Northampton International Raceway
17th July 2010
BriSCA F1 Stock Cars - BriSCA F2 Stock Cars - Rebel Racers

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars
Heat 1 84 141 464 488 515 105 H365 37 2 322
Heat 2 372 H482 4 1 259 390 217 41 212 11
Cons 347 60 191 223 153 16 143 321 48 85
Final 1 37 515 105 84 4 322 2 153 217
GN 464 107 51 4 259 488 515 84 390 191

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
Heat 1 NI271 116 968 52 NI998 520 24 201 441 990
Heat 2 254 741 886 152 186 H3 844 NI944 647 154
Heat 3 606 513 844 522 100 286 744 511 D72 313
Cons 1 445 742 913 154 101 871 702 571 452 494
Cons 2 657 38 276 647 823 NI317 990 541 D92 11
Final 1 37 515 105 84 4 322 2 153 217
GN 464 107 51 4 259 488 515 84 390 191

Rebel Racers
Heat 1 17 53 1 361 23 356 2 5 234 269
Heat 2 72 788 361 17 170 53 2 1 92 5
Final 17 53 361 788 72 23 1 25 57 470


Northampton International Raceway
18th July 2010
BriSCA F1 Stock Cars - BriSCA F2 Stock Cars - Rebel Racers

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars
Euro 464 1 37 153 H365 84 2 390 53 16
Heat 1 51 1 321 2 464 459 53 191 11 12
Heat 2 105 60 H365 4 259 390 217 515 212 16
Cons 305 37 462 223 85 385 H482 H6 90 480
Int Cup 51 1 84 60 153 464 515 4 321 191
GN 464 60 105 84 1 515 2 107 4 191

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
Heat 1 742 270 871 741 968 116 647 641 38 990
Heat 2 761 700 401 52 886 101 152 201 520 511
Heat 3 445 154 286 NI944 823 823 441 359 806 541
Cons 1 657 522 749 702 D92 208 H33 H93 254 470
Cons 2 38 520 854 913 511 541 100 NI718 494 H48
Int Cup 700 101 52 886 38 968 445 270 742 749
GN 52 886 445 38 742 968 823 854 511 401

Rebel Racers
Euro 361 17 53 2 25 5 788 269 67 57
Heat 1 361 788 53 1 2 395 25 183 8 101
Heat 2 72 788 2 23 81 1 170 17 8 25
Int Cup 17 788 361 1 72 25 8 170 23 269

Reporting by Dave Goddard

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars

The latest session for the BriSCA F1s at their spiritual tarmac home of Northampton attracted a fine field of 44 cars including Dutch visitors H6 Geert-Jan Keijzer and H482 Peter van den Bosch, while newcomer 213 Nathan Taylor made his track debut in Adam Slater’s car. 84 Tom Harris is rapidly establishing himself as a superstar, and looked very rapid en route to a heat and Final double on one of his favourite tracks.

With the sun beating down 23 cars assembled for heat one including Taylor and 137 Rob Jacklin starting from novice grade while 197 Ryan Harrison was tyre testing in his father Murray’s car. A big push among the blue and red tops around the first lap saw 191 Josh Smith the first man into the wall as up front 460 Chris Cooke led the early laps. Smith was in the wars again a few laps later as 462 Scott Davids rode over both him and 41 Robert Broome but fortunately a big crash was averted, while 22 Will Yarrow was spun by the red top skirmish. A good battle developed between 212 Daniel Wainman, 4 Dan Johnson and 217 Lee Fairhurst who also swallowed up third placed 153 James Lund as they moved forward, but up front 73 Rob Cowley caught Cooke and took over with three to go, the yellow top taking the win and being presented with the trophy by 91-year old pioneer racer Crasher Allen on behalf of the Veterans’ Association. Fairhurst landed a last bend hit on Lund for second with Cooke a fine fourth.

24 cars for a quieter heat two with the Goodyear tyres losing their potency after just a couple of laps in the heat. 401 Mark Elsden led the first lap only to spin with 60 Ian Venables riding over him as 37 Chris Cowley crashed into the infield tyres at turn three. The highlight in the pack was a brief battle between 16 Matt Newson and 515 Junior Wainman as Harris chased down 429 Gareth Wildman for the lead and was soon down the inside on the Horton turn. Harris went on to win with Wildman a good second ahead of Newson.

Down to 21 cars for the consolation which began with former Saloon Stock Car man 445 Dick Gladden spinning 498 Spencer Taylor across the home straight before 195 Dean Whitwell hit the wall as the Goodyear effect began to take hold once again. Chris Cowley then buried 393 Dave Plumbley into the plating on turn three as Gladden tangled with 280 Colin Nairn at the other end of the raceway. Up front 295 Wesley Goodwin led from flag to flag with Cowley third behind Broome, while van den Bosch put in several good hits en route to fifth.

All 30 qualifiers lined up for the Final which began in spectacular fashion as Josh Smith was squeezed wide by 141 Carl Pickering on the back straight, the 191 car bouncing off the wall riding onto the side of Pickering before flying high into the air and crashing back onto the tarmac on its side. The red flags flew but Josh was straight out of the car and seemed quite pleased with his first ever rollover, while Pickering was also OK. After a clear-up the restart saw 172 Micky Randell slide into the wall where he was collected by Junior Wainman and Davids with van den Bosch the next to hit the wall as the midfield battle proved a little livelier this time around. Cooke and Wildman led the way until the latter was spun back-first into the wall by 372 Colin Goodswen as he took the lead, the yellows coming out to check on the white grader. Goodswen was at the front for the restart but Harris was right behind him and took over straight away before speeding clear to complete an accomplished double. 1 Andrew Smith came through late on for a distant second as Fairhurst renewed his acquaintance with Johnson as they tangled on the back straight, Spencer Taylor taking third.

The temperature was still high for the 28-car Grand National which would prove an excellent conclusion to the afternoon. Randell landed the first attack of the race taking Nairn and Plumbley in on the first turn to bring out the yellows with Spencer Taylor at the front for the restart. 464 Luke Davidson caught the leader on the restart and along with Chris Cowley they enjoyed a fantastic hard-hitting battle for the lead, Davidson and Taylor launching each other into the plating on several occasions with some massive hits in a display of true stock car racing. This allowed Andrew Smith to fly through from fourth to second in one move as the battle raged on, while elsewhere 2 Paul Harrison made up for a quiet showing in the heats by staging his own scrap with Danny Wainman and Johnson. Davidson then produced a superb move on turn four to streak down the inside of Taylor, Chris Cowley and Andrew Smith in one move to retake the lead, but the World Champion was soon back in front and went on to win from Chris Cowley. Taylor launched a psycho lunge at Davidson on the final bend to secure third and send the red top into the plating ending a fantastic race.

V8 Hot Stox European Championship

The second appearance of the V8 Hot Stox at Northampton this year saw 27 cars arrive to contest the 2010 European Championship. Gold top 1 Chris Fort totally dominated the meeting, scoring a faultless hat-trick and taking the title with ease.

All out for heat one which began with 40 Malc Ayris spinning 499 Rob Whittaker who was left stranded across the exit of turn four, everyone somehow managing to avoid him as the red flags flew. The restart saw 130 Jeremy Ridley take 375 Lloyd Spencer for the lead until 187 Craig Smith took over, while a tangle among the higher graders saw 361 Steve Reedman T-bone 314 Steve Bowman. Fort was up to fourth by the halfway stage but it took him until the final lap to catch and pass Smith, the gold top stealing the win on the line with 178 Richard Burt third.

All 27 came back for heat two which began with Burt running in 240 Tom Conwell and 237 Daz Parker as Smith again caught early leader Whittaker to take up the running. Fort spun 161 Mark Allen as he began his charge up the order and was second with five laps to go, but yellow top Smith was looking uncatchable. A yellow flag after 210 Matt Smith had tangled with Allen and hit the wall proved Fort’s saving grace, and he took Craig Smith on the restart and went on for his second win with 473 Chris Bracher third.

20 cars lined up for the championship raced on a closed grid in graded order. Ridley retired on the rolling lap before Reedman and Whittaker went into the wall on the first turn. Craig Smith was again the early leader with 575 Darren Cottrill making a flying start from the front of the reds to move into second, but Fort got away equally rapidly and caught Cottrill just a few laps in. Just as Fort took Craig Smith for the lead the yellow flags flew for 455 Paul Fantom who had hit the plating on turn two, but it did not faze Fort who continued to pull away on the restart. The stoppage was, however, the catalyst for a wonderful battle for second place between Cottrill, Burt and Matt Smith with places swapping on every turn and Allen later joining in for good measure. A late tangle between Spencer, Reedman and 151 Jeff Colledge was the highlight at the back of the field but all eyes were on the three red graders as they fought tooth and nail for second and third. Fort, however, was missing all the fun and took the win by half a lap to add to his list of titles, Burt eventually taking second just ahead of Matt Smith with Cottrill and Allen just behind them in an excellent race.

16 cars would return for the Grand National which saw Craig Smith once again up front after taking 413 Peter Clutton on the opening lap. Further back Parker piled Reedman into Cottrill but didn’t manage to dislodge the ex-F1 man while Burt hooked up with Bracher to go into the wall. Craig Smith was not to be denied a fourth time and finally held on for a victory, Parker coming through for second and 184 Carl Boswell third.

National Ministox

The sole appearance of the National Ministox at Northampton this year drew an amazing field of around 35 cars including many on their track debuts, 777 Max Hertzog taking the main race amid some superb action.

The two-thirds format was employed and 22 cars set off in the opener which was led by 515 Frankie Wainman until yellow top 652 Jacob Downey took over. Hertzog began his push through from the superstars with an attack on 26 Hayley Williams which saw the lady racer nearly roll, while 212 Phoebe Wainman spun and was collected by 84 Charlotte Blundell-Vaight. A good battle for the lead over the final lap saw Hertzog just fail to catch Downey who took the win, 48 Faye Smith finishing a fine third.

21 cars for heat two which began with some good hits from 22 Bradley Harrison who sent Frankie Wainman and 324 Mitchell Peall spinning down the back straight, the latter going back-first into the infield tyres and becoming beached for a stoppage. Blundell-Vaight led the restart but the big guns soon caught her and a fine five-way scrap developed. Further back 28 Tom Boyer was spun into the wall at turn four and as he rolled back out of the fence 491 Holly Gould had nowhere to go and T-boned the 28 car flat out. The caution flags flew again and fortunately both drivers were OK, and the restart saw 33 Simon Roper and 10 Kyle Ford spin before 275 Karl Hawkins launched himself into a full roll off the inner kerb for a third caution, Hawkins lucky to escape unhurt from a spectacular incident. 211 Jack Aldridge was right behind Blundell-Vaight and went straight into the lead as the green flags flew, going on to win from Hertzog with 1 Bob Griffin just beating Blundell-Vaight to the line for third.

131 Nicole Emmett and 127 Austin Moore spun on the first lap of heat three with 89 Alex Montague crashing into the former for a stoppage. Roper took Phoebe Wainman for the lead on the restart but that man Aldridge once again took over to complete his double. Roper just held off Griffin to take second but his efforts were in vain as he was docked two places for jumping the restart, handing Griffin second from Williams.

The 22-car Final saw Blundell-Vaight rocket away from the front row into the lead as 91 Terri-Ann Smith spun on the home straight where she was lucky not to be collected by Harrison. Blundell-Vaight was clear at the front and looking set for her first ever win, but with five laps to run the yellow flags flew for 202 William Knight and Phoebe Wainman, the latter having gone in hard on turn two. Aldridge shot past Blundell-Vaight on the restart with Hertzog following, but the yellows flew again after Frankie Wainman tangled with 331 Mackenzie Whitehead and hit the fence in exactly the same place his sister had three laps earlier! A close finish was in prospect over the last couple of laps, and Hertzog went up the inside of Aldridge who responded with a last bend lunge, but gave it too much welly and went out wide as Hertzog rode the hit to take the win, Harrison nipping up the inside of Aldridge to take second. Harrison, however, was docked to fourth for jumping a restart and Aldridge inherited second with Williams third.

Bangers

Around 18 Bangers completed the entry, with the Birmingham-based drivers dominating the heats but it was Standlake regular 33 Matt Walker who led home the Final.

329 Michael Carter led the first two laps of heat one in his Bluebird until 90 Joey Holmes took over, while further back 433 Barry Carter put himself into the wall. 190 Daniel Rice spun 395 Martin Duke allowing 65 Dean Pratt to hit the newcomer as Holmes took a clear win, 20 Dan Chapman spinning 54 Kevin Rainbow en route to second and Walker taking third.

Heat two saw young guns Rice and Chapman up front and once the latter spun out Rice was clear for his first ever victory. Elsewhere 791 Shaun Howard nailed 366 Karen Binks’ Daewoo Nexia with 113 Mark Sutcliffe and 287 Dean Quinsee crashing into her a few laps later. Rice was hooked into the wall by Michael Carter as he crossed the line, runner-up Holmes landing a revenge shot after the flag and Walker taking third.

The damage was enough to prevent Rice from taking part in the Final which saw 14 cars on the grid. Chapman passed Walker for the lead but found the chance to run in backmarker Michael Carter too good to pass up which handed Walker the lead back. 138 Anthony Timmins fenced while Sutcliffe put away Howard en route to third behind the victorious Walker and Holmes.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

Hot Fords

A fine field of 22 Hot Fords attended including track debutant 334 Tom Newton who impressed with a heat win, but it was 942 Jason Gibson who scored the win in a frantic Final.

134 David Latham cleared off into the leadoff heat one while further back 68 Dave Tatton and 761 Alan West touched and spun, rejoining a lap down. The midfield battle saw 118 Jason Russell spun by the pushing pack with his pursuers somehow avoiding him, while 426 Phil Dykes then tagged 444 Mark Harvey who slid into 99 Steve Johnson sending the latter pair into the wall although Harvey was able to continue. Latham led all the way but with a couple of laps to go he spun the backmarking West and was black flagged, handing Grimley regular Newton the lead and the win ahead of 731 Grant Tate and 1 Mark Hendrie.

All 22 returned for heat two with Latham again leading off and this time he kept his nose clean to stay in front all the way for victory. Behind him 584 Fred Miller staved off repeated attacks from Russell and a baying pack of red tops to equal his best ever finish in second, 7 Lee Clark grabbing third from Russell on the last bend.

The Final was a brilliantly action-packed race which saw battles all the way down the order, recalling the near-50 car Hot Ford races of years gone by. In the mayhem Harvey clipped Tatton only to spin himself out, the latter then tangling with West to end his race with rear damage to his Ka. Up front Dykes held the early lead before Tate took over and held off a massive eight-car battle with drivers from every grade involved, Gibson eventually managing to carve right through the middle of all of them in a brilliantly skilful display to take the win. Clark took second ahead of Hendrie for a red top clean sweep.

Incarods

15 Incarods appeared for their fifth meeting in six weeks, with three different drivers taking the victories and blue top 214 Graeme Clarke taking his AX to his first Final win for some time.

204 Dan Phillips passed his father 203 Malcolm to lead heat one until 344 Holly Etheridge took over, and the leading lady of Incarods went on for her first ever Birmingham victory. Clarke closed in over the last few laps but couldn’t find a way past and had to settle for second with 10 Dave Bonser taking third. Further back 4 Chris Cash and 200 Jordan Hazel’s nights ended early thanks to mechanical trouble, Hazel retiring on the last lap while in the points.

The latter pair were the only absentees for heat two which saw Bonser take Malcolm Phillips for the lead and pull away as 99 Matt Smith enjoyed a big scrap with Etheridge for second, Holly blocking Matt’s every move until things came to a head on the penultimate lap. Smith struck too early down the inside at turn three and bounced over the rumble strip heavily enough to break his rear axle putting him out for the night. 44 Nathan Etheridge thus took second behind Bonser who took his first win for quite a while, while Holly Etheridge recovered for third.

Just 11 cars for the Final which saw 72 Tom Carr make a fine getaway from the clutch start and he led the early laps until Bonser took over. A double looked on the cards but Bonser’s car let him down a few laps in handing Clarke the advantage, and he held off the attacking Etheridges all the way for victory, Holly heading home Nathan for second while further back Carr held off 202 RJ Price for eighth to score his first ever points.

Ministox

Just 12 Minis appeared with one failing to race, the entry including one visitor from Barford in the shape of 800 Declan Kaye. 298 Jake Walker scored a heat and Final double on track although post-race controversy then saw this turned into a hat-trick.

The first heat was red-flagged after 218 Charlie Cowley-Richards stalled on the clutch start, and it was 214 Shane Rawlins who led the restart until the lap boards came out when he was caught by Walker. 210 Tristan Claydon closed in on the leaders and looked set to challenge on the last lap, but Claydon was momentarily delayed behind backmarker 255 Michael Finnikin on the final turn which allowed Walker to win by the width of a bumper, Rawlins taking third for his first trophy. Further back a superb battle for fifth with plenty of three-wide moments went right to the line, 205 Courtney Finnikin just making it ahead of 212 Ben Bate and 277 Tom Malings.

Bate was the only absentee for heat two which was stopped after Michael Finnikin stalled on the clutch start. A rolling restart saw Rawlins lead away as Cowley-Richards spun into the turn two banking, and though Walker stalked the leader in the closing stages Rawlins had built up a much bigger lead and Walker ran out of laps, Rawlins taking his maiden win to the cheers of his family and Rawlins Tyres support crew on the terraces with Walker and 201 Shaun Blakemore next.

Michael Finnikin was the only car missing for the Final with Rawlins again leading until the lats five laps when Walker caught him. Walker attempted to punt backmarker 244 Callum Churm into Rawlins, but was boxed in on the next turn by Churm and Courtney Finnikin which allowed Rawlins back ahead. Into the last lap Walker found the space he needed and dived inside Rawlins to take the win, Claydon taking Rawlins for second with the white top completing a good night for himself in third.

Unfortunately the controversy then kicked in as problems at post-meeting scrutineering saw the Rawlins team refuse to let their car be stripped and consequently Shane was removed from the evening’s results while Kaye’s car was found to be illegal and he was also stripped of his placings. This gave Walker the heat two win ahead of Blakemore and Claydon, while Blakemore inherited third in heat one and the Final.

1650cc National Bangers

Designed as a postscript to the previous week’s National Banger Team Championships, the 1650cc National Bangers attracted just eight cars including one southern visitor in the shape of 203 Darren Nash. 290 Ryan Davies had the only non-Mondeo in the shape of a Civic coupe, and used it well to score a hat-trick of wins.

Heat one saw an early end to 510 Dave Wooding’s night as he was spun by 181 Grant Doe, the Scrapyard Screamer spinning him before doing a lap and delivering a fierce hit over the back wheel with 132 Chris Cullum adding further damage. Davies led all the way for a clear victory with 203 Gnasher and 837 Martin Wesby next.

With Wooding finished for the night Gnasher became the target for the Scrapyard Screamers for the second heat, 999 Scott Hill spinning him out allowing Doe to nail the Condoms man with Cullum delivering a head-on. Davies started from the back of the seven-car grid but raced through in just a few laps for the lead and the win ahead of Hill and 531 Toby Tropper while Gnasher dragged his crabbing car to the finish further back.

The only action in the seven car Final saw Wesby have a pop at Cullum as Davies sped to his hat-trick ahead of Tropper and Hill. Just three Screamers stayed to contest the DD with Hill landing the first shot on Doe who then blew up Cullum finishing both and handing Hill the spoils.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

1650cc National Banger Team Championship

For those who remember the days when the National Team Championship used to attract 180 cars across 30 teams, this year’s field of 29 cars across six teams could be seen as something of a disaster. Nonetheless, there were some quality drivers present across the six squads present, with visitors from Bristol and Standlake among the entry. 172 Ben Forbes was the only member of the Rejects team to attend so he joined the shorthanded Team CIP for the day. As always Mondeos were the favoured tool although the 1650cc limit meant a little variety, the Coventry Avengers having the rare sight of no Fords in their line-up while Team CIP took the award for the best turned out team.

CA – Coventry Avengers, CP – Team CIP, DM – Demons, IS – Impact Squad, SA – Scrapyard Screamers A, SB – Scrapyard Screamers B.

An all-in format was employed and all bar one car began heat one with SB132 Chris Cullum the only non-starter. SB181 Grant Doe began a lively showing by running in DM353 Sean Mullins which also claimed IS27 Dean Quinn as SA299 Dale Locker followed in CA65 Richard Giddens (Primera). DM355 Martin Mullins piled his Vectra into Locker in turn but Screamer revenge was swift as SA531 Toby Tropper buried the Demon. CA47 Martin Hall used his Mk3 Astra to blast CP920 Terry Church’s Bluebird but the latter recovered to hammer DM18 Ian Webb (Civic) as IS7 Jamie Charles blasted Locker with Doe homing in for a revenge shot on the Impact Squad man. Doe then spun IS49 Rob Bevan with the leading IS458 Kenny Dalton (Primera) collecting his team mate ending his challenge and allowing birthday boy SB290 Ryan Davies (Civic) through to take the flag but Davies was excluded for illegal tyres handing IS44 Steve Griffin the win. IS242 John Quinn was second to put the Impact Squad into the early lead with CP391 Adam Bligdon (Primera) third.

22 cars for the second heat with Cullum firing the first shot on CA147 Darren Griffin (Mk2 Astra) only to be walled by CA58 Andrew Girling’s Bluebird in turn which also claimed CB118 Jason Anslow (Concerto). Girling continued with a shot on DM21 Gavin Robinson only to take one in turn from SA123 Rob Smith as Sean Mullins fenced CP2 Jon Bricknell with Charles dishing out a T-bone to the Demon. 391 Little Spikey blasted Charles in turn and took one from 27 Deano, the latter then trashed by DM176 Dan Collings (Primera) with Doe completing the train with a rated blitz on the Demons guest which earned him the best hit award. Cullum then turned it round and met CA47 Martin Hall’s Mk3 Astra on the nose with CP172 Manic crashing into his stationary car allowing the impressive Doe to hit the latter over the front wheel en route to third behind the victorious Davies and Griffin. After the flag Sean Mullins was wrecked by shots from 123 the Traveller and Doe while the Impact Squad kept their lead thanks to Griffin.

The heavens had opened for the Final which kicked off with Bricknell blasting the spinning Deano on the back straight allowing the repaired Locker to hit the Impact Squad man. 18 Webby trashed Locker once again with a stiff shot as elsewhere CA38 Craig Allen used his Cavalier to bury Charles only to be blown up by 123 the Traveller. IS49 Rob Bevan then flicked out three Screamers in one move but this left him open to a revenge shot from SB99 Jason Jukes with Dalton doing the latter in turn only to take a stiff hit from the Traveller. The battle between the leading teams continued with 99 Little Jay turning it round to blow up Charles before dishing out a heavy T-bone to Dalton against the inner wall. Doe then hit Manic before the reds came out to check on Dalton who was taken to the medical centre for a check-up but thankfully was not seriously hurt. The restart saw Cullum hammer Little Spikey before trashing Allen who continued only to be trashed by big hits from Doe and Tropper with the latter going on to win. Davies dodged a last bend attack from the lurking Tropper to take second, but a third place for the consistent Griffin was enough to give the Impact Squad the title, the Scrapyard Screamers B team beating their A squad for second.

Disappointingly just three Screamers came out for the DD with Litte Jay and Cullum first teaming up to trash Locker before Cullum parked up on the victory ramp and waved his team mate in, but Little Jay’s car expired before he reached him and Cullum drove off to blow him up and claim the win, celebrating with a few shots to his team mates. Locker took the prize for the best wreck.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

The second BriSCA F2 session of the year at Hednesford attracted just under 20 cars, including 324 James Thackra on his first outing of the season. 445 Nigel Green was the top scorer on the day with four top two finishes, but he had to give best to 886 Chris Bradbury in the Final.

383 Jack Brown led off in heat one until caught by 761 Richard Bowyer, but the former Lightning Rods man then spun handing Brown his lead back. Track debutant 560 Luke Wrench bounced off the wall and retired and 297 Paul Bailey was next to challenge Brown and briefly led but Green and Bradbury were right with them and a very close scrap developed. Bradbury was next to lead until Green bumpered him aside but the former Novice of the Year was then momentarily held up by backmarker 555 Dave Bale allowing Bradbury to wade in with a last bend hit, Green riding it out to take the win with 677 Chris Roots third.

Down to 15 cars for heat two which saw Brown lead from flag to flag in his smart RCE for his maiden Hednesford victory. Green bumpered past Bowyer on the final turn for second, while Bale was the only retirement thanks to broken suspension. Bradbury only made it up to fifth this time behind 255 Will Cobley.

470 Hayden Barrington pulled off before the start of the Final with a loose wheel leaving 15 cars to do battle. Brown led once again as Bowyer scrapped with 710 Brett Townsend for second until Roots fired both yellow tops wide allowing Bradbury up the inside of all three. Wrench then hit the wall and spun with Townsend and Bowyer both clipping the wall as they avoided him, the caution flags flying to retrieve Wrench’s stranded car. Bradbury was straight past Brown to lead the restart with Green soon following, while Brown held off Roots until retiring with two laps to go. Green went for everything on the final turn with a kamikaze lunge at Bradbury but he only succeeded in clipping a displeased Bowyer who ran him wide into the wall leading to some afters post-chequered. Bradbury took the win from Green and Roots.

The wet Grand National saw Green rip through the meagre field to take Brown for the lead just a few laps in and from then on there was no looking back as he took his second win of the day. Townsend was an early spinner while 52 Pete Robertson lost a points position as he retired late on with a misfire. Bradbury flew through from the lap handicap and finished third behind Green and Roots.

IncaHots

Despite being a late addition to the programme following the lack of Bangers booking in, the second IncaHots session of the year raised 19 cars, Hot Fords outnumbering Incarods by eleven to eight with the former group including rookie 92 Kyle Saunders. In contrast to the previous month’s meeting the Ford pilots came out on top on track as 942 Jason Gibson won both heats, but had to settle for second behind 284 Kenny Nicklin in the Final.

18 cars for heat one with 203 Malcolm Phillips the first to spin before a big crash on the West bend caused a red flag. 584 Fred Miller and 174 Chris Neal made contact and 16 Nick Ross crashed into the back of them, 10 Dave Bonser jinking wide in avoidance but this left 9 Craig Wright with nowhere to go and he bounced off Bonser and flew high into the air before slamming into the Armco. Wright was briefly unconscious but was fortunately not seriously hurt, while his Citroen was a write-off. On the restart Phillips spun on turn four and 72 Tom Carr met him on the nose, but both managed to continue. Exactly a lap later Phillips spun once again at the same spot, and incredibly Carr met the 203 car on the nose once again in a carbon copy of the previous lap – maybe they were practicing a new routine to be seen at future I Factor meetings. Carr limped onto the centre, while Phillips got going again only to be flagged in due to his damaged radiator leaking water. This caught out a couple of drivers with quite a few spins ensuing, while Gibson came through to win ahead of 214 Graeme Clarke and 30 Scott Fulham as 863 Rob Richardson hit the wall on the last bend.

16 cars for the reverse grid heat two with 39 Dave Baker’s Orion leading until Gibson came through and rapidly pulled away once again. 7 Lee Clark broke clear of the chasing pack and hunted down Gibson over the closing laps, but the former Midland Champion held on for his double despite sliding wide on the last turn. A near four-wide finish for third saw Baker just beat Clarke, Nicklin and 163 Mark Evans home.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

Birmingham Wheels provided a welcome haven for those wishing to escape World Cup fever on Saturday 12th June, and the meeting was blessed with warm weather and a hardcore of fans and drivers who proved that big turnouts are not always necessary for fine racing.

Bangers

17 Bangers were in attendance although a couple failed to race, with the Honda Civic by far the most popular car. 90 Joey Holmes used his example well to score a heat and Final double.

Eleven cars lined up for heat one with 296 Tom Jennings leading away until Holmes took over and he then enjoyed a good battle with 290 Ryan Davies. The main action in the pack saw 274 Simon Davies spin 19 Johnny Redworth into the wall as current points champion Ryan Davies beat his predecessor Holmes to the line with 27 Ian Millward third.

One more for heat two with Simon Davies spinning rookie 619 Paul Harrington from the off only to be turfed aside in turn by Redworth. The latter spent the rest of the race in a game of cat and mouse with Jennings which culminated in the pair tangling after the flag while elsewhere 22 Jason Millward battled the pink Corsa of 394 Ian Rawlins. 190 Daniel Rice then spun the latter putting the Corsa onto two wheels with Ryan Davies burying the luckless Rawlins on the last turn en route to second behind Holmes, 292 Paul Davies third.

88 Gareth Evans lined up for the Final but failed to start leaving just nine cars to do battle. Ryan Davies wasted no time in attacking Jason Millward as Holmes passed Rice for the lead with Paul Davies and Ian Millward joining the fight behind the 90 car. Further back Ryan Davies burst a tyre and slid into the stationary Fiesta of 794 Andy March but in his typical style Ryan still refused to lift his foot from the throttle! Rice got rid of Ian Millward from the third place fight as Holmes led home Paul Davies while Rice and 944 Joe Nicholson dead-heated for third.

Lightning Rods

20 Lightning Rods appeared although one car failed to race, with 85 Iain Nicklin lucking into both victories in the heats but it was 81 Lee Parsons who returned to winning form in the Final.

190 Jacob Roff shot off into the lead of heat one with Banger graduate 70 Andrew Higgs chasing him all the way, but further back 11 Darron Lewis made contact with 51 Andy King who crashed into the infield banking to end his race early with Lewis disqualified. 77 Steve Clark was holding a top five spot until he spun on the final lap while 35 Richard Deeprose threw a wheel as he crossed the finish line in eighth. Roff took the flag but was adjudged to have shot off too early at the start and was docked two places, giving Nicklin the win ahead of Parsons.

Clark and Higgs were the first to spin in heat two while King was out of luck once again as he tangled with 78 Paul Blackman and both crashed into the back straight banking with both cars sustaining front end damage. Roff led from the start again but retired to the centre in a cloud of smoke at half distance giving 63 Gavin Evans the lead until he slowed a lap later and it was category legend 67 Chas Farrer who took over. Clark then spun into the turn two banking which he almost crested, while it looked as though Farrer was set for his first win in a long time at Birmingham, but with two laps to go his engine blew and Nicklin went through to win an extraordinary race where it seemed leading a lap was a curse! 73 Leyton O’Reilly and Lewis were next.

No white graders appeared for the Final leaving just 13 cars to do battle and it was 82 Lee Dawson who led off but Lewis took the lead with a smart move at the end of the first lap. The former National Hot Rod man built a big lead but Parsons was quickly into his stride and closed the gap with every lap. With two laps to go the veteran was right on Lewis’s tail and forced a way down the inside to take the win, Lewis putting in a fine effort to take second and Dawson taking his best ever finish in third, 5 Keith Handsaker the only retirement.

Stock Rods

A rather disappointing field of ten Stock Rods attended including Hertfordshire-based 128 David Gale and 514 Gavin Pike plus 909 Justin Washer all the way from Salisbury, but it was the experienced 669 Ed Trofer who led home the feature race.

With no white tops present, yellow grader 217 Tim Bailey shot into the lead of heat one and led from flag to flag for his first ever Stock Rod win, while behind a great battle developed with Pike staunchly defending his second place. Things came to a head in the closing stages when Pike moved across to halt an attack from 924 Stuart Wright causing a puncture for the latter who retired. Trofer used the outside line well to take Pike for second behind Bailey on the final lap but the latter was disqualified and 900 Dave Patterson inherited third.

Heat two saw Bailey clear at the front once again, but this time Wright closed him down and took the lead with four laps to run with Trofer following half a lap later. Bailey held off 909 Justin Washer for third, while further back 817 Jack Tuffen was the only retirement with broken steering.

Tuffen was the only absentee for the Final while Washer pulled off as the green flag waved. Patterson was next to drop out with a puncture as Pike made a better start and took Bailey for the lead but Trofer and Wright again closed in and soon moved to the front. The caution flags flew with seven laps to go for debris on turn four, the restart seeing 856 Paul Thomas clip Bailey sending the young gun crashing into the home straight wall but fortunately he was OK. Trofer went on to win with Wright and Pike his placemen.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

A big day of non-contact action at Northampton on June 6th saw a lively and controversial English Championship for the Lightning Rods, while the final World Series England round for the National Hot Rods brought several surprises.

Lightning Rods

The 2010 ORC Lightning Rod English Championship saw Incarace and Spedeworth drivers comprise the majority of the entry, while PRI provided three drivers. 368 Steve Santry was eventually awarded the title after a degree of controversy and conclusion.

Heat one saw 53 Rob Bunting on pole position and he set off into a lead he would not lose, while behind him former European champion 541 Harry Skoyles chased until 781 Neil Wollington moved around the outside. 51 Andy King was the first man to hit the wall before 57 Barry Limer and 9 Ian Atkinson both picked up damage and retired, while Skoyles clipped 633 Rob Gamble who spun out. Bunting celebrated his recent crowning as Incarace points champion by taking a flag to flag win, Wollington and Skoyles next.

The reverse grid second heat saw 355 Mick Walker on pole position and he roared clear for another flag to flag win in a quieter race, 730 Mike Daniels taking second and Santry third as Spedeworth swept the top five places. 85 Iain Nicklin was top Incarace man having run second in the early laps only to be delayed by 314 Wayne Farrer.

Walker and Santry had the front row for the 40-lap title race and it was the former who led off. After a few laps 320 Simon Hopcroft-Lopez tangled with Nicklin and they piled into the turn one wall, the Spedeworth man coming to a halt at turn three for a stoppage. The restart saw Santry all over the back of Walker for the entire race, but try as he might the former Saloon Stock Car star could not find a way through. Santry was still on Walker’s bumper as the Peterborough-based driver crossed the line to scoop the title with 503 Ben Murray completing a Spedeworth clean sweep by passing PRI’s 288 Dale Atkins on the last bend. 81 Lee Parsons was the top Incarace finisher in fifth, but the controversy then kicked in as Santry refused to accept the second place trophy as he claimed Walker had been shown a black cross earlier in the race. A protest was initially filed, but this proved irrelevant as Walker’s carburettor was found to be illegal at post race scrutineering and he was excluded giving Santry the championship. Murray was also removed from the result on a technicality giving Atkins second while third and fourth were left vacant as 5th placeman Parsons had not been part of any Post race checks and could therefore not be promoted from his finishing position.

National Hot Rods

Round 16 of National Hot Rods World Series England attracted around 30 cars, including the debut of 2 Litre Hot Rod graduate 199 Scott Bourne in a very smart 206cc. 333 Lee Wood led all the way in the feature race, while there were several talking points behind him as 115 Chris Haird secured his second successive English points title.

With plenty of questions still to be resolved as drivers sought places on the World Final grid, the stakes were high and the atmosphere well charged as heat one got underway. 503 Chris Harvey’s Audi led off after forcing 27 Mikey Godfrey out wide while 271 Neil Stimson spun out 74 James O’Shea behind them. A huge draft built up battling for sixth and seventh as Harvey slowed allowing 100 Dickie Burtenshaw and 162 Carl Waller-Barratt to take up the lead, Stimson forcing his way past the latter for second at half distance. Waller-Barratt then spun after contact with 85 Stuart Carter as Burtenshaw just beat the hard-charging Stimson to the line for the win. Stimson was docked two places for the contact with O’Shea giving Carter second and 155 Lee Pepper third after a good run around the outside.

734 Ralph Sanders led Godfrey away in the second heat with O’Shea taking second as title contenders Haird and 41 Carl Boardley were embroiled in a scrap with 130 Andy Lane and 3 Jeff Simpson at the back of the pack. Stimson again looked fast but could not find a route past O’Shea which allowed Sanders to pull clear, while in the closing stages 72 Willie Hardie blew his engine to end his day early. One or two drivers slowed a little due to the resulting oil but no stoppage was required, Sanders taking a clear win ahead of Stimson and O’Shea with Haird breaking out of the midfield draft and charging through to take a vital fourth place.
A rain shower just before the start slowed the pace considerably in the early laps, and consequently the action was more muted. The only incident of note saw 305 James Jamieson Jnr clip the side of 174 Jason Kew sending his Mercedes spinning, while one driver not affected by the conditions was Sanders as he held off Burtenshaw all the way for his second win, Wood taking third to make up for a retirement in heat one.

Going into the main event four drivers – Haird, 911 Malcolm Blackman, Jamieson and Boardley – could still take the points title, while Wood was off from the front and set off into a lead he was not to lose. Further back Blackman outpaced Haird early on as 170 Steve Thompson – a man surprisingly teetering on the edge of non-qualification – tried his hardest to dislodge Kew. 519 Luke Armiger briefly delayed Wood but he continued to pull away as Blackman forced arch rival Boardley onto the outside line before both became mired in traffic as Haird got ahead of them. The latter used the outside to good effect to make up the places as his rivals were frustrated in the midfield draft, Thompson and Jamieson then battling Boardley to delay the gold top further. Wood was well clear of Harvey’s Audi but the drive of the race was produced by 155 Lee Pepper. After a fairly quiet time of it in the heats Pepper threw caution to the winds and took to the outside line, blasting around everyone into the leading places. Wood was too far ahead to be caught and scored a flag to flag win, while Pepper’s superb second place secured him a spot in Group 1 for the World Final qualifiers, a point ahead of Jamieson. Harvey completed the top three, while eighth place was enough for Haird to retain the World Series England crown with Boardley tenth and Blackman several places further back. In the scramble for World grid places Sanders’ double win placed him joint eighth with Carter, while Burtenshaw moved into group four and O’Shea’s efforts in travelling from Ireland were rewarded the last spot on the grid, leaving Thompson a shock non-qualifier.

2 Litre Stock Cars

Around 18 2 Litre Stock Cars journeyed from the South for their first Northampton appearance of the year, with relative newcomer 41 Joe Parker taking the Final.

669 Lee Hall led the first heat away as Parker was spun out by 618 Fred Kinsella while 707 Mark Nottingham removed 31 Iain Amos. Parker rejoined only to take further stick from 359 Geoff Bowen with the former Banger star coming under fire from 705 Andy Marlow and Amos. 298 Ian Elms then piled 167 Jimmy Morris into Marlow as Hall held off Nottingham to take the spoils with 68 Avon White third.

Hall got rid of White to chase Elms for the lead of the second heat until White retaliated to spin Hall out. 161 Billy Smith then spun heavily into the infield wall at turn one with 14 Daniel Langley then leaning 305 Billy Wood to the inside, the latter unable to avoid crashing into Smith. White attacked Parker only to be spun out by Morris as Nottingham passed Elms for the win, 7 Colin Farley and Parker next home.

Smith repaired for the Final and began by attacking White and Nottingham as 29 George Morphey turfed Wood aside. Parker chased down Hall for the lead as Langley hooked out Elms while Nottingham climbed the back straight plating but continued. Langley continued his lively ways taking out White and Amos in one move as Parker and Farley moved to the front with four laps to run and held on for first and second, Hall beating Morphey for third.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

I FACTOR EVENT THREE, BIRMINGHAM WHEELS RACEWAY, SATURDAY 5TH JUNE

The third round of Incarace’s I Factor series took place at a very humid Birmingham Wheels Raceway on Saturday June 5th, with six formulas taking part in 18 races that were completed inside three and a half hours despite one or two big smashes.

Incarods

Sixteen Incarods were in attendance for their second meeting in as many weeks, and it was a clean sweep for the white tops. 944 Joe Nicholson raced Nathan Etheridge’s car and used it superbly to take a faultless hat-trick.

Nicholson took the lead on the second lap of heat one as he passed 203 Malcolm Phillips, while 312 Richard Jackson was the first to pull off and he was out for the night. 204 Dan Phillips also retired as Nicholson won by a quarter of a lap ahead of welcome returnee 344 Holly Etheridge and 99 Matt Smith who shot through rapidly in the closing stages.

It took just a few laps for Nicholson to establish a similar lead in heat two with Etheridge again chasing until 10 Dave Bonser – making up for missing heat one – came through. Malcolm Phillips then made contact with 125 Dave Wallace in the middle of a busy home straight dice with Smith also involved, the resulting damage putting the 203 Citroen out for the night as the caution flags flew for the stranded Wallace. On the restart Nicholson picked up exactly where he had left off by speeding to victory ahead of Bonser and Etheridge.

With Nicholson moved back to the front of the yellows 72 Tom Carr was alone at the front for the clutch start Final and he led the first couple of laps until Nicholson took over. Further back in the field plenty of dices ensued, most notably for ninth between 24 Todd Goodier’s Golf and 202 RJ Price, but further forward Wallace suddenly slowed up on turn two and was run into by 200 Jordan Hazel taking him sideways. 9 Craig Wright was unable to avoid crashing into Hazel with 41 Simon Gamble also piling in with all four retiring as a result. Nicholson avoided the chaos to take the win ahead of Etheridge and 174 Chris Neal, while Carr was unlucky to lose his first points finish as he spun after contact with 4 Chris Cash on the final lap.

Hot Fords

Around 20 Hot Fords continued their busy season including the return of 7 Lee Clark following his short spell in Lightning Rods, with the results quite different to those the previous week. Buxton-based 130 Scott Fulham scored a heat and Final double.

The opening heat was dominated by 134 David Latham who made a flying start from the outside of the front row and led every lap for a consummate first Hot Ford victory. Behind him 180 Paul Lockett tangled with 33 Matt Aucote, the latter retiring with a puncture, while 22 Richard Adams was destined not to repeat the form shown at the previous I Factor event as he got caught up with 426 Phil Dykes who was returning to action in the ex-Jason Russell car. 731 Grant Tate held second place all the way, while 39 Dave Baker’s Orion took third.

Fulham had missed the first heat, but made up for it with a spirited chase of Tate at the front of heat two, eventually making his move in the closing laps around the outside to take the win. Latham chased this pairing all the way to take third.

The Final saw a surprise as 584 Fred Miller, a driver plagued with mechanical problems throughout his Hot Ford career, took off from the clutch start and led past half distance despite Tate and Fulham throwing everything they could at him. Further back in the pack 40 Neil Hayes got caught up with Clark and bounced off the back straight wall, a chain reaction on turn four then sending the recovering Clark into Lockett who hit the wall very hard, 942 Jason Gibson and 118 Jason Russell’s new car also involved in a hefty crash. The yellows came out and fortunately no-one was hurt, the restart seeing Miller continue to lead until Fulham produced a similar attack to that which won him heat two to take over. Behind them Tate got sideways at turn two and as he fought to recover slid Aucote out into the wall along with Baker, the chasing pack unable to avoid them. Adams was almost rolled in the melee that ensued while Baker and 284 Kenny Nicklin was among those involved who sustained substantial damage. The red flags flew and the result was declared from the 17-lap mark with Fulham awarded the win ahead of Miller who took his first ever trophy, Tate awarded third.

UK Modifieds

The new UK Modified formula made its Wheels debut with six of the superbike-engined machines in attendance. The entry was clearly one of quality over quantity, with BriSCA stock car stars 185 Lenny Smith and 152 Mick Sworder among the half dozen alongside current and former Legends stars 16 Russell Bull and 36 Mick Preston.

Sworder’s night did not get off to a good start in heat one as he banged wheels with 49 Jamie Devonport on the first turn and piled into the wall putting both out of the restart. This saw Smith lead all the way in his Finnikin team car, Preston surprising Bull for second on the last bend with 07 Richard Keeling the only other starter.

Sworder’s night could only get better from there on in – and get better it did. In both heat two and the Final he sliced rapidly through the small field and pulled away at the front, celebrating with doughnuts on the infield. Preston and Bull passed early leader Smith to take second and third in the main event.

Modstox

An encouraging field of 13 Modstox turned out, including Ministox graduate 255 Emma Alldridge on her debut in the car previously raced by her father 45 Brandon Marlow. The young racer enjoyed a dream debut with a heat and Final double, the main event win coming in extraordinary circumstances.

The first heat saw an early red flag after 223 Nick Smith spun into the home straight wall, the restart seeing Alldridge lead all the way for a superb debut win. The big names fought it out in her wake, 56 Neil Mack taking 501 Martin Baker for second in the closing stages.

69 Steve Hattersley led the second heat away as Baker was an early spinner due to a jammed throttle, while Alldridge slowly but surely closed the gap and had Hattersley in her sights on the final turn. Unfortunately Alldridge went in too deep and cannoned off the wall, bouncing off Nick Smith and spinning to a halt just feet from the line. Former BriSCA F1 man Hattersley therefore took his maiden Modstox win from Smith and Mack.

Hattersley led again in the Final as Baker and 156 Craig Mack enjoyed an entertaining battle in the pack, swapping bumpers on a few occasions before Baker finally spun the 156 car out. Smith was closing all the time on Alldridge but it looked as though the young gun would hold it together, but on the last turn she gave it too much throttle and spun around just feet from the flag. Smith made contact with Emma’s front bumper and amazingly pushed her backwards across the line to take the win with the crowd going mad. Hattersley took third to complete an all lower grade top three.

MASCAR

The latest round of a busy season for the MASCARs at Birmingham saw close on 20 cars present, including 04 Ian Cameron on his debut. The Final saw a surprise as 23 Wayne Galloway took his first ever win in the formula after some very lively action.

Galloway led the first two laps of heat one until 17 Paul Patrick moved past, while 11 Juli Stanford and Cameron were the first to spin. Patrick chose the wrong side of Cameron’s spun car allowing 75 Russ Best and 99 Steve Dakin through with the yellows then coming out to allow the newcomer a safe exit. A good side by side battle ensued on the restart with Best just beating Dakin home at the flag, while further back Stanford tangled with 31 Pete Gould. A last bend sort-out saw 50 Derek Roseblade snatch third from Patrick for his best finish so far.

Stanford enjoyed a better second heat to lead from the start, while a ruck further back on turn four saw Roseblade ride up onto two wheels following a four-wide moment. 69 Simon Johnson then clipped the side of Best and slid into a spin on the back straight, while Galloway was also a late spinner. Dakin attacked Stanford in the closing stages and pulled alongside going around the final turn, the drag to the line resulting in a photo finish with Dakin the winner by 0.004 of a second having led just a few inches of the race, 01 Richard Wilkes third.

Stanford’s luck was out again in the Final as she spun out on the first lap, while Dakin was on a charge despite early contact with 16 Gill Hughes who retired as a result. Roseblade and Johnson spun while well placed as Gould put in his best performance so far and looked set to hold on for the win, but exiting turn four Dakin attacked and clipped the back of the 31 car sending the local man spinning. This allowed Galloway past both of them to take his first win since graduating from Bangers with Dakin second, while Wilkes lost third place after failing to attend post race scrutineering, Gould inheriting the place and also taking the RAM Motorsport Driver of the Day award.

Slick Cars

An improved field of Slick Cars included the now regulation mix of V6 Super Rods and National-spec Hot Rods, with 5 Mike Oliver making his first appearance in a Peugeot 206cc. 221 Lewis Hill also showcased a classic Toyota Starlet, while Buxton star 120 Ross Harrison made his seasonal debut at Wheels and walked away with the Final win.

Heat one saw the Super Rods in an excellent eight-car scrap for the front of the field, with 75 Dave Poole leading initially before 50 Geoff Dixon took over. The quicker Hot Rods only caught up in the closing stages, but couldn’t quite catch the Super Rods as Dixon led home 67 Chas Farrer and 11 Shaun Jacklin. 24 Roger Wright meanwhile pulled off midway through and was out for the night.

Jacklin took 57 Dave Willis for the lead on the second lap of heat two and pulled away before 78 Mark Dews, debuting his new Peugeot, spun exiting the fourth turn and was collected by Dixon for a stoppage. Both the heat one winner and the former Legends star were OK and the restart saw 421 Phil Young and Harrison sweep around Jacklin to finish first and second, 56 Lee Griffiths just beating Jacklin for third.

The Final saw a great scrap between Farrer and Jacklin early on, the pair rarely more than a car length apart for the entire race. The faster machines caught up by half distance and Harrison went through to take the win with Griffiths and Young next home, Farrer beating Jacklin to take the trophy for the top Super Rod.

Legends
Heat 1 156 151 37 100 64 35 52 8 182 19
Heat 2 156 51 182 8 6 5 555 395 55 11
Heat 3 55 37 64 5 35 100 6 21 22 151
Final 156 151 5 64 100 395 8 182 37 22

Mini Stox
Heat 1 298 210 219 212 201 244 255 205 nof
Heat 2 298 212 210 219 201 205 255 nof
Final 298 219 205 210 201 212 244 255 NOF

Classic Hot Rods
Heat 1 20 57 924 599 8 66 196 32 18 43
Heat 2 924 57 599 32 18 196 8 153 88 516
Final 924 20 32 57 10 18 196 8 39 88

Big Van Bangers
Heat 1 601 299 999 801 531 181 167 70 98 132
Heat 2 299 801 167 999 132 531 298 181 601 nof
Final 601 299 999 181 531 167 98 132 nof
DD Winner: 999 Runner Up: 601 Most Destructed: 601

Reporting by Dave Goddard

The third Bank Holiday bash of the year at Hednesford Hills Raceway saw the big crowd enjoy a slickly run event despite slightly low car turnouts in a couple of formulas, with not one caution period during the day’s 13 races.

Van Bangers

Just 11 Big Van Bangers were in attendance, but it has been proved in the past you don’t need a large turnout of vans for a good meeting. The usual Transits and LDVs made up much of the entry, including a Rover V8-engined LDV for 601 Lee Usher. 70 John McAleenan and 298 Carl Locker provided large Iveco Daily high-tops, while 299 Dale Locker had the smallest machine with a Nissan Serena people carrier.

The first heat was all about 601 Usha as he demonstrated the speed of his V8 van. Despite starting half a lap down, the reigning Pre-68 champion roared through the pack and was leading just a few laps in, taking the win by almost a full lap. Dale Locker came home second with his team leader 999 Scott Hill (Transit) third, the latter having provided the only action with a hit on 98 John Harris’s Transit.

Heat two was livened up by being turned into a ramp jump race over the winner’s rostrum, playing to the wishes of several who had leapt the ramp a few times in heat one. 801 Scott Mears led the early going in his Renault Trafic while Usha did not use the ramp on every lap and was docked to the rear of the field as a result. 531 Toby Tropper (Transit) spun 70 Johnny Mac into the wall as Dale Locker came through for a rare victory from Mears and 167 Paul Motherwell’s high-top Transit.

All 11 vans were still going for the Final into DD, Usha winning the eight lap sprint by a clear margin with Dale Locker and Hill again his placemen. 98 Mad Mucka began the DD by spinning 132 Chris Cullum’s LDV into the wall before the Scrapyard Screamers put on an entertaining display battling Usha and Johnny Mac. The latter’s big Iveco proved difficult to finish off but the Screamers eventually won out, while Usha escaped their attacks time and time again. Dale Locker finished off 167 Scotty with a big hit on the centre before the Locker brothers looked to have sandwiched Usha leaving Hill and 181 Grant Doe to do battle in their Transits. As Doe looked to have expired Usha suddenly broke out of the trap on the infield to a huge roar from the crowd, Hill nailing the LDV to take the win with Usha compensated with the prize for best wreck.

Legends

Around 30 Legends made the trip to their fastest UK venue, the Hales family making it despite being delayed en route when their vast American motorhome suffered a blowout. The day belonged to 156 Peter Blundell who raced to a faultless hat-trick.

37 Rob Preece and 151 Chris Pye were the early pacesetters in heat one as 29 Kev Kettlewell was the first to spin, while Blundell was quickly among the white graders and up into third place as Preece pulled out a slight lead. 42 John Townshend bounced off the side of former circuit racer 32 Derek Linley and crashed into the East Bend wall but no caution was needed. Blundell whittled down Preece’s lead in the closing laps, and with three to run the leaders were delayed slightly while lapping 65 John Hudson, with Preece sliding sideways in avoidance allowing Blundell and Pye through to take first and second.

55 Andy Hartwell was the pacesetter in the second heat with Blundell again away rapidly and chasing him down. After several attempted lunges Blundell got his nose down the inside at turn three with Hartwell moving down to cover, and the resulting collision sent Hartwell spinning. Blundell raced to his second win with the stewards not apportioning blame for the incident, 51 and 182 Mike Walmsley next home. A last lap tangle saw 48 Dan Hughes and 19 Dean Thompson lock wheels and slide into the turn one wall, Hughes finishing on top of the local man.

Hartwell was doubtlessly fired up by his spin earlier on, and proceeded to dominate heat two once he had caught early leader Preece. Hartwell showed cool skill in carving through the backmarker traffic en route to the win, Preece taking his best ever result in second and 64 Tim Hudson third.
The feature event saw rookie points leader Pye open up a huge lead in the early laps, but all eyes were on Blundell who slowly but surely began to close in as Pye hit the backmarker traffic. Blundell closed in more rapidly with every lap and eventually took Pye around the outside, while further back Hartwell was out of luck again as he locked wheels with 75 Harry Nicklin and slid into the wall. In the closing laps 35 Stuart Blyth clipped 6 Ian Hales – who’d had an unusually quiet meeting by his standards – sending the National Points leader spinning. Hales then proceeded the wrong way around turn one clearly demonstrating his displeasure, while Blundell completed his hat trick ahead of Pye and 5 Branson Poyner.

Classic Hot Rods

Around 16 Classic Hot Rods were in attendance for their second Hednesford session of the year, and it was Stock Rod star 924 Stuart Wright who capitalised on engine problems for 20 Dave Fry to score a heat and Final double.

862 Carl Checkley was making his return to racing in the ex-Neil Edwin Escort, and he led the first couple of laps of heat one only to get sideways coming off turn four and crash into the infield tyres, ending his meeting early. 57 Mike Oliver then led the way but Fry was seemingly the only driver who could make the outside line work and he rounded everyone to take the lead and the win, Oliver and Wright his placemen.

Wright was quickly around 10 Paul Bowring’s Anglia to lead the second heat with Oliver chasing all the way, but Wright displayed his knowledge of Hednesford well to dispel every attack the Welshman could throw at him. Another attack round the outside by Fry looked likely but his car let him down on the final lap and he coasted to the infield almost in sight of the flag. Wright beat Oliver to the line with 599 John Hendy Jnr third.

Wright again set the pace in the Final after passing Bowring but Fry began to close on the outside line once again. The crowd were eagerly anticipating a close finish but two laps from home Fry’s car once again slowed and he coasted home a distant second behind double winner Wright with 32 Glen Moore in third.

Ministox

A very disappointing field of just nine Ministox appeared, the entry not helped by a number of clashing meetings around the country. Blue top 298 Jake Walker scored a hat-trick of wins.

218 Charlie Cowley-Richards pulled off on the first lap of heat one as Walker quickly passed 244 Callum Churm for the lead and set about building an advantage. Further back a battle between 201 Shaun Blakemore and 212 Ben Bate saw them slide wide and send 205 Courtney Finnikin into the wall, while at the front 210 Tristan Claydon caught Walker but his attack on turn two failed to connect and he clattered the wall. Walker won ahead of Claydon and 219 Ben Lewis-Thompson.

Cowley-Richards failed to start heat two and Churm pulled up on lap one leaving Walker out in front once again, and he controlled the pace all the way to win it ahead of the battling Bate and Claydon.

Cowley-Richards was pushed off the grid with a fuel leak prior to the Final ending a miserable day for her, but this race was much livelier than the other two as Walker, Lewis-Thompson, Finnikin, Claydon, Blakemore and Bate swapped bumpers on almost every turn, eventually finishing in that order with Churm and 255 Michael Finnikin trailing at the back. Many were left wondering how so few cars could produce so much action!

Northampton International Raceway
31st May 2010
Stock Rods - Rebels - 1300 Stock Cars - Bangers

Stock Rods
Heat 1 313 755 514 24 17 500 669 87 219 817
Heat 2 60 313 219 171 87 152 91 217 829 575
Heat 3 60 447 128 514 171 24 500 91 612 14
Final 500 17 755 313 171 60 219 87 817 447

Rebels
Heat 1 470 2 25 361 313 53 17 216 57 8
Heat 2 17 361 53 2 72 41 35 216 57 1
Final 361 2 17 53 5 57 72 67 356 34
GN 361 25 17 216 72 8 2 1 5 395

1300 Stock Cars
Heat 1 232 686 171 40 272 79 323 371 423 998
Heat 2 272 232 686 423 323 998 745 514 171 371
Final 232 686 272 644 998 10 514 618 371 171

Bangers
Heat 1 290 103 831 644 287 294 244 29 292 288
Heat 2 11 290 292 244 294 644 286 831 287 66
Fig of 8 290 287 644 292 831 66 nof nof nof
DD Winner: 287 Runner Up: 244 Most Des: 7

Reporting by Dave Goddard

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars

Birmingham’s World Qualifying round for the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars drew just over 40 cars to Wheels on a scorching hot May 22nd, and after a night of the yellow tops throughout the heats it was 390 Stuart Smith who made a welcome return to form to take the Final.

The two-thirds format was employed and 26 cars lined up for heat one with an early tangle among the blue grade seeing 372 Colin Goodswen and 172 Micky Randell sent spinning. 429 Gareth Wildman was the early leader as the pushing pack behind him sent 41 Robert Broome out into the wall while 16 Matt Newson was a big hitter in the early laps stuffing 107 Lee Robinson into the recovered Goodswen. 385 Steve Thompson and 302 Jim Bamford broke clear to chase Wildman with the white top eventually sliding wide on the fifth lap allowing his pursuers through. Newson was battling 1 Andrew Smith and 55 Craig Finnikin further back as the lower graders held sway at the front throughout, Thompson holding off a late attack from Bamford to win with Wildman heading home 223 Garry Townsend for third.

Down to 24 cars for heat two with Bamford taking 101 Dave Waterhouse for the lead on lap two as 22 Will Yarrow continued his recent run of form as he battled 498 Spencer Taylor for second. Further back Stuart Smith was enjoying a scrap with 97 Murray and 197 Ryan Harrison which came to a head when 515 Junior Wainman stuffed Ryan into the silver top sending both into the wall at turn three and leaving Ryan’s car on Stuart’s bonnet. Murray Harrison and Taylor also got caught up before Wainman’s car threw a Goodyear and he spun out onto the centre. Waterhouse then crashed into the pileup on turn three as Bamford raced to the win ahead of the closing Yarrow and 37 Chris Cowley.

The third heat saw 26 cars on track but Waterhouse and 191 Joshua Smith would retire before the green flag. Wildman led the way once again until that man Thompson once again took over a few laps in, and the UK Open champion soon opened a lead up. In a quieter race the highlight was a battle between Randell, Stuart Smith and 259 Paul Hines in the midfield, but once again Thompson looked dominant and completed his double with Yarrow and Stuart Smith next.

The night had been relatively subdued by normal Birmingham standards but the 32-car Final would prove much more lively as the day’s heat began to fade. A big push into the first turn saw blue tops Murray Harrison and 141 Carl Pickering tangle T-bone fashion with Joshua Smith then scooping under Pickering to almost roll the tarmac specialist. 217 Lee Fairhurst also crashed in as 84 Tom Harris almost hooked up with Newson, while ahead of the chaos Wildman led until Thompson and Bamford once again took over. Wildman pulled up as Yarrow battled past Taylor into third, but Stuart Smith was the man on the move having got the tyre setup spot on. Bamford moved past Thompson and led for a lap but the National Points champion was soon on their tail and launched a perfectly timed attack on turns one and two to send both yellow tops wide and take over at the front. He went on to take his first feature race win for a while with Thompson falling back in the closing laps allowing Bamford to take second ahead of Yarrow, Hines just beating Andrew Smith in the drag to the line for fourth.

28 cars returned under the floodlights for the Grand National with 488 Mike Kingston Jnr starting from white grade for the first time and he led them away until Thompson once more took over. Wainman looked livelier this time following an off-the-boil evening and battled with Fairhurst and 2 Paul Harrison as further up the order Yarrow scooped under the back of Finnikin in the heat of battle with the collision also claiming 53 John Lund. Taylor caught and passed Thompson with two laps to go with the National Hot Rod star trying a last bend lunge but it didn’t work and Taylor took the flag with Bamford’s excellent night concluding with third place and Kingston Jnr taking a fine seventh.

Class 7 Grass Track cars

Something different was present in support as 20 Class 7 Autograss hatchbacks made their maiden Wheels appearance, with drivers travelling from clubs across the country. The machines present were based on various small models with the Fiat Cinquecento the most popular, but a huge variety of engines lurked within them with cars powered by everything from twin Honda Fireblade bike engines to small block Chevrolet V8s.
The length of the races had to be cut considerably as the cars quickly destroyed their tyres on the Wheels tarmac, but when the action came it wowed the fans with some superb sideways racing in evidence. Heat one saw SC950 Karl Mosley (Fiat) shrug off an attack from the similar mouth of SC45 Carl Swift to catch and pass S47D Pete Bott Jnr for the lead and the win, Swift taking third behind the former F2 racer.

Mosley was ruled out of heat two when his front suspension broke en route to the grid, and it was S306D Phil Sutch who led off but R55 Ben Hurdman’s Fiat was flying around the outside of everybody and took the lead as Sutch slowed with a couple of laps to go. Hurdman went on to win with former Banger racer R31 Darren “Stumpy” Anslow (Metro) second ahead of SC55 Wayne Swift in another of the Fiats.

Mosley led off in the Final as Wayne Swift battled with ST307 Tony Goodsir’s extraordinary little Suzuki Whizzkid for second, the latter’s Hayabusa power soon carrying him onto Mosley’s tail. Down the back straight for the penultimate time the former National Hot Rod racer dived down the inside of Mosley to take the win to the cheers of the travelling Autograss fans, 470 taking third while at the back Anslow literally lit up his tyres with some sideways drifting at unreal angles to end a hugely entertaining event.

2 Litre National Bangers Midland Championship

Just shy of 30 2 Litre National Bangers contested the annual Midland Championship, including a raiding party from the Aftermath team from East Anglia but the most talked about drivers present were the quintet of Stinkbridge drivers, making their first appearance at an Incarace domestic in a long time.

Heat one saw Aftermath man 400 Kevin Shinn in fine form with a huge blitz on 147 Darren Griffin destroying his Mondeo estate while the former’s team mate 100 Callum White landed a big shot on 51 Simon Hields as their battle against Stinkbridge raged on. 181 Grant Doe then buried 154 Mike Plant who lost a wheel for a stoppage, with the restart seeing 123 Rob Smith (Civic) move past 450 Glyn Platts and 118 Jay Anslow’s Vectra for the win.

Heat two was even livelier and saw 400 Shinny on the case again, first attacking 51 Sleepy before burying welcome returnee 101 Keith Roberts. 601 Lee Usher (Prelude) then fenced 196 Ben Harrison on the back straight before 742 Ian Gregory buried 61 Zac Hughes with 299 Dale Locker (Rover) arriving for a package on the latter with the yellows being thrown to check on the Buxton man. He was OK and the restart began with Locker running in 14 Ryan Holliday before 515 Gareth Flatters picked up 47 Martin Hall and followed him in flat out on turn four for another stoppage. The next restart saw 742 Taz hit 699 Stacey Hands before Anslow was buried hard by 171 James Simpson while Condoms visitor 203 Darren Nash won ahead of 128 Mark Atkins and Hands. 380 Bradley Evans blotted his copybook by blasting Sleepy after the red flags but Stinkbridge administered their own justice as 455 Ricky Finney destroyed the Team Asbo man in turn.

Finney was on form again in the Final as he buried 196 Ginner allowing Taz to nail the latter. Atkins then did Finney as 38 Craig Allen buried Holliday allowing Locker to blast the Team Asbo man while elsewhere 771 Brandon Carton spun 100 the Cock into the wall where he was hit head-on by team mate 515 Flats which certainly wasn’t in the script. Shinny then picked up Sleepy and followed him in full bore on turn one with the yellows being thrown to check on the Stinkbridge man who was fortunately OK, the restart seeing 601 Usha race to his second title of the season ahead of 999 Scott Hill (Vectra estate) and 203 Gnasher. Half a dozen cars stayed to contest the DD with Locker and 38 Penfold quickly trashed by a series of shots from 200 Steve Farrell, Simpson and Finney. 200 Noon went on to finish his two opponents to take the spoils, Locker awarded the prize for best wreck.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

Stock Rods European Championship

Hednesford’s first big championship meeting of the year saw all 40 invited drivers arrive to contest the European Stock Rod Championship, with the only late change seeing 7 Andrew Grant replace 44 Martin McLean among the GMP Scotland ranks. It was north of the Border that the trophy headed at the end of the day, in the capable hands of 17 Robert McDonald.

The first of two all-in heats saw 829 Stuart Fox as the clear favourite as the Incarace draw placed him on the second row, and within a couple of laps he had cut his way through into the lead. From then on there was no stopping the World Champion as he carved through swathes of backmarkers to take the victory, with polesitter 451 Keith Butler taking second for Ireland and 168 Andy Sturt in third following a late charge up the order. Oddly, this heat saw no Scots in the top ten places – a rare occurrence for Hednesford.

Sturt pulled off as heat two got underway leaving 37 cars to do battle, 909 Justin Washer and 982 James Baker the only casualties of heat one. A terrific five-way scrap developed at the front of the field with 41 Frankie Lynn – making his first appearance at Hednesford in many years – leading the pack as 67 Kerr Paterson rose well through the midfield. Fellow Scot McDonald and Ulsterman 3 Micky McFall joined the dice and Lynn’s lead was looking seriously under threat. Further back 144 Matt Woodcock spun in the pack and it was squeaky-bum time for several drivers as they dived either side of him and just managed to avoid a big accident as Woodcock reversed out of harm’s way. A few laps later, however, 381 Richard Pope wasn’t so lucky. The Spedeworth man spun after contact with 669 Eddy Trofer and as the pack bore down 856 Paul Thomas had nowhere to go but straight into Pope’s driver’s door in a huge impact. Fox, who was trying to make up ground from the back of the reverse grid, jinked wide in avoidance and took himself and 91 Wayne Leedell into the wall with both sustaining damage. Needless to say, that was a yellow flag and Pope was taken to the medical centre with a suspected leg injury, but thankfully no serious injuries resulted. On the restart the battle hotted up further with 447 Stuart Smyth joining the party after a quiet start to the day, but with three laps to go 34 Glenn Sanders blew his engine and slid into the wall at turn three, 83 Mike Bethune sliding on his oil and cannoning straight into the side of the Autospeed man to destroy the front end of his car. The red flags were thrown but too late for 8 John O’Donovan who spun into Sanders’ wreck, and with damaged cars littering turns three and four the stewards opted to end the race early. This gave Lynn his first win at Hednesford since the mid-1990s, with Paterson and McDonald next.

When the points were totted up McDonald and the repaired O’Donovan were on the front row for the 40-lap main event, although the planned driver parade was cancelled due to the meeting running late. The front row men ran side by side for the first two laps before McDonald pulled ahead and soon built up a lead. McFall came through into second and seemed to be the only man who could live with the flying McDonald, who led every lap en route to a dominant victory on one of his favourite tracks. McFall and Smyth were next home, but the Englishman was docked two places for contact in the early laps handing Paterson third.

IncaHots

The Incarods and Hot Fords don’t get too many runs at Hednesford these days, but for this meeting it was decided to run them combined into one and grids of 40 cars resulted. The Incarods came out on top in all three races, with 99 Matt Smith taking a heat and Final double.

Smith made his intentions clear early in heat one as he made a great start from row two and was ahead inside three laps. The former Stock Rod man controlled the pace from thereon, using his knowledge and experience of Hednesford to carve through a near solid wall of backmarkers en route to victory ahead of the closing 44 Nathan Etheridge and top Ford 942 Jason Gibson.

The second heat saw a reversed grid and a stoppage after 225 Steve Matthews had hit the wall coming out of turn two. On the restart a three wide moment saw 33 Matt Aucote bounce off 72 Tom Carr and the latter’s Polo went hard into the home straight wall, Carr lucky to escape unhurt from a heavy impact. The restart saw 125 Dave Wallace take his first win for some time ahead of 10 Dave Bonser who took his best finish since switching from a Peugeot to an AX. Smith put in the drive of the race to take third from near the back. Early pacesetter 39 Dave Baker fought hard against the front runners and finished as top Ford in fifth.

The Final saw a very similar pattern to heat one despite a slight reduction in the entry, with Smith dominating and the AXs very quickly rising to the head of the pack. Etheridge was the only man who could live with the former Stock Rod man, while Gibson fought off attacks from Wallace to take third.

Unlimited Bangers

Just shy of 20 cars appeared for a rare Unlimited Banger domestic in the Hills, including welcome Condoms visitor 203 Darren Nash and fellow long distance travellers 262 Buddy and 252 Lib James. The entry included used Granada limos for 46 Scott Starkey and 137 Paul Tagg, while 999 Scott Hill debuted a Vauxhall Senator and on the Jaguar front 54 Richard Hayward returned an XJ-S while 141 Dan Steele had his XJ Coupe from Metal Mania. 774 Pete Sill provided a bit of vintage with a Rover P4, but it sadly failed to race.

Sadly the action did not match the quality of the entry, the only hit of note coming when 237 Lee Millhouse (Volvo 740 estate) blew up the 240 estate version of 132 Chris Cullum. 54 Bandit took his Jag to the win in heat one ahead of 262 Axle and 196 Ben Harrison, while 203 Gnasher took an untroubled heat two win from Steele and Axle. The Final saw the leading Hill appear to pull a Dick Dastardly-style manoeuvre as his engine blew and coated the track in oil, leading to some amusing moments as his opponents skidded their way home. This did not faze Gnasher who completed his double, with Bandit and Steele next.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars

The second F1 Saturday night session of the year at Northampton drew a reasonable field of 40 cars for a World Championship qualifier, the entry including novice 488 Mike Kingston Jnr while 107 Lee Robinson and 238 Richard Bryan both had very smart new cars, the latter with an intriguing retro-style wing. The dominant forces on the night were 22 Will Yarrow and 259 Paul Hines, the latter scorching to a heat and Final double.

In warm and very pleasant conditions – a marked contrast to the previous few days in the region – 23 cars lined up to contest heat one of the two-thirds format. Following a false start when 170 Mark Helliwell slowed on the rolling lap it was 252 Paul Redfern who led the first lap until 429 Gareth Wildman took over. Bryan tangled up with 97 Murray Harrison with 141 Carl Pickering crashing into the to ensure no repeat of his good results at last month’s meeting at the venue. Yarrow was soon up to second and reeling in Wildman as 55 Craig Finnikin took the recovered Bryan into the plating, while further back in the midfield 16 Matt Newson and 84 Tom Harris were dishing out the majority of hits in a good close display of racing. Yarrow eventually got the bumper in on Wildman to take over at the front, surviving a scare when Robinson spun in front of him to take the win. Harris fired Harrison in en route to second with Wildman holding onto third.

Res: 22, 84, 429, 16, 197, 55, 1, 212, 321, 322.

The second heat drew 27 cars and began with 223 Garry Townsend spinning out 295 Wesley Goodwin who was collected by 191 Joshua Smith and 197 Ryan Harrison in turn. 302 Jim Bamford moved past early leader 143 Adam Bamford as 212 Daniel Wainman fired in the luckless Bryan, while Yarrow and Hines were the big movers from midfield and the former was soon challenging Jim Bamford for the lead, taking over just after half way. 172 Micky Randell spun Redfern who then took a head-on from 385 Steve Thompson as 390 Stuart Smith lost a wheel but no stoppage was needed. Yarrow made it a double ahead of the fast closing Hines with 515 Frankie Wainman third.

Res: 22, 259, 515, 302, 41, 153, 73, 16, 2, 11.

23 cars again for heat three with Goodwin making a better start to chase Wildman for the lead, while Adam Bamford was put into the fence by the pushing pack early on. 153 James Lund was also in the wars as he first got caught up with Joshua Smith before shunting with Goodwin on turn four as Wildman broke clear at the front. Further back 85 Iain Holden briefly hooked on the slowing Finnikin as Hines passed Thompson for second and set about whittling down Wildman’s lead. It did not take the flying red top long and with a few laps to go Wildman ran wide on the track shop turn and Hines didn’t need asking twice and took up the running. Further back Frankie Wainman put away 73 Rob Cowley as 1 Andrew Smith got past Thompson for second but couldn’t catch Hines who took the win.

Res: 259, 1, 385, 429, 172, 2, 322, 515, 84, 41.

Against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset – how many times have we been able to say that of late? – and a warm atmosphere of anticipation the 28-car Final was delayed briefly as a fuel leak was spotted from Thompson’s car and the UK Open winner was pushed to the infield. The remaining 27 set off into the gathering dusk with Wildman once again leading as Andrew Smith began a good scrap with 2 Paul Harrison and Frankie Wainman. Robinson was out of luck again as he hooked up with 11 Neil Scriven to go into the wall with Cowley and Lund crashing into them but the melee sorted itself without need for a stoppage. Daniel Wainman then joined the battle further back by firing Andrew Smith into Finnikin as 4 Dan Johnson did likewise to Harris stuffing him into Newson, but the former’s race was soon over thanks to a puncture. Wildman’s streak of bad luck then sadly returned as his car let him down and the leader was on the infield leaving 41 Robert Broome heading the pack. Andrew Smith was fighting up the order once again and fired Harris into 322 James Neachell with the former pair then combining to muscle Newson wide and nearly into the plating as the fast and furious action continued, the cars appearing to increase in speed all the time as the light faded. Hines was again the fastest mover from the red tops and moved onto the rapid Broome’s tail with three laps to run, bumpering the yellow top wide into turn one to take over for his second win having displayed excellent controlled speed and aggression all night. Yarrow came through late on for second with 464 Luke Davidson third, Broome just missing out on a podium place.

Res: 259, 22, 464, 41, 2, 1, 302, 84, 16, 197.

The night’s biggest grid of 28 assembled for the Grand National with the sun now sinking below the horizon and NIR’s new floodlights showing their full and impressive effect with the atmosphere seeming to heighten even further. Plenty of big hits amongst the blue tops characterised the early laps as Adam Bamford led off, but Davidson and Andrew Smith had made stunning starts from towards the back and the former took the lead entering the third lap. Yarrow took up the chase but was powerless this time to avoid the World Champion’s attack, while further back Hines soon latched onto the main pack from his handicap and piled Holden into Broome as he began to chase double points but would not quite crack the top ten by flagfall. Davidson was ahead at half distance but Andrew Smith was right on his tail, while the latter’s brother was out of luck once again as he dropped out with a flat tyre, the silver top’s season of struggle showing little sign of improvement. On lap nine Andrew Smith took over the lead and carved deftly through the backmarker traffic over the remaining laps for a dominant win, Yarrow taking Davidson for second to complete an excellent night for the blue top and Paul Harrison winning a scrap with Harris for fourth.

Res: 1, 22, 464, 2, 84, 107, 515, 385, 55, 197.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

The F2s enjoyed an improved entry for their World qualifying round, including a brace of Scottish visitors in the shape of 647 Chris Burgoyne and 338 Lee Livingstone. The race action was very lively and many reckoned outshone the F1s, but it was a familiar face in the winner’s circle as 886 Chris Bradbury took the Final.

An early tangle among the red tops in heat one saw 744 Tom Smart spat out onto the centre as 520 Jason Clarke led away, while 968 Micky Brennan fired in 488 Liam Bentham as he began to charge through from the back. 571 Darren Clarke and 712 Darren Pearson crashed into Bentham to bring out the yellows, and on the restart 152 Mick Sworder and 24 Jon Palmer were the fastest movers with the former beginning to challenge Jason Clarke at the front. The returning 218 Rob Speak was spun by 286 Todd Jones as Sworder and Palmer moved to the front chased by Brennan. A magnificent battle between the three ensued with some huge hits flying in, Sworder putting the brakes on to dispel a Palmer attack with a couple of laps to go. Heading down to the final turn Palmer appeared to shove Sworder to the right as they headed for the turn side by side and both cars went into the plating with Brennan caught up as well to a huge cheer from the crowd. A disbelieving Jason Clarke dove down the inside of the chaos to go from fourth to first on the final turn, 154 Steve Green Jnr and 844 Darren Phillips his placemen. Palmer scraped round the fence and somehow crossed the line fifth despite losing two wheels in the process to end a quite stunning race.

Livingstone was spun by 23 Colin Johnston as heat two got underway as 513 Roy Slocombe led off, but 761 Richard Bowyer was making the most of his downgrading to yellow and was soon heading the pack. 541 Luke Phillips then tangled with 490 Paul Lowe to go into the wall as Bradbury got caught up with 270 Mark Gibbs after the latter had gone into the plating along with 521 Phil Trigg. As they tried to free themselves they almost took out 630 Justin Parker who did well to keep racing as the big guns closed on Bowyer but ran out of laps and the former Lightning Rod man took the win, 445 Nigel Green and 38 Dave Polley his placemen.

The yellow tops bunched early in a packed Consolation with 710 Brett Townsend spinning with a puncture as a result, while up front 166 Tony Cordiner led until the yellows came out after Livingstone lost a wheel following a four-car pile-up. 276 Murray Jones led the restart as the challenging 234 Darryl Edwards crashed into the spun Bentham who had got caught up with Johnston, another stoppage then ensuing after 313 Phil Williams tangled with Lowe elsewhere. Bradbury was eager to make up for his non-qualification at the first attempt and quickly cut into the lead on the restart as behind him Speak and Sworder commenced a thrilling battle for second with Sworder winning out. Speak was then shunted wide by Smart as 101 Kelvyn Whalley and Brennan battled past Sworder for second, but Bradbury was clear for the win.

A faster Final saw Slocombe hold the lead over the early laps until Bowyer took over, and with the latter having won from red top at the venue at the past he soon became the clear favourite. Unfortunately this time it was not to be as his car let him down handing Slocombe the lead back and he held on until half distance when Bradbury led the star grade train past him and went on for victory. Todd Jones chased all the way but couldn’t get close enough to challenge while Brennan took third after shaking off Polley.

Slocombe had shown impressive form all night and led off once again in the GN, looking as though he would score a top placing. Fastest man on track though was 445 Nigel Green who had been having a quiet night by his standards, but this time he was through the blue tops in a few laps and led into the second half of the race, going on for his almost customary NIR win ahead of the rapid 115 Mike Green and Palmer, Slocombe holding on for a very impressive fourth.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

2 Litre Hot Rods

Around 25 Spedeworth 2 Litre Hot Rods made their first journey to Northampton this season, the two-thirds format being employed. 108 Kevin Down held off the big guns to score his first win of the year in the Final.

Down led away from the clutch start in heat one as 6 Graham Fulker was the first retirement after contact with 8 Damon Wellman. 96 Kevin Randell was black flagged for contact on 306 William Reed as 565 Daniel Smith shook off the attentions of 30 Martin Codling to take Down for the lead with four to go, holding on for the win ahead of Down and Codling with 412 Mark Peck just failing to take third spot.

A much livelier heat two began with 38 Mark Constable losing a wheel for a stoppage and a full restart which was led by 151 Rob Ashman until another stoppage for the stranded 543 Tommy Miller. Down rounded Ashman to lead the restart with the latter retaliating with the bumper to retake the lead and soon a terrific seven-car scrap had developed at the front. Down and 87 Jason Busby moved to the front as Ashman became embroiled in a further scrap with Reed and 175 Richard Poulter only for the former leader to receive a black flag for contact. Busby moved round the outside of Down to take the lead as the battle continued with plenty of great side by side racing, silver top 60 Mark Paffey almost taking out Poulter and Randell scrapping with 56 Mark Freeman further back. Peck moved through the draft into second but couldn’t catch Busby who took the win, Reed holding off Down for third ahead of Paffey, Randell and Freeman.

Ashman led the third heat but this time his car let him down handing Poulter the advantage with another large battle forming behind him. Freeman and 566 Marc Crome spun on oil dropped by Ashman as the yellows came out, the restart seeing Poulter’s smart Tigra clear off in front to win ahead of Wellman with Paffey just failing to catch Busby for third.

With the pack so closely bunched at the start of the Final a pile-up was inevitable, contact between Smith and Poulter identified as the cause while six cars suffered damage. Down led the restart before another stoppage came when Busby tangled with 162 Paul Trimmer on the home straight to end the former’s good run. Down and Codling held station at the front with Wellman looking to challenge until his car let him down, while Fulker’s charge was ended by contact with Randell. Reed got past Codling who then spun away a good finish, the former closing on Down but couldn’t challenge the yellow top who took the win, 43 Paul Wright coming through for third.

Grand Prix Midgets

The prestigious annual Graham Hill Trophy drew a dozen Grand Prix Midgets to honour the former club chairman and F1 World Champion, with the prize going to 9 Phil Retchless in the Cheetah-Peugeot for the second year running.

2 Gary Grimsley took 24 Lee Hazeltine for the lead of heat one with 20 Steve Dawson pursuing only to spin out. As we have seen so often before the Pooley family were the quickest on track and 31 Jonathan Pooley came through from the back to win, 32 Daniel Pooley chasing him home and Grimsley third with Retchless fifth behind 59 Steve Young.

Young failed to get away in heat two due to clutch problems with the next attempt seeing Grimsley lead Hazeltine away and the former built a large lead with Retchless moving past Dawson into second. Retchless closed in on Grimsley and took the Scorpion for the lead just past half distance, going on to win from Jonathan and Daniel Pooley.

The 20-lap Trophy race was led by Grimsley and Dawson as Daniel Pooley spun and lost three places. Retchless was soon up into third place and with five laps to go moved around the outside of Grimsley just before the yellows came out after Hazeltine’s throttle stuck open and he piled into the turn three wall. On the restart Retchless held on to retain the trophy with the rapid Daniel Pooley recovering well and just failing to catch the Cheetah, Grimsley taking third.

Bangers

The usual crop of familiar faces turned out in the 18-strong field Incarace Bangers, and the main event saw a clean sweep for Team Ethers as 150 Stuart Mears led home his team mates.

293 Roy Williams led off in heat one but 644 Luke Etheridge had made a flying start and was into the lead from mid-grid by lap two as Williams was spun by 90 Joey Holmes. 290 Ryan Davies hit 164 Daniel Laight before putting away 104 Graham Crouch and firing 32 Mark Walker into the fence only to be taken out by Williams in turn. 781 Lee Rolton then rolled on the back straight but was in first gear and away instantly as Ryan Davies spun 165 Craig Sawbridge who was hit by 791 Shaun Howard. Etheridge led home Holmes with Mears third for a Team Ethers clean sweep.

292 Paul Davies led the second heat from Holmes as Mears was spun into the wall by 7 Tyrone Garrett. Holmes gained revenge on the latter as the recovered Mears had a look on the outside for the lead on the last lap but backmarker Rolton delayed him and Paul Davies took his first win of the season, Mears second ahead of Etheridge.

The Final began with 699 Stacey Hands spinning out Rolton as Paul Davies hooked around 318 Tim Rainbow’s Cavalier and 32 Podge did likewise to Garrett. Podge was then spun by Mears before taking another attack from Paul Davies, but Podge recovered to hook out the leading 129 Shane Davies allowing Mears to beat Etheridge in a drag race to the line with Holmes third.

Junior Hot Rods

The Spedeworth Junior Hot Rods made their first ever trip to the Midlands, the dozen drivers present finding the raceway similar to their regular venue of Aldershot. 65 Liam Morris came home in front in the main race.

Early contact between 67 Callum Peters and 104 Jay Sawyer in heat one saw the latter lose his rear bumper before Sawyer crashed into the spun 12 Reece Humphries for a stoppage. 330 Tyler Wilkin was behind Peters for the restart but as they entered the first turn side by side the two cars locked wheels and plunged heavily into the wall, a lengthy delay ensuing while Peters was cut from his car although fortunately no serious injury resulted. The restart saw 35 Mitchell Souter up front and he went on to win from 182 Lee Jordan and points leader 3 Scott Russell.

Morris rounded Sawyer early on to lead heat two as further back lone girl racer 271 Lacey-May Joyce nearly tangled with 66 Jack Barwick. Joyce recovered to chase Wilkin’s repaired car as he moved past Morris for the lead, the pair eventually finishing first and second with Morris slipping back to fifth behind Jordan and Russell.

Sawyer led the first few laps of the Final until Morris went down the inside of him and this time made no mistake as he went on to victory in a fairly quiet race. Wilkin and Jordan were just behind Morris at the flag.

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars
Heat 1 16 2 212 97 462 259 191 91 464 401
Heat 2 85 322 464 515 16 141 2 212 97 462
Final 191 2 85 515 259 322 459 37 212 91
GN 2 16 515 212 85 37 459 462 393 372

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
Heat 1 76 80 441 152 761 522 710 445 24 h29
Heat 2 38 255 152 677 522 154 326 780 742 541
Heat 3 38 154 761 15 286 742 779 441 255 710
Final 441 445 H129 152 761 15 710 779 522 76
GN 445 H129 152 154 522 513 76 779 741 80

Please note that 38 and 255 were both DQ from the Final after failing Post Race Weight Check
Please note that 38 and 255 were both DQ from the GN after failing Post Race Weight Check

Report by Dave Goddard

The first round of the brand new I Factor series for a selection of budget formulas took place at Birmingham on April 3rd, and despite damp and slippery conditions all five classes present put on a fine show of racing.

Modstox

The Modstox made their first trip to Birmingham for a couple of seasons, and despite a slightly disappointing field of 11 cars and two of those failing to race, the drivers did their best to put on a show with gold top 56 Neil Mack taking a heat and Final double.

5 Richard Edwards slowed up at the start of heat one allowing welcome returnee 45 Brandon Marlow to pull away in the lead as 95 Nathan Picken enjoyed the first of three spins. Mack was quickly on a charge from the back and just avoided Picken as he spun for a second time, while 501 Martin Baker closed in as Marlow lapped the backmarkers. Baker then slid wide allowing Mack into second and he caught Marlow with four laps to go and went on for the win, Marlow leading home Baker for second.

Marlow led away in heat two as Edwards spun, while Mack was on the move from the back and made up three places in the first couple of laps. 324 Justin Butler was next to spin as Marlow pulled away at the front, lapping 256 Neil Cooper whose gamble of using slick tyres was not paying off. Picken spun once again as Marlow took a flag to flag win to a huge cheer from his family on the home straight, Mack taking second and Baker third.

24 Darren Wood lined up for his first race in the Final but failed to start as did Butler, and the remaining eight cars set off with Marlow at the front once again. Edwards chased him early on until Mack took him, and he soon caught Marlow and was down the inside on the back straight and into the lead. Marlow stayed with him but it was Mack who took the win, Edwards coming home third.

Slick Cars

Slick Cars was something of a misnomer on the night as the conditions prevented the use of slick tyres, but a good mix of cars were present including nine V6 Super Rods, a couple of National Hot Rod-spec machines and a few Buxton hot rods although 2 Ken Marriott crashed out in practice. It was an ex-Marriott car that took the Final in the hands of 3 Steve Dunstan.

92 Dave Roberts shot off into a lead he was not to lose in heat one as 31 Steve Gooding spun his Civic into retirement without crossing the start line. 56 Lee Griffiths was heading the faster hot rods and was soon into second with Dunstan behind him as 158 Peter Grimwood’s Mondeo retired with a tyre fouling the wheel arch. Heading into the last lap Griffiths chopped across the nose of Dunstan who spun around but kept third place as Roberts celebrated his return to racing with a flag to flag win. Griffiths came home second but was docked two places for his move on Dunstan handing the latter second and 57 Dave Willis third.

After a false start to heat two it was 11 Shaun Jacklin who led the second heat away from Super Rod legend 67 Chas Farrer. Further back Grimwood’s engine blew to pieces in spectacular fashion with the City turn disappearing in a smokescreen to bring out the yellow flags to check for debris and fluid dropped by the smoking Mondeo. Jacklin led the restart as Griffiths cut impressively through the field from the back, but the Corsa pilot ran out of laps to catch Jacklin who took the win despite being baulked momentarily by 50 Geoff Dixon on the last lap with Roberts third.

52 Mark Wellington pulled up at the start of the Final for a red flag, with Jacklin heading Roberts on the restart but the hot rods made their way through much more quickly on the slightly drier track and Dunstan and Griffiths were soon up among the V6s. Dunstan dived past three cars on successive laps at turn three before doing likewise to Jacklin a couple of laps later to take the lead followed by Griffiths. They went on to finish first and second with 24 Roger Wright beating Jacklin for third, the latter consoled by taking the award for top Super Rod courtesy of sponsors John R Ford and Sons.

Incarods

A good field of around 18 Incarods included Ministox graduate 204 Dan Phillips in the ex-Jordan Hazel Peugeot, while 202 RJ Price made his racing debut and 99 Matthew Smith and 44 Nathan Etheridge made welcome returns to the formula. 9 Craig Wright debuted the ex-Lee Rudge Citroen and took it to a heat and Final double.

Phillips led the first lap of heat one until running wide and Price took over, while further back 312 Richard Jackson spun and was tagged by 3 Dan Jones. Wright passed Price for the lead as a big battle developed behind them, 200 Jordan Hazel carving through into third. 13 Phil Bradley lost his exhaust and retired with Phillips also pulling off, while Hazel got past running mate Price for second but couldn’t catch Wright who took the win.

The second heat followed a similar pattern in the early laps with Price taking Phillips for the lead, but Etheridge was the fastest mover and rapidly came through to lead. 344 Holly Etheridge spun further back as her brother Nathan opened up a quarter of a lap lead and went on to win from the fast-moving Smith and Hazel.

The clutch start Final saw Wright make a super start to take Phillips for the lead while Hazel stalled but was soon making up ground. Further back 203 Malcolm Phillips tangled with Jackson as former Banger star 4 Chris Cash spun in a midfield shuffle from which Holly Etheridge emerged into second behind the flying Wright. Hazel had recovered well and was battling with the Etheridges and Smith for second as 72 Tom Carr’s gearbox gave up the ghost and he stopped at turn one and was lucky not to be collected by the pack. Wright cruised to his second win ahead of Nathan Etheridge and Smith who was disqualified for a technical infringement handing Hazel third place.

Hot Fords

As predicted the Hot Ford field included several newcomers among the 25-car entry, the most notable being ex-F2 Stock car driver 818 Sam Willett in an ex-Scott Warner Fiesta. 761 Alan West’s acquisition of the ex-Lee Clark car served him well as he led home all three races, but he was docked places in the Final handing newcomer 31 Mike Woodall the win.

79 Ryan Hall led off in heat one until spinning allowing Woodall to take over chased by West and they broke clear. A huge dice began in the midfield with 284 Kenny Nicklin and 134 Dave Latham at the centre of it while 88 Peter Curtis spun on turn four. The yellow flags then flew after 434 Jason Lee lost his exhaust with 180 Paul Lockett spinning as the caution came out. On the restart Woodall led a couple of laps until he ran wide allowing West through and he went on for a win with red top 22 Richard Adams stealing second from Woodall on the line in a close finish.

Hall led the second heat away from Woodall as Curtis tangled with 283 Paul Cotton and spun into the home straight wall to end his race. 444 Mark Harvey then clipped the back of 63 Phil Nicholls who spun into the infield banking and was lucky not to roll over as he flew into the air in a spectacular crash, the yellows coming out to check on Nicholls who was fortunately only shaken. West was straight around the outside of Hall into the lead on the restart and went on to make it a double ahead of Adams following another late charge, Hall taking third.

Woodall led the early laps of the Final as 584 Fred Miller was spun out of second allowing West through to chase Woodall. 351 Rob Hotchkiss then fired 115 Tom Umney into the wall at turn three and was black flagged for his trouble as up front Woodall was delayed briefly lapping Miller and West was able to move around the outside into the lead. West went on to complete his hat-trick on the road but was docked to third place for contact on Miller in the early laps handing an elated Woodall the victory and Nicklin second.

MASCAR

The second meeting at Incarace in 2010 for the MASCARs attracted 14 cars, and once again it was a former Legends driver who came out on top with 99 Steve Dakin taking the Final.

MASCAR prime mover 22 Steve Stanford led the first heat away chased by his wife 11 Juli Stanford with Dakin using the low groove to try and move through. 01 Richard Wilkes joined the battle as Dakin moved up onto the outside of the Stanfords but then spun and delayed Steve allowing Juli to take over. Steve Stanford then also went around allowing Juli to pull clear and she went on to win ahead of Wilkes and 69 Simon Johnson.

75 Russ Best was a spinner as heat one began as Dakin chased Steve Stanford for the lead, he and Wilkes going either side of him a lap later to take up the running. Wilkes tried the outside line and eventually took over, heading home Dakin for the win with Juli Stanford passing her husband on the last lap for third.
A dozen cars lined up for the Final which was led off by 16 Gill Hughes until Dakin came through on the inside on lap three. Johnson tangled with 49 Dean Nixon but both were able to continue for a few more laps only for Nixon to spin again. Steve Stanford chased Dakin until the 22 car slowed and retired allowing Juli Stanford to tail the leader, but Dakin pulled away to win with Wilkes third.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars
H1 SWF 886 538 968 154 24 441 522 101 511 15
Heat 2 445 359 761 20 909 608 135 137 677 99
Cons 76 115 823 255 375 297 836 326 286 936
Final 886 522 154 968 15 511 538 326 101 76
GN 445 76 101 886 154 522 15 270 326 286

Rebels
Heat 1 395 183 361 25 53 313 2 17 67 77
Heat 2 313 2 53 67 17 216 25 1 361 5
Final 53 17 2 25 67 361 1 269 72 170
GN 25 67 361 170 1 53 81 8 5 395

Heritage F1
Heat 1 59 417 65 495 7 75 309 55 389 nof
Heat 2 7 59 495 65 75 55 389 nof
Final 7 495 75 55 229 389 384 nof

Heritage F2
Heat 1 264 676 242 205 551 198 869 763 728 731
Heat 2 505 198 676 763 551 869 731 59 728 886
Final 676 505 198 763 869 728 551 731 59 800

Report by Dave Goddard

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

The turnouts are creeping up slowly all the time in the BriSCA F2 Stock Cars, but at Birmingham on March 27^th one man dominated them all – 886 Chris Bradbury.  The British Champion looked unstoppable as he took both the March Speedweeks title and the meeting Final.

The title race began the programme with 25 of the qualifiers lining up in points order within their grades and it was 441 Micky Branston who led them off as 836 Dave Pannett took out 217 Ken Kelly on the first turn.  Bradbury and 968 Micky Brennan were in the top six as early as the third lap but Branston was continuing the good form he had shown the previous week as he set about building a lead.  270 Mark Gibbs was a spinner as 538 Chevy Mills came through for second but Bradbury was soon through and it wasn’t long before he caught Branston and cleared off in front.  Mills and Brennan came through for second and third before 700 Adam Rubery spun on the home straight and 297 Paul Bailey was unable to avoid smashing head-on into him with Kelly also crashing in for a stoppage.  Bradbury simply picked up where he had left off on the restart as 24 Jon Palmer briefly attacked Brennan for third but the gold top held him off.  Bradbury meantime took a totally dominant win reminiscent of his Central League triumph last November, while Mills took second and Brennan third.

The second heat for the non-qualifiers began with 137 Russ Chadwick spinning and taking a head-on from 99 Simon Young as 610 Jonathan Cleary led off.  445 Nigel Green was making his maiden appearance in his new car and was soon among the leaders as Young spun with 922 Graham Legge then tangling with 755 Nigel Partridge for a caution.  Cleary led the restart until Green cut through to the front and was well clear by half distance as Saloon Stock car convert 286 Todd Jones marked his first F2 race by tangling with 292 Craig Taylor.  424 Richard Ball dropped out of second and his night was over  as Green raced to his almost customary Birmingham victory ahead of 359 Gary Wrench and 761 Richard Bowyer.

326 Johnny Hall led the consolation as Gibbs and Pannett began a great battle among the blue graders further back until the former retired.  76 Chris Rowe took over in front on the fifth lap and the yellow top held on for victory to earn reward for another long trip from Plymouth.  115 Mike Green was second and 823 Sam Wagner stole third from Hall on the final turn.

936 Wayne Armstrong got away best in the Final as 255 Will Cobley and 608 Dan Hemming tangled sparking a pile-up in which Wagner lost a wheel for a stoppage.  677 Chris Roots came to a halt on the home straight to delay the restart briefly but when things resumed 99 Simon Young led with Bradbury already up to fourth.  The new Speedweeks champion was soon past 24 Jon Palmer and Young into the lead as he continued to display his phenomenal pace while Nigel Green pulled off with a puncture.  Brennan and Palmer were enjoying a brilliant battle which continued until the latter slowed up with a flat tyre allowing 101 Kelvyn Whalley into second until Brennan fought back.  He was a quarter of a lap behind Bradbury, however, and the latter made it three Birmingham Final wins in as many weeks ahead of Brennan and 522 Chris Mikulla as the race ended with a battle of the bumpers between Pannett and Mike Green.

Cleary and Armstrong spun at the first turn of the National with the yellows coming out for the latter’s stranded car, Rowe spinning as he tried to attack Hall for the lead as the flags flew.  On the restart Rowe survived an attack from Young to take the lead with the latter then taken round by 511 Martyn Coles handing Whalley second.  Coles then tangled with Brennan and Young which left Rowe out on his own but Nigel Green was right on the pace once again and took up the lead.  Bradbury was into the top five before half distance as his amazing night continued but Nigel Green’s pace was too much and he took the win, Bradbury making it into fourth behind Rowe and Whalley.

BriSCA Heritage Stock Cars

BriSCA Heritage’s first trip to Incarace in 2010 drew a good field of a dozen F1s and 15 F2s of all shapes and sizes, the most notable entry in the F1s being 384 Paul Kaye who debuted the John Jebson “Untouchable” tribute car while 229 Jon Kaye was in the John Hillam “Spirit of ‘54” car.  The F2s produced a good variety with 800 Kelvin Crabtree showcasing a very smart Roy Goodman replica.

The opening heat for the F1s was delayed briefly as 374 Rob Lane’s ex-Brian Speight car was pushed off the grid as his engine problem from practice returned.  417 Sean Bodycote’s ex-Mike James machine led until the start of the last lap when 59 Barrie Shepherd closed in, and got up alongside Bodycote on the final turn only to be confronted with the spun 337 Steve Plant.  The leading pair just avoided the ex-Steve Bates car and Shepherd took the win just ahead of Bodycote with 65 John Stirk’s famous six-wheeler third.

Bodycote failed to start the second heat which was led by 55 Tom Drabble until he slowed handing 495 Neil Holcroft’s ex-John Cayzer car the advantage.  Jon Kaye then spun out before 309 Steve Fiddler slid wide exiting turn four and his ex-Jayne Bean car hit the wall for a stoppage.  While his car was removed there were amusing scenes on the infield as F2 heat winner 505 Mick Whittle thought the race was over and calmly drove his car forward and climbed out for the joint trophy presentation, only to be informed that the F1 heat was not yet completed!  Holcroft led the restart until 7 Garry Tressler found a gap on the inside and went on for the win in the Darkie Wright replica while behind him a fantastic finish saw Shepherd move from fourth to second on the last bend, just beating Holcroft and Stirk home.

The “Untouchable” made its only appearance of the night in the Final which was led off by Jon Kaye as Stirk bounced off the back straight fence under pressure from Tressler and cannoned into Shepherd who was lucky not to get launched up the infield banking.  Drabble took over the lead but Tressler was closing fast and soon went inside Drabble’s Finnikin car to take up the running at half distance and went on for his double ahead of the closing Holcroft and 75 Ron Harney.

The first F2 heat was led by 242 Pete Blomfield until 264 Pete Welland took over with 676 Steve Bateman’s new car chasing.  505 Mick Whittle lunged at 551 Brian Jones but ran very wide and dropped back as a result as Welland held off Bateman on the final turn to win with Blomfield just beating 205 Paul Rookyard for third.

59 Nigel Finnigan was out for the first time in heat two and he led off as Whittle began to carve his way through from the back rapidly.  Blomfield took over in front until the quicker runners caught him and a clash of wheels saw the 242 car fall over onto its side for a caution.  Blomfield exited OK and 198 Alan Nicholson led the restart until Whittle breezed by for the win ahead of Nicholson and Steve Bateman who just pipped 763 Andy Bateman on the line.

261 Jason Lamburn’s car died on the grid of the Final which was led by Steve Bateman as Whittle made a flying start and was in the top five after just a couple of laps.  Finnigan bounced off the fence as Steve Bateman and Nicholson broke clear and almost tangled with three laps to go allowing Whittle to catch them.  The latter tried an attack on Nicholson but this allowed Steve Bateman to escape to win with Whittle second ahead of Nicholson and Andy Bateman. 

Rebels

The Rebels field included an encouraging raft of new cars and drivers in its ranks, but it was a familiar face on top in the Final as gold top 53 Graham Charlesworth took the glory.

395 Tom Sutton shot off into the lead of heat one as 356 Alana Gilbert got caught up with 34 Peter Kettle as the yellows reached the first turn.  170 Craig Thompson hooked onto the back of 999 Neil Clayton who spun out as did newcomer 65 Tim Neat and 205 Ged Morris who began what would prove a luckless night.  361 Steve Shaw was on the move from blue top and made a great move between 313 Mark Royal and 77 Dave Yapp to take third while Morgan spun further back, but Sutton kept his nose clean out in front for a flag to flag victory with new man 183 Ben Thatcher holding off Shaw for second as 216 Matthew Hyde spun on the last bend.

Thatcher just avoided the spinning Neat to take the lead of heat two as 81 Lyndon Rushby failed to start, while 2 Tony McCarthy and 67 Andy Passey were the main battlers in the midfield.  The top names seemed content to scrap among themselves further back as Thompson closed in on Thatcher and fired him out wide, but drifted out himself allowing Hyde into the lead until Royal took over with some good use of the bumper.  Royal dealt with the backmarkers in fine fashion to take the win with McCarthy coming through in the closing laps for second and Charlesworth taking Passey for third on the final turn.

The clutch start Final saw Royal get away best as Passey rode up over the side of Sutton before a big sort-out into turn three saw McCarthy emerge in front.  Rushby hit the inner banking as Charlesworth took McCarthy on the second lap for the lead with several more cars spinning further back in a frantic start before things settled down.  5 Stuart Mackinnon hit the stranded Clayton as 86 Chris Stearn spun, while McCarthy kept up his pursuit of Charlesworth at the front with former gold top 17 Lee Cooke also closing in.  The World Champion held off McCarthy’s attacks to take the flag while Cooke got by McCarthy for second on the last turn with Royal undoing his good work with a last lap spin.

Thatcher led off in the Grand National but spun and took a head-on from Royal with Gilbert and Rushby also crashing in for a stoppage.  Neat was up front for the restart until spinning handing Thompson the lead before Neat’s front suspension collapsed leaving him stranded on the racing line for more yellow flags.  25 Anthony Masters was on Thompson’s tail for the restart and it wasn’t long before he moved into the lead as further back McCarthy attacked Cooke but got it all wrong and both cars piled into the wall to end their race at half distance.  Masters took the win while Thompson got hooked on Shaw as they came into the final turn but the former recovered to bumper Charlesworth wide and through it all came Passey for second with Shaw recovering for third.

Report by Dave Goddard

Bangers

Hednesford Hills Raceway threw open its doors to the 2010 season on a cold but dry March 21st, with the Bangers assembling a great entry of around 30 cars including a couple of Trent visitors plus welcome returnee 167 Paul Motherwell. Team Ethers were totally dominant in the Final and filled the first four places, 644 Luke Etheridge leading them home.

No fewer than six members of the Davies family from Telford were present, and it was one of them, defending points champion 290 Ryan Davies, who set off into a lead he would not lose in heat one. 292 Paul Davies attacked 71 Richard Proctor as 715 Wayne Carless spun and took a head-on from 165 Craig Sawbridge with 100 Royston Davies and Motherwell also caught up. 90 Joey Holmes hit second placed 905 Shane Johnson as 411 Wesley Blakemore spun 132 Chris Cullum into the stranded 67 Alan Smith and 150 Stuart Mears went in on 134 Carl Timmins only to be spun into the inner wall by 999 Scott Hill. Etheridge went in on 100 Royston Davies as 4 John Easthope tangled with Sawbridge whose team mate Proctor was spun and collected head-on by 448 Luke Genders. Ryan Davies sped to a flag to flag win ahead of Etheridge and Holmes.

531 Toby Tropper led a much livelier second heat away as Holmes put away 41 Jon Bartlett who was collected by Carless and 274 Simon Davies for a stoppage with 299 Dale Locker blowing up 138 Anthony Timmins as the red flags flew. Bartlett was OK and the second attempt saw 196 Wayne Davies lead away until Johnson took over, while Hill took Smith round before spinning Sawbridge into Etheridge. 296 Tom Jennings took up the lead as Wayne Davies crashed into Etheridge and Johnson crashed into Carless’s empty car. 100 Royston Davies assaulted Cullum as a brief pile-up formed on turn three, before Jennings pulled up allowing Hill to take up the running. Etheridge recovered to hook out Sawbridge and Proctor was taken round by 292 Paul Davies as Hill took a full contact win, Ryan Davies taking second from the back of the grid ahead of Motherwell.

Locker led the early laps of the Final until Holmes came through with Etheridge running with him as Team Ethers showed their speed once again. Cullum piled into the spun Royston Davies as Genders dished out a big hit to Sawbridge who somehow managed to continue before the race was halted due to debris on the track. The race resumed with Etheridge tracking and passing Holmes for the lead as Easthope collected Genders’ empty car and Blakemore spun into the infield banking. With Team Ethers dominating the Scrapyard Screamers amused themselves by vaulting the back straight ramp as Etheridge took the win ahead of Holmes, Ryan Davies and Mears.

Stock Rods

Just shy of 30 Stock Rods were present including a quartet of Scots and several from Spedeworth plus Ministox graduate 217 Tim Bailey on his debut in a brand new Saxo. A slightly destructive day of attrition ended with 900 Dave Patterson taking a well-deserved Final victory, making up for his narrow defeat at Birmingham two weeks previously.

892 Richard Harrison pulled off on the rolling lap of heat one as Bailey led the field away, while 67 Kerr Paterson hooked up with 39 Danny Hunn to go into the wall at turn one for a caution. Patterson’s day also did not get off to the best of starts when his engine failed just as the yellow flags flew, and there were more problems on the restart as a concertina in the pack saw the yellows held and 816 Lee Baker and 924 Stuart Wright suffer damage. When things resumed with Bailey leading until he ran wide allowing 946 Dave Taylor to briefly take over until 982 James Baker made a great move down the inside of both white tops in one move to take it up. Taylor then slowed with mechanical problems and tagged Bailey as he did so sending the Saxo into the wall and putting both out. This handed James Baker a clear lead over the rapid Wright but the latter’s radiator had been damaged in the earlier pile-up and he was soon out, while a cracking battle developed in the midfield which came to a head when 168 Andy Sturt tagged 135 Clinton Groom sending him spinning into the inner wall for a second stoppage. Groom was unhurt and with Sturt also out and several others retiring for mechanical reasons there were just nine cars left for the restart. 669 Eddy Trofer was on James Baker’s tail for the restart and put the young gun under severe pressure but the leader cannily forced the Lincolnshire man to use the wider line and just kept his advantage to the flag. 823 Paul Williams was third and with two other cars packing up in the closing laps, only seven went the distance.

Taylor led the second heat away until running wide allowing Patterson to take over, while Paterson’s repairs had not been sufficient following his heat one crash and he retired on the opening lap. 811 Mark Nason spun as another huge battle developed in the midfield with 612 Leon Stewart almost clipping the wall as 755 Mark Barber cut deftly through them all to take third before catching Williams for second followed by Trofer. 83 Michael Bethune tangled with fellow Scot 227 Alisdair Roger, while Patterson was clear at half distance but Barber hunted him down and soon took up the running, and the Hednesford track specialist went on for victory. Trofer took second ahead of 829 Stuart Fox who made up for his retirement in heat one.

The clutch start Final began with James Baker piling into the tyres on the home straight after tangling with Wright as Bailey led the early laps, while Trofer clipped the slowing 856 Paul Thomas to briefly launch onto two wheels, Thomas then collected by Fox with both crashing into the inner wall for a stoppage. Bailey pulled off during the caution handing 514 Gavin Pike the lead until Patterson found a gap and he was rapidly through followed by Williams. Pike then slowed and retired handing Trofer third with the latter then almost spun by 128 Dave Gale handing Sturt the place. With several cars retiring due to damage and overheating numbers were soon thin on the ground once again as the top three circulated together, Barber initially staying with them until he hit trouble and began to slow and fall away. Patterson held on to take the win with Sturt leading home Trofer, who recovered well from his earlier setbacks, while Barber kept going for fourth with only nine going the distance.

MASCAR

A great field of 19 MASCARs arrived to kick off their season although a couple failed to see action. The entry included ex-Banger man 23 Wayne Galloway among several debutants, plus former Street Stox superstar 50 Derek Roseblade on a surprise return to racing, but it was former Legends drivers 99 Steve Dakin and 1 Richard Wilkes who dominated proceedings, the latter taking the Final.

Wilkes’s day did not get off to a good start as he pulled off on the rolling lap of heat one which was led away by 31 Pete Gould as 75 Russ Best was the first to find the fence on turn one. Dakin used the high groove well in the opening laps and was soon up into the lead as Roseblade spun and 24 Lawrence Bath pulled up with overheating trouble. Dakin was pulling away all the time as 28 Nathan Bath took Gould for second with the latter spinning on a patch of oil which also caught out 17 Paul Patrick and 16 Gill Hughes on the last lap. Dakin won by a clear margin ahead of Nathan Bath and 11 Juli Stanford who also spun on the oil after the flag.

Gould led heat two away until running wide allowing Nathan Bath to take over with Dakin and Wilkes soon all over him. 69 Simon Johnson spun after contact with Roseblade as Wilkes took over at the front followed by Dakin, while 48 Ian Kerry spun on oil dropped by Best’s car with the caution coming out as a result. After a couple of warm-up laps to lay the dust covering the oil Wilkes led away on the restart with 22 Steve Stanford slowing and his day was over with engine trouble. Wilkes pulled away to take the win and make up for the disappointment of heat one, Dakin and Bath his placemen.

After a brief delay due to problems for Gould the Final got underway with Dakin leading before Patrick spun and was collected by Nathan Bath for a caution. On the restart Dakin and Wilkes pulled away at the front once more until another stoppage when Johnson spun into the back straight fence. Once things got going again Wilkes rounded Dakin for the lead as 49 Dean Nixon spun, while Gould and third placed Hughes retired allowing the recovered Nathan Bath to finish third behind the victorious Wilkes and Dakin.

Report by Dave Goddard

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

The third qualifying round of the 2010 March Speedweeks series for the F2s saw around 40 cars in attendance on a wet March 20th, including the regular crop of West Country visitors plus 7 Gordon Moodie from Scotland. 538 Chevy Mills made his first start from blue top but his good run of form came to an end, and 886 Chris Bradbury dominated proceedings to take his second Final is as many weeks.

761 Richard Bowyer and 101 Kelvyn Whalley were first to spin in heat one as 255 Will Cobley’s attempt to hit the front saw him collect 137 Russ Chadwick with 507 Craig McInerney spinning in avoidance. 610 Jonathan Cleary led the early going as Mills pulled off with steering damage on the second lap, almost taking 152 Mick Sworder with him as he pulled to the centre. Moodie was in determined mode and 135 Mike Lees was his first victim, and he soon cut through to challenge 571 Darren Clarke for the lead. At half distance 217 Ken Kelly spun and as he hit the throttle to rejoin he smashed into 60 Brent Whitehead for a stoppage. Clarke ran wide on the restart and Moodie went up the inside but they touched and both bounced off the back straight wall putting Clarke out of the race. This also allowed Bradbury to challenge Moodie and a terrific battle ensued with some fine hits going in, with 154 Steve Green Jnr also joining the fight in the closing laps. Bradbury got clear to take the win, while Sworder lunged at Green Jnr on the last turn to allow Moodie to take second, Green riding out the hit to beat Sworder to the line for third.

After a false start with a trio of cars spinning, 326 Johnny Hall led the second heat away until 441 Micky Branston took over and began building a big lead. Bowyer launched a big hit on 894 Sam Davison as 606 Andrew Palmer impressed with plenty of bumperwork in the pack but it was once again Moodie and Bradbury who were the fastest movers. The battle between the two big names was quickly renewed with Moodie launching a big attack only to slide out wide on his own and lose ground. Bowyer tangled with 779 Cameron Pugh and 702 Allan Cooper as Bradbury and Moodie’s battle allowed Branston to escape for the win, Bradbury taking second with Moodie fighting back for third.

Branston’s luck ran out in heat three as he hit the wall on the opening lap as Hall took Cleary for the early lead. 608 Dan Hemming spun after bouncing off 511 Martyn Coles as Mills hit trouble again, tangling with 779 Cameron Pugh on the back straight with the yellow flags flying to retrieve the latter’s car from the racing line. The star names seemed content to battle amongst themselves on the restart with the exception of Green Jnr who caught and passed Hall for the lead with 38 Dave Polley joining him at the front a few laps later. 968 Micky Brennan slammed 24 Jon Palmer into 823 Sam Wagner as Polley bumpered Green Jnr aside for the lead with four laps to run and went on for his first Wheels success of the year, Green Jnr second ahead of Coles.

Cooper and Jon Palmer were first to spin in the Final with 15 Steve Green also getting caught up, the latter’s son 115 Mike Green then wiping Davison all over the Armco as 186 George Turiccki got rid of 375 Steve Murray. Hemming was the early leader before the caution flags flew after 741 Luke Branston ended up on 301 Charlie Whitfield’s bonnet. Just as they did Coles and Moodie were among those caught in a melee on turn four and they dropped to the back for the restart which began with Mike Green spinning before Moodie also went around thanks to suspension damage which ended his race early. Bradbury was up to second by around lap five and soon took Micky Branston for the lead with some stunning pace as Whalley was next to spin and Sworder enjoyed a good battle with Polley and the impressive Murray for the minor placings. For the second week in a row no-one was able to live with Bradbury’s pace and he took his second Final win of the season, Micky Branston shading Wagner by a few thousandths of a second for the runner up place.

Hall shot off into the lead of the National as Wagner and Whitfield hooked together for two laps with the yellow top eventually spinning, while Mike Green was next to go round with Hall lucky to avoid him and keep his lead which he held past half distance. The repaired Clarke tangled with 836 Dave Pannett as Bradbury’s run through the midfield from the handicap was ended by Sworder who continued to land big hits on Moodie and 78 Henry King. It looked as though Hall was going to hang on but a late charge by Whitehead saw him move the white top out wide only to slide out himself allowing Green Jnr to take over for the win, Whitehead holding off Hall and Moodie for second.

UK Oval Track Legends

A great entry of around 35 Legends appeared to kick off their season, with the field including a whole raft of new cars and drivers, the most notable being long circuit convert 32 Derek Linley and welcome returnees 76 Darren Smith and 151 Chris Pye. It was emerging star 465 Philip Moore who put in a fine performance to take the City Trophy final.

15 Paul Bullock’s stunning new car shot off into a lead it would not lose in heat one chased by 23 Karl Monnery and the fast starting 48 Danny Hughes. 100 Russell Bull’s night lasted just two laps before mechanical problems put him out of the meeting, while Bullock was setting an amazing pace in the wet and pulled out a massive lead. Hughes slid wide allowing 60 Simon Rourke up to third while 6 Ian Hales was eager to make a quick start to his National Points defence and was soon into the top places. They had no answer to Bullock however and the green machine won by almost three-quarters of a lap ahead of Hales, while Monnery was a late retirement handing Rourke third.

A wetter second heat was led by Hughes until Smith moved through showing his liking for wet conditions. Moore was the first to spin as Smith built up his lead, while Hughes produced a good move around the outside of 75 Harry Nicklin to take third. Smith was leading Rourke by the length of a straight by half distance but it then all came apart as the leader clipped backmarker 555 Richard Pullen sending both spinning and bringing out the caution. Rourke slowed on the restart with engine trouble and 45 Andy Embery went around Hughes to take up the lead and he went on for victory ahead of Hughes and 52 Martin Lamb, while the unlucky Smith came through from the back to take seventh.

Start marshal Carl Evans quite literally dropped the green flag to begin heat three, which was led by Smith who was eager to make up for his disappointment in heat three. Hales didn’t get off to a good start as he tangled with Pullen but was straight into his recovery drive, while Bullock’s hopes of a double disappeared as his car let him down. 266 Lee Holden and 29 Kev Kettlewell spun in the midfield as Smith led all the way for a fine victory with Moore coming through for second and Monnery an excellent third, Hales making it back up to fourth.

The 30-lap City Trophy Final was led away by Smith as 5 Branson Poyner was first to retire, and despite the conditions several scraps developed all the way down the field. 105 Kev Hughes looked much quicker than he had in the heats and passed Bullock for second until Moore came through, before bad luck returned for Smith as gremlins set in at half distance. Moore was the main beneficiary as he took up the lead with Bullock the next to drop out, and eventually Smith would also retire. The race passed surprisingly without a single spinner on the slippery surface as Moore stayed well clear of Kev Hughes all the way and lapped everyone up to sixth place for the second Final win of his Legends career, Hughes taking second ahead of Embery who went top of the points after a fine season opener.

Classic Hot Rods

A slightly disappointing field of ten Classic Hot Rods arrived to open their season, with some cars not yet ready and others staying away after confusion over engine regulations. The entry included newcomer 18 Chris Selleck, 8 Daz Owen in his smart Paul Grimer replica Escort, while his regular mount was driven by 10 Paul Bowering. 24 Roger Wright and 32 Glen Moore were the dominant names, the former taking a heat and Final double.

Moore led them away in a slippery heat one but Wright was quickly onto the outside line and from mid-grid he was soon second followed by 153 Sam Mitchell. The rest of the midfield stayed close as Wright closed on Moore in the closing laps and a good scrap for the lead ensued with Wright pulling ahead on the last lap for the win, Mitchell holding on for third just ahead of 20 Dave Fry.

Wright was up to second much more quickly in heat two and he set about chasing the leading Moore down once again, but Moore had got away well and remained the length of a straight clear in the first half of the race. Mitchell was battling it out with 111 Ivan Russell for third as 516 Simon Cooper went sliding onto the centre to end his race, while Owen was fighting 22 Rob Montagner’s Chevette in the midfield. Wright caught Moore with three laps to go but the latter just held on at the line for victory with Mitchell taking third.

Moore got away best in the Final and built up another big lead as Montagner spun into retirement with Fry dropping out a few laps later. Selleck had enjoyed a good debut and now battled side by side with Owen as Wright gradually closed in on Moore and finally took over when the leader ran wide with three laps to go. Wright completed his double with Moore completing his best set of results so far in second and Mitchell completing a hat trick of thirds.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

National Hot Rods

Northampton International Raceway kicked off its season on a cold and breezy March 14th, and it was great to see over 30 National Hot Rods present for the ninth round of the 2010 World Series England presented by JRE Race Engineering. The entry included regular Irish visitor 74 James O’Shea, 33 Dan Brosnan who swapped his Classic Hot Rod Escort for a Peugeot 206cc, Stock Rod graduate 162 Carl Waller-Barratt and former 2 Litre Hot Rod man 503 Chris Harvey, while on the car front several of the new shape Vauxhall Tigras made their bow. It was an older shape Tigra that dominated proceedings, however, as 219 Russell Wilcox led every lap he contested en route to a faultless hat-trick.

Wilcox shot off into the lead from the front row in heat one as 780 Mike Loosemore was the first to retire, while 67 Dave Brooks suffered the first of several spins having already rotated once in practice. The battle was soon joined among the leading pursuers allowing Wilcox to escape ahead of 100 Dickie Burtenshaw who was taken by 130 Andy Lane but a gearbox problem forced the latter to retire. Brooks spun once again as Wilcox won by a street ahead of 491 Colin Smith’s BMW and 6 John Holtby in his Mercedes.

It was Wilcox straight into the lead once again in heat two as the midfield bunched early with Smith earning a black cross for contact. 333 Lee Wood led the pursuers in his dayglo-liveried Peugeot with 85 Stuart Carter’s new Mercedes showing good pace as he battled 155 Lee Pepper as O’Shea’s day ended early with mechanical problems. 116 Steve Burrows ran behind Wood early on but slowed with engine trouble as Brosnan marked his debut with a spin and gold top 41 Carl Boardley began to make his move into the top five. 271 Neil Stimson was on top at the final meeting at Northampton in 2009 but he was a spinner in this heat as Smith passed Wood on the outside for second but couldn’t catch Wilcox who made it a double with ease. Smith was docked two places for the early contact handing Boardley second just ahead of 734 Ralph Sanders.

27 Mike Godfrey led the third heat in his new Tigra but 305 James Jamieson had got away very rapidly and was soon attacking 444 Sammy Shuddall and Pepper to break into the top five. The latter dropped back with handling problems before the leading Godfrey spun exiting turn two handing Burrows the lead as elsewhere Brooks and Waller-Barratt also went around. Stimson soon drew past Burrows for the lead with Lane also chasing until his gearbox trouble returned to force him out for a second time. This let Jamieson through to chase down and take Stimson as Boardley was preoccupied with a battle with 170 Steve Thompson preventing him from challenging for a top place until the final laps. Jamieson led but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Scots as 72 Willie Hardie tangled with 3 Jeff Simpson further back, while 115 Chris Haird pulled his way through for third but he was well behind the victorious Jamieson and runner up Stimson.

The 35-lap Final saw Wilcox pick up exactly where he had left off and disappeared into the distance as Lane, Burrows and Smith began to scrap for the minor places. Burrows spun a few laps later after clipping Carter’s Merc as Shuddall went second followed by Lane who had fully rectified his gearbox woes and passed the rather wayward Burtenshaw for fourth. Godfrey spun out and third placed Pepper slowed and retired, but the rest of the raced passed without any incident in a fine display of close, competitive hot rod racing, Wilcox leading all the way to complete a perfect day leading every one of the 85 laps he contested. Shuddall was almost half a lap behind him in second with Lane taking third.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Entry list continue to increase slowly but surely in the BriSCA F2s following the winter of discontent, and around 45 cars attended with the most notable entry being 152 Mick Sworder on his seasonal debut, while German visitor D92 Peter Baer did well to repair his car after a first lap rollover at Birmingham the night before. 538 Chevy Mills just cannot stop winning in 2010, and he took his first ever Final victory to move up to blue top.

The opening heat of the two-thirds format began with 154 Steve Green Jnr sending 886 Chris Bradbury wide on the first turn and into the plating taking 186 George Turiccki with him, while early leader 336 Mick Kirk spun handing 441 Micky Branston the advantage. The caution flags then flew for Turiccki and also for 688 Darran Smith who had come to a stop on the home straight with Branston leading the restart as 877 Eddie Darby spun 836 Dave Pannett and Sworder shrugged off a near tangle with 783 James Rygor to challenge the front runners. 76 Chris Rowe and 115 Mike Green had been battling for third but eventually took each other out as 99 Simon Young – who had done well to repair following a smash at Birmingham the night before – spun before the yellows flew again for the stranded 24 Jon Palmer who had been making good progress before his spin. Sworder was quickly onto the tail of the leaders on the restart and bumpered 676 Neil Hooper aside for second before launching a textbook last bend lunge on Branston for a winning return to racing, Hooper just pipping Branston for second.

A tangle amongst the yellow tops began heat two as 936 Wayne Armstrong led the first lap before Mills took over and he began to disappear into the distance. Branston then tangled heavily with 315 Justin Fisher, the latter’s car plunging into the back straight wall and shedding a wheel for a stoppage. 326 Johnny Hall went into the plating on the restart as Bradbury made it through to second by half distance, but even the British Champion could not catch Mills who took the flag only to be docked to third in the result for jumping the start, handing Bradbury the spoils from 511 Martyn Coles.

279 Dean Morton was the first casualty of heat three as he tangled with fellow track debutant 739 Gary Walduck, while Mills was once more almost immediately into the lead from the yellows. Fisher’s repaired car spun before the yellow flags flew after Smith’s car caught fire, but even this would not stop Mills who took the victory to make amends for heat two, Palmer and Green Jnr following him home.

The white graders bunched together at the start of the Final with a trio of cars clattering off the fence as a result, and this allowed Mills up the inside of all of them as he continued his searing early season pace. Darby hooked up with fellow West Country visitor Hooper as Fisher’s luckless day continued when the mountings on his repaired aerofoil broke leaving it pointing at the sky from the rear of his roof. The new convertible design was flagged to the infield as was 449 Mark Dorrill for a loose wheelguard as 798 Mark Sargent went into the wall, while elsewhere Turiccki hooked out Walduck. Up front Mills was totally dominant and won by a clear half lap to cement his move to blue grade and his position at the top of the National points, Bradbury and Palmer his placemen.

The Grand National began with Palmer T-boning Rygor for an early caution with 255 Will Cobley leading the restart. Turiccki’s luckless day continued as he tangled with Hooper and they went into the plating along with 289 John Collier, while Coles briefly took up the running before the flying Bradbury came through to take over. Mike Green spun and was lucky not to be hit by Sworder who later picked up a puncture while 702 Allan Cooper collected the stationary Hooper. Bradbury sped to the win with Coles and 744 Tom Smart next home, Mills making it up to tenth from the handicap.

1300 Stock Cars

It was great to see the 1300 Stock Cars back at Northampton after they provided so much entertainment on their visits last year, and while the race action was not quite as spectacular the drivers did their level best to entertain. 686 Pete Beldom was reinstated as Final winner after an appeal.

171 Adam O’Dell was making his debut just one day after his 16th birthday and led the first heat away as gold top 6 Simon Welton attacked 191 Aaron Morris. 104 Paul Brown was put away by the pushing pack as 272 Dan Weathers sent 415 Jamie Blackman spinning into the wall where he was collected head-on by 745 Dan Bennett who took one from 40 Steve Marten in turn. The yellows came out to allow Blackman to exit safely and this allowed 423 Dennis Sutton to catch and pass O’Dell for the win with 232 Daniel Wenn also taking the newcomer for second.

Bennet was straight up the back of Sutton as heat two began but the latter recovered to land hits on 10 Adam Mason and 690 Jason Askew in a fine midfield scrap behind the leading O’Dell. 323 Sam Rigby spun out as Wenn broke clear of the pack and stalked O’Dell, finally landing the telling blow with half a lap remaining to send the unlucky white top spinning and take the win, Weathers following him home ahead of 569 James Radcliffe.

A livelier Final began with a false start as Marten spun 8 Dan Damon before the green flag had been shown, and when things got underway it was once again O’Dell at the front as 944 Callum Hosie took out Rigby who was clobbered by Marten leading to a stoppage to check on Rigby but the former Banger racer was OK. O’Dell ran wide on the restart and Askew took over as a chain of contact behind saw Radcliffe and Welton combine to fire Wenn and 644 Nathan Godfrey in very hard, Wenn ending up on his side for a caution. Everyone was OK and on the restart Beldom caught Askew and flicked him around en route to the win from Sutton and Welton, but Beldom was adjudged to have spun Askew inside out towards the fence and he was disqualified, but later reinstated on appeal. O’Dell’s debut was then completed by a birthday present from the marshals in the form of a bucket of ice cold water!

Reporting by Dave Goddard & Paul Gerrard

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

It was Speedweek Round 2 for the BriSCA F2’s and they swelled their ranks from the previous week with 47 cars racing over a 2/3rd heat format.

538 Chevy Mills wasted no time at all getting back to his winning habit from the previous week and promptly took heat one ahead of a “who’s who” of talent behind him with 7 Gordon Moodie coming home second ahead of silver top 38 Dave Polley and British Champion 886 Chris Bradbury, who had actually crossed the line in 2nd place only to be docked for a jump re-start after an early rollover from D92 Peter Baer.

823 Sam Wagner took heat two from Bradbury and Neil Hooper after another yellow flag on lap one, this time for a 15 Steve Green/968 Micky Brennan coming together approaching turn 3. It was a win for Moodie in heat three from Mills and 297 Paul Bailey, but the statisticians’ books were open as for the third F2 race running, the race was yellowed on the first lap, this time for a crash involving 99 Simon Young and 488 Liam Bentham.

The final was a stunning affair with Bradbury showing his liking of the Wheels circuit by taking the in form Mills for the win, but it was another good night for Mills with a good second place ahead of Moodie. The final lasted one more lap than the previous races until the yellows went out, but only just as 779 Cameron Pugh landed on top of 186 George Turiccki after a tangle.

Mills thought he had rounded of a great nights racing with a first past the post position in the Grand National, but his night was darkened somewhat with the Steward docking him back to third place having led a restart inconsistently. Yes, another yellow, which didn’t actually come out until lap 6 when 780 Chris Utley hit the infield banking just past the start line and needed some attention. So, 522 Chris Mikulla inherited the win from another good performance from Wagner and Chevy demoted to third.

Overall a really good meeting for the F2’s for the second week running, and hopefully the final two weeks of March will provide equally good racing.

Lightning Rods

After a slight drop in car numbers through 2009 it was good to see a few new faces arrive for the Lightning Rod opener, including former Hot Ford star 85 Iain Nicklin on his debut, welcome returnee 47 Mark Summerhayes, a couple of Spedeworth visitors and former Saloon Stock Car star 87 Frankie Cunningham from Scotland. The lower graders dominated proceedings with white top 10 Dean Simpkins taking a heat and Final double.

9 Ian Atkinson failed to get away in heat one which began with a spin into the banking for 51 Andy King but his smart new car escaped major damage. Simpkins passed 82 Lee Dawson for the lead chased by 451 Jordan Spavins as the star names scrapped among themselves further back. 28 Phil Manning Jnr rounded Spavins for second with the latter then sent into the banking by Nicklin to end his evening, Nicklin being disqualified as a result. Reigning points champion 4 Paul Barry and former silver top 26 Gavin Jones were among the retirements as Simpkins sped to a clear victory over Manning and 57 Barry Limer’s stunningly presented new Sapphire.

After a false start heat two got underway with Dawson leading until he made a mess of turn two allowing Simpkins and Manning to battle it out at the front. The duo stayed side by side for several laps in a fine display with Manning pulling ahead as a superb dice developed in the midfield headed by Atkinson and 445 Craig Boyd. Nicklin challenged the leader but he soon began to pull out a large lead as Simpkins got caught on the outside line and fell down the order. King was out of luck once again as he got caught up with 730 Mike Daniels and was lucky not to be collected by the pack as the midfield draft further intensified. Nicklin was enjoying a great scrap with Dawson and 78 Paul Blackman for second until the newcomer retired, but suddenly Boyd put on a great spurt around the outside to join them from the midfield and drove around all of them in a fine display. His efforts were all for second place however as Manning won by half a lap with Blackman taking third.

The clutch start Final saw Simpkins race into a lead he would not lose while 53 Rob Bunting was the first to retire as the midfield draft quickly formed once again. 633 Rob Gamble tangled with category legend 67 Chas Farrer and 81 Lee Parsons with Blackman the next to gyrate on the home straight courtesy of King who received a black cross as a result. Jones retired for the third time as 5 Keith Handsaker got it all wrong as he tried to pass Nicklin and spun him around for another black cross, Nicklin sending King out wide as he rejoined only to get tagged by Daniels. Out in front however was Simpkins and he completed his double, celebrating with donuts on the infield. Manning and Boyd were his placemen ending a successful night for the Sierras.

Ministox

The opening Ministox fixture of the season saw a healthy number of visitors from Spedeworth plus a brace from Autospeed, but it was local star 212 Ben Bate who took a magnificent Final victory in one of the best races for the formula in some time.

278 Liam Higgs led off in heat one but 201 Shaun Blakemore quickly closed in from the yellow grade as 273 Layton Reynolds pulled off and he was out for the night with mechanical problems. Blakemore slipped around the outside of Higgs as they lapped 229 Katie Cooper and debutant 244 Callum Churm and began to pull out a gap. 198 Brandon Osbourne was leading the Spedeworth charge from the back and eventually shoved Higgs wide allowing 177 Lee Banwell through for second chased by Bate and 277 Tom Malings and a huge fight for second developed which eventually saw Bate spun aside by Osbourne. Higgs’ good race came to an end as he tangled with 175 Tyler Collison as Blakemore rode out a last bend hit from Banwell to take the win with Osbourne third ending a frantic opener.

281 Jordan Fisher led off in heat two as the bigger names began to scrap amongst themselves in the midfield, 124 Oli Skeels in particular looking to continue the form he showed at Birmingham on New Year’s Day. A ruck among the yellow tops saw 264 Dan Whorton-Eales make up five places in one turn as defending points champion 219 Ben Lewis-Thompson tangled with Autospeed’s 960 Dale Moon, the yellow flags flying to retrieve the former’s car. Blakemore had taken over from Fisher at the front as Bate bumpered Whorton-Eales wide for third but Skeels was the man on the move and soon led the Spedeworth drivers along with Banwell who then almost spun Whorton-Eales who also came under fire from 205 Courtney Finnikin. Bate passed Fisher for second but was eventually caught by Skeels for second, but they couldn’t catch Blakemore who made it a double.

200 Anthony Burgess led the opening exchanges of the Final as the yellow and blue tops battled behind, Malings leading them and a big lunge into turn one saw him take up the running until Banwell moved through. Bate was in attacking mode and lunged at four cars in one move sending Burgess and Whorton-Eales spinning, the latter’s night ending winless although brother Anthony restored the family pride the next day at Snetterton by taking his maiden SaxMax circuit series victory in his Citroen Saxo. Bate then took Malings for second but as the quicker Spedeworth names began to make their move further back some thought that Bate had made his attack too early in the 20-lap race. The local star was soon past Banwell into the lead but the yellow top fought back and the pair swapped the lead several times in a terrific battle with Osbourne soon catching them and Blakemore and Skeels not far behind. Finnikin was a spinner further back as Osbourne moved to the front in the closing laps, Bate unable to dislodge him as Skeels waited behind them. The latter then moved down the inside of Bate for second and took Osbourne for the lead into the final lap, but Bate was well-positioned as Osbourne lunged at Skeels on the last bend and the local lad just managed to force both Spedeworth men wide for a brilliant victory to a huge roar from the fans, Skeels beating Osbourne for second place by 0.001 of a second in a stunning race.

A slightly smaller field contested the Grand National which was led off by Burgess until Fisher took over but Banwell was the quickest man in the early laps and soon took up the running. A big battle soon developed for second which came to a head when Burgess went wide and those following had no option but to clatter into the back straight wall, the yellows coming out to retrieve Osbourne and Blakemore’s stranded cars. Skeels was already up to fourth for the restart and stalked Banwell at the front, the yellow top holding out until a big last bend lunge sealed Skeels his almost customary Birmingham victory ahead of Banwell and Collison for a Spedeworth clean sweep, Bate making it up to seventh from his lap handicap.

Reporting by Dave Goddard

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

Birmingham’s season began in style on a cold but dry March 6th with three formulas in action, and it was pleasing to see around 40 BriSCA F2 Stock Cars present following recent off-track unrest. The entry included a sizeable number of travelling Scots plus several from the West Country eager to kick off their season, but it was Lancashire’s 488 Liam Bentham who claimed his first ever F2 victory in the meeting Final.

The first heat of the all-in format began with a tangle between the blue tops as the midfield rapidly fell over each other. 326 Johnny Hall led the early laps as 538 Chevy Mills quickly brought his smart RCE through the yellow tops into second. 768 Tom Adcroft and 270 Mark Gibbs were early casualties as a legacy of the lap one tangle, while World Champion 968 Micky Brennan’s debut of his new all-gold car ended after just a few laps. 522 Chris Mikulla spun out 255 Will Cobley who was collected by the leading Hall which handed Mills the advantage as the caution flags flew. Mills set about building a lead on the restart as 571 Darren Clark locked up with track debutant 796 Brian Wilson, while Mikulla was showing no ill effects of his earlier tangle as he moved through for second, but he couldn’t catch Mills who took a clear win with 647 Chris Burgoyne’s late charge netting him third.

Mills was handicapped to the back of the yellow tops following his earlier win but he made a lightning getaway and was in the lead by the end of lap two. 24 Jon Palmer meanwhile was the first to spin with white tops 137 Russ Chadwick and 475 Ryan Gregory also hitting trouble early on. Two laps later Mills was leading by the length of a straight and was looking totally dominant, but his lead was wiped out as Chadwick tangled with 874 Fraser McLellan leading to a yellow flag. During the stoppage 289 John Collier’s car caught fire on the infield but the marshals were able to swiftly extinguish the flames and the action soon resumed. Mills once again got the restart exactly right and went on for his second win with the rapid Burgoyne unable to catch him, Palmer recovering for third.

This naturally made Mills the hot favourite for the Final which began with 99 Simon Young tangling with 449 Mark Dorrill, the Banger veteran’s F2 debut coming to an early end as a result. 359 Gary Wrench then spun and Mikulla crashed into him to end up on the yellow top’s bonnet for a red flag. We were soon under way again with Cobley the early leader until Palmer bumpered his way through. 823 Sam Wagner went straight on at turn one and was lucky not to take several cars with him as out front Palmer set about building his lead as the reds preferred to scrap amongst themselves. 80 Nigel Gibbs spun 115 Mike Green as Bentham – who only had a best finish of fifth in the heats – closed in on the flying Palmer and Burgoyne’s car began to smoke and slow. Just after half distance Palmer suddenly ran out wide on the city turn but he seemed to shrug it off and continued to lead, but the mistake was an early symptom of brake problems and Palmer eventually came to a halt on turn two. This allowed Bentham to take over as Burgoyne retired in a cloud of smoke after trying to battle Wagner and 700 Adam Rubery despite his problem. Mills got through for second but he couldn’t catch Bentham who scored his maiden win and secured a move to blue top, Brennan taking third and white top Cobley an impressive fourth.

The Grand National closed the programme with Rubery the first to spin as 297 Paul Bailey was spat out into the fence during the early pushing and shoving. Cobley led the early laps until Palmer, eager to make up for his disappointment in the Final, pushed his way through. Mills was soon up with him chased by Brennan who had shown lightning speed over the early laps from the back. The World Champion was right onto Mills’s bumper in the closing stages and lunged at the Radstock man on the final turn leaving Palmer clear for the win, Brennan getting through for second and 154 Steve Green Jnr stealing third from Mills on the line.

Stock Rods

Drivers from all over the country travelled to kick off the 2010 Stock Rod season, and following successes in the heats for the lower graders it was Scotsman 67 Kerr Paterson who took a superb Final.

Autospeed white top 555 Greg Radmore roared off into a lead he would not lose in heat one as a typical Birmingham midfield battle developed behind him, 811 the first to hit trouble in the ex-Matt Smith car as he hit the rumble strips at turn one. World Champion 829 Stuart Fox settled into a battle with 338 James Halkett as 39 Danny Hunn’s hope of leading the Spedeworth charge ended when he clipped 924 Stuart Wright, the resultant damage putting him out a few laps later. 514 Gavin Pike was looking quick but white graders Radmore and 946 Dave Taylor were streaking clear at the front as the star names seemed content to battle amongst themselves, Paterson an early victim this time as he retired. Taylor eventually ran out wide allowing Pike into second followed by 900 Dave Patterson as the efforts of those behind were exemplified by Fox whose front brake discs were glowing red hot. Radmore marked his track debut with a clear flag to flag win as Patterson and Fox streamed past Pike on the last lap but both were docked places for contact in the pack handing Pike second from Taylor.

It was Taylor who got away best in heat two and he pulled away in similar fashion to Radmore in heat one. The latter gave chase as once again the white tops pulled clear of the bunching pack and soon we had a huge battle for third on our hands. 128 David Gale headed the third place scrap in the early laps but Patterson was charging around the wider line and was soon through to give chase to the lower graders who were now a quarter of a lap clear. 816 Lee Baker was forced wide and bounced off the fence in the huge draft for third as still the two white tops kept up their relentless pace despite Radmore’s bonnet coming loose allowing the higher graders to catch him. Taylor stayed clear and scored his first Stock Rod win in only his second meeting in the formula, while behind him the battle came to a head on the last lap with Patterson being spun out and Fox getting through for second at the flag, Paterson inheriting third after Radmore was disqualified for the manoeuvre on Patterson.

The clutch start Final was led away by Radmore as Patterson made a fine start and began the chase of the higher graders. Gale was the first to fall as 32 Ian Taylor also went around with Baker spinning in avoidance, while Paterson was back in sixth and looking rapid and ready to challenge. Hunn was once again stirring up a good midfield battle but Fox and 924 Stuart Wright were early retirements from it leaving Patterson to uphold Incarace honour and he slowly but surely closed on the flying Radmore with Halkett leading the Scottish challenge in third. Just as Patterson got onto the bumper of Radmore’s Nova the yellow flags flew after Dave Taylor spun and was collected over the front wheel by 982 James Baker. A fine six-lap sprint for the line was in prospect and Patterson kept up his relentless pursuit of Radmore as the midfield bunched together once more. Patterson moved down the inside of Radmore and made it stick to take the lead but by now Paterson was right behind them and Radmore dropped back behind Halkett and 817 Jack Tuffen who had made a late spurt for the front. On the final lap Paterson threw everything he had got at Patterson’s AX and just managed to squeeze inside it on the final turn to take the lead just metres from the flag for a cracking victory with Halkett third ahead of Tuffen and Radmore.

Bangers

Close on 30 Bangers arrived to kick off their busiest season at Incarace to date, and the old guard were right at the sharp end once again with 296 Tom Jennings speeding to victory in the Final amid some lively scenes.

19 Joe Frankland, fresh from a hat-trick at Belle Vue a fortnight before, led the first heat away until 644 Luke Etheridge punted him wide to take over in his smart Civic. 1 Dan Jones was first to spin sparking a back straight pile-up with 23 getting onto two wheels in the melee, 244 Mark Curtis and 69 Trevor Hansford also getting stuck in. The trio of Scrapyard Screamers present were soon putting it about, 9 Len Davies among their victims. Defending points champion 290 Ryan Davies marked his debut in Team Ethers colours with an attack on 283 Jamie Gibson, the latter’s Astra cannoning spectacularly off the infield banking as a result. 286 Dan Phillips then spun 3 Richard Pilling into the banking as Etheridge took the win ahead of Jennings and Ryan Davies, the race winner celebrating by spinning 411 Wesley Blakemore allowing the recovered Pilling to hit him on the nose.

A slightly reduced field emerged for the second heat with Ryan Davies leading away as the Screamers were once again on the case, 66 Katie Williams their first victim thanks to 999 Scott Hill. 72 Jamie Dawson was sent up the banking by 293 Roy Williams allowing 471 Trevor Perry to attack the former, before the Bluebirds of Perry and 367 Josh Genders were coolly flicked out by the leading Ryan Davies in one move. A case of killing two Bluebirds with one stone perhaps? Etheridge then got rid of Roy Williams and 90 Joey Holmes in one move as Ryan Davies went on to spin out 103 Patrick Bryan en route to a fine full contact victory, Jennings and 244 Mark Curtis next.

The Final saw Jennings straight into the lead from pole as Roy Williams was first to spin, while Ryan Davies tangled up with 288 Aaron Phillips to end his race early. Hill fired Curtis onto the centre allowing 286 Dan Phillips to spin Blakemore into him as 99 Jason Jukes spun onto the banking but managed to get going again only to take a head-on from Aaron Phillips. Bryan then lunged at Blakemore to send both crashing into the pit gate before 299 Dale Locker spun Katie Williams into the wall before following in 72 Jamie Dawson to earn a black flag. The yellow flags came out to check on Williams with the restart seeing Hill get rid of 96 Wayne Davies and 123 Rob Smith as 69 crashed into a dead car on turn four, while up front Jennings took a clear win ahead of Etheridge and 150 Stuart Mears.

Unlimited Bangers
Heat 1 617 998 218 141 257 384 136 NOF NOF NOF
Heat 2 998 271 617 218 200 141 196 461 11 837
Final 837 141 196 NOF NOF NOF NOF NOF NOF NOF
DD Winner: 141 Runner Up: 998 Most Destructed: 133

2L Bangers
Heat 1 730 239 208 271 741 128 801 65 478 460
Heat 2 465 169 404 39 79 237 2 388 38 591
Heat 3 39 730 208 821 741 65 898 592 101 157
Final 730 741 465 157 239 169 478 380 NOF NOF
DD Winner: 208 Runner Up: 229 Most Destructed 478

Best Wrecker: 404 (2L) Best Final wrecker: 515 Most Travelled: 13