THE cold, wet and generally miserable conditions meant only a small crowd witnessed Monday's motor sport meeting at the Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich, but those who did venture out were treated to an exciting afternoon which was far better than expected in such poor weather.

THE cold, wet and generally miserable conditions meant only a small crowd witnessed Monday's motor sport meeting at the Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich, but those who did venture out were treated to an exciting afternoon which was far better than expected in such poor weather.

The National Hot Rods topped the bill with round 16 of their World Championship Qualifying Series, and with only one more round to go after this, the chase both to qualify and get a good grid position was still very much on.

Local hero and reigning world champion Carl Boardley did his chances of topping the points the power of good when he won the opening heat, although the current points leader, Malcolm Blackman, also scored well with fifth place.

Steve Thompson and Matt Simpson, two more still in with a chance of pole position for the World Final, flashed across the line nose to tail in heat two, Thompson winning. Boardley was third, although Blackman hit back straight away when he won heat three.The final, with 29 cars on a very slippery track, was always going to be a fraught affair, although an early stoppage when West Country racer Ralf Sanders got rammed by Irish star Barry English was the only major incident.

Up at the head of the grid, Peterborough's Neil Stimson rounded off a successful day by holding off Simpson and Thompson to take the win, followed by Blackman and Boardley, which ensures that their own personal battle at the top of the points goes to the very last round, at Birmingham, next week.

It was inevitable on a day like this that all the attention would be on the superstars, but in among it all, local driver Jamie Austin made a very impressive debut, getting a seventh and an eighth from his two heats. On this evidence, he is definitely one to watch for the future.

The Two Litre Hot Rod English Championship was part of the support programme, and with 36 cars, this was another excellent entry. Defending champion Mark Paffey had a major crash in heat one, but rejoined again, albeit now in last place.

However, he fought his way back through the field and eventually made fourth, in a race won by 2000 world champion Lee Pepper, who inherited the win when Jason Kew's car went sick just before the end, Kew struggling on to get third.

Local star Diggy Smith clipped the spinning car of Paul Wright, the damage being enough to put Smith - one of the favourites for the title - out of the race, and as it transpired, out of the rest of the meeting.

Kym Weaver was first across the line in heat two, but was penalised two places for some contact, which gave the win to European champion Jason Wilks.

Mark Cooper won heat three, and then led the championship for half the distance before Paffey passed him and went on to take the win. Cooper had to settle for second, with Pepper third, just ahead of Wilks, who had done well to come back after crashing out with Kew when leading the early stages.

A huge field of Bangers provided all their customary entertainment - the slippery conditions might have kept speeds down a bit but certainly added to the number of spins.

Heat one featured a spectacular overturn by Darren Frost, when he hit a spinning car very hard just as he took the lead, Trevor Airey going on to get a rare win.

Not only did Frost manage to get out for heat two, he also won it for good measure, while the final was ended in full flow as the council curfew signalled an end to racing, Chris Watling being awarded the win.

The Historic F1 and F2 Stock Cars completed the bill, with a couple of heats, Dave Barber and Marty Page making it a good day for the locals by winning one each.

Foxhall results

National Hot Rods

Heat One: 1 Carl Boardley (Ipswich), 2 Neil Stimson (Peterborough), 3 Andy Holtby (Lincoln).

Heat Two: 1 Steve Thompson (Scunthorpe), 2 Matt Simpson (Langley), 3 Boardley.

Heat Three: 1 Malcolm Blackman (Langley), 2 Stimson, 3 Chris Haird (Newmarket).

Final: 1 Stimson, 2 Simpson, 3 Thompson.

Two Litre Hot Rods

Heat One: 1 Lee Pepper (Eastbourne), 2 Jason Wilks (London), 3 Jason Kew (Oxford).

Heat Two: 1 Wilks, 2 Mark Cooper (Poole), 3 Kym Weaver (Eastbourne).

Heat Three: 1 Cooper, 2 Kew, 3 Mark Paffey (Portsmouth).

Final - English Championship:1 Paffey, 2 Cooper, 3 Pepper.

Bangers

Heat One: 1 Trevor Airey (Tuddenham), 2 Chris Watling (Ipswich), 3 Paul Felgate (Framlingham).

Heat Two: 1 Darren Frost (Manningtree), 2 Chris Medler (Cawston), 3 Steven Hewitt (Norwich).

Final: 1 Watling, 2 Medler, 3 Mark Kerry (Clacton).

Historic F1 & F2s

Heat One: 1 Dave Barber (Felixstowe), 2 Mike Walmsley (Ipswich), 3 Marty Page (Elmsett).

Heat Two: 1 Page, 2 Barber, 3 Walmsley.