Cardwell's Clinches First Stock Rod Major and National Ministox Star

A huge weekend of oval racing was enjoyed by drivers and fans alike over two days of competition at both DMC Race Promotions circuits. The action commenced at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday before continuing at Tullyroan Oval on Sunday. The big winner of the weekend was Ballinderry ace Jonny Cardwell, who scooped the Stock Rods British Championship title whilst England’s Jack Witts won both the Irish Championship and Irish Masters in the visiting National Ministox formula. The latest round of the National Hot Rods World Series NI saw Portadown’s Adam Hylands come out victorious at Tullyroan on Sunday.

A huge field of Stock Rods assembled for the 2021 British Championship, with three qualifying heats shared between defending champion Derek McMillan, Jonny Cardwell and Adam McFall. Siobhan Martin from Scotland qualified on pole and led the final early on, before Cardwell found a gap on the inside that edged Siobhan wide and ultimately out of the race. A number of caution periods couldn’t dislodge Cardwell from the top spot, and he raced home to the chequered flag, and his first major title victory, ahead of McMillan. Stevie McNiece claimed third spot after a raft of penalties were handed out amongst the pack for contact.

Sunday saw the Irish Open Championship up for grabs for the formula, with McMillan and young Randalstown star Sam McNeice claiming the heats wins. McMillan then powered away from the front of the grid in the final, taking victory over impressive sixteen-year-old McNeice with Scottish lady racer Martin in third.
National Ministox

Playing a great supporting role was the first Ulster visit of the National Ministox. The formula, more regularly seen on the English circuits, put on a great show in their awesome little ironed-up Mini’s, with the Irish Championship up for grabs at Aghadowey on Saturday. Jaden Key and Joelan Maynard (twice) shared the three heats, before the drivers lined up under the floodlights for the inaugural LJN Designs sponsored Irish decider. Sam Critchley set the early pace ahead of Cody Hanson, before a caution period brought the star graders into contention. Multi-champion Jack Witts quickly hit the front on the restart, fending off Kasey Jones to land the title, with Lewis Smith taking third.
Sunday saw even more exciting racing on the Tullyroan circuit, with some fantastic action as Cody Hanson, Maynard and Critchley shared the heat wins. Local racer Abbie McKinstry joined the ranks for the weekend and she led early on in the final before being ousted by Critchley. Witts and Leah Sealy were heading the rush for the front from the superstar grade, and Jack duly hit the top spot to take his second title win of the weekend over Sealy and Evan Bullock. The National Ministox really proved a hit with the local fans and everyone will look forward to a return visit in 2022.

The Junior Productions were racing for the Irish Open Championship, with Ballymena ace Aaron Ward taking the opening heat win ahead of Scotland’s Koddi Wright. Jack Morrow made short work of the second heat to take the honours over Sam Percy and Callum Magill. With similar results in the heats, Morrow won the toss with Ward for pole position in the Irish open final, Jack then racing clear to take the title in style. Percy finished second on the road but was docked two places for contact, handing the runner up slot to Wright with Ward taking third.

On Sunday Ward took victory in the Tullyroan Challenge Cup after a penalty was handed down to on the road winner Morrow. That elevated Ward, who had earlier shared the heat wins with Andrew Woods, to the top step of the podium, with Chelsy Rainey taking second ahead of the demoted Morrow.

On the sun drenched Tullyroan bowl on Sunday the National Hot Rods produced some great racing, with Adam Hylands powering past Nigel McCauley to take the opening heat win. There was a great finish to heat two, with a popular win going the way of Andrew Stewart just ahead of Hylands and McCauley. Hylands then stamped his authority all the final of Round 2 of the Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI, taking a decisive win over Shane Murray, John Christie and Glenn Bell.

Support action at Aghadowey on Saturday saw NI Points Champion Drew McKeown from Portadown take the honours in the second round of the 2.0 Hot Rods Hoosier Tyres Series in a superb wet weather drive, after Broughshane’s Davy Kernohan has scored a brace of heat wins. In the Lightning Rods there was also a double heat winner in Ballymena’s Daniel Rodgers, before Portadown’s Ronan McNally came through to take the feature race honours.

Sunday at Tullyoan also saw the Rookie Bangers in action, with Garvagh’s William McFaul grabbing a heat and final double amongst a big field of cars. The other heat fell to Josh Goligher amidst the carnage, with McFaul then getting the better of long time leader Matthew Milliken in the final.

Latest Points Update - 1300 Stock Cars

Ahead of their upcoming World Championship at Lochgelly, the 2020/21 Autoweld NI Points Championship for 1300 has now concluded. After a toughly fought season, young star 888 Jonathan Brown has been crowned as NI Points Champion, ahead of 33 Jon McQuillan and 127 Jonny Patterson. From this final chart, the seven NI representatives for the World Final will be decided.

To view the final points chart and the new gradings for the new season, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.

Murray in an Aghadowey Hurry!

Galgorm based European Champion Shane Murray got his National Hot Rods 2021/22 World Series challenge off to the best possible start when he took victory in a tremendous opening round at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday night. On a night of great race action, Antrim’s Stephen Emerson was crowned King of Aghadowey in the 2.0 Hot Rods after another superb race, whilst young Kilmore driver Ryan Berry landed the Golden Helmet in the Ninja Karts. Loughgall’s Jamie McCann was a heat and final double winner in the Superstox, with Coleriane’s Mark McLaughlin taking a similar brace of wins in the Thunder Rods.

A pleasing eighteen car grid lined up for the opening round of the Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI for National Hot Rods, with Gilford’s Nigel McCauley taking the first heat win in style ahead of John Christie’s Lotus and Podge McQuaid. Evergreen veteran racer Keith Martin took a popular win in heat two, again ahead of the impressive Christie with Davy McKay this time in third.
In the final McCauley led from the off, but by one third distance Christie had moved to second and quickly launched an assault for the lead. Lap after lap the duo raced side by side, with the rapid trio of Glenn Bell, Derek Martin and Shane Murray closing all the time. Christie almost made the move stick, but then McCauley ran them both deep into the Brown Trout Bend and in a flash the chasers were through. Recently crowned National Champion Martin took up the running and took the chequered flag, but after a lengthy Stewards Enquiry he was demoted two places in the final analysis for contact during the race. That elevated Murray to the win, ahead of Bell in second after a truly scintillating race.

The randomly drawn grid for the opening 2.0 Hot Rods heat saw star man Jordan Rochford on pole position, and he quickly turned that into a win over Gary Butler and Scott Cochrane. Davy Potter led the opening laps of the reversed grid heat two before British Champion Conor Hughes overhauled him on the wide outside line. As Hughes took a great win, Stephen Emerson and Adam Best came through for second and third respectively.
Rochford had qualified on pole spot, and he quickly edged clear out front in the King of Aghadowey final. Emerson moved through to second, and sensed his chance might still come as Rochford got embroiled in heavy back marking traffic. As he came to put a lap on Trevor McConnell, the most minimal of hesitation gave Emerson his chance, and he nipped under Rochford and then outside the backmarker in a fantastic move. Stephen took a tremendous win which at a time looked so unlikely, with Rochford and Best filling the podium slots.

Welcome Scottish visitor Hamish Plenderleith joined the young Ninja Kart aces for their Golden Helmet award, with Ryan Berry coming on strong late on with a fine outside blast to win the opening heat over Andrew Hawe and Ryan Abernethy. Hawe then went one better in heat two, taking victory over Berry and Leyton Hughes.
The final saw Berry lead initially before being passed by Plenderleith who took up the running. As Hamish looked all set for the win, Hughes challenged late on only for the two to clash and go out on the very last bend. Amidst the chaos of that crash, Riley Dawson-Stirling crossed the line first, but he then failed the post race technical checks which handed the win and the trophy to a delighted Berry, ahead of Hawe and Noah Teggart.

Teenager Ryan Dilly took a fine win in the opening Superstox heat, showing a clean pair of heels to chasers Jamie McCann and Lee Davison. Brian Lammey, Odhrann McGeown and Conor Murphy all had spells out front in the second heat, before McCann came on late to take the win over Ed Davis and Irish Champion Kyle Beattie.
Young novice McGeown impressed as he set the early pace in the final, but he had no answer to McCann’s pace as Jamie moved ahead to complete a heat and final double. Davis took second spot, with Craig McConnell netting third after a great battle with British Champion Davison.

Once again the budget Thunder Rods fielded a huge grid of cars, making the going more than hectic all evening to say the least. Mark McLaughlin raced through to land the opening heat over Chris Baird, before novice grader Lucas Goligher took a morale boosting heat two win ahead of Samuel Murphy and Simon McLaughlin.

The final under the floodlights was action packed from start to finish, with Paddy Hannigan setting the pace until he came under attack from all angles late on. McLaughlin found a way past to the front, and even survived a late caution period to take the win over the impressive duo of Jason Darragh and James Goldie.

Latest Points Update - Stock Rods & National Bangers

In our latest points update, the latest standings for Stock Rods and National Bangers are now available

In the Stock Rods, former World Champion Marc Morrell leads the 2021/22 NI Points Championship by 19 points, and he rises back to the red grade. In second spot is Shane McMillan with young star Sam McNeice in third, and they both join Marc in moving up the grades.

In the National Bangers, former Shamwreck Champion Mike Flaherty tops the 2021 DMC Points Championship with just one meeting left before the title is decided and our qualifiers for Ipswich are decided. Reigning NI Points Champ Leonard Dunn lies second with Rodney Herron and Jonny Murdock next up.

To view the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.

Emotional Win For Cherry & Last Gasp Elliott Lands Irish Open

The weather may have tried its best to dampen the spirits at Tullyroan Oval on Saturday night, but the drivers put on an excellent show for all the race fans in attendance. Local driver Allen Cherry took an emotional victory in the Lee Cherry Memorial Trophy for 2.0 Hot Rods, whilst Rathfriland’s Ivan Elliott took a fantastic last-gasp win in the 1300 Stock Cars Irish Open Championship, having tracked Scotsman Gary Nicholls for much of the race.
Nigel Jackson produced a wet weather masterclass in the Lightning Rods, young Sam McNeice from Randalstown grabbed Stock Rods glory whilst Loughgall’s Jonny Murdock took a Final and Destruction Derby double in the Micro Bangers.

Welcome Co Cork visitor Ian Riordan joined the local 2.0 Hot Rod stars to defend the Lee Cherry Memorial Trophy, held annually in memory of the popular former racer. Jordan Rochford made short work of the greasy conditions to win the opening heat ahead of Allen Cherry, the latter making a return to racing after a lay off due to injury. Drew McKeown took the spoils in heat two, easily racing home ahead of Scott Cochrane and Denver Grattan.
The final paired Rochford and McKeown on the front row, and a superb battle developed over the opening laps. They both had a spell out front, as had Cherry, as the lead was swapped on numerous occasions. But Cherry was the one to make it stick, edging clear to race home to a very popular and poignant victory in a race that means so much to the Cherry family. On a very emotional podium, Allen was joined by runner up Rochford and third placed Gary Butler.

A whole host of very welcome English and Scottish visitors joined the locals for the 1300 Stock Cars Irish Open Championship. The bumpers were put to good use in the opener as Scotsman Gary Nicholls took the win over England’s Jacob Roff, after Antrim’s Stephen McCready was demoted from second for jumping the start. The action continued in the second heat, with Nicholls again taking the win over Roff once again, with McCready this time taking third.
The final was lined up on aggregate points and with top performers Nicholls and Roff sharing the front row, we also had some of the star men a little closer to the sharp end of proceedings. The sparks flew right from the off as the drivers got well and truly stuck in, with one of the Mathieson brothers from Scotland going for a particularly wild ride down the home straight in the midst of the pack. Nicholls held the lead from the off, but for the whole duration of the race he was tracked by Ivan Elliott. That was until the very last bend, when Elliott came in with a huge hit, sending Nicholls around the wall and allowing Ivan to nip through on the inside to land the title win in some style. Nicholls and fellow Scotsman Kyle Hegg completed the podium after an excellent evening’s entertainment.

A slightly depleted Lightning Rods entry saw two heat wins for Ronan McNally in the slippery conditions. Ronan led home a fast looking Stuart Agnew in the opener and Aaron Brunton in heat two, after newcomer Daniel Rodgers had impressed as he led the opening laps of both races.
Rodgers and Brunton had spells out front in the final, but it was renowned ‘rain master’ Nigel Jackson who produced a masterclass of wet weather driving to leave all the others trailing in his wake. Nigel took a fine feature race win ahead of Agnew and Mark McCambridge.

NI Points Champion Adam McFall was the star turn in the Stock Rod heats, racing from the back of the grid on both occasions to take the victory. Heat one saw him relegate early leader Mark Kilpatrick to take the win ahead of Marc Morrell, before swooping past long time leader Robert McIlroy in heat two to take his second win of the night over Sam McNeice.
McIlroy and Willie Taggart had a great side-by-side scrap for the lead early in heat two, before Mark Crawford moved ahead to take up the running as McFall’s hat-trick bid faltered with mechanical woes.. Mark’s fellow Junior Productions graduate McNeice was the one to watch though, Sam moving ahead to take his first ever senior victory after a very solid drive indeed. Crawford, Shane McMillan and Dan Shannon filled the places.

The Micro National Bangers produced some fine racing and crashing during the night, with Loughgall’s Jonny Murdock coming through the chaos of the main race to land the Micro Madness final over Leonard Dunn and Mike Flaherty. Dunn had led until punted wide late on by Murdock.
The Allcomers race saw Dunn hit the front early on, before Flaherty powered ahead to take the win, having even survived a grassy excursion when a number of cars clashed directly ahead of him. Rodney Herron and Sean Flaherty filled the places, before a bruising Destruction Derby fell to Murdock after Dunn and Sean Flaherty just fell short. Mike Flaherty also had a rollover in this one to keep everyone entertained!

Simpson Race Exhausts Continue Backing For World Series NI

DMC Race Promotions and the NHRPA are delighted to announce that Simpson Race Exhausts will continue as the title sponsor of National Hot Rods World Series NI for the 2021/22 season.

The renewal of the deal for a fourth season is a major boost for the formula on the Ulster raceways as we head into the new campaign. The winner of each of the fourteen rounds will receive a cash incentive from Simpson Race Exhausts.

Matt Simpson, himself a former European Champion in National Hot Rods, was very enthusiastic about the extension of the deal. "I am over the moon to be supporting World Series NI again and am thankful for all the custom that we have received in return across all the oval racing formulae. I look forward to coming over again to Northern Ireland sometime soon to see some racing now that restrictions are easing."

Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI blasts back into action at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday August 14th, and with some new and returning drivers set to come to the grid it promises to be yet another exciting season of National Hot Rod racing.

Latest Points Update - 1300 Stock Cars

In our latest points update, the new gradings and latest standings for the 1300 Stock Cars have been published.

The formula has been very impressive so far this term, and a big grid is expected for the Irish Open Championship in a fortnight's time with some excellent English visitors already booked in. In the Autoweld of Belfast NI Points Championship, 888 Jonathan Brown tops the table ahead of 127 Jonny Patterson, with 33 Jon McQuillan just one point further back in third.

To view the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.

Victory for Davison in Superstox Moffett Shield

The action was red hot both on and off the track at Tullyroan Oval on Saturday night, with the fans basking in the heatwave sunshine as the drivers produced the goods on the circuit. Portadown’s Lee Davison continued his rich vein of form with victory in The Moffett Shield for the Superstox, whilst Glenavy’s Dan Shannon claimed a dominant win in the Stock Rods Tullyroan Challenge Cup.
Rathfriland’s Jack Morrow took the spoils in an incident strewn Junior Productions Golden Helmet race, whilst the other feature race winners were local man Thomas Dilly in the Classic Hot Rods, Crumlin’s Matthew Milliken in the 1300 Stock Cars and Kilrea’s Jordan Nicholl in the Thunder Rods.

A pleasing field of 20 cars took the green flag for the opening Superstox heat, including former F2 European & Irish Champion Craig McConnell on his formula debut. Young Ryan Dilly took the spoils in the opener, before he had a huge race-stopping spill in heat two. Jamie McCann took the heat two victory, before the final got off to an explosive start with Jordan Robinson rolling over on the back straight. At the resumption James Stewart set the pace out front, and after a tremendous four way fight it was British Champion Lee Davison who powered through to grab the Moffett Shield in some style. Kyle Beattie and Jamie McCann followed him home, with Conor Murphy also getting a prize as the first white/yellow grade driver home.

Mark Kilpatrick led the opening Stock Rods heat off before Dan Shannon found a way past to take the win over Sam McNeice and Victor McAfee. Heat two then went the way of former World Champion Marc Morrell over Sam Wilson and Joe Largey. The Tullyroan Challenge Cup Final saw Shannon power away from the front of the grid, coming home to take the trophy some distance ahead of the rest of the field. Morrell impressed in second ahead of McNeice and Shane McMillan.

The young aces in the Junior Productions were chasing the coveted Golden Helmet, presented annually by the McKeown Family. Andrew Woods drove a fantastic race to land the heat one win ahead of Declan O’Connor and Jack Morrow. Sam Percy then raced through to win the second heat having sustained damage in the opener, with Aaron Dynes grabbing his best result to date in second after on-the-road runner up Alexander McCreadie was later removed from all results for misdemeanours in the final.
Dynes went for a huge rollover across the infield at the start of the final, and then a huge crash involving O’Connor and McCreadie brought proceedings to a halt for a second time. Declan spent the night in hospital after the huge spill and we all wish him well for a full and speedy recovery. Morrow didn’t let this affect him though, pulling clear at the resumption to take a fantastic victory and the impressive trophy, with Chlesy Rainey and Percy claiming the podium places after Abbie McKinstry was disqualified for spinning another car from the race.

Local ace Thomas Dilly went through the card unbeaten as the Classic Hot Rods impressed on their return to action. Thomas hunted down the immaculate Morris Minor of Adrian McKinstry in the opening heat, before he held off Andy O’Donnell in the second race of the night. In the final Gerry Rothwell led O’Donnell with just a few laps to go, with Dilly taking to the wide outside line to challenge on the final lap. Thomas pulled himself past O’Donnell, and then just pipped Rothwell to the flag by the slenderest of margins. Behind Dilly, Rothwell and O’Donnell, Adrian Boyle, Paul Magee and Lester McCloy rounded out the finishers.

Plenty of contact was the order of the day from the 1300 Stock Cars as they continue to impress, with Jonny Patterson taking their opening heat victory over Chris Hamill and Gareth Halliday. Belfast man Jon McQuillan then took heat two after the bumpers were well and truly exchanged in the pack, with Matthew Milliken and Halliday chasing him home.
The final saw Milliken break free early on and he raced home to a great victory, with Hamill and Patterson impressing on their way to second and third respectively.

Debutant Jordan Nicholl fairly shook up the Thunder Rods division as he raced clear in the opening heat to land an impressive win over Samuel Murphy and Simon McLaughlin. The star men got much more involved in the second heat as Irish Champion James Goldie took the win over Murphy and Nicholl, before Jordan once again showed the way home in the final. There were a whole raft of penalties handed down in the one, with Murphy and Dean Catherwood grabbing the podium positions ahead of Jason Darragh and returnee Andrew McLean.

Morris Grabs Last Gasp World Title Win!

Staffordshire driver James Morris was on top if the world as he claimed a dramatic victory in the Cherry Pipes 2.0 Hot Rods World Championship at a sun drenched Aghadowey Oval Speedweekend. The race fans enjoyed a festival of championship racing over the weekend, with local Aghadowey driver Aaron Stewart winning the Lightning Rods European Championship, whilst Antrim’s Leyton Hughes grabbed the glory in the Ninja Karts National Championship.

A top quality field was assembled for the 2.0 Hot Rods Championship of the World, with Portadown’s Jordan Rochford raising the local hopes with a win in the first of three qualifying heats, before Dublin’s Gary Butler grabbed the glory in heat two. James Morris upheld English honour with victory in heat three, but on aggregate points it was Antrim’s British Champion Conor Hughes and Rochford who shared the front row of the grid for the Cherry Pipes sponsored World Final.
Hughes led them away for 45 laps of the sun baked circuit, with Rochford and Morris chasing hard behind. Defending champion Dave Leech then worked his way through to fourth and began to reel in the leaders as the laps dwindled down. Rochford made his move in the closing stages, getting up alongside Hughes down the back straight. Side by side they came over the line as the crowd held their breath, only for Hughes to run deep into turn one, taking Rochford wide with him.
In a flash Morris accepted the gift of the inside line, the lead and ultimately the chequered flag and World Championship glory after a truly opportunistic drive. He didn’t lead too many laps, but he led the ones that mattered. Leech took second spot ahead of Rochford, Hughes and Stephen Emerson.
Adam Best then took a win in the reverse grid World Revenge race, before doubling up with victory in the Irish Open Championship ahead of London’s Mitch Souter and Morris. It was just reward for Best, who had worked wonders to repair his car after it was extensively damaged in a mid-week testing crash.

The main support act over the weekend was the Lightning Rods European Championship, which produced some fantastic racing. Former World Champion Gordy McKee and current title holder Nigel Jackson shared the heats, but it was local man Aaron Stewart who led them off, although it wasn’t for long as a huge crash brought out the red flags. Stewart again made no mistake at the restart, and he led them all the way home to take the European title ahead of Jackson and McKee.
Sunday’s Irish Open Championship saw heat wins for England’s Richard Norman and Randalstown’s Tim Hazlett. It was Jackson who qualified on pole position and he led the field away, but had Hazlett tracking his every move. Not many find a way past experienced campaigner Jackson, but Hazlett got the smallest of gaps into turn three and he was past and away. Tim then had to fight off a hard charging James McKinney all the way to the flag, but he held on for the win over McKee and Jackson, with McKinney left with just fourth for his gallant efforts on the outside line.

The 6-11 year old Ninja Kart stars came from all corners of the UK to contest the National Championship, with Irish Champion Leyton Hughes snatching the win from Scottish Champion Kenzie Kopacz in heat one. Heat two saw Hughes sensationally repeat the feat ahead of Dougie Kidd and Kenzie Bell. From pole position, Hughes would never be headed in the National Championship race, the Antrim ace leading home Murray Hall and Kopacz at the chequered flag for a fantastic win.

Sunday’s Irish Open Championship saw Bell snatch the heat one win after Stuart Shevill had led most of the way, before Hughes took the heat two honours after having crashed out of the first race of the day. In the final it was Hampshire’s Murray Hall who set the pace up front, with Bell chasing him all the way. After a tremendous tussle, it was Hall who took the win for England over Scottish ace Bell and Northern Ireland’s Hughes.

Over the weekend there was some excellent support action, with Kells driver Shane McMillan being crowned King of Aghadowey in the Stock Rods, but only after his brother Derek had hit transmission issues whilst well clear. The 1300 Stock Cars produced some fantastic action, with the sparks flying as the bumpers well and truly went in during the final under a fantastic sunset. Chris Hamill came through to take the honours in that one, before British Champion Lee Davison shared the Superstox heats with Jamie McCann before going on the take the final honours too.

Many thanks to our meeting sponsors, Cherry Pipes

Latest Points Update - Superstox

In our latest points update, the standings for Superstox have been added to our website.

British Champion 914 Lee Davison leads the way in the Mk2 Escort Shells & Spares NI Points Championship, 15 points ahead of 935 David Beattie with 906 Ethan Dilly in third.

To view the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'

Glory For Grattan Amidst Tullyroan Drama

It was a night of high drama at Tullyroan Oval on Saturday, with some superb racing in amongst some huge crashes and spills. During the hard fought action Portadown’s Gary Grattan took his first ever victory in the 2.0 Hot Rods formula, whilst fellow Portadown star Lee Davison took the spoils in the outstanding Superstox. Randalstown’s Mick Rodgers came out on top of the Stock Rods whilst Glenavy’s Mark McCambridge was victorious in the Lightning Rods. The Ninja Karts rounded off the programme, with Antrim ace Leyton Hughes taking a superb hat-trick of wins.

Drogheda driver Noel Reynolds was the first to show in the opening 2.0 Hot Rods heat, which saw a big incident on the back straight and then another huge crash on turn four, which together eliminated a number of cars. Reynolds continued to lead before Gary Fowler nipped past two laps from home to take the win. A depleted field for the second heat saw Gary Butler this time take the honours, again after demoting Reynolds.
The final saw former Superstox ace Gary Grattan set the pace out front, and despite Fowler getting close over the closing laps, Grattan held on for the first win for his Vauxhall Nova-bodied car. It certainly was a night for the Gary’s, as all three races fell to a different one – Fowler, Butler and Grattan – and they then locked out the top three spots in the final too!

There was yet more outstanding action from the Superstox, and Birches driver Alan Haugh took the win in the opening heat having led all the way, ahead of Ethan Dilly and his brother Steven Haugh. The drama continued thick and fast in heat two, with Ethan Dilly this time grabbing the chequered flag ahead of David Beattie and Alan Haugh.
Another full grid took the green flag in the final which turned into a terrific race. James Stewart and Dilly argued over the lead before two caution periods for big crashes for Paddy Murphy and David Beattie. With the field closed up for the restart it played right into the hands of the star men, with British Champion Lee Davison surging through in style to collect the silverware over Irish Champion Kyle Beattie and Jamie McCann.
The evening finished with a ten lap Dash for Cash sponsored by JMC Custom Paintwork, and after some great exchanges of blows it too fell to Davison. Mark Taylor also put up a nice cash prize for the first white roof home, which went the way of a delighted Dilly.

The Stock Rods were joined by welcome Scottish visitor Chris Lattka, and there was also a very welcome return to action for Victor McAfee after his recent bout of ill health. Joshua McMullan ran out a deserved winner of heat one ahead of Marc Morrell and Shane McMillan, before Cavan driver Ryan Andersen raced home to victory in heat two for his first ever win, with Morrell and S McMillan again the placemen.
Andersen set the pace in the final, but this time is was Mick Rodgers who put his earlier problems behind him to set a great pace. Rodgers soon went ahead, as the main focus became a great places battle between Morrell, Colin McNiece, Shane McMillan and the rapid World Champion Derek McMillan. Rodgers kept them all easily at bay to land a telling and morale boosting win, with Morrell grabbing his third runner up spot of the evening ahead of McNiece.

A very healthy field of Lightning Rods were joined by welcome Tipperary visitor Paul Whelan. A very messy opening heat saw a number of incidents, with Strabane’s James McKinney taking the win after the others did their utmost to trip over one another. James then had a fantastic run around the wide outside line on the final lap of the second heat to take his second win by the narrowest of margins ahead of Ronan McNally.
The final saw visitor Whelan pull clear out front, before Mark McCambridge broke clear from the blue grade to chase him down. McCambridge soon found a way past, and raced clear to land the silverware in some style and lay down a marker ahead of the European Championship later in the month. Whelan impressed in second ahead of McNally and Aaron Stewart.

Scottish lad Kenzie Bell joined the locals for another great Ninja Kart meeting, with Belfast’s Ethan McQuillan being the latest star of the future to pass his Junior Driver Assessment and join the grid for his race debut. Leyton Hughes was the driver of the night, the Irish Champion taking a faultless hat-trick of victories in both heats and the final. Leyton led home Bell and Andrew Hawe in the opening heat, before Ryan Berry and Bell filled the places in heat two.
The feature race final also fell the way of Hughes after he worked his way past the whole field to win from impressive visitor Bell and Noah Teggart.

Latest Points Update - Thunder Rods & Rookie Bangers

The latest points standings are now available for Thunder Rods & Rookie Bangers.

In the Thunder Rods, 53 Ryan Nixon leads the way in the 2020/21 Norman Purdy & Sons NI Points Championship, racing for the William Bradley Perpetual Cup. 216 Simon Lamont is in a strong second spot ahead of 20 David Wilson, 28 Sam Preston and reigning NI Points Champion 87 James Goldie. Leader Nixon has been a very busy man since lockdown, competing in not only the Thunder Rods but the Rookie Bangers and 1300 Stock Cars too!

After last weekend's outstanding Rookie Bangers meeting, 116 Mark Weldon leads the DMC Race Promotions Points Championship ahead of 215 Leonard Dunn, 63 William McFaul and 143 Paul O'Connor.

To view the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.