THERE were certainly plenty of cars for the latest motor sport meeting at the Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich and, between them, they provided a very entertaining evening.

THERE were certainly plenty of cars for the latest motor sport meeting at the Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich and, between them, they provided a very entertaining evening.

Around 35 Stock Rods - 1400cc hot hatch-type cars - was a good entry on Saturday and, as usual at Foxhall, all the big names were here.

However, they all had to give second best to young Brett Hillard in heat one, and he also went well in heat two with an exciting “round the outside” drive which only came to an end when he got just a bit too wide and slid off.

Newcomer Dean Blundy, who had made second in that opening heat, took the win this time.

Heat three was probably the best race of the night, where one of the top locals, Woodbridge driver Paul Frost, used all his experience to stave off a very determined challenge from the up-and-coming youngster Dean O'Dell, the pair of them crossing the line nose to tail - as they had been for all of the preceding ten laps.

However, O'Dell's challenge was ruled a bit too enthusiastic, resulting in a two-place penalty which was enough to promote another local, Clive Day, up into third place.

Another teenager, Drew Lammass, emulated Hillard's early success with an impressive drive to win the final ahead of England's top two drivers in Andy Sturt and Stuart Smyth.

The clerk of the course had a particularly busy race here as well, handing out penalties to no less than six drivers as the battle raged for the next places.

More youngsters - a track full of them in fact - took part in the Ministox racing, where the age limit is 11 to 16. This is always a lively class, and provides great entertainment in its own right as well as serving as a production line for oval racers of the future in the mainstream formulas.

Woodbridge driver Alex Meadows, whose father's company was sponsoring the event, had his best night ever, getting a win and two second places which, in this company, was an excellent effort. More than 30 of them raced and, as with the Stock Rods, most of the country's top names were here.

A huge entry of Bangers completed the programme, and with this many cars out there, action was virtually guaranteed from beginning to end.

Newcomer Gary Foreman, from Yoxford, won the opening heat, doing well to keep gong after crashing into a giant pile of cars that had virtually blocked one end of the track. A similar pile-up occurred in the final, but Manningtree's Darren Frost negotiated a safe path around the carnage to record his second win of the night.

Only eight cars managed to finish, Derek Spall's achievement in making fifth being perhaps the most notable as he had got up to challenge the leaders with just a few laps to go, when ominous amounts of steam began to appear from under the bonnet.

He battled on, but it finally boiled dry on the last lap and it looked like it was all over.

However, he managed to coax the last bit of life out of the car and staggered across the line in fifth.

Stock Rods

Heat One: 1 Brett Hillard (Long Sutton), 2 Dean Blundy (Aldershot), 3 Tony Pickett (Fareham).

Heat Two: 1 Blundy, 2 Mick Copsey (Lingwood), 3 Paul Frost (Woodbridge).

Heat Three: 1 Frost, 2 Drew Lammass (Welwyn GC), 3 Clive Day (Bucklesham).

Final: 1 Lamass, 2 Andy Sturt (Letherhead), 3 Stuart Smyth (Uxbridge).

Ministox

Heat One: 1 Alex Meadows (Woodbridge), 2 Liam Friel (Mildenhall), 3 Billy Smith (Dereham).

Heat Two: 1 Jamie-Lee Potter (Dartford), 2 Meadows, 3 Kyle Overy (Red Lodge).

Final: 1 Overy, 2 Meadows, 3 Smith.

Bangers

Heat One: 1 Gary Foreman (Yoxford), 2 Jason Snell (Ipswich), 3 Darren Frost (Manningtree).

Heat Two: 1 Frost, 2 Paul Felgate (Framlingham), 3 Andy Hill (Haughley).

Final: 1 Frost, 2 Ken Denby (Clacton), 3 Trevor Airey (Tuddenham).