The 8th running of Standlake's Open Championship raised a strong showing of 31 cars, despite several regulars missing in action. Among the entry, 22 Callum Kelman was making his F2 debut having graduated from the Junior Mini Super Two formula, while 82 Steve Rickard made his first visit to Standlake and there was a first F2 outing in several years for 138 Kev Goldup.
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| A SMART CAR FOR DEBUTANT 22 CALLUM KELMAN |
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| A STANDLAKE DEBUT FOR 82 STEVE RICKARD |
A slightly changed format saw the 2/3rd heats applied with random draws for grid positions carried out. Heat 1 raised 20 cars and was grided as follows: (X denotes a blank space due to driver missing)
X 82 (RICHENS)
542 185
516 295
371 280
563 253
X 669
X 101
26 22
210 60
X 421
155 623
6 10982 Keith Richens lost out to 542 Martin Chard in the battle to be first in to turn 1, as 563 Keith Walding passed 371 Nathan Lewis - the latter then tangling with 280 Pete Webb. 516 Andy Cornock gained on Richens for 2nd as 155 Carl Lewis moved up into 6th ahead of 669 Lee Hall. Richens reclaimed 2nd place from Cornock on turn 4 and then took over at the front from Chard on turn 2.
101 Zak Moores spun on turn 4, with those behind taking avoiding action, 185 Jess Webb moved up to take the lead as Walding moved 2nd and Cornock dropped back to 3rd. Chard moved inside Walding on the back straight, the latter being spun into a tyre on the infield as Lewis, Richens and Pete Webb all came through. 60 Graham Fulker passed Hall for 8th while 623 Rob Dobie gained on 421 Gary Webb for 10th.
Cornock passed Chard on the back straight for 2nd and then tangled with Jess Webb around turn 3, which spun the 185 car out and allowed the former into the lead. 253 Charlie Heffer moved into the top 10 as he passed Dobie and 6 Tyler Newman. Walding moved into 5th as he passed Pete Webb on turn 4, while Gary Webb picked off Fulker and Heffer as he climbed back up into 8th.
Lewis snatched 2nd from Chard, who then lost out to Walding for 3rd on turn 3 while Pete and Gary Webb swapped places - the 421 car now up into 6th as Dobie passed Hall for 9th and Charlie Heffer dropped back a couple of places. Jess Webb spun as the lap boards came out, while Gary Webb passed Richens, and Walding moved inside Lewis for 2nd on the exit of turn 2.
With only 2 laps remaining Gary Webb moved into 4th ahead of Chard as Hall and Dobie continued to exchange places as they battled for 9th . Walding closed the gap to Cornock over the final lap but wasn't close enough to challenge, as the 516 car came through for his first win since 2019 ahead of Walding and Lewis.
Result: 516, 563, 155, 421, 542, 82, 280, 60, 669, 623
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| HEAT 1 WINNER 516 ANDY CORNOCK |
20 cars again made it out for heat 2 and grided as follows:
6 138
155 716
X 534
416 60
352 53
82 563
253 371
245 42
295 254
185 82 (RICHENS)
61
Newman held off Lewis and 716 Jim Muckian to lead the field into turn 1 as Walding dived inside Rickard on the same corner. Lewis picked off Newman for the lead as Charlie Heffer moved ahead of 53 Jamie Robson and 42 Ash Greening passed Fulker.
245 Kyle Broadway then spun to the infield on turn 3 as Greening passed Robson on the same corner and Richens gained on Jess Webb. Walding lost out to Greening into turn 1 as Muckian snatched 2nd from Newman and 352 Andy Webb picked off 534 Tom Stoodley for 4th. Greening's progress through the field continued as he passed Charlie Heffer and then Stoodley to move into 5th.
Lewis spun on turn 1 as Muckian moved inside Lewis for the lead and Newman dropped back to 5th behind Andy Webb and Greening, while Walding slipped down the order with suspension damage. Greening moved Webb wide on turn 1 to claim 3rd while Richens passed Fulker for 9th.
Walding retired as Fulker was another to spun on turn 1. Greening then moved up into 2nd as he shoved Lewis wide around turn 1, while Jess Webb passed Robson on the back straight to snatch 9th. The last couple of laps passed without much further incident as Muckian was able to maintain his lead over Greening to take the win, with Lewis completing the top 3.
Result: 716, 42, 155, 352, 6, 534, 253, 82, 185, 61
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| HEAT 2 WINNER 716 JIM MUCKIAN |
The final heat saw 20 cars again on track and the grid was formed as follows:
61 109
254 623
42 421
210 245
22 26
101 82 (RICKARD)
669 352
53 416
280 516
534 542
716 138
61 James Watts got the better start ahead of 109 Stuart Biddle to lead into turn 1, with Greening quickly snatching 2nd from Biddle around turn 2. Broadway was able to pass Dobie on the opening corner as Greening reeled in Watts and claimed the lead as the pair went around turns 3 and 4. Gary Webb passed Biddle down the back straight for 3rd as Dobie lost out to Moores and Hall.
Tom Stoodley bested Rickard on the back straight as Watts reclaimed the lead from Greening on turn 2 on the 2nd lap, although the 42 car retook the position on turn 1 at the beginning of the next lap. Moores moved into 5th as he passed Broadway on the exit of turn 2, but lost out to Stoodley shortly afterwards before Broadway also retook his position.
The 101 and 245 cars continued to trade positions for the next lap, allowing Muckian through in the process on turn 1 to move the latter up into 6th, as Hall also gained on Moores for 8th. Rickard and 26 Steve Turner tangled on turn 1, forcing both out of the race with damage, while Stoodley squeezed up the inside of Biddle around turn 4, the latter under attack from Muckian into turn 1 to drop to 6th.
Moores gained on Hall on turn 1 and then moved ahead of Andy Webb around turn 2 to sit 8th. With 5 laps to go Hall retook a place from Moores on turn 2, before the 101 car dropped back several places as Robson inherited 10th place. Muckian dived inside Gary Webb on the exit of turn 4 for 3rd as Andy Webb bested Broadway into turn 1.
Somerton spun out to the infield on turn 3 as Pete Webb passed Robson on turn 2 to move into 9th in the closing stages. Muckian closed down the gap to Watts as the final lap began, and while the 61 car was able to hold on around turns 1 and 2, by turn 3 Muckian used the bumper just enough to create a gap and squeeze up the inside of Watts to claim 2nd place by the narrowest of margins. However no one could get close to Greening as he claimed his 26th win of the season.
Result: 42, 716, 61, 534, 421, 352, 109, 245, 280, 53
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| A FORMIDABLE FRONT ROW FOR THE OPEN FINAL |
With all 3 qualifying heats completed, 21 cars had qualified for the final and the grid formed as follows:
716 42
421 155
534 352
516 563
61 82 (RICHENS)
542 6
280 253
60 109
669 245
185 53
623
As the green flag dropped on the 20-lap final, Greening took the lead and held it into turn 1 as Stoodley and Andy Webb tangled across the start line and both headed for the infield, before Chard spun on turn 1. Greening lost out to Lewis and Gary Webb to drop to 3rd, ahead of Muckian, Richens and Walding at the end of the opening lap.
Greening and Muckian picked off Gary Webb for 2nd and 3rd respectively on turn 2, with Richens also gaining on the 421 car on the exit of turn 4. With bumpers going in all over the track, Muckian ended up slowing and running around the outside as Walding suddenly climbed into 2nd ahead of Greening and Broadway quickly gained a number of places to sit 5th.
A lap later and Greening claimed 2nd from Walding on turn 1, as the mis-firing Gary Webb dropped back down the order as Broadway and Robson moved ahead to complete the top 5. Pete Webb spun on turn 4 as Gary Webb had an unseen coming-together and lost a wheel, which brought out the red flags on lap 7. Biddle was forced out of the race at this point with a loose exhaust.
With 18 of the original 21 starters still running, Greening made a good start and moved Lewis wide into turn 1 to take the lead, which in turn allowed Walding through for 2nd. On the following lap Walding was fired into the fence at turn 2 as the pack closed in on the damaged car, with Jess Webb now briefly inheriting 2nd and Lewis now 3rd ahead of Robson and Pete Webb.
Broadway passed Pete Webb into turn 1 as Muckian gained on Richens on turn 3, the latter also losing out to Andy Webb. Lewis reeled in Jess Webb to take 2nd as Andy Webb spun on turn 2, tangling with Muckian as Newman and Cornock were also involved in the incident. This again shuffled the mid pack, with Charlie Heffer and Dobie breaking into the top 10 in 8th and 9th respectively.
As the 3 lap board came out, Chard spun on turn 1 while Heffer reeled in Pete Webb on the back straight, although the pair both lost out to Watts who moved up into 5th. The final couple of laps calmed down as Greening kept his lead out front and worked his way through the back markers, coming through to claim the Open championship and the chequered roof, ahead of Lewis and Jess Webb.
Result: 42, 155, 185, 245, 61, 280, 253, 82, 623, 53
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| THE 2022 OPEN CHAMPION - 42 ASH GREENING |
Despite plenty of damage in the final, 19 cars made it back out for the Grand National with Lewis and Greening heading a closed grade-order grid from their lap handicap. Robson took the lead into turn 1 ahead of Goldup and 295 Leo Freebody, although the latter spun together with Nathan Lewis at the end of the opening lap. Watts moved up into 3rd as he passed Newman and Somerton on the back straight, with the latter also losing out to Moores and Chard before hitting the fence.
Goldup spun on the back straight as Moores passed Watts for 2nd, but was then repassed by the 61 car on turn 2 of the following lap, before the pair spun on the exit of the corner. This allowed Cornock to inherit 2nd with Stoodley now up into 3rd as Biddle gained on Newman for 7th and Richens reeled in Broadway to move into 8th.
Stoodley moved Cornock wide on turn 1 and claimed 2nd as Greening passed Carl Lewis on turn 3 and Biddle bested Chard on the back straight. Cornock then retired with unseen issues as Stoodley moved inside Robson to take the lead around turns 3 and 4. Greening and Lewis then moved into the top 10 as they both passed Dobie for 9th and 10th respectively.
Greening moved Somerton wide into turn 1 to claim 8th, before the 42 car tangled with Chard on turn 3 and lost a lap as he tried to seperate himself from the 542 car. Charlie Heffer passed Newman on the inside of turn 2 as Moores dropped out of the race and Goldup spun for a 2nd time on turn 4.
Biddle and Broadway then both came together on turn 3, with the latter dropping out of the places. On the final lap Greening gained on Dobie to move back into 10th as Lewis passed Biddle and Charlie Heffer to end up 4th. Stoodley came through for his 5th win of the season ahead of Robson and Richens.
Result: 534, 53, 82, 155, 253, 109, 6, 61, 210, 42
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| GRAND NATIONAL WINNER 534 TOM STOODLEY |
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