Photos: 1- 10, Dave Bastock, 11 - 20 Kevin Wickam, 21 - 30 Colin Casserley, 31 - 40 Jim Harrod, 41 - 50 Major Gilbert
Report: Mark Paulson
The BriSCA Formula One stock car season finally got under way, five months after it was originally scheduled, at the Adrian Flux Arena. While the eight Dutch F1 drivers who were intending to race sadly had to withdraw due to the quarantine regulations, there was still a healthy entry of 38 cars, with #515 Frankie Wainman Jr proving to be the early pacesetter in the Chase for the Rainbow Roof. BriSCA Formula Two stock cars were also racing at the track - in their case, for the second time this season - with 70 cars in action and #38 Dave Polley taking a heat-and-final double.
BriSCA F1
A two-thirds heat format was adopted, with the first reserved for white & yellow graded drivers only. The race was turned on its head with three laps to go when long-time leader #326 Mark Sargent got caught out by backmarkers #215 Geoff Nickolls and #496 Neil Holcroft tangling after clipping a marker tyre. That allowed 276 Mark Poole into the lead briefly, before 127 Austin Moore and the recovered Sargent immediately slipped back inside as Poole got a puncture, just before yellow flags were called to recover Holcroft. With backmarkers among the top six able to unlap themselves, that put #345 Jake Harrhy much closer to Moore and Sargent for the restart with two laps to run. Sargent dived inside Moore on the first bend of the last lap but when Moore hit back on the final bend both cars spun. Harrhy was there to pick up the pieces, despite almost getting caught out himself, and clobbering a parked car on the run to the line. In something of a dream result, Harrhy’s father Nigel (#45) followed him home, before unfortunately falling foul of new post-race regulations for clearing the track. That promoted Saloon Stock Car star #560 Barry Russell to second on debut in a Newson hire car.
Heat two also produced a dramatic finish when #94 John Dowson went in for a big last-bend lunge on Sargent, who had again led most of the race. Dowson just made contact but was forced wide himself and was pipped on the run to the line by #217 Lee Fairhurst. World champion #1 Tom Harris recovered from a quick 360-degree spin early on to finish third.
The third heat looked to be going the way of Harris when he pushed his way past #259 Paul Hines for the lead, only for his engine to blow up. That handed Hines back the lead from #515 Frankie Wainman Jr, who had suffered his own engine failure (wiring) in heat two. Following a caution period with four laps to go, which wiped out Hines’s decent advantage, Wainman moved ahead with two laps remaining. #55 Craig Finnikin followed him through and the three remained in that order to the flag.
Twenty-seven cars returned for the all-in final. The early stages were led by #83 Darren Clark and then #302 Jim Bamford before a caution, when the spun #211 Phoebe Wainman rejoined in the path of #502 Ricky Wilson and got clobbered. After some attention, Phoebe was able to walk away before going for further assessment. Her father Frankie was third in the queue at the restart, with #541 Willie Skoyles Jr between him and leader Bamford, and it was Skoyles who quickly took the lead, before Wainman used the bumper to move ahead. Hines moved into second and Skoyles started to get a little ragged. It was relatively quiet thereafter, Wainman taking a comfortable win from Hines and Finnikin. Fairhurst and #335 Mark Woodhull also demoted Skoyles before the chequered flag.
It finally came good for Sargent in the grand national as he dominated a rare flag-to-flag race without a stoppage, to win from Jake Harrhy and Clark. Wainman rose to an impressive fifth from the lap handicap, without the aid of a stoppage, his last-bend lunge on Woodhull not quite enough to secure fourth.
BriSCA F2
After a 24-car race for white-graded drivers only, won by #188 Aaron Patch from #344 Luke Woodhull and #374 Kai Lindsay, there were two half-car heats. The first was led for all but one lap by #43 Marcus Gilbert. Entering the final lap, Gilbert was caught out by a slow-running backmarker and spun out onto the infield. That gave world champion #7 Gordon Moodie the win, the Scotsman carving through from the back in impressive style. Moodie admitted that his practice runs at the track in lockdown paid dividends. “I had confidence in the car,” he said. “If you’ve got that it’s worth a lot of time.”
Heat two was led by #724 Tom Pell until half distance, having been punctuated by a couple of stoppages, when #103 Jack Issitt moved ahead. Issitt had had a reprieve when he was initially excluded during a stoppage for a non-working raceceiver, before managing to get it working again. But Issitt was delayed by backmarkers with five laps to go, allowing #149 Reece Cox to take the lead. By this stage, #38 Dave Polley had risen to third. Polley picked off Issitt for second, then dumped Cox into a backmarker with a lap to go, going on to win from Issitt and #441 Micky Branston.
White tops #374 Kai Lindsay and local man Gilbert fought hard over the lead of the consolation but as the pair battled they were slightly delayed by a backmarker. That was all the invitation that Superstox legend #682 Jason Cooper needed to power underneath the pair and into the lead, which he converted to victory. Gilbert, Lindsay and #69 Ben Chalkley followed him home.
The final began in spectacular fashion when #183 Charlie Guinchard was sent up the fence and on to his side, before bouncing back to his wheels. A complete restart was called, and then further stoppages were required in the early laps when #768 Jack Thompson and #377 Daz Shaw tangled and then #69 Ben Chalkley and Jack Issitt hooked up and into the fence. When things got going, Cox led from #414 Josh Rayner beyond half-distance but the white-tops’ hopes were dashed when there was another caution, closing up the gaps to the star men. Polley and Moodie shoved past with four laps to go and went on to finish in that order, with Cooper completing the trophy placings. #977 Dave Massey, Rayner and #618 Ben Lockwood completed the top six.
Grand national specialist #818 Richard Howarth resisted pressure from the star names following a late caution to win the curtain closer. Moodie was just too far back for a successful last-bend lunge though he gave it a good go, but didn’t connect. From the lap handicap, Polley came home an impressive third, right with the two cars ahead.