Sampson catches the eye at King's Lynn stock car meeting

It was a night of two halves during the stock car meeting at Lynn on Saturday with perfect conditions at the start before a deluge of rain made driving very difficult late on.

The elements did little to stop Lee Sampson who was unlucky not to have more to show for some sensational drives.

You really couldn’t take your eyes of Sampson who was giving a veteran performance using the front bumper at every opportunity to remove the opposition and progress up the leaderboard.

Sampson’s finest drives came in the second heat and the final. In the second heat Lee was a lap down after crashing out early.

He was on the back of the lead lap when there was a race stoppage on the seventh lap but still sitting in fifteenth place but drove fantastically to come home in fourth place at the end.

Another full contact drive by Lee in the final saw him get up to a tremendous third place in the meeting final only for an electrical fault seeing him lose power and having to retire with three laps to go.

Lee’s son Keegan was also in action in the saloons but had a disappointing night with engine damage and failing to record any top ten places.

Marcus Gilbert and Harry Hensby were our only local drivers to qualify for the big Money People’s Trophy in the F2 Stock Cars.

Both needed to do it through the consolation where Gilbert recorded an eighth place finish and Hensby got the penultimate qualifying spot with a thirteenth place finish.

Gilbert was going well in the final which took place in torrential conditions and was up to send place in the big race when he crashed out as a consequence of the conditions on the eighth lap.

Hensby had a disastrous start and 23 places as a result of a crash caused by the conditions but he did well and recovered from 33rd to 16th when he retired at a similar time in the race that Marcus did.

Ryan Leeks, Scott Aldridge and Ben Cole were all also in action in the F2 stock cars but failed to qualify for the final.

Leeks was racing in only his second meeting as he looks to change formula from the national bangers he excels

in.

His car was very well presented and he put in some good laps and will have been pleased to record the 38th fastest lap out of 54 competitors – the majority of which are vastly more experienced than Leeks.

Indeed he was battling for the final qualifying place when he retired in the Grand National so he will be pleased with the laps he put in.

Following a long streak of meetings there is no stock car or banger action at Lynn this weekend, but racing will return with a bang with the F1 stock cars and unlimited bangers in action on Saturday, July 2, and 2L bangers, micro bangers, junior bangers and unlimited lady bangers all in action on July 3.