Mildenhall Stadium Saturday May 28 2016
The 24th annual Pre70 National Banger meeting including Tony Osborne and Odd Job Memorial Trophies, Reliant Robins World QF and Ministox

The 24th annual Mildenhall Pre 70 National Banger night raised a fraction over 60 cars on May 28 which while a significant drop when compared to previous years was a most respectable field given the circumstances surrounding this year’s event and it was most encouraging that almost two thirds of the entry were fresh cars for the night which included some superb machinery, the pick by far being the rated Daimler DB18 of 152 Mr Grumpy who was making his first appearance at the event in some years and was also the further travelled driver by some chalk. He was one of 20 drivers to be rewarded for his efforts with a top car trophy and also one of eight to receive a small slice of the prize fund for the best cars, the others going the crusty Humber Hawk of 346 Muttley, the equally pretty P4 of brother 349 Finbarr and the stunning P4 and Zephyr of father and daughter 90 Joe Ninety and 96 Bam Bam, while the also superbly presented 313 Craig Osborne, 673 Darren Fendley and 811 Pistol Pete also received cash awards.

4 Sam Nice Ford Cortina Mk3*
10 James Eaton Austin Cambridge A55 fintail*
22 Dave Vincent Austin Cambridge A55 fintail
25 Mark ThomasWolseley 16/60*
27 Will Longford Austin 2200*
45 Lee Sutton Morris Oxford*
77 Patxi Beasley Austin Cambridge A55 bubble*
90 Adrian Harboard Rover P4
91 Lee Herbert Austin Cambridge*
95 Jade Harboard Hillman Minx
96 Amber Daniel Ford Zephyr Mk3
108 Kieran Jefcote Ford Cortina estate Mk3*
116 Nat Cohn Lada Riva estate*
132 Robert James Rover P4
144 Jordan Godfrey Austin Maxi
148 Dean Jackson Hillman Hunter*
148 Ian Redden Morris Oxford*
152 Jim Dillon Daimler DB18
161 Darren Collins Ford Cortina Mk3*
203 Josh Moljourd Austin Maxi*
206 Dave King Rover P6
212 Richard Maryon Austin Princess
218 Tony Chapman Morris Oxford*
220 Tom Pavitt Volvo Amazon
228 Sam Beasley Volvo 144
230 Dean Moljourd MG Magnette
236 Matthew Potter Triumph Dolomite
237 Gary Nash Triumph 2000 Mk1
256 Shaun Kelly Austin Cambridge A55 fintail*
261 Simon Hogg Austin 2200 limo*
303 Wayne Linsdell Triumph 2000 Mk2
313 Craig Osborne Triumph 2000 Mk2
313 Scott Elden Vauxhall Viva HC*
316 Sam Dace Austin Ambassador
317 Callum Jacobs Rover P6
322 Thomas Fox Lada Riva
326 Shane Lynn Rover P4
328 Dan Lathan Rover P4
329 Michael Carter Lada Riva
334 Stephen Court Triumph 2000 Mk2
346 Scott Saunders Humber Hawk
346 Brett Osborne Triumph 2000 Mk2*
349 Lee Saunders Rover P4
384 John Golden Wolseley 16/60*
434 Liam Carter MGB GT*
436 Matt Arnold Triumph 2000 Mk2*
535 Ben Mitchell Triumph 2000 Mk2*
587 Alex Humphrey Humber Sceptre estate*
606 Liam Weedon Vauxhall Victor FD
632 Callum Reed Ford Cortina Mk3 estate*
666 Matt Farmer Rover P6
673 Darren Fendley Triumph 2000 Mk2
724 Gary Anderson Hillman Avenger
757 Callum Gill Volvo 145 estate
757 Tom Farren Rover P4
811 Pete Winter Wolseley 16/60
837 Pete Nash Triumph 2000 Mk2
841 Phil Jennings Austin Princess*
855 Ashley Sherwood Morris Minor
860 Christian Doughty Austin Maxi*
949 David Coupland Hillman Minx
*=used car

Despite the lower entry the field was still split into three groups by the size of the cars for the initial heats were the drivers were urged to refrain from destructive hits with a view to seeing as many cars as possible in the second round of hits. 18 smaller cars for heat one and an immediate push out of the first bend, spearheaded by the Maxi of 203 Josh Mouljoud resulted in heavy fencings for the similar mount of 860 Bonkers and the pretty Dolomite of 236 Matthew Potts with 261 Simon Hogg, who was assisted by the smart Maxi of 144 Jordan Godfrey then turning Mouljord into the infield blocks while the Moggy of 855 Ashley Sherwood suffered a similar fate. 148 Deano wound out 27 Wonder Boy which left the former open to a hard hit from the MGB GT of 434 Liam Carter as 212 Mario turned 95 Jade Harboard’s raw Minx into the concrete blocks. Godfrey meanwhile fired the Landcrab limo of Hogg into the fence and then removed the recovered Harboard as 949 David Coupland span the determined Deano only to be turfed aside himself by the Riva of 329 Michael Carter who continued to do the same to Deano whose perseverance in his battered Hunter earned him the entertainer award as Mario raced to a comfortable win from 313 Scottie Dog and 322 Foxy.

21 medium sized cars for heat two with Bam Bam wasting no time in spinning the Volvo of 228 Sam Beasley into the infield blocks as 108 Squeaky removed the cool Magnette of 230 Mr Mean only to be flicked aside in turn by the pretty Volvo 145 estate of 757 Jack Jnr. 77 Patch used his bubble A55 to spin 218 Tony Chapman and 632 Reedy Jnr had Pistol Pete out before Jack Jnr continued to spin 220 Lurch’s Amazon and then the pretty Victor of 606 Boomer. Up front and 22 Dave Vincent used his cool A55 fintail to dump out the recovered Lurch and the leading 384 Goldie and with that he assumed the lead as the luckless Lurch was turned into the fence by the surprisingly competitive Mr Grumpy while Vincent continued to have 91 Lee Herbert around and the rapid 148 Shorty span aside 45 Mr Muscle. 25 Tombo now featured as he span Chapman in another all A60 affair before Lurch attacked 10 James Eaton only to be dumped aside again by Jack Jnr, the WI young gun battling on only to collect the spun Chapman which left him open to a solid hit from Patch as Vincent held off Short for the win with Jack Jnr third, the latter’s full contact drive earning him the entertainer award.

Back to 18 for the third heat which was for the larger cars and welcome returnee 436 Arni started in style as he span aside fellow Trummy pilot 837 Mr Happy, then the P4 of 328 Dan Lathan and the similar mount of 757 Tom Farren before he butted heads with the recovering Mr Happy. 666 Farm John then used his raw P6 to dumpy out 346 Brett Osborne as Muttley became the latest to be spun by the impressive Arnie and Farren continued to remove 535 Ben Mitchell. The leading 326 Ratty removed fellow P4 pilot 132 Bobbles as behind a titanic race for second was going on between Craig Osborne, Joe Ninety, Fendley and Arnie, the latter continuing to impress as he span Farren with 206 Kingy ending things by turning the luckless Mr Happy into the infield blocks. Ratty took an untroubled win from Fendley and Craig Osborne and Arni was the unquestionable entertainer award winner.

For the second set of heats the field was split into two, again keeping the smaller and larger cars apart with all drivers, including those who had already qualified, encouraged to race again and this helped produce a bigger field of 27 for heat four and a big push at the start resulted in an immediate pile-up on the start line in which Pistol Pete landed a shot on Eaton before 316 Sam Dace marked his first race of the night by stuffing Moljourd into the heap while 724 Dean Anderson and 161 Darren Collins were crashed into the infield blocks. 841 Trigger, also in his first race of the night, fenced Wonder Boy and Michael Carter attacked the recovered Moljourd but the latter fought back to turn both Trigger and Wonder Boy into the fence as Chapman had Carter out. Jack Jnr picked up from where he left off by spinning Sherwood and then doing the same to Mr Mean as Carter turned Deano into the spun Foxy and Coupland found Bam Bam for a shot which left the former open to a cracking hit from Pistol Pete. 4 Sam Nice then fired into and ran in Sherwood before the reds flew with a wheel on the track on turn two. A lap sheet order restart was needed but Moljourd failed to get moving and was trashed a lap later by the crash happy Pistol Pete which tore a wheel from the 203 Maxi and again the reds flew and a second lap sheet order restate was needed. This proved quieter save Beasley being spun aside by Harboard and then by Carter as Jack Jnr raced to the win from 632 Reedy Jnr and Carter, Pistol Pete the best entertainer.

Sadly less cars were willing or able to contest a second heat as hoped for leaving a smaller grid for the final heat with 237 Nasha and Brett Osborne butting heads at the start as Mr Grumpy removed Mitchell only to be dumped out himself by 334 Courty while Finbarr turned around the very rotten Rover P6 of birthday boy 317 Stress. 116 No Luck Nat then collected Mr Grumpy as the luckless Osborne was spun again, this time by Bobbles and Muttley was turned round by Patch before Osborne was nailed by Farren which again turned around the 346 Triumph. Joe Ninety then attacked Patch which in turn span Mr Grumpy and Osborne was again under fire, this time from Mr Happy whose hit was enough to spin him as Fendley removed Muttley before Bobbles’ Rover threw a wheel and again the reds were needed and a lap sheet order restart ordered. Joe Ninety began with an attack on Mr Happy as Muttley hooked out Stress only to suffer a similar fate from Courty as the recovered Stress was dumped out again by No Luck Nat. Joe Ninety wrapped things up by spinning Herbert which clinched him the entertainer award as Fendley took the win in his stunning and rapid Triumph, No Luck Nat and Lathan the placemen.

Qualifiers only for the final but it raised a big field of 30 cars and Mario wasted no time in spinning aside Lathan with Fendley stuffing 322 Foxy into the latter as Reedy Jnr emerged in the early lead from Scottie Dog with Godfrey quickly into third as Courty had Ratty around and Lathan battled back to dump Squeaky out with a big lunge. Scottie Dog moved into the lead as Courty had Craig Osborne around and Reedy Jnr regained the top spot with Godfrey now joining him and Scottie Dog in a fine fight for the lead with Muttley not too far behind, his Humber having suddenly found a turn of speed. Pistol Pete continued his lively night by spinning Harboard as Shorty span Beasley and Godfrey did the same to King en route to snatching the lead on lap five. Courty now had Pistol Pete out as Mario span 303 Wayne Linsdell into the infield blocks, former the latter to go off the head and turn round and meet Mario in a massive head-on on the road bend which earned Linsdell his dismissal from the meeting. At half way Godfrey continued to lead from Reedy Jnr, Scottie Dog and Muttley as 256 Skelly span Joe Ninety into the fence. Godfrey then nailed the struggling Beasley which delayed him enough for Reedy Jnr to take back the lead but he had no option but to fence Farren and Patch to force a way through and this allowed not only Godfrey to take back the lead again but also Muttley to snatch second. Shorty meanwhile span Goldie en route to climbing to fourth as Scottie Dog buried Herbert on the road bend which allowed Pistol Pete to star again as he blasted the former’s Viva with a hard hit. Kingy then flattened Beasley with a cracking shot before Patch leathered Scottie Dog with a stonking blitz on the road bend. Joe Ninety cracked the spun Arni in the rear wheel as Vincent stuffed Kingy but it was Godfrey who became the 22nd different driver to win this race, and only the second to do so in a Maxi with Muttley second and Shorty besting Reedy Jnr for third Courty’s full contact drive earning him the entertainer award.

A quite excellent field of 32 returned for the Accumulator qualifier and Tony Osborne Memorial DD and it was a superb end to the evening. Joe Ninety began by powering into Eaton as Liam Carter buried Mr Muscle with the latter clobbered head-on by Kingy and No Luck Nat nailed the latter in turn. Bam Bm then buried Farren and Lathan powered into the back of the latter before the reds flew with concern for Carter on the road bend. The majority of the field were able to contest the restart with 587 Humps immediately spinning into the infield blocks as Shorty had Harboard around and Trigger butted heads with Pistol Pete. Bobbles found Reedy Jnr for a shot but was then dumped out by the far smaller Riva of Michael Carter with Shorty firing into the latter in turn. Finbarr attacked Stress and Farmer John removed the luckless Humps as Patch turned round on the pit bend and nailed the passing Finbarr in the rear wheel, Muttley then stuffing Farmer Jnr into Patch as the recovered Finbarr met Humps on the nose, the latter then collected in the driver’s side by Lathan. Foxy fired into Stress, the latter also coming under attack from Shorty before Boomer span Joe Ninety into the infield blocks and Lathan targeted Eaton for a fine jacking on the home straight. Farren meanwhile zeroed in for a hard head-on to the spun Stress which rolled the latter onto his roof as well to bring the reds out immediately. A lap sheet order restart was needed and Patch was immediately on opposite to this time attack Muttley as Joe Ninety cracking the lurking Shorty in the rear wheel. Harboard then hit Muttley on the nose and Farren blasted her Minx in turn as Finbarr delivered a head-on to Brett Osborne, which set the latter up for a package from Joe Ninety. Reedy Jnr had also turned round and homed in for a killer hit on damage magnet Osborne but Shorty was on his heels and trashed him in turn as Courty came through for the win from Carter an Craig Osborne. Into the DD and it was great to see the majority of those still running taking part as Joe Ninety silenced the determined Brett Osborne. Brother Craig fared better and began a blistering DD performance by turning round and drilling Shorty with a T-bone before Courty powered into Joe Ninety but family assistance was on hand as Harboard blasted her dad’s attacker only to take another hard hit from the fired up Osborne. Carter now weighed in on Patch which left him open to a head-on from Joe Ninety before Shorty also weighed in on the 329 Riva which left him open to a second big hit from Osborne. Finbarr turned round to administer a revenge hit on Finbarr and Osborne was again on hand for another bruising hit, this time to the Management P4 as Muttley dished out a head-on to the 77 Bubble. This allowed Joe Ninety to blast Muttley and Shorty powered into the P4 but Osborne was suffering with steering issues which gave Shorty time to escape, else he would have no doubt been flattened by the British champ. Instead Osborne arrived to the pit bend in time to smash Finbarr in the front wheel with Shorty also attacking the latter before he traded head-ons with Osborne which saw the 313 Triumph finally cry enough. Shorty and Finbarr both managed to trade a further blow with each other but their battered wrecks expired before they could meet again resulting in a dead heat with Craig Osborne taking some consolation with the entertainer award while Farren and Joe Ninety earned entertainer points and the latter’s efforts throughout the night saw him claim the Odd Job memorial trophy for the best all rounder and hardest trier.

Heat One: 212 Richard Maryon, 313 (Elden), 322, 329, 27, 144, 949, 95, 148 (Jackson), 855 Best entertainer: 148 Deane Jackson
Heat Two: 22 Dave Vincent, 148 (Redden), 757 (Gill), 384, 152, 4, 256, 91, 25, 45 Best entertainer: 757 Callum Gill
Heat Three: 326 Shane Lynn, 673, 313 (Osborne), 90, 436, 303, 206, 328, 237, 132 Best entertainer: 436 Matt Arnold
Heat Four: Gill, 632, 329, 25, 10, 108, 95, 228 Best entertainer: 811 Pete Winter
Heat Five: 673 Darren Fendley, 116, 328, 90, 206, 77, 8737, 313 (Osborne), 334, 256, 346 (Saunders), 91 Best entertainer: 90 Adrian Harboard
Grand Final: 144 Jordan Godfrey, 346 (Saunders), 148 (Redden), 632, 90, 334, 326, 328, 22, 811 Best entertainer: 334 Stephen Court
Accumulator Qualifier: Court, 329, 313 (Osborne), 90, 346 (Saunders)
Tony Osborne Memorial Destruction Derby: 148 Ian Redden and 349 Lee Saunders Best entertainer: 313 Craig Osborne
Odd Job Memorial Trophy: 90 Adrian Harboard

A most respectable field of 18 Reliant Robins gathered for their final World Qualifying round which included a pair of very cool Regal vas for 03 Scott and 9 Dale Russell.

All but one for heat one and 10 Adam Mason was under early attack from Dale Russell as 143 Sam Begley span 185 Ben Oliver and 16 Ray Layton span into the infield blocks leaving 576 Colin Aldred to set the pace as 185 Killer did a complete roll but landed on his wheels allowing the race to continue as 66 Steve Willis removed 385 Roy Gedge and 215 Michael Croxon did a spectacular roll on the road bend, standing his car on its nose at one point before landing on his wheels and again the race continued with 122 Lee Waddington also spinning. Dale Russell hit the front as the race hit half way while 85 James Ellis lunged 664 Ryan Sutcliffe and 66 Pork Pie before 03 Wigley removed 3 Danielle Ellis and husband James was spun by 664 Gump which allowed Pork Pie to pass them. Russell then tangled with Layton which allowed 576 Porkey to close the gaps and on the final lap Russell went wide and Porkey took the lead and the win, Russell surviving a last bend clash with 156 Jay Albington to finish second with 10 Mace third.

17 again for heat two and humour before the start as 325 Craig Lathan rolled himself making his way onto the track. When the race did start Pork Pie immediately lunged at 143 Screamer as Porkey again set the pace while Lathan rolled again, this time with a cool one and a half flip to bring the caution flags out. The race resumed with Gump spinning Gedge as Porkey led the race to half way before Danielle Ellis attacked 96 Ian Robins but span herself in the process as did Wigley while the recovered Ellis came under fire from 270 Eddie Holland with the former immediately responding by spinning her attacker and rolling him onto his roof to bring the race to an early end with Porkey the winner from Russell and Mace in a repeat result from heat one.

Once again the final raised 17 cars with Russell spinning Danielle Ellis from the start as Lathan did a complete roll and Gump attacked Killer, tipping him onto two wheels and Screamer span travelling mate Waddington. Gump now attacked Pork Pie as Wigley and Holland battled over the lead, the latter securing the top spot on lap three but James Ellis was already into second and grabbed the lead a lap later as Croxon went round. Gedge stepped up to challenge for the lead with Pork Pie close behind before Holland rolled onto his roof to again bring the yellows out. The race then took a twist as Gedge failed to slow sufficiently and so placed himself at the back of the pack and the lead was handed to James Ellis with Pork Pie on his tail before Gump attacked Mace which launched them both into triple rollovers in a quite mega crash, Gump landing on his side to bring the yellows out. The race for the lead raged on when the race restarted but James Ellis just held Pork Pie off to take the win with Waddington third and Gedge just beating Screamer home to salvage third after losing a lap under the caution.

Heat one: 576 Colin Aldred, 9, 10, 143, 03, 66, 664, 16, 3, 85
Heat two: Aldred, 9, 10, 664, 85, 66, 385, 143, 96, 122
Grand Final: 85 James Ellis, 66, 122, 385, 143, 03, 96, 3, 9, 185

A quite excellent field of 25 Ministox gathered for their latest track championship round, a number made all the more impressive as all bar one were RDC but it was also somewhat bittersweet as it marked the retirement meeting for the first of two drivers this summer with several more set to follow in the coming months.

All out for heat one which more than set the tone for the night with 331 Archie Fryatt spinning 342 Freddie Crittenden from the off as 399 Cole Atkins fired 301 Josh Rayner to the fence and 315 Charlie Santry led the way while 364 David Shearing lunged at 339 Harry Atkins and 329 Kegan Sampson came under fire from 308 Molly Smithson, the latter then rattled into a half spin by 344 Danny Elbourn as 320 Luke Dorling came under attacked from Rayner. Santry continued to lead from Fryatt and 350 Liam Webster as Shearing again charged at Harry Atkins as 327 Jolie Pettit span Sampson and 304 Tony Elourn fired into 370 Rowan Venni which fenced him and also claimed 356 Harry Overy as up front Fryatt took the lead as the race hit half way. 318 Codie Reeves came under attack from 392 Charlie Morphey and 303 Jacob Bromley dive bombed Venni with the latter fighting back to do the same to 390 Nina Leigh as Rayner did likewise to Tony Elbourn but the latter held onto third place as the leading Santry barged his way past Pettit. The top three reeled each other in for the a superb finish with Santry landing a last bend hit on Fryatt but the latter stood firm to claim his second consecutive win at Mildenhall with Tony Elbourn just a shade behind and settling for third after a fine drive from the back of the grid.

A full field for heat two and 328 Ben Nichols came under immediate attack from Overy as Santry again set the pace while Morphey dive bombed Bromley and Danny Elbourn lunged at both 311 Mike Dobey and 514 Abbie McGuinness as Overy now attacked Harry Atkins. 342 Critter Jnr moved into the lead as the aggressive Overy lunged at Smithson while Reeves headed a quite insane six car battle for fifth place and Bromley lunged at Venni while Nichols rattled Dobney into a half spin, Rayner moving in to spin Nichols into the infield blocks as Overy now charged at Tony Osborne. Santry led the field to half way, clear of his rivals but behind all hell was breaking lose with Fryatt, Danny Elbourn, Critter Jnr and Webster locked in battle for second and an equally fierce fight going on behind for the minor places as Rayner was sent spinning by a revenge seeking Nichols. Harry Atkins had Tony Elbourn out and Cole Atkins did the same to Reeves as Danny Elbourn broke out in second and Dorling and Bromley came under fire from Morphey. Fryatt regained second with McGuinness into fourth in her best performance at Mildenhall to date while Morphey removed Dobney and Shearing fired into Overy who bundled into 368 Dan Santry, the latter then under attack from Harry Atkins but he brushed that aside to spin Reeves as Smithson attacked Nichols. Charlie Santry raced to the win with Tony Elbourn besting brother Danny in the final lap for second as behind in the race for sixth, Cole Atkins fired Dan Santry and Overy into Shearing with Overy emerging in front for the place in another superb contest.

Amazingly the final also raised a full field and was yet another stormer with a big push seeing Harry Atkins shove Overy and Venni into the fence as Charlie Santry lunged at and rattled Webster into a half spin and he was collected by Pettit and Cole Atkins lunged at and span Bromley while Reeves set the pace from Fryatt, Critter Jnr, Webster and Charlie Santry with Leigh, the first of the yellow grade next. Danny Elbourn charged at McGuinness as Dan Santry fired into Cole Atkins which rattled Morphey into a half spin and Charlie Santry butted heads with the recovering Venni as Critter Jnr took the lead on lap three. Charlie Santry then charged at Fryatt and Reeves to grab second as Rayne lunged at Dorling and Charlie Santry moved into the lead on lap five while Danny Elbourn’s attempts to withstand the challenge from Bromley saw him spin into the fence on the home straight while Cole Atkins lunged at Overy to reintroduce him to the wall. Charlie Santry then collected the spinning Dorling and this handed the lead to Fryatt with Critter Jnr into second and Santry recovering in third as the race his half way with Webster, Smithson, Reeves, Nichols, Shearing and Tony Elbourn next. Fryatt hooked out Sampson but this delayed him enough for Critter Jnr to challenge and regain the lead on lap 10 with Fryatt then cruelly expiring and with five to run Harry Atkins was up to third ahead of Leigh, Shearing, Nichols and Tony Elbourn but Critter Jnr came under attack from Bromley which allowed Santry to muscle back into the lead and then Harry Atkins barged past Critter Jnr for second and the latter began to drop down the order. Leigh inherited third as on the last bend Harry Atkins connected with a last bend lunge on Charlie Santry but the latter took the hit and his attacker went into a half spin trying to avoid the stricken Sampson, Shearing shot up the inside to grab second and Leigh rammed Atkins which punted him across the line in front of her for third in another tremendous finish, Reeves and Fryatt took the white grade trophies.

Heat one: 331 Archie Fryatt, 315, 304, 344, 399, 364, 356, 303, 368, 390
Heat two: 315 Charlie Santry, 304, 344, 331, 514, 356, 368, 399, 364, 339
Grand Final: Santry, 364, 339, 390, 304, 308, 328, 399, 368

A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining evening’s action. While the pre 70 banger numbers were down on previous years as was the action levels, although much of that was by design, it was still a most enjoyable sight watching the vintage cars in action and while there were far fewer memorable hits in the heat races, it was far to say the racing was tame with some fine full contact racing to be enjoyed while the Accumulator and DD was a cracker. A decent, if unspectacular night from the Robins highlighted by a couple of rated crashes and a storming session from the Ministox with three brilliant races and it was pleasing to report that, while admittedly some races had smaller grids than normal and less wrecks, the 13th and final race of the night was underway at around 10pm even with drivers afforded some extra repair time during the evening.

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