The fourth visit of the season to Standlake featured some ridiculously hot weather and a turnout of 25 cars in the pits. There was even a flying-visit from the Red Arrows! Amongst the entry, there was an F2 debut for 669 Lee Hall and a one-off appearance in a spare 26 Steve Turner car for 214 Stella Lacey. The afore-mentioned Turner was back out for his first appearance since his nasty crash earlier this season, although unfortunately he never made the track due to running issues.
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| F2 DEBUT FOR 669 LEE HALL |
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| A ONE-OFF MEETING FOR EX BANGER RACER 214 STELLA LACEY |
The 17-car heat 1 started in a dust cloud as 7 Josh Cornish led the field into turn 1 ahead of 321 Maisie Emms and 210 Patrick Somerton, although his lead was short-lived as he spun on turn 2 which allowed 542 Martin Chard into the lead with Somerton now 2nd as Emms dropped back.
623 Rob Dobie then spun out of 3rd place on turn
3 as the slippery conditions were catching everyone out. 38 Gavin Busby now inherited 3rd
because of Dobie’s spin, before Emms spun on the exit of turn 4 at the end of
the opening lap. 2 Craig Passey had a
strong start to lap 2 as he jumped from 4th to take the lead as he
made a move inside Chant into turn 3.
Somerton then claimed 2nd on turn 4 before he then took over
at the front as he moved by Passey on turn 1, although the latter came back
almost immediately and retook the lead on the exit of turn 2.
714 Louis Rayner moved up into 3rd as he passed
Busby, 521 Phil Trigg and Chard in a short space of time, although his
challenge was hampered after he hit the fence on turn 2 as Chard tapped him
wide and retook 3rd. Somerton
then dropped back as Chard took 2nd and Trigg spun on the back
straight and rattled into the armco.
With several cars needing to take avoiding action this changed the
mid-pack somewhat, as 534 Tom Stoodley now found himself 3rd ahead
of Somerton and 352 Andy Webb now rounding out the top 5.
420 Ade Baker got by Busby on the back straight to claim 6th
as Stoodley bested Chard for 2nd on turn 3. Trigg and Rayner were then both forced into
retirement as a result of damage from their respective trips to the fence, as 563
Keith Walding and 856 Paul Webb passed Busby on the exit of turn 2. Chard then lost 3rd place as he
was next to spin on turn 3. This now put
Andy Webb into 3rd with Baker and Walding 4th and 5th.
Paul Webb then snatched 5th from Walding into
turn 3, before spinning almost immediately as the two cars came together. Andy Webb snatched 2nd from
Stoodley as Walding then spun on turn 3 a lap later. 535 Ryan Stoodley now inherited 5th
with Busby back up into 6th as Walding and Paul Webb rejoined in 7th
and 9th respectively. With 3
laps remaining Webb moved by Dobie for 8th around turn 4 before
passing Walding into turn 1.
Busby then came under attack from Webb and Walding and was
dropped back to 8th. On the
final lap Dobie snatched 8th from Busby as Andy Webb went for a last
bend hit on Passey which proved successful, and he just beat the #2 car over
the line – taking his first win of the season in the process - while Baker
promoted himself to 3rd with a similar move on Tom Stoodley.
Result: 352, 2, 420, 534, 535, 856, 563, 623, 38, 542
Heat 2 saw 15 cars on track and it was 744 Harry Adams who
got the lead into turn 1 ahead of 488 Owen Stringer and Cornish. Further down the field Baker got the jump on
Walding to lead the red grade as 185 Jess Webb passed Phil Trigg on turn 3 to
take 5th. Walding then retook the place
from Baker as Cornish passed Stringer for 2nd on turn 4.
The following lap saw Chard spin on turn 1 as Phil Trigg
lost out to Dobie and 776 James Trigg to find himself 7th. James Trigg was then reeled in by Walding
into turn 3, before finding himself under attack from the red grade as 105
Louis Williams, 155 Carl Lewis and Baker all came through. Shortly afterwards Walding gained on Dobie as
Phil Trigg dropped to the back of the field after taking avoiding action to
miss the stricken 542 car on turn 1.
With Chard unable to get going again the red flags were brought out to
remove him from the racing line.
On the restart Cornish moved into the lead ahead of Adams as
they entered turn 1, with Stringer also finding a gap inside Adams to take 2nd. The 744 car then found himself down to 5th
as Jess Webb and Walding came through on the back straight. A lap later and Stringer was now in the lead
as he moved Cornish wide on turn 1, which also allowed Webb to sneak
through. The latter pair would both lose
out to Walding on the exit of turn 2 however as he moved up into 2nd.
Dobie lost out in the battle for 6th as Lewis and
Baker came through, with Lewis putting the bumper in on Webb around turns 3 and
4, which caused Webb to ride over the back wheel of the 563 car. This left Walding stuck on the exit of the
bend with rear damage as Lewis now found himself up into 2nd as
Adams climbed back up into 3rd and Baker also gained on Webb. This caused the red flags to come out for a 2nd
time and also saw Williams retire at this point.
Stringer led the field away on the restart as Tom Stoodley
passed Jess Webb for 5th and Lewis made a move for the lead into
turn 1. Phil Trigg gained 8th
from 421 Gary Webb as James Trigg was another to retire and Adams spun out from
4th place. Baker then dived
inside Stringer on the back straight for 2nd while Phil Trigg moved
Cornish wide for 7th.
Stoodley and Jess Webb then also gained on Stringer as Cornish retook a
place from Dobie. The 488 car then
dropped out leaving just 10 cars running and with it Lewis came through for his
5th win of the season ahead of Baker and Stoodley.
Result: 155, 420, 534, 185, 521, 421, 7, 623, 744, 214
Heat 3 saw another 17 car field and Adams was again the one
to lead into turn 1 as Stringer spun into the infield tyres on turn 2. Somerton slotted into 2nd with
Emms 3rd as Jess Webb also hit the tyres on turn 2 and ended up
across the infield. Somerton took the
lead on lap 2 as he passed Adams into turn 1 while Williams made a strong start
from red grade and passed Rayner for 5th on turn 3.
Passey and Gary Webb were both early retirements while
Williams went to make a move on Emms, but found himself catching a marker tyre
on turn 3 and spinning to the infield.
Andy and Paul Webb were now up into 4th and 5th
respectively as they passed James Trigg, while Williams’ race was over as he
got himself stuck on the infield trying to recover from his earlier spin.
Emms then lost 3rd to Andy and Paul Webb who then
tangled and made contact with the fence on turn 2, forcing Paul out of the
race. Lewis then moved ahead of Trigg
and Andy Webb, although the latter was able to strike back on the next
corner. Emms passed Adams for 2nd
into turn 1 and then found herself in the lead as she moved Somerton wide on
turn 3.
Webb and Lewis then snatched 2nd and 3rd
from Somerton respectively as he dropped into 4th and Adams found
himself slipping down the field as Ryan Stoodley and 82 Keith Richens both
gained. Webb was then bested by Lewis on
the back straight as Somerton dropped back behind Trigg and Rayner around turns
1 and 2. Lewis took the lead from Emms
into turn 1, the latter then finding herself 3rd after Webb came
through shortly afterwards.
James Trigg was another forced into retirement as he slowed
to a halt on turn 4, while Stoodley attacked Emms and then Webb and moved
himself up into 2nd place.
Richens dropped Emms a place further down the order before she spun on
turn 1 and rejoined down in 9th place. Hall gained a place on Somerton on the final
lap for 7th, but no one could get near to Lewis who took his 2nd
win of the afternoon ahead of Stoodley and Webb.
Result: 155, 535, 352, 82, 714, 744, 669, 210, 321, 488
The all-in final saw 23 cars back out with Paul Webb forced
to load up for the day with problems. Stringer
was the one to get the best start from the white grade and he took the lead
into turn 1 as behind him Cornish, Adams and Rayner all tangled and dropped
right to the back of the field as a result.
Phil Trigg then spun out of 3rd place on turn 2 while
Richens’ strong start saw him pass Baker and Jess Webb on turn 1, before
snatching a place from Tom Stoodley later in the lap.
Emms moved by Busby for 2nd as Somerton and
Passey also gained on the 38 car. Jess
Webb then dropped out of the top 10 as she came under attack from Walding and
Lewis on turn 1, with the pair then also gaining on Dobie around turn 4. A lap later and Walding passed Stoodley on
the back straight with Lewis making his move on the 534 car into turn 3. Somerton then dropped back from the leading
battle as Passey now sat 3rd with Richens and Baker right behind.
As Stringer began working his way through lapped traffic he
tangled with Cornish, leaving the latter stuck on track and allowing Emms and
Passey to gain on the former, with Emms now in the lead. The red flags were then shown for the
stranded Cornish car. Richens was also
forced into retirement at this point with running issues.
The restart saw Emms lead the field away from Stringer and
Passey. Andy passed Jess Webb on the
restart to snatch 8th as Stringer pulled off, clearly suffering the
effects of his earlier incident and handing 2nd place to
Passey. Busby then lost his 4th
place as Walding and Lewis came through on the back straight. Tom Stoodley had gained on Jess Webb earlier
in the lap, but now found himself under attack from the latter along with
Rayner in what was now the battle for 8th.
Baker moved Passey wide into turn 1 to claim 2nd
and then found himself in the lead as he made a move on Emms around turns 3 and
4, with Passey taking advantage to follow Baker through into 2nd. Jess Webb and Rayner’s battle then came to a
head when the pair tangled and rattled into the armco underneath the starter’s
rostrum. Walding then moved ahead of
Emms for 3rd as the pair exited turn 2, with Lewis and Andy Webb
also gained down the back straight which dropped the 321 car to 6th.
Further action continued down the field as Chard and Adams
tangled on turn 2 and Tom Stoodley was a spinner on turn 3, which allowed Ryan
Stoodley, Hall, and Gary Webb to climb up into the top 10. Passey then lost 2nd place as he
spun on turn 3 and became stuck with the front end of his car sticking out onto
the race line, which brought out the red flags again with 5 laps remaining.
Just 12 cars were now left running as Walding gave Baker a
tap with the bumper on the restart but then suffered a misfire, allowing Lewis
and Andy Webb up into the top 3. Emms’
race then ended when she went into the fence hard on turn 1 which caused a further
red flag and with the cars at risk of boiling over, the race result was called
with 4 laps remaining. This handed Baker
his first final win of the season, ahead of Lewis and Andy Webb.
Result: 420, 155, 352, 563, 535, 421, 669, 210, 744, 623
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| 420 ADE BAKER TOOK HIS 2ND WIN OF THE SEASON IN THE FINAL |
15 cars made it back out for the final, which was impressive considering the heat was really taking its toll on both drivers and cars by this point. Adams got the lead into turn 1 ahead of Somerton and Passey, as Stringer slowed to a halt almost immediately from the start. Gary Webb lost out to Ryan Stoodley and Williams on the home straight as Chard and Dobie swapped places back and forth.
Somerton then made a move for the lead around turn 4,
although Adams fought back and retook the lead just half a lap later. Williams then gained on Stoodley, with Gary
Webb also making up a place as a result.
Walding passed Dobie into turn 1 to move up into 4th as
Passey challenged Adams and took 2nd place.
Soon after the #2 car was in the lead as Somerton dropped
back, with Adams and Chard now 2nd and 3rd respectively. Williams snatched 5th from Dobie
as Baker managed to break into the points from his handicap start as he now sat
10th. Walding then moved
Chard wide into turn 1 and took 3rd before taking 2nd
from Adams half a lap later. Dobie slipped
out of the top 10 as he was caught by the red grade pack, with Baker and Lewis
now ahead of Dobie and Somerton as they moved up to 8th and 9th
places.
As the lap boards came out Williams took 4th from
Chard and then out-dragged Adams down the back straight to move up into 3rd,
as Gary Webb also moved up on the 542 car for 5th. With 3 laps remaining Walding hit Passey wide
on turn 1 and took the lead as Chard retired from 6th place. Webb then gained on Adams for 4th
as Lewis moved ahead of Baker for 7th as Andy Webb and Hall broke
into the top 10, passing Dobie and Somerton.
Up at the front Walding held on in the final 2 laps to take
his first win at Standlake this season ahead of Passey and Williams, while
Lewis had impressively made it up into 6th place from the handicap
after passing Stoodley on the final lap.
Result: 563, 2, 105, 421, 744, 155, 420, 535, 352, 669
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| FIRST STANDLAKE WIN IN 2021 FOR 563 KEITH WALDING |
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