The last Bank Holiday weekend of the year was the first to feature Stock Car racing following the lockdown in the first half of the season and thankfully the warm late Summer sunshine provided the perfect backdrop for racegoers to enjoy the afternoon’s racing.

Van Bangers

An excellent field of 14 Van Bangers served up some superb action throughout.  Heat 1 saw 600 Marcuis Chant in the thick of the action setting about removing a number of other competitors whilst 692 Dave Gardner ran away at the front of the field to take the win though his afternoon ended after the chequered when his van ground to a halt on the back straight.  Nine chariots repaired for Heat 2 which saw Chant again in the middle of the action, ploughing straight into the side of the stranded 313 Callum Brown machine at the end of the home straight.  Picking his way through the field on his way to victory was 149 Dan Curtis whose van was the dwarfed by the larger transits and minibuses.  The Final was an entertaining affair despite just six making it to the starting grid.  690 Tristan Clement was targeted in the opening laps, particularly by 53 Chris James, Clement using the brakes to good effect to avoid being spun out.  James got his revenge though when he applied the brakes at short notice in front of Clement who had nowhere to go and ploughed into the rear of the James minibus, ending Clement’s race when he was duly blitzed by 768 Tyler Cock.  Curtis again picked his way through the carnage to win.  The DD was an epic event with an impressive 11 vans making it back onto track.  The field was quickly whittled down before a stoppage to allow for 448 Ian Bray in his battered people carrier to receive medical attention, after bashing his knee.  On the resumption the battle quickly reduced to a fight between 768 Tyler Cock, Chant and James. All three set about each other in fine style, the Chant machine slowly falling to bits around the driver.  The James machine finally gave up on the back straight, whilst despite the pounding both the Cock and Chant vans had taken, both continued to circulate the raceway, taking the opportunity to reverse into each other, the force of the hits eventually dislodging the roof of the Chant bus much to the delight on the crowd.  At some point, a hit on the stationary 862 Darryl Cock van brought him back into play though just provided another target for T. Cock and Chant.  Eventually, Chant’s battered machine cried enough whilst Tyler Cock came around to give both the James and Chant vans one final assault, the chequered flag coming out 40 minutes after the event had started with cheers from the appreciative crowd around the track who had stayed to the very end.

Saloon Stock Cars

The Saloon Stock Cars were back in action for their second consecutive St Day meeting on a day when the lower graders proved so hard to catch.  Heat 1 was a high-speed affair with 00 Bradley Morgan breaking away from the field to take his maiden win in the formula.  Heat 2 was a lively affair with a number of big hits into the pit bend.  902 Buster Jnr was sent spinning heading into the pit bend surrounded by other cars though managed to slam it back in gear without being collected or losing too much time.  He was, however, later to find himself propelled towards the plating between turns 1 and 2 to drop him down the field.  Meanwhile, 399 Cole Atkins launched into the rear of World Champion 116 Diggy Smith, and later in the race 730 Deane Mayes despatched 476 Ryan Wadling fencewards also on the pit bend.  All the while 277 Jack Grandon had taken up the lead and led home Morgan and 561 Aaron Totham for a lower graded top three.  The Final saw Morgan pick up his second win of the day in comfortable fashion though there was still plenty to enjoy as a fierce battle further back between Wadling, Grandon and Buster Jnr for second saw the drivers trade bumper blows and places for a number of laps.  There was also a fierce battle as Smith launched 730 Deane Mayes into the pit bend, the National Series Champion doing well to avoid a heavy trip to the plating.   Behind Morgan, Buster Jnr eventually broke free for second with Wadling third to end another good showing from the formula.

Ministox

There was another fine showing of 19 Ministox with almost half the field white graded.  290 Alfie Tomkins left the competition trailing as he led flag to flag in heat 1, as behind the noivice drivers who started from the rear of the field found it difficult to not find themselves in the middle of the battles of the established drivers, 992 Alfie Walsh having a particularly wild ride down the home straight, the young racer though driving very well to avoid a much bigger incident.  Heat 2 followed a similar pattern with Tomkins again breaking free at the front.  An enthralling battle between the top drivers in 499 Alfie Aldous, 985 Sam Carter and 577 Harry Darby eventually saw them finish in that order behind Tomkins.  In the Final, Tomkins completed a hat-trick of victories, with 942 Leon Williams second.  Darby just managed to force his way past 970 Millie Farrell on the last lap for third, the white top driver holding on for fourth ahead of Aldous and Carter on a day when the higher graded drivers had their work cut out getting near the front of the field.