Newsletter – Forest Edge Round 5
The 210 Challenge rolled into Forest Edge for Round 5. The meeting was missing a few key names, with injury, illness and transport issues keeping several drivers away. Everyone involved sends their best wishes and hopes to see them back on track for Round 6. However we were joined by Shaun Stonier as a guest driver.
With temperatures rising across the weekend, drivers agreed to run an 8 minute plus a lap final instead of the planned 11 minutes. The heats remained at 7 minutes plus a lap, setting up short, sharp races where early pace and clean running would be crucial.
Heat 1 Morris (41) made the best getaway and quickly established himself at the front, building a decisive advantage as the race settled. In fact he broke the lap record of 42.45 achieved by Lionel Sifleet in 2024 Now set at 41.89. Behind him, Bury (2) moved past Stone (4) to secure 2nd place on lap 3. Whilst Stone held on for 3rd Henry (5) ran a largely solitary race in 4th, with Smith (96) climbing into the top five after overtaking Hopes (7) on lap 6. Further back, the closest late-race action came from the group involving Shelley(52), Stonier (22) and Sloane (82), while Hutton (32) and Skull (53) also battled for position.
Heat 2 After the field was sent round again to reset the grid, Stonier made the most of the restart with an excellent launch from the second row whilst Morris, failed to feature with a detached carburettor. Stoniers strong start did not go unchallenged for long. Stone moved up into contention, with Bury also pressing through as the front three broke clear. By lap 2, Stone and Bury had worked their way past Stonier, and Bury soon took control at the front. Behind the leaders, the battle for 3rd became the race’s main focus. Stonier slipped backwards after losing momentum up the hill, allowing Fowler, Henry, Smith and Shelley to all join the fight. The group ran tightly together, with positions changing quickly as the race approached its closing stages. Bury once in clean air, stretched his advantage and set the pace as Stone chased behind. Further back, Henry continued to gain ground. On the last lap disaster befell Stone as he succumbed to gearbox problems and pulled off. Bury who completed the job, took the chequered flag ahead of Henry and Smith. Shelley finished 4th, Fowler 5th with Stonier completing the top six.
Heat 3 As the field gridded up, Smith raised his hand after stalling on the line. Further back, Shelley also stalled, but in true 210 fashion Sloane gave him a small push to get him moving. Although the field was sent around again, Smith was unable to restart. When the race finally started, Fowler made a poor launch from the front row and dropped down the order. Bury and Stone quickly moved to the front, with Henry and Morris immediately in contention behind them.
Bury led the opening phase from Henry, Stone and Morris, but the order changed quickly as Morris began to work his way forward. He first moved past Stone on lap 1, then used his speed up the hill into Midgets to take 2nd place on the next lap from Henry. Morris closed on Bury and made the decisive move at Winders Dip on lap 4. Morris steadily increased the gap with a fastest lap of 41.670 seconds, further breaking the lap record he’d previously set in heat 1. Bury held 2nd , while Henry and Stone continued their battle. Fowler recovered from his slow start to climb back to 5th , with Shelley completing the top 6.
The final race of the day brought the 210 National Challenge field to the grid for an eight-minute final. Bury and Stuart Henry lined up at the front, with Harry Morris and Tom Stone close behind and expected to be central to the battle for victory. Morris made the decisive move almost immediately, jumping into second behind Bury before attacking for the lead on the opening lap. Bury defended hard, but Morris completed the pass and quickly began to establish control at the front.
Behind them, Stone settled into 3rd while Henry recovered from losing ground at the start. Shelley, Fowler, Smith, Stonier formed the chasing pack. Once in clean air, Morris stretched his advantage lap by lap. Bury remained secure in 2nd, while Stone, Henry and Fowler became the focus . Fowler held 4th spot before Henry claimed the place on lap 6 and set his sights on Stone. Shelley having achieved some great results during the day was having a good dice with Smith Morris’s pace was clear as the field began setting personal best laps behind him. By the closing stages he had built a comfortable margin of around 10 seconds. The main late-race fight was for 3rd. Henry closed on Stone, and made the move on lap 9.
Morris completed the final lap without pressure and took the chequered flag with a commanding win. Bury followed home in 2nd , while Henry finished 3rd, Stone 4th Fowler 5th, Shelley 6th having gained a place as Smith 7th pulled in a lap early. Stonier 8th, T, Bury 9th, Hutton 10th followed by the Novice of the day Taylor (28).
