Mildenhall Stadium Saturday April 2 2016
1400cc National Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox

The fourth meeting in as many weekends at Mildenhall saw numbers remain very strong with a most impressive and surprising field of just over 80 1400cc Bangers gathering on April 2 although admittedly almost half of them were returned cars from Good Friday eight days previously although two exceptions were the BMW 316s of 76 Terry Mansfield and 187 Andy Marshall.

Sadly the forecast rain arrived at the stadium earlier than hoped for and would persist throughout the night and while tracks conditions remained most decent considering all evening they did get increasingly tricky and with no improvement predicted in the forecast the decision was made to run two heats and 36 gathered for the opener which was a relatively subdued start to the night. 566 Tony Pallett clobbered the spun 545 Karl Hough and 36 Ricky Lewis piled 768 Carl Thurman into the spun 205 Mike King before 271 Ashlun Woods fenced 399 Dave Gibbons. 192 Terry Nightingale did the same to 45 Lee Sutton before 138 Jay Smy was the next to be sent to the fence, his fencing at the hands of 566 Zippy Jnr and Nightingale then cracked Smy in the rear wheel as a pile-up formed on the road bend producing the best action of the race as Woods nailed 51 James Licquorice and took a big hit in turn from the recovered Smy with Gibbons also laying in Licquorice with the latter then catching fire to bring the race to an early conclusion. 25 Matt Black was awarded the win, his first in National Bangers from 191 Kieran Greenway and 212 Jack Maryon.

A bigger field of 42 for heat two which was better and started in lively fashion as 47 Archie Butts fired into and span 428 Ben Airey as a pile-up formed on the pit bend in which 220 Tom Pavitt nailed 26 Dan Holmes and 282 Rhys Waters cracked 119 Davey Cox with a T-bone before 512 Sean Cooper stuffed 142 Jack Lower into the growing misery. 352 Ben Mynott added 817 Kurt Jacobs to the heap and 303 Wayne Linsdell then nailed 622 Jack Baker as he smashed a way through with 47 Butty Jnr then burying 60 Dan Rea. The race then turned quiet but the action returned in the second half when Linsdell smashed 587 Adam Rolfe into the infield blocks and 427 Dave Johnson stuffed 26 Hacker before 339 Jack Garrod tangled with 802 Josh Cook which allowed 427 Big Dave to weigh in on the latter as 9 Ben Cox raced to the win from Butty Jnr and 888 Jake Smith.

Despite the rain growing heavier a whopping field of 45 returned for the consolation and the action picked up tremendously with a very lively race. A huge push into the first bend claimed several, the most significant being 292 Harry Airey run in 96 Amber Daniels hard and a pile-up formed immediately with Nightingale nailing Woods as 565 Darren Quadling met the spun 420 Matthew Jode on the nose as Baker blasted Ben Airey and 559 Alan Archer scored on 317 Callum Jacobs with a head-on before 859 Terry Archer fenced 801 Joe Cook with 141 Jake Steward then adding the former to the growing misery on the pit bend while the luckless 96 Bam Bam was hammered by 588 Anthony Bailey. 26 Hacker zeroed in for a solid hit on the fenced 717 as Lower took a wild swipe at Licquorice before Bailey met the luckless 717 on the nose with the reds then flying to check on the later. A complete restart was ordered and 286 San Phillips began with a shot on Lower before he fenced Cook while Lower rallied back to nail 599 Matt Butcher and they crashed into 297 Anton Leathers with Thurman then cracking 599 Matty in the front wheel. Licquorice turned round to stop 95 Anton Martin with Garrod piling 311 Gary Lown into the former but Licquorice battled on to again attack Martin on opposite with Bam Bam hitting the latter as well as Thurman assaulted Cook. 352 Ben Mynott also turned round and stopped Woods which blocked the track on turn four and in the mayhem Bam Bam scored on Lower only to take one in turn from 290 Ryan Anderson who was then hammered by 206 Dave King with Mynott targeting the latter on opposite and burying him into the infield blocks. Anderson recovered to smash Garrod into the wreckage with 390 Dan Stacey flattening Anderson only to take a hard hit in turn from Smy as King weighed in on Lower and Steward flattening running mate Smy. The still on opposite Mynott now attacked Hacker but he took one in turn from Linsdell with Kingy then turning round for a revenge hit on Mynott as Garrod took the win from brother 337 Ashley and Kingy.

Almost all the qualifiers returned for the final which raised 27 cars and 115 Lou Cohn buried Black early doors as a pile-up quickly formed on the road bend and 641 Kieran Cook landed a hit on 328 Dan Lathan as 551 Brett Jackson blasted 661 Aaron Harris. Cohn came under fire from 191 Kieran Greenway before Butty Jnr piled 898 Andy Battle into the stricken Harris who was then drilled by Cook as Cohn was put away by Rea. Cook now squeezed 338 Terry Garrod into the fence but he came under immediate fire from 337 Pretty Boy as 419 Laura Quadling connected on Smith only to be bundled into the infield blocks by Jack Garrod. The struggling Smith then reversed into the leading 338 Wingnut on the final bend and he was stuffed into the infield wall by Linsdell with the finish line in touching distance and 326 Shane Lynn snatched the win from 37 Dave Lewis and Garrod.

Despite the evening remaining most miserable an excellent field of 32 returned for the final event and the Accumulator qualifier began with a big push seeing Anderson buried by the pack with 317 Stress then piling 326 Ratty into 209 Oliver King which in turn stuffed 220 Lurch as Lathan found Bam Bam for a shot and 837 Martin Wesby thundered Thurman in hard. Licquorice then nailed 517 Sid Cooper only to be flattened by the lively Wesby as King fought back to run in Anderson and 212 Mario Kart lunged at and fenced Lurch with 517 Sidders now nailing Ricky Lewis. Smith was lurking on the pit bend and reserved into King before he stopped Matty with a head-on as Lurch assaulted 545 Karl Hough. 817 Stig opened his account with a shot on 326 Ratty while Lathan was buried by 205 Mike King and Mario Kart pasted Anderson. Lurch turned round to again target 545 Huffy but was cracked in the rear wheel by Lathan before Mario Kart fenced himself heavily on the pit bend. Garrod blasted Smith with a T-bone but the latter fought on to meet Pretty Boy on the nose with Stig then smashing Lewis into Smith as 551 Jacko Jnr came through the chaos to take the win from Cooper and Dave Lewis. Into the DD and Anderson fired the first shot as he nailed Stig and Sidders scored on Lathan with the latter then hit in the rear wheel by Jacko Jnr as Ben Airey and Wingnut landed blows on Sidderz. Stig located Mario Kart for a big hit as Oliver King hammered Ricky Lewis while the impressive Stig rattled Jacko Jnr into the wall hard. Lathan rammed Ricky Lewis in reverse and Dave Lewis delivered a revenge head-on to the former. Stig continued his rampage to bury Sidders into Dave Lewis as Ratty assaulted Bam Bam and Wingnut laid into 191 the Entertainer. Oliver King turned round to nail Garrod and Ratty and Dave Lewis shared a head-on before Anderson blasted Oliver King and Ratty blasted the Entertainer on opposite with Garrod then smashing the latter with a hard head-on before Sidders burst into fire on the road bend to bring the reds out. Once the drivers were cleared from the track things restarted with Ratty nailing Oliver King on opposite before Wesby met Anderson on the nose only to take one in turn from Wingnut before Anderson met Ratty on the nose but he hit back with a T-bone before Wingnut ran in Wesby and Ratty found the latter for a head-on and with Wingnut and Wesby having been out of the action for too long prior to the restart it was Ratty who was declared the winner, Stig the best entertainer while entertainer points were awarded to Smith, Oliver King and Wesby.

Heat One: 25 Matt Black, 191, 212, 566, 37, 326, 36, 338, 328, 141, 551, 91, 400
Heat Two: 9 Ben Cox, 47, 888, 641, 115, 661, 116, 419, 898, 119, 427, 512
Consolation: 339 Jack Garrod, 337, 206, 303, 26, 290, 142, 141, 352
Grand Final: 326 Shane Lynn, 37, 339, 119, 116, 898, 303, 36, 419, 512
Accumulator qualifier: 551 Brett Jackson, 512, 37, 328, 517, 36, 212, 116, 599, 220
Destruction Derby: 326 Shane Lynn from 290 Best Entertainer: 817 Kurt Jacobs

Round two of the Saloon Stockcar track championship raised another excellent field of 33 cars, this in spite of a couple of cancellations the day of the meeting and one no show which were replaced in equal numbers by late entries on the day of the meeting, the field including 299 Martin Vella on his Saloon debut and the track debut of 425 Tom Balls.

The entry was sufficient for the heats to be split again and the opener was for the white and yellow grade only and with the rain already falling it would catch several out, 327 Clayton Mallett the first to go round while 214 Tom Yould removing 312 Neil Payne and 299 Mert as 448 Martin Kibble set the pace and 800 Scott Greenslade had 214 Tucker around and 888 Shane Emerson span Mert. 389 Ryan Santry climbed to second and he fired Kibble wide for the lead just before half way. 750 Chris Key lunged at 327 Timmy which sent them both spinning as 888 Shin stepped up to challenge 270 Matt Fuller for third but the latter broke away and Kibble delayed by the back marking 157 Max Stott it allowed Fuller to take second but there was no catching Santry who raced to the win.

25 cars for heat two which included all the major champions save the European Champion and things exploded into life despite the tricky conditions with 570 Simon Venni spinning 360 Carl Waterfield only to be dumped out himself by 306 Daniel Parker who was then dive bombed by 428 Lee Sampson as 698 Danny Colliver charged at 304 Martyn Parker while Shin set the pace from Balls and 157 Stotty and Martyn Parker repaid the favour at Colliver. Stotty moved into second as Payne fired Balls into the wall for third and 499 Dave Aldous took a wild lunge at Daniel Parker. Venni did the same to the leading Shin to un-lap himself as 321 Marcus Skeels came under fire from 218 Jacob Downey before the reds flew with concern for Mert on the back straight. Shin led the lap sheet order restart with three back markers between him and the race for second and 26 Tommy Barnes wasted no time in barging past Stotty for second as Waterfield lunged at 218 Cracker only to then spin into the infield blocks. The race entered the second half and 6 Simon Welton removed 349 Michael Allard as Shin removed 220 Casey Englestone which allowed Barnes to close and he then charged at Shin to take the lead just before the five lap to go signal and Barnes then barged past Venni to try and break away with Stotty then bundling Payne into 220 Philo Jnr only to spin himself in the process. 124 Ollie Skeels attacked Sampson as 321 the Frog took a big swing at Greenslade which fenced him heavily. The action continued in the final stages as 730 Dean Mayes lunged at Sampson and 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr did the same to the Frog with 730 Deano taking a final charge at Skeels and Daniel Parker as Barnes took the win ahead of Shin and 499 Dave Aldous.

The weather had worsened for heat three but again 25 cars assembled with early spins for Colliver and Kibble as Fuller set the pace and Martyn Parker and Sampson went around as well before Daniel Parker dumped out Philo Jnr. Santry dive bombed Timmy to grab second and Skeels fenced 6 Welly as 682 Paul Sparrow climbed to third before the Frog rattled Barnes into the wall on the pit bend only to be fenced himself by a hard lunge from Santry with Cracker then hooking out the Frog. Fuller span from the lead and Sparrow picked up the pieces from Santry and Skoyles Jnr as Barnes now fell foul of Skeels who ran him in. There were now spins for Skoyles and 386 Daniel Petters as Barnes went round and was rammed head-on by the Frog before Venni and Deano were the next to go round in the slippery condition. Coliver lunged at and fenced Philo Jnr as Welly dumped out Daniel Parker and Sampson in one go. Skoyles Jnr then removed the leading Sparrow and in the confusion it was Santry who emerged as the leader and he took his second win of the night from Daniel Parker and Deano.

Despite the rain not relenting 23 drivers returned for the final and this also started with a bang as Sampson thundered Venni into the wall and the former was then spun by Fuller which allowed Kibble to grab the lead from Shin, Fuller, Timmy and Santry. Skoyles Jnr was the next to spin before Stotty removed Timmy and Shin grabbed the lead on lap three while the recovered Skoyles Jnr charged at 349 Michael Allard and Philo Jnr also span. Santry moved into second on lap four ahead of Cracker and Sparrow with Deano already into sixth. Santry then spun from contention as Welly was fired into the wall by Timmy. Cracker raced into second as the Frog and Key suffered spins and Fuller again targeted Sampson, this time with a fencing as Colliver span Deano for fifth and the latter was clobbered by Daniel Parker and Allard. Shin led the field to half way ahead of Cracker, Sparrow, Fuller, Colliver, Daniel Parker and Deano as the luckless Sampson was fenced again, this time by a lunge from Skoyles Jnr as the recovered Santry dumped out Shin and Cracker in one go and Sparrow inherited the lead with Fuller and Colliver in the chase with then the recovered Cracker but the latter was then bundled down the order as Colliver was spun by Skoyles Jnr which left Sparrow clear with the National Points Champion recovering in fourth behind Daniel Parker and Deano. Santry lunged at Philo Jnr as Stotty lunged at and fenced Skeels before Daniel Parker span out of contention. Sparrow made up for his earlier disappointment with the win in the main event from Colliver and Deano, Cracker the only other driver to finish on the lead lap, a cracking race ending with Skeels spinning Skoyles Jnr only to be dumped out in turn by Shin.

Even on the most miserable of evenings and with limited repair time 17 returned for the Allcomers which was quite excellent all things considered and things began with Welly dive bombing Colliver and Sampson as Shin again set the pace while Colliver rallied back to even the score on Welly as Fuller raced into second ahead of Santry and Welly again charged at Colliver with Skeels this time getting caught in the crossfire as Welly was rattled into a half spin by Martyn Parker and son Daniel then tangled with Shinn which allowed Fuller to grab the lead on lap three as Welly continued his lively show with a big swing at Skeels. Santry was now second ahead of the recovered Shin and then the Frog, Cracker, Deano and Colliver as Sampson took a huge lunge at Santry and Kiddle and Fuller had both Philo Jnr and Stotty around while Santry dumped out Sampson and Skeels span Allard who was clobbered by Welly. Fuller led to half way with Cracker now second ahead of Frog and Deano but the Frog’s challenge on Cracker allowed Deano to leapfrog them both. Martyn Parker was then fenced heavily by Stotty and Sampson did the same to Philo Jnr as Fuller’s luck was again short as he was spun by Daniel Parker and Deano grabbed the lead. Colliver removed Skeels as Cracker’s last bend attack was thwarted when he tangled with Welly and Deano took the win with Shin besting Cracker for second and Fuller had the final say by spinning Martyn Parker.

Heat One (Whites and Yellows): 389 Ryan Santry, 270, 448, 888, 312, 386, 157, 425, 750
Heat Two: 26 Tommy Barnes, 888, 499, 641, 321, 698, 6, 218, 349, 124
Heat Three: Santry, 306, 730, 641, 698, 682, 349, 306, 6, 124
Grand Final: 682 Paul Sparrow, 698, 730, 218, 304, 306, 448, 157, 349, 124
Allcomers: 730 Dean Mayes, 888, 218. 270, 306, 698, 6, 349, 321, 270

An excellent field of 25 Ministox gathered for round six of their track championship, all the more impressive that it only included three visitors which once again featured 629 Ewan Miller and 902 Brad Compton-Sage on another massive trek to Suffolk.

329 Kegan Sampson had 315 Charlie Santry around at the start of heat one and new ORCi Champion 368 Dan Santry rattled 399 Cole Atkins into a half spin as 331 Archie Fryatt set the pace and 344 Danny Elbourn rattled 311 Mike Dobney into a half spin. 301 Josh Rayner then charged at Atkins as 350 Liam Webster muscled his way into the lead and Sampson attacked 370 Rowan Vennis before 329 Charlie Morphey and 304 Tony Elbourn suffered spins and Venni lunged at and span 327 Jolie Pettit with the waved yellow flags then showing to assist a stricken Danny Elbourn. The race restarted with 320 Luke Dorling immediately lunging at 328 Ben Nichols as 303 Jacob Downey marched into the lead as the race hit half way. A push into the pit bend saw 356 Harry Overy and 390 Nina Leigh find the wall before the caution flags were shown again, this time to assist the stricken Sampson. Bromley led the restart as a frantic battle developed behind for fifth spearheaded by Atkins and Dorling with Venni lunging at the former to send him into a half spin as Webster and Danny Elbourn went around. 364 David Shearing emerged in second as Dorling shot Rayner into the fence and Atkins returned the earlier favour on Venni. Miller battled his way to third as Bromley took the win from Shearing and a last bend short out saw Atkins best brother 339 Harry and Miller in the race for third with Charlie Santry wrapping things up by fencing Webster.

Just one missing for heat two and Charlie Santry set the pace as Sampson and 514 Abbie McGuinness span into the infield blocks and Rayner had Cole Atkins around while Fryatt moved into the lead and 392 Charlie Morphey rattled Tony Elbourn into a half spin. Up front and Santry regained the lead as Nichols bested 342 Freddie Crittenden for third and Overy charged at Harry Atkins only to then crash out in a heap with Dorling and McGuinness as Shearing dive bombed Dan Santry. There were further spins for Cole Atkins and Sampson as Charlie Santry came under fire from 308 Molly Smithson with Nichols grabbing the lead from Venni just before the reds came out to assist 342 Critter Jnr who had crashed out on the road bend. The restart began a little early with Morphey earning a penalty as he half span 902 Buster Jnr on the rolling lap and Venni charged at Nichols to snatch the lead and Harry Atkins edged into third. Ben Nichols then lunged at Dan Santry and Venni to again regain the lead with Nichols and Venni trading the lead another two times in an epic battle as Buster Jnr lunged at Bromley to climb to fourth only to cruelly expire with a blown tyre with Bromley then coming under fire from Rayner as Venni regained the lead with two to run and took the flag but a subsequent lap sheet check confirmed it was in fact Miller who was the true winner ahead of Venni and Nichols, Overy delivering the final action when he fenced Harry Atkins.

A small drop to 21 for the final and again Charlie Santry set the pace as Miller made a beeline for Morphey and there were spins for Dobney and Morphey, the latter recovering only to be dumped out again by Rayner, the luckless Dobney then getting shoved to the fence with Cole Atkins thanks to a big push among the pack and Fryatt collected the stricken Cole Atkins which left him stranded by the start line and the reds were thrown and a complete restart ordered, Fryatt able to get his car running just as the stoppage was ordered. He quickly moved into second behind Charlie Santry as Danny Elbourn attacked Leigh with Santry then expiring and Fryatt inherited the lead ahead of McGuiness and Nichols with the latter soon into second ahead of Venni and the top three remained the same as the race hit half way. Miller had Leigh out and Smithson barged past Harry Atkins. With five to run Nichols and Venni had caught Fryatt and a lap later Nichols managed to barge his way into the lead. Elbourn then span Harry Atkins and they were collected by Morphey, Buster Jnr and cruelly Fryatt with Buster Jnr then under fire from Bromley as Nichols claimed the win from Venni and Bromley, Dorling taking a fine fourth from the reds with Fryatt compensated with one of the white grade trophies, the other going to Sampson.

Heat One: 303 Jacob Bromley, 364, 399, 629, 339, 344, 301, 320, 368, 328
Heat Two: 629 Ewan Miller, 370, 328, 339, 303, 301, 390, 364, 344, 356
Grand Final: 328 Ben Nichols, 370, 303, 320, 399, 364, 368, 301, 344, 392

For a meeting which could have very easily been completely ruined by the wet weather, the tremendous efforts of the drivers ensured this was a most decent night of action. The 1400cc Bangers were lively throughout if never overly memorable, the Ministox their usual highly competitive selves although the amount of race stoppages took a little edge of their races while the Saloon Stockcars stole the show, which was perhaps a little surprising given the conditions.

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