At last, racegoers were treated to some glorious summer sunshine, as the United Downs Raceway staged its first meeting of the second half of the season.

Stock Rods

From the original entry of 33 drivers for the European Championship, three failed to attend, and three more encountered problems in practice.  Drivers had been drawn into their groups 24 hours earlier, ready for a two from three qualifying phase, ahead of the title race.  Heat one began with a poor start from pole sitter 779 Ross Sweetland and that delayed the inside line.  46 Stewart Paterson led early, but when challenged by 151 Simon Vincent, he was turned into the path of 914 Callum Faulconbridge.  The race was suspended, with Vincent given the black cross for his part in the incident.  Vincent led the restart, but was overhauled by 944 Callum Hosie, who won convincingly.  Further down the order, Paterson became embroiled in a squabble with 131 Stephen Cock.  Heat two was a less chaotic race, after the early drama when pole sitter 77 Tom Larcombe cruised to a halt on the back straight on the first lap.  Hosie went around the outside of 415 Sean Gillett and then did the same to pass Cock for the lead.  Paterson spun 314 Jason Barraclough late on, for which he received a two place docking.  Heat three also had an explosive start, when 617 Christina Sillifant was bundled up the home straight fence on the opening lap.  32 James Horwell made a poor start from the front row, and it was 51 Aiden Vincent who took the lead.  After the suspension to recover the Sillifant car, Vincent lost his lead when challenged by 231 Simon Bassett.  216 Cameron Doak also edged past Vincent, but he could not get on terms with Bassett who took the win.  The brace of wins had helped Hosie secure pole position for the European title race.  Former title holder 909 Justin Washer was on his outside, with former ORC Champion Doak on row two with Bassett.  At the drop of the green, Hosie repelled the initial challenge from Washer, and began to build a lead.  As the laps ticked by, Hosie edged further and further clear.  Even by halfway, Hosie was looking out of sight, whilst Washer was on his own in second place.  Washer did experience a scare as he came to lap Stephen Cock late on, and Cock was involved again in a clash with third placed Doak that left the Scotsman with a puncture.  522 Chris Mikulla picked up third in the very late stages as Doak slowed, but there was no denying the winner, as Hosie cruised to a resounding victory, adding another honour to his collection.

2 Litre National Bangers

Boosted by a late flurry of extras, the 2 Litre National Bangers totalled 27 drivers – a season’s best so far at St Day.  278 Shaun Brokenshire had a stunning saloon version of an Opel Astra, whilst 842 Jack Perkins raced a rare Mazda Tribute.  The opening heat barely went one lap, before a stoppage was called after 11 Grubby Frankson was followed in and rolled over in turn one, with Brokenshire and 222 Ricky Walters being the driving force behind the charge into the corner.  Numbers quickly depleted for the re-run, with 18 Corey Karkeek swiftly building a big lead.  He was hunted down by 186 Lewis Fasey who spun Karkeek and 512 Matt Armstrong in one movement on the back straight.  959 Justin Payne bounced around the turnstile bend fence and was instantly clouted by 53 Chris James.  Just four drivers went the distance with Fasey a comprehensive winner, a long way ahead of 266 Scott Gillbard, 726 Lewis Senford and 59 Mike Hamley.  Heat two began with another rollover, as Brokenshire followed in 908 David Brown, who inverted on impact.  The restarted race was relatively straightforward, as Fasey swept to an emphatic win, and the only action was a mild skirmish involving Jack Perkins and 254 Steve Ryan.  The Halfpint final saw Brokenshire in devastating form yet again, this time burying Armstrong.  However, Brokenshire was then left wide open to an attack from 208 Kieran Barrett, who was immediately attacked by 648 Jamie Smith.  Frankson then piled into Smith, before Jack Perkins rejoined from the infield, did a lap and blasted Smith amongst a growing bundle of cars in the pits bend.  741 Alex Waterman was the race leader, chased by Karkeek.  Fasey began to close, but he and Karkeek lost time in a tangle on the back straight, and that was enough for Waterman to hold on for victory, despite a strong late run by 662 Jared Roe.  The Destruction Derby began with a rollover for Armstrong, after he clipped the parked car of Deer.  The restart saw Brokenshire, Smith and 166 Luke Gillbard indulge in some superb auto violence.  There were repeated hits between them, before Gillbard and Brokenshire met head-on, to silence both cars in a dead heat.

Heritage

Heat one on the nostalgic trail was a stunning race.  107 Dan Chiplen led the early stages, but fell down the order after 49 Paul Ferguson hit the front.  Throwing the car around the track, Ferguson withstood the challenge of 500 Mark Foster, and then held on to win by a slender margin from 198 Alan Nicholson, who spun Ferguson over the line in a thrilling photo finish.  Heat two was a little less wild, as 342 Ross Taylor bounced back from crashing out in the first heat to claim a fine win, with Nicholson the runner-up once more.  Having not featured too prominently in the heats, 170 Dean Griffiths came to the fore in the Cornish Open final.  He led from an early stage, and survived a frantic last lap when his lead came under threat from 734 Richard Johnson.  Griffiths held it together, and won by a slender margin from Johnson and 22 Will Yarrow.