Mildenhall Stadium Sunday December 13 2015
24th annual Mildenhall Winter Series
Micro Bangers Best Pairs (teams of 2) and Mildenhall Winter Series Rd1 and Ministox Mildenhall Winter Series Rd3

The 24th annual National Banger Mildenhall Winter Series began with the traditional Micro Banger Best Pairs (teams of 2) session which, despite miserable weather on the morning of the meeting, attracted a massive field of around 210 cars which as impressive as it was, was still a little lower than expected with a most disappointing near 40 late cancellations and no shows but 20 extras on the day helped soften the blow. The entry was a typical Micro meeting one with the pits dominated by Kas, Micras, Corsas and Fiestas, the noteable exceptions being a Metro for 841 Phil Jennings and a Nova for 99 Alfie Hallett while 782 Luke James returned an Austin 1300. 

Despite the conditions both on the day and in the lead up to the meeting the shale was in most decent condition for the 28 car heat one and with the usual RDC rule allowing attacking on opposite outlawed until after the Grand Final, keeping the racing in one direction helped conditions improve throughout the afternoon. 383 Shane Harvey set the ball rolling by stuffing 528 Lee Vaughen before 173 Daniel Gant clobbered the spun 102 Ian Noble and 449 Shane Green stuffed both 723 Joby Smith and 747 Liam Martin, the former continuing to lunge at and spin 93 Lewis Godfrey before 212 Jack Marion cracked the spun Gant in the rear wheel. 747 Jumbo stepped things up to follow-in 332 Danny Woods as Godfrey bailed 415 Tony Garrod before 247 Ryan Clake connected with a solid hit on 383 Chimp and Woods was nailed by 276 Adam Rowell with 566 Tony Pallett then turning 23 Sean Owen into the infield blocks as 389 Ryan Santry lapped the field en route to taking the win from 83 Gary Austin and 888 Mark Watts with Green the best entertainer. 

Up to 30 cars for heat two and a huge push into the first bend saw 662 Dalton Smith cop the brunt of it as he was fenced hard by the pack while 812 Lewis Winter fenced 396 Kev Harland and 291 Mick Turner did the same to 455 Darren Jones and the former continued to bury 182 Mustafa Kulucan. 585 Kevin Giles then lunged at 144 Jordan Godfrey which in turn fenced Jones as 141 Gary Lee stuffed Winter and a pile-up formed on the road bend. 551 Brett Jackson found the spun 267 James Steel for a head-on and 113 Stu Beevis fenced 318 David Parker before 510 Lee Johnson stuffed both Godfrey and Kulucan with 113 Swampy continuing to fence 26 Robin Ash and then he removed Johnson to claim second with 730 Brandon Mayes following the example of team mate Santry to take the win with 585 Big Ears third. The race ended with 551 Jacko Jnr again assaulting Steel, the latter then cracked in the rear wheel by Swampy before he earned himself a load up with an after the red flag attack on Swampy, Turner was named the best entertainer. 

Just over 30 cars for the third heat in which the action picked up starting with 72 Billy Bond piling 388 Liam Santry into the infield blocks as 170 Chris Shipp struck 28 Mac Bell with a T-bone before the reds came out with concern for 51 Colin Boswell on the road bend. The race resumed with 281 Scott Parry stuffing 314 Adam Exon into a pile-up which had instantly formed before 250 Chris Moore ignored a black flag to go on opposite and attack 666 Nick Ungerman only to take one himself from 95 Anton Martin before Bell also ignored the no turning round rule to hit Parry head-on with 741 Charlie Daniels then blasting the former as Shipp continued with a shot on 007 Terry Ratcliffe . 623 Ricky Hutton opened his account with a package on 769 Ben Englestone before continuing to flatten Parry before 314 Stretch met the spun Shipp in a hard head-on which allowed the lively Tricky to deliver a hard hit on the former before Martin laid into Shipp only to take one in turn from Bell with Tricky concluding the action with a rear wheel hit on 504 James Simpson which sealed his entertainer award, 364 Dave Allen taking the win from Martin and 103 Jack Deacon. 

33 cars for the fourth heat which was another cracker beginning with 729 Joe Smith fencing 419 Laura Quadling before 122 Chris Webb stepped things up with a hard follow-in on Hallett before 316 Sam Dace fenced 841 Trigger. Ministox graduate 300 Jack Goldsmith me the spun 768 Kevin Mann on the nose as 420 Matthew Jode thundered 400 Mark Gibbons into the wall and 319 Shaune Clarke kept the action flowing as he rattled Trigger into the fence. 587 Adam Rolfe then blasted Goldsmith with a T-bone as Smith cracked 785 Dom Ambrose in the rear wheel allowing Webb to paste the former before 462 Sam Reach smashed Mann with a T-bone. Webb continued to power into 419 Mossop and fenced him to boot as 313 Scott Elden nailed 4 Paul Brown Snr and 400 CGibbothundered in the latter’s son 104 Paul Brown before 327 Mick Maskall Jnr began his afternoon by running in Mossop. 39 Karl Morris met Rolfe on the nose as a pile-up formed on the pit bend with 420 Maff finding 016 Lewis Goodban for a shot and 327 Little Legs then flattened Webb and 785 Diminoc followed Morris in. Goldsmith then blasted Diminoc in turn with Goodban then hitting 727 Sam Smith in the rear wheel before blotting his copybook by turning round to meet Goldsmith on the nose and become the latest to be excluded from the meeting. 474 Daniel Norfolk won this won from the lively 327 Little Legs and 24 Aaron Collins was third with Webb the best entertainer. 

One less for heat five and the action continued to flow, this time starting with 329 Michael Carter nailing 85 Marc Anderson only to be buried in turn by 86 Simon Royal and 413 Aiden Clarke blasted 123 Kieran Gray and 369 Nick Turner nailed 400 George Kelly with 403 Georgie Tickner hitting back for the SSS with a brutal hit on 111 Danny Draper. 857 George Padbury blasted 226 Chris Saunders which left him open to a cracking hit from 86 Marlon as 161 Ryan Wright scored on 705 Ryan Middleton with 400 Chip arriving to flatten the former in turn. With a pile-up again filling the pit bend 85 Mr A smashed 160 Pete Davies into the heap and 114 Shaun Turnage then did the same to Middleton which also claimed 168 Wayne Clarke and the latter was then pounded by Turner before Mr A followed in Marlon and 165 Ben Randall nailed 802 Harry Bird. Draper rallied back for a wicked hit on Padbury and he managed to flee the scene to allow Clarke to also nail Padbury as 60 Jack Wilkins weighed in on 394 Harry Hill as the track became completely blocked on the pit bend. 512 Neal Stock then smashed 312 Jodie Cheeseman into the heap and was duly flattened by 403 the Pie while 434 Liam Carter nailed Mr A and Middleton picked up Gray who latched into fellow front runner 817 Kurt Jacobs and then all went in, 690 Del Boy concluding the action with a shot on Stock. Gray recovered to take the win with 817 Stig settling for second and 135 Jamies Batchelor third, the Pie named the best entertainer. 

30 for heat six which was a little quieter but still lively and began with 704 James Street burying 288 Carl Sowter and he then attacked 174 Callum Henderson as 71 James Unwin powered into and span 542 Martin Jones while 502 Tyler Bloomfield nailed 883 Jack Filmer. 757 Tom Farren found the spun Unwin for a head-on as Sowter rallied back to flatten 573 Steven Mills with a massive hit before his team mate 883 Chunk was pasted by 159 Darren Scarrow with 388 Taylor Sowter arriving for a fine revenge hit. After a quiet spell 394 Ian Rawlins attacked 659 Stu Bird only to crash into Farren and Chunk ended things with a shot on Jones as 355 Mick Walker took the win from 884 Tom Filmer and 426 James Knight with Carl Sowter the best entertainer. 

With a number of drivers failing to get out for a heat it left just 17 for the last heat but it still had moments, starting with 3 James Donovan lunging at 938 Adam Tutt but only fencing himself but he rallied back to spin 27 Will Lonford into the fence as 415 Tony Garrod ran 514 Sherrie Martin in hard and he continued to bury Garrod but his attack on 9 Bruno Norman backfired and he found the fence but he was able to continue and attack 338 Terry Garrod but it left him open to a revenge hit from Tutt as 27 Wonder Boy raced to the win from 760 Harry Spencer and Norman, Donovan lively performance earning him the entertainer trophy.

For the first time at RDC semi-final races featured on the format and 35 qualifiers contested the first semi-final with 25 Matt Black the fires to show as he fenced the superbly presented 993 Rob Steward before Stock came under fire from both 36 Ricky Lewis and 103 Jacko with Swampy then buried by Shane Green but he rallied back to do the same to the luckless Stock as Jacko zeroed in a brutal hit on Brown Snr while Chunk trashed 326 Shane Lynn with a rated hit. 623 Tricky now laid into Allen which allowed Filmer to flatten the former and TMT revenge was swift thanks to 741 German Jnr who was then pasted by 326 Shane Lynn which blocked the track at the end of the home straight and Swampy then added Steward to the heap while Paul Brown nailed Filmer. 10 Ben Collins took the honours ahead of 730 Bubba and 328 Dan Lathan with Jacko the best entertainer. 

With a number of qualifiers not contesting a semi-final it left just over 20 cars for the second semi-final with Grey the first to show as he followed in Maff while 53 Ralph Iycett nailed Martin, the former then getting run in hard by 553 Daniel Douglas before hitting him head-on as well before Knight ran in 83 Gary Austin. Norman then fenced Knight as Middleton turned 888 Killer Watts into the wall with Walker cracking the latter in the rear wheel as Santry claimed his second win from Norman and Walker, Middleton’s never say die display in his battered Micra earning him the entertainer trophy. 

32 cars for the first consolation which was a much lively affair, 321 Danny Scott stuffing Aaron Collins from the off and 512 Sean Cooper moved in to bury Scott as 9 Ben Cox buried Petters and Morris zeroed in for a solid hit on Noble with 102 Lee Burrows blasting Morris in turn as a huge push into bend ended in a fencing for 87 Damien Matthews. 187 Andy Marshall now trashed Noble as 212 Mario Kart stuffed Collins and 303 Wayne Linsdell met the spun 22 Darren Garratt on the nose. Reach followed Morris in a treat as 664 Aaron Challis added Collins to the wreckage on the pit bend, Donovan nailing the latter as he tried to re-join Marion Kart took the win ahead of 428 Ben Airey and Petters with 517 Sid Cooper close behind in a great four way scrap for the win, Reach taking the entertainer award. 

One more for the second consolation with Bond crashing into the stricken 600 Jason Garrod from the off as Pudbury buried 532 Keith Voysey and 47 Archie Butts then followed Wayne Clarke in hard and 386 Dan Petters stuffed 1 Kevin Webb. Tony Garrod put away 82 Jim Baker as 47 Butty Jnr continued to smash both Gant and Winter into the growing heap on the pit bend. 723 Hot Dog Jnr became the latest to break the no turning round rule by meeting Shane Green head-on on opposite to become another to be loaded as 388 Liam Santry blasted Webb only to be nailed in turn by 811 Pete Winter as 325 Craig Lathan also went on opposite and earned his dismissal from the meeting with a T-bone on Butty Jnr as Tony Garrod weighed in on 313 Craig Osborn as Hornbrook followed in Kulucan nicely which left him open to a wicked hit from Santry. Lewis Winter then blasted 267 Richard Butcher as Lathan continued on opposite to attack Osborne before 811 Pistol Pete nailed Green with a T-bone and the Joker stuffed 246 Jimmy Butts. 545 Karl Hough became another to earn a load up as he turned round to meet Osborne on the nose with Pistol Pete then smashing Butcher into the former as Santry continued his display by burying 386 the Joker who was then set about by the still on opposite 545 Huffy. 333 James Coombe came through to win from Kulucan and 622 Jack Baker, just five finishing and the race ended with a flurry as Santry smashed Huffy with a savage head-on, Pistol Pete ending Coombe’s celebration with a package only to take one in turn from Kulucan with Huffy further blotting his copybook with a hit on Santry after the reds, the latter named the best entertainer. 

32 again for the third consolation and again a pile-up formed from the word go in which 181 Craig Allen found 370 Bill Parrish for a hit as Chip became the first of several in the race to break then on opposite rule which was still in place, all of which were loaded, and he T-boned 123 Tony Hutton as Henderson found Bird for a belting hit while Chop now met 123 Curly on the nose as Rolfe turned round to attack Maff and 621 Jake Isbell weighed in on 661 Shaun Smith. 527 Dan Gardiner then blasted 144 Jordan Godfrey before 704 Streety buried Ryan Clarke and Tricky also went on opposite to nail Smith. 741 German Jnr joined those on opposite to blast Chip as Gardiner smashed Henderson with a head-on and 633 Leeroy Hayward added Isbell to the growing misery on the pit bend where an on opposite attack from Rolfe on Maff left the track completely blocked. In the mayhem 633 Leeroy found 26 Hacker for a belting hit and Smith then added Ash to the heap as Tricky T-boned 135 Spud on opposite and German Jnr nailed Chip. With the pit bend pretty much blocked and the majority of those still running having been disqualified for attacking on opposite the race was stopped and declared with Gardiner the winner and Hacker the only other recorded finisher, Henderson the best entertainer. 

A slightly smaller field of just under 30 for the last consolation which began with Vaughen fencing 81 Carl Scarrow Jnr who also came under fire from reach as Little Legs buried Filmer. Marshall did the same to Aaron Collins as Donovan nailed 447 Mark Barnes as Carl Sowter trashed Mossop with a wicked hit. Little Legs continued with a package on Filmer before he thundered in Scarrow Jnr a treat which opened the door for Chunk to blast the RDC young gun. Sowter then weighed in on damage magnet Scarrow Jnr as Joe Smith cracked Little Legs in the rear wheel, 313 Scottie Dog moving in to stuff the former as Little Legs rallied back and continued to shine as he followed Barnes in while Filmer was the next to stick it to the luckless Scarrow Jnr. Collins then piled Steward into the wreckage on the pit bend and Webb then took time from his lead to bury Stu Bird with Little Legs firing into the former which pushed Webb over the line for the win and he celebrated by nailing Tutt. Little Legs took a superb full contact second place and also claimed the entertainer award with 339 Jack Garrod third. 

26 qualifiers made it back for the Grand Final with Ratty burying Kulucan into 622 Jack Baker before Gardiner nailed the well repaired Middleton with a fine hit, the latter also coming under attack from 322 Thomas Fox. Jacko then went off the head turning round to blast Middleton hard which in turn claimed Ben Collins before he also attacked Baker and then Marion Kart. Swampy stuffed Baker as the leading Airey crashed into the infield blocks to end his challenge, the impressive Little Legs continuing his afternoon with a shot on Petters as Gray took the from Ben Collins and Jack Garrod. However a fourth and fifth for Norman and 338 Wingnut saw them snatch the Best Pairs title from Ryan Santry and Bubba with Gray and Randall third, Gardiner was the best entertainer this time. 

With the afternoon now very much taking its toll just 24 made it out for the first Accumulator qualifier but again they entertained. Hornbrook zeroed in for a front wheel hit to the spun Bubba and piled him into the infield blocks to boot with Woods then nailing Wright and Spencer nailed Woods in turn as Vaughen laid into Michael Carter on opposite, a move which was at this stage of the meeting a legal attack, Carter turning round for a revenge hit as Woods blasted Kevin Webb before the reds flew with concern for Vaughen. A depleted field for the complete restart but again the action still came starting with Spencer smashing the spun Steward with a head-on and 585 Big Ears blasted the former in turn only to take one himself from Mick Turner which left the track completely blocked and 551 Jacko Jnr found Steward for a stonking hit only to be flattened by Gant who was then pasted by the Stig. Hornbrook turned round to stop James with a head-on and Woods duly blasted the latter hard. Hornbrook now hammered Turner as Spencer turned round and Woods happily met him in a titanic head-on. Nick Turner then blasted 662 Dalton Smith and Hornbrook hammered Stig with Mick Turner then smashing Challis into Hornbrook as Stig won another cracker from Kevin Webb and Nick Turner with Spencer the best entertainer.

Despite the meeting now at the seven hour mark, the drivers were afforded a few extra minutes to try and repair for the second Accumulator qualifier which would continue into a DD and this helped 25 make it back out, the bulk of the action taking place on the road bend where a large pile-up formed almost immediately. Vaughen singled out 317 Callum Jacobs for a package and Harward arrived to trash the latter before Gardiner smashed Little Legs into the growing heap but he recovered to nail Winter with Pistol Pete then drilling Hornbrook’s battered wreck into the mayhem on the road bend, the former British Champion then blasting Hayward as Hornbrook turned round to nail Dalton Smith. 338 Wingnut continued his success with the win from Dan Lathan and 322 Foxy with the handful of survivors contested the DD but disappointingly this was a somewhat drawn out and cagey affair. Wingnut started things well though as he followed in and silenced Little Legs before turning round to punish Smith. Lathan struck the TSR points champion in the rear wheel with the battered Smith delivering a T-bone to Foxy and Lathan nailed the former with a hard hit. Lathan then finished himself with a head-on to Foxy and Wingnut outlasted the latter for the win, Hornbrook’s efforts earning him the entertainer trophy while the entertaining team trophies went to the Sowter brothers, Pete and Lewis Winter and Little Legs and Morris. 

Heat one: 389 Ryan Santry, 83, 888, 10, 36, 37, 326, 210, 322, 328 Best entertainer: 449 Shane Green
Heat two: 730 Brandon Mayes, 113, 585, 553, 510, 53, 291, 318, 551, 82 (Baker) Best entertainer: 291 Mick Turner
Heat three: 364 Dave Allen, 95, 103, 898, 26 (Holmes), 666 (Ungerman), 623 (Hutton), 741, 28 Best entertainer: 623 Ricky Hutton
Heat four: 474 Daniel Norfolk, 327, 24, 4, 128, 25, 420, 785, 142 Best entertainer: 122 Chris Webb
Heat five: 123 Kieran Gray, 817, 135, 165, 394 (Hill), 85, 705, 285, 312, 512 (Stock) Best entertainer: 403 George Tickner
Heat six: 355 Mick Walker, 884, 426, 659, 55 (Hornbrook), 22 (Petters), 664 (Challis), 288, 883, 388 (Sowter) Best entertainer: 288 Carl Sowter
Heat seven: 27 Will Longford, 760, 9 (Norman), 116, 44, 993, 333 (Coombe), 338, 938, 267 (Butcher) Best entertainer: 3 James Donovan
Semi Final One: 10 Ben Collins, 730, 328, 666 (Ungerman), 474, 113, 898, 322, 326, 449 Best entertainer: 103 Jack Deacon
Semi Final Two: Santry, 9 (Norman), 355, 553, 128, 338, 116, 426, 659, 123 (Gray), Best entertainer: 705 Ryan Middleton
Consolation one: 212 Jack Maryon, 428, 22 (Petters), 517, 55 (Ivatt), 3, 60, 664 (Challis), 394 (Rawlins), 512 (Cooper) Best entertainer: 462 Sam Reach
Consolation two: 333 James Coombe, 182, 622 , 811, 1 Best entertainer: 388 Liam Santry
Consolation three: 527 Dan Gardiner, 26 (Holmes) Best entertainer: 174 Callum Henderson
Consolation four: 122 Chris Webb, 327, 339, 313 (Elden), 993, 114 (Turnage), 884 Best entertainer: 327 Mick Maskall Jnr
Grand Final: 123 Kieran Gray, 10, 339, 9 (Norman), 730, 322, 327 Best entertainer: 527 Dan Gardiner
Accumulator qualifier one: 817 Kurt Jacobs, 1, 369, 662, 55 (Hornbrook), 291 Best entertainer: 760 Harry Spencer
Accumulator qualifier two: 338 Terry Garrod, 328, 322, 541, 662, 527 
Destruction Derby: Garrod from 322 Best entertainer: 55 Chris Hornbrook

Round three of the Ministox Winter Series and the start of the 2016 points championships attracted a very healthy field of 22 cars, made all the more impressive with just three visitors including 902 Brad Compton-Sage on another massive trek from the west country while 327 Jollie Pettit made her debut.

A full field for heat one which followed the seven banger heats and saw track conditions most decent all things considered and 399 Cole Atkins wasted no time in charging at 304 Tony Elbourn as Compton-Sage collected the spun 546 Lauren Nichols on the road bend as 308 Molly Smithson, 331 Archie Fryatt and 350 Liam Webster battled for the lead before the latter broke away up front with 370 Rowan Venni then battling his way up to second as 390 Nina Leigh retired from fourth. Atkins now attacked 320 Luke Dorling before 369 Harry Sargent barged past Fryatt to take fourth and Pettit came under attack from 339 Harry Atkins and Smithson did the same to the back marking Nichols as 356 Harry Overy removed 344 Danny Elbourn as Smithson led the field to half way with Venni now second and Sargent third and a lap later Venni slipped into the lead as 379 Beth Usher challenged Sargent for third as 368 Dan Santry lunged at Tony Elbourn. Dorling then attacked Overy in the race for fifth but it allowed 311 Mike Dobney to slip through as Usher grabbed third and then lunged at Harry Atkins as Dorling did the same to Dobney with Venni claiming the win from Smithson and Usher. 

One less for heat two which proved a cracker albeit with a difficult start. The race was stopped for a first time after Sargent butted heads with the fence after a clash with Nichols and the race was then stopped a second time with concern for Fryatt on turn two. The third time proved more successful and began with Overy spinning Santry as Leigh set the pace but soon came under pressure from Smithson who soon muscled her way into the lead as behind Harry Atkins climbed to fourth as the lead yellow grade only to then lose the spot to Nichols who barged past Atkins and Venni. Just behind and Usher squeezed past 303 Jacob Bromley for seventh as Smithson led the race to half way, leigh still second and Venni now third as Nichols got stuck into Usher in the race for fifth while Dorling sent Bromey into a half spin and Tony Elbourn barged into 301 Josh Rayner. Usher and Dorling climbed to fourth and fifth with the latter then leapfrogging Usher as Rayner evened the score on Elbourn with a spin as Smithson raced to the win from Leigh and Venni, Cole Atkins pipping brother Harry on the line for ninth. 

A small drop to 18 for the final but no reduction in the quality of racing and early action saw Overy bundle Usher into Dan Santry as Leigh set the pace with Smithson quickly into second ad Dobney attacked Webster in the midst of a superb battle for third which also involved Nichols, Venni and Harry Atkins. Smithson then moved Leigh wide to take the lead on lap four as Compton-Sage was dive bombed by Cole Atkins and Venni moved into third and behind Nichols battled Usher and Harry Atkins for fourth. Smithson then avoided the struggling Petit and hit the fence which gifted Leigh back the lead with Venni breathing down her neck and he claimed the lead just before half way. Tony Elbourn rattled Compton-Sage into a half spin before he lunged at and fenced Webster. Leigh managed to claim the lead back from Venni as the race hit half way with Smithson third and Usher, Overy and Dorling next with Overy then punting Santry wide. Bromley removed Webster as Venni barged past Leigh for the lead and Usher was quickly able to do the same to take second while Smithson’s challenge ended with a spin from Webster. With four to run Usher grabbed the lead with Venni and Dorling all in the mix but Dorling’s challenge on Leigh saw the latter spin her rival which dropped them all but out of the top 10. Usher broke away to take the win with Venn surviving for second and Overy emerged from the chaos to take third, Harry Atkins ending another superb Ministox race by spinning Smithson.

Heat one: 370 Rowan Venni, 308, 379, 369, 356, 368, 304, 399, 315, 320
Heat two: 308 Molly Smithson, 390, 370, 320, 379, 356, 546, 303, 399, 339
Grand Final: 379 Beth Usher, 370, 356, 301, 399, 344, 303, 308, 339, 320

A hugely entertaining and massive afternoon of racing, the only downsides being the amount of drivers who blatantly broke the racing rules in the Micro Bangers and the poor DD which didn’t reflect the standards of action seen throughout the afternoon, the Ministox also deserving praise for a fine afternoon of racing. 

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