The BriSCA Formula One stock car season kicked off in style at the Adrian Flux Arena, King’s Lynn. Before racing commenced, there were special laps of honour from two legends of the sport. #515 Frankie Wainman Jr was celebrating the start of his 40th year in the formula, while #53 John Lund was marking an incredible 50 years since he started racing. Both were treated to a rousing reception by the fans.
In the competitive action, Dutchman #554 Sierd de Vries roared to a heat-and-final double. A huge entry of BriSCA Formula Two stock cars were also racing, with #69 Ben Chalkley also recording a double top.
BriSCA F1
A 40-car turnout of Big League stock cars included six Dutch drivers. Just under half of the entrants were eligible for Heat 1, which doubled up as the 2025 White & Yellow Grade Series Final. #567 Craig Banwell motored to an early advantage but was pegged by back yellow flags after #349 Michael Allard and #82 Karl Mosley crashed out. Blue-top #554 Sierd de Vries was fourth in the queue at the restart and quickly picked off #372 Colin Goodswen for third. He then took advantage of the spun #345 Jake Harrhy forcing Banwell and #352 Bradley Blyth wide, cutting back inside to take the lead just before half-distance. De Vries was untroubled thereafter as he took a comfortable win from local man Blyth and Norfolk racer Goodswen, as Banwell’s car hit trouble and slipped to fifth behind #22 Lewis Hunter.
A power-packed Heat 2 fielded 23 cars, but it didn’t start well for #515 Frankie Wainman Jr. The veteran superstar was delayed in an early pile-up then forced out by puncture. Spalding’s #326 Mark Sargent took over from #399 Harry Clayton out front and had the pace to fend off the chasing H661 Jeffrey Pikkert and #1 Tom Harris to take victory. World champion Harris was closing in on Pikkert as the laps wound down; he managed to snatch second on the final bend but Sargent was just out of reach. Hometown racer #457 Callum Gill was fourth ahead of #32 Chris Farnell.
A full complement of 20 cars returned for the consolation. It was dominated by Lincolnshire’s #399 Harry Clayton who, less than a year after his F1 debut, recorded his first win in the formula. Barely in the leader’s mirrors, #124 Kyle Gray and Jake Harrhy traded second. Gray eventually secured the place while Harrhy lost out to Wainman’s last-bend lunge for third. Dutchman #418 Niels Tesselaar managed fifth, just ahead of 72-year-old #53 John Lund. The eight-time world champion had retired from his heat after breaking his steering.
All 32 qualifiers – including Banwell, after a swift gearbox change – made it on track for the final, although #151 Joelan Maynard pulled off before the start. Banwell led the early stages from Clayton, before the Norfolk local retired under yellow flags called to assist both #47 Simon Traves and #278 Paul Hopkins. So Clayton took over and built a slight margin as Dutchmen de Vries and #525 Nigel de Kock traded hits in his wake. When de Kock was forced out with damage, it released de Vries to close in and he used the bumper to take the lead with five laps to go.
Harris had been making good progress through the field to reach fourth, but his victory hopes were hit when he got slightly delayed as backmarker #61 Tom Taylor spun on Turn 2. Meantime, Gill had taken second from Clayton who then spun away third with only two laps remaining. Harris was quickly back up to speed and passed Gray for third on the final lap, but he could not catch the two cars in front. Gill managed to make contact in the final bend but it wasn’t enough to dislodge the Dutchman. So it was de Vries, in a Harris-built car, who took his maiden F1 feature final win, with Gill a very strong second and Harris third. Behind Gray in fourth, Niels Tesselaar and John Lund completed the top six.
A busy field of 29 cars contested the grand national. Perhaps inevitably, the green flag action didn’t last long as #127 Austin Moore’s smartly refreshed car was sent up the wall and into a roll, with Lund climbing over it. After some fence repairs, Blyth attempted to copy Moore’s antics, leading to more fence damage and another complete restart. When the racing finally got going, it was Clayton who led until beyond half-distance when he spun out. By that time, Wainman and Harris had climbed into the top four, separated by #96 Tom Holcroft. Harris cannoned Holcroft into Wainman to take second and then, despite not making the best getaway after a caution period, chased down Wainman. He put the bumper in at the start of the penultimate lap and then kept out of range to take his first win of the season. Wainman was second, Holcroft third and Jeffrey Pikkert fourth ahead of #16 Mat Newson, who had a relatively quiet night in his very smartly refurbished car.
BriSCA F2
Another terrific turnout of 77 BriSCA F2s, one of which didn’t race, included a number who had been unable to get bookings for the season-opener a fortnight earlier.
They were split into three heats, the first of which was won by #995 Michael Lund from #324 Jordon Thackra and #213 Tom Bennett. Having finished second three times two weeks previously, #147 Aidan Derry went one better to win Heat 2, keeping just out of reach of the rapidly closing #226 Billy Webster, with #39 Tom Bradley managing third. Heat 3 went to #69 Ben Chalkley, one of those denied a booking for the World Championship qualifying round, after a good battle with #233 Rob Aldridge. #464 Matt Linfield just pipped world champion #7 Gordon Moodie to third.
With only the top nine from each heat qualifying for the final, there were nearly 50 cars keen for a second attempt. As such, two consolations were run. A cracking finish to the first brought a maiden win for #117 Ryan Leeks. Fellow local #43 Marcus Gilbert had challenged entering the final lap but tangled himself up with #393 Danny McCarthy, leaving Leeks to scamper clear and #158 Will Clement to take second. There was another local win in Consolation 2, as #149 Reece Cox – returning to racing after a couple of years out – passed long-time leader #999 Kai Start for victory.
Thirty-six of the 37 qualifiers made it on track for the final. Yorkshireman #118 Danny Wragg passed #910 Martyn Janes for the lead just before half-distance but then was momentarily delayed by incident for H686 Klaas jan Visser. The Dutch superstar went hard into the wall before careering back across the track towards the infield. Chalkley required no second invitation to pounce and went on to record his ninth career final win, his second at King’s Lynn. Lund also repeated his strong heat form to come through for second, while Wragg held on to third ahead of #47 Greg McKenzie, Aldridge and #183 Charlie Guinchard.
Over 50 returned for the grand national, and so again they were split into two. As a result, each race had a slightly thinner field than would normally be the case for a Lynn GN. That perhaps made it a little easier for the superstars to work their through from the back of the field. After relatively lean pickings so far, the gold and silver tops made their mark: Moodie won GN1 after taking a couple of attempts to dislodge #136 Kyle Taylor from the lead; and Guinchard took advantage of Lund getting caught up in traffic in the closing stages to win the curtain call ahead of McKenzie and Bennett.