The 7th round of the 2022 H & N Supplies Ltd. FGA championship produced close, quality racing with plenty of thrills and spills throughout the afternoon.
Race Report by Ross Wharton – Images courtesy of Martin Henfield, Keith Haughton and Ross Wharton
The Hampton Hall venue was hosting the 2nd meeting in as many months, and despite a slightly depleted entry due to holidays, the racing was superb.
The hardest hit for entries was the E-bikes, Lilly Bence was the only competitor but completed all 7 rides without a glitch to take full championship points.
The usual suspects lined up in the auto cadet class, Charlie Dowd, in a class of his own, stormed to another 7 wins. AJ Bence was consistent in finishing 2nd, getting faster as the day went on. Jessica Cox joined them as the only Cadet entry, improving with every ride and having some battles with Bence.
The Cub class was full of action, Archie Whitelam’s return to FGA action gave championship leader Logan Price something to think about as the two raced side by side in the 1st heat, Price just getting the better of Whitelam with Naythan Kukla just behind. The tables were turned in the 2nd heat, Whitelam taking victory whilst Price was 2nd as Kukla was left at the startline. Price would win the 3rd heat with Kukla taking 2nd as Whitelam fell and pushed home for 3rd place. In the 2nd half of the meeting, the top two exchanged wins again then disaster would strike in the final heat when Whitelam fell whilst leading only to be hit by Price. The race would be awarded, giving overall victory to Price, Whitelam 2nd and Kukla 3rd.
The Junior Class was also depleted with only 5 entries, Newbie Issac Collins-Bullock was a non-starter due to bike issues dropping the entry to 4 before practice. Francis Wells suffered a fall in practice, taking 4th in his opening ride but then withdrawing from the rest of the meeting leaving only 3. The racing was close despite the small entry, with championship leader Joe Crewe looking to continue his winning ways, he was followed home by Brother Jack in the opening heat, but Joe would fall on the last bend in the 2nd heat giving Jack Baker his 1st win of the day. Joe Crewe would then get another win ahead of his brother in the 3rd outing. After the break, Joe would add another 2 wins to his tally before finishing 2nd to Jack Baker in the final Heat. Baker would finish 1 point shy of Jack Crewe overall. The Final saw Joe Crewe take victory, with Baker taking 2nd and Jack Crewe 3rd.
A 6 ride Maximum for recent FGA returnee Graham Thomas made it look like he’d never been away from the little 125 class. There was plenty of competition, though, Kevin Gwillam would also take 3 race wins before the half-time interval. Championship leader Wayne Broadhurst was beaten by Gwillam and then Thomas before the break and would be joined by Dave Binns on the same points. After the break, Thomas would take another 3 wins, beating Gwillam and Broadhurst again to win the meeting. Gwillam’s only point dropped was to Thomas, whilst Broadhurst only dropped one more point to take 3rd overall. Dave Binns 2 wins and 4 2nds were enough to take 4th place. Andrew Rowson and Colin How were joint 5th on 38 points before the final, with Whitchurch young gun Sam Hall finishing 7th overall, being the last qualifier for the A final. Jake Breeze would just miss out on the A final in 8th. A fall in his 1st ride whilst leading would deny him 8 points and a 5th place finish.
The A final saw an unexpected fall for Thomas whilst leading on lap 3 leaving Gwillam and Broadhurst to take up the challenge for the win. Despite a slow start on son Max’s Bike, Broadhurst came from 5th to challenge Gwillam for the win but for Gwillam to win by half a wheel. A fantastic race to finish another brilliant Formula Grasstrack meeting.
Round 8 moves to Shawbury, near Shrewsbury on 10th September, which is a change to the calendar.
Results
Ebike – L. Bence 48
Autos – 1st C. Dowd 48, 2nd AJ Bence 42
Cadets – 1st J. Cox 48
Cubs – 1st L. Price 46, 2nd A. Whitelam 42, 3rd N. Kukla 32
Juniors – 1st Joe Crewe 45, 2nd Jack Crewe 41, 3rd J. Baker 40
Seniors (top 10) – 1st G. Thomas 48, 2nd K. Gwillam 47, 3rd W. Broadhurst 45, 4th D. Binns 44, 5th A. Rowson 38, 6th C. How 38, 7th S. Hall 37, 8th J. Breeze 34, 9th S. Mace 33, 10th G. Casale 27
