Smeatharpe Stadium - Bank Holiday Monday 29th May 2023

A warm and sunny Bank Holiday Monday saw a large crowd arrive to enjoy a varied programme of racing and action.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Another decent car count from the BriSCA F2s included ten drivers in the white grade, including 777 Jon Vickery making his first appearance of the season.  An additional event was duly added just for them, with a new Hifly tyre going to the winner of the non-points scoring race.  303 Kurt Selway and 856 Jamie Cocks swapped places over the opening few laps with 121 Vinnie Neath-Rogers joining the pair in a fine battle.  It was Neath-Rogers who took up the lead which he held to the last lap, but he could not withstand the charge from stalwart 53 Philip Mann.  The north west driver applied sufficient pressure which led to Neath-Rogers drifting wide on the final bend and that allowed Mann to nip by and take the spoils.  The opening heat proper saw Vickery swiftly into the lead, until eventually overhauled by 468 Sam Weston who headed home 979 Paul Moss.  The second heat began with an early spin for 232 Dan Abbott, whilst 460 Adam Pearce relived 259 Daz Purdy of the lead.  Neath-Rogers saw his qualification hopes come to an end after he spun in the west bend, where he was then collected by 454 Ryan Gardiner, 980 Charlie Lobb and 605 Richie Andrews.  127 Matt Stoneman powered into second place but Pearce was too far down the road for him to be caught, and the luckless Purdy suffered cruel misfortune on the run to the flag, losing power on the final lap which left him relegated from third to eighth over the closing 100m of the race.  The consolation was led for much of the way by Mann, until Andrews moved ahead, but in the very late stages 315 Charlie Fisher hit the front.  Further back 12 Craig Driscoll and 390 Jessica Smith scrapped it out for the final qualifying spots, just managing to pass Selway and Cocks before the chequered flag fell.  The feature prize on the Final was the inaugural Duncan Pike Trophy in memory of the much missed member of the Autospeed family and following an on track tribute by co-promoter and close friend Crispen Rosevear, the engines of the gathered finalists roared into life.  The race developed into an enthralling affair which would have undoubtedly met with the approval of Duncan.  Early on, the race was brought under caution with Gardiner and 762 Mike Cocks tangling at the start of the home straight.  A scrappy restart did not last very long as Mann found himself underneath the car of 776 Dan Roots, which came to rest in a precarious two-wheel balancing position.  As the race resumed, 475 Leah Sealy took up the lead, but she was chased down by 27 Kieren Bradford and subsequently 931 Rebecca Smith.  The trio traded bumper blows and swapped places, but whilst Sealy lost some ground she was replaced in the three-way battle by 127 Matt Stoneman.  With each bend, the lead swapped, notably between Bradford and Stoneman, until a hit from Stoneman sent Bradford wide in the west bend.  Stoneman’s move left the door open, and Smith gamely grabbed the lead for a short time.  The lead positions continued to change, until Stoneman finally got ahead and got clear, whereby he was able to eke out a slender advantage by the chequered flag.  In the post-race interviews, Smith rued the chance to take both of the other protagonists out of the running whilst Stoneman gave a fine tribute to Duncan upon receipt of a most unusual but eminently appropriate trophy presented by Duncan’s close family.  The Grand National saw a spectacular start with wheels tangling on the back straight which resulted in Fisher’s car being launched skywards (and fortunately returning onto all four wheels) and with the pack scattering in all directions a complete re-run was required.  A further caution was required with Jamie Cocks stranded in the west bend and upon the restart Weston continued his good form with his second win of the afternoon.

Old Skool unlimited cc Bangers

Frustratingly from a promotional perspective the entry of cars featured more than half a dozen drivers who had not booked in advance.  Hence, what was expected to be another modest entry from the class, was far more respectable, although those that failed to book scored no points in the Supreme Championship.  Heat one saw a train led by 372 Jay Matthews turn 341 Andrew Jones around on the pit bend.  186 Lewis Fasey stormed away at the front of the field to take the win from 362 Johnny James, but further back 262 Buddy James spun around back marking 133 Terry Hill on the last bend on his way through to third place.  Johnny James passed 282 Steve Hunt for the lead, and ultimately the win, in the second heat with the most noteworthy moment thereafter being a well-executed hit by Jones on Fasey which saw the latter sent fencewards connecting heavily with the pit gate whilst 77 Paxti Beasley spun in avoidance.  The Final got off to a lively start with 59 Mike Hamley, 460 Cliff Friend, Hill and Buddy James all coming to grief on turn four before Fasey exacted heavy revenge on Jones, again at the pit bend.  Fasey’s follow-in ended the afternoon for both drivers.  After all that it was left to 185 Richard Coaker to take a rather uneventful run to the win.  114 Nick Courtier rounded out the afternoon’s racing for the class with victory in the Allcomers.

Bangers

The Bangers served up a trio of lively encounters culminating in a spectacular caravan race at the end of the afternoon.  The opening heat saw 354 Simon Philips inflict an early spin on 786 Grant Harris in the pits bend as a large pile up developed in the west bend with a number of cars piling in.  633 Nathan Ferrett took up the running at the front and despite a late charge by 23 Barry Staples, Ferrett held on for the win.  A little way back, the powerless 621 Scott Kendall was sportingly pushed across the line in sixth by Harris.  919 Oscar Berry ground to a halt on the entrance to the home straight at the start of the second heat, creating a fun obstacle for the rest of the pack.  Following a similar pattern to the first heat, Ferrett led home Staples at the flag.  The final commenced in chaotic fashion with 154 Blazej Szczgiel being turned around on the exit of turn four which left him stranded by 18 Corey Karkeek who bounced onto two wheels in the process.  662 Jared Roe made most of the running but was then attacked by Philips two occasions.  Roe stood firm, and eventually got his own retribution by spinning Philips at the end of the home straight as 266 Scott Gillbard held on for the win from 206 Matt Brewer and 31 Liam Shipway.

Caravan Chaos

Six caravans gridded in front of an expectant crowd and the race proceeded in relatively gentle fashion at the start.  However, once the crashing began, it was not long until most of the caravans began to disintegrate around the raceway.  All drivers took any opportunity presented to them, to trash caravan remains, until a pile-up developed just past the start finish line.  The penultimate driver into the heap was 455 Shane Kennard, and when 18 Corey Karkeek then slammed into Kennard, the former’s car shot spectacularly upwards into the air, coming to its rest on its side.  All drivers exited from their cars safely to the huge cheers with this amazing moment concluding a fine afternoon’s racing.