Amidst some wintry showers, the season’s penultimate fixture at the United Downs Raceway served up plenty of action.

2 Litre National Bangers

The cavalcade as the green flag was shown resulted in a heavy bundle into the turnstile bend, with 53 Chris James running in 308 Nick Blight at the front of the pack.  22 Zack Hancock, 666 Seb Stevens and 200 Jai Simmons also crashed out at the star and 662 Jared Roe ran aground on the home straight, before he was blasted heavily by Stevens.  A safety harness issue for one of the drivers stranded in turn four led to the introduction of red flags.  The re-run race began in more sedate fashion, with 648 Jamie Smith swiftly into the lead.  40 Ben Reeder buried 404 Jake Curtis-Stevens into the turn one plating, and 315 Dan Osborne came to a halt.  186 Lewis Fasey advanced up the order and moved into second when 355 Aaron Dark got out of shape and was collected by 562 Jayden James.  Fasey then hunted down Smith, and they duelled to the flag, with Fasey winning by half a car length.  Heat two was explosive, with the action triggered by a home straight crash involving 208 Kieran Barrett and Dark.  That left Dark exposed to a thunderous hit from 266 Scott Gillbard.  In turn, he was blasted by Jayden James, and thereafter, Smith stormed into James.  As James and Smith exited the wreckage, Curtis-Stevens joined the heap, and then Jayden James completed the train with his second visit to the crash zone.  286 Sophie Fasey took the lead, but with an ailing car, her brother sped past and duly ticked off his second win.  The start of the Halfpint Trophy final saw several cars collide in turns three and four, which left the field significantly depleted.  As the race progressed, Sophie Fasey had built a commanding lead.  However, the race was halted in the closing stages when Reeder’s car expired and went on fire.  A two-lap dash completed the race, with Sophie leading home her brother Lewis.  Smith was third and 773 Blossom Congdon was the fourth and final finisher.  In increasing gloom, six drivers did battle in the DD.  652 Kristian Gale blasted 271 Jordan Coleman, before Simmons and Barrett met in a head-on.  Gale then ran into Simmons before Coleman joined the pile.  The Gale car then went on fire, bringing a stoppage.  When the action resumed, Coleman soon ground to a halt, leaving Gillbard to see off Osborne for the win.

Back 2 Basics Bangers

The opening heat had to be halted for another safety harness issue, but the race had only just restarted when 141 Toby Tiddy rolled over on the back straight after he clipped 405 Liam Curtis-Stevens.  Top marks to 457 John Blight who used his car to protect the upturned Tiddy Fiesta.  776 Terry Senford had been a clear leader to that point, but he was bundled into a heap of cars by 222 Cody Blight.  That left 617 Reece Rixon, 280 Jordan Fitzpatrick and 255 Phil Killone to contest the lead.  Picking a route through the car park in turns three and four was crucial, and it was Killone who successfully navigated his way to the chequered flag.  A chaotic second heat included a double airbag moment, when 195 Lee Gregory ran into the spun car of 05 Paul Johns on the back straight.  The race was halted when 555 Francis Cunningham needed attention after a crash on the same part of the circuit.  When the race resumed, race leader 632 Ryan Karkeek came under attack from Cody Blight.  Karkeek lost time, Blight went on to win, and heat one winner Killone grabbed the runner-up spot.  The final was a rough race, with 195 Lee Gregory on the receiving end, and plenty of other crashes.  Curtis-Stevens almost threw away the lead to blast the slow moving 989 Saul Campbell, and on the last lap, both Karkeek and Killone swept past him to finish first and second.

Ministox

On a difficult track, the opening race for the junior racers saw white graders 117 Max Starr and 476 Jack Wadling contest the lead.  Whilst the rest of the grid struggled to make impression on the leaders, 475 Mason Sealy made a telling charge late in the race.  He hit the front with two laps to go and took the win.  Wadling held on for second and 114 Charlie Lomas completed the top three.  Heat two was a similar story with Wadling and Starr setting the pace.  They were still the lead pair in the closing stages, but Wadling’s challenge sent Starr sideways, and they were each delayed.  522 Jacob Mikulla pounced, to steal the lead and the win, with Sealy the runner-up and Wadling third.  The Final began with Wadling spinning Starr and then establishing a decent lead.  511 Lexi Crosbie emerged from the blue grade, but Lomas was also in the hunt for honours, and as they converged on race leader Wadling, Lomas grabbed the lead.  Lomas went on to win the Mini Mayhem trophy; Crosbie was second and Sealy made a last bend lunge to steal third from Wadling.