Mildenhall Stadium
Saturday April 16 2016
National Bangers British QF, BriSCA F2 Stockcars and
Reliant Robins World QF
The third round of the National Banger
British Championship qualifying series raised an average field of 43 cars to
Mildenhall on April 16 but was perhaps a number which was more decent
considering the near 24 hours of rain which had hit the stadium including a
brief flurry of snow and hail in the hour before start time. It was an all Ford
line up with the entry boosted by a handful of TSR visitors plus welcome
Northern traveller 901 Jake Westlake.
Fortunately the rain had stopped by start time and as forecast never returned
and the opening stockcar heats offered the 21 cars field for heat one
improved track conditions which would get better and better as the night wore
on. A big push into the first bend saw 220 Tom Pavitt stuff 730 Brandon Mayes
which also claimed 317 Callum Jacobs and 219 Luke Betts with the former then
stuffed himself by 36 Ricky Lewis as 227 Ash Bysouth fenced 178 Kieron Bowman.
841 Stu Carman landed a shot on 720 Martin Webb as 148 Ian Redden attacked
Bysouth which in turn put 726 Nathan Cooper in the wall before 73 George Hannah
stuffed Carman into the stricken 220 Lurch. A push along the home straight
involving the leaders saw 148 Shorty crack the spinning Cooper with a T-bone
before 26 Robin Ash was spat into the fence on turn one and back on the pit bend
51 James Licquorice added 730 Bubba to the growing heap. Bubba fought back but
was fired into Betts by Bysouth which allowed 178 Slim to blast Bubba in the
rear wheel with a hard hit. Bysouth then homed in for a hard hit on Cooper but
smashed himself into the infield blocks in the process as Carman zeroed in for a
bruising hit on Slim and he continued to assault Ash as 327 Mick Maskall Jnr won
a most lively affair from 817 Kurt Jacobs and Licquorice.
One more for heat two but it was a much quieter affair. 959 Martin Shaw
attacked 200 Ashley Grieson but only managed to fence himself as 209 Tom Waller
delivered the highlight of the race when he smashed 713 Ashley Ward into the
concrete blocks. 459 Todd Archer fenced 375 Jamie Childerhouse, the latter
recovering only to spun into the infield wall along with 898 Andy Battle by 527
Michael Norman as 303 Wayne Linsdell raced to the win from Norman and 10 Ben
Collins.
20 returned for the consolation and Hannah lunged at and buried 212 Jack
Maryon from the start before Slim turned round and blasted 444 Charlie Jackson
in the passenger side rear wheel. Betts meanwhile stuffed 551 Stu Franklin as
317 Stress fenced Hannah. The race ended in lively fashion as Jackson turned
round and Betts happily met him in a hard head-on with 370 John Cobbold blasting
the latter as he crossed the line for the win from Stress and Shorty.
24 qualifiers for the final with 209 Tombo firing into and spinning Shaw
before Shorty span 327 Little Legs into the infield blocks and Tombo continued
to lunge at and fence 411 Matt Franklin before Stig attacked Collins. 337 Ashley
Garrod then fenced Webb with Bubba clocking the latter as he tried to recover
with a hard hit. The second half of the race was much quieter with 328 Dan
Lathan reeling in and passing Stress for the lead with two and a half to run
before 339 Jack Garrod homed in for a crunching hit on the spun Cobbold as
Collins repaid Stig with a package as Lathan raced to the win, 337 Pretty Boy
besting Stress in the closing laps for second.
The Accumulator qualifier had the best entry of the night with 26 cars
and was the best race of the evening by a landslide although it wasn’t without
its share of issues. The race begun with Stig nailing 551 Brett Jackon while
Tombo stuffed Matt Franklin and 212 Mario Kart turned Betts into the wall.
Hannah nailed the latter but was flattened by Shaw who then copped a simply
colossal hit from Grieson which brought the reds out for Shaw and unfortunately
it took several minutes for him to exit the car but he was eventually able to
and walk away with some assistance. The race resumed with 551 Jacko Jnr cracking
the spun Mario Kart in the rear wheel and 173 Daniel Gant hit the latter on the
nose as 326 Shane Lynn assaulted Betts and 188 John Reeves met the latter on the
nose which left him open to a solid hit from Gant with Pretty Boy then bundling
Little Legs into 188 Victor who took further stick with a shot from 326 Ratty.
103 Jack Deacon connected with a hit on Pretty Boy as Tombo destroyed Jacko Jnr
with a wicked hit and a few laps later Cooper clipped some dead cars on the pit
bend and ploughed into Jacko Jnr which brought the reds out to check on the
latter but not before Battle drilled Betts into the pit bend wreckage.
Sufficient laps had been completed and Lathan was declared the winner of the
race from 164 Jack Turner and Tombo and we restarted with the DD and most
pleasingly the majority of those still running took part. Lathan fired into and
span Betts and shortly after 817 Stig fired Gant into the post and the end of
the back straight only to be thundered in himself by Tombo. Bubba nailed Matt
Franklin and 713 Crashley attacked 164 JT who duly blasted Cooper in the rear
wheel before Betts homed in with a belting shot on the fenced Gant and he was
pasted in turn by Crashley. Battle now assaulted Cooper but came under fire from
Matt Franklin who continued to lay into Battle after he had assaulted Cooper.
Bubba then delivered a wicked hit on Grieson, who’d crashed into the pit bend
wreckage, although none of the following cars saw him as a worthy target and he
was able to escape any retribution and he continued to lay into Cooper who
continued only to come under fire from Lathan with Franklin turned round to
deliver a wicked T-bone on Cooper and again the reds were shown to assist the
latter. The event restart with Lathan laying into Franklin as Crashley turned
round to meet Bubba on the nose and Lathan arrived to deliver a massive hit on
Bubba with Battle blasting the race winner hard in turn. Crashley again hit
Bubba in the front wheel before the pair met in a hard head-on which finally
silenced Bubba and JT nailed Crashley in turn as Franklin set off on opposite to
power into Battle before meeting him on the nose, the latter then meeting
Crashley on the nose. Lathan then zeroed in for a hard hit on the determined
Battle which allowed Crashley to crack the latter in the rear wheel before he
came under fire from Franklin. Crashley continued to meet Battle on the nose
which ended the former’s night and Lathan duly set about Battle with a series of
hits before Franklin re-entered the fray to nail Battle, Lathan showing his
appreciation with a front wheel hit to Franklin. Lathan then finally put Battle
down with another front wheel hit before he and Franklin enjoyed a lengthy
battle to the end with a series of head-ons which also saw Franklin have licks
of fire repeatedly come from under the bonnet but he was able to continue until
one final, much harder head-on saw the flame from 411 get much greater and the
event was duly stopped and Lathan named the winner, Bubba the entertainer trophy
winner while entertainer points went to Gant, Tombo and Battle for their
efforts.
Heat One: 327 Mick Maskall Jnr, 817, 51, 36, 316, 720, 730, 164, 841, 26
Heat Two: 303 Wayne Linsdell, 527, 10, 326, 209, 339, 328, 337, 103, 188
Consolation: 370 John Cobbold, 317, 148, 103, 898, 188, 517, 411, 219
Grand Final: 328 Dan Lathan, 337, 317, 209, 326, 148, 527, 898, 103, 411
Accumulator qualifier: Lathan, 164, 209, 326, 411, 817, 337, 713
Destruction Derby: Lathan from 411 Best entertainer: 730 Brandon Mayes
Round two of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar track championship
raised another respectable field of 36 cars, an entry made all the more
respectable given the weather in the lead up to the meeting as well as
considering there were five cancellations from the entry list on the day of the
meeting, admittedly replaced by nearly as many extras on the day which included
welcome Dutchman H103 Chris van de Elst and there were many regulars noted by
their absence underlined by the fact that 10 of the drivers in action were not
present at the season opener which included the track debut of 471 Malcolm Kaye.
Owing to the wet conditions the grid for heat one was purposely made
lower than that of heat two but still the 15 car grid was not as small as
intended but nonetheless the smaller grid allowed the drivers to battle the
conditions easier although to be fair given the amount of rainfall it was
arguable the conditions were not as bad as expected. 715 Scott Aldridge made a
dream start to open a commanding advantage with 136 Kyle Taylor battling into
second before 226 Billy Webster fired him wide for the spot but at this point
Aldridge was the best part of ¾ of a lap in front but one mistake saw him slide
into the wet shale on the outside and Webster overhauled him for the lead and he
raced to the win, lapping everyone up to fourth in the process. Aldridge
recovered for second and Taylor was third.
The remaining 21 cars contested heat two by which point conditions had
already improved tremendously with 260 Anthony Winters wasting no time in firing
into 81 Mark Clayton as 331 James Di’Guillio set the pace but was soon
overhauled by 376 Darren Seneschall but he then went wide allowing Di’Guillio to
reclaim the top spot briefly before Seneschall regained his advantage as
elsewhere 788 Stephen Mallion tangled with 710 Brett Townsend and 597 Barry Clow.
103 Carl Issit was making good progress and fired Di’Guillio wide for second
with 289 James Waterfall and 38 Dave Polley close behind but it was Waterfall
who managed to break through and he fired Seneschall wide for the lead on lap
four as elsewhere Winters charged up the inside of 724 Tom Pell before Coelman
span Polley from contention. At half way Waterfall still led from Issit, 5 Josh
Coleman and behind Seneschall, Di’Guillio, 225 Tony Blackburn and Clayton were
fighting over fifth. Issit then ran into the span Polley and came to a complete
halt dropping him down the order and leaving Waterfall with a comfortable lead.
Late race action saw 662 Steve Wycherly spin both Clayton and Mallinson as
Waterfall motored to the win from Coleman with Issit besting Blackburn in the
final lap for third.
Just one non qualifiers contested the consolation to produce a 19 car
grid and 372 Steve North set the pace this time as Seneschall suffered an early
spin and Winters fired Di’Guillio wide for fourth place before the waved yellow
flags flew on lap five to assist 623 Rob Dobie who’d come to a standstill by the
pit gate. North led the restart but this proved short lived as Pell got out of
shape exiting turn four and Polley finished the job going into the pit bend
sending him spinning towards the fence and he was collected heavily by 235
Bradley Blyth which left both cars stuck on turn four and again the waved yellow
flags flew. 184 Aaron Vaight wasted no time in firing Townsend wide to take
third and Winters did the same to North to grab the lead just after half way as
341 Drew Lammas span from contention. Polley now moved North wide to claim
second only to then clash with the recovered Lammas which in turn span North
into the wall ending the latter’s race with Vaight then charging at Polley. This
left Winters clear and he claimed the win with Clow second and Polley holding
off Vaight for third.
Even with conditions greatly improved from start time it was elected to limit
the number of qualifiers for the final to 24 and they all returned for it
with Clayton again under immediate fire, this time from Clow as Aldridge set the
pace from Seneschall and Taylor while 150 Mark Thoms and 104 Rob Cowles suffered
spins. Blackburn fired into 977 Dave Massey as van de Elsh fell by the way side
and Coleman was another high profile spinner, Clow then dumping out Clayton who
was collected by Winters as Thoms span for a second time. Aldridge led the race
at the five lap stage with Seneschall and Taylor still in pursuit and now 259
Simon Farrington, Issit and Di’Guillio next as Massey became the next retirement
from the race. 298 Jake Walker fired Vaight wide towards the rear of the pace as
Issit climbed to fourth with 377 Daz Shaw behind and Waterfall and Blackburn
tangled and span on the exit of turn two. Aldridge continued to lead as the race
hit half way with Seneschall and Taylor still his nearest rivals and Issit and
Shaw still fourth and fifth with Farrington, 842 Ben Kerry and Webster next as
Clow and Di’Guillio span before Seneschall finally took the lead from Aldridge
on lap 11 with Issit bursting into second with Shaw on his tail as Kerry also
suffered a spin. With five to run the fight for fourth intensified between
Farrington and Webster and the latter was able to grab the place as the battling
Issit and Shaw caught Seneschall with the former able to get past the white
grade racer much quicker than Shaw and this proved to be the difference as Issit
took the win in an excellent contest with Shaw besting Seneschall for second,
the latter taking a fine third and on the line Mallinson just best Winters home
for seventh.
Pleasingly 23 cars returned for the Grand National and Pell sent Aldridge
spinning from the off as Clow, Webster, 871 Mark Simpson and Mallinson all
crashed out on the exit of the road bend but were all able to get moving again
to allow the race to continue and it was Blyth who emerged as the leader ahead
of Wycherly and van de Elst although Waterfall was soon into third as Wycherly
claimed the lead and Vaight was cruelly disqualified for a lose rear wheel guard
after climbing to fourth with a brilliant start. Winters was now third with
Polley fourth, the latter then barging past Aldridge with an aggressive move as
Massey came under fire from Blackburn before the recovered Aldridge charged at
and fenced Pell. Wycherly meanwhile motored to the flag from Waterfall and
Polley with Shaw getting the better of Blackburn in the final laps for sixth.
Heat One: 226 Billy Webster, 715, 136, 871, 377, 104, 259, H103, 341, 184
Heat Two: 289 James Waterfall, 5, 103, 225, 788, 298, 81, 977, 597, 38
Consolation: 260 Anthony Winters, 597, 38, 184, 842, 331, 150, 376, 442, 341
Grand Final: 103 Carl Issit, 377, 376, 226, 259, 871, 788, 260, 715, 38
Grand National: 662 Steve Wycherly, 289, 38, 260, 226, 377, 225, H103, 977, 788
The latest round of the Reliant Robin World Qualifying
series raised a slightly lower than recent meetings entry of 15 cars
although again given the weather prior to the meeting it was perhaps a number
that shouldn’t have been sniffed at, the field again including long distance
travellers 122 Lee Waddington and 143 Sam Begley.
All 15 for heat one with 9 Dale Russell spinning 885 Chris Bailey who
fell onto his side but did so on the infield which allowed the race to continue
with spins for Waddington and 81 Darryl Garratt as Russell set the early pace
and 385 Roy Gedge fought over third with 66 Steve Willis before the recovered
Bailey span 3 Daniel Hewitt which rolled her onto her side and brought the
yellow flags out or the first time. 81 Flymo tipped onto two wheels on the
restart as Russell slid into the fence handing Gedge the lead with 66 Pork Pie
on his tail but the latter was then spun by the back marking Hewitt and he fell
onto his side but bounced back onto his wheels to allow the race to continue.
515 Tommie Lee did the same but when he landed on his wheels he was collected
heavily by 185 Ben Oliver and then Gedge as 664 Ryan Sutcliffe attacked Ellis
which in turn caused Hewitt to roll but she landed on her wheels as Bailey
removed Waddington and Gedge raced to the win with 664 Gump and 143 Screamer
next home.
Down to 13 for heat two and again Russell set the pace as Waddington span
and rolled onto his roof to bring the caution flags out early on. The race
resumed with Hewitt removing Flymo who then fell over as he tried to re-join the
race and again the yellow flags were issued. Russell continued to lead as the
race his half way with Gedge and Bailey next and just as Gedge looked to
challenge for the lead he was sent spinning by the back marking Flymo, the
latter then falling over again to bring the yellows out. Disaster for Bailey who
crashed into the recovering Flymo as he got going again and this left Russell
clear and he won from Hewitt and Gedge, Gump ending the race by spinning 03
Scott Russell.
A dozen for the final with Hewitt setting the pace this time before Dale
Russell and 215 Michael Croxon battled over second and Pork Pie had Waddington
around with Screamer also suffering a spin as did Croxon before Gump removed
Gedge. Ellis and Pork Pie were now enjoying an excellent battle for third and
they traded the spot several times before Pork Pie sent his rival spinning from
contention. This allowed Hewitt to maintain her lead and she won from Russell
with Pork Pie dodging the lurking Ellis on the last bend for third.
Heat One: 385 Roy Gedge, 664, 143, 96, 215, 85, 9, 66, 885, 122
Heat Two: 9 Dale Russell, 3, 385, 66, 143, 85, 664, 122, 96, 215
Grand Final: 3 Danielle Hewitt, 9, 66, 96, 664, 385, 143, 885, 122, 215
An evening which offered precious little about an hour before start time with a
very quiet pit area and the most miserable of weather but another which once
again defied the odds, in no small part due to track conditions now being as bad
as they maybe should have been given the amount of rain that fell and thanks to
the determined efforts of the drivers to produce a decent night highlighted by
the BriSCA F2 Stockcar Final and National Banger Accumulator and DD although the
unfortunate but unavoidable hold ups in the last race did result in a later
finish that hoped for, the race taking over 30 minutes to complete having
started just before 10pm which was most pleasing to report given the conditions
on the night.