The second of two summertime Monday evening meetings saw a healthy turnout of drivers across the three formulas with the meeting turned around in super-speedy time much to the appreciation of all those on hand.
BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
Coming off the back of a very busy spell, the entry of 26 drivers was modest but understandable. What was less comprehendible was the absence of 976 Dan Kent from the grid. Having scored heavily the previous day at the Mendips Raceway, Kent was just a lowly result or two away from landing the Taffy & Bryn Trophy. Those present competed in two out of three heats. Heat one saw 83 Sy Harraway and 667 Tommy Farrell tangle in the west bend, as 235 Alfie Brimble led the field off. Behind him, 315 Charlie Fisher and 528 Shane Hector battled for the second place until Hector dropped down the field just after half distance. With the lap boards out, Fisher found a way past Brimble who was also passed by 931 Rebecca Smith who was in turn being hotly pursued by 24 Jon Palmer for the runner-up spot come the chequered flag. A quick turnaround for heat two led to another fast race, which 510 Matt Stone led until five laps to go when the pack closed in. It was 127 Matt Stoneman who emerged as the eventual winner, the star grader making his first appearance for almost a month, whilst Fisher made a telling last bend challenge on 828 Julian Coombes to secure fourth at the flag. Heat three saw 53 Phil Mann and 895 Ben Goddard tangle by the pit gate early on requiring yellow flags to assist Mann from the car. A brief rain shower fell during the stoppage. However, the warning of a slippery surface as called over the race receiver system as the cars set off on the restart, appeared to go unheeded as seven cars went spinning around on turns three and four. 728 Jack Bunter kept things pointing in the right direction and led Palmer with five laps to go when another stoppage was required when Goddard ground to a halt on the back straight. On the resumption, Palmer engaged in a battle with Bunter, with Smith, 468 Sam Weston and 286 Kasey Jones joining the fray. Jones momentarily edged into the lead before Palmer took over. With a lap to go, Palmer noticeably slowed allowing Weston to pass but on the last bend Palmer launched a big attack to send Weston hitting off the plating. Palmer won from Jones and Smith with Weston getting across the line in fifth to conclude an exciting race. The Final for the Steve Rich Trophy took place on a slippery track which caught out a few drivers, including 605 Ritchie Andrews, 960 Adie Whitehead and Hector, and that resulted in a caution period. On the resumption, Bunter moved to the front, but he eventually gave way to Palmer with 667 Tommy Farrell third. The race was the concluding chapter in the two-meeting series for the Taffy & Bryn Thomas Trophy, which was decided on a points multiplier basis. As noted, heading into the meeting Dan Kent led the points chart by a healthy margin, but although he was present in the crowd, his choice to not race proved costly, for despite an early spin in the final, Matt Stoneman charged back up the order and his late rally netted him a ninth place finish. That was just enough to take the magnificent trophy by a slender margin. The Grand National featured a fine battle between 194 Luke Johnson and 736 Josh Weare with Weare stretching clear in the closing laps, some way clear of Harraway and Farrell who had renewed the rivalry which had begun at the start of the meeting.
ORCi Ministox
The 15-car entry included a long distance visit from Scottish racer 27 Robbie Scott who was competing in his last meeting before celebrating his sixteenth birthday and reaching retirement age the next day. The two heats would determine the grid positions for the evening’s Devon Championship. The opener saw a flag to flag victory for 176 Jack Jones but behind there was an exciting battle for second with 207 Alfie Flecken catching 770 Austin Farrell on the last bend. As a result of their skirmish, the Farrell car was well out of shape heading to the chequered flag, but the young racer just managed to hold on for the runner-up spot. Jones sped to another comfortable win in heat two, securing pole position for the title race in the process. 902 Reagan Davies broke into the lead from his outside front row starting position as Jones, 870 Bertie Farrell and Flecken battled behind with Flecken losing out at one point to such an extent that he dropped down to ninth place. 475 Mason Sealy forced his way past Bert Farrell for second as Farrell, Jones and the recovering Flecken entered the back straight three abreast. This ended with Bert Farrell careering into the marker tyres, Flecken being flung out of shape, and Austin Farrell diving through for third before the yellow flags were called. Davies thereby saw his significant lead wiped out, and on the restart Sealy took full advantage to move through into the lead. Sealy saw out the remaining laps to run out the winner from Davies and 202 Cody Bradford.
Old Skool unlimited cc Bangers
A reasonable entry of Old Skool Bangers included 59 Mike Hamley making a welcome return to lead the opening heat until 290 Jay Tomkins passed by for the win, with 493 Mark Powell providing most of the entertainment, racking up unaided spins in both the west bend and the pit bend. He continued his spinning ways in heat two, dizziness setting in both for him and those watching as 186 Lewis Fasey took a flag-to-flag victory. 362 Johnny James took a comfortable win in the final to cement his lead at the top of the points chart, whilst the entertaining Powell continued to show talent and flair with plenty more spins to add to his count. 372 Jay Matthews won the Allcomers to conclude the evening’s racing.