The last of the trio of Bank Holiday meetings saw a pleasingly strong 18 car turnout, especially considering Ringwood and Grimley were running the same day. Amongst the 18, there were first appearances of the season for 306 Mark Doughty, 688 Milli Cornock and 821 Linz Richens and a first F2 meeting for 18 Christian McGill in the 185 car of Jess Webb.
All cars made it out for heat 1, although 306 Doughty pulled off before the green flag. Pole sitter 38 Gavin Busby got the best start and led into turn 1, although a rapid-looking 776 James Trigg was already into 2nd place as the leaders exited turn 2; the early front runners being followed by 137 Steve Goldup, 623 Rob Dobie and 821 Richens. 261 Roger Mountney moved up the inside of Richens on turn 1 at the start of lap 2 while the next lap, 776 Trigg got the better of 38 Busby to take the lead as Mountney took 623 Dobie for fourth.
From red grade 421 Gary Webb and 155 Carl Lewis had made the early break and they hit Dobie wide into turn 3 to continue their charge. Trigg’s lead was temporarily under threat as he struggled lapping 18 McGill, but Busby spun out of 2nd on the exit of turn 2 and this gave Trigg some breathing room. His lead was not to last however, as the red flags were shown for a 5 car pile up on turns 1 and 2 as 137 Goldup, 105 Louis Williams, 18 McGill, 421 Webb and 138 Kevin Goldup were left stranded.
The restart left 13 cars running and again Trigg got a good start to lead from Mountney and 856 Paul Webb, who had capitalised on the pile up to gain a few places, the latter taking 2nd place a lap later, followed through by 155 Lewis. Trigg was to then lose his lead into turn 3 as Webb and then Lewis got through. 516 Andrew Cornock was making a late charge for the front and having got by 352 Andy Webb, he then relegated Trigg another position to sit 3rd.
The battle for lower places was turning into quite a scrap and with 5 to go, Busby was spun by Dobie which ended the chances of a top 10 for either. At the front meanwhile, the race had now settled down and on the last lap, Lewis attacked Webb for the lead, which he would hold over the line, giving him yet another win ahead of Webb and Cornock.
Result: 155, 856, 516, 563, 352, 261, 421, 105, 776, 821
16 cars made it back out for heat 2 and it was 821 Richens who took advantage of her pole start to lead into the first corner. 776 Trigg again got off to a fast start and got by 688 Milli Cornock and 623 Dobie, before taking the lead from Richens early on lap 2.
516 Andrew Cornock had made the best start from the busy red grade and after 38 Busby had claimed 2nd from Richens, Cornock overtook Dobie and then Richens to sit 3rd as lone blue grader 261 Mountney dropped back slightly. 856 Paul Webb had an unseen incident that saw his race end on turn 4, as 521 Phil Trigg spun on the exit of turn 2 which ended the race for 563 Keith Walding, who clipped the spun 521 car and retired with damage, which all brought out the red flags.
An 11 car restart saw the front 3 as before, with 421 Gary Webb and 155 Lewis completing the top 5. Trigg got another good restart while Cornock and Gary Webb quickly got by Busby, but it was Lewis who seemed to have the most pace and he got past the latter pair to move into 3rd as Cornock tried to nudge Trigg wide around turns 3 and 4, but the leader was able to hold on.
A lap later and Cornock tried again into turn 3, this time hitting Trigg with enough force to move him wide, which unfortunately saw the 776 car lose grip and spin head on into the fence, ending not only the race, but the meeting for Trigg as he sustained chassis damage.
A second red flag at this point left only 8 still running, with 516 Cornock having taken over the lead from Lewis and Gary Webb. On the restart 105 Louis Williams had a go at the back of the 421 car but couldn’t get past and the former ended up losing a place to 352 Andy Webb on the last lap as Cornock took his first win of the season.
Result: 516, 155, 421, 352, 105, 261, 821, 38 nof
Despite the heavy damage so far, the Final still managed to raise a 15 car grid. 821 Richens again held the lead into the first turn but all the action was about to happen further back as the large red grade pack headed by 563 Walding entered turn 1. A push from behind saw 352 Andy Webb get hooked up with Walding as 516 Cornock and 421 Gary Webb also got involved – bringing out a red flag and complete restart.
Richens led away from the front again on the restart, with 38 Busby and 261 Mountney giving chase while the red grade were at it again further back. Walding went wide into turn 1 along with 856 Paul Webb, allowing 155 Lewis to squeeze up the inside of the latter. 105 Williams moved ahead of 421 Webb and 516 Cornock before Lewis moved Walding wide on turn 3 to take 4th place. Williams found himself losing the places he had just gained as both Andy and Gary Webb got back in front.
With turn 1 becoming increasingly slippery, Walding went wide again and this time Paul Webb held his line to move up inside. Mountney was able to dive up the inside of Busby entering turn 1, but overcooked it on the greasy track and this allowed Busby to come back immediately. Before Mountney could look to strike back, he had Lewis for company and dropped to 4th as the latter took 3rd. Lewis looked to have the momentum with him now and was able to get by both Busby and Richens on the next lap to take the lead. Shortly after Cornock took 6th from Walding and Paul Webb had moved into 3rd after taking both Mountney and Busby, the latter also dropping behind Walding.
Richens was now reeled in by the chasing reds of Cornock, Paul Webb and Walding dropping her to 5th, before yet another red flag for a nasty crash for 521 Phil Trigg in almost the same spot as before.
The restart saw a top 5 of 155, 856, 563, 352 and 105, with only 9 cars left in total. On the restart, Walding went for a move on the inside of Paul Webb, but the latter instantly fought back to hold 2nd place, while the former seemed to have picked up suspension damage and started to drop out of contention, as first Andy Webb and then Williams and Gary Webb came past within half a lap. Gary Webb got ahead of a slowing Williams with a couple of laps left as Dobie got the better of Walding for 6th, but no one was catching 155 Lewis, who took his second final win of the season ahead of Paul and Andy Webb in 2nd and 3rd.
Result: 155, 856, 352, 421, 105, 623, 563, 821, 688 nof
Only 12 cars were able to repair for the Grand National as 821 Richens got the better start, but was attacked into turn 1 by 137 Steve Goldup, although she held the position to retain the lead, temporarily, before Goldup took to the front shortly after. 261 Mountney and 688 Milli Cornock dropped back as the red graders came through, headed by 421 Gary Webb. 623 Dobie got by Richens for 2nd, before the latter was also passed by Gary Webb and 105 Williams as Williams made contact with Webb’s bumper but was unable to claim the position. Dobie lost out to Webb on the next lap before Cornock seemingly cutting through the pack, worked his way up into 2nd and looked to challenge Goldup for the lead.
As the pair exited turn 4, Goldup drifted slightly wide and clipped the pit gate with his front wheel, resulting in a nasty crash which saw bits flying off as the car flew down the straight and came to a rest against the fence on turn 1 – causing yet another red flag.
An 11 car restart saw the front pair of Cornock and Gary Webb get the best starts, while further back Andy Webb moved quickly into 4th, overtaking Mountney and 623 Dobie. The latter was then caught and passed by Lewis and Paul Webb, taking advantage of the stoppage having wiped out their lap handicap.
With 5 to go Andy Webb took 3rd from Williams, who started to slow and dropped right back before pulling off a lap later. This left only 10 cars remaining and with no further changes before the end, Cornock took his second win of the day from Gary and Andy Webb.
Result: 516, 421, 352, 155, 261, 856, 821, 623, 563, 688
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