Former National, European and Irish Champion Nigel Jackson returned to the fold in the Lightning Rods in the Andy Cochrane car, and he was soon back in the groove with a fine win in the second heat. Earlier Aaron Stewart claimed a welcome victory in the first encounter, before Randalstown driver Tim Hazlett stamped his authority on the final in no uncertain terms. Ironically driving Jackson’s old car, the young driver stormed through from the reds to leave the more established names trailing in his wake for what was an emphatic victory, with Stephen Emerson runner-up.

Derek McMillan once again was the star turn in the Junior Productions, as he followed his two second places from the heats with yet another final win. Jack Gilpin and Lee McCracken were the heat winners, but the day will no doubt be remembered for the horrendous accident in the final. McCracken, Deborah McCann and Jordan Rochford all thundered into the wall at full pace entering the back straight, and whilst the cars were badly damaged it was a testimony to the strength of them that no one was injured.

The topsy-turvy entries in the ProStocks continued once again, as we dropped from almost thirty at the last meeting right down to the low teens. Billy Finnegan Jnr continued his good recent run of form with wins in both heats, and the instant upgrading to yellow for the final, coupled with the beginnings of a downpour nearing the end, was enough to allow Adrian McKinstry to steal through for the feature race win.

Young Bradley Dynes stepped up to the 2.0 Hot Rods for his debut in the ex-Wayne Woolsey World Championship winning machine, but it was veteran racer Gary Wilson who grabbed the JMC Mechanical and Construction-backed final. Earlier the heats had seen a welcome win for Gareth Hagan after his recent run of poor luck, and the second in a week for Nigel McCauley. Both were in contention for the final too, before Wilson came storming round the outside to take the win from Feargal McNally, now of course behind the wheel of the ex-Woolsey Peugeot 205.

A brace of heat wins saw Ben McKee upgraded to red grade for the Lightning Rods final, from where he returned to second behind winner Gary Beggs. Beggs had been having a somewhat fraught afternoon up until then, but showed that he is probably too good for his yellow grading with a convincing victory. Earlier Dane Ferry had followed McKee home in both heats. The Lightning Rods now travel to Ballymena Raceway on Friday night for their guest appearance for the Yokohama Tyres Cup.

Like Ben McKee, Dan Campbell was another double heat winner in the Junior Productions, leading home Derek McMillan in heat one and Ben McCully in the second encounter. With Campbell now graded red for the final, McMillan seized the initiative to steal through for an emphatic final win, with McCully again in second and Lee McCracken third.

Many thanks to our meeting sponsor, JMC Mechanical and Construction Ltd, Tel: 028 3888 2807.

The 2.0 Hot Rods again put on a blinding show, and Vince Campbell took the Fairhill Bar-sponsored final after a confident drive from the yellow grade for his second feature race win of the year. Nigel McCauley took a rare win earlier in heat one, before Adam Hylands, at the wheel of his recently acquired ex-McClure Saxo, took heat two after on the road winner Campbell was judged to have gained an unfair advantage by jumping the start. It was certainly a good night for young Hylands, who could well go on now to considerable success in his new mount.

European Lightning Rod Champion Stephen Emerson got off to a good start for the night by nipping past Andy Cochrane on a late restart to take heat one, before Cochrane made amends with the victory in heat two. The final was all about Ben McKee though, as he powered away to claim the win and the trophy from Cochrane and Mervyn Emerson. Once again it was an excellent night’s entertainment from the Lightning Rods.

There were a couple of new faces out in the Robins with the promise of more to come, but it was the old hands who came out on top when the wins were handed out. Jimmy Beattie took the first heat, before Ian Bolton took over to land a heat and final double.

Due to technical difficulties we apologise as there are no MyLaps timings from this meeting, and all will hopefully be restored for next weekend.

On Sunday at Nutts Corner Raceway, young Jack Gilpin took a heat and final brace in the Junior Productions for his first ever feature race win, with the other heat falling to Dan Campbell.