Swaffham’s Gold Roof weekender was back for 2021 following a year sabbatical and pleasingly featured an entry list that covered all 4 southern tracks and included some very long-distance travellers. 20 cars were present in the pits on the Saturday night, with further cars expected for the Sunday. Regular Barford racer 92 John Hogg made his first visit to the track, while the north-east was represented by ex-Ringwood racer, 138 Gary Tweddle who was also making his track debut.
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| A FIRST SWAFFHAM VISIT FOR NOW WARTON-BASED 138 GARY TWEDDLE |
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| TRACK DEBUT FOR SCOTLAND'S 92 JOHN HOGG |
Ringwood registered 72 Chris Langridge and 150 John Enright made rare visits along with former Swaffham regular 12 Vince Foley who was out for his first appearance of the season.
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| FORMER RINGWOOD POINTS CHAMPION 150 JOHN ENRIGHT |
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| 82 STEVE RICKARD MADE HIS FIRST NON-RTS APPEARANCE OF THE SEASON |
Further entries came from RTS’ 82 Steve Rickard and a track debut for Grimley-based 716 Jim Muckian. 88 Ross Innocent made his F2 debut along with 254 Harry Heffer who has joined the Outlaw ranks from Spedeworth Superstox. 346 Anthony Warne was out for only the 2nd time, having previously raced at the 2020 season opener at the track, with the remainder of the entry made up of a typically strong entry of Standlake racers – 10 in total.
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| 346 ANTHONY WARNE |
Defending Gold Roof champion 856 Paul Webb headlined the entry along with the rest of the Webb family and regular visitor 105 Louis Williams, while 623 Rob Dobie, 508 Terry and 509 Jordan Butcher were making their first Swaffham appearance since last years Norfolk Championship and 82 Keith (hereafter referred to as racing under number X82) and 821 Linz Richens were making only their second ever visits to the track.
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| AN F2 DEBUT FOR FORMER MOTOCROSSER 88 ROSS INNOCENT |
The format saw 5 qualifying heats spread across the 2 days to be run in graded order, with a closed-grid points order final and the weekend would be completed by the Andrew Warne Memorial Shield Allcomers race, again in graded order. Due to the large number of red graders in attendance, a drawn grid was organised for them which would then be reversed (x2) with a final draw to finalise the grid for heat 5 which gave everyone an equal chance across the heats. Points for compiling the Gold Roof race grid were scored 15 for a win down to 1 point for 15th and anyone below, while a non-finish would be a zero score.
All 20 cars were out for heat 1, with newcomer Innocent alongside Warne on the front row. After some over-enthusiasm on the first start, the race got underway at the second attempt and Heffer took the lead into turn 1. Tweddle spun on turn 3 to drop right to the back of the field as Innocent passed Warne on turn 4 to move back up into 2nd place. Having started in the middle of the red grade pack, Williams quickly found himself working his way through the traffic as he passed both Enright and 421 Gary Webb on the opening lap. 185 Jess Webb moved up into 4th as she passed Dobie, Linz Richens and Jordan Butcher on the opening lap, with Muckian following her through into 5th.
Shortly afterwards Muckian was now 4th as he moved Webb wide and squeezed underneath on turn 4. Further back in the field Paul Webb gained on Terry Butcher but was spun out on turn 3 and dropped right to the rear of the field. Innocent then took up the lead as he passed Heffer out of turn 4, while Muckian passed Warne for 3rd. Williams was now the leading red grader as he found himself 6th, with Enright passing Langridge for 7th. Heffer lost 2nd place to Muckian as the pair entered turn 1, while Williams gained on Jess Webb and Langridge reclaimed the place from Enright, before slotting in behind the 105 car as he also passed Webb.
With battles for points going on all through the field, Rickard gained on Gary Webb as the pair battled over 13th place, while out front Muckian now took up the running as he passed Innocent on turn 3, moving the 88 car wide which dropped him down to 5th as Heffer, Williams and Langridge also gained. 352 Andy Webb passed Terry Butcher for 8th while Gary Webb lost out to Hogg and Keith Richens, before the 421 car tangled with Jordan Butcher on turn 2 and both spun out. Heffer found himself bested by Williams and Langridge on the back straight as the pair came through for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Enright snatched 5th from Innocent while Andy Webb had gained on Jess Webb for 7th and Rickard was now 9th having passed Terry Butcher. Williams had reeled in Muckian and put the bumper in on turn 3 to take the lead as Innocent spun on turn 3 and brought out the yellow flags as a result. Hogg retired at this point, leaving 18 cars still running as Innocent re-joined the back of the field.
As the green flag dropped with 3 laps remaining, Andy Webb passed Heffer for 5th on turn 2 before Paul Webb moved up into 6th as he passed both Terry Butcher and Rickard on turn 3. Heffer was then caught on the onside as the train of cars came through and he dropped back to 13th as a result. On the final lap Paul passed Andy Webb for 5th and Langridge snatched 2nd from Muckian, while Terry Butcher lost out to Keith Richens and Gary Webb as he slipped to 10th. Williams had enough of a gap to hold off those behind and take his 6th win of the season ahead of Langridge and Muckian.
Result: 105, 72, 716, 150, 856, 82 Rickard, 352, X82
Richens, 421, 508, 185, 12, 254, 509, 623, 88, 346, 821, NOF
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| 105 LOUIS WILLIAMS MADE THE BEST POSSIBLE START WITH VICTORY IN HEAT 1 |
Heat 2 was down to 18 cars with Foley and Keith Richens both missing with running issues. Innocent took advantage of his pole start to lead the field into turn 1 while Andy Webb moved ahead of Hogg at the front of the red grade. Heffer snatched 2nd from Warne on the exit of turn 4, as Terry Butcher briefly retired with brake problems.
Enright then rattled the armco on the exit of turn 2 as he battled for position with Williams and Paul Webb which dropped him back several places, as towards the front Jordan Butcher gained 3rd from Warne and Muckian moved up into 6th as he passed Dobie. Warne then came under attack from Jess Webb and Muckian into turn 1 and slipped back to 6th. Half a lap later and Muckian was now 4th as he hit Webb wide on turn 3.
Butcher bested Heffer on turn 2 for 2nd, with the 254 car then under attack from Muckian at the end of the back straight. The latter then quickly found himself 2nd as he passed Butcher into turn 1. Further down the field, Williams had gained ground on Andy Webb and was now up into 6th as the leading red grader with Paul Webb not far behind. Williams’ charge through the pack continued as he moved into 5th passing Heffer on turn 3. Langridge took 8th from Andy Webb on turn 3, before also gaining on Heffer on the next lap.
Innocent then lost the lead to Muckian as the latter dived inside on turn 4. This left Innocent open to attack and he dropped down to 7th by the end of the following lap as Jordan Butcher, Jess Webb, Williams and then Paul Webb and Langridge all came through. Hogg and Andy Webb then gained on Heffer on turn 3 which dropped him to 8th. Jess Webb then lost 4th place as she spun on turn 4 before Williams passed Butcher for 2nd on the back straight.
The yellow flags were out again shortly after this as Innocent spun on turn 3 battling with Enright, having dropped behind Hogg and Andy Webb in the order. With both Enright and Innocent out of the restart, 15 cars were left running; the top 5 places now belonging to Muckian, Williams, Butcher, Langridge and Paul Webb.
In the confusion of whether the cars would run a full rolling lap restart or not, the green flag was shown early and Williams took full advantage to accelerate past Muckian into the lead as Langridge took 3rd from Butcher. Gary Webb was one of those who were slow away and along with Andy Webb dropped back a couple of places on the restart. Right at the death Rickard snatched 6th from Hogg and Heffer moved back up into 8th, while Jess Webb spun out on turn 4, but no one could stop Williams taking his 2nd win of the night ahead of Muckian and Langridge.
Result: 105, 716, 72, 509, 856, 82, 92, 254, 352, 421,
346, 623, 821, 508, NOF
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| FRONT END DAMAGE FOR 88 ROSS INNOCENT WOULD KEEP HIM OUT OF HEAT 3 |
18 cars made it out for heat 3, although Terry Butcher and Keith Richens both pulled off before the start leaving 16 cars as the green flag dropped. Warne led Heffer and Tweddle into turn 1 as Muckian passed Dobie for 7th and Paul Webb gained on Langridge at the front of the red grade.
Jess Webb and Muckian then moved themselves up into 3rd and 4th respectively as they gained on Butcher, Tweddle and Linz Richens in quick succession. Langridge lost out to Williams on turn 2 before Heffer claimed the lead as Warne went slightly wide on turn 3. Muckian passed Webb before also gaining on Warne into turn 1 to now sit 2nd, as the 346 car dropped back behind Butcher into 5th.
Enright then slowed on turn 4 and dropped to the back of the field, before retiring shortly afterwards. A lap later and Muckian was out in front, passing Heffer into turn 1 as Paul Webb lost out to Williams and Langridge on the back straight and into turn 3 and dropped back into 9th place. Dobie was then caught out by the red grade train and dropped several places, although he did reel in Warne to sit just outside the top 10 in 11th.
Hogg was another to retire as Jess Webb moved ahead of Heffer for 2nd on turn 2, with Butcher also coming through half a lap later. Heffer was then under threat from the red grade as Langridge got himself ahead of Williams and now passed Heffer for 4th, before reeling in Butcher for 3rd on the following lap. Webb then lost 2nd to Langridge on turn 4 as Williams moved into 4th as he passed Butcher on the home straight.
Out front Muckian’s lead had extended out to the length of the straight as those behind gave chase. Heffer slipped to 10th as he was passed by a quartet of red graders, with Andy Webb and Rickard from within this group then gaining on Gary Webb almost immediately after this. Jess Webb then lost 3rd to Williams before Paul Webb also gained on turn 1, leaving the 185 car in 5th.
As the lap boards came out it was obvious that Muckian’s lead was getting smaller as Langridge started to close the gap and as the final lap started, there were just 2 car-lengths between the two cars. Rickard moved ahead of Andy Webb for 7th while Butcher made repeated attempts to move Jess Webb wide for 5th but couldn’t make the move stick. Langridge went in for the last bend move on Muckian into turn 3, but the latter was able to hold on and just took the win, with Williams coming through for 3rd.
Result: 716, 72, 105, 856, 185, 509, 82, 352, 421,
254, 623, 346, 821, 138, NOF
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| HEAT 3 WINNER 716 JIM MUCKIAN |
With the third heat bringing a close to day one the battle at the top of the points was turning into a 3-way fight between Williams, Muckian and Langridge with the former leading on 43 points and the latter pairing on 42 and 41 respectively. Paul Webb was 4th with 34 points and Rickard on 29 completed the top 5 places. Day 2 saw three further cars arrive in the form of debutant 33 Dan Milne, locally based 277 Billy Banwell and a further Standlake visitor: 563 Keith Walding, although Foley had loaded up overnight with engine issues, leaving 22 cars to contest the remainder of the weekends racing.
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| 33 DAN MILNE MADE HIS DEBUT ON THE SUNDAY IN THIS SELF-BUILT CAR |
All 22 cars made it out for heat 4, although Keith Richens pulled off before the start as his car was still plagued with running issues. Tweddle led the field into turn 1 on the opening lap as Andy Webb moved Walding wide and made the pass on turn 4, with Enright gaining on Hogg on the same corner just behind. Walding then dropped further back as Williams and Enright passed him into turn 1 as Innocent spun on turn 1 and retired from the race, which promoted Heffer and Warne into 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Jess Webb then made a move on Warne for 3rd into turn 1, with Heffer taking the lead from Tweddle on the home straight at the start of the following lap. The 138 car was then reeled in by the pack behind and dropped to 7th as Banwell worked his way up into 3rd with Muckian right behind in 4th. Webb then made a move for the lead as she passed Heffer into turn 1, with Banwell and Muckian also coming through on the exit of turn 2.
Jordan Butcher retired as his engine let go while further down the order, Williams snatched 4th from Heffer, and Langridge gained on Paul Webb and Enright around turns 3 and 4 as he moved up into 10th. Tweddle joined Butcher in retirement while Paul Webb reclaimed a place from Langridge as the pair now battled for 6th as they moved up, with Dobie and Warne amongst those slipping outside the top 10 places. Muckian moved past Banwell for 2nd as Heffer then lost 3 places in 1 corner as Enright, Andy Webb and Hogg all came through on the inside, before the 254 car was also forced into retirement with problems. Hogg then moved ahead of Andy Webb for 8th as Williams got by Banwell for 3rd on the exit of turn 2.
With 3 laps remaining Banwell dropped back further as Paul Webb and Langridge came through, leaving the former in 6th. Williams then made a last lap move on Muckian into turn 1 and grabbed 2nd place while the remainder of the field had spread out slightly and as a result the last couple of laps otherwise passed without incident. This left Jess Webb to come through and take her first win away from Standlake - her 3rd win overall of the season - ahead of Williams and Muckian.
Result: 185, 105, 716, 856, 72, 277, 150, 92, 352,
421, 563, 82, 508, 346, 623, 821, 88, 33, NOF
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| A FIRST SWAFFHAM WIN IN HEAT 4 FOR 185 JESS WEBB |
20 cars made it back out for heat 5, with Jordan Butcher and Heffer both side-lined for the remainder of the meeting with engine problems. Tweddle again took up the running at the front as Innocent passed Linz Richens into turn 1 for 2nd as Dobie was reeled in by the three blue graders behind him to sit 7th. Tweddle then lost the lead as he ended up on the infield at turn 1, which allowed Innocent to take up the running from Banwell and Muckian.
Walding passed Dobie on turn 2 for 6th and then moved up into 5th half a lap later passing Jess Webb. Linz Richens and Dobie then came together and both dropped right back down the order as Webb reclaimed 5th after moving Walding wide on turn 3. Williams gained on Langridge and took 7th as Walding re-passed Webb for 5th down the home straight. Banwell then shoved Innocent wide and took the lead on turn 2 as Muckian also came through on the latter on the back straight as he took 2nd.
Paul Webb bested Langridge for 8th while Williams took 6th from Jess Webb and Terry Butcher claimed 3rd from Innocent. Williams then got hooked up with the rear bumper of Walding which briefly slowed both cars and allowed Paul Webb and Langridge through on Williams, with Walding being passed by Webb on turn 3 although the 856 car spun as Langridge tried to force a way through. This allowed Hogg to gain several places and he slotted into 7th behind Langridge.
The yellow flags were then thrown although the reason why is unclear, which left the field bunched up behind leader Banwell. On the restart Langridge put the bumper in on Walding which left Innocent coming off worst as he hit the pit gate on the exit of turn 2. Langridge then went in on Walding again on turn 3 in the battle for 4th but this time spun himself with the yellow flags coming out again. On this restart Walding passed Butcher for 3rd, with the latter also losing out to Langridge on the following bend. A few places further back Andy Webb came under pressure as Paul Webb, Enright and Williams all moved ahead before Enright then reeled in Gary Webb for 8th on turn 3.
Hogg gained on Butcher for 5th, while Langridge again put the bumper in on Walding on turn 3 and this time made the move stick as he now sat 3rd. Half a lap later the 72 car was now 2nd as he passed Muckian on turn 2, which also allowed Walding through and up into 3rd and then Hogg picked up 4th as he too passed Muckian down the back straight.
Paul Webb claimed 6th from Butcher with Jess Webb also following him through as Williams passed Gary Webb for 10th. Banwell’s lead was then lost as Langridge made the move and passed on the inside of turn 4 while Butcher was under attack again, this time from Enright and Williams. Tweddle then spun on turn 4 as Dobie was shoved wide by Warne on turn 3 and was also a spinner. The yellow flags were out for a 3rd time to recover Tweddle’s car from the inside of turn 4 as Milne retired and Linz Richens also pulled on to the middle.
The restart came as the 3 lap board was shown and Langridge raced off into a lead he wouldn’t lose, while behind him Walding picked up a puncture and dropped from 4th right down to 13th place as the whole pack came through. On the final lap Gary Webb snatched 12th from Keith Richens and Williams took 6th from Jess Webb, but the top 3 remained unchanged as Langridge took his first win of the season ahead of Banwell and Hogg in 3rd.
Result: 72, 277, 92, 716, 856, 105, 185, 150, 352, 82,
421, X82, 563, 508, 88, 346, 623, NOF
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| A HEAT WIN AND SEVERAL PODIUM FINISHES PUT 72 CHRIS LANGRIDGE ON POLE FOR THE FINAL |
Langridge’s victory in heat 5 was just enough to move him to the top of the points chart, with Williams and Muckian completing the top 3. With a couple of cars loaded through damage, this left the grid as follows:
72 105
716 856
185 82
352 421
92 150
277
346 623
X82 821
563
138 88
33
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| 72 LANGRIDGE AND 105 WILLIAMS HEAD THE GRID FOR THE FINAL |
As the cars pulled on to track to line up for the final, the 105 car was notable by its absence. Unfortunately, the throttle cable had snapped and with a 2-minute warning given, the gate was closed without one of the pre-race favourites on track.
This left 18 cars to contest the final with Langridge now all alone on the front row and as expected he raced off into an early lead with Muckian and Paul Webb behind. At the other end of the field Walding quickly gained several places as he passed Linz Richens, Dobie, and Warne on the opening lap. Jess Webb was spun by Rickard on turn 2 which allowed Andy Webb up into 5th and he passed Rickard shortly afterwards for 4th.
Jess Webb started her climb back through the field as she passed Warne and then Dobie to sit in 12th. Muckian pulled off a couple of laps in with running issues as Langridge extended his lead out front to a straight length. Enright passed Keith Richens for 9th on turn 3 while Banwell claimed 6th from Hogg, with the latter then also losing out to Gary Webb as Walding moved up into 9th ahead of Keith Richens.
The yellow flags were then shown as Milne was stranded on turn 2 with steering damage. 16 cars now remained at this point, with Langridge having the lap-down Dobie between him and 2nd placed Paul Webb for comfort. On the restart Hogg put the bumper in on the back-marking Innocent which sent the 88 car into the fence on turn 3 while Tweddle joined those on the infield. Banwell claimed 4th from Rickard on turn 3, with Gary Webb also gaining on the latter.
With 3 laps remaining the field started to spread out, as the top 3 each held a comfortable gap over the other. Further back Jess Webb moved back up to 9th as she hit Walding wide on turn 3, with Hogg making a move on Rickard on the final bend to move himself up into 6th. No one could get near to Langridge however, as he took a flag-to-flag victory and earned the right to wear the gold roof ahead of Paul and Andy Webb.
Result: 72, 856, 352, 277, 421, 92, 82, 150, 185, 563,
82, 88, 346, 623, 821, NOF
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| 72 CHRIS LANGRIDGE & FAMILY SHOWING OFF THE IMPRESSIVE GOLD ROOF TROPHY |
The final race of the weekend was for the Andrew Warne Memorial Shield, won in 2020 by Gary Webb. After a long day of racing 12 cars made it out. Fittingly it was Warne who took the early lead ahead of Innocent while Paul Webb made a strong start from the red grade as he passed Andy Webb and then Walding in quick succession. Jess Webb passed Linz Richens for 3rd and then inherited 2nd when Innocent slowed and dropped to the back of the field.
Banwell moved into 3rd as he gained on Richens. Webb then took the lead as she moved Warne wide on turn 3, with Banwell also coming through on the next bend to sit 2nd. Gary Webb passed Walding for 6th as Paul Webb reeled in Richens for 4th and Walding lost a further place to Langridge. Richens then came under attack from the red grade and she dropped back to 7th behind Walding. Warne lost 3rd to Paul Webb and 4th to Langridge as the 72 car quickly moved up ahead of Gary Webb in the process.
Warne was then reeled in by a quartet of red graders behind him and ended the following lap in 9th behind Rickard as up-front Jess Webb now had Banwell right behind her, although he couldn’t quite get close enough to put the bumper in at any point. With 3 laps remaining Andy Webb retired which left just 10 cars now spread out over the remaining laps as Walding lost 6th to Enright. On the final bend, Langridge hit Paul Webb which caused him to spin, allowing the former through to take third as Jess Webb took her 2nd win of the day having managed to keep Banwell at bay over the final lap.
Result: 185, 277, 72, 421, 856, 150, 563, 82, 346, 821,
NOF
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| 185 JESS WEBB WITH THE ANDREW WARNE MEMORIAL SHIELD |
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