Smeatharpe Stadium - Sunday 14th August 2016

A gloriously warm and sunny summer’s afternoon greeted the large, and very receptive crowd at Smeatharpe Stadium and the on-track action didn’t disappoint with the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars in sterling form; and likewise the 2 litre National Bangers Old Skool.  The 11-16 year olds in the Ministox provided some very close and competitive racing and despite a lowly entry of Saloon Stock Cars, they too provided exciting racing.  The day culminated in a spectacular Caravan Chaos race.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

With a few regulars on holiday and some of our regular visiting drivers having raced at the World Championship Semi Finals at Kings Lynn the previous evening the entry was a pleasing one and included a healthy number of lower grades.  It was one of the star men present who came through to win heat one though, with 522 Chris Mikulla taking the flag.  The second heat will surely be a contender for overall race of the year with an epic hard hitting scrap at the front between 24 Jon Palmer, 352 Dave Sansom, 542 Steven Gilbert and 575 Tom Clark and it was Sansom, stubborn and obstinate to the last, who got the better of this titanic battle to take the win.  Having been disqualified from the result in the previous race, for a loose wheel guard, Palmer bounced back to win the consolation.  The Roy Goodman Perpetual Challenge Trophy Final required a complete re-run after 750 Lewis Holden and 907 Josie Dawe came to grief on the home straight.  At the second start the entire white grade managed to trip each other up on the opening lap and this allowed 689 Joe Marquand into the lead very early on.  It was a lead he still was to have at the halfway mark with Sansom and 935 Nathan Maidment chasing, and then joined by Clark.  In the west bend, Clark and Sansom came together in their battle for second, and then crashed again together in their attempts to re-join, whereupon they were collected by 22 Richard Short.  With the battered looking 575 car left across the track at the end of the home straight the yellow flags were called.  Marquand was still the leader at the time at the three quarter race distance but he immediately lost out to Maidment at the re-start, who in turn was sent wide by Gilbert.  Yet, he in turn was sent wide himself by 315 Justin Fisher, who slipped through the gap on the inside.  However, Gilbert was able to recover and reel Fisher back in and made a decisive move back into the lead and went on to take the win.  This was Gilbert’s first feature race win at Smeatharpe from the star grade.  Fisher held on for second and Palmer made third.   The Grand National was a typically fast and furious affair, but went all the way from green to chequered and saw a win for 745 Lee Morgan.  The day’s Best White Top award was won by 762 Mike Cocks on his first Smeatharpe visit for many a year.  All in all, that had been some truly breathtaking stuff by the BriSCA F2s.

Saloon Stock Cars

The Saloon entry was to fall one less after pre-meeting practice when 199 Phil Powell suffered engine problems, but the meeting did see a debut for his son, 799 Joe Powell.  The battle for supremacy in the Track Championship amongst the two visiting stars 158 Shane Davies and 730 Deane Mayes was once again a feature of the racing.  They came through for a 1-2 finish in heat one whilst heat two came down to a dramatic last bend, with Davies lunging in on long-time leader 28 Ian Govier and Mayes going in on both, but it was UK Champion Davies who got to the line first in the scramble.  Govier was clear again in the Final but when 248 Will Makin’s car parted company with a wheel the yellow flags were required and it bunched the pack up.  However, Govier was able to open out again at the re-start chased by Mayes.  When Mayes caught him, there was jockeying for position.  730 got ahead, but 28 was able to come back at him and it was Govier’s win.  27 Kieren Bradford made third.  Most generously, Mayes handed both the trophies he won on the day, to members of the crowd.

2 Litre Old Skool National Bangers

Once again there was healthy entry of the 2 litre National Bangers running to the Old Skool format.  The two heats were won by drivers from west Cornwall with 903 Adam Neville and 862 Darryl Cock taking the victories.  The Final saw 83 Ben Styles win by a long way ahead of 100 Alec Jenner and 372 Jay Matthews.  Despite a depleted field for the Allcomers it was far and away the most entertaining Banger race of the afternoon due in no small part to 199 Tom Pearce and 720 Kenny Gabriel Jnr who were willing take big hits from 74 Adam Hitchcock and 133 Terry Hill in-particular and earned both a well-deserved round of applause from the crowd at the end of the race.  So much so, it almost went unnoticed that Styles had taken his second win.

Caravan Chaos

The caravan race will be remembered for a large crash at the end of the back straight which resulted in a piece of auto sculpture.  It began after 372 Jay Matthews went in on 556 Pete Hollis, who then had 447 Adan Hicks go in on him and finally Hitchcock went in, which put the 372 car high into the air!  79 Brian Edmond rounded out the eventual winner.

Ministox

The Ministox saw a good field and an all Autospeed entry.  Both heat wins went to reigning Points Champion 907 Cameron Lawrence, the second of which saw a very close finish between 917 Gemma Robbins, 987 Ethan Pope and 972 Jack Soby, all coming across the line together albeit not all pointing in a forward direction.  The Final was headed by 654 Harley Soper for some time, as Lawrence failed to make the big early strides he had made in the heats in this race.  It was 951 Aiden Vincent who moved ahead of Soby to lead and as the laps ticked off he was slowly reeled in by lady racers Robbins and 943 Hannah Esau but they could not get close enough to each other to make a move and so that is how the crossed the line, with Vincent winning the annual Reg Thomas Memorial Trophy.