Standlake F2 - 28/5/22

The 28 cars in attendance for Standlake’s 5^th meeting of the season was the biggest of the season so far, which was doubly impressive considering the clashing Grimley meeting stopped several regular visitors from being in attendance. 

Among the entry, there was an F2 debut for 371 Nathan Lewis and first outings in 2022 for 2 Craig Passey, 26 Steve Turner, 534 Tom Stoodley and 669 Lee Hall.  295 Leo Freebody made his second visit from Ringwood and completing the lineup were surprising visits from Grimley locals 42 Ash Greening and 716 Jim Muckian.  Both drivers find themselves towards the top of the Standlake points chart at this point of the season and their attendances could well be seen as an indication to challenge for the gold roof. 

Heat 1 raised a field of 19 cars and saw Turner make a strong start from the 2^nd row to pass Freebody and lead into turn 1, before being passed by 255 Joshua Heffer around turn 2.  542 Martin Chard moved up into 2^nd as he gained on Turner on the exit of the corner, with 137 Steve Goldup also making up a place down the back straight.  623 Rob Dobie passed 210 Patrick Somerton on turn 3 before Chard took the lead from Heffer into turn 1 at the start of the second lap.

185 Jess Webb moved into the top 10 passing 776 James Trigg on turn 3 as Somerton was forced into retirement with gearbox problems that would unfortunately put him out for the remainder of the meeting.  6 Tyler Newman gained on Dobie for 4^th on the home straight before moving up into 3^rd later in the lap as he passed Goldup on turn 3.  Muckian squeezed inside Trigg on turn 4 for 10^th as 352 Andy Webb took 7^th from 109 Stuart Biddle into turn 1. 

Newman’s progress continued as he snatched 2^nd from Chard on turn 3 and found himself into the lead as he reeled in Heffer on the exit of turn 4.  Chard dropped back a couple of places as Goldup and Dobie moved ahead on the back straight to claim 3^rd and 4^th respectively.  521 Phil Trigg slipped back into the clutches of the red grade as Andy Webb and Muckian passed the 521 car to sit 6^th and 7^th.  Webb then passed Chard on the back straight, with Muckian following the 352 car through on turn 3.

Half a lap later Webb took 4^th from Dobie into turn 1, with Muckian keeping pace with the former as he too moved by the 623 car on turn 2.  Greening started to pick up some places after struggling in the early laps on the greasy track, passing James Trigg and Goldup on the back straight as he moved inside the top 10.  66 Henry Breakspear passed Jess Webb on turn 3 as 856 Paul Webb and James Trigg tangled on turn 2 and dropped the pair several places.

Goldup spun on turn 3 as Heffer lost 2^nd to Webb and Greening moved up into 8^th as he passed Biddle.  Muckian knocked Webb wide on turn 3 to snatch 2^nd while Biddle retook 8^th from Greening on the same corner shortly afterwards.  The 42 car regained on Biddle into turn 1 and then swapped places with Breakspear over the next lap as Turner spun on turn 2.  Dobie lost out to Breakspear and then Greening on turns 3 and 4 to slip down to 8^th.

With the lapboards now out, Freebody spun on turn 2 as Muckian reeled in Newman and took the lead and Passey spun on turn 3.  Breakspear gained on Heffer on turn 1 for 5^th with the pair both losing out to Greening a lap later, before the latter spun on turn 3 and dropped out of the race.  On the final lap Newman spun on turn 2, but was able to perform a 360 and continue in 3^rd place behind Webb.  The 6 car was challenged on the final bend by Breakspear but was able to hold on for 3^rd as Muckian took his 6^th win of the season ahead of Andy Webb in 2^nd.

Result: 716, 352, 6, 66, 542, 255, 856, 185, 109, 534, 623

17 cars were back out for heat 2, although Passey was a non-starter leaving Hall to lead a 16-car field into turn 1 ahead of 101 Zak Moores and 254 Harry Heffer, who passed Freebody into the opening corner.  61 James Watts spun on turn 2 as Goldup was another spinner on the back straight and Hall retired with running issues with allowed Moores to inherit the lead with 563 Keith Walding passing Biddle to move up into 3^rd as the red flags came out for the stricken 61 car.

A complete restart was called for with 14 cars making the re-run.  Moores led into turn 1 ahead of Harry Heffer as Lewis spun.  Dobie and Goldup passed Freebody to move into 3^rd and 4^th as 82 Keith Richens was an early retirement.  Stoodley passed Biddle down the back straight to move into 5^th as Walding also gained on the 109 car on turn 3. 

Goldup lost 4^th to Stoodley on turn 1 and then 5^th to Walding on turn 3 before dropping back several places over the next lap as 421 Gary Webb, Muckian and 105 Louis Williams all gained on the 137 car.  Webb dived underneath Biddle for 6^th as the pair exited turn 4, with Muckian also gaining on the latter into turn 1. 

Dobie came under attack from Stoodley and Walding as the pair moved into 3^rd and 4^th respectively while Moores continued to extend his lead out front and now had a sizeable gap over the chasing pack.  Muckian picked off Dobie for 5^th before passing Walding on turn 4 to claim 4^th.  The following lap and Muckian was now 3^rd as he moved inside Stoodley on turn 4, the latter coming under attack from Walding into turn 1 and slipping to 5^th.

Muckian moved Heffer wide on turn 2 to climb into 2^nd as Walding and Stoodley collided on the back straight, dropping them down to 6^th and 8^th respectively as Williams passed Gary Webb for 4^th.  Andy Webb moved Walding wide on turn 3 for 6^th before Stoodley also picked up a place on the 563 car a lap later, while Muckian slowed and dropped out of the race shortly afterwards.

The Webb brothers swapped places with Andy moving into 4^th before passing Heffer on turn 3 to claim 4^th, as Gary Webb also passed the 254 on the home straight.  Walding retook 6^th from Stoodley who also lost out to Biddle for 7^th.  With all this going on behind him, Moores had maintained his large lead throughout the race and came home for an impressive flag-to-flag first F2 win ahead of Williams and Andy Webb.

Result: 101, 105, 352, 421, 254, 563, 109, 534, 295, 623

The final heat raised 18 cars although Joshua Heffer was a non-starter as Moores again took the lead as the green flag dropped.  Hall and Chard passed Phil Trigg around turns 1 and 2 while Paul Webb was an opening lap retirement.  James Trigg lost 7^th to Gary Webb and then 8^th to Walding as Harry Heffer spun on turn 1.  Richens and Webb passed Newman on turn 3, before the latter came under attack from Walding and Greening later in the lap.

Webb passed Hall on turn 1 while Greening passed Walding, before reeling in Hall down the back straight.  Greening moved up into 3^rd as he passed Webb and then Richens, while Walding gained on Hall for 6^th.  Webb moved Richens wide on turn 4 to move into 4^th, with the 82 car also losing out to Walding on turn 1.  Greening moved ahead of Chard for 2^nd as Breakspear passed Newman and James Trigg for 9^th.

Walding knocked Chard wide on turn 1 for 4^th while Moores struggled to lap the back-marking Lewis and briefly tangled with the 371 car on turn 3.  This allowed Greening to close the lead right down as he gave Moores a shove on turn 4 and took the lead down the straight.  This allowed Webb and Walding to also gain on the 101 car for 2^nd and 3^rd as Richens spun out of 6^th on turn 2, before Walding took 2^nd from Webb on turn 3.

Chard then picked off Moores for 4^th on turn 3 as the race was called to a premature conclusion with Breakspear having lost a wheel in an incident that I happened to miss.  The red flag gave Greening his 8^th win of the season ahead of Walding and Gary Webb.

Result: 42, 563, 421, 542, 101, 82, 105, 6, 185, 254 

A big field of 25 cars lined up for the final and Moores made the best start from the 2^nd row of the white grade to lead into the opening corner ahead of Chard and Joshua Heffer as Stoodley retired early on.  Harry Heffer quickly gained several places as he passed Newman and Chard to move into 2^nd, before Joshua Heffer claimed 3^rd and Richens spun onto the infield after catching a marker tyre on turn 1.

Walding moved up into 6^th as he passed Dobie on the back straight while James Trigg spun on the home straight and Newman reeled in Chard and Joshua Heffer for 3^rd on turns 3 and 4.  The 255 car then found himself passed by Walding and Muckian on the home straight to slip down the order into 7^th.  Muckian moved Walding wide on turn 3 a lap later for 5^th as Dobie lost out to Paul Webb on the exit of turn 2, although the later was then bested by Greening as the 42 car moved into 9^th.  The red flag then came out as Williams connected with Richens on turn 2, the latter having spun for a 2^nd time.

14 laps remained as the green flag dropped on the restart and Muckian made the first move, passing Newman for 4^th on turn 3, while Greening gained on Joshua Heffer and Gary Webb for 7^th and Phil Trigg was another spinner as he went around on the home straight while Walding was spun on turn 4 by Greening and dropped to the very back of the field.

Moores lost the lead to Harry Heffer and Chard, before Paul Webb also gained on the 101 car for 4^th with Greening coming through for 5^th.  Later in the lap Webb moved into 3^rd ahead of Chard.  Williams picked off Newman for 9^th as Muckian took over the lead from Heffer on turn 4 and Andy Webb passed Moores on the home straight to move into 7^th.

As Paul Webb, Heffer and Muckian battled for the lead, the trio collided on turn 2, spinning and tangling to bring out the 2^nd red flag of the race as the rest of the pack tried to take evasive action, although Chard spun on turn 1 in the process as the flags came out.

The restart now put Greening in the lead ahead of Chard and Gary Webb, with Paul Webb and Muckian now out of the race and 16 cars left running.  As the flag dropped Walding passed Jess Webb on turn 3 for 9^th, Andy and Gary Webb swapped places on turn 4 in the battle for 3^rd and Biddle passed Jess Webb into turn 1.  Walding passed Newman on the back straight as Andy Webb picked off Chard for 2^nd on turn 4. 

The 352 car then tangled with the back-marking Joshua Heffer on turn 2 and spun out – which caused the 3^rd red flag of the race.  With only a few laps remaining the result was called and gave Ash Greening his 4^th final win of the season ahead of Gary Webb and Chard.

Result: 42, 421, 542, 101, 254, 563, 109, 6, 185, 623

Not surprisingly given the quick turnaround time following the previous race, the Grand National raised a reduced field of 14 cars.  Hall led the field away ahead of Moores and Phil Trigg on the opening lap, as Newman passed Dobie for 4^th before Jess Webb also gained on the 623 car for 5^th.

A lap later and Walding took 5^th from Webb into turn 1 as Biddle and Muckian also moved ahead on the exit of turn 2.  Newman then lost 4^th to Walding on turn 1 as Muckian picked off Biddle and then Newman on the following lap to sit in 5^th.  Webb retook a place from Biddle as she moved into 7^th.

Muckian was soon up into 3^rd as he reeled in Walding on turn 4 and then moved inside Trigg on turn 1, with the 563 car also gaining a place on Trigg on the next corner.  Greening broke into the top 10 from the handicap as he passed Dobie, while Breakspear climbed into 7^th as he passed Biddle.

The 109 car then lost a place to Greening on turn 1 as Breakspear passed Newman and Greening then continued to work his way through the field, getting the better of Jess Webb and Newman on the back straight.  Muckian claimed 2^nd from Moores into turn 1 as Walding slotted in behind into 3^rd and Jess Webb passed Newman.

Breakspear then lost 5^th to Greening on turn 3 before the former ended up going wide with Biddle around turns 3 and 4, which took the 66 car out of the race.  Hall spun out of the lead on turn 1, which allowed Muckian to take over the running from Walding and Moores with 3 laps remaining. 

With only 11 cars left running the field started to spread out and until the final lap looked to pass without any further incident.  Out front Muckian held his lead over Walding and took his 6^th win of the season, while Moores continued his best ever meeting with a 3^rd place.  Biddle spun Newman on the final corner in the battle for 7^th, which left the 6 car out of the race as only 10 cars finished.

Result: 716, 563, 101, 42, 185, 421, 109, 542, 521, 623