An unusually warm Easter Monday at Standlake saw another strong turnout with 17 cars present. There was a track debut for Grimley’s 42 Ash Greening as well as first appearances of the season for 155 Carl Lewis and 189 Paul Butcher
All 17 made the track for heat 1, which saw 38 Gavin Busby and 185 Jess Webb on pole. It was the former who made the better start and took the lead into turn 1, while further back 42 Ash Greening had made a flying start from the front of a strong looking blue grade. 509 Jordan Butcher and 521 Phil Trigg moved themselves past 185 Webb and gave chase to Busby. By the end of lap 1, 42 Greening was already up to 4th and moved 521 Trigg wide on turn 1 to take 3rd, the latter also losing a place to 623 Rob Dobie who followed the 42 car through with 82 Keith Richens not far behind. The charge from Richens was not to last however, as he spun the next lap on turn 1 and dropped out of the running.
Greening was now on the back bumper of 509 Butcher and spun him out, taking 2nd place and allowing 623 Dobie into third with 563 Keith Walding now in 4th, followed by 105 Louis Williams and the leading red top, 155 Carl Lewis. 4 laps in and 563 Walding snatched 3rd from Dobie, who immediately found himself under threat from 856 Paul Webb and 155 Lewis, who both moved up the order.
What happened next isn’t clear, but having taken the lead from 38 Busby, 42 Greening slowed on the back straight upon seeing the 3 car pile up that featured 352 Andy Webb, 82 Richens and 137 Steve Goldup and with his hand out the car, the rest of the pack slowed behind him. In the confusion over the waved yellow flag, 155 Lewis and 185 Webb both continued racing and cleared off to hold almost a half lap lead over the pack.
Once the rest realised the mistake, there was a scramble for turn 1; 563 Walding grabbing 3rd ahead of Paul Webb and 105 Williams. Jess Webb was soon reeled in by the chasing pack and with 3 laps to go, both Walding and Paul Webb were within striking distance of Lewis, but in the end, neither could get close enough to fully challenge for the lead. Further down the order 42 Greening rattled the pit gate and 38 Busby spun on turn 4, as 155 Carl Lewis hold on for the win, with 856 Paul Webb just getting the better of 563 Walding on the last bend to claim 2nd place, with brother 421 Gary Webb having made his way through to fourth.
Result: 155, 856, 563, 421, 105, 261
After a lively heat 1, only 15 made it back out for heat 2. 509 Butcher and 521 Trigg started on pole but the race was red flagged almost immediately after 185 Jess Webb failed to get away from the second row – luckily the stranded car was avoided by the traffic.
On the 14 car restart it was now 38 Busby alongside Butcher on pole. Busby again grabbed the lead into the first corner but was on the front of a big push from the white graders behind him, which saw Butcher take the lead from Busby, with 521 Trigg, 137 Goldup and 623 Dobie making the early top 5. Goldup was on the move however, rising to 2nd place with Dobie chasing him all the way. From the blues, 563 Walding was already now up into 4th place and being followed by 42 Greening. Dobie made his move on Goldup the following lap as Greening put the bumper in hard to Walding on turn 1. The latter was able to hold on however and snuck past Dobie on the back straight.
Butcher’s lead was to hold until lap 5, when first Walding and then Greening got through to continue their early pace. Further down the field, heat 1 winner 155 Lewis was already up in to 5th and looking strong for another high finish, having got the better of 421 Gary Webb and aiming to close down 856 Paul Webb in front of him - however it seemed no one was going to catch the leading pair, who had built up a lead almost the length of the straight.
The race was suddenly red flagged with 10 laps to go – a crash on the back straight saw 521 Trigg limping away on 3 wheels, with Busby facing the wrong way and Dobie and 82 Richens also involved. At the stoppage Walding still led from 42, 856, 509 and 155.
Greening made the better restart and put a big hit on Walding going into turn 1, squeezing up the inside and then turning the 563 car into the fence as both cars came round turn 2 – leaving the 563 car literally stuck in the Armco! This slowed the progress of Greening and as a result he dropped down to fourth, with 155 Lewis taking the lead from Paul and Gary Webb. A quiet last few laps didn’t see a change in any of the top 5 positions and left Carl Lewis to take his second win of the day.
Result: 155, 856, 421, 42, 105, 509, 261, 137 nof
Only 13 made it back out for the final, with 189 and 82 loaded for the day and the gate closed while others were still making repairs.
The race was red flagged about a handful of laps remaining, after 509 Jordan Butcher paid another visit to his favourite marker tyre, dragging it onto the racing line. Upon the restart, Lewis was able to hold off 42 Greening and complete a hat-trick of wins, with Paul Webb completing the podium positions.
Result: 155, 42, 856, 421
The heavy damage sustained throughout the day took its toll on the Grand National, with only 10 cars making it out for the last race. Those who had loaded up included the 1-2 in the final, leaving only Paul Webb to run from the handicap. A slightly greasy track from the previous Prod Rod race made things tricky for those who did race.
521 Trigg and 509 Butcher went from pole, with 509 gaining the advantage into turn 1. 563 Walding gave running-mate 623 Dobie a surprisingly big hit on turn 4 and moved into third at the end of lap 1 behind the afore mentioned Trigg and Butcher. 105 Williams then made a move on Dobie the following lap, grabbing fourth place as 856 Paul Webb spun on turn 4.
Up front, Walding dived inside of Phil Trigg, closely followed by Williams. By lap 4 Walding had hit the front, moving Butcher wide and cutting underneath on the exit of turn 4. Williams kept up the chase in second, with Gary Webb, 261 Roger Mountney and 352 Andy Webb the other front runners. Mountney was to soon drop back however, after a turn 4 spin ruined his chances for a podium finish. Brothers Gary and Andy Webb relegated Butcher down to 5th, but by now Walding and Williams had built up a sizeable lead. Having followed for the last couple of laps, Williams made a move to take the lead into turn 3 and with 5 laps to go had extended his lead to a couple of car lengths from Walding, Andy and Gary Webb. As it seemed like this is how it would finish, it was suddenly all change. Butcher’s tyre received another visit from the 509 car, while on turn 1 Walding also clipped a marker tyre and spun himself round. This allowed both Webb brothers through along with the recovered 261 Mountney, but no one could catch Williams as he took his third win of the season at Standlake.
Result: 105, 352, 421, 261, 563, 856
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