Smeatharpe Stadium - Mayday Monday 1st May 2023

Mayday Monday was a day to forget for the contingent of Cornish racegoers, who were hit by a catalogue of traffic and travel issues.  With both main routes out of the county blocked, several late arrivals at Smeatharpe noted that their journeys had been in excess of four hours, whilst others abandoned hope of leaving the far south west and returned home.

Stock Rods

Another bumper showing of Stock Rods resulted in a five-race format, with a first Grand National of the season added to their programme in direct response to the magnificent car count.  A deluge of incidents combined to produce a thoroughly entertaining day from the non-contact class.  Heat one had barely begun when 375 Jonathan Salvage was turned around on the exit of turn four, and as his car came to a halt mid-track, he was inadvertently clobbered by several in the pack, most notably 426 Keith Channon, who sustained a lot of front end damage.  101 Dave Horwell was excluded for his part in the initial Salvage spin.  When the race resumed, 149 Dan Curtis for much of the way, but a spirited outside line run by 351 Rhys Langdown saw him grab the lead and the win on the last lap.  Within the opening lap of heat two barely completed, newcomers 768 Tyler Cock and 455 Shane Kennard had retired to the infield separately.  286 Martin Walker Jnr earned a black flag for his part in 522 Chris Mikulla spinning around.  Curtis again set the pace, but looked as though he was going to have to defend 131 Stephen Cock’s challenge in the late stages.  However, Cock glanced the back straight fence, and Langdown pounced instantly to grab second, before sweeping past Curtis for back-to-back victories.  Further drama followed in heat three, which had Horwell as the distant leader early on.  862 Darryl Cock gave chase, but the complexion of the race changed markedly when 220 Richard Short blew his engine, and the following cars skated and spun on the oil soaked track.  Horwell lost his lead, Cock hit the front and out came the yellow flags.  With a loose exhaust, Cock was given a technical disqualification, and thus 204 Georgie Polley inherited the lead.  Whilst efforts were made to soak up the oil, including two laps under yellow caution flags, the track was still tricky.  Polley led away the single file, and whilst one or two drivers in pursuit took a cursory look at the outside line, the lack of grip was unappealing.  Polley held the inside line defiantly and claimed the chequered.  However, the afternoon went from good to bad in an instant for Polley during the final, as she clipped the marker tyre on the exit of turn four, spun around and careered on two wheels before gently rolling on to her side.  The race was suspended, but resumed with Curtis, Horwell and Darryl Cock at the front.  They were still there with just five laps remaining, and in a thrilling photo finish, Curtis and Horwell held on for a white grade one-two, whilst 909 Justin Washer grabbed third.  A lively Grand National concluded the day.  285 Martin Walker was handed a disqualification for his involvement in a spin for Darryl Cock, and Martin Walker Jnr incurred damage when he clouted a tyre after an injudicious attempt to pass Curtis on the inside line.  913 Ashley Bates took the flag for his first win of the year, and Mikulla was the runner-up, as he continues to acclimatise to his new chosen formula.

Ministox

There was a minor shortfall in numbers for the youngsters, but still no shortage of action.  Heat one was suspended early on with 902 Reagan Davies in a precarious position on the back straight having been spun out of a group of cars.  290 Alfie Tomkins was adjudged to have jumped the restart, and the black cross observation signal he received was upgraded to a four place docking.  Despite crossing the line first, a long way clear, Tomkins had to settle for fifth, with 920 Wayne Wadge gratefully accepting the win and 911 Alex Thomas as the runner-up.  242 Amy Williams led the formative stages of heat two, until 870 Bert Farrell skipped past.  Farrell cruised to victory despite a strong late run by 497 Peyton Cockerill who placed second.  The final was put under caution near the start when the unfortunate 20 Lewis Middleton was spun inside out on the back straight.  Bert Farrell was too impetuous on the restart, and even though he took the chequered, he was docked two places.  That elevated Tomkins into first place, with 913 Ben Faulconbridge in second.  The race had ended with 475 Mason Sealy making a hash of a last bend dive, whilst Thomas, 217 Josh Dent and Wadge tangled untidily in the west bend after the red flags appeared.

Bangers

A sprinkling of no-shows from the original list left the Bangers at 30 cars, and they were duly handed a straight races format.  The first heat featured a duel for the lead between 633 Nathan Ferrett and 208 Kieran Barrett.  Late on, a large pile-up in the west bend threatened a track blockage, but a route through the wreckage soon emerged.  The race continued, and Barrett stole the win very late on.  Ferrett responded with a flag-to-flag victory in heat two, and even a late charge by 2 Harrison Staples could not alter the outcome as Ferrett won at Smeatharpe for the first time.  In a relatively uneventful final, 230 Tom Shilling was the early leader, but as the midway point approached, 113 Jack Gill took up the running.  Four laps from home, Barrett edged ahead and proceeded to complete a heat and final double.  Gill dropped to third, as silver top 23 Barry Staples stormed up the order in the closing stages.