The second outing of the season at Standlake raised a strong field of 27 cars and included a track debut for Grimley’s 173 Paul Smith who was joined by 42 Ash Greening making his first appearance of the season alongside fellow regular visitors 252 Izzy and 299 Will Jackson. 516 Andy Cornock made a rare outing and there was a return after many years for 2010 points champion 66 Henry Breakspear at the wheel of the ex-Jack West/Louis Rayner car. (Which unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of!)
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| GRIMLEY-BASED 173 PAUL SMITH MADE HIS FIRST VISIT TO STANDLAKE |
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| A RARE APPEARANCE FOR 516 ANDY CORNOCK |
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| 101 ZAK MOORES' FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE YEAR IN HIS SMARTLY REFURBED CAR |
18 cars took the track for heat 1, with 137 Steve Goldup side-lined for the day with engine trouble. 542 Martin Chard got the better of 488 Owen Stringer into turn 1 as 101 Zak Moores spun from 3rd place, which allowed 253 Charlie Heffer up into 3rd. Stringer snatched the lead from Chard as 716 Jim Muckian moved 185 Jess Webb wide into turn 1 for 7th, before reeling in Smith down the back straight to move into 6th.
Will Jackson lost out to Greening and 155 Carl Lewis on turn
4 while Muckian gained on Izzy Jackson and 6 Tyler Newman to sit 4th
and Heffer passed Chard for 2nd - the latter then losing out to
Muckian later in the lap. Jess Webb
passed Izzy Jackson on turn 4 as Newman snatched 4th from Chard and
Muckian moved up into 2nd as he passed Heffer on the home straight.
Webb then gained on Chard into turn 1 as 421 Gary Webb moved
ahead of Izzy Jackson on the same corner.
Out front Stringer had managed to build a decent lead as Lewis passed
856 Paul Webb and Chard to move up into 8th, before passing Izzy
Jackson for 7th. Newman moved
past Heffer down the back straight for 3rd, with the 253 car then
under attack from Jess and Gary Webb at the start of the next lap, dropping him
to 6th.
Lewis was next to catch Heffer, before also besting Gary
Webb for 5th, as Paul Webb passed Chard into turn 1 to break into
the top 10. Heffer then spun on turn 1
as Lewis moved Jess Webb wide and took 4th, while Newman ended up on
the infield but was able to re-join.
Paul Webb passed Izzy Jackson to move up into 7th, before she
then lost another place to brother Will.
As the lapboards came out Smith retired on turn 2 as Gary
passed Jess Webb on turn 3 and Muckian moved Stringer wide to take the lead,
having reeled him in over the previous laps.
Cornock was able to move up into 8th right at the death as he
passed both Jacksons, while the rest of the order remained stable and allowed
Muckian to take his 2nd win of the season ahead of Stringer and
Lewis.
Result: 716, 488, 155, 421, 185, 42, 856, 516, 252, 299
Heat 2 saw 17 starters and it was 254 Harry Heffer who took
advantage of his pole position start to lead into turn 1 ahead of Charlie
Heffer and Stringer. The latter gained
on the former down the back straight for 2nd as Greening passed 352
Andy Webb at the front of the red grade.
105 Louis Williams gained a place on Lewis as Stringer took the lead
from Harry Heffer into turn 1.
Andy Webb then came under attack from Williams and Paul
Webb, dropping back a couple of places.
Izzy Jackson bested 210 Patrick Somerton on turn 4, the latter also
losing out to Muckian as he dropped back to 6th. 776 James Trigg moved 623 Rob Dobie wide on
turn 1, which allowed 535 Ryan Stoodley and Greening to also gain on the 623
car around turn 2.
Muckian moved up into 3rd as he passed Charlie
Heffer and Jackson, while Trigg lost out to a quartet of red graders, headed by
Stoodley and dropped down the order out of the top 10. Harry Heffer then came under attack from
Muckian who claimed 2nd, followed through shortly afterwards by
Jackson for 3rd on turn 3 with Stoodley and Greening moving through
on turn 4.
Paul Webb passed Somerton into turn 1, the latter also being
passed by Trigg on the back straight with Lewis gaining on the 210 car
before the end of the lap. Williams then
made a move on Somerton but lost the place half a lap later as Heffer lost out
to Trigg and Lewis on turns 2 and 3, before Trigg spun on the home straight and
rattled the fence, coming to a halt sideways on to traffic and bringing out the
red flags.
Greening was the first to gain following the restart as he
snatched 3rd from Jackson while Muckian made his move into turn 1
and took the lead from Stringer.
Greening was then up into 2nd as he passed the 488 car on the
back straight, while Lewis briefly passed Stoodley for 5th on turn
3, but lost the place back by the time the pair exited turn 4. Lewis was then moved wide by Paul Webb into
turn 1 as Williams reeled in Jackson on the back straight.
Dobie spun on turn 3 as Lewis lost out to Jackson on turn 4,
while up front Greening made his move for the lead into turn 1 as Paul Webb
managed to gain a couple of places and worked his way up into 3rd
place behind Muckian. Williams passed
Stringer for 4th as Lewis gained on Andy Webb. With 3 laps remaining Stoodley was another
spinner on turn 2 as Muckian retook the lead from Greening on turn 1 and Lewis
bested Jackson for 6th. This
is how it would finish as Muckian held off further advances from Greening to
take his 2nd win of the day with Paul Webb rounding out the top 3.
Result: 716, 42, 856, 105, 488, 155, 252, 253, 210, 352
The final heat started with Moores
leading the 16-car field into turn 1 ahead of Chard and Harry Heffer. A lap later and the pair switched places as
Heffer moved up into 2nd on turn 1, with Somerton also gaining on
542 car on turn 3 later in the lap for 3rd. Newman passed Dobie on turn 2 as Jess Webb
gained on Smith on the same corner, before Moores spun on the home straight and
lost the lead.
This allowed Heffer to inherit the
lead ahead of Somerton and Chard, as Webb passed Dobie for 7th on
turn 3 and Williams gained on Stoodley on turn 1, before also passing Dobie
into turn 3. Newman lost out to Cornock
and Will Jackson on turn 3 as the pair moved up into 5th and 6th
respectively. Breakspear broke into the
top 10 as he passed Gary Webb on turn 4, while 61 James Watts and Will Jackson
reeled in Chard on turn 3 and Williams passed Jess Webb on the back straight to
take 8th place.
Williams then passed Newman on
turn 2 as Cornock snatched 5th from Chard on turn 4 and Williams
also gained on the 542 car on turn 1.
Breakspear and Gary Webb bested Smith on turn 2, before Webb came under
attack from Stoodley and lost a place on turn 3. Williams took 5th from Cornock
into turn 1 as Chard slowed with throttle issues and dropped right down the
order. Newman reclaimed a place from
Cornock as Jackson passed Somerton for 2nd on turn 3 and Williams
moved 4th as he got ahead of Watts.
Breakspear passed Cornock for 8th,
before a couple of laps later Jackson took the lead from Heffer on turn 1, as
Cornock lost out to Gary Webb and Stoodley on turn 2 and then Andy Webb on turn
3. In the closing stages Newman was passed by Gary Webb as Breakspear pulled up suddenly on the final lap and retired from
7th. Somerton gained 2nd
from Heffer but couldn’t do anything about Jackson’s lead as he came through
for his first win of the season. Newman
spun on the final corner and lost 8th place, which promoted Cornock
back into the top 10.
Result: 299, 210, 254, 105, 61,
185, 421, 352, 535, 516
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| A FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR FOR 299 WILL JACKSON IN HEAT 3 |
The all-in final raised a 22 car field, with 4 non-qualifiers at the rear of the grid. Charlie Heffer took the lead into turn 1 ahead of Harry Heffer and Stringer. Lewis and Greening passed Gary Webb on the opening lap towards the rear of the field, while Moores had his second spin of the day on turn 3. The Heffers then exchanged places on turn 1 as Harry took over the lead, with Stringer then passing Charlie for 2nd on turn 3 and Somerton moving up into 3rd on turn 4.
Will Jackson gained on Andy Webb
into turn 1 as Newman was next to gain on Charlie Heffer on the back straight,
with Stoodley gaining a place on Cornock at the same time while Williams moved
Paul Webb wide into turn 1. Cornock then
spun on the back straight and was collected by Gary Webb, ripping a wheel off
the 421 car and bringing out the red flags – but not before the wheel had
bounced into Lewis’ car and badly damaged his wing.
14 laps remained on the restart and
Greening moved into 9th ahead of Andy Webb as the flag dropped while
Muckian gained on Charlie Heffer for 5th into turn 1, the latter
then finding himself being passed by Izzy Jackson and Jess Webb on the next
corner. Muckian then gained another
place as he reeled in Somerton, with Izzy Jackson following the 716 car through
and up a place.
Newman dropped 3rd to
Muckian, before being caught by the chasing pack as Greening and Williams were
first to gain on the #6 car, before Paul Webb and Lewis also made moves a lap
later. Muckian’s progress continued as
he reeled in Stringer and then Heffer for the lead. The latter pair then tangling on turn 3 as Heffer put the bumper in on the 488 car – leaving both stranded on the
turn. This moved Izzy Jackson up into 2nd
but as the red flags came out and the pack slowed a fire started on the 252 car
which put paid to her race.
There were now 7 laps left as the
14 remaining cars got underway for the 2nd restart. Stoodley passed Newman for 7th on
turn 4 as 563 Keith Walding gained on Will Jackson for 9th, the
latter dropping down to 10th half-a-lap later as Somerton came
through. With 5 laps left Lewis passed
Paul Webb for 4th and Walding moved Newman wide for 8th,
which slowed the #6 car enough for Will Jackson to gain a place on turn 2.
3 laps from the end Lewis snatched
3rd from Williams on turn 4 as the race settled down, save for Harry Heffer spinning on the final lap. No one
could touch Muckian however as he came through to complete his hat trick, with
his first final win of the season ahead of Greening and Lewis.
Result: 716, 42, 155, 105, 856,
352, 535, 563, 299, 6
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| A NEAR-PERFECT DAY FOR 716 JIM MUCKIAN WITH A HAT-TRICK OF RACE WINS |
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| 155 CARL LEWIS' WING AFTER A LOSING BATTLE AGAINST THE STRAY WHEEL OF 421 GARY WEBB |
A 20-car Grand National rounded out the day’s action, Moores getting the lead into turn 1 ahead of Somerton and Harry Heffer, the latter moving ahead of Somerton for 2nd on turn 4 at the end of the opening lap while Stringer passed Charlie Heffer to sit 4th. Paul and Andy Webb exchanged places on turn 1 as Walding passed Dobie around turn 2, with Jess Webb also gaining on the 623 car on the next corner.
Will Jackson spun on turn 2 as
Harry Heffer retired. Charlie Heffer
retook the place from Stringer to inherit 3rd as Somerton reeled in
Moores to take the lead on turn 1. Paul
Webb passed Cornock for 9th as Jess Webb moved Walding wide on turn
3 to sit 7th. Charlie Heffer gained
on Moores for 2nd, before the latter came under attack from Stringer
and Watts and dropped down to 4th as Newman spun on turn 4.
Andy Webb passed Cornock on turn 1
for 10th as Greening moved up to 11th from the handicap
as he passed the 516 car on turn 2. Gary
Webb retired with damage while Jess Webb gained on Moores and then Watts to
move up into 4th, before Walding gained on Watts on turn 3. This slowed the 61 car briefly and allowed
Paul Webb and then Williams to both pick up a place on turn 4.
Newman was another retirement as
Greening moved up into 6th as he passed Watts and Moores. Walding passed Jess Webb for 2nd
as the 3 lap board came out as Williams gained 4th from Paul Webb
and Muckian broke into the top 10 as he passed Watts. As the laps ticked down Somerton was able to
maintain his strong lead and came through unscathed for his first ever win,
while the battle for 2nd continued right to the death as Jess Webb challenged on turn 3, Walding went slightly deeper into the corner and
Webb tried to squeeze up the inside on the exit of turn 4, leaving the 563 car
to slide off sideways and rattle hard into the pit gate bringing out a red flag
as the rest of the pack crossed the line.
Result: 210, 563, 185, 105, 42, 856, 352, 155, 61, 253
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| A WELL-DESERVED FIRST VICTORY FOR 210 PATRICK SOMERTON |
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