Standlake F2 - 24/10/21

Standlake's penultimate meeting of the season saw 26 cars in the pits, after the late arrival of debutant 609 Josh Breakspear.  Amongst the entry were first outings this year for 418 Robert Casey and 586 Adam Walding-Kelly, while 214 Stella Lacey made just her 2^nd ever outing in the Steve Turner hire car.  Finally 12 Vince Foley and 242 Mick Jackson made rare Standlake appearances.

586 ADAM WALDING-KELLY MAKING A RARE
APPEARANCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE

609 JOSH BREAKSPEAR MADE HIS F2 DEBUT

17 cars took the track for heat 1, with pole-sitter 88 Ross Innocent taking the lead into turn 1 ahead of 254 Harry Heffer and 776 James Trigg who made a strong start from yellow grade.  Walding-Kelly passed Foley into turn 3 at the back of the field, although lost the position a lap later.

716 Jim Muckian made quick progress and after a brief battle with Heffer and Innocent in which all 3 took turns to head the field, found himself in the lead as the 88 car started to drop back with engine issues.  534 Tom Stoodley had made the best start from the front of the red grade and having moved ahead of 185 Jess Webb to take up 3^rd place, was able to pass 776 James Trigg shortly afterwards and now sat 2^nd behind Muckian.

The battle for 4^th then saw a 4 car incident on turn 2 as Heffer, Jess Webb, 856 Paul Webb and 535 Ryan Stoodley all tangled.  The 856 car was left stranded on the exit of turn 2, but the other 3 were able to rejoin, albeit much further down the order.  Muckian was then forced to give up the lead as he was shown a black flag for a loose wheelguard, which gave the lead to Tom Stoodley ahead of Trigg and 155 Carl Lewis who now found himself 3^rd, with 105 Louis Williams and 352 Andy Webb in close company behind.

As the 3 lap board came out, Lewis made the move up into 2^nd as he passed Trigg and then reeled in Stoodley to take the lead.  As he approached the back-marking Heffer and Ryan Stoodley he was briefly slowed and this allowed Tom Stoodley and Trigg back ahead and this is how it was to finish with the 534 car taking his 2^nd win of the season.

Result: 534, 776, 155, 185, 352, 421, 105, 242, 12, 88

HEAT 1 WIN FOR 534 TOM STOODLEY

Heat 2 also raised a 17-car field, with 210 Patrick Somerton taking the lead into turn 1 ahead of Heffer and 26 Steve Turner.  623 Rob Dobie snatched 4^th from Casey as Ryan Stoodley and 299 Will Jackson gained on 82 Keith Richens on turn 2.  Dobie then moved up to 3^rd as he bested Turner at the end of the opening lap while Jess Webb also gained on Turner and Casey for 4^th.

Heffer then moved ahead of Somerton down the back straight to take the lead as Lewis moved up on Jackson and Ryan Stoodley within a lap to sit 6th, while Jess Webb gained on Dobie into turn 3, leaving the 623 car open to a move from 688 Alan Cornock who moved ahead for 4^th.  Jackson then lost out to 421 Gary Webb for 6^th as 420 Ade Baker moved ahead of Stoodley for 8^th.

Jackson and Baker then reeled in Dobie on turn 1 as Jess Webb took the lead from Heffer down the home straight and Lewis gained on Somerton for 3^rd.  5 laps from the end Lewis was now 2^nd as he moved Heffer wide into turn 1, which left the 254 car open to a hit from Jackson which also allowed Somerton back through into 4^th as Heffer dropped to 5^th.  Lewis then put the bumper in several times on Webb but was unable to make a move stick as the laps ticked down.

With 2 laps remaining, Lewis finally managed to get ahead of Webb on turn 2 and pulled out just enough of a gap to remain unchallenged and come through for his 10th win of the season ahead of Webb and Will Jackson while Stoodley snatched 6^th from Gary Webb right at the death.

Result: 155, 185, 299, 210, 254, 535, 421, 420, 246, 242

Down to 16 cars for heat 3 with Innocent and Breakspear both loaded up with engine problems.  Somerton led the field away on the opening lap with Trigg quickly moving up into 2^nd and Dobie gaining on Turner for 3^rd.  Will Jackson gained on Paul Webb further down the field as Trigg made a move for the lead on lap 3 and took over at the front.

Muckian reeled in Dobie for 3^rd who then came under attack from the red grade train, headed by Williams.  Muckian then gained 2^nd from Somerton before passing Trigg for the lead, although the latter came back immediately and retook the place from Muckian.  Williams gained on Cornock, with the latter also losing out to Jackson to drop down into 6^th.

With 3 laps left Muckian retakes the lead from Trigg while 352 Andy Webb gains 7^th from Cornock.  Somerton loses 3^rd to Williams in the closing stages as Jackson bests Trigg for 2^nd but cannot reel in Muckian who comes through to take the win ahead of Jackson and Trigg.

Result: 716, 299, 776, 105, 210, 856, 352, 668, 420, 82

The rain came down just before the final, leaving a tricky surface for everyone to contend with.  21 cars made it back out, with Somerton just missing out in his race to fix a gearbox problem in time to make it on track.  242 Mick Jackson took the lead from his pole position start with Muckian quickly gaining several places in the opening stages to find himself 2^nd, although his charge was thwarted when he spun on turn 3.

Gary Webb gained on Williams into turn 1 as several up front struggled and allowed the red graders to move up the order.  Trigg slotted into 2^nd with Cornock 3^rd ahead Gary Webb, who passed Jess Webb for 4^th.  Walding-Kelly moved 246 Alex Broadway wide on turn 3 as Jackson lost the lead to Paul Webb who had quickly moved up through the pack as those around him struggled.  Trigg also made a move on Jackson and snatched 2^nd as Turner spun on turn 2 which allowed Gary Webb through into 3^rd.

Dobie was spun by Webb on turn 3 with Walding-Kelly also going into the fence on the same corner, although both quickly rejoined.  In the final laps Jackson dropped back a couple of places as Tom Stoodley, Andy Webb and Lewis managed to gain.  No one could get near to Paul Webb however, who came through for his first final win of the season ahead of Trigg and Gary Webb.

Result: 856, 776, 421, 534, 352, 155, 242, 535, 185, 716

With the rain now coming down heavier, 17 cars made it out on to a fully wet track for the grand national.  Somerton led the field away with Mick Jackson and Dobie slotting into 2^nd and 3^rd.  Muckian gained on Tom Stoodley on the exit of turn 2, but spun before turn 3 as he tried to fight back for the place.

Jackson then drops out of 2^nd place as he spins on turn 3 and gets stuck on the inside of the bend with suspension damage, which gave Dobie the chance to move ahead of Somerton for the lead.  Lewis moved ahead of Cornock for 6^th as Somerton dropped back down the order and found himself running in 8^th.  With the lap boards now out, Andy Webb claimed 2^nd from Muckian on turn 4 with the pair then reeling in Dobie into turn 1 to give Webb the lead, while further back Gary Webb passed Cornock.

Muckian snatched the lead from Andy Webb as Richens spun on turn 3.  Webb managed to regain the lead in the closing stages and held on from Muckian with Dobie coming home 3^rd.

Result: 352, 716, 623, 155, 856, 421, 535, 105, 185, 668