Smeatharpe Stadium - Monday 5th May 2014

A slightly chilly day at Smeatharpe was, at least dry, and the day’s racing was bright and lively from all classes, with the Saloon Stock Cars excelling in terms of the entertainment they served up.

Saloon Stock Cars

Although the previous day’s action in the English Championship at St Day had taken its toll on numbers, there were still 22 drivers present, and they produced a scintillating display, full of incident and drama.  The first heat saw track debutant 214 Tom Yould charge to victory.  He had to battle hard against 800 Scott Greenslade, but once in the clear, he looked assured on his way to the chequered.  Heat two was the pick of the weekend’s Saloon Stock Car races, embroidered with some truly wonderful exchanges amongst the star men as they fought valiantly, yet unsuccessfully, to get on terms with the lower graded pacesetters.  677 Eddie Darby and 428 Lee Sampson tangled and the British Champion was bundled into the tyres by the pit gate.  Darby fell down the order, but then spectacularly drove like a man possessed, to storm back up the order.  499 David Aldous got turned around on the back straight and slid into the infield marker tyres.  Up front, 730 Dean Mayes had got into the lead, but a late yellow flag for the stranded 349 Michael Allard brought the whole field closer together.  Mayes now had 698 Danny Colliver and 402 Shaun Webster on his tail.  This also played into the hands of Darby, and with one almighty pits bend attack in the closing stages, he shifted 306 Daniel Parker, 641 Willie Skoyles and 186 Todd Jones in one fell swoop, scattering the three star men impressively as he charged back up to fourth.  Mayes held on for the win, though, his first in Saloon Stock Cars at Smeatharpe.  Whilst not quite as exciting as heat two, the final was still hugely watchable.  Again it was Greenslade who led early on, until Yould took over for a few laps.  Next to hit the front, though, was Jones, who had broke free from the rest of the stars at the start of the race.  Whilst they fought with one another, Jones eased clear to head to victory, with Darby second and Aldous third, after he made a stunning comeback after being delayed early on.

2 Litre Old Skool National Bangers

The season’s second offering from the 2 Litre Old Skool National Bangers saw 24 drivers in action, with 10 of them appearing in the series for the first time.  There was something of a surprise in that World Champion 239 Steve Carter turned up unannounced, but he certainly made his presence known, as he won a heat, the final and the full-contact Allcomers race.  In the opening heat, Carter finished second to 247 Richard Sparks, whilst 246 Ryan Sparks completed the top three.  Heat two was illuminated by a superb duel between Carter and 910 Katie Dawe.  They traded hits, and swapped positions, but it was Carter who survived a last bend lunge from Dawe, to claim the win.  Ryan Sparks and 87 Paul Lawer were second and third to Carter in the final.  Seven cars made it out for the Allcomers, which was brought to a temporary halt when 912 Simon Rees was shook up in the west bend.  Newcomer 202 Adam Jones took a fair pounding in his battered car, but was a useful addition to the ranks as the 2 Litre Old Skool series continued to be one of the season’s success stories.

Stock Rods

Another 19-car showing from the Stock Rods included a quartet of drivers making their first Autospeed appearances of the season.  One of the four, 475 Ben Sealy had a terrific day.  He stormed from the blue grade in pursuit of 7 Aaron Charles in the opening race, and just managed to find a way past him in the latter stages.  The final followed a very similar pattern, and once again Sealy was able to squeeze by Charles to take the victory.  Third over the line was 151 Simon Vincent, but he failed the post-race weighing, and was duly excluded.  After failing to rack up very many laps at all in the first two races, 264 Steve Olden had better fortune in the Grand National, as he claimed a win on his first appearance at Smeatharpe for nearly two years.  Charles completed a hat-trick of runner-up placings.

Ministox

The entry of 14 youngsters included 982 Sophie Daughtrey on her debut appearance.  It was star grader 986 Sophie Fasey who soon put her stamp on proceedings, as she swept to victory in both of the heats, winning the first from 922 Joe Parker, and the second from 910 Tom Cadby.  Fasey was also in good form in the final, as she charged from the back of the grid to almost the front.  However, the one car she could not hunt down before flag fall was that of 943 Hannah Esau, who made an excellent start to the race, and produced a fine, measured drive to turn the lead into victory.  907 Cameron Lawrence completed the top three.