Mildenhall Stadium Saturday January 2 2016
1400cc Bangers Mildenhall Winter Series Rd2,  Ministox Mildenhall Winter Series Rd4 and Reliant Robins World QF

Round two of the 24th annual Mildenhall Winter Series was the traditional 1400cc National Banger leg of the series and raised a most impressive entry of just over 80 cars, this in spite of the evening being met with most miserable weather conditions. It was a largely RDC based entry with the bulk of the visitors coming from TSR and there were a couple of interesting cars, a Mercedes A Class from 128 Andy Shipp, 386 Sam Evans’ Reno Berlingo and the modern Civic of 285 Steve Rose.

With almost half the field in Micro type cars, the opening heat was an all Micro affair with 25 cars on a slippery but most decent surface for the time of year although sadly conditions were spoiled by a heavy shower half way through the race. 434 Liam Carter failed to make the start and was clobbered by 96 Amber Daniel before 394 Harry Hill fired into Evans and 328 Dan Lathan fenced 400 Mark Gibbons before 327 Mick Maskall Jnr stepped things up with a wicked follow-in on 102 Lee Burrows. 128 Shippy now nailed the luckless Evans while brother 170 Chris Shipp stuffed 532 Keith Voysey. The second half of the race was largely quiet save 327 Little Legs nailing Shippy’s Merc as 551 Brett Jackson took the win from Lathan and 95 Anton Martin.

One more for heat two with 349 Lewis Price hitting the spun Rose on the nose before 165 Ben Randall stuffed 78 Hayden Gray and 549 Phil Smith fenced 730 Brandon Mayes with a big lunge. 233 James Carter then buried 290 Ryan Anderson, the latter rallying back to stuff 599 Matty Butcher into Gray with a big impact before 730 Bubba was again fenced by Smith. Rose evened the score on 349 Noddy with a T-bone, the Gladiator then also targeting Bubba with a reverse attack leaving 119 Davey Cox to end the action when he thumped Rose with a T-bone as 36 Ricky Lewis took the win ahead of 60 Dan Rea and Carter.

With a handful of cars failing to contest a heat, the third heat also raised 25 cars and this began with 666 Liam Gelsthorpe burying 123 Kieran Gray with 413 Jack King clobbering the latter head-on before he was smashed into the infield blocks by 874 Michael Guyens. 743 Kev Barton then powered into and buried welcome Midlands visitor 127 Mark Challis before 338 Terry Garrod stuffed 282 Rhys Waters into 619 Mike Knight and Guyens continued with a package on Gray, the latter taking further abuse from 666 Gelly but Gray bounced back to bury the leading 87 Damien Matthews before he zeroed in for a head-on to the spun 873 Kyle Roberts and a lap later completed his assault with a hard blitz to Roberts which brought the reds out to assist the latter with the race declared in favour of 338 Wingnut from brothers 339 Jack and 337 Ashley.

Up to 31 for the consolation with conditions continuing to improve as a pile-up quickly formed on turn two before 747 Liam Martin turned 96 Bam Bam into the infield blocks as 142 Jack Lower found 1 Kevin Webb for a shot and 746 Tony Jarvis met 747 Jumbo on the nose. Hayden Gray scored with a T-bone on the spun 661 Sean Smith as Bubba continued to battle the Gladiators with a hard follow-in to Noddy on the road bend. 223 Daniel Bear buried 9 Ben Cox while 326 Shane Lynn nailed 170 Weener, the latter earning his dismissal when he turned round to meet Bubba on the nose with Phil Smith hammering the latter in turn. 452 Paul Sweet then singled out 527 Dan Gardiner for a solid hit before 313 Scott Elden stuffed Smith in the battle scarred Bubba and Sean Smith nailed Gray. The disqualified Weener continued with shots on 712 Kev Hook and then blast 899 Vix Battle with 599 Matty laying into the former in turn which left the track completely blocked by the start line. 223 Dingo found 115 Loud Cohn for a hit and Weener evened the score on Matty as Dino continued with a shot on Gray before damage magnet Bubba took a head-on from 313 Scottie Dog with Weener concluding the action with head-ons to Dingo and Gray. 326 Ratty battled through the heap to claim the win from Phil Smith and Scottie Dog with 311 Garry Lown and Matty the only other finishers.

25 qualifiers gathered for the final which was perhaps surprisingly the best race of the evening. The first action came when 517 Sid Cooper ran in 119 Cruncher hard only to then be dumped out by Wingnut and a quickly recovered Cruncher homed in for a solid revenge head-on but this stopped him in his tracks and he was then blasted by 620 Guy Whitehead. Jack Garrod then lunged at and fenced 155 Sam Coote and 337 Pretty Boy zeroed in for a stonking hit on 155 Capt Slow. Matty became the second driver of the night to earn a load up when he turned round to stop Scott Dog head-on before Phil Smith picked up 113 Dan Wright who latched onto Lown and the latter was thundered in heavily. Garrod then finished Capt Slow with another hard hit before Wright nailed Scottie Dog. 551 Jacko Jnr found 723 Joby Smith for a package with Wingnut piling brother Pretty Boy into the latter as Kieron Gray raced to the win with Ratty squeezing 271 Ashlun Woods into the fence on the final bend to snatch second.

Most impressively 35 returned for the Accumulator qualifier and Burrows started in style as he buried 95 Jade Harboard and then zeroed in for a hard hit on Webb while 662 Dalton Smith connected with a T-bone on 620 Mr G. 329 Michael Carter hit Jacko Jnr as Battle turned Mr G into the fence and Hill crashed heavily into the infield blocks before Gardiner blasted Voysey, the latter then left open to a bruising hit from Matthews and a final package from Burrows who was then nailed by Carter. After a quiet spell Jacko Jnr hit the spun Bam Bam on the nose before Battle ran 400 Gibbo into the pit bend with Burrows then turning round to blast the passing Lewis as Wingnut took his second win from Lathan and Garrod. Into the DD which was well subscribed and 115 Lou Cohn was the first to show as he crashed Carter into the infield blocks and Phil Smith turned round and continued his issues with Bubba as they enjoyed a hard head-on. Jacko Jnr reintroduced Hill to the infield blocks with Cohn nailing the latter in turn as Bubba got going again and met Phil Smith in another head-on before taking one in turn from 743 Ramhead who was then punished by Matthews while 324 Mark Lathan ploughed into Bubba only to take one in turn from Jacko Jnr. Pretty Boy turned round to power into Matthews with Cohn then blasting the former which fenced Matthews to boot before the reds flew with a fire on the pit bend. The event restarted with Phil Smith finishing the game Bubba with a pair of hits on opposite while Cohn and Ramhead enjoyed a head-on with Pretty Boy then hitting the former as Wingnut took shots from Burrows and Jacko Jnr, brother Pretty Boy arriving to T-bone Burrows. Phil Smith then landed a hit on the Jackpot man. Cohn was pummelled by hits from Jacko Jnr and Pretty Boy with Wingnut then grabbing hold of Ramhead and planting him into Bubba with Phil Smith nailing Ramhead to boot. Pretty Boy then scored on Jacko Jnr and he took one in turn from Dalton Smith and he copped it from Wingnut, the latter going on to meet Burrows on the nose as Pretty Boy blasted Cohn which left him open to a hit from Burrows but Pretty Boy fought back to meet his attacker in a hard head-on. Wingnut again scored on Jacko Jnr with Dalton Smith hitting the former before meeting Pretty Boy on the nose. The latter continued to attacked Jacko Jnr with Wingnut then picking up the latter and burying him head-on into Pretty Boy which finished the 551 Ka and left the brothers to settle things. Wingnut struck first with a shot on Pretty Boy before a head-on between them finished Wingnut and Pretty Boy sealed his win with a solid hit to his team mate, Burrows named the best entertainer.

Heat one: 551 Brett Jackson, 328, 95 (Martin), 327, 394, 723, 316
Heat two: 36 Ricky Lewis, 60, 233, 271, 517, 155, 622, 119, 549, 730
Heat three: 338 Terry Garrod, 339, 337, 113, 203, 123, 620, 428, 115, 90
Consolation: 326 Shane Lynn, 549, 313, 311, 599
Grand Final: 123 Kieron Gray, 326, 271, 328, 95 (Martin), 339, 337, 316, 517
Accumulator qualifier: Garrod, 328, 339, 324, 730, 326, 527, 115, 551, 36
Destruction Derby: 337 Ashley Garrod from 338 Best entertainer 102 Lee Burrows

The penultimate round of the Ministox Mildenhall Winter Series raised a cracking entry of 25 cars, all the more impressive that all were RDC registered save three which included two very long distance visitors, namely 902 Bradley Compton Sage on his third consecutive visit and Scotland’s 629 Ewan Millar who both, along with several others, had raced at Birmingham the night before.

A full field for heat one and 399 Cole Atkins wasted no time in diving at 304 Tony Elbourn as 350 Liam Webster set the pace and Elbourn hit back with a lunge at 320 Luke Dorling and 339 Harry Atkins did the same to 331 Archie Fryatt as he battled his way to second. Rookie 327 Jolie Pettit span and 370 Rowan Venni moved 344 Danny Elbourn wide for fourth as Miller was spun by 301 Josh Rayner while Harry Atkins moved into the lead at the half way mark with Danny and Tony Elbourn next, the leader then coming under fire from Rayner which allowed the chasing pack to close as 368 Dan Santry barged past 308 Molly Smithson for sixth and with five to run Tony Elbourn lunged at Harry Atkins and fenced him to take the lead with Venni grabbing second before 346 Lauren Nichols hooking out 379 Beth Usher and she was collected heavily head-on by 311 Mike Dobney which brought the reds out to check on the drivers and the result was declared with Tony Elbourn winning from Venni and Dorling.

Down to 22 for heat two and Danny Elbourn made the first move this time, lunging at Nichols while Cole Atkins again did the same to Tony Elbourn as Fryatt set the pace and 369 Harry Sargent quickly worked his way to third with Danny Elbourn on his tail as Nichols dived at 505 Jake Leeks. Rayner stuck the bumper in on Dorling in the race for fifth as Danny Elbourn grabbed the lead on lap six with Nichols and Venni next as 902 Buster Jnr removed 328 Ben Nichols before the reds flew for Pettit who had span into the infield blocks. A messy start saw Dorling and Venni a little too eager get underway resulting in the leading Lauren Nichols getting fired into the wall before the reds flew and Dorling emerged in the lead while Nichols’ restart went from bad to worse as she came under attack from Cole Atkins as Rayner lunged at Venni to take second. Dorling barged past Leeks as he tried to extend his lead and he then did the same to Webster as he took the flag from Rayner with Tony Elbourn surviving a last bend attack from Venni to take third but the latter, along with Dorling were dropped two places for jumping the restart and so Rayner inherited the win from Elbourn and Dorling.

A couple less for the final but it was another cracker with Smithson shoving Sargent into the fence from the off as Webster again set the pace and Smithson was spun aside by Danny Elbourn and Dorling barged a way past Rayner while Venni crashed out with a spin. Webster continued to lead from Fryatt and this time they opened an advantage with Danny Elbourn leading the chasing pack as Lauren Nichols and 356 Harry Overy combined to spin Harry Atkins. Miller shoved Rayner into the fence with Dorling then lunging at the former as he climbed to seventh and Overy barged his way past Leeks . The back marking Nichols then fired into Fryatt which pushed him past Webster for the lead with Nichols then lunging at Fryatt on the next bend which saw Webster regain the lead and as the race hit half way Danny Elbourn joined the fight for the lead with Overy, Dorling, Cole Atkins and Ben Nichols in chase as Fryatt lunged at Webster to battle back into the lead before Overy dive bombed Danny Elbourn and Webster and emerged in second. Overy then charged at Fryatt to grab the lead with Danny Elbourn and Dorling able to pass the latter as well as Sargent and Webster clashed heavily on the home straight. Behind and Danny Elbourn was rattled into a half spin by 303 Jacob Bromley which cost him places as Miller barged past Fryatt to move into the top six. Overy took the win from Dorling and Cole Atkins, Miller picking up a fine fifth and Fryatt ninth which perhaps didn’t reflect his latest impressive showing.

Heat one: 304 Tony Elbourn, 370, 320, 344, 339, 368, 399, 356, 308, 328
Heat two: 301 Josh Rayner, 304, 320, 356, 344, 370, 399, 346, 308, 629
Grand Final: 356 Harry Overy, 320, 399, 301, 629, 344, 379, 304, 331, 308

The first round of the 2016 Reliant Robin points championship raised another decent and consistent entry of 18 cars and again it was pleasing to note a couple of new faces among the entry.

A full field for heat one with early spins for 9 Dale Russell, 122 Lee Waddington, 03 Scott Russell and 885 Chris Bailey in the opening lap on the slippery conditions and 96 Ian Robins made the running as 514 Sherrie Martin lunged at fellow Reliant rookie 850 Stephen Baker, 85 James Ellis then charging at 66 Steve Willis who collected the latter as a result, the luckless 850 Lanky then spun by 576 Colin Aldred before Robins was spun by 3 Danielle Hewitt which handed 576 Colin Aldred the lead and he held on for the win with the closing 385 Roy Gedge spinning himself on the final bend, Ellis inheriting second and Gedge crossed the line in reserve for third.

All 18 returned for heat two with Ellis butting heads with 143 Sam Begley from the off as early pace setter Scott Russell span from the lead handing the top spot to Bailey before 275 Phil Rowbottom span into the infield blocks. 129 Tom Baxter and Ellis combined to removed Scott Russell as Gedge raced into second and the recovered 143 Screamer got stuck into 16 Ray Layton while the race for third heated up between Baxter, Robins, Ellis and Hewitt until the former span and was collected by Hewitt and 514 Blondie and then 185 Ben Oliver. Hewitt then removed Layton as Rowbottom came under fire from Lanky as Bailey held off a closing Gedge for the win in a close finish and Ellis took third and celebrated by fencing 185 Killer.

Just one missing for the final with Hewitt spinning Rowbottom before Waddington went around and Blondie set the pace from Hewitt and Robins as 66 Pork Pie removed Ellis before Blondie overcooked it and Hewitt inherited the lead as the recovered Ellis removed Lanky. Robins was now second and Gedge moved into third before Pork Pie and Blondie suffered spins and Gedge moved into second while Pork Pie again attacked Ellis which in turn span 143 Screamer and as Gedge took the lead at half way with Robins still second it was now Bailey third ahead of Layton and the recovered Screamer and Waddington. Bailey hooked out Blondie who came back to attack Layton as Gedge raced to the win and behind Robins was shoved into the fence on the last bend by Rowbottom and Bailey and Screamer were able to nip through for second and third, the race ending in fine fashion as Ellis launched Blondie into a huge double rollover, Killer unable to avoid crashing into the back of Ellis which added to the intensity of the rollover.

Heat one: 576 Colin Aldred, 85, 385, 96, 16, 143, 66, 215, 514, 129
Heat two: 885 Chris Bailey, 385, 85, 143, 96, 3, 122, 66, 16, 576
Grand Final: 385 Roy Gedge, 885, 143, 96, 122, 16, 85, 275, 514, 185

A thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable evening of racing and quite possibly the best January Winter Series meeting at Mildenhall in recent years, down in no small part to the most decent racing conditions for the time of year and it was most pleasing to see the majority of drivers make the most of it, despite the extremely difficult conditions in the pits with some good racing throughout the programme and several fine races and good hits in the National Bangers.

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