The Thunder Rods made their first trip of the season to Tullyroan Oval to contest the Tullyroan Challenge Cup, with the usual graded order start dispensed with in favour of the reversed grid qualifying system. Dean Catherwood pulled clear from the front of the opener to take the victory over Samuel Murphy and Norman Purdy, before the second heat fell to David Wilson over Irish Champion James Goldie and Adam Graham.
Wilson and Purdy annexed the front row of the grid for the final on aggregate points from the heats, and Wilson quickly took charge from pole position. The Cullybackey man comfortably kept the challengers at bay to race home to victory over Catherwood and Goldie, with Chris Baird catching the eye with a steady drive to fourth.

Like every other formula on the night, the Lightning Rods also gridded a full field of cars, with Portadown’s Dylan McCann taking the opening heat win ahead of Neil Capper and Dermot Tynan. Capper went one better in heat two to take a great win having just returned to the formula, with Mark McCambridge showing great pace to land second ahead of Martin O’Flaherty.
Peter Wehrly set the pace in the final early on before losing out to McCann, who really did look to have the bit between his teeth once again. Dylan quickly moved ahead, but with Capper and now O’Flaherty tracking his every move. The gap between the front runners ebbed and flowed for many laps, with Capper losing out just as it looked like he was about to mount a challenge for the lead. World Champion Nigel Jackson and the star men arrived on the scene too to set up a great finish, but McCann had enough in hand to take the win in some style to complete his double and earn an upgrading for the next meeting. Capper completed his great night in second, with O’Flaherty, Ricky Shaw and Jackson completing the top five.

With welcome Scottish visitor Declan Dixon on the grid, it was Ballymena’s Aaron Ward who showed great speed in the opening Junior Productions heat to take the win over Lexi Crooks and Sam Percy. Heat two followed a similar pattern, with Ward again passing early leader Andrew Woods to take the win over Woods and Crooks.
The final saw Ward upgraded back to the blue grade, allowing Woods to stretch clear out front from the off. Declan O’Connor stepped forward to challenge for the win, but then Percy arrived on the scene and effortlessly pulled himself right around the outside to take the lead and the win, in a drive that even his senior counterparts would have been proud of. O’Connor, Woods, Crooks and Chelsy Rainey rounded out the places.