Dover Raceway Sunday May 30 2016
Rookie Bangers Crazy Day and Caravan Destruction Derby, Bangerstox Southern Championship and Super Rods Kent Championship

The annual Rookie Banger Crazy Day raised a cracking field of just under 60 cars on May 30 although a couple of these cars were purely for the caravan DD.

The first crazy race was the In Line Chained Pairs event which raised a better than recent years entry of 14 teams and a pile-up on the first bend claimed several with 349 Lee and 346 Scott Saunders adding 72 Dear Woriner and 154 Shaun Aldous into the mess as 88 Nick Dash and 91 Ben Lawrence joined forces from 94 John Armstrong and 54 Kevin May to stuff 725 Josh Evans and 148 with the former team continuing to collect the stricken 78 Bobby Miles with a big head-on. The leading 188 John Reeves and 587 Alex Humphrey then ran sick and expired and 349 Finbarr and 346 Muttley inherited the lead and took the win from 94 Rolly and May with Dash and Lawrence third, just 8 Sean Cooper and 92 George Drake able to also go the distance.

Up next was the Le Mans start race but due to the entry two of these races were required with 25 cars for the second Crazy Race which started with several getting caught out by the start to produce an early pile-up with 734 Callum Anderson firing into 84 Nathan Hogbin to fight a way through as 307 Lewis Evenden fenced 200 Ashley Grieson and May turned 188 Victor into the infield banking with 499 Gary Tannahill collecting the latter head-on as 741 Charlie Daniel attacked 587 Humps which in turn fenced 197 Sean Chapman who rallied back to spin Drake into the fence. 270 Mark Hutton lunged at and span 63 Shane Bullen as 725 Josh Evans clobbered the spun 3 George Forbes with a head-on and Humps added Hutton to the pit bend wreckage while Evans now piled into the spun Chapman and 88 Jason Anderson took a big lunge at Humps before he added Evenden to the growing heap by the start line which blocked the track for the final lap. Grieson blasted Anderson and took one in turn from 880 Ricky Hughes who was hammered by 84 Nathan Hogbin with Humps smashing 282 Rhys Waters out of the way to win from 2 Sean Swinborn, 741 German Jnr ending a very lively affair with a hit on Tannahill.

Crazy Race Three was the second Le Mans Start race and fielded 26 cars and started in spectacular fashion as a big push on the back straight produced a double rollover for 197 Shane Spencer and 300 Sean Williard to bring the reds out immediately. A depleted field for the complete restart and Cooper lunged at 26 Robin Ash in the fight for the lead before 52 Charlie Neale collected the recovering 297 Paul Chapman in a big head-on before Muttley and Aldous butted heads and 103 Paul Foreman stuffed 218 Shane Sandy and Cooper, the latter recovering to bury Sandy before he crashed out of contention. The final laps proved quiet with Ash taking the win from Foreman and Sandy.

Next was a Spin and Start race and again there were sufficient cars for two of these with 23 for the fourth crazy race but the cars didn’t get as far as the turnaround stage when 165 George Sedgwick rolled on the back straight bringing about a complete restart Swinborn stuffed 710 Sam Topley into the infield banking on the restart as Waters met Humps on the nose as the cars tried to turn round where Miles smashed 178 Danny Coombes in the rear wheel in the midst of a big pile-up by the start line. Victor fenced 34 Bradley Kennett and Tannahill did the same to Hogbin as Victor reeled in and span 661 Aaron Harris for the lead and he raced to the win from Forbes and the recovered 661 Asbo.

Race five was the second Spin and Start affair and fielded 20 cars with 21 Jack Burney fencing 264 Gordon Barnes before he nailed 96 Aaron Chapman and Sedgwick found 35 Lewis Winterbottom in the midst of the turning round for a T-bone while Burney was hammered by 201 Trist Richardson and 210 Tommy Parker stuffed the luckless Winterbottom. Up front and 312 Mandy Cheeseman span the leading Richardson but he was collected by the second placed Ash which finished the latter and Richardson resumed the lead with Lawrence surviving a trip up the banking by Hughes to challenge for the lead but Richardson swiftly span him into the fence by Hughes then fired Richardson wide to take the lead and he claimed the win with Lawrence besting Richardson for second, late race action seeing Parker fire Willard in to 626 Dan Haupt which fenced the latter while Hughes celebrated his win by spinning Winterbottom into the wall.

The final Crazy Race was the Dash and despite all that had gone on 25 returned for it with Winterbottom finding Sedgwick for a revenge hit as 162 Keeley Joyes crashed into the banking and was then hit head-on by 68 as Cooper turned 511 Trev Holland into the banking and May turned 68 into the fence while Winterbottom was buried by Cooper with Sedgwick homing in for a head-on on the latter as Asbo assaulted Hughes. Humps fired into German Jnr and Drake stuffed Tannahill into Lawrence. Sedgwick then blotted his copybook by turning round to attack Asbo who lowered himself with a similar attack before a big push saw German Jnr help stuff Humps, Fairman and Cheeseman into the pit bend wreckage. German Jnr blasted Asbo head-on to force a way through as Asbo now attacked Humps on opposite and was punished by Fairman while German Jnr assaulted Parker before he was dumped into the pit bend heap by Sandy. Humps came through for his second win from Drake and Greison with Sandy the only other finisher.

Seven entries for this year’s caravan race and it did not disappoint with 10 Aaron Cook getting stuffed into the turn three banking by Finbarr as Dash attacked 383 Shane Harvey in the race for the lead and helped smash him through Cook’s van with Victor then blasting 383 Chimp’s van while Muttley blitzed Dash’s to cause a pile-up at the end of the home straight. Victor lost his van on the bottom bend as Dash blitzed Grieson’s van superbly at the end of the home straight. Muttley then drove himself into the wreckage in style and had his van hammered in turn by Grieson. Finbarr won from Muttley and Chimp and we moved into the DD with Muttley’s van the only one still standing and it came under immediate fire from Finbarr and then Muttley as Victor got running and buried himself into the wreckage at the end of the home straight. Muttley got caught in the heap which allowed Finbarr to drive through his van in epic style before Chimp ploughed headlong into the wreckage as did Finbarr shortly after. Muttley found Finbarr for a T-bone which the latter shrugged off to pound Chimp as Victor blitzed his own van on the bottom bend before again weighing into the wreckage where Finbarr found him for a head-on. With concern over a fire for Muttley the reds flew and the event was declared with a dead heat between Victor and Finbarr while Dash was named the best entertainer.

Crazy Race One (In-Line Chained Pairs): 349 Lee and 346 Scott Saunders, 94/54, 88/91, 8/92
Crazy Race Two (Le Mans Start): 587 Alex Humphrey, 2, 88, 741, 499, 92, 270, 880, 511
Crazy Race Three (Le Mans Start): 26 Robin Ash, 103, 218, 346, 96, 94, 8, 226, 115, 312
Crazy Race Four (Spin and Start): 188 John Reeves, 3, 661, 103, 34, 178, 258, 84
Crazy Race Five (Spin and Start): 880 Ricky Hughes, 91, 201, 300, 511, 200, 68, 201, 312
Crazy Race Six (Dash): Humphrey, 92, 200, 218
Caravan Race: 349 Lee Saunders, 346, 383
Caravan DD: Lee Saunders and 188 John Reeves Best entertainer: 88 Nick Dash

For the third meeting in a row there was a superb field of Bangerstox with 52 cars for the Southern Championship which was the first race of their programme and open to the current top 20 in points but a couple of qualifiers oddly failed to contest the race leaving 18 contenders and the random draw placed 60 Nathan Port and 33 John Butcher on the front row but they tangled at the start along with 22 Neil Boden and 70 David Leaton jumped into the lead ahead of the recovered 22 Mr Bling and 71 George Treeby as 492 Roy Harper rattled 42 Jake Moat into a half spin and 91 Ben Lawrence sent the recovered Port spinning into the fence as defending champion 15 Jay Powell climbed to third by lap two. Lawrence shoved 11 Heather Green into a half spin as Hatper span from the race and Powell moved into second and 9 Chris Young up to third from the penultimate row of the grid but he came under pressure from Treeby who shoved him wide for the place with 94 John Armstrong joining them in the fight as elsewhere 49 William Parrish clashed with 88 Nick Dash before 4 Paul Harris sent the former spinning to earn himself a penalty and Mr Bling fell by the wayside. Young shoved Treeby wide to regain fourth with Butcher and Moat then getting the better of the latter as the luckless Parrish was sent spinning after a clash with Lawrence. Leaton led the field to half way from Powell and 94 Rolly with Moat and Young fighting for fourth as Leaton tangled with the back marking Harper which allowed Powell to grab the lead on lap nine as Young slipped past Moat who was struggling with a flat tyre. Leaton caught and shoved Powell wide to take back the lead with five to run as Moat elected to retire with his flat tyre and Nash clawed his way to sixth. Up front and Powell caught Leaton and again shoved him wide to retake the lead with two to run and with the latter coming under pressure from Harris it allowed Powell to edge away. Lawrence then sent Green around which earned him a disqualification from the result as Powell successful defended the title from Leaton and Rolly.

The focus then switched to the day’s Grand Final and 19 white tops assembled for heat one with 77 John Kingsley tangling with 62 Phil Cook and they crashed onto the infield as 82 Gareth Garrat shoved 36 Paul Club wide for the lead before 86 Jason Wood, 74 Jay Gilbey, 27 Dean Thompson, 48 Mitchel Saunders and 17 Guy Payne all crashed out in a heap before 12 Darren Worriner earned a two place penalty when he sent 69 Chloe Pelling and 37 Liam Clubb spinning. The recovered Payne now battled 92 Amy Harper over fourth before Garratt collected the spun Pelling as she tried to recover and this allowed Paul Clubb to take back the lead and take the win, Garratt recovering for second and 79 Jamie Walker third.

15 for heat two which was a mix of white and yellow grade cars and 53 Leigh Garratt set the pace leaving 39 Ashley Colvin, 7 Jamie Marsh and Port to race for second, the latter earning a penalty when he sent Marsh spinning, this allowing Garrat to extend his lead with Dash already up to third as 24 Neil Jones, 52 Justin Harris, 21 Nathan and Jake Moat all span out in a heap and Butcher sent Port spinning onto the infield which launched the latter into a complete roll, earning the former a penalty. With Port on his wheels and indicating all was ok the race continued with Dash motoring into the lead on lap five as Butcher challenged Green for third but collected the struggling Harris which ended his race and Dash took the win from Garratt and Green.

The remaining yellow grade drivers joined the blue and red tops for heat three which raised 14 cars and Roy Harper set the pace from Treeby as Lawrence earned another penalty when he sent 2 Keith Merryweather around as 43 Steve Cross blasted past 100 Howard Belson on the outside, the former then getting two wheels up the banking while Cross’ early flurry ended with another season retirement. 32 Glynn Butcher raced into second as Leaton shoved Mr Bling wide for sixth and Butcher moved in to challenge Harper for the lead and behind Lawrence, Treeby and Leaton fought over third, the latter nudging Treeby wide for fourth only to then clash with Lawrence which sent Leaton spinning. A clash up front between Butcher and Harper sent the latter around with the former going on for the win while Lawrence tangled with Belson which allowed Treeby to grab second and Lawrence’s penalty handed third to Rolly.

Down to a dozen white tops for heat four and Saunders tangled with 5 Dan Club from the off but the former survived to take the early lead as 7 Joe Marsh span and was collected by 62 Phil Cook and Paul Club with Dan Club then also spinning as 45 Harry Marsh raced into the lead leaving Saunders to battle Colvin over second, the latter passing him on the inside for the place only to then collect Cook and 41 Aaron Club emerged in second and he soon challenged Marsh for the lead and took it and raced to the win, Harry Marsh hanging on for second and 14 Callum Merryweather third.

Up to 14 for heat five which featured the remaining white grade and half of the yellow grade and 92 Amy Harper raced into the early lead with the main battle at the start between Leigh Garratt and Thompson over fifth with Roy Harper soon on their tail as the first of the yellow grade before Kingsley sent Gilbey spinning to pick up a penalty as Amy Harper led the field to half way ahead of 79 Jamie Walker with Roy Harper and Glynn Butcher battling for third and the latter made the move on the inside to gain a place before Walker sent the recovered Gilby spinning to pick up a penalty meaning his second place turned into fourth as Amy Harper won with Butcher second and Harper third.

A dozen again for the final heat and Dash set the pace this time as Cross battled John Butcher over fifth, the former moving on to challenge Green over third as behind the race for fifth was fought between Leaton and Jones. With five to run Dash still led from Jake Mat and Green with Leaton now in contention as behind Jones, Powell and Butcher scrapped for sixth, the Southern Champion eventually breaking through while Butcher and Jones continued to fight for seventh as Dash raced to his second win and Cross got the better of Moat in the final stages for second.

18 qualifiers returned for the final with Amy Harper setting the pace from Paul and Aaron Club with Leigh Garratt and Merryweather fighting over fourth as Jake Moat, Colvin, Green and Rolly all crashed out in a heap and Roy Harper sent Harry Marsh spinning to earn himself a penalty. The top three remained the same with Garratt now fourth and Dash up to fifth as Aaron Club leapfrogged Paul Club for third before Harry Marsh rolled on the back straight to bring the reds out. A lap sheet order restart was needed with Merryweather clashing with Rolly as Paul Club challenge Garratt for fourth and Amy Harper led the field to half way with Dash up to third shortly after. Rolly then dropped off the pace and Treeby and Leaton scrambled to avoid him which sent the latter spinning as Amy Harper was delayed by some traffic and Aaron Club grabbed the lead with Dash on his tail, these two pushing each other to the limit which ended in disaster as the former spilled onto the infield to become the latest rollover of the day which brought the race to an early end. With Dash awarded a two place penalty for the incident Amy Harper inherited the win from Garratt and Dash, the former and latter also taking grade awards as did Cross and Powell.

Southern Championship: 15 Jay Powell, 70, 94, 9, 88, 33, 71, 31, 49, 11
Heat One: 36 Paul Club, 82, 79, 92, 17, 27, 86, 99, 45, 5
Heat Two: 88 Nick Dash, 53, 11, 39, 42, 14, 24, 7
Heat Three: 32 Glynn Butcher, 71, 94, 15, 91, 29, 63, 43, 70, 49
Heat Four: 41 Aaron Club, 45, 14, 39, 21, 48, 36, 7, 37, 12
Heat Five: 92 Amy Harper, 32, 492, 79, 53, 29, 77, 17, 27, 100
Heat Six: Dash, 43, 42, 70, 11, 15, 33, 24, 63, 49
Grand Final: Harper, 53, 88, 71, 15, 11, 43, 82, 42, 29
Grade Awards: Harper (white), Dash (yellow), 43 Steve Cross (blue), 15 Jay Powell (red)

The Super Rod numbers again increased with a dozen for the Kent Championship which was first and a half spin out of the blocks for 88 Stacey Reeves allowed 75 Neil Parker to grab the lead but he was unable to pull away and they were soon joined by 85 Jack and 87 Robin Miles in a tense battle for the lead. 88 Doris used the outside to pull level with Parker but was unable to take the lead and she then came under great pressure from Robin Miles a 72 Dean Worriner span into the banking. Robin Miles and Doris continued their fine battle for second as the leaders caught the back marking 7 Nat Tutt and the top four went either side of him in a heart stopping moment which they all somehow emerged from unscathed. Jack Miles started to fade a little from the top group and was reeled in by 30 Wayne Powell as Robin Miles clipped the fence and lost a little time but Doris was unable to make the most of the momentary drop in pressure and Parker retained his lead. At half way Jack Miles had not only re-joined the race for the lead but Powell was in contention as well as behind 90 Billy Perry and 35 Cyndi Bradley fought for eighth as up front Parker clashed with the back marking 34 Lisa Powell which sent the latter around and also delayed Parker to allowed Doris to get back on his bumper and even more so when they came across the back marking Bradley. With five to run Jack and Robin Miles had lost the lead pair and were fighting for third while somewhat unnoticed 12 Dan Elliott had maintained sixth and was not far behind the leaders. Parker meanwhile held his nerve and kept Doris at bay for the win with Robin Miles fading in the closing stages and retiring and Jack Miles took third.

10 cars for the first Allcomers with Worriner setting the pace as Elliott pulled away from his battle with Bradley over fourth to slip past 66 Adrian Walker for third as 90 Flippa bested Worriner for the lead but the latter did not go away quietly and they enjoyed a fine scrap with Ellliott able to close in on them and eventually move into second while Worriner tangled with Walker before the former span and was collected by Doris. Jack Miles blasted up the inside of Walker for third with Parker following him through and that was how they stayed but it was a very close finish as Flippa won from Elliott but behind Miles just beat Parker to the line for third and Doris narrowly beat Wayne Powell home for sixth.

Just nine for the second Allcomers with Flippa able to wrestle the lead away from Tutt at the start as Jack Miles passed Bradley on the outside for fourth and quickly joined Tutt and Elliott in the race for second and the former Masters Champion once again used the outside to pass them both in a superb move with Parker also using the outside to pass Bradley. Tutt and Elliott were still battling for third as the race hit half way with the latter making the pass on the inside and Parker was able to follow him through but Elliott then picked up a puncture which would eventually lead to his retirement. Wayne Powell passed Bradley on the outside for sixth as Flippa started to run sick and actually expired exiting the final bend managed to coast across the line, barely in front of Jack Miles with Parker third.

Kent Championship: 75 Neil Parker, 88, 85, 30, 12, 90, 35
Allcomers One: 90 Billy Perry, 12, 85, 75, 34, 88, 30
Allcomers Two: Perry, 85, 75, 88, 30, 7, 35, 34

Another very enjoyable and entertaining afternoon at Dover Raceway which has been the trend so far at the venue for 2016. A very lively and entertaining Rookie Banger Crazy Day and it was pleasing to see only a couple of blatant rule breakers underlining that the limited contact racing rules can still produce most enjoyable racing, the caravan DD once again impressing while the big field of Bangerstox again impressed, the title race being a cracker but it a little disappointing the second half of the programme wasn’t as well supported with cars as hoped, the amount of rollovers being quite remarkable while the Super Rods had their best meeting of the season so far highlighted by their title race as well. The only drawback was the slightly late finish, the whopping 18 race programme taking five and a half hours to complete but given some the damage in the Rookie Banger races and the little room for manoeuvre in the pits it was perhaps somewhat inevitable and it was fortunate that more track watering wasn’t needed, else the finish time would have surely been later still.

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