Smeatharpe Stadium - Tuesday 5th July 2016

The one and only midweek meeting for season 2016 at Smeatharpe Stadium was greeted with a lovely sunny evening for the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars World Championship qualifying round, supported by the BriSCA Heritage Stock Cars and it was Vintage Tin Night in the National Bangers.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

After the slightly disappointing entry on Sunday at St Day, the BriSCA F2 total of 40 cars racing (and three more in the pits who didn’t make the track during the meeting proper) was much more like it and could have been so much better but for several regulars sitting the meeting out due to a lack of interest in this year’s all-shale World Semi Finals and Final itself.  Nevertheless, there was a smattering of visitors including those who were in Cornwall 48 hours previous and they were joined by National Points Champion 100 George MacMillan from Scotland as a late entry; English Open Champion 38 Dave Polley and former UK Speedweekend winner 341 Drew Lammas, amongst others.  It was a local win in heat one though as 127 Matt Stoneman breezed home and then in heat two 575 Tom Clark picked up from where he left off at St Day by taking the chequered flag.  The consolation featured a race long battle for the lead between white graders 526 Marc Rowe and 740 Neil Langworthy, with Rowe holding on all the way to the flag.  The A1 Windows and Doors Trophy saw a 29 car grid with the setting sun as a backdrop.  Rowe led the field off tracked by Langworthy and 328 Andy Walker, and these three were soon joined by 528 Shane Hector.   Such was the pace of these lower graded drivers, and the star men fighting amongst themselves they were making little in the way of significant progress.  At the halfway point, Rowe was still there, but very shortly after he tangled up and out with back marker 828 Julian Coombes.  This put Hector into the lead and during the second half of the race he consolidated his position and was never challenged on his way to the biggest win to date in his F2 career.  The big battle was for second between Langworthy, Walker and 468 Sam Weston with the three of them even going three abreast down the back straight on the last lap.  In the sprint for the line, it was Langworthy who got there ahead of Weston for the other trophy positions.  The Grand National featured a spectacular coming together between 24 Jon Palmer, 627 Gary Sillifant and 890 Paul Rice.  After the re-start it came down to the top two graded drivers in the region, 542 Steven Gilbert and 676 Neil Hooper.  Gilbert appeared set for victory, but fell foul of backmarker 851 Gary Smith at the start of the last lap, and Hooper was able to grab the lead.  Gilbert dived on the last bend, but could not shift Hooper, which rounded off another hugely impressive showing from the F2s at Smeatharpe.

BriSCA Heritage Junior Stock Cars

The Heritage FII (Junior) Stock Cars completed the second meeting of their western tour, with largely the same entry as seen at St Day two days earlier.  218 Phil Hiles was the winner of heat one whilst heat two featured an almighty coming together on the home straight between several, and left 261 Jason Lambourn stranded to bring out the yellow flags.  198 Alan Nicholson won the re-started race.  The Final saw 536 John Ferguson get away and whilst Nicholson reeled him in, he couldn’t find a way past and so it was Ferguson’s win, and 128 Jack Bunter made third.  To show appreciation for their great efforts over the two meetings, and with time on side, Autospeed added on an extra race for the Heritage and a Helter Skelter was staged, complete with Ferguson starting on the lap handicap.  Despite Jack Bunter’s best efforts, Nicholson just held on for his second win of the evening, and he duly completed a true ‘Heritage style’ lap of honour, driving himself around with chequered flag fluttering out the window.

National Bangers

Vintage Tin Night for the National Bangers has never seen a vast entry of cars.  It has ebbed and flowed over the years and for this year the format was slightly tweaked to permit cars up to 1985, under 1600cc rear wheel drive.  Very well done to the eight drivers who did make an effort with car of the meeting – indeed one of the cars of the who season – coming from 45 Anthony ‘Lips’ Crowshaw with a 1956 Wolseley 4/44 whilst 74 Adam Hitchcock had a 1972 Vauxhall Victor.  The others present were World Champion 162 Brett Ellacott (Volvo), Points Champion 133 Terry Hill (Sierra) and the remainder all from Cornwall in 196 Phil Chapman (Sierra), 451 Nigel Belfield (Capri), 452 Anthony Sleeman (Mk5 Cortina) and 862 Darryl Cock (Sierra).   There was no stopping silver top Hill as he swept to a hat-trick of wins.  In the feature race he was followed home by Ellacott and Sleeman.  The Destruction Derby was short and sharp, but it was Lips who delivered a big T-bone on Hitchcock and then the last hit on Ellacott to take the win.