Bonus for Scot Bonnar

National Hot Rods: Ipswich Organiser: Spedeworth When: October 21 Where: Foxhall Heath Starters: 22

Scots racer Billy Bonnar made the long haul down to Ipswich worthwhile when he took the final honours, outpacing the field for most of the race before fending off a last-lap challenge from Billy Wood. Heat winner Gavin Murray was third.

Colin Hitch headed heat one away, setting a good pace. He was soon joined by Lee Pepper and Shaun Taylor. Taylor moved up to second at the expense of a black cross and was pressing the leader hard enough to attract a second such warning. He couldn’t dislodge Hitch, but the arrival of Murray at the back of this bunch looked like forcing the issue.

Some cut and thrust racing put Taylor back to fourth and caused Pepper and Murray to swap places as Hitch put some distance between himself and the pack. Murray was still looking the quickest though and once back in front of Pepper, wasted no time darting past Hitch and away to the win. A superb late charge from Chris Haird carried him all the way up to a well earned second place by flag fall.

Hitch had another go at leading in the second heat, losing out this time to Steve Dudman. Dudman was just beginning to look settled at the front when his race was spoiled by a yellow flag, thrown when several cars – one of them Haird’s – collided on the back straight. Paul Frost’s Ginetta got the jump on Dudman at the resumption and he was soon far enough ahead to be thinking about the win. Dudman had a solitary race in second while Bonnar served notice of his intentions for the final by battling his way through to claim third spot.

It was Frost who converted final pole into the lead at the off with Murray and Kym Weaver all over him. Frost clung on until he left a huge hole down his inside at Turn four and paid the price, getting railroaded back to fifth.

Murray took up the lead but with Wood having already lost out to Bonnar, Weaver too was relegated by the Scot, albeit at the cost of a black cross. Almost before Murray had a chance to realise that it wasn’t Weaver in his mirror anymore, Bonnar had dived alongside and then pulled away steadily.

Wood also put Murray behind him, Murray looking likely to go down a further spot to Haird when he caught up as well. But the world champ’s charge stalled at that point, and fourth was as far as he was going to get.

Nearing the finish, Wood clawed his way up to Bonnar’s back bumper and was in with a serious shout at out-fumbling the leader in traffic on the last lap. But Bonnar clearly appreciated the danger and simply stayed alongside a lapped car, giving his pursuer nowhere to go.

Results

Heat one: 1 Gavin Murray (Vauxhall Tigra); 2 Chris Haird (Vauxhall Tigra); 3 Colin Hitch (Peugeot 206); 4 Shaun Taylor (Vauxhall Tigra); 5 Paul Frost (Ginetta G40R); 6 Kym Weaver (Vauxhall Tigra); 7 Billy Wood (Vauxhall Tigra); 8 Lee Pepper (Peugeot 206cc). Heat two: 1 Frost; 2 Steve Dudman (Vauxhall Tigra); 3 Billy Bonnar (Vauxhall Tigra); 4 Carl WallerBarrett (Vauxhall Tigra); 5 Murray; 6 Weaver; 7 Wood; 8 Taylor.

Final: 1 Bonnar; 2 Wood; 3 Murray; 4 Haird; 5 Weaver; 6 Adam Hylands (Vauxhall Tigra); 7 Frost; 8 Waller-barrett; 9 Aaron Dew (Ginetta G40R); 10 Taylor. Points (after 6/14

rounds): 1 Wood 236; 2 Haird 231; 3 Waller-barrett 206; 4 Weaver 189; 5 Stuart Mclaird (Ginetta G40R) 186; 6 Dew 177.