Locost
As usual, Locost provided some outstanding racing which thrilled the crowds. In the first encounter, Alastair Garratt took the victory after a race-long battle with both Richard Jenkins and Danny Andrew. Garratt pulled off a great move as he and Andrew went side-by-side into Shaw’s Corner, and when the newcomer got stuck behind a backmarker on the exit Garratt came through to win. “I knew I had to get in position on the final lap and I got alongside Danny at the Esses,” said Garratt.
The second race saw a battle between Lee Bankhurst and Andrew and as Tim Neat was off at Gerard’s Bend, yellow flags hampered any last lap challenge from Bankhurst so Andrew came through to the win. “I learnt from my mistakes in race one, I was looking more in my mirrors than on the track but I’m over the moon,” said the ex-kart racer.
The final race saw a titanic scrap between multiple cars, eventually won by Bankhurst - his first triumph in three years. Bankhurst managed to hold off the pair of Garratt and Jenkins. The final race wasn’t without incident though when Mathew Gilmour was squeezed onto the grass on the exit of the Devil’s Elbow , but he recovered from his bumpy ride to finish in fifth.
Classic Stock Hatch
Lee Scott proved that he was the quickest Classic Stock Hatch racer around Mallory Park with a double although race one didn’t come to him easily. On lap one Scott had an off which put him down into fourth. “When I ran out wide onto the kerb, the car cut out which then put me on the grass,” he explained.
When the cars made their way into the hairpin for the second time there was contact between Scott and Martin Cayzer, which Imran Khan couldn’t avoid. Nevertheless all the cars continued and Scott fought his way into the lead around the outside of Andy Philpotts at the Esses on lap four. A strong drive by Khan meant he finished third, behind Scott and Philpotts, but unfortunately due to the earlier contact Khan couldn’t start race two due to a broken radiator.
Scott took a convincing race two victory from Philpotts and Matt Rozier. The best battle in race two took place between Martyn Fowdrey, Dan Gibson, Mervyn Beckett and Ryan Lowry for fifth position.
Stock Hatch
Tom Bell drove two dominant races to win both Stock Hatch races. In race one Paul Jarvis made an impressive start to run in second at the beginning of the race but had a spin half way through the race which dropped him outside the top ten. A close and competitive battle commenced between the two Deegan brothers, Lee and Shayne. There was slight contact between the team-mates on occasion at the hairpin, leading to topical “multi 21” jokes. Behind Bell, Rob Drake and Shayne finished in the top three.
The second race was a calmer affair for the majority of the pack, but Drake had a couple of offs at Gerard’s Bend, one of which came when he tried to go around the outside of Jake Farndon and the second came when there was contact with Steve Powlesland. Drake’s dramas meant that both Deegans finished in the top three behind the dominant Bell.
750 Formula
Dave Hodkin took a superb double victory in the 750 Formula series, even if it didn’t come easily. Hodkin explained that there was “no third gear” which meant he had to go from second to fourth. “I had to let it get to maximum revs out of the hairpin,” he said. After a good start from Bill Rutter in race one, Hodkin fought his way into the lead on lap five at the Esses. Meanwhile, after a dreadful start for champion Dave Robson which he later explained to be because of “no gears” he battled his way up from the back to finish in third place.
There was a second win for Hodkin in race two, from Chris Gough (pleased with two P2s after a tough 2012) and Bill Rutter.
750 Trophy
Peter Chattin made his commute from Spain worthwhile with two wins in his HCS. Christian Pedersen had led for much of the first race in his Austin 7, while in the second contest his major opponent was Ben Myall (Gerrell), who briefly took the lead in the later stages.
Joshua Barrett
Look out for more news from the Mallory Park race meeting in the May edition of the 750 Motor Club Bulletin.