Smeatharpe Stadium - Friday 17th September 2021

An evening of racing of the highest calibre was served up for those in attendance as the early autumn Friday sessions continued at Smeatharpe.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

On the face of it, heat one as a race that saw the winner 540 Dayne Pritlove lead from flag to flag may not sound the most enthralling but the reality was that the race set the tone for the excitement that was to be produced by the BriSCA F2 drivers throughout the evening. The early stages of the race saw 736 Josh Weare clamber over the front of 35 Charlie Fisher, both being able to rejoin. Meanwhile 27 Kieren Bradford was setting repeated fastest laps and was closing fast on long-time leader Pritlove. Heading into turn three on the final lap Bradford went for the hit on the rear of the white top’s bumper but Pritlove managed to ride it out to take an excellent win – his first at Smeatharpe. Heat two was almost a carbon copy of the previous race albeit with different players as 828 Julian Coombes and 605 Ritchie Andrews crashed out early on in the Honiton bend. 2020 Novice of the Year Champion 992 Harley Burns, on his first appearance of the year at the circuit, made rapid progress up to second as he hunted down 460 Adam Pearce who like Pritlove in the previous heat had made the break at the front from the White grade. Burns made his move on the final bend, pushing Pearce hard enough to move him out wide whilst maintaining enough momentum to outpace the white grader to the flag. 232 Dan Abbott and Pearce both sped off from the front of the grid in the third and final heat with Abbott leading until the final bend once again when remarkably the third last bend attack of the evening saw Pearce through for the win, Abbott just holding on for second from 184 Aaron Vaight. The Final featured action and drama galore. At the outset 928 Lauren Stack built up a healthy lead. Behind her, earlier heat winner Burns took a wayward route over the infield to avoid the spun Combes on the home straight. A short while later the home straight also saw Abbott and 988 Charlie Lobb tangle, Lobb being collected at speed by 33 Matt Peters and Bradford with Coombes also in the resulting pile-up. A caution was quickly called and the track medic team on the scene to aide Lobb who had exited the car at speed following a brief excess fuel flare up in the exhaust which was out as quickly as it had appeared. Once Lobb had left the track under his own steam, the race resumed with Stack still leading. Her efforts were helped by a tremendous battle for second involving Vaight, Pearce, Burns, Weare, 890 Paul Rice and 24 Jon Palmer. Over the course of each of the next six laps the driver holding second place swapped on one or both bends – it was simply magnificent to watch, and all the time it was allowing Stack to extend her lead and with five laps to go she looked set to become the third white top winner of the evening. However, to the massed groans of just about every onlooker, a yellow flag was required when Vaight declared all was not well, having been fired over the bonnet of Weare and deposited into the turn two fence. It was Palmer who had ousted Vaight from his path, and it was Palmer who benefitted the most, for with the field closed up once again and with just eight cars still running, Palmer was now right on the tail of race leader Stack. The young lady racer led the field off for the closing laps of the race, but within a lap Palmer had eased by, and then further ill fortune befell Stack, as she received a hefty hit by Burns in turn three.  Stack spun and was unable to rejoin the race, whilst Palmer took the win ahead of Rice and Burns. Palmer acknowledged in the post-race interview that had it not been for that late race stoppage the pack would have been unlikely to have caught Stack such was her lead at that time – there summing up the highs and lows of Stock Car racing at its competitive best. The Grand National was never going to be able to match the quality of the Final but still it had its moments. Pearce again led at the front until with five laps to go he was caught and passed by Burns. Palmer however was making progress from the lap handicap but in his rush to climb the order he went in hard on the Honiton bend on the cars in front and in doing so his car jumped out of gear. With the car slow down the home straight he tangled with 398 Ian England, the two coming to a halt on the entry to turn one. They sat there for a couple of laps, before indicating an issue, which coincided with the chequered flag falling on Burns who wrapped up a successful evening’s racing with a win.

Saloon Stock Cars

14 cars arrived in the pits for the evening’s racing, the Devon Championship being the first race of the evening. 28 Ian Govier got away quickly at the start being followed by 672 Simon Paris, the two for a time heading down the back straight door handle to door handle. The race was brought under caution for 799 Joseph Powell who was in a vulnerable position on turn two. The restart was explosive with Govier at the front of the train of cars being bundled hard into the pit bend but managing to maintain his position as 903 Adam Neville went spinning out on the home straight, and Paris and 902 Buster Compton-Sage battled for second place which delayed them both. This allowed 677 Warren Darby to get past whereupon he set about hunting down and disposing of Govier. As Darby edged clear, Govier fell back down the order and was thundered around the pits bend plating by Paris. Behind, 84 Carl Boswell was now into second and with Darby well clear at the front, Boswell found himself subject to a big dive from Buster Jnr on the final bend with the National Champion just managing to get to the second place ahead of Boswell in third. The first Allcomers race saw Paris take a flag to flag win, but the race was far from dull as the eventual winner had to contend with being caught by 33 Peter Hollett, his challenge being ended when he got out of shape on the back straight. That allowed a hard charging Darby to mount an audacious challenge entering the pit bend from a distance that made any prospect of a connection with the rear of the Hollett car unlikely, but connect he did, dropping Hollett out of the top ten and allowing the new Devon Champion to finish in second. The second Allcomers race saw 281 Marc Chenery sent spinning early on into the fence at the end of the home straight, whilst Buster Jnr also stopped on the pits bend after taking Neville to the wall. Paris led the field until three laps to go, but he was overhauled by Darby who proceeded to take his second win of the night.

Bangers

Following a late call-up to action it was a modest field of Bangers who arrived, the driver’s efforts greatly appreciated. 455 Shane Kennard led the opening race until he was overtaken by 595 Ben Wall who, despite a late charge by 113 Chris Jeanes and 991 Ben Hale, remained clear to take victory. 133 Jody Jeanes’ car ground to a halt in the middle of the entry to the home straight near the start of heat two providing somewhat of a challenge for the field to pick a line through the corner until eventually 621 Scott Kendall crashed heavily into the stranded car. Hall again fought his way past Kennard for his second win of the evening. The Final was a quiet affair until the last three laps whereupon the leader 572 Bradey Chugg was caught by Chris Jeanes who moved through into the lead. With Wall and 70 Jamie Thomas all in close proximity, Thomas sent Wall into a half spin on the back straight. Thomas then challenged Jeanes on the final bend but had to make do with second place, as Chugg claimed third. The evening concluded with a chained pairs race – and whilst disappointingly there were just the two ‘couples’ willing to participate the pairings of Chris Jeanes and Jamie Thomas and 333 Craig Patridge and 185 Richard Coaker set out to entertain with each pair taking turns to set about one another firstly on the home straight and then on the back straight. A rear fun affair, which saw Jeanes and Thomas grab the chequered.