‘Queen of Speed’ Rachel (16) wins special charity race

Fifteen ladies contested three entertaining races in borrowed cars to raise money for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and it was the youngest lady on the grid, 16 year old Rachel Hamill from Ballymena, who produced a royal performance to be crowned the Queen of Speed.

In the regular classes at the Bevan Motorsport sponsored meeting there was a first final win of the season for local lad Aaron Moody in the Junior Rod section.

Ross Houston was in top form during the opening round of the Saloon Stock Car Shoot Out Series where the former Irish Open Champion rattled off a comprehensive hat-trick of victories and Billy Finnegan continued his perfect record in the Speed Stock division with a fifth final win on the trot.

QUEEN OF SPEED

Two reverse grid qualifying heats would determine the line-up for the trophy race and it was Rachel Hamill who caught the eye in the opening heat.

Hamill, a student at Slemish College, showed no fear on her first ever track outing to record an impressive win at the wheel of Jason Clyde’s Vauxhall Astra, while Caroline McNeilly slipped through to second in Liscinda Smyth’s regular car.

The grid was reversed for heat two and it was McNeilly this time who took the honours, while Hamill caught the steward’s attention in this one and was demoted from second to fourth behind Laura Foster and Lorraine Davison.

When the points were totalled up it was the two heat winners who shared the front for the final and impressively all 15 that started the evening were able to start the final.

It was Hamill who made the better start to power into the lead, but McNeilly kept her within sight as the pair steadily pulled away from the rest of the field.

A tangle in the main pack at Fisherwick bend brought out the yellow flags and set up a 2 lap showdown for victory where Hamill confidently held her nerve to ease out a gap once more and capture the Queen of Speed Trophy. All the ladies were taken on a well deserved lap of honour following the final as they all had acquitted themselves admirably.

SALOON STOCK CARS

Nine cars took to the track for the opening round of their Shoot Out Series and Ross Houston quickly laid down a marker to the rest by storming through for a win in the opening heat.

Tommy McCrory Jnr. finished quickly in the closing stages to claim second ahead of Matthew Stirling.

It was Stirling who set the initial pace in heat two before Houston resumed his place out front to make it two wins from two. Irish Champion Ryan Wright came through to second in this one, while Stirling tipped McCrory into a spin at Fisherwick bend to snatch third. Mark Hughes, in the ex-Andrew Stewart Ford Sierra, set a brisk pace out front in the final, but once again Houston was the man on the move and comfortably pulled through into the lead before reeling off the remaining laps to complete a perfect hat trick of victories.

Hughes retained second to the finish, with the top six completed by Wright, Stirling, Cargan’s Mark Dewar and Jason Smyth from Portglenone.

SPEED STOCKS

Interest in the new Speed Stock class continues to grow with Roger Glass the latest to make his debut in the division.

Ballymena racer James Goldie survived a last bend attack from Billy Finnegan to secure victory in the opening heat, before Stewart Nichol took the honours in a lively second heat.

Nichol led for a long time in the final too, but Finnegan dragged his car onto the leader’s tail as they collected the one lap to go board. A well placed nudge sent Nichol wide at Suffolk bend and allowed Finnegan into the lead for the first time during the evening.

Despite Nichol’s best efforts to dislodge the leader’s Honda on the final bend it was Finnegan who held firm to maintain his one hundred percent final win record and make it five final wins on the trot! Nichol was left a frustrated runner-up, with Goldie, Lee Booth, Glass and Richard Purdy completing the top six.

JUNIOR RODS

The track was wet for the youngsters’ first race where Irish Champion Dean McCrory glided his Peugeot 106 through the pack for another win.

Antony Kincaid continued his impressive 2013 form with a comprehensive victory in heat two, the winner’s Ford Fiesta some way clear of Aaron Moody and Jaimie McCurdy.

The final was red flagged initially with the steward not happy that the gaps had been maintained between the various grades. Some of the young chargers did not heed that warning at the second time of asking, with both McCurdy and McCrory handed a two place penalty for jumping the start.

Their penalties would not have any impact in the outcome of the race win however as neither could get near Moody.

The Cambridge House Grammar student had looked lively in the heat races, finishing as runner-up in both, and went one place better in the final after an excellent performance in his Ringside Cafe sponsored Peugeot 106.

THIS WEEKEND

There’s an all action line-up at Ballymena Raceway on Friday evening (May 3) when the speed kings of the local ovals, the National Hot Rods, contest Round 12 of their World Qualifying Series.

With only 4 rounds remaining the pressure is really on the top drivers to confirm their place in one of the six qualifying slots available. World Champion Glenn Bell currently tops the chart with Portadown pair Stewart Doak and Mark Heatrick next in the table. Keith Martin, who finished second in the European Championship at Lochgelly in Scotland last weekend, Gary Woolsey and Adam Maxwell are the other drivers presently occupying the qualifying slots, but a win at the previous round has brought Northern Ireland Champion John Christie right back into contention.

Christie will be aiming for another big score on Friday evening, where another two new drivers are expected to swell the grid, Randalstown’s Tim Hazlett and Gary O’Neill from Ballykelly.

Formula Two Stock Cars, Stock Rods and Group Two Lightning Rods complete the busy schedule, with the first race getting underway in the Ballymena Showgrounds at 7:15pm