National & 2.0 Hot Rods 'Best in Britain' Hednesford 1st December 2024
The ‘Best in Britain’ title for the National Hot Rods, 2.0 Hot Rods, Superstox and Stock Rod categories was up for grabs at Hednesford on the 1st of December after a wintry, weather-induced cancellation in 2023.
National Hot Rods
BILLY BARNSTORMS BEST IN BRITAIN FOR MAZDA’S MAIDEN TITLE
The final National Hot Rod meeting of 2024 in England pulled a 35-strong entry to Hednesford Hills Raceway and Carl Waller-Barrett was back to defend the crown he won at the revived 'Best in Britain’ meeting in 2022, the prize having been left without a home after the demise of Wimbledon Stadium in springtime 2017 and arctic conditions forced the cancellation of the event in 2023. The meeting would also qualify as Round Seven of the 2024/2025 English World Qualifying series and the top six contenders were all in attendance. Four-time World Champion Robert McDonald wheeled out the Ginetta that he has dominated the category with of late and the Scotsman aimed to end a glittering 2024 with another title to add to the World, British and the National Championship crown that he secured at Hednesford in August. 2016 World Champion Adam Maxwell was sure to be a threat with his Ginetta and triple World Champion Chris Haird has also moved on from his Mk2 Vauxhall Tigra to another of the increasingly popular machines during 2024. Further Ginettas in contention for the title belonged to Aaron Dew, 2024 Angie Rowe Thunder 500 winner Hayden Ballard and Jason Kew, the last named having taken a clean sweep of the most recent World qualifying series round at Ipswich in November. Two-time World Champion Malcolm Blackman made a comeback to the Nationals this year with another example of the Carl Boardley Motorsport machines and wasn’t there to make up the numbers, Shane Bland also returned to the field in a G40 after a couple of years away. Classic Hot Rod contender Kevin Gooding bought a National earlier this year and has since replaced the Tigra with a new Ginetta. Scottish series leader Derek Conner was a dark horse for honours and he would be armed with the ex-Karl Baker Ginetta. Scot John Sibbald, David Brooks and Lance Bowen completed the runners in the British sports car. 2018 World title winner and 2022/2023 English points champion Billy Wood aimed to finish the year with a maiden title for the developing Mazda MX5, whilst also trying to close down McDonald’s eight-point lead in the English series standings. Former 2.0 Hot Rod hotshoe Paul Wright has looked increasingly likely to win a title in the Nationals since his move into the category a few years ago aboard a Vauxhall Tigra and where better to bag one than at Hednesford? Fellow 2.0 Hot Rod graduates Damon Wellman and 2023/2024 Scottish National Hot Rod series champion Gordon Alexander were also entered, both are former World Champions in the class and the Scot was in the second of the pretty Spedeworth MX5 chassis on the entry. Another former 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion to recently graduate into the Nationals was James Morris and he would be at the wheel of another Tigra, whilst Dan Smith has sold on his Ginetta and the ex-2.0 Hot Rod World Champion has since moved into Nathan Robertson’s Tigra. Perry Cooke was also among the entries in one of the ubiquitous Tigras, Cooke fought McDonald hard for the NHRPA Championship win at Hednesford in August before the Ginetta eventually made the outside line work. Ryan Morgan won the opening final of the 2024/2025 English series at Aldershot with his Tigra, whilst Chris Aldridge did likewise at the Hampshire venue in March and Paul Tompkins also took the most recent final at the Rushmoor site in October. Darren Cardy continues to acquaint himself with the formula after moving up from a unique Vauxhall Adam 2.0 Hot Rod to another Tigra. The collection of Tigras was completed by veteran Dick Hillard, Robert Gamble and Northern Irishmen Nigel McAuley and Derek McMillan. Jack Blood dominated the world qualifying series meeting aboard his lesser-spotted Mk2 Tigra when the Nationals were in the Midlands in September 2023, with three wins across the heats and final. 2024 National Championship heat winner Jeff Riordan looked to secure the 'Best in Britain' title aboard the Lotus Exige that he currently leads the Northern Ireland standings with and ex-Superstox World Champion Nick Roots hoped to do likewise with his example. Jeffrey Roeffen came over from the Netherlands armed with his right-hand-drive Fiesta and the Dutch champion has kept improving with each appearance on the UK ovals. Two no-shows from Ashley Shaw and Terry Hunn meant that a total of 33 cars would start the meeting.
BILLY BARNSTORMS BEST IN BRITAIN FOR MAZDA’S MAIDEN TITLE
The final National Hot Rod meeting of 2024 in England pulled a 35-strong entry to Hednesford Hills Raceway and Carl Waller-Barrett was back to defend the crown he won at the revived 'Best in Britain’ meeting in 2022, the prize having been left without a home after the demise of Wimbledon Stadium in springtime 2017 and arctic conditions forced the cancellation of the event in 2023. The meeting would also qualify as Round Seven of the 2024/2025 English World Qualifying series and the top six contenders were all in attendance. Four-time World Champion Robert McDonald wheeled out the Ginetta that he has dominated the category with of late and the Scotsman aimed to end a glittering 2024 with another title to add to the World, British and the National Championship crown that he secured at Hednesford in August. 2016 World Champion Adam Maxwell was sure to be a threat with his Ginetta and triple World Champion Chris Haird has also moved on from his Mk2 Vauxhall Tigra to another of the increasingly popular machines during 2024. Further Ginettas in contention for the title belonged to Aaron Dew, 2024 Angie Rowe Thunder 500 winner Hayden Ballard and Jason Kew, the last named having taken a clean sweep of the most recent World qualifying series round at Ipswich in November. Two-time World Champion Malcolm Blackman made a comeback to the Nationals this year with another example of the Carl Boardley Motorsport machines and wasn’t there to make up the numbers, Shane Bland also returned to the field in a G40 after a couple of years away. Classic Hot Rod contender Kevin Gooding bought a National earlier this year and has since replaced the Tigra with a new Ginetta. Scottish series leader Derek Conner was a dark horse for honours and he would be armed with the ex-Karl Baker Ginetta. Scot John Sibbald, David Brooks and Lance Bowen completed the runners in the British sports car. 2018 World title winner and 2022/2023 English points champion Billy Wood aimed to finish the year with a maiden title for the developing Mazda MX5, whilst also trying to close down McDonald’s eight-point lead in the English series standings. Former 2.0 Hot Rod hotshoe Paul Wright has looked increasingly likely to win a title in the Nationals since his move into the category a few years ago aboard a Vauxhall Tigra and where better to bag one than at Hednesford? Fellow 2.0 Hot Rod graduates Damon Wellman and 2023/2024 Scottish National Hot Rod series champion Gordon Alexander were also entered, both are former World Champions in the class and the Scot was in the second of the pretty Spedeworth MX5 chassis on the entry. Another former 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion to recently graduate into the Nationals was James Morris and he would be at the wheel of another Tigra, whilst Dan Smith has sold on his Ginetta and the ex-2.0 Hot Rod World Champion has since moved into Nathan Robertson’s Tigra. Perry Cooke was also among the entries in one of the ubiquitous Tigras, Cooke fought McDonald hard for the NHRPA Championship win at Hednesford in August before the Ginetta eventually made the outside line work. Ryan Morgan won the opening final of the 2024/2025 English series at Aldershot with his Tigra, whilst Chris Aldridge did likewise at the Hampshire venue in March and Paul Tompkins also took the most recent final at the Rushmoor site in October. Darren Cardy continues to acquaint himself with the formula after moving up from a unique Vauxhall Adam 2.0 Hot Rod to another Tigra. The collection of Tigras was completed by veteran Dick Hillard, Robert Gamble and Northern Irishmen Nigel McAuley and Derek McMillan. Jack Blood dominated the world qualifying series meeting aboard his lesser-spotted Mk2 Tigra when the Nationals were in the Midlands in September 2023, with three wins across the heats and final. 2024 National Championship heat winner Jeff Riordan looked to secure the 'Best in Britain' title aboard the Lotus Exige that he currently leads the Northern Ireland standings with and ex-Superstox World Champion Nick Roots hoped to do likewise with his example. Jeffrey Roeffen came over from the Netherlands armed with his right-hand-drive Fiesta and the Dutch champion has kept improving with each appearance on the UK ovals. Two no-shows from Ashley Shaw and Terry Hunn meant that a total of 33 cars would start the meeting.
Heats: The morning rain had left a wet track for practice and the oval was still very damp in places for Heat One. After a favourable draw placed him on the front row of the opening 25-lap encounter, Northern Irish series leader Jeff Riordan unsurprisingly established himself in the lead from the start from Robert Gamble and Kevin Gooding but Lance Bowen from the second batch had spun on the entry to the West bend on lap two and was clouted by Nigel McAuley as the yellows came out on lap three. The leading Lotus opted to take the inside for the two-by-two restart followed by Gamble and Paul Tompkins, with Kevin Gooding, Dan Smith and Adam Maxwell going for the outside among the top six. Riordan sped away at the resumption. whilst Smith quickly passed Gooding for second place and the top three remained the same to the finish. Darren Cardy and Perry Cooke tangled at the West bend for the final time fighting for a top-four finish, Cooke crossed the line fourth to finish highest of the second batch whilst Cardy spun down to 22nd. The Ginettas of ex-World Champions Chris Haird and Malcolm Blackman came home fifth and sixth from batch three. Hayden Ballard and Chris Aldridge profited from a Jason Kew, Nick Roots and Billy Wood scuffle at the West bend in the later stages to claim seventh and eighth, whilst Wood's MX5 came through from the fifth group to ninth having survived the three-way incident. Shane Bland completed the top ten from batch four after Kew and Roots were both docked two spots. Jeffrey Roeffen had made a promising start to be fighting with Gooding and Cardy for third place into the first corner before slipping to seventh at the end of lap one behind Smith and Tompkins but a contretemps with Derek Conner at the restart saw the Scot go out and condemned the Dutchman to a twentieth place finish. World Champion Robert McDonald started in the same group as Cooke but got caught up with a slowing Robert Gamble at the East bend on lap five before getting knocked into a spin at the following turn by the squabbling Ryan Morgan and Jason Kew, the Scot finished a lap down in 24th of the 27 finishers. The track surface has dried out in time for Heat Two and the field would form up in the reverse of the Heat One grid draw, placing Jack Blood’s Mk2 Tigra on the inside pole and Aaron Dew’s Ginetta on the outside. A competitive heat looked in prospect with any of the first group of eight likely winners as former World Champions Adam Maxwell and Billy Wood comprised the second row from Paul Wright and reigning Scottish points series champion Gordon Alexander on the third row. The first batch of eight cars was completed by John Sibbald and defending ’Best in Britain’ trophy holder Carl Waller-Barrett. Blood leapt into the lead as Maxwell and Wood both jumped ahead of outside front row man Dew, whilst first heat victor Jeff Riordan went out early at the West bend after Dan Smith had got away poorly and the Lotus broke its steering when it struck the slow-moving Tigra. Shane Bland led the second wave away and passed Waller-Barrett for eighth place on lap four behind Wright in fifth, Alexander in sixth and Sibbald in seventh. However, Paul Tompkins spun on lap six leaving the East bend to bring out the yellows but not before Derek Conner had smacked headlong into the barriers after being confronted by the stationary Tigra. Poleman Blood, Maxwell and Dew headed the inside queue for the restart, with Wood, Wright and Alexander opting for the outside. Maxwell forcefully passed Blood as the field got going again, with Wood soon following the Ginetta past into second. Blood's race came to an end five laps later when he went off on dropped oil at the East bend, which forced another restart. Behind them, Wright had fallen behind Dew at the resumption and Alexander also demoted the Tigra at the East bend before straightaway going underneath Dew at the West bend to take up fourth place. Leader Maxwell headed the MX5s of Wood and Alexander at the front of the inside train, whilst Waller-Barrett jumped up from ninth to take the chance to lead the outside runners for the recommencement of racing as Bland and Ryan Morgan followed suit. Maxwell held the lead at the restart as Wood went under Waller-Barrett for second place into the East bend. The top three continued to lap together but the lightest of touches from Waller-Barrett on Wood at the West bend gave Maxwell a break to the finish which the MX5 couldn’t quite bridge. On-the-road winner Maxwell was docked two places for his Blood move so Wood was declared the winner from Waller-Barrett's Fiesta but Maxwell’s penalty was eventually rescinded in time for the final. Behind the top three, Bland and Alexander were involved in a tussle for fourth place that was resolved when Bland spun down the field exiting the West bend coming up to complete lap seventeen. Pre-event favourite Robert McDonald had started on the front row of the fourth batch in twentieth position and caught Alexander for fourth place in the last knockings, the pair took the flag abreast but the MX5 stayed ahead by a nose. Alexander was disqualified from his fourth-placed finish so McDonald was ultimately classified in the spot. Malcolm Blackman recorded his second top-six finish in fifth, likewise Chris Haird but the pair of former World title holders were in the reverse of their Heat One finishing order. A trio of Tigras filled positions seventh, eighth and ninth in the hands of Wright, Morgan and James Morris, whilst front-row starter Dew rounded out the top ten finishers.
Final: The longer-distance 'Best in Britain' final was to be held over 35 laps under floodlights. The points accrued during the two heats would decide the starting order for the final. 2018 World Champion Billy Wood would line up on the inside pole with three-time World title counterpart Chris Haird going from the outside. 2004 and 2011 World Champion Malcolm Blackman took up the inside of the second row ahead of second-heat victor Adam Maxwell, the 2016 World title winner. Perry Cooke headed the third row from defending 'Best in Britain' trophy holder Carl Waller-Barrett in sixth. Kevin Gooding started from the inside of the fourth row with opening heat winner Jeff Riordan to his outside as James Morris and Dan Smith completed the top ten starters. The final ran uninterrupted by yellow flags and Wood led all the way from the front to claim the new-for-2024 Mazda MX5 chassis its first title. Fellow front-row man Haird lost out to Blackman towards the West bend on lap one before slipping further back, along with Heat Two winner Maxwell who eventually retired late on. Wood, Blackman and Cooke ran closely to each other through the opening laps and were also caught by Waller-Barrett. Cooke dived past Blackman for second into the East bend on lap eleven but Robert McDonald had mounted a fantastic charge from starting twelfth to latch onto the back of Cooke in the closing stages. The four-time World Champion ended lap one already inside the top ten before getting involved in a tough scrap with first-heat winner Jeff Riordan that saw them swap places on three consecutive laps until the Ginetta passed both Gooding and the Lotus in one go at the West bend when Riordan attempted to get inside Gooding's Ginetta and the Scot drove around the outside of the pair of them to take seventh on lap seven. They had already been gifted a spot when 2021 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion James Morris spun down the order on lap five. The Ginetta's charge continued when he passed Maxwell for sixth during lap thirteen, Haird fell victim two laps later for fifth place, Blackman followed another two laps later for fourth place and McDonald reached the top three on the 21st lap when he passed Waller-Barrett before reeling in the second-placed Vauxhall. Cooke’s stout defence of second place allowed Wood to gain a few further lengths advantage to secure the title and he also claimed top points in the English series, which moved the Mazda driver to the top of the charts by eight points. Cooke expertly rode the extreme pressure from McDonald during the last ten laps and managed to eke a narrow margin himself late on as he claimed the runner-up spot ahead of the World Champion, with Cooke climbing into the top three in the standings behind McDonald. Waller-Barrett came home fourth after passing Blackman for third during the fourteenth tour before the flying Scotsman steamed through on lap 21. Blackman took a good fifth for the recent category returnee, whilst Paul Wright was another to put in a charging drive to finish sixth from a seventh-row start. Front-row starter Haird was passed by Wright with three to go so crossed the line seventh, whilst Hayden Ballard went well from the ninth row to claim eighth and passed Maxwell with three laps remaining before the 2016 World Champion pulled into centre. Dan Smith secured a top-ten finish in his first outing with the Tigra and Jason Kew shored up the first ten cars home.
Final: The longer-distance 'Best in Britain' final was to be held over 35 laps under floodlights. The points accrued during the two heats would decide the starting order for the final. 2018 World Champion Billy Wood would line up on the inside pole with three-time World title counterpart Chris Haird going from the outside. 2004 and 2011 World Champion Malcolm Blackman took up the inside of the second row ahead of second-heat victor Adam Maxwell, the 2016 World title winner. Perry Cooke headed the third row from defending 'Best in Britain' trophy holder Carl Waller-Barrett in sixth. Kevin Gooding started from the inside of the fourth row with opening heat winner Jeff Riordan to his outside as James Morris and Dan Smith completed the top ten starters. The final ran uninterrupted by yellow flags and Wood led all the way from the front to claim the new-for-2024 Mazda MX5 chassis its first title. Fellow front-row man Haird lost out to Blackman towards the West bend on lap one before slipping further back, along with Heat Two winner Maxwell who eventually retired late on. Wood, Blackman and Cooke ran closely to each other through the opening laps and were also caught by Waller-Barrett. Cooke dived past Blackman for second into the East bend on lap eleven but Robert McDonald had mounted a fantastic charge from starting twelfth to latch onto the back of Cooke in the closing stages. The four-time World Champion ended lap one already inside the top ten before getting involved in a tough scrap with first-heat winner Jeff Riordan that saw them swap places on three consecutive laps until the Ginetta passed both Gooding and the Lotus in one go at the West bend when Riordan attempted to get inside Gooding's Ginetta and the Scot drove around the outside of the pair of them to take seventh on lap seven. They had already been gifted a spot when 2021 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion James Morris spun down the order on lap five. The Ginetta's charge continued when he passed Maxwell for sixth during lap thirteen, Haird fell victim two laps later for fifth place, Blackman followed another two laps later for fourth place and McDonald reached the top three on the 21st lap when he passed Waller-Barrett before reeling in the second-placed Vauxhall. Cooke’s stout defence of second place allowed Wood to gain a few further lengths advantage to secure the title and he also claimed top points in the English series, which moved the Mazda driver to the top of the charts by eight points. Cooke expertly rode the extreme pressure from McDonald during the last ten laps and managed to eke a narrow margin himself late on as he claimed the runner-up spot ahead of the World Champion, with Cooke climbing into the top three in the standings behind McDonald. Waller-Barrett came home fourth after passing Blackman for third during the fourteenth tour before the flying Scotsman steamed through on lap 21. Blackman took a good fifth for the recent category returnee, whilst Paul Wright was another to put in a charging drive to finish sixth from a seventh-row start. Front-row starter Haird was passed by Wright with three to go so crossed the line seventh, whilst Hayden Ballard went well from the ninth row to claim eighth and passed Maxwell with three laps remaining before the 2016 World Champion pulled into centre. Dan Smith secured a top-ten finish in his first outing with the Tigra and Jason Kew shored up the first ten cars home.
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2.0 Hot Rods
BOTFIELD BEST IN BRITAIN AFTER BLACK CROSSES BELEAGUER BEN MURRAY AND BOXER JACK
A packed entry of 31 competitors descended on Staffordshire to fight for the 2.0 Hot Rod title. A strong Northern Irish contingent crossed the Irish Sea, headed by two-time World Champion Jordan Rochford and reigning British Champion Drew McKeown. Former British title holder Conor Hughes completed a formidable trio of contenders from the north, whilst Brendan O'Connell also made the trip from the south of the Emerald Isle. 2024 Hoosier Tires champion Ben Murray and Jason ’Boxer Jack’ Jackson, the 2022 'Best in Britain' trophy winner and 2023 Hoosier series champion, headed the domestic series entries. The rapid Gavin Botfield would also be gunning for glory. Mitchell Souter recently returned to the category after a short break with a brand-new Peugeot 106 and couldn't be written off, likewise reigning European Champion Jack Wilks. Determined Scotsman Jason Secker plies his trade in the English Hoosier Tires series so is familiar with the Midlands oval, as are Harry Smith, Chevy Mills and Dean O'Dell and all had lofty ambitions. Someone else to keep a close eye on was Joey Palmer after stepping away from the National Hot Rods into the class during the summer. A trio of teenagers with surnames familiar to oval regulars aimed to make a name for themselves, with sixteen-year-olds Charlie Hardie, Charlie Homewood-Burrows and Anthony Weaver fielding a pair of Peugeot 106s and a Citroën Saxo in Homewood-Burrows' case. Some variations of shape were provided by Lee Pepper’s Peugeot 206 CC, Chris Tullett’s self-built VW Polo and Lee Munday’s Citroën DS3 in addition to the Peugeot 106 and Citroën Saxo hordes, whilst the Vauxhall camp were represented by Luke Stonehouse and Josh Breakspear’s Novas - Breakspear’s the ex-Garry Pollard Group B machine, Phillip Potter and Lee Hall’s Corsas and Richard Norman’s Tigra.
BOTFIELD BEST IN BRITAIN AFTER BLACK CROSSES BELEAGUER BEN MURRAY AND BOXER JACK
A packed entry of 31 competitors descended on Staffordshire to fight for the 2.0 Hot Rod title. A strong Northern Irish contingent crossed the Irish Sea, headed by two-time World Champion Jordan Rochford and reigning British Champion Drew McKeown. Former British title holder Conor Hughes completed a formidable trio of contenders from the north, whilst Brendan O'Connell also made the trip from the south of the Emerald Isle. 2024 Hoosier Tires champion Ben Murray and Jason ’Boxer Jack’ Jackson, the 2022 'Best in Britain' trophy winner and 2023 Hoosier series champion, headed the domestic series entries. The rapid Gavin Botfield would also be gunning for glory. Mitchell Souter recently returned to the category after a short break with a brand-new Peugeot 106 and couldn't be written off, likewise reigning European Champion Jack Wilks. Determined Scotsman Jason Secker plies his trade in the English Hoosier Tires series so is familiar with the Midlands oval, as are Harry Smith, Chevy Mills and Dean O'Dell and all had lofty ambitions. Someone else to keep a close eye on was Joey Palmer after stepping away from the National Hot Rods into the class during the summer. A trio of teenagers with surnames familiar to oval regulars aimed to make a name for themselves, with sixteen-year-olds Charlie Hardie, Charlie Homewood-Burrows and Anthony Weaver fielding a pair of Peugeot 106s and a Citroën Saxo in Homewood-Burrows' case. Some variations of shape were provided by Lee Pepper’s Peugeot 206 CC, Chris Tullett’s self-built VW Polo and Lee Munday’s Citroën DS3 in addition to the Peugeot 106 and Citroën Saxo hordes, whilst the Vauxhall camp were represented by Luke Stonehouse and Josh Breakspear’s Novas - Breakspear’s the ex-Garry Pollard Group B machine, Phillip Potter and Lee Hall’s Corsas and Richard Norman’s Tigra.
Heats: Harry Smith led away from the outside pole of Heat One from Chevy Mills and Ben Murray by the end of lap two but two-time World Champion Jordan Rochford and European Champion Jack Wilks had both demoted the English points champion to fifth before a sixth-lap incident that spelled disaster for title hopeful Drew McKeown after the Northern Irishman t-boned the stranded Vauxhall Tigra of Richard Norman coming off the East bend to end both of their meetings, with Chris Tullett's VW Polo caught up in the incident too. Mitchell Souter was also in trouble at the stoppage, going to the centre with a dead engine but the 106 eventually restarted eleven laps down. Rochford, Murray and Wilks lined up in positions two, three and four behind Smith for the restart after the trio had all passed Mills just ahead of the stoppage. Smith resolutely defended the inside line from Rochford as the action got underway again, which allowed Murray to work his way around the outside of both to claim the race lead as Wilks also displaced Rochford to fourth. Smith and Rochford had both repassed Murray a lap later but their intense squabbling saw Murray back through on the following tour and he eased away to victory once ahead. Smith came back at the 2024 Hoosier series titlist in the closing stages but had to be satisfied with second. Rochford completed the podium finishers in third from Mills and Keith Brown, with Wilks classified sixth. The reverse of the Heat One grid saw teenager Charlie Homewood-Burrows lead away Heat Two from the inside pole and the youngster held sway until lap four when Conor Hughes went ahead. Jason 'Boxer Jack' Jackson came through from the front of the second wave to pass the Saxo just after half distance to begin the chase of Hughes and the 2023 Hoosier series winner almost caught his prey on the final lap but Hughes held on for the victory. Homewood-Burrows took a great third for the sixteen-year-old as Gavin Botfield headed a four-car battle over fourth home from Jason Secker, Dean O’Dell and opening heat victor Ben Murray.
Final: Darkness had descended when the field lined up for their 20-lap final. The combined scores from the pair of heats placed Ben Murray onto the inside pole, with Gavin Botfield sharing the front row with the first heat winner. Jason 'Boxer Jack' Jackson headed the second row from Heat Two victor Conor Hughes, with Harry Smith and Dean O'Dell making up row three. The top ten starters were made up by Jordan Rochford, Jack Wilks, Charlie Homewood-Burrows and Chevy Mills. As inside poleman Murray raced clear at the start, both Botfield and Hughes touched the wall coming off the West bend and Botfield fell to third behind Jackson as Hughes slid wide at turn one to fall into the clutches of the pack. The race was soon stopped after Anthony McGinty sideswiped the East bend wall hard on lap one, having been turned across the nose of Anthony Weaver when the pack checked up to avoid a spinning Nicholas Wright. As the yellows came out, Jack Wilks was punted by a train including a sideways Chevy Mills, Jason Secker and Mitchell Souter. Charlie Homewood-Burrows was also clipped by the spinning Wilks but was able to continue, whilst Keith Brown also became involved as he attempted to go round the back of the melee and was forced to go to the centre with Hughes and Brendan O’Connell. Murray led all the way after seeing off heavy pressure from 'Boxer Jack' to begin with after the restart to win on-the-road seemingly flawlessly but Murray was docked two places for tapping a backmarker. That should have promoted Jackson to the top step but he too had received a black cross for contact. That promoted Gavin Botfield to the 'Best in Britain' victory and Harry Smith into the top two positions ahead of a crestfallen Murray. Botfield had held off Smith at the head of a six-car train before the pair pulled away from Rochford, who was coming under fire from Secker, O’Dell and Souter but the double World Champion fended them all off for fifth place behind the reclassified Jackson. Teenager Homewood-Burrows lost out to Secker and Souter after the restart to finish ninth, with Phillip Potter coming home in tenth.
Final: Darkness had descended when the field lined up for their 20-lap final. The combined scores from the pair of heats placed Ben Murray onto the inside pole, with Gavin Botfield sharing the front row with the first heat winner. Jason 'Boxer Jack' Jackson headed the second row from Heat Two victor Conor Hughes, with Harry Smith and Dean O'Dell making up row three. The top ten starters were made up by Jordan Rochford, Jack Wilks, Charlie Homewood-Burrows and Chevy Mills. As inside poleman Murray raced clear at the start, both Botfield and Hughes touched the wall coming off the West bend and Botfield fell to third behind Jackson as Hughes slid wide at turn one to fall into the clutches of the pack. The race was soon stopped after Anthony McGinty sideswiped the East bend wall hard on lap one, having been turned across the nose of Anthony Weaver when the pack checked up to avoid a spinning Nicholas Wright. As the yellows came out, Jack Wilks was punted by a train including a sideways Chevy Mills, Jason Secker and Mitchell Souter. Charlie Homewood-Burrows was also clipped by the spinning Wilks but was able to continue, whilst Keith Brown also became involved as he attempted to go round the back of the melee and was forced to go to the centre with Hughes and Brendan O’Connell. Murray led all the way after seeing off heavy pressure from 'Boxer Jack' to begin with after the restart to win on-the-road seemingly flawlessly but Murray was docked two places for tapping a backmarker. That should have promoted Jackson to the top step but he too had received a black cross for contact. That promoted Gavin Botfield to the 'Best in Britain' victory and Harry Smith into the top two positions ahead of a crestfallen Murray. Botfield had held off Smith at the head of a six-car train before the pair pulled away from Rochford, who was coming under fire from Secker, O’Dell and Souter but the double World Champion fended them all off for fifth place behind the reclassified Jackson. Teenager Homewood-Burrows lost out to Secker and Souter after the restart to finish ninth, with Phillip Potter coming home in tenth.
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World Champion Jordan Robinson returned to the scene of his dramatic title triumph in August but was beaten to the Superstox 'Best in Britain' crown by Michael Green and Eric Walker. Stuart Smyth saw off a capacity field to claim the Stock Rod spoils from Sean Naismith and John Smith, his fourth ‘Best in Britain’ win. The meeting concluded with a figure-of-eight Caravan Demolition Derby that saw Megan Perry lauded as the winner.