Novice driver Andrew Shanley from Trowbridge, took a superb victory and the driver of the day award at the Castle Combe Circuit’s Easter Monday Raceday The Trowbridge scrap metal merchant took his first win in only his fifth race in the savesometax.co.uk Special GT championship, having qualified his Radical Prosport second fastest.

The novice made a flying start, establishing a useful lead over Bradford on Avon’s Ed Moore, debuting his new Mallock P21 as well as driving his usual car in the Formula Ford race.

Pole man, Simon Tilling, was as slow away as Shanley was fast, dropping to fifth before gradually clawing back the deficit to pass Moore and be within three tenths of a second of Shanley by the flag.

Moore took third place overall, the B class filling the first three places. Meanwhile, class C saw a close battle between pole man Ian Hall from Bristol and Trowbridge’s Mark Funnell in his road going Lotus Exige.

Hall qualified just ahead of Funnell, but it was the Lotus which got away from the line fastest, Hall gradually tracking him down in his 5.3 litre Darrian to win by three quarters of a second.

The National Mobile Windscreens Saloon Car Championship race only got as far as Folly before being red-flagged when Bristol’s Mark Wyatt, Ditcheat’s Kevin Bird and Yeovil’s David Urquhart had a coming together, taking Cirencester’s Jonathan Wills with them.

The damage spread beyond the cars to the Armco barrier, resulting in a long delay whilst it was made safe.

The Mitsubishi Evos of Barry Squibb and Brian Cox squabbled for a while, Squibb holding back in fear of his transmission breaking, but having to risk it when Cox managed to get by on lap three, going on to a clear win.

Behind them, Bridgwater’s Tony Dolley had a lonely run to third overall and a class B win with his 206, with Chippenham’s Will Di Claudio, the 2008 outright champion, taking class C in his newly upgraded Peugeot 106.

Class D was very closely fought, the 2008 class winner, Jason Cooper from Yatton Keynell, passed by Bath’s Olly Lewis on the penultimate lap.

Lewis’s 106 seemed to have it in the bag before slowing inexplicably, allowing Cooper’s newly refurbished Fiesta through to win.

A scintillating Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 race saw pole man Ben Norton from Bratton lead all the way, absorbing the pressure behind him from a quality field. Norton’s Spectrum, run by the Wiltshire College based at the circuit, benefited from its winter upgrade, going on to win by a remarkable 3.6 seconds from Bath’s Steven Jensen.

The latter, on board the latest Swift SC09, also based at the circuit, withstood everything 3rd placed Matt Rivett could throw at him, just a third of a second splitting them at the flag.

Pole man Andy Jones, of Castle Combe took fourth in the Ray, ahead of former double champion, Ed Moore.

Bradford on Avon’s David Vivian took sixth and second in class B behind Rivett, with Bath’s Chris Acton taking seventh, having qualified his Ray GRS 08 4th fastest.

Chippenham’s Adam Higgins was eighth, his father Bob having led the qualification race until a driveshaft failure intervened, gifting the win to Roger Orgee Junior from Langport.

The combined BARC SEC Intermarque/Tin Top and Tiger races saw a pair of West Country duels between Stephen Hall from Sturminster Newton in his lookalike Audi TT and Glastonbury’s Keith White in his BMW Z4 clone.

Hall won race one with White second, White winning the second race after Hall picked up a puncture.

Daryl Radford from Whitchurch won his class in both races in his 3.0 litre V.W. Vento Bath’s Josh Cook brought his Saxo VTR home in ninth place in the Stock Hatch championship race, with Malmesbury’s Edward Cooper starting and finishing the qualification race in second place in his Nova Gsi.