Mildenhall Stadium
Good Friday March 25 20156
1400cc Bangers Suffolk Open Team Championship and Ministox

AL=Allsorts, BB=Team Blue and Black, BD=BDSM, BH=The Betters Halves, BR=Team Black and Red, BT=Bits and Bobs, BW=Team Blue and White, CR=Crunchers, DS=Desert Rats, DV=Dover Boys, EX=The Export Club, GC=Gypsy Crew, GD=Grave Diggers, GR=The GRT, GY=Team Grey and Black, HB=HBDSM, JK=The Jokers, MB=Team Motorbitz, MH=Mad Hatters, MT=Team of Mates, TM=Team of Mates, OD=The Odd Ones, OK=Old Skool Krew, OS=One Shot, RM=Team Reem, SG=Team Stig, SH=SHB, SQ=The Squad, SS=Seasiders, ST=Stinkbridge, SW=Team Sowter, TP=TPL, TR=Trailer Trash, TT=Thattadoo, TW=Twisted Metal, UD=Underdogs, UN=United Nations, UT=Team United, WD=Wild Boyz

The 2016 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open team championship raised another massive field although it wasn’t perhaps as big as hoped for with 39 teams represented following the cancellation of the Unwanted two days before the meeting while barely half the tams raised a full squad of six the rest managing to raise at least four save the Squad who could only muster three leaving a field of 209 cars. There was a smattering of interest on the car front, the bulk from the HBDSM team who had a Marina van for HB72 Billy Bond, an early Civic for HB632 Callum Reed, a 1970s Cherry for HB932 Rhys Reed and a Datsun Sunny estate for HB170 Chris Shipp while welcome returnee TR179 Jamie Phillips had an Escort invalid carriage, these five among the day’s smart car award winners.

34 for the opener and Bond immediately picked up AL48 Foppe Minnema who latched onto and ran in UN390 Dan Stacey as BB113 Dan Wright went round and was pasted by the pack. Minnema came back with a shot on TW36 Ricky Lewis and took another hit from Bond as DV898 Andy Battle nailed TP622 Jack Barker before DV188 John Reeves buried the luckless 113 Wrighty and was blasted in the rear wheel by AL827 Sjirk Hansma. The latter continued to blast the stricken SQ345 Karen Lown on the back straight as Bond turned round and ploughed into Baker and DV349 Lee Saunders but was T-boned by AL51 James Licquorice for his troubles and WD223 Daniel Bear then butted heads with 349 Finbarr. The leading BW195 Luke Wagstaff stuffed team mates Battle and 188 Victor in one go as JK949 Tony Fideo grabbed hold of 223 Dingo and stuffed him into Minnema on the pit bend. TP623 Eddie Lane turned TW26 Dan Holmes into the wall only to suffer a similar fate from BR395 Dave Goldsmith as Dingo was reintroduced to the pit bend wreckage by UN319 Dirjke Trepstra. WD811 Pete Winter turned Lane back into the wall as damage magnet Dingo was picked up by JK902 Rhys Mills who smashed him into Lown. BW281 Lewis Tingle then followed Finbarr nicely and the recovered Dingo again rammed the latter in the front wheel with Battle ending things by smashing 319 Little Monkey into Minnema as 195 Wag raced to the win from TW322 Thomas Fox and Tingle, Bond named the best entertainer.

34 again for heat two but it was a far superior affair with the first half nothing short of stunning. Things started with a bang as a big push into the first bend saw EX122 Mark Cooper pick up OD650 Phil Barker who grabbed hold of OS419 Laura Quadling and she was run in hard with OK316 James Cushion whacking the former in turn as OS420 Matthew Jode buried UD313 Scott Elden which also claimed BH818 Tiff Collins and SS205 Mike King. MH390 Dave Gibson then thundered in EX187 Jack Goodey which also claimed BD878 Luke Rowland and the recovered Baker homed in with a wicked hit on Goodey which was eclipsed when he took a savage shot from GD112 Darren Prestage. BD868 Jorji Stark stuffed MH392 Sam Baines and SS206 Dave King and 420 Maff zeroed in to flatten 112 Daft Daz with a storming hit. Cush now nailed the fenced Collins as the recovered 205 Gava buried 313 Scottie Dog who rallied back to thunder 316 Cush into Daft Daz with another rated hit which left him prone to a cracking shot from Baker before the recovered Collins stuffed EX161 Billy Smith into Cush. Things quieted down at half way but exploded again when BD88 Lyndon Stark trashed the limping Baker only to then be smashed into some dead cars by MT175 Karl Korsby as 390 Gibbo thundered Smith into the wreckage with 88 Fat Face then bursting into fire to bring the reds out immediately and the result was declared with UD223 James Carter the winner from SS204 Charlie King and MH399 John Atkins, Maff the best entertainer.

Another 34 car field for the third heat but this was a much quieter race although it started in style as UT385 Craig Thurlow was on the wrong end of a massive push into the pit bend which saw him run in hard while behind GC87 Justin Kappert stuffed ST122 Lee Waddington and SH573 Sam Bloomfield then ran in GR325 Craig Lathan. MB328 Dan Lathan attacked TR95 Anton Martin which in turn buried TM10 Ben Collins as the luckless Craig Lathan was struck in the front wheel by TT590 Darren Smith. TR115 James Martin clobbered Waddington and took a revenge hit from ST410 Jake Calvert before TM527 Michael Normam homed in for a bruising rear wheel hit on the fenced GC64 Alice Kappert. 573 Rambo stuffed welcome returned TM145 Colin Dickens as Smith turned Calvert into the wall before SW403 George Tickner turned round to attack SH502 Tyler Bloomfield and MB328 Dan Lathan stuffed SW757 Tom Farren into the wreckage by the pit gate. CR730 Brandon Mayes fired the leading GC273 Kevin McClagish into the stricken 145 Sonic while Farren turned round to attack Calvert who rammed his attacker in reverse before Calvert set off on opposite to meet TR161 Jack Collins in a solid head-on with the reds then flying for 730 Bubba who’s rolled on turn one. The race was again declared with 273 Mad Mouse hanging on to win from GR123 Kieron Grey and Dan Lathan, Rambo the best entertainer award winner.

One more for heat four with WD17 Aaron Gray piling TW159 Darren Scarrow into the spun BR361 Chris Walden as a pile-up quickly formed on the pit bend with BT47 Archie Butts adding 322 Foxy to the misery as the luckless 361 Wally took one in the rear wheel from GY382 Jack Foster Jnr and Tingle nailed TL619 Mike Knight. SG292 Harry Airey copped it from WD43 Nicky Bishop before the former took an even bigger hit from Gray. UN59 John Hendy Jnr added BW9 Tom Jordan to the wreckage on the pit bend while BT246 Jimmy Butts found BW269 Tom Morris for a package and Foxy was reintroduced to the heap by BR744 Brad White with Jimmy Butts then smashing Gray into the infield blocks. The race hit half way and things stepped up massively as TP271 Ashlun Woods buried 744 Bradderz into 619 Chingey and TP620 Guy Whitehead added DS63 Shane Bullen to the growing mess which also claimed Hendy Jnr and BT512 Sean Cooper and BR289 Gary Haresign homed in for a belting hit on the latter. The coming pack piled in to block the track with SQ311 Gary Lown nailing Jordan before 269 Mozza turned round to assault Bullen and 620 Mr G found Little Monkey for a shot. HB321 Kieron Fry then zeroed in for a wicked hit on Airey which was eclipsed by a storming hit from GY275 Joe Morgan on 321 Chatty Man with Jordan then flattening the former with a fierce hit as 43 Bish smashed UN828 Kev Richie with a T-bone. Lown now turned round to drill Mozza with a big shot as Mr G added 382 Chubby to the chaos and he took one in turn from DS197 Sean Chapman and he was pasted himself by Bradderz who copped it from Jimmy Butts who continued to stuff Little Monkey. Lown was still on opposite and nailed Jordan before the leading Chubby also turned round to trash Jordan with a stonking hit, the former World Champion then assaulting Mozza on two consecutive laps as GY312 Brad White won from Foxy and Chubby, just seven finishing with Jimmy Butts named the best entertainer.

35 again for heat five with DV116 Nat Cohn hitting the infield blocks from the start as JK231 Alex Smith span UD352 Ben Mynott into the concrete, things then exploding at the end of the home straight with OS319 Shaun Clarke T-bonedMT723 Joby Smith and was trashed by JK232 Steve Pope and OD760 Harry Spencer with Smith flattening the latter in turn as OK538 Curtis Salvage found DV294 Lee Hughes for a big T-bone and DV673 Darren Fendley hit back for the Dover Boys by running in OK46 Wayne Pecker. Salvage then nailed SS209 Oliver King as BB743 Kevan Barton rolled in the middle of the heap to bring the reds out and a complete restart was ordered. Things started in style as 294 Stuntman squared up the on opposite Clarke for a belting head-on as OS562 Gavin Barnes fenced 116 No Luck Nat with a wild attack before MT330 Karl Jones fenced Mynott and Stuntman used his battered Almera to hammer JK284 James Head. Clarke meanwhile leaned EX921 Timmy Aldridge into the fence and 562 Gavo homed in for a cracking hit on the latter which was eclipsed when he took a brutal hit from No Luck Nat. Stuntman turned round to fire into and drill the recovered 562 Gavo into the fence and Salvage arrived to past Stuntman. Gavo was still fighting and stopped No Luck Nat with a stiff head-on and BB551 Brett Jackson piled 46 Pecker into the latter with Nat fighting on to again ram Gavo on the nose which left him open for a stiff T-bone from Salvage as AL212 Jack Maryon span Korsby which flipped him into a roll to bring the race to en early conclusion, EX837 Martin Wesby was the winner from SS426 Mark Pope and BD3 Toby Bond, just seven finishing again with Gavo named the best entertainer.

33 for heat six with RM588 James Bailey leaning in TM430 Andy Jones as GD467 Mark Studd, GR87 Damien Matthews and Rambo all crashed into the fence in a heap and ST211 Jordan Hall cracked 179 the Leg-End with a T-bone. ST156 Dan Beckwith lunged at and span TR115 James Martin and Hall then planted SH165 Ben Randell into the latter before MB339 Jack Garrod stuffed GD110 Garrie Mirza into the spun BH95 Jade Harboard. CR119 Davey Cox put away TR290 Ryan Anderson and Rambo came back with a shot to BH899 Vix Battle as MH611 Joe Geeves scored on GR123 Kieran Gray while CR566 Tony Pallett turned 467 Mad Mark into the wall. The race hit half way with mixed fortunes for Stinkbridge as Waddington fenced 899 Vix and the stricken Beckwith was clobbered by SH571 Mark Quinsey. 566 Zippy Jnr turned round to trade hits from MB337 Ashley Garrod while Waddington turned TM142 Jack Lower into the fence before CR9 Ben Cox destroyed Martin with a belting hit and Rambo happily powered into the reversing Leg-End with a crunching hit as Hall leathered the fenced Vix on the back straight which brought the reds out to check on the latter. The race was again declared with CR60 Dan Rea the winner from MH439 Danny Sutton and Waddington with Rambo taking a second entertainer trophy.

Another 33 car field for heat seven and things began with BW210 Callum McKee attacking Jimmy Butts who in turn flicked SG428 Ben Airey into the fence as on the road bend SG313 Toby Trenter nailed GC723 Jake McClagish and was pasted in turn by TW159 Darren Scarrow who was then flattened by GC411 Daniel Pegg. GY840 Dan Waddingham then ran in SW884 Tom Filmer as BT517 Sid Cooper fired DS97 Andy Chapman into the wall and GY10 Leeson Briggs-Price thundered in UT138 Jason Smy a treat. Chatty Man turned round and found SW388 Taylor Sowter for a head-on with DS297 Paul Chapman blasting the former to boot as the luckless Smy took more abuse from Butts only to take one in turn from TT585 Kevin Giles. SW883 Jack Filmer powered into Andy Chapman but took one in turn from Scarrow as Tom Filmer found Chatty Man for a head-on, the reds then flying with concern for the latter but not before Scarrow could bury Shipp with 883 Chunk homing in for a big hit on the former only for his Ka to then burst into flames. The restart was short lived as TW26 Dan Holmes was spun by the pack and rolled onto his side leading to another stoppage and complete restart. This started with Tingle running in TT590 Darren Smith, the latter fighting on to attack GC664 Ryan Sutcliffe with Tingle duly stuffing them both into the fence which allowed Shipp to nail Tingle in turn with a hard hit. Price then buried UT141 Jak Steward as BW04 Mike Croft T-boned the spun Airey and Steward fought back to nail Tingle before he was hammered and turfed out of the way by SG317 Callum Jacobs. Croft then turned round on turn two and stopped Garry Lown with a head-on before repeating the move on GY374 Chris Collins which caused a pile-up in which the leading BT303 Wayne Linsdell nailed 317 Stress as he fought a way through. Waddingham smashed Tingle with a T-bone before TT291 Mick Turner happily met the lucking Croft on the nose with 374 Chipmonk hammering the latter in turn. Shipp found 664 Gump for a head-on as 517 Sidderz and Turner also chared a head-on. Waddingham then assaulted Croft before Smith fired into and fenced Sidderz as Linsdell raced to the win from Chipmonk and Sidderz, Scarrow named the best entertainer this time.

Heat eight would also see 33 cars on the grid but it was a much quieter race this time, Victor stuffing Chingey into the infield blocks before Fat Face flattened the spun BR361 Chris Walden which brought the reds out to check on the latter and a complete restart was ordered. This began with Victor butting heads with 878 Rocket while Stark assaulted Haresign and 723 Hot Dog Joe buried 113 Wrighty. 551 Jacko Jnr then did the same to UN547 Tony McNeil before Jacko Jnr butted heads with the spun Hot Dog Joe and TP704 James Street turned round to blast the lurking Fat Face but it didn’t stop him landing a well-placed hit on opposite to the passing Goldsmith which span his victim and Fat Face then roared in for a head-on. Chingey nailed Fat Face in turn as Streety now assaulted Jacko Jnr on opposite before AL511 Jack Licquorice turned round and smashed the latter with a hard T-bone which was swiftly avenged by a solid hit from BB121 Aaron Colbert. The finals proved quiet with Battle getting the better of UD400 Mark Gibbons in the closing stages to take the win with UD452 Paul Sweet third, again only seven finishing with Fat Face the best entertainer.

The penultimate heat was the first to not raise 30 cars with 29 and it was the quietest race of the day by some distance with MB313 Craig Osborne piling BH96 Amber Daniels into team mate BH127 Helen Roberts before the reds flew with concern for EX161 Billy Smith on the road bend. An early push on the restart saw SS558 Rob Haynes buried TM10 Ben Collins, the latter then fenced a second time as a result of Spencer’s attack on RM405 Shane Tilley, the only other action coming when MH392 Sam Baines stuffed BH95 Jade Harboard as TM142 Jack Lower took the win from 390 Gibbo and Mark Pope, Spencer claiming the entertainer trophy.

Remarkably the final heat was another to raised 33 cars and began with Ben Airey nailing Alice Kappert as a huge pile-up formed on the road bend in which Filmer cracked DS197 Sean Chapman in the rear wheel and Waddington connected with a T-bone to the luckless Kappert. Hall met the spun 388 Lump on the nose before Filmer zeroed in for a belting hit on the fenced Stress by the start line and on the pit bend Darren Smith followed Paul Chapman a teat. Sean Chapman turned round to smash 585 Big Ears with a head-on and Filmer arrived for a bruising hit to the latter which saw him clobbered by Calvert before he was destroyed by CR119 Davey and Ben Cox. Quinsey then buried Farren into Big Ears with the SHB man becoming the latter driver to burst into fire and again the race was stopped and an early result declared with UT688 Steve Collins the winner from Ben Cox and Steward, Filmer the entertainer award winner this time.

The top eight teams at this stage advanced to the final with the Mad Hatters leading on 44 points ahead of Team Grey and Black on 34, Crunchers and Seasiders on 31, Team United on 28, the Underdogs on 27 and Team MotorBitz and Twisted Metal on 25.

Before the final came the first Accumulator qualifier which was fully subscribed with 36 cars and began in manic fashion. Salvage immediately attacked Battle as Victor struck Croft in the front wheel and Salvage continued to attack Shipp, the latter then taking a head-on from Cush as Jimmy Butts and WD78 Lee Macey combined to bury 632 Reedy Jnr. Fendley then smashed RM297 Aston Leathers into Cush, he latter then having Wag planted into him by Fat Face. Chingey found Croft for a T-bone before Minnema destroyed Shipp with a savage T-bone which was far too close to the wall bringing the reds out immediately for a very shaken Shipp but not before Tony Bond could deliver a revenge hit on Minnema with Mozza nailing Battle and Wag blasting Chatty Man and then Salvage before ordered was restored. The restart proved short lived as AL51 James Licquorice buried Mozza into Billy Bond which saw a wheel come off on the pit bend and again the reds and a complete restart were called for. BD135 Jamie Batchelor set things in motion as he zeroed in on the limping 704 Streety from the off as 311 Helm found the fenced Victor for a massive hit on the back straight which was swiftly avenged by an equally savage hit from Stuntman and Battle delivered a head-on for good measure. Wright then powered into and fenced Jordan before 78 Mad Mace crashed into Billy Bond’s wreck but he battled back to turn round and hammer Jordan as Mr G stuffed Stuntman. Jordan turned round but caught Toby Bond in the driver’s side but this produced a superb ending as Little Monkey got caught up and was pasted by Battle who was leathered by a storming hit from Wrighty. No Luck Nat arrived for a wicked revenge hit on Wrighty and he was pasted in turn by 811 Pistol Pete before 405 Rudey thundered Wag into Pistol Pete. Fendley then drilled Rudey with a hard hit as Tony Bond found Mr G for a head-on. BD759 Chris Oldcorn turned round to attack Battle as Stuntman assaulted Reedy Jnr on opposite and 135 Spud also turned round to set about Mad Mace. Wright then fired into and ran in Wag as the leading Pistol Pete showed no hesitation in blasting Rudey in style only to take a crushing hit in turn from No Luck Nat. With no way through by the start line and one not coming any time soon the race was declared early and in a unique result with the leading pair of Pistol Pete and No Luck Nat together in the heap a joint verdict was awarded with Wrighty the best entertainer in another superb contest.

Another full grid of 36 for the second Accumulator qualifier with things exploding on the road bend where Norman blasted Waddington and Alice Kappert met the spun Andy Jones in an almighty head-on which triggered a massive pile-up on turn one with the field all happy to pile in with some massive hits. AL317 Nick Wakeham drilled SG817 Kurt Jacobs into the mess before the reds flew with concern for 112 Daft Daz who’d been collected in the driver’s door in the misery but thankfully he was able to walk away. A much depleted field meant a less lively restart but when the hits came they were good ones. It started with Calvert unwittingly blitzing Baker’s empty car but he was trashed in turn by Mills and then a few laps later Cooper picked up 817 the Stig who latched onto BB662 Dalton Smith and smashed him into Calvert. The final action came at the end but was again worth waiting for as Mills buried Stress and was duly flattened by GD110 Garrie Mirza who copped hard hit from RM400 Lee Kingsnorth who was then trashed by Cooper. TR95 Anton Martin took the win from Waddington and Finbarr with Ben Collins ending things by pasting Kingsnorth, Cooper taking the entertainer award.

Quite remarkably the top eight teams returned every one of their cars for the final which subsequently had the day’s biggest grid of 45 but again the reds were out early when 611 Bieber managed to climb all over 730 Bubba leaving him perched on top of him for a stoppage and a complete restart. The race resumed at a manic pace with a big push claiming several on the home straight while another into the pit bend saw 390 Gibo stuff 312 Whitey into TW36 Ricky Lewis with an almighty impact, the latter taking a second brutal shot when Dan Lathan thundered Bubba and SS206 Dave King into him. MB339 Jack Garrod found the spun 275 Rusty for a massive head-on on the back straight and 337 Pretty Boy also weighed in on the latter with Rusty’s rough ride concluded when 400 Gibbo thundered Osborne into him in another almighty impact. GY840 Dan Waddingham turned Foxy into the fence as a pile-up formed on the road bend with 400 Gibbo adding Garrod to the mess but he rallied back to land a hit on Whitey. Steward then met UD452 Paul Sweet on the nose before another big push into turn three resulted in another savage impact, this time between the aforementioned Steward and the spun SS204 Charlie King with MH601 Chris Medler arriving to leather Ben Cox at the pack of the pile with MB338 Terry Garrod able to stuff TW37 Dave Lewis into the carnage to grab the lead. Lewis recovered but was picked up by 400 Gibbo who, with an assist from Cox, thundered him in big time on the last bend as 338 Wingnut won from Dan Lathan with Dave Lewis somehow making it across the line for third but a fourth, fifth and ninth for Atkins, 390 Gibbo and 439 Sutty meant the Mad Hatters claimed the title from Team Motorbitz with Twisted Metal just beating the Seasiders for third. Garrod was named the best entertainer of the race while Team Blue and White, the Dover Boys and Old Skool Krew were named the day’s most entertaining teams.

After announcing a third Accumulator race would be added after the final it was then deemed there wasn’t sufficient interest for the extra race and so we moved to the DD and this proved a wise decision as despite limited repair time after the final 34 cars returned for the demo and ended the afternoon in simply epic fashion. 390 Gibo fired the first significant shot when he picked up 405 Rudey and Gray and planted them into the spun 704 Streety which triggered a quite magnificent pile-up. GD114 Adam Jackson followed in 319 Little Monkey before Waddingham thundered in UN828 Kev Richie which also claimed 619 Chingey. BB743 Kevan Barton arrived to flatten Jackson but he was nailed a split second later by TP620 Guy Whitehead and MH392 Sam Baines was right behind to blast him and he duly copped it from AL827 Sjirk Hansma. Filmer now zeroed in for a cracking hit on Waddingham and was trashed himself by a storming blitz from Cush who was pasted in turn by RM307 Martin Kent. EX161 Billy Smith lunged at and span Reedy Jnr and collected 110 Tenmen on the nose as AL212 Jack Maryon weighed in on Kent only to be crushed by a belting hit from Osborne who was destroyed by a wicked blitz from AL51 James Licquorice. RM191 Kieran Greenway turned round and trashed Reedy Jnr as Gibbo picked up and thundered 467 Mad Mark into the wreckage. 113 Wrighty continued the train by leathering Licquorice and Rambo powered into him to conclude a quite sublime minute of full on crashing. The event continued with MH439 Danny Sutton turning round to blast Tenmen and he continued to nail Reedy Jnr only to come under fire himself from 191 the Entertainer as Rambo laid into the wrecked but still battling Reedy Jnr. EX122 Mark Cooper arrived to smash Tenmen with a hard head-on as Barton nailed the Entertainer and was flattened in turn by RM400 Lee Kingsnorth as Smith continued on opposite to administer a massive hit on Reedy Jnr which almost rolled the latter. TR115 James Martin weighed in on 439 Sutty but took one in turn from 405 Rudey with Chatty Man then blasting Cooper which left him open to a destructive hit from Kingsnorth. Gibbo got caught in the heap and was blasted by Rudey with Rambo zeroing in on the latter as Smith smashed Kingsnorth in the rear wheel. Martin tried to negotiate the wreckage which allowed Rambo to grab him and smash him into the pit gate heavily before Rudey buried himself in the back of Chatty Man and Gibbo blasted Rambo. The Mad Hatter backed off and them met the latter again, this time with a crushing head-on which saw Rambo burst into fire on impact which brought the reds out immediately but not before Kingsnorth delivered a crushing hit on Gibbo. With the flames proving harder than hoped for to extinguish and many drivers climbing from their cars and onto the track believing the event to be over and with only two cars remaining, the event wasn’t restarted and Gibbo and Kingsnorth shared the victory, the former also taking an entertainer trophy as did Smith while Rambo and Reedy Jnr collected entertainer points.

Heat One: BW195 Luke Wagstaff, TW322, BW281, JK949, WD78, DV898, DV188, TW26, SQ311, DV349 Best entertainer: HB72 Billy Bond
Heat Two: UD223 James Carter, SS204, MH399, MH392, BH96, EX161, GD110, OK538, BD878, OS712 Best entertainer: OS420 Matthew Jode
Heat Three: GC273 Kevin McClagish, GR123, MB328, RM191, MB326, MB313, UT688, TR95, TR161, CR619 Best entertainer: SH573 Sam Bloomfield
Heat Four: GY312 Brad White, TW322, GY382, SG817, DS197, BT246, SQ311 Best entertainer: BT246 Jimmy Butts
Heat Five: EX837 Martin Wesby, SS426, BD3, JK284, OK46, BB551, AL212 Best entertainer: OS562 Gavin Barnes
Heat Six: CR60 Dan Rea, MH439, RM297, ST122, MB338, CR119, TM830, MH611, MH601, GR110 Best entertainer: Bloomfield
Heat Seven: BT303 Wayne Linsdell, GY374, BT517, SG317, UT141, DS297, TW26, HB170, TT590 Best entertainer: TW159 Darren Scarrow
Heat Eight: DV898 Andy Battle, UD400, UD452, AL212, WD811, TP619, MT723 Best entertainer: BD88 Lyndon Stark
Heat Nine: TM142 Jack Lowe, MH390, SS426, RM400, TM527, SS558, MH392, BH95, MH399 Best entertainer: OD760 Harry Spencer
Heat Ten: UT688 Steve Collins, CR9, UT141, GY275, CR619, ST410, SG817, SH573, ST122, SG428 Best entertainer: SW884 Tom Filmer
Accumulator Qualifier One: DV116 Nat Cohn and WD811 Pete Winter Best entertainer: BB113 Dan Wright
Accumulator Qualifier Two: TR95 Anton Martin, ST122, DV349, EX161, EX47, TM10, RM400, EX122 Best entertainer: EX122 Mark Cooper
Grand Final: MB338 Terry Garrod, MB328, TW37, MH399, MH390, SS205, UD400, CR9, MH439, TW322 Best entertainer: MB339 Jack Garrod
Destruction Derby: MH390 David Gibson and RM400 Lee Kingsnorth Best entertainers: Gibson and EX161 Billy Smith

Round five of the Ministox Mildenhall Track Championship raised another fine field of 24 cars which was swelled by four visitors including yet another long distance trip for both 902 Brad Compton-Sage and 629 Ewan Miller while 342 Freddie Crittenden made his debut.

A full field for heat one and 303 Jacob Bromley had 328 Ben Nichols round before the reds flew to assist 349 Lewis Saunders who had come to a halt on the back straight. The race resumed with 315 Charlie Santry not only taking the lead but breaking away as well with 308 Molly Smithson leading the chasing pack as Miller lunged at 304 Tony Elbourn while 364 Dave Shearing did the same to 350 Liam Webster to take third and 902 Buster Jnr likewise to Nichols which shunted the latter to the fence. Nichols rallied back to spin 327 Jolie Pettit as 259 Brad Eltham lunged at 311 Mike Dobney with Miller moving in to spin the latter as 344 Danny Elbourn traded paint with 301 Josh Rayner. Santry continued to lead at half way by which point Shearing had overhauled Smithson for second but the leader came under fire from the back marking 320 Luke Dorling as Bromley barged past Webster for fourth place and Dorling did the same to Miller. 342 Critter Jnr and Eltham crashed out on the road bend as 304 Tony Elbourn lunged at 399 Cole Atkins in the race for eight, the latter replying by doing the same to Buster Jnr to gain a place as Shearing lunged at and fenced Pettit as he tried to chase Santry down and Rayner barged past Eltham aggressively in the final stages but it was Santry who held his nerve to take the win from Shearing and Smithson.

One less for the second heat with Atkins wasting no time in dive bombing Miller as Bromley hooked out Shearing and Santry battled past Pettit for the lead. 356 Harry Overy charged at 258 Craig Eltham to take a place while 390 Nina Leigh lost time with a half spin before Rayner lunged at Danny Elbourn which not only fenced him but launched him into a very spectacular rollover on the home straight which brought the reds out with a complete restart required. Pettit broke away on the restart as behind Dobney, Santry and Smithson enjoyed an excellent scrap for second with the latter breaking away in the place while 320 Luke Dorling charged at Rayner and Shearing expired with a flat tyre. Smithson reeled in and challenged Pettit which allowed Santry to close and Smithson edged into the lead only for the reds to fly again for the stricken Craig Eltham. This was a life line for Pettit as with the order taken from the last completed lap she was reinstated as the leader but sadly at the first attempt Miller expired and the reds remained out but the field got completely out of order meaning a few minutes were required again to reline the field up. Tensions were high on the restart with one of two too eager to get going on the restart and the post-race video deemed Buster Jnr and Overy the most guilty and they lost two places at the end. Santry was slow off the mark and lose places as Overy fired Buster Jnr into Webster but Buster Jnr emerged from the fight in the lead with Overy second and 368 Dan Santry in third with Smithson and Pettit hanging tough behind before Overy dumped out Buster Jnr who was then hit by Smithson which straightened the west county driver out and he held onto his lead with Tony Elbourn now battling into second and Dorling close behind as a second attempt saw Overy finally dispose of Buster Jnr who was hit by Tony Elbourn with Bromley and Pettit also getting caught up. The upshot was Dorling emerged from the chaos in the lead ahead of 392 Charlie Morphey and Dan Santry as Atkins lunged at Overy and rattled him into a half spin, the latter then also coming under fire from Tony Elbourn with Buster Jnr collecting the spun Overy who recovered to attack Atkins only to again come under fire from Tony Elbourn. Dorling raced to the win in another superb Ministox race with Morphey withstanding a last bend challenge from Dan Santry for second and Rayner lunging at Buster Jnr on the last bend to snatch sixth.

22 for the final but Charlie Santry was an early retirement as Pettit again made the running from Smithson, Critter Jnr, Dobney and Buster Jnr with Smithson rattling Pettit into a half spin to claim the lead with Critter Jnr was able to nip into second as Buster Jnr lunged at Dobney to move up another place and Rayner dive bombed at Leigh. Shearing climbed to second with Bromley hot on his heels but Smithson had broken away while Critter Jnr was dumped out by Pettit and Bromley stuck the bumper in on Shearing but the latter held on with Buster Jnr fourth ahead of the rapid Rayner, Overy and Tony Elbourn. Bromley squeezed past Shearing for second only to have Buster Jnr lunge at him for the place which allowed Shearing to come back and barge up the inside of them both in a titanic battle for second which helped Smithson edge away further and Rayner to close In on the lead group. At half way Smithson not only led, but she led comfortably ahead of Buster Jnr, Shearing, Rayner, Bromley and the Eltham brothers as behind Dorling barged past Dan Santry for a place and Buster Jnr again worked his way to second but Shearing was quick to charge at him and take the spot back as Overy came under fire from Harry Overy. Rayner was now in the mix and lunged at Shearing to take second with five to go as Overy was punted to the wall by 339 Harry Atkins. Buster Jnr, Shearing and Bromley were battling again, this time for third with the former getting shuffled down the order which saw him come under fire from Tony Elbourn which saw him lose another spot as Overy barged into Leigh who also came under fire from Cole Atkins as Smithson took a fine win from Rayner and Shearing, the efforts of Pettit and Critter Jnr seeing them pick up the day’s white grade awards.

Heat One: 315 Charlie Santry, 364, 308, 303, 301, 344, 304, 399, 902, 390
Heat Two: 320 Luke Dorling, 392, 368, 304, 303, 301, 390, 328, 902, 315
Grand Final: 308 Molly Smithson, 301, 364, 303, 320, 368, 304, 629, 902, 259

A fantastic day of action with the 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open team championship more than delivering as while there was one poor heat and a couple of quieter ones among the day there were many more belting races concluded with the simply epic DD with the Ministox also on form, their second heat in particular standing out and it was pleasing to see the event concluded in reasonable time as well, the massive 17 race programme completed in under seven hours despite the number of big grids, race stoppages and action levels.