wheel on turn 3 which thankfully came to rest out of harm's way. 931 Manhire did really well to keep the pressure on leader 945 Porter initially and was rewarded with 2nd place at the flag, from 932 Sam Moore in 3rd, but it was 945 Charlie Porter's day, a hat-trick of comfortable wins setting him apart from the rest - and someone to certainly watch out for in the future as he climbs up the grades.

Autospeed Bangers

The Autospeed Bangers were a late addition to the programme but a still respectable 35 cars lined up for the first of 3 'all-in' races. With so many cars on track the action was lively from the start and just as a big pile-up formed on turn 3 the Ford Puma of 87 Paul Lawer rolled on the back straight bringing out the waved yellows. 24 cars made the re-start which was led initially by 845 Albert Haines, the Bugle driver even lapping multi-champion 246 Ryan Sparks who then retired either out of embarrassment - or a puncture. With 4 laps to run 845 Haines was caught and passed by 45 Mike Reed, the Plymouth man going on to take an easy win from 372 Jay Matthews in what was an enjoyable race. 29 cars for heat 2 which began with earlier race winner 45 Reed pulling off with a puncture almost as soon as the green flag waved and with action all around the raceway it was another lively affair until the waved yellows came out for an incident involving the 353 car of Cameron Crocker on turn 2. The re-start was just as good, with plenty of action but keeping his head was 60 Andy Bulled, the Honda driver taking the winner's trophy - to add to his earlier 'smartest car' award. The 'Sear Race Parts' sponsored final had 25 starters with plenty of action to keep the cold crowd entertained - which included 845 Albert Haines and 916 Luke Thomas simultaneously hitting side-by-side marker tyres at the end of the start/finish straight hard. 654 Mark Pope in the little Ford Puma and the Mondeo of 426 Chris Gill battled throughout the early stages for the lead but as the race went on the smaller car came out on top and it was 654 Pope that took the win. 2nd place man 426 Gill crossed the finishing line and then promptly crashed into a pile-up on turn 1, which did his car no good at all - with 45 Mike Reed finished 3rd, bringing to an end another excellent afternoon's entertainment from the nudge-and-spin brigade.