Mildenhall Stadium Saturday March 12 2016
2016 Saturday Night Season Opener
National Bangers British QF, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox

The 2016 Saturday night season opener at Mildenhall played host to the traditional first round of the British Championship qualifying series and raised a most respectable, if slightly unspectacular, entry of just under 60 National Bangers although arguably it was a number made all the more impressive given two of the biggest banger dates of the year where in the following two weekends and that the line-up was a largely local or RDC based one. A smattering of variety on the car front with a handful of Vectras, a Focus and an X Type for 160 Perry Willings which was one of a handful of smart cars for the night.

30 cars for the opening heat but a battle between 316 Sam Dace and 452 Paul Sweet (Vectra) spilled onto the infield which earned their exclusion from the remainder of the night as 527 Michael Norman stuffed 519 Lee Middleton and 36 Ricky Lewis (Focus) fired into and span 352 Ben Mynott (Vectra) as a push down the back straight caused a small pile-up. Norman continued to turn 622 Jack Baker into the wall as a another push saw 212 Jack Maryon spat into the fence at the end of the back straight where he copped a solid hit from 604 Ross Cooper. 519 Knuckles then nailed Cooper with 204 Charlie King blasting the former and the leading 51 James Licquorice got caught in this and was smashed into the infield blocks. 730 Brandon Mayes then tangled with 27 Terry King and they crashed into the fence as 326 Shane Lynn ran in 800 Lee Neery, the former getting an assist from 313 Craig Osborne (Cougar). Knuckles continued to flatten Lewis as 328 Dan Lathan came from the back to take the win from Norman and 26 Dan Holmes (Vectra estate), Neery ending things with an on opposite attack on Knuckles just as the reds flew.

Two less for heat two which kicked off with 817 Kurt Jacobs turning 559 Alan Archer into the infield blocks before 160 Pez stuffed 165 George Segewick and 164 Jack Turner cracked the latter in the front wheel with 188 John Reeves (Cougar) attacked Pez and the luckless Segewick was nailed by 704 Jamie Street. 170 Darren Teal (Cougar) then ran in 78 Lee Macey as a big push into the pit bend saw Pez blast Sedgwick with 599 Matty Butcher then running in 313 Craig Osborne which launched 165 and 160 skyward in spectacular fashion. 704 Streety then dumped 705 Ryan Middleton into the infield blocks as Archer rallied back to nail 78 Mad Mace. 527 Dan Gardiner ran in 164 JT as 307 Martin Kent homed in for a stiff head-on to the spun Mad Mace and Streety then homed in for a hard hit to the latter and he was blasted in turn by 307 Pretty Boy. 459 Todd Archer then dumped the latter into Pez which allowed 599 Matty to arrive and blast the former and 188 Victor ended the race in style with a hard follow-in on 121 Aaron Colbert. 10 Ben Collins took the win from 191 Kieran Greenway and 370 John Cobbold.

A lower than hoped for 23 repaired for the consolation but it was still a fine affair which began with Mad Mace powering into and spinning Sedgwick as 223 Mark Bear (Vectra) turned 841 Stu Carmen into the infield blocks and Cooper then did the same to Gardiner in a brutal impact, the latter then taking further hammer from Licquorice which triggered a pile-up on the road bend and Carmen added 212 Mario Kart to the lead and 817 the Stig blasted Licquorice as 26 Robin Ash hit 220 Tom Pavitt in the rear wheel only to take a similar hit from Mad Mace as the luckless Gardiner copped a hard hit from the lively Carmen. Up front and 267 Richard Butcher (Cougar) lunged at the leading 551 Brett Jackson which span them both before Neery nailed Mario Kart while Mad Mace targeted JT which in turn sent damage magnet Ash around, the latter cracking in front wheel by Mario Kart which set Ash up for a brutal hit from Butcher before Mad Mace weighed in to further trash Ash. Licquorice then zeroed in for a bone shaking head-on to the spun 220 Lurch and the big hits continued as Neery flattened 144 Jordan Godfrey only to take one from the fired up Butcher as Gardiner came under fire from 551 Jacko Jnr and ploughed into the spun Lurch. 204 Charlie Boy managed to hold off 339 Jack Garrod to win a fine race with Jacko Jnr third, just seven finishing.

Just 21 qualifiers returned for the final but again it did not disappoint although the first half was quiet as expected save 913 Brett Osborne getting spat into the wall by the traffic while Neery turned Matty into the wall. Things picked up with JT powered into and span Jacko Jnr which caused the leaders to try and avoid him and this saw Collins smash 191 the Entertainer into the fence in spectacular fashion taking him out of the race although Collins would soon expire himself. 317 Callum Jacobs then grabbed hold of Cobbold and ran him in which also claimed 26 Hacker and the latter was then flattened by Victor as Matty homed in for a killer head-on to the Entertainer, 317 Stressed also laying into the latter and took one in turn from Jacko Jnr who was trashed by a storming hit from Matty. Stressed continued to blast Hacker and this left him prone to a big hit from Matty. Craig Osborne turned round to trade head-ons with Jacko Jnr, the latter clobbered by Neery and Charlie Boy and Garrod zeroed in for a package on Neery as 326 Ratty took the win, comfortably clear of 327 Little Legs with JT third.

Plenty of repair time saw a most healthy field of 25 return for the Accumulator qualifier and it was a fitting end to the night. Godfrey began by turning 619 Mike Knight into the wall while Stig laid into the well repaired Ash with 27 Telbert zeroing in for a big hit to the latter as Little Legs ran in Streety and 898 Andy Battle butted heads with the spun Victor. Godfrey then blasted Streety hard but it left him open to a big package from Telbert as Neery copped head-ons from the game Ash and Battle before Segewick turned round and smashed Licquorice, who was being pushed by the pack, with a savage T-bone. JT then buried the Entertainer and he continued to run in Pez as Little Legs blasted Ash. Segewick and Licquorice now shared head-ons before Stig and Brett Osborne tangled and found the fence on the back straight and the Entertainer drilled the former with a wicked hit only for Little Legs to pick him up and follow him in on the next bend. Craig Osborne also turned round to destroy Neery with a savage hit as Licquorice again pounded Segewick, the latter then taking a hard T-bone from Brett Osborn who continued to run in Stig. Lathan took his second win from Ratty and Pez, the latter claiming the spot after dumping out Battle and Licquorice in one go. Into the DD and Lathan kicked it off by thundering Pez into the stricken Charlie Boy as the Entertainer nailed Neery only to take one himself from Brett Osborne as Ratty laid into Pez as well. Ash was still going in his wreck and he attacked Osborne on opposite before Licquorice hammered Charlie Boy with a T-bone. Lathan met the impressive Ash in a solid head-on as the Entertainer blasted Osborne with Ash also laying into the latter only to take another hit from the Entertainer which finally put him down but it silenced the latter as well. Lathan then finished Osborne with a front wheel hit leaving him to battle it out with half-brother Ratty and they duly shared a series of head-ons which built in intensity as they went on. Colbert then dragged himself off the infield and Lathan happily smashed him with two head-ons while Ratty did a lap and zeroed in for a wicked hit on Colbert to finish him. Lathan then T-boned Ratty and with neither able to move after this a dead heat was declared with Ash taking the entertainer trophy, the Entertainer, Licquorice, Brett Osborne and Telbert scoring entertainer points.

Heat one: 328 Dan Lathan, 527 (Norman), 26 (Holmes), 326, 317, 204, 37, 730, 519, 800
Heat two: 10 Ben Collins, 191, 370, 327, 148, 898, 188, 313, 913, 599
Consolation: 204 Charlie King, 339, 551 (Jackson), 19, 164, 78, 267
Grand Final: 326 Shane Lynn, 327, 164, 204, 188, 913, 898, 339
Accumulator qualifier: Lathan, 326, 160, 327, 898, 164, 204, 191, 913
Destruction Derby: Lathan and Lynn Best entertainer: 26 Robin Ash

The opening round of the Saloon Stockcar Mildenhall Track Championship raised a quite fantastic field of 38 cars and it was most pleasing to report just a single no show from the entry list which proved to be biggest for a domestic meeting at Mildenhall in man years, if not ever, and it resulted in not only a 2/3 heat format being run but a qualifiers only final, also possibly a first for the formula at Mildenhall. The entry included 22 Karl Petters in his first meeting of the year with a smart looking new cars for the year while 19 Darren Mansi, 181 Sam Mallett, 327 Clayton Mallett, 509 Richard Colk, 628 Richard Smith and 858 James Bruce all made their Saloon debuts at Mildenhall.

The opener remained a white and yellow grade affair but was now heat one and began with 214 Tom Yould having 800 Scott Greenslade out as 270 Matt Fuller made the running and 327 Timmy hooked out 473 Dean Moat. 214 Tucker was the next to go round as 389 Ryan Santry barged past 888 Shane Emerson for fifth. Mansi and 610 Trent Artherton were the next to suffer spins as 386 Daniel Petters had 509 Dikey around before the former collected the stricken Mansi along with Timmy. Santry now climbed to second and looked to chase down Fuller as the determined Mansi was fired into the wall by 177 Chris Masters and Santry caught and fenced Fuller to take the lead as the half way mark with 888 Shin in third. Santry lunged at Smith to pass him and continued to hook out the luckless Mansi before 537 Tom Alsop fenced 177 Chris Masters heavily at the end of the back straight which damaged the fence to bring the reds out but with the race in the final laps the result was declared with Santry the winner from Fuller and Shin.

A larger field of 25 for heat two and with all the blue and star grade there was a noticeable step up in the action levels. 730 Dean Mayes wasted no time in fencing 124 Ollie Skeels as Moat set the pace from Mansi and 858 Brucie and 220 Casey Englestone hooked out 350 Thomas Parrin with 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr spinning the latter which caused a pile-up claiming 570 Simon Venni and 360 Carl Waterfield. Artherton climbed to third and Santry into fourth as behind 349 Michael Allard dive bombed 730 Deano. Santry quickly scaled his way to second as Allard now fenced Skeels and Deano suffered a spin as the leading Moat was dumped out by 321 Marcus Skeels who had rocketed up the order but his lead was short lived as Santry sent him spinning to take the lead himself with 218 Jacob Downey and 428 Lee Sampson next on the chart. 6 Simon Welton then attacked Waterfield which in turn put Brucie in the wall as Parrin went round. Sampson now moved into second with 538 Jake Swann third as Skoyles Jnr fenced Ollie Skeels and Waterfield fired back with a wild lunge on 217 Sid Magewick as the fired up Skoyles Jnr span Petters and Mansi came under attack from 306 Daniel Parker. 321 the Frog now barged into Parrin and 538 Swanny Jnr removed Waterfield only to come under immediate fire from Deano. Magewick now assaulted 218 Ceracker and Welly did the same to 220 Philo Jnr and then to Santry which allowed Sampson to close and at the start of his penultimate lap he muscled past Santry for the lead. Parrin hooked out Mansi and Deano dive bombed Magewick. Welly then attacked and rattled Sampson but he held on to win a superb race from Santry and 304 Martyn Parker, the Frog concluding things by fencing Allard.

One more for heat here and this was another fantastic race although Smith was a near immediate retirement. Timmy had 448 Martin Kibble out from the start only to be spun himself from 157 Stotty as 6 Welly lunged at Martyn Parker as up front Shin led from Dickey and Stotty and Parker now came under fire from Magewick as Stotty was attacked by Swanny Jnr and Welly also fell by the wayside with Parker another big name to spin. Deano fired into and span Alsop before Philo Jnr was fenced heavily by Venni. Shin continued to lead as the Frog overhauled 214 Tucker for second and then just before half way he barged past Shin for the lead as 26 Tommy Barnes removed Timmy. Waterfield battled his way to fourth ahead of Stotty and Skoyles Jnr as the race hit half way and Barnes came under fire from Deano as the Frog lunged wildly as 306 Daniel Parker and Waterfield did the same to Tucker to move into second. The Frog then fenced Parrin which allowed Waterfield to grab the lead on lap 12 with Shin slipping through and into second but he then span from contention as did Tucker. Waterfield then crashed out and the Frog regained the lead with Skoyles Jnr now second as Stotty fenced Daniel Parker and Skoyles Jnr fired the Frog wide for the lead. Cracker dive bombed Daniel Parker as Skoyles Jnr motored to the win from the Frog and Storrty and behind Magewick span Philo Jnr and Waterfield across the line as they settled the battle for the minor places.

25 of the 28 qualifiers returned for the final and it was another absolute stormer. Stotty attacked Moat from the off as Tucker hooked out the Joker and Swanny Jnr had Philo Jnr around as Welly and Sampson clashed and both span as did Santry. Shin set the early pace from Stotty, Fuller, 312 Neil Payne and Tucker as Magewick lunged at Venni and Stotty span the recovered Santry only to dumped out himself by Fuller and he was hit head-on by the Frog as Cracker collected the spun Santry in similar fashion. Deano was smashed into the infield blocks by the pack as Waterfield also span from contention. Shinn still led with Payne now second, Tucker third and Skoyles Jnr already into fourth before the Frog went round and Santry hit the wall as Shinn tangled with Moat and they both went round and Payne inherited the lead on lap six with Tucker spinning from second shortly after. Skoyles Jnr inherited second from Daniel Parker, Skeels, Sampson and Martyn Parker as Sampson had Mallet out and Daniel Parker hooked out Skoyles Jnr and he was collected by Stotty. Payne still led, now from Daniel Parker, Skeels and Sampson but Skeels then fell by the wayside as Daniel Parker closed in and took the lead from Payne, the latter going wide which allowed Parker to break away while the recovered Skoyles Jnr challenged Sampson for third with Magewick and Venni close behind as the race entered the final five laps. Swanny Jnr attacked Payne but span himself as a result as Welly span Waterfield as he battled to fifth and Venni fenced Martyn Parker to take sixth as Daniel Parker charged to the win, Payne a superb second and Skoyles Jnr bested Sampson for third.

With just the Ministox Final between the Saloon Final and Allcomers, drivers were afforded some extra minutes of repair time and this allowed 20 drivers to make it back out and an explosive start saw Philo Jnr spat into the fence by the pack as Magewick was spun, Deano then spinning Philo Jnr and Waterfield and they were collected by Sampson as the recovered Magewick removed Dickey. Timmy led from Tucker and Greenslade as Mansi span Moat and he was hit by Swanny Jnr while the Frog moved into fourth ahead of Barnes and the clearly fired up Deano. Skoyles Jnr dive bombed Magewick and Swanny Jnr had Philo Jnr out and Skoyles Jnr continued with a big swing at Venni only to be sent spinning by Skoyles Jnr. Welly rattled Tucker into a half spin as Timmy continued to lead from Tucker and Greenslade with Deano now fourth and Magewick had Moat around before Deano buried Mani on the road bend which caused a small pile-up. Barned then lunged at Venni as Tucker grabbed the lead from Timmy on lap 10, Greenslade now third and Daniel Parker and Skoyles Jnr next as Deano dive bombed Venni. The leading Tucker was then dumped out by the Frog as Venni now came under fire from Waterfield and the Frog clobbered the spun Swanny Jnr. Timmy inherited the lead as Skoyles Jnr made the mistake of passing Daniel Parker and he swiftly span him in the race for third as Timmy motored to his maiden Saloon win with Greenslade barely holding onto second as Parker span him across the line, the final winner having to settle for third and Barnes ended the action by spinning Skoyles Jnr after the latter held him off in the race for fourth.

Heat One: 389 Ryan Santry, 270, 888, 157, 858, 312, 448, 628, 509, 181, 22, 537
Heat Two: 428 Lee Sampson, 389, 304, 641, 306, 217, 218, 570, 730, 349, 6, 220
Heat Three: 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr, 321, 157, 730, 570, 360, 217, 124, 428, 386, 218, 214
Grand Final: 306 Daniel Parker, 312, 641, 428, 6, 570, 304, 217, 220, 360
Allcomers: 327 Clayton Mallet, 800, 306, 641, 26, 360, 214, 321, 218, 570

Round four of the Ministox Mildenhall Track Championship raised another cracking entry of 25 cars, the field boosted by a pair of Incarace visitors while 902 Brad Comtpn-Sage again made his marathon trek from the westcountry and 329 Kegan Sampson made his debut.

A full field for heat one but it didn’t too far, after 331 Archie Fryatt span 390 Nina Leigh at the start and 902 Buster Jnr lunged at 339 Harry Atkins and 356 Harry Overy suffered a spin, the reds were shown with some debris on the pit bend. The race resumed with 328 Ben Nichols setting the pace from 315 Charlie Santry and 350 Liam Webster as 399 Cole Atkins dive bombed fellow points champion 368 Dan Santry.258 Craig Eltham then lunged at 370 Rowan Venni which in turn sent 311 Mike Dobney spinning as 304 Tony Elbourn got stuck into 320 Luke Dorling and Cole Atkins rattled 344 Danny Elbourn into a half spin. 364 David Shearing span Eltham and he was collected by Webster as 346 Lauren Nichols had 308 Molly Smithson around and the luckless Eltham came under fire from 301 Josh Rayner. Ben Nichols continued to lead at half way from Charlie Santry and Webster with Leigh fourth and then Harry Atkins and 303 Jacob Bromley. Overy now lunged at and span 259 Bradley Eltham as Webster came under heavy fire from Harry Atkins and Bromley dropping him down the order as they muscled their way into the top three and Charlie Santry cruelly fell by the way side. Ben Nichols span 327 Jolie Pettit but he came under fire from the back marking Rayner who then dumped him out and Harry Atkins grabbed the lead with Tony Elbourn now rocketing into second but Atkins barged past Venni en route to taking the win from Tony Elbourn and Bromley, Cole Atkins dive bombing Ben Nichols on the final bend to grab fourth.

A drop to 22 cars for heat two and Bradley Eltham attacked Buster Jnr from the off as Webster set the pace from Ben Nichols and Leigh and Bromley rattled Harry Atkins into a half spin before Nichols stuck the bumper in on Webster to take the lead on lap two and Dorling charged at Dobney. Leigh muscled her way into second and Atkins attacked Fryatt before 392 Charlie Morphey barged his way past Dan Santry and Danny Elbourn had Fryatt around and Cole Atkins came under fire from Venni. Ben Nichols now forced his way past Dobney to continue his lead as sister Lauren Nichols climbed to third and Buster Jnr charged at Harry Atkins, the latter then coming under fire from Dorling as Ben Nichols led to half way from Leigh, Lauren Nichols, Eltham, Webster and Shearing. Rayner now dive bombed Overy and Lauren Nichols did the same to Leigh to grab second. Shearing now barged past Webster to take fifth as Overy went around again. Leigh barged her way past the back marking Dobney but this allowed Eltham to squeeze past for third but he lost out on the last bend to Shearing who snatched the final spot on the podium in a superb conclusion after Ben Nichols took the flag ahead of sister Lauren.

22 cars again for the final with Harry Atkins lunging at Buster Jnr from the off as Leigh set the pace from Ben Nichols, Webster, Smithson, Fryatt, Dobney and Harry Atkins as Overy dive bombed Dorling to make a pass and Bradley Eltham did the same to Lauren Nichols. Harry Atkins now got stuck into Dobney as Tony Elbourn barged his way past Eltham and Ben Nichols was sent spinning from contention by the back marking Dorling and Overy charged heavily at Dan Santry before Shearing took a wild lunge at Tony Elbourn on the road bend before he sent Lauren Nichols spinning as he tried to flee a revenge seeking Elbourn. Overy now lunged at Dorling as Webster had Dobney out and the leading Leigh came under fire from the back marking Overy. Despite this she held the lead to half way with Webster next ahead of Smithson, Ben Nichols, Harry Atkins, Lauren Nichols and Rayner as Harry Atkins charged at Smithson to take fourth place and Ben Nichols did the same to Webster and grabbed second. Leigh had edged clear with five to run with Ben Nichols, Harry Atkins and Webster fighting for second and Smithson and Tony Elbourn next as Danny Elbourn and Dan Santry joined forces to spin Cole Atkins. Ben Nichols stuck the bumper in on Harry Atkins in the struggle for second as Tony Elbourn lunged at Dobney as he tried to reel in the leaders as Buster Jnr came under fire from Overy. Harry Atkins meanwhile reeled in Leigh and made contact on the last bend but the latter dug her heels in and held on to take the flag with a last bend lunge from Tony Elbourn on Ben Nichols seeing him snatch third in another tremendous finish.

Heat One: 339 Harry Atkins, 304, 303, 399, 328, 902, 320, 346, 350, 364
Heat Two: 328 Ben Nichols, 346, 364, 259, 320, 390, 304, 350, 339, 399
Grand Final: 390 Nina Leigh, 339, 304, 328, 350, 308, 392, 301, 364, 303

A quality start to the main season at RDC despite the track conditions not being quite perfect from the heavy rain earlier in the week although the tricky conditions arguably gave the racing a certain edge with an air of unpredictability throughout the night. Arguably it was the Saloon Stockcars who stole the show as they continued their superb start to the season on shale with an historic night and some quite brilliant racing, the second and third heats and final in particular being absolute stormers. But the National Bangers and Ministox didn’t give up the spotlight easily, the National Bangers most surprising, especially the consolation and final which were cracking races despite having less than 25 cars, while the Accumulator qualifier was a belter and every race delivered some memorable hits and the Ministox once again excelled with the races becoming increasingly competitive culminating in a superb final. And it was also most pleasing to see the 13 race programme completed in little over four hours, this despite damage to the fence in the early stages of the night as well as drivers being afforded some extra minutes of repair time during the course of the night.