What began as a warm sunny day, saw a steady deterioration in the weather, as the closing segment of the meeting was held in heavy rain.  Nonetheless, the four classes on duty served up a happy bundle of fun and entertainment during the afternoon.

2 Litre Bangers

The opening round of the Supreme Championship for 2 Litre Old Skool Bangers saw 22 drivers on the grid.  956 Harry Thompson swiftly built up a good lead in heat one but reigning Supreme Champion 133 Terry Hill got ahead when the lap boards appeared.  Hill was ahead when the race was stopped after 2 Jack Hodges was bundled into the stationary 474 Jack Hicks.  Hill made short work of the remaining two laps when the race was restarted.  Heat two saw Thompson hit the front again, whilst 264 Shane Jennings was spun and then collected by 410 Dan Galley.  Thompson was overhauled by 862 Darryl Cock, but Hill scored his second win as he charged to the front in the latter stages.  One or two drivers lost their sense of purpose in the meeting final, with a spate of crashing in turn four.  The catalyst was 727 Kieron Ritson recovering from a spin by slowly dribbling the wrong way into the bend.  Hodges, 355 Aaron Dark, Galley, 302 Dale Moon and 648 Jamie Smith all got involved, which left the field depleted as Hill completed a hat-trick, leading home Thompson, 278 Shaun Brokenshire and 59 Mike Hamley as just four cars went the distance.  Bizarrely after the heavy crashing in the preceding race, just seven drivers entered the race when such crashing is encouraged.  Having been attacked by Dark, 11 Grubby Frankson managed to bring them both to a halt, which was an open invitation for Brokenshire.  With Frankson released, his next lap saw him assault Dark, leaving the 355 Mondeo trashed.  Hodges had led until the closing stages, but Brokenshire took over to win from Hill and Frankson.

Ministox

With a handful of youngsters otherwise engaged, numbers were below the usual levels, and that led to relatively sparse grids for the heats.  In the opening heat, 870 Bert Farrell reeled in race leader 242 Amy Williams, and when he spun her around on the exit of turn four, that triggered plenty of chaos behind.  236 Alfie Brimble maintained his pursuit of Farrell and was able to edge by late on, which brought him his first Ministox victory.  922 Kaydi Butcher led the early stages of heat two, and was still there at the halfway point, when 902 Reagan Davies and 207 Alfie Flecken nipped by.  Flecken then hit the front to claim his first chequered of the season.  With the track damp for heat three, speeds were slowed.  Flecken broke free to chase after 913 Ben Faulconbridge, but having passed the white top, he could not shake him off completely, although Faulconbridge was not quite close enough for a last bend challenge.  The Snell Family Trophy final was another terrific race from the young drivers.  Butcher, Faulconbridge and Williams made the early running, but 954 Bobby Beere-Rees then took over at the front.  As 290 Alfie Tomkins looked to pass Butcher for second, the pair briefly tangled, which had a domino effect on the onrushing traffic, as cars scattered in all directions by the pit gate.  Out came the yellows, during which suspension period 966 James Payne was rescued from his stranded position on the inner banking.  When the race restarted, star graders Tomkins, 917 Troy Hemmins and British Champion 202 Cody Bradford battled for the lead.  Bradford got ahead and led the train into the final bend, but Tomkins landed a perfect attack to steal the lead and the win.  Hemmins grabbed second place too, with Bradford having to settle for third.

Back 2 Basics Bangers

Fun and mayhem were the order of the day for the Back 2 Basics Bangers, with the gallant display of newcomer 693 Suzi Karrington very much catching the eye, as she spun, crashed, spun again, and repeatedly carried on with a wonderfully determined performance.  Equally as entertaining was 617 Reece Rixon, whose attempts at fence hugging in the first race bordered on comical.  149 Dan Curtis looked set for an emphatic win in the first heat, but when delayed by the wayward Karrington, 44 Liam Boswarthick closed.  However, Boswarthick was similarly held up and Curtis broke free to win, amidst a smokescreen created by 22 Harvey Doherty.  On a damp track for heat two, Curtis was left dizzy by the number of spins he endured.  When Doherty crashed out, he was clipped by Karrington and in turn, she was hit by 200 Jai Simmons which set off the passenger side airbag in the 693 car, as both cars formed an alleyway for the rest of the pack.  690 Tristan Clement and 692 Denis Gardner had led much of the way, and that is how they finished at the flag.  The final began with a rollover for 726 Lewis Senford.  After a short spell with Boswarthick in the lead, Simmons took over, and when Gardner’s attack on Simmons in the pits bend came to nothing, Simmons sped clear and won by a convincing margin.  Doherty and 837 Barnabie Carlton-Barnes completed the top three.  A lengthy Destruction Derby completed the afternoon.  Curtis, Senford and 233 Liam Parkin formed a three-car train at the pit gate, and eventually Rixon and 59 Mike Hamley blasted into them, but it was Curtis whose car looked in best order, and he saw off the rest to clinch a fine win, ending a lively contest.