United Downs Raceway - Good Friday 29th March 2024

The pit area at the United Downs Raceway was full to overflowing with more than 100 competitors across the four formulas on duty as the Good Friday fixture gave the Easter period a spectacular boost.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Oh, for one more driver.  The entry of BriSCA F2 Stock Cars fell just one short of half a century, comfortably the best car count in Cornwall since World Semi Finals day in August 2019.  A full format of three heats was deployed and having won heat and final at St Day two weeks previously, 286 Kasey Jones looked on course to claim another chequered flag.  He led over the line to start the last lap, sufficiently clear of 980 Charlie Lobb to know the race was in the bag, but lost time when trying to pass backmarker 259 Daz Purdy.  Lobb took his chance and sent Jones into a spin.  Lobb won, 542 Steven Gilbert was second, and Jones failed to finish.  Heat two began in disastrous fashion for 131 Dean Rogers and 128 Jake Ralfs as they tangled on the exit of turn four.  Later on, 605 Rich Andrews and 828 Julian Coombes also got in a muddle at the pit gate.  All the while, 121 Vinnie Neath-Rogers was charging on at the front, but 127 Matt Stoneman successfully chased him down late on to land his first win of the season.  The third heat saw a messy exit for 468 Sam Weston, 654 Harley Soper and 975 Graeme Leckie in the turnstile bend, whilst World Champion 7 Gordon Moodie slowed to retirement after only a handful of laps.  Out front, 528 Shane Hector led much of the race, but 126 Jamie Avery reeled him in late on.  There was an air of desperation prevalent for the consolation: eight places up for grabs, and 23 drivers on the grid.  Ralfs led initially, until 510 Matt Stone edged past, looking purposeful as he led the pack.  Jones and Coombes joined the battle for the lead, which became a trickier assignment when 533 John Whittaker tried to rejoin after a spin and got snagged against the fence in turn three.  Jones took over and sealed another St Day victory, but Stone missed out when he spun on the final bend.  Ralfs finished as the runner-up, and a long way back in tenth, gold top Moodie was cursing a slipping clutch as he trailed in just outside the qualifying places.  The final featured the Silverline Trophy, and after drivers had been consulted, they approved the traditional clutch start.  Barely a lap or so into the race, there was a huge pile-up on the exit of turn two, with 890 Paul Rice, 663 Bryan Lindsay, 390 Jessica Smith all involved, and Weston left perched on his side.  Untangling the cars was a challenging operation, but once cleared, the re-run set off a frantic pace, led by Ralfs and 141 Harry Neath-Rogers.  They were pursued by Jones, sensing the opportunity of a second successive final win at St Day.  Sure enough, Jones got ahead of the white tops and looked in control.  Little impression was being made by the star graders, but blue tops Avery and Lobb moved into contention.  As the lap boards appeared, there was the prospect of a grandstand finish, and so it proved.  Avery made his move on Jones, the two briefly clashed on the exit of turn four, and having dived between them, Lobb emerged like a bar of soap, somehow in the lead.  Avery resumed his chase of the new leader, Lobb, and Stoneman spun 931 Rebecca Smith in turn two as he edged into third place, with Jones slipping down the order after collecting some damage in the clash with Avery.  Lobb saw out the last couple of laps and won the St Day qualifying round for a second year, with Avery and Stoneman completing the top three.  In awful conditions, drivers battled through the rain and spray to finish the meeting with the Grand National.  Hector was imperious as he cruised to the win, despite an early race suspension when 689 Joe Marquand, 315 Charlie Fisher and 979 Paul Moss ended up bundled together in the fence in turn two.  As for the unfortunate Moodie, he retired to the home straight infield, having been lapped by Hector.

Saloon Stock Cars

With the Western Championship up for grabs, the seventeen Saloon Stock Cars made for plenty of excitement.  The star men got in a skirmish at the start of the first heat, whilst Northern Ireland visitor 59 Steve Bolton edged into the lead.  760 Joey Reynolds and Northern Irish silver top 747 Matty Stirling squabbled for the right to challenge the leader, and it was Reynolds who broke free, before overhauling Bolton late on.  Heat two was another lively race for 382 Corey Hunt, who was involved in much of the action.  The race also had the most dramatic of conclusions.  33 Pete Hollett was a country mile ahead of the rest, but as he looked to wrestle past backmarkers, he was drawn into their own battle.  On the final lap, 329 Kegan Sampson spun Hollett around as they exited the fourth bend.  799 Joe Powell inherited the lead, and grabbed the win, whilst Hollett was left stranded and failed to finish.  The cars gridded for the Western Championship on a dry track, but in the delay for ongoing fence repairs, down came a heavy shower.  Drivers were given the option to leave the track to change tyres and many did so.  768 Joe Delahay was the initial leader, before 720 Archie Brown made his move, and looked set to win.  However, 277 Jack Grandon came storming up the order in the second half of the race, and he swept home for back-to-back final wins with Autospeed, to win from Brown and Reynolds.

Ministox

The number of youngsters landed at a baker’s dozen, and local racer 511 Lexi Crosbie enjoyed a hugely successful afternoon.  In the opening heat, Crosbie built up a commanding lead, and won from 290 Alfie Tomkins and 207 Alfie Flecken.  Heat two saw 617 Christina Sillifant spun early on by 242 Amy Williams, although the roles were reversed later on.  Crosbie led this race from the start, but hunted down by Tomkins, the National Champion landed a text-book last bend challenge to nudge her wide and win the drag to the line.  475 Mason Sealy finished third.  In the final, Crosbie was not to be denied, and in a relatively uneventful race, she again sped off into the distance, finishing comfortably clear of Sillifant and 202 Cody Bradford.

Back 2 Basics Bangers

A splendid array of assorted cars made up a busy grid for the season’s first meeting for the Back 2 Basics Bangers.  Unsurprisingly, a chaotic race ensued, with spins and crashes galore.  Through the mayhem, 954 Jamie Beere picked a route to victory, winning from 621 Scott Kendall and 832 Ryan Madge.  The action cranked up considerably in heat two, firstly when newcomer 96 Harley Carr-Flamank blasted into the plating on the back straight and needed assistance from his car.  The re-run did not go too many laps before 786 Grant Harris rolled over at the pit gate.  At the front, 18 Corey Karkeek, 988 Ryan Thomas and 262 Buddy James battled for the lead, with James moving clear in the closing stages.  Karkeek performed a stunning rollover on the back straight at the start of the final, and that brought out the red flags.  Thomas hit the front in the re-run, but with cars littered around the raceway, it was a hectic struggle just to complete each lap.  Harris found himself bundled into 69 Austin James at the turnstile end of the circuit, and Thomas eventually saw his wayward charge come to a halt.  That left Kendall as the clear leader, as he won from 53 Chris James and a truly jubilant 114 Sophie Courtier who celebrated her trophy place with gusto.  Just six cars went the distance.  The entries for the Destruction Derby were in double figures, and that provided a thoroughly entertaining conclusion to the meeting.  222 Ricky Walters handed out plenty of heavy hits, with Harris and Chris James each on the receiving end.  A brief interlude was needed when 166 Luke Gillbard’s car had some flames under the bonnet.  Once extinguished, the event resumed with just Chris James, Walters and 161 Anton Ferris.  It was Ferris who clearly had the healthiest car and having dodged an attack from James he returned to finish off the James car, as the Walters car at long last expired, leaving Ferris victorious.