Two-Litre Hot Rods Hoosier Tires/LJN deSIGNS Race Series Round 2

Eighteen competitors arrived for round two of the Hoosier Tires / LJN DeSigns Series and once again the lower grade drivers dominated the results. At the opening round it was the blue grade drivers who shared out the wins and this time it was the yellow graders who snapped up all three victories. Gary O’Neill withstood a stern examination from Ed Litter to open the evening with a victory in heat one with Glen Hetherington and Garry Campbell next to finish. Litter would not be denied in the second heat which featured a nasty smash for Shane Murray; the Irish Champion’s Vauxhall Corsa spearing into the wall along the start/finish straight after a clash with Mervyn Crawford.  The heat races determined the grid positions for the final and pitted the two race winners alongside each other on the front row. Litter blasted off the line into the lead, but O’Neill dropped down to fourth as Hetherington and Gary Wilson bustled through to challenge the leader. The trio circulated nose to tail for many laps until Wilson made his move in the closing stages. Wilson edged his way around Hetherington to grab second with one lap remaining, then moved up alongside Litter on the final lap. It was a grandstand finish as the pair approached the line side by side but Litter just had enough in reserve to hold on for the win. Wilson was a good second with the top six completed by Hetherington, Campbell, O’Neill and round one winner Adam Heatrick.

Stock Rods

Former Irish Champion Alastair Bolton bounced back to form with an impressive win in the opening heat race which featured seventeen entries. Carl Sloan coped admirably with his promotion to the blue grade to finish as runner-up with William Laffin in third. Bolton surrendered the lead quite easily to Lee Johnston in race two and the Portadown charger readily accepted the opportunity to race away for a clear win ahead of Bolton and Jonny Cardwell. Come final time however Bolton was back up to full speed and steered his Vauxhall Nova home for his first final win of the season. Runner-up William Laffin stayed in touch with the winner throughout, with Freddie Laffin further back in third. Frankie Lynn meanwhile caught the attention of the steward for his conduct in the final. Lynn and UK Masters winner Raymond Harper had both already been warned by the steward about their conduct after some hard driving in the opening heat, but the pair repeatedly clashed again throughout the meeting final. The steward ruled that the contact and aggression displayed by Lynn, who also ignored the black flag, was not acceptable and disqualified him from the race; a one meeting ban was also issued to the former British Champion.

Group Two Lightning Rods William McMaster Perpetual Shield

Two reverse grid qualifying heats determined the grid positions for the William McMaster Perpetual Shield race. Twenty-three cars lined up for the first qualifier where Stephen Doherty got the better of a tight battle with David Wilson to record victory. James Goldie motored away from the field to secure a commanding victory in race two, but another solid finish from Doherty earned the Garvagh man pole position for the final. It was the other Doherty brother, Nigel, who made all the right moves in the trophy race however, taking up the lead at the end of lap one and comfortably holding the rest at bay for the duration. A hectic scrap for second was eventually resolved in favour of Shane Gault, with Irish Champion Daniel Norris in third.

Junior Rods

Sean McFerran warmed up for the Track Championship with a brace of victories in the heat races, but his hat-trick hopes were dashed by newcomer Bradley McKinstry. In both heat races McFerran sped through the pack in his Vauxhall Corsa to claim dominant wins, but his final charge was delayed in the opening stages by a battle with main rival Dean McCrory. It was Jamie McCurdy who set the pace in the final before McKinstry muscled through in his Vauxhall Nova. Once free of McCrory’s grasp McFerran closed rapidly on the frontrunners, but just ran out of laps to catch the leader as McKinstry held on to claim his second final win in a row at Raceway.