United Downs Raceway - Sunday 7th August 2022

Another blazing hot day at the United Downs Raceway kept a summer holiday crowd regally entertained.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

A solid showing of 24 drivers enabled a two from three format on O’er The Border Trophy day.  510 Matt Stone led the opening heat for several laps, chased initially by 232 Dan Abbott, and then latterly by 979 Paul Moss and 418 Ben Borthwick.  It was Borthwick who grabbed a winning lead went on, as Moss pulled up with mechanical issues.  Stone’s sixth place was a best yet for the improving lower grader.  Heat two featured the surprise return of 306 Neil Truran, having some kind of a final fling, judging by the legend which adorned his roof wing.  Front the front of the white grade, Stone clamped Truran down to second in the formative stages, but all eyes were on 828 Julian Coombes as he stormed into contention.  However, 302 Dale Moon chased him down, and moved ahead in the second half of the race, to lead home heat one winner Borthwick.  The third heat saw Coombes overhaul Truran in the early stages, with 988 Charlie Lobb leading the chase.  Truran’s exciting race peaked with a spin in turn four, but he scurried out of harm’s way before the oncoming traffic converged on him, and he avoided being slewed upon.  Coombes brilliantly defended the attacks from Lobb, but that allowed former World Champion 783 James Rygor to close on the lead pair, and in a sensational last bend, Rygor fired Lobb into Coombes, and won the drag race to the line.  With cash bonuses on the final, there was plenty at stake on the day’s feature race.  Stone gobbled up the first eight laps, to scoop £40 of lap leader money.  He lost out at the front to 460 Adam Pearce, but just two laps later, Lobb took over and looked to be heading to victory.  Star grader Rygor had other ideas, but having got almost within range, Rygor then dropped back.  It later transpired that Lobb was leaking oil from his rear axle, and that was having a worse effect on those chasing.  Lobb saw out the closing stages, leaving Rygor as the runner-up, and 542 Steven Gilbert in third.  Just a dozen drivers appeared for the Grand National, which brought another win for Moon, despite Rygor shadowing his every move for lap after lap in the second half of the high speed race.

Stock Rods

The season had reached a crucial point in terms of World Championship qualification, and accordingly the Stock Rods responded with another bumper car count – the best of the four formulas on duty.  The opening heat saw 231 Simon Bassett break free from the front of the blues, and he charged to an emphatic win, with 909 Justin Washer making strong progress late on to seal second.  In heat two, there was some strong front running by 982 Sophie Daughtrey.  31 Adam McAleer was the villain of the piece, though, as he tagged her on the exit of turn four.  Daughtrey spun, McAleer was left with nowhere to go and as the chasing pack dived left and right, it was the unfortunate 76 Martin Larcombe who ran headlong into McAleer.  The race was suspended, and National Champion 944 Callum Hosie reeled in 862 Darryl Cock late on, whilst mayhem broke out in a frenetic last lap.  9 Chris Drake and 916 Luke Thomas were sent spinning into the turn one fence, for which 285 Martin Walker received a two place penalty.  Heat three built to a thrilling conclusion.  Again, Daughtrey led, and led some more, having edged past 299 Katy Dawe in the early stages.  As the laps ticked away, a maiden win seemed to be beckoning, but with just a couple of laps to go, she drifted wide in turn four and 933 Darren Waters shot to the inside.  In the subsequent juggle of positions, Hosie and Washer both rounded Waters to grab first and second.  The final saw Bassett and 728 Kris Wood swiftly into a commanding one-two at the front.  Thomas settled neatly into third, without fully committing to a challenge on Woods and that is how the top three finished, as Bassett claimed a second win for the afternoon.

Bangers

A hectic start to the opening heat saw chaos on the home straight, with 959 Justin Payne airborne, before he was collected by 25 Jake Baron.  In turn, 233 Liam Parkin joined the heap, and 206 Matt Brewer flew off the kerb and straight into Parkin, before Baron was then clobbered by 114 Luke Niles, which forced a re-run.  This time, 23 Barry Staples was quickly into contention, and he nipped past 632 Arron Bennett to hit the front but was delayed when he spun 53 Chris James.  Staples stayed ahead, and his son 2 Harrison Staples stole second from 621 Scott Kendall on the last lap.  Heat two saw James needlessly bundle Parkin into the turn two plating, for which James saw his day ended early.  Returnee 161 Anton Ferris led until late on, when Barry Staples helped push 891 Martyn Cleave past him, and from there Cleave went on to win.  There was further success for Cleave in the final, as he won convincingly, having again reeled in Ferris at the front.  After the chequered, some drivers chose to cruise to a halt early, and that led to a spate of collisions on the home straight, as some tailenders frantically tried to secure their place in the results.  Beyond Cleave and Ferris, Kendall completed the top three.