United Downs Raceway - Monday 31st May 2021

It was sunshine and smiles as spectators were welcomed to the United Downs Raceway for the first time this year on Spring Bank Holiday Monday.  The meeting began with an excellent Grand Parade, led by Geno Crawford and David Andrewartha, the two ultra runners who had clocked up almost 100 miles when they had each run around the circuit for ten hours in late March.  Unsurprisingly, the crowd gave them a great reception to commend them for their remarkable effort.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

The opening event of the afternoon was the First Chance To Win race, open to white top drivers who had yet to grab the chequered flag.  762 Mike Cocks hit the front from pole position, but 194 Luke Johnson was swiftly to challenge, and having grabbed the lead, he began to edge clear.  948 John Brereton made progress later on, but he could not get on terms with Johnson who ran out the emphatic winner, whilst 540 Dayne Pritlove completed the top three – each of the trio receiving their trophy from Neil Truran Motorsport.  After an aborted start to heat two, 27 Kieren Bradford relieved Cocks of the lead.  667 Tommy Farrell surged up to second place, but former Saloon Stock Car English Champion Bradford was away and gone, as he scored his first BriSCA F2 victory.  More first time wins came in heat two, as Brereton got ahead of Johnson in the formative stages of the race.  At halfway Brereton was still some way clear and showing good pace.  315 Justin Fisher caught Johnson to move into second, but Brereton held firm at the front, to score a F2 win for the first time.  The third heat saw Johnson and Brereton out front again, but just after halfway came a sickening crash on the back straight.  As 24 Jon Palmer and 835 Matt Westaway tangled, Westaway’s car spun and rolled back off the kerb into the path of the oncoming traffic.  As cars dived either side to avoid him, 542 Steven Gilbert was unsighted and caught Westaway with a high speed impact.  The race was suspended, and Westaway had to be extricated from his car.  After a lengthy delay, Westaway was assisted into the ambulance, and after a precautionary check in hospital, he was later released with no lasting injuries.  When the race resumed, Palmer bundled his way to the front, and won from Bradford and 418 Ben Borthwick.  The Voice of Autospeed final began with 35 Charlie Fisher careering around the turnstile bend fence, as Pritlove set the pace.  Bradford challenged for the lead, but Pritlove gamely fought back.  Fisher joined the battle, and briefly grabbed the lead, before Palmer once more pounced.  In the scramble for positions, Pritlove was the one to lose out, and his gallant run ended with a caution period, after he needed recovery from the pits bend fence.  Palmer and Fisher were clear at the front, leaving an enthralling contest for third involving Borthwick, Bradford and Track Champion 302 Dale Moon.  They clashed at the start of the last lap, with Bradford spinning and Moon made an audacious last bend move on Borthwick, which took both cars very wide through turn four, Borthwick just holding on for third.  Numbers had dwindled by the time of the Grand National, which was uneventful in contrast to previous races.  Bradford was hit by throttle linkage problems, which hindered his run, but there were no such problems for 689 Joe Marquand, as he claimed a comprehensive win, with Johnson the runner-up.

Back 2 Basics Bangers

The day’s action for Bangers was a little too rough in the opening race, which led to a trio of drivers having their afternoon brought to an early close.  205 Matt Cottle rolled over on the back straight and in the subsequent crashing, 627 Aaron Kingwell and 44 Liam Boswarthick were disqualified for illegal hits.  238 Jake Hughes led the early stages, but he was succeeded by 104 Matt Horwell.  However, just when Horwell was set for victory, he attacked a backmarker, and 22 Dylan Rowley-Brown inherited the lead, for a win on his first appearance.  Heat two was a two-way battle between 196 Phil Chapman and 690 Tristan Clement, with the former getting to the front at the right time to score the win.  The same two drivers featured in the final, but when Clement went the long way around a spun backmarker, he picked up a puncture and that delayed his progress.  Chapman grabbed the lead, and 617 Reece Rixon nipped past Clement to steal the runner-up position.  The end of meeting Destruction Derby saw Rowley-Brown blast 149 Dan Curtis and 59 Mike Hamley did likewise to Rowley-Brown.  90 Shane Cruickshank avoided much of the crashing, so when Hamley scored the last hit on Rixon, it was Hamley who was declared the winner.