Mildenhall Saturday April 5 2008
RDC's One Wild Night 2008
National Banger BBA Supreme Championship and Saloon Stockcars

The 2008 National Banger BBA Supreme Championship raised a simply incredible field of 177 cars to Mildenhall (a record turnout for a Saturday night fixture at the track) with visitors from every ORC promotion save Mendips including many long distance travellers from the west country. Most of the pre meeting talk surrounded the team front with Stinkbridge, the Predators, Gladiators and Bad News all out in force while the Aftermath, Wild Boyz and Bad Company were also noted by their presence. The most popular mount was a Mondeo in a typically front wheel drive dominated field, the selection including a late Rover 420 coupe for 156 Mick Maskall. 291 Jay Giddings had the lone Cortina with a used Mk5, there were six large Volvos and the same amount of Mk2 Granadas which included fresh ones for the returning 21 Jason Colbert and a smart one for 278 Tom Hills. 425 Martin Stopher and 397 Andrew Cullen returned an Omega and Laurel respectively but topping the bill were team mates 379 Ade Clifton and 502 Kayligh Dighton who dared to be different with a Datsun 280ZX and Mazda RX7 respectively. 

42 cars for the first support heat with 539 Dan Allen (Bluebird) hitting 889 Anthony Pemberthy (Bluebird) on the nose to trigger an early pile-up as 502 the Chief attacked 362 Matt Godden (Bluebird). 514 Chas Taylor met 898 Andy Battle in an all Cavalier head-on before 384 Liam Conway powered his Bluebird into the similar mount of 229 Ritchie Holmes. 513 Lewis Harvey (Cavalier) went in hard on 209 Ben Hayward (Cavalier) as 236 Rob Everett (Primera) nailed 336 Ian Smith on the top bend although Gladiator revenge was swift thanks to a solid hit from Taylor, the reds then coming out to assist 336 Smiffy who had been struck while exiting. The race resumed with 106 Brian Pfender (Rover 620) walling 138 Jason Smy although the latter quickly shrugged it off to hit Conway on the nose which left him open to a package from 513 Shaggy. 547 Tony McNeil (Primera) fenced Allen as 273 Kevin McClagish (Bluebird) hit the luckless 889 Thief on the nose before 401 Steve Hemmings piled 208 Jimmy Randall into 542 Craig Oliver (Cavalier). This allowed 549 Phil Smith (Cavalier) to zero in on the Predator as 273 Mad Mouse scored on 551 Stu Franklin (Cavalier). 401 Psycho turned round to connect on 208 the Finger but took a T-bone in turn from the Chief as 511 Helen Licquorice fenced 792 Johnny Bravo (Mazda 626). Oliver turned round to enjoy head-ons with Mouse, Godden and the leading Licquorice before Mouse turned round to repay the Gladiator young gun. 349 Lewis Price spotted this and dished out a head-on to the Gypsy Crew man but he took one in turn from Psycho as the Chief planted Licquorice into the vacated motor of 399 Darryl Smy. 574 the BFA took the win from Smith and 465 Andy Scarlett (Bluebird) as Godden buried Bravo and Scarlett just on the reds, the Finger meanwhile earning a load up for a late attack on Psycho. Shaggy took the entertainer trophy. 

40 plus again for heat two which sadly suffered from a short shower which mercifully was the only significant rain to fall all night. 525 Wes Starmer wasted no time in following in 36 Ben Hamilton in an all Bluebird affair as 137 Jay Chilton was buried by 409 Carl Pears before he took one from 196 Ben Harrison (Cavalier). 350 Dan Peel nailed 225 Nick Bull (Bluebird). 500 Wayne Dolan (Bluebird) scored on Harrison as 552 Karl Douglas met 207 Michael Woodward (Bluebird) on the nose and the lively Starmer scored on 801 Jack Foster (Bluebird), 79 Ricky Twell went in on 409 Carlos as 779 Luke Allen blasted 309 Paul Brown (Cavalier) and 350 Dano hammered the luckless Harrison. The latter then copped a head-on from 235 Danny Rainer as Carlos put away the Bluebird powered 682 Paul Sparrow before 460 Lewis Barber nailed 176 Ady Gibs but Predator revenge was swift thanks to a from 79 Twelly. Dano went in on the latter in turn before 225 Bully completed the train, the latter coming under fire from Rainer a short while later. Barber battled on to again assault 176 Gibo and he buried him on the road bend where the Bad Co pilot took a rated shot from Dano. Rainer meanwhile T-boned 178 Paul Robinson (Cavalier) before the race turned quiet until near the end when 82 Wayne Quinn (Bluebird) stuck it to Stinkbridge. First he buried 455 Rick Finney (Bluebird) into Carlos before he nailed Dano a lap of so later. 125 Lee Overy took the win from 303 Wayne Linsdale (Primera) and 204 Charlie King (Cavalier) with Dano taking the entertainer award. 

42 cars for the final heat with Giddings following 514 Marty Eighteen in from the word go but he was T-boned by 455 Luke Cornish (Cavalier) as a result with 311 Gary Lown (Mk2 Granada estate) going in on the latter in turn as a pile-up formed almost immediately. 117 Karl Dack used his smart Volvo 240 estate to thunder in 129 Dan Chaplin (Cavalier) as new Wild Boy 249 Ty Bissent (Cavalier) opened his account by buried 849 Mick Lown (Astra estate). 400 Kevin Shinn went in typically hard on Chaplin as Colbert scored on 149 Wayne Bailey (Primera) only for the Bad News returnee to be stuffed by 432 Mark Munson (Cavalier) a short while later. 222 Ricky Walters met 91 Eric Newson (Volvo 240 estate) on the nose as 269 Greg Mulligan (Bluebird) buried 397 the Chav allowing team mate 215 Nick Bull (Bluebird) to blast the PRI young gun. 217 Neil Smyth (Cavalier) picked up 400 Shinny and followed him into Chaplin's motor with 602 Shaun Cooper belting the Chav head-on in the chaos. 222 Cletus now ran in 431 Sean Abra (Bluebird) hard as Shinny went in hard on 117 Kamikaze although the latter was soon back on the case with an attack on the similar mount of 64 Curtis Francis. 146 Dan Wigman (Bluebird) meanwhile picked up 217 the Mad Irishman and ran him into Kamikaze as 222 Matt Logan (Cavalier) buried 807 Chris Murfin (Bluebird) to take the lead. Shinny ran in 57 Stu Cumming hard as Cletus stuck it to Colbert by running him in but the Autospeed man was T-boned by Cornish in turn. The leading Logan was stopped on the last bend by a head-on from the Mad Irishman with Abra turning round to go in hard on the latter before he also T-boned Colbert as 807 Murf also turned round to repay Logan. 307 Jon Joe Cunningham came through the carnage to take the win from Cornish and Shinny with only six finishing. Cunningham's celebrations were short lived as he was run in by Cletus which was just after the reds but he escaped with a warning while 146 Wiggy, Murf and Abra were loaded for continuing after the reds and 215 Young Bully received the entertainer award. 

Onto the main event with all 45 qualifiers making it out for the Supreme Championship although sadly 742 Ian Gregory (Bluebird) was removed from the grid for illegal tyres and he was joined on the middle by 209 Gary Haresign (Accord) who suffered mechanical woes. Defending champion 188 Matt Fuller led the contenders through the pit gate and onto the track with the threatening rain turning into little more than the odd drop and with the Saloon Stockcars racing in the previous event, the track was in fine condition. An Incarace draw determined the front of the grid and placed Stinkbridge trio 450 Glyn Platts (Bluebird), 407 Jason Mitchell and 11 Darren Race on the inside of the front three rows with 791 Nicky Young and 439 Danny Sutton (Cavalier) behind. Meanwhile on the outside it was 239 Steve Carter on the front row ahead of 67 Mark Whittaker, 349 Michael Allard (Cavalier) and 45 Anthony Crowshaw (Primera). Two rolling laps were carried out with a background of a small fireworks display before the green fell to commence the 25 lap event. 407 Wak was the first to show but sadly for him it was by spinning team mate 11 Racey who was struck by 439 Sutty as 53 Dave Palmer (Primera) had 206 Dave King (Cavalier) out. 239 Nemesis led from the front followed by Allard, 67 Sparky and Platts as 331 Jason Jackson T-boned the spinning 45 Lips and 451 Willy Blackwell (Bluebird) picked up and ran in 348 Sonny Sherwood hard. 364 Sean Winchester (Bluebird) met the spinning 516 Carl Gould (Cavalier) on the nose which in turn sent 8 Darren Owen (Bluebird) into the wall as Allard took over up front ahead of Sparky and Platts. 285 Sean Dyer (Bluebird) laid into 143 Sam Begley as 85 James Ellis (Bluebird) ran in Nemesis in an issue stemming back to Boneshayker but the latter carried on at speed. 190 Steve Bailey impressively followed in Platts and 51 Simon Heilds in a fine move, the latter getting further abuse by 741 Luke Parfitt (Cavalier). Trouble up front saw Nemesis move into the lead with Ellis briefly holding second place as Palmer attacked Sparky only to come under fire from 22 Dave Vincent (Bluebird estate) in turn. 285 Mr Misery scored on Allard as Sutty moved back into second with 730 Dean Mayes closed behind in third. Palmer and Vincent crashed into the pit bend wall hard as 223 Brett Harrison (Primera) buried 206 Kingy and 348 Mushy spotted lone Gladiator 206 Phil Milner and fenced him. Nemesis continued to lead from Sutty and 730 Deano with 741 Cap D now in fourth as 601 Lee Usher (Vectra estate) latched onto 190 Pikey and thundered him into the stricken Palmer. Lap nine saw Capt D jumped to the front as Nemesis disappeared from contention. The recovered 516 Gouldy was second ahead of Deano, Sutty and 188 Smoker and a few laps later we hit half way with Deano losing places and dropping down which moved Sutty and Smoker up and they were joined in the top six by 247 Lee Clarke (Cavalier) and Harrison. Kingy turned aside 601 Usha and Sutty did the same to Wak as Mr Misery evened his debt with Nemesis by burying him although Autospeed driver revenge was swift when 66 Dave Spooner blasted the RDC young gun. 262 Buddy James attacked Pikey as Gouldy became the latest race leader on lap 15 with Capt D, Sutty, 247 Bro and Harrison his nearest rivals. Deano had a go at 66 Spoons which in turn claimed Wak, the former staying on the chief Renegade to bury him on the road bend as the rapid 37 Dave Lewis (Rover 214) put away Kingy. A massive pile-up formed from nowhere on the back straight and Gouldy had little option to go in. He blasted 119 Davey Cox (Cavalier) but his challenge was swiftly ended by a stiff hit from Wak. Bro moved into the top spot at the start of lap 18 with Harrison second ahead of Sutty, Smoker and Nemesis before Capt D shoved Deano head-on into Heilds. 119 Cruncher meanwhile turned round to repay Gouldy with a head head-on as up front Lewis moved past Nemesis and into fifth. Cruncher again stuck it Gouldy with a head-on as 379 the Worm, who had been lurking on the home straight for several laps, made his move and stopped Pikey with a monster head-on by the start line. This triggered a train with Lewis blasting the latter only to take one in turn from Kingy who was blasted in turn by Harrison who took one himself from Sutty, this ending Harrison's race. Smoker and Lewis met head-on in the chaos which finished the latter as the race ended in controversy, Cruncher coming inside out at Bro on the final bend with the latter turning out of the attack and hitting the wall. Cruncher hit his target just behind the door to earn a load up and Sutty hammered Bro en route to taking the title, the latter desperately unlucky to not finish. Smoker meanwhile zeroed in for a big head-on to the Worm as he crossed the line for second with Kingy the only other finisher in third to end a superb championship race. Mr Misery received the entertainer award. 

40 starters for the first Allcomers which started in frantic fashion in which 602 Mr Moody hit 715 Mick Prince (Bluebird) on the nose as a big pile-up formed on the back straight which ultimately brought the reds out for a shaken 8 Dale Woolnough (Cavalier). Despite no significant hits at the start of the race the field was reduced quite a bit for the restart with Cletus again on form and he started with a hit on 327 Roy Laybourn Jnr (Cavalier) as on the home straight 174 Dave Osborn T-boned 133 Karl Day (Bluebird) with 170 Darren Teal (Carina) blasting the former in turn only to take one himself from Ben Harrison. On the top bend Robinson nailed 793 Jamie Johns (Galant) with 41 Lee Horwood (Primera estate) doing the latter in turn before the Gypsy Crew man was leathered by Conway. Cletus scored on Mr Moody as 133 Karly turned it up with hits on Bravo and Ben Harrison before 188 John Reeves (Bluebird) buried both 174 Whipper and 125 Hitler in a single move. Conway continued with a shot on 121 Dan Owen as 60 Steve Laybourn (Cavalier) assaulted Allard while Whipper blasted 603 Jon Cooper (Carina) on the nose. Conway connected with a T-bone on the spun 352 Ben Mynott (Astra estate) as Mr Moody zeroed in on Whipper. A dramatic finish saw Allard bury Laybourn Jnr into Mr Moody in the race for second only to roll himself onto his roof in the process. 898 Andy Battle (Cavalier) was the winner from Hitler and Laybourn Jnr with Karly judged the best entertainer. 

40 cars again for the second Allcomers with some humour at the start as Smith T-boned the spun 54 Martin Lawton (Bluebird) on their way to the grid. The race got underway with Psycho firing into 237 Gary Nash (Mk2 Granada) as 265 Stewart Foster (Bluebird) thundered in 106 Bumper hard and Mr Moody landed a T-bone on Colbert, Wak put away both Bailey and Giddings in a single move as Hamilton followed Allen in a treat on the pit bend. 779 Munch treated 64 Curly to a head-on as Wak was stuffed by a combination of 82 Quinney and Bailey. Mr Moody slammed into Linsdale as 552 Blacknuts dished out a shot on 349 Squaddie only to take a fine hit from 225 Bully in turn as Linsdale put away Munch. Bailey set about Colbert as 331 Boxer picked up Wak and thundered him into Squaddie which also claimed 269 Rex. 137 Jay Chilton duly gave Boxer a cracking hit as 204 Charlie Boy and Rex enjoyed a head-on as did Quinney and Boxer. 265 Disco Stu turned round to nail Psycho as Charlie Boy gave Chilton a big hit only to take one himself from the BFA. Rex and Colbert met on the nose as did Sparky and Linsdale while Psycho and Boxer also enjoyed a head-on. Sparky continued on opposite with a shot on 551 Stu Franklin (Cavalier) who battled on to bury himself in the boot of Curly. Colbert battled back to hit 54 Splat on the nose with Bully weighing in hard on the latter as Psycho enjoyed another head-on with Boxer. Mr Moody connected with a T-bone on Smith as Curly sparked up by the start line. Psycho finished Boxer with a T-bone before the former blasted Splat, the latter taking a further package from Mr Moody a short while later. Bully and Disco Stu enjoyed a head-on as Psycho again went in hard on Splat with the former taking a head-on from Disco Stu a split second later. The reds then came out to assist a shaken Splat and with none of the remaining runners having completed more than five laps, the win was given to Franklin, who was just a couple of laps from home when he was stopped, Psycho receiving the entertainer trophy.

Down to 30 for the final Allcomers with a pile-up forming from the word go on the pit bend in which Mick Lown scored in Ellis as Heilds blasted the Chief, the latter's odd looking Mazda then taking a dodgy drivers side up hit from 111 Ian Mirza (Volvo 740) which earned the latter a load up. Blacknuts blasted the Grave Digger in turn but paid for it with a hit from Racey as Shinny buried Heilds hard. 361 Chris Walden (Prelude) scored on Mouse, triggering a short sharp wrecking train with 742 Taz, Mushy and Ellis all weighing in quickly as Smoker hammered the Mad Irishman and Carlos piled Mushy into the growing heap on the pit bend. 611 Joe Geeves (Carina) attacked the Mad Irishman as we enjoyed another train of hits with Carlos going in on Smoker only to take one in turn from Capt D who was hammered in turn by 262 Axle. Starmer then stuffed the recovered Mushy as team mates Ellis and Mr Misery ganged up to again stick it to Nemesis. Taz went in on Axle as Deano and Smoker turned round to destroy 583 Dan Weeks with two brutal hits as Mushy repaid Carlos with a head-on. Mr Misery homed in for a head-on to Smoker as Mushy continued his hunt for pink with a shot on Taz only to then take one from Sutty. Taz bounced back to hit Mushy on the nose as Capt D scored on Mr Misery en route to the win from Sutty and Mr Misery with Mushy the only other finisher, Taz taking the entertainer trophy. 

Given all that had gone on it was perhaps little surprise that the Accumulator qualifier didn't commence until 11.30pm but still a most decent field of 27 cars returned for it although a few opted to wait until the DD. However the pick of the action came in the race with Whipper in the ward early on as he took a package from Mushy with 169 Len Brinkley (Primera) zeroing on for a head-on although revenge was swift with 206 Turkish blasting the latter only to take one in turn from Carlos. The Chief thundered in Brett Harrison well as Kamikaze dished one out to Carlos. Mushy connected with a T-bone on Rex as Carlos bounced back to pound Mr Misery although the Stinkbridge man was then hammered by Mr Misery. Psycho met 587 Alex Humphrey on the nose as did 761 Nat Cohn (Cavalier) and Turkish while Psycho enjoyed another head-on, this time with Carlos. Kamikaze put away Godden as Turkish turned round to lay into Mushy and Kamikaze blasted Whipper. Psycho now went in on Turkish which in turn sent Mushy into the inner blocks at speed before the former met Kamikaze on the nose. Munch and Mushy met in similar fashion as Mr Misery took the win from Sparky and Cohn leaving the surviving few to contest the DD. This was a little slow to get going with the opening hits very spread out although Mr Misery wasn't messing around with hits on Whipper and Kamikaze. The Mad Irishman was the next to show with a shot on Ben Harrison which he followed up with a T-bone on Cohn. Conway was disqualified for spending too long on the infield but he continued to administer a hit on Mr Misery as Cohn dished out blows on both Psycho and Colbert only to take one in turn from the Mad Irishman. The Chief was another to be disqualified for being out of the event for too long but Sparky made sure by stuffing him into the blocks. Sparky then met the Mad Irishman on the nose to finish them both and hand Cohn the win and he duly celebrated with head-on to the game Mushy. 

Heat one: 547 Tony McNeil, 549, 465, 362, 106, 539, 349, 792, 502
Heat two: 125 Lee Overy, 303, 204, 60, 82, 235, 200, 370, 350
Heat three: 307 Jon Joe Cunningham, 455, 400, 352, 57, 215
BBA Supreme Championship: 439 Danny Sutton, 188, 206
Allcomers One: 898 Andy Battle, 125, 327, 188, 60, 94, 587, 603, 352
Allcomers Two: 551 Stu Franklin
Allcomers Three: 741 Luke Parfitt, 439, 285, 348
Accumulator qualifier: 285 Sean Dyer, 67, 761, 741, 176
Into Destruction Derby: 761 Nat Cohn from 67/217

Round two of the Saloon Stockcar track championship raised a cracking field of 34 cars including lone west country racer 964 Kenny Peters. Of interest was the track debut of 41 David Maltby, the return to Mildenhall of 557 John Banwell and the welcome returns of 360 Carl Waterfield and 438 Tony Lay. 

A full field for the opening heat which was nothing short of dynamite. 156 Darren Goudy was the first to show removing 377 Mick Oslar as 27 Roy Fuller collected the infield blocks and Waterfield marked his return with a back straight spin. 86 Simon Royal made the early running as Waterfield was sent around again, this time by 912 Andi Newman which also claimed 420 Ivan Street as 417 Fred Powell had Peters out, Goudy now spun 149 Jamie Sampson with the latter getting hit head-on by 311 Steve Newman as a result, 18 Jamie Clayton also spinning in the chaos as 499 Dave Aldous ran into Steve Newman's stricken car. The second placed 761 James Morris was spun by Peters as 511 Craig Barnett turned round Andi Newman who was hit head-on by 390 Leyton Hubbert before 440 Lester Freestone collected the spun Morris. Sampson now spun Peters into the stricken Powell before the leading Royal ran head-on into the spun 106 Jamie Stafford handing 219 Luke Grief the lead. 569 James Radcliffe put away Hubbert and 317 Dwayne Powell in a single go as 115 Scott Aldridge spun out Goudy and Aldous did the likewise to Fred Powell. A few laps later and the latter was squeezed into Hubbert by Lay as Barnnett and Aldous barged their way into the top three, albeit some way down on Grief. The spinning 490 Ian Jarman was hit by Jamie Sampson as Andi Newman removed 713 Mark Sanders with Stafford then dumping Lay into the latter before Radcliff sent Freestone and the recovered Sanders spinning with a single blow. Grief motored to the win with Aldous and Barnett next. 

Down to 25 in heat two with the white tops slow off the mark and Maltby spinning himself as he tried to get going. Grief turned aside 293 Nick Houghton before a pile-up on the back straight claimed Morris, 27 Roy Fuller, Aldous, Andi Newman and others. Jarman spun Waterfield as Hubbert recovered from his poor start to set the early pace. Grief continued to take no prisoners as he spun Oslar before Fred Powell walled Freestone hard as they exited the pit bend. Hubbert was then stuffed by the troublesome Houghton handing Fred Powell the lead. However he had Aldous and Grief on the heels and at half way the former took over but full marks to Powell who hung in and fought hard against two of the sports best. Steve Newman removed Clayton and 428 Lee Sampson sent Barnett to the wall while Lay turned aside Radcliffe. Fred Powell cruelly lost time when he collected Hubbert as up front Aldous made a determined effort on the final lap to reel in Grief. He put the bumper in on the final to move up the inside but Grief held on to win by just 0.19 seconds to make it four heat wins out of four at Mildenhall in 2008. Once again Barnett was third. 

25 again for the final with Fuller spinning from the outset as Hubbert made the early running from Radcliffe, Stafford and Street while 403 Ashley Foulsham became the second spinner of the race. Grief put the bumper in on Houghton and the former battled to recover from a disappointing start as up front Radcliffe eased into the leas Street passed Stafford for third. Freestone had 562 Trevor Grey around with Street spinning Clayton into the latter before Waterfield fell foul of this misery. Aldous meanwhile added Morris to the heap a second later while Radcliffe spun from the top spot. This was followed by Oslar ramming the spun Gray and Morris bouncing back to have Lee Sampson out as Andi Newman inherited the lead ahead of Freestone and 149 Jamie Sampson. The latter was then spun by Barnett who duly took second and set his sights on reeling in Andi Newman who was about a length of a straight clear. The latter took the time to remove Lay as Waterfield spun Stafford only to suffer a similar fate from Jarman in turn with the latter doing the same to Aldous a lap or so later, the latter getting collected very hard by Houghton. Barnett meanwhile lost time battling Jamie Sampson for second with the former ultimately spinning the latter but by this time Andi Newman still enjoyed a comfortable lead. Aldous fired in Stafford on the pit bend as Grief battled his way to third. A fired up Aldous spun Fred Powell as Morris went in full chat at the end of the back straight to bring the reds out and end the race a couple of laps early. Andi Newman took the win from Barnett and Grief with only five cars finishing on the lead lap. 

Heat one: 219 Luke Grief, 499, 511, 490, 86, 438, 106, 912, 149, 569
Heat two: Grief, 499, 511, 417, 428, 490, 438, 569, 293, 912
Grand Final: 912 Andi Newman, 511, 219, 420, 490, 149, 499, 106, 115, 18

A quite fantastic night of action with not one single poor race on the card. Three typically action packed stockcar races from a formula which is in sensational form at present and a bumper night of banger action which had a bit of everything from competitive racing to big hits and an unforgettable championship race. The only disappointment was again the late finish, which seems to be a constant issue with this meeting. However given the turnout, the levels of action and damage and the programme of racing, completing the event in around four and half hours was no mean feat and again this will be a point to address come the 2008 event. 

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