Smeatharpe Stadium - Easter Monday 10th April 2023

Following heavy overnight rain, a large crowd gathered in bright but blustery conditions to enjoy a fine Easter Monday’s racing entertainment.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Following a busy Easter weekend, a fine entry of cars was still sufficient to allow for a full format to be deployed.  121 Vinnie Neath-Rogers started off proceedings in heat one by connecting with the west bend plating, as 194 Luke Johnson also went for an early spin, the track offering up very little grip after all the morning’s rainfall.  895 Ben Goddard moved up into the lead with 542 Steven Gilbert climbed from the superstar grade up to fourth place as 24 Jon Palmer proved a surprise casualty retiring to the infield late on.  Meanwhile, Goddard reeled off the remaining laps to the flag.  Heat two saw the track beginning to dry out with speeds increasing and the bumper blows being traded with more force, especially between 210 Tristan Claydon, 776 Dan Roots and 390 Jessica Smith.  It was the latter that eventually broke free for an impressive win with the other two drivers joined by 783 James Rygor in a last bend battle which saw Claydon lose out and 560 Luke Wrench dive through for second at the line.  Palmer was the sole star grader on the grid for the consolation as Neath-Rogers fired up the inside of 454 Ryan Gardner on the opening lap.  Johnson’s challenging day continued as he got out of shape and ended up broadside across the track on the home straight and found himself clipped by 222 Adrian Watts as the yellow flags were called.  On the restart, Palmer made the move quickly from fourth into the lead, but he found himself in a good battle with 828 Julian Coombes and 464 Matt Linfield with Johnson also joining the fray.  It all went wrong once again for Johnson as he was spun around by 931 Rebecca Smith on the final bend as Palmer made it home first.  The Final for the Autospeed Rosebowl saw an early yellow flag after Rebecca Smith clobbered the west bend plating.  When the race resumed, 525 Charlie Knight built up an early lead as Neath-Rogers, Coombes and 258 James Griggs exited on the pit bend.  The star graders saw their progress from the rear of the field slowed by their own battles with one another, but eventually Rygor managed to break free.  890 Paul Rice was lucky to avoid being collected in a spin on the home straight as 776 Dan Roots extended his lead at the front.  As Roots completed a splendid Easter, he was followed home by Claydon with Rygor just pipping 127 Matt Stoneman to the line, the latter eventually being docked two places for jumping the restart.  27 cars for the Grand National saw the first start red flagged after Neath-Rogers was struck broadside at speed by Goddard on the start-finish line.  At the second time of asking there was some superb jostling for position between Wrench, Stoneman and Rygor, with Wrench then also finding himself involved with Rice and Palmer in an equally enthralling stage of the race.  All the time Knight drove well at the front of the field eventually lapping Wrench such was the extent that the former silver top had been delayed in those earlier exchanges.  Knight eventually slipped down to sixth place by the time of the chequered flag with Claydon sealing a successful weekend’s results with a win.

Saloon Stock Cars

18 cars contested the opening heat, and 577 Harry Darby ran away with the win.  Behind, 129 Will Morphey was sent spinning around on a couple of occasions and 111 Thomas Ruby solidified his position as one of the entertainers of the weekend as he continued to make like difficult for all around him with a superb never-give-up attitude.  Despite being lapped, he still came back for more.  Heat two saw an early race caution with 261 Dom Davies slamming into the infield armco.  On the resumption, 677 Warren Darby, 760 Joey Reynolds, 620 Aaron Triggs and 747 Matthew Stirling commenced a fine battle which saw them careering into the pit bend and then down into the turns one and two with backmarker Ruby finding himself in the middle of the battle too.  It was the Northern Irishman who eventually broke free from the pack to win.  The Final featured a tremendous scrap for the minor placings between the star graded drivers as Harry Darby again built up a decent early lead.  Reynolds found himself a lap down and rejoined in amongst the lead cars with 677 Warren Darby lining him up as a cue ball in his attempt to dislodge his brother from the lead on the final bend, a move that almost worked but not quite.  Harry Darby held on, Warren Darby was the runner-up, and 227 Jon Kingwell completed an all-south west top three.  As had been publicised to drivers three weeks in advance, the Devon Truck Show bonus race, carrying enhanced prize money, was open to all drivers who had raced the previous afternoon at St Day.  This brought an exciting end to the formula’s racing in the west country with Reynolds, 277 Jack Grandon, Warren Darby and 561 Aaron Totham all trading blows with one another in superb fashion.  At the front, Harry Darby streaked away with the win once more as Kingswell’s chances were ended by a lap down Morphey who fired him into the pit bend fence dropping him to third behind Reynolds.

2 Litre Bangers

A good field of 23 cars lined up for the first of three races to the Old Skool format.  190 Steve Bailey saw himself spun around early on in the opening heat which proved a lively affair with 275 Liam Best, 205 Charles Pearcey and 956 Harry Thompson all in a heap on the entry to the home straight.  Away from the chaos, 186 Lewis Facey romped to victory.  912 Simon Rees and 83 Ben Styles battled it out for the lead in the second heat as 258 Jason Hughes was sent spinning around.  741 Alex Waterman thundered Bailey into the turn three fence in a move decidedly not allowed in Old Skool and was duly disqualified.  Styles took a relatively comfortable win, ahead of Rees and 410 Dan Galley.  Fasey was turned around early on in the Final with 298 Dave Greening also finding himself facing the wrong direction.  Fasey then found himself shoving Greening around the track delaying his own progress in the process as Pearcey took a flag-to-flag win to land the coveted Gus Garrett Trophy.  Styles, Rees and 133 Terry Hill battled to the line in that order.  The Allcomers to National Banger rules saw 714 Paul Smaldon spun aside with Greening buried hard on turn two by 355 Aaron Dark.  Hill strolled to a comfortable win as Styles just managed to overhaul 31 Liam Shipway in a scramble to the line on the final bend which helped to produce an exciting climax.

Easter Caravan Chaos

The afternoon concluded with seven plucky entrants for the Easter Caravan Chaos, with the large crowd having patiently waited for the excitement, and they were not disappointed.  The destruction started early with 412 Hayden Galley hitching a lift on the trailer of Best, before Styles then attacked the unhooked 412 caravan.  With several caravans now littering the pit bend an epic train developed.  It started with 410 Dan Galley launching into 862 Darryl Cock, after which Styles, Hayden Galley and Best all joined in, each jumping onto the trailer in front.  After a pause to unhook what could be salvaged, a couple of entrants remained mobile, including Styles even though he had lost anything to tow.  Nonetheless, he did his best to smash to the last remaining large pieces of caravan to bits, whilst Dan Galley completed the most laps with the semblance of a caravan trailer in tow, and he was declared the winner.