National Hot Rods & BriSCA F1 Hednesford 19th April 2026
The two top-tier divisions of non-contact and full-contact oval racing joined forces for a highly-anticipated meeting at Hednesford Hills Raceway on Sunday the 19th of April, the second time in three weeks that they had featured on the same bill.
National Hot Rods
National Hot Rods
WEAVER WOWS WITH WEST MIDLANDS WINNING STREAK
The National Hot Rods gathered for Round 11 of the 2025/26 English World Championship qualifying campaign. Perry Cooke maintained his position at the top of the standings over the Easter weekend meetings at Skegness and Ipswich, with the 2024/25 champion back in his Ginetta over the holidays after wheeling out his Tigra at Aldershot in March. Round Nine took place on Good Friday in Lincolnshire and Karl Baker took both heats from the yellow grade, with Chris Haird and Tom Burgess completing the top three first time out before Burgess improved to second from Robert Gamble in Heat Two. However, Robert McDonald produced a masterclass to come through from the front of the reds in the Stu Carter Memorial final to take an impressive win from Chris Haird and Nick Roots. On Easter Monday the National Hot Rods headed south-east to Suffolk for Round Ten at Foxhall Stadium. Matt Simpson won the first heat out of the blues from top red Robert McDonald and blue-graded Dan Smith, with latter pair both profiting from disqualifications for Nick Ross and Sean Smith. The other heat went to another blue as Scot James Robertson secured victory from Simpson and another blue in Aaron Dew, the top red was Paul Wright in fifth after McDonald was docked two places to sixth. In the Round Ten final, McDonald completed a fruitful Easter weekend with victory from a consistent Simpson and second red Perry Cooke in third, McDonald’s rich vein of form has carried the Scot to within five points of Cooke at the top of the table in the race for the silver roof. A major coup in the short oval world saw six-time BriSCA F1 World Champion Tom Harris race Barry Limer’s Vauxhall Tigra at Skegness on Good Friday. Harris acquitted himself well in the heats to finish 14th overall first time out from starting third of the red-graded drivers and finished as the eighth red. Harris slipped back to 19th overall in Heat Two but finished where he started as the eighth red again before placing 17th overall and seventh red in the final. A few days later at Ipswich on Easter Monday, another full-contact formula driver gave National Hot Rod racing a try as reigning Saloon Stock Car World Champion Ryan Santry took the wheel of Hayden Ballard’s spare Ginetta. Santry finished 17th first time out after starting the heat right at the back and he went from the same starting position for the second outing but was eliminated in a multi-car incident that also saw him miss the final.
Heat One: Sole white-grader Nick Ross took the early lead of the first 25-lap heat in his Ginetta. Yellows Robert Gamble and Kym Weaver outdragged David Brooks to the first corner, whilst fellow yellow Karl Baker made a poor start from alongside Weaver and was rear ended by Tom Burgess as they left the line. Ross held the lead until lap four when Gamble and Weaver went by at the East Bend, with Brooks also getting through at the exit. Weaver found an opening for the lead at the following bend and made the move stick into the East Bend for the fifth time, with the Tigra soon easing away from Gamble. Blue-graded Aaron Dew got on a charge, with the Ginetta passing the two yellows of Burgess and Baker on the opening tour before demoting Ross in Brooks’ wake at the West Bend on lap four. Brooks’ similar Ginetta fell victim on lap eight but the charge ended when the 2020/21 silver roof winner caught second-placed Gamble and Dew became stuck behind the Tigra to end the race in third. Kevin Gooding was also going well in his new Ginetta from the blues and caught the Gamble and Dew pairing, after deposing Brooks from fourth with six laps remaining. Gooding had trailed Dan Smith and James Robertson initially, then followed the pair past the yellow stragglers just before Smith speared into West Bend barrier chasing Dew on lap three soon after getting ahead of Burgess for sixth. Gooding passed Robertson on lap 11 and the Scot also went behind Baker, with the pair being pushed along by Nick Roots’ Lotus. The fifth blue behind Roots after Smith’s demise was Chris Aldridge’s usual wide Tigra that was in combat with Terry Hunn, which made a giant pack of cars when the reds caught them. Fellow blue Hunn stuck to the outside of the Tigra until eventually getting by on lap seven. Chris Haird led the reds to start with from Hayden Ballard and Perry Cooke, with Jason Kew attempting to hold off the rest of the reds. Aldridge was finally forced wide at the East Bend by Haird and the floodgates opened for the red-graded drivers. Cooke passed Ballard in Haird’s slipstream before diving ahead of the triple World Champion into the East Bend as half-distance approached. Ballard also moved through a lap later, with Wright next to challenge the Mk2 Tigra as Cooke drew up to Hunn. As the pair fought, Ballard and new third-placed red Wright joined them, with the former gaining the lead of the grade at the East Bend for the 18th time. Cooke fought back and just failed to pip tenth-placed Ballard over the line at the head of the reds from Wright in 12th, the trio finishing as one. World Champion Robert McDonald was unable to make much ground at the back of the red brigade behind Kew, whilst fellow red Carl Waller-Barrett was spun by blue Brett Walter in the pack during lap 17, for which the Tigra pilot was disqualified. Early leader Ross had slipped back to fifth when he posted a DNF on lap five.
Heat Two: Starting solo from the whites, Nick Ross held on a little longer out front during the second heat before Kym Weaver came by at the East Bend for the fifth time. Weaver and Karl Baker went either side of Tom Burgess on lap one to sit in an early second and third behind Ross. Nick Roots led the blues away and had cleared the Gamble/Brooks pair from the yellows before lap one was complete. Weaver cleared off to record his second heat victory of the day, whilst the Ginetta of Baker in second had the leading blue-grade Roots close in after taking fourth from Burgess on lap three at the East Bend and both passed Ross in one corner on lap six but the order remained settled between them. The beautiful blue Ginetta of Kevin Gooding got around the outside of Chris Aldridge for second of the blues on lap four and soon caught the Ross, Burgess and Brooks tussle. The new ‘Evo’ Ginetta overcame Brooks during lap seven, Ross on lap nine but it took until lap 16 for Gooding to clear Burgess for fourth place. The yellow-graded Burgess took the flag in fifth behind Gooding. David Brooks and Terry Hunn had both passed Ross by half-distance but the latter’s race ended early when something broke at the rear of the Tigra. Ross’ descent continued on lap 15 when Smith and the red train came through, with the white-graded Ross ultimately falling to last of the finishers. There was a great scrap for the top red position between Robert McDonald and Billy Wood. Carl Waller-Barrett led the grade initially but was squeezed into the wall on lap eight when in battle with Aaron Dew, which allowed McDonald and Wood to get ahead. Wood’s Mazda got in front of the World Champion behind the Chris Aldridge and Dan Smith roadblock at halfway before the World Champion got ahead again with just over four laps remaining when they caught Brooks, the pair having got ahead of Smith during lap 17. The pair passed Brooks in the closing stages and McDonald beat Wood to the top red bragging rights and sixth overall. After its heavy hit into the wall during the first heat, Smith took his repaired Tigra to ninth behind Brooks. There was close to a three-wide finish for tenth place as third red Perry Cooke held off Matt Simpson and Paul Wright over the line.
The National Hot Rods gathered for Round 11 of the 2025/26 English World Championship qualifying campaign. Perry Cooke maintained his position at the top of the standings over the Easter weekend meetings at Skegness and Ipswich, with the 2024/25 champion back in his Ginetta over the holidays after wheeling out his Tigra at Aldershot in March. Round Nine took place on Good Friday in Lincolnshire and Karl Baker took both heats from the yellow grade, with Chris Haird and Tom Burgess completing the top three first time out before Burgess improved to second from Robert Gamble in Heat Two. However, Robert McDonald produced a masterclass to come through from the front of the reds in the Stu Carter Memorial final to take an impressive win from Chris Haird and Nick Roots. On Easter Monday the National Hot Rods headed south-east to Suffolk for Round Ten at Foxhall Stadium. Matt Simpson won the first heat out of the blues from top red Robert McDonald and blue-graded Dan Smith, with latter pair both profiting from disqualifications for Nick Ross and Sean Smith. The other heat went to another blue as Scot James Robertson secured victory from Simpson and another blue in Aaron Dew, the top red was Paul Wright in fifth after McDonald was docked two places to sixth. In the Round Ten final, McDonald completed a fruitful Easter weekend with victory from a consistent Simpson and second red Perry Cooke in third, McDonald’s rich vein of form has carried the Scot to within five points of Cooke at the top of the table in the race for the silver roof. A major coup in the short oval world saw six-time BriSCA F1 World Champion Tom Harris race Barry Limer’s Vauxhall Tigra at Skegness on Good Friday. Harris acquitted himself well in the heats to finish 14th overall first time out from starting third of the red-graded drivers and finished as the eighth red. Harris slipped back to 19th overall in Heat Two but finished where he started as the eighth red again before placing 17th overall and seventh red in the final. A few days later at Ipswich on Easter Monday, another full-contact formula driver gave National Hot Rod racing a try as reigning Saloon Stock Car World Champion Ryan Santry took the wheel of Hayden Ballard’s spare Ginetta. Santry finished 17th first time out after starting the heat right at the back and he went from the same starting position for the second outing but was eliminated in a multi-car incident that also saw him miss the final.
Heat One: Sole white-grader Nick Ross took the early lead of the first 25-lap heat in his Ginetta. Yellows Robert Gamble and Kym Weaver outdragged David Brooks to the first corner, whilst fellow yellow Karl Baker made a poor start from alongside Weaver and was rear ended by Tom Burgess as they left the line. Ross held the lead until lap four when Gamble and Weaver went by at the East Bend, with Brooks also getting through at the exit. Weaver found an opening for the lead at the following bend and made the move stick into the East Bend for the fifth time, with the Tigra soon easing away from Gamble. Blue-graded Aaron Dew got on a charge, with the Ginetta passing the two yellows of Burgess and Baker on the opening tour before demoting Ross in Brooks’ wake at the West Bend on lap four. Brooks’ similar Ginetta fell victim on lap eight but the charge ended when the 2020/21 silver roof winner caught second-placed Gamble and Dew became stuck behind the Tigra to end the race in third. Kevin Gooding was also going well in his new Ginetta from the blues and caught the Gamble and Dew pairing, after deposing Brooks from fourth with six laps remaining. Gooding had trailed Dan Smith and James Robertson initially, then followed the pair past the yellow stragglers just before Smith speared into West Bend barrier chasing Dew on lap three soon after getting ahead of Burgess for sixth. Gooding passed Robertson on lap 11 and the Scot also went behind Baker, with the pair being pushed along by Nick Roots’ Lotus. The fifth blue behind Roots after Smith’s demise was Chris Aldridge’s usual wide Tigra that was in combat with Terry Hunn, which made a giant pack of cars when the reds caught them. Fellow blue Hunn stuck to the outside of the Tigra until eventually getting by on lap seven. Chris Haird led the reds to start with from Hayden Ballard and Perry Cooke, with Jason Kew attempting to hold off the rest of the reds. Aldridge was finally forced wide at the East Bend by Haird and the floodgates opened for the red-graded drivers. Cooke passed Ballard in Haird’s slipstream before diving ahead of the triple World Champion into the East Bend as half-distance approached. Ballard also moved through a lap later, with Wright next to challenge the Mk2 Tigra as Cooke drew up to Hunn. As the pair fought, Ballard and new third-placed red Wright joined them, with the former gaining the lead of the grade at the East Bend for the 18th time. Cooke fought back and just failed to pip tenth-placed Ballard over the line at the head of the reds from Wright in 12th, the trio finishing as one. World Champion Robert McDonald was unable to make much ground at the back of the red brigade behind Kew, whilst fellow red Carl Waller-Barrett was spun by blue Brett Walter in the pack during lap 17, for which the Tigra pilot was disqualified. Early leader Ross had slipped back to fifth when he posted a DNF on lap five.
Heat Two: Starting solo from the whites, Nick Ross held on a little longer out front during the second heat before Kym Weaver came by at the East Bend for the fifth time. Weaver and Karl Baker went either side of Tom Burgess on lap one to sit in an early second and third behind Ross. Nick Roots led the blues away and had cleared the Gamble/Brooks pair from the yellows before lap one was complete. Weaver cleared off to record his second heat victory of the day, whilst the Ginetta of Baker in second had the leading blue-grade Roots close in after taking fourth from Burgess on lap three at the East Bend and both passed Ross in one corner on lap six but the order remained settled between them. The beautiful blue Ginetta of Kevin Gooding got around the outside of Chris Aldridge for second of the blues on lap four and soon caught the Ross, Burgess and Brooks tussle. The new ‘Evo’ Ginetta overcame Brooks during lap seven, Ross on lap nine but it took until lap 16 for Gooding to clear Burgess for fourth place. The yellow-graded Burgess took the flag in fifth behind Gooding. David Brooks and Terry Hunn had both passed Ross by half-distance but the latter’s race ended early when something broke at the rear of the Tigra. Ross’ descent continued on lap 15 when Smith and the red train came through, with the white-graded Ross ultimately falling to last of the finishers. There was a great scrap for the top red position between Robert McDonald and Billy Wood. Carl Waller-Barrett led the grade initially but was squeezed into the wall on lap eight when in battle with Aaron Dew, which allowed McDonald and Wood to get ahead. Wood’s Mazda got in front of the World Champion behind the Chris Aldridge and Dan Smith roadblock at halfway before the World Champion got ahead again with just over four laps remaining when they caught Brooks, the pair having got ahead of Smith during lap 17. The pair passed Brooks in the closing stages and McDonald beat Wood to the top red bragging rights and sixth overall. After its heavy hit into the wall during the first heat, Smith took his repaired Tigra to ninth behind Brooks. There was close to a three-wide finish for tenth place as third red Perry Cooke held off Matt Simpson and Paul Wright over the line.
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National Hot Rod Final
Lone white Nick Ross led the field away once more at the start of the 35-lap final, Karl Baker leapt ahead of Kym Weaver at the green before the pair passed the white-grade Ginetta on lap three, the yellow pair then swapped the lead on lap eight at the East Bend and Weaver pushed on to try and break away. However, lead blue Kevin Gooding had got by Tom Burgess during lap four and passed Ross on lap seven at the East Bend. The Somerset driver chased down Baker’s similar Ginetta to grab second on lap 15 at the East Bend and closed in on Weaver just after halfway but couldn’t make a move on the Tigra for the time being. In the race to catch them, Nick Roots and Aaron Dew fought for second among the blues early on before the latter established himself in the position. James Robertson was also in contention from the blues and took third in the grade from Roots heading onto lap four, with the top blues tucked up behind Burgess’ Tigra from the yellows. Billy Wood and Robert McDonald ran side by side contesting the red-grade lead during the opening laps but both fell behind Perry Cooke when McDonald looked to the outside of a defensive Chris Aldridge as Wood dived under the Tigra and took them all wide at the West Bend on lap three. Paul Wright also took the opportunity to go underneath McDonald before the World Champion repassed the similar Ginetta at the West Bend on lap five, with the leading reds right up with the blues by then. Dew passed Burgess at the West Bend on lap six with Robertson and Roots following, whilst Cooke, Wood and McDonald began to make inroads on the blues as Dan Smith fell victim to the trio during the course of lap six and seven. Cooke was past Roots on lap eight and the Lotus tried to fend off Wood and McDonald but both would be through by lap ten. Wright also got ahead of Smith’s Tigra and caught Roots as he scrapped with the MX5 and Ginetta but Wright sent the Exige into a slide at the East Bend for the tenth time, with Wright falling behind Hayden Ballard and Roots slipped behind Smith again to 13th. Ahead of them, initial leader Ross was coming under fire for fourth place and Aaron Dew drove the outside line to take the spot on lap 11. Robertson was also under pressure from the leading reds, with Cooke, Wood and McDonald getting by in short order as Ross went to the back of the group on lap 12 before pulling into the infield. Dew was next in Cooke and co’s sights and a committed dive from the points leader gained him fourth place. Dew was soon seventh after Wood and McDonald steamed through to leave the Ginetta to fight with Robertson and the next red-grader Ballard, who quickly split them. World title holder McDonald flew up the inside of Wood into the East Bend starting lap 16 and started to turn the screw on Cooke. As the race began to edge towards its conclusion, McDonald sat on the outside of Cooke for lap after lap but couldn’t unseat the silver roof bearer and the ever-present Wood nicked fifth place from the Scot with five laps to run. The leaders caught Aldridge during the closing stages to lap the Tigra, who continued to hold the inside line. Sensing his chance for a win, Gooding took to the outside of the leading Tigra at the East Bend for the final time before Weaver threaded the eye of the needle between Gooding and Aldridge to hang on for a clean sweep of victories. In the fight for third, Baker slid wide at the last bend with help from Cooke as Wood got down the Ginetta’s inside so the Mazda sneaked a podium finish with a last-gasp pass of Cooke exiting the final corner, McDonald crossed the line just behind Cooke in fifth and the delayed Baker finished sixth but the latter pair jumped up a spot in the final classification after Cooke was docked two spots for the contact with Baker. Hayden Ballard took the flag close behind Baker in seventh after passing Dew on lap 20, with fifth red Carl Waller-Barrett also passing the 2020/21 points champion for what became eighth place. Dew was ultimately classified ninth and Paul Wright rounded out the top ten after being docked two places for the earlier contact with Roots, having finished close behind Ballard.
Perry Cooke still leads the race for the 2025/26 silver roof leaving Hednesford but his advantage is down to just two points from Robert McDonald with three rounds to go. Dropped scores will also be a factor soon as Cooke needs to lose ten points but McDonald doesn’t have to give any away currently. Paul Wright holds third but fourth-placed Carl Waller-Barrett hacked 12 points off his deficit to the Ginetta at Hednesford and now looms only three points adrift but the Mazda pilot has to kiss goodbye to four more points than Wright. A tightly-knit group from fifth to ninth is covered by a slim nine points as Chris Haird leads Hayden Ballard, Billy Wood, Kevin Gooding and Jason Kew, with Robert Gamble completing the top ten. Karl Baker and David Brooks sit two points apart in 16th and 17th in the battle for the all-important 17th and last World Championship final qualifying spot, with the absent Ryan Morgan eight points away from the pair in 18th.
Lone white Nick Ross led the field away once more at the start of the 35-lap final, Karl Baker leapt ahead of Kym Weaver at the green before the pair passed the white-grade Ginetta on lap three, the yellow pair then swapped the lead on lap eight at the East Bend and Weaver pushed on to try and break away. However, lead blue Kevin Gooding had got by Tom Burgess during lap four and passed Ross on lap seven at the East Bend. The Somerset driver chased down Baker’s similar Ginetta to grab second on lap 15 at the East Bend and closed in on Weaver just after halfway but couldn’t make a move on the Tigra for the time being. In the race to catch them, Nick Roots and Aaron Dew fought for second among the blues early on before the latter established himself in the position. James Robertson was also in contention from the blues and took third in the grade from Roots heading onto lap four, with the top blues tucked up behind Burgess’ Tigra from the yellows. Billy Wood and Robert McDonald ran side by side contesting the red-grade lead during the opening laps but both fell behind Perry Cooke when McDonald looked to the outside of a defensive Chris Aldridge as Wood dived under the Tigra and took them all wide at the West Bend on lap three. Paul Wright also took the opportunity to go underneath McDonald before the World Champion repassed the similar Ginetta at the West Bend on lap five, with the leading reds right up with the blues by then. Dew passed Burgess at the West Bend on lap six with Robertson and Roots following, whilst Cooke, Wood and McDonald began to make inroads on the blues as Dan Smith fell victim to the trio during the course of lap six and seven. Cooke was past Roots on lap eight and the Lotus tried to fend off Wood and McDonald but both would be through by lap ten. Wright also got ahead of Smith’s Tigra and caught Roots as he scrapped with the MX5 and Ginetta but Wright sent the Exige into a slide at the East Bend for the tenth time, with Wright falling behind Hayden Ballard and Roots slipped behind Smith again to 13th. Ahead of them, initial leader Ross was coming under fire for fourth place and Aaron Dew drove the outside line to take the spot on lap 11. Robertson was also under pressure from the leading reds, with Cooke, Wood and McDonald getting by in short order as Ross went to the back of the group on lap 12 before pulling into the infield. Dew was next in Cooke and co’s sights and a committed dive from the points leader gained him fourth place. Dew was soon seventh after Wood and McDonald steamed through to leave the Ginetta to fight with Robertson and the next red-grader Ballard, who quickly split them. World title holder McDonald flew up the inside of Wood into the East Bend starting lap 16 and started to turn the screw on Cooke. As the race began to edge towards its conclusion, McDonald sat on the outside of Cooke for lap after lap but couldn’t unseat the silver roof bearer and the ever-present Wood nicked fifth place from the Scot with five laps to run. The leaders caught Aldridge during the closing stages to lap the Tigra, who continued to hold the inside line. Sensing his chance for a win, Gooding took to the outside of the leading Tigra at the East Bend for the final time before Weaver threaded the eye of the needle between Gooding and Aldridge to hang on for a clean sweep of victories. In the fight for third, Baker slid wide at the last bend with help from Cooke as Wood got down the Ginetta’s inside so the Mazda sneaked a podium finish with a last-gasp pass of Cooke exiting the final corner, McDonald crossed the line just behind Cooke in fifth and the delayed Baker finished sixth but the latter pair jumped up a spot in the final classification after Cooke was docked two spots for the contact with Baker. Hayden Ballard took the flag close behind Baker in seventh after passing Dew on lap 20, with fifth red Carl Waller-Barrett also passing the 2020/21 points champion for what became eighth place. Dew was ultimately classified ninth and Paul Wright rounded out the top ten after being docked two places for the earlier contact with Roots, having finished close behind Ballard.
Perry Cooke still leads the race for the 2025/26 silver roof leaving Hednesford but his advantage is down to just two points from Robert McDonald with three rounds to go. Dropped scores will also be a factor soon as Cooke needs to lose ten points but McDonald doesn’t have to give any away currently. Paul Wright holds third but fourth-placed Carl Waller-Barrett hacked 12 points off his deficit to the Ginetta at Hednesford and now looms only three points adrift but the Mazda pilot has to kiss goodbye to four more points than Wright. A tightly-knit group from fifth to ninth is covered by a slim nine points as Chris Haird leads Hayden Ballard, Billy Wood, Kevin Gooding and Jason Kew, with Robert Gamble completing the top ten. Karl Baker and David Brooks sit two points apart in 16th and 17th in the battle for the all-important 17th and last World Championship final qualifying spot, with the absent Ryan Morgan eight points away from the pair in 18th.
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BriSCA F1
WHITE HOT CLAYTON SMOKES HEDNESFORD FINAL
The brute force of full-contact BriSCA F1 racing also had a World Championship qualifying event in the Midlands, with Round Ten of the 2025/26 season taking place a day after the first qualifier of the year at Buxton. Lewis Hunter was triumphant in Heat One in the Peak District from the blue grade, whilst white-graded Harry Clayton prevailed in Heat Two and reigning World Champion Tom Harris took the Grand Final from Callum Thornton and Mat Newson. Clayton capped a successful evening by taking the glory in the Grand National too, having also won the white and yellow-grade race. Micky Randell inherited the Consolation Final honours after James Hall-Morton failed post-race scrutineering.
Heat One: There would be three heats with the 2/3rds format in use and white top Jason Cull led the opening 16-lap heat to the East Bend when Harry Clayton and James Hall-Morton went through, whilst fellow white grade Richard Davies was an early casualty when he pulled into the centre exiting the first bend after receiving a shove from Clayton into the corner. Yellow-graded Ant Lee skated up the banked turn on the dusty surface to fall back into the blues, from which Lewis Hunter escorted Thomas Holcroft wide at the first bend to lead the grade. Current British Champion Paul Hines was at the front of the reds and veteran Frankie Wainman Jnr led the superstars. Jack Ryan went by Cull next going onto lap two and Joshua Spiers also dived ahead of the brief leader at the West Bend. Hall-Morton had also helped Clayton along into the West Bend just ahead of them to take up the running as Spiers went third in their wake. The leading blue pair had gapped the other blues, who were having their own battle as Micky Randell and Simon Traves were sent wide at the East Bend when top reds Paul Hines, Catherine Harris, Kyle Gray and Danny Wainman all came through. The yellow flags flew after two laps when Frankie 'Ted' Wainman Jnr Jnr lost his engine cover and the panel was left lying on the track by the start/finish line. Hall-Morton led from Clayton at the restart, followed by Spiers, Ryan, Cull, Hunter and Holcroft in the top seven. Hall-Morton led to the end of the 16 laps ahead of Clayton, whilst top blues Hunter and Holcroft, along with leading red Paul Hines, all passed Cull when racing resumed and the trio had all got ahead of Ryan too within a lap. Hunter knocked Spiers sideways at the West Bend next time by and Holcroft almost slipped through into third but Hunter staved the teenager off as Hines further demoted Spiers. However, Holcroft wouldn’t be denied and went third after one further lap. The leading superstar grades were beginning to make their presence felt and Wainman Jnr passed Spiers into sixth at half-distance. Hines took fourth from Hunter on lap 12 but received a black cross for his trouble, which would haunt him afterwards. Blue-graded Hunter also slipped behind FWJ going onto the final lap to be sixth. Hall-Morton took the chequer by five car lengths from Clayton, with the highest blue-grader Holcroft finishing a similar distance back in third. Top red Hines crossed the line in fourth from the top superstar Wainman Jnr and Hunter. However, ninth on-the-road Mat Newson was classified as the leading superstar in fifth after Paul Hines and Junior Wainman received the two-place penalties being awarded for corner cutting and slipped to sixth and seventh respectively. Red-graded Catherine Harris was next in eighth after Finn Sargent and Callum Thornton also drew penalties, with Joshua Spiers and Simon Traves completing the top ten as a result.
Heat Two: White roof Roland Lamb got the drop from the inside pole of the second 16-lapper but Harry Clayton soon led out of the West Bend and was gifted a large lead when Lamb and Jason Cull came to grief at the West Bend for the second time, yellow grade Joshua Spiers having punted Cull into Heat One victor James Hall-Morton and the white pair clattered into the steel fence. Hall-Morton also found the wall and lost the early lead of the yellows to Spiers and Michael Allard. Thomas Andrew led the blues away from Lewis Hunter and gained fourth spot on lap three when a tap from Hall-Morton on the back of Allard only took the assailant wide, with Hunter also moving through. The duo made further progress on the following lap when Allard fell victim to them both. Leading red Dave Polley was well ensconced with the blues by now and was being chased by Paul Hines. The yellow flags came out just after halfway with Hall-Morton stranded at the West Bend along with the blue-graded cars of Hunter and Henry Robson. White-graded Clayton headed the queue for the restart from the yellow-graded Spiers, with Andrew the lead blue in third. A delayed Cull sat in the line ahead of the fourth-placed Allard, with another interloper in the form of the restarting Hunter in front of the fifth-placed Paul Hines. The British Champion was now the leading red after Polley tangled with Robson, having received a helping hand from Casey Englestone, and rode over his front wheel as the yellow was called. The reigning World Champion Tom Harris and blue-graded Englestone made up the top seven at the lap nine restart. Harris made rapid progress after the restart and got past Hines at the first opportunity before removing Allard from fourth a lap later, again at the West Bend. At the head of the field, Spiers put the bumper on Clayton at the West Bend on lap 12 and hit the front with four to go. Clayton returned the favour on the following lap and got back ahead of Spiers at the East Bend but Andrew got by both to lead onto the penultimate lap. The scrap among the top three had brought the flying Harris up to them and the World Champion picked them off to take the lead onto the last lap and win from blue-grader Andrew. Yellow-graded Spiers passed the flag in third after passing Clayton at the East Bend but further penalties were dished out post-race and the yellow top was docked for kerb use so superstar Mat Newson got on the podium. White roof Clayton also benefited from Spiers’ punishment and another docking for Ant Whorton-Eales to be classified fourth, ahead of the censured pair in fifth and sixth. Whorton-Eales and Newson soon got through Englestone at the restart when the blue top became boxed in behind Cull. The three of them all went by Hines next time around, with Whorton-Eales taking fourth from Clayton at the West Bend for the last time but one and Newson followed Whorton-Eales by. 2022 Saloon Stock Car World Champion Michael Allard secured seventh ahead of British Champion Paul Hines in eighth. Another member of the Wainman dynasty was ninth as Danny Wainman took the spot, with Dave Polley finishing at the foot of the top ten.
Heat Three: The third 16-lap heat began with two white grades at the head of the field in Richard Davies and Jason Cull. The latter led the opening lap, with leading yellow Joshua Spiers taking second from Davies concluding lap one. Michael Allard from yellow had trouble at the East Bend before the off and delayed others as they got ready to go including fellow blues Thomas Andrew and Jake Harrhy plus red Kyle Gray. Lead blues Thomas Holcroft and Casey Englestone soon caught yellow Ant Lee before a push from Lee sent Davies wide at the West Bend and the two blues slid underneath the white top too. Englestone gave Holcroft the bumper at the following bend and gained two places into fourth, Simon Traves also gave Holcroft a tap into the West Bend, which carried them both past Lee along with Micky Randell. Just behind them, Henry Robson and top red Dave Polley both pushed Davies further down the order. The bumpers were starting to fly in among the blues as Traves and Randell traded blows, Randell barging Traves out of fifth at the West Bend with Robson taking advantage to bag both but Traves sent Randell hard into the following East Bend wall and took Robson with them to bring out the yellow flags on lap five. Yellow top Thomas Storry took the lead from Cull at the East Bend on lap four, with Englestone and Holcroft also passing Cull just before the stoppage to lead the queue behind Storry. Leading red Dave Polley had climbed up to fifth, with leading superstars Tom Harris and Ant Whorton-Eales lining up next behind Cull at the restart. Storry held on to his lead when racing resumed from Englestone and Holcroft but Polley and Harris both passed Cull immediately at the East Bend before swapping places themselves by the exit of the turn. Polley was then pushed wide by the Callum Thornton and Whorton-Eales pair as the latter went into fifth from Thornton. The new Mat Newson chassis of Englestone, which was only contesting its third meeting, dispatched Storry from the lead at the East Bend the lap following the restart and teenager Holcroft went by with him into second. Harris would also dispose of Storry straight after the youngster at the West Bend and reeled in Holcroft, taking second at the East Bend with five to go. Just Englestone remained and a nudge into the East Bend got Harris in front three from home to win two from two heats ahead of Englestone. Whorton-Eales climbed to fourth past Storry just after Harris passed the yellow top but Thornton pushed the Harrison-built machine wide at the East Bend and took Kyle Gray through with him. Thornton caught Holcroft and grabbed the final podium spot at the East Bend starting the penultimate lap. Gray recovered well from his slow start to take the flag in fifth as the leading red-graded driver, helped in part by the mid-race yellow flag. Whorton-Eales finished sixth from second-placed red Polley in seventh. Catherine Harris matched her race number in eighth, with the embattled Traves ninth and Finn Sargent completed the top ten. BriSCA F1 legend Frankie Wainman Jnr was an early retirement with a flat front tyre on what was turning into a difficult day for the three-time World Champion starting his 40th season in the sport.
The brute force of full-contact BriSCA F1 racing also had a World Championship qualifying event in the Midlands, with Round Ten of the 2025/26 season taking place a day after the first qualifier of the year at Buxton. Lewis Hunter was triumphant in Heat One in the Peak District from the blue grade, whilst white-graded Harry Clayton prevailed in Heat Two and reigning World Champion Tom Harris took the Grand Final from Callum Thornton and Mat Newson. Clayton capped a successful evening by taking the glory in the Grand National too, having also won the white and yellow-grade race. Micky Randell inherited the Consolation Final honours after James Hall-Morton failed post-race scrutineering.
Heat One: There would be three heats with the 2/3rds format in use and white top Jason Cull led the opening 16-lap heat to the East Bend when Harry Clayton and James Hall-Morton went through, whilst fellow white grade Richard Davies was an early casualty when he pulled into the centre exiting the first bend after receiving a shove from Clayton into the corner. Yellow-graded Ant Lee skated up the banked turn on the dusty surface to fall back into the blues, from which Lewis Hunter escorted Thomas Holcroft wide at the first bend to lead the grade. Current British Champion Paul Hines was at the front of the reds and veteran Frankie Wainman Jnr led the superstars. Jack Ryan went by Cull next going onto lap two and Joshua Spiers also dived ahead of the brief leader at the West Bend. Hall-Morton had also helped Clayton along into the West Bend just ahead of them to take up the running as Spiers went third in their wake. The leading blue pair had gapped the other blues, who were having their own battle as Micky Randell and Simon Traves were sent wide at the East Bend when top reds Paul Hines, Catherine Harris, Kyle Gray and Danny Wainman all came through. The yellow flags flew after two laps when Frankie 'Ted' Wainman Jnr Jnr lost his engine cover and the panel was left lying on the track by the start/finish line. Hall-Morton led from Clayton at the restart, followed by Spiers, Ryan, Cull, Hunter and Holcroft in the top seven. Hall-Morton led to the end of the 16 laps ahead of Clayton, whilst top blues Hunter and Holcroft, along with leading red Paul Hines, all passed Cull when racing resumed and the trio had all got ahead of Ryan too within a lap. Hunter knocked Spiers sideways at the West Bend next time by and Holcroft almost slipped through into third but Hunter staved the teenager off as Hines further demoted Spiers. However, Holcroft wouldn’t be denied and went third after one further lap. The leading superstar grades were beginning to make their presence felt and Wainman Jnr passed Spiers into sixth at half-distance. Hines took fourth from Hunter on lap 12 but received a black cross for his trouble, which would haunt him afterwards. Blue-graded Hunter also slipped behind FWJ going onto the final lap to be sixth. Hall-Morton took the chequer by five car lengths from Clayton, with the highest blue-grader Holcroft finishing a similar distance back in third. Top red Hines crossed the line in fourth from the top superstar Wainman Jnr and Hunter. However, ninth on-the-road Mat Newson was classified as the leading superstar in fifth after Paul Hines and Junior Wainman received the two-place penalties being awarded for corner cutting and slipped to sixth and seventh respectively. Red-graded Catherine Harris was next in eighth after Finn Sargent and Callum Thornton also drew penalties, with Joshua Spiers and Simon Traves completing the top ten as a result.
Heat Two: White roof Roland Lamb got the drop from the inside pole of the second 16-lapper but Harry Clayton soon led out of the West Bend and was gifted a large lead when Lamb and Jason Cull came to grief at the West Bend for the second time, yellow grade Joshua Spiers having punted Cull into Heat One victor James Hall-Morton and the white pair clattered into the steel fence. Hall-Morton also found the wall and lost the early lead of the yellows to Spiers and Michael Allard. Thomas Andrew led the blues away from Lewis Hunter and gained fourth spot on lap three when a tap from Hall-Morton on the back of Allard only took the assailant wide, with Hunter also moving through. The duo made further progress on the following lap when Allard fell victim to them both. Leading red Dave Polley was well ensconced with the blues by now and was being chased by Paul Hines. The yellow flags came out just after halfway with Hall-Morton stranded at the West Bend along with the blue-graded cars of Hunter and Henry Robson. White-graded Clayton headed the queue for the restart from the yellow-graded Spiers, with Andrew the lead blue in third. A delayed Cull sat in the line ahead of the fourth-placed Allard, with another interloper in the form of the restarting Hunter in front of the fifth-placed Paul Hines. The British Champion was now the leading red after Polley tangled with Robson, having received a helping hand from Casey Englestone, and rode over his front wheel as the yellow was called. The reigning World Champion Tom Harris and blue-graded Englestone made up the top seven at the lap nine restart. Harris made rapid progress after the restart and got past Hines at the first opportunity before removing Allard from fourth a lap later, again at the West Bend. At the head of the field, Spiers put the bumper on Clayton at the West Bend on lap 12 and hit the front with four to go. Clayton returned the favour on the following lap and got back ahead of Spiers at the East Bend but Andrew got by both to lead onto the penultimate lap. The scrap among the top three had brought the flying Harris up to them and the World Champion picked them off to take the lead onto the last lap and win from blue-grader Andrew. Yellow-graded Spiers passed the flag in third after passing Clayton at the East Bend but further penalties were dished out post-race and the yellow top was docked for kerb use so superstar Mat Newson got on the podium. White roof Clayton also benefited from Spiers’ punishment and another docking for Ant Whorton-Eales to be classified fourth, ahead of the censured pair in fifth and sixth. Whorton-Eales and Newson soon got through Englestone at the restart when the blue top became boxed in behind Cull. The three of them all went by Hines next time around, with Whorton-Eales taking fourth from Clayton at the West Bend for the last time but one and Newson followed Whorton-Eales by. 2022 Saloon Stock Car World Champion Michael Allard secured seventh ahead of British Champion Paul Hines in eighth. Another member of the Wainman dynasty was ninth as Danny Wainman took the spot, with Dave Polley finishing at the foot of the top ten.
Heat Three: The third 16-lap heat began with two white grades at the head of the field in Richard Davies and Jason Cull. The latter led the opening lap, with leading yellow Joshua Spiers taking second from Davies concluding lap one. Michael Allard from yellow had trouble at the East Bend before the off and delayed others as they got ready to go including fellow blues Thomas Andrew and Jake Harrhy plus red Kyle Gray. Lead blues Thomas Holcroft and Casey Englestone soon caught yellow Ant Lee before a push from Lee sent Davies wide at the West Bend and the two blues slid underneath the white top too. Englestone gave Holcroft the bumper at the following bend and gained two places into fourth, Simon Traves also gave Holcroft a tap into the West Bend, which carried them both past Lee along with Micky Randell. Just behind them, Henry Robson and top red Dave Polley both pushed Davies further down the order. The bumpers were starting to fly in among the blues as Traves and Randell traded blows, Randell barging Traves out of fifth at the West Bend with Robson taking advantage to bag both but Traves sent Randell hard into the following East Bend wall and took Robson with them to bring out the yellow flags on lap five. Yellow top Thomas Storry took the lead from Cull at the East Bend on lap four, with Englestone and Holcroft also passing Cull just before the stoppage to lead the queue behind Storry. Leading red Dave Polley had climbed up to fifth, with leading superstars Tom Harris and Ant Whorton-Eales lining up next behind Cull at the restart. Storry held on to his lead when racing resumed from Englestone and Holcroft but Polley and Harris both passed Cull immediately at the East Bend before swapping places themselves by the exit of the turn. Polley was then pushed wide by the Callum Thornton and Whorton-Eales pair as the latter went into fifth from Thornton. The new Mat Newson chassis of Englestone, which was only contesting its third meeting, dispatched Storry from the lead at the East Bend the lap following the restart and teenager Holcroft went by with him into second. Harris would also dispose of Storry straight after the youngster at the West Bend and reeled in Holcroft, taking second at the East Bend with five to go. Just Englestone remained and a nudge into the East Bend got Harris in front three from home to win two from two heats ahead of Englestone. Whorton-Eales climbed to fourth past Storry just after Harris passed the yellow top but Thornton pushed the Harrison-built machine wide at the East Bend and took Kyle Gray through with him. Thornton caught Holcroft and grabbed the final podium spot at the East Bend starting the penultimate lap. Gray recovered well from his slow start to take the flag in fifth as the leading red-graded driver, helped in part by the mid-race yellow flag. Whorton-Eales finished sixth from second-placed red Polley in seventh. Catherine Harris matched her race number in eighth, with the embattled Traves ninth and Finn Sargent completed the top ten. BriSCA F1 legend Frankie Wainman Jnr was an early retirement with a flat front tyre on what was turning into a difficult day for the three-time World Champion starting his 40th season in the sport.
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Grand Final: Harry Clayton started alone as the only white top to qualify for the Grand Final and led the 20-lap bout all the way, continuing the theme of white and yellow-grade drivers featuring highly in the results at the Cannock Chase oval. The 19-year-old rising star is in only his second full season in the F1s after making his debut in spring 2024 and he would vault from the white grade to superstar status after the first grading review a few days post-Hednesford. The race ran uninterrupted by yellow flags and James Hall-Morton led the chase from the yellows until Joshua Spiers went by on lap 16 and the latter held the runner-up position to the finish. Thomas Holcroft clinched third from the blues after leading the grade from the start, having passed Hall-Morton a lap after Spiers. The 16-year-old will also be moving to the superstar grade in May. Behind the top three it was much more hectic, Thomas Andrew led the remaining blues from Lewis Hunter during the early stages as Dave Polley headed the reds from Kyle Gray and they were straight into the blues from the off. Superstars Frankie Wainman Jnr and Mat Newson’s chassis became locked together and they went out on the first lap, after a push from Callum Thornton thrusted FWJ into Newson. The East Anglian bounced off the wall and caught Junior Wainman’s right rear corner and got stuck fast. The latter also suffered a burst left rear tyre as they shuffled along the barrier. Another bump from Thornton on lap two carried him past Danny Wainman and blue Austin Moore, with former British Champion Finn Sargent relinquishing his 14th position at the West Bend for the third time before Englestone did likewise one circulation later. Chris Cowley was Thornton’s next target and he fell on lap five at the West Bend. Red tops Polley and Gray both got by the blue-graded Hunter at the East Bend for the fifth time, after Hunter was briefly locked together with Andrew. The march of Thornton continued as he closed in on Catherine Harris behind the blue top and passed her at the end of lap six. When Polley went wide at the West Bend on lap seven, Gray shot through on the inside to lead the reds. Hunter also passed Polley before Thornton put the bumper in on the shale specialist at the West Bend starting lap eight and took the former pair wide, with Thornton moving up to eighth as Catherine Harris also passed Polley. Harris’ big brother Tom was next to demote Polley and went by within a lap, with Ant Whorton-Eales also moving through soon after. The aggressive Thornton passed the lead red Gray and yellow-grade Lee at half distance to go sixth, whilst Tom Harris and Whorton-Eales had both got past the World Champion’s younger sibling. The gold roof holder gave his customer Hunter a shove at the West Bend before forcing his way up the inside at the East Bend to grab ninth, with yellow top Lee going behind Harris a lap later. Andrew lost fifth to the relentless Thornton on lap 15 at the East Bend and the lead superstar would finish a battling fourth after grabbing the place on the penultimate lap as Hall-Morton dropped to fifth, having held second for so long. Second blue Andrew finished sixth, with leading red Kyle Gray seventh. Tom Harris took the flag eighth, the World Champion having had a fairly quiet final after his earlier heat successes. Harris had followed Thornton past the Wainman Jnr and Newson contretemps but couldn’t stay with his former chassis. Whorton-Eales knocked his way past the World Champion at the West Bend on lap three as both got round Danny Wainman in the lap prior. The pair followed Sargent past Simon Traves before Harris returned serve on Wharton-Eales during lap five to take both Whorton-Eales and Sargent. The third superstar to cross the line was Wharton-Eales in ninth as he continued his recovery from a nasty shoulder injury picked up during last year’s British Championship meeting, with Lewis Hunter completing the top ten. Having led the reds early doors and reaching seventh overall, the famously anti-tarmac Polley lost momentum after the Gray incident and the ex-F2 World Champion slipped back to 12th in his ‘tractor’.
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Brian Whorton Memorial Grand National: The last 16 laps of action for the day would be the Brian Whorton Memorial Grand National, the commemorative shield being presented for the second time after the passing of the Stock Car racer in 2025 and will be given to the Grand National winner at the equivalent meeting for years to come. White tops Jason Cull and Richard Davies ran ahead of yellow Joshua Spiers taking the green on lap one. The pair of leading white graders tripped over each other on the opening lap and Spiers pounced to grab the lead. The yellow top led the rest of the way to win before having a spin during his celebratory powerslide. James Hall-Morton was next in the chase of Cull, followed by Lewis Hunter and Thomas Holcroft from the blues. Cull went behind Hall-Morton at the West Bend on lap four before Hunter came through up the following straight. Holcroft divebombed Cull at the East Bend but an opportunist Casey Englestone slipped by the pair of them. Leading red Kyle Gray wasn’t far away from them and barged past Cull at the West Bend. Holcroft took fourth place back from Englestone at the East Bend two laps after dropping the spot. Hunter used the force to edge Hall-Morton wide at the East Bend on lap seven to claim second, with Holcroft homing in. Chris Cowley was next in line after Gray as Tom Harris started to make his presence felt behind him. The World Champion had passed Paul Hines during the sixth lap and Cowley went behind during lap seven and Harris set off after Gray in sixth. The red-graded car fed Englestone the front bumper at the East Bend just after half-distance but it took him a solid lap to complete the move, with Harris following Gray past Englestone on the way into the East Bend and passed the red top at the exit. Hall-Morton slid wide again at the West Bend five laps after losing second and Holcroft was through in a trice for third place with five laps remaining. The first blue-grader home was Lewis Hunter in second, with 16-year-old fellow blue Holcroft completing a day in which the Southport youngster didn’t finish outside of the top four with third. World Champion Tom Harris made it up to fourth place at the East Bend with three laps to go. Gray finished as the top red from the British Champion Paul Hines in fifth and sixth. Mat Newson was the second superstar home in seventh as opening heat winner Hall-Morton gave up more places in the last knockings to be eighth, Carrying Brian Whorton‘s number of 408, Ant Whorton-Eales got a top ten finish in his Grandad’s memorial race with ninth after surviving a second-lap clash with Danny Wainman that saw Whorton-Eales climb over Wainman’s front wheel and almost took eighth from Hall-Morton past the flag. Callum Thornton was unable to replicate his Grand Final heroics as he completed the top ten. Grand Final victor Harry Clayton started with a near one-lap disadvantage behind Tom Harris but was eliminated without reaching the startline when he collided with the crashed machine of Thomas Andrew, who had already gone in with Austin Moore. Frankie Wainman Jnr’s difficult day was complete when the pit gate had already closed when he came to join the oval.
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The headline categories were each supported by another non-contact and contact formula, with the evenly-matched Stock Rods going for their English Championship title and the equally competitive BriSCA F2s contested a World Championship qualifying round of their own. John Smith, the Stock Rod World Champion for the past two years, doesn’t have to paint over the Cross of St George on his Corsa’s roof either after taking his third English title in a row and fifth in total, from David Burton and Max Bradburn. The BriSCA F2 final went the way of Ashley England after reeling in early leader Mason Whittle, Charlie Guinchard took second at the death.
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The next World qualifiers for the National Hot Rods and the BriSCA F1s will soon be upon them. The Hot Rods travel to Ipswich on the 2nd of May for Round 12, whilst the ‘Big League’ contenders are back on the shale at Northampton for Round 11 on the same day.