Report by Jack Watson

Just as it looked like the rain would hold off from appearing before the start of the last Autospeed fixture of September, the heavens opened as the cars trundled on to track for the first race of the day. Thankfully, after a series of brief showers, the skies cleared and by the time the meeting Finals came around the track was dry.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

A busy day of prizes for the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars included the Whites & Yellows Series Final, as well as the Club 21 Trophy. The final car count came to 30, exactly as advertised, and included track debuts for 61 Cody Jarvis and 505 Owen Geach. 
A full-format was adopted, and the first heat doubled up as the Whites & Yellows Final. A downpour as the cars gridded made the race start somewhat chaotic, with most drivers clattering the plating on the opening lap while 238 Lewis Smith spun on the back straight. 185 Jessica Webb was the early leader, but it wasn't long before 206 Matt Brewer had hit the front. Webb dropped down the order and Brewer began to build the gap at the front, while a titanic battle began to ensue for second. 895 Ben Goddard found 870 Bruno Farrell challenging to get by, which allowed 128 Jake Ralfs, 828 Julian Coombes and sole blue grade qualifier 315 Charlie Fisher to join the fun. Bruno Farrell's stout defence came to an end with Fisher emerging in second place at the line ahead of Coombes, but they were the best part of half a lap behind Brewer who took top honours. Having recovered from his first lap spin to get into the qualifying positions, Smith spun in almost the exact same spot in the closing stages and just missed out on an automatic place in the Final. The second heat was more straightforward, the drivers having a chance to view and prepare for the conditions no doubt having an impact. Returnee 458 Layton Mush lost the lead very early on to wet weather specialist 194 Luke Johnson, while 979 Paul Moss was quickly into second having got by 846 Adam Pearce, who was racing for the first time in two years. While Johnson could never really relax with Moss in his mirror throughout, he also looked in control of things as he went on to take the win. 542 Steven Gilbert was the first of the star graders home in third, with a significant number of his fellow red tops making little to no progress through the field. The Consolation race took place on a drying track and was led initially by 53 Phil Mann. Smith, making up for earlier disappointment had relinquished Mann of the lead before too long, and went on to record a comfortable win. Mann and 262 Charlie Cocks completed the top three spots, with the star graders once again opting to fight among themselves rather than chase qualifying positions. In the end, only a couple of late spins for 267 Robbie Batten afforded all five stars places in the Final. The grid for the Final (on a dry track) was dominated by yellow and red graders, such were the drivers in attendance on the day, but meant that the action centred around them. Mann led the early stages as a big push from the yellows on the Honiton bend removed Johnson from the running. At the other end of the track, 980 Charlie Lobb found 736 Josh Weare hitching a lift on his back bumper, with the pair coming to a stop on the outside line at the end of the back straight. The field began to bunch, and Goddard briefly tangled with Brewer on the back straight which unsettled him and allowed him to be spun aside - except he found the stricken Lobb and Weare cars with the side of his car and collected them at near to racing speed. The yellow flags were called to allow Goddard time to exit the car under his own power - the car was a bit of a mess though and would require two tractors to stretcher it back to the pits. Mann lined up ahead of 405 Josh Hamstead and Webb at the restart, but the first attempt was very messy and the field were re-lined up - something that the five drivers who piled into each other on the Honiton bend may have been particularly grateful for. When the green flag did fall at the second time of asking, Hamstead hit the front and was pursued by Moss. Further back, there was an entertaining tit-for-tat battle between 24 Jon Palmer and 127 Matt Stoneman, which only succeeded in holding both drivers up. Moss caught and passed Hamstead with a couple of laps remaining, and Hamstead was unable to retaliate on any of the remaining corners as Moss crossed the line first. Third was Fisher, who had stayed in touch with the lead pair throughout. There was more drama to come, as Moss was deemed to have jumped the restart. After review of the video, the Steward demoted him to third as a result. Hamstead and Fisher were thus promoted to first and second places respectively. 
The Grand National didn't get far at all before the yellow flags were called to retrieve Ralfs from the Honiton bend, after he had tangled with Coombes. A similarly frantic restart saw Mush and 468 Sam Weston tangle on the way into the pit bend, and reaching the fence before untangling. The impact had caused Weston's radiator to burst, leading him to spin on the following Honiton bend with other drivers finding themselves sliding wide on the spilt fluid. The yellow flags were called again, with Brewer, Smith, Weare and 501 Jason Ward all involved on the Honiton bend. Webb led the restart, but Palmer was in the lead not long after the green fell. Palmer went on to win ahead of Stoneman, the latter having to work to get past eventual third place finisher Moss. Grade awards went the way of Hamstead (yellow), Fisher (Blue) and Mann (white) - the latter also picking up the St John's Ambulance White Top Shield as the top ‘C’ grade performer over the afternoon.

Saloon Stock Cars

In a similar fashion to the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars, there was a plethora of silverware on offer for the Saloon Stock Cars' penultimate visit to Smeatharpe of 2026.
Half of the 14 drivers in the pits were eligible to compete in the Whites & Yellows Final, which opened the meeting. 314 Bryn Finch was an early spinner, with 506 Bradley Eltham the early pacesetter. 199 Phil Powell made a move on 28 Ian Govier for second, but Govier slid back up the inside to retake the position as the drivers struggled to find grip. Eltham lost significant time on the pit bend which allowed Govier to challenge for the lead, but it was fourth placed 870 Bert Farrell who made a big move into the Honiton bend to move ahead. Farrell was then tagged as the field moved on to the back straight, forcing him into a spin and handing the lead back to Govier. Another battle heading into the Honiton bend, this time for second, gave Govier a decent advantage out front, but he spun around unaided at the pit gate which moved him down the order and handed the lead to Phil Powell. From there, the former British Champion had proceedings under control and went on to take the win. A late recovery from Farrell saw him take the runner-up spot, and Eltham completed the podium.
Despite there being seemingly minimal damage in the non-points scoring opener, only 11 of the 14 drivers present gridded for the opening race, which doubled up as the Pat Hudson Trophy. Eltham led the way as the sole white grader, but some good early progress from defending holder 720 Archie Brown saw him hit the front by half distance, relieving 382 Corey Hunt of the lead. Hunt was then involved in a battle with 677 Warren Darby for third, with Hunt losing out on the final bend. Brown took a comfortable win and was presented with the trophy by Pat’s grandson, Aaron Baker.  Second went the way of 577 Harry Darby. Further back, there was a decent battle for sixth between 33 Pete Hollett, Farrell and 759 Taylor Whitford with Hollett eventually getting the position. Finch and Farrell spun at the beginning of heat two, which was led for most of the time by Phil Powell. Brown, who had moved through from the back of the star grade, caught Phil Powell in the closing laps to record his second win of the afternoon. Harry Darby completed the top three, while Hunt came out on top in an entertaining contest between himself and 151 Levi List for seventh spot. The Final, for the Bill Batten Tribute, saw Eltham create a healthy lead at the front of the field. Harry Darby quickly emerged as the nearest challenger, making light work of clearing from the other star graders and managing to sneak past a quartet of yellow graders in one corner. Eltham had done enough though to be out of Harry Darby's reach on the last bend, taking his second feature event in as many Smeatharpe meetings. Third place went down to the last bend, with Brown moving Warren Darby over for the place.

ORCi Stock Rods 

The last Smeatharpe fixture of the season for the ORCi Stock Rods included the West of England Championship & Ron Trickey Trophy. The first heat was run on a wet track, and it was 808 Jack Southwell who was the early leader. 779 Ross Sweetland suffered a puncture in the early exchanges but was able to scramble to safety before causing himself, or any others, more significant damage. 314 Jason Barraclough had hit the front by halfway, but Irish Open Champion 914 Callum Faulconbridge was already up to third, the track conditions playing into his hands. Sure enough, Faulconbridge was in the lead before much longer and took a comfortable win ahead of Jason Barraclough and 944 Callum Hosie - Southwell was a very good fourth. 778 Connor Sweetland was the initial leader of the second heat but 220 Richard Short was soon challenging him at the front. Ross Sweetland, looking to make up for his first heat non-finish, was on Short's tail as Connor Sweetland slotted into third. Short held off Ross Sweetland's attentions for over half of the race, but eventually the latter found a gap and moved by - the pace difference evident by the creation of a gap almost instantaneously. From there, Ross Sweetland took the win ahead of Short and 100 Thomas Weeks, while Connor Sweetland had his best run in the formula yet in fourth. Further back in the pack, there was a messy ending for a few drivers, as the last lap led to carnage on the pit bend. Hosie, in a tangle with 78 Jason Legg, was bundled into the infield marker tyres, scattering those behind. The unluckiest driver in the incident was 617 Christina Sillifant, who ended up at the front of the train of cars that piled into the fence. The Final was gridded based on the points scored during the heats, putting Callum Faulconbridge and Short on the front row. Faulconbridge dove straight into the lead from the standing start, while the rest of the field argued over the positions behind him. Starlet-powered 913 Ben Faulconbridge was squeezed into the infield tyres on the entry to the pit bend while mid-pack, before being collected by 285 Martin Walker, halting the race. Another good start by Callum Faulconbridge saw him re-establish his lead fairly quickly after the resumption, with Hosie and 835 Matt Westaway contesting second place. There was a brief tangle between Ross Sweetland and 320 Matt Hatch, leading to another puncture for the former, only this time on a rear wheel. Despite a couple of half spins and near-misses with the passing traffic, he was able to move his car to the infield. 909 Justin Washer was another retiree, with a mechanical problem, although he too was well out of harm's way. Callum Faulconbridge went on to record another Final win, second went to Hosie and Westaway was third.

Bangers

A mammoth field of over 70 cars arrived for the Devon Championship, forcing a three heat format to be deployed. Heat one's action revolved around 22 Zack Hancock, who managed to find himself involved with most of the other twenty-plus drivers on track during the race. 105 Leo Horwell took a flag-to-flag victory, second went to 235 Sam Galliford while Supreme Champion 662 Jared Roe snatched third from 743 Jake Bond on the last bend. 149 Dan Curtis made the most of his recent drop to the white grade to lead the majority of the second heat. 13 Phill Saunders found himself acquainted with the fence on the exit of the Honiton bend as the laps began to dwindle, as Curtis found himself slowed by some backmarking traffic. This helped 451 Nigel Belfield to rapidly close, and the lead changed hands on the last corner. Third went to 808 Damian Thomas. The Fiat Doblo powered 666 Tom Hawkins was sent fencewards in the early stages of heat three, just as early race leader 768 Tyler Cock was squeezed to the infield. 73 Sam Wilkinson and 303 Josh Jones both had spells at the front, but a well-timed last bend lunge from 242 Alfie Ellacott moved him through from third to first on the last bend. Jones was second and Wilkinson third. The Consolation race brought the first stoppage of the day for the Bangers, as over thirty drivers searched for the final six spots in the Devon Championship. There was an explosive start as 24 Matt Taylor removed 53 Chris James forcefully on the pit bend, running in both cars, before the race was stopped for 814 Will Trevorrow who was stranded in the middle of the home straight. 474 Darren Polden led the restart but 200 Jai Simmons, who had made some stunning early progress from pole red, was into the lead as the lap boards came out. 890 Leszek Malinowski and 154 Joe Odhams tangled on the pit bend as Jai Simmons raced to the win, ahead of 817 Michael Phillips and 919 Oscar Berry.
The Devon Championship race saw Curtis and Damian Thomas share the front row, with all 36 qualifiers and defending champion 67 Harry Pritchard making the grid. Curtis took the early lead and established a gap out front, as a pile-up began to develop on the exit of the Honiton bend. A couple of cars joined in, leaving just one route through, with the stranded car of 6 Danny Greening in the middle of the back straight providing further challenge for those still in contention. Curtis disappeared into the pile, with Galliford emerging as the new leader - and he looked comfortable to take the win, despite the ensuing chaos. Then, with a handful of laps remaining, Galliford retired from the lead, which left Roe in charge and Wilkinson second. No sooner had Roe hit the front, had he been deposited into the pile-up which left Wilkinson in the lead, but Nigel Belfield was breathing down his neck. Wilkinson’s car was ailing, and the pair were delayed on the back straight.  A big push into the last bend saw a train of cars run wide, and initially the chequered flag fell on Alfie Ellacott with Jones and 113 Aaron Brown initially placed on the podium. However, a review of the video evidence found that during the chaos, 756 Troy Hooper had snuck through to the front of the pack, and he was duly awarded the title - everyone else was shuffled down a place. A very late stoppage in the Allcomers denied Junior Banger graduate 618 Stanley Gill a debut win. There was however, some slight retribution for Galliford who was the one to benefit, the 235 driver crossing the line ahead of Roe and Stanley Gill, to end a very entertaining afternoon from the Bangers (although with such mayhem and chaos, the lapscorers may have a different viewpoint!).