United Downs Raceway - Sunday 3rd July 2022

Ahead of racing, the Grand Parade for Stock Rods and BriSCA F2 Stock Cars was followed by an impeccably observed One Minute’s Silence as a mark of respect for legendary racer Bill Batten.  A fitting tribute was also read by Martin Farrell.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Despite the status of the meeting as a World Championship qualifying round, and with the usual appeal of some superb trophies from Neil Truran Motorsport, car numbers were modest, and only just sufficient for a full format meeting.  232 Dan Abbott led the opening heat past midway but was then reeled in by Benevolent Fund Champion 890 Paul Rice who completed an emphatic victory.  Heat two saw 979 Paul Moss lead to halfway, but he fell back down the order once 27 Kieren Bradford edged past on his way to the chequered.  736 Josh Weare and 988 Charlie Lobb clashed on the final bend which saw them both fall out of the qualifying places and Moss was docked two places for jumping the start, which relegated him to sixth in the result.  There was a bizarre air to the consolation.  With ten places up for grabs and only 12 starters, the race should have been relatively routine, but it proved to be anything but.  180 Courtney Witts was an early casualty, and then 605 Richie Andrews and 320 Matt Hatch lost time in a tangle.  528 Shane Hector nipped past 663 Bryan Lindsay to hit the front, and he was still there with five to go.  667 Tommy Farrell then relieved Hector of the lead and in the closing stages, Hector spun 578 Mark Gibbs, which prompted a fiery reaction from the Peak District visitor.  After Gibbs and Hector had bumped one another in the turnstile bend, the race came to a halt, with only eight finishers.  All 24 qualifiers gridded for the final, in which 418 Ben Borthwick was an early spinner on the back straight.  Out front Abbot and Lindsay set the pace, whilst 783 James Rygor established himself as the leading star grader.  When Bradford spun at the end of the home straight on lap four, 251 Craig Driscoll and 390 Jessica Smith went wide to avoid him, but were clattered into the plating, and with the latter in need of attention out came the yellow flags.  Soon into the restart, Moss overhauled the white graders to take over the lead.  35 Charlie Fisher and Gibbs spun in the fourth turn but were able to rejoin before being collected and as the race neared halfway, Rice began to close on Moss.  In due course, Rice grabbed the lead, and he went on to score his second St Day final win of the season.  Moss held on for second, with 542 Steven Gilbert and 184 Aaron Vaight completing the top four.  Moss ended the day with a win in the Grand National, after he overcame Andrews, as the two yellow graders led home Rygor and Smith, who bounced back well from her rough exit in the feature race.

Stock Rods

The trend of decent car counts continued, with another strong showing of the non-contact Stock Rods, and the two from three format was deployed.  9 Chris Drake, 220 Rich Short and 77 Tom Larcombe clashed untidily at the start of heat one, which led to a complete re-run.  275 Jeremy Hatch was the first to reel in early leader 982 Sophie Daughtrey, and he went on to be a clear winner.  Heat two brought a runaway win for 231 Simon Bassett, which left most of the focus on a thrilling squabble for fifth involving 944 Callum Hosie, 131 Stephen Cock, 909 Justin Washer and 151 Simon Vincent – that being the way they finished.  Heat three followed a similar pattern as Bassett shot clear and won again, and with two wins in a row, he earned a swift upgrade to blue.  The Adam Ignaczak Trophy final pitched Bassett and Hatch on the front row.  As they duelled early on, it was Bassett who eventually grabbed a clear lead.  Washer moved into second, but when he challenged Bassett on the exit of turn four, they briefly clashed.  Washer was deflected towards the infield, and Vincent took his chance to speed past and into second place.  Washer bounced back on to the track entering turn one, which almost cannoned Hosie wide.  As they got back into line, Bassett and Vincent had built up a gap.  Vincent then found a way past Bassett but was chased by Hosie and Washer.  Over the next phase of the race, Vincent extended his lead, only for the chasing Washer and Hosie to close again.  With four laps remaining, the race was suspended after 415 Sean Gillett lost a wheel.  Despite the caution period, Vincent held firm at the front, and completed the victory, to seal an understandably emotional success in view of his friendship and close connection with the Ignaczak family.

2 Litre Bangers

There was a mixed day from the 2 Litre Bangers.  Heat one began with a messy charge into the first bend, which resulted in a huge pile-up, with 58 Paul Rubery, 186 Lewis Fasey, 959 Justin Payne and 215 Craig Fisher amongst the most stricken.  The race continued, with 133 Terry Hill and 208 Kieran Barrett offering plenty of entertainment in their crippled cars.  303 Josh Jones made the most of his early getaway, as he went on to win from 246 Ryan Sparks and 99 David Spooner.  Heat two was rather processional, certainly in comparison to the opening race, and once 804 Treve Wills had overcome Spooner at the start of the race, he was untroubled on his way to victory.  the final began with a bundle into the turnstile bend fence, as Jones blitzed 621 Scott Kendall.  Once he had replaced 238 Jake Hughes in the lead, 205 Charles Pearcey looked well clear of 714 Paul Smaldon, but the gap closed late on, and Pearcey just resisted Smaldon’s last bend attack, with Sparks finishing in third place.  Just six drivers contested the National Bangers Allcomers.  278 Shaun Brokenshire gamely cruised to leave himself a target and Pearcey obliged.  Brokenshire then completed a lap and trashed Pearcey, before taking further punishment late on from 280 Harry Ricketts and Sparks.