Dover Raceway
Sunday September 4 2016
National Bangers Masters Championship, Bangerstox Masters Championship and Super Rods Masters Championship

Despite a complete lack of visitors for this year’s Masters Championship the meeting still raised a respectable field of 23 National Bangers with a full compliment for the title race which started in qualifying points order but without 383 Shane Harvey who proved to be a non-starter. 271 Dean Goodearl lunged at pole starter 188 John Reeves out of the blocks while 270 Mark Hutton sued his Civic to bundle 94 John Armstrong into 144 Jordan Godfrey as 271 Deano took the lead from 188 Victor and 592 Mark Marchant with 502 Kaylie Dighton racing into second before losing the place to 592 Mad Mark with 327 Mick Maskall Jnr dive bombing Victor and 502 the Chief to take third as 623 Ricky Hutton followed 144 Bungle in a treat. Mad Mark and 327 Little Legs traded second place a Victor butted heads with the on opposite 165 George Segwick with 81 Lewis Greenwood turning round to assault the latter with 200 Ash Grieson nailing 188 Victor. 271 Deano also collected Victor which allowed the Chief to snatch the lead as Greenwood and Segwick enjoyed a head-on while Mad Mark lunged at the Chief which in turn saw 623 Tricky collect Bungle and in the mess 164 Jack Turner landed a hit on 168 Steve Markey, the latter brushing it off to T-bone Greenwood. Deano span aside the Chief to take lead and the battle between Little Legs and Mad Mark for the top spot allowed Deano to close and take back the lead and this time he held on to regain the title while Little Legs survived a late challenge from Mad Mark for second, the race ending with 123 Tony Hutton lunging at and spinning 164 JT with Tricky blasting the latter with a T-bone.

18 returned for the first Allcomers and an early push saw 123 Curly fire into 880 Mark Hughes who buried Mark Hutton, the latter coming back to spin Grieson into the banking and he continued to bury 141 Gary Lee which allowed 2 Sean Swinborn to blast Hutton causing a pile-up. Tricky found Bungle for a hit in the heap, the latter fighting on only to again come under fire from Tricky as 148 Dean Jackson lunged at and fenced Hughes before Tricky butted heads with Sedgwick, the latter then going head to head with Greenwood as welcome returnee 318 Lee Greenwood raced to the win from the Chief and Deano, the latter celebrating with a head-on to Lewis Greenwood.

Just 11 for the second Allcomers with 148 Deano turning 2 Swizz into the wall as the Chief and Curly had a great fight for the lead, ultimately won by the former while Little Legs lunged at and removed Curly which handed 271 Deano second and Mad Mark third. A lively finish saw Tricky stop Little Legs on opposite before he also connected on 148 Deano, 271 Deano then turning Little Legs into the fence before Markey assaulted 148 Deano.

The Accumulator qualifier just barely failed to make double figured with Bungle immediately on opposite to enjoy solid hits with Mad Mark and Tricky as 148 Deano nailed Segewick with a head-on, Markey then smashed Deano into Grieson but Deano fought back to again nail Segwick before meeting Markey on the nose. Grieson turned round to blast Markey with Segwick regrouping to meet Deano head-on only to take one himself from Grieson with Markey then blasting the latter. Curly came through for the win with 271 Deano the only other finisher and the DD began with Curly blasting Grieson who then took a head-on from 271 Deano and a wicked hit from Markey. Curly powered into the latter before 271 Deano trashed Grieson, Curly perhaps sensibly electing to go past the game, but already trashed Grieson with Deano then sadly withdrawing from the event to gift Curly the win with 148 Deano the best entertainer.

Masters Championship: 271 Dean Goodearl, 327, 592, 502, 2, 880, 141
Allcomers One: 318 Lee Greenwood, 502, 271, 327, 880, 592, 2, 123, 168, 141
Allcomers Two: 502 Kaylie Dighton, 271, 592, 327
Accumulator qualifier: 123 Tony Hutton, 271
Destruction Derby: Hutton Best entertainer: 148 Dean Jackson

The Bangerstox Masters Championship attracted a somewhat disappointing entry of 31 cars, not the final car count itself being a great disappointment but the 11 no shows certainly was and the majority of them were set to race in the last chance qualifier leaving just 11 cars to contest the remaining four spots in the main event. 11 Heather Powell set the pace, helped by 37 Liam Clubb and 43 Steve Cross squabbling for second and at one point their fight allowed 60 Nathan Port to slip into second as behind 79 Jamie Walker nudged 28 Shane Howland wide for fifth, the latter sent spinning 62 Phil Cook which cost him two places. Cross battled his way to second and 370 Bill Parrish claimed fifth from Clubb, the latter then rolling spectacularly on the back straight to bring the race to an early end with Powell winning from Cross and Port, Parrish claiming the final spot in the championship.

All 19 qualifiers gathered for the Masters Championship and pole starter 78 Bobby Miles got the drop on front row starter 9 Chris Young for the lead with 15 Jay Powell, 88 Nick Dash, 70 David Leaton and 49 William Parrish slotting in behind and 58 Owen Charles and 7 Joe Marsh soon moved in behind as Bill Parrish retired and Leaton blasted round the outside of Dash and into fourth and 39 Ash Colvin and 92 Amy Harper battled over ninth. Dash came back at Leaton in the race for fourth and Port was the next to retire as 5 Dan Clubb earned a penalty when he sent 46 Mark Jackson around. Miles led to half way with the order pretty much unchanged but his rivals on his tail as Harper became the next to retire. After clashing wheels Cross was able to pass Colvin on the outside for ninth as Miles led the field into the final laps, still the chasing four cars all less than a car length’s between each other. Marsh sent William Parrish around to became the next to get a penalty as Leaton challenged 15 Powelly for third but couldn’t make the pass Miles nudged the back marking 27 Dean Thompson wide to maintain his advantage and he won after a superb drive, shadowed all the way by Young with Powelly third, Leaton, Dash, Charles, Cross, 64 Jake Clubb, William Parrish and Colvin completing the top 10.

With a handful not making it past the championship there was also an uneven split for the heat races leaving just 11 cars for heat one with an early spin for Jake Clubb while 17 Guy Payne was issued with a penalty when he sent 35 Lewis Winterbottom around and 41 Aaron Clubb eased passed Thompson for second before taking the lead from 62 Phil Cook on lap three. Dash rode the banking on the bottom bend, damaging his front wheel as Cross blasted round the outside of Charles and William Parrish for fourth but it was Aaron Clubb who took the win from Thompson and Cross.

A bigger field of 15 for heat two and Howland earned an immediate penalty when he sent Port around as Dan Clubb set the pace. Powell was the next to receive a penalty when she span Howland as Walker and 98 Phil Epps scrapped over second and Powell and Bill Parrish the same over fourth. Walker then helped Epps into the wall which meant he too lost two places while Powell’s bad luck continued as she was on the wrong end of a multi car push into the pit bend which shoved her out wide and down the order. Howland was issued with a second penalty when he span 45 Harry Marsh as Dan Clubb took a comfortable win. Walker held off Parrish to finish second but the aforementioned penalty dropped him to fourth with Leaton just beating Jackson home and thus claiming third.

Just 10 for the consolation with the leading Port spinning and collected heavily by Howland leaving Epps to lead as Dash battled his way to fourth and Winterbottom made a pass on Howland, the latter regaining the spot when Winterbottom half spun. Harry Marsh and Jake Clubb fought for second until the former span and was collected by Marsh which promoted Dash to second and he was gifted the win when Winterbottom went round on the final bend and was collected by Howland and Epps, Marsh recovering for second and Clubb third.

All 18 qualifiers contested the final but Harry Marsh was an early retirement as Walker set the pace and Aaron Clubb passed Howland on the outside for fifth and in front Thompson, Dan Clubb and Bill Parrish battled over second. Payne eased through on the inside to take sixth from Howland as Dan Clubb and Thompson tangled which allowed Parrish to pass before Payne and Aaron Clubb both retired after their strong starts. Walker led to half way only to spin with Dan Clubb hitting the wall as he tried to avoid him with Parrish inheriting the lead from Thompson with Leaton up to third before Cross got the better of Jackson for fourth and he then neatly punted Leaton into Thompson to take second but Parrish was clear and took the win from Cross and Leaton, Miles passing Dash on the outside in the final stages to take eighth as ahead Joe Marsh just beat Powell and Jackson in the race for fifth.

Last chance qualifier: 11 Heather Powell, 43, 60, 370, 79, 62, 41, 28, 45
Masters Championship: 78 Bobby Miles, 9, 15, 70, 88, 58, 43, 64, 49, 39
Heat one: 41 Aaron Clubb, 27, 43, 58, 49, 9, 88, 64, 35
Heat two: 5 Dan Clubb, 370, 70, 79, 46, 15, 78, 98 53, 11
Consolation: 88 Nick Dash, 45, 64, 17, 28, 69
Grand Final: 370 Bill Parrish, 43, 70, 27, 7, 15, 46, 78, 88, 9

11 Super Rods gathered for their Masters Championship and 87 Robin Miles got the better of 88 Stacey Reeves at the front for the early lead while 75 Neil Parker quickly raced into third as elsewhere 10 Ben Palmer was immediately off the pace and soon retired and 50 Travis Parker rode two wheels up the infield banking on the bottom bend. Reeves made a challenge on Miles but the latter held his nerve and eased away and Reeves never got close enough to challenge again as 7 Nat Tutt and 86 Jason Wood battled for sixth and 72 Dean Worriner bested Travis Parker for ninth. 85 Jack Miles reeled in and challenged Neil Parker for third as the race entered the second half and Neil Parker closed the gap on the leaders but struggled to pass Worriner which ended his hopes of defending the title and Robin Miles kept his cool to race to the win from Reeves and Neil Parker.

A full field again for the first Allcomers with Robin Miles quickly to the outside to pass 90 Billy Perry and Reeves and Neil Parker was soon on his tail as Palmer led from Worriner with Tutt and 35 Cyndi Bradley fighting for third. The former then tangled with Jack Miles which allowed Robin Miles to roar round the outside of them, Bradley and Jack Miles soon doing the same to Worriner as the rapid Robin Miles took the lead from Palme just as the race hit half way. He then edged further and further away from the field as Bradley challenged Palmer on the outside for second, the pair proving an even match and their fight left precious room for the chasing field to go and they gradually became more and more bunched in a tense affair which nearly ended in disaster when Parker and Reeves tangled on turn four but thankfully everyone stayed on track, Bradley’s determination rewarding her with second just a fraction ahead of Reeves, Parker and Palmer.

10 for the second Allcomers but it was reduced to eight when first Neil Parker retired, soon followed by Robin Miles and later Reeves dropped completely off the pace. Palmer led the way, shadowed the whole race by Tutt, Jack Miles and Bradley but again they proved so evenly matched no-one was able to make a move and no-one made a mistake from the pressure applied by the car behind, even when their fight allowed Wood to close in and despite a late challenge on Bradley he wasn’t able to improve his position and so Palmer took the win from Tutt and Jack Miles.

Masters Championship: 87 Robin Miles, 88, 75, 85, 90, 86, 7, 35, 72, 50
Allcomers One: Miles, 35, 88, 75, 10, 90, 85, 86, 7, 50
Allcomers Two: 10 Ben Palmer, 7, 85, 35, 86, 90, 50, 88

A very decent end to the season with all three formulas enjoying some flashes of brilliance, the highlights including the superbly competitive National Banger and Bangerstox title races and the first Super Rod Allcomers and it was also pleasing that with less track watering required from the overnight rain that the 13 races were completed well within four hours.