United Downs Raceway - Sunday 17th September 2017

The richest ever Stock Car race meeting in Cornwall attracted a disappointing crowd, despite an afternoon of pleasant autumn sunshine at the United Downs Raceway.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Despite a high level of no-shows, there was still a lot of involvement in proceedings for the F2s, whose schedule began with the Zetec Challenge Final, which was outwith the scope of the meeting proper.  Just eight of the ten qualifiers gridded, and in a fairly uneventful race, 418 Ben Borthwick charged to victory, which won him £500 and a new carburettor.  302 Dale Moon made good progress to second, which netted him £300 and a new Zetec sump.  Third home was 689 Joe Marquand, who scooped £200 and a full set of rose joints.  In fourth place, 111 Lewis Geach collected a reverse water pump kit.  The remaining drivers – 328 Andy Walker, 762 Mike Cocks, 636 David North and 979 Paul Moss, each received a new tyre.  There was an early spin for 460 Matt Weston in the first heat, which doubled as the White & Yellow grade final.  Borthwick and Marquand swapped the lead, before Borthwick edged clear, to add more prize money and four new tyres to his haul.  Geach was the runner-up, whilst 526 Marc Rowe completed the top three.  In heat two, Borthwick was the leader by the time of a race suspension when Mike Cocks tangled with 542 Steven Gilbert.  On the restart, 522 Chris Mikulla soon pounced, to grab the lead and the win, whilst Moon rose so far as second place, which clinched him the Track Championship.  Moon went on to take heat three, where he was chased home by fellow red tops Gilbert and 468 Sam Weston.  The Old Motor Cycle Club Trophy final was barely a lap old, when the yellow flags were needed to help retrieve the stranded Geach.  398 Ian England held off a spirited challenge from 303 Chris Horwell, to lead all the way to lap nine when 315 Justin Fisher hit the front.  However, those lead laps clinched England his first significant success, as he won the All Saints series, for most lead laps in feature finals at St Day this season.  Fisher was the leader when the race was suspended again, this time with 75 Steve Clark facing the fence on the back straight; a most precarious position.  Fisher had Moon, Borthwick and Gilbert on his tail, and with half the race still to run.  Gilbert moved into third, and the gap between the front trio ebbed and flowed.  Starting the last lap, Fisher was too hot into the turnstile bend, and Moon closed on him.  At the end of the back straight, Moon sent Fisher wide, but Gilbert came in powerfully to clobber Moon as well.  All three cars drifted out to the fence.  Bouncing off the plating, Moon was just ahead as he powered towards the line.  Moon took the chequered, but directly behind him, Sam Weston had shot from fourth to second, and he tangled with Fisher as they bundled across the line in an untidy heap, marginally ahead of Gilbert.  The electronic timing revealed the first four cars had crossed within six tenths of a second of one another.  Moon was ecstatic with his very fine victory.  Fisher, having missed out on the final, made no mistake in the Grand National, as he collected the splendid Bob Netcott Trophy.  Borthwick launched an audacious dive at Mikulla on the last bend in the scramble for second.  Borthwick spun, and Mikulla lost power, which saw him drift down the order to fifth.

Saloon Stock Cars

There was a low car count in the Saloon Stock Cars, but a good understanding amongst the drivers present led to the White & Yellow final being incorporated into the opening heat.  British Champion 158 Shane Davies eased to the front in that first heat, chased by 27 Kieren Bradford.  903 Adam Neville had led initially, and his third place was enough to clinch him the White & Yellow grade series honours.  There were spins galore in the second heat, with 276 Ben King, 902 Junior Buster and 84 Carl Boswell all gyrating at different times.  Davies won for a second time, with 199 Phil Powell the runner-up on this occasion.  Fittingly, the final was the best race, and Bradford’s dogged persistence saw him get the better of Davies to hit the front.  However, Davies stuck to his task, and he reeled in Bradford to launch a last bend attack.  Bradford tried to resist, but Davies had enough force to send Bradford wide in turns three and four, then win the drag to the line.  Powell completed the top three in an exciting close finish.

2 Litre Old Skool Bangers

There was a mixture of racing and crashing from the 2 Litre Old Skool Bangers during the afternoon.  122 Jesse Ashley was superbly spectacular as he flung his BMW around the track to win the first heat, in which 776 Terry Senford was particularly entertaining.  Ashley won again in heat two, as he hunted down early leader 333 Craig Partridge.  Once in the lead, Ashley sped around the track, in a showboating, drifting style which was very watchable.  However, his hopes of a hat-trick were extinguished in the final, when 907 Cameron Bradford spun him around on the home straight, and 74 Adam Hitchcock blasted him in turn one.  There was still a RWD BMW winner though, as 185 Richard Coaker swept to victory, from Bradford and Partridge.  383 Brad Hutchings was the star of the show in the Allcomers, as he repeatedly made himself a target.  Bradford drove past each time, and took the win, but the likes of 912 Simon Rees, 384 Adam Geary and Hitchcock did join in the crashing.