A decent sized crowd enjoyed some absorbing action during ‘The Return’ as Stock Car and Banger racing resumed at the United Downs Raceway, St Day during an afternoon of pleasant weather at the Cornish circuit.  Meeting sponsors Steve Wills Haulage were out in force with three smartly presented lorries, whilst bonus awards from Keltek Brewery were well received by numerous drivers.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Despite the unseasonably early start to the new season, 31 drivers assembled to contest a full format meeting.  Heat one began with 663 Bryan Lindsay asserting himself as a clear leader, but as the race progressed, a three-way battle developed, featuring 302 Dale Moon, 542 Steven Gilbert and 27 Kieren Bradford.  There was little to choose between them, but Bradford edged past Gilbert and took full advantage when Moon drifted wide on the exit of turn four.  In heat two, 352 Dave Sansom chased down early leader 526 Marc Rowe, and scored a convincing win despite being pursued late on by 418 Ben Borthwick.  208 Dave Simpson and 303 Kurt Selway tangled in the turnstile bend at the start of the consolation, and when the race looked to resume with 525 Charlie Knight at the front of the queue, there was a bizarre start.  Knight was pushed by 194 Luke Johnson, who was being pushed by 460 Adam Pearce and others.  The train shot towards the fence on the exit of turn four, with the front pair sustaining much of the damage.  736 Josh Weare led off the next restart, but could not withstand 895 Ben Goddard chasing him hard, and it was Goddard who took the chequered.  Once the final had settled down, 828 Julian Coombes began to build a substantial lead.  Further back Sansom clambered over 979 Paul Moss, and when 689 Joe Marquand spun in turn two, 184 Aaron Vaight swiftly dived to the inside line to emerge as the leading star grader.  Having been sent wide earlier in the race by 835 Matt Westaway, Sansom caught him back up and sent both cars hurtling into the turnstile bend plating.  Westaway took the brunt of the crash, which brought a caution period, whilst Sansom had damage of his own and retired to the infield, which was his last involvement for the day.  Coombes led away the single file restart, from 320 Matt Hatch, but Vaight was quick to mount a challenge.  As Vaight hit the front, Hatch was spun by 667 Tommy Farrell, and when the chaos had settled, it was Borthwick who grabbed second, with Gilbert third.  Nonetheless, the two Cornish stars could not get on terms with Vaight, who took his new car to a final win on its maiden voyage.  During the post-race trophy presentation, Autospeed co-promoter Crispen Rosevear paid tribute to the support of local councillors John Thomas and Connor Donnithorne, for their assistance in ensuring the 2022 season of racing could be held at the United Downs Raceway.  The Grand National was only a few laps old when Hatch stormed into the turn one plating, which ran Simpson and 928 Lauren Stack out of room, too.  605 Richie Andrews then clipped the stranded Hatch car.  Johnson had been leading at the time of the stoppage, but whilst leaking oil in the single file queue, he opted to retire to the infield.  That left Rowe at the head of the field, but Borthwick came charging through to win and seal his place as the day’s top points scorer.

National Micro Bangers

Despite the modest entry, there was an abundance of action from the drivers racing the small cars, with countless heavy crashes, all conducted under the influence of a fun-filled spirit amongst the drivers.  846 Jacob Read stole the show with his magnificent home-built limo, that was resplendent in green and yellow, complete with a top sign job for good measure.  Whilst 196 Phil Chapman and 133 Terry Hill were speeding to the top two places in heat one, Read and 165 Graham Middlewood were early casualties when they clobbered the fence by the pit gate.  Much of the action centred on the turnstile bend with 2 Jack Hodges blasting 366 Ian Mills, as Read, 355 Aaron Dark and 632 Ryan Karkeek all got involved too.  Astonishingly, having been attacked by 74 Adam Hitchcock, 842 Jack Perkins and 278 Shaun Brokenshire during the course of the race, 275 Liam Best somehow limped his battered car home as the fifth and final finisher.  In heat two, Best came under attack from Karkeek, but that left the letter wide open to a thunderous shot by Hodges.  Dark and Karkeek then traded blows, before red flags were needed with stray debris on the circuit.  At the front, Hitchcock joined Chapman and Hill in a thrilling squabble for the lead, with Hitchcock getting to the line first – and he celebrated by railroading 44 Liam Boswarthick into the plating in turns one and two with devastating effect.  Hill led home Chapman and Brokenshire in the final, which saw Karkeek on the receiving end many times as he fought to keep his ailing car in a straight line.  Seven drivers appeared for a truly brutal Destruction Derby.  Karkeek attacked Best, but he was then annihilated by a storming hit from Hodges at the end of the home straight.  Read’s battered limo was thoroughly destroyed by hits from Brokenshire and Hitchcock, which then left just three contenders.  Brokenshire slowed, and Dark took the bait, running into him on the home straight, which left him a sitting target for Hitchcock.  Brokenshire then pulled clear to complete the next lap by sailing into Hitchcock to clinch the win at the end of an outstanding display from the seeing off the other two to score a deserved victory.

Stock Rods

Another intense showing from the non-contact Stock Rods continued their spectacular start to the season, with 21 drivers in attendance racing to the two from three format.  Track debutant 31 Adam McAleer shot clear at the start of the first heat, whilst newcomer 861 Craig Andrews had an unfortunate time to his first Stock Rod race, when a wayward moment for 286 Martin Walker Jnr on the exit of turn four saw him collect Andrews on the home straight.  The race had barely resumed when 862 Darryl Cock and 841 David Hosking ended up parked in the fence between turns one and two.  The subsequent race suspension negated McAleer’s lead for a second time, and 151 Simon Vincent swept by late on to claim a popular home track win.  Vincent’s day went from high to low at the start of heat two, as he was spun aside early on which brought about a caution period.  Walker Jnr tagged McAleer on the restart, to leave the latter facing the wrong way, and that triggered another yellow flag.  14 Ross Montgomery hunted down 955 Frankie Radmore, who drifted wide and fell back down the order.  Montgomery won, with 944 Callum Hosie just a short distance behind in second.  Heat three was populated by a number of untidy clashes, which included a tangle involving 220 Richard Short and Radmore; the latter doing well to hold on as she careered wildly through turns one and two.  77 Tom Larcombe led all the way to the final lap, but harried by 351 Rhys Langdown, Larcombe overshot the final bend and left room on the inside for Langdown to steal the victory.  The final featured a messy tangle involving and 441 Tom Major and 933 Darren Waters, as they collided in turn two and came to a halt on the back straight just after halfway.  During the restart, the same segment of the track saw Short and 913 Ashley Bates indulge in an infield excursion.  Having missed out in the opening heat, McAleer made his front running count this time, as he scored a maiden win, leading home Larcombe and Langdown.