Polley and Murray dominate the grid

Another man in dominant form was Lyle Murray. The Ballymena driver qualified on pole position for the final of the Group Two Lightning Rods Global Oils Grand Prix Series and, like Polley, never put a wheel wrong to lead comfortably from start to finish.

F2 Stock Cars

Visitors from all corners of the UK joined the local F2 stars to contest the Irish Open Championship. Two qualifying heats determined the grid positions for the trophy race and the first of these brought a win for defending champion Chris Bradbury from Winnersh in Berkshire. The home drivers struck back in heat however when Gavin Fegan from Lisburn took the honours. The final pitted English drivers Polley and Bradbury together on the front row, with Scotland's Chris Burgoyne and Gary Grattan from Banbridge sharing row two. These four managed to pull away from the main pack as the race progressed with Polley gradually easing out a gap up front until the race was halted with oil on the circuit at Suffolk bend. The race resumed with only 5 laps remaining and Polley kept his head to maintain his advantage and secure the Irish Open title for the first time. Bradbury chased hard, but was forced to settle for second, with Grattan the best of the home drivers in third. A special award was also generously provided by the Moffett family for the first white or yellow top home and this was awarded to Kyle Beattie from Aughnacloy. A Grand National race completed the F2 events and victory went to Chris Kincaid.

Heat One: 1st. Chris Bradbury (Winnersh), 2nd. Chris Burgoyne (Falkirk), 3rd. Gary Grattan (Banbridge)

Heat Two: 1st. Gavin Fegan (Lisburn), 2nd. Dave Polley (Manea), 3rd. Chris Kincaid (Antrim)

Irish Open Final: 1st. Polley, 2nd. Bradbury, 3rd. G. Grattan, 4th. Burgoyne, 5th. Denver Grattan (Banbridge), 6th. Rob Speak (Manchester)

Grand National: 1st. Kincaid, 2nd. G. Grattan, 3rd. Bradbury

Group Two Lightning Rods

Seventeen cars lined up for the final of the Global Oils Grand Prix Series with Ballymena pair Lyle Murray and David Gillespie occupying the front row. Gillespie would only get the length of the first corner before spectacularly crashing out, but there were no such problems for Murray who motored away from the pack to secure a convincing victory in his Vauxhall Astra. David Wilson moved through from the third row of the grid to claim the runner-up spot after a spirited drive, with the podium positions completed by Nigel Doherty. The two support races were won by Kenny Carson and Davy Parkhill.

Grand Prix Series Final: 1st. Lyle Murray (Ballymena), 2nd. David Wilson (Cullybackey), 3rd. Nigel Doherty (Garvagh)

Heat One: 1st. Kenny Carson (Ballymena), 2nd. Stephen Doherty (Garvagh), 3rd. Davy Parkhill (Ballymoney)

Heat Two: 1st. Parkhill, 2nd. Carson, 3rd. Liscinda Smyth (Portglenone)

Stock Rods

Thomas Morrison started the evening with a flag to flag victory in the opening heat, before Coleraine veteran Freddie Laffin steered his Vauxhall Nova to a well deserved win in heat two. Geoffrey Milligan set the early pace in the opening laps of the final, before Colin Greer edged ahead in his Vauxhall Corsa. Greer pulled out a comfortable gap to claim his first final win of the season, with Alastair Bolton coming through for second and Cullybackey’s Michael Reid claiming third.

Heat One: 1st. Thomas Morrison (Ballymoney), 2nd. Victor McAfee (Ballymena), 3rd. Colin Greer (Gracehill)

Heat Two: 1st. Freddie Laffin (Coleraine), 2nd. McAfee, 3rd. Greer

Final: 1st. Greer, 2nd. Alastair Bolton (Ballymoney), 3rd. Michael Reid (Cullybackey)

Saloon Stock Cars

Stuart McCammon claimed an unlikely win in the first Saloon race after front runners Andrew Stewart and Darwin Wright took each other out with only one lap remaining. Wright made amends with a victory in heat two, but the Antrim man was an early casualty in the final as Irish Champion Stewart powered ahead in his 2-litre Ford to claim the Slemish SuperCup for the second year in a row. McCammon crossed the line in second ahead of Anthony McIvor and Ryan Wright.

Heat One: 1st. Stuart McCammon (Armagh), 2nd. Andrew Stewart (Portadown), 3rd. Ryan Wright (Cullybackey)

Heat Two: 1st. Darwin Wright (Antrim), 2nd. Stewart, 3rd. McCammon

Slemish SuperCup: 1st. Stewart, 2nd. McCammon, 3rd. Anthony McIvor (Coleraine)

This weekend

Stock Car racing continues in the Ballymena Showgrounds this Friday (June 18). The Production Cars make their first appearance at Raceway for a number of years, with the F2 Stock Cars, Group Two Lightning Rods, Junior Rods and Classic Hot Rods also in action. The first race at the RS Tyres & Batteries sponsored meeting gets underway at 7:15pm.