One thing we always appreciate about the Angmering Oval Raceway is the approach to Bank Holiday weekends. Invariably the Bank Holiday Monday events pull in the crowds for a largely contact racing programme, featuring novelties like car jumping or caravan racing. However, the Angmering team always take the view that the popularity of these events means that they can afford to give the Sundays over to their non contact classes, with a day’s racing that certainly wouldn’t turn a profit but rewards the track’s regular drivers with a full and relatively relaxed day’s racing. In the hot sunshine the 27-race programme was all done by soon after 3 pm.

The first two Bank Holidays of the year had featured the SEGTO Championship on the Sunday, but the late May holiday was all about the local classes.

With numbers having dropped away in the Outlaw and 2-litre Hot Rod classes, Angmering are now back to running just their usual A and B categories. HOT ROD A featured six cars with the Johnsey family taking all three races; Jason won heat one and the final, but broke his throttle cable in heat two, which Josie won. Adrian Treagus in his Prod A Micra led more laps than anyone and finished second in all three races, with Paul Boot’s 1300 Micra and young Matthew Gurr’s Corsa also in contention. Adam Fry turned out in Ben Hardy’s pink Starlet but had problems in practice.

HOT ROD B only fielded three cars so they raced with the three that turned out for the THUNDER CAR class, a re-branded version of Angmering’s Saloon Rod class. Paul Perry’s Tigra-Zetec 2-litre Hot Rod took the first heat, but Jodie Goddard in her FWD Nova held Paul off in the second heat and final, with Ian Stephens’ Fiesta-Zetec in third. Jamie Sayers’ MG ZR won the Thunder Car class from Chris Mackenzie’s Peugeot 206 and David Francis’ Subaru.

Eight cars raced in the JUNIOR RODS with Max Jones’ immaculate Micra winning all three races, chased each time by Laiton Disdle. Tongham driver Harry Ovens moved up to third in the final, just ahead of Jamie Budd in what we think is still the only K12 Micra racing in Juniors. Then came Bailey Turner, Cam Croucher’s Fiesta and Billy Turner, with usual front runner Kayleigh Smith bringing up the rear after her Micra kept cutting out.

The JUNIOR PRODS had five cars, although a couple of Junior Bangers were allowed to race with them and one of the Bangers, Toby Hodgkinson’s Fiesta, looked significantly quicker than the regular Production runners. Among the Prods, Alfie and Summer Spokes were first and second in heart one and the final, reversing the order in heat two. Rosie Bishop’s new Micra and Blaine Disdle were next up while Jack Switzer was eliminated after a coming-together with Harrison Devall in the second of the Bangers.

There was a smaller than usual field for the PRODSTOX, who were expected to turn out in much bigger numbers on the Monday – although it’s hard to tell as most of the cars have permanent homes at the track and just wait to see if anyone will turn up to drive them that day! 11 cars came out in the main group and four in the Novices. Fortunately they didn’t do nearly their normal amount of damage and after three clean races Steven Criddle ended up leading every lap. Behind him in the final was Jamie Hales in a shared car, with Amanda Harris’ Tigra leading the main pack home from Paul Brett, Carl Page, Dave Francis, Dean Archer, Danny Brett and Daren Wood, with Paul Spokes and Richard Sharples dropping out. Helen Sharples won both the novices’ heats but lost out in the final to Rick Finneron, who joined in with a borrowed car and headed Helen, Les Hales, Luke Tompsett and Simon Hales.

The slightly baffling MICRA STOX formula completed the programme, still split into two outwardly identical classes after a slight divergence of rules. Therefore, instead of a 15 car grid there were two groups of 8, with one car being shared in both classes. The “Micra Stox”, the original Angmering formula that was adopted by SEGTO this year, were dominated by Chris Tullett, taking all three wins, although most of the laps were led by Kat Lewis, who was starting the best part of a lap ahead, with the handicap working as she was only being caught in the closing laps. In the final Ian Withers held off Dan Smith and Jodie Goddard, having a one-off run in Graham’s car, in a battle for second, with no repeat of Jodie getting spun out by brother Ian in the first race! Kat Lewis, Mike Hale and Craig Cobb were the other runners with Andy Dodge’s shared car not starting the final.

The 1-LITRE STOCK CARS are effectively the Ringwood variation of the same formula. Their races were all won by Stuart Beevis, who in a close final fended off Luke Penfold, Chris Harriss and Rob Bishop, with Kev Beevis getting spun out of this bunch on the last lap. Fifth went to Nick Sanders, borrowing Kat Lewis’ car for the final after the car he’d been sharing expired, with Perry Loveday in sixth.

Not on the programme, but added on the day, as a few cars turned up that couldn’t fit any other class, were the anything-goes CB NON CONTACT. We normally can’t keep track of this class as most of the cars don’t get numbered, and they’re not lap scored as the idea is to race anything you like for fun. This time, though, there were only five cars, most driven by familiar names from other classes. Graham Stallwood in a Volvo S60 had some good battles with Chris Francis in a Passat and Dave Francis in a Primera Estate, with Chris winning twice and Graham once, while James Ellenker in a BMW and Andrew Mackenzie in a 306 were the others to turn out.