Photos: 1 - 12 Dave Bastock, 13 - 24 Jim Harrod, 25 - 37 Colin Casserley, 38 - 48 Major Gilbert

Report: Mark Paulson

 

The Big League BriSCA F1 stock cars returned to the Adrian Flux just a fortnight after their last appearance for a fireworks spectacular. #197 Ryan Harrison repeated his success from two weeks' earlier, while #515 Frankie Wainman Jr claimed the Grand National Championship. Also on the bill were the BriSCA F2 stock cars, where #47 Greg McKenzie took the main event, while #1 Jack Witts retained the Ministox National Championship.

 

BriSCA F1

An excellent turnout of more than 50 V8-engined monsters were in action for the latest round of the National Points Shootout and the Grand National Championship. Racing kicked off with the usual non-points White & Yellow grade race, which raised a healthy 20 cars. #496 Neil Holcroft continued his fine form by leading it from start to finish, despite having his big lead slashed by a yellow flag for the stranded #278 Paul Hopkins three laps from home. Second-placed #415 Russell Cooper was slow away at the restart, allowing Holcroft to pull clear for the win, with #541 Willie Skoyles Jr and #338 Chris Brocksopp completing the top three.

Heat one proper doubled up as the Grand National Championship, being held as a race for the first time since 2012. In an action-packed opening, from the outside of the front row, #515 Frankie Wainman Jr got fantastic drive to lead away as polesitter #1 Tom Harris took a trip into the wall. A push from #166 Bobby Griffin on the next bend then shoved #217 Lee Fairhurst into #16 Mat Newson who bore the brunt of the plating, with Harris delayed in the melee. All that gave FWJ an early buffer from Griffin, Fairhurst, Newson and - from row six of the grid - #197 Ryan Harrison, with Harris running sixth. Griffin was next to find the wall, with both him and Newson incurring race-ending damage, while Harrison and Harris shoved past Fairhurst. Wainman maintained his big lead as he negotiated backmarking traffic with aplomb, while wary of the flying Harrison's progress. Final winner two weeks ago, Harrison wasn't able to get on terms with the veteran campaigner, so FWJ took the GNC title for 13th time in his illustrious career. Harrison was second, with a winded Harris following in his wake, and #55 Craig Finnikin, #212 Danny Wainman and Fairhurst completing the top six.

"It's not often you beat Tom off the start," said Wainman. "I got some drive off that corner. I could see Ryan coming at the end, but too late. I was just watching Ryan's lights and looking for Tom's lights - they've got distinctive lights, you know where they are. They're the guys that are going to catch you." Having claimed one title, Wainman's sights were of course immediately set on the next, as he added: "The Shootout's not over yet, not by a long way. We're up for it."

Harrison reckoned he might have had the pace to win had he started nearer the front: "I think we could all see there that the pace of the car was definitely the quickest thing on the track," he said. For his part, world champion Harris admitted: "It was better than the World Final race - bumpers flying everywhere!"

With most of the stars having been involved in the GNC, flying Dutchman H410 Jelle Tesselaar was untouchable in heat two. #234 Terry Pearce had a healthy advantage when the race was brought under an early caution, but Tesselaar had already made terrific progress into second. From there, he easily picked off Pearce and charged to victory by a third of lap, despite easing off in the closing stages. #372 Colin Goodswen and #73 Chris Cowley were his distant placemen.

Twenty-one non-qualifiers returned for the consolation, with 14 places in the final up for grabs. Three of the four blue-top drivers eliminated themselves immediately in a pile-up, and then Skoyles, Brocksopp, Cooper and Holcroft thundered into the bend-three fence, bringing out red flags and a complete restart. That lasted a few laps until #463 James Morris got turned hard into the fence, bringing out yellow flags with #389 Tom Dayman leading (after Pearce had run wide into the wall) from #87 Samuel Brigg. Dayman was swiftly dispatched by Brigg and Newson before Newson put Brigg wide to take the lead. On half-distance it all changed, as Griffin nudged Brigg wide for second, only for the pair to hook up, and Newson slowed to retire. That handed #259 Paul Hines the lead and he went on to a comfortable win from Dayman and #242 Joe Nickolls as only 10 cars finished.

The 32-car Dave Leonard Memorial final began in explosive fashion as a pack of blue and red-graded drivers came together down the back straight and into bend three. On the inside, #525 Nigel de Kock was flicked up and over into the fence in a massive crash. Red flags were out immediately but it didn't take many moments for an adrenaline-fuelled de Kock to jump out and salute the crowd. His new blue wing was in shreds and the rest of the car looked a little worse for wear, but the popular Dutchman was fine. Soon after the race got back under way, #93 Sam Makim demoted Dayman from the lead, but Craig Finnikin was the man to watch. He had flown to third and was just passing Dayman when red flags were required for a loose wheel. Finnikin took the lead within a lap of the restart, with third-placed #191 Josh Smith spinning as he tried to follow through on the freshly-watered track. Big guns Ryan Harrison, Frankie Wainman Jr and Tom Harris also passed Makim, but whether they'd have had the pace to catch Finnikin went unaswered as the Leek ace was forced to slow and retire with a puncture. So Harrison pulled clear for his second consecutive final win at the track. Harris nudged Wainman wide to take second with three laps to go, but couldn't catch Harrison. Wainman held on for third, despite suffering with rear-brake vibration, while #212 Danny Wainman, #289 Jake Walker and #2 Paul Harrison completed the top six.

Continuing his fine transition into the formula, Jake Walker took a win in the helter skelter race which ran flag to flag without stoppages. After #45 Nigel Harrhy led the early stages, #502 Ricky Wilson had a spell in front and fought back when Walker passed him, but it was Walker who took the honours from Wilson and Harris, with Ryan Harrison carving through to fifth from the lap handicap.

 

BriSCA F2

First up for the near 50-car turnout of smaller stock cars was their White & Yellow Grade Series Final, doubling up as heat one, with 18 cars on track. #929 Harry Hensby led the way but track specialist #136 Kyle Taylor had risen to second within a lap and passed Hensby a couple of laps later for the lead. From there it was a case of negotiating the backmarking traffic, which he managed well, as lead pursuer #761 Richard Bowyer picked up some damage when he was squeezed into the fence. Bowyer was still a comfortable second while Spalding man #612 Dan Booth brought home his steaming car third.

The imbalanced format made for a power-packed heat two with 29 cars. In a hectic race, ex-F1 man #76 Aaron Cozens led until half-distance when he was caught out on the road bend. By that time, several of the fancied runners had already hit trouble. #606 Andrew Palmer and #977 Dave Massey tangled and lost almost two laps, while #225 Tony Blackburn - flying from the blues - spun and #38 Dave Polley tangled with a white top. That let #129 Charley Tomblin clear in front until five laps from home when the drivers in second and third, #195 Mike Philip and #324 Jordon Thackra, crashed with Massey and loose wheels from Massey's car caused a race stoppage. On the restart, #968 Micky Brennan pushed #124 Ollie Skeels wide for second and that gave Spalding teenager Tomblin the space he needed to take a comfortable win, with Brennan and Thackra following him home.

The 22-car consolation had 16 places in the final on offer but only 13 cars completed the distance. It was led away by #323 Alex Potts before #375 Richard Lindsay hit the front. But the blue-top trio of brothers #103 Jack and #113 Pat Issitt and Blackburn were quickly on his tail and through. Meantime, Andrew Palmer's wretched night continued when a couple of white-tops spun in front of him and #210 Tristan Claydon, who then hooked up. Claydon eventually got going but Palmer's night was run. The Issitt brothers put on a show out front, as Pat nibbled at Jack's bumper before the younger Issitt edged clear. Pat wasn't done, but his last-bend lunge didn't make contact and his younger brother took the win. "I thought I'd clear a path for my brother!" laughed Jack.

An entertaing final ran flag to flag without a stoppage. #375 Richard Lindsay pulled out a sizeable lead as some of the other whites and yellows delayed each other. #81 Mark Clayton gradually chased Lindsay down but the leader survived his atttack. That brought the leading blue-tops into play and #47 Greg McKenzie soon shoved Lindsay wide for the lead, while #62 Trevor Buckley spun from third. Star men #38 Dave Polley and #968 Micky Brennan were charging through from the back and passed #324 Jordon Thackra for second and third as all three demoted Lindsay. But while Brennan tracked his car-builder Polley, the duo could make little impression on McKenzie who was gone. McKenzie brought the car home for his maiden final win, from Polley and Brennan, with Thackra, #124 Ollie Skeels and Lindsay completing the top six.

An early stoppage in the helter skelter race was required when Pat Issitt was turned hard into the fence, eliminating Richard Lindsay's healthy lead. Son Kai (#374) then charged around the outside to take up the running from #995 Michael Lund. The 995-car then moved ahead from #225 Tony Blackburn and Micky Brennan, and Lund looked set for his customary end-of-meeting win. But he appeared to lose pace and was rapidly closed down by Polley, who had passed Blackburn and Brennan in backmarking traffic. Polley shoved Lund wide, and the latter then pulled up, as the Cambridgeshire man eased to victory from #183 Charlie Guinchard and Blackburn.

 

Ministox

Having fallen victim to the weather at Bradford a week earlier, the Ministox Natinal Champonship, their gold roof contest, was swiftly added to the programme for this meeting as a solo race. From pole position, defending champion #1 Jack Witts was the clear favourite and he duly delivered, never headed and never really threatened throughout the race, despite a race stoppage when former ORC Ministox man #569 Adam Langridge rolled. It was a record-breaking fourth National Championship success for the youngster who will make his senior debut in BriSCA F2 in a fortnight's time. Keeping Witts in sight for much of the race was #27 Luke Syrett-Barsby before his car slowed in the closing stages. That allowed the battling #277 Tom Rogers and #29 Gracie Squire past to complete the trophy placings, Rogers having worked his way through after being fifth at the stoppage. The top six was rounded out by #76 Kasey Jones, Syrett-Barsby and #20 Fred Hunter-Johnson. One of the favourites to challege Witts pre-race, #475 Leah Sealy endured a difficult race; from third on the grid she was shuffled back in the early skirmishes and then spun from eighth after the restart.

 

BriSCA F1 Stock Cars	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th
Whites & Yellows	496	541	338	45	136	339	415	215	87	345
Grand National Championship (Heat 1)	515	197	1	55	212	217	175	2	191	11	335	525
Heat 2	H410	372	73	289	25	93	588	22	339	278	415	234
Consolation	259	389	242	526	20	211	555	166	346	415	nof
Dave Leonard Memorial Final	197	1	515	212	289	2	93	335	25	191	526	11
Helter Skelter	289	502	1	20	197	45	H410	191	124	526	175	166
BriSCA F2	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th
W&Y Final (Heat 1)	136	761	612	231	47	414	69	94	780	81
Heat 2	129	968	324	183	801	124	9	226	38	62
Consolation	103	113	225	618	995	374	375	3	H28	210	382	929	86	nof
Final	47	38	968	324	124	375	618	183	210	9
Helter Skelter	38	183	225	226	618	9	374	47	210	3
Ministox	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
National Championship	1	277	29	76	27	20	120	475	223	85