As winter drew to a close, relatively pleasant weather conditions greeted racegoers at the United Downs Raceway for the season’s second fixture.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

After the strong numbers at the opening meeting a fortnight previous, the reduced entry led to a two from three format.  526 Marc Rowe continued his good form as he led the first heat beyond halfway, at which stage 352 Dave Sansom swept past, chased by 689 Joe Marquand.  A last bend challenge by Marquand was not quite telling enough, and Sansom held on for the win.  Heat two was not dissimilar, with Rowe the early leader, until Sansom again nipped by.  Marquand closed and again attempted a last bend challenge.  Once more, Sansom held on, to win by the slenderest of margins.  The early leader of heat three was 663 Bryan Lindsay, but he was overhauled by 736 Josh Weare who looked assured out front.  Former World Champion 783 James Rygor gave chase, but Weare maintained his advantage to the chequered.  The largest grid of F2s for the day assembled for the Voice of Autospeed final.  Rowe set the pace, whilst leading star graders Rygor and 418 Ben Borthwick crashed out in the turnstile bend with 232 Dan Abbott: Borthwick coming to rest on top of Rygor’s bonnet.  By the midway point, Sansom had taken over at the front, and once more it was Marquand in pursuit.  Weare shifted 302 Dale Moon to move into third, as the race headed towards the closing quarter.  Sansom was momentarily delayed by backmarker 777 John Vickery and Marquand closed the gap.  Heading into the final lap, Sansom was still the leader, but as he and Marquand tore down the back straight, all eyes were on the last bend.  Marquand arrowed into the corner, and clouted Sansom wide.  The attack sent Sansom all the way out to the plating, and as he bounced off the safety fence, Marquand dived to the inside line on the exit of the final bend to steal a sensational victory in the dash to the line.  Weare completed the top three.  The circuit for the Grand National was damp from a brief shower.  Rygor picked his way through for a comfortable win from 27 Kieren Bradford and long distance visitor 184 Aaron Vaight.

Back 2 Basics Bangers

The Back 2 Basics Bangers served up a fine quartet of events.  There was an explosive start to the first heat with 988 Ryan Thomas, 374 Rich Kelly and debutant 330 Michael Williams involved in the chaos on the home straight.  462 Nico James led the re-run race, but when 22 Rich Simmons spun him, 59 Mike Hamley pounced to grab the win.  Thomas was spun aside on a couple of occasions during the second heat, which had 196 Phil Chapman and 930 Jordan Lobb out front as the leaders.  53 Chris James, nursing a car that had caught plenty of rear end damage in the first race, crabbed his way around, and was twice turned aside by 562 Jayden James.  Lobb spun 102 Tom Sandercock, as they battled for second, but both became snared on the back straight, as Chapman won convincingly.  Chapman looked to have got past Rich Simmons and 200 Jai Simmons in the final, but the latter fought back, and Chapman took a wayward route over the infield on the back straight.  Chapman then ran Jai Simmons wide on the final bend, but as he did so, the two briefly tangled, and that left the door open for Hamley, who stole past to grab the chequered in a thrilling finish.  Those eager for crashes were not disappointed in the Destruction Derby which began with a terrific jacking train on the back straight.  After 165 Graham Middlewood and Rich Simmons had met head on, in steamed 125 John Stokes, then 777 Kai Freestone, followed by Jayden James, Thomas and finally Nico James.  Out came the red flags, and when the event resumed, Jayden James, Hamley and 786 Grant Harris were the last three remaining runners.  Hits were exchanged, before Harris saw off the other pair to claim a decent victory.

Ministox

Some skilful juggling of the two from three format resulted in an all-white top opening heat, which fielded ten starters.  920 Wayne Wadge made the most of his pole position grid, to edge clear from 966 James Payne in the formative stages.  As Wadge continued to extend his lead, Payne was reeled in by 913 Ben Faulconbridge and 170 Austin King who took the other two rostrum places.  In the second heat, Payne and 919 Oscar Berry were well clear at the front.  When Berry pulled to the infield, that left Payne a long way ahead on his own, but his ailing car began to slow, and 917 Troy Hemmins inherited the lead, to win from 202 Cody Bradford and 290 Alfie Tomkins.  Heat three was halted when debutant 742 Kacey Williams required attention after crashing out.  Wadge led off the restart but slipped down the order and then crashed out in a tangle with 902 Reagan Davies.  Tomkins came out on top in a star grade battle with 617 Christina Sillifant and Hemmins.  The final was led for some time by Davies, with Bradford and Hemmins leading the chase.  Once in the lead, Bradford went on to extend his advantage for an emphatic success, leading home Hemmins and Tomkins, whilst fourth for Davies was his best result yet.