The annual Good Friday fixture at the United Downs Raceway suffered from a number of heavy rain showers but produced an afternoon full of incident and action. The Racing For Blaire element of the day for 2 Litre National Bangers brought impressive support from Team Lightning as seven drivers in the team’s customary yellow and blue colours added colour and interest to the day. Some of their cars had been decorated by Willzy Signs, and Wayne Wills brought his Ford Zephyr (a favourite of Blaire’s) to be part of the fun Grand Parade. The superb contribution from Team Lightning and their sponsors made for a most fitting tribute to Blaire, and all involved should be suitably proud.
2 Litre National Bangers
Another encouraging day for National Bangers at St Day saw in excess of 30 drivers in attendance including the return of 2023 Entertainers Champion 355 Aaron Dark and 205 Alex Ganter who had last raced in Cornwall at a Boneshaker fixture more than a decade ago. Smart car awards went to 818 Terry Rowe, 648 Jamie Smith, 166 Luke Gillbard, 908 David Brown, 280 Jordan Fitzpatrick and 22 Zack Hancock. Like caged tigers, the drivers were let loose in their opening race and an extremely busy first bend led to a huge parking lot in turn four. At the front of the melee were 410 Dan Galley, 11 Grubby Frankson, 169 Michael Ball, 773 Blossom Congdon and Brown. 648 Jamie Smith bundled Rowe into the pits bend plating and Brown jacked up 277 Brad Fitzpatrick. Back at the turnstile end, 53 Chris James fired into 22 Zack Hancock and 266 Scott Gillbard piled into 118 Brook Ball, which sent 225 Cody Blight airborne. 662 Jared Roe deposited 271 Jordan Coleman into the pile, and he was blasted by 31 Alfie Rogers before 562 Jayden James steamed into the back of him. Next in, at speed, was Smith before 412 Hayden Galley railroaded 652 Kristian Gale into heap at a rate of knots. Just seven cars went the distance with 662 Jared Roe a clear winner. Heat two was also full of action with Luke Gillbard firing hard into the parked car of Jayden James in turn three. The unfortunate Hancock was on the receiving end of a multi-car shunt in turn one. 11 Grubby Frankson had already connected with Hancock when Luke Gillbard and 412 Hayden Galley added to the cavalry charge. The race was stopped to enable Hancock to be assisted from his stricken car. When the race restarted, Dark disputed the lead with Ganter. When Ganter got ahead, Dark despatched him hard into the pits bend plating. Luke Gillbard then picked up Dark and buried him at speed in the turnstile bend. Ganter finally found some momentum to cruise around and run into the stranded and battered Dark car. Roe picked up the pieces and secured his second win, with 59 Mike Hamley the runner-up as just four cars went the distance. The final produced more devastating moments, with 280 Jordan Fitzpatrick finally able to join the grid having rid his car of some mechanical gremlins. He duly deposited himself in the back of Rogers after he had crashed out with Chris James at the turnstile end. Smith rattled 291 Kieran Cocks around the turn three plating, which left him exposed to a decent shot by Jayden James. Scott Gillbard then inflicted more damage on James who must have wondered where some additional Team Extreme back up had got to. Ganter won emphatically, but long after he had taken the chequered flag, 118 Brook Ball rejoined. It was not the most judicious of moves as he was instantly picked up by 18 Corey Karkeek who thundered him in to the turn one plating on the last lap. Four drivers appeared for the Destruction Derby, which came to a halt early on when Dark, who had gamely limped his battered car on track, was clouted by Smith and Scott Gillbard. Rowe also ground to a halt, which left Smith and Scott Gillbard to battle to the end. Gamely taking in turns it was Smith who sealed the win.
BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
Having missed the opening fixture in March, 2024 Track Champion 890 Paul Rice was invited to lead the Grand Parade and he was duly presented with his award. After a spate of withdrawals the day before racing, the entry settled at 26 drivers who raced to a two from three format. On a difficult track, mostly dry, but partly damp, 207 Alfie Flecken quickly grabbed the lead in the opening heat. 121 Vinnie Neath-Rogers emerged at the head of the chasing pack, but Flecken was too far down the road and took the win with the flag falling just in time as his car lost power when he crossed the line. Heat two was led off by 128 Jake Ralfs, who found himself slightly delayed when 980 Charlie Lobb had rejoined the track after a brief period on the infield. Lobb then retired again which left Ralfs in the clear. He enjoyed an untroubled run to the flag with 895 Ben Goddard also comfortable in second place. Neath-Rogers relieved Flecken of the lead midway through heat three and proceeded to enjoy a routine run to the chequered with 186 Kasey Jones the runner-up. 605 Rich Andrews and Neath-Rogers crashed out early in the final, and with Andrews stranded in turn four, the yellow flags were introduced to aid his recovery. It was not long into the resumption of the race that 418 Ben Borthwick burst into contention, clearing 131 Dean Rogers and 00 Brad Morgan from his path before chasing down 895 Ben Goddard. The former English Open Champion then swept past Ralfs before halfway and built a commanding lead for himself. Borthwick cruised to victory – his first since landing the English title in August 2023. Borthwick now sits joint seventh on the list of all-time final winners at St Day. 315 Charlie Fisher and 126 Jamie Avery completed the top three. The Grand National began in slightly comical fashion as Ralfs nipped past final winner Borthwick who was starting with the obligatory one lap handicap. The race was punctuated with a trio of caution periods. The first came when Andrews spun in the pits bend and again needed recovery. Ralfs then got in a muddle with 206 Matt Brewer at the turnstile end, and having signalled he needed assistance, the race was halted again. Once back underway, European Champion 647 Chris Burgoyne and 979 Paul Moss tangled on the back straight, and they came to a halt at the pit gate. The yellow flags were swiftly introduced once more. Each stoppage had played into the hands of Borthwick as he made stunning progress back up the order, reeling in Neath-Rogers late on to place third behind Fisher and 542 Steven Gilbert who had run first and second respectively for more than half of the race.
Saloon Stock Cars
The start of three race meetings in four days for the Saloon Stock Cars saw fourteen drivers contest the Western Championship in Cornwall. 759 Taylor Whitford led the opening heat to halfway and beyond, as 27 Jason Kingwell and 382 Corey Hunt slid out of contention together at the end of the home straight. Whitford was eventually reeled in by World, British and English Champion 720 Archie Brown. The luckless Whitford dropped down the order and was run wide on the last bend where he clipped the parked car of track debutant 527 Ashton Armstrong, and he finally trailed in ninth. Brown won again in heat two, finally edging away from 577 Harry Darby after they had been in close order at the midpoint, whilst chasing after early leaders 112 Rich James and 178 Kieran Bowman. In challenging conditions, the Western title race saw the trio of white tops – Whitford, James and Bowman make the early running. With all drivers struggling for grip, the three drivers at the front led something of a charmed life as they battled amongst themselves. All the while, Brown was cutting his way through the pack and once he edged ahead of 799 Joe Powell, the white graders were in sight. However, the laps had dwindled, and Brown ran out of time. Whitford survived a chaotic last couple of laps to withstand the pressure of Bowman and James to scramble over the line for the win. The white tops filled all three places with Whitford clearly ecstatic at his success as he climbed on to the roof of his car and celebrated wildly, much to the delight of many local followers in the crowd.
Ministox
Ahead of racing, there was a very nice touch when the 20 youngsters each received an Easter egg courtesy of St Austell Bay Motor Auctions. The entry included Scottish star 014 Demi Ritchie. Nearing the end of her time in the junior class, St Day was the one remaining circuit she had not raced on, and she duly made the mammoth journey from Peterhead, and instantly took a liking to the track by winning the opening heat. The race included a caution period when 117 Max Starr was left stranded in turn four. Ritchie charged through the pack and having picked off yellow graders 559 Aiden Phillips and 920 Wayne Wadge late on, she took the chequered. At the start of heat two, 313 Charlie Weston sprinted away into the lead. Despite the treacherous nature of picking a route through backmarkers, the track debutant calmly did so and claimed a first Ministox victory, with Wadge and 475 Mason Sealy in the other trophy places. A boisterous final featured white tops 710 Louie Stuckey, 182 Mickey James and 718 Alfie Brown out front. They contested the lead in entertaining fashion, until Stuckey lost out in a clash with backmarker 235 Kaitlin Harris and drifted wide. James grabbed his chance and hit the front. All the while Ritchie was closing in on the leading bunch, but James was not to be denied his first win. Ritchie took second from Brown, Wadge and Stuckey as they crossed the line in a blanket finish to end a fine display by the young racers.