National & Classic Hot Rods Hednesford 26th May 2025
National Hot Rods - COOKE CLAIMS CROWN AS WOOD LEFT WITHOUT A SILVER LINING
A bumper 33-car entry converged at Hednesford Hills Raceway on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday for the fourteenth and final English World Series qualifying round of the 2024/25 trail after a five-week break since the previous World Qualifying round at Ipswich, with the prestigious European Championship taking place in the break. The Mazda MX5 of 2018 World Champion Billy Wood led the standings by a commanding 29 points coming into the last round, with a maximum of 80 points available. Perry Cooke made a surprise switch to a brand new Ginetta chassis at the late March Ipswich meeting and the machine took third on its World Qualifying series final debut, with the combination sitting second in the standings before round fourteen. Aaron Dew moved to a new ‘Evo’ Ginetta for 2025 and his state-of-the-art machine clearly suits him as he has won three finals since the car made its debut at Aldershot in early March, which has helped move the former points series champion up to third on the table and was sat 28 points down on Cooke. Fourth in the standings was another Ginetta in the hands of Hayden Ballard, eight points behind Dew and one ahead of the absent Nick Roots’ Lotus in fifth. The top six was completed by three-time European Champion Carl Waller-Barrett, who was 23 points adrift of Roots and he was another to skip the trip to the Midlands. Jason Kew has already achieved his aim of a World Championship qualifying spot in twelfth place after a partial campaign looking after son Fin’s Ministox and the Ginetta pilot was safe by 111 points coming into the meeting, indeed he would be absent from Hednesford too as his son was competing in Scotland. In an uncharacteristic fifteenth was four-time World Champion Robert McDonald, the Scot was only 23 points above the red line of an inconceivable non-guaranteed qualification for the World Championship final, after missing the first two meetings of 2025 plus the Easter weekend’s action but as the 2024 winner he was certain of a spot on the ‘Wildcard’ grid. The Scot now holds all four ‘major’ titles at once, having triumphed in the European championship final at Lochgelly earlier in May. The top seventeen drivers qualifying for a start at Ipswich was largely set, with Terry Hunn the highest placed entry outside of the automatic qualifiers but he had 47 points to recover in order to catch Robert Gamble in the final slot and 70 to reach McDonald. Paul Tompkins was the only other entry in with a shout of breaking into the top seventeen but his task was nine points harder than Hunn’s.
European Championship summary: The final of the European Championship at Lochgelly in Scotland on the 10th of May was a Robert McDonald masterclass as the Scot won unopposed by almost six seconds to regain the crown he lost last year to Adam Maxwell. It was the second time the four-time World Champion had claimed the red-and-yellow chequered roof and he now held the complete set of four ‘majors’ at one time. Triple European champion Carl Waller-Barrett fought back ahead of Perry Cooke to clinch second place after the Tigra was passed by the Ginetta in the opening stages. Irishman Ian Riordan‘s Lotus and the 2021 title winner Shane Murray ran together throughout in fourth and fifth after the pair went either side of Kevin Gooding on lap one. The Mazda MX5 of David Casey also demoted the Ginetta early on as the Irish series frontrunner secured sixth. The two heats featured runaway victories for former winner Murray and Shane Bland, with Waller-Barrett and local driver James Robertson completing the top three in the opener before Kevin Gooding held off Cooke, McDonald and Riordan to be runner-up second time out.
A bumper 33-car entry converged at Hednesford Hills Raceway on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday for the fourteenth and final English World Series qualifying round of the 2024/25 trail after a five-week break since the previous World Qualifying round at Ipswich, with the prestigious European Championship taking place in the break. The Mazda MX5 of 2018 World Champion Billy Wood led the standings by a commanding 29 points coming into the last round, with a maximum of 80 points available. Perry Cooke made a surprise switch to a brand new Ginetta chassis at the late March Ipswich meeting and the machine took third on its World Qualifying series final debut, with the combination sitting second in the standings before round fourteen. Aaron Dew moved to a new ‘Evo’ Ginetta for 2025 and his state-of-the-art machine clearly suits him as he has won three finals since the car made its debut at Aldershot in early March, which has helped move the former points series champion up to third on the table and was sat 28 points down on Cooke. Fourth in the standings was another Ginetta in the hands of Hayden Ballard, eight points behind Dew and one ahead of the absent Nick Roots’ Lotus in fifth. The top six was completed by three-time European Champion Carl Waller-Barrett, who was 23 points adrift of Roots and he was another to skip the trip to the Midlands. Jason Kew has already achieved his aim of a World Championship qualifying spot in twelfth place after a partial campaign looking after son Fin’s Ministox and the Ginetta pilot was safe by 111 points coming into the meeting, indeed he would be absent from Hednesford too as his son was competing in Scotland. In an uncharacteristic fifteenth was four-time World Champion Robert McDonald, the Scot was only 23 points above the red line of an inconceivable non-guaranteed qualification for the World Championship final, after missing the first two meetings of 2025 plus the Easter weekend’s action but as the 2024 winner he was certain of a spot on the ‘Wildcard’ grid. The Scot now holds all four ‘major’ titles at once, having triumphed in the European championship final at Lochgelly earlier in May. The top seventeen drivers qualifying for a start at Ipswich was largely set, with Terry Hunn the highest placed entry outside of the automatic qualifiers but he had 47 points to recover in order to catch Robert Gamble in the final slot and 70 to reach McDonald. Paul Tompkins was the only other entry in with a shout of breaking into the top seventeen but his task was nine points harder than Hunn’s.
European Championship summary: The final of the European Championship at Lochgelly in Scotland on the 10th of May was a Robert McDonald masterclass as the Scot won unopposed by almost six seconds to regain the crown he lost last year to Adam Maxwell. It was the second time the four-time World Champion had claimed the red-and-yellow chequered roof and he now held the complete set of four ‘majors’ at one time. Triple European champion Carl Waller-Barrett fought back ahead of Perry Cooke to clinch second place after the Tigra was passed by the Ginetta in the opening stages. Irishman Ian Riordan‘s Lotus and the 2021 title winner Shane Murray ran together throughout in fourth and fifth after the pair went either side of Kevin Gooding on lap one. The Mazda MX5 of David Casey also demoted the Ginetta early on as the Irish series frontrunner secured sixth. The two heats featured runaway victories for former winner Murray and Shane Bland, with Waller-Barrett and local driver James Robertson completing the top three in the opener before Kevin Gooding held off Cooke, McDonald and Riordan to be runner-up second time out.
Gradings: Barry Limer returned to the class armed with an immaculate Tigra, the Vauxhall was joined in the White grade by the Peugeot 206 CCs of Brett Collison and James Hyett. Robert Gamble started from the Yellow grade as he sought to hold onto the all-important seventeenth and final World Championship qualifying position. Paul Tompkins started the day with hopes of knocking Gamble from the seventeen and also went from the Yellows. The similarly graded Darren Cardy and Chris Aldridge are already into the Ipswich showpiece and Dick Hillard was well on the way to joining them in sixteenth, the latter had just returned from a South African tour. Stuart McLaird made his first appearance after a four-year break with a rented Peugeot 206, whilst the Ginetta of David Brooks, Mikey Godfrey's Tigra Mk2 and Ashley Shaw's Mazda MX5 completed the Yellow-graded starters. Some of the big names in the category would start to appear among the crop of Blue-graded cars. Three-time World Champion Chris Haird returned to his successful Tigra Mk2 for the day as preparations began for the world final. Twice World Champion Malcolm Blackman continued his reacquaintance with the ovals from the Blues. Former 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion Dan Smith should go well with his Tigra from the group, as should Midlander Shane Bland with his Ginetta. Ryan Morgan is guaranteed world final qualification in seventh on the points chart, with eighteenth-placed Terry Hunn trying to fight his way into the automatic placings with a strong day and misfortune for others. A rare sight in the Nationals nowadays is the Mercedes SLK but former Silhouette racer Daniel Smith wheeled out his example after racing it at Ipswich in April. Kym Weaver made his first entry in a while along with the similarly Vauxhall Tigra-mounted Chris Lehec, whilst John Sibbald was a heat winner at the Staffordshire venue in March as he made up the Blue brigade. Undisputed current category number one Robert McDonald unified the major titles with his European Championship success in May and the Scot headlined the Red-graded contingent but the spotlight would be on Billy Wood as he aimed to seal the silver roof with his Mazda MX5. The points leader sprung a surprise on his father and Spedeworth supremo Deane Wood with an entry in the 2018 World Champion's Vauxhall Tigra for his 64th birthday, with the shocked Wood senior starting behind the Reds with three other drivers. Wood's closest challenger Perry Cooke would hope to capitalise on any issues that should befall the Mazda man to steal away the points title with his new Ginetta, the chassis rapidly becoming the car to have at the front of the field. Aaron Dew made a great start to 2025 with his latest Ginetta chassis, whilst 2024 Angie Rowe Thunder 500 winner Hayden Ballard continues to show promise with his example. Paul Wright won a gripping final at the March meeting in the Midlands with his new car, with the similarly mounted Kevin Gooding on double duty with his Mk2 Escort in the Classic Hot Rod National Championship that was also on the bill. 2016 World Champion Adam Maxwell took a break from the Northern Irish series to join the English series regulars at Hednesford and Scottish series frontrunner James Robertson did likewise. Karl Baker was another driver to make a comeback with his Ginetta and he was the last of the 'superstars'.
Heat One: The forecast rain had started to fall towards the end of the practice sessions but the surface had dried out again in time for the opening 25-lap heat. Barry Limer would start at the front of the Whites from Brett Collison's Peugeot. Chris Aldridge was drawn on the inside pole for the Yellow grade and was joined by Darren Cardy on the front row. Mikey Godfrey headed the second row from qualification chaser Paul Tompkins, with Ashley Shaw's Mazda MX5 and Tompkins' target in the standings Robert Gamble on row three. Veteran Dick Hillard and David Brooks completed the Yellow line up. Triple World Champion Chris Haird sat alone at the head of the Blues, with Kym Weaver sat behind the Mk2 Tigra and he had John Sibbald starting from alongside. Former 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion Dan Smith and twice World Champion Malcolm Blackman went from the third row. Ryan Morgan started from row four beside ex-European Champion Shane Bland, with Terry Hunn going in search of points from the back row of the Blues with Chris Lehec. Points title favourite Billy Wood was well-placed to make progress from the head of the Red-graded drivers and he was joined on the front row by Northern Irishman Adam Maxwell. Wood's closest challenger Perry Cooke and comeback man Karl Baker were on the second row from the Ginettas of 2025 final winners Aaron Dew and Paul Wright on the third row. Hayden Ballard shared row four with Kevin Gooding, whilst Scottish visitor James Robertson and fellow Celt Robert McDonald went from the rear of the Reds. Four cars formed up at the back as birthday boy Deane Wood was joined by the White-graded Frank West and James Hyett, along with Daniel Smith's Mercedes from the Blues. Polesitter Barry Limer bolted away in the lead from the start of the opening heat but contact between Paul Tompkins and Brett Collison at the close of lap two sent Tompkins across the nose of the Peugeot into Chris Aldridge, with Aldridge's Tigra losing a rear wheel against the barrier. Darren Cardy went into the wall with them and many cars collected them when the four cars came to rest on the racing line. Cardy's machine sustained heavy damage when the Tigra was collected by Terry Hunn, who then cannoned into Aldridge. Points leader Billy Wood became involved when he careered hard into Cardy's car and Malcolm Blackman followed him in. The Ginetta went under the rear of the MX5 which in turn lifted Cardy off the ground, with Collison's 206 CC squashed between the Tigras of Cardy and Tompkins. World Champion Robert McDonald ended up facing backwards too after running into Blackman, whilst Paul Wright and Hayden Ballard rear ended the Scot and each other. Shane Bland also slid into the mess and hit both Wood and Tompkins. John Sibbald and Adam Maxwell squeezed through a narrow gap between Tompkins and the barrier to escape the carnage before Ryan Morgan clipped the blue Tigra and knocked its right-rear wheel out of alignment, after Tompkins' impact from Bland pushed the Tigra into Morgan’s path, check out the sequence below. The race was stopped immediately with the quarter-mile oval blocked by the incident. Thirteen cars were eliminated from the restart and the list most significantly included the championship leader Wood. Further rain came during stoppage and made the track very greasy. The two-by-two restart saw leader Limer, David Brooks and Robert Gamble take the inside line, with Ashley Shaw, Kym Weaver and Dan Smith heading to the outside. Limer pulled off as the field came up to the restart, with Shaw and Weaver racing side-by-side into the East Bend but the MX5 slewed sideways and lost many places. Smith drove around the outside of Brooks to go second down to the West Bend and Sibbald also went around the outside of Brooks for third at the East Bend next time by. A charging Maxwell quickly arrowed past Brooks after taking the restart from the outside of the fifth row and claimed three spots at the restart as Shaw recovered his slide. Weaver continued to lead but was soon caught by Smith and Maxwell, who’d made up a lot of ground from the Reds and grabbed third from the similar Ginetta of Sibbald at the East Bend on lap five after taking a lap to complete the move. When Smith made a pass on Weaver at the East Bend on lap nine, Maxwell pounced to grab the lead at the West Bend and ran away to win. Smith held second to the end but Weaver pulled off on lap fifteen while third to elevate Sibbald to the final podium spot. Perry Cooke passed Brooks into fifth place at the East Bend after following Maxwell past the checking up cars from Ward’s slide, which became fourth with the exit of Weaver. A fourth-lap brush between Chris Haird and Kevin Gooding allowed Shane Bland to skip past both, Bland then gobbled up Brooks immediately behind Cooke and the Gooding/Haird pair quickly followed suit. Gooding's Ginetta repassed Bland's similar car at halfway in the scrum behind Cooke for fifth but the former European Champion's smoking car still claimed a top-six finish. Haird finished on the back of the bunch in seventh, with Brooks and Aaron Dew also close at hand as Chris Lehec cruised past the flag at the foot of the top ten.
Heat One: The forecast rain had started to fall towards the end of the practice sessions but the surface had dried out again in time for the opening 25-lap heat. Barry Limer would start at the front of the Whites from Brett Collison's Peugeot. Chris Aldridge was drawn on the inside pole for the Yellow grade and was joined by Darren Cardy on the front row. Mikey Godfrey headed the second row from qualification chaser Paul Tompkins, with Ashley Shaw's Mazda MX5 and Tompkins' target in the standings Robert Gamble on row three. Veteran Dick Hillard and David Brooks completed the Yellow line up. Triple World Champion Chris Haird sat alone at the head of the Blues, with Kym Weaver sat behind the Mk2 Tigra and he had John Sibbald starting from alongside. Former 2.0 Hot Rod World Champion Dan Smith and twice World Champion Malcolm Blackman went from the third row. Ryan Morgan started from row four beside ex-European Champion Shane Bland, with Terry Hunn going in search of points from the back row of the Blues with Chris Lehec. Points title favourite Billy Wood was well-placed to make progress from the head of the Red-graded drivers and he was joined on the front row by Northern Irishman Adam Maxwell. Wood's closest challenger Perry Cooke and comeback man Karl Baker were on the second row from the Ginettas of 2025 final winners Aaron Dew and Paul Wright on the third row. Hayden Ballard shared row four with Kevin Gooding, whilst Scottish visitor James Robertson and fellow Celt Robert McDonald went from the rear of the Reds. Four cars formed up at the back as birthday boy Deane Wood was joined by the White-graded Frank West and James Hyett, along with Daniel Smith's Mercedes from the Blues. Polesitter Barry Limer bolted away in the lead from the start of the opening heat but contact between Paul Tompkins and Brett Collison at the close of lap two sent Tompkins across the nose of the Peugeot into Chris Aldridge, with Aldridge's Tigra losing a rear wheel against the barrier. Darren Cardy went into the wall with them and many cars collected them when the four cars came to rest on the racing line. Cardy's machine sustained heavy damage when the Tigra was collected by Terry Hunn, who then cannoned into Aldridge. Points leader Billy Wood became involved when he careered hard into Cardy's car and Malcolm Blackman followed him in. The Ginetta went under the rear of the MX5 which in turn lifted Cardy off the ground, with Collison's 206 CC squashed between the Tigras of Cardy and Tompkins. World Champion Robert McDonald ended up facing backwards too after running into Blackman, whilst Paul Wright and Hayden Ballard rear ended the Scot and each other. Shane Bland also slid into the mess and hit both Wood and Tompkins. John Sibbald and Adam Maxwell squeezed through a narrow gap between Tompkins and the barrier to escape the carnage before Ryan Morgan clipped the blue Tigra and knocked its right-rear wheel out of alignment, after Tompkins' impact from Bland pushed the Tigra into Morgan’s path, check out the sequence below. The race was stopped immediately with the quarter-mile oval blocked by the incident. Thirteen cars were eliminated from the restart and the list most significantly included the championship leader Wood. Further rain came during stoppage and made the track very greasy. The two-by-two restart saw leader Limer, David Brooks and Robert Gamble take the inside line, with Ashley Shaw, Kym Weaver and Dan Smith heading to the outside. Limer pulled off as the field came up to the restart, with Shaw and Weaver racing side-by-side into the East Bend but the MX5 slewed sideways and lost many places. Smith drove around the outside of Brooks to go second down to the West Bend and Sibbald also went around the outside of Brooks for third at the East Bend next time by. A charging Maxwell quickly arrowed past Brooks after taking the restart from the outside of the fifth row and claimed three spots at the restart as Shaw recovered his slide. Weaver continued to lead but was soon caught by Smith and Maxwell, who’d made up a lot of ground from the Reds and grabbed third from the similar Ginetta of Sibbald at the East Bend on lap five after taking a lap to complete the move. When Smith made a pass on Weaver at the East Bend on lap nine, Maxwell pounced to grab the lead at the West Bend and ran away to win. Smith held second to the end but Weaver pulled off on lap fifteen while third to elevate Sibbald to the final podium spot. Perry Cooke passed Brooks into fifth place at the East Bend after following Maxwell past the checking up cars from Ward’s slide, which became fourth with the exit of Weaver. A fourth-lap brush between Chris Haird and Kevin Gooding allowed Shane Bland to skip past both, Bland then gobbled up Brooks immediately behind Cooke and the Gooding/Haird pair quickly followed suit. Gooding's Ginetta repassed Bland's similar car at halfway in the scrum behind Cooke for fifth but the former European Champion's smoking car still claimed a top-six finish. Haird finished on the back of the bunch in seventh, with Brooks and Aaron Dew also close at hand as Chris Lehec cruised past the flag at the foot of the top ten.
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Heat Two: Several cars were trailered after the opening heat catastrophe, with points chase leader Billy Wood chief among those missing. No White-graded cars lined up at the front of the field for Heat Two so the Yellow-graded David Brooks formed the effective front row alone. Dick Hillard sat on the inside of the second row with Ashley Shaw's Mazda to his outside. Robert Gamble went from the inside of the third row with the Peugeot 206 of Stuart McLaird beside the Tigra. The patched-up car of Paul Tompkins and Mikey Godfrey's Mk2 Tigra were the final starters of the batch as both Darren Cardy and Chris Aldridge were out for the day. Chris Lehec started from the front of the Blues alone after Terry Hunn lost his chance of catching Robert Gamble for the last world final qualification spot with too much damage accrued in the first heat pile up. Shane Bland was also alone on row two after Ryan Morgan packed up and Malcolm Blackman was another absent from row three to leave Dan Smith on his own. A somewhat splintered group continued on row four as John Sibbald was the lone starter with Kym Weaver's no-show and Chris Haird always had a gap next to him on the back row. Robert McDonald sat at the front of the Red grade with his repaired Ginetta from fellow countryman James Robertson. Hayden Ballard's Ginetta sported plenty of 'tank tape' and shared the second row with Kevin Gooding. Aaron Dew and Paul Wright were on row three, with Perry Cooke alone on row four after Karl Baker sat the heat out. Cooke had reduced his deficit to Wood in the standings to eleven points with his fourth place finish. The opening race winner Adam Maxwell was the final starter in the Reds after Billy Wood's title hopes were seriously dented with the damage to his Mazda MX5 too great to repair on site. At the back of the field were Daniel Smith's Mercedes, James Hyett's Peugeot plus the Frank West and Deane Wood Tigras. The promised rain was falling steadily and forced a rolling start. Inside polesitter David Brooks lost out to Ashley Shaw at the West Bend on the first lap before plummeting down the order on lap two. Dan Smith had shot up to second on lap two after exiting the West Bend on lap one four-wide with Shane Bland, Paul Tompkins and Robert Gamble. The Tigra then burst between Stuart McLaird and Dick Hillard into the following East Bend before immediately taking Brooks around the outside and the flying Smith grabbed the lead from Shaw on lap three. However, when the Tigra got tangled up with a touring Frank West and James Hyett at the end of lap five so the new-tyre fitted Ginetta of Bland sailed through into a lead he wouldn't lose. Bland was up to third by lap three and took second from Shaw up the inside of the East Bend starting lap four. Smith had incurred bent steering on his Tigra after attempting to pass between the backmarkers and dropped behind the next five cars by the finish. John Sibbald had climbed to seventh on lap two and was fifth after lap three, McLaird's ageing Peugeot 206 was passed for fourth on lap five before Shaw fell victim for third at the East Bend on lap seven and the hobbled Smith yielded at the same place for second on lap nine. Chris Haird had also made some good ground in the opening exchanges and passed Shaw's Mazda for fourth place on lap ten after boxing in the MX5 behind Spedeworth boss Deane Wood's lapped car. Haird closed in on Sibbald's second place when the Scot became mired in traffic but the Ginetta finally broke clear on the last lap as Haird fended off the rapidly closing Adam Maxwell. Opening heat winner Maxwell had made up nine places inside the first seven tours before passing Tompkins and Shaw on successive laps to climb into the top five, with Smith's scalp claimed two laps later for fourth at the West Bend on lap fifteen. Reigning World Champion Robert McDonald made solid early progress into the top ten just behind Maxwell but his rise stagnated when he was held behind the squabbling Shaw and Tompkins, with the Scot caught by Perry Cooke. Both eventually cleared the Yellow-graded machines and passed the struggling Smith on the final lap, with McDonald pouncing at the East Bend and Cooke at the West Bend straight after to be fifth and sixth. Smith still took seventh despite deranged steering and Paul Wright's repaired Ginetta crossed the line in eighth. Daniel Smith's Mercedes went well to finish on the tail of Wright in ninth after starting behind the Reds. Shaw spun out of ninth whilst battling with the SLK at the West Bend late on so Tompkins' Tigra completed the top ten.
Final: The grid for the 35-lap final lined up in points championship order. Billy Wood still led the chase for the silver roof despite not contesting Heat Two but his chances of taking the title were hanging by a thread as he held a single point advantage from Perry Cooke and the Mazda would also miss the final... Cooke would sit at the head of the grid alone on the outside of the front row in Wood's absence. Aaron Dew sat on the inside of row two, with Hayden Ballard alongside. The Tigra of Dan Smith occupied the inside of the third row and the newer Mk2 Tigra of triple World Champion Chris Haird joined him. Kevin Gooding has impressed a lot of people since his move to a Ginetta and he shared the fourth row with March final winner Paul Wright. Robert McDonald headed the second batch of cars and the winner of the final would likely come from those first eight cars on the grid. A driver whose progress would be one to watch during the race would be that of 2016 World Champion Adam Maxwell, who was starting from the very back. The earlier rain had stopped in time for the final but damp patches remained off the racing line. Perry Cooke made full use of his solo starting position and broke away from the pack headed by Aaron Dew, after the Ginetta had fought off Hayden Ballard's advances in the opening laps. Robert McDonald soon came forward and the World Champion was past Paul Wright and Chris Haird into sixth by lap three, with his sights set on Kevin Gooding and Dan Smith next. Further progress was halted by a yellow flag on lap five after an incident involving Haird, Frank West and Paul Tompkins that saw the Mk2 Tigra spinning into the winner's ramp and both of the earlier Tigras sustaining damaged suspension. For the NASCAR-style restart, leader Cooke predictably went to the inside and was followed by the second-placed Dew and the fourth-placed Gooding. Those gambling on the outside were led by Ballard from third place, with a menacing McDonald and Smith lining up behind. McDonald got his nose ahead of Dew at the restart and quickly moved up to second at Ballard's expense around the outside of the East Bend. The World Champion was soon onto Cooke's tail and began to place relentless pressure on the race leader, trying the outside line over and again but Cooke held firm and McDonald was eventually forced to pull into the centre on lap twenty with suspected head gasket issues. Adam Maxwell moved up to an amazing third with McDonald's exit, having started dead last. The Northern Irishman had taken the first restart in twelfth and took Ashley Shaw and Chris Lehec straightaway from the restart to go tenth. Shane Bland followed next time around to be ninth and John Sibbald was usurped for eighth on lap eight. The galloping Ginetta then claimed Dew and Wright on consecutive laps to climb up to sixth by the end of lap twelve, with Smith's Tigra falling on lap sixteen for fifth place at the East Bend and Maxwell removed Gooding from fourth at the West Bend on lap seventeen before McDonald's retirement promoted the former World Champion into the podium placings. The yellow flags flew again soon after the Ginetta stopped, when Wright was spun around at the West Bend after contact in the pack behind Gooding. Cooke opted to defend his lead from the inside for the two-by-two restart, with Ballard and Gooding going with him. Maxwell was poised to challenge for a remarkable victory and had nine laps to complete the job as he headed the outside queue, with Dew and Smith following suit. Maxwell closed in on Cooke after the resumption but was forced to the outside when Cooke started defending with a little over three laps remaining and Ballard reclaimed second with two to go at the East Bend, with Dew also shuffling the 2016 World Champion back to fourth at the same spot for the final time. Dew had fallen back to eighth in the opening laps after the first restart before fighting back to claim a place on the podium, with the three-time 2025 final winner getting into a dice with Wright. Dew had just been retaken by the March final victor when the yellow-causing contact occurred, after the pair had passed Smith on track and gained another place when McDonald went out before Dew opted for the outside in the restart queue and gained fourth place. Smith crossed the line in sixth place behind Gooding but was ultimately disqualified, elevating Heat Two winner Shane Bland into the spot. Robert Gamble ensured his world final qualification with seventh, with Daniel Smith's Mercedes eighth from Dick Hillard and James Hyett was the last classified finisher in tenth. Cooke's victory meant he overhauled Billy Wood's lead in the best way possible to become the Hoosier Tire English series points champion and claim the silver roof.
Final: The grid for the 35-lap final lined up in points championship order. Billy Wood still led the chase for the silver roof despite not contesting Heat Two but his chances of taking the title were hanging by a thread as he held a single point advantage from Perry Cooke and the Mazda would also miss the final... Cooke would sit at the head of the grid alone on the outside of the front row in Wood's absence. Aaron Dew sat on the inside of row two, with Hayden Ballard alongside. The Tigra of Dan Smith occupied the inside of the third row and the newer Mk2 Tigra of triple World Champion Chris Haird joined him. Kevin Gooding has impressed a lot of people since his move to a Ginetta and he shared the fourth row with March final winner Paul Wright. Robert McDonald headed the second batch of cars and the winner of the final would likely come from those first eight cars on the grid. A driver whose progress would be one to watch during the race would be that of 2016 World Champion Adam Maxwell, who was starting from the very back. The earlier rain had stopped in time for the final but damp patches remained off the racing line. Perry Cooke made full use of his solo starting position and broke away from the pack headed by Aaron Dew, after the Ginetta had fought off Hayden Ballard's advances in the opening laps. Robert McDonald soon came forward and the World Champion was past Paul Wright and Chris Haird into sixth by lap three, with his sights set on Kevin Gooding and Dan Smith next. Further progress was halted by a yellow flag on lap five after an incident involving Haird, Frank West and Paul Tompkins that saw the Mk2 Tigra spinning into the winner's ramp and both of the earlier Tigras sustaining damaged suspension. For the NASCAR-style restart, leader Cooke predictably went to the inside and was followed by the second-placed Dew and the fourth-placed Gooding. Those gambling on the outside were led by Ballard from third place, with a menacing McDonald and Smith lining up behind. McDonald got his nose ahead of Dew at the restart and quickly moved up to second at Ballard's expense around the outside of the East Bend. The World Champion was soon onto Cooke's tail and began to place relentless pressure on the race leader, trying the outside line over and again but Cooke held firm and McDonald was eventually forced to pull into the centre on lap twenty with suspected head gasket issues. Adam Maxwell moved up to an amazing third with McDonald's exit, having started dead last. The Northern Irishman had taken the first restart in twelfth and took Ashley Shaw and Chris Lehec straightaway from the restart to go tenth. Shane Bland followed next time around to be ninth and John Sibbald was usurped for eighth on lap eight. The galloping Ginetta then claimed Dew and Wright on consecutive laps to climb up to sixth by the end of lap twelve, with Smith's Tigra falling on lap sixteen for fifth place at the East Bend and Maxwell removed Gooding from fourth at the West Bend on lap seventeen before McDonald's retirement promoted the former World Champion into the podium placings. The yellow flags flew again soon after the Ginetta stopped, when Wright was spun around at the West Bend after contact in the pack behind Gooding. Cooke opted to defend his lead from the inside for the two-by-two restart, with Ballard and Gooding going with him. Maxwell was poised to challenge for a remarkable victory and had nine laps to complete the job as he headed the outside queue, with Dew and Smith following suit. Maxwell closed in on Cooke after the resumption but was forced to the outside when Cooke started defending with a little over three laps remaining and Ballard reclaimed second with two to go at the East Bend, with Dew also shuffling the 2016 World Champion back to fourth at the same spot for the final time. Dew had fallen back to eighth in the opening laps after the first restart before fighting back to claim a place on the podium, with the three-time 2025 final winner getting into a dice with Wright. Dew had just been retaken by the March final victor when the yellow-causing contact occurred, after the pair had passed Smith on track and gained another place when McDonald went out before Dew opted for the outside in the restart queue and gained fourth place. Smith crossed the line in sixth place behind Gooding but was ultimately disqualified, elevating Heat Two winner Shane Bland into the spot. Robert Gamble ensured his world final qualification with seventh, with Daniel Smith's Mercedes eighth from Dick Hillard and James Hyett was the last classified finisher in tenth. Cooke's victory meant he overhauled Billy Wood's lead in the best way possible to become the Hoosier Tire English series points champion and claim the silver roof.
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Classic Hot Rods - HOMETOWN HERO OWEN NETS NATIONAL TITLE
The retro-style Classic Hot Rods were also on show at the home of Hot Rod racing, with the 21-car field fighting for the National Championship crown. 2024 champion Charlie Sayer’s Ford Anglia has been up for sale recently and he wasn’t in the lineup to defend his title.
Two entries had special interest at the meeting after they were repainted into liveries of the past. Former Eurocar and current BMW racer Kevin Clarke took the wheel of an immaculate Mk2 Escort carrying the livery of the late #242 Pete Stevens, who sadly passed away in 2020. Clarke was a close friend of the popular Midlander, who was a three-time National and European champion in the Hot Rods, as well as the 1984 British champion, and also raced the mighty Opel Senator V8 and Vauxhall Carlton TS6000 Thundersaloons with great success on the circuits. The other Mk2 revealed in a famous livery was the ex-Darren Fewell machine of Dave Watkiss that was resplendent in the colours of 1984 World and 1985 National champion Peter Grimer. Both Escorts looked superb in their bygone colour schemes and both cars were painstakingly signwritten, not wrapped, and the impressive detail on each included Grimer's 'duck truck' number carrier but the #88 Mk2 wouldn’t make it any further than the first heat after being struck with a misfire.
Two entries had special interest at the meeting after they were repainted into liveries of the past. Former Eurocar and current BMW racer Kevin Clarke took the wheel of an immaculate Mk2 Escort carrying the livery of the late #242 Pete Stevens, who sadly passed away in 2020. Clarke was a close friend of the popular Midlander, who was a three-time National and European champion in the Hot Rods, as well as the 1984 British champion, and also raced the mighty Opel Senator V8 and Vauxhall Carlton TS6000 Thundersaloons with great success on the circuits. The other Mk2 revealed in a famous livery was the ex-Darren Fewell machine of Dave Watkiss that was resplendent in the colours of 1984 World and 1985 National champion Peter Grimer. Both Escorts looked superb in their bygone colour schemes and both cars were painstakingly signwritten, not wrapped, and the impressive detail on each included Grimer's 'duck truck' number carrier but the #88 Mk2 wouldn’t make it any further than the first heat after being struck with a misfire.
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Heat One: The rain shower that had started during the National Hot Rod practice had eased for the Classic Hot Rods' first heat, which meant a dry track for the second race on the card. A quick-starting inside polesitter Joe Smith led from start to finish and held Hughie Weaver in second at arm’s length for much of the twenty-lap race but a wide moment at the East Bend with six to go and lapped traffic extended the margin for the race-winning Anglia. There was a busy race in the pack behind as Richard Beere held an early third from youngster Alfie Joynson and a large group formed behind the Mk2 Escorts, headed by Roger Dormer and Chris Partridge. James Owen, Tony Moss and Nick Ross soon caught up too before Joynson looked to have a move done on Beere but sailed wide at the West Bend for the sixth time and slipped behind the abreast Partridge and Dormer. Partridge was the next driver to have a go at Beere, with the brake-locking Kevin Gooding latching onto the back of the pack. Owen had rounded up Joynson before the red Escort #100 was tapped into a spin by Moss exiting the West Bend for the ninth time, whilst Partridge completed a move on Beere for third just ahead of them heading onto the halfway lap. Showing some good pace, Owen started working on Dormer and passed the black Mk2 at halfway before bagging fourth-placed Beere two laps later. The teenager then took third from Partridge on lap fourteen and finished right on the tail of Weaver. Dormer also demoted Beere at the East Bend on lap thirteen to take fifth before removing Partrifge from fourth two laps later. After navigating around the Ross Sunbeam as half-distance neared, Gooding and Moss began squabbling over seventh place. As Beere and Dormer checked up negotiating Mark Porter's lapped Anglia on lap twelve, Gooding bounced off Moss before dealing the barrier a glancing blow at the West Bend and Ross' Sunbeam slipped through. Kevin Clarke in the Pete Stevens tribute car was also homing in on Gooding as he got more used to the Escort but Gooding regained eighth from Ross and also got ahead of Moss on the same lap before the current National Hot Rod racer passed Beere with five to go and pushed fourth-placed Dormer past the flag. Beere crossed the line in sixth and Moss in seventh. Clarke pushed back the Ross Talbot Sunbeam that won the Malcolm Chesher Memorial Trophy at Lochgelly on the National Hot Rods' European weekend to ninth place and Partridge fell away to tenth after losing seven places in three laps. One of the pre-event favourites, Kenny Purdie, was a first-lap retirement with a misfire aboard 'The Spanker' Escort.
Heat Two: Veteran commentator Jim Gregory called the race as Tony Moss led the field away from the grid. Light rain was making the track surface very greasy but second-row starter James Owen used the outside line to burst into the lead powering out of the East Bend. The youngster, who celebrated his seventeenth birthday days after the event, couldn't drop Moss and the similar Mk2 Escort of Roger Dormer in the opening stages. The chasing Escorts clashed at the East Bend for the second time but Moss still held sway from Dormer and the three were soon back together. A mix-up with the lapped Andy McLaird Anglia allowed Moss to get inside Owen at the West Bend for the seventh time and the pair met passing the start/finish rostrum, which forced Owen sideways but the teenager held off his challenger with better exits from the bends on the outside line. However, Moss wasn't to be denied and retook the lead on lap nine lead at the West Bend and Dormer followed the new leader past at the exit. The black Mk2 Escort was coming on strong and passed Moss for the lead after getting inside at the East Bend on lap eleven when they encountered a spun McLaird, with Dormer finishing the move in the same place a lap later before running off to clearly win an entertaining heat in the ex-Andy Steward car. Moss and Owen continued to squabble for second and the pair were caught by Chris Partridge, Nick Ross and Heat One winner Joe Smith, who had come up from the second batch of cars. Contact at the East Bend with two laps left between Moss and Owen sent the former askew but the youngster stayed behind so Moss took the flag in second. Partridge ran up the outside of Owen into the West Bend after the knock but the sixteen-year-old staved him off to take third place and the Sunbeam of Ross got up the inside of Partridge. The latter's Escort got sideways at the West Bend for the last time and was beaten to the line by Ross and Smith. An early four-way Mk2 Escort scrap between Hughie Weaver, Kevin Gooding, Alfie Joynson and Kenny Purdie was broken up when the latter outbraked himself and clipped Joynson before clattering into the East Bend retaining barrier on lap six. Gooding passed Weaver at half-distance to claim seventh place from Weaver, with Joynson coming home ninth and the Pete Stevens tribute Escort of Kevin Clarke completed the top ten.
National Championship Final: The two heat winners shared the front row for the 25-lap National Championship final and second-race winner Roger Dormer held the inside pole from the opening heat victor Joe Smith. Local boy James Owen started from the inside of row two and he would be joined by the similar Mk2 Escort of Tony Moss. Another pair of Mk2 Escorts formed the third row as Hughie Weaver headed Kevin Gooding. The Talbot Sunbeam of Nick Ross went from the inside of the fourth row, with Chris Partridge to his outside. The top ten was rounded out by Richard Beere's Escort and the immaculately turned out Pete Stevens replica of Kevin Clarke. There was a moment of tension for the polesitting Roger Dormer before the formation laps began, with a dead engine stranding the car but a push start from a Ford Transit recovery vehicle enabled the Escort to take its place at the head of the field. The poleman had a slide on the slick surface approaching the rolling start and took fellow front row man Joe Smith wide with him, allowing James Owen to drive up the inside into the lead with a great start. A first corner scramble had seen the Smith Anglia spinning after Hughie Weaver had arrived abreast with Kevin Gooding and Tony Moss, with each elbowing the other before the latter Escort pinballed into Smith. The rotating Anglia clipped the back of Dormer, which sent the Mk2 Escort wide and Weaver exited the opening bend in second place from the inside of the third row. The veteran reeled in the young leader over the following few laps and the lead duo were glued together for the rest of the race. Owen resisted all Weaver threw at the teenager before Kevin Clarke came through to catch them. Clarke had started tenth but was up to fifth by the end of lap one after outdragging Richard Beere at the rolling start and going under Chris Partridge at turn one. Moss quickly followed after the X-Pack Escort went high to avoid the spinning Smith and Nick Ross was claimed into the West Bend. Gooding had attempted to follow Weaver past Dormer on lap one but it took Gooding until lap four to settle the argument in his favour. However, the closely following Clarke pounced immediately to demote the National Hot Rod racer when the two Escorts ran a little wide at the East Bend and Clarke began to chase down the scrapping top two. The superb replica of Clarke's great friend Pete Stevens was with the lead pair with five to go. Despite the intense pressure, no places would change until the last lap when Weaver crashed into the winner's ramp and out of second place after tripping over the front wheel of the lapped Sam Birchall Anglia. The incident left Owen to take the flag from Clarke and he added the National crown to the Best in Britain title he'd already won. Another teenager came home third after Alfie Joynson rose from starting eleventh to the podium placings. The Escort driver was eighth after lap one and gained another two positions on the second lap after an incident between Nick Ross and Tony Moss at the East Bend that saw the Moss Mk2 Escort facing backwards and the Sunbeam delayed. Joynson moved swiftly onto the back of the Clarke/Gooding/Dormer tussle by the end of lap four and passed Dormer into the West Bend on lap five. The Escort claimed Gooding three laps later to sit fourth until Weaver's last-lap demise. David Hitchen's Mk1 Escort was the first of the lapped cars in sixth after mounting a second-half charge, passing Partridge on lap fourteen, Beere on lap seventeen and finally polesitter Dormer on lap 22. The Talbot Sunbeam of Ross was lapped twice on its way to tenth behind Dormer, Beere and Partridge. Kenny Purdie's Escort was fixed after its second-heat shunt but wouldn’t reach the end to round off a trying meeting for the Scot.
Heat Two: Veteran commentator Jim Gregory called the race as Tony Moss led the field away from the grid. Light rain was making the track surface very greasy but second-row starter James Owen used the outside line to burst into the lead powering out of the East Bend. The youngster, who celebrated his seventeenth birthday days after the event, couldn't drop Moss and the similar Mk2 Escort of Roger Dormer in the opening stages. The chasing Escorts clashed at the East Bend for the second time but Moss still held sway from Dormer and the three were soon back together. A mix-up with the lapped Andy McLaird Anglia allowed Moss to get inside Owen at the West Bend for the seventh time and the pair met passing the start/finish rostrum, which forced Owen sideways but the teenager held off his challenger with better exits from the bends on the outside line. However, Moss wasn't to be denied and retook the lead on lap nine lead at the West Bend and Dormer followed the new leader past at the exit. The black Mk2 Escort was coming on strong and passed Moss for the lead after getting inside at the East Bend on lap eleven when they encountered a spun McLaird, with Dormer finishing the move in the same place a lap later before running off to clearly win an entertaining heat in the ex-Andy Steward car. Moss and Owen continued to squabble for second and the pair were caught by Chris Partridge, Nick Ross and Heat One winner Joe Smith, who had come up from the second batch of cars. Contact at the East Bend with two laps left between Moss and Owen sent the former askew but the youngster stayed behind so Moss took the flag in second. Partridge ran up the outside of Owen into the West Bend after the knock but the sixteen-year-old staved him off to take third place and the Sunbeam of Ross got up the inside of Partridge. The latter's Escort got sideways at the West Bend for the last time and was beaten to the line by Ross and Smith. An early four-way Mk2 Escort scrap between Hughie Weaver, Kevin Gooding, Alfie Joynson and Kenny Purdie was broken up when the latter outbraked himself and clipped Joynson before clattering into the East Bend retaining barrier on lap six. Gooding passed Weaver at half-distance to claim seventh place from Weaver, with Joynson coming home ninth and the Pete Stevens tribute Escort of Kevin Clarke completed the top ten.
National Championship Final: The two heat winners shared the front row for the 25-lap National Championship final and second-race winner Roger Dormer held the inside pole from the opening heat victor Joe Smith. Local boy James Owen started from the inside of row two and he would be joined by the similar Mk2 Escort of Tony Moss. Another pair of Mk2 Escorts formed the third row as Hughie Weaver headed Kevin Gooding. The Talbot Sunbeam of Nick Ross went from the inside of the fourth row, with Chris Partridge to his outside. The top ten was rounded out by Richard Beere's Escort and the immaculately turned out Pete Stevens replica of Kevin Clarke. There was a moment of tension for the polesitting Roger Dormer before the formation laps began, with a dead engine stranding the car but a push start from a Ford Transit recovery vehicle enabled the Escort to take its place at the head of the field. The poleman had a slide on the slick surface approaching the rolling start and took fellow front row man Joe Smith wide with him, allowing James Owen to drive up the inside into the lead with a great start. A first corner scramble had seen the Smith Anglia spinning after Hughie Weaver had arrived abreast with Kevin Gooding and Tony Moss, with each elbowing the other before the latter Escort pinballed into Smith. The rotating Anglia clipped the back of Dormer, which sent the Mk2 Escort wide and Weaver exited the opening bend in second place from the inside of the third row. The veteran reeled in the young leader over the following few laps and the lead duo were glued together for the rest of the race. Owen resisted all Weaver threw at the teenager before Kevin Clarke came through to catch them. Clarke had started tenth but was up to fifth by the end of lap one after outdragging Richard Beere at the rolling start and going under Chris Partridge at turn one. Moss quickly followed after the X-Pack Escort went high to avoid the spinning Smith and Nick Ross was claimed into the West Bend. Gooding had attempted to follow Weaver past Dormer on lap one but it took Gooding until lap four to settle the argument in his favour. However, the closely following Clarke pounced immediately to demote the National Hot Rod racer when the two Escorts ran a little wide at the East Bend and Clarke began to chase down the scrapping top two. The superb replica of Clarke's great friend Pete Stevens was with the lead pair with five to go. Despite the intense pressure, no places would change until the last lap when Weaver crashed into the winner's ramp and out of second place after tripping over the front wheel of the lapped Sam Birchall Anglia. The incident left Owen to take the flag from Clarke and he added the National crown to the Best in Britain title he'd already won. Another teenager came home third after Alfie Joynson rose from starting eleventh to the podium placings. The Escort driver was eighth after lap one and gained another two positions on the second lap after an incident between Nick Ross and Tony Moss at the East Bend that saw the Moss Mk2 Escort facing backwards and the Sunbeam delayed. Joynson moved swiftly onto the back of the Clarke/Gooding/Dormer tussle by the end of lap four and passed Dormer into the West Bend on lap five. The Escort claimed Gooding three laps later to sit fourth until Weaver's last-lap demise. David Hitchen's Mk1 Escort was the first of the lapped cars in sixth after mounting a second-half charge, passing Partridge on lap fourteen, Beere on lap seventeen and finally polesitter Dormer on lap 22. The Talbot Sunbeam of Ross was lapped twice on its way to tenth behind Dormer, Beere and Partridge. Kenny Purdie's Escort was fixed after its second-heat shunt but wouldn’t reach the end to round off a trying meeting for the Scot.
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The National Hot Rods have the Angie Rowe Thunder 500 coming up next at Ipswich on the 14th of June as a warm-up to the 'big one', the World Championship 'Spedeweekend' at the Foxhall Stadium venue on the 5th and 6th of July. The Classic Hot Rods return to Hednesford on the 15th of June before joining the Nationals on the big stage at Ipswich in early July.