The Superstox have been simply awesome the last few years and this was another top-showing with a healthy sprinkling of new cars and faces to herald a new season at Foxhall which also has the mouth-watering prospect of the world title shoot-out in August – can’t wait, writes Kevin Wegg.
Meanwhile, it was clear from heat one this was not going to be good night for the star drivers though with a spinning Chris Capon snaring world champion Nick Smith and Shaun Brooker. Smith suffered considerable damage and was out for the evening and as the race unfolded, both Jason Cooper and Ben Marjoram joined the list of retirees which already included Ryan Eaton who was somewhat bizarrely black flagged for using too many new tyres. On a super-fast raceway Sarah Cooper matched the conditions looking well at home for an impressive win. Brother Jason was the victim of an out-of-shape Chris Phillips in heat two and t-boned the armco at a rate of knots bringing out the flags, with both driver and car the worse for wear although thankfully Jason was able to walk back to the pits. Paul Langridge took the win but wasn’t about to repeat it in the East Anglian title shoot-out with Martyn Coles landing on his bonnet. With yet another star man, this time Steven Jackson, on the receiving end it was left to Shaun Brooker to try and salvage something for the reds but he just couldn’t catch Dave Miles Junior who looked irrepressible and took a popular win.
SUFFOLK PUNCH
Suffolk’s Young Guns put the National Hot Rod circus on notice that when the gold roof returns to the Big Top at Foxhall in July there’s a good chance it will stay on home soil with local boys Shaun Taylor and Gavin Taber very much the ring-masters.

Terry Hunn was another East Anglian from just down the road in Braintree to catch the eye with these three in dominant form although it might have been more difficult had Ralph Sanders not tipped the scale in favour of the Scrutineers after winning heat two. That gave the win to welcome visitor James O’Shea from Dublin but after that it was very much a Suffolk-benefit. Taylor had already bagged the opening heat from row two and bagged his first NHR brace in the second with Gavin Taber virtually riding shotgun. O’Shea’s chances of a similar brace were dashed when clashing with Mike Loosemore in the final whilst Taylor’s hat-trick dream wasn’t to be with Taber absolutely flying. Sam Holland was half-spun early and then sent pirouetting later courtesy of William Hardie who was black-crossed and later disqualified. After charging off in to the night Hunn gradually reeled Taber in but the Suffolk ‘Punch’ wasn’t about to be out-fought.
Steve ‘Cecil’ Anscombe showed his Stock Car pedigree with a textbook last lap manoeuvre in the Bangers on Jamie Hadley but it took two attempts with Daniel Bullock very nearly snatching it in the process. Lee Neary finished his race ‘up-ended’ with the formula very lively all night, none more-so than heat two with a massive home straight pile-up that snared Graham Fuller, Mark Thorpe and Sean Parrot. Steve Saw from literally ‘up-the-road’ punched the air vigorously with delight at his subsequent win and Paul Felgate triumphantly completed the winners’ list in the final.