A packed Bank Holiday crowd at the United Downs Raceway, St Day enjoyed a fabulous action-filled day in the sunshine, culminating in a bizarre yet highly entertaining Caravan Chaos race.
BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
A two from three format was adopted for the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars and in the opening heat 00 Brad Morgan wrestled the lead away from 206 Matt Brewer, whilst 24 Jon Palmer crashed out in turn three when his throttle stuck open. Palmer limped his damaged car to the infield and Morgan went on to complete his first win since switching to F2s. In his debut meeting, 458 Layton Mush made the early running in heat two, before Morgan burst into the lead. He was chased down by 315 Charlie Fisher, but in turn he had 980 Charlie Lobb on his tail. Fisher hit the front, and Lobb launched a long dive into the last bend. Lobb failed to dislodge Fisher, but half spun in front of Morgan and the two clashed just metres from the line. Heat three was a close-fought race. 131 Dean Rogers led for much of the way, until 206 Matt Brewer and 235 Alfie Brimble squeezed by. In turn, they were hunted down by 126 Jamie Avery, who saw out the win by leading home Palmer and 186 Kasey Jones. The final provided compelling viewing. Only a few laps had passed when 572 James Lindsay lost a wheel. The race resumed for a few laps, before another caution period was imposed after Palmer and 667 Tommy Farrell crashed out heavily on the start/finish line. Morgan led the single file order away again, but it was Avery who took command and looked set for victory. However, in the final third of the race, the track became oily and slippery, and that changed the complexion considerably. As Avery took increasingly wild lines to find some grip, Kasey Jones closed visibly, and with a couple of laps left, he made a successful challenge to take control. Jones won, to emulate his opening day final win from the previous season. Avery was the runner-up, and 979 Paul Moss just held on for third despite a spirited last bend attack from 121 Vinnie Neath-Rogers. Jones duly captured the superb Snell Family Trophy. The Grand National saw an early exit for Brewer and 207 Alfie Flecken, with Fisher also trapped momentarily. The race continued with Weare making his way to the front and he won from Farrell. At the end of the race, there was a tricky manoeuvre to separate the Brewer and Flecken cars which had become intertwined, and that delayed the start of the Caravan Chaos race.
Saloon Stock Cars
A decent showing of 16 Saloon Stock Cars attended their latest Cornish fixture, although 166 Connor Charlton went no further than pre-meeting practice. 759 Taylor Whitford led off the opening heat, but former British Champion 199 Phil Powell overhauled him and built a good lead, with 677 Warren Darby and World, British and English Champion 720 Archie Brown chasing. 151 Levi List brutally set about 111 Thomas Ruby, and when Brown also got dragged into the mayhem, it saw Ruby lose a leaf spring. The race was suspended, and Powell was shunted out of the lead when it resumed, with Brown then edging Darby wide to seal another win. Powell replaced Whitford as the leader in heat two, but as the race entered its closing stages, Brown significantly reduced the gap. Powell stayed calm and held firm to see out the win, with Brown out of range to launch any last bend attack. The final was a rather mundane affair, as Powell reeled in Whitford and Brown then caught Powell in a sequence not dissimilar to the previous race. Brown won, Warren Darby was second and Powell rounded out the top three.
Bangers
Heat one had an extraordinary finish. 184 Brad Eddy and 193 Ollie Turner disputed the lead for many laps, until Turner crashed out, leaving Eddy with a huge lead. However, on the last lap his car lost power and Points Champion 621 Scott Kendall took advantage to win from 662 Jared Roe. The luckless Eddy limped home in seventh. Heat two began with seven drivers being sent to the rear of the grid for not displaying a full roof colour. A hectic start left 617 Reece Rixon spun on the exit of turn four. The race was halted when 59 Mike Hamley crashed out in a heap in turn two and his car caught fire. 96 Craig Cornelius had just relieved 323 Barry Phillips of the lead, and Cornelius set off for the closing laps and quickly got clear of the pack. However, 390 Alfie Tomkins hunted him down and challenged on the last bend, only for Cornelius to hold on for a narrow win. 268 Kerry Birch led the consolation for eight laps until 31 Liam Shipway swept past. 290 Jay Tomkins chased after Shipway and in his haste to hunt him down, he spun Birch around on the home straight, but although Birch dropped down the order, she still placed sixth. Shipway clinched the win. When early leader 24 Matt Taylor crashed out in turn three early in the final, the race was halted. Eddy saw his huge lead evaporate, but he proceeded to head the field for the next eight laps until his car expired again. That left 451 Nigel Belfield out front, and he won from 786 Grant Harris, Kendall and 196 Phil Chapman. A rough Allcomers race saw more drivers land in disciplinary hot water, as a result of over the top crashing in contravention of the rules of the class. 390 Alfie Tomkins stormed to an emphatic win, with Shipway the runner-up.
Bonus Caravan Chaos
A late addition to the original fixture, the bonus caravan chaos race was peculiar yet riveting in equal measure. An inexplicable reluctance from some drivers to want to take part, coupled with damage during the day, left a meagre list of potential caravan wreckers. However, three caravans were dotted around the circuit, and 818 Terry Rowe and 222 Cody Blight towed two more caravans on to the track before all hell was let loose. Rowe blitzed the back straight caravan and Blight tore into the caravan on the home straight, but got stuck, with the front end of his car peering out through the front, but his own in-tact caravan too big to fit through the wrecked caravan. Fortunately, help was at hand and Rowe blasted into the back of the pile-up, and that catapulted Blight forward and free from the increasingly unkempt wreckage. Blight and Rowe powered on as best they could with ailing cars and were able to trash the last of the caravans before finally coming to a destructive halt on the start/finish line. Whilst Rowe was declared the victory, the true winners were the crowd who stayed to witness the astonishing event, and they rewarded both drivers with hearty praise and applause.