A hugely entertaining afternoon of top class dirt track motorcycle racing saw Market Rasen’s experienced Peter Boast roll back the years with victory in the annual Short Track Christmas Cracker event at Scunthorpe Speedway Stadium on Sunday (30th. December).  

A large crowd gathered for the regular winter warmer event – sponsored this year by Robspeed Motorcycles of Grimsby - to see a range of top motorcycling talent engage in no-holds barred action as they threw their powerful bikes into the corners of the tight Normanby Road circuit with only a rear brake to assist and in close combat with eleven other speedsters per race.

Among the stars the crowds came out to cheer on a delightfully unseasonably mild afternoon, was British Superbikes star Steve Plater from Kirkby-on-Bain, Lincs; and the twice Macau GP winner didn’t disappoint: storming all the way to the Grand Final courtesy of top three placings in each of his three heats and the semi.  Stealing a march on Plater in that semi had been the surprise packet of the afternoon, Merseyside’s Craig Spence who produced the form of his life with three wins out of four to take up position on the front grid of the Final. 

Plater and Spence were joined there by Boast and Redcar Bears Speedway rider, Rusty Hodgson – who’d been imperious in winning his first two heats and then besting Boast in the first semi.  Just behind this front row was Stamford’s moto-cross expert Victor Bull – who was at his typically rampaging best as the tapes rose on the 12 hear spectacular finale to proceedings. Plater then assumed the mantle, before Hodgson shot to the front with Boast held-up for four laps contending with the closest of attentions from his rivals including the fast-improving Skegness-based Glynn Pocklington.

Once away from the trio of Pocklington, Bull and Plater, Boast set about reigning in a fast tiring Hodgson; and thus it was on lap seven that the one-time Isle of Man TT rider, Boston Speedway skipper of old and once a rostrum man in the World Indoor Ice Racing championships belied his fortysomething status to storm past the younger man and hold on for victory.  Spence – for whom the Final proved one race too many – passed Plater for fifth; with Bull making up the rostrum positions behind Hodgson and just ahead of his regular Short Track rival, Pocklington.

Much of the thrills of an incident packed afternoon had come courtesy of multi-GB Grasstrack champion and a Scunthorpe Scorpion Speedway rider in 2006, Paul Cooper – the Yorkshire-based star defying both the odds and seemingly gravity at times as he fence-scrapped his way through to the Grand Final and eighth overall.  Cooper’s Boston Speedway club compatriot (with whom he’d won the Conference Pairs on this very Normanby Rd. circuit in the summer) Simon Lambert impressed on his Short Track debut with a battling 11th. place overall. 

In the Short Track Quads event the Hooker brothers from Caister recorded a memorable double with Alan first and sibling Mark second in the ‘A’ Final ahead of an unlucky Mark Ramsdale – the Banshee-mounted Ramsdale from Chesterfield holding his own with National Champ, Alan Hooker until spinning out of control on the penultimate lap.  For the Derbyshire man, though, there was something of a family affair too: with wife – and solitary female competitor on the afternoon – Mandy Renshaw securing household bragging rights by triumphing over the men on her pink-coloured Quad in the ‘B’ Final.

Robspeed Short Track Christmas Cracker:
1 Peter Boast (450 Team Silkolene Suzuki)
2 Rusty Hodgson (450 Dynomax CCM)
3 Victor Bull (450 Yamaha)
4 Glyn Pocklington (450 Helmets4u Honda)
5 Craig Spence (450 Yamaha)
6 Steve Plater (450 Honda)

Quads Christmas Cracker:
1 Alan Hooker (350 Banshee)
2 Mark Hooker (350 Banshee)
3 Mark Ramsdale (350 Banshee)