2013 Saloon and BriSCA F2 Stockcar Championship fixtures updated (added October 10)
Following on from last week’s news piece regarding Saloon and BriSCA F2 Stockcar championship fixtures for 2013 more major dates have been confirmed in the last few days and therefore here are the updated championship fixtures for both formulas for next season.
The major BriSCA F2 Stockcar date at Mildenhall in 2013 will be the World of Shale Championship which will be run for the first time under a new format on September 7 while RDC hosts two Saloon Stockcar championships next season with the English on April 20 and the National on June 8.
Saloon Stockcar 2013 Championship fixtures
World Cowdenbeath tbc
National Mildenhall 8/9 June
British Kings Lynn 29/30 June
European Taunton 14/15 September
Scottish Cowdenbeath tbc
English Mildenhall 20 April
ORC tbc tbc
UK Skegness 13/14 July
BriSCA F2 Stockcar 2013 Championship fixtures
World Taunton 14/15 September
Semi Finals Bristol 4 August
British Kings Lynn 25 May
European Northampton 20/21 July
World of Shale Mildenhall 7 September
UK Skegness 13/14 July
F2 Nationals Buxton 2 June
English Open Coventry 22 June
Benevolent Fund Belle Vue 13 October
Grand National Cowdenbeath 19 October
F2 Challenge Nutts Corner 15 June
RDC at King of the Fens (added October 10)
As expected RDC was well represented at King’s Lynn on October 6 for the raceways annual King of the Fens meeting for Unlimited and 2Litre (no
Mondeo) Bangers, the majority of our interest coming in the former class where two of our drivers produced some of the star cars of the night, 768 Danny McSweeney debuting a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow while 825 Luke Preece raced a DS420 hearse which sadly failed to run all evening. Joining them were 17 Kyle
Overy, 85 James Ellis, 97 Dave Allen, 148 Ian Redden, 327 Mick Maskall Jnr and 830 Lee White, 148 Shorty returning his coupe from the all Granada meeting.
A quiet heat race for the unlimited saw Ellis take fourth and Shorty recover from a spin to take tenth before we enjoyed more action in the annual under 25 GB Championship. A terrible start for McSweeney who span on the rolling lap and took a heavy head-on from 128 Mark Atkins and a further brutal hit from 390 Dave Gibson before 17 Chiefy attacked Predator rival 779 Luke Allen. Defending champion 830 Stretch had to settle for fourth this year with Chiefy eighth.
Stretch copped a hit from 22 Dave Vincent early on in the King of the Fens race but he recovered to power into and bury 721 Dan Clarke only to come under fire from Ellis who was then spat into the fence by the traffic. The spinning 97 Alge was clobbered by Vincent as McSweeney crashed into fellow Silver Shadow pilot 514 Chas Taylor as 327 Little Legs crashed into the spun 779 Munch. Alge recovered to spin 185 Polly Read into the fence as Chiefy again finished eighth and Stretch was tenth.
Alge provided our action in the first Allcomers, burying 89 Joe Barrett and then attacking 313 John Cullingford’s Rover P5 coupe as Chiefy improved to take third and he went on to win the second Allcomers after spinning Read for the lead, Little Legs taking eighth.
Chiefy and Alge returned for the DD and were joined by Ellis who piloted Mark French’s Lexus and they made up half the field. The latter blasted 851 Adam Storr from the off before he gave Chiefy a big hit after the latter had laid into 89 Panda. Read then fired into the Team Black young gun. Ellis ended a quiet spell with a shot on Panda only to take one from 851 the Intimidator with Chiefy then meeting the latter on the nose. Alge then powered in hard on Ellis who replied with a T-bone, the latter outlasting Alge and Chiefy to take the win.
Onto the 2litre class which featured both 129 Dan Chaplin and 155 Lloyd Mullins, the former having a somewhat quiet night while the latter copped a wicked hit from 340 Wes Freestone in the second Allcomers but returned for the DD although he failed to feature with his wrecked car.
BriSCA F2 Stockcar World of Shale Championship revamp confirmed (added October 3)
Following last week’s news item detailing the proposed revamp of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar World of Shale Championship which returns to Mildenhall in 2013 we can now confirm that the proposals have been agreed upon by BriSCA and we are very much looking forward to the start of a new era for one of the sport’s biggest championships next season.
For those who missed the news item last week then please click here to read the editorial which appeared in the programme of this seasons World of Shale Championship event detailing the plans for next year and
beyond.
We are pleased to confirm that our request for the event to be staged at Mildenhall on Saturday, September 7 2013 has also been provisionally agreed.
RDC would like to thank their colleagues at Startrax and TSR for their support in this project and are delighted that all three shale promoters in the sport and behind the proposals.
Congratulations to Martin Wesby and Daniel Lathan in RDC RWD Series (added October 3)
All at RDC would like to this week congratulate 837 Martin Wesby and 328 Daniel Lathan for their success in this seasons National Banger RDC RWD Series, the former winning the championship final last weekend while the latter sealed his victory in the RDC RWD points championship.
For Lathan his victory earns him the right to wear a coveted silver roof for the next 12 month and somewhat fittingly comes just in time for his debut in the Spedeworth World Final next weekend.
While on the subject of the RWD Series we would again like to thank all the drivers who supported the various meetings in the series this season which included some of our biggest banger events of 2012.
We would also like to thank all those who supported last weekend’s RWD Championship meeting run once again under the somewhat unique all RWD National Banger rules. While on the surface the 30 car entry may seem quite modest we were most pleased with the field, especially when compared to the entry last season which was only a fraction bigger (32 cars) and featured a great deal more ‘leftovers’ from the all Granada meeting a few weeks prior to the meeting.
The all RWD National Banger meeting is a most unique one in the sport with a RWD event where car eligibility is based on weight rather than engine cc and we believe that while the meeting is never likely to attract the greatest number of cars we believe the format has great potential to provide something a little different on the fixtures and in its short history it has already on both occasions provided some very enjoyable action, especially for fans and drivers who enjoy the more old school themed style of racing which was common place at Mildenhall in the mid to late 1990s.
Therefore the all RWD National Banger meeting will again host the RDC RWD Championship in September 2013 and we plan to bring you full details of the 2013 RWD Series in the near future.
BriSCA F2 Stockcars 2012 Mildenhall season round up and thank you (added October 3)
Last weekend marked the final appearance of the BriSCA F2 Stockcars at Mildenhall in 2012 and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the drivers for another tremendous season of racing at the Suffolk
shaleway.
While the entry at the weekend of 42 was our lowest of the season, it perhaps underlines how strong the car counts have been this year with an impressive average car count of 54 which is slightly up compared to 2011 but we did one run more meeting in 2011 with two of our planned F2 meetings at Mildenhall not taking place during a turbulent month of June.
Furthermore the drivers racing at Mildenhall last weekend took our overall total of F2 drivers who raced at the shaleway in 2012 to exactly 100 drivers, one more than last season despite us running one less fixture in 2012 compared to 2011.
It is also hugely impressive to report on the amount of drivers who enjoyed a 100 per cent attendance record at Mildenhall this season with exactly one quarter of those who raced at the track in 2012 competing at every meeting (although it could be argued the number is higher this season due to the lower amount of meetings which were staged).
Therefore our congratulations are extended to the following drivers for their wonderful support of the Mildenhall meetings in 2012. They are
77 John Davies
103 Carl Issit
145 Graham Mole
148 Gary Lusher
186 George Turiccki
219 Chris Mitchell
366 Mick Kemp
376 Darren Seneschall
377 Daz Shaw
379 Stu Cayzer
380 Steve Cayzer
396 Dave Johnson
416 Dickie Raymond
423 Neil Darby
449 Mark Dorrill
495 John Cayzer
498 Derek Cayzer
569 Chris Hands
595 Jamie Young
597 Barry Clow
606 Andy Palmer
619 Andrew Clarke
662 Steve Wycherly
696 Paul Lemons
798 Mark Sargent
905 Rob Mitchell
A special mention should also go to 366 Mick Kemp and 396 Dave Johnson who attended every meeting despite failing to score a single track championship point all season.
Further congratulations to 606 Andy Palmer who once again won a very competitive track championship, sealing his victory in excellent fashion by winning the last Mildenhall race of the season, 380 Steve Cayzer who completed his first full season back in the formula by winning the White and Yellow Grade Series Final and to 13 Andy Ford who won the historic first F2 Challenge Trophy staged at Mildenhall last weekend.
Again our thanks to all the F2 drivers and their mechanics and families for their support this season and we very much look forward to seeing you all again in 2013. We will confirm our 2013 fixtures as soon as they are finalised but we can confirm we hope to run nine BriSCA F2 Stockcar meetings next season with hopes that the season opener will be on April 6.
National Bangers October 20 championship triple header confirmed entries (added October 3)
With a rare pair of weekends off at RDC we are now looking forward to our final Saturday night fixture of the season at Mildenhall Stadium with RDC’s annual Thunderstruck event on October 20 which features no less than three championship events for National Bangers.
The meeting traditionally hosts the Accumulator Championship and the White and Yellow Grade Series Final but this year it will also host the rescheduled under 25 Hot Shot Championship (see news item below for more on the Hot Shot race which is currently fully booked).
In recent weeks we have started asking qualifiers to confirm their intention to race and details on how these championships are shaping up can be found on our previews page which now not only features the full list of qualifiers but also those who have confirmed.
We are particularly pleased with the level of interest for this year’s White and Yellow Series which is significantly improved on last season and has almost all 40 available places claimed. Furthermore entries for the 20th annual Accumulator Championship are also encouraging with almost 30 eligible drivers confirmed and also we are delighted to report that all the extra places for the Hot Shot Championship have also been filled.
Again the full lists of qualifiers and confirmed drivers can be found on our previews page but we would also like to remind drivers that this meeting is open to all National Banger drivers and not just those who have qualified for the championship races. However due to the inclusion of the Hot Shot Championship at this year’s meeting we can only guarantee those not in a championship two races, however we hope that depending on the final car count and time on the night that a third Allcomers race might be added.
RDC on tour at Hednesford (added October 3)
Last Sunday (September 30) saw a handful of RDC drivers in action at Hednesford for the venues annual pre 68 event where 587 Alex Humphrey was joined by 325 Craig and 925 Aaron Preece in the 1725cc class. Craig Preece providing some humour in the first heat as he shed a wheel while lining up. 587 Humps guided his smart A60 to third and Aaron Preece took sixth in his Riley 1.5. The second race was the Dave Weare Memorial with 762 Dave Wilson burying Craig Preece while Humps took second despite throwing a wheel on the final bend. Humps’ luck run out in the final as he was buried into 283 Nigel Forton by 262 Buster Godden while Craig Preece claimed third. Into the demo and Aaron Preece buried Wilson into a dead car hard before a back straight wrecking train ended our action when Humps trashed 367 Josh Genders only to be flattened in turn by Aaron
Preece.
RDC’s No Hype Needed round up and thank you (added September 26)
This week RDC would again like to thank all the drivers who supported the weekend’s No Hype Needed event at Mildenhall headlined by the National Banger Old Skool team championship and also featuring the Reliant Robin British Championship and the opening leg of the Ministox Autumn Series Stakes.
Much was said in the run up to this year’s Old Skool team championship with a lower than usual entry of teams, compounded by the withdrawal of the Midnight Runners only days before the event which left us with an odd number of teams and meant that for the first time in the history of the event a three way head to head had to be run.
However while there were some disappointments they were many positives to take from the night. The first was that the three way head to head while not ideal, was a pretty good back up plan and produced some of the best action of the night. The second big positive was that the introduction of the head to head consolations proved to be an excellent addition to the meeting and provided perhaps the best consolation action we have ever seen from the meeting.
Given the current financial restrictions facing drivers in the sport, combined with the nature of the Old Skool event we feel it the days of having almost 100 drivers compete at this meeting are, at least for the time being, behind us. However as Saturday proved, the Old Skool format is still capable of producing some of the best National Banger action we see each season at Mildenhall and a unique type of action you only get at the Old Skool team championship.
Therefore we are determined to continue with the event even if we have to make adjustments in the future to compensate for lower entries than years gone by. One of the immediate changes we have made is to go back to our original entry system for the meeting and no longer will teams have to qualify for the meeting during the course of the 12 months between Old Skool events. It perhaps goes without saying that teams who support RDC events will have first refusal of a place but all teams will be invited to request a booking in 2013. We have already started work on this and already have interest from one new team for next season. We hope with the continued support of the teams who made this year’s meeting a success we can continue this into the future.
Much has been said about the National Banger format of the meeting and also the date of the meeting which coincides with the PRI World Final at Arena Essex. Regarding the date, we have and will continue to stick to the night prior to the World Final in support of the overseas drivers who have supported the event in recent years and have done so largely because they can make a weekend out of the events at Mildenhall and Arena Essex. Massive credit should go to all the drivers who raced at both major events this weekend. Regarding the National Banger format, while it is common knowledge that Ford Mondeo type events are not to everyone’s taste, it is very much our belief and that of many of the drivers supporting the event, that this is the best format for the job. Not only are the cars extremely durable meaning we enjoyed decent fields for the consolations, final and even the Accumulator/DD which you would have been unlikely to have had if other cars had been used in the head to head heats but also the availability of cars such as Ford Mondeos means drivers are more willing to use them in this format where there is a high probability of wrecking a car by the end of the night, if not in the first race.
A big talking point of the night was the controversy in the Old Skool team championship final. It has been a rule of the event for many years that is a driver clearly ignores a black flag and continues in any event, the race will be stopped and the entire team will be excluded. Since 2009 we have introduced driver’s information letters at this meeting and the rule has not only been in place since at least 2009 but has remained unchanged. 82 Wayne Quinn was one of two driver’s excluded from the restart of the banger final for a hit after the red flags which was reviewed by the meeting stewards on video to confirm it was both significantly after the reds and that the driver had no reason to not see them. His actions following this were more than sufficient to warrant the exclusion of Team Green from the main event.
Finally we would also like to applaud the efforts of the Reliant Robin and Ministox drivers who also supplied fans with some fine on track entertainment in between the National Banger team races. Following the destruction of the National Banger final again we wanted to try and give the drivers trying to repair their cars for the final event as much time as possible and so an extra Ministox race was added to the bill. We would like to especially thank these drivers for competing in this additional race and we hope fans enjoyed the race which gave the National Bangers drivers some vital extra time in the pits to work on their cars.
BriSCA F2 Stockcar World of Shale Championship proposals for 2013 and beyond (added September 26)
In recent weeks there have been discussions between BriSCA F2 Stockcar shale promoters
RDC, TSR and Startrax about revamping and potentially enhancing the World of Shale Championship event for the formula, which returns to Mildenhall Stadium in 2013 and has a provisional date of September 7.
The following is an article written by Michael Coventry which appeared in the King’s Lynn programme last weekend as they staged the World of Shale Championship (congratulations to winner 905 Rob Mitchell), detailing the plans for the event starting next year. It is planned to present the proposals to BriSCA F2 very soon and we hope to be able to confirm the proposals, providing they are agreed upon, very soon.
RDC would like to thank their colleagues at Startrax and TSR for their support in this project and are delighted that all three shale promoters in the sport and behind the proposals.
Click here to read the full programme article detailing the proposals for the BriSCA F2 Stockcar World of Shale Championship.
Statement from RDC regarding Super Rods (added September 26)
Following a very serious on track incident in the Masters Championship for Super Rods at Dover Raceway earlier this month RDC would like to make it public about the course of disciplinary action they have taken.
RDC very, very rarely make the decisions regarding disciplinary action public and usually leave them as private matters between ourselves and the drivers concerned. However owing to the severity of this particular incident and the potential long term ramifications it could have on the formula we feel it is in the best interests of the Super Rod formula to make an exception in this case.
The action relates to an incident involving 27 Michael Godfrey and 23 Darren Young in the championship race in which the following action has been handed to 27 Michael Godfrey.
A 12 month ORCi ban from all ORCi formulas and ORCi raceways. In accordance with new ORCi rules should the driver race at a non ORCi track in the meantime his ban will be reset and extended.
A lifetime ban from all non and limited contact formulas (including all Rookie Banger type formulas) at RDC and across the ORCi
All of his 2012 Super Rod track championship points have been stripped.
It is no secret that the Super Rod formula has struggled greatly for driver numbers in recent years but we remain committed to the formula and still believe it has the potential to grow in popularity and despite the shortfall in numbers it has produced some enjoyable and competitive non contact racing in recent memory.
However we recognise that incidents such as the one in the Masters Championship are a factor in why we continue to struggle for racers in the formula. Subsequently we took the decision to make this disciplinary matter public in the hope it would send a very clear message of how serious we will take actions such as this and we hope it might encourage existing Super Rod drivers to continue supporting the formula and new ones to join it.
Congratulations to Darren
Fendley (added September 26)
All at RDC would like to extend their congratulations and best wishes to
National Banger star 673 Darren Fendley on the birth of his son Callum Aden late
last week.
We are pleased to report that both mum and baby are doing great and every
dedicated to his craft Darren was still in action at the Old Skool team
championship last weekend less than 48 hours after the birth.
RDC at National Banger PRI World Final (added September 26)
As expected RDC was well represented at the National Banger PRI World Final at Arena Essex last Sunday (September 22) on an absolutely awful wet meeting. 122 James Woodley buried fellow RDC pilot 320 Paul Seymour in the first last chance race before 209 Tom Waller used his super smart Cougar to run in both 522 Tim James and 177 Darren Jones with a fine hit, 101 Ian Norris then nailing 843 Jacob Foster as Waller and 122 Wooders registered top 10 finishes in sixth and eighth respectively.
53 Dave Palmer’s smart motor was buried by 199 Jacob Roff at the start of heat two before new RDC signing 306 Mitchell Hawkins blasted the spun 17 Kyle Overy before he was buried by 111 Jeff Street which also claimed 125 James
Fewings, another RDC racer piloting an ultra smart Cougar. Following a stoppage for the shaken 17
Chiefy, Fewings took a wild lunge at 572 Paul Scully but fenced himself hard in the process before 100 Callum White delivered one of the hits of the day with a stunning blitz on 552 Karl Douglas. 465 Andy Scarlett took the win to add a third RDC driver to the big race.
A struggling 341 Andy Jones took a hard hit from 519 Lee Middleton as heat three begun, our only other coming when 617 Jack Overy buried rival 158 Shane Davies into the infield sleepers after the latter had won and the reds had been shown to earn himself a load up.
465 Nine Inch joined 188 John Reeves and 912 Kieran Greenway in the main race, our only action seeing the former launched into the infield sleepers at the very start by 239 Steve Carter as 188 Victor went the distance but failed to place, 49 Billy King taking the title for a second time which ended our action in the afternoon.
End of 2012 season thank you for Dover Raceway and provisional 2013 fixtures (added September 19)
In the wake of the Masters Championship meeting and 2012 season finale at Dover Raceway last weekend, all at RDC would like to thank everyone for their continued support of the Kent raceway during what has undeniably been a difficult season.
Almost every raceway in the country has suffered from the awful weather this season and Dover has certainly been in that group with half of the meetings this year being hit by the elements in some way, the season opener being perhaps the wettest meeting in RDC’s history at the venue while the previous day’s weather meant the July meeting featured some of the worst track conditions drivers have ever faced.
But despite all the obstacles, every meeting has still seen at the least very respectable attendance from both drivers and supporters and some highly entertaining racing which we hope has been enjoyed by all.
As confirmed at the start of this season a newly agreed deal with the landowner has confirmed racing at this long serving venue until at least 2014 and a big reason why the sport is able to continue at the track is because of the continued support of those who visit so our thanks again to you all.
As promised last weekend we are well underway with our provisional fixtures for Dover in 2013 and the first draft can be found below. Again we must stress these are provisional only at this stage and still subject to change.
Thanks again to everyone for their support in 2012 and we hope to see you all again at the raceway in 2013.
Monday April 1 National Bangers British and Masters QF, Bangerstox Masters QF, Super Rods Masters QF and Reliant Robins World QF
Sunday April 14 National Bangers British and Masters QF, Bangerstox, Super Rods and Ministox Kent QF
Monday May 6: Big Van Bangers, Bangerstox Masters QF, Super Rods Masters QF and Reliant Robins World QF
Monday May 27: Rookie Bangers Crazy Day and Caravan DD, Bangerstox Southern Championship and Super Rods Kent Championship
Sunday June 30: Unlimited Bangers Kent Championship, Bangerstox Masters QF, Super Rods Masters QF and Ministox Kent QF
Sunday August 3: National Bangers Kent Team Championship, Bangerstox Kent Championship, Super Rods Masters Championship and Ministox Kent Championship
Monday August 26: Dedicated to 20 Andy ‘Baldy’ Burbridge; 2Litre (no Mondeo) National Bangers, Bangerstox Masters QF and Super Rods Masters QF
Sunday September 15: National Bangers Masters Championship and Trophy Winners Dash, Bangerstox Masters Championship and Super Rods Masters Championship
RDC at Spedeworth World Finals (added September 19)
With last weekend playing host to the Masters Championship at Dover which was also the cut-off point to determine the RDC entries for the Unlimited Banger World Final at Ipswich on October 13 we can
now confirm the drivers that will represent RDC at this major event.
Flying the flag in the Championship itself will be the current top three at RDC, 188 John Reeves, 328 Daniel Lathan and 673 Darren Fendley and with 370 John Cobbold elected to not take the final place, it means 912 Kieran Greenway will be the final RDC entry and they will be joined by 617 Jack Overy who earned his place with a wildcard spot at Yarmouth in June.
Furthermore this week we also have confirmation of the drivers who will be hoping to join them via the last chance qualifiers. RDC had 12 places in the last chance events which were awarded to the top 12 drivers in the RDC National Points who requested a place and these were 53 Dave Palmer, 57 Stu Cumming, 100 Callum White, 116 Nat Cohn, 128 Andy Shipp, 133 Marc
Paton, 159 Darren Scarrow, 209 Tom Waller, 313 Craig Osbourn, 527 Michael Norman, 570 Jordan Cumming and 682 Paul Sparrow.
Also receiving bookings were 341 Andy Jones, 384 John Golden, 525 Wes Starmer and 898 Andy Battle who were granted places from Spedeworth in return for their support at their events this season.
Tribute meetings for the Undertaker and Baldy confirmed for 2013 (added September 12)
As promised we had a special announcement to make last weekend at our anniversary meeting at Mildenhall and the announcement was revealed in programme that next season will see RDC honour two of its long serving National Banger drivers with specially dedicated meetings.
Many were saddened to hear this summer that an injury suffered away from the raceways prompted 520 Derek ‘the Undertaker’ Caton to announce his retirement and likewise many were disappointed to learn than 2012 would be the final full season of racing for one of RDC’s most dedicated racers of the last decade, 20 Andy ‘Baldy’
Burbridge.
Together they have over 60 years of service to the sport, Derek racing for the best part of four decades while Andy’s career is past the 20 year mark.
While RDC shared the sadness in the loss and upcoming loss of two of the star performers of the years we felt it would be completely wrong for either driver to leave the raceways without a fitting farewell and over the summer we were delighted that both drivers accepted our desire to stage a meeting dedicated to them next season.
We wanted to pick meetings which we felt best represented each driver. Therefore the pre 70 banger meeting in 2013 will be dedicated to the Undertaker and for Baldy, the August Bank Holiday Monday fixture will be both in honour of him but also the raceway’s first 2Litre non Mondeo National Banger meeting.
For Derek, the pre 70 was the obvious choice. In recent years he and his WI Engineering team mates have specialised in the classic car events both at Mildenhall and beyond and Derek has a special tie with this meeting as it plays host to the memorial trophy for his former team mate Dan ‘Odd Job’ Hollingsworth which Derek won this season in what would prove to be his final meeting. The pre 70 meeting is set for May 25.
Meanwhile for Andy, it was agreed by everyone that the event needed to be at his home track of Dover and the August bank holiday fixture proved ideal as it was on this date over 20 years ago that he started his career. The non Mondeo format was also somewhat obvious as Baldy remains one of a very small number of RDC’s regular banger racers still yet to embrace the modern Ford and so a maiden non Mondeo bash in his name was felt to be an ideal tribute.
While these meetings are still several months away we hope several drivers and fans might be able to make a note of the dates and if possible support this events and join us in thanking two wonderful ambassadors of banger racing who have given so much to the sport over the years.
RDC’s 20th anniversary meeting round up and thank you (added September 12)
This week all at RDC Promotions would like to thank everyone, both drivers, fans and our staff for their part in making our 20th anniversary season event at Mildenhall Stadium headlined by the historic all Mk1 and Mk2 Granada National Banger meeting such a wonderful success.
The meeting more than surpassed the expectations we had when it was first announced a year ago and on top of the tremendous show of support shown for the meeting, the action was equally superb with a really great display of old school style banger racing making for another well received meeting at the Suffolk shaleway this season.
Such was the popularity and enjoyment produced by this meeting that many have already called for it to repeated next season or to see something similar. As confirmed in the programme our plan for next year before the weekend was for the all Granada meeting to return to the previous format first seen in 2010 and 2011 of allowing all Granadas and Scorpios (but again trying to keep the older Granadas separate for the heat at least like in 2011) and we even confirmed our intention of running another all Granada only meeting in 2017 to commemorate our 25th anniversary season although this time we would allow Mk1, 2, 3 and 4
Granadas.
However the success of Saturday night and the demand from so many drivers and fans to see it again has made us seriously reconsider our plans for the event in the immediate future although we do recognise that if we were to repeat the meeting again we would be very unlikely to replicate the success of this year’s meeting so at least that would keep our 20th anniversary meeting a special memory.
We have no intention on making a snap decision and are currently trying to listen to the opinions of as many of the drivers who made last Saturday the night it was and will we look to make a decision as soon as we can, hopefully even as soon as next weeks news update. In the meantime thanks to all those who have made the effort to contact us with their thoughts which are gratefully received and we welcome any more which can be made through the usual channels.
It almost goes without saying that at a meeting such as this there were some issues which we would like to discuss. Perhaps the biggest was the amount of drivers who did not honour their bookings which is something which has become a real bone of contention in the sport this year and has badly hit a couple of our high profile meetings this season. While we did not advertise our entry list in the final weeks leading up to the meeting we obviously kept a list and announced here in the days before the meeting that we had not only 100 drivers booked in but that we had 100 drivers booked in who we’d heard from in the last three weeks to reconfirm.
The truth was we did have a higher number booked in when we wrote our news items last week but felt, allowing for drivers who would inevitably have problems in the run up to the meeting, that saying we had 100 was a ‘safe’ amount and while the final car count of 88 was only a few short it was still slightly disappointing.
Just to be clear the driver’s information letters were left as late as possible and completed very late Thursday night so they could be as accurate as possible and we could try and bring drivers and fans the best possible meeting format. Unfortunately we had 12 drivers cancel, for a variety of reasons, between Friday morning and start time (including one who broke down en route to the raceway) and this cannot be avoided and we are grateful to them for letting us know. What is hugely disappointing is that a further 25 drivers simply no showed with no explanation before or since the meeting and this is especially disappointing when many of these had reconfirmed their place in the last couple of weeks.
RDC fully understands that things can go wrong at the last minute and problems do arise but it is disappointing for all concerned when no explanation is extended. Thankfully, and we hope you will agree, that this did not effect the action on the night as the drivers on hand again produced one of the best banger meetings we have seen this season.
However it does again raise the question of how this tricky subject can be dealt with in the future and RDC has already started to raise the topic with other promoters to see if a solution can be found. In the meantime RDC will continue with the policy we introduced following the unlimited EA team meeting in April in that we will not advertise drivers who have not honoured bookings without explanation. We are somewhat fortunate at RDC in that we rarely have to limit bookings for any of our events and with an open door policy for most meetings where all drivers are welcome we are not in the business of turning people away. However we feel it is unfair to advertise drivers who have let us down in the past without explanation as this is unfair to fans when they decide which meetings to support. Again this is unlikely to have little impact on a driver (although they will not be given first refusal for bookings at events where places are limited) because they will still be able to race and it might actually be RDC which suffers the most by not advertising drivers who are booked in but again we feel it is very unfair to fans to advertise drivers who have ‘no showed’ in the past.
Unfortunately one of the biggest problems of the amount of cancellations/no shows was we had a lot less Mk1 Granadas than we had hoped for. However we had promised drivers who had these cars a Mk1 only race and felt it would be hugely unfair to penalise those who did race them as they said they would because of those who didn’t. We appreciate it resulted in a very small grid for the first National Banger race of the night but we wanted to stick by our word to run the race.
The other main issue of the night, which again in part came from the slightly lower than expected entry, was the amount of short breaks between some of the races. Another factor was we never expected the heat races to be as action packed as they proved to be and this in turn created the issues of drivers needing extra repair time in the pits. While the 14 race programme was completed inside curfew and within five hours it is arguable that the meeting length could have been reduced by at least 30 minutes had we need given the drivers extra repair time in between races and started the races as soon as possible.
However this would have resulted in the consolation grid being at least half its final size and a number of drivers not making the last race of the night (it’s also possible the Allcomers grid may have been smaller but had we not waited for the consolation those drivers who missed it would have raced here instead. However those in the final who got back out for the Allcomers certainly would not have).
It’s worth noting that almost 70 of the 88 drivers raced more than once during the night and the tweaks to the format allowed several to get more than two races from their cars. It’s also worth noting that only 40 drivers raced in the consolation or Allcomers who did not qualify in the heats so if we had run two consolations as planned and got the numbers spot on we would have had, at best two 20 car races. In the end the tweaks combined with the short repair breaks produced a 29 car consolation, 33 car final, 26 car Allcomers and 18 car Accumulator/DD. We sincerely hope the majority of fans agreed with the changes we made and enjoyed the resulting action and we are again extremely grateful to everyone for their patience and understanding and also to the drivers and their teams for their amazing efforts once again in the pits.
FORDS fundraiser success at RDC (added September 12)
All at FORDS and RDC would like to extend a massive message of thanks to everyone who has helped support FORDS, the ORCi’s ben fund for injured drivers and track staff, over the last couple of weeks at Dover and
Mildenhall.
The recent August 27 event was Dover Raceway’s designated FORDS fundraiser and last weekend’s anniversary meeting at Mildenhall was the Suffolk shaleway’s turn to help raise money for drivers and track staff injured in action.
While the final figure is yet to be confirmed (we hope to have it for next week’s update) we are informed that a tremendous amount has been raised and the Mildenhall event could be a record breaker for a designated FORDS meeting since the scheme was set up.
The basis of the fundraisers at Mildenhall was that we hoped everyone on hand could contribute a little with both drivers and fans adding to the collection and therefore a massive message of thanks to all those who contributed and special message of gratitude to the drivers and others who donated prizes for the raffle at Mildenhall which certainly helped boost funds.
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn, Taunton and Warneton (added September 5)
As reported in our news update last week several RDC drivers were representing the promotion in many Unlimited Banger events around the sport last weekend where they enjoyed a fine degree of success.
Things started at King’s Lynn on September 1 with the World of Shale championship where a third place for 85 James Ellis in the last chance race saw him advance to the main event while 326 Shane Lynn and 341 Andy Jones just missed out in fifth and seventh.
It was 617 Jack Overy who had the best fortune in the big race, finishing second to 837 Martin Wesby while 328 Dan Lathan registered a fine sixth place. Overy and Lathan again featured in the meeting final result taking fourth and ninth respectively while 326 Ratty was sixth and Lathan was again in the results in the Allcomers finishing fifth.
Onto September 2 and the Autospeed World Final where 341 Jonesey added his name to the list of qualifiers finishing second and last in a destructive last chance qualifier race. It was Overy who again had the best success in the championship, taking the chequered flag and being declared winner but a subsequent investigation into the result has confirmed 331 Jason Jackson as the true winner and Overy in second with 384 John Golden in 10th.
The Team Black pairing also placed in both Allcomers races, Overy taking a third and eighth while 384 Goldie picked up an eighth and sixth.
Also on September 2 was the BBA European Champioship at Warneton, another big race hit by controversy with 549 Phil Smith originally named as the winner before a stewards investigation saw the result amended because of team racing tactics. 583 Dan Weeks was originally announced as third but this is likely to no longer be the case with the result now being taken a few laps earlier than the original result was declared. The official top 10 has yet to be announced but it is understood that 583 Weeksy has still a top 10 finisher.
Mildenhall August 25 message of thanks from RDC Promotions (added August 22)
This week RDC Promotions would like to extend a huge message of thanks to everyone who supported last weekend’s event at Mildenhall Stadium and helped the meeting go ahead despite it being held in the most extreme weather conditions we have ever faced at the raceway.
The British weather has been a source of great discussion this season both at RDC and around the country but even then the elements everyone on hand on August 25 faced were surely the most difficult not only of the year but that we have ever endured in our 20 seasons at the stadium.
While the wet weather was forecast it could be argued that we were somewhat fortunate that it didn’t arrive as early as predicted with some forecasts saying rain was due from as early as 10pm the previous night.
Instead the stadium avoided any great rain until less than an hour before start time but it was already clear rain was coming with many reports from drivers and fans about the weather in their area and what they had travelled through to get to the raceway combined with the increasingly apparent signs of a storm in the skies around the stadium.
Still few could have expected the extend of the rain that would hit the stadium as we approached start time and the amount of rain which would continue to fall during the course of the night. The severity of the storm was so great prior to the start of the meeting that it is perhaps the only time in our history that we have ever been faced with the prospect that we might have to cancel a meeting on the verge of starting one.
But thanks to the amazing efforts of the drivers, not only was the meeting able to go ahead as planned but each of the 10 races which were eventually scheduled went ahead as planned and there was even some very entertaining racing to be found for the equally brave fans who still supported the event despite the weather nearby and the forecast and a special thanks to those fans who still came out to support the meeting and the drivers knowing full well that conditions were not likely to be ideal.
Saturday night was another one of those meetings where you could have run one race for each formula and that could have marked the end of the event as few would have blamed any of the drivers for not wishing to race again. Instead the drivers and their teams showed amazing determination and resolve and so a full 10 race programme was held.
An equally big measure of thanks should be extended to our team of marshals and officials whose equally impressive efforts meant the race programme was completed in around three hours of the actual start time. Once again Saturday night was a testament to the condition of the raceway and the work which goes into it that the track was able to withstand the volume of rain thrown at it and even more impressive is the fact that the National League Speedway meeting scheduled less than 48 hours later on Monday evening went ahead as planned.
As announced on the night we took as many measures as possible to produce the best possible meeting with what we had to work with and to also reward the drivers who competed in the conditions as best as possible. For those who missed those announcements, here are the details.
We are sorry for starting the meeting around 25minutes late. It was decided at 6pm when the storm was at its worst that while we would run the meeting we would wait to see if the worst of the weather would pass, especially as we felt it would not be the best idea for our marshals to be in those conditions if things were to improve. While the rain did not subside completely it did ease a little which justified our decision so thank you to everyone again for your patience.
Regarding the race format we did not run a white and yellow grade race for the Saloon Stockcars or the Dash for Cash. In order to have run the white and yellow grade race we would have had to have had that race first which we did feel was the best move for the formula and we believed three races in those conditions would be more than enough for the lower graded drivers. We are however sorry for any disappointment caused and the Dash for Cash situation is detailed below.
Similarly we changed the National Banger format to four straight races. With almost 40 cars on hand on a normal night we would have certainly run two split heat races and five banger races in total but with much uncertainty about how many drivers would race in the conditions and continue to race later in the night we felt the best option was to run four all in races and leave the drivers free to choice when they raced. Again we hope this decision was justified with three of the four races fielding over half of the available cars.
Finally the Ministox format was changed so the Suffolk Open Championship was run first, rather than the last Ministox race. The idea of this was simply that we wanted all the Ministox drivers present the chance to race in the title race rather than create a possible situation where some drivers may have waited until the championship and those racing in the heats may have suffered damage ruling them out of the championship. Again we hope you agree this was the right move as all 21 drivers competed in the title race and produced a most competitive affair.
As already mentioned we also took several steps to try and reward as many drivers as possible for their sterling efforts during the night. The Saloon Stockcar Dash for Cash is detailed elsewhere in this week’s news update but for the National Bangers we looked to reward drivers with places in future championship races with extra stipulations being inserted. Both the final and Dash race carried places in the Allstar Dash for Cash but rather than it being the first three home who would qualify we offered the first three non qualifiers for the Allstar Dash for Cash in each race a place in the big money race in October. Sadly the results only produced three new qualifiers but ultimately 26 Dan Holmes, 129 Dan Chaplin and 287 Dean Quinsee added their names to the Allstar Dash for Cash finalists. Similar stipulations were added to the Accumulator qualifier and Dash and DD regarding the Accumulator Championship which resulted in 26 Hacker, 127 Helen Roberts, 210 Steve Hayward,
Quinsee, 837 Martin Wesby and 898 Andy Battle all earning places in the Accumulator championship.
Again thanks to everyone who supported the meeting last Saturday, as always it is greatly appreciated by all at
RDC.
Bangerstox grade list for Dover September 15 (added August 29)
As promised we have one final grading list for the Bangerstox this season which is detailed below and comes into effect for the Masters Championship meeting on September 15.
Silver, Southern and Kent: 9
Masters: 55
Red: 15, 52, 54, 65
Blue: 20, 50, 58, 61, 77, 222, 661
Yellow: 5, 8, 13, 23, 25, 40, 49, 56, 72, 88, 90, 99
2013 Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship (added August 22)
With many still talking about this hugely successful Unlimited Banger Steamer Memorial and Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall Stadium earlier this month we are pleased to confirm some early details about next year’s Suffolk Open Championship.
As previously discussed The Steamer Memorial event will remain a one off event which is very much in accordance to the personal opinions of RDC with regard memorial events which somewhat fittingly were shared by Iain House, aka the Steamer.
However we again fully intend to remember and pay tribute to Iain in the future with the presentation of The Steamer Memorial trophy which is intended to be an annual feature of the Unlimited Suffolk Open Championship and will be presented to the driver named the most devastating driver of the year.
But given the popularity of this year’s event which reflected Iain’s popularity and contributions to the sport for so many years we had considered making more of the features of this year’s event a regular occurrence and we are delighted to confirm this week that we have received the blessing of Iain’s family to do this as an extended tribute to him in the future.
Therefore we are pleased to confirm that future Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championships will continue two of the biggest features which helped make the Steamer Memorial so unique and special and we hope by doing this, as well as presenting The Steamer Memorial trophy will create a lasting legacy of Iain’s relationship with the sport.
The first feature will be that turning round and attacking on opposite will continue to be outlawed at the Unlimited Suffolk Open Championship until the destruction derby.
The second is that we will once again group the cars racing by age for the heat stages of the night. While it is highly unlikely we will see an entry the size of this year’s meeting in the future at this event we will do our best to split the cars between pre 70, traditional and modern for the heat races. It is hoped that in time it will create a similar format to what we have at the pre 70 meeting where the cars are grouped by size for the heats except here it will be done by age and we hope it might encourage drivers to race pre 70 or traditional cars in the future which were the cars Iain enjoyed watching the most.
The 2013 Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship featuring The Steamer Memorial trophy is provisional scheduled for August 10.
Stephen ‘Tomo’ Thompson RIP (added August 22)
All at RDC Promotions were saddened to hear of the passing of former National Banger regular at
Mildenhall, 175 Stephen ‘Tomo’ Thompson who died at the end of last week.
Stephen was a member of the Messers banger team for the majority of his National Banger career and he was a regular at Mildenhall shortly after RDC opened the venue and became a frequent visitor in the mid to late 1990s before disappearing from the sport around the turn of the century.
Never known for his race winning skills, Tomo was better known for his entertaining antics and was always one for a crash, he also had a taste for cool cars and piloted several Mk1 Granadas in his time and also a particularly smart DS420 hearse at one of the early Firecrackers which may have been his finest cars.
His association with the Messers in the 1990s meant he, along with teams like the Bad Company and Condoms, enjoyed numerous battles with the Suicide Squad and their associated teams during the time and he was subsequently involved in many big crashes at Mildenhall and Arena Essex.
All at RDC would like to extend their thoughts and best wishes to Tomo’s immediate friends and family at this time and we would like to dedicate this Saturday’s meeting at Mildenhall to
Tomo.
Get well soon to Jack ‘Jackstar’ Reynolds (added August 22)
This week RDC would also like to extend its best wishes to National Banger star 360 Jack ‘Jackstar’ Reynolds who suffered a serious knee injury in the unlimited banger destruction derby at Ringwood Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
There is no doubting the 3Litre young gun has been one of the stars of the season on the National scene in 2012 with a string of hard hitting, action packed performances as well as top dedication which has seen him in action almost every weekend and he has also piloted some impressive cars as well.
We understand he has broken his knee in three places and was operated on earlier this week. We would like to again wish him a full and speedy recovery and hope to see him back on track very soon.
Congratulations to Stretch-World of Shale wildcard winner (added August 22)
Congratulations this week to underrated RDC National Banger pilot 830 Lee White who snatched one of the two wildcard places in the Unlimited Banger World of Shale Championship at King’s Lynn next month with a solid performance at the wildcard meeting last weekend.
830 Stretch guided his XJ to a decent fifth place finish in the opening unlimited race of the night on August 17 with the non World of Shale qualifiers ahead of him being unavailable for the championship on September 1, it meant Stretch was offered the place which he has happily accepted.
Elsewhere on the night and the Unlimited Wild Card race saw 326 Shane Lynn take seventh in his Mk3 Granada limo and 898 Andy Battle 10th, before 85 James Ellis took seventh in the second Allcomers while in the Micro Bangers after having little success in the UK Open where none of the RDC drivers finished, 328 Dan Lathan bounced back to take second in the first
Allcomers.
Steamer Memorial round up and thank you (added August
16)
All at RDC Promotions would this week like to extend a massive message of thanks to all those who helped make last weekend’s Unlimited Banger Steamer Memorial and Suffolk Open championship such a resounding success.
The night was already assured of being an historic night for RDC, being both the first time we have staged an all National Banger meeting and also the first time we have held pre 70 only unlimited races, but even then the evening surpassed all our expectations with a truly memorable night with some of the best action and biggest hits ever seen at the raceway all played out in front of an amazing crowd who generated one of the best atmospheres ever experienced at the stadium.
Truly it is the first time in our 20 seasons of racing that we have had drivers report that they could hear the roars of the crowd above the noise of the racing while they worked on their own cars in the pits and many have said this support from the fans was a huge motivating factor for them to get back out on track and entertain.
This was certainly reflected in the amazing effort by so many drivers to continue fixing their wrecks throughout the night with each of the 12 races well subscribed and the DD raising an excellent field of just over 30 cars.
All in all we hope it was not only a great meeting for both drivers and fans but also a fitting tribute to one of banger racing’s best friends and greatest characters of the last two decades and well done to 32 Matt Small who was named the Most Devastating Driver of the night and subsequently became the first holder of the Steamer Memorial Trophy.
While there were so many positives to come from the evening there were a few issues which we would like to address and explain here.
One of the biggest was the amount of drivers who failed to honour their bookings. We did have several drivers cancel their place after the last entry list was announced on the website this time last week, including eight who cancelled Friday afternoon/Saturday morning. However we still had no less than 26 drivers who were booked in but did not race without cancelling although a handful who were on hand on Saturday night did at least have the decency to apologise in person. What is especially disappointing is that the majority of these drivers who ‘no showed’ had very easy means in which to inform us they were not racing and that on this occasion we had spent extra time and taken extra measures to ensure the entry list was as accurate as possible. Drivers not honouring their booking is not a new issue, nor is it one which is likely to be resolved any time soon and we understand that drivers did experience problems at the last minute which they cannot prevent, it is the fact that they did not let us know which is the issue. Again with RDC operating a very informal booking system for most of our meetings there is little we can do as we rarely limit bookings or turn drivers away. However, as we did after our unlimited team meeting in April, we will again not refuse these drivers bookings from our ‘unrestricted’ meetings but it is likely we will not advertise them in advance. Furthermore these drivers will go to the back of the queue for the few meetings where bookings are limited. We sincerely hope that the smaller than advertised entry on Saturday night was not too much of a disappointment to anyone.
Nonetheless the final car count of 162 cars still represents a record breaking entry of unlimited bangers for an RDC meeting which we a positively thrilled about.
The second problem on the night was a most unusual one which involved the stadium itself when we were informed there was a serious problem with the men’s toilets on the pit bend which were experiencing a flooding problem. The issue was looked into but at the time the only way it could have been resolved was to have turned the water off to all the toilets in the stadium which we didn’t see as an option but again we are sorry for any problems this caused and hope it did not take away anyone’s enjoyment of the evening.
Finally we would like to address the short break between the Accumulator qualifier and DD. The main drawback of having an all banger meeting is that without a support formula it is inevitable that at some stage you are likely to have a break from the racing in order to give the drivers the time they need to repair. With the meeting running in good time but not sufficient cars to run a second Accumulator race the decision was taken instead to have a short break and give all drivers working for the DD some extra minutes to repair. Ultimately by the time the track was clear from the Accumulator race it was a break of around 10 minutes before the DD started. We could have started the DD as soon as the track was clear but several of the drivers working in the pits would not have made the track. The extra 10 minutes allowed not only just over 30 drivers to contest the final event of the programme but we also believe every driver trying to repair for the DD did make the track. Again we are hopeful that many fans understood the reason for the delay but your patience is again appreciated.
As for the future, while The Steamer Memorial will remain a one off meeting at
RDC, the memorial trophy will now become a regular feature of the Suffolk Open Championship and it has been questioned if some aspects of last weekend’s meeting could also become a regular feature of the meeting as an annual tribute. This is certainly something which will be discussed in the weeks to come but again we would like everyone for the part they played last weekend.
2012 Fords meetings at RDC confirmed (added August 16)
RDC have confirmed details of this year’s Ford fundraiser meetings at Dover Raceway and Mildenhall Stadium which will take place in the next few weeks and raise vital funds for the ORCi’s Ben Fund for injured drivers and track staff.
The Dover Raceway fundraiser will once again be the August Bank Holiday Monday event on August 27, featuring National Bangers,
Bangerstox, Super Rods and Reliant Robins while this year’s fundraiser at Mildenhall Stadium will somewhat fittingly be the September 8 event featuring all Mk1 and Mk2 Granada National Bangers and Saloon Stockcars.
At both meetings the £1 ORCi levy paid by each driver will be donated directly to Fords. However on these occasions each driver racing will be asked if they would like to pay an extra £1 and for every additional £1 donated RDC will match it meaning that potentially every car racing at each of these meetings will raise £3.
Furthermore fans will also be able to help raise money at each meeting. At Dover Raceway there will be a simple bucket collection but it is worth noting that last year’s collection at the Kent Raceway was one of the best straight forward collections held by Fords so we hope for similar support this year.
There will also be a collection at Mildenhall on September 8 but this one will have a twist. In return for a donation of £1, the donor will receive a raffle ticket and once again we are planning to assemble some unusual raffle prizes to give away. Last year several National Banger drivers donated old fin plates which were given away as prizes and we are working on similar ideas for our ‘junk raffle’ this time around.
We hope everyone on hand at these meetings will be able to do what they can to help support Fords and injured drivers and track staff at RDC and around the country.
Steamer Memorial fundraising for OCD (UK) update (added August
16)
Combining the previous topics of the Steamer Memorial meeting and fundraising we would like to thank everyone who helped raise many hundreds of pounds for OCD (UK) at Iain House’s memorial event last weekend.
As previously mentioned we had 20 race sponsors on Saturday who collectively raised £2,600 between them. Then we had the Wolseley 6/110 shell which was kindly donated by 428 Richard ‘Grumpy’ Regan to help boost funds. This was done via a raffle among the drivers racing at the meeting and we are thrilled to report than just over 200 tickets were sold raising in total £1,080.
But then in another amazing act of generosity, 266 Alan ‘Big Al’ Roskell was drawn as the winner of the car and not only did he swiftly sell it to another racer but he then very kindly donated the sales to the charity meaning that in total the Westy raised a fantastic £1,330.
We have yet to finalise the exact final figure but we believe with a few other donations we have raised in excess of £4,300 for OCD (UK) so thank you very much to everyone who helped us raise this excellent figure.
Mildenhall Classic Car Show thanks (added August 16)
This past weekend at Mildenhall Stadium was a busy one as it also featured our third annual classic car show at the venue which once again proved a success on Sunday afternoon and we would like to thank everyone who supported the day.
A very comparable array of classic cars gathered in the display area and it was wonderful to see what are becoming regular visitors along with many new cars and faces to make for a very varied collection of superb cars.
And we were very pleased at the amount of classic BriSCA F1 and F2 Heritage Stockcars on hand with over 20 race cars producing nine most entertaining races and it was excellent to hold two classes of BriSCA F1 Heritage Stockcar racing this year with both the older and ‘less’ older generations of F1s looking great on the shale.
Thanks again to everyone who supported the day and we look forward to repeating the event again in 2013.
2013 Unlimited Bangers BBA Supreme Championship qualifiers and last chance entry (added August
16)
The 2013 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship continued to take shape last week with the 2Litre Banger Crash Attack UK Open at Skegness adding another three names to the qualifiers for the big race next March.
With winner 180 Mark Foster and third placed 382 Jack Foster Jnr having already qualified it means 450 Glyn
Platts, 455 Rick Finney and 17 Kyle Overy who finished second, fourth and fifth respectively have added their names to the start studded entry
We are yet to receive full details of all those who competed in the race but when we do they will be added to the list of drivers who will be invited to race in the last chance race.
The list of qualifiers and drivers already eligible for the last chance races are below and the next events to have a bearing on the 2013 championship are the Unlimited European Championship at Warneton and Unlimited World Final at Taunton which both take place on September 2 where the first three in the championships (who have yet to qualify) will book their place in the 2013 Supreme championship and everyone else on the championship starting grid will join the list of those invited to the last chance qualifiers (remaining events in 2012 to shape the 2013 Supreme Championship grid and last chance entry are the Spedeworth and PRI World Finals and Masters Championship).
2013 Supreme Championship qualifiers
17 Kyle Overy
22 Dave Vincent
67 Mark Whittaker
67 Rickie Beasley
124 Carl Korszewski
158 Shane Davies
162 Brett Ellacott
180 Mark Foster
190 Steve Bailey
209 Tom Waller
298 Sam Wyatt
331 Jason Jackson
370 John Cobbold
382 Jack Foster Jnr
399 Jon Atkin
446 Jason Burt
450 Glyn Platts
455 Rick Finney
597 Andy Ashman
617 Jack Overy
730 Dean Mayes
912 Kieran Greenway
998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr
999 Scott Hill
Drivers eligible for last chance qualifier at 2013 Supreme Championship
1 Dave Thomas
2 Luke Dawson
4 Sam Nice
5 Mo Crowson
6 Mark Lumsden
7 Keith Greenwood
11 Steve Matthews
17 Kyle Overy
20 James Avison
20 Andy Burbridge
21 John Riddell
34 Mark Earnshaw
40 Pete Stanley
42 Nic Manners
45 Anthony Crowshaw
51 Simon Heilds
53 Dave Palmer
54 Martin Lawton
55 Graham Smith
56 Karel Eeckloo
57 Stu Cumming
58 Martin Dalton
60 Kyle Stevenson
61 Darryl Theedom
61 Zack Hughes
66 John Hindley
67 Mark Whittaker
67 Rickie Beasley
69 Jon Wilkinson
70 Ant Long
72 Billy Bond
73 Dean Cruickshank
79 Ricky Twell
81 Paul McNulty
86 Alec Savage
89 Joe Barratt
90 Simon Chapman
99 Ritchie Ahern
99 Jason Jukes
101 Bob Peat
101 Keith Roberts
107 Jack Barton
116 Nat Cohn
119 Davey Cox
128 Andrew Shipp
128 Mark Atkins
129 Jon Brooks
132 Robert James
133 Marc Paton
136 Paddy Conneoly
138 Ant Timmins
138 Jason Smy
142 George Box
143 Paul Russell
146 Steve Voss
148 Ian Redden
152 Jim Dillon
157 Tam Gordon
159 Darren Scarrow
160 Shayn Winsor
160 Perry Willings
169 James Rushton
170 Darren Teal
171 Tommy West
173 Steve Reynolds
174 Dave Osbourn
176 Ady Gibbs
179 Stu Nightingale
179 Shaun Rushton
183 Paul Hunter
188 John Reeves
192 Jimmy Rice
200 Steve Farrell
203 Darren Nash
203 Russ McBain
204 Charlie King
205 Dave Walsh
206 Phil Milner
207 Billy Randall
208 Jimmy Randall
212 Karl Hodgson
218 Rob Speak
222 Colin Riddell
226 Brian Youngson
227 James Saunders
239 Steve Carter
247 Lee Clarke
257 Timmy Aldridge
261 Shane Fisher
261 Dom Davies
262 Robert Bugler
264 Mark Welland
266 Alan Roskell
269 Dean French
269 Rob Houghton
271 Dean Goodall
275 Joe Morgan
278 Tom Hills
279 Andrew Swallow
285 Sean Dyer
292 Sam Betteridge
294 Lee Hughes
299 Dale Locker
303 Jason Oliver
310 Jon Nicholson
313 Craig Osbourn
317 Nick Wakeham
320 Darryl Wall
321 Andy Newton
322 Thomas Fox
326 Paul Picton
328 Daniel Lathan
337 Ashley Garrod
338 Terry Garrod
346 Scott Saunders
349 Michael Allard
349 Lee Saunders
349 Lewis Price
350 Dan Peel
363 Sam Trim
367 Josh Genders
384 John Golden
390 Dave Gibson
397 Andrew Cullen
400 Kevin Shinn
402 Albie Jenner
403 Marcus Sprawling
415 Scott Cornish
416 Simon Lawrence
423 Danny Oliver
425 Martin Stopher
427 Dean McPhilimey
427 Dave Johnson
432 Mark Munson
439 Danny Sutton
442 Sean Crittenden
443 Dave Harvey
450 Glyn Platts
451 Nigel Belfield
451 Willy Blackwell
455 Rick Finney
456 Nathan Roberts
456 Steve Allen
460 Lewis Barber
465 Andy Scarlett
474 Matt Threlkeld
498 Chris Wilcock
502 Hoagy Wallace
507 Paul Ashby
508 Harry Bradbury
516 Carl Gould
517 Sid Cooper
517 Scott Weldon
525 Wes Starmer
528 Alan Hunt
533 Richard Coe
542 Craig Oliver
545 Karl Hough
549 Phil Smith
555 Ben Williams
570 Jordan Cumming
572 Paul Scully
577 Alfie Lee
583 Dan Weeks
585 Kevin Giles
589 Simon Smih
617 Danny Everitt
639 Paul Vines
673 Darren Fendley
682 Paul Sparrow
714 Paul Smaldon
715 Mick Prince
717 Jack Tuffen
724 Mark Puddiphat
731 Shaun Dyer
800 Tom Hannah
811 Kieran McIvor
811 Andrew Benn
851 Adam Storr
862 Dave Kingston
880 Neil Naismith
887 Rob Browning
888 Lloyd Stark
898 Andy Battle
911 Chris Harkess
945 Jeron Hoes
959 Martijn Joes
988 Billy Dennison
989 Dean Arm
RDC’s One Wild Weekend round up and thank you (added August 1)
All at RDC Promotions would like week like to extend a special message of thanks to those who supported and helped make last weekend’s One Wild Weekend event at Mildenhall Stadium such a great success and in particular to the drivers and track staff who braved the most extreme weather we have ever seen at the stadium on Sunday afternoon to keep the action coming.
Once again the weekend was well supported by drivers with no less than 100 National Banger drivers, 65 BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers and 20 Saloon Stockcar drivers racing over the two days and with several National Banger drivers racing two cars, in excess of 200 race cars completed on the shale during the two days.
The shocking weather conditions which hit the stadium half way through Sunday’s programme could well be the lasting memory of the weekend, the BriSCA F2 Stockcar consolation being held in the worst conditions which were nothing short of incredible and even resulted in two very short power cuts at the stadium, one just before the race and another eight laps into it.
Nonetheless the drivers performed admirably in the dismal conditions and we were delighted to see many continue to race both immediately after the worst of the storm and for the remainder of the action. All three Grand Finals on Sunday featured the vast majority of the eligible drivers while the final race for each formula all saw around a third of the drivers return to the track and in the case of the Salon Stockcars, their Dash for Cash treated the fans who also stayed despite the weather to one of the most amazing finishes we have ever seen at
RDC.
Our thanks as well to the fans again who not only supported the weekend’s racing but also stayed despite the horrendous weather half way through Sundays meeting. We hope your perseverance was rewarded by the action the drivers served up in the second half of the afternoon, especially when weather and track conditions improved. We also thank all the fans for their understanding when we forced to half a short break from the racing to allow the drivers and our track staff to prepare for the extreme conditions they faced. This delay was unavoidable but nonetheless we are still thankful to everyone for their patience.
As well as thanking our track staff for their hard work all weekend, again especially on Sunday, we should also thank the team who prepares the track. Once again their excellent work was highlighted as the shale stood up to the incredible amount of rain thrown at it which not only allowed the meeting to continue but when the rain eased the track conditions improved quite considerably towards the end of the afternoon.
We are also pleased to report there were no serious incidents over the course of the weekend with an enjoyable time reported by the majority and we look forward to future weekend events at the raceway.
Congratulations to Andrew Clarke (added August 1)
RDC Promotions would like to make a special mention this week to unsung BriSCA F2 Stockcar racer 619 Andrew Clarke who won the consolation race on Sunday afternoon, although the significance of his victory may have gone unnoticed by many.
Not only was his victory memorable for the fact that it came during perhaps the worst wet weather we have ever seen at a race meeting at Mildenhall with thunder and lightning filling the sky while the drivers raced causing very fleeting power cuts while the F2s were on track but it also marked the end of a streak for the underrated racer.
Andrew has maintained a 100 per cent attendance record at Mildenhall since the start of the 2011 season but as well as that he has also endured a somewhat less flattering record in that since the start of 2011 he has failed to score a single track championship point at
Mildenhall.
His determination and dedication were met with a special award at the end of season presentation night in 2011 but he received a much bigger reward at the weekend with a well deserved race win, made perhaps even more memorable by the conditions in which it was won it.
RDC would again like to congratulate Andrew on his thoroughly deserved success.
Bangerstox Masters Championship format (added July
25)
Following last weeks announcement regarding the Bangerstox Kent Championship at Dover next weekend we can this week confirm similar changes have been made to the Masters Championship meeting which takes place on Sunday, September 15.
Traditionally only qualifiers for this championship along with a handful of other invited drivers have been permitted to race at the Masters Championship meeting but owing to the strength of support shown by the Bangerstox drivers at Dover Raceway this season we have elected to open the meeting up to more drivers and for only the second time since RDC took the raceway over in 2000, there will be a last chance qualifier for
Bangerstox.
While the introduction of the last chance qualifier means more drivers will be able to race on September 15 it does however mean that it will now be the top 18 drivers from the final Masters Championship qualifying points who will qualify rather than the top 20.
These 18 will be joined by the top six from the last chance qualifier to make a potential grid of 24 cars. If there is any shortfall among the top 18 drivers, more qualifiers may be accepted via the last chance race.
However the meeting will still remain invitational only. The top 18 driver in the Masters Championship qualifying points will be guaranteed both a booking and a place in the big race of the season while the next two drivers in the qualifying points will act as reserves.
Beyond that another 20 drivers will be offered a booking for the meeting. These will be a combination of drivers who scored well in the Masters qualifying points but didn’t make the top 18, drivers in contention in the track championship who failed to qualify and those with high attendance records this season.
The last chance qualifier will see a random (Incarace) draw for grid positions but the Masters Championship will see the seeded qualifiers line up in Masters Championship qualifying points order with the last chance qualifiers behind.
The remaining two heat races will start in graded order. The two races after the Championship will be open to all seeded qualifiers for the Masters Championship as well as those who did not qualify in the last chance race. The drivers who qualified for the championship in the last chance race will be allowed to race in one of the two heat races so that at the end of the afternoon every driver will have had the opportunity to race three times.
A list of invited drivers will appear on this page after the last qualifying round on August 27.
RDC at all Rover and Cortina Banger meeting (added July 25)
As expected last weekend was a big one for National Banger action with attention centred on the all Rover meeting at Ipswich on July 21 and the all Cortina meeting at Swaffham on July 22 and RDC drivers were well featured at both.
Starting at Ipswich which began with a heat for the P4 Rovers and this featured a good showing of RDC drivers with 260 Keith Reynolds, 313 Craig
Osbourn, 912 Kieran Greenway, 325 Craig Preece and WI Engineering drivers 101 Richard
Rayner, 587 Alex Humphrey, 133 Marc Paton and 164 Jack Turner in action. 260 Keefy was the first to show burying Osbourn which allowed 13 Peewee to blast the latter hard before Keefy continued to wind out 303 Jason Oliver and 587 Humps was removed by 216 Nigel Baker. Osbourn recovered to attack 174 Dave Osborn while Peewee removed Preece and Turner did the same to 886 Adrian French. Keefy again removed 303 Needy Peck, this time spinning him to the wall while Turner span Baker before he was flicked aside by Keefy who raced on to an excellent full contact win with Rayner second, Humps sixth and Turner seventh.
Heat two was for the half of the P5s and featured the ultra smart efforts of 103 Paul Foreman and 311 Lee Bradbury and the raw example of 841 Phil Jennings. 311 Helm had 402 Charlie Callard out early on and later Foreman did the same to 213 Tony Roe before 688 Steve Collins attacked Helm and sent him crashing into 599 Gary Pilcher head-on, Helm going on to finish eighth with Foreman ninth.
With no RDC involvement in the third heat we move to the all in fourth heat with Preece firing into and burying Spedeworth legend 168 Malcolm Girling before Rayner and Osbourn butted heads and Baker fenced Keefy which ended our involvement this time.
Helm stuffed Keefy early on in the final but the latter rallied back to attack 542 Craig Oliver, the Motley Krew man going to blast 423 Danny Oliver but again there were no RDC drivers in the places. Greenway came under early attack from 401 Trevor Filmer in the Allcomers before he also came under fire from Keefy before the game RDC hot shot was followed in by Baker. Keefy meanwhile was followed in by 173 Steve Reynolds before damage magnet Greenway was rolled by 523 John Swanborough to bring the end to a stop for the second time, 401 Shaggy blasting Keefy on the restart. We then moved into the DD which sadly never reached a conclusion but did see 388 Steve McGrath blast Osbourn and stuff him into 884 Tom Filmer before Turner was buried by 516 Carl Gould, Helm ending our involvement with an attack on 501 Anthony Smith.
Onto Swaffham and the all Cortina meeting and again RDC was well represented with a special mention to Osbourn and Helm who were among those doing both meetings.
RDC interest in heat one came from 20 Andy Burbridge, Osbourn and 85 James Ellis, the latter butting heads with 347 Craig Yates early on before he trashed 152 Jim Dillon later in the race. 20 Baldy advanced to the final with a fourth place.
Heat two featured the ultra smart motor of 209 Tom Waller and 205 Kieran Briddock but neither featured before the smart Mk3 Cortina of 583 Dan Weeks gridded for heat three along with the pretty effort of 570 Jordan Cumming, 188 John Reeves and 122 James
Woodley, the latter getting followed in hard by 688 Wayne Morphett as 570 Dino Jnr took fifth.
The final heat boasted the Mk3 Cortinas of 170 Darren Teal, 473 Mark Nicholls and 278 Tom Hills, the former pairs both very smart as was Helm’s Mk5 which took a solid hit from 960 Ross Winsor while Teal was trashed by 885 Morice
Katier.
Waller starred in the first consolation when he leathered 384 Liam Conway with a rated hit before he was decimated by 165 Ritchie Jarrod as 188 Victor secured a spot in the final, finishing fifth. 583 Weeksy was trashed by 474 Matt Threlkeld in the second consolation which then saw 205 Koonta blitz 360 Steve Nicholls before he came under fire from Mark
Nicholls.
Dino Jnr sent 203 Darren Nash spinning into the pit gate in the final while Victor raced to a fine third place. Helm rallied back from a fencing at the hands of 474 Matty to enter an excellent display in the first Allcomers first burying 29 Christian van de Most and then blitzing 279 Andrew Swallow in style on the road bend. Most then instigated a revenge lunge at the Motley Krew man spinning him and as he looked to rejoin he was blasted on the infield by 699 Justin Smith, Helm landing a revenge hit on the infield before rejoining to finish seventh.
Among the carnage of the near 60 car second Allcomers, 278 Hillsie blitzed 17 Daniel Owen before the DD saw Dino Jnr wrecked by Matty while 122 Wooders was another trashed in style.
Message of thanks from RDC re Dover Raceway July 15 (added July 17)
RDC Promotions would like to extend a massive message of thanks to all those who supported the fifth meeting of the season at Dover Raceway on Sunday afternoon after heavy rain in the days leading up to the meeting, in particular on Saturday afternoon threatened whether the event would go ahead.
Making matters somewhat worse was that earlier in the week much work had been done to the raceway in a bid to improve the racing surface. Not only did the torrential rain undo that work but in reality it make the raceway worse that before the work was done and left drivers with some of the worst racing conditions we have seen in our 10 plus year history at the track.
Nonetheless with a better forecast for Sunday, the decision about whether to press ahead with the meeting was held until Sunday morning and combined with the fact that it would have been almost impossible to have rescheduled the meeting this season it was decided to go ahead but we were still very impressed at how many drivers and fans still came out to support the event despite everything that had fallen from the sky in the 48 hours before start time.
It didn’t take long to realise how difficult the day was likely to be, again it’s safe to say the track conditions would have been better had the improvement work not been carried out mid-week, but despite this the near 60 drivers in the pits all raced and the majority continued to race all afternoon and were rewarded with the wet weather holding off and the track conditions improving throughout the day so that by the end of the afternoon the track was most raceable except the inside line which remained a ‘no man’s land’ all day.
We trust the fans who gambled on supporting the meeting despite the previous weather enjoyed the racing the drivers were able to serve up and those who raced on the day were once again a credit to themselves, RDC and the sport for truly making the most of the situation and their determination and efforts produced a far superior meeting than anyone expected at start time.
Again we are sorry for the delay at the start, addressing the water logging at the bottom end of the track delayed scrutineering which was combined with our medical cover being delayed en route to the raceway and when we finally did look to start the meeting we then realised just how difficult it would be to race when we tried to start the first Bangerstox heat which led to much confusion. Thankfully we were able to adapt to the circumstances and while race two didn’t start until almost an hour after the advertised start time the rest of the 14 race programme was completed by 5pm which was most respectable all things considered and thanks to everyone who helped achieve that.
RDC at TSR World Final (added July 17)
As expected RDC was well represented at the 2Litre Banger TSR World Final at King’s Lynn on Saturday (July 14) night with 188 John Reeves, 328 Daniel
Lathan, 370 John Cobbold and 673 Darren Fendley RDC’s seeded entries for the main event and joined by the dual licensed 148 Ian Redden.
Hoping to join them via the last chance races were 8 Dale Woolnough, 100 Callum White, 107 Michael
Seex, 116 Nat Cohn, 155 Lloyd Mullins, 305 Jason Fryett, 313 Craig Osbourn, 400 Kevin Shinn, 465 Andy
Scarlett, 525 Wes Starmer, 602 Shaun and 603 Jon Cooper, 617 Jack Overy, 898 Andy Battle, 912 Kieran Greenway and 928 Emmerson Prime.
603 the Younger Hitman was the first to show in heat one with a solid hit on 519 Lee Middleton before he buried 793 Jamie Johns into the passenger doors of 401 Steve
Hemmings, smashing the Predator into one of the tractor tyres. Fryett was then followed in hard by 779 Luke Allen before 602 Mr Moody trashed Team Black rival 807 Chris Murfin with a wicked hit. In the battle for the lead 400 Shinny thundered in Mullins on the road bend handing the lead to 589 Simon Smith. However he buried Fryett into 20 Phil Brooks causing the Gladiator to burst a tyre and Shinny reclaimed the lead and took the win and a place in the main event, 107 Seexy just missing out in third while Greenway was fifth, Mr Moody sixth and Osbourn ninth.
100 Captain Cock homed in for a big hit on 405 Shane Tilley in the second heat only to take one in turn from 415 Scott Cornish. 116 No Luck Nat’s chances of qualifying ended on the restart when he collected the spinning 388 Emmerson Fairweather and was buried by 998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr as 525 Wes stuffed 101 Keith Roberts. Overy took fourth this time with Battle ninth and Wes tenth.
Onto the World Final and disaster for Shinny who having blown up in his heat, changed an engine in the meantime only to break down once on track. The Incarace draw was very kind to Lathan placing him on pole with 148 Shorty two rows behind and Fendley a further two rows behind him. Lathan battled fellow front row starter 331 Jason Jackson for the early lead while Cobbold had 390 David Gibson out and Shorty quickly raced into third but a spin from 597 Andy Ashman ended his challenge, Shorty recovering to remove Lathan and drop him to fifth before the reds came out for 34 Mark Earnshaw who’d been collected in the driver’s door. Fendley buried Shorty on the restart as Lathan disappeared from contention. Ultimately 399 Jon Atkins took the title with 188 Victor the only RDC driver placed in the top 10, awarded sixth.
A big field for the consolation but no RDC action, Lathan racing to 10th and a place in the World Masters where Mr Moody attacked 101 Nobby before he was fenced by 382 Jack Foster
Jnr, recovering to feel the sharp end of 119 Davey Cox. 107 Seexy meanwhile raced to the win, Greenway taking third.
Another big field for the Allcomers and the Younger Hitman dished out a big hit to 791 Nicky Young only to take an equally big package from 382 Chubby in turn. The Younger Hitman starred again after a restart with a hit on 532 Chris Walsh before he was buried by a combination of 401 Psycho and 415 Corndog, Mr Moody then blasting 129 Jon Brooks in the rear wheel before he enjoyed
head-ons with 843 Jacob and 82 Barrie Foster. The latter hit however left him open to shots from 338 Terry
Garrod, Corndog, Brooks and 331 Boxer which left the Aftermath man shaken and brought the race to an early end, Greenway the winner. The latter returned for the DD landing a hit on 779 Munch while 928 Tyrone set about 793 Magic before he was trashed by Captain Cock who then met Corndog on the nose causing him to catch fire and end our interest in the meeting.
Mildenhall July 7 round up and thank you (added July 9)
Following last weekend’s event at Mildenhall Stadium (Saturday, July 7) we would like to extend a special message of thanks to all the fans who braved a rather dismal forecast to support the event and to all the drivers who were instrumental in producing a most entertaining evening of racing.
It would be far from inaccurate to say that just prior to start time the meeting did not carry the potential expected with a particularly disappointing entry of unlimited van bangers and a lower than average field of Saloon Stockcars combined with far from promising track conditions following the heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the meeting and earlier in the afternoon.
Nonetheless the drivers rose to the occasion fantastically and by the third race of the night the track conditions had improved tremendously and despite light rain throughout the night and a couple of heavy showers the shale withstood the weather very well and offered drivers a good racing strip which they used very well.
There is no denying the entry for the annual unlimited van banger meeting, the lowest in the history of the event at
Mildenhall, was both disappointing and somewhat worrying and will certainly be an area for attention for 2013 when the meeting will enjoy its 10th staging at
Mildenhall. However there were many positives to take from the night which come almost entirely from the drivers who did a superb job of entertaining the fans who braved the weather with some highly enjoyable racing, the like of which you can only get from this kind of racing.
It was also very pleasing to report far less issues at scrutineering with this meeting this year which is a positive step for the long term future of this meeting and the emphasis of the night was very much fixed on fun and we are pleased to report very positive feedback from the drivers who raced which again is an encouraging sign for the future.
On the subject of the van bangers we are also thankful to the drivers for adapting to the change in format which was only made shortly before start time. Clearly there was not sufficient drivers for a ‘full format’ and had track and weather conditions been more favourable we would not have hesitated at running an ‘all in’ format. However with the conditions we had we simply felt running ‘all in’ races would have been the best move and the slight change to the programme to create three heat races worked well with grids of 11 or 12 which proved about right for a good mix of racing and entertaining.
July 7 marked the 20th anniversary of RDC Promotions staging Saloon Stockcar racing at Mildenhall Stadium but it was an evening which had far more motivations than that and despite all of the recent events and emotions and the bleak weather the 24 car entry was better than expected and once again the standard of racing was far better than predicted once a racing line was formed during the early stages of the first heat. Our heartfelt thanks to all the Saloon Stockcar drivers, their families and teams who were able to support what was undeniably a tough night for all but an important step forward for the formula and everyone connected to it.
And finally once again the young guns in the Ministox produced some fine stockcar racing which all the drivers should be proud off.
Once again our thanks to everyone who contributed to the overall success of the July 7 fixture.
Saloon Stockcars rolling lap change progress report (added July 9)
Last weekend marked the second meeting at Mildenhall Stadium for the Saloon Stockcars since we introduced full lap rolling starts for the formula after repeated requests from drivers.
After two meetings we are largely very pleased with how the starts have been going and the feedback from most drivers has been largely positive and we also believe that the full lap rolling have had a positive influence on the races as a whole.
However there have been some issues and a handful of drivers have been found guilty of jumping the start and received penalties from the meeting stewards. When we implemented the changes to the starts we were clear that one aspect of having them would be would have to be strict on drivers who jump the start.
Therefore for this progress report we wanted to highlight the drivers who have been judged to have jumped the start and have received penalties. Please note the purpose of this is not to embarrass the drivers involved but is more importantly to highlight to other drivers that action is being taken against those who jump the start as to try and hopefully act as a deterrent to others in the future.
So far those who have been found guilty of jumping the starts have been the following
June 16
Consolation: 131 Timmy Barnes and 570 Simon Venni
July 7
White and Yellow Grade Heat: 51 Paul Licquorice, 130 Joe Gladden and 389 Ryan Santry
Heat Two: 6 Simon Welton, 360 Carl Waterfield and 698 Danny Colliver
In each of these cases drivers have been dropped two places and it is worth noting that in the cases of 570 Simon Venni on June 16 and 51 Paul Licquorice on July 7 the penalties cost them race wins.
It is also worth noting that in each case on July 7 all of the drivers came from the same grade. Unfortunately the biggest issue has been that some drivers have claimed they have ‘followed the car in front’ but unfortunately this is not a valid excuse. If the rows in front are closing the gap on the grade in front then it is down to individual driver to maintain their potential. Waved yellow flags and the flashing red lights remain in place until the pace truck withdraws to the infield (on the back straight) at which point the white grade drivers decide the pace but no drivers should be above walking pace until the waved yellow flags stop waving and the red lights are turned off.
Despite the penalties incurred so far we must stress we are very pleased with how things are going so far and will continue with full rolling starts in the formula but we will also continue to penalise those who jump the starts, we hope this information will help continue to make improvements to the starts at Mildenhall in the future.
Another Wild Night round up and thank you (added July 3)
This week all at RDC Promotions would like to thank all those who helped make last weekend’s Another Wild Night event at Mildenhall headlined by the National Banger BBA British Championship and Reliant Robin World Final such a success.
This meeting was especially important being the first staged by RDC since the tragic accident which claimed the life of Saloon Stockcar driver 311 Steve Newman two weeks previously and we are especially thankful to all the drivers and fans who supported the night, in particular the drivers who served up an action packed evening of racing with each of the nine races delivering some good to great levels of action including two very exciting and competitive title races.
Of course the tragedy involving Steve Newman played an important theme to the night and we would again like to thank everyone who observed the minute’s silence for Steve so fantastically at the start of the meeting and also to everyone who so kindly donated to the collection for his family which raised in excess of £600 with further donations expected to follow.
Unfortunately our efforts to make the tribute as fitting as possible did cause us one of our problems of the evening as our desire to invite any drivers onto the track for the silence who wished to as well as members of the RDC team, some of which conduct other roles up until start time, meant we started things slightly later than we had hoped, the first race not starting until 6.45pm. We are sorry for the delay to the start of the meeting but we hope everyone will understand the reasons why and agree that it was very much worth the time taken.
The other factors also involved time, primarily after the championship races and prior to the second National Banger Allcomers race and the Accumulator qualifier. With the meeting just a two formula affair towards the end of the programme there wasn’t much race time between races for the National Bangers. With some extra time in the later part of the night the decision was given to afford the drivers some extra time to repair their cars. This was most significant prior to the Accumulator qualifier. The last car was cleared from the second Allcomers race at 9.50pm and it was decided to given the banger drivers a minimum of 30 minutes to repair for the final race of the night. Unfortunately the Reliant Robin Allcomers did not fill all of this time meaning there was a 20 minute break prior to the start of the last banger race but we hope the 30 car grid and the action the drivers provided justified the wait. It would have been possible to have started the race prior to 10.20pm but it would have meant several drivers who did race would not have made the track. These drivers were grateful of the time afforded to them and we again thank those fans who waited for their patience and understanding.
Get well soon to Roy Preece (added June 27)
All at RDC Promotions would like to wish long serving National Banger driver 125 Roy Preece a full and speedy recovery after a very nasty injury at King’s Lynn Saturday night where he suffered a broken leg.
A regular racer, along with sons Aaron, Craig and Luke, at many of the unlimited and RWD type events at Mildenhall and King’s Lynn in particular, Roy has been an active racer for many years and a friendly member of the pit area and all at RDC hope to see him back in action very soon.
Congratulations to Jack Overy-new 2Litre BBA English Champion (added June
27)
Congratulations are once again in order to 617 Jack Overy who has continued his recent winning ways by lifting the BBA English Championship for the first time against a competitive field at Buxton Raceway on Sunday, June 24.
Not only does the victory give Overy the right to wear the St George cross on his roof for the next 12 months but it earns him a place in the 2013 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship next March.
RDC on tour at Michael Bailey Memorial (added June
27)
As expected RDC were well represented at the annual Michael Bailey memorial at King’s Lynn on June 23 starting in the unlimited class where the first heat saw 925 Aaron
Preece, 617 Jack Overy and 384 John Golden in action, the latter racing a smart fresh Mk2 Granada saloon which he guided to 10th place for a spot in the final. Heat two featured 125 Roy and 325 Craig
Preece, 97 Dave Allen, 525 Wes Starmer (in a smart XJ) and 465 Andy Scarlett, the latter in car of the meeting with a Cadillac Fleetwood. 525 Wes’ night came to an early end thanks to a hit from 399 Johnny Atkin before Roy Preece ran head-on into 851 Adam Storr and took a fierce hit from the Lincoln Town Car of 601 Adam Bligdon who was blasted in turn by 465 Nine Inch. Sadly this brought the reds out for Preece who suffered a badly broken leg in the crash. The result was declared with Craig Preece third and 97 Alge tenth.
Nine Inch was involved again in the consolation taking a hard hit from 79 Ricky Twell which set him up for a hard head-on from the Dodge Dart mounted 401 Steve Hemmings as Aaron Preece raced to a maiden unlimited banger win. His luck ran out in the final where he was stuffed into the infield tyres by 141 Jake Steward while Alge raced to a fine third place. No RDC involvement in the Allcomers but Nine Inch repaired for the DD where he met team mate 150 Andrew Parrin on the nose before he was nailed by 61 Stu
Holdsworth.
Onto the 2Litre class where RDC was represented by 100 Callum White, 924 Mark Rook, 701 Kevin, 604 Ross and 603 Jon Cooper, 400 Kevin Shinn and 64 Barry Lee who were all out for the memorial race, 603 the Younger Hitman buried by the pack before he took a hard hit in the rear wheel from 180 Mark Foster while 604 the Younger Cooper was T-boned by 90 Simon Chapman. 100 Captain Cock meanwhile ran in 924 Mush on the road bend which helped him win the entertainer award while 701 the Hitman finished eighth.
The first Allcomers began with 578 Lee Ranshaw spinning the Younger Cooper into the plating where he was collected by father the Hitman and then Atkin as the Hitman went on to nail 227 James Saunders. Although he had exited his car, there was high drama for Mush’s Mondeo when 730 Dean Mayes planted 597 Andy Ashman into him launching the Hog car skyward before Captain Cock trashed 8 Little Tex on the back straight. 64 the Bull took fourth this time, the Hitman again eighth and Captain Cock ninth.
The latter tasted the plating early in the second Allcomers thanks to an attack from 180 Sparky but this allowed the Younger Cooper to move in and bury the latter, Captain Cock delivering a revenge hit before coming under fire from 61 Darryl Theedom as the Younger Cooper wrecked Sparky with a pair of hits on consecutive laps. 382 Jack Foster Jnr saw the race out with a head-on with Captain Cock.
Nonetheless Captain Cock returned for the DD where he was left well trashed by a series of hits from 61 Barrel, Mush, 840 Dan
Waddingham, Sparky, 382 Chubby and a second hit from Barrel to end our involvement in the evening.
Steve Newman-a tribute (added June 20)
RDC Promotions would like to join the rest of the short oval racing family in paying our respects to Saloon Stockcar ace 311 Steve Newman who was tragically killed in an accident on the sixth lap of the British Championship Final at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, June 16.
Steve was laying seventh in the race at the time of the fatal accident having established himself as one of the leading contenders in the event, having won his first qualifying heat and finishing fifth in his second heat to earn him a second row starting grid position in the 34 car main event.
Steve had become a familiar face and force in the Saloon Stockcar division for many years, having moved into the formula from the 1300cc Stockcar class at King's Lynn and while he also enjoyed the occasion dabble in other formulas with odd appearances in Big Van Bangers and BriSCA F1 Stockcars it was the hard hitting Saloon Stockcar formula where his heart lay and it was a formula which matched in many ways his unique character which will make him greatly missed around the raceways.
An uncompromising, tough, often ruthless racer but always entertaining, his no nonsense, take no prisoners style of racing earned him many fans, and rivals, over the years and you could almost guarantee that when the familiar looking 311 Saloon Stockcar was on the raceway, action would follow and he would not give an inch in his battle to take the chequered flag.
Despite his tough exterior on track, Steve was a very popular man off the raceway with fellow racers, fans and officials. Despite giving no quarter inch to any driver on the track he would be among the first willing to lend a hand to others off the track and in fact he spent much time on Saturday night at Mildenhall helping other racers with their cars so they could continue to compete for the British Championship.
His willingness to help the sport also extended into sponsorship and Steve had backed several Saloon Stockcar racing events at Mildenhall and beyond in recent times and was one of the sponsors of the weekend's race meeting which carried one of the biggest purses ever seen in the formula.
However sometimes his determination and aggression would leave Steve in hot water with meeting stewards and on more than one occasion he found himself in trouble with the powers that be. On one occasion he appealed a racing suspension to the Saloon Stockcar Association and in pleaded his case he told the panel of promoters, which included RDC's Ron Coventry, "Racing is my life, when I'm not racing, I'm not living." Steve was a through and through racer, one of the many who lived and breathed the sport and it will be a poorer place without him.
RDC would like to extend its heartfelt condolences not only to Steve family, including his two young children, and many friends but also to the entire Saloon Stockcar racing community. To all of the drivers, their families and teams who are no doubt feeling the same painful emotions so many are at this time.
Furthermore RDC Promotions would like to extend a massive message of thanks to all the RDC team and the medical team on hand on Saturday night who did everything possible to help Steve. We would also like to thank all the drivers and fans for their patience and understanding when the end of Saturday's meeting as well as Sunday afternoon's race meeting was abandoned. We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment caused and we hope we have your understanding and support on the matter.
We are also incredibly grateful to all those who have sent messages of support and well wishes to RDC Promotions which is greatly appreciated.
We have many catchphrases and buzz words we use to describe Saloon Stockcar racing at Mildenhall Stadium and beyond and many of these apply to Steve Newman but one perhaps does it better than any other.
Steve Newman...Never Duplicated
A minute’s silence will be held in memory of Steve at Mildenhall Stadium ahead of the next meeting on Saturday, June 30. In the meantime many other tributes will be held around the sport and we are particularly delighted with a move among several drivers who are painting their front bumpers yellow, just like Steve’s, and are encouraging others to do so in tribute of their fellow racer.
Message from RDC Promotions regarding Dirty Weekend (added June 20)
RDC Promotions would once again like to thank all the drivers and fans for their patience and understanding in the tragic events which happened at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend resulting in the early conclusion to Saturday night’s programme and the cancellation of Sunday afternoon’s meeting.
It goes without saying that Saturday night was the worst possible night for many involved in the sport but the patience, understanding, support and respect of so many fans and drivers has helped in a manner which cannot be measured.
However we realise that a great number of people have been disappointed and inconvenienced by what happened and again we are truly sorry for that.
The BriSCA F2 Stockcar Challenge Trophy situation is addressed below, in the meantime the Saloon Stockcar British Championship, Bangerstox Suffolk Championship and National Banger Inter Counties Team Challenge have been abandoned and will not be rescheduled in 2012. However we may consider rescheduling the National Banger Hot Shot Championship in some capacity at a later date and an announcement will be made in due course when a decision has been made.
Thank you all again.
Call for new marshals and tractor drivers to join the RDC team (added June 13)
RDC Promotions are on the look out for new marshals and tractor drivers to join our team at Mildenhall Stadium and Dover Raceway.
Joining a staff team at any short oval racing promotion is a fantastic way to become involved in the sport.
While previous experience would obviously help anyone interested in joining us behind the scenes we understand that everyone has to start somewhere and would welcome anyone with no experience who is eager to get involved as well.
For more information please contact us on 01268 412299 (ideally between 9am and 12noon Monday to Friday) or e mail
wastedmc@btopenworld.com
Reliant Robin Summer Series Final standings and World Final wildcard entries (added June 13)
Last weekend also marked the final round of the hastily arranged Reliant Robin Summer Series at Mildenhall which produced some fine racing from the three wheelers.
With the final points then multiplied by two for those who raced at all three round and 1.5 for those who raced at two rounds we have the final top 20 below and well done to former British Champion 576 Colin Aldred who takes the title.
However perhaps greater congratulations are in order for 9 Dale Russell and 351 Martin Evans who, as the two highest drivers in the series who had failed to qualify for the World Final have now earned places at the back of the biggest grid of the year on 3 wheels at Mildenhall on June 30.
Here are the final Summer Series standings and thanks again to those drivers who supported the meeting, especially those who supported the June 9 fixture which was added at short notice.
576 Colin Aldred 208pts
215 Michael Croxon 152
51 Les Jackson 130
66 Steve Willis 130
275 Phil Rowbottom 119
385 Roy Gedge 112
351 Martin Evans 106
30 James Donavan 87
96 Ian Robins 67.5
702 Allan Cooper 67.5
186 George Turiccki 60
9 Dale Russell 44
704 Stu Henderson 42
746 Tony Jarvis 34.5
857 Dan Hill 33
354 Darren Bewers 30
16 Ray Layton 28.5
195 Pete Bowley 28.5
197 Tom Tatham 25.5
286 Simon Turner 25
409 Carl Pears 23
Siamese Banger racing to return in 2013 (added June 13)
Following the superb reaction to our maiden Siamese Banger meeting held at Mildenhall on the Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday Tuesday (June 5), there has been, as reported last week, a strong call for the meeting to be repeated again in 2013 and following discussions with the drivers who competed this year and confirmation that many of them would like to do it again, we can confirm Siamese Bangers will return to Mildenhall Stadium in 2013.
With no bank holiday Tuesday’s scheduled next year the Siamese Banger has been provisionally pencilled in for the August Bank Holiday Saturday, which is August 24 2013.
Obviously this is a long way away but we wanted to let everyone know that we will be running this fixture again and that the 40 drivers who made this year’s meeting such a wonderful success will have first refusal of a booking for next year’s event.
Amazing dedication from RDC drivers in the last three weekends (added June 13)
It has been an incredibly busy time at RDC with four meetings in the last three weekends which will soon become six meetings in four weekends after Dirty Weekend this Saturday and Sunday and already we have seen some tremendous dedication from our drivers.
In all no less than 198 different National Banger drivers raced at one of the four National Banger events between May 26 and June 9 and a massive message of congratulations to 188 John Reeves who raced at all four of them.
Equally deserving of praise is 328 Daniel Lathan and 673 Darren Fendley who raced at all three Mildenhall meetings and 20 Andy Burbridge who raced at two of the three Mildenhall meetings and raced in the Big Van Bangers and Bangerstox at Dover on June 4.
It is not just the National Banger drivers who have shown tremendous support at RDC but also in the Ministox and Reliant Robins. In the
Ministox, the young guns had an incredible four meetings in eight days with 316 Sam Dace, 320 Charley
Streeton, 344 Ross Fisher and 383 Shane Harvey earning huge respect for racing at all four meetings. Equally impressive were the efforts of 301 Josh Simpson, 364 Bradley Lee, 368 Dan and 369 Liam
Santry, 394 Liam Aspin and 399 Cole Atkins who raced at three of the four.
Finally in the Reliant Robins huge thanks to 9 Dale Russell, 30 James Donavan, 51 Les Jackson, 66 Steve Willis, 215 Michael
Croxon, 275 Phil Rowbottom, 351 Martin Evans, 385 Roy Gedge and 576 Colin Aldred who raced in all three rounds of the Reliant Robin Summer Series.
Once again a huge message of thanks to all these drivers for their amazing dedication to the cause in recent weeks and to all the drivers, their families and teams who continue to support our race meetings.
Congratulations to Jack Overy on World Final Wildcard victory (added June 13)
Congratulations this week to 617 Jack Overy who secured his starting place in the Unlimited Banger Spedeworth World Final at Ipswich in October by winning a wild card place at Yarmouth last Sunday.
Despite failing to finish the final, a pair of heat wins proved sufficient for Overy to top the chart on the night along with team mate 382 Jack Foster Jnr and they have both been confirmed as qualifiers for what many consider the biggest banger race of the season later this year.
In the meantime Overy’s wildcard success creates extra interest in the RDC National Points of which the top four will also qualify for the big race at Ipswich. Many were keen to see if
Overy, who missed the first months of the season through suspension, could battle his way up the chart and catch the early pace setters. But now with Overy guaranteed his place it opens the door for the battle to for the top four places to be more competitive than ever over the second half of the season.
Overy wasn’t the only RDC driver in action at Yarmouth last weekend, 620 Guy Whitehead delivering one of the best hits of the night when he blitzed 180 Mark Foster in the final.
Diamond Jubilee quick round up and thanks (added June 7)
As it’s a short week this week and a short news update we would like to very quickly extend a massive message of thanks to all those who helped make the Diamond Jubilee weekend at RDC such a great success.
Thanks as always to the drivers who raced at both Dover and Mildenhall and we feel all formulas served up some great racing and entertainment but a special thanks must go to the National Banger drivers in the big vans at Dover and Siamese Bangers at Mildenhall as these meetings were far superior to our expectations, the latter event one of the most entertaining and memorable we have ever seen at the stadium.
Already there have been calls from drivers who raced at Mildenhall Tuesday and other for the Siamese Bangers to be repeated again in 2013 and we are very hopeful that this will be the case.
Further special thanks to our dedicated team of Ministox races over the weekend, many of whom raced at least twice this weekend and a special mention to 316 Sam Dace, 320 Charley
Streeton, 344 Ross Fisher, 383 Shane Harvey and 399 Cole Atkins who raced in all three rounds of the Diamond Jubilee Series and between them claimed most of the silverware.
Also thanks to the Stoxkarts who visited Mildenhall for their first appearance as part of a main programme at RDC and we believe they fitted in very well at the track and the meeting and we are pleased to report that on the whole the drivers appeared their visit and we are hopeful again of a future visit.
On the subject of the Stoxkarts we are also pleased to report that 212 Matt Dixi was released from hospital last night and checks confirmed no serious injuries which is great news after his nasty crash in the final. We are sorry for the delay that caused but driver safety in these situations is always a priority and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding and again we hope you had an enjoyable time with us over the weekend regardless of what side of the fence you were on.
20th anniversary Pre 70 Banger meeting round up and thank you (added May 30)
This week we want to thank everyone who helped make last weekends 20th anniversary Pre 70 Banger meeting at Mildenhall such a massive success.
For us, the biggest message of thanks needs to once again go to the drivers who showed such incredible support to this meeting which for the 11th consecutive year attracted a triple figure entry with a fantastic 119 cars including drivers from all points of the banger racing world including a record breaking showing from mainland Europe and with them the once again brought an incredible standard of machinery and paint work.
Once again all of the top tin awards were quickly awarded to worthy drivers but in truth the 20 awards which were presented only scratched the surface as there were probably up to 30 more drivers who were deserving of an award for their efforts so once again a massive thanks to them all.
And not for the first time, the standard of action was second to none, particularly for a classic car meeting with this one of the most action packed pre 70 meetings in recent memory and one of the best banger meetings seen at the raceway in 2012 providing numerous memorable hits.
The wonderful level of driver support extended beyond the pre 70 bangers as the Reliant Robin entry was equally fantastic and a great way to kick off the mini Summer Series at Mildenhall and they also treated the crowd to some great racing with some memorable crashes throughout the night.
Similarly we would also like to thank every member of the audience who came out to enjoy and support the meeting. Given the event fell on a very busy weekend for the sport, both locally and nationally, and came ahead of the forthcoming four day bank holiday weekend we were truly delighted to see so many fans, from far and wide, come to enjoy the event and we hope you enjoyed the racing and we hope we might see you again the future.
However, as always, there were various issues throughout the night which caused us some problems which we would like to address here.
The biggest came at the very end of the evening and resulted in the Pre 70 Banger Accumulator qualifier being cut short and the destruction derby not taking place. The followed a nasty incident where 55 Graham Smith unavoidably struck 346 Scott Saunders very close to the driver’s door. The result was that Scott was knocked out by the impact which brought the red flags out. However the second the stoppage was made official, Scott’s car drove to the infield, creating the impression that he was ok and the stoppage was a false alarm. Keen to restart the event as quickly as possible the race was restarted (the red lights were on for less than 10 seconds although due to a miscommunication some red flags continued waving for longer). This in turn created an additional problem as several drivers, whose cars had expired in the pit bend pile-up, thought it was safe to exit their cars only for the event to then restart around them. Thankfully by this point there was precious few cars left running and this situation was not as serious as it could have been. Unfortunately the problems were far from over as it soon became clear that all was not ok with Scott Saunders. Despite his car being on the infield he needed immediate assistance which brought the reds out again and at this point the majority of the drivers whose cars were still running exited them believing the event was over. While we tried to inform these drivers the DD would result it became clear the ambulance was needed on track and so with the time that would take combined with how few cars were still running at the time of the stoppage it was decided to abandon the event at this point. Again we are sorry for the disappointing and somewhat confusing end to the evening but we are pleased to confirm that Scott did not suffer any serious injuries in the incident.
Other issues came at the beginning of the meeting. One of the biggest was the dust and watering problems which effected the second and third pre 70 banger heats. Unfortunately our water bowser was sidelined with problems immediately after the first banger heat. While we were able to resolve the problem before the second heat was due to start we were eager to not lose anymore time and elected to gamble by not watering the track knowing the second heat would not have a particularly big field of cars and that the cars in action were of the smaller variety. While the gamble did work to a degree the dust levels were higher than we would have liked and we hope this didn’t spoil anyone’s enjoyment of the race or evening too much. Similarly owing to the lack of watering before heat two, more water was required to compensate prior to the start of heat three which made the track somewhat slippery for the first few laps.
Another issue which perhaps effected the opening heats was the amount of cars in the opening heats. As always the pre 70 meeting is unlike any other meeting of the year when it comes to splitting the cars for the qualifying heats as the drivers are not split into an even amount for the heats but instead split into three groups, small cars, mid sized cars (A60s etc) and larger cars (Triumph 2000s etc). With over 40 smaller cars it was felt this was too many for one heat even though it perhaps wasn’t enough for two. Unfortunately this was compounded by a handful of drivers in small cars failing to race in the heats which left heat two a little thin on numbers. On the plus side by doing things this way allowed us to have a consolation which was almost entirely of small cars which was greatly appreciated by the drivers in these cars.
Finally we are sorry about the length of the track clearance at the end of the evening. Our tractor teams had been fighting uphill all evening with one tractor out of action from before the meeting started. However their hard work was made harder later in the night when the pits, which had been watered prior to the meeting, became very dusty meaning the drivers had to take greater time too and from the raceway. This was perhaps most noticeable after the Reliant Robin final where their journey too and from the pits was extended by the banger drivers lining up into the pits for the last race of the night. We are sorry for the delay but would like to point out that had the track been cleared from the Robin final any sooner it is unlikely the bangers would have come onto the track any sooner as we were waiting for drivers to repair their cars right up until they were called onto the track.
Lastly we would again like to thank the RDC team for their efforts behind the scenes in running the meeting.
RDC on tour at Aldershot, Coventry and King’s Lynn (added May 30)
Less than 24 hours after the Mildenhall Pre 70, 260 Keith Reynolds and 492 Dean Harper were in action at Aldershot for Spedeworth’s annual unlimited pre 75 event, the former racing his Triumph 2000 from the previous night while 492 Mullet piloted a Humber Super Snipe estate which was one of the star cars of the evening.
Heat one was a bad start to the afternoon for the RDC pairing, 456 Nathan Roberts spinning 260 Keefy and rolling him to bring the reds out with Mullet taking a hard hit from the Mk10 Jaguar of 78 Lee Macey on the restart. Keefy was again on the wrong end of Roberts in heat two when the Cream Team pilot delivered a hard hit to end his afternoon, Mullet landing a shot on Roberts in the final before his tender Humber was trashed in fine fashion by the Lincoln Continental MkV coupe of 190 Steve Bailey.
Looking ahead to this weekend and even with a busy pair of meetings at RDC, several of our drivers still have plans elsewhere starting with Coventry this Saturday (June 2) night where as well as many of our Ministox drivers there are several RDC Banger drivers in action for the Unlimited Banger Coventry Masters. Flying the flag for RDC is 17 Kyle
Overy, 114 Adam Jackson, 148 Ian Redden, 218 Lee Clelland, 384 John Golden, 508 Harry Bradbury and 617 Jack
Overy.
Meanwhile King’s Lynn enjoys a double header of National Banger action this weekend starting on Sunday, June 3 with the 1500cc Banger EA Team Championship where the entry includes 53 Dave Palmer and 64 Barry Lee in Team Bull plus 210 Steve Hayward, 323 Steve
Leeper, 324 Mark Lathan and 326 Shane Lynn who race for the Hogs.
It’s set to be a huge weekend for 326 Ratty who is also booked in for the big van bangers at Lynn on Monday, June 4 (before racing in the Siamese Bangers at Mildenhall on Tuesday) alongside 328 Daniel Lathan while 148 Ian Redden and 673 Darren Fendley are booked in for action in the 2Litre non Mondeo class the same day.
National Bangers on tour at Kings Lynn and Hednesford (added May 23)
Looking back to last weekend and RDC were well represented at National Banger events around the country starting with an unlimited banger fixture at King’s Lynn on May 19 where RDC was represented by 325 Craig, 825 Luke and 925 Aaron
Preece, 90 Adrian Harboard, 148 Ian Redden, 116 Nat Cohn, 525 Wes Starmer and 17 Kyle and 617 Jack
Overy, 17 the Little Chief having the top car by a comfortable distance with an ultra smart DS420 limo.
With heat one doubling up as the 2011 TSR White and Yellow Grade Final, all our drivers were out for heat two, 90 Joe Ninety running in 185 Polly Reade as the Little Chief opened his account with a shot on 273 Kevin McClagish while Luke Preece copped a destructive hit from 512 Dan Jackson while brother Aaron was buried by 5 Mo Crowson later in the race. 148 Shorty motored from the back of the grid to a fine win with Overy fifth, the Little Chief seventh and Joe Ninety qualifying in 12th.
The Little Chief came back for the consolation and came under fire from 399 Jonny Atkin before 525 Wes wrecked 219 Rob Betts with a hard follow-in, 116 No Luck Nat took fifth ahead of Overy and the Little Chief with Wes also qualifying in ninth.
Overy was in fine form in the final, starting with a destructive hit on 313 John Cullingford as Joe Ninety was fenced by 321 Andy Newton. Overy then ran in 81 Ashley Bell before he fenced 695 Mark Mason before the Little Chief came under fire from Newton who was fenced in turn by Wes, the Little Chief bouncing back to blast and bury the determined Bell. Shorty raced to second this time with Overy in ninth.
Overy again set about Bell in the early stages of the Allcomers with the Little Chief finally silencing the latter with a big hit and he was subsequently clobbered by team mate 789 Rob Taylor, the DS420 then spun into the plating by 450 Glyn Platts while Overy fired into and buried 67 Mark Whittaker and Platts continued to bury Craig Preece while the Little Chief completed his performance by trashing 579 Gary Beecham. Shorty completed an excellent nights work with a second win, Wes in third and Overy fourth
Wes moved to the concrete to leather Jackson in the DD before he was trashed by a savage hit from 180 Mark Foster. Overy helping to finish the latter before he outlasted team mate 67 Rickie Beasley to take the win.
Shorty was also in action in the 2Litre RWD class alongside 21 Jason Colbert, racing a pretty Laurel and Sierra respectively with the latter racing to wins in both of the heat races. His luck ran out in the final when he was followed in hard by 888 Lloyd Stark and 257 Jaimie Neve which sent the Bad News man into a complete roll. Meanwhile the struggling Shorty landed a hit on Neve before he was fenced by 557 Paul Bowen. Shorty returned for the demo and was blasted by 158 Shane Davies before he was trashed by a fine hit from 390 David Gibson.
Information is somewhat limited from the 2Litre BBA World Final at Hednesford on May 20 where 617 Jack Overy took a heat win to secure a place in the main event, 384 John Golden and 159 Darren Scarrow also qualifying to join 673 Darren
Fendley, 682 Paul Sparrow and 370 John Cobbold in the main event. While none managed to make the podium,
Overy, 384 Goldie and Sparrow all finished in the top 10 with Goldie and Scarrow enjoying further top 10s in the Allcomers race.
Forthcoming National Banger BBA Championships information (added May 23)
The next event on the National Banger BBA Championship calendar is the 2Litre BBA English Championship at Buxton on June 24.
Drivers interested in representing RDC in this event are invited to register their interest as soon as possible and the top drivers from the current RDC Drivers Points Championship (up to and including May 20) will receive the seeded places in the championship grid.
Looking ahead and the next event is the 2Litre TSR World Final at King’s Lynn on Saturday, July 14 where RDC interest is likely to be higher. We have four seeded places in the championship and these will go to the top four drivers in the RDC Drivers Championship after Mildenhall on June 17.
Reliant
Robins added to Mildenhall June 9 in place of BriSCA F2 Stockcars (added May 17)
Following our previous announcement over the fixture problems regarding the
forthcoming June 9 meeting at Mildenhall we can now confirm that Reliant Robins
have been added to the bill in place of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar meeting we had
hoped to run.
We are fully aware that adding Reliant Robins to this meeting with less than a months notice would be a big ask normally but it is asking even more of our Reliant drivers because this will now result in no less than three meetings for the formula in as many weekends at Mildenhall owing to the traditional fixture alongside the Pre 70 Banger meeting on May 26 and the 'one off' Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday Tuesday event on June 5.
However, unfortunately we are out of options for a third formula for this meeting. We had hoped that when the mistake over the BriSCA F2 Stockcar fixture list had been spotted it may have been possible for RDC to have been allowed to run the meeting despite the National Championship being staged in Ireland. Not only was it greatly disappointing that this was refused by BriSCA F2 but furthermore it was equally disappointing as well that our request to run a Saloon Stockcar meeting that night was also turned down for similar reasons (the UK Masters takes place at Nutts Corner also that night).
Therefore it left us little option but to add Reliant Robins to the programme alongside the final National Banger British Championship qualifying round and Ministox even though we understand it is adding more pressure to our Reliant Robin driver base during their busiest time of the season.
With that in mind it has been decided that while the June 9 meeting will count towards the Mildenhall Track and RDC Drivers Points Championship this meeting will NOT be a World Championship qualifying round and the World Qualifying series will be concluded on June 5 as already detailed. RDC does not feel it would be fair to the drivers to add another qualifying round to the series at this late stage, especially as some drivers may now have other plans for June 9 and will be unable to attend the meeting. However we do intend to offer some extra incentives to drivers who are able to support this meeting and this may include some link to the World Final on June 30 but this will be announced in due course.
A statement from RDC said: "We are extremely disappointed by this situation and are deeply sorry for any disappointment and inconvenience caused.
"While the blame lies just as much in our hands as anyone's, in fact probably more so, we are extremely disappointed that it took so long for the mistakes in the fixtures to be spotted and had it not been for a very innocent comment from an outside party it is unlikely that the mistake would have been identified until days before the meeting and this is certainly very concerning and an area which we believe needs attention from both ourselves and BriSCA as a whole.
"We are equally, if not more, disappointed that our request that the BriSCA F2 Stockcar meeting be permitted to go ahead was turned down as was a following request to add a Saloon Stockcar fixture was also turned down. While we fully understand the desire to make all championship events solos dates, it is worth noting that the crossover between Stockcar drivers who race at Mildenhall and would have competed in the championship events in Ireland would have been minimal at very best and therefore it is a great shame that under these most unusual circumstances that an exception could not have been made.
"It is especially disappointing for us with regard the loss of a BriSCA F2 Stockcar fixture. It is no secret how impressed we have been with our F2 Stockcar action in recent seasons and this was instrumental in our plans to run an additional F2 meeting in 2012 when compared to 2011. This was something which had been met with a very favourable response from our regular F2 Stockcar drivers, especially those who only race on shale and even more so with those who only compete at Mildenhall. Ultimately it is these drivers, and the fans who enjoy F2s at Mildenhall, who have lost out the most and for our part in that, we are deeply sorry.
"We hope our dedicated Reliant Robin drivers will be able to support this extra date as well as they have supported our recent fixtures even though it marks the busiest run of dates for the formula that we have ever had at Mildenhall. We fully understand that some drivers will not be able to support this meeting, especially at such short notice, hence our decision to not make this meeting a World Championship qualifier which we didn't feel would be fair. However we do hope to offer some added incentives at this meeting to reward those drivers who are able to support the meeting and we thank these drivers in advance for their continued support.
"In the meantime we very much look forward to the return of BriSCA F2 Stockcars at Mildenhall on Sunday, June 17 for the BriSCA F2 Challenge Trophy, one of the formula's longest running events with around 40 years of history which will be run for the first time at Mildenhall this year and also the first time the event has been staged in England since 1991."
Important announcement re Mildenhall June 9 meeting (added May 16)
It is with much regret that we must confirm this week that the BriSCA F2 Stockcar meeting we believed we had scheduled at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, June 9 will not take place as advertised.
We must stress that the June 9 event at Mildenhall will still go ahead featuring the final National Banger British Championship qualifying round plus Ministox and this week we are working to try and arrange for a third formula at the meeting to replace the F2s which will be confirmed as soon as possible.
RDC Promotions had applied for the June 9 date late last year when the BriSCA F2 Stockcar fixtures were decided among all promoters and believed the date had been confirmed. However recently the oversight was spotted and further examination revealed that June 9 features the National Championship in Ireland which is a solos date and therefore we are unable to run BriSCA F2 Stockcars as we had hoped.
We are very sorry for any disappointment and inconvenience caused by this and again want to stress that the June 9 at meeting will still take place despite this problem and we hope to confirm a third formula in place of the F2s as soon as possible.
In the meantime we will see the BriSCA F2 Stockcars at Mildenhall again on Sunday, June 17 (1.30pm) for their feature event of the season at the stadium, the F2 Challenge Trophy and again we would remind drivers that we would be grateful if they could book in for this meeting to help our promotion of the event.
Amazing response to Steamer Memorial sponsorship call (added May 16)
RDC is also this week delighted to report an incredible response to last week’s invitation for people to sponsor races at the Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall on Saturday, August 11 which will play host to the Iain ‘the Steamer’ House Memorial.
As explained last week, all sponsorship pledges will go to charities chosen by Iain’s family and within a week of the invitation being made no less than 17 pledges of sponsorship have been made which means so far we are looking to raise at least £1,700 for causes which were close to the Steamer.
While we are truly blown away by this show of kindness and support from the banger racing community we are still open for more sponsorship. In fact there is no limit as all the money raised goes to charity and while it is guaranteed we won’t have 17 banger races on the night we are confident we will find a trophy somewhere to put a sponsor’s name on!
Click here for last week’s announcement on the sponsorship and how to contact us if you would like to get involved. Drivers are again reminded that bookings for the Steamer Memorial and Suffolk Open will open on May 26.
Change proposed to Saloon Stockcar starts at Mildenhall Stadium (added May 16)
Following many comments from Saloon Stockcar drivers and much thought from RDC we have elected to trial a new approach to rolling starts for the formula at Mildenhall Stadium which will come into effect for our next meeting on June 16, the British Championship.
For some time drivers have questioned why we don’t use full rolling laps for races at Mildenhall instead of the half rolling starts we have used for some time where there is a very short time between the cars initially moving off and the green flag falling.
While this subject has been raised for some time, recent events have led us to decide to try and change our rolling starts and on June 16 we will adopt full rolling laps for all races.
Drivers will of course continue to line up in graded order, however the grades will now move further forward around the raceway. It is anticipated that the white grade will start by the pit gate, the yellow grade at the end of the back straight, the blue grade on the entrance to turn three and the red grade at the end of the back straight.
At the beginning of this process we will use our pace truck to dictate the speed of the rolling lap which we believe will be crucial in this being a success but we hope in the long run that we will eventually be able to do this with a pace car as we currently do with the BriSCA F2 Stockcars.
Our intention is that when all the drivers and our track staff are ready we will start the rolling lap but will keep our red traffic lights on and these will only go out when the green flag is waved signalling the start of the race. The pace truck will pull from the raceway at some stage along the back straight at which point the pace will be determined by the front row of the white grade and the green flag will be waved at some stage after the pace truck is clear from the track.
However in order for this to work we are making two stipulations to the drivers.
Obviously there is a great need for drivers to not jump the start and maintain the gaps between the grades before the green flag is waved and the red lights go off. In order to make these starts work and not inflict delays into our meetings with numerous restarts because of false starts we will instead penalise drivers found guilty. While it is likely that the drivers at the front of the grade are most likely to be guilty of jumping the start, drivers behind can also be guilty if they follow those deemed to be blatantly jumping the start. As always in these situations it is the driver’s responsibility to ensure they maintain the gap between the grades until the race officially starts.
Secondly it is also the responsibility of the drivers to ensure that when they line up they leave sufficient space between the grade in front of them on the track. We appreciate that at first this will be a little tricky as it is new territory but again our intention to help this go as smoothly as possible without costing us time during a meeting is that if the first driver on track in the yellow, blue or red grade has lined up too far along the track they will simply be moved to the back of the grade. This process will be repeated until the front row of the grade is in the position we want it to be. We would in fact urged the first driver of the yellow, blue and red grade to instead line up further down the track than normal and if the gap between the grade in front proves too big, we will simply move the entire grade up. This is obviously a lot easier than trying to move an entire grade backwards, hence why if the front drivers are too far forward we will simply move them to the back of the grade.
Again it is our intention to use this on the June 16 and 17 weekend but it is a learning process which is likely to be tweaked and changed along the way but we hope it will be an improvement to the racing at
Mildenhall.
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn (added May 8)
In the absence of a National Banger meeting at RDC over the bank holiday weekend a handful of RDC drivers were in action at King’s Lynn on May 5 where the 2litre banger entry included 148 Ian Redden, 400 Kevin Shin, 602 Shaun, 604 Ross and 701 Kevin Cooper and 898 Andy Battle.
A white and yellow grade race began the evening with 400 Shinny burying 8 James Jackson while 602 Mr Moody landed a hard hit on the spun 32 Alan Wombwell while Ross Cooper raced to third place. Mr Moody picked up where he left off in heat one as he followed in 542 Darren Parrat before Shinny produced one of the hits of the night when he thundered 460 Lewis Barber head-on into 519 Lee Middleton. A back straight melee saw Ross Cooper bury father 701 the Hitman before the former was run in by 382 Jack Foster Jnr as Battle raced to fourth with 148 Shorty fifth.
No RDC action in heat two but Shorty motored to third ahead of the Hitman with Battle in eighth. An early head-on between Cooper and 370 Craig Gray in the final with the former going on to follow-in 32 Asbo before the Hitman fenced Barber. Battle was RDC’s best finisher this time taking sixth, one place ahead of
Shorty.
Shinny (piloting 176 Ady Gibbs’ car) delivered another big hit in the DD with a colossal shot in the rear wheel of Asbo before he was hammered by 67 Rickie Beasley with 72 Billy Bond then stuffing Barber into him. Cooper meanwhile was hammered by 779 Munch the latter then blitzing Shinny on the Power Station bend before trashing Cooper on turn two after the latter had met 349 Michael Allard in a solid head-on.
Mildenhall April 28 round up message and thanks from RDC Promotions (added May 2)
This week RDC Promotions would like to extend a huge message of thanks to all the drivers and fans, as well as our staff, who supported last weekend’s meeting at Mildenhall Stadium and made the very best of an extremely raw deal and RDC would also like to address the many issues of the evening.
For the second week running the raceway faced a testing time with heavy rain throughout the week and more forecast on the evening of the meeting. RDC Promotions has a policy of running our race meetings wherever possible and understands that sometimes you will not be fortunate with kind weather and subsequently ideal racing conditions but this is always a risk of our sport, especially with a shale racetrack. RDC is extremely proud of its record of running race meetings as scheduled and in our 20th season at Mildenhall we have only been forced to cancel a small number of meetings in all those years, and it should be noted that an even smaller number of those were due to weather and track conditions.
However last Saturday was perhaps the first time this policy has ever been called into question following an alarming amount of cancellations from drivers and teams in the unlimited banger EA team championship which combined with additional no shows meant that almost as many drivers did not honour their places as those who did.
It would be extremely easy to focus on the negatives of the evening but we would like to begin by talking about the positives. Firstly we want to again express our greatest gratitude to the drivers who braved the elements to compete as scheduled and to the fans who came to watch them as well as our staff whom without the meeting could not have gone ahead.
While the 48 strong showing of unlimited bangers was significantly down on the number expected it is worth noting that by many other standards in 2012 this would be considered a respectable number for an unlimited banger meeting, especially on a night where the weather conditions were as bad as they were. The same could be said for the young guns in the Ministox where again an 18 car entry in 2012 is considered most decent and even more so on a night as miserable as last Saturday.
However what is perhaps of even more praise that than just detailing the commitment of those who showed up in spite of the grim forecast was the drivers amazing efforts on the evening. Unfortunately two of the 48 unlimited bangers present never left the pits all evening but of the remaining 46, no less than 38 competed in at least two races and 888 Shane Emmerson and 898 Andy Battle should be included in that list to make it 40 as both drivers fixed their cars from their first heats only to break down on the way to the track for the second heats. Furthermore of the six drivers who only raced once in the bangers we want to stress that not one driver informed us that they were not continuing because of the weather or track conditions. In fact of the six drivers who only raced once, at least two were wrecked and one suffered a seized engine. This effort was matched in the Ministox where all but one driver raced in at least two races (and that driver 311 Jordan Horner was unable to race again after briefly being knocked out in the first heat) and 15 drivers raced in all three races. Even more impressive were banger drivers 370 John
Cobbold, 542 Darren Parratt, 673 Darren Fendley and 730 Dean Mayes were raced in four unlimited bangers races Saturday. They would have been joined by 525 Wes Starmer and 837 Martin Wesby but unfortunately their cars let them down before the final race of the night.
It was due to this tremendous effort by the
Unlimited Banger drivers in particular that we were able to run a fourth heat.
Having informed the drivers before start time that we would be splitting the
entry into two heats rather than three at the start we fully expected to run the
remaining races 'all in' but said we would review this after the second heat.
Drivers we spoke to at the time gave their commitment to the entire meeting and
were good to their word as highlighted above and it is thanks to their efforts
that we were able to run a fourth heat as it was felt there was potentially too
many cars for an 'all in' third heat.
There is no denying that nothing less than 100 per cent was given by all the drivers in attendance on Saturday night and they deserve nothing but the highest praise for their efforts.
With that in mind we pledged before the start of the meeting to try and reward those who supported the meeting as best as we could with added incentives throughout the night with regard to the various areas of the evening where drivers and teams could secure places for events later in the season. It was announced that traditionally the winner of the team championship would secure a place in the Old Skool team championship but on this occasion if the winner had qualified the place would be offered to the highest team that had yet to qualify so a team was guaranteed a place in the Old Skool meeting from this event. This process was repeated with the RDC RWD Championship place available in the final, three places in the Allstar Dash for Cash via the Grand Final and three places in the Accumulator Championship via the Accumulator qualifier and DD. Ultimately and somewhat ironically this pledge didn’t deliver much extra reward as the majority of those who secured qualifying places had not yet done so for the various events. One exception was 673 Darren Fendley whose second place in the Grand Final became sufficient to secure a place in the RDC RWD Championship as race winner 124 Carl Korsewski had already qualified.
Furthermore in this area, it was decided that despite the final being open to all cars, the top 10 teams after the heats (which was all those who scored points) would receive ‘final qualifiers’ points in the RDC team championship and that the final would still carry double points for track and national points.
Finally we would also like to thank our track team for doing the best job possible in extremely difficult circumstances. While the track had taken a pounding by the awful weather all week and again on the night we would like to think the conditions were perhaps a little better than what some may have expected. This was also the case on April 21 where with the help of the rain stopping before start time, track conditions were most decent by the end of the evening. While the wet weather greatly restricted the work which could be done to the track between the April 21 and 28 meetings it is a testament to the excellent work done in the weeks and months before that which keeps the raceway in a state where meetings like our last two can still go ahead as scheduled.
We would like to think this work is reflected in the support of the drivers as despite the weather and despite the cancellations/no shows last weekend, the two meetings on April 21 and 28 saw no less than 98 different National Banger drivers race, 55 BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers and 25 Ministox compete at the raceway.
A special thanks again should also go to the 11 National Banger drivers (17 Kyle
Overy, 107 Michael Seex, 160 Perry Willings, 328 Daniel Lathan, 370 John Cobbold, 384 John Golden, 525 Wes
Starmer, 673 Darren Fendley, 682 Paul Sparrow, 862 Liam Reach and 898 Andy Battle) and the 16 Ministox drivers (everyone on Saturday save 383 Shane Harvey and 521 Jack Cowley raced on April 21 as well) who competed at both of these meetings which were significantly affected by the weather.
Looking at the other issues of the evening and there was none bigger than the glut of teams and drivers who both withdrew from the meeting in the hours leading up to start time and those who simply did not show. As announced on the evening the first team to confirm they would not attend was the Randoms who contacted us at around 5.30pm on Friday evening by which point the Coventry family was already at the stadium in time for the greyhound meeting at Mildenhall that night. This was closely followed by Team Black who cancelled their B team along with a message that it was unclear how many drivers would be in the Young Ones. These were the only teams to contact us on Friday.
The pattern continued on Saturday morning. By around 11am the Barton Boys, Team Minted and WI Engineering had cancelled and they were joined by 3Litre Magazine shortly after lunch time and finally the Grave Diggers cancelled their place in the early afternoon. It should be noted that not all of these times cancelled because of the weather as other reasons were given.
The Ant Hill Mob, Midnight Runners and Team DWO did not contact us before hand to inform us they were not attending.
What made the situation even more frustrating, disappointing and even embarrassing for us was that on Thursday evening we had contacted every team captain and many of the drivers booked in to race via text message giving them details of the meeting format which had only just been confirmed. A number of drivers informed us of withdrawals and changes to various teams but ultimately by lunch time Friday we still had 92 drivers booked in to race which, given the weather and forecast, we felt was most impressive and there decided to again update our website with the latest information to keep fans up to date. To then have so many withdraw so close to the meeting was gut wrenching from our side and obviously massively disappointing for any fans who chose to support the meeting based on the final information which came from us.
It does leave us with some questions as to where to go in the future. As previously detailed RDC does not have a policy of cancelling meetings because of bad weather or forecasts and believes meetings that our scheduled should go ahead all the time they can do and firmly believes that a change in this policy would be hugely harmful for our sport and RDC in particular.
We have also had a policy that on occasions such as this, the drivers who do race should not lose out because of the ones who have not attended. This is a key reason why one suggestion that the proposed team championship format should be abandoned and rescheduled another day was quickly dismissed. Although it proved somewhat fruitless we did make attempts to reward the drivers on hand with guaranteed chances to qualify for various events later in the season (as mentioned above) and at least many drivers and teams who did race Saturday did earn places in various events elsewhere in 2012.
We are also delighted to report an incredible amount of positive feedback from the drivers who raced on Saturday, many saying that in spite of everything they still enjoyed the night, a very positive atmosphere among drivers in the pits was reported by our pit staff and several drivers have in fact complimented us on running the meeting in the first place. We would like to remind them that had it not been for them there would have not been a meeting to run so the gratitude is more than mutual.
As for the future of this meeting. While the unlimited EA team championship will of course remain a feature of our fixtures, 2013 is likely to be a year for rebuilding for this event (it’s also worth noting that while the 2011 meeting enjoyed a three figure turn out, it too suffered from a number of late cancellations) and our current plan is to downsize the amount of teams we open the meeting too and introduce either a third formula or a different second formula which requires more than a three race format to give us some more options for the overall meeting format. Obviously the teams who raced on Saturday will have first refusal of a booking and we hope that with their continued support we can re-establish the meeting into one of the biggest unlimited events in the sport.
In the immediate future we are obviously extremely concerned about the drivers who withdrew from the event as such short notice that we were not in a position to inform the fans. In many cases it was the first time we have had the problem with these drivers and teams and we do understand that Saturday night was an extreme case although repeat instances will certainly be monitored. However in the case of the repeat offenders and those who simply no showed we have elected to take extra measures. It is very rare that RDC ever stages any National Banger event with limited bookings, most of our meetings are open to all and all drivers are welcome and this will not change. However on the odd occasions where bookings are restricted these drivers will go to the back of the queue to be offered one. Furthermore on the occasions where we do advertise pre meeting entry lists but all drivers remain welcome on the day of the meeting, these drivers will be free to book in as usual but we will not advertise them on our lists. Again we are not in the business of turning drivers away in any formulas and don’t particularly enjoy the rare occasions where we have to and this will not change so these drivers remain welcome at out events. However it seems somewhat pointless to advertise them to fans if there is a chance they will not show without informing us. Ultimately it could be argued that we stand to lose the most with this set up but we would prefer that than to promote drivers attending an event of ours and have them let us and fans down
again.
The second 'problem area' was the length of
time in between some of the races, in particular the first Ministox heat and the
third unlimited banger heat and between the second Ministox heat and the
Unlimited banger final. Even before the issue of teams pulling out we were wary
of ensuring drivers and teams had sufficient time for repairs between their
races and with the conditions of the night this became even more important. When
the new format was explained to the drivers before start time it was added that
we would do our best to give the drivers the time they needed in the pits for
repairs 'within reason'. This resulted in a decision to give all drivers a
minimum of 30 minutes between their races. However with only Ministox on the
bill alongside the bangers it did mean that often these 30 minutes were not
filled with racing. Nonetheless this time was vital in allowing the drivers to
continue racing but again we thank all fans for their patience and hopefully
understanding and hope it did not spoil your evening, especially as the nine
race programme was completed in around three hours.
Again we want to thank everyone for their support on Saturday night and hope in spite of the issues you had an enjoyable evening and a safe journey home and we hope to enjoy your company again soon.
Unlimited Bangers Suffolk Open and Steamer Memorial additional information (added May 2)
Following last week’s announcement that this year’s Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall on August 11 would also play host to the Iain ‘the Steamer’ House Memorial we have some additional information which we would like to add.
The most important is with regard to drivers hoping or considering racing a pre70 car. We have already stated that our intention is to group all the pre70 car together in the same heat and that if numbers permit we would love nothing more than to run a pre70 race. However what we perhaps didn’t make clear is that we hope to run a format somewhat similar to what we use at the pre70 meeting where the opening heats are for the smaller cars and as the heats progress the cars in action get larger. This has the knock on effect in that if there is sufficient cars for more than one consolation we again strive to keep the smaller and bigger cars apart again as best as possible. It is our intention to do something similar at the Suffolk Open/Steamer Memorial but instead of using size, the cars will be split by age. The pre 70 stuff will be first on track, then the ‘traditional’ unlimited bangers (Mk1/2/3
Granadas, Jaguars, Volvos etc) and finally the ‘modern stuff’ (Scorpio/Ultimas, Lexus’, Supras etc) and our hope is that again if the numbers allow more than one consolation we will again keep the pre70 stuff separate from the modern cars. Ultimately our goal is to keep the older cars away from the modern cars for as long as possible although this will again completely depend on what we have to work with on the night itself. We hope that helps make things a little clearer.
As a couple of people have asked we would like to confirm that ALL types of unlimited banger are permitted at this meeting and that does include hearses which are often something of a grey area at memorial events. However given Steamer’s affection for this type of cars, hearses are not only permitted but actively encouraged where possible.
Finally we completely neglected to include in our announcement last weekend that the meeting coincides with another event at the stadium on that weekend with the third annual Mildenhall Classic Car Show on Sunday, August 12 which will once again feature BriSCA Heritage Stockcar racing on the Sunday. The fact that the dates fall together is somewhat fitting as again it was felt that Steamer would have enjoyed the classic cars in the show so it was a nice addition to the weekend but we wanted to remind anyone planning to attending the Suffolk Open/Steamer Memorial on August 11 of the classic car event the following afternoon.
Again we want to remind all drivers that we will start taking bookings for this meeting from May 26 (Pre 70 meeting) and hope to bring you more information on the coming weeks.
For our official announcement of the Steamer memorial at the Suffolk Open Championship
click here
New National Banger grades for May 12 (added May 2)
For reasons which cannot be explained, while we announce the latest grades for most of our formulas on this page we have never before announced the new National Banger grades here.
While we actually have no logical reason behind this we felt it was time to stop this so with the new T-Bone magazine on its way to drivers this week here are the new RDC National Banger grades which come into effect at Mildenhall on May 12 for the third British Championship qualifier and Martin Seex Memorial.
Silver: 188
National: 328 (Dan Lathan)
Red: 53, 59, 97, 116, 346, 349, 370, 492, 502, 617, 673, 682, 898, 920
Blue: 17, 57, 64, 73, 85, 107, 113, 128, 148, 160, 209 (Tom Waller), 218 (Lee
Clelland), 303, 313, 322, 525, 527, 570, 603
Yellow: 8, 15, 20, 31, 32, 35, 37, 39, 48, 58, 82, 101 (Ian Norris), 159, 170, 278, 288, 324, 328 (Mark Hughes), 371, 384, 442, 465, 473, 604, 659, 690, 746, 801, 841, 912
With the next edition of T-Bone hopefully available from May 26 it is intended that a new grading list will be in place for June 9 and the final National Banger British Championship qualifier.
National Bangers Old Skool Team Championship information (added May 2)
It may still be several months away but with the conclusion of the unlimited EA team championship last weekend, the 2012 National Banger Old Skool team championship at Mildenhall on September 22 is perhaps a little closer than it may appear.
Once again there will be 12 places for eight man teams at the unique event which will be once again determined in a unique method. All existing RDC team champions will be offered a spot which means the Dover Boys (defending and RDC team champions), Norfolk N Good (Unlimited EA team champions), Team Black (1400cc Suffolk Open team champions) and Team Green
(Mildenhall Team Champions) are already locked in. Add to them, as promised Team Eurotrash will again be offered a place in return for their support last season and looking to build on the success of the overseas inclusion in this event, a second place has been offered to the Dutch and Irish racers and they are presently seeing whether that is achievable.
And with the winners of the Kent Team Championship at Dover on August 5 also be offered a place it means there could be as few as five remaining places up for grabs and once again these will be offered to the top teams in a ‘tweaked’ version of the RDC Team Championship points which runs from the 2011 Old Skool team championship to this year’s Kent Team Championship.
The points chart is shown below (teams which have already secured an Old Skool place are shown in bold). The final meeting to shape the chart is the Kent Team Championship for National Bangers at Dover on August 5 and after that the chart will be used to determine which teams are invited to compete at the Old Skool teams. Teams in contention for an Old Skool place who wish to race at Dover in August will be among those to have first refusal at a booking.
Team Green 65pts
Dover Boys 54
Team Black 49
Damage Inc 41
Midnight Runner 31
Team Kamikaze 29
Motley Krew 26
Kettering Boys 23
Team Lips 23
Rat Pack 21
Barton Boys 20
Norfolk N Good 20
The Hogs 20
Team Bash 17
Bits and Bobs 15
Team Flash 15
Thattadoo 15
WI Engineering 15
Aftermath 11
Bad Newz 11
Cowboys 11
One Shot 11
Team Wilko 10
The Specials 10
Damaged Goods 8
Mad Hatters 8
Predators 8
Team Eurotrash 8
The Raiders 8
Wild Boyz 8
Congratulations to Dean Harper (added May 2)
All at RDC would like to extend their congratulations and best wishes to RDC National Banger racer 492 Dean Harper and his partner Hannah on the birth of their daughter Daisy who was born on April 26.
Somewhat fittingly Daisy now shares a birthday with granddad Roy, we all hope she doesn’t share his style of haircut. More importantly we are pleased to hear mother and baby are doing fine and wish them all the best for the future.
Iain ‘the Steamer’ House Memorial confirmed for Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship (added April 25)
This week RDC Promotions is very proud to be able to announce that this seasons Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, August 11 will play host to a memorial event for Iain ‘the Steamer’ House who tragically died a little over one month ago.
Michael Coventry said: “It is with somewhat mixed emotions that we make this announcement. It goes without saying that it is a memorial event we would rather wasn’t needed but we are somewhat proud and very flattered that Iain’s family have asked us to stage a meeting in Iain’s honour.
“Iain was not only a great friend of National Banger racing for most of his life but he had become a very good friend of the Coventry family, RDC Promotions and we are extremely flattered to be staging this event which we hope, with the support of drivers, will be fitting send off to one of the sport’s most unique characters.
“Following discussions with Iain’s immediate family we identified our options for a suitable meeting and this was narrowed down by a desire from all concerned to try and run the event in 2012 as it was felt that would be in everybody’s best interests.
“Therefore it has been decided that the Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship will this year be a memorial event for the Steamer. However it has also been decided that a number of ‘tweaks’ will be made to the meeting to try and help both make the evening more special and also an event which Iain would have approved of and enjoyed.
“Given Iain’s love for material and fondness of the more ‘traditional’ types of unlimited bangers we are making adjustments to the meeting format which will be somewhat unique for an unlimited banger meeting and we hope this will encourage drivers, where possible, to race these types of cars.”
The following details and adjustments for this meeting have already been confirmed and are as follows.
The memorial trophy will be awarded to the driver voted the best entertainer of the meeting who traditionally wins the Most Devastating Driver which is a regular feature of the Suffolk Open.
Given Iain’s love for material, we will be racing all pre70 cars in the same heat and if there are sufficient cars we would love nothing more than to run a pre70 only heat race.
Furthermore as Iain had a great fondness of the more ‘traditional’ unlimited banger used typically in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Mk1/2/3
Granadas, XJs, Volvos, early Japs etc) we are hoping to encourage drivers to, where possible, race cars from this era. However given the expense and difficulty in sourcing and preparing unlimited bangers in 2012 combined with the fact the meeting is less than four months away we will not be restricting the meeting from any types of unlimited cars. Instead our intention is to group all ‘modern’ types of unlimited bangers (Granada
Scorpios/Ultimas, Lexus’, Supras etc) together in the heat races and again if the numbers allow the more modern cars will have their own heat. It is our hope that we will be able to create a format similar to what we use at the pre 70 but instead of basing it on size it will instead be based on age, starting with the older cars and finishing with the more modern cars. Hopefully this will continue in the consolations (providing there is sufficient cars for more than one consolation) meaning drivers who bring a pre70 car may have two races before racing against more modern cars while drivers racing ‘traditional’ unlimited cars will have at least one race (hopefully some at least may have the opportunity for two) before racing against the modern machines. Again this is all dependent on numbers on the day and what cars drivers decide to race but again we hope those who do race will support the theme of racing ‘traditional’ unlimited cars at this event.
Turning round and attacking on opposite will be outlawed until the DD. While Iain accepted the practise at tracks where it was allowed by the rules (i.e. RDC and
Mildenhall) it was always something he preferred to see kept until the DD so in memory of the Steamer, turning round will not be allowed at this meeting until the DD.
On the subject of the DD, our intention is to run the Accumulator qualifier and DD as standalone races rather than the Accumulator going into the DD. Again this was a pet peeve of Steamer and so in his memory we will be looking to run the DD as a standalone event which does not happen at all RDC meetings and furthermore it will not be an American style start, another of his personal pet peeves.
Finally we would ask kindly that all drivers please do their best to ensure their cars are painted for the meeting. Unpainted cars, especially unlimited ones, was another of Iain’s personal bugbears and so we ask drivers to try and ensure their car isn’t unpainted for the night. Again drivers will not fail scrutineering if for whatever reason they do race an unpainted car on the night and we are not expecting everyone to have fully signwritten cars either, we just ask that cars be painted please.
Once again the Unlimited Suffolk Open Championship carries the traditionally enhanced prize fund of at least £1,000 which, as always has the potential to grow on the night depending on the amount of cars and races.
The prize schedule for the meeting is as follows
All heat, consolation and Accumulator races: £40, £20, £10, £5
Suffolk Open Championship: £80, £40, £20, £10
Destruction Derby: £50, £25
Most Devastating Driver: £50
Hardest Trier of the Meeting: £50
There will also be a £25 entertainer award on every race
There will also be at least eight £25 awards for the top cars based on material and/or paint
There will be a £25 bonus to the first driver racing a ‘traditional’ car to place in the Suffolk Open Championship
Furthermore all race winners, entertainer award winners, the top three in the final, the Most Devastating Driver and Hardest Trier will also receive special commemorative Steamer Memorial trophies.
The driver named Most Devastating Driver of the night will also win the Steamer Memorial Trophy.
Each of the eight top car cash winners will also receive commemorative trophies but there will be additional trophies (at least 12 more) for drivers who excel with their cars and paint for the meeting
The £1,000 prize fund is based on a two heat, consolation, final, Accumulator qualifier, DD format and it should be noted that for every additional race added to the programme a further £100 will be added to the prize fund.
In typical RDC fashion, all drivers will be welcome at this meeting, however we will be looking to establish an entry list for this meeting and will start taking bookings from the forthcoming Pre 70 Banger meeting at Mildenhall on May 26. Drivers can book in from this point either by contacting the RDC office on 01268 412299 (ideally between 9am and 12noon Monday to Friday), e mailing
wastedmc@btopenworld.com or with Michael Coventry direct. For this meeting we would also be grateful if drivers could let us know what car they intend to race at the meeting. This information will not be made public by RDC but it will help us with our planning for the event in the coming weeks.
Click here for our tribute to Iain ‘the Steamer’ House.
Message from RDC to all drivers and fans who attended Mildenhall on April 21 (added April 25)
RDC would like to send a special message of thanks to all those who supported last weekend’s meeting at Mildenhall Stadium in spite of some pretty rotten weather both in the lead up to and on the night of the event.
With widespread rain across the country, a pretty bleak forecast for Saturday afternoon and early evening combined with the announcement on Friday that Startrax had postponed their scheduled event at Coventry Stadium, the 36 hours leading up the meeting at Mildenhall were packed with inquiries as to whether our meeting would even go ahead as planned.
As commented on before, RDC Promotions has in its 20 year history enjoyed a very good record in running our meetings as planned with only a small number of planned meetings at Mildenhall ever being cancelled due to weather or track conditions and the only time we have been forced to cancel a Mildenhall meeting in the ‘main’ season was due to the Foot and Mouth crisis several years ago.
Nonetheless, all things considered, we had very modest expectations heading into Saturday’s meeting and were simply blown away by the show of support from both drivers and fans. The final count of almost 140 race cars (61 1400cc/Small Van Bangers, 55 BriSCA F2 Stockcars and 23
Ministox) was far higher than we had ever expected and we were also delighted that so many fans chose to brave the elements to enjoy the meeting.
We hope your decision was made worthwhile as despite the opening races being, as expected, hampered by the weather (in particular the shower which bordered on monsoon minutes before start time) the track conditions soon improved and we enjoyed some great racing during the course of the evening, the BriSCA F2 Stockcar final and Banger consolation being the highlights for many.
The standard of the track conditions was highlighted in the last BriSCA F2 Stockcar race of the night, the Grand National where 103 Carl Issit set the fastest lap time of the night in 13.668 second which was only around half a second slower than the fastest lap posted at the season opener on March 24 where track conditions were near perfect.
Again our thanks to all the drivers and fans for both their support and faith in each other for this meeting and also to our track team who worked very hard during the week.
National Banger Small Car Series and reserved places on November 11 (added April 25)
After being absent from the schedule at RDC last season, the once annual National Banger Small Car Series has made a welcome return in 2012 and last weekend’s 1400cc and Small Van Banger meeting marked the penultimate round of the series although the final round will not place for several months.
The final round takes place on Sunday, November 11 which will be RDC’s first ever 1400cc Banger His and Her Team Challenge. However given the some uniqueness of the event and the fact it also forms part of the final round of the Small Car Series we have made some adjustments to ensure those in contention for the top positions in the series have a chance to compete at the meeting.
The His and Her Challenge is open to 30 teams of two with the women competing in three races and the men in three races and the combined scores between the drivers will determine the overall winners. However the top 10 in the Small Car Series will be granted a booking for the meeting and will be able to race in the three male races regardless of whether they have a team mate and are taking part in the His and Her Challenge.
The top 10 drivers who will be granted these places are as follows (see the points page for the current standings)
86 Alec Savage
107 Michael Seex
160 Perry Willings
322 Thomas Fox
324 Mark Lathan
328 Daniel Lathan
525 Wes Starmer
673 Darren Fendley
682 Paul Sparrow
730 Dean Mayes
RDC on tour at Arena Essex (added April 25)
Looking back to last weekend and the latest National Banger meeting at Arena Essex on April 22 attracted a strong field of just over 55 cars including a decent amount of RDC interest in the shape of 53 Dave Palmer, 205 Kieran
Briddock, 209 Tom Waller, 508 Harry Bradbury, 768 Danny McSweeney and 912 Kieran Greenway. 508 Led Head found himself quickly embroiled in the Cream Team and Gladiator battle in heat one where he nailed 549 Phil Smith only to be fenced by 542 Craig Oliver but he shrugged it off to spin 54 Martin Lawton into the fence and then T-bone Smith although this left him open to a big hit from 54 Splat. McSweeney tasted the wall at the hands of 135 Jamie Batchelor in heat two where Waller finished second before 205 Koonta came under fire from 449 Bill Crittenden in the consolation. Joining Waller in the qualifiers only final were Greenway, Koonta and
McSweeney, the latter again finding the wall, this time at the hands of 347 Dave Bull. Led Head worked all afternoon to get out for the Allcomers and made it count with a shot and burial on 349 Lewis Price before he was nailed by 403 Marcus Sprawling while Waller came under fire from 61 Darryl
Theedom. Into the demo where Greenway starred blasting 331 Jason Jackson only to be trashed in turn by 998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr which allowed 331 Boxer to land a revenge hit. Greenway battled on but was silenced by another shot from 998 Cotty Jnr to end our involvement in the day.
Congratulations to 209 Tom Waller (added April 18)
While we are without a full report from the event, all at RDC would like to congratulate young gun 209 Tom Waller on a fine third place finish in the Unlimited Banger BBA World Cup at Cowdenbeath last weekend.
Not only did it mark Tom’s best result to date in a major event but it also secures him a place in the Supreme Championship for the first time next season and he is the first RDC driver to qualify for the big race in 2013.
Elsewhere on the programme at Cowdenbeath on April 14, 583 Dan Weeks picked up a sixth place finish in the first last chance race and followed it up with a third in the first consolation and a fourth in the Open Scottish Final for a fine evenings work.
Also racing for RDC in the championship race were defending champion 148 Ian Redden, 17 Kyle Overy and 508 Hrry Bradbury.
RDC seeded entries confirmed for 2Litre Banger BBA World Final (added April 18)
With the cut off to determine the RDC seeded entries for the 2Litre Banger BBA World Final at Hednesford on May 20 coming after the Easter weekend we are pleased to confirm our three representatives for the first World Championship of the season for National Bangers.
Flying the flag for RDC in this race will be 370 John Cobbold, 673 Darren Fendley and 682 Paul Sparrow and it is extra special that these three are the current top three in the RDC Drivers Points Championship.
Additional RDC drivers are welcome to book in for the last chance qualifiers at this meeting and should do so by contacting RDC through the usual channels.
On the subject of BBA Championship events, the
next event on the calendar is the 2Litre Banger English Championship at Buxton
on June 24. Seeded places on the grid will be offered to the top drivers in the
RDC Drivers Points Championship following May 20.
Invitation from Nutts Corner to Reliant Robin drivers (added April 18)
Our colleagues in Northern Ireland at NuttsCorner Oval have sent us details of a special event they have planned this summer for Reliant Robins and an open invitation has been made to all RDC drivers.
The Reliant Robin Irish Open Championship will take place over two days at Aghadowey Stadium on Saturday, August 11 and then on Sunday, August 12 at Tullyroan Oval. NuttsCorner Oval has confirmed that there will be start money available to assist with travelling costs and wish to stress that they run the formula to limited contact rules rather than full contact. If any drivers are interested in making the trip we encourage them to let us
(RDC) know and we can put you in touch with NuttsCorner Oval.
RDC confirm extended deal at Dover Raceway until the end of 2014 (added April 11)
As announced at the 2012 season opener at Dover Raceway on Easter Monday, RDC Promotions is very pleased to confirm a new deal has been signed between RDC and the landowners of the raceway safe guarding the sport at the long running venue until the end of the 2014 season.
Ownership of the land changed prior to the start of the 2009 season which was the last of our original deal at the venue and at one point is looked likely that the 2009 season would be our last at the season. However due to the ongoing popularity of the track among drivers and fans the landowner had a welcome change of heart and a two year deal was struck for 2010 and 2011, albeit with less fixtures per season.
We are now extremely delighted to confirm that another new deal has been put in place for the next three seasons and we hope to be in a position to extend it further at the end of the 2014 season.
A massive reason why our sport continues at this venue is because of the ongoing support from drivers and fans, which was abundantly clear at the season opener which a good amount of both gathered despite the truly awful wet weather, so our thanks to everyone who continues to support the raceway and helps ensure it has a safe future in our sport and we hope you all enjoy the remainder of the 2012 season.
Discount Fuel Card for all ORCi registered racers
(added April 11)
In a deal between Paul Brown of 4FS Marketing and Mike Brain of UK Card Services Ltd the ORC has secured a deal for their drivers to be able to apply for a discount fuel card with UK Card Services Ltd. The card will enable all drivers to pay the same price all over the UK. The discount should be in the region of 5p* a litre of the average UK pump price and higher at the prime motorway sites.
Key benefits of the card include:
Save on diesel and get stability in your fuel costs.
Eliminates regional price fluctuation.
28 days interest free credit (subject to status).
Personalise cards to you vehicle or driver
Convenient on-line management tools,
Easy VAT reclaim with HMRC approved invoices,
No fixed term contract or set up fees,
Velocity - Our online card management system. (www.velocitycardmanagement.com)
The card has access to over 2,000 sites including all major truckstops, selected motorway service areas, Morrison’s and Tesco supermarkets, many independent sites, as well as Esso or Shell service stations offering you excellent coverage across the UK.
Details of how drivers can apply for the cards will be made available in the next couple of weeks. Plans are also being discussed for drivers who have businesses that already have fuel cards to receive the discounted ORC prices.
More info is available from Paul Brown on 07971 565059 or paul@4fsmarketing.co.uk
*With Fuel Prices changing on an almost daily basic, the discount may vary from week to week.
Discount will apply to both Transporter and Race Car Fuel.
Impressive National Banger stats for the start of season at Mildenhall (added April 11)
Following the Good Friday meeting at Mildenhall we have some very interesting and somewhat impressive stats for the start of the season for National Bangers at the Suffolk
shaleway.
After the 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open team championship we have now had a whopping 418 different drivers race in the National Bangers at Mildenhall in 2012 and the first four meetings of the regular season (the National Banger British qualifier, Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship, National Banger Best Pairs and the aforementioned Suffolk Open team championship) saw no less than 307 different drivers race at the track.
Special mention should go to the 12 drivers who raced at all four of these meetings in the space of five weeks who have should fantastic dedication in recent weeks and they are
107 Michael Seex
160 Perry Willings
313 Craig Osbourn
328 Dan Lathan
370 John Cobbold
382 Jack Foster Jnr
585 Kevin Giles
682 Paul Sparrow
690 Jack Wilkins
730 Dean Mayes
768 Danny McSweeney
898 Andy Battle
Not to be outdone 22 drivers raced at three of the four meetings and likewise are worthy of credit here and they are
8 Dale Woolnough
26 Daniel Holmes
53 Dave Palmer
64 Barry Lee
68 Olly Wikins
82 Wayne Quinn
116 Nat Cohn
128 Andy Shipp
133 Marc Paton
141 Andy Neale
170 Darren Teal
180 Mark Foster
188 John Reeves
303 Wayne Linsdale
384 John Golden
483 Mark Saisbury
517 Sid Cooper
525 Wes Starmer
837 Martin Wesby
862 Liam Reach
998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr
Message of thanks following Mildenhall March 31 and amended Saloon Stockcar results (added April 4)
All at RDC would like to thank all the drivers for their support and understanding under some rather strange circumstances at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend.
Firstly we would like to thank all the drivers, and fans as well, who were able to make it to the stadium despite the problems with obtaining fuel which was causing many people great difficulty all across the country. Despite these issues the entry on the night for the National Bangers and Saloon Stockcars (which both had an entry list) were very close to what we expected. Taking into consideration those who cancelled their bookings in the days before the meeting just six National Banger drivers (of which one had engine problems the afternoon of the meeting) and three Saloon Stockcar drivers (two of which sent their apologies on the night) did not honour their bookings which was far fewer than we expected given the circumstances and over 110 drivers raced on the night which was most impressive.
Secondly we want to again thank all the drivers who raced Saturday night for their understanding and patience with some somewhat unusual circumstances which were going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately we were hit with some staff shortages for the meeting, the most significant being the lack of our regular lap scorer which left us implementing a plan B which would have been far more worthy of the title of plan Z. Drivers were informed of the situation prior to the meeting and were most understanding of the situation for which we are very grateful. In the case of the Saloon Stockcars and Ministox we used the electronic lap scoring system in all races rather than attempting to chart the races manually. Unfortunately there were a couple of problems which have since been resolved with the aid of the static camera in race control. The changes to the results announced on the night were all in the Saloon Stockcars and the correct results are shown below. The changes are 428 Lee Sampson inserted as seventh in heat one and 499 Dave Aldous and 116 Diggy Smith inserted as fourth and fifth respectively in the final.
White and Yellow Grade Heat: 6 Simon Welton, 420, 115, 22, 912, 377, 164, 80, 2, 538
Heat One: 728 Kris Woods, 131, 499, 156, 115, 311, 428, 130, 184, 641, 26
Heat Two: 6 Simon Welton, 698, 428, 912, 26, 115, 616, 499, 116, 51
Grand Final: 731 Barry Wade, 698, 428, 499, 116, 570, 728, 2, 156, 131
Dash for Cash: 131 Timmy Barnes, 616, 698, 420, 428, 499, 22
Furthermore these problems meant in turn that several members of our team had to cover other jobs which resulted in their being far less communication in the pits with the drivers as usual. Again this was explained to as many drivers as possible before the meeting and again we are very grateful to all the drivers for their assistance in taking extra measures to ensure they were ready to race when needed. Unfortunately these problems did mean a few short delays during the night in between races. As always we would like to thank the fans for their patience and hope these problems did not take away any of your enjoyment of the meeting.
Message from the family of Iain House-the Steamer (added April 4)
In the wake of the funeral of Iain ‘the Steamer’ House last week, which was superbly attended by his friends from the sport, his family have asked to pass on the following message to all those who were able to attend.
"Sarita, Kath and Dick would like to thank everyone most sincerely for coming to Iain (The Steamer)'s funeral last Friday, and for all your support to us, and in particular your love for
Iain, which was shown. All of your donations are much appreciated, and they will be put to very good use. We still have some service sheets left over, so if anyone wants one, please ask."
For our tribute to the Steamer please click here.
RDC’s One Wild Night round up and thank you (added March 28)
In the wake of last weekend’s historic unlimited banger BBA Supreme Championship at Mildenhall Stadium, all at RDC would like to extend a massive message of thanks to everyone who helped make One Wild Night such a massive success.
First and foremost we must thank all of the drivers in both the unlimited banger and BriSCA F2 Stockcars who turned out in big numbers and served up some tremendous action on the raceway but we must also thank all the fans who not only supported the evening and helped generate such a wonderful atmosphere in the stadium.
Of course there were issues on the night. Perhaps the biggest was the amount of drivers who failed to honour their bookings in the unlimited bangers which meant the final entry of just under 110 cars was somewhat short of what had been advertised on this website. It should be noted that we did have eight drivers (including championship finalists 239 Steve Carter and 800 Tom Hannah) contact us in the 36 hours before the meeting to cancel their bookings due to a variety of issues but still we had a further 28 drivers who had booked in for the meting (including a further four finalists) who simply failed to show and the majority have still yet to offer any explanation which is of course very disappointing and is an area we are keen to work on in the future as we feel this is very important in the long term future of the event.
The amount of no shows did leave us somewhat short in the last chance qualifiers but having stated if we had over 40 drivers we would run two qualifiers we stuck to this and we hope you will agree the drivers rewarded us with that decision with two races which were far livelier than the grid count suggested they would be.
The other area of disappointment was the delay during the unlimited banger BBA Supreme Championship to repair damage to the Armco on the back straight. Unfortunately this was a most unusual incident which broke one of the top wires in a place which was most unusual to the normal type of damage we experience and meant the repair job took a little longer than we would have hoped. Again we would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while this work took place.
Moving onto more positive notes, here are some other random thoughts and points from the meeting.
Thanks to all the Supreme Championship finalists for supporting the meeting especially all the long distance travellers who we hope enjoyed their visit to the stadium. Despite the unfortunate no shows, the inclusion of last chance qualifiers for the first time meant this year’s Supreme Championship was still one of the biggest to date despite the switch to unlimited bangers and the qualification process being stricter than ever which is a great start to this event as an unlimited fixture at
Mildenhall.
Well done to 162 Brett Ellacott on a fantastic drive from almost the very back of the grid to win another of the sports major titles. He alongside fellow podium finishers 998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr and 22 Dave Vincent, who also started at the tail end of the field on the restart, are the first qualifiers for the 2013 championship.
In accordance to the criteria for drivers to be eligible for the last chance qualifier all those who competed in this years Supreme Championship are already on the list of drivers who will be invited to race in next year’s last chance qualifier unless they qualify for the championship in the meantime. However in return for the support by those drivers who did honour their booking for this year’s last chance races we are also going to put them immediately onto the list of drivers who will be invited again in 12 months time.
We are also grateful to the near 30 ‘support’ drivers who turned out despite knowing they would not be on track until after the championship and were only guaranteed two races. These drivers will be the first to be offered a support booking for next year’s meeting (unless of course they qualify for the championship or are eligible for the last chance qualifier) and we are fully committed to ensuring that next year the support drivers are guaranteed the opportunity of three races, another thing we feel is important in the long term success of this event. Again we want to extend an extra thank you to the support drivers whose contribution was very important to the night.
Congratulations to Jack Wilkins and his fiancé Hayley on their engagement Saturday night which was a lovely way to start the Unlimited Banger programme.
Similarly thanks to everyone who observed the minute’s silence for The Steamer so well prior to the start of the Supreme Championship.
Our thanks also go to the BriSCA F2 Stockcars who were superb in so many respects Saturday night. While the unlimited banger entry unfortunately fell a little short of what was hoped for, the stockcar entry was the opposite and in fact exceeded the advertised entry list and also featured several of the sports finest. This show of support came in spite of us making it as clear as possible that there would be lengthy gaps between the stockcar races in the second half of the evening due to the meeting format. Despite this the drivers supported the meeting and offered no complaints and instead served up some tremendous racing which was a brilliant way to begin the F2 season at Mildenhall in 2012. It should also be noted that it was especially impressive that so many drivers stayed until the end of the evening and that the Grand National was very well subscribed.
Congratulations to John Cayzer (added March 28)
Congratulations are in order for veteran BriSCA F2 Stockcar racer 495 John Cayzer who won RDC’s Breaking the Streak award last weekend in the opening meeting of the season for the formula at
Mildenhall.
The trophy had been up for grabs since the tail end of the 2011 when it was noted of an incredible run of different final winners at Mildenhall which meant that in the 15 finals at the raceway in 2010 and 2011 there had been a quite incredible 15 different winners and the extra trophy was put up to the driver who could finally end the streak.
And John did that in convincing fashion last weekend with a flawless drive to win the 31 car, 20 lap main event taking the chequered flag by a comfortable distance from his nearest rivals.
However the second additional place of silverware made available last season, the Fastest Man on (the
Mildenhall) Dirt award is still up for grabs for the first driver to post a lap of the raceway in under 13 seconds. 377 Daz Shaw came the closest on Saturday night with a lap time of 13.109 seconds.
That trophy will again be there for the taking when the BriSCA F2 Stockcars return on April 21 for the first World of Shale qualifying round of the season at
Mildenhall. With that meeting in mind all F2 drivers are reminded that RDC’s informal booking system will again be in place and all drivers will be welcome on the night with no need to book in advance. Furthermore drivers who raced last weekend and again on April 21 will also be offered a booking for the Saturday (July 28) night part of our summer two day event for the formula where bookings unfortunately are limited and drivers who race at Mildenhall twice in 2012 will be offered first refusal of a place.
RDC on tour at Arena Essex (added March 28)
There was a little RDC interest at Arena Essex as well last Sunday (March 25) where the near 40 strong entry included 107 Michael
Seex, 128 Andy Shipp and 912 Kieran Greenway. The latter collected 249 Jim Harding in the driver’s door in the first heat while 128 Shippy smashed 367 Tom Keep into the inner kerb in the final. The RDC drivers saved their best until last with Greenway winning the Allcomers and 107 Seexy taking third before the DD saw both Greenway and Shippy hammer 542 Craig Oliver en route to making it to the final three. Greenway’s afternoon ended when he landed an almighty passenger side hit on 38 John Waite which stopped his own car in the process. Shippy then also blasted the spinning Waite with a meaty hit in the passenger side before silencing his rival with a couple of
head-ons to take the DD win.
A tribute to the Steamer (added March 21)
One week ago the banger racing world and community was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of its most familiar faces and most recognisable names.
Iain House, known to many in the sport as The Steamer, has left a lasting impression, contribution and legacy in the world of National Banger racing, one which will never be forgotten and one which is unlikely to be replicated.
Iain fell into a unique bracket, some would say a league of his own, of how we should remember him. Few have ever contributed to our sport in the way he did and unique is a very fitting word as his gift was just that and the manner in which he shared it with so many will remain with us for generations to come.
Despite the occasional ‘attempt’ he would be the first to point out you could not call him a racer and neither could you call him a promoter or even a member of a raceway team but it would also be grossly unfair to call him a regular spectator as few have given so much to the sport and, in Steamer’s case, received so little in return, not that reward was ever asked for or expected.
From his early experiences in the sport when he would ride his bicycle from the family home to watch the action at Braintree Raceway, it was no surprise that as soon as he was able to drive he would expand his horizons to almost every banger raceway in Europe.
For many years he had been a great friend of RDC Promotions. Although we are unsure of the first time he visited Mildenhall it is a fact that he was not only present for the historic third meeting promoted by RDC at the Suffolk shaleway in February 1993 but he compiled a meeting report which featured in Head-On Magazine. Over the years he would often refer to that meeting as one of the best he had ever attended, a compliment he paid to several of the meetings he visited at Mildenhall over the years that followed.
Of course Head-On was not the only place where Iain shared his unique gift and talent. His contributions featured in almost every single publication and website (which included meeting reports) covering National Banger racing over the last 20 years.
But his gifts stretched way beyond his ability to make detailed notes from a race he was watching and then compile an accurate blow by blow report of the action for the benefit of those present or elsewhere but with a thirst to know what they had missed.
His near photographic memory made him a walking wealth of information on the sport and a regular source of facts when they were needed and his knowledge is the quality which perhaps will best be remembered by those who never had the chance to get to know him.
For those who were fortunate enough to have known him, and especially those lucky enough to call him a friend, we are likely to remember other gifts, such as his sense of humour. The jokes, the one-liners, the quotes, the weekends away, the road trips and the social events.
He also possessed an ability to speak his mind very frequently and while he would always tell you exactly what he thought with no sugar coating, his honesty sparked an amazing amount of respect from those who heard it, including those who were perhaps on the wrong end of the honesty. And regardless of personal opinions, he always had time for those who wanted it and the greatest amount of respect for those who competed, no matter than standard of the racer, because ultimately it was all of them who brought him so much enjoyment and entertainment for over two decades.
The sport of National Banger racing has lost one of its greatest characters, enthusiasts, contributors and friends but once again
by sharing his gifts he will never be forgotten by the hundreds who benefited from them.
All at RDC Promotions and the entire Coventry family wish to join those in extending their deepest sympathies to Iain’s family, in particular his wife of 15 years
Sarita, and his closest friends and we hope the incredible outpouring of grief and love can, in time, be of some comfort to them.
A minute’s silence will be held in memory of the Steamer at Mildenhall Stadium this Saturday night prior to the start of the Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship race.
Mildenhall Saturday night season opener round
up and thank you (added March 14)
All at RDC would like to thank everyone who helped contribute to such a positive and entertaining Saturday night season opener at Mildenhall Stadium.
On the heels of our great news from the court this meeting proved to be a fitting celebration with almost 90 National Bangers and 140 race cars in total and they produced an action packed 13 race programme with not one bad race on the bill and each of the formulas providing some memorable moments during the evening.
After a tense few weeks behind the scenes at RDC it was certainly a welcome sight as was the fine showing of race fans who turned out to enjoy the racing, as always our thanks to each of you and we hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did.
A special thanks also to the many of you who took the time and trouble to pass on your best wishes with regard the recent appeal case as this was greatly appreciated and also to the family who answered the call for assistance from the St Johns team at the end of the evening which was also greatly appreciated by those involved.
Finally a thanks as always to the RDC team whose efforts on the night helped ensure the 13 race programme was completed in little over four hours. Thanks as well to all the drivers and their teams for the part they played in this as well as there was almost no waiting for race cars at any stage in the night (only a short wait prior to the National Banger consolation) because of their hard work.
Enhancements made to Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship (added March 14)
With the countdown to RDC’s One Wild Night headlined by the unlimited banger BBA Supreme Championship at Midenhall Stadium on Saturday, March 24 nearing completion we are delighted to confirm a number of enhancements which have been made to various parts of the meeting.
These improvements have all been made in response to the amazing show of support by drivers for the maiden staging of this meeting as an unlimited event. With this weeks changes to the entry list we currently have a quite incredible entry of over 155 drivers booked in and perhaps even more impressive is that of these drivers over 140 have reconfirmed their intention to race in the last 10 days.
The improvements are as follows.
Perhaps the biggest and most significant is that we have this week confirmed that the prize money for the Supreme Championship race itself will be increased to £1,000 across the top places with the winner collecting a cool £500 prize. This prize fund is almost double that of recent years and makes this the richest banger race of the season at RDC and one of the richest races in the sport. We hope this reflects the growing stature of the event and significant increase in prize fund is in response to the overwhelming response from this years qualifiers which is set to make this years race potentially the best subscribed to date.
The second improvement to the championship race is that this week we can confirm we will once again be using transponders in each of the cars and the electronic lap scoring system for the big race. Having been the first, and so far only, promotion to use the system for its major banger events in recent years, we ourselves have not used them for a short while but again with so many drivers anticipated and given the growing stature of what is already one of the biggest races of the year we felt it was a necessary move. This means that, all being well, the final result of the championship will now be 100 per cent accurate and also that the results, and the statistics they provide, will be available on the My Laps website after the event. Drivers will however be required to leave a £20 deposit for their transponder when they collect them prior to the meeting. This will be returned in full when the transponder is returned after the race.
Moving onto the last chance qualifier entry and again the interest from drivers has been far higher than we ever anticipated and currently we have just over 70 drivers booked in from those invited to try and qualify for the main event in the first ever last chance qualifier events for the Supreme Championship. This means that two last chance qualifiers are pretty much guaranteed and with that in mind we will be taking the first two drivers from each race through to the championship. It was our original intention to only have three last chance qualifiers advance to the main event but again through the fantastic show of support from the drivers this has also been increased meaning one more driver will get to compete in potentially the biggest race of the season. Furthermore the last chance qualifiers will have the added benefit of having their grid position determined by the Incarace draw and will not have to start at the back of the grid. As the last chance entry is an invitational affair we feel those who qualify deserve the opportunity to start the race on a level footing to the seeded entries and will therefore have their grid position determined by the draw.
Likewise the demand from drivers for support bookings has also blown us away, especially as these drivers are only guaranteed two races on the night of which one is the last race of the evening. Almost all 40 available places have been filled and again in response to this amazing show of interest and support we are going to take some small steps to try and offer a few more of the support drivers the chance of a third race. In the consolation race (very likely to be at least two consolations) the first few drivers past the post (the exact number of qualifiers will be determined on the night) will qualify for the Grand Final. In order to ensure some of the support drivers get the chance to race in the Grand Final the first two support drivers home who do not finish in a qualifying position will be added to the list of qualifiers for the Grand Final. This means that at least some of the support drivers who have the opportunity of a third race for their efforts. Already this is an area which we intend to improve upon in 2013 and ensure that all drivers have the opportunity of three races on the night and we want to state here and now that those support drivers who race this year will be offered first refusal of a support booking next season.
Finally as one final added incentive to what is shaping up to be a memorable night of racing we can also confirm that each race of the evening will carry an extra trophy for the best entertainer in reward for those whose best intentions are not to chase the top race positions but instead inject as much action as they can into the races.
Statement
from RDC Promotions concerning legal case at Mildenhall Stadium (added March 2)
Upon return from our annual break we are delighted to report fantastic news
regarding our long running legal issues at Mildenhall Stadium.
Many of you will be aware that RDC Promotions has been involved in a long running dispute with two residents who moved into a home less than 0.5mile away from Mildenhall Stadium in January 2006 over noise and other complaints which led to a court hearing in early 2011 in which RDC lost the noise case, a defeat which held massive ramifications for RDC Promotions, the stadium and motor racing as a whole.
Our request for an appeal case was granted and was heard in December and the result was announced earlier this week and we are delighted to report that this time the verdict has gone in our favour.
For a full news story on the appeal case click here.
At this stage we are now waiting to see if the residents will attempt to appeal the decision or if this is finally the end of the matter and we should know this in a few weeks and will make a further announcement at that time but clearly this is the best possibly news we could have asked for and is hopefully a massive step in the right direction after some very difficult and worrying months.
Once again we want to thank everyone who has continued to support us through the particularly trying times and we hope we may see some of you for the Saturday night season opener at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, March 10 at 6.30pm which will hope will act as some kind of celebration of this news.
RDC at Unlimited Icebreaker and Raid (added March 7)
The first weekend of March was a busy one for several RDC National banger drivers with RDC well represented at both the 1800cc Raid at Ipswich on Saturday, March 3 and the rescheduled unlimited Icebreaker at King’s Lynn on Sunday, March 4.
Starting with Ipswich and among the 85 strong entry there was 53 Dave Palmer, 91 Steve Roberts, 160 Perry
Willings, 220 Tom Pavitt, 384 John Golden, 682 Paul Sparrow, 768 Dan McSweeney and 862 Liam Reach.
No action for the RDC contingent in heat one where 53 Dave Palmer registered a decent fourth place the second heat seeing Sparrow get dumped out by 32 Ricky Hughes but he recovered for sixth with team mate 160 Pez in tenth. Unfortunately Pez’s night took a turn for the worse in the final with a hard fencing on the scoreboard bend which resulted in a red flag but despite being taken for a check up by the medics we are pleased to confirm Pez suffered no serious injuries from the crash. The restart saw Sparrow bury running mate 86 Alec Savage as 27 Dale Hughes successfully defended the title with no RDC in the top 10. Again no RDC involvement on the action front in the Allcomers although Sparrow registered ninth which concluded our interest in the meeting.
Onto the unlimited Icebreaker the following day which after two postponements finally went ahead but was cruelly hit by torrential rain throughout the entire afternoon. Among the 120 plus strong entry saw RDC represented by 125 Roy (Chevy
Camaro), 325 Craig, 825 Luke and 925 Aaron Preece (used Jaguar 420) in the Black Rats, 122 James Woodley who guested for the Condoms, 114 Adam Jackson in the Grave Diggers, 90 Adrian Harboard (very smart Buick
LeSabre) and 97 James Maddison in the Mr Men, 97 Dave Allen (XJ), 920 James Medley
(XJ), 384 John Golden (superb looking DS420 limo) and 525 Wes Starmer (smart XJ) were among the Team Black ranks, 148 Ian Redden in the Royals and 209 Ben Hayward, 324 Mark Lathan and 326 Shane Lynn in the Hogs the latter three excelling with a Majestic limo, DS420 hearse and Rover P5 respectively.
525 Wes was the first RDC driver to make a mark fencing 113 Mark Suttcliffe in heat one before 851 Adam Storr attacked 384 Goldie only to fence himself. The latter went on to nail the spun 122 Wooders with a solid head-on and repeated the move a lap later before he was T-boned by 439 Danny Allen, Craig Preece taking third place.
Medley came under fire from 791 Nicky Young at the start of heat two before Lathan buried the Lincoln Town Car limo of 280 Simon Goodale and Jackson hit team mate 110 Garrie Mirza on the nose. 176 Ady Gibbs then laid into 326 Ratty before 90 Joe Ninety followed in Lathan after a restart, Ratty guiding his P5 to fourth place.
No RDC involvement in heat three so onto heat four which featured a superb back straight pile-up in which Roy Preece nailed 512 Dan Jackson before he also stuck it to 579 Gary Beecham before copping it from 879 Reg Reed.
Another back straight pile-up in heat five saw Joe Ninety flatten 84 Tom Harris before he copped it from Wooders who was collected by team mate 158 Shane Davies. The latter fled the scene allowing Ratty to wreck Wooders before his Rover was jacked nicely by 149 Wayne Bailey.
No RDC interest in a much quieter heat six before Aaron Preece was buried by 88 Jake Lakin in heat seven and then nailed by 396 Carl Turner and with no RDC action in the final this concluded our interest in the rain soaked event.
Congratulations to Perry Willings (added March 7)
All at RDC would like to congratulate one of our most underrated and most improved National Banger drivers of recent seasons 160 Perry Willings on the recent birth of his daughter Louise.
We are glad to report that both baby and mum, Carli, are doing fine and again we extend our congratulations to the family.
National Banger and Reliant Robin Mildenhall Presentation Night (added February 8)
Despite the predicted heavy snow fall over Mildenhall providing to be an accurate forecast we were very impressed and pleased to welcome so many drivers and their guests to Mildenhall Stadium last Saturday night for the National Banger and Reliant Robin presentation night.
It goes without saying that the turnout was lower than we would have hoped for, had conditions been better, and we received a number of apologies from drivers who were unable to make the trip. Nonetheless the turnout was much better than we could have hoped for given the severe weather warnings and we are very grateful to all those who made the effort and we hope you had an enjoyable evening and more importantly, a safe journey home.
Once again in addition to the usual points championship trophy presentations, a number of other drivers collected various merit awards for their efforts during the 2011 season and those who were presented and received their awards are listed below.
Again thanks to everyone who attended and congratulations to all the trophy winners.
National Banger Merit Awards
Breakthrough Driver of the Year 160 Perry Willings
Breakthrough Driver of the Year 328 Daniel Lathan
Consistency Award 370 John Cobbold
Unsung Hero of the Year Award 585 Kevin Giles
Newcomer of the Year 256 Chris Filby
Young Gun of the Year 4 Sam Nice
Improved Driver of the Year 313 Craig Osbourn
Car of the Year 162 Rob Wheatley
Hardest Trier of the Year 305 Jason Fryett
Hardest Trier of the Year 690 Jack Wilkins
Dedication Award 218 John Carr
Reliant Robins Merit Awards
Most Improved Driver of the Year 28 David Donavan
Newcomer of the Year 551 Brett Jackson
Hardest Trier of the Year 9 Dale Russell
National Bangers 2012 RDC RWD Championship series (added February 8)
For the third consecutive year RDC Promotions will run its season long National Banger RDC RWD Championship series which once again we hope to make bigger and better in 2012.
And with the BBA Supreme Championship now an unlimited banger fixture it means this year’s series grows again in size with no less than 10 meetings now featuring in the series making it one of the most important championships of the year at
RDC.
The series was created in 2010 to not only unify the somewhat limited number of events on the RDC calendar where the majority of drivers race RWD type cars but also to create a new type of event where drivers who prefer this kind of racing could put their efforts into and get greater rewards than before.
In 2011 the nine round series culminated in the second annual RDC RWD Series Championship which was staged at the maiden all RWD National Banger meeting where 617 Jack Overy became the latestwinner of the sublime annual trophy kindly sponsored by Bathside Garage while 382 Jack Foster Jnr won the points chase and with it earned the right to wear a silver roof for the next 12 months.
With the BBA Supreme Championship becoming an unlimited banger event in 2012 the RWD Series becomes a 10 round event in 2012 and once again the top points scorer after the 10 rounds will join the elite club to paint their roof silver for the next year.
Once again adding to the importance of the RWD Series we have decided that it will be these points in 2012 which will determine which four drivers represent RDC in the Unlimited Banger World of Shale Championship at King’s Lynn in early September. Previously the RDC seeds were determined, like all major events, by the RDC National Points but in 2011 it was decided that to give the RWD Series added significance it will be these points which determine the four seeds. Therefore the top four RDC drivers in the RWD Series Points following the Unlimited Suffolk Open Championship on August 11 (round 8) will be offered the places in this big event at King’s Lynn. Please note that all remaining championship allocation, including the 2Litre TSR World Final and 1500cc National Championship at King’s Lynn, will still be determined by the RDC National Points Championship as per usual.
Therefore here is the full run down of the dates and events for the 2012 National Banger RDC RWD Championship series.
Round One Mildenhall Saturday March 24 6pm Unlimited Bangers BBA Supreme Championship
Round Two Mildenhall Saturday April 28 6.30pm Unlimited Bangers EA Team Championship
Round Three Mildenhall Saturday May 26 6.30pm Pre 70 Bangers
Round Four Dover Monday June 4 1pm Big Van Bangers
Round Five Mildenhall Saturday July 7 6.30pm Unlimited Van Bangers
Round Six Dover Sunday July 15 1pm Unlimited Bangers Kent Championship
Round Seven Mildenhall Saturday July 28 6pm 2Litre RWD Bangers
Round Eight Mildenhall Saturday August 11 6.30pm Unlimited Bangers Suffolk Open Championship
Round Nine: Mildenhall Saturday September 8 6.30pm All Mk1/Mk2 Granada Bangers
Round Ten/Series Final: Mildenhall Saturday September 29 6.30pm All RWD National Bangers
Qualifying for the Championship final on September 29 remains similar to 2011 but we have made some tweaks to again try and improve the season and full details are below.
Firstly all 10 rounds will carry five attendance points to all drivers who race. Much like the British and Masters Championship qualifying points, these will only count towards the RDC RWD Series and will not have any bearing on the RDC National or track championships. It is hoped that these attendance points will reward those drivers who make the effort to attend as many rounds as possible.
Qualifying for the 2012 RDC RWD Series Final on September 29 can be achieved by one of the following ways.
The winner of the finals at the Unlimited BBA Supreme Championship on March 24 (both the Supreme Championship AND the meeting final), Unlimited EA Team Championship on April 28, Unlimited Kent Championship on July 15, 2Litre RWD meeting on July 28 and Unlimited Suffolk Open Championship on August 11.
We have also looked to incorporate other similar styled events which are held elsewhere in the sport. Therefore we are delighted to report that with the blessing of the promotions in question we will be offering seeded places to the winners of the finals at the following RWD style events. The 2Litre RWD events at Northampton (April 1), Aldershot (April 29), King’s Lynn (May 19) and Yarmouth (August 19), the 1800cc pre 76 meeting at Standlake (July 8), the 1400cc Vintage Tin meeting at Taunton (July 10), the pre 85 meeting at Grimley (June 24), British Beef at Mendips (June 23) and the all Cortina meeting at Swaffham (July 22).
These seeded entries will be joined by the top 16 drivers from the RDC RWD Series points after August 11 (not including the all Mk1/2 Granada meeting) that have failed to qualify by winning one of the above Grand Finals. As always these places will be offered to the top drivers, regardless of which promotion they are licensed too. Please note that if there is any shortfall from the invited seeded entries detailed above, the next four drivers in the RWD points will act as reserves. However only the top 20 (not including any seeded entries) from the points will have a chance of competing in the series final.
As we are not including the all Mkl/2 Granada meeting in helping to determine the 16 qualifiers via the RDC RWD points (we feel it is so close to the series final it does not give the qualifiers sufficient time to prepare so by not including it, it will allow us to announce the 16 seeds and reserves after August 11 giving drivers an extra three weeks to prepare), all race winners on September 8 who have yet to qualify for the RWD Championship will be extended a place on the grid.
Completing the list of pre meeting qualifiers will be defending champion 617 Jack Overy and the top two drivers (who wish to compete) from both the RDC National Points Championship and the Mildenhall Track Championship (up to and including August 11) who have failed to qualify already. The seeds via the Mildenhall points can include a visiting driver if they are high enough in the points.
The grid will be completed by qualifiers from the last chance qualifier (which will be open to all drivers) and there will be a minimum of three places available from this race. Ideally we would like around 36 cars in the series final (although under the 2012 qualifying system there is potential for a bigger grid) so if there is any shortfall on the night, extra places may be available via the last chance race.
Mildenhall Winter Series round up and thank you (added February 1)
Following last Sunday’s race meeting at Mildenhall Stadium we want to thank everyone who helped make the 20th annual Mildenhall Winter Series such a wonderful success.
Truly all at RDC were blown away by the entry of 1600cc Bangers for the concluding round of the series, a figure no doubt boosted by those present for the Ruby Sketula memorial race (big thanks to the Sketula family for organising the drivers for that event), but the 105 strong entry was a massive improvement on the final round of the series for the last couple of years and this was with all the winter meetings being run as scheduled, something which we have been unable to do for the last two years.
No doubt the much more favourable weather conditions this January also played a part in the larger levels of driver support but they also helped our track team produce the best racing strip we have enjoyed for a winter meeting in some time and this not only played a big part in a hugely enjoyable afternoon of racing but it also helped us complete the 14 race programme in little over four hours.
A special thanks should also go to the near 60 drivers who returned for the 1600cc Banger Accumulator qualifier and DD which was a tremendous entry, especially given that most of the previous races had enjoyed their share of action, and was a fitting conclusion to the anniversary series.
Once again the curse of the Mildenhall Winter Series struck. Not only in the National Bangers this year but in the Ministox as well with the drivers leading the series into the final round coming unstuck and someone else snatching the titles from under their noses.
In the National Bangers, 160 Perry Willings started the afternoon fourth but had a miserable afternoon failing to score a single point. Meanwhile the initial top three 322 Thomas Fox, 328 Daniel Lathan and 673 Darren Fendley all qualified for the main event and with the latter pair enjoying race wins it seemed the curse might finally be broken. Alas it was not to be and all three fell by the wayside in the final while defending champion 682 Paul Sparrow came from nowhere with third in his heat, third in the final plus second in the DD and the entertainer award to come from nowhere and become the first driver to successfully defend the title since 22 Dave Vincent in 1996/7.
There was a similar story in the Ministox where 518 Jordan Cardy saw his lead slowly worn away during the afternoon but he still led into the final only for disaster to strike and he was an early casualty allowing 342 Ryley Freestone to take second and again snatch the title.
Finally some impressive stats from the Winter Series, the three meetings seeing a whopping 199 different drivers race in the National Bangers (including two 100+ car turn outs), 21 Ministox drivers (in fact 25 drivers raced in their winter series which was held over four round and four drivers only raced at the November meeting) plus 27 Reliant Robin drivers and 12 Bangerstox drivers meaning almost 260 drivers raced at Mildenhall during these three meetings which is a fantastic number, a wonderful result for the 20th running of our Winter Series and a fabulous way to commence our 20th anniversary season.
While we want to thank each and every driver for competing at some stage during the series we would like to highlight those who went the extra mile and enjoyed a 100 per cent attendance record. In the National Bangers, 15 drivers raced in all three rounds, they were
26 Daniel Holmes (who also raced in the 1500cc Icebreaker)
59 Ben Jackson
107 Michael Seex
116 Nat Cohn (who also raced in the 1500cc Icebreaker)
133 Marc Paton (who also raced at the Civil War)
160 Perry Willings
209 Tom Waller
322 Thomas Fox
328 Daniel Holmes (who also raced in the 1500cc Icebreaker)
517 Sid Cooper
673 Darren Fendley (who also raced at King’s Lynn on January 2 and 22)
841 Phil Jennings
912 Kieran Greenway
924 Mark Rook
928 Emmerson Prime
It is also worth mentioning 370 John Cobbold who while absent from Mildenhall on January 1 was in action at Birmingham that afternoon.
There was equally impressive commitment to be found in the Ministox where the following 12 drivers raced in all four rounds of the series
301 Josh Simpson
316 Sam Dace
327 Michael Maskall Jnr
332 Sophie Bright
341 Austin Freestone
342 Ryley Freestone
361 Ashley Byron
369 Liam Santry
383 Shane Harvey
390 Karl Morris
397 Reece Swatman
518 Jordan Cardy
Again thanks to all the drivers for their support this winter and also to the fans who continued to support these meetings, it is all greatly appreciated and we hope to see you all again in March.
Bangerstox Suffolk Championship bookings (added February 1)
With the 2012 Bangerstox season kicking off last weekend this seemed a good time to explain how bookings will be issued for the third annual Suffolk Championship weekend at Mildenhall on June 9 and 10.
Once again bookings will only be issued to drivers who support the early season meetings at Dover Raceway but this year the bookings will also be limited to 30 drivers. This is because the June weekend this year now features two major Stockcar championship events and therefore we want to run an ‘all in’ format for the Bangerstox across the weekend rather than splitting the cars for the qualifying heats.
Nonetheless all drivers who compete at this event will have the opportunity of five races across the two days (just like the last two years) with three qualifying heats on Saturday night followed by the championship and an Allcomers race on the Sunday afternoon.
As with previous years there will be a criteria in order for drivers to be eligible for a booking which will be as follows
Drivers who raced at the 2011 Suffolk Championship meeting or at Mildenhall on January 29 have to race at two of the first four meetings of the season at Dover Racway to be eligible for a booking
Drivers who competed in at least two of the final four meetings of the season at Dover Raceway in 2011 have to race at two of the first meetings of the 2012 season at Dover Raceway to be eligible for a booking
Drivers who did not race at the 2011 Suffolk Championship or at Mildenhall on January 29 or in two or more of the final four Dover meetings in 2011 have to compete in three of the first four meetings of the season at Dover Raceway to be eligible for a booking.
Subsequently bookings for this year’s Suffolk Championship will open on May 7 and bookings will be open to the first 30 drivers to become eligible and then book in.
The following drivers are on the list of those who only need to race at two of the first four meetings of the year at Dover to be eligible for a booking. All other drivers will need to race at three of the opening Dover meetings to be considered for a place.
2 John Alder
3 George Forbes
4 Chris Craft
5 Rob Craft
6 Sarah Cox
8 Graham Hedger
9 Chris Young
12 Dean Blenkinsop
13 Tracey Gilbert
14 Carl Pritchard
15 Jay Powell
19 Aaron O’Connell
20 Andy Burbridge
23 Darren Young
25 Andy Harmer
25 Olly Evans
35 Cyndi Bradley
37 Alex Slade
40 Joe Taylor
44 Matt Sharp
49 Pete Back
51 Colin Boswell
52 Richard Randall
53 Martin Charles
55 Clint Millen
56 Fred Childs
58 Owen Childs
60 Nathan Port
61 Ken Hollamby
64 Aaron Harris
65 Chris Bull
68 Dave Sharp
72 Dean Worriner
73 Andy Wood
77 Gareth Poile
83 Paul Apps
88 Nick Dash
93 Alfie Hover
95 Paul Chapman
96 Andy Chapman
98 Sean Chapman
99 Mark Sweeney
222 Dick Tracey
Mildenhall Stockcar Presentation Night (added January 25)
This week we would like to thank everyone who helped make last weekend’s Stockcar Presentation Night at Mildenhall Stadium such a great success.
Once again Ministox and Saloon Stockcar drivers were invited and for the first time we also included BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers in the occasion and it helped lead to perhaps our best attended Stockcar presentation night to date and we are hopeful that this will continue to grow in the future, especially based on the very positive feedback from those who attended last Saturday night.
As is customary at these events it was not just those who excelled in the points championship who received their trophies but also a number of trophies were presented to drivers who had impressed in various areas during the season and we felt their efforts warranted special attention and a reward.
Below is the complete list of merit award winners who were presented with special trophies at the weekend and the awards they collected.
Ministox
100 per cent attendance 2011 344 Ross Fisher
100 per cent attendance 350 Thomas Parrin
Most Improved Driver of the Year 2011 386 Daniel Petters
Most Improved Driver of the Year 2011 394 Liam Aspin
Most Improved Driver of the Year 2011 397 Reece Swatman
Hardest Trier of the Year 2011 390 Karl Morris
Newcomer of the Year 2011 301 Josh Simpson
Effort Award 2011 375 Alex Hensby
Effort Award 2011 313 Tommy Langley
Carry on Regardless Award 2011 332 Sophie Bright
BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Dedication Award 2011 150 Mark Thoms
White Grade of the Year Award 2011 231 Matt Clayton
Carry of Regardless Award 2011 619 Andrew Clarke
Saloon Stockcars
Breakthrough Driver of the Year 2011 184 Marty Colliver
Newcomer of the Year 2011 442 Simon Berry
Newcomer of the Year 2011 591 Aaron Morris
Finish of the Year 2011 6 Simon Welton
Effort Award 2011 233 Rob Aldridge
Most Improved Driver of the Year 2011 22 Karl Petters
Returnee of the Year 2011 51 Paul Licquorice
Congratulations to all our trophy winners and again thanks for your support last weekend, we hope you all had an enjoyable evening and we look forward to seeing you again very soon.
Don’t forget our National Banger and Reliant Robin presentation night takes place at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, February 4 with the doors at 7pm and the trophy presentation at around 8pm. Everyone is welcome and tickets on the door are just £5 each.
Les Eaton RIP (added January 25)
All at RDC Promotions would like to join the rest of the short oval racing community in extending their sympathies following the news of the passing of Les Eaton on January 23 at Ipswich Hospital.
Les, along with his late wife, Mavis, was a pioneer of our sport in this country and instrumental in the foundation of the sport at its earliest age. So much of what we do today can be traced back to men like Les Eaton.
Les and Mavis promoted their first race meeting on August 18 1960 at Aldershot Stadium as Paramount Promotions and the following year he broke away with his newly formed Formula Two Stockcar Company which would later become Spedeworth
Internation.
Our thoughts go to the entire Eaton family and their friends at this difficult time and a minutes silence in Les’ memory is planned at the start of this weekend’s race meeting at Mildenhall Stadium.
Bev Greenhalf RIP (added January 18)
All at RDC Promotions would like to join the rest of the short oval racing community in passing on its condolences having heard of the news of the passing of legendary commentator Bev
Greenhalf.
Described as many as the voice of BriSCA F1 Stockcar racing, Bev was also the voice of Northampton Raceway, having commentated at the raceway for around 40 years as well as at many other raceways around the country, primarily for BriSCA F1 Stockcars.
Bev, who had continued to commentate until recently despite his illness, passed away on January 10.
RDC would like to thank him for his contributions to the sport over the years and while his efforts were not directly linked to
RDC, his efforts behind the scenes for BriSCA stockcar racing were appreciated throughout the sport and we remain thankful for his work.
Our thoughts to his family and friends at this time.
Ministox Race Video Trophy added to Mildenhall January 29 (added January 18)
We are delighted to report that the forthcoming Winter Series Finale meeting for Ministox at Mildenhall on Sunday, January 29 will now also boast the maiden staging of the Race Video Trophy.
Race Video expressed an interest in sponsoring the meeting which also features the Ruby Skutela Memorial for 1600cc (no
Mondeo) Bangers. Ruby tragically died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), known more commonly as Cot Death and the Race Video team has been effected by this terrible problem and wanted to get involved in the meeting with the
Ministox.
With that in mind it has been agreed that Race Video will sponsor a new trophy and the Race Video Trophy will be presented to the top scoring driver after all three races on January 29 and we intend to make this an annual event for the formula at Mildenhall and our thanks to Race Video for their sponsorship.
2012 RDC license forms now available on line via RDC website (added January 4)
Following repeated calls we are very pleased to report that 2012 license forms for RDC Promotions are now available from the RDC website (we never were the best with modern technology!)
Either use the RDC license form link on the left hand side or click here and then click on the form you need. National Banger, Reliant Robin, Bangerstox and Super Rod licenses are all done with the same form but Ministox have a different one.
We have also included our parental form which needs to be completed by a parent of under driver under the age of 18.
You will need an Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the forms, however most PCs should have this facility and if you don’t we have supplied a link so you can download it for free. We can still send printed license forms by post of course, if you would like one sent then please contact us on 01268 412299 (ideally between 9am and 12noon Monday to Friday) or by e mailing
wastedmc@btopenworld.com
Mildenhall Winter Series Rd2 message from RDC (added January 4)
In the wake of the second meeting in the 20th anniversary Mildenhall Winter Series at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend we would like to quickly send a message of thanks to all the drivers and fans who supported the meeting.
Given it was our first New Year’s Day meeting for several years, combined with the awful weather in the days leading up to the meeting and how busy the racing calendar is at this time of year we had very modest expectations for Sunday and were truly very pleased with the amount of racers who competed with almost 90 drivers in action which we felt was a fine turnout.
It was also a source of personal pride that the track remained in decent condition for the start of the meeting at least, especially when compared to previous January meetings at the track. Many will remember that the first meeting of January in 2010 was cancelled because of the weather and track conditions and the racing surface on Sunday was far superior to that of the January meetings which did take place in 2009 and 2010. Of course we now have much work ahead of us to try and provide a good winter racing strip for the final round of the series on January 29 but we are hopeful that if the weather allows it we will be able to achieve that.
Of course one of the reasons we face so much work in the next few weeks is because of the heavy rain which hit the stadium in the second half of Sunday’s meeting. We had hoped that we would get most, if not all of the meeting, completed before the forecast rain arrived but it was not to be the case. Nonetheless we want to thank all the drivers and their teams who continued to compete in the difficult conditions. Almost all the Ministox drivers raced in each of their races which were hit by the wet weather, there was decent showings in the Reliant Robins and 1400cc Banger Final and the turnout for the 1400cc Banger Accumulator qualifier and DD, of more than half the original field was an excellent effort by all concerned so big thanks to all who took part when the weather took a turn for the worse.
Happy New Year to all drivers and fans from RDC Promotions (added December 27)
All at RDC would like to wish all our drivers and our visiting drivers, their family and friends, the members of the RDC team and all fans of this sport a very Happy and safe New Year.
Once again we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported RDC in some shape or form during 2011, we hope you all had an enjoyable year and again wish everyone all the best for 2012.
We hope to see some of you to welcome the New Year at our New Year’s Day meeting, this Sunday (January 1) afternoon at Mildenhall Stadium at 1.30pm.
Reminder re 2012 licenses for Mildenhall on January 1 and RDC office hours this week (added December 27)
As we look forward to the second round of the National Banger’s 20th anniversary Mildenhall Winter Series, this Sunday (January 1) afternoon we want to again remind all drivers that they will need a 2012 ORC license in order to race and drivers without a 2012 license will require a day license.
Drivers looking to register with RDC in 2012 are reminded that they can complete their licenses when they arrive at Mildenhall Stadium on New Year’s Day and should they do so they will not need a day license.
Any visiting drivers who are intending to race this Sunday who have registered with their promotion but have not yet received a 2012 ORC log book must get their promotion to contact us prior to the meeting to confirm you are licensed for 2012 otherwise you will need a day license.
Drivers are also reminded that the RDC office will be open on Thursday and Friday morning this week between 9am and 12noon although there is no need to book in for this meeting in any of the three formulas (1400cc Bangers, Ministox and Reliant Robins) and all drivers will be welcome on the day.
On the subject of the RDC office, normal opening hours will resume on Tuesday, January 3 where the office will be open every morning between 9am and 12noon on 01268 412299 with a limited service at other times but you can also contact us on 07850 683953 or by e mailing Michael Coventry on
wastedmc@btopenworld.com
National Banger drivers are also reminded that this Sunday’s 1400cc Banger meeting is open to any car 1400cc and under and therefore any ‘survivors’ from the Micro meeting before Christmas can be raced at this fixture. Further RWD cars up to 1600cc can be used as is the norm for our 1400cc meetings.
Once again the New Year’s Day meeting this Sunday features 1400cc Bangers and Ministox in the latest round of their Winter Series and Reliant Robins in a World Championship qualifying round with the first race at 1.30pm.
2011 end of year stats for RDC Promotions and Mildenhall Stadium (added December 27)
As this is the final news update on the RDC website for 2011 we thought we would mark it with some somewhat impressive and encouraging end of year stats for RDC Promotions and Mildenhall Stadium.
Firstly we have the end of year numbers for the amount of drivers who raced at RDC during the 2011 starting with the National Bangers where the 2011 season (which doesn’t include the Mildenhall Team Championship on November 27 and Micro Banger meeting on December 18 which were not a part of the official 2011 season) saw a whopping 705 drivers compete a Mildenhall Stadium.
Furthermore Mildenhall Stadium in 2011 saw 99 BriSCA F2 Stockcars race at the Suffolk
shaleway, 72 Saloon Stockcar drivers and 56 Ministox drivers (with a grand total of 71 Ministox drivers racing at RDC events in total in 2011). Finally at Mildenhall in 2011 we had the company of 63 different drivers in the Reliant Robins during the year.
Taking into account the Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers who raced at Mildenhall as well in 2011 and this means that over 1,000 different drivers competed at the Suffolk shaleway during the 2011 season which is a tremendous number.
Our average turnouts for each formula at Mildenhall were also most pleasing during in 2011. The National Banger average entry at Mildenhall was 89 cars and the average entry for RDC Promotions
(Mildenhall and Dover) was 76. In BriSCA F2 Stockcars our average entry at Mildenhall was 50 cars and for Saloon Stockcars it was 30 while in the Ministox the average car count at Mildenhall and at RDC overall
(Mildenhall, Coventry and Dover) was 22 and finally the average Reliant Robin turnout at Mildenhall in 2011 was 29 cars and at RDC
(Mildenhall and Dover) it was 23.
Just to underline how impressive these averages are we have been provided with some figures to compare them with across the sport for National Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and BriSCA F2 Stockcars. Unfortunately we do not have similar information for Ministox and Reliant Robins but we would suspect the 22 car average for Mildenhall and RDC for Ministox is as good as anywhere during 2011 and likewise the 29 car Mildenhall average for Reliant Robins to perhaps be the best for any track which runs regular racing for
3-wheelers.
It is also worth noting that of the 25 meetings
staged at Mildenhall in 2011, 20 of them featured over 100 race cars in total
(the lowest being 84 on January 23 and the most being 228 on Good Friday) with
an average of 132 race cars per meeting.
Meanwhile here are Mildenhall and RDC’s averages compared with elsewhere in the sport in 2011.
NATIONAL BANGERS (by track)
Mildenhall 89 car average (25 meetings)
Ipswich 83 (6)
Emmen 74 (6-not including December 30)
King’s Lynn 68 (22)
Northampton 67 (7)
Standlake 65 (11)
Wimbledon 56 (7-not including December 26)
Arlington 53 (8)
Aldershot 52 (7)
Hednesford 50 (10)
Warneton 43 (8)
Birmingham 39 (6)
Arena Essex 38 (28)
Mendips 34 (11)
Taunton 34 (11)
Belle Vue 33 (2)
Ringwood 32 (11)
Dover 32 (7)
Coventry 32 (4)
Stoke 32 (3)
Swaffham 30 (10)
Crimond 29 (15)
Ringwood Cheetas 28 (2)
St Day 27 (5)
Warton 25 (18)
Nutts Corner 23 (11-not including December 27)
Cowdenbeath 23 (7)
Sheffield 22 (2)
Yarmouth 21 (5)
Smallfield 17 (5)
Onchan 16 (12)
Skegness 16 (5)
Upper Eden 15 (9)
Buxton 15 (7)
Grimley 14 (12)
Barford 14 (6)
Scunthorpe 12 (2)
Prestatyn 10 (5)
Trent 9 (9)
Horndean 9 (6)
NATIONAL BANGERS (by promotion)
RDC Promotions 76 (32 meetings)
Emmen 74 (6-not including December 30)
TSR 68 (22)
Standlake 65 (11)
Spedeworth 52 (34)
Incarace 52 (23)
CAMSO 43 (8)
PRI 38 (28)
Mendips 34 (11)
Autospeed 32 (16)
Swaffham 30 (10)
Crimond 29 (15)
Startrax 28 (10)
Ringwood Cheetas 28 (2)
Warton 25 (18)
Nutts Corner 23 (11-not including December 27)
GMP 23 (7)
Smallfield 17 (5)
Onchan 16 (12)
Skegness 16 (5)
Upper Eden 15 (9)
Buxton 15 (7)
Grimley 14 (12)
Barford 14 (6)
Scunthorpe 12 (2)
Prestatyn 10 (5)
Trent 9 (9)
Horndean 9 (6)
Obviously it is most impressive that Mildenhall topped the averages for tracks and RDC the average for promotions but these numbers are even more impressive when compared to tracks and promotions which ran a similar number of meetings (i.e. for tracks Arena Essex and King’s Lynn and for promotions PRI and
Spedeworth). It is also worth noting that none of the RDC meetings for National Bangers held in 2011 featured more than one class of National Bangers and double (or even triple) class meetings have only been counted as single meetings on the above stats.
Another impressive statistic is that of the 21 National Banger meetings in 2011 which raised entries of 100 cars or more, Mildenhall enjoyed seven triple figure entries. Again making this figure even more special is that all of these entries were achieved with a single class of National Bangers while one third of the 100 plus entries in 2011 came from two or three classes on the same day. Therefore of all the 100 plus turnouts in 2011 from single class meetings, Mildenhall produced half of them.
Furthermore Mildenhall enjoyed four meetings with 90-99 National Bangers and a
further three with between 85 and 89 cars.
SALOON STOCKCARS (averages by tracks)
King’s Lynn 38 cars (13 meeting)
Skegness 36 (10)
Arena Essex 39 (2)
Coventry 33 (2)
Mildenhall 30 (10)
Taunton 20 (11)
Cowdenbeath 18 (26)
St Day 15 (3)
Knockhill 10 (5)
Again these are hugely impressive figures for the formula with over half of the tracks which enjoyed multiple meetings for Saloon Stockcars boasting an average of 30 or more. It is especially impressive that of the tracks which hold regular racing for the formula, Mildenhall is among the highest and also the averages are very encouraging for racing in the East Anglian region and shale surface meetings in 2011.
BriSCA F2 STOCKCARS (averages by tracks)
King’s Lynn 71 cars (7 meetings)
Coventry 65 (5)
Mildenhall 50 (7)
Hednesford 49 (3)
Belle Vue 48 (9)
Birmingham 47 (12)
Northampton 46 (13)
Stoke 46 (3)
Skegness 38 (23)
Taunton 37 (13)
Sheffield 33 (2)
Barford 30 (19)
Buxton 28 (9)
St Day 27 (6)
Mendips 25 (6)
Knockhill 23 (6)
Cowdenbeath 20 (26)
Arena Essex 16 (7)
Crimond 14 (11)
Again these figures are hugely encouraging, especially as Mildenhall did not stage one of the sports bigger championship events in 2011 and underlines how wonderfully consistent the BriSCA F2 Stockcar entries have been at Mildenhall in recent years which entries have dipped at many other venues for a variety of reasons, not in the least the ever ongoing recession in this country. These averages also further demonstrate the current popularity for shale racing in the sport.
Once again we want to thank all the drivers and their families and teams for helping to make these figures happen, we are tremendously thankful for everyone’s support at
RDC.
Also thanks to Ed Anderson, David Hamar and Crispen Rosevear for their assistance with this article.
Merry Christmas to all RDC drivers and fans (added December 21)
In our final news update before December 25 we would like to extend our Christmas greetings to those in the world of short oval motor racing.
Of course we would like to send a special message of Merry Christmas to all RDC drivers but also to the visiting drivers who have competed at Mildenhall and Dover in 2011, their teams and families and to all the race fans who have supported us at some stage during 2011.
We hope you all have a wonderful time this Christmas.
Message of thanks to all following opening round of 20th anniversary Mildenhall Winter Series (added December 21)
In the wake of the opening round of the 20th anniversary Mildenhall Winter Series for National Bangers we would like to thank everyone for their support last weekend.
With unexpected snowfall at the stadium on the morning of the meeting and more significant snowfall in many neighbouring areas it remained to be seen if many would be deterred from making the trip to the stadium and so we were truly blown away by the magnificent entry of 114 Micro Bangers which was not only an improvement on last year’s corresponding fixture but more than what we anticipated on the entry list which was assembled on the website in the weeks leading up to the meeting
It goes without saying that there were a few no shows from the advertised entry list but despite the unexpected turn in the weather there were much fewer than we feared and we would like to thank those who contacted us before and after the meeting to explain their absences which was greatly appreciated.
We would also like to thank the fans we braved the arctic weather to enjoy the racing the drivers served up and we hope you enjoyed the lively racing they produced.
We would also like to thank Spedeworth for giving us their blessing to use their popular Micro Banger format which they have developed in recent years. It was most likely a combination of the new format, the Best Pairs format and the better weather conditions in the run up the meeting (last year’s event was held after heavy snow hit many parts of the country) that resulted in the improved entry of cars from 12 months ago but nonetheless we are grateful to Spedeworth for their assistance and we can confirm that next years meeting will again run to Micro Banger rules.
It is also worth reminding all drivers who raced whose cars may have lived to fight another day that the next round of the Mildenhall Winter Series, on New Years Day (Sunday January 1) features 1400cc Bangers where any car raced last weekend could be used again.
The biggest disappointment of the afternoon was the low entry of Ministox, the lowest seen at Mildenhall for several years. With no clashing fixtures we can only assume the bad weather played a part and we hope to see numbers pick up for the next round of the Winter Series on January 1. Nonetheless the young guns once again produced some very competitive racing and well done to 369 Liam Santry on his hard fought hat trick of race wins.
Speaking of winning young guns and we must congratulate 322 Thomas Fox as the long serving Ministox graduate marked his National Banger debut with a race win. Thomas joins a very elite group of National Banger drivers who can say they won their maiden race so big congratulations to him.
Also well done to 48 Brian and 148 Ian Redden on winning the first ever Micro Banger Best Pairs Challenge, Brian marking his first on track outing in a year by winning the Grand Final.
Finally we are again sorry for the short delay before the National Banger DD. We felt this was necessary as a few drivers who had raced in the Banger Final were eager to compete in the DD but only had the Ministox Grand Final for repair time. In each case the drivers and their teams were reported by our pit team to be working as fast and as hard as possible and were genuinely on track as soon as they possibly could but again we would like to thank the fans on hand for their patience in waiting for these drivers and we hope the action produced in the near 50 car DD was worth the short wait.
Invitations and complimentary tickets en route for Mildenhall awards nights (added December 21)
We are pleased to report that we have finalised our lists for trophy winners for this years presentation nights at Mildenhall Stadium in January and this week invitations are being sent to all trophy winners alongside complimentary tickets to the event.
First up is the Mildenhall Stockcar Presentation Night which takes place in the Fen Man Bar at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, January 21 and will feature trophy presentations for
Ministox, Saloon Stockcars and BriSCA F2 Stockcars.
And then two weeks later it is the National Banger and Reliant Robin presentation night which takes place at the stadium on Sunday, February 4.
All trophy winners (both points trophy winners and merit trophy winners) will receive two complimentary tickets to their respective events with the exception of the Ministox where all RDC registered Ministox drivers in 2011 will receive three complimentary tickets for January 21. Furthermore this year we have also extended the same invitation to all Ministox drivers who raced at Coventry in 2011. However with non RDC drivers their invitations and tickets will be sent via their own promoter and may take a little longer to arrive.
Once again we want to stress that these awards night are open to everyone and all are welcome with additional tickets available on the door for just £5.
Congratulations to 328 Daniel Lathan new 1500cc National Champion (added December 14)
All at RDC Promotions would like to congratulate 328 Daniel Lathan on his maiden major National Banger title victory after he lifted the 1500cc National Championship at King’s Lynn last weekend.
Unfortunately we don’t have a full report from the event but in addition to Lathan taking the title, 382 Jack Foster Jnr added to the RDC success by finishing second for an impressive RDC 1-2 in the championship and 617 Jack Overy cemented his return appearance at the Norfolk Arena by winning the destruction derby in the unlimited bangers.
Lathan’s first title win was a most fitting conclusion to an excellent season for the rising star where he followed up being one of the most improved drivers of 2010 by becoming one of the breakout stars of 2011 and we look forward to his first appearance as champion at this weekend’s Micro Banger Best Pairs meeting at
Mildenhall.
ORCi National Bangers and Ministox rules for 2012 (added December 14)
The ORCi website has added the newly confirmed technical specifications (construction rules) for National Bangers and Ministox which, as always, we would encourage drivers in each formula to take the time to go through ahead of the 2012 season.
The National Bangers rules can be found by clicking here and the Ministox rules by
clicking
here.
New rules are highlighted in red, however National Banger drivers are reminded that RDC offers a more detailed version of our racing rules which apply at our race meetings by
clicking here.
Congratulations to Dan Poole and Michael Norman (added December
7)
All at RDC would like to extend their best wishes and congratulations to National Banger drivers 259 Dan Poole and 527 Michael Norman on the recent new additions to their families.
Dan’s daughter Louise was born in the early hours of December 2, weighing 6.14lbs and Michael’s daughter, Mia, was born on December 1, weighing 6.06lbs.
We are delighted to say that both Michael and Dan report that mothers and babies are doing fine and again we wish them all the best for the future.
Christmas gift ideas from TSR (added December 7)
We all know Christmas can be a tricky time finding the right gift for a fan or driver of our sport but our colleagues at TSR may well have the answer with their range of racing related gifts. Full details can be found below.
Looking for that elusive last minute Christmas Gift?
How about a Paul Harrison Mouse Mat or a Predators T Shirt, a Shane Davies Lunch Box, a Chris Bradbury Sticker, David Aldous Car Hanger or a Tim Warwick Fridge Magnet?
Check out the Trackstar online Trackshop where there are a great selection of items which can be bought and delivered to you in time for Christmas which will make great gifts for all Stock Car and Banger Fans. This year's on line Trackshop has several new items and designs never seen before!!
Selection of items covers Banger Drivers, Banger Teams, F1 and F2 Stock Cars Drivers, 2L Stock Car Drivers, 1300 Stock Car Drivers, Lady Banger Drivers, Ministox drivers and much more.
Keep checking the shop every day for additional new items.
Items ordered by 8pm on Thursday December 16 are guaranteed for Christmas Delivery.
Visit the Trackshop here
November to Remember round up and thank you (added November 30)
This week we would like to extend a big message of thanks to all the drivers and fans who supported the annual November to Remember event at Mildenhall last weekend headlined by the National Banger Mildenhall Team Championship.
Despite the predicted non-appearance of Team Happy Days we were pleased to not only see all of the remaining teams which were booked in appear at the raceway but the majority boasted full teams of four which left us with a field of almost 100 cars and together they served up a most lively afternoon of racing and again we would like to thank all the drivers and their teams for their contributions to that.
As always there were some issues during the day which we would like to take the time to address here. The first was that this meeting featured a significant number of National Banger drivers who were loaded up for various rule breaks. The most common was drivers falling foul of the rule which now prevents drivers from travelling from one bend to the other on opposite. This rule was introduced in August when the ORC introduced new racing rules across the sport. These rules were detailed on this page with more detailed explanation of what we expected at RDC and can be found by using the quick links above. Furthermore all drivers who raced at RDC in August received these rules and the details in writing and all RDC registered drivers received them in the post. We would again like to stress to drivers that turning round on the straights is allowed but we want the ‘on opposite’ crashing to be kept on the bends. If a driver is crashing on opposite on the pit bend and then wishes to move to the top bend they must do so in a clockwise (normal) direction. Not on opposite. In short drivers cannot go from one bend to the other on opposite. Five drivers broke this rule on Sunday and all were loaded up as is was their first time offensive which is in keeping with previous breaks of the rule since it was introduced. It should be noted that this rule does not apply in a DD.
Another problem was the small dust levels, particularly at the start of the afternoon. Just to have a dust issue at a race meeting on shale in November is perhaps no bad thing and the dust at the start of the first race in particular did catch us by surprise. However we felt that watering the track could have had an adverse effect on the racing conditions, which we hope you’ll agree were near perfect and the best we have seen at this time of year in many years. We would also like to thank our track team who worked very hard to prepare such a great racing surface for the meeting.
We are also again sorry that there was a small delay to the start of the meeting. As detailed on the side last week we were eager to have a prompt start and were in communication with the teams which would be in heat one about the importance of being ready for start time. While the meeting did start a few minutes late, a similar amount of time to last year, in contrast to 12 months ago we did have a full grid of 24 cars (2 cars per the 12 teams in groups A and B) which was a massive improvement on last year which had a smaller field of cars and was significantly short on what should have been on track. Obviously the slightly late start means we are not quite ‘there yet’ but this was a big step in the right direction and so our thanks to the drivers and teams for making that happen.
On a similar subject we would like to thank all the drivers and their teams for the tremendous effort throughout the day which allowed us to get through the programme as smoothly as possible. When the format was finalised we recognised there was a potential issue for the teams in heats two and three and the teams in heats four and five (roughly half in each case) as well as the teams who qualified in the final but had raced in heat six as in each case they would only have one Ministox race for repairs. The potential for a problem was increased later in afternoon when damage tolls started to set in but despite this, some sterling work from those in the pits meant these potential delays were kept to a bare minimum and allowed us to start the final race not long after four hours after the meeting started which with a 12 race (of which eight were National Bangers) programme was a fine effort by all concerned and also thanks to the staff at RDC for their efforts in helping this happen.
We would also like to congratulate each of the drivers who contested the National Banger DD, the 40 car field was a wonderful effort by all concerned and a great end to the afternoon.
Congratulations are in order to many, first to Team Green B on winning the Mildenhall Team Championship as well as runners up the Dover Boys who with it secured the season long RDC Team Championship as well as 355 Sid Magewick, who despite his absence, secured the RDC and Mildenhall points in the Ministox and also to 397 Reece Swatman and 342 Ryley Freestone who enjoyed maiden race wins in the Ministox and 746 Harry Greer in the National Bangers.
RDC on tour at Champion of Champions (added November 30)
Last Saturday night (November 26) saw RDC well represented at the annual Champion of Champions event for unlimited bangers at Birmingham with 53 Dave Palmer, 148 Ian Redden, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 384 John Golden, 456 Nathan Roberts, 617 Jack Overy and 682 Paul Sparrow flying the flag in the title race. 148 Shorty and Sparrow returned their World Final Granadas, 382 Chubby and Roberts had fresh Lexus’ (the latter’s very smart), Palmer debuted a Scorpio and Overy a fresh Jag while 384 Goldie had a used one. Joining them in the support races were 180 Mark Foster, 415 Scott Cornish, 508 Harry Bradbury and 717 Jack Tuffen.
508 Led Head made a mark in heat one, wrecking the Laurel of Gladiator rival 54 Martin Lawton before he was trashed by the Lincon Town Car limo of 305 John Kirkbride with 180 Sparky picking up seventh place. Cornish delivered a massive hit to the Oldsmobile Toronado of 421 Nigel Riley in the second heat which saw no RDC drivers feature in the results.
An Incarace draw for the title race left Palmer on pole with Chubby a couple of rows back and the former was among the early front runners. The race started with a bang as Overy picked up arch rival 158 Shane Davies and followed the Condom in flat out on the top bend only to have his night terminated equally early when 47 Andy Davies landed a fierce hit in the driver’s side rear wheel. Shorty was removed by 2 Luke Dawson as the Condom v Team Black feud continued with Goldie and Chubby wrecking 203 Darren Nash. Meanwhile 455 Rick Finney took a flag to flag win with Palmer enjoying his second strong finish in the event in as many years, finishing fourth.
Shorty led the Allcomers until the final stages when he was spun by 218 Rob Speak but he recovered for third and came back for the final as well, the only championship finalist to compete in three consecutive races. The final saw Chubby nail 349 Lewis Price while Shorty was fenced by 552 Karl Douglas as Roberts ran in 22 Elliot Dowds. The leading Shorty then collected 271 Dean Goodall exiting the final bend and was nailed by 811 Kieran McIvor, the World Cup Champion failing to finish and Chubby snatched the win with Sparky third.
The latter returned for the demo and thundered 521 Ash Riley into the infield banking before Tuffen found himself disqualified after failing to get involved in the action in a most disappointing display. Eventually he traded some hits with 331 Jason Jackson who was declared the winner in light of Tuffen’s disqualification.
RDC at ORC Championships (added November 23)
The annual ORC Championship meeting was held at Arena Essex for the first time in over a decade on November 20 and the 2Litre Banger team championship returned to the traditional inter promotional format with RDC represented by 313 Craig Osbourn, 400 Kevin Shinn, 570 Jordan Cumming, 188 John Reeves, 328 Craig Lathan, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 180 Mark Foster and 525 Wes Starmer. Also in the pits were 207 Billy Randall and 843 Jacob Foster who were racing for Autospeed and Skegness respectively while the duel licensed 339 Jack Garrod raced with TSR.
188 Victor, 180 Sparky, 382 Chubby and 525 Wes contested heat one as well as Foster who fell foul of an early pile-up on the QE2 bend before Sparky landed a good hit on Incarace’s 101 Keith Roberts and Wes came under fire from Spedeworth’s 158 Shane Davies. The leading Chubby was spun by 192 Jimmy Rice from Incarace but recovered for second to give us some early points while Sparky ended things with a shot on Incarace’s 128 Mark Atkins.
The remaining RDC drivers contested the second heat with 400 Shinny’s race ending early in another pile-up on turns one and two which also claimed Lathan while 570 Dino Jnr nailed’s TSR’s 597 Andy Ashman only to have Mendips’ 210 Paul Barnes pile PRI’s 61 Darryl Theedom into him with the on opposite 807 Chris Murfin then attacking the Kent young gun. Osbourn was stuffed by TSR’s 730 Dean Mayes leaving the battered Lathan to go the distance and pick up a single point in tenth.
With all eight cars repaired we repeated our heats for heats three and four and the third heat saw 128 Monty stuff Wes into another QE2 bend pile-up as Victor attacked 730 Deano before he had 207 Blockhead out. Wes came under attack from Foster, the latter going on to stuff 210 Barney which also claimed PRI’s 91 Dave Barwick but we proved pointless in this race despite all but Victor going the distance.
Osbourn found the wall early in heat four and a T-bone from 61 Barrel ended his race. Lathan then stuffed both 91 Bart and TSR’s 388 Emmerson Fairweather with Shinny followed into Bart by Autospeed’s 162 Brett Ellacott. Lathan was then launched into the infield sleepers by Spedeworth’s 247 Lee Clarke and Avison which tore a wheel of Lathan’s car and left him a sitting duck for a shot from Statrax’s 132 Chris Cullum. Dino Jnr then administered a wicked T-bone on Avison and connected with a hit in the front wheel a few laps later but a visit to the fence on turn one ended his race and our chances of points this time.
Nonetheless some excellent work in the pits saw all eight RDC cars return for the all in final, only Spedeworth also achieving this. Osbourn was the first to show, burying 247 Bro only to be collected by Victor as Startrax’s 99 Jason Jukes nailed Dino Jnr in the rear wheel and TSR’s 337 Ashley Garrod buried Lathan. Shinny then weighed in hard on Jukes and was nailed in turn by PRI’s 527 Dan Gardiner as Cullum stuffed Victor into some dead cars on the pit bend which nearly rolled him. Blockhead meanwhile T-boned Mendips’ 4 Bob Barnes and Davies span Chubby to take second, the former also having Osbourn out but the latter recovered to stuff 337 Pretty Boy into Jukes although this ended his race in the process. Chubby meanwhile raced to third with Victor taking tenth but with the race not counting for double points this year it was only enough to elevate RDC to sixth overall, albeit only a few points behind fourth.
Sparky was the only member of the RDC team to return for the Allcomers and DD although Blockhead and Foster also raced, the latter landing a big T-bone to 4 Big Bob while Sparky nailed Blockhead. Foster met Rice in a wicked head-on as Sparky raced to the win and battled Incarace duo 299 Dale Locker and 367 Josh Genders in the DD. He traded hits with the former, Sparky landing a shot on the shale, before he returned to the track on opposite, reeled in and followed in Genders hard on the QE2 bend and survived a big T-bone from Locker to take the win, Sparky sealing his victory with a revenge hit on Locker.
RDC at Dim Tim Memorial (added November 16)
As expected RDC was well represented at the ‘Dim Tim’ Day Memorial meeting at Northampton on November 13 with around 20 drivers in action. The RDC entry was split almost evenly between the unlimited and the 2Litre (non Mondeo/Cougar) class and starting with the unlimited class which, also as expected, featured a massive Motley Krew presence including 46 Wayne Pecker (smart Mk2 Granada), 170 Darren Teal (XJ), 311 Lee Bradbury (smart XJ), 320 Paul Seymour (World Final Scorpio), 321 Ian Rumph (smart XJ) and 384 John Golden who was back in his old team colours with a smart Granada limo. Also on hand was 17 Kyle Overy (smart, late shaped Chevy Caprice), 86 Alec Savage (World Final Scorpio), 125 Roy Preece (used Pontiac Grand Prix), 165 Ritchie Jarrod (Firecracker Chrysler New Yorker), 278 Tom Hills (used Scorpio), 382 Jack Foster Jnr (World Final Scorpio) and 520 Derek Caton (World Final Lexus).
Onto the 2Litre class where 46 Pecker (smart Focus), Teal (Primera), 311 Helm (Bluebird) and 320 Smiler (Primera) were all on double duty and were joined by 20 Andy Burbridge (Primera), 188 John Reeves (Primera), 587 Alex Humphrey (Primera), 220 Tom Pavitt (Cavalier), 925 Aaron Preece (Primera) and 506 Ricky Clarke (Primera).
The afternoon began with a last chance qualifier for the unlimiteds, our only action coming when 520 the Undertaker was fenced by 279 Barry Hennesey as 382 Chubby secured a place in the memorial race finishing third as did 86 the Hairdresser in sixth.
Up next were two half car heats for the 2Litres, Teal running in 252 Steve Bugler in the first before Pecker stuffed 20 Baldy, Smiler taking fifth with 188 Victor sixth and Pecker ninth. The second heat saw Helm open his account with a shot on 546 Iain Beatie before he was fenced by 96 Ben Harrison and 587 Humps fenced 115 en route to finishing third.
The unlimited memorial race was next and saw 17 the Little Chief land a hard hit on 294 Alan Tarn in the middle of a massive pile-up on the trackshop bend before he took one from 327 Trevor Salvage. Chubby scored on the spun 409 Joey Collins before Smiler fired into 67 Rickie Beasley which in turn buried 64 Mark Dawson as 311 Helm thundered 162 Brett Ellacott into the side of Rumph leaving the latter with a huge XJ wreck to bring the reds out. Chubby survived an attack from 705 Billy Standing on the restart to finish second with Smiler third, Pecker fourth, Teal sixth and Helm the seventh and final finisher.
Our only action in the all in third 2litre heat saw the spun Victor take a big shot in the front wheel from 196 Chip Howland. Smiler remained consistent with another third place before Helm continued to impress in the unlimited Allcomers with a cracking hit on 380 Bradley Evans. Jarrod meanwhile treated 94 Sean Martindale to a fine shot before Helm blitzed 190 Steve Bailey hard. The Little Chief delivered a crushing head-on to 322 James Newland before he came under fire from Pecker as 190 Pikey lunged at and fenced the Undertaker allowing 520 Lee Middleton to nail the latter head-on. Savage finished third this time ahead of Chubby with Undertaker seventh.
Back to the 2litres and their final saw Smiler clobber team mate Howland head-on before he redeemed himself by following in 96 Ginner not once but twice en route to ninth place. Smiler impressed again in the 2Litre DD, starting with a shot on Pikey on the centre before meeting Ginner on the nose. Smiler then fired into and fenced the Stanley Crew man before he again pounded Pikey. Smiler then survived a shot from Ginner to meet Pikey in a fierce head-on which finished both cars on the spot for a dead heat result.
Unlimited final and DD to close and the Little Chief took second in the race before opening the DD with a shot on Middleton as 343 Lee Edwards blasted Roy Preece. 64 Roar meanwhile T-boned Jarrod as Pecker trashed Pikey with a big hit only to be leathered in turn by 67 Sonny Black as the Little Chief and Jarrod traded hits before they both stuck it to 204 Mick Charlton, Sonny Black eventually silencing the Little Chief for the win.
Congratulations to Ian ‘Bam Bam’ Norris (added November 16)
All at RDC would like to extend their congratulations to dedicated banger racer 101 Ian ‘Bam Bam’ Norris on the birth of his daughter Amelia over the weekend.
We are pleased to report that both mother and baby are doing very well and after an incredibly busy season we would imagine Bam Bam will enjoy the winter break with his family although he has once again underlined his commitment to the cause by confirming himself as one of RDC’s seeded entries in the 1500cc Banger National Championship at King’s Lynn on December 11.
Unlimited Banger 2012 BBA Supreme Championship latest (added November 16)
This week sees some more developments unfold for the 2012 BBA Supreme
Championship for Unlimited Bangers at Mildenhall on March 24 with the initial
picture for the big race nearly completed.
With confirmation of the final points standings for 2011 at Incarace and CAMSO
we know that provisionally at least 800 Tom Hannah and 56 Karel Eeckloo will be
the seeded entries for each promotion while the final top six adds a couple more
eligible drivers to those who will be invited to compete in the last chance
race.
Furthermore the confirmed final standings in the 2011 points championships at
Warton and Standlake has also added some more drivers to the list of those
invited to the last chance race as we look to try and include some non ORC
raceways in this prestigious event for the first time.
Almost all of the pieces are now in place for next year’s BBA Supreme
Championship which will be, for the first time at Mildenhall, an unlimited event
in 2012. We have almost all the provisional seeded entries from the various ORC
promotions. The TSR points conclude on December 11 although with 119 Davey Cox
already a qualifier, the smart money would suggest 22 Dave Vincent will have
first refusal of TSR’s seeded place on the grid. Beyond that we are waiting to
hear from Buxton, GMP, Startrax and Skegness on the top six in their 2011 points
charts which will determine their seeded entry (the top driver in the chart who
has yet to qualify) while the remainder of the top six will be added to those
invited to compete in the last chance race. Furthermore we are still waiting to
hear from Emmen on the top six in their points who will also be invited to
compete in the last chance race.
In quite possibly the most ambitious meeting RDC has staged to date no less than
300 drivers will receive invitations to this meeting with over 50 of them being
qualifiers for the championship race. Invitations will be sent out in the New
Year at which points bookings will also open for the ‘support’ races
although at first this will be limited to 40 places and drivers not in either
the last chance or Supreme Championship are pre warned that depending on the
numbers on the night they may only be guaranteed the opportunity of two races on
the night,
While we are realistic to realise that far from all those invited will accept
the offer we are hopeful that we will have sufficient for both the championship
race and the last chance event to have decent grids and any ‘support’ cars
who join them will be a bonus. Furthermore as the 2012 event will see at least
three drivers qualify on the night it has been decided that, provisionally at
least, this year’s race will return to the original qualifying format where
there will be no reserves taken from each of the 13 championship races from
2011. As always the first three in each of these races secures a spot but in
years gone by if a driver has been unable to compete their place has been
offered to the next driver in that result.
Last year the reserve system was reduced to just one driver per race but this
year we are hoping to do away with it completely (again this depends on the
amount of qualifiers who accept their invitations) and again while this might
reduce the amount of drivers in the race from previous years we hope it will
again increase the quality of the qualifiers and significance of qualifying for
what we believe is one of the biggest races of the year. For even more
information on the event check out the dedicated
One Wild Night section of the site.
Ministox end of 2011 Coventry season round up and thank you (added November 9)
Following the final ORC Ministox meeting of the season at Coventry Stadium last weekend we would like to extend a massive message of thanks to all the racers, their teams and families for their tremendous support of the maiden full season of racing at the Brandon shaleway.
After the 23 car entry for the first meeting of the year back in April, turnouts improved for the remainder of the season and somewhat fittingly the season finale, headlined by the maiden Coventry Masters, raised the biggest entry of the year with 32 cars. This was not only one of the biggest entries for any ORC Ministox meeting in 2011 but it bumped the seasons average car count at Coventry up to a very impressive 27.
In total 43 different drivers raced at Coventry this season and what is especially impressive is that no less than 40 of them scored at least one track championship point which underlined how incredibly open the racing was at the raceway, this point further proved by the fact that from the 19 races held there this season there were no less than 11 different winners.
It is somewhat fitting that 121 Marcus Skeels’ victory in the Coventry Masters made him the winningest driver of the year at the track which four race wins in 2011, but he never managed more than one race win at any one meeting.
His fine form at the last meeting saw him snatch second in the track championship, just getting the better of 161 Jacques West who was arguably the success story of the season at Brandon but congratulations to 355 Sid Magewick, who despite having to settle for second place in the Coventry Masters still emerged the winner of the track championship.
Unfortunately the season did end on something of a low note with the incident involving 229 Katie Cooper which resulted in the third Allcomers being stopped and after initial plans to restart the race it was elected to declare the result with six laps left to run as it became clear it was going to take longer to assist Katie that originally thought. We are pleased to confirm this week that having been kept in hospital overnight, Katie has now returned home and hopes to be back in action by the end of the month.
Furthermore we would like to thank all the drivers in the third Allcomers for their co-operation which the race was under suspension and their understanding in the reasoning why the race did not complete its full distance.
Continuing the special thanks and we want to congratulation and especially thank the 10 drivers who completed a 100 per cent attendance record at Coventry this season, namely 121 Marcus Skeels, 161 Jacques West, 205 Courtney Finnikin, 236 Ryan Polley, 327 Mick Maskall Jnr, 344 Ross Fisher, 350 Thomas Parrin (both Fisher and Parrin maintaining their 100 per cent attendance records at RDC this year), 355 Sid Magewick, 383 Shane Harvey (especially impressive given his Kent base made him one of the furtherst travelled drivers to any Coventry meeting this season) and 390 Karl Morris.
The standard of racing has been of an equally high standard as the car entries and a combination of this means we are provisionally scheduled to see the ORC Ministox back at Coventry in 2012 under the RDC banner with four dates currently planned. These are (Easter) Saturday, April 7, Saturday June 2, Saturday, September and Saturday, November 3. Once again all these meetings will be alongside BriSCA F1 Stockcars and bookings for the first date will open in the new year.
Thanks once again to all those who supported the ORC Ministox dates at Coventry this season and we hope to see you again in 2012.
RDC at Firecracker XX (added November 9)
As expected RDC was represented at the 20th annual Unlimited Banger Firecracker at Arena Essex last Sunday (November 6) with several of our drivers parading some very impressive machinery.
In action were 39 Steve Moore, in a trademark Daimler DS420 (this time a hearse), 165 Ritchie Jarrod in a superb Chrysler New Yorker, 205 Kieran Briddock (Scorpio), 222 Karl Kelly (Volvo 740 estate), 333 Danny Webb, in a cool sounding V8 powered Oldsmobile Toranado, 402 Albie Jenner (Volvo 240 estate) and 768 Danny McSweeney (Volvo 960).
Our only action in the first heat saw 39 Peanut fire into and spin the Supra of 203 Darren Nash en route to eighth place before Jarrod treated the spun Daimler Majestic of 126 Roy Bramley a head-on in the second heat. McSweeney landed a shot on the Chevy Caprice of 701 Marcus Dunn in the final heat only to cop it from the Mk10 Jaguar of 268 Glenn Seago.
Webb copped a length of the straight head-on from 681 James Hutchings’ XJ in the consolation before Peanut met the Carlton hearse of 25 Paul Ring in similar fashion in the final. McSweeney returned to nail the well smart Rolls Royce Silver Shadow of 347 Dave Bull in an early push in the DD before he copped a head-on from the Caddy of 146 Allan Trickett, 402 Albert’s shot on the Lexus of 158 Shane Davies ending our involvement in the afternoon.
Halloween Havoc round up and a message of thanks from all at RDC (added November 2)
Everyone at RDC Promotions would like to extend a massive message of thanks to everyone, on both sides of the fence, who helped make last weekend’s Halloween Havoc event at Mildenhall Stadium such a great success.
It was no secret that we had taken a gamble this year by moving the meeting, traditionally one of the most popular events of the year for fans, from its typical Saturday night fixture to a Sunday afternoon. While we knew the move was a gamble we believed the potential benefits (mainly being a less busy day in the sport, especially locally, and easing the pressure of meeting our curfew) made it worthwhile and the great showing of drivers and fans on Sunday proved the gamble was well worth taking.
While it was especially pleasing to see the stadium packed with perhaps the biggest crowd we have seen this season it was also extremely pleasing to see the pit area packed full of race cars and drivers as well. The final driver and car count saw 76 National Banger drivers with 87 cars between them plus 24 cars in both the Reliant Robins and Ministox. It is even more pleasing to report that numbers in all three classes were marginally up on last year’s Halloween meeting which again supports the move to the Sunday afternoon (certainly in the Reliant Robins as the formula was at Mildenhall and King’s Lynn on the same night in 2010). What makes the figures in the National Bangers so impressive is that a close examination of many of the other events around the country in October show small drops in turnouts compared to 12 months previously. There are certainly many reasons for this, the continued financial recession being a large part, but again it emphasises the wonderful support shown by the drivers for this meeting which in fact made it the third best attended National Banger meeting anywhere in the country in October (and it’s worth pointing out that the King’s Lynn meeting on October 8 which had a few more cars featured two classes) while the October 22 meeting had the fourth best entry this month.
We made it no secret on the afternoon that the National Banger entry was far more than what we expected and actually caused one or two difficult decisions and problems. With over 40 cars in attendance which were specifically for the crazy races we elected to run two spin and start heats at the start of the afternoon. Given the support shown by the drivers we didn’t want to deny anyone the opportunity of as much racing as possible and so didn’t want to limit the numbers on the first crazy race and believed that given the nature of a spin and start race, a field of up to 40 cars was probably not the best of ideas.
Unfortunately this led to some confusion and a short delay. The decision to run a second spin and start race was made just minutes before start time and when the first race was completed only a few drivers were ready for the second and the rest required chasing from the pits and ultimately when the second race started just 33 drivers took part in one of the spin and start races. We believe the confusion was drivers not in the first race were (understandably) unaware there wasn’t a second and therefore were preparing for the Le Mans race instead. Nonetheless we are sorry for this delay of a few minutes at an early stage in the programme.
There was a similar problem when it came to the next Crazy Race, the Le Mans start race where over 40 drivers were lined up on pit road eager to take part. Again we felt this was too many for one race, especially as we were hopeful of good grids for the three destruction derbies and so elected to split the field in half. Understandably some would have perhaps preferred one 30 car race to two 20 car races but again we wanted to reward all the drivers for their support of the meeting and didn’t want to turn any away from the event. Furthermore the decision to spilt the grids for both the programmed crazy races helped us get through the first half of the programme in great time. Even with the aforementioned delay to the second spin and start race, the final crazy race (race seven of the programme and the fifth National Banger race) was completed within two hours of start time. Of course the second half of the programme (which included three destruction derbies which needed clearing afterwards and the fireworks) took longer but ultimately the 15 race programme was finished within five hours which we were pleased with and we would like to thank all of the RDC team for their help in making that happen.
While the National Banger ‘support’ entry was far greater than anticipated the entry for Allstar Dash for Cash was marginally down on previous years which was a little disappointing given the healthy prize fund (although it should be noted this had no bearing on the quality of the race which was one of the better Allstar Dashes in recent years). The 21 car starting grid was the lowest since 2006 (which also had 21 cars) but it did continue a pattern of comparable entries for this race as every event since the first one (with the exception of just 14 cars in 2005) has had a 20-something car entry, the highest being 29 in 2008 and last year’s 25 car field was only slightly bigger than this year.
What however was especially pleasing was that the starting grid was almost identical to what was promised on the driver entry list on the website with just one of the confirmed drivers not arriving and one additional driver taking his place. Equally pleasing was that every driver booked in for the National Banger caravan race honoured their place and combined with a handful of drivers granted bookings late last week we had a bigger field than anticipated and again the massive 24 car and caravan grid was again slightly bigger than that of 12 months ago.
We have already discussed the issues which led to the short delay before the second National Banger Spin and Start Crazy race but we would also like to thank all the drivers from that point onwards whose co-operation in the pits helped us get through the remainder of the programme as quickly as possible.
On a similar note we want to thank all the fans who enjoyed the action from turns one and two who quickly adhered to our request to move to the back and home straight for the fireworks display in accordance to the recommendation of White Lightning Pyrotechnics. This greatly assisted us in starting the display without any delay so a big thanks to everyone who co-operated and again to White Lightning for a great display which was well received.
We would also like to extend a speedy recovery to National Banger rookie 75 Rod Phillips who suffered some rib injuries in the first National Banger DD but he has expressed his enjoyment of the day nonetheless and we are pleased to report than 141 Andy Neal and 328 Daniel Lathan have confirmed no serious injuries from their incidents in the second and third DDs which is great news and both plan to be back in action at Mildenhall at this month’s National Banger team championship.
Another source of disappointment was the outcome of the Reliant Robin Grand Final. This is addressed in more detail in the next news item but again we are sorry, especially to the fans, for the ending of the Reliant racing.
Once again a massive thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the afternoon, we hope you enjoyed the event and we hope to see you again very soon.
Reliant Robin Mildenhall October 30 Grand Final result (added November 2)
There was disappointment at the end of the Reliant Robin Grand Final at Mildenhall last Sunday (October 30) when the Grand Final was stopped a few laps from the conclusion and no result was declared.
This followed the decision by the meeting stewards to halt the race after it was felt drivers were not showing sufficient regard to the yellow caution flags. There had been a little confusion with the yellow flags being shown for an upturned car and no sooner did racing conditions resume the yellow flags flew again with a loose wheel spotted on the raceway.
Unfortunately at this point the remaining drivers in the race continued pretty much at race speed leading to the race being terminated and the result being suspended until video footage of the race could be looked at more closely.
The video footage confirms that the yellow flags were being waved for almost three laps during which time it would judged no driver still in the event slowed down sufficiently for marshals to be on the raceway and therefore a void result has been given to the race.
The constant need to enforce the ruling of driving slowing down when waved yellow flags are shown in Reliant Robin races has been a regular issue this season and was so again on Sunday, with a handful of drivers dropped places for this in the heats and RDC will continue to clamp down on the problem in 2012 and repeat offenders run the risk of being banned from racing.
Drivers are again reminded of the importance to obey the yellow caution flags for the safety of themselves, fellow drivers and the marshals.
Stock Karts confirmed for guest appearance at Mildenhall in 2012 and latest fixture news (added November 2)
In the latest of our news regarding the 2012 fixtures we can confirm the increasingly popular Stock Karts formula is to make a guest appearance at Mildenhall Stadium next year at our unique Jubilee Bank Holiday Tuesday meeting on June 5.
The formula has raced at Mildenhall before, but during a ‘closed doors’ event which took place in the afternoon prior to a Saturday night meeting and unfortunately the most recent one was ruined by awful weather which resulted in their event being cancelled early.
Despite this the formula, which has grown in numbers since and now averages grids of mid to high 20s, has remained eager to return to the raceway and we are delighted to offer them a place at our bank holiday Tuesday meeting which we are billing as a fun afternoon.
Alongside the now confirmed first ever Siamese banger meeting at Mildenhall we also intend for this meeting to feature Stock Karts, Ministox and Reliant Robins.
In further fixture news the dates of the National Banger Old Skool team championship at Mildenhall and Masters Championship meeting at Dover may swap over from their originally scheduled weekends. Traditionally the Old Skool team championship takes place the night before the National Banger PRI World Final at Arena Essex (to assist travelling drivers and fans) which would normally be the third weekend of September. However PRI have confirmed they plan to run fortnightly race meetings at Arena Essex in 2012 rather than weekly and we understand the World Final is likely to September 23, rather than the 16th as we originally anticipated. Should this be the case we will move our fixtures accordingly but wanted to keep everyone informed regarding the situation.
Furthermore following the success of this year’s Halloween Havoc event on a Sunday afternoon, we can confirm the 2012 Halloween meeting will also take place on a Sunday afternoon, October 28.
We are also hoping to have our confirmed BriSCA F2 and Saloon Stockcar dates very soon which will in turn allow us to complete our Ministox and Reliant Robin fixtures very soon. For the current provisional 2012 fixtures
click here.
BriSCA F2 and Saloon Stockcar Championship fixtures confirmed for 2011 (added October 26)
BriSCA and the SSCA have confirmed the championship fixtures for BriSCA F2 and Saloon Stockcars in 2012 and we are delighted that we will be staging two of sports longest running championship races during the course of our now annual weekend event in June.
Next season is RDC’s turn to stage the Saloon Stockcar British Championship and it will be an historic event with the 45th staging of the formulas longest running title race.
Meanwhile next season will see RDC and Mildenhall Stadium host for the first time ever, the BriSCA F2 Stockcar Challenge Trophy, another long running event with over 40 years of history. Somewhat remarkably next year will be the first time the race has been held on English soil in 20 years, the last time being in 1991 at Taunton, Since then the event has been held either in Scotland or Ireland and more recently it has been the latter, being held on Irish soil since 2002.
Both events are scheduled for our weekend event in June on Saturday June 16 and Sunday June 17. The Saloon Stockcars will be racing on both days but we intend to run the qualifying races and the British Championship on the Saturday night with a domestic meeting on the Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile the BriSCA F2 Stockcars will join us on the Sunday afternoon for the Challenge Trophy.
It promises to be an action packed weekend with the National Bangers in action on both days (the Inter Counties team challenge is on the Saturday and the under 25 Hot Shot Championship on the Sunday) as well as the Bangerstox who will contest their Suffolk Championship.
We have added the two stockcar championships to our provisional 2012 fixtures which can be found by clicking here. We hope to confirm more information on this in the near future.
In the meantime here is the full list of the confirmed major championship fixtures for the BriSCA F2 and Saloon Stockcars in 2012.
BriSCA F2 Stockcars
World Championship Barford September 8/9
World Championship Semi Finals: Buxton August 5
European Championship: Northampton July 14/15
British Championship: Cowdenbeath May 26/27
National Championship: Ballymena/Nutts Corner June 8/9/10
English Open: Taunton August 11
World of Shale: King’s Lynn September 22
Challenge: Mildenhall June 17
Saloon Stockcars
World Championship: Taunton August 11/12
European Championship: King’s Lynn September 22/23
British Championship: Mildenhall June 16
National Championship: Cowdenbeath May 26/27
English Championship: St Day May 6
Scottish Championship: Cowdenbeath October 13
RDC on tour at Wimbledon (added October 26)
RDC was well represented at the 2Litre Banger London Open Championship at Wimbledon on Sunday, October 23 with the 44 strong entry including 180 Mark Foster, 207 Billy Randall, 342 Carl Davies, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 427 Dave Johnson, 456 Nathan Roberts, 617 Jack Overy and 843 Jacob Foster. Full credit as well to 382 Chubby, Overy and Jacob Foster who had all raced at Mildenhall the previous night.
Heat one ended badly for 180 Sparky was smashed heavily into the fence by 204 Charlie King to bring the race to an early end although mercifully he was just winded, Overy taking third, Foster fifth, 207 Blockhead sixth and Johnson ninth. Roberts crashed out in a big push into the first bend but rallied back for a hard hit to 243 Kieran Jordan. No RDC in the top 10 so onto the title race with Chubby butting heads with the spun Johnson as Roberts claimed fourth with Sparky fifth, Chubby seventh and Blockhead in 10th. Overy nailed Condom rival 204 Charlie King head-on in the Allcomers, Roberts also hitting the latter before he trashed the fenced 240 Rob Setters with a big hit and Foster hit the spun 101 Bob Peat on the nose before Roberts was belted by 331 Jason Jackson. Chubby took second this time with Blockhead fourth, Sparky fifth and Johnson eighth. Overy dished out a big hit to 204 Charlie Boy in the DD before he ran in Peat while Roberts buried 525 Terry Boxall into Charlie Boy. Roberts went head to head with 225 Reece Priestly with Sparky then nailing the latter before Overy landed hits on 525 Ginge and 662 Jamie Harding. Overy finished team mate 67 Ricky Beasley before helping 998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr to silence Sparky with Overy then surviving an attack from 998 Cotty Jnr to take the spoils.
Dan Wheldon RIP (added October 19)
All at RDC Promotions would like to join the rest of the motor racing world this week in paying tribute to British born Indy Car Racing star Dan Wheldon who was killed in a tragic
racing accident in Las Vegas, America at the weekend.
The 33-year-old married father of two was the 2005 Indy Car Champion and a two time winner of the Indy 500, considered by many to be the most prestigious motor race in the world.
While he was far from a household name in this country, the Emberton born racer, was rated by some as one of England’s hottest motor racing imports.
All at RDC would like to extend their deepest sympathies to all of Dan’s family and friends. We would also like to pay tribute to this amazing racer by dedicating this Saturday’s meeting at Mildenhall Stadium to his memory.
RIP Dan Wheldon.
RDC at Spedeworth World Final (added October 19)
As expected RDC was well represented at the Unlimited Banger Spedeworth World Final with almost 40 RDC registered drivers among the record breaking field of 220 cars at Ipswich on October 15.
Flying the flag in the main event were 188 John Reeves, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 617 Jack Overy and 682 Paul Sparrow meaning there was massive RDC interest among the supporting entry. Hoping to join them were 17 Kyle Overy, 86 Alec Savage, 100 Callum White, 128 (728 on the night) Andy Ship, 148 Ian Redden, 160 Perry Willings, 170 Darren Teal, 180 Mark Foster, 209 Tom Waller, 209 (709) Ben Hayward, 220 Tom Pavitt, 260 Keith Reynolds, 262 (853) Jason Barnard, 320 Paul Seymour, 326 Shane Lynn, 328 Dan Lathan, 360 Jack Reynolds, 384 John Golden, 401 Steve Hemmings, 415 Scott Cornish, 456 Nathan Roberts, 466 Steve Hackett, 508 Harry Bradbury, 520 Derek Caton, 527 Michael Norman, 538 Jake Swann, 570 Jordan Cumming, 585 Kevin Giles, 623 Ricky Hutton, 717 Jack Tuffen, 862 (62) Liam Reach, 898 Andy Battle, 920 James Medley and 928 Emmerson Prime.
While most were at the wheel of Granadas including smart Mk1s for Teal and Waller and a lush Mk2 Minster for 209 Minge, 128 Shippy, 260 Keefy, 262 the Verger, 326 Ratty, 384 Goldie, 401 Psycho, Hackett, Medley and 928 Tyrone opted for XJs with Ratty in an XJ-S. 180 Sparky, Roberts and 520 the Undertaker paraded Lexus’, 360 Jackstar a Supra, 538 Swanny Jnr and Battle had Omegas and Lathan dared to be different with a BMW 525 while Norman and 862 Reachy were Volvo powered and it was good to see many of the RDC contingent in super smart motors for the occasion.
A home straight pile-up early on in heat one claimed Ratty and saw him flattened by the Chevy Caprice of 890 Pavaroti while Swanny Jnr ended 271 Dean Goodall’s night with a roof bending hit, the latter then sent out by 528 Alan Hunt before Undertaker was removed by 28 Neill Osbourn. Sparky was our best and only top 10 finisher in seventh.
Savage made the early running in the second last chance race until he was spun by 257 Timmy Aldridge as they both tried to avoid a massive blockage on the scoreboard bend. 401 Psycho span 777 Arjan Vorkink but was dumped out by 267 Martin French and sadly the Predator suffered a wrist injury in the process for which we wish him a full and speedy recovery. Jackstar meanwhile rattled Cornish off the wall on turn three before he crashed into the growing carnage on the top bend. Savage rallied back for second to just miss a place in the main event while Shippy was fifth and 570 Dino Jnr seventh.
585 Big Ears’ smart Granada took a solid hit from 321 Kieron Fry early in the final heat before Hackett was clobbered in the rear wheel by 315 Jack Holmes. The Cream Team young gun then earned a black mark when he attacked 206 Phil Milner on the dirt only to take a similar hit from 403 Marcus Sprawling. These illegal hits however were eclipsed by 623 Ricky Hutton who cut part of the grass to assault Sprawling. With the reds out for a stray wheel 623 Tricky continued to go off the head attacking Sprawling twice more with marshals nearby before he relented. The race resumed with 220 Lurch fencing the Oldsmobile of 600 Davey Paton as the battle for second saw Roberts spun by 162 Brett Ellacott which in turn fenced 210 Paul Barnes as Lathan was fenced by 460 Lewis Barber and Goldie span Lurch into the wall. Roberts took third with team mate Tuffen fifth and Goldie sixth.
Onto the main event with none of our four faring too well in the draw, Overy having the best luck with 26, Sparrow on 30, 382 Chubby 41 and 188 Victor 43. The early stages saw Overy clash with 455 Rick Finney which looked to greatly affect his hopes before the reds came out to assist 196 Ben Harrison and a complete restart was ordered with all four RDC drivers still in the running. Overy was again quick on the restart and into the top 10 in the opening few laps as Victor removed 880 Neil Naismith as Overy came under pressure from 331 Jason Jackson in the race for sixth. Overy then tangled with 204 Charlie King and spilled onto the shale with 203 Darren Nash, his race ended when the big Caddy hearse of 44 Richard Steeghs was spun into him. Chubby meanwhile had steadily climbed to sixth as Victor butted heads with the spinning 753 Billy Cunningham. Chubby eased past Condom rival 264 Mark Welland for third in the closing stages and held on from a last bend attack from the latter to take third and become the first RDC driver to finisher on the podium of this event since 2006 and only the third RDC driver to finish in the top three. 158 Shane Davies registered his second win in the race from 294 Lee Hughes. Sparrow and Victor both went the full distance, the former recording a maiden World Final top 10 in 10th place.
Onto the first Allcomers with Minge, Ratty, Savage, Dino Jnr, the Undertaker, the Verger, Lurch, 100 Captain Cock, Reachy, Shippy and 17 the Little Chief all back out. Captain Cock had a rough start, spinning and T-boned by 28 Ozzie before 16 Mike Flaherty also laid in before the Verger crashed out in a home straight pile-up. Goldie stuffed the awesome 50s Cadillac of 513 Shaun Harvey before Ratty piled his battered XJ-S in for a big hit on the Lincoln limo of 549 Phil Smith. Goldie continued his good night with third and Lurch took fifth.
Big Ears, Roberts, Tyrone, Medley, Tuffen, Sparky, Chubby and Overy were among the starters for the second Allcomers, Roberts finding Gladiator rival 842 Craig Oliver for a big head-on while Medley was run in by 156 Karel Eecloo. Medley also hit Oliver on the nose as Tyrone fenced Big Ears. The Mk10 Jaguar of 851 Nigel Belfield was buried into Medley by 210 Paul Barnes trashing the 920 XJ triggering a wrecking train in which Big Ears blasted 597 Shane Lines only to be leathered by the Rolls Royce of 791 Nicky Young as Davies celebrated his win with a big hit on Overy. Tyrone latter had 185 Lenny Smith out before Tuffen did the same to 837 Martin Wesby ultimately no RDC went the distance this time.
Keefy, Captain Cock and Minge returned for the 22 car DD with the former followed in by 14 Paul Russell from the start but he rallied back for a revenge hit, the Gladiator having the final laugh with a solid T-bone. Minge meanwhile met 521 Ash Riley in a hard head-on and was duly slaughtered by 221 Justin Riley to conclude our interest for the evening.
Congratulations to 830 Stretch-new under 25 GB Champion (added October 12)
Unfortunately the dismal wet conditions have reduced our ability to bring you a full report from the night but congratulations to 830 Lee White for re-capturing the under 25 GB Championship for unlimited bangers at King’s Lynn last Saturday night (October 8).
830 Stretch led from pole and built up a sufficient lead so he was able to recover from a spin to take the title, one he has now won twice in its three year history. Adding to the celebrations was 382 Jack Foster Jnr who came from the back of the 18 car grid to finish second despite also suffering a spin.
Elsewhere on the night and 401 Steve Hemmings was involved in one of the highlights of the night, a wrecking train in the unlimited King of the Fens when he leathered 789 Rob Taylor only to be decimated in turn by 282 Bobby Daniel. 843 Jacob Foster meanwhile recovered from plenty of stick from the Predators in the under 25 race to enjoy some lively hits with 43 Nicky Bishop in the first Allcomers.
In the non Mondeo/Cougar 2litre bangers, the Aftermath trio of 400 Kevin Shinn, 602 Shaun and 604 Ross Cooper were well involved, especially the former who delivered massive hits to 392 Sam Baines, team mate 602 Mr Moody and RDC’s 793 Jamie Johns during the night.
RDC’s Sideways and Serious round up and thank you (added October 5)
All at RDC would like to thank everyone for their support for last weekend’s Sideways and Serious event at Mildenhall Stadium which produced some first class stockcar and banger racing where the emphasis, as expected, was heavily on racing.
As well as thanking the drivers and fans who supported the meeting we would like to address a few points from the evening and would also like to congratulate the various winners from the evening. Well done to 742 Nick Rogers on winning the thrilling BriSCA F2 Stockcar English Open Championship while 645 James Waters claimed the white and yellow grade series final and 606 Andy Palmer completed a hat trick of Mildenhall track championship titles. In the National Bangers, congratulations to 617 Jack Overy on winning the RDC RWD Championship and to 382 Jack Foster Jnr who continued to extend his CV by taking the RDC RWD Series points earning him a silver roof a little earlier than he may have expected.
For many the highlight of the night was the breathtaking finish to the Stockcar English Open Championship which saw Rogers make the most of the misfortune of those in front to swoop from fourth to first in the final bend and snatch the win by 0.02 of a second in one of the closest and most exciting finishes we have ever seen at Mildenhall. Not to be outdone the National Bangers also produced some highlights, the 10 car wrecking train in the DD producing some of the best action we have seen this season.
We would also like to thank everyone inside the stadium who observed the minute’s silence in memory of David Weare, who was tragically killed at the Hednesford pre 68 banger meeting, so fantastically well. It is never easy doing a minutes silence in the middle of a meeting but we felt it would be appropriate to have the silence prior to the main event for the bangers and all concerned made it a moving moment and very fitting tribute. We would also like to thank all the banger drivers who gathered on the track for the silence in honour of a fellow driver, something we know and appreciate was difficult for them.
Onto the other matters we would like to address. We know and understand some stockcar drivers were disappointed by the night’s meeting format which meant the majority of those not in the white and yellow grade series final only had the opportunity of two races on the night. However we are very grateful for the understanding of the vast majority of drivers who were sympathetic to the reasons why the decision was made and we hope all will agree the decision was vindicated with all of the night’s F2 races being of a high standard and the English Open being the perfect end to their season at West Row.
The biggest disappointment of the night was certainly the turn out for the maiden all RWD National Banger meeting. Nonetheless having completed the first staging of this meeting we firmly believe there is a place on our fixtures for a RWD event where the car eligibility is determined on weight rather than engine cc and it is a meeting we will continue to work on in the future and we hope to see it grow in the coming seasons into another of our established fixtures.
We were never in any doubt that the meeting would not attract a massive field of cars although we had hoped on a handful more and we ultimately ended up somewhat short of the expected entry list. While we always stress our entry lists should be treated only as a guide it is always disappointing when not as many cars race as the entry list suggests there may have been. Several drivers contacted us shortly before the meeting as did some during the meeting and one or two since to offer their reasons for not racing and extend their apologies with a variety of reasons and problems being raised. While on one hand had these few drivers been able to race as planned it would have made quite the difference, we do appreciate that plans can and often do go wrong.
What however was disappointing was the few drivers who failed to race and have offered no explanation as to the reasons why. This is especially frustrating considering the majority of these were seeded entries into the championship with five of the confirmed starters failing to materialise. Again we appreciate October is a busy time for many drivers and things can go wrong at the last minute and we will be looking to try and prevent a repeat of this in the future.
Owing to the final car count it left only a small field for the last chance race. Many wondered why the decision wasn’t made to make the championship race an all in affair. The main reason for this was that we hope in time to make the RDC RWD Championship another significant event on the RDC calendar with a qualifying series and championship race. We strongly felt that opening the race to all drivers would have de-valued the achievements of those who had qualified and also effected the creditability of the event in the long run and so we decided to stick to the format and keep the championship a qualifiers only affair. Secondly we were also concerned that by running an all in format would have resulted in smaller grids towards the end of the night and to that extent the move to keep the last chance race was a success because it resulted in a decent grid for the Allcomers and a better turn out for the Accumulator qualifier/DD that we saw for the all Granada meeting last month which had a significantly better entry of cars.
Furthermore it has also been most pleasing to hear a great amount of positive feedback from the drivers who competed who (much like the Granada meeting in September) enjoyed the different style of racing where the emphasis was more on racing that full bore wrecking from the off and each meeting certainly had an old school feel about them. We hope to build on this popularity among drivers in 2012 and beyond.
David Weare (added September 28)
RDC Promotions would like to join the rest of the short oval racing community in paying our respects to Banger driver 78 David Weare who was tragically killed in an accident at the annual pre 68 Banger meeting at Hednesford Hills Raceway, last Sunday (September 25).
While David was not a household name in the sport on a national scale, he was a long serving racer with a career of around 20 years, racing largely limited contact formulas at his local raceways in the west country.
While his death has been reported as a complete racing accident it once again offers a timely, if unwanted, reminder of the dangers all drivers face when they compete in a sport which they do for a hobby and so many of us enjoy as entertainment.
RDC would like to extend its deepest sympathies to all of David’s family and friends at this difficult time and we would also like to extend our best wishes to our colleagues at Incarace and Spedeworth and all the fans and drivers who have been effected by this awful tragedy.
RDC will pay its respects to David Weare with a minutes silence at Mildenhall Stadium this Saturday night. As the opening race of the programme is for BriSCA F2 Stockcars we have yet to conclude when the silence will be conducted. As this meeting will be the first National Banger event in England since the accident we feel it may be more appropriate to hold the silence prior to a banger race although this obviously would have drawbacks as it would come during the meeting but we will announce our intentions on Saturday and hope everyone present at the meeting will be able to take part and show their respects.
Nothing Else Matters round up and thanks and 2011 season round up at Dover Raceway (added September 28)
All at RDC would like to thank all the drivers and fans for helping to make the season finale at Dover raceway at the weekend such a fitting conclusion to another excellent season at RDC’s Kent venue.
It was most pleasing to such a good entry for the Masters Championship meeting and save some controversy in the Bangerstox and Super Rods there was some excellent racing to be enjoyed, especially in the National Bangers who had one of their best meetings of the season at the track, and all played out in front of yet another very good audience of race fans.
Our congratulations to 349 Lee Saunders, 55 Clint Millen and 29 Steve Donavan on winning the Masters Championships in the National Bangers, Bangerstox and Super Rods respectively and to 188 John Reeves, 9 Chris Young and 41 Pete Emson who won the points championships in the respective formulas.
As last weekend marked the end of the season at the raceway we have some stats to share with you from the season. No less than 96 drivers raced in the seven National Banger events (not including the Rookie Banger meeting in May), 53 Bangerstox drivers and 13 Super Rod drivers which added to the 12 Ministox and 10 Reliant Robin drivers means 184 different drivers raced in these formulas. We don’t have the number of additional drivers who would be added to this by the aforementioned Rookie Banger event but we suspect it would mean over 200 different drivers raced at Dover this season.
The average car count per meeting was 81 cars, the highest being the season opener on April 3 with 101 race cars and the lowest being both June 26 and July 24 with 65 cars. The average National Banger entry was 32 cars and the average Bangerstox entry was 31 (34 if you don’t count the invitational only championship events).
We should also highlight and congratulate those with a 100 per cent attendance record at the track this season. In the National Bangers, 188 John Reeves, 349 Lee Saunders, 346 Scott Saunders and 492 Dean Harper attended every meeting while in the Super Rods 28 Andrew Donavan and 41 Pete Emson not only did all eight Dover meetings but at the Mildenhall weekend event as well.
Unsurprisingly there were more with a full attendance record at Dover in the Bangerstox. 3 George Forbes, 9 Chris Young, 15 Jay Powell, 19 Aaron O’Connell, 40 Joe Taylor, 49 Pete Back, 52 Richard Randall, 73 Andy Wood, 95 Paul and 98 Sean Chapman and 99 Mark Sweeney raced at all eight Dover meetings. Furthermore Powell, O’Connell, Randall and Paul Chapman attended all the points scoring events at Mildenhall as well.
Once again we would like to thank all the drivers and fans for their continued support of the raceway which makes it possible for our sport to continue at this long serving raceway and we look forward to seeing you again at Dover Raceway in 2012 with the season open scheduled for the traditional Easter Monday on April 9.
No Hype Needed round up and thank you (added September 21)
This week all at RDC would like to thank all the drivers and fans who helped make last weekend’s No Hype Needed event at Mildenhall Stadium, headlined by the National Banger Old Skool team championship such a great success.
Despite something of a turbulent run into the meeting with several of the banger team captains having to make last minute changes and additions to their teams it was very pleasing to see no less than 93 of a possible 96 cars turn out for the annual event with just three of the 12 teams being one driver down.
It was especially pleasing to see the highest ever international presence at the meeting with five drivers from both Ireland and Holland, the bulk coming from Old Skool newcomers, Team Eurotrash and a special thanks to them, and non racing captain Greg O’Connor, for stepping in at somewhat short notice (after two years of expressing an interest in competing at the event) and as announced on Saturday, their efforts will be rewarded with a guaranteed place in next years Old Skool event should they wish to return.
Also our congratulations to the Dover Boys on their first ever team championship victory at Mildenhall after numerous attempts and also well done to 363 Brian Jarvis for winning a superb Reliant Robin British Championship which was arguably one of the best Reliant races seen this season.
But a special thanks should go to all the drivers who competed at the weekend with only the Reliant Robin Allcomers suffering from a shortage of action (which was surely down to the damage rate from the title race). Each of the banger head to head heats were action packed and competitive affairs with no team having an easy run into the final which underlined the high standard of teams competing this year. Traditionally the quietest race of the night, even the Allcomers was a decent affair, once again the Old Skool final was a cracker and the final race was yet another hard hitting DD seen at Mildenhall this season.
Unfortunately the levels of action did have a negative effect with one or two injuries reported. The first was 53 Dave Palmer who suffered a hand injury. It remains to be seen the full extent of the injury but it prevented him from racing as intended at the PRI World Final the following day. We understand 88 Randy Mulder has suffered a shoulder injury and there was also concern for 326 Shane Lynn but after a check up he has been given the all clear but we would like to wish all those feeling the effects of Saturday a full and speedy recovery.
During the course of the night there were a couple of short delays. It was disappointing that during the head to head heats we suffered some delays when waiting for teams to line up. It is always our intention at this meeting to get through the heats as quickly as possible in order to offer the teams additional time prior to the Allcomers, Final and Accumulator qualifier/DD when it is needed the most. However our ability to do this was limited with some times not lining up for their heats as early as we would have liked which is something we will try and improve on in the future. However the teams more than redeemed themselves later in the night, especially before the final where all six teams where ready for action in good time which allowed us to start the race promptly.
It also allowed us to offer drivers some much needed repair time for the Accumulator qualifier and DD. With the Reliant Robin Allcomers completed very quickly, drivers who raced in the National Banger final had little time to prepare their cars for the final event. When the final Reliant race was completed, shortly after 10pm we had next to no cars ready for the final National Banger event but had many teams working frantically in the pits and therefore the decision was made to give the drivers the time they needed. They more than made this worth while with an excellent 32 drivers coming back up and fans who patiently waited for the last race were treated to fine finale. We hope all fans who suffered the wait can understand the reasons behind it and again we hope the turnout and action provided made it worthwhile.
Congratulations to Mark Simpson-new BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Champion (added September 21)
All at RDC would like to extend their congratulations to 871 Mark Simpson on his victory in a dramatic BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship which was hit with a heavy rainstorm at King’s Lynn last Saturday night.
While we, at Mildenhall, were most fortunate to only suffer a small shower in the middle of the National Banger head to head heats, the biggest race of the season for the open wheeled stockcar formula was badly effected by a huge downpour which hit the race just as the rolling lap was underway and as expected the weather conditions turned the race on its head.
So much so that Simpson, who only qualified in the consolation semi final race earlier in the night, was able to not only battle his way through the field but go the full distance (something only five other drivers managed) to take the win and become World Champion for the first time in his career.
Many still remember how close he came to winning the title at the still talked about Mildenhall F2 World Final in 2006 when he lost out to 79 Gordon Moodie in an amazing last lap sort out.
We look forward to seeing Simpson in action at Mildenhall with his prized gold roof, hopefully in the not too distance future and hopefully for the English Championship on October 1, a title somewhat fittingly won by Simpson the last time it was held at Mildenhall in 2003.
RDC at PRI World Final (added September 21)
As expected RDC was heavily represented at the 2011 National Banger PRI World Final at Arena Essex on September 18 with seeded entries 188 John Reeves and 382 Jack Foster Jnr joined by a big RDC contingent in the last chance races.
On hand for the support were 2 Georgie Lee, 8 Dale Woolnough, 53 Dave Palmer (who was unable to race due to a hand injury suffered the previous night), 57 Stu Cumming, 91 Steve Roberts, 100 Callum White, 101 Ian Norris, 180 Mark Foster, 207 Billy Randall, 219 Rob Beavis, 362 Liam Friel, 384 John Golden, 401 Steve Hemmings, 415 Scott Cornish, 427 Dave Johnson, 428 Richard Klein, 456 Nathan Roberts, 466 Steve Hackett, 465 Andy Scarlett, 508 Harry Bradbury, 539 Danny Allen, 570 Jordan Cumming, 585 Kevin Giles, 602 Shaun, 603 Jon and 604 Ross Cooper, 623 Ricky Hutton, 717 Jack Tuffen and 843 Jacob Foster.
It was also good to see so many of the RDC contingent making the effort with smart cars for the afternoon, Lee, 100 Captain Cock, 101 Bam Bam, 207 Blockhead, Beavis, 362 Tilly, 401 Psycho, Nathan Roberts, Hackett and Tuffen.
Our first action came early in heat one as 384 Goldie came under immediate fire from Condom rival 264 Mark Welland before Blockhead was stuffed by 176 Ady Gibbs and Allen by 589 Simon Smith. 570 Dino Jnr was then span into the wall by 130 Dan Cooke before 57 Dino hit the spun 3 Terry Peacock in the rear wheel while 508 Led Head stuffed 363 Sam Keep, the former then thundered into the wall by 604 Ross Cooper. Nathan Roberts was lying second but was taken out by the on opposite Keep with Captain Cock homing in for a wicked head-on before he was belted in the rear wheel by Peacock. 519 Lee Middleton then laid into Led Head before Keep also nailed Roberts on the nose and Led Head hit Cooper in similar fashion before 123 Tony Hutton gave Ross Cooper a stiff hit only to take one in turn from Block Head who ended the race with a hard head-on to 519 Knuckles. 585 Big Ears was our best finisher in fourth with Block Head eighth.
Steve Roberts piled 498 Jay Curtis into 560 Andrew Milner early in heat two before Jacob Foster thundered in Klein and 8 Dale Woolnough hit the luckless Milner before Hackett was followed in by 392 Sam Baines. 602 Shaun Cooper caught Milner in the drivers door while 180 Sparky destroyed 392 Baino with a roof bending hit and 602 Mr Moody bounced back to follow-in 460 Lewis Barber a treat on the pit bend. Woolnough clobbered 405 Shane Tilley and after a race stoppage he stuffed 843 Pete Osbourn. Cornish then turned round and nailed 423 Danny Oliver launching him off the infield kerbing as 465 Nine Inch raced to second and Steve Roberts took eighth.
603 the Younger Hitman was followed straight in by 331 Jason Jackson as heat three began and later on Tilly blasted 367 Tom Keep with a head-on while Bam Bam buried both 24 Mark de Laat and 383 Jeff Smith in one go and 623 Tricky landed a shot on 24 Devastator. Bam Bam featured again at the end when he fired 556 Chris Whiteman Jnr into 174 Dave Osbourn’s wreck. Tuffen claimed second this time with Tricky in eighth.
Onto the main event with 382 Chubby drawing grid position nine and 188 Victor 23 and the former raced into an early lead which he maintain until he was stuffed by the back marking 306 Mitchell Hawkins. Victor meanwhile stuffed 887 Rob Browning into some dead cars but the latter was able to deliver a pair of hard revenge hits to end our involvement in the race as 294 Lee Hughes successfully defended the title.
Mr Moody shone again in the first Allcomers as he followed in 741 Charlie Daniels and just behind Sparky did the same to the Younger Hitman as Tilly blasted 542 Craig Oliver in the front wheel. Captain Cock then nailed the spun Klein on the nose as 51 Simon Heilds followed Beavis in hard with 73 Dean Cruickshank then blasting the latter. Foster turned 393 Dan Chiddle into the wall before Cornish nailed Captain Cock on opposite, the latter turning round for a big head-on only to take an equally solid hit in the front wheel from Tilly. Foster took fourth with Tuffen fifth, Sparky eighth and Tricky ninth.
With a massive field of nearly 70 cars for the second Allcomers a track blockage was no surprise but the dust storm kicked up by driving using the shale to avoid the pile meant visibility was near impossible. In the confusion Nathan Roberts picked out Psycho for a good hit while Victor nailed 572 Paul Scully only to take one in turn from 397 Andrew Cullen before Steve Roberts caught 379 Ade Clifton in the door and was subsequently nailed by Psycho who was blasted by 399 Phil Culle. Victor landed a revenge hit on 397 the Chav but was trashed by 414 Lee Busby as Psycho and 271 Dean Goodall enjoyed a head-on. Blockhead took 10th this time.
Johnson delivered our first action in the DD when he nailed 206 Phil Milner as Tuffen hit Baino on the nose only to be fenced by 549 Phil Smith while Sparky hammered Hawkins and Mr Moody met 347 Dave Bull on the nose. 331 Boxer then landed a big T-bone on Mr Moody with 49 Billy King turning round to blast the latter as 227 Dale Hughes followed in Lee. Tuffen now set about Peacock and Sparky also turned round and hammered Mr Moody as Lee rallied back to T-bone Smith as 158 Shane Davies based Sparky in the front wheel. Dino Jnr copped a wicked hit from 60 Kyle Stevenson and with Tuffen expiring in the final stages thus concluded our involvement in the afternoon.
RDC Promotions 20th anniversary all Mk1 and Mk2 Granada National Banger meeting (added September 14)
It is now official, as announced last Saturday night at Mildenhall Stadium, RDC Promotions will stage its official 20th anniversary meeting in 2012 with an all Mk1 and Mk2 Granada National Banger meeting with a provisional date of Saturday, September 8.
With the 2012 being a landmark in the history of RDC Promotions and Mildenhall Stadium, we had always intended on trying to hold something which had the potential to be a little special and we hope that this meeting will be just that.
Both of the all Granada National Banger meetings held at Mildenhall so far have attracted decent entries of cars and while not delivering the same style and standards of action that National Banger racing is known for in this day and age, they have acted as something of a reminder of the style of racing we used to see on a regular basis when RDC was first formed in 1993, an era where most of the cars were rear wheel drive and for many the focus was on winning with much of the action come from full contact racing plus the odd big hit here and there.
Certainly the fine gathering of just over 30 Mk1 and Mk2 Granadas at Mildenhall last weekend was a great indication that next year’s meeting has the potential to be a success and the sight of 31 Mk1/2 Granadas in full flight on the Suffolk shale last Saturday was one of the best seen this season.
Back when RDC first re-opened Mildenhall Stadium in 1993, many of the initial meetings held after the legendary first Winter Series, came with a weight limit which excluded Ford Granadas. Therefore for many one of the highlights of the first season where the PRI World Qualifying round where V6 powered Granadas were not only allowed, but made up the bulk of the entry, and it is the spirit of those meetings which we hope to re-crate on September 8 2012.
Although more details will come in the following months we have already stated that in keeping with the tradition of 1993 we will only be allowing engines of the time, like the Ford Pinto and V6 and not more modern machinery like Ford Zetec. Other transplants will be considered for those who cannot find a Ford original but permission must be sought before hand. Furthermore we have also pledged to put all the Mk1 Granadas together in the same heat and if numbers allow, we would love nothing more than to run a Mk1 Granada only race on the night.
Drivers are also reminded that it is only UK model Mk1 and Mk2 Granadas which are allowed, saloons, estates, coupes, Minsters, limos, hearses etc, no US or Australian Granada models.
While on the subject of next season, we hope to celebrate our 20th anniversary throughout the year with all the events which will be staged for the 20th time in 2012 such as the Mildenhall Winter Series, National Banger British and Accumulator Championships and Pre 70 meetings, Reliant Robin Grand Prix and the 20th anniversary of Saloon Stockcar and Ministox racing at RDC which will come in July 2012 and March 2013 respectively.
We are still working on our full 2012 fixtures and hope to bring you more information very soon, starting with a list of major National Banger dates at Mildenhall which should be on the website by the end of the month.
Ministox RDC and ORC Championships (added September 7)
All RDC Ministox drivers are reminded that this Saturday’s meeting at Mildenhall (September 10) is the final meeting to determine the qualifiers for the 2011 RDC Drivers Championship at Mildenhall on October 30 and the RDC representatives for the 2011 ORC Championship at Arena Essex on November 20.
Following this weekends meeting we will announce the qualifiers and starting order for the RDC Drivers Championship in next week’s news update and invitations will be sent to drivers as soon as possible.
Meanwhile the top six drivers in the RDC Drivers Points Championship will be extended an invitation to represent RDC in the ORC Championship in November. Should any of the top six be unable to take part then we will continue down the points chart until all six places are filled.
BriSCA F2 Stockcars English Open Championship format (added September 7)
With the 2011 staging of the BriSCA F2 Stockcars English Championship now just a little under one month away at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, October 1 we have now confirmed the proposed meeting format for the final F2 meeting of the season at the Suffolk shaleway.
As the meeting also plays host to the 2011 White and Yellow Grade Series Final we have somewhat disappointingly agreed that our best option for a meeting format is one, which does not feature a programmed Grand National.
The English Championship has a somewhat traditional format in that the qualifiers are determined by a regular heat and consolation format (the championship grid is somewhat unusual though as the drivers line up in reverse national points average order) which essentially left us with two options.
The first was to have the white and yellow grade series double up as heat one (which would usually be the case with this race when not held as part of a championship meeting) with the top drivers qualifying for the English Championship. While this would allow us to programme a Grand National it would have come with many disadvantages. Firstly it would mean almost all the red and star grade drivers competing would be racing in heat two (we don’t expect sufficient cars to run three heats although of course will run three if required) as well as many of the evenings blue grades and so the qualifying heats would also be very uneven between the grades. Furthermore as the white and yellow grade series final is a points order grid it would mean many white grade drivers would start towards the back of the grid.
Put simply we felt that having the white and yellow grade heat as the first qualifying heat for the English Championship would have proved very unfair for the majority of racers on October 1.
Therefore the confirmed programme will instead be the white and yellow grade series (which will this year not count for track or National points as it is not an ‘official’ part of the meeting format) followed by (at least) two qualifying heats and a consolation for the English Championship and the title race itself.
While we believe this is a much fairer format for all racers it does mean that we cannot guarantee a Grand National race and therefore while all white and yellow grade series finalists will have the chance of three races on the night, the majority of those not in the race will only have the chance of two.
Of course if time permits we will add a Grand National to the programme. However this would not only require additional time for another stockcar race but also for an additional National Banger race as well and with three trophy presentations (the meeting also features the National Banger RDC RWD Series Final although we hope to do the majority of the F2 White and Yellow Grade Series Final (which is race one) presentation before start time) there is a lot more to get through than five stockcar and four National Banger races which are originally programmed.
Also this format will allow us to conclude the BriSCA F2 Stockcar programme and their 2011 season at Mildenhall with the biggest race of the season at the raceway this year, the English Championship which we feel will be a fitting end to the season for the formula at Mildenhall.
We are sorry for any disappointment this format may cause drivers and fans and hope that you can understand the reasons why with the details we have given. Drivers are reminded that while they are welcome to book in either by phoning RDC on 01268 412299 or 07850 683953 or e mailing wastedmc@btopenworld.com all drivers will be welcome to race on the night.
FORDS weekend round up and thank you (added August 31)
On the back of our August Bank Holiday weekend at RDC Promotions we want to send a special message of thanks to all those who so tremendously helped the recently founded ORC Ben Fund, FORDS.
It was well documented in the lead up to the weekend that both the bank holiday events at Mildenhall and Dover would double up as the raceways fundraising events for FORDS in 2011 and we are delighted to report back this week that we believe that between the two meetings we have raised a four figure sum for the cause which is a great achievement.
FORDS secretary Manuela Stento was present at both meetings at following the Dover meeting on Monday was able to confirm that the raffle and collection held at Mildenhall raised just over £370 while the collection held at Dover raised just over £220.
It should be stressed that this does not include the mandatory £1s collected by every driver who raced at each of these meetings. Traditionally these £1s go towards the various health and safety projects funded by the ORC but at a FORDS designated meeting the money instead goes to FORDS.
Better yet was RDC’s pledge that for every driver who gave an additional £1 donation to FORDS, we would match it and while the final number is yet to be finalised we believe the vast majority of drivers who raced at Mildenhall or Dover this weekend happily contributed another £1 to the fund meaning that in all we are very confident the final total from the two RDC meetings this weekend will add up to just over £1,000.
All at RDC would like to send a further message of thanks to everyone who contributed to the fund this weekend and would also like to send an extra thank you to the drivers who offered prizes for the raffle at Mildenhall which proved a great success.
RDC on tour at Aldershot, King’s Lynn and Swaffham (added August 31)
Once again despite their being no meetings at RDC this weekend, several of our banger drivers will be busy in action with the main points of interest being the Unlimited Banger World of Shale Championship and the Ally Cox memorial event.
Starting with the World of Shale at King’s Lynn on Saturday, September 3 and RDC are well represented in the main event with seeded entries 17 Kyle Overy, 20 Andy Burbridge, 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 384 John Golden. They will be joined by the duel licensed 148 Ian Redden, who qualified via the TSR points, and 145 Chris Abbott who won a wildcard place in August. Hoping to join them via the last chance race will be 101 Ian Norris and 401 Steve Hemmings.
Meanwhile among those booked in for action at Swaffham on Sunday, September 4 for the Ally ‘Banacek’ Cox memorial are 35 Pete and 37 Dave Lewis, 116 Nat Cohn, 209 Tom Waller, 427 Dave Johnson and 538 Jake Swann.
Last weekend saw several RDC Banger drivers in action elsewhere. As expected 617 Jack Overy was well involved in the Team Black v Condom war at Aldershot’s 2Litre meeting on August 28, trading hits with his rivals in both heats and the final and in more than one case was the last man standing for his team and still finding the time to register a ninth in heat one. 17 Kyle Overy meanwhile was flattened by 158 Shane Davies in the final while Team Black guest 525 Wes Starmer was trashed in heat one by 204 Charlie King. Also in action were 188 John Reeves, 260 Keith Reynolds and 898 Andy Battle, the former enjoying a fifth, sixth and fifth in the three races while Battle took a fourth in heat one and a seventh in the final.
Although we don’t have much details we understand 148 Shorty was a heat winner in the 2Litre RWD Bangers at King’s Lynn on Saturday, August 27.
Congratulations to new Saloon Stockcar World Champion 677 Eddie Darby (added August 24)
All at RDC would like to congratulate west country ace 677 Eddie Darby on his victory in the Saloon Stockcar World Championship at Skegness Stadium last Saturday night.
Winning the last chance qualifier, despite starting on the third row from the back, Darby showed enough speed in the first race to establish himself as a contender for the main event.
Defending champion 499 Dave Aldous made a great start from pole while an early sort claimed pre race favourites 120 Shane Brown and 156 Darren Goudy it saw 658 Chris Lattka motor to the front to enjoy an early battle with Aldous. The pair survived one yellow flag restart but the second saw them both get buried into the fence hard which also delayed Darby who had climbed to fourth. This shot 511 Craig Barnett to the front but Darby was soon back in the hunt and after a close battle with Barnett took the lead and pulled away. 48 Shaun Webster recovered from an early spin to overhaul Barnett for second and despite closing the gap was unable to catch Darby who took the title. Last chance qualifier 71 Gordon Alexander was fourth.
RDC on tour (added August 24)
It’s been a busy week or so for several RDC National Banger drivers on the road starting at Eastbourne last week on August 17 for the tracks annual A60 Amble ad pre 75 meeting.
On hand were 260 Keith and 360 Jack Reynolds in a FSO 125P estate and A55 bubble Cambridge respectively, 587 Alex Humphrey in a Fintail Oxford while 456 Nathan Roberts, 73 Tony Sims and 347 Simon Wheeler all returned A60s from the Mildenhall pre 70 as did 163 Rob O’Connell with his Morris Cowley.
No RDC action in heat one where 73 Slaphead, Roberts and 587 Humps finished sixth, eighth and ninth respectively. 360 Jackstar made a mark in heat two with a solid hit on the Morris Cowley of Midnight Runner rival 242 Ricky Korpiela while father 260 Keefy finished ninth.
163 Bert span and copped a head-on from 388 Taylor Sowter in heat three before Roberts landed a big hit on 252 Steve Bugler before he was nailed in turn by Jackstar while Keefy went in hard on 190 Steve Bailey and Slaphead jacked 347 the Stick a treat. Keefy them met 439 Danny Sutton on the nose and was T-boned by 25 Mark Thomas before Slaphead rolled to bring the reds out. The restart saw Keefy hit in the front wheel by 373 Rob Wilkinson and jacked hard by 380 Bradley Evans to end our interest in the race.
Roberts enjoyed hits with Sowter and 884 Tom Filmer in the final before he blasted 259 Geert Roubroeks in the demo and Humps copped a hard T-bone from 7 Colin Farley. Roberts concluded our interest in the night with hits on 183 Mick Strudwick and 322 James Newland.
Moving onto last weekend and there was plenty of RDC interest in the 2Litre Banger Volcano at Ipswich on August 20 with 898 Andy Battle having the pick of the success with a third and second in the heats, followed by a fifth in the final while 370 John Cobbold also featured with a fourth in heat one and an eighth in the final.
However the evening was tarnished for the RDC contingent by a nasty accident in the DD which resulted in a broken foot for 690 Jack Wilkins and all at RDC wish him a full and speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action very soon.
Elsewhere this weekend and RDC were also represented at the unlimited banger Euro 2011 at Sheffield where 148 Ian Redden finished second. There was controversy elsewhere as the Team Black contingent, including 617 Jack Overy retired from heat one and shortly after loaded up and left the raceway, disappointing many fans who hoped to see them continue their rivalry with the Condoms.
Completing our recent activities on the road and congratulations to the largely RDC based Motley Krew who finished second in the 1600cc team meeting at Arena on Sunday.
Ministox for sale (added August 24)
RDC Ministox driver 369 Liam Santry has been in touch to say his car is up for sale. Described as a good starter car, the car, which has won races at Mildenhall is available but without a transponder. For more information please call 07584086369 or 07584469242.
Another Wild Night round up and thank
you (added August 17)
This week all at RDC would like to extend another big message of thanks to all those who supported last weekend’s Another Wild Night event which was tremendously well supported on both side of the fence.
Once again we were blessed with a tremendous turn out of race cars and drivers. Nearly 130 cars for the National Banger BBA British Championship once again shows the popularity and stature of this event and we hope that with the BBA Supreme Championship becoming an unlimited banger event in 2012 it will in turn help maintain and even boost the popularity of the British Championship as the premier National Banger event of the season at the raceway.
And the strong car numbers were also evident in the Reliant Robins where once again we had a sensational entry of just over 30 cars for the World Final meeting which included every World Finalist who was expected in action and this is the first time we can report that this has happened in the last few years.
Sticking with the theme of pre meeting entry lists and following the unfortunate blip over our entry list for the unlimited banger Suffolk Open last month, the entry list for last weekend continued a return to the trademark RDC entry lists (much like the lists for National Bangers at One Wild Weekend). Not including a few very late cancellations for the British Championship we were delighted to note that only six of the drivers listed for the support races were noted by the absence and were more than replaced by almost 50 additional drivers which made for almost 100 cars in the last chance races alone.
On track and we enjoyed an action packed night which also featured two hugely competitive championship races, the Reliant Robin World Final having the added bonus of a thrilling finish.
Meanwhile the stewards were kept busy throughout the night, enforcing the newly spread across the entire ORC racing rules for National Bangers, which saw a high number (for an RDC meeting at least) of drivers loaded up on the night and a handful of them being issued additional punishments this week. Drivers facing additional punishments came from a variety of promotions and not just RDC and we would like to this week thank our partner promoters for upholding our requests for these racing bans and we hope this will send a message to all racers that we intend to do our best to enforce these rules in the fairness of all concerned.
A very large area of concern and disappointment for us on the evening came during the two National Banger Allcomers. In a bid to provide two even grids for the Allcomer races we put 29 cars in the first only for a massive surge of cars to come from the pits afterwards. This meant that even with the race fully subscribed with 40 cars there were still more than a dozen drivers were not given the opportunity to race in an Allcomers race. This was down 100 per cent to a major miscalculation on our part and we are deeply sorry for any disappointment caused and promise valuable lessons were learned.
On a similar note it was also disappointing that a handful of National Banger drivers missed the gate for the Accumulator qualifier and DD. However in this case the pit gate was held open for as long as our curfew would allow. With extra races added to the programme because of the big car turnout, several big clear up operations and two championship presentations, we came closer to our 11pm curfew than we original had had hoped for but again it is no secret the importance of meeting this curfew hence why the pit gate had to be closed for the final event at 10.40pm.
Despite these disappointments we hope everyone had an enjoyable time in our company Saturday and our congratulations to new National Banger BBA British Champion Cruncher 119 Davey Cox and Reliant Robin World Champion 905 Rob Mitchell.
Mildenhall Classic Car Show thank you message (added August 10)
This week, all at RDC would like to thank everyone who supported the second annual Mildenhall Classic Car Show last weekend and made it such a great success.
Over 100 classic vehicles attended to make the show area very full and also an impressive sight with a superb variety of cars, bikes and even a van, on display.
Once again the show was set apart from similar events by the race cars with over 20 historic race cars on display which once again attracted much attention from the classic car owners and we were delighted to see such a great crowd assemble to enjoy the initial Historic BriSCA F1 and F2 Stockcar races and despite the races being spread out during the afternoon, there was a very good number of people who stayed to watch the remaining events.
Plans are already afoot for the show again in 2012 where we again hope to make the event even bigger and better and as soon as a date has been confirmed we will announce it here.
Revised National Banger racing rules (added August 10)
Following a meeting of the ORCi National Banger promoters last week, revised racing rules have been issued for the formula which will be used across the sport and come into immediate effect.
RDC drivers and regular visitors at RDC will no doubt recognise that many of the racing rules have already been in effect at
RDC, some for as long as two and a half years, however there are one or two changes.
Therefore below we have the full ORCi press release but we have also added our own comments to various points to detail how we will interpret the rules to try and clear up any grey areas or confusion.
2011 National Banger Revised Racing Rules – Aug 2011
National Banger racing is a full contact sport – drivers can race to win or attempt to win by stopping the opposition.
The Steward’s interpretations and decisions on these rules are FINAL.
All heats, consolations and finals must be in one direction only. Certain Promotions allow turning around on the bends, however this does not allow a driver to drive the wrong way down the straights. It is the driver’s responsibility to check with the staging Promoter exactly what rules apply at any particular meeting.
RDC will continue to allow turning around in all National Banger events but drivers are reminded that all attacks must be from the ‘outside, in’ and any attacking ‘inside, out’ is not allowed and drivers may face punishment for this, even if they do not strike another car.
However in accordance to the new rules we will now be outlawing driver’s going the wrong way and attacking other cars on the straights. Drivers can still turn round on the straights but once committed to a bend they must remain on that bend. For example at Mildenhall if you turn round on the home straight you are committed to the pit bend and if you turn round on the back straight you are committed to the road bend. It should also be noted that if a driver turns round on the straight and attacks a car before reaching the bend, this may be punishable by the steward. If thereafter you travel down the opposite straight on ‘opposite’ you will be in breach of the rules. At Dover, attacking in the opposite direction in events other than the DD must be kept on the bends and not past where the figure of 8 course starts or ends on the exits and entrances to each bends. Also given that the straights at Dover are significantly longer than Mildenhall we expect driver’s to turn round as close to the bend as possible and again refrain from any ‘on opposite’ racing on the straights. Please note
that in a race which goes into a DD (i.e the majority of Accumulator qualifiers
and Old Skool team championship races), DD rules apply from the off but action
may be taken against on opposite attacks on the straights which are deemed
dangerous and irresponsible driving
Drivers must not attack any car on the infield/safety area, or attack from the infield/safety area. An infield hit is defined when the whole car being hit is on the infield, i.e. if one wheel is still on the track, then hitting this car would be a legal hit. Again, the Stewards decision is final on this. Any serious breaches of the infield safety area rule will carry an automatic 3 month ORCi ban.
This rule is not new to RDC however the new definition of what makes a car on the infield/safety area is new. However at Mildenhall we have the advantage of the infield wall which makes things simpler. In short if the car is inside the wall it is on the infield and if not it is fair game, another way to look at it is if a driver can hit a car without leaving the track either to deliver the hit or as a direct consequence of the hit then the target is legal. The latter definition will be applied at Dover.
Using the infield or safety area in any way so as to gain an advantage is also an offence and can be punished as so by the Steward.
This includes waiting on the infield for a significant period of time for any reason and then rejoining or hiding on the safety area. Unless spun onto the infield, in which case a driver should attempt to rejoin as quickly and
safely as possible, the only time a driver should be on the infield is if they are retiring from the race. Drivers are also reminded that at RDC in races (Accumulator qualifiers) which go into DDs drivers must complete the race in order to take part in the DD. Drivers who attempt to wait on the infield for the DD will be automatically excluded.
Drivers must not attack any cars after the red flag or if the stationary yellow is displayed above a car. Drivers must not attack an empty or overturned car.
This is somewhat self explanatory.
Any damaging collision on the driver’s side between the centre of the front wheel and centre of the rear wheel will result in a penalty.
Again this rule is nothing new to RDC as RDC were the first to introduce this rule, back at the start of 2009. Drivers however should also attempt to avoid any contact with the drivers side of a car as the slightest mistake has the potential to result in disaster. If a driver does intend to hit a drivers side of a car they must do everything possible to hit as far away from the drivers door as possible, and not the other way around. Furthermore we will also consider taking action if a driver spins in front of another and is hit in-between the wheels in the drivers side but we feel the driver could have done more to avoid the crash. Put bluntly drivers should do everything possible to avoid hitting the drivers side of a car and intentional hits to this area will also carry a risk of penalty especially if they are ill-timed or ill-judged. Additionally the practise of burying a car into the fence or another car where the attacking car is positioned on the secondary cars driver’s door area is also illegal under this ruling and counts as avoidable contact with the driver’s door area.
T-boning cars which are against or close to the barrier with excessive force is not allowed. It is also not permitted to
T-bone a car which is close enough to the barrier to mean that significant impact with the barrier is inevitable
from the hit. Even where cars are not against or near the barrier, the Steward may still consider a hard T-bone anywhere on the circuit to be excessive, and may take the appropriate action to discipline the driver. The penalty for a T-boning offence as detailed above will be 3 months.
Again this rule is not new to RDC who were the first to introduce it back in 2009. However as we have said since then, hits directed to the front or rear passenger wheels are fine as are T-bones at what the stewards deem ‘reasonable speed or force’. Put bluntly if we feel the hit is designed to stop the car then it is ok but if the stewards
conclude otherwise then action will be taken. Drivers are again warned of the continued clamp down on ‘excessive T-bones’ which can be deemed OTT anywhere on the raceway. Again drivers are urged that front and rear wheels on the passenger side should be the target and not
exclusively the passenger doors in a bid to stop the car.
Dangerous and/or irresponsible driving as deemed by the Steward will incur a minimum of three months ORCi ban. For avoidance of doubt, length of the straight T-bones is considered dangerous and/or irresponsible driving.
For further guidance, the following examples may also be considered as dangerous and/or irresponsible driving at the discretion of the Steward:
1. Attacking a car which has been stationary for what the Steward determines to be a significant length of time.
2. Attacking a car which is clearly already crippled.
Unfortunately the practise of repeatedly hitting a long time stationary/crippled car has become a frequent problem this season and is one we are eager to stamp out. We have also issued several black flags and loads ups for those guilty of this offence and intend to issue more severe punishment to repeat offenders. A crippled car is a matter of common sense and the excuse of “I didn’t know” when the car is clearly wrecked and has not moved for some time carries no weight. RDC have for a couple of years now regarded a car which has been stationary for two or more laps to be out of
bounds at Mildenhall and one lap at Dover. This remains the case but also remains the case for a driver who has been out of the race for a short while and may not have passed the car in question twice. If you do re-join a way after a short while it is recommended to be wary of hitting stationary cars immediately as it would be easy to somewhat innocently fall foul of this
ruling in this instance.
Please note that repeat offences will carry additional penalties where the current ban will be double the previous ban. This means that a 2nd offence of a 3 month ban as noted above will be 6 months and then a further offence would double again to 12 months.
Congratulations to Chris Abbott and Jack Foster Jnr (added August 10)
This week we want to extend a big message of congratulations to RDC banger drivers 145 Chris ‘the Mad Monk’ Abbott and 382 Jack Foster Jnr on their successes on the road.
Firstly Chris won the wildcard place in this year’s Unlimited Banger World of Shale Championship at King’s Lynn in September by triumphing in the wildcard qualifier at Lynn last weekend. He will be joined on the big grid by RDC seeds 20 Andy Burbridge, 382 Chubby and 384 John Golden (plus one final seed who is yet to be determined) and also duel licensed 148 Ian Redden who has qualified via the TSR rounds.
And then more success came just as this weeks news page was being written when we heard Chubby had triumphed in the annual 2Litre Crash Attack UK Open at Skegess last night (August 9). The victory adds Chubby to the list of confirmed qualifiers for the 2012 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship and we hope to have the latest qualifiers and drivers for the last chance race from
this event and this weekends British Championship, in next weeks news update.
Saloon Stockcars £1,000 Dash for Cash Jackpot final confirmation (added August 10)
RDC would like to confirm that despite some consideration that after discussion with the relevant drivers the Saloon Stockcar £1,000 Dash for Cash Jackpot Final will still take place on Saturday, October 22 as originally intended.
With the fourth (and essentially fifth) qualifying round taking place as scheduled on July 31, some consideration was made to moving the jackpot final to the Saloon Stockcar meeting at Mildenhall in September believing this carried some advantages to hosting the big money final over the October fixture.
However while consulting with the jackpot contenders we were clear that we would only move the date if we had full support from all five drivers in contention for the £500 jackpot. Unfortunately this was not the case as not all these drivers could commit to the September 10 fixture because of other commitments so in fairness to these drivers the Dash for Cash Jackpot Final will remain on October 22. This meeting also plays host to the Wayne Osler Memorial, the Mildenhall White and Yellow Grade Series and this year will be the concluding round of the Mildenhall Track Championship.
Well done to 6 Simon Welton, 219 Luke Grief, 420 Ivan Street, 499 Dave Aldous and 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr who have established themselves as the jackpot contenders this year. They are locked into the jackpot final grid where if victorious they will claim the £500 jackpot. Once again they will be joined in the race by any driver who registers a top six finish in the heats and final (please note the white and yellow grade series final will not count for qualifiers unless it doubles up a heat one) who will be chasing a £100 winner take all prize should they be victorious.
We would also like to thank all the jackpot contender for their time, thoughts, input and understanding into this matter.
One Wild Weekend round up and thank you (added August 3)
All at RDC would like to extend a massive message of thanks to all those who helped make last weekend’s One Wild Weekend event at Mildenhall Stadium such a huge success.
Once again we were blessed with a tremendous entry of race cars and drivers with no less than 141 National Banger drivers (and 178 National Bangers in total), 68 BriSCA F2 Stockcars and 38 Saloon Stockcars for a stunning total of 247 drivers and 280 race cars with drivers from all over England plus Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Holland competing.
On the subject of car numbers while neither National Banger meeting this year reached triple figures we were still very pleased with the entries. With the Ford Granada excluded from the 2Litre RWD meeting the numbers of cars this year were very consistent with the amount of non Granadas last year and the amount of variety on the car front was absolutely second to none and we are confident that the exclusion of the late shaped Granadas played a big part in that. Further on the Sunday last year we had a much higher amount of RWD survivors race again because of the loss of the DD on the Saturday night. In actual fact we had more ‘fresh’ 1800cc Bangers race this year than in 2010 which again was very pleasing.
The only disappointment on the car count front was the slightly lower than expected entry of BriSCA F2 Stockcars on the Saturday although running two better subscribed heats rather than three arguably did produce a better quality of racing. It was especially disappointing that so few of the long distance travellers made the trip as planned as several of those who did not show gave no warning or have since given no explanation and this is something we will be looking at when we weigh up our options for the 2012 event.
We were also delighted that after the last two years has seen a race postponed or cancelled on the Saturday night that this year with slightly more comfortable numbers in all classes we were able to complete all 13 races on Saturday well inside our 11pm curfew and in fact across the weekend we ran 29, well subscribed full contact races (of which 12 were bangers) in little over nine hours.
With that in mind our thanks go to the entire RDC team for their hard work throughout the weekend to keep things going as smoothly as possible and to all the drivers for their co-operation which as always played a huge part.
We are however sorry for the slight delay to the start of Saturday night’s meeting which was 100 per cent down to our part with a miscommunication behind the scenes and also for the track clearance taking a little longer than usual, especially on Sunday. With so many race cars in the pits as well as caravans and tents, the pits were extremely congested to say the least which meant each trip for the tractors too and from the pits took a few seconds longer than usual and off course over the afternoon this added up.
We also want to thank our track team for the superb work on the raceway, both in the lead up to the weekend and after the Saturday night meeting and into the small hours which provided a superb racing surface and despite the wonderful weather we were able to keep the dust at a reasonable level all weekend so we are tremendously thankful to them.
And we also want to thank everyone who stayed on site over the weekend for their fantastic behaviour. Aside from one or two very minor incidents, there was absolutely no trouble reported anywhere on the site with the Saturday night party in the Fenman bar lasting until 5am.
We hope that everyone who joined us during the weekend enjoyed themselves and we hope to see you again very soon.
BriSCA F2 Stockcars White and Yellow Grade Series qualifiers and grid (added August 3)
Following the penultimate meeting of the season at Mildenhall for the BriSCA F2 Stockcars last weekend we can now confirm the qualifiers and starting order for the 2011 White and Yellow Grade Series Final which takes place at Mildenhall on October 1.
Congratulations to the top 30 drivers who have qualified for this years race and to 260 Anthony Winters who has topped the chart and will start on pole position.
Invitations will be sent to the qualifiers in due course but this year’s series final has a significant change to previous events at Mildenhall. Because the race is being held on the same night as the 2011 English Open Championship at Mildenhall we feel it would not be fair to the majority to have the white and yellow grade series final double up as heat one which has been the norm in previous years.
Therefore the White and Yellow Grade Series will be the first race of the night on October 1 but will not offer an places in the evenings Grand Final, or for that matter carry track or national points, and all drivers will then compete in one of the qualifying heats later on to try and qualify for the English Open.
Also, due to the somewhat complicated format, we will disappointingly not be able to guarantee a Grand National will be run at this meeting. However if time and other factors allow it, one may be added, but a Grand National will not be programmed.
We plan to release a more detailed statement behind our decision process in the coming weeks but in the meantime here are the qualifiers and their final scores which determine grid positions for the white and yellow grade series final.
260 Anthony Winters 79pts
81 Mark Clayton 65
599 Jon Lawrence 59
595 Jamie Young 57
742 Nick Rogers 57
498 Derek Cayzer 52
77 John Davies 46
645 James Waters 43
326 Johnny Hall 40
765 Richie Kemp 39
495 John Cayzer 39
70 Brian Shadbolt 39
376 Darren Senechall 37
650 Gary Stirk 37
449 Mark Dorrill 36
925 Paul Wilson 36
623 Rob Dobie 34
431 Andy Gibbs 34
231 Matt Clayton 34
611 Jason Horner 33
423 Neil Darby 32
366 Mick Kemp 32
619 Andrew Clarke 30
225 Tony Blackburn 30
198 Paul Nicholson 27
466 Jamie Start 26
345 Gary Taylor 26
434 Mark Gardiner 25
396 Dave Johnson 24
588 Matt Pettit 24
Reserves
659 Jacob Downey 23
330 Jack Thompson 21
Extra incentives up for grabs at future BriSCA F2 Stockcar meetings (added August 3)
Due to a couple of very impressive statistics taking shape in the BriSCA F2 Stockcars at Mildenhall in the last few meetings, RDC have announced that two special trophies will be up for grabs starting on October 1 for the first driver to win one of the following challenges.
In recent months we have been describing the BriSCA F2 Stockcars as ‘the fastest show on dirt’ at Mildenhall Stadium with lap times sometimes faster than speedway racing at the track. On Sunday, July 31 823 Sam Wagner set the fastest lap time of the year so far with a 13.176second lap in the Grand Final and we have now set the challenge for the first driver to break the 13 second barrier and a trophy awaits the first F2 Stockcar driver to complete a lap of Mildenhall in under 13 seconds. This challenge starts on October 1.
Furthermore we have made a few references to the amazing run of different final winners at Mildenhall in the formula since April 2010 as now the last 14 Grand Finals (not including the 2010 White and Yellow Grade Series Final or World of Shale championship which each doubled up as heat one on the night) having produced 14 different winners.
With that in mind we have a trophy ready and waiting for the first driver to snap the streak. Heading into the English Open Championship on October 1 there are of course 14 drivers in contention for this award and should any of them win the title race they will also receive this trophy. If it is someone who doesn’t appear on the list then we will have 15 contenders when we kick off the 2012 season and this trophy will go to the first driver to win two Grand Finals at Mildenhall since April 2010.
The current contenders for this award are
52 Pete Robertson (July 25 2010 final winner)
77 John Davies (July 31 2011 final winner)
150 Mark Thomas (May 22 2010 final winner)
186 George Turiccki (April 10 2010 final winner)
326 Johnny Hall (June 12 2011 final winner)
377 Daz Shaw (April 9 2011 final winner)
379 Stu Cayzer (July 24 2010 final winner)
495 John Cayzer (May 21 2011 final winner)
599 Jon Lawrence (July 30 2011 final winner)
606 Andy Palmer (May 1 2010 final winner)
645 James Waters (June 19 2010 final winner)
662 Steve Wycherly (August 28 2010 final winner)
702 Allen Cooper (October 2 2010 final winner)
977 Dave Massey (June 18 2011 final winner)
Bangerstox and Super Rod grades for remainder of 2011 (added August 3)
Following the most recent Bangestox and Super Rod meeting of the season at Dover on July 24 we have the new and final grading list of the season which will be used at both the Masters qualifier on August 29 and the Masters Championship meeting in September.
While no drivers will be downgraded in this time we may upgrade drivers for the last meeting of the season following the August 29 should they score well or move up the points chart significantly.
The grades for August 29 are as follows
BANGERSTOX
Masters and Points Champion: 64
Kent and Southern Champion: 9
Red: 5, 19, 49, 99
Blue: 15, 20, 36, 44, 52, 55, 95
Yellow: 2, 8, 13, 14, 25, 51, 63, 65, 77, 93, 98
SUPER RODS
Points Champion: 88
Masters Champion: 121
Kent Champion: 28
Southern Champion: 6
Blue: 14, 27, 41
Yellow: 03, 29
RDC at all Westy meeting and TSR World Final (added July 27)
Last weekend was a busy one for several RDC drivers away from home with a big RDC turnout at the 2Litre Banger TSR World Final at King’s Lynn on Sunday, We don’t have a detailed account of the afternoon but well done to 160 Perry Willings and 370 John Cobbold for finishing fifth and eighth respectively and to 928 Emmerson Prime on his last chance qualifier win.
Meanwhile the previous night (July 23) RDC was well represented at Eastbourne for the early awaited all Westy Night with 73 Tony Sims, 192 Stu Warby, 260 Keith and 360 Jack Reynolds, 346 Scott Saunders, 347 Simon Wheeler, 401 Steve Hemmings, 473 Mark Nicholls and 500 Bill Wenham, only the latter’s being a used car. The rest were all smartly turned out and 260 Keefy had one of the rarest on display with a Vanden Plas 105 bubble.
192 Fat Head was in the wars in heat one taking hits from 173 Steve Reynolds and 71 Ciran Carton but rallied back to finish eight. Heat two saw 360 Jackstar butt heads with 304 Alan Tibbs while 346 Muttley fenced 515 Willie Irvine before he buried 517 Scott Weldon into 4 Phil Brooks en route to finishing fifth. 500 Wild Bill’s night was ended early in heat three by a meaty hit from 32 Mark Rowland before Keefy jacked 363 Sam Trim only to take a massive hit from 670 Richard Flockton but not before 401 Psycho was buried by the lively 32 Rolly.
347 the Stick took a load of punishment in heat four with hits from 148 Mark Hughes, Carton, 280 Simon Goodale, 16 Mike Flaherty and a big T-bone from Carton to leave the Management 6/110 a warped mess. Psycho treated 794 Simon Foreman to a big hit in heat five but was trashed when 379 Ade Clifton was thundered into him before 136 Clyde Williams buried Muttley into the broken Predator Westy. The repaired Keefy was fenced by 727 Simon Young in heat six which saw Rolly fire into Fat Head, A manic start to the last heat saw Jackstar blast 404 Rob Mills while Keefy butted heads with 819 Pokey. Jackstar continued to fence 439 Danny Sutton and with Muttley’s involvement in the DD being short lived thus ended our action on the night.
Places being accepted for next Ovalsport race day at Mildenhall
(added July 12)
Following our latest Ovalsport race day at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend we are now accepting drivers for our next event which takes place on Sunday, September 11.
RDC Promotions’ Ovalsport race days offers a chance to experience short oval motor racing on the unique Mildenhall shaleway and is an ideal opportunity for anyone who has always wanted to have a go at this type of racing and perhaps does not have the means or budget to do so.
It is also a great way for former racers to have another go on track and for current drivers to experience a unique race day with friends and family.
The main bulk of an Ovalsport Race Day centres on the Ovalsport Stockcars which is strictly non contact racing with drivers enjoying practice laps before racing in three qualifying heats to determine their Grand Final. Every driver receives a grand final and will be pitted against drivers with similar scores to their own from the heats.
Further activities come in the shape of our new Lawn Mower powered Go Kart challenge and a time trial event.
All drivers receive lunch and a trophy to remember their day and all safety equipment is provided. The usual cost of these days is £160 per person (including VAT) but we are offering the day to all RDC drivers and fans for the special price of £140 (including VAT), just mention the RDC website when you book your place.
We do offer further discount for group bookings, please phone for more information and we can also offer private events if you are looking to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, stag or hen parties etc. For more information call Sian Coventry on 07979 374489.
Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship round up and thank you (added July 12)
This week we would like to extend a big message of thanks to all the drivers who competed in last weekends action packed Unlimited Banger and Ministox Suffolk Open Championship and also thank all the fans for the supporting the event.
While many agreed it was an action packed session and for the Unlimited Bangers a marked improvement on the 2011 fixture and indeed one of the better banger meetings at RDC this year there are still a few things we would like to discuss.
The first was that we were disappointed that there were a number of drivers on the entry list who did not race as expected. While we always stress that our lists should be treated very much as just a guide rather than a 100 per cent accurate list of who will and won’t be racing it was disappointing that so many of those listed did not arrive. In fact this is the second year running that this meeting has suffered this problem and clearly something we need to try and address in the future. Our final entry list given on the website had just over 95 names and ultimately just shy of 90 drivers gathered at the meeting which on the surface may not seem so bad. However there were over 20 drivers in attendance last weekend who were not on the list who were outnumbered by those who did not show. We would like to stress that not all the drivers listed that did not race simply did not just ‘no show’. A handful of drivers contacted us to cancel their places late in the week and we also received a handful of messages on the day of the meeting from drivers who experienced last minute problems. However, again there were a significant number of drivers who informed us of their intention to race but did not arrive or inform us of any problems. While we understand that things do go wrong, it was still somewhat disappointing and we are sorry for any disappointment caused.
This brings us nicely to the meeting format. With just 90 cars expected in action our hope was always to run three qualifying heats with around 30-32 cars in each. However with start time looming it became apparent we would not have sufficient cars for this but at the same time with around 80 cars on hand we knew we also had far too many cars to run just two heats. Therefore we made the unusual decision to run the three heats but allow drivers from heat one (and even heat two) who did not qualify and could prepare their cars for another race in time, to join us again for heat three to help make the numbers back up to around 30 cars. Despite only making this decision just before the grand parade, the drivers reacted well to the idea, although some late arrivals meant only a few extra cars were needed for the final heat, but ultimately we were able to get 30 cars for each of the heats which appeared a good number for racing and wrecking.
Our next concern then moved to the remainder of the meeting format. In 2010 we made a big change to the programme following the heats. With only enough cars to run one consolation and the drivers in the last heat needed extra time to repair we split the Accumulator qualifier and DD into separate events (this also required an additional Ministox race to be added) so we could run the consolation without waiting and offer drivers who missed the consolation a stand alone Accumulator qualifier instead. Serious thought was given to doing this again this year but when the opening Ministox race caused damage to the fence it in turn gave the Unlimited Banger drivers in heat three the extra time to repair for the consolation and subsequently we enjoyed a fine 34 car grid for that race.
With the next few races running very smoothly thought was again given after the banger final to splitting the Accumulator and DD (and again adding a fourth Ministox race). However information from our pit road staff pointed that while cars were being called for the title race they believed there were few cars other than those doing the final that were still ready and able for action. Fearing we would not have enough cars to run a separate Accumulator and DD we instead elected to stick to the format and attempt to end the evening on a high note.
Subsequently we were left with little option other than to give the banger drivers the time they needed to five their cars prior to the last event which did result in a short delay. We trust the wait was worth it as ultimately 46 drivers, over half the original entry, returned including many who had put in some amazing effort to repair and others who wrecked cars which could easily have been used at another meeting. Despite the delay here and the one earlier to fix the fence, the DD was still completed at 10pm.
We again want to extend a massive message of thanks to the drivers and their teams for their brilliant efforts throughout the night, especially in repairing the cars in good time for their next race which meant all six banger races featured good grids despite the action levels and a bumper grid for the final race. Similar praise should also go to the young guns in the Ministox who not only produced some great racing during the night but also had almost full grids for all three races.
Much has been said about the drop in numbers for the Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship compared to the 2008 and 2009 events. As said this time last year, we believe a big part of that is down to the introduction of the unlimited banger EA team championship last season, a meeting of which the rapid popularity off certainly took us by surprise. Although we did run an unlimited domestic meeting in 2009 it was no where near the size or scale of the unlimited meetings we have run at Mildenhall in 2010 and 2011. For further proof it is interesting to note that only around 30 of the drivers who raced Saturday night also raced at the team meeting in May leaving around 55 drivers who raced unlimited bangers for the first time at Mildenhall this season last weekend. That means that between the two unlimited meetings at Mildenhall this season we have seen over 160 different drivers race, a comparable number (in fact slightly more) to the Suffolk Opens of 2008 and 2009.
Of course next years sees the Supreme Championship switch to unlimited bangers and for the first time ever we plan to stage three big car meetings at Mildenhall in a single season and it remains to be seen what kind of impact this has on the existing fixtures. Nonetheless the switch for the Supreme Championship is part of our long term future for RDC and Mildenhall of which the EA team and Suffolk Open championships is also an important part of and we hope we now have the building blocks with the support of the drivers to make all these meetings a success in 2012.
Big RDC Promotions website updated last weekend (added July 13)
Those of you who have visited the website since the weekend will have hopefully noticed some large updates in various areas with relation to our next three events at RDC, all significant ones on the fixtures.
First up is RDC’s At Our Best, one of our feature events of the season at Dover Raceway with the National Banger Kent Team Championship alongside the Kent and Southern Championships for Bangerstox and Super Rods. Traditionally we would have a dedicated section on the site to this meeting but this year time has gotten the better of us. So instead with next week being a week off for RDC we have made good use of our previews page.
Already the previews page boasts a much more detailed meeting preview to our normal one and you can also find on the page everything else you need to know about the meeting including drivers listings for the National Bangers and Bangerstox, the championship rolls of honour and more.
In the meantime we have also added special sections to the site dedicated to RDC’s One Wild Weekend (Mildenhall July 30 and 31) and Another Wild Night (National Banger BBA British and Reliant Robin World Championships at Mildenhall on August 13). Again these sections have all the information about these potentially great meetings at the West Row stadium this summer including the current driver listings which will continue to be updated in the coming weeks as and when more information is known.
Congratulations to 499 Dave Aldous (added July 6)
All at RDC would like to congratulate Saloon Stockcar World Champion 499 Dave Aldous on his historic defence of the European Championship at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend.
Aldous’ calm and flawless drive against 35 rivals in an action packed race makes him only the third driver in the 29 year history of the championship to successfully defend the title and the first to do so since Scottish legend 68 Harry Burgoyne did so in 1996 and 1997. Aldous now has a chance of matching 636 Conrad Self’s unmatched hat trick of European Championship victories in the early 1990s.
We would also like to thank and congratulate all 46 Saloon Stockcar drivers who raced last weekend and treated fans to a stunning night of full contact and full bloodied stockcar action, the likes of which only seen by this amazing formula which continues to go from strength to strength and we hope to see more of the same when they return to Mildenhall for One Wild Weekend on July 30 and 31.
Success for Jack Overy and Shorty at Birmingham and King’s Lynn (added June 29)
Last weekend was a busy one around the country for several RDC Bangers drivers and they enjoyed plenty of success on their travels.
The biggest achievements came on Saturday (June 25) night where 617 Jack Overy won the re-launched National Banger National Championship as part of a flawless hat trick of wins at Birmingham while 148 Ian Redden added another big shale unlimited banger win to his CV when he won the annual Bandit Memorial final at King’s Lynn.
Elsewhere this weekend and 180 Mark Foster helped the Midnight Runners B win the four-a-side team event at Arena Essex on Sunday while 384 John Golden placed eighth in the 2Litre BBA English Championship at Mendips.
We hope to have more detailed accounts of how our drivers fared at the weekend in the future and we would also like to wish RDC registered 54 Martin Lawton who suffered an injury at Arena on Sunday.
Mildenhall June 18 round up and thank you (added June 22)
We want to kick off this weeks news update by extending a massive message of thanks to everyone who supported last weekend’s meeting at Mildenhall Stadium despite a bleak weather forecast which in reality didn’t come close to how awful the conditions would actually be on the night.
Fresh from the equally wet second day of the Dirty Weekend event on June 12, we were fortunate enough that a few dry days at the stadium allowed our track team to carry out some great work on the track after the first wet meeting at the raceway in six days and this work at the start of the week proved crucial in last weekend’s meeting going ahead.
Sadly things took a turn for the worse when the rain returned on Thursday and was followed by heavy rain all night on Friday followed by some horrendous showers throughout Saturday, including a near monsoon of hailstorms around four hours before start time.
The upshot was it left the raceway in a very wet and difficult state. But despite the rain being no secret and far from exclusive to Mildenhall, almost 100 race drivers still attended and everyone of them competed in the meeting, a handful even managing to race four times in the awful conditions.
Furthermore we were once again joined by a very good sized audience, especially so given the weather and we hope they enjoyed the action the drivers were able to serve up. Certainly given the conditions it’s hard to say the drivers could have given any more and everyone, along with their teams in the pits, deserve much praise for working so hard during the night to keep the meeting running.
We are especially pleased that there was sufficient enthusiasm from drivers in all classes that every race was able to run as programmed, which is a testament to the dedication of the drivers who raced last weekend.
Furthermore we would also like to thank our staff for working throughout the night in the poor weather which ensured the meeting was able to run as smoothly as we were able.
We are however sorry that we had to cut short the Unlimited Van Banger DD. Even with 25 minutes passing there were still five drivers battling for the win, not to mention many fans still watching the hits. However our officials on the track noted that where all drivers were struggling for grip it was starting to badly effect the track which had already taken a hammering during the night. Believing it was in the best interest of our forthcoming events we elected to declare the event as a five-way tie. We are sorry for any disappointment this may have caused but are pleased to report that the decision has already reaped rewards with work on the track progressing excellently this week ahead of the latest speedway fixture this Sunday and our next event on July 2.
Great news from 209 Ben ‘Minge’ Hayward (added June 22)
We have received excellent news this week from RDC National Banger racer 209 Ben ‘Minge’ Hayward who was seriously injured at the season opener at Mildenhall in March.
After months of treatment, Ben has this week been cleared to return to work and has also received the all clear to return to racing when he feels able.
While Minge has not yet decided on a return date, perhaps sensibly electing to wait until he is fully ready, all at RDC are delighted to hear his great news and look forward to hopefully seeing him back on track in the near future.
RDC’s Dirty Weekend round up and thank you (added June 15)
All at RDC would like to extend a big message of thanks to everyone who helped contribute to making last weekend’s Dirty Weekend such a great success.
As expected it was a truly massive weekend of racing, quite possibly the biggest we will see this season. In total no less than 230 drivers raced during the course of the weekend and between them 240 different race cars competed on the shale during the monster 42 race schedule over the two days.
We would also like to thank everyone who contributed to the event running so smoothly with the gigantic race programme completed in a total of nine hours of racing, four hours on Saturday and a further five on Sunday. We were especially pleased that we were able to complete Sunday’s meeting in good time, despite the horrendous weather conditions which made for a very wet afternoon.
On that note we again want to send a huge message of thanks to the drivers in all four formulas on Sunday who continued to fix and race their cars in the awful conditions. It was nothing short of amazing to see the final races of Sunday afternoon so well subscribed and the standard of racing was a testament to the efforts of all concerned.
Finally we are glad to report that save one minor incident on Saturday night which was quickly resolved, there were no issues or incidents overnight on Saturday with a great atmosphere being reported both inside and outside the stadium which resulted in the disco in the Fenman bar continuing long past the original scheduled 2am conclusion.
We would also like to thank the fans who supported the weekend, especially those who braved the weather on Sunday afternoon and we hope you enjoyed the racing on offer.
We hope for more of the same at One Wild Weekend on July 30 and 31.
Message to all Ministox drivers from Coventry on June 4 and RDC grade changes (added
June 8)
The following is a statement from Michael Coventry to each of the Ministox drivers who raced at Coventry Stadium last weekend (June 4).
I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate each of the Ministox drivers who raced at Coventry Stadium last weekend for putting on a tremendous performance in front of a massive audience of race fans.
As I was asked by the promotion to cover their ‘presenter’ duties I wasn’t able to be work as closely with the formula as I had done at the April meeting and the drivers and their teams were very much left to their own devices during the night.
Despite this I would like to thank everyone for their excellent co-operation and hard work throughout the night. This started with everyone’s co-operation and understanding in a very tight pit area and continued with drivers following instructions on when to line up for their races and with this being followed as asked it greatly assisted the promotion in getting through their massive 15 race schedule in four and a half hours.
Furthermore, for the second meeting in a row, the standard of racing was second to none for junior stockcar racing and has been met with much positive response from the promotion at Coventry Stadium. Once again they were especially impressed at the toughness of the young racers as for the second meeting in a row (and hopefully this will not jinx it), every race went flag to flag without any stoppages or caution periods despite some great full contact stockcar racing.
What is also pleasing to note is how competitive the racing has been. Despite the fact that all seven races held at the track have so far been won by lower graded drivers the track championship standings prove just how close the racing truly is.
Just 14 points separates the current top 10 and to make matters more interesting these 10 are made up of three white grade drivers (one of which would have been red had they raced last weekend), two yellow grade drivers, two blue tops, a red top and two silver grade drivers.
However due to my added role at the weekend as ‘presenter’, not only was I not able to thank each driver personally at the end of the meeting but I wasn’t able to confirm early bookings for the next Coventry meeting on August 6.
Once again the drivers from the last meeting have first refusal of a place at the next one but as ORCi Ministox will only share the bill with BriSCA F1 Stockcars in August (much like the April date) we will go back to a 36 car limit. Drivers from the June 4 meeting have until July 2 to confirm their place while in the meantime there are currently nine places available for drivers who did not race on June 4. If we receive additional demand from new drivers I’ll wait until after July 2 to confirm if a place is available or not, after the drivers from last weekend have had amble time to confirm if they wish to race at the August meeting.
As always drivers should book in via their own promotion.
Once again can I thank all the drivers and their teams for their efforts last weekend, once again they were a credit to themselves and the entire formula.
Regards Michael Coventry
Furthermore following the recent meetings at Mildenhall and Coventry we have a couple of drivers to receive early upgrades for the next meeting at Mildenhall on June 18. There will be a new grading list for the Ministox following this meeting in time for the Kent Championship at Dover on June 26.
Up to red grade: 382 Tom Foster
Up to blue grade: 350 Thomas Parrin
Up to Yellow grade: 316 Sam Dace and 339 Jake Futter
RDC on tour at Coventry and Aldershot (added June 8)
As expected RDC were well represented at the Unlimited Banger Coventry Masters and the Trigger Memorial at Coventry and Aldershot last weekend.
Starting at Coventry and heat one featured 27 Terry King (in a stunning looking Mk2 Granada), 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 384 John Golden and 617 Jack Overy with 384 Goldie providing our only action when he rode over a stray wheel leaving team mates 382 Chubby and Overy to qualify in third and fifth respectively.
Heat two featured 148 Ian Redden, 221 Mick Whitelock and 456 Nathan Roberts. 221 Mad Mike led for several laps but a clash with 143 Dan Rose and 218 Lee Clelland allowed Roberts to spin him for the lead and he survived an attack from 474 Matty Threlkeld to take the win with 148 Shorty in second.
Mad Mick bounced back to finish fifth in the consolation to make it to the title race where he was hammered by 67 Rickie Beasley in the midst of an early pile-up. Overy eased past 474 Matty for the lead with Chubby hot on his heels as he nailed the spinning 128 Mark Atkins only to then spin out of contention as Overy expired with a blown engine. This promoted Roberts to the front with Shorty third, the back markers briefly allowing Shorty to close before the Cream Team man pulled away again and notched up his second title win of the season, a last bend melee causing Shorty steering damage and he had to settle for third, Chubby recovering for fourth and Goldie sixth.
Shorty’s night ended with a clash with 117 Steve Ellis in the Allcomers while Chubby was removed by 101 Keith Roberts while Nathan Roberts completed a great night with a third and Chubby recovered for ninth.
Onto Aldershot the following afternoon with Chubby one of a few to take in both meetings and on this occasion he was joined by 180 Mark Foster and 260 Keith and 360 Jack Reynolds.
360 Jackstar made a mark in heat one, which was also the Trigger memorial race with a shot on 470 Steve Nelson in a pit bend wrecking train before he was nailed by 528 Alan Hunt and 598 John Mills while 260 Keefy guided his Jag to second place.
Onto heat three where Chubby came under fire from Condom rival 203 Darren Nash who fenced himself in the process. Chubby continued to power into the waiting Mk10 Jaguar of 264 Mark Welland who held the former in place for 203 Gnasher to again weigh in. Chubby and Welland battled along the back straight to turn four where Gnasher came off the centre to nail the Team Black young gun and held him in place for Welland to land a big hit.
The 3Litre duo were involved in a superb fourth heat, Jackstar following 627 Terry Coke Jnr into the pit bend carnage a treat before Keefy suffered a similar fate at the hands of 45 Anthony Croshaw. 180 Sparky landed a hit on former team mate 341 Any Jones in the last heat while Keefy was hammered by 480 Kane Caple, Jackstar meanwhile delivering one of the hits of the day when he leathered 70 Ant Long with a flat out hit.
Sparky returned in the final with a pair of destructive hits to 421 Nigel Riley before he came under fire from 702 James Dodge and the Midnight Runner also contested the DD trading infield blows with 702 Jimbo, 521 Ashley and 221 Justin Riley and Jackstar, the latter ending Sparky’s day with a solid follow-in after he hit 341 Jonesey on the centre.
Pre 70 Bangers Odd Job Memorial round up and thank you (added June 1)
This week we want to extend a massive message of thanks to everyone who helped make last weekend’s 19th annual pre 70 banger and Odd Job memorial meeting such a tremendous success.
The final car count of pre 70 bangers was a simply mind blowing 143 cars which while ever so slightly down on the record number for this event was still nothing short of staggering and also the 10th consecutive triple figure entry for this meeting which is a fantastic achievement.
With drivers from all across the banger racing world, the standard of machinery and presentation was not only second to none but also perhaps the greatest we have ever seen at RDC and it remains to be seen if it will ever be topped.
Among the many making a tremendous effort were the WI Engineering team who pulled out all the stops to give their team mate a great send off and their efforts were rewarded with an emotional heat win for 587 Alex Humphrey, entertainer awards for 520 Derek Caton (who raced under Dan’s number of 503) and 278 Tom Hills and 164 Jack Turner lifted the Odd Job memorial trophy.
We were delighted to be joined by so many of Odd Job’s friends and family including his fiancé, daughter and step daughter who helped with some of the trophy presentations and we are also delighted to report the wonderfully positive feedback they gave of the meeting and those who made the effort to support it.
Once again a huge thank you to every driver, and their teams and families, for making the effort to support the meeting and also to the great turn out of fans who we hope all enjoyed the occasion
Vital stats for May (added June 1)
May 2011 has been yet another tremendous month for RDC Promotions with some incredible National Banger stats to report on.
May is traditionally one of the busiest months of the season for National Bangers and this was again the case in 2011 with well over 60 meetings for the formula around the country and mainland Europe.
Of all these meetings, just two managed to break the 100 car barrier and they were both at Mildenhall, last weekend’s pre 70 Odd Job Memorial and the unlimited EA Team meeting on May 7, making them the best attending meetings in the sport this month.
Furthermore with 70 cars in action the British Qualifier on May 21 was the fourth best attended meeting of the month, only topped by the entry for the 2Litre BBA World Final at Hednesford on May 15.
In all no less than 194 drivers raced at Mildenhall in National Bangers in May, including seven who raced at all three meetings and deserve a special mention for their superb commitment. They are
17 Kyle Overy
20 Andy Burbridge
101 Ian Norris
148 Ian Redden
160 Perry Willings
382 Jack Foster Jnr
617 Jack Overy
We should also extend further congratulations to 20 Baldy, 160 Pez and 382 Chubby who have raced at all Mildenhall meetings in 2011 (although Chubby missed the Best Pairs event on April 9, he was racing at Cowdenbeath representing RDC in the BBA World Cup) and Baldy has also competed at ever Dover meeting in 2011. He along with 101 Bam Bam were the only drivers to race at both Mildenhall and Dover this weekend although we should not forget 188 John Reeves, 259 Dan Poole, 349 Lee Saunders, 570 Jordan Cumming and 898 Andy Battle who all raced at Mildenhall and Eastbhourne this weekend.
Others worth of a mention are 303 Wayne Linsdale, 328 Daniel Lathan and 682 Paul Sparrow who have so far so missed just one Mildenhall meeting this season and also Baldy again who, alongside 492 Dean Harper, are the only drivers to have raced at all three of the RDC RWD series rounds held so far.
Problems with .com address of RDC Promotions website (added May 25)
Over the weekend the RDC Promotions website was affected by some technical problems which appeared exclusive to the www.rdcpromotions.com address.
While these problems appear to have resolved themselves this week we want to remind all visitors to the site that there are alternative web addresses you can use to try and access the site if there is ever a problem with the main address.
These are www.rdcpromotions.net or www.steamin.in/RDC/index.htm and these addresses were unaffected over the weekend.
Invitation for limited number of visiting drivers to ‘RDC only’ Ministox meetings (added May 25)
Following much thought in recent weeks we have decided to extend a limited number of bookings for non RDC Ministox drivers to our forthcoming RDC only meetings at Mildenhall Stadium.
While Ministox numbers have remained most healthy at RDC in 2011, they have dipped off slightly from the tremendous turnouts we were receiving a few years ago when the RDC only meetings were first introduced at Mildenhall at meetings where we could not afford to run more than three ‘all in race’.
At present we currently have just over 30 active RDC drivers and the six Mildenhall meetings so far this season have raised fields of between 17 and 25 cars with an average car count of 21.
Therefore following the request of some drivers, combined with our on-going desire to present the best junior racing possible we are going to open our forthcoming RDC only meetings up to a limited number of visiting drivers.
Given our current numbers we intend to offer no more than four visiting bookings per meeting (we should stress that so far there has been no call for such demand anyway) at the following Ministox meetings at Mildenhall.
Saturday June 18
Saturday July 2
Saturday August 27 (FORDS fundraiser)
Saturday September 10
We should stress that the Suffolk Open Championship on July 9 at Mildenhall is open to all visiting drivers (graded yellow, blue and red) and that the RDC Drivers Championship on October 30 will remain an invitational only event. Furthermore visiting drivers may be interested to know the Kent Championship at Dover on June 26 is open to all drivers but those without qualifying points will start with a handicap on those with points and will not receive a qualifiers trophy.
Most importantly we must stress that any non RDC driver looking to race at one of the four dates listed above must book in with their own promoter and receive confirmation ahead of the meeting. Drivers who simply just turn up will not be allowed to race.
Things remain unchanged for RDC drivers who are free to turn up and race at all Mildenhall meetings (except the RDC Drivers Championship on October 30 which again is a qualifiers only affair) without the need to book in prior to the meeting.
Amendment to National Banger Grand Final at Mildenhall on May 21 (added May 25)
Following a request and a subsequent investigation into the result of the National Banger Grand Final at the fourth British Qualifying round at Mildenhall last weekend (May 21) we would like to report on a minor change to the Grand Final result.
57 Stu Cumming has been judged as finishing in 10th place which in turn knocks 53 Dave Palmer out of the top 10. The remainder of the top nine remains unchanged.
Congratulations to the Aftermath-Brampton team champions (added May 25)
This week we congratulate the Aftermath who triumphed in a hard hitting 2Litre Banger team event at Brampton Raceway last Sunday (May 22) afternoon.
While we don’t have a full report we understand the team lifted the title despite being heavily involved in the action as usual, their ranks including RDC registered 100 Callum White, 602 Shaun, 603 John and 604 Ross Cooper, the former and latter both taking home big wrecks.
There was further RDC interest in the event with 180 Mark Foster racing with the Midnight Runners while 88 Ash Burton, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 525 Wes Starmer and 843 Jacob Foster made up the Boys.
Tony Roots (added May 25)
All at RDC would like to extend their sympathies to the friends and families of one of stockcar racing’s longest serving stars, Tony Roots who passed away last week aged 62.
Best known as an open wheeled stockcar specialist Tony started his racing career in Saloon Stockcars at Wimbledon Stadium in the late 1960s before progressing into Super Rods and then Superstox where he was one the formulas leading stars for many years, winning the World, British and European Championship in 1997.
In the late 1990s he moved into BriSCA F2 Stockcars for a few seasons before moving into the Oval Racing Legends and finally into the CAMSO V8s (now known as European Late Models).
RDC would also like to thank everyone who superbly observed the minutes silence for Tony ahead of the first stockcar race of the night last weekend at Mildenhall Stadium.
Impressive statistics from Mildenhall on May 21 (added May 25)
The electronic lap scoring system used at Mildenhall Stadium threw up some mightily impressive stats last Saturday (May 21) night in the BriSCA F2 Stockcars and Ministox.
662 Steve Wycherly had the honour of posting the fastest time of the night with a 13.203 second lap time on lap 14 of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar final. Should he have managed four laps in a row in this time it would have been 52.812 seconds which is again faster than a National League speedway race at the stadium. Admittedly speedway races are from a standing start but bearing mind Steve was racing against a full field of other stockcars it is a mightily impressive statistic which further underlines the F2 Stockcars as the fastest show on dirt at Mildenhall Stadium.
Not to be outdone, the junior Ministox posted some impressive times as well. 391 Jake Banwell had the fastest time of the night with 15.078 on (ironically enough) lap 14 of the final which was less than two seconds slower than Steve’s fast lap in the F2 which shows just how quick the junior formula at Mildenhall can be.
Extra meeting added to Mildenhall fixture list (added May 18)
This week we are pleased to announce an additional meeting to the RDC fixtures in 2011 which will take place at Mildenhall Stadium on Sunday, September 18 and will be held in association with our neighbours at Swaffham Raceway and feature a combination of their formulas and our own which are not regulars at the Suffolk Shaleway.
The formulas at this somewhat unusual RDC meeting will be 1800 Rookie Bangers, Street Stocks, Junior Bangers and a combined formula of RDC Super Rods/Swaffham Lightning Rods.
The Street Stocks, Junior Bangers and 1800 Rookie Bangers will all follow the traditional rules used by the formulas at Swaffham Raceway. In the Rookie Bangers it is any car under 1800cc, steam tanks/bonnet bolts etc allowed.
The meeting is however a pay to race event with all Swaffham licensed drivers £15 paying to race, day licences £20 in rookies, £25 in other formula's. RDC registered Super Rod drivers will have to also pay £15.
All Rookie Banger, Junior Banger, Street Stocks and Swaffham Lightning Rod enquiries and bookings should be made to Shawn Mason on 07816 469582. RDC Super Rod drivers can book in through the usual channels. It is hoped that this meeting may be a round of the RDC Points Championship for the Super Rods but further consultation will be made with the drivers before a decision is made on this.
RDC at 2Litre Banger BBA World Final (added May 18)
RDC were well represented at the 2011 staging of the 2Litre BBA World Final at Hednesford Hills Raceway last Sunday (May 15) where they gave a great account of themselves and RDC.
Seeded directly into the main event were 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 525 Wes Starmer and 682 Paul Sparrow who all made the effort with their paint work for the day and they were joined on the grid by 898 Andy Battle who secured a wildcard spot at Northampton earlier in the month.
Hoping to join them on the grid in the first last chance heat were 86 Alec Savage, 88 Ash Burton, 2(2) Georgie Lee, 617 Jack Overy, 843 Jacob Foster and 466 Steve Hackett. After a race stoppage 466 Big Job recovered from a fencing at the hands of 20 Phil Brooks to deliver a fierce shot on Gladiator rival 349 Lewis Price which was also a controversial hit given how close to the drivers door it was. The RDC young gun was shown the black flag but later continued in the meeting while Overy’s hopes ended when he was clipped and spun by the recovered 349 Squaddie which led to him being T-boned and fenced by 199 Jacob Foster. Elsewhere and Savage raced to the win followed home by the ultra smartly turned out Lee with 88 Ace Ash completing an RDC 1-2-3 and Foster joined them in the big race finishing fifth.
A slightly smaller field for heat two but still RDC representation with 801 Jack Foster, 456 Nathan Roberts, 717 Jack Tuffen, 180 Mark Foster and 384 John Golden all on track. Tuffen’s day ended when he span early on turn one and took a monster head-on from 106 Phil Pratchett before 206 Phil Milner weighed in for a hard T-bone which was delivered against the wall. This left Roberts alone for the Cream Team in his very smart Cougar and he entered a fine one man show, twice disposing of a lurking 206 Turkish before he also removed 174 Dave Osbourn and 363 Sam Keep en route to second and a place in the World Final. 180 Sparky made it two RDC wins out of two by taking the flag while 384 Goldie made it seven RDC last chance qualifiers by taking fourth, Foster just missing out in eighth.
Onto the main event with all 11 RDC qualifiers out among the 53 car grid, the Incarace draw proving kind with Battle on pole, Sparrow on row three and 382 Chubby on row five while Savage and Lee were on the second row of the last chance qualifiers at the rear of the field. Battle made the break at the start but a lunge from 433 Ben Smith at the end of lap one relegated him to fourth as Sparrow and Chubby made early progress and were fifth and third respectively when the race was stopped and restarted in the early stages, Battle still in the top 10 and Sparky making the best progress of our last chance qualifiers. The latter span ex team mate 05 Carlos Perez in the restart as Sparrow climbed to fourth before a big turn two blockage mixed the race up with Battle and Ace Ash both caught in the mayhem, the former then ramming 239 Steve Carter in the front wheel on the next lap. Sparrow now moved ahead of Chubby and into second before both were passed by 516 Carl Gould, a struggling Chubby retiring soon after while Sparrow battled on but lost his early pace. 67 Rickie Beasley held off 516 Gouldy in the closing laps to take the title, Sparrow registering an excellent third while Savage, Ace Ash and Battle all featured in the top 10 in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.
Onto the meeting final where Ace Ash nailed 01 Bob Peat on the East Bend while Roberts and Turkish traded hits briefly after the reds were shown in the initial stages. Keep lunged at the Cream Team skipper on the restart while Big Job took a hard T-bone from 174 Whipper and a second T-bone from 549 Phil Smith while Roberts hit back for the Creams with a mental head-on to the spun 349 Squaddie on the back straight. This left him open to a payback hit from Smith and a subsequent T-bone from 119 Davey Cox, the latter then stuffing 199 Jacob Ruff into the luckless Big Job. Overy then attacked 552 Karl Douglas which in turn fenced 589 Simon Smith as Chubby was declared the winner after a second stoppage, Overy placed in fourth.
DD to finish with Sparky nailing 287 Dean Quinsee before entering a fine one man stand against 589 Smiffy Jnr and brother 549 Phil, the numbers eventually making their mark as the Gladiators landed some big hits on the Midnight Runner but Sparky gamely battled on in his wrecked Mondeo before finally
expiring
Happy New Year to all
RDC drivers and fans (added December 30)
In the final news update of 2010, we want to wish all drivers and fans in
the world of short oval motor racing a very happy new year and all the very best
for 2011.
A special thanks as always goes to all the RDC drivers and those who have raced at Mildenhall Stadium or Dover Raceway in 2010 and to the fans who have supported our meetings as well and we hope to see you all again in 2011.
Happy New Year everyone.
Mildenhall Winter
Series opener round up and thanks (added December 30)
In the wake of the first round of the 19th annual Mildenhall Winter Series we
want to send a special thanks to all the drivers who supported the meeting and
produced some entertaining racing for the fans who braved the cold to watch the
racing.
While the turnout for the annual Metro and Fiesta Banger meeting was down on previous years it was still fantastic to see almost 100 drivers support the event, the vast majority of freshly built cars and given the weather around the country in the weeks leading up to the meeting, respect is worthy of every driver on hand for building and preparing a car to race.
It was also pleasing to see the tremendous efforts made on the day by the drivers to keep bringing the cars out for more despite the far from ideal conditions. Sufficient non qualifiers repaired for two banger consolations, the majority of the qualifiers contested the final and over a third of the original entry contested the DD. Similar numbers were reported in the Saloon Stockcars where the majority of the most decent Christmas meeting turnout of 21 drivers competed in all three races.
On the subject of Saloon Stockcars and well done to 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr for lifting the track championship and also full credit to 77 Glen Heaps for making the marathon trek from Scotland to make his track debut.
Changing the topic completely and we would would also like to extend a thank you to everyone who observed the minutes silence for stockcar legend Stu Smith Snr so superbly at the start of the meeting. On that note all at RDC would like to extend their sympathies to the Smith family at this time.
We would also like to extend a massive message of thanks to our track team for their sterling efforts in recent weeks to produce perhaps the best racing conditions we have had for a Christmas meeting in some time. While we were incredibly lucky that Mildenhall avoided the worst of the winter weather in recent weeks, a great amount of work went into trying to make the shale as good as possible and our thanks to them.
Finally we want to address the decision to run two banger consolations which each had the smallest grids of the afternoon. With just one Stockcar race between the final banger heat and first consolation, had we decided to run one consolation race we would have had to have waited until around the time that the second consolation started to get all the drivers who raced in a consolation on track. Had we made that decision it would have led to one of two outcomes, either a long delay before the consolation or a shorter delay with some drivers missing the race. Furthermore we felt that the slippery track conditions were not best suited to larger fields of cars which also would have in turn led to lengthy clear up processes which on a December afternoon are never ideal. The decision to run two consolations also meant that the meeting continued to flow and in part meant the meeting was completed in under three and a half hours which was ideal for all concerned.
Amendment to 1400cc
Banger Suffolk Open team championship line up (added December 30)
With regard to the 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open team championship entry for the
annual Good Friday (April 22) meeting at Mildenhall, which we announced on the
website a couple of weeks ago, we have one amendment.
Unfortunately when we compiled the list we
omitted one of the teams who had booked in and thus The Jokers have been added
to the list so we now have 36 teams on the entry list as well as handful on the
waiting list. Click here for the full list of booked
in teams and please not we will not consider adding reserves to the list unless
at least two of the teams current booked drop out.
Christmas message from RDC Promotions (added December 23)
All at RDC Promotions would like to extend a very merry Christmas wish to everyone connected to RDC Promotions, Mildenhall Stadium, Dover Raceway and the sport of short oval motor racing.
An extra special message goes to all our registered drivers and their families as well as all the other drivers who have supported our meetings this year as well as each and every fan who has attended our events, whether they be regulars who come week in, week out, or those who only come once a year.
It is no secret that 2010 has been a particular stressful one behind the scenes at RDC and we would again like to thank all those who have supported us and continue to support us through this difficult period in our history.
Again Merry Christmas to you all and your families, we hope you have a wonderful time and look forward to seeing you all again very soon.
Mildenhall Classic Car Show 2011 date (added December 23)
Following the well received maiden Mildenhall Classic Car Show in 2010 we can confirm that this event will again take place at Mildenhall Stadium in 2011 with the event scheduled to go ahead on Sunday, August 7.
As well as hoping to even more classic road going cars and their owners for the static display we are also keen to expand the on track activity with classic race cars after the three demo races from the BriSCA F2 Heritage Stockcars proved such a success in 2010.
The on track racing from the vintage stockcars proved popular with both the drivers and the classic car owners and the racing was something which set the Mildenhall show apart from any other classic car show and is an area we would love to broaden as we believe it will be of great appeal to classic car owners as well as regular race fans.
Already we have confirmation from the BriSCA F2 Heritage Stockcars who are set to return, promising greater numbers than 2010, and there are already discussions for the F1 Heritage Stockcars to appear as well. In addition RDC are also looking to try and open the door for other classic race car formulas to appear on the afternoon and we hope to have more information on this soon.
In the meantime if you are a classic car owner then we hope you may pencil in August 7 as a date in your diary and we hope to see you next summer.
Amendment to Mildenhall August 27 fixture (added December 23)
Following the release of the third, and hopefully final, draft of the RDC 2011 fixtures last week we have one small amendment to make to the August 27 fixture at Mildenhall Stadium.
This meeting will play host to the final non Mondeo and Cougar National Banger meeting of the season at Mildenhall but it will be run to a 2litre limit and not a 1600cc limit as previously stated.
We hope this will not have caused anyone any inconvenience.
Important message regarding RDC office this week (added December 16)
Just a short message to anyone who have been trying contact us this week at the RDC office via 01268 412299 please note the office has been largely closed in the first half of the week owing to various issues which means everyone is everywhere but the office.
Anyone needing to contact RDC urgently is asked to instead use our mobile number which is 07850 683953 or to e mail us on wastedmc@btopenworld.com
Drivers looking to book in for the December 27 meeting are reminded that everyone is welcome on the day and there is no need to book in prior to the meeting as all drivers will be welcome to compete. Anyone still unsure as to which cars can be used in the Metro, Fiesta and 1100cc Banger meeting should consult the article on this news page with relevant information which can be found by clicking
here.
Also drivers seeking license forms are reminded that they will be available at each of the Mildenhall Winter meetings and drivers are welcome to bring their license renewals to these meetings, even if they are racing on the day. Given the current, and predicted, state of the postal service at present this may be recommended.
November to Remember round up and thanks (added December 1)
All at RDC would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who supported last weekends final meeting of the season, November to Remember, headlined by the National Banger Mildenhall Team Championship.
It goes without saying that we were incredibly lucky that Mildenhall escaped most of the awful winter weather which was reported elsewhere in the country, including many areas near to the stadium. Despite this and blisteringly cold weather at the stadium Sunday we still saw over 130 drivers compete and entertain the fans who also braved the cold to enjoy the racing.
A tremendous amount of thanks is deserving to all the drivers who continued to race and repair their cars during the afternoon. All of the banger heats were well subscribed and to have around a quarter of the original field take part in the DD was fantastic. Furthermore this show of dedication was also shown in the Ministox where all but the final race of the afternoon featured all of the cars on hand.
It is also worth noting that almost 20 National Banger drivers who raced at Mildenhall had also raced at Birmingham Wheels the previous night, the majority of which being RDC registered but regardless of where they are licensed a special thanks should go to all of them for their tremendous dedication to the sport this weekend. Similar praise should also go to fans who attended Birmingham Wheels on Saturday and Mildenhall Sunday as chances are they spent the entire weekend frozen to the bone!
Similarly an equally large amount of thanks is deserving to our track team who have worked tirelessly since the ORC Championship meeting earlier this month to produce the best racing surface possible. This did receive many positive comments from drivers who were very surprised at the condition of the track, which save the light snowfall, which didn’t thaw from Friday night, was not too dissimilar to how it looks in mid season.
However once again the afternoon had its share of problems, some of which we would like to take the time to address here. The first is once again with regard to the first race of the afternoon which suffered similar problems to that of the first race at the ORC Championship meeting a couple of weeks ago. Once again the start of the meeting was delayed by several minutes due to a number of National Banger drivers and teams not being ready for the race. Following the ORC Championship meeting we were determined to not suffer a repeat of the problem from that meeting and following that meeting made repeated reminders to the teams in group A that they were in heat one which was race one, a point which was underlined when they arrived at the track on Sunday morning. Despite this we still only saw 20 cars in the first heat, despite it starting around 10 minutes after start time. We are truly sorry to the fans who had to suffer this wait for the meeting to start and also that the smaller than intended entry resulted in the quietest race of the afternoon. However we are hopeful that by sticking to our guns and starting the race without the late comers might result in an improvement with this problem at team meetings (again it only seems to be a problem with team meetings) in the future.
On a similar note the second major problem was the lengthy delay to the afternoon following the significant damage to the Armco barrier in the fifth National Banger heat. Put bluntly this was the most damage we have ever seen to the Armco since it was built at Mildenhall with the post in question not only broken but shattered at the bottom as well as tearing a section of concrete out of the wall. It would have been impossible to have continued the meeting without repairing the damage to the best of our ability on the day and faced with the choice of either abandoning the meeting at that point or taking the time to fix it, we felt we only had the latter option although it was inevitable it would take a lengthy period of time. Again we are truly sorry for this delay but there was no way around it, unfortunately it is something which you always run the risk off in our sport but thankfully it is the first time we have faced such a delay since completing the Armco at Mildenhall.
What was especially frustrating was that the fifth National Banger heat, race six of the programme, started within two hours of the meeting’s start time (not including the aforementioned delay to heat one). This was certainly in some way down to the decision to not have potentially such big grids as the meeting has had in the past. Following the success of the ORC Team Championship format earlier this month we elected to run this meeting on similar lines with the first five heats aiming to have 30-36 cars in them before looking for bigger grids in the final two heats. While we were no doubt lucky to have the weather we did, there was of course fears the conditions could have been much worse and knowing whatever was coming out of the sky the temperature was always going to be freezing and so we wanted a format which would hopefully produce a good standard of racing but also not result in massive clear up periods in between races. We hope that we did achieve that with the exception of the delay to repair the fence and believe that is reflected in that race six started less than two hours after start time and we will look to implement a similar format at next ear’s fixture.
Finally we would also like to extend a thanks to the RDC team for their hard work during the day.
All Granada National Bangers 2011-V6 engines permitted (added December 1)
Following a couple of weeks consultation with several drivers, we can confirm that the second annual all Granada National Banger meeting at Midenhall Stadium on Saturday, September 10 2011 will allow V6 engines.
After the success of the maiden all Granada meeting a few months ago there were many drivers who expressed a desire to see V6 engines permitted rather than the engines limited to 2litre.
There were two main factors to be considered.
1.With the National Banger RWD meeting (where Granadas will be allowed but restricted to 2litre) introduced to the 2011 fixtures, drivers who wish to race a 2litre powered Granada but not against V6 powered Granadas would have this meeting as an option to race at as well as the all Granada meeting.
2.And with changes to the 2011 National Banger rules allowing any 2Litre Ford engine to be used as a transplant in RWD cars next season (again remember this does not apply to the Mildenhall pre 70 meeting) it would freely allow Zetecs and more modern engines to be used. It was felt that these may prove more competitive against people using Pinto engines.
With these points in mind we attempted to consult with as many of the drivers who supported this year’s all Granada meeting about how they felt if V6 engines were permitted this season. We managed to get an opinion from over two thirds of this year’s entry of which the majority were supportive of a switch to include V6 engines. Less than 10 wanted to see the meeting stay 2litre but some of these were quick to point out that they would still try and support the event regardless of the cc limit which is very encouraging.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those drivers for taking the time to give their input into the future of this meeting which we hope will grow into another of the must see fixtures on the RDC fixtures and also an important part of our RWD Series which we also hope to see grow in stature in the future.
RDC at Champion of Champions (added December 1)
As expected RDC was well represented at the annual unlimited banger Champion of Champions event at Birmingham on November 27 where despite the weather conditions around the country almost all the booked in RDC drivers were on hand as expected which was great to see.
Not quite 30 cars for the first last chance qualifier which featured 538 Jake Swan, 125 Roy Preece and 27 Terry King, the latter returning his Mk1 Granada from the Granada meeting at Mildenhall and he found the shortest straw when his night was ended by a big follow-in from 179 Shaun Rushton.
Just under 40 for heat two which featured 688 Steve Collins, 97 Dave Allen, 180 Mark Foster and 456 Nathan Roberts, the former returning his Mk1 Granada from the World Final. 97 Alge wasted no time in spinning 196 Ben Harrison’s Granada limo into the banking before a complete track blockage on turn four saw Collins splinter 777 Keith Greenwood’s Volvo hearse before he took one from 43 Nicky Bishop. The XJ powered 180 Sparky then blew up the ultra smart 300C of 110 Iain Mirza before the race was stopped and declared for the pile-up.
Up next was the main event and with the proposed semi final dropped due to a small shortfall in numbers our semi finalists joined the seeded entries making RDC the most represented promotion on the 47 car grid. Flying the flag were 22 Dave Vincent, 53 Dave Palmer, 148 Ian Redden, 262 Jason Barnard, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 384 John Golden, 492 Dean Harper (who wielded a very smart Mk2 Granada estate), 617 Jack Overy and 807 Chris Murfin, the latter being sidelined though with engine troubles. The Incarace draw placed 148 Shorty on pole while Palmer was at the polar opposite of the grid and was quickly spun on the first bend by 455 Rick Finney allowing Shorty to take the early lead. 492 Mullet and Vincent both suffered spins as Shorty continued to lead the early laps before he span from contention, recovering in fourth by which point Overy was up to third. The recovered Shorty was then flicked out by 190 Steve Bailey in the battle for third as Overy’s challenge was ended when he was fenced by 124 Oris. 49 Rob Bevan had Palmer out, the latter rallying back to hammer 48 Mark Cassidy and subsequently T-boned by 77 Jamie Charles. This prompted Palmer to seek revenge on the Impact Squad and he thundered in 242 Quinnerz full chat on the city bend. 190 Pikey drove a blinder to successfully retain the title, Palmer taking an impressive third and 384 Goldie finished sixth. Despite being originally placed second, the still running Vincent was not named in the top 10.
34 cars for the first Allcomers which included 97 Alge, 538 Swanny Jnr, 262 the Verger, Roberts and 552 Karl Douglas in his first race of the night. Roberts provided our highlight with a storming hit on 502 Kai May while Alge didn’t put a wheel out of place to take the win with Verger in third.
28 cars for the second Allcomers which included Vincent and Overy, the latter making up for his disappointment in the title race as he motored to the win and with no RDC interest in the DD this concluded our involvement in the evening.
End of season stats (added December 1)
With the 2010 season at RDC now officially reaching its end we have some more incredibly stats to bring you to underline what a fantastic year it has been at RDC.
In total a massive 811 different drivers raced in National Banger meetings at RDC in 2010. Despite another year into the countrywide financial recession this was just five drivers less than 2009 so to almost match that number is a tremendous achievement.
Furthermore Mildenhall Stadium once again enjoyed more 100 plus turnouts of National Bangers than any other raceway with 11 in total. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, there have been 23 three figure entry meetings in the sport in all this year and while there could very well be at least two more before 2010 is over, for almost half of these to come from meetings at Mildenhall is an amazing feat.
It is also worth noting that not included in the 100 car turnouts were our two unlimited meetings at Mildenhall which had an average of 93 cars each and once again the unlimited van meeting attracted the best entry for a meeting of its kind in 2010.
Elsewhere and 2010 saw 61 different Ministox drivers race at RDC meetings (of which 43 were registered to RDC), 111 different BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers at Mildenhall (which was up on the 93 in 2009) and 77 Saloon Stockcar drivers (again up on 2009 which saw 65) plus 48 different Reliant Robin drivers at RDC.
These are quite amazing stats and numbers and ones we are immensely proud off and once again we would like to extend the biggest message of thanks to all the drivers, their teams and families for making this
happen.
ORC Championships round up and thank you (added November 17)
In the wake of the action packed ORC Championship meeting at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend we would like to thank everyone who contributed to the afternoon and supported the meeting.
Despite truly rotten conditions across the country during the week and a far from position forecast at times for Sunday afternoon we were treated to another fine turn out in the pit area of almost 140 race cars with drivers from all points of the UK in attendance which was great to see.
And thanks to some sterling work from our track team, the raceway was in far better conditions than perhaps anyone could have hoped for. Sadly some rain very early Sunday morning and light rain shortly after start time meant that perhaps the conditions did not improve as quickly as we may have hoped but certainly the surface was far better than it was at the start of the meeting 12 months ago and this led to some fine action from all three formulas.
However the action came at a price and unfortunately the afternoon ran somewhat longer than we would have hoped, the final race starting just prior to the five and a half hour mark. There were several reasons for the delays but we would like to take a moment to explain the reasons before the main ones and also detail our plans for improvement in the future.
The first was a delay to the first race. This simply was caused because the drivers in the 2Litre Banger team event were not ready and had to be chased up more than usual from the pits. For some reason which we are yet to truly identify we always seem to have this problem at team meetings when the first heat is race one. The simple option would be to start with another formula but this would mean less repair time for the bangers later in the programme so it is not an option we are keen to pursue. Instead we are looking to try and constantly remind the drivers and teams of the importance of a sharp start time and we hope to see an improvement of this at our next team meeting at the end of the month where again heat one is race one. This week we have announced on this site the groups and format for this meeting and already informing teams out first of the importance of being ready on time.
The second significant delay which was spread throughout the afternoon was the high number of race stoppages with 10 stoppages during the 13 race programme which may well be some kind of record for an RDC meeting. Making matters worse was that only one of these stoppages resulted in a race being declared and not restarted (and this race was inside the final lap). While the two stoppages in the 2Litre Banger DD were perhaps not the most time consuming, of the remaining seven restarts, two of them involved lining the cars back in lap sheet order and one of the complete restarts was the Saloon Stockcar ORC Championship where over 30 cars had to be re-assembled in grid order. This was particularly frustrating as the drivers had already been lined up in grid order on pit road in a bid to save time. Nonetheless driver safety always comes first and we are pleased to say that to the best of our knowledge there were no serious injuries during the day.
The third area where time was lost was due to damage suffered to the fence, in particular the pit gate which resulted in some time spent to repair the damage as best as possible on the day and then further time was lost opening and closing the gate afterwards despite the repairs which were carried out. Further repair work is planned in the immediate future but again incidents like this are hard to predict and prevent.
Despite these problems it was good to see the majority of fans stay until the final two races which arguably provided the best action of the afternoon so we trust all those on hand at the weekend enjoyed their day. Congratulations to Team Green, Shane Brown and Triston Claydon on winning their respective ORC Championships with all three events proving extremely competitive.
On a personal note we would also like to express a big thanks to the RDC team who represented us tremendously well in the banger team event. This years team was largely comprised of the rising stars and hardest working drivers of the 2010 season rather than the biggest names and they performed superbly, not only qualifying for the final but narrowly missing a podium finish. They were a credit to both themselves and RDC and we are very thankful and proud of them.
RDC at Arlington Gala Night and Firecracker (added November 10)
As expected the first weekend in November was a busy one for many RDC Banger drivers starting at Arlington on November 5 for the annual unlimited banger Gala Night where there were 11 RDC drivers among the near 70 strong field of cars.
Heat one boasted 133 Karl Day (XJ), 33! Simon Reed (A135 Princess hearse) and 492 Dean Harper (300C estate) with 33! The Legend treating the spun 728
Matthew Parker to a head-on before 133 Karly ran in continental 178 Tipsy, the Legend’s hearse then taking a packed from 711 Alex Elliott on the back straight, Karly delivering our final action with a hit over the rear wheel of 379 Ade Clifton.
A larger RDC presence in heat two with 917 John Millen (XJ), 741 Charlie Daniels (Volvo 240), 726 Kalin Dawe (Volvo 740 estate), 121 Steve Williams (used 300C), 267 James Steel (Oldsmobile Cutlass), 422 Lee (Jaguar XJ-S) and 623 Ricky Hutton (Oldsmobile Cutlass) and 502 Kayligh Dighton (used Mk3 Granada limo). This began with 726 Chimp burying 236 Clyde Williams before 13 Peewee used his Caprice limo to stuff 785 James Taylor’s Plymouth Gran Fury into Steel, 623 Tricky then getting fired into 13 Peewee by 182 Mike Maggs. 61 then fenced 741 German Jnr as the luckless Tricky was hammered by 321 Brett Fry. A turn four wrecking train saw Steel nail 221 Justin Riley before he was leathered by 785 Jambo. Millen meanwhile fired 583 Dan Weeks’ AMC Ambassador into the infield tyres to conclude our involvement this time.
The Legend was under attack from 44 Jamis Ddin early in heat three before 492 Mullet treated 839 Mark Latter to a T-bone. The Chimp later on came under attack from 379 the Worm before Mullet landed a solid hit on 241 Liam Cracknell and 121 Pirate blasted Jambo with a T-bone only to be hammered in turn by 221 Motormouth. The Chimp then powered into Cracknell before Mullet ended the RDC action by stuffing the Worm.
Karly was the first RDC driver to show in the Final with a T-bone on the Granada hearse of 504 Rob Woolgar before he ended the evening trading several hits with 294 Lee Hughes.
A similar number of RDC drivers competed at the 19th annual unlimited banger Firecracker at Arena on November 7 including the Legend and Steel on their second meetings of the weekend, the former deserving serious praise as he piloted his second fresh A135 hearse of the weekend.
No RDC drivers for heat one so straight to heat two which featured 205 Kieran Briddock (Volvo 740 estate), 402 Albie Jenner (XJ), 39 Steve Moore (DS420 hearse), Steele (Volvo 240), 641 Rick Williams (XJ) and 710 Sam Topley (Volvo 240 estate). A home straight blockage saw 39 Peanut squeeze 700 Phil Lee into the wreckage while Williams blasted
250 Terry Ratcliffe. Peanut then blasted 466 Cor Kuys in the middle of the aforementioned blockage which ultimately led to the race being declared early with Peanut named the winner.
Onto the final heat which featured 54 Martin Lawton (XJ40), 53 Dave Palmer (Volvo 240 estate), 239 Andy Swift (XJ40), 508 Harry Bradbury (XJ40), the Legend and 367 Tom Keep (Volvo 740 estate). The Legend stuffed the Granada limo of 131 Paul Isles up the kerbing before he nailed the AMC Rebels estate of 611 Joe Geeves and Keep turned round to run in 610 George Geeves on opposite , the former then hammered by 74 Wesley van Humbeeck.
54 Splat was the first of our contingent to show in the consolation when he fenced 393 Dan Chiddle before he jacked the P4 Rover of 44
Rcihard Steeghs nicely, the latter then hitting 402 Albert on the nose as the Legend blasted Chiddle only to take a fine hit from 356 Luke Radley. Splat finished third, Palmer fourth and Williams fifth to advance to the final.
The final began with Peanut turfing Humbeeck and 22 Paul Dobson into the sleepers before Swifty destroyed the former with a rated hit only to take an equally fierce hit in turn from 78 Lee Macey. 205 Koonta buried himself in the back of 281 Lewis Parry’s rated Pullman limo before Williams was attacked by 331 Jason Jackson, the former blotting his copybook with an attempted revenge attack which was delivered inside out. He rejoined to finish second come flag fall.
Allcomers and DD to end with Steel leading until he buried himself in 728 Jamie Ddin and was nailed by 247 Chris Trickett but still he did enough to win the race on laps completed while Williams landed hits on 527 Dan Gardiner, 73 the bandit and Trickett to be named best wrecker.
Halloween Havoc round up and thank you (added November 4)
All at RDC would like to extend everyone who helped make the annual Halloween Havoc event at Mildenhall last weekend such a tremendous success.
There was not only a great turnout of drivers in all three formulas but also one of the biggest crowds of the season who helped generate a tremendous atmosphere inside the stadium, something which many of the drivers have commented on.
We are also pleased to report that aside from a hand injury suffered by 525 Wes Starmer (which he hopes will not keep him out of action for very long) we don’t believe any drivers suffered any serious injuries despite their being numerous stoppages during the evening.
These stoppages, combined with a few other minor delays during the evening meant that the caravan race finished just before the 11pm curfew but we were delighted to see so many of the bumper crowd stay until the end and we hope you enjoyed the final race of the night. On this subject we would again like to say sorry for the short delay prior to the caravan race which was caused by technical problems with our teleporter which left it immobile on the raceway for a few minutes.
Congratulations are in order to 88 Ash Burton for his first big win at RDC, lifting the National Banger Allstar Dash for Cash and 315 Triston Clayden who triumphed in the Ministox RDC Drivers Championship plus 66 Steve Willis who snatched the Reliant Robin RDC Drivers Championship as well as securing the Mildenhall track championship.
Furthermore we also want to highlight the strength of support shown by the National Banger drivers at this event. After the last three meetings at RDC had seen improved car turnouts compared to the corresponding meetings in 2009, this did see a slight drop in drivers and cars of less than 10 in both cases. However considering last year’s fixture only clashed with a 2litre domestic fixture at Birmingham but this year’s meeting clashed with the annual Halloween Carnival Night at King’s Lynn (which attracted over 60 1500cc bangers) and the 2Litre Banger Brandon Bowl at Coventry, this turnout was a fine achievement so thanks again to all the drivers for their continued support.
RDC on tour at Spedeworth World Final (added October 27)
As expected there was a very strong RDC presence for the 2010 Unlimited Banger Spedeworth World Final at Ipswich on October 23 and despite a few RDC drivers being among the no shows (715 Mick Prince breaking down en route to the track) there were still more RDC drivers in attendance than any other visiting promotion which was most impressive.
Equally impressive was that just two of the 30 RDC drivers on hand were in used cars and that over 20 of those in fresh cars had excelled with fully signwritten motors for the big night. Further problems however saw 97 Dave Allen suffer a blown head gasket and never leave the pits while 278 Tom Hills suffered mechanical gremlins on track and never turned a wheel.
Following a shower the opening heat featured 538 Jake Swan, 862 Liam Reach, 381 Craig Upson, 68(8) Steve Collins, 36(2) Liam Friel, 520 Derek Caton and 395 Steve Hale. 538 Swanny Jnr piloted an ultra smart Omega estate and Collins a very pretty Mk1 Granada while 862 Reachy, 36 Tilly and Hale all made an effort in the paint department, the latter’s in particular a stunner. The race started badly for Tilly who was caught in a home straight melee and nailed by 197 Jay Firth who was blasted in turn by Collins, Tilly then taking a roof bending and night ending shot from the Granada limo of 311 Danny Allen before 837 Martin Wesby ran head-on into the stricken RDC young gun. Hale meanwhile just missed out in the main event with a fine second while Reachy fared well with a 10th.
Onto heat two which featured 148 Ian Redden, 853 Jason Barnard, 86 Alec Savage, 709 Ben Hayward, 400 Kevin Shinn, 879 Reg Reed and 100 Callum White. The latter piloted a Volvo 240 estate and 853 the Verger returned his Mk1 Granada from the all Granada meeting and again there was some paint to be found from the Aftermath pairing and 879 Wrecked Reg while 709 Minge used his well smart effort which sadly let him down the previous year and Savage turned out a stunning looking Mk5 Granada. Reg spotted 11 Darren Race’s stricken DS420 hearse and landed a big hit before repeating the move a lap later before the Predator bailed out. His vacated Granada was unwittingly then blasted by 333 Ben Wyatt which triggered the much talked about wrecking train as elsewhere 400 Shinny nailed the Volvo of 91 Lee Herbert. 148 Shorty and Savage registered top 10 finishes this time in ninth and tenth.
The final heat featured 587 Alex Humphrey, 22(2) Dave Vincent, 61 Karl Totham, 17 Kyle Overy, 928 Emmerson Prime, 782 Glen Boyce, 384 John Golden, 456 Nathan Roberts and 278 Sex Pest. 782 Gladis was at the wheel of an XJ while Vincent, 61 Flash, 17 the Little Chief, 928 Tyrone, 384 Goldie and 278 Sex Pest all had smart motors. Gladis was the first to show with a hit over the rear wheel of 01 Kyle Shires before Roberts hammered 589 Simon Smith and then treated the lurking Gladiator to a big head-on the next time round. Vincent meanwhile didn’t put a wheel wrong to lad from flag to flag and secure a place at the back of the grid. Flash meanwhile took sixth and the Little Chief seventh.
Onto the main event with 382 Jack Foster Jnr getting the best draw of the RDC contingent pulling 12th. Team mate 617 Jack Overy was on grid 24, 682 Paul Sparrow on 43 and 53 Dave Palmer on 45. All four made the effort with the paint for the big night as did Skegness representative 807 Chris Murfin was started 52nd on the grid in his smart XJ. 382 Chubby made a fine start and was quickly up to sixth as 158 Shane Davies nailed Team Black rival 807 Smurf, the latter getting hit in the door by the leading 82 Paul Tomkins which brought the reds out for Smurf which was a bad break for Chubby who had climbed to third. A complete restart was ordered which featured all RDC drivers save Smurf although Chubby was unable to repeat his earlier start. This time it was Overy making the best progress working his way to eighth before the race settled down as Palmer, Sparrow and Vincent all crashed out in the mayhem on the scoreboard bend. Overy also got delayed by the chaos which allowed 204 Charlie King to strike and end his race and the RDC involvement in the event leaving 27 Dale Hughes to race to his second World Final win in three years.
Nearly 60 cars for the first Allcomers which included Shorty, 587 Humps, 520 the Undertaker, the Verger, Savage, Swanny Jnr, Tyrone, Shinny, 381 Shrug, 100 Captain Cock and Goldie. Cock fell victim to a first bend pile-up before 562 Terry Scruton lunged at Savage and sent him crashing into 51 Simon Heilds. Shrug copped a head-on from 797 Jay Clarke as the luckless Cock was buried by 282 Lee Treasurer and Scruton nearly rolled himself when he attacked the Undertaker. Shorty meanwhile fenced 134 Scott Hanby en route to an excellent second place finish.
Just over 50 cars for the second Allcomers which boasted Overy, Collins, Savage, Humps and Gladis among the starters. Humps managed a spectacular full roll on the turnstile bend while Overy worked from the back of the grid and fired 549 Phil Smith wide on the final bend for a fine win.
13 for the demo including both Aftermath pilots and the Verger, Captain Cock being buried by 423 Danny Oliver at the start although this was avenged by a big hit from Shinny who was trashed in turn by 60 Kyle Stevenson. Davies then attacked the recovered Cock who duly homed in for a big hit on Phil Smith as the Verger was destroyed by a rated hit from Craig Oliver. Cock eventually broke free of the wreckage and delivered a stonking head-on to Davies finishing them both for a dead heat to secure RDC’s third win of the night.
RDC Thunderstruck round up and thank you (added October 20)
All at RDC would like to extend a massive thanks to everyone who helped make last weekend’s Thunderstruck event at Mildenhall Stadium such a great success.
It is certainly not an understatement to say we were not only delighted but very surprised by the entry of National Bangers which not only broke the three figure entry but was a large increase in the turnout 12 months ago. This is even more impressive considering the Spedeworth World Final (which features more RDC drivers than ever before) and that once again the championship double header received almost zero pre meeting coverage outside of the RDC website.
We were also blessed with a tremendous turnout of Saloon Stockcars for their last Saturday night fixture of the year and once again they provided fans with some blistering action, the first and second heats certainly being among the best races we have seen from the formula this season.
Congratulations to 131 Timmy Barnes and 303 Wayne Linsdale for overcoming the difficult conditions to win the White and Yellow Grade Series Finals in the Saloon Stockcars and National Bangers. For the latter it was a fitting reward for a tremendous season and 382 Jack Foster Jnr continued his rise in the sport with a competitive win in the National Banger Accumulator Championship after a tremendous scrap with 682 Paul Sparrow. Also well done to fellow teenage star 389 Ryan Santry on lifting the Wayne Osler Memorial trophy in the Saloon Stockcars.
As is tradition for the Thunderstruck meeting, a shed load of silverware was shelled out with no less than 139 trophies presented on the evening. These were
99 x qualifiers trophies between the three title races
12 x trophies to top four in each championship race
9 x trophies to top three in Saloon Stockcar Wayne Osler Memorial races
8 x additional race winner trophies
11 x National Banger smart car awards
19th Mildenhall Winter Series Dates and Details (added October 13)
While we are sorry it has taken a lot longer than usual to confirm this than
normal we are pleased this week to confirm the majority of details with regard
the 19th annual Mildenhall Winter Series which will take place between December
27 and January 23.
Firstly here are the confirmed dates and confirmed formulas which will be
running.
Round One: Monday December 27 1.30pm Metro and Fiesta Bangers and Saloon
Stockcars
Round Two: Sunday January 9 1.30pm 1800cc (no Mondeo/Cougar) Bangers and
Ministox
Round Three: Sunday January 23 1.30pm National Bangers Winter Series Finale and
support TBC
As you can see we have already confirmed the dates and the formats for the
National Bangers at all three meetings but we have yet to finalise all the
details of the support formulas for the meetings. However we can confirm the
December 27 fixture will only feature Metro and Fiesta Bangers and Saloon
Stockcars and we can also confirm that one of the January dates will feature the
return of the Dover Raceway based Bangerstox formula.
This first ever winter date for the Bangerstox at Mildenhall is being offered to
drivers as a reward for the superb show of support the formula gave both to the
June weekend event at Mildenhall and the continued support for the meetings at
Dover following that event in 2010.
We hope to have confirmation as too when the Bangerstox will be racing in next
weeks news update and any more news on the non-Banger formulas at the January
meetings.
Furthermore we can also add some more information to the National Banger Winter
Series with special mention to the opening round for Metro and Fiesta Bangers
which, like last year’s event, will be open to a few more types of cars other
than Metros and Fiestas.
The same list of cars from last years meeting may be used with no restriction on
engine cc as long as the cars are all using standard engines to that car. The
cars allowed are
Any Metro or Fiesta
Ford KA
Fiat Uno/Panda
Kia Pride/Mazda 121
Daihatsu Charade
Mini/Riley Elf/Wolseley Hornet
Once again we will give special consideration to unusual cars which may be
suitable for this meeting. Last year we saw a Fiat 126 and 127, Reno 5 and
Austin 1300 in action. We also gave permission for a Datsun 100A to be raced and
all of these cars would be ok again. If a driver does have a unique request then
please contact the office or e mail us for an answer.
In addition there are two changes to last years format which are as follows
The first is that ANY car 1100cc or less can be used in addition to what is
listed above. This includes the Nissan Micra. If you have a car which is over
1100cc but doesn’t appear on the list, then please do not bring it or ask in
advance as the answer will be to bring it to the first 1400cc meeting of the
season.
Secondly the new ORC rules for 2011 allows fuel injection engines to be used and
we will be allowing this rule a few days early as we believe it may be to the
benefit of this meeting. We hope to bring you the confirmed ruling on petrol
tanks and pumps for fuel injection engines in our next news update but in the
meantime drivers are invited to contact the office or speak to our scrutineers
about what is needed to use these cars.
The formats for the second and third rounds of the series we believe our pretty
self explanatory and we hope will encourage drivers to use ‘leftovers from the
previous round at the next meeting as well as taking into consideration other
major fixtures around the country.
Again we are sorry that it has taken us so long to bring you these confirmed
dates and we want to assure everyone that our 2010 fixtures are very well
developed and all being well we will announce them here in the next couple of
weeks. In the meantime we would like to thank everyone for their patience.
RDC at 2Litre Banger BBA World Final (added October 13)
Although we don’t have a full report we can bring you brief details on how the RDC National Banger contingent fared at Hednesford on Sunday, October 10 in the 2Litre Banger BBA World Final.
Following no luck for the RDC drivers in the first last chance race, we more than bounced back in heat two with 180 Mark Foster leading home 525 Wes Starmer and 456 Nathan Roberts for an RDC 1-2-3 and they joined 188 John Reeves, 382 Jack Foster Jnr (who had finished third in the unlimited banger King of the Fens the previous night at King’s Lynn) and 617 Jack Overy in the main event. However it was only 382 Chubby who had any success with a 10th place finish and he followed that up with victory in the Allcomers race before team mate Overy finished second in the DD.
Well done to Incarace young gun 290 Ryan Davies who won the main event ahead of defending champion 190 Steve Bailey and 27 Dale Hughes who all qualify for the 2011 Supreme Championship at Mildenhall next March as a result. Watch out for a provisional list of Supreme Championship finalists very soon as this will be confirmed shortly after the Spedeworth World Final next weekend.
Mildenhall October 2-a thank you (added October 8)
Following the extremely wet Mildenhall meeting last weekend we would like to thank all the drivers and their teams and the RDC team for their sterling efforts in the second half of the meeting.
Given the good fortune we have had at recent Mildenhall meetings with regard the weather it was perhaps inevitable that some wet weather was due but even so the conditions on Saturday were still better than what were forecast as rain was expected much earlier than it eventually arrived.
And even when the weather clouds did open the drivers continued to entertain and serve up some most decent racing with a very lively 2Litre Banger consolation and DD and a thrilling conclusion to the BriSCA F2 Stockcar track championship.
BriSCA F2 Stockcar end of Mildenhall season thank you (added October 8)
With the 2010 BriSCA F2 Stockcar season at Mildenhall reaching its conclusion we would like to extend a massive message of thanks to all the drivers and their teams for providing such a tremendous season of action at the stadium.
The support shown to the Mildenhall meetings by the drivers has been second to none and the standard of racing has been nothing short of exceptional and we truly believe it has ranked among the best open wheeled stockcar action you will find in the sport.
No less than 110 different drivers raced at the eight Mildenhall meetings in 2010 and we would like to congratulate the 10 drivers who raced at every meeting this season. These were 260 Anthony Winters, 366 Mick Kemp, 495 John and 498 Derek Cayzer, 606 Andy Palmer, 607 Paul Barrett, 662 Steve Wycherly, 702 Allen Cooper, 744 Tom Smart and 871 Mark Simpson. A special mention is perhaps deserving of Barrett who raced at every meeting but failed to score a single point but remained ever dedicated to the cause.
Another impressive fact was that the eight Grand Final were all won by different drivers, a rarity in the sport and further proof of how competitive the racing was at Mildenhall in 2010.
Finally we would like to congratulate 495 John Cayzer on winning an action packed and dramatic White and Yellow Grade Series Final on Saturday and 606 Andy Palmer for successfully defending his track championship after a thrilling battle with 702 Allen Cooper which, just like the battle between 38 Dave Polley and 599 Jon Lawrence in 2008, went right to the final lap of the final race of the season.
Nothin’ Else Matters round up and thank you (added September 29)
Following a rather soggy end to the 2010 season at Dover Raceway we would like to extend a massive message of thanks to all those who braved the dreadful weather conditions for the Masters Championship meeting on Sunday afternoon.
Despite far from promising forecasts we were blessed with another packed pit area which boasted our second biggest National Banger entry of the season and also very pleasingly saw all but two of the seeded entries for the Bangerstox and Super Rod Masters Championship.
Sadly of course the wet weather arrived shortly after the first race and remained for the remainder of the afternoon and at times was among the worst weather we have ever experienced at the track. Despite this the drivers continued to battle and do their best to entertain. Certainly those who competed in the last race of the afternoon for their formula deserve extra praise for braving the completely flooded bottom bend and it was nice to report that the majority of fans on hand remained to watch their efforts, admittedly from the safety of their cars!
While the weather was a disappointment there is no denying it was still a strong end to what has been an excellent season at the track with three very competitive Masters Championships, two of the three points championships going right to the wire, possibly the biggest crash we have ever seen in the National Bangers at the track and even a cracking DD to end the season on a highnote.
As well as the thanking the drivers for their efforts we also want to extend our thanks to our marshals and staff who worked outside in the rain and did a fantastic job of getting through the races as quickly as possible.
Finally we want to congratulate all of our big winners from the afternoon. Well done to 492 Dean Harper on winning the National Banger Masters Championship after a superb drive which was worthy of someone with far greater experience than Dean as he adds his name to his fathers on the historic trophy. Also congratulations to 53 Dave Palmer whose third in the Masters along with winning the Trophy Winners Dash means he successfully retains his Dover track championship by the narrowest of margins. These two, alongside Masters Championship runner up 682 Paul Sparrow have secured a place in the 2011 Supreme Championship at Mildenhall in what is already shaping up to be a star studded affair.
Bad luck to 188 John Reeves whose luckless day means he lost the Dover points at the final knockings but he went out on a high with a fantastic DD win and entertainer award double to ensure he won the Dover DD Championship in grand style.
In the Bangerstox the day belonged to Suffolk Champion 64 Aaron Harris who confirmed himself as 2010 points champion in the best of styles by winning both the Masters Championship and then sealing the deal by winning the final Bangerstox race of the season.
In the Super Rods 121 Nigel Goodwin successful defended the Masters Championship and 88 Jason Anderson did enough to hang onto the silver roof for another season. However the efforts of those in the rain was rewarded, a pair of Allcomer wins meaning 21 Kevin Hickey finished second in the points, just a short distance behind Anderson while finishing the second Allcomers resulted in 41 Pete Emson snatching third in the points.
Dover Raceway end of season stats and thanks (added September 29)
With the 2010 season at Dover now done and dusted we can bring you some stats from the year which goes to underline what a tremendous season it has been at the raceway.
Over the eight meetings held at Dover in 2010 there was an average car count in the pits of 98 cars. If you only included the six ‘open meetings’ (not August 8 and September 26 where Bangerstox and Super Rod numbers were limited) then the average car count was 101. Of the eight meetings held at the raceway, three meetings boasted 100 or more cars in the pits, the best being May 31 with 112 which is particularly impressive as this was one of the seasons three formula meetings. Of the remaining five meetings there were entries of 97 (August 30), 96 (May 3) and 90 (July 11). The only meetings to not field 90 or more cars in the pits were the aforementioned limited entry meetings on August 8 and September 26 which still raised an impressive 88 and 87 respectively.
Moving onto formulas now and the average banger turnout for the eight meetings (including the Rookie Banger Crazy Day on May 31) was 42, the highest being the Kent team meeting with 62 and the lowest being the big vans which raised a record breaking 26 strong entry. This wasn’t the only record of the season in the bangers with the entry for the unlimited Kent championship being a best ever of 31. Even more impressive is that between the seven National Banger fixtures (not including the Rookie Banger date), a whopping 129 different drivers raced at the venue which incredibly was up slightly on last year, even though 2009 featured 11 National Banger dates.
In the Bangerstox the average car count across the eight Dover meetings was 38 and for the six open meetings it was a very impressive 44 cars. The best turnout of the season was 50 on May 3 and the lowest of the six open meetings was 41 on July 11. No less than 63 drivers raced in the formula in 2010 which was only 14 less than last season and given the reduction in fixtures this year that is no bad thing.
In the Super Rods, car turnouts ranged between 12 and seven and the average entry was 10 while 16 different drivers raced in 2010. Furthermore 14 different drivers raced in both the Ministox and Reliant Robins at Dover in 2010 meaning that in total 236 different drivers raced at the track in 2010. Like last year this number does not include those who only raced at the Rookie Banger meeting in May so the actual figure is likely to exceed 250. Again despite the Dover fixtures being cut from 14 to eight this season, this number was very close to last season where 272 different drivers raced at the track.
Moving on to individuals and many believed the reduction in dates would see greater commitment to all the meetings at Dover this season and this has very much been the case. In the National Bangers, nine drivers raced at all seven fixtures in 2010. These were 20 Andy Burbridge, 24 Stu Buddle, 53 Dave Palmer, 101 Ian Norris, 113 Steve Sedwick, 188 John Reeves, 346 Scott and 349 Lee Saunders and 492 Dean Harper. A special mention is deserving of Buddle who went the whole season without managing to score a single point.
In the Bangerstox there are many deserving of extra praise. 3 George Forbes, 9 Chris Young, 15 Jay Powell, 29 Craig Groombridge, 32 Gary Austin, 40 Joe Taylor, 52 Richard Randall, 63 Shane Bullen, 58 Owen Childs, 64 Aaron Harris, 65 Chris Bull and 69 Andy Bucket raced at every Dover meeting. Even more impressive is that all of the above save Young and Groombridge also attended the weekend event at Mildenhall in June. On top of that we should also highlight 13 Tracey Gilbert, 16 Jade Stokes, 27 Michael Godfrey, 54 Martin Skiggs and 59 Nathan Port who raced at every Dover meeting except the invitational only August 8 meeting where they were not offered a booking because of their points championship standing. Furthermore all of the second group of drivers also raced at the Mildenhall weekend as well except Skiggs who also deserved a mention for going the entire season without scoring a point but continuing to give it his best each and every time.
Finally in the Super Rods, full marks to 21 Kevin Hickey, 28 Andrew Donavan, 41 Pete Emson, 77 Mark Shngleton and 88 Jason Anderson who not only raced at all eight Dover meetings but also raced at the Mildenhall weekend event.
Thanks to all those drivers who supported the raceway in 2010 and we hope to see you all again on Easter Monday, April 25 for the 2011 season opener and watch out for the remaining Dover fixtures on the website very soon.
Latest Thunderstruck news (added September 29)
The big meetings continue to come as we move into the final weeks of the season at RDC and Mildenhall Stadium and the next major date is RDC’s Thunderstruck meeting on October 16 featuring the annual championship double header for National Bangers.
Earlier this week we added a detailed section to the site with all the information about this meeting, which is also a big night for Saloon Stockcar racing, and to coincide with this weeks news update we have the latest news on the meeting with the latest confirmations for the National Banger White and Yellow Grade Series Final and Accumulator Championship.
Rather pleasingly we already have just over 30 drivers confirmed for the White and Yellow Grade Series Final and the Accumulator Championship. Drivers who have not qualified for either event are reminded this meeting is open to all drivers although there is no last chance qualifying for either race but there will be at least three Allcomer races following the two title events on a night which will feature at least five National Banger races.
Furthermore this week we also bring a detailed driver by driver preview for the Saloon Stockcar White and Yellow Grade Series Final which will be the first of their five races on a busy night for the formula which also features the Wayne Osler Memorial and Dash for Cash Series Jackpot Final.
RDC success at Hednesford pre 68 meeting (added September 29)
While we are presently without a detailed report we do have some information to share about the success some of the RDC drivers enjoyed at Hednesford Hills Raceway on Sunday, September 26 where RDC was well represented, especially by the WI Engineering contingent who were out in force once again.
RDC’s 73 Tony Sims enjoyed a win in the opening heat in the 1725cc class before 262 Jason Barnard continued his excellent season by winning the 1725cc championship race followed home by RDC’s 917 John Millen and WI team mate 118 Pete Wake. 384 John Golden meanwhile followed up a decent finish in the championship by winning the meeting final. We aim to have a more detailed report about the RDC drivers on track antics in the future.
Appeal for help regarding RDC’s legal case at Mildenhall Stadium (added September 22)
The on-going legal case which threatens the future of Mildenhall Stadium is no secret in the sport since RDC went public with the problems in the summer but this week we are making another appeal for help in our fight to protect the venue.
As part of our research we urgently need to locate race programmes for stockcar and banger meetings held at the stadium prior to RDC’s maiden meeting there on January 1 1993.
We have a complete library of race programmes for every event we have ever staged at the track but we need to
source some programmes from events in the 1980s under previous promotions as part of our campaign.
If anyone can assist us we would be very grateful to hear from you, either by e mailing wastedmc@btopenworld.com or phoning 01268 412299.
No Hype Needed and Runnin’ Wild round up and thank you (added September 22)
We would like take the opportunity in this week’s news update by extending a massive show of thanks to all the drivers and fans as well as the RDC team for making the last two weekends such huge successes at Mildenhall Stadium.
The eagerly anticipated Saloon Stockcar World Final proved a monumental success and then just seven days later the National Banger Old Skool team championship more than delivered the goods despite receiving precious little fanfare in the build up to the meeting outside of the website.
What was especially pleasing to report was that on both occasions we have roughly the expected entry of cars and we were delighted that both major events were so fabulously supported by the fans. To have two such great turnouts on the terracing for meetings just seven days apart, especially when the month was packed full of major meetings all around the country was quite simply outstanding and we are very thankful to everyone for their support and we hope your support was rewarded with one or two great nights of racing.
As always there are a few things we would like to address. The first is from the Saloon Stockcar World Final where we would like to say sorry for getting the split in the qualifying heats for the Dash for Cash Super Final a little wide of the mark with fields of 25 and 14 for the heats. In hindsight it was perhaps foolish to expect 50 of the 57 drivers to continue in the meeting after the brutality of the last chance race and the World Final. However we were hopeful that we would have had more than 40 drivers compete, especially given the amount of prize money which was up for grabs but it is a lesson learnt and we are again sorry for the mistake and hope it didn’t ruin anyone’s enjoyment.
On a similar note we would like to praise the tremendous work by some of the National Banger drivers in the all Granada meeting. Of the 63 drivers in action, no less than 46 raced on more than one occasion which, especially given the destruction in the last chance qualifier, was a fine figure. Of these 46 drivers, 17 of them raced three times on the night and a special congratulations to the five drivers who raced in four of the five races. These all deserve a mention and were 169 James Rushton, 247 Lee Clarke, 200 Wayne Holton, 349 Lee Saunders and 382 Jack Foster Jnr. Given that there wasn’t the greatest amount of repair time between races later in the night their hard work was especially impressive and we would also like to thank the National Banger drivers whose immense pit work meant we had decent fields throughout the night without having delays between races.
Moving onto last weekends Old Skool team championship and firstly a massive message of thanks to all of the 12 teams who put such a tremendous show of action for the fans. Each of the head to head heats delivering some fine action plus one of the best finals we’ve ever seen and one of the biggest crashes ever seen at RDC meant it was a memorable meeting and one of the best this season at RDC. It was also regarded by many as one of the best Old Skool team meetings to date which was most welcome and reassuring that the changes made last season were the right ones after last year’s event failed to live up to the standards of previous seasons.
However the event did feature, for the first time in a few seasons, some degree of controversy which came in the final head to head heat between Team Green and the Motley Krew. An incident on the safety area between 170 Darren Teal and 617 Jack Overy which led to the pair being disqualified. However the latter continued in the event and was instrumental in the leading 320 Paul Seymour being stopped. The meeting stewards immediately excluded Overy from the remainder of the meeting but felt that was punishment enough for Team Green as a whole, especially given that Seymour was stopped with a few laps to go and the outcome was far from clear cut. However following listening to a well presented case from the Motley Krew it was also agreed that they were worthy of a place in the final and in a unique decision it was agreed that both teams would compete in the final.
We would also like to clarify that the Motley Krew were not added to the final instead of the consolation winners and that the consolation ceased to carry a place in the final for the winner’s team when the event was modified in 2009. For the historians the format of which the meeting is based never carried a final place in the consolation and it was never intended to be the case in the Old Skool but at the maiden even at Mildenhall two teams failed to show on the day and so the relevant changes were made. The tweaks made for the 2009 event were done so to bring the event closer to its original format while maintaining a potential 48 car field, albeit with six teams rather than eight as in previous years.
While it is wrong on a night such as last Saturday to single out any drivers and teams we would especially like to praise the efforts of 538 Jake Swan and the Midnight Runners. Starting with teenage hot shot 538 Swanny Jnr who drove the race of his life and like a driver beyond his years to win the thrilling final for Team 22 in a performance he should be very proud off to underline himself as not only one of RDC’s best newcomers in 2010 but also one the best in the sport as a whole.
Meanwhile the efforts of the Midnight Runners should not go without a mention. Faced with the unfavourable situation of two cars suffering mechanical failures just prior to their head to head heat the remaining six drivers not only put up a brave and determined performance against the full strength Damage Inc but did so without any protest or complaint about the issues they had. To bounce back from that and return several cars for the consolation and an incredible seven of their eight cars for the DD was an outstanding performance and one which again sets the team apart from much of their competition.
Finally we would like to say sorry for the mix up which concerned many of the Reliant Robin drivers who believed the British Championship was set to be their final race of the night rather than their first. The confusion has been explained to all the drivers who have asked and we are especially grateful for their understanding in what was a simple mistake which unfortunately had a negative impact on the feature race of the evening for the Reliants.
RDC on tour at PRI World Final (added September 22)
Looking back to last weekend and there was a massive RDC entry at the PRI World Final at Arena Essex, many of which having competed the previous night at Mildenhall.
34 cars for heat one including the smartly presented 105 Billy Standing and 400 Kevin Shinn, the latter joined by Aftermath team mate 603 John Cooper. The Cream Team’s 552 Karl Douglas were also well turned out and the grid also boasted Team Black duo 384 John Golden and 688 Steve Collins plus 54 Martin Lawton. The race began with Cooper giving 174 Dave Osbourn an assist in thundering in 662 Jamie Harding on the QE2 bend before 384 Goldie ended 49 Billy King’s day with a destructive T-bone. 54 Splat was stuffed by 60 Kyle Stevenson as 400 Shinny was fenced hard with a drivers side attack from 451 Willy Blackwell. 552 Blacknuts met 513 Sean Harvey in a stiff head-on which allowed 10 Paul Whiteman to wreck the former. Splat went the distance in eighth.
309 Paul Brown, 100 Callum White, lone Predator 404 Luke Brinton, 604 Ross Cooper, 259 Dan Poole, 415 Scott Cornish, 50 Reece Laybourn and 362 Liam Friel were out for heat two, 100 Captain Cock and Cornish wielding smart motors. Cooper gave 414 Lee Busby an assist in fencing Laybourn early on before Captain Cock leathered the Bluebird estate of 114 Tony Broughton. 01 Kyle Shires then ran the luckless Laybourn head-on into the spun 6 Lee West. 264 Mark Welland meanwhile nailed the lurking 362 Tilly head-on before 404 Spook dished out a wicked hit to Busby. Cornish now turned round and stopped 204 Charlie King with two hits on consecutive laps before he blasted 264 Welland which prompted the latter to turn round and destroy his attacker with several hits. 171 James Simpson then blasted Spook as 572 Paul Scully buried Laybourn, the latter battling on to take fifth.
Gladiator brothers 363 Sam and 367 Tom Keep were joined by Cream Team rival 553 Daniel Douglas, 86 Alec Savage, 320 Paul Seymour, 585 Kevin Giles, 180 Mark Foster, 160 Perry Willings and 188 John Reeves in the final heat, Douglas, 320 Smiler and 180 Sparky in smart motors. The latter was buried early on by 27 Terry Reynolds but he bounced back to follow-in 249 Jim Harding full chat on the pit bend which left the latter shaken and brought the reds out. The race resumed with Tom Keep burying 2 Luke Dawson which also claimed brother Sam before 193 Chris North nailed Douglas, the latter then coming inside out at Sparky but missing and getting T-boned instead by Sam Keep. This brought the reds out for the latter with Savage leading the restart from 188 Victor but the latter expired in the closing stages while 781 Shaun O’Donnell buried 585 Big Ears into Sam Keep’s car. Savage meanwhile raced to the final space in the World Final with 160 Pez in fourth.
Onto the main event with Savage joining RDC’s seeded entries 53 Dave Palmer, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 617 Jack Overy and 682 Paul Sparrow, 382 Chubby turning out a superbly presented car for the occasion. He drew grid position five, team mate Overy pulled 38, Palmer 28 and Sparrow grid position 26. It was a disastrous start for Sparrow who was sent crashing into the back straight sleepers at the very start to end his race while Chubby raced from row three into the early lead. A few laps later and 527 Dan Gardiner lunged at the Team Black young relegated him to second behind team mate 998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr. Palmer dumped 589 Simon Smith into the sleepers as Chubby slipped to eighth while Overy was making rapid progress and soon into the top 10. Just after half way Chubby got trapped in a QE2 bend blockage which allowed Condom rival 158 Shane Davies to assault him as Overy climbed to fifth. Savage ran into the lurking 474 Matty Threlkeld and was duly hit by front runner 294 Lee Hughes who hit the front shortly after. Overy meanwhile moved up to fourth and dodged an attack off the shale by 173 Steve Reynolds to finish in fourth which then became third when team mate 998 Cotty Jnr was disqualified for hitting 173 Hot Socks on the shale on the run down lap. Savage registered an excellent eighth from the back.
Sparky dished out a big shot to Shinny in the consolation with Simpson blasting the former only to take a rated hit from Ross Cooper in turn before Laybourn nailed Sparky, the latter then coming under attack from Captain Cock who subsequently took a big shot from Harvey as 714 Paul Smaldon laid into Laybourn, albeit on the shale. Back on the tarmac and the impressive Ross Cooper blasted Blacknuts hard as 781 Shaggy turned round to T-bone Sparky and Ross Cooper buried 988 Kane. Goldie finished in fourth with Ross Cooper sixth after a full contact display.
Goldie nailed 222 Ricky Walters during a lively start to the final before Overy scored on Condom rival 47 Andy Davies who rallied back to hammer Chubby. Overy meanwhile fired Ross Cooper into Gardiner before burying the recovered Aftermath young gun a short while later for a second time. This prompted the latter to meet 331 Jason Jackson head-on but he took one from 88 Josh Fuller as Goldie attacked 203 Darren Nash and 331 Boxer landed a revenge hit on Cooper which was marginally on the shale. Overy then landed a hard hit on Davies on the pit bend as team mate Chubby recorded a seventh place finish.
Allcomers to close with Blacknuts hammering Andy Davies from the off as Captain Cock followed in 72 Billy Bond hard before he blasted 67 Rickie Beasley. 239 Steve Carter attacked 603 the Younger Hitman on opposite with 589 Smiffy Jnr also laying into the latter before 239 Nemesis nearly rolled himself with a massive shot on Captain Cock. Sparky T-boned 70 Ant Long went the event moved into the demo which ended RDC’s involvement in the meeting.
RDC at Autospeed World Final (added September 13)
Finally this week we would like to extend a huge message of congratulations to 617 Jack Overy for once again lifting the unlimited banger Autospeed World Championship at Taunton on Sunday (September 12).
Adding to the RDC drivers success was 360 Jack Reynolds who finished a superb sixth in the main event while Overy went on to take a second in the second Allcomers race.
Congratulations to George Turiccki-new BriSCA F2 Stockcar World of Shale Champion (added September 1)
All at RDC Promotions would like to extend their congratulations to BriSCA F2 Stockcar hot shot 186 George Turiccki on his sensational win in a sublime World of Shale championship at Mildenhall on Saturday night.
However it must be said lady luck played a part as defending champion 606 Andy Palmer had looked on course for a fourth consecutive win, leading from pole for the first 22 laps until a blown engine ended his reign with the finish in touching distance.
Full credit though is most deserving of Turiccki who had matched Palmer move for move over the first 22 laps and especially when it traffic he looked a real danger. Who knows what may have happened if Palmer had gone the distance as Turiccki certainly looked capable of landing a killer blow in the final stages.
The championship race lived up to every bit of its potential with the 32 car field producing a sublime and action packed 25 lap title race which incredibly went flag to flag despite a high level of action with incidents and fine action for the entire duration of the race.
It wasn’t only Turiccki who drove a fantastic race. 871 Mark Simpson battled back from a disastrous start and a crash at the half way mark to finish an excellent second. 886 Chris Bradbury and 13 Andy Ford clawed their way from almost the very back of the grid for fourth and fifth places respectively, the former the last of the drivers to finish on the lead lap while front row starter 702 Allen Cooper battled hard from two big crashes which took him from the front to the back to finish in sixth.
The championship race was once again a real credit to both the sport and its drivers and it was pleasing to see so many fans come into the stadium to enjoy the main event, our gate staff reported that the pit area was almost a ghost town with almost everyone at the stadium inside to watch the big race.
We have been blessed with some tremendous open wheeled stockcar action from the F2s this season at Mildenhall and would again like to thank all the drivers who produced such a fantastic meeting last weekend. We are now very much looking forward to their final visit of the season on October 2, a night which plays host the white and yellow grade series final and also the Mildenhall leg of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar 50th anniversary series.
Message following maiden Mildenhall Classic Car Show (added August 25)
We would like to take the chance to thank everyone who supported the maiden Classic Car show at Mildenhall Stadium last weekend and made the event such a great success.
With very modest expectations we were delighted to see the better part of 90 classic cars turn out during the course of the day, although all were not present at the same time, and there was some amazing cars on display and a great variety of vehicles of all shapes and sizes as well, something which was commented on by many.
Giving the show a unique edge over any other classic car show was the inclusion of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar Heritage who fielded 10 cars. Not only did these cars attract much attention in the display area but they were the source of much enjoyment when they were in action on track in their three races. After two heats where the driver gained sufficient experience of the raceway, the final was a cracking and competitive race and as good a race as you are likely to see from such a modest field of cars.
Many of the classic car owners who were regulars at such shows gave many positive comments about the classic stockcar racing and it is an area we are keen to expand on in 2011 as well as trying to encourage more classic car owners to visit with their cars.
Throughout the day we received much positive feedback from the visitors, many of whom were impressed with the event, especially given it was the first one and we hope to use these comments to make next year’s show much bigger and better.
Thanks again to all those who supported this years event and we hope to confirm the date of the 2011 event in the next few months.
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn 2Litre RWD Bangers (added August 25)
RDC was well represented at TSR’s annual 2Litre RWD banger at King’s Lynn on August 21 with the nine strong RDC contingent making up almost a quarter of the field. The majority of our interest came from the Hogs camp with 323 Steve Leeper and 328 Dan Lathan in Sierras, 326 Shane Lynn in a fresh Capri and 324 Mark Lathan returning a Triumph 2000. 21 Jason Colbert, 221 Michael
Whitelock, 519 Lee Middleton, 587 Alex Humphrey and 837 Pete Nash all returned motors from the Mildenhall RWD meeting with a pair of
Granadas, two Cortinas and a Triumph 2000 respectively.
It was an all in format with 221 Mad Mike planting 837 Mr Happy into the stricken Sierra of 212 Richard Marion before 519 Knuckles earned a load up when he came inside out and hit 149 Wayne Bailey in the door. 217 Dave Truman delivered out final action when he nailed Daniel Lathan as Colbert survived running into 362 Matt Godden to take the win. The rain started to fall for heat two which was a quieter affair but did see 326 Ratty clobber the spun Bailey head-on before Leeper crashed into one of the marker tyres. Ratty bounced back to finish eighth.
Improved conditions made for a better final with Colbert fencing 170 Rusty from the off before he span Mr Happy into the plating and Ratty was leaned in on the road bend by 212 Mario and duly blitzed hard by 390 Dave Gibson. Bailey blew up Leeper well as the luckless Ratty was clobbered over the rear wheel by 587 Humps, Mr Happy recovering to nail 313 John Cullingford before he was spun into 597 Andy Ashman by 349 Michael Allard. 168 Calvyn Girling just beat Colbert on the line for the win, the latter having the last laugh by spinning him into the plating as they crossed the line, Mr Happy taking ninth.
RDC made up a third of the DD field with Leeper finished early by Allard before Mr Happy was nailed by 97 Firthy which triggered a rated wrecking train, highlighted by 791 Nicky Young decimating Allard. Mark Lathan blasted the former in turn which left Colbert as the sole survivor and winner.
Another Wild Night round up and thank you (added August 18)
In the wake of the annual summer championship double header of the National Banger BBA British Championship and Reliant Robin World Final, RDC’s Another Wild Night, last Saturday at Mildenhall Stadium we would like to thank everyone who supported the night and address the various problems which hindered the evening.
Firstly we want to extend a massive thank you to everyone who supported this annual event. Despite coming in the middle of perhaps the busiest period of one of RDC’s biggest ever seasons for major events and despite heavy rain in the days leading up to and the morning of the meeting and a far from ideal forecast there was a great turn out. This came on both side of the fence with a superb crowd given the aforementioned circumstances. Furthermore there was once again a bumper turnout in the pits with around 150 race cars for this two formula meeting including yet another three figure National Banger entry and arguably the biggest turn out of Reliant Robins the sport is likely to see in 2010. Once again this turn out came very much with our ‘No Hype Needed’ motto in mind as outside of this website, the meeting received precious little internet coverage, so the show of support from drivers and fans was once again a tremendous boost for all at RDC.
However while we did enjoy some fantastic on track action at times, the meeting turned into one of the most problematic evenings we have endured at RDC in some time and these issues took a certain shine off what was an action packed evening of racing and we would like to take this opportunity to address all of the issues and offer some explanation to each of them.
Firstly the meeting suffered a late start of around 10 minutes and there was a further delay prior to getting the second National Banger last chance qualifier heat underway, these hold ups proving critical later in the evening. This delay was down to a big hold up getting the large entry of cars through scrutineering which meant a number of National Banger drivers weren’t ready for the last chance heats and some missed out on the opening races of the evening. Unfortunately staff holidays meant we didn’t have our usual scrutineering team for the night and this problem was increased when those on hand were delayed by traffic meaning scrutineering started later than intended. This does not excuse the situation but we hope this offers some explanation as to the reasons behind these delays.
Further time was lost during the National Banger BBA British Championship when the race was red flagged at the half way mark and a lap sheet order restart was ordered. RDC have somewhat unique rules regarding how we line cars up for a lap sheet order restart which have been in place for some time and were changed to meeting with the style of lap scorer we have at RDC. The ruling, which was announced on the RDC website when it was introduced and was reminded to all drivers racing Saturday via their information sheet, reads as follows.
If the race is stopped at any point in after the first five laps and before the final five laps then a lap sheet order restart will be called for. In this case we will line up at least the top 10 cars or all those still on the lead lap (whichever is more) at the front of the grid with the remaining cars behind with every driver starting on the lead lap. Depending on how many cars are running this grid may be double file and not
single. This is what was carried out on Saturday and we believe this is the first time we have had to implement this in the National Banger championship race at RDC. We would like to thank the drivers who all followed the instructions given and allowed us to restart the race reasonably quickly. We also believe the rule served one of its main purposes as when the race restarted it was very easy for those watching the race to know where every driver was in the race without having to explain back markers and if any drivers were a lap down.
Sadly the British Championship, which had been an action packed, high speed and exciting affair, albeit a somewhat controversial one, was hit with further controversy when the first two drivers past the finish line, 566 Tony Pallett and 516 Carl Gould were disqualified when their tyres failed post race checks. The news has led to much speculation and rumour on the internet and typically the majority of what has been said is far from the truth so to clarify neither driver was excluded for running a brand or type of tyre which was illegal. Both drivers were excluded because durometer tests following the race gave readings that deemed the tyres to be too soft. Furthermore the tyres which were found to fail the post race checks were not considered borderline failures but were significantly under the required reading of 60. In the case of the race winner the readings taken were just over half of this and even an hour after the race the tyre in question failed to give a legal reading. Our congratulations to 673 Darren Fendley who was later in the night declared the champion, albeit under far from ideal circumstances.
The biggest delays of the night came later in the evening during the second National Banger Allcomers race which suffered two stoppages and two lengthy delays to attend injured drivers which combined led to the race being declared with only a few laps completed. First and most importantly we want to confirm that to the best of our knowledge both of the drivers involved have escaped any serious injury. Neither were taken to hospital that night and we have received no information to suggest anything other than they are both ok. However in one of these cases and in at least three other incident during the night, drivers were very, very lucky to avoid injury after deciding to exit their cars at very dangerous times. There is an unwritten rule in the sport that the safest place when your car is immobile is inside the car and it was with that in mind that we introduced our ‘attacking stationary car’ rule a few seasons ago. While it is the hardest of our rules to police it is an important rule for us in discouraging drivers to take unnecessary risks when exiting their cars during a race. All drivers are reminded that it is not just their safety in danger when they take such risks but also that they place other drivers at risk and this point was proved by the incident which brought about the first stoppage in the first Allcomers. Shortly after the race we spoke with the two drivers involved in the first collision with the car with the exiting driver and both expressed great regret with what happened and took no further involvement in the meeting even though both were completely blameless in the situation. Furthermore we would like to thank our
marshals and medical team whose reaction to the crash was almost perfect.
Marshals often receive criticism when they make mistakes but rarely receive any compliments when they do a job well done. Our static camera confirmed the red flag was waved by the marshal two seconds (almost instantly) after the initial hit on the car in question. This was spotted by race control and the red lights came on two seconds after the flag was waved (again almost instantly) although not in time to prevent a second impact with the car where again the driver delivering the hit would have had no idea about the situation. Furthermore the first of the medical team arrived on the scene 10 seconds after the red lights came on and we would also like to thank all the drivers on track who had stopped their cars in the same 10 second period after the red lights came on.
Furthermore while drivers are also reminded of the importance of staying in their car until they are 100 per cent it is safe to exit we also need to remind all friends and family of the importance of staying on the terracing in situations such as this. While we understand that emotions can run high when people fear a friend or family member is hurt, everyone must stay on the terracing to allow the marshals and medical teams to do their jobs as in both cases with injured drivers in the first National Banger Allcomers, the medical teams were delayed in their work by concerned family members and friends. Unfortunately we have seen a rise in this problem at Mildenhall in recent months, not just when drivers are potentially injured but also from mechanics looking to help with mechanical problems and this needs to stop immediately. Drivers are now warned that should anyone attempt to help them while on track, regardless of whether they asked for assistance or not, that they face being excluded from the meeting and repeat offenders may be banned from racing.
When it became clear that the second stoppage in the first National Banger Allcomers was going to be a lengthy one we made the difficult decision to declare the event at that point and move on to the second Allcomers. The situation was explained to all the drivers who were at that point waiting for the restart to the race (which admittedly was precious few and influenced the decision to abort the race) and we would like to thank all of them for their co-operation and understanding. No-one questioned or complained about the decision and instead put the needs of the injured driver and the remainder of the meeting before themselves and their race and for that we are especially grateful.
However with all the delays adding up it left us racing against the clock to squeeze the remaining races in before our curfew (of which the reasons behind its strictness are now no longer a secret). Following the second National Banger Allcomers we spread word as best we could that we intended to close the pit gate for the Accumulator qualifier and DD no later than 10.45pm. Ultimately given the time taken to clear the track from the second Allcomers and Reliant Robin Allcomers, the pit gate closed for the final race at 10.50pm. While we were delighted to see a near 40 car field return for the race there would have been drivers who no doubt missed the gate and we are sorry to each of them but again we had no choice but to start the race when we did. Furthermore with the DD also suffering two stoppages and the ambulance again being called for after the second it meant we had no option but to abort the DD with a handful of cars still in the running which was a disappointing end to the night.
Another point of concern during the night was the amount of Reliant Robin drivers who failed to respond quickly enough to the caution flags in their races. Once again it is paramount that all drivers slow down instantly for the yellow flags as it means both a fellow driver is in a dangerous position and marshals are on track attending to the incident. Several drivers were disqualified for this during the night but once again RDC will again have to clamp down on this problem in upcoming meetings so all drivers be warned of the importance of obeying these flags.
We hope all of the above offers some insights and facts into the various incidents which spoiled Saturday night’s meeting somewhat and we sincerely hoped the majority of you still had an enjoyable evening of racing.
RDC’s At Our Best-a roundup and thank you (added August 11)
This week we would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who helped make RDC’s At Our Best at Dover Raceway last Sunday (August 8) such a tremendous success.
Despite a few unfortunate no shows in all three formulas, the pits remains pretty packed with around 90 cars which for a three formula meeting with limited bookings is most impressive at Dover and continues are run of excellent turnouts at the track in 2010.
And once again there was a great standard of racing, especially from the 2Litre Bangers who produced an action, packed, highly entertaining and most lively afternoon of action which for many boasted an ‘old school’ mentality of the majority of drivers getting stuck in throughout and few drivers passing others without making contact, which is something which has been commented on by many of the drivers from the day, the majority of which who have spoken highly of the day.
We would to extend a special thank you to those who travelled considerable distance to attend. Certainly all of the drivers who came from the continent and certainly added a great deal of action to the afternoon, their effort to get cars back out for the last race was tremendous, but also those who didn’t cross any border but still put in many miles to attend.
In fact the last race is deserving of a mention with nearly half the original entry making it back out which was a tremendous effort by the whole pit area given the action which had gone on before. On a similar note the effort by the top 10 teams to return a whopping 34 cars for the final led to a superb banger race and one of the best Kent team championship finals we have ever seen.
Congratulations to Them who narrowly beat the Condoms B for the team title and also to 36 Kevin Sims and 41 Pete Emson on winning the Bangerstox Kent and Super Rod Southern championships.
Finally a couple of interesting banger stats from the day to underline how this meeting continues to attract new and different drivers to the raceway. Of the 62 bangers on hand no less than 31 of them were racing at Dover for the first time this season while 19 of them were racing at RDC for the first time this season. Furthermore 13 drivers made their Dover track debut on Sunday and 264 Mark Welland made his first appearance at his former stomping ground since RDC took the venue over in 2000.
Bangerstox and Super Rod grades for final meetings of 2010 (added August 11)
Following the championship meetings last weekend we have the new Bangerstox and Super Rods which will be used for the final two meetings of the season at Dover, the last Masters qualifier on August 30 and the Masters Championship on September 26.
Please note any driver who enjoys a big points haul on August 30 may be upgraded for the September 26 meeting but no drivers will be downgraded. The new grades are as follows
BANGERSTOX
Masters: 29
Southern: 15
Kent: 36
Red: 32, 63, 64
Blue: 9, 23, 26, 37, 58, 62, 80, 96
Yellow: 3, 40, 55, 61, 65, 69, 83
SUPER RODS
Masters and Kent: 121
Silver: 88
Southern: 41
Red: 21
Blue: 7, 17, 77
Yellow: 14, 28, 271
RDC on tour at Skegness, Arlington and Coventry (added August 11)
Several of the RDC banger drivers have been busy touring the country in recent weeks and we’ll start our recap at Skegness’ annual 2Litre Banger Crash Attack UK Open on August 10 where 100 Callum White, 128 Andy Shipp, 363 Sam Keep and 807 Chris Murfin were on hand. It was a disappointing start to the night for 100 Captain Cock who found himself spun into the fence hard at the end of heat one by 98 Matt Harrison before Keep found himself buried hard by 70 Ant Long in heat two. Captain Cock evened the score on Harrison with a big hit in the final and added the exclamation mark in the Allcomers with a hard follow-in on the Brampton man. The Aftermath young gun then enjoyed a head-on with 60 Kyle Stevenson and was finished by a stiff hit from 742 Ian Gregory and a T-bone from 349 Lewis Price.
Last weekend saw RDC well represented at the annual A60 Amble and pre 75 meeting at Arlington on August 7. Management trio 346 Scott and 349 Lee Saunders wielded Minxs and team mate 347 Simon Wheeler debuted a Cambridge. 73 Tony Sims and 587 Alex Humphrey returned A60s from Mildenhall while 260 Keith and 360 Jack Reynolds provided some pre 75 bilge with a Marina and Mk1 Escort estate respectively, 310 Chas Lee completing our line up with a pretty Super Minx.
346 Muttley came under fire from 757 Tom Farren in the first (non A60) heat while 360 Jackstar gave 774 Tom Grantham an assist in burying the smart A40 of 119 Dean Andrews, the former then shrugging off an attack from 91 Lee Herbert to T-bone the Beetle of 522 Tim James. Jackstar then came under fire from Grantham and 349 Finbarr before dad 260 Keefy laid in leaving Jackstar prone to a big hit from 158 Shane Davies. Keefy went on to finish fourth and Finbarr took sixth.
No RDC action in the all A60 second heat in which 73 Slaphead finished seventh so onto the all in third heat with Slaphead rolling onto his side on the shale early on as Finbarr raced to third with Keefy in ninth. Slaphead’s woes continued in the final as he was buried from the word go by 259 Limbo, our next action seeing 66 Mark Rogers blast Finbarr in the midst of a massive pile-up on the scoreboard bend, the latter then taking a series of hits from an on opposite 245 Jack France. Muttley meanwhile scored on 206 Dave King only to have his 50s Minx stuffed into 304 Alan Tibbs by 397 Andrew Cullen. 204 Charlie King blasted 347 the Stick who rallied back with a hit on 528 Alan Hunt only to again fell the force of 204 Charlie Boy. Our involvement in the DD was short lived, 702 James Dodge blasting Finbarr to wrap up our action.
Finally we look at the Unlimited Coventry Masters on July 31 where Keefy was again tooled up with a smart Jaguar 420. 27 Terry King’s track debut saw him fenced by 44 Jamie Ddin at the start of heat one while 22 Dave Vincent continued his recent return to form with a fine win. Onto heat three where RDC registered Bear 133 Karl Day took a big hit from the XJ of 51 Simon Heilds before Jackstar found himself fenced by the Cadillac Seville of 341 Andy Jones in the consolation, the former battling on only to be stuffed again, this time by 800 Tom Hannah. The luckless King was nailed by 73 Dean Cruickshank in the final before 617 Jack Overy fenced 44 Trouble en route to a fine second behind team mate 67 Rickie Beasley with RDC’s 384 John Golden completing a 1-2-3 for Team Black. RDC’s 726 Kalin Dawe rolled in the Allcomers to bring the reds out, the restart seeing 521 Ash Riley bury Keefy into 353 Sean Mullin before Predator 879 Reg Reed was stuffed by 742 Taz. Overy came off the centre to score on 221 Justin Riley only to then fall foul of a series of hits from 785 Jambo, Trouble, 221 Motormouth and 133 Karly, Overy’s Granada bursting into a big fire sometime after the race finished. Karly was the victim of a rated follow-in from 591 Marc Blower in the DD before King was leathered by a storming hit from 449 Mark Thomas, Keefy hitting the latter in turn only to be T-boned by 837 Martin Wesby. Jackstar evened the score on 521 Ace Ash but a second hit on the Bear left him open to a shot from Trouble, the latter then taking a stonking hit from Keefy. 46 Scott Starkey meanwhile enjoyed a head-on with Jackstar which finished them both and they shared the win.
Message to all who have support appeal for Mildenhall Stadium (added August 4)
Of course the last news update on the site wasn’t the happiest we have ever written as we went public with the legal issues which RDC Promotions are facing which threaten the future of our sport, and indeed all sports, at Mildenhall Stadium.
Back on July 21 we launched an appeal to all drivers and fans who have visited Mildenhall Stadium
(click here to read the appeal in case you missed it) and the reaction from many of you have been amazing. In the days since we made our appeal public we have received dozens and dozens of letters, both via e mail, the post and by hand at our recent meetings and our heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you that has taken the time and trouble to support us.
It is no word of lie to say that the show of support has been incredibly humbling and that many of the comments made truly bring a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye. We’ve always known how important Mildenhall Stadium is to us but now we have seen a small indication of how important it is to so many other people and the importance of us winning this fight has been further underlined.
Furthermore our legal team is delighted with the support which has been shown thus far and informs us that every letter will be a powerful weapon in our fight.
But there is still time for more of you to make your opinions known and your voices heard. As we original stated we simply cannot have enough letters and the more we have the better so if you’ve yet to write then we urge you to do so. Letters can be sent by e mail to wastedmc@btopenworld.com or posted to 15 Glamis House, Cameron Close, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5BT or you can simply hand them to one of our staff at an upcoming RDC meeting.
We would also like to thank the near 3,500 of you who have joined the Save Mildenhall Stadium FaceBook group which again is a tremendous show of support.
Finally we would just like to stress that there is presently no danger to the upcoming fixtures at Mildenhall Stadium. There has been a lot of confusion caused by the Mildenhall Fen Tigers National Speedway League team withdrawing from the rest of their 2010 season but this is for very different reasons and has nothing to do with the ongoing legal issues.
In fact we are hopeful that speedway will return in 2011 and with regard to the future we are already busy putting together our 2011 fixtures for Mildenhall Stadium which we hope to announce in the next few weeks.
Thanks again, the Coventry family
Early warning of change to 2Litre RWD Banger meeting in 2011 and early 2011 fixture news (added August 4)
On a similar theme, although in this case we are giving drivers almost one year’s notice, we would like to confirm that in 2011 we will not be allowing any Ford Granadas in the annual 2Litre RWD National Banger meeting which is currently pencilled in for the Saturday of our July weekend event next season.
After a close look at this year’s meeting on July 24, where a little over 20 of the 105 strong field were Granada powered, it was clear that the modern ‘frog eyed’ shaped Granada seemed a very advantageous car for drivers in terms of both speed and strength over the more traditional cars which this meeting was original designed for.
Therefore with the belief that these cars could start to take over this meeting and with drivers clearly showing there are still plenty of the more traditional ‘2Litre RWD’ meeting car available we are not going to allow any Ford Granada at next year’s meeting.
Please note this is the only change so drivers will still be able to use some more modern options such as Omegas, BMWs and Mercedes as well as the more traditional Cortinas, Capris, Sierras, small Japs and vintage cars. Large Volvos also remain outlawed.
However we are looking at introducing a new meeting to the RDC fixtures in 2011 at Mildenhall in which the later shaped Ford Granadas would be not only permitted but would be a favourable option. We will have more information on this meeting if it happens in the next few weeks when we hope to be able to announce a first draft of our 2011 fixtures.
Another new fixture which we have pencilled in to the 2011 dates at Mildenhall is something new for RDC but is a format which has proved successful in the past in the shape of a Best Pairs event for National Bangers which will be a two-man team event.
Similar events have proved successful at Standlake and Birmingham in the past but the sport is presently without such an event so we are looking to experiment with one and the meeting has been provisionally pencilled in for late March 2011 with a limit on 40 pairs for the night.
One Wild Weekend round up and thank you (added August 4)
Again this message comes somewhat later than we would have liked but we wish to extend a massive debut of thanks to all those who helped make this year’s One Wild Weekend at Mildenhall Stadium on July 24 and 25 such a huge success and a highly enjoyable affair for those on hand.
For the second year running the dream combination of National Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and BriSCA F2 Stockcars attracted a great turnout of drivers and fans and the action supplied was second to none.
Firstly some very cool stats from the weekend which saw no less than 221 cars compete on Saturdays programme and 214 on Sunday. There were 280 different drivers racing in total, split between 159 National Banger drivers, 45 Saloon Stockcars and 76 BriSCA F2 Stockcars and the weekend saw a whopping 33 races (34 if you count the National Banger Accumulator qualifier and DD as separate events) making it one of the biggest weekends anywhere in the sport so once again our thanks to all those who helped make the weekend as massive as it was.
Furthermore the BriSCA F2 Stockcar entries on both days were the biggest seen at any shale meeting in 2010 and are likely to be one of the biggest non championship turnouts seen this season. In addition the triple figure entry for the 2Litre RWD Banger meeting on the Ssaturday is only the second time a meeting of this description has reached the magical 100 car mark.
However despite the roaring success and popularity of the meeting, it is far to say that the weekend wasn’t without its problems. The most obvious disappointment to many was the loss of the 2Litre RWD Banger Accumulator qualifier and DD on the Saturday night. While there were many small problems on Saturday which swallowed time at various stages during the night there was no major problems or mistake which directly led to the loss of this race, quite simply the volume of the meeting proved too much within the strict restrictions we presently face at the stadium. Again we apologise to those who were adversely effected by the cancellation, on both sides of the fence, but we would like to thank the many National Banger drivers who showed great understanding with the situation. We would also like to thank the many drivers who supported the all RWD heat which was added to Sunday’s programme and this indeed featured many drivers who would not have been able to fix their car in time for the last race on the Saturday had it been run so there was a silver lining for some drivers. The support for the all RWD race on Sunday has also given us much to consider when we assemble next year’s format.
Furthermore owing to the
success of the 2Litre RWD cars being mixed in with the 1800cc FWD cars it has
been decided that at all future non Mondeo and Cougar meetings, 2Litre RWD cars
will be allowed. This is similar to the ruling at 1400cc meetings where 1600cc
RWD cars are allowed.
Beyond that we also suffered with dust problems on the raceway, especially on Sunday’s programme. There is a very fine balance between over watering and ruining a race and not watering enough and there were several occasions where the balance wasn’t correct and for this we apologise and hope that it didn’t spoil anyone’s enjoyment of the great racing too much.
Another issue was the length of time it took to get the drivers into the pits on the Saturday night. Again this goes back to the sheer volume of drivers who rolled into the pits on the Saturday with 221 drivers racing plus several more cars arriving Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s programme. Certainly the amount of drivers who were on hand very much took us by surprise, especially in the National Bangers, and this problem has fortunately not been one we have seen too often this year. However again the situation was unacceptable and something we need to improve on in the future.
Finally we would like to apologise to anyone who witnessed an unfortunate incident under the home straight grand stand on Saturday evening and a smaller incident which happened in the same place on Sunday afternoon. Neither incident was linked and involved totally different people, none of whom were identified as drivers. Even though these incidents were addressed as quickly as possible by the RDC team we are very sorry for those who had to see them and hope it didn’t spoil your enjoyment of the weekend. Thankfully incidents such as this are very, very rare at Mildenhall Stadium and we take great pride in the friendly atmosphere many enjoy inside the stadium, something we will continue to defend in the future.
Jackpot contenders confirmed for Saloon Stockcar Dash for Cash Series Final (added August 4)
Congratulations to European Champion 499 Dave Aldous who won the final Saloon Stockcar Dash for Cash round at Mildenhall last weekend to establish himself as the final contender for the £500 jackpot in the series final at Mildenhall on October 16.
He joins fellow dash winners this season 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr, 490 Ian Jarman and 131 Timmy Barnes in being seeded directly into the jackpot final where should they emerge victorious they will claim the £500 jackpot.
However standing between them and the loot will be any other driver who posts a top six finish on the night and they will be chasing a £100 individual prize should they win.
Please note the Dash for Cash Super Final on World Final night, September 11, does not count towards the traditional Dash for Cash Series at
Mildenhall.
RDC at TSR World Final (added August 4)
As promised we have a detailed account of the RDC drivers action at the 2Litre Banger TSR World Championship at King’s Lynn on July 17 where there was a massive entry of over 25 RDC drivers among the 110 strong entry.
The first last chance heat started badly for 8 Dale Woolnough who was nailed by 695 Mark Mason before 209 Ben Hayward fenced his smart Mondeo after a badly timed lunge on 286 Aaron Phillips. 511 Helen Licquorice meanwhile found herself stuffed by 223 Brett Harrison which in turn caused 49 Mark Heilds to run into 101 Richard Rayner before 324 Mark Latham piled 557 John Small into Licquorice. The race ended badly for 715 Mick Prince whose empty car was trashed by a seemingly unaware 391 Ben Gibson but a well timed last bend lunge secured 100 Callum White third and a place at the rear of the championship grid, Rayner not so fortunate in seventh place.
The second last chance race began with 401 Steve Hemmings fencing 40 Lester Freestone before the former collected the spun 543 Luke Townsend tearing a wheel off the latter to bring the reds out. The race resumed with 17 Kyle Overy spinning 401 Psycho into a marker tyre before 779 Luke Allen fenced 788 Dan Burton which set the latter up for a solid hit from 170 Darren Teal while 779 Munch continued to nail 597 Andy Ashman. Up front a close finish saw 17 the Little Chief just beat 64 Barry Lee and 79 Ricky Twell to the line these three taking the final spaces in the main event. However the latter suffered a blown engine and was thus replaced by the fourth placed 88 Ace Burton to leave no less than nine RDC drivers in the main event. 525 Wes Starmer and Munch missed out in sixth and seventh respectively.
Onto the main event with 382 Jack Foster Jnr having the best draw among the RDC contingent to start on the second row but he fell foul to a back straight pile-up, in which he buried 348 Sonny Sherwood, the heap also claiming 64 Barry the Bull and 682 Paul Sparrow. The Bull recovered only to be spun by 423 Danny Oliver with our only other action seeing 208 Jimmy Randall stuff 100 Captain Cock. 119 Davey Cox won the title for the third time ahead of Mildenhall regular 673 Darren Fendley and former RDC pilot 425 Martin Stopher. Officially representing Skegness, 807 Chris Murfin was the best of the RDC registered finishers in sixth ahead of 160 Pez and 88 Ace Ash with 188 John Reeves in 10th.
A massive field for the consolation with 138 Tommy Chilton blasting 11 Darren Race before 415 Scott Cornish thundered in 897 Matt Battle only to catch one near the door from the Primera limo of 223 Bushy. 742 Ian Gregory then stuffed 328 Daniel Latham into a tractor tyre as the luckless Woolnough was nailed by 196 Ben Harrison and 326 Shane Lynn was destroyed by a monster T-bone from 72 Billy Bond. Psycho added 340 Wes Freestone and 349 Michael Allard to the massive road bend pile-up only to take one in turn from 513 Lewis Harvey before the reds came out to clear the blockage. The race resumed with Woolnough burying 04 Mick Croft which allowed 180 Mark Foster to nail the latter head-on. 551 Danny Blackwell stuffed 519 Lee Middleton but Predator revenge was swift thanks to 137 Jay Chilton with 450 Glyn Platts also sticking it to 519 Knuckles. Bond then buried Daniel Latham as 180 Sparky stuffed Jay Chilton and Woolough in one go, Knuckles charging headlong into the pile only to take a hard T-bone from 382 Chubby in turn before Platts delivered a head-on. Mark Latham meanwhile managed to avoid the on opposite attacks from 50 Simon West to take the win with Chubby in second.
The qualifiers only World Masters saw both Captain Cock and Chubby stick it to 389 Charlie Garrod before an attack on Mark Latham saw Munch send himself crashing into the tyres. Mark Latham meanwhile raced on to second with Ace Ash in third, 807 Murf in seventh and 525 Wes tenth.
More Stinkbridge v Predator feuding in the Allcomers as Psycho nailed Croft while Chubby ran in Licquorice and Jay Chilton thundered Blackwell into the plating. Psycho meanwhile felt the force of hard head-ons from Chubby and Platts with Knuckles blasting the latter only to take a fierce hit in turn from 67 Rickie Beasley who was then nailed himself by Wes. Chubby was our best finisher this time in seventh with Wes eighth.
Munch supplied our first action in the DD with a shot on Croft before he was later T-boned by 196 Ginner which he shrugged off in which to meet Platts head-on. Murf and Heilds met in similar fashion, the former then going head to head with Garrod before Chubby reeled in and followed in 206 Phil Milner. The latter took a head-on from Murf as Chubby nailed Heilds and 742 Taz before expiring with Murf silenced by hits from Taz and 60 Kyle Stevenson to end our involvement in the evening.
Urgent appeal from RDC to all drivers and fans at Mildenhall Stadium (added July 21)
The following news piece is one which all at RDC Promotions had sincerely hoped we would never have to write but ultimately the time has come for RDC to call upon the support and backing of all the drivers and fans at Mildenhall Stadium to help in our biggest fight to date.
The fight is for the future of Mildenhall Stadium and its continued ability and reputation as one of the leading venues for stockcar and banger racing in the UK.
Many of you may be aware, but many more will undoubtedly be unaware, that over the past several months RDC have been fighting a legal battle with one local resident near to the stadium and their complaints over noise.
Despite RDC taking every measure possible, including the erection of a noise barrier around half the stadium (which cost in the region of £40,000), to avoid this going any further, the case is now destined to go to the courts in the next couple of months where the future of the stadium is very much in jeopardy.
Up until now we have elected to keep these issues relatively quiet. This has been for several reasons, mainly because it has been a private issue for the entire Coventry family and furthermore we didn’t want to create any unneeded worry or concern.
However the time has now come for us to reveal more about this very real and dangerous threat to the stadium and to call for the help and support of the many people who use the stadium.
Our legal team has advised us that it would be very much in our interest if we could gather as much support as possible from those people who use the stadium so this week we are urging as many of our drivers, their mechanics, friends and family and the hundreds of thousands of short oval motor racing fans who have enjoyed the sport at Mildenhall Stadium during the last 17 and a half seasons to show us your support.
It doesn’t take much to help us in this battle. All we need are letters of support from as many of you as possible. Honestly there is no such thing as ‘too many’ in this case. The letters do not have to be pages and pages of writing either, just a few paragraphs will be more than sufficient.
And ideally we need to hear from as wide a mix of people as possible. We need to hear from those who first visited Mildenhall in 1993 right the way
through to 2010, those who first visited this year, those who come to every meeting, people who come once a year, people who live five miles away to people who live 500 miles away. Young, old, everything in between, we need to hear from as many of you as possible.
Letters can either be e mailed to the usual address of wastedmc@btopenworld.com or posted to 15 Glamis House, Cameron Close, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5BT or alternatively they can be passed on to any of our staff at a meeting at either Mildenhall or Dover.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and thanks in advance to those who support us.
Kindest regards
The Coventry family
Latest National Banger British Championship Finalists (added July 21)
As promised this week we have the latest news regarding the forthcoming National Banger British Championship which forms one half of the championship double header at RDC’s Another Wild Night at Mildenhall on August 14.
This week we have heard from Spedeworth who have confirmed their four seeds and also from Autospeed who have confirmed their final two drivers and all of these drivers add plenty of quality to the grid and the potential for many fireworks.
Spedeworth are set to be represented by former points champion 516 Carl Gould plus Condom trio 158 Shane Davies, 204 Charlie King and 264 Mark Welland whose presence alongside the Team Black qualifiers from RDC, Startrax and Skegness is almost guaranteed to inject plenty of action into the race.
Furthermore Autospeed have confirmed their remaining seeds are Midnight Runner pairing 208 Jimmy Randall and 331 Jason Jackson who are likely to cross swords with regular rivals 30 Roy Laybourn Jnr, 60 Steve Laybourn and 349 Michael Allard in another long running issue set to generate more potential action in this title race.
This week we have added a section of the site dedicated to Another Wild Night so check that out for the full current line up for the big race and much more information and look out for a full preview on the big race in the not too distance future.
Important information regarding changed start times
at Dover and Mildenhall (added July 14)
We would like to make an important announcement at this point in the season
regarding some changes to start times for forthcoming meetings in 2010 at RDC.
Firstly, following the change in start times at Dover Raceway last weekend, a
move which was welcomed by many, we have elected to bring forward the start time
at all Dover meetings to 1pm. This will be the case for all three of the
remaining meetings at the track this season starting with Sunday, August 8.
Furthermore after much thought and consideration we have elected to also bring
forward the start time of the Saloon Stockcar World Final at Mildenhall Stadium
on Saturday, September 11 to 6pm. This meeting also features the first ever all
Granada National Banger meeting and the first ever RWD Series Final and early
indications suggest we could have a most decent field of National Bangers that
night. Combining this with our intention to have a presentation suitable for
such a prestigious event as the Saloon Stockcar World Final and that it is six
race Saloon Stockcar programme we feel the 6pm start time will be more
appropriate.
We are sorry for making these changes mid-way through a season which is
something we try very hard to avoid but we feel that these changes are in the
best interest of the meetings in question and that there is sufficient time to
inform everyone of what is happening.
Suffolk Open Championship round up (added July 14)
Albeit somewhat later than we ideally would have liked, we would like to thank
everyone who helped make this years Suffolk Open Championship double header for
unlimited bangers and Ministox at Mildenhall on July 3 such a success.
While there was no doubt disappointment for many that this year’s unlimited
banger entry was significantly down on previous years, there was a degree of
compensation with some of the best unlimited banger material we have even seen
at Mildenhall gracing the shaleway. And the drivers treated the most impressive
audience to some fine action, highlighted by the rated Accumulator qualifier and
hard hitting DD.
Certainly the decision to return to the once traditional format of running a
stand alone Accumulator qualifier and DD at this meeting paid off and ensured
that the night ended in fine fashion and our thanks to all the drivers who
adapted so well to the change in the format. A special thank you also goes to
those who worked so hard after the Accumulator to provide a much better than
anticipated field for the DD.
Thanks also go to the Ministox who received a fourth race thanks to the change
in the banger format and the young guns answered the call superbly with all of
their races well subscribed and they provided some entertaining stockcar racing
all night, highlighted by a cracking championship race.
Prior to the meeting we had raised the point that we believed the success of the
unlimited EA team championship would have a significant impact on the turn out
for the Suffolk Open Championship and this certainly proved to be the case. Of
the 88 drivers who raced at the Suffolk Open, just 33 of them also raced at the
team meeting, meaning that between the two Mildenhall unlimited meetings this
season we have seen just over 150 different drivers. This total is very
comparable to previous years but this year we enjoyed a much more even split
between the two meetings. Our goal now is to try and establish two significant
unlimited fixtures on the Mildenhall calendar and this will be something we will
be working hard to achieve and something we believe we have the support of the
drivers on.
While there were many positives to come from the Suffolk Open Championship there
are some issues which we would like to address. The first, and perhaps most
important, was the dust problems on the night. Given the very hot weather
conditions this was always likely to be an issue but it proved a much greater
one than we feared it would. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused and rest
assured that many lessons were learned, especially when we plan to stage grand
parades prior to meetings. It is not an issue we are going to get right every
time, but we always strive to get the right balance between the best racing
conditions and the best viewing conditions for fans and again we are very sorry
for being wide of the mark at the start of this meeting.
We were also sorry to hear that some people were unaware of the expansion of the
programme and believed the Unlimited Banger Accumulator qualifier was the last
race of the night. We made the decision to split the Accumulator qualifier and
DD (and add another Ministox race) following the three unlimited banger heats
and this was repeatedly announced so we are really sorry to anyone who was
unaware and may have left the stadium early believing the meeting was over.
Unlimited Banger Kent Championship message
(added July 14)
On a similar note we would like to thank all the drivers who helped make last
weekend’s unlimited banger Kent Championship not only the biggest to date but
one of the best to date.
Not only was the 31 car entry a record breaker for this modest event but the
effort made by so many drivers made it the best material line up that Dover
Raceway has ever seen by a country mile and the sight of just over 30 unlimited
bangers on the grid with some much rated material on Sunday was one of the best
sights we’ve seen in our 10 plus year history at the track.
Many have pointed to the reduction of fixtures at Dover this season leading to
greater commitment by more drivers to do more meetings (each of the five
meetings have seen over 90 cars in the pits and three have reached triple
fixtures) and this was certainly reflected in Sunday’s turn out so again our
thanks to the drivers for their wonderful support of this meeting.
Sadly while the on track action was one of the liveliest unlimited banger
meetings seen at the track, the racing was spoiled somewhat by the terribly
dusty conditions. Unfortunately the last two meetings at Dover have seen us
battling against the soaring heat which has in turn led to both dusty conditions
for drivers and fans and also delays in between the races in order to try and
put the required amount of water down.
It is no secret that we have limited equipment at Dover Raceway and while this
is unlikely to change in the immediate future we want to stress that we always
try and do the best with what we have and would like to again say sorry to
anyone who suffered from the dust last weekend and indeed on June 27.
Bangerstox and Super Rod entry list for Kent
and Southern Championships (added July 14)
Following last weekend’s meeting at Dover Raceway we can now confirm the
drivers who have been invited to take part in the second championship meeting of
the season for Bangerstox and Super Rods at Dover.
The top 25 (there was a tie for 24th) Bangerstox drivers will be able to compete
for their 2010 Kent Championship while the current top 12 in the Super Rod chart
will be eligible to race for the 2010 Southern Championship.
In both formulas the drivers will race in two qualifying heats which will
determine the starting grids for the championship races.
In the Bangerstox the grids for each heat will be determined by a random (Incarace)
draw while in the Super Rods the grid for heat one will be determined by a
random draw but the grid for the second race will be a reserve of heat one.
Although there will be no grades for this meeting, drivers are expected to have
the correct roof grade on their cars and new grades will be issued after this
meeting for the final two meetings of 2010.
In the meantime here are the list of qualifiers for both formulas. Well done to
everyone who has secured a place at this event and bad luck to those who missed
out who unfortunately will not be able to race at this meeting. Drivers who have
qualified but are unable to attend are asked to please contact RDC either by
phone or e-mail to let us know as drivers who simply do not turn up will forfeit
bookings at future restricted entry meetings in the future including this
year’s Masters Championship
Drivers are also reminded that owing to the expected entry of 2Litre Bangers,
all Super Rod and Bangerstox drivers need to transport their cars with vehicles
which are able to park at the top end of the pits. Drivers whose transport is
unable to park at the top of the hill may be refused entry to the pits and may
not be able to race.
And once again please remember this meeting starts at the new start time of 1pm.
Bangerstox Kent Championship
3 George Forbes
9 Chris Young
11 Brian Willis
15 Jay Powell
23 Darren Young
26 Ant Williams
29 Craig Groombridge
32 Gary Austin
36 Kevin Sims
37 Del Jarman
40 Joe Taylor
52 Richard Randall
55 Clint Miller
58 Owen Childs
62 Steve Cross
63 Shane Bullen
64 Aaron Harris
65 Chris Bull
66 Kev Hook
69 Andy Bucket
80 Stacey Griffiths
83 Paul Apps
95 Paul Chapman
96 Andy Chapman
111 Nick Glover
Super Rods Southern Championship
7 Dave Ward
14 Frank Gough
17 John Shilleto
21 Kevin Hickey
28 Andrew Donavan
41 Pete Emson
76 Oliver Jarvis
77 Mark Shingleton
84 Gary Harvey
88 Jason Anderson
121 Nigel Goodwin
271 Aaron Beany
Congratulations to Jack Overy-King of the Peak
Champion (added July 14)
While we don’t have full details we would like to congratulate 617 Jack Overy
on winning the unlimited banger King of the Peak Championship at Buxton last
week.
This marks the first time an RDC driver has won this event and secures Overy a
place in the 2011 National Banger BBA Supreme Championship at Mildenhall.
Also among the entry were fellow RDC pilots and Team Black team mates 17 Kyle
Overy and 384 John Golden, the former piloting a Granada limo for the afternoon.
Important messages from ORC to all National Banger drivers (added June 30)
Following a mid season specification meeting of ORC promoters last wee we have some important information to relay to all National Bangers which come into immediate effect.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly for RDC in particular, the dizzy guard experiment for unlimited bangers which was announced in April has been scrapped with immediate effect. This has come with strong insistence from the ORC and such guards will not be permitted at Mildenhall this weekend or Dover next weekend. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes any drivers over the next two weekends. As it stands there appears precious little chance that a dizzy guard rule will be reintroduced at RDC or elsewhere in the immediate future.
Secondly a new rule has been introduced by the ORC, this morning we received an official press release detailing this. The statement is below in full.
The ORCi Technical Sub Committees met last week to discuss any rules changes for 2011.
These will be published in due course, however, there is an additional rule that will be implemented this year and will apply from 1st July 2010.
This new rule was based on the findings of four cars that were presented for scrutineering at Crasharama and were ‘overbuilt’ to the current specifications.
The ORCi does not wish to see Bangers with chassis strengthening and additional steel strengthening which goes well beyond the scope of the rule book.
The new rule reads as follows:
If a car is presented for PRE-RACE scrutineering and found to be armoured or strengthened and cannot be corrected on the day, the driver will receive an immediate 12 month ORCi ban. Please note, this includes engine or gearbox suspensions mounts that are over the top and also includes distributor and cam belt guards that cannot be corrected on the day and be re-presented for scrutineering.
If the car is subject of POST-RACE scrutineering checks and fails in any of the above noted areas, the driver will receive an immediate 12 month ORCi ban, irrespective of whether the problem could have been corrected on the day.
Please note that there will be no exceptions. This trend of the overbuilding of cars has to be stamped out immediately.
Finally, at all limited cc meetings where the Ford Mondeo is outlawed, the Ford Cougar is also excluded. This will be the case for the 1800cc Suffolk Open at Mildenhall on July 25 and also the 1600cc meeting on October 2.
Bangerstox and Super Rod grades and Masters qualifying points (added June 30)
Following last weekend’s meeting at Dover Raceway we have as promised new grades for the Bangerstox for the July 11 meeting and we also have updated grades for the Super Rods for the same meeting.
Furthermore we also bring you here extended editions of the current Masters Championship qualifying points.
While we appreciate we only had a new Super Rod grading list for the formula prior to last weekends meeting with the points race proving very close this season we will continue to update the grades as and when needed in a bid to keep the high standard of close and exciting racing.
Bangerstox Grades (effective on July 11)
Masters: 29
Southern: 15
Red: 32, 63, 64, 96
Blue: 11, 23, 36, 37, 40, 62, 65
Yellow: 3, 9, 26, 52, 55, 58, 61, 66, 80, 83, 95
Super Rod Grades (effective July 11)
Points and Southern: 88
Masters and Kent: 121
Red: 21
Blue: 7, 17, 41, 77
Yellow: 14, 28, 76, 271
Bangerstox Masters Qualifying Points
23 Darren Young 55pts
32 Gary Austin 50
40 Joe Taylor 46
64 Aaron Harris 45
9 Chris Young 38
52 Richard Randell 38
36 Kevin Sims 36
50 Ray Walker 35
63 Shane Bullen 34
65 Chris Bull 32
96 Andy Chapman 32
15 Jay Powell 30
69 Andy Bucket 30
11 Brian Willis 29
26 Ant Williams 29
33 John Butcher 27
62 Steven Cross 26
37 Del Jarman 25
47 Barry Sunter 25
29 Craig Groombridge 24
83 Paul Apps 24
3 George Forbes 19
53 Martin Charles 19
66 Kevin Hook 19
24 Mark Sweeney 17
28 Mark Robinson 17
61 Ken Hollamby 17
80 Stacey Griffiths 15
13 Tracey Gilbert 14
89 Gary Kimber 14
59 Nathan Port 13
73 Karl Taylor 12
34 Lisa Fagg 11
111 Nick Glover 11
Super Rod Masters Qualifying points
21 Kevin Hickey 61pts
41 Pete Emson 58
121 Nigel Goodwin 58
7 Dave Ward 56
88 Jason Anderson 53
77 Mark Shingleton 51
17 John Shilleto 26
28 Andrew Donavan 24
76 Oliver Jarvis 21
84 Gary Harvey 19
271 Aaron Beany 16
14 Frank Gough 13
8 Trevor Wright 11
04 Rick Williams 5
RDC at Bandit Memorial (added June 30)
As mentioned last week there was a bumper showing of RDC National Banger drivers at the annual Bandit Memorial at King’s Lynn on June 19 and as promised we now have a more detailed report on the efforts of our drivers.
Starting in the unlimited class where the majority of our 11 drivers were also competing in the annual pre 70 events. Four of these came from the WI Engineering camp with 101 Richard Rayner and 520 Derek Caton returning their Humber Hawks from the unlimited team meeting as did 503 Dan Hollinsworth with his Rover P5 while 352 Ben Mynott raced his ultra smart Super Snipe which failed to run at the same meeting. Also in the classic car events, 221 Michael Whitelock piloted a tidy Volvo 164, 125 Roy Preece debuted a cool Plymouth Fury and 830 Lee White turned out a lush looking P5. Also in the unlimited class was 99 Scott Gough, 133 Karl Day, 148 Ian Redden and 726 Kalin Dawe.
Rayner had the Mk2 Jaguar of 302 Tom Meekings out at the start of the pre 70 championship race while Mynott and 830 Stretch tangle and hit the back straight plating before Preece hit the marker tyres on the home straight. 520 the Undertaker removed 85 James Ellis at the end, the latter landing a revenge hit just as the reds came out with Rayner registering a fifth place finish.
Ellis laid into Mynott at the start of the pre 70 Allcomers while 503 Odd Job found the fence along with the Firebird of 425 Martin Stopher. This allowed 886 Adrian French to dish out a big hit to the former but WI revenge was swift when Rayner blasted 886 Shades’ Rover P6. Mynott recovered to attack Meekings as Odd Job traded blows with the similarly mounted Ellis, Mynott then attacking the latter as Rayner again posted RDC’s only top 10 finish in fifth again.
Onto the main unlimited programme with Rayner hitting the plating and taking a savage hit from 455 Rick Finney as 148 Shorty raced to a fifth and 99 Goffy claimed ninth. More Humber wreckage in the second heat as 326 Paul Picton span Mynott, the latter the decimated by 521 Ash Riley, the Snipe further wrecked when 726 the Chimp hit it later in the race.
Onto the final with no RDC action and Shorty again in the places in eighth but he came back to take the spoils in the Allcomers and with it secure a place on the grid in the World of Shale Championship in September.
No RDC interest in the demo so onto the 2litre class where we were equally well represented where the dozen strong RDC showing which made up almost a quarter of the entry. The majority were from the Predator camp who were racing in memory of their former team mate and their double figure entry included 38 Tom and 137 Jay Chilton, 79 Ricky Twell, 176 Ady Gibbs, 401 Steve Hemmings, 404 Luke Brinton, 519 Lee Middleton and 779 Luke Allen. Joining them were 396 Graham Hyla, 525 Wes Starmer, 527 Michael Norman and 715 Mick Prince.
The spinning 176 Gibbo was hit by 338 Terry Garrod in the first heat while 79 Twelly came under fire from 49 Marc Heilds, Gibbo rallying back for a big hit on the fenced Norman as Prince removed 269 Tom Morris. Jay Chilton took the honours with 38 Tommy Gun second and Prince fourth.
No RDC action in the second heat but 525 Wes claimed seventh so into the final where again the Predators were well involved. 404 Spook fenced Norman although the former was then run in hard by 223 Brett Harrison and 50 Simon West as 70 Ant Long buried 401 Psycho. The luckless Spook was then T-boned by 119 Davey Cox as Twelly buried 45 Rob Hughes and the recovered Psycho did the same to 791 Nicky Young. 779 Munch meanwhile raced to the win followed home by Tommy Gun, Gibbo and Chilton for a somewhat fitting Predator clean sweep while Wes was seventh and Psycho ninth.
Heilds was mauled by Tommy Gun, Chilton and others at the start of the Allcomers before Munch celebrated his win by following in Wes and Gibbo was buried by Cruncher. Psycho turned round to T-bone 317 Nick Wakeham with Tommy Gun taking second this time.
Chilton buried West early on in the DD as Munch nailed Hughes before he also stuck it to 5 Mark Codd while Chilton went on to give Long a big hit. 73 Dean Cruickshank later T-boned Chilton while 60 Kyle Stevenson and Munch enjoyed a head-on to wrap up the RDC involvement in the meeting.
Statement from RDC Promotions (added June 23)
RDC Promotions would like to take this time to make a statement in reaction to the comments made at the weekend by a fellow ORC promoter in their programme editorial which RDC
found absolutely shocking and would like to stress that what has been written is a complete lie.
The accusation that RDC were “doing their best to destroy a memorial meeting” by staging our event at Mildenhall Stadium last Saturday has left us somewhat dumbfounded that a fellow ORC promoter could write such an out and out fabrication.
RDC would like to stress that our 2010 fixtures were announced on this website as early as September 2009, many weeks and months before any other ORC promoter confirmed their dates. Further more the said author of the remark in question has clearly forgotten a conversation held in December 2009 when all our dates were discussed with them at length. Not only were no objections raised to us staging a meeting on June 19 2010 but in fact we were complimented by the promotion for considering their National Banger fixtures when we comprised our own dates.
Claims that the memorial meeting in question is held on a “pretty established date” are somewhat futile given that in its seven year history the event has been held on three different weekends in June and on three occasions the meeting has been held on a Sunday afternoon rather than a
Saturday. Again the promotion knew of our intended June 19 date in early September and at no time was any objection raised.
Accusations that RDC tried to ‘destroy’ the meeting are further laughable when you consider around 25 RDC registered National Banger drivers raced at the meeting despite us staging a meeting on the same night. As always these drivers
raced where and when they wanted with no objection from RDC.
This week we have been in contact with several members of the family in question and it has been somewhat reassuring that none of the people we have spoken
too, and it appears the family as a whole, share the opinion given in the programme and they have
instead been very complimentary to us in the situation and for this we are
especially grateful.
We are sorry for having to raise this matter here but since the subject was made public we felt we had little option but to answer it
publicly with the truths surrounding the issue which seemingly have been glossed over in a rather pathetic attempt to smear our reputation. We sincerely hope this puts an end to the matter and that there is no repeat of such incidents in the future.
Mildenhall June Weekend meeting round up and thanks (added June 16)
All at RDC would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who supported and made the first two day event at Mildenhall Stadium this weekend such a success.
In total 130 National Banger drivers competed over the weekend (racing 147 different National Bangers between them) and in all a whopping 186 different drivers raced with a total of 203 different cars in action.
There is no denying that the National Banger drivers generated two superb days of on track action, both the Inter Counties team challenge and Hot Shot Championship for the second year running producing some quality racing as they look to become established parts of the fixtures.
While it was disappointing that the Inter Counties team challenge was enjoyed by a smaller crowd that what we are used to at Mildenhall it was little surprise given the major sporting event on the same night. However those on hand enjoyed one of the hardest banger meetings we’ve seen this season at Mildenhall. With the Inter Counties now established as providing some of the best on track action in both of its outings we are determined to make this a must see fixture in 2011.
We want to very much thank the captains and all their drivers who made such an amazing effort behind the scenes to make this meeting what it was. Their support for this event so far has been incredible and will be a critical key to its future success.
Likewise the under 25 Hot Shot Championship proved another great success with another triple figure entry meeting at Mildenhall despite there being many high profile events on the same day (not only was the Hot Shot meeting the biggest banger turn out of the weekend, but the restricted entry Inter Counties event was the second highest). With around 75 young guns in action they again delivered a clear reminder of the superb amount of young blood in the sport and their championship was a fantastic event and a serious contender for race of the year at Mildenhall.
Away from the National Banger action we would like to extend a massive thanks to all our Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers who made a stellar effort for their maiden trip to Mildenhall for the first ever Suffolk Championship which based on the strength of support shown this year looks likely to be an annual event.
What was especially impressive was that not only so many drivers made the long trip from their Kent bases to Suffolk but how they managed to maintain strong fields throughout the weekend. Of the 29 Bangerstox which attended, only two failed to race on the Sunday and 21 competed in the all in Grand Final. The 13 Super Rods represented the majority of drivers who have raced in the formula this season and amazingly only one of their five races did not have a full field.
We would also like to thank all the drivers in the Bangerstox, Super Rods and 1300cc Stockcars who adapted very well to the tight turn around at Mildenhall and in almost every case the drivers were ready for action when we needed them. This helped us tremendously in completing each day of the programme so well with the 12 races on Saturday done in little over three and a half hours (despite a short delay for the ambulance and some waits for the National Banger drivers to complete repairs) and the whopping 17 race programme on Sunday was completed in around five hours despite some big clear up operations in the National Banger drivers and an unfortunate delay to repair some fence damage during the first National Banger support race.
Our thanks also go to our team who worked hard all weekend to get through the racing as well as possible.
Finally we would like to again thank everyone who stayed all weekend and once again created a fantastic atmosphere in and out of the stadium all weekend. Once again this was complimented by many people and the Mildenhall weekend’er reputation took another step forward with many now looking forward to the July event on July 24 and 25.
Congratulations to new Bangerstox and Super Rod Suffolk Champions (added June 16)
Congratulations are in order this week to 17 John Shilleto and 64 Aaron Harris who triumphed in the maiden Suffolk Championships for Super Rods and Bangerstox respectively at Mildenhall last weekend.
After much thought, we have decided that the event, like the existing championships, should be deserving of a roof grade so the driver’s car can wear something which indicates they are a champion. However as the Mildenhall event is likely to remain a once a year event at best we don’t feel it would be fair for a driver who excelled at Mildenhall to have to start at the back of the grid at Dover for 12 months, given the polar opposites of the track.
Therefore both Suffolk Champions will start in whatever grade they have currently earned for the next 12 months but if they wish they may paint two black stripes on the passenger side of their roof to designate they are Suffolk Champions.
However should the Suffolk Championship take place again in 2011, then both champions will have to start at the back of the grid with the other championship holders.
Urgent appeal from RDC to all drivers and fans at Mildenhall Stadium (added July 21)
The following news piece is one which all at RDC Promotions had sincerely hoped we would never have to write but ultimately the time has come for RDC to call upon the support and backing of all the drivers and fans at Mildenhall Stadium to help in our biggest fight to date.
The fight is for the future of Mildenhall Stadium and its continued ability and reputation as one of the leading venues for stockcar and banger racing in the UK.
Many of you may be aware, but many more will undoubtedly be unaware, that over the past several months RDC have been fighting a legal battle with one local resident near to the stadium and their complaints over noise.
Despite RDC taking every measure possible, including the erection of a noise barrier around half the stadium (which cost in the region of £40,000), to avoid this going any further, the case is now destined to go to the courts in the next couple of months where the future of the stadium is very much in jeopardy.
Up until now we have elected to keep these issues relatively quiet. This has been for several reasons, mainly because it has been a private issue for the entire Coventry family and furthermore we didn’t want to create any unneeded worry or concern.
However the time has now come for us to reveal more about this very real and dangerous threat to the stadium and to call for the help and support of the many people who use the stadium.
Our legal team has advised us that it would be very much in our interest if we could gather as much support as possible from those people who use the stadium so this week we are urging as many of our drivers, their mechanics, friends and family and the hundreds of thousands of short oval motor racing fans who have enjoyed the sport at Mildenhall Stadium during the last 17 and a half seasons to show us your support.
It doesn’t take much to help us in this battle. All we need are letters of support from as many of you as possible. Honestly there is no such thing as ‘too many’ in this case. The letters do not have to be pages and pages of writing either, just a few paragraphs will be more than sufficient.
And ideally we need to hear from as wide a mix of people as possible. We need to hear from those who first visited Mildenhall in 1993 right the way
through to 2010, those who first visited this year, those who come to every meeting, people who come once a year, people who live five miles away to people who live 500 miles away. Young, old, everything in between, we need to hear from as many of you as possible.
Letters can either be e mailed to the usual address of wastedmc@btopenworld.com or posted to 15 Glamis House, Cameron Close, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5BT or alternatively they can be passed on to any of our staff at a meeting at either Mildenhall or Dover.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and thanks in advance to those who support us.
Kindest regards
The Coventry family
Final countdown to RDC’s One Wild Weekend (added July 21)
We are now counting down the final days to the biggest weekend of the season at RDC Promotions and one of the biggest weekends in the sport, RDC’s One Wild Weekend at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday and Sunday July 24 and 25.
Today we have also updated our One Wild Weekend section of the site with the latest drivers to book in for all three formulas and the signs are it’s going to be another huge weekend of action and not only the only shale racing weekend of the season but also one of the biggest all contact weekend of racing.
There are precious few times when fans can enjoy the somewhat dream combination of National Bangers, BriSCA F2 Stockcars and Saloon Stockcars on the same card anywhere in the sport and following the historic making event last July where these three formulas appeared together for the first time ever at Mildenhall this will again be the only time these three great formulas appear together at Mildenhall in 2010.
And best of all, everyone has the chance to enjoy their racing on two consecutive days.
We are delighted to report that we are expecting good fields of cars in all three formulas this weekend which is creating even more exciting about the weekend. The National Bangers is very much a weekend of two halves. Saturday night is the third annual 2litre RWD meeting which has quickly become one of the most popular events of the season at RDC. Last year’s event was a record breaker for this kind of format in the sport and with over 75 cars booked in for this year’s meeting we could very well see the biggest turnout for a meeting of this kind in 2010.
Our hope is that we see at least 75 cars in action for the Saturday night. Should this target be reached we will run three qualifying heats at the start of the programme (don’t forget the earlier start time of 6pm). While three heats of potentially 25 cars may be somewhat fewer than what we normally run at Mildenhall we understand that this type of racing is not only about the crashing but also about the racing side of these kind of meetings and these type of cars. Therefore we are hopeful of have sufficient cars to run three qualifying heats but also only run one consolation. In all likelihood following the final banger heat there will be at least four (even possibly five) stockcar races which should provide ample time for all drivers to repair for the consolation where we hope to run just one such event and at this point switch the focus of the evening from the racing element to the crashing element. And we hope the mixture will continue with the Grand Final and Accumulator qualifier and DD.
Sunday’s programme (which starts at 1.30pm) marks the now annual Suffolk Open Championship for National Bangers which sees not only an enhanced prize fund designed to reward both race winners and race entertainers but this year it undergoes a new format. This season the meeting will be run to an 1800cc limit with the Ford Mondeo and Cougar outlawed while any car which did or could have raced the previous night. Last year only a handful of drivers whose cars survived the rear wheel drive meeting raced again on the Sunday and that was something we were keen to address and we believe the only way to achieve this is to take the much stronger and faster Ford Mondeos out of the meeting. While the confirmed number of bookings is somewhat down on last years event there has been an encouraging amount of drivers who have commented that should their RWD cars still run Sunday that they will race again, far more than last year and should this be the case the tweaked format would be considered a success even if the overall turn out is smaller than last year. RDC firmly believe this new format will be a long term success and this year marks the first step on reaching that goal. Drivers whose cars survive Saturday and are considering racing again Sunday are reminded that there is bonus prize money available for those in RWD cars on Sunday.
Moving onto the stockcar side of the weekend and One Wild Weekend marks the long overdue return of the Saloon Stockcars for their first outing at Mildenhall since early May and also marks the first and second stages of a three meeting run at West Row in eight days which signals their final visit prior to the World Final in September.
The importance of the weekend doesn’t appear to have been overlooked and we are expecting our biggest entry of Saloon Stockcars so far this season with 40 cars booked in for Saturday and they are set to be joined by new UK Open Champion 618 Stuart Shevill Jnr on Sunday, fresh from racing at Cowdenbeath on Saturday night.
As has been highlighted on the One Wild Night section of the site, such a turnout of cars could lead to a change in the format for the Saloons on one or both days of the weekend. Should we have 36 or less cars we will run an ‘all in’ two heat and final format but should we have 37 or more cars we will add a heat to the programme. After much consideration as to how to split the cars should this happen we have decided that we will split the heats by grades. Heat one will be for the white and yellow grade, heat two will be for the yellow, blue and red grade and the third heat will be for the white, blue and red grade before the final will be open to all. Should all the booked in drivers attend on Saturday we would have potential heats of 19, 31 and 30 cars which we believe will be sufficient for top quality racing and this format split will also give the lesser lights in the white and yellow grade a golden opportunity to shine.
It would also give some the lesser lights a great chance to secure a top six finish and qualify for the second annual Triple Header Dash for Cash which carries £200 in prize money and will be the highlight of the weekend for the formula. Last year’s event was a brutal, action packed affair and many have been eagerly awaiting it’s return and it promises to be a fitting conclusion to the stockcar racing on Sunday afternoon.
While on the subject of the Saloon Stockcars we should address the various rumours which have been swirling about the Saloon Stockcars only having two races on Saturday’s programme, these rumour no doubt fuelled by the problems we experienced last year which resulted in Saturday’s Grand Final being postponed until the start of Sunday’s programme. We would like to make it very clear that we have every intention of offering every driver the opportunity of three races on Saturday, three races on Sunday plus the Triple Header Dash for Cash on Sunday for those that have qualified. However we have to stress that should we experience similar problems this season like we did 12 months ago and run out of time before our strict 11pm curfew (it should be noted this year’s meeting starts 30 minutes earlier) we would be forced to again postpone the Saloon Stockcar Final until Sunday. We would like to explain that we have to run all the BriSCA F2 Stockcar races programmed on Saturday as with no Grand National scheduled the vast majority of these drivers will only receive two races as it is. Furthermore owing to the extreme differences between the National Banger programmes on Saturday and Sunday with several drivers only racing on one day and no doubt several fans only intending to join us on the Saturday we need to run the entire National Banger programme, However Saloon Stockcar drivers are reminded that whatever the situation, all drivers will have the opportunity of six races across the weekend plus the qualifiers only Dash race and we will do everything possible to ensure there are three races for every driver on both days. However owing to the massive size of the weekend we need to be honest with everyone concerned of the potential plan b’s should anything go wrong.
Moving onto the BriSCA F2 Stockcars where we not only expect the biggest entry of the season at Mildenhall from the formula so far but also potentially the biggest entry this season for a shale meeting and one of the biggest turn outs for the formula anywhere in the country. Certainly one of the biggest, if not the biggest, for a non championship event.
Demand for bookings has quite simply blown us away and the demand for bookings has far exceeded what we ever expected. Even with a couple of drivers cancelling their places this week (our thanks to them for letting us know and if there are any drivers on the entry list who can’t make can they please contact us) we are still slightly overbooked for Saturday’s meeting with 67 drivers being granted places. Beyond that we have another 11 drivers on a waiting list hoping that either there is a shortfall in drivers on Saturday (please note we will only take reserves if we go below 65 drivers) or that there are 36 or less Saloon Stockcars and by running an ‘all in’ three race format for them will allow us to run a second F2 consolation and take the extra cars Saturday.
Either way our intention is to run nine stockcar races Saturday plus a full National Banger programme and this programme could be even bigger on Sunday.
Our thanks to the F2 drivers on the waiting list (which includes three Dutch drivers) on their understanding of the situation and all those on the reserve list have indicated that they intend on joining us on the Saturday in the hope of racing and will certainly be with us on Sunday where owing to the less strict curfew and the meeting being a World of Shale qualifier the meeting is open to all drivers. With the normal requirement of drivers not needing to book in for this meeting we could see even more drivers in action than what currently appears on the entry list on our One Wild Weekend section. Once again this has the makings of being the best attended shale meeting of the season for the formula and Sunday certainly has the potential to be one of the biggest turnouts anywhere in 2010.
Adding to the significance of Sunday’s meeting is that owing to the cancellation of the Scunthorpe meeting next weekend, this is now the final World of Shale qualifier of the year prior to the final which will be held at Mildenhall on August 28. The race for pole position rages on between 606 Andy Palmer and 702 Allan Cooper and will be settled and there are many battles going on at the opposite end of the chart for the final places in the top 32. These are covered in more depth in our official meeting preview on the previews page but again this has the makings of being a thrilling session of open wheeled stockcar action on shale.
And once again this weekend is offered to fans at RDC’s unbeatable value for money prices. While there is no two day ticket, adult admission is just £12 each day and concessions (under 14s and OAPs) a mere £5 and the excellent value for money family ticket offering any two adults and up to four concessions a great evening or day or racing for £29. There are no hidden costs with programme, car parking and even camping all free of charge. There is also no charge for the entertainment Saturday evening where once again we will have live music in the Fen Man Bar with a late night bar. So the whole family can enjoy this great looking weekend for just £58 which we honestly believe represents some of the best value for money you are likely to find in the sport.
Also bear in mind we have 26 races scheduled across the weekend (28 if you count
the DDs as separate events!) and there is a strong chance we will be adding
races for all formulas across the weekend. We hope to see you all there.
Latest National Banger British Championship Finalists (added July 21)
As promised this week we have the latest news regarding the forthcoming National Banger British Championship which forms one half of the championship double header at RDC’s Another Wild Night at Mildenhall on August 14.
This week we have heard from Spedeworth who have confirmed their four seeds and also from Autospeed who have confirmed their final two drivers and all of these drivers add plenty of quality to the grid and the potential for many fireworks.
Spedeworth are set to be represented by former points champion 516 Carl Gould plus Condom trio 158 Shane Davies, 204 Charlie King and 264 Mark Welland whose presence alongside the Team Black qualifiers from RDC, Startrax and Skegness is almost guaranteed to inject plenty of action into the race.
Furthermore Autospeed have confirmed their remaining seeds are Midnight Runner pairing 208 Jimmy Randall and 331 Jason Jackson who are likely to cross swords with regular rivals 30 Roy Laybourn Jnr, 60 Steve Laybourn and 349 Michael Allard in another long running issue set to generate more potential action in this title race.
This week we have added a section of the site dedicated to Another Wild Night so check that out for the full current line up for the big race and much more information and look out for a full preview on the big race in the not too distance future.
RDC at TSR World Final (added July 21)
While we are presently without a detailed report or race results from the 2Litre Banger TSR World Final at King’s Lynn last weekend we can bring you a few highlights of how our drivers fared on the big night.
Things started well with a well executed last bend lunge in the first last chance race securing 100 Callum White the third and final place on the big grid. However it was an RDC white wash in the second last chance race, 17 Kyle Overy winning with 79 Ricky Twell and 64 Barry Lee taking the remaining World Final places. Sadly 79 Twelly suffered a blown engine in the race and was duly replaced by fourth placed 88 Ash Burton in the World Final.
While the RDC drivers were unable to break into the podium spots in the main event four RDC registered drivers featured in the top 10 so well done to 807 Chris Murfin (who was officially representing Skegness), Burton, 160 Perry Willings and 188 John Reeves who we understand were among the top 10.
Well done as well to reigning British Champion 119 Davey Cox on winning the title ahead of fellow Mildenhall regulars 673 Darren Fendley and 425 Martin
Stopher.
On a far from positive note, 17 the Little
Chief's luck ran out in the main event where he suffered a broken arm. All at
RDC would like to wish him a full and speedy recovery and we should also take
this time to extend the same message to 148 Ian Redden and 259 Dan Poole who
have recently been nursing hand injuries which they hope to return from next
month.
We hope to have a more detailed account of the RDC drivers fortunes at this meeting in the near future.
Important information regarding changed start times
at Dover and Mildenhall (added July 14)
We would like to make an important announcement at this point in the season
regarding some changes to start times for forthcoming meetings in 2010 at RDC.
Firstly, following the change in start times at Dover Raceway last weekend, a
move which was welcomed by many, we have elected to bring forward the start time
at all Dover meetings to 1pm. This will be the case for all three of the
remaining meetings at the track this season starting with Sunday, August 8.
Furthermore after much thought and consideration we have elected to also bring
forward the start time of the Saloon Stockcar World Final at Mildenhall Stadium
on Saturday, September 11 to 6pm. This meeting also features the first ever all
Granada National Banger meeting and the first ever RWD Series Final and early
indications suggest we could have a most decent field of National Bangers that
night. Combining this with our intention to have a presentation suitable for
such a prestigious event as the Saloon Stockcar World Final and that it is six
race Saloon Stockcar programme we feel the 6pm start time will be more
appropriate.
We are sorry for making these changes mid-way through a season which is
something we try very hard to avoid but we feel that these changes are in the
best interest of the meetings in question and that there is sufficient time to
inform everyone of what is happening.
Suffolk Open Championship round up (added July 14)
Albeit somewhat later than we ideally would have liked, we would like to thank
everyone who helped make this years Suffolk Open Championship double header for
unlimited bangers and Ministox at Mildenhall on July 3 such a success.
While there was no doubt disappointment for many that this year’s unlimited
banger entry was significantly down on previous years, there was a degree of
compensation with some of the best unlimited banger material we have even seen
at Mildenhall gracing the shaleway. And the drivers treated the most impressive
audience to some fine action, highlighted by the rated Accumulator qualifier and
hard hitting DD.
Certainly the decision to return to the once traditional format of running a
stand alone Accumulator qualifier and DD at this meeting paid off and ensured
that the night ended in fine fashion and our thanks to all the drivers who
adapted so well to the change in the format. A special thank you also goes to
those who worked so hard after the Accumulator to provide a much better than
anticipated field for the DD.
Thanks also go to the Ministox who received a fourth race thanks to the change
in the banger format and the young guns answered the call superbly with all of
their races well subscribed and they provided some entertaining stockcar racing
all night, highlighted by a cracking championship race.
Prior to the meeting we had raised the point that we believed the success of the
unlimited EA team championship would have a significant impact on the turn out
for the Suffolk Open Championship and this certainly proved to be the case. Of
the 88 drivers who raced at the Suffolk Open, just 33 of them also raced at the
team meeting, meaning that between the two Mildenhall unlimited meetings this
season we have seen just over 150 different drivers. This total is very
comparable to previous years but this year we enjoyed a much more even split
between the two meetings. Our goal now is to try and establish two significant
unlimited fixtures on the Mildenhall calendar and this will be something we will
be working hard to achieve and something we believe we have the support of the
drivers on.
While there were many positives to come from the Suffolk Open Championship there
are some issues which we would like to address. The first, and perhaps most
important, was the dust problems on the night. Given the very hot weather
conditions this was always likely to be an issue but it proved a much greater
one than we feared it would. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused and rest
assured that many lessons were learned, especially when we plan to stage grand
parades prior to meetings. It is not an issue we are going to get right every
time, but we always strive to get the right balance between the best racing
conditions and the best viewing conditions for fans and again we are very sorry
for being wide of the mark at the start of this meeting.
We were also sorry to hear that some people were unaware of the expansion of the
programme and believed the Unlimited Banger Accumulator qualifier was the last
race of the night. We made the decision to split the Accumulator qualifier and
DD (and add another Ministox race) following the three unlimited banger heats
and this was repeatedly announced so we are really sorry to anyone who was
unaware and may have left the stadium early believing the meeting was over.
Unlimited Banger Kent Championship message
(added July 14)
On a similar note we would like to thank all the drivers who helped make last
weekend’s unlimited banger Kent Championship not only the biggest to date but
one of the best to date.
Not only was the 31 car entry a record breaker for this modest event but the
effort made by so many drivers made it the best material line up that Dover
Raceway has ever seen by a country mile and the sight of just over 30 unlimited
bangers on the grid with some much rated material on Sunday was one of the best
sights we’ve seen in our 10 plus year history at the track.
Many have pointed to the reduction of fixtures at Dover this season leading to
greater commitment by more drivers to do more meetings (each of the five
meetings have seen over 90 cars in the pits and three have reached triple
fixtures) and this was certainly reflected in Sunday’s turn out so again our
thanks to the drivers for their wonderful support of this meeting.
Sadly while the on track action was one of the liveliest unlimited banger
meetings seen at the track, the racing was spoiled somewhat by the terribly
dusty conditions. Unfortunately the last two meetings at Dover have seen us
battling against the soaring heat which has in turn led to both dusty conditions
for drivers and fans and also delays in between the races in order to try and
put the required amount of water down.
It is no secret that we have limited equipment at Dover Raceway and while this
is unlikely to change in the immediate future we want to stress that we always
try and do the best with what we have and would like to again say sorry to
anyone who suffered from the dust last weekend and indeed on June 27.
Bangerstox and Super Rod entry list for Kent
and Southern Championships (added July 14)
Following last weekend’s meeting at Dover Raceway we can now confirm the
drivers who have been invited to take part in the second championship meeting of
the season for Bangerstox and Super Rods at Dover.
The top 25 (there was a tie for 24th) Bangerstox drivers will be able to compete
for their 2010 Kent Championship while the current top 12 in the Super Rod chart
will be eligible to race for the 2010 Southern Championship.
In both formulas the drivers will race in two qualifying heats which will
determine the starting grids for the championship races.
In the Bangerstox the grids for each heat will be determined by a random (Incarace)
draw while in the Super Rods the grid for heat one will be determined by a
random draw but the grid for the second race will be a reserve of heat one.
Although there will be no grades for this meeting, drivers are expected to have
the correct roof grade on their cars and new grades will be issued after this
meeting for the final two meetings of 2010.
In the meantime here are the list of qualifiers for both formulas. Well done to
everyone who has secured a place at this event and bad luck to those who missed
out who unfortunately will not be able to race at this meeting. Drivers who have
qualified but are unable to attend are asked to please contact RDC either by
phone or e-mail to let us know as drivers who simply do not turn up will forfeit
bookings at future restricted entry meetings in the future including this
year’s Masters Championship
Drivers are also reminded that owing to the expected entry of 2Litre Bangers,
all Super Rod and Bangerstox drivers need to transport their cars with vehicles
which are able to park at the top end of the pits. Drivers whose transport is
unable to park at the top of the hill may be refused entry to the pits and may
not be able to race.
And once again please remember this meeting starts at the new start time of 1pm.
Bangerstox Kent Championship
3 George Forbes
9 Chris Young
11 Brian Willis
15 Jay Powell
23 Darren Young
26 Ant Williams
29 Craig Groombridge
32 Gary Austin
36 Kevin Sims
37 Del Jarman
40 Joe Taylor
52 Richard Randall
55 Clint Miller
58 Owen Childs
62 Steve Cross
63 Shane Bullen
64 Aaron Harris
65 Chris Bull
66 Kev Hook
69 Andy Bucket
80 Stacey Griffiths
83 Paul Apps
95 Paul Chapman
96 Andy Chapman
111 Nick Glover
Super Rods Southern Championship
7 Dave Ward
14 Frank Gough
17 John Shilleto
21 Kevin Hickey
28 Andrew Donavan
41 Pete Emson
76 Oliver Jarvis
77 Mark Shingleton
84 Gary Harvey
88 Jason Anderson
121 Nigel Goodwin
271 Aaron Beany
National Banger RWD Series Points (added July 14)
Following the unlimited Suffolk Open and Kent Championships over the last couple
of weekend we now have just one round remaining in the new National Banger RWD
series at RDC prior to the first ever RWD Series Final at RDC’s maiden all
Granada National Banger meeting in September at Mildenhall.
Congratulations to 22 Dave Vincent and 53 Dave Palmer on winning the Suffolk
Open and Kent Championships and with it they have become the first two drivers
to guarantee themselves a place in the series final, although both are
comfortably inside the top 18 with one final qualifying round to go, the 2Litre
RWD session at Mildenhall on July 24.
In fact the last two weeks have seen Palmer storm to the top of the points race
while fantastic displays for 188 John Reeves and 502 Kayligh Dighton have also
seen them leap up the order. Palmer is worthy of extra marks as the only driver
to race at both the Mildenhall and Dover unlimited meetings this month, earning
extra praise for using two fresh cars at the events.
Here are the current standings, the top 18 in the points following the 2litre
RWD meeting on July 24 will advance to the series final on September 11.
53 Dave Palmer 86pts
349 Lee Saunders 83
188 John Reeves 70
67 Mark Whittaker 69
384 John Golden 60
502 Kayligh Dighton 55
97 Dave Allen 52
682 Paul Sparrow 47
22 Dave Vincent 45
446 Lee Greer 43
113 Steve Sedgwick 41
348 Sonny Sherwood 33
511 Helen Licquorice 32
81 Lee Greenwood 31
382 Jack Foster Jnr 30
728 Tim Dray 29
67 Rickie Beasley 28
101 Ian Norris 26
267 Martin French 26
252 Steve Bugler 25
442 Sean Crittenden 24
4 Sam Nice 22
346 Scott Saunders 22
148 Ian Redden 20
445 Mark Dorrill 19
492 Dean Harper 19
587 Alex Humphrey 19
898 Andy Battle 19
Congratulations to Jack Overy-King of the Peak
Champion (added July 14)
While we don’t have full details we would like to congratulate 617 Jack Overy
on winning the unlimited banger King of the Peak Championship at Buxton last
week.
This marks the first time an RDC driver has won this event and secures Overy a
place in the 2011 National Banger BBA Supreme Championship at Mildenhall.
Also among the entry were fellow RDC pilots and Team Black team mates 17 Kyle
Overy and 384 John Golden, the former piloting a Granada limo for the afternoon.
National Bangers end of season championship
qualifiers (added July 14)
With the 2010 season now at full speed here are the first qualifiers for the
various end of season National Banger championships. The lists are up to and
including July 10.
Trophy Winners Dash (Dover September 27)
Qualifying is achieved by winning a trophy at Dover in 2010 in any National
Banger event prior to the Trophy Winners Dash. This includes trophy winners on
September 27 prior to the Trophy Winners Dash. DD and entertainer award winners
also qualify
30 Roy Laybourn Jnr
53 Dave Palmer
60 Steve Laybourn
81 Lee Greenwood
101 Ian Norris
105 Chris Jacobs
113 Steve Sedgwick
117 Trevor Wright
188 John Reeves
328 Mark Hughes
349 Lee Saunders
382 Jack Foster Jnr
402 Albie Jenner
442 Sean Crittenden
502 Kayligh Dighton
807 Chris Murfin
Accumulator Championship (Mildenhall October 16)
Qualifying is achieved by winning an Accumulator qualifier or Destruction Derby
at Mildenhall or Dover between November 8 2009 and October 2 2010 or winning an
entertainer award in either of these events in this period. Drivers who finish
second in an Accumulator qualifier will form a list of reserves and will be
added to the championship should under 40 qualifiers attend. However should more
than 40 qualifiers attend they will all compete.
12 Tony Spinnewijn (CAMSO)
17 Kyle Overy
20 Andy Burbridge
30 Roy Laybourn Jnr
40 Martin Keep
53 Dave Palmer
55 Graham Smith (Buxton)
60 Kyle Stevenson (TSR)
67 Mark Whittaker (Barford)
77 Russell Gill (TSR)
81 Lee Greenwood
101 Ian Norris
105 Chris Jacobs
119 Davey Cox (TSR)
128 Andy Shipp
140 Mark Lee
148 Ian Redden
159 Darren Scarrow
160 Perry Willings
176 Ady Gibbs
180 Mark Foster
188 John Reeves
207 Darren Bradford (Autospeed)
252 Steve Bugler (Autospeed)
262 Buddy James (Autospeed)
262 Jason Barnard
262 Chris Walters
313 Scott Elden
326 Shane Lynn
328 Mark Hughes
331 Jason Jackson (Autospeed)
349 Lee Saunders
360 Jack Reynolds
371 Jason Cobbold
382 Jack Foster Jnr
384 John Golden
433 Ben Smith (Spedeworth)
446 Lee Greer
452 Anthony Sleeman (Autospeed)
460 Lewis Barber (Spedeworth)
502 Kayligh Dighton
525 Wes Starmer
556 Chris Whiteman Jnr (PRI)
602 Shaun Cooper
604 Ross Cooper
617 Jack Overy
648 Kyle Guyler (Incarace)
682 Paul Sparrow
728 Tim Dray
730 Dean Mayes (Spedeworth)
766 Pete Paynes
Reserves (in order)
511 Helen Licquorice
247 Lee Clarke (Spedeworth)
54 Martin Lawton
311 Danny Allen (Mendips)
442 Sean Crittenden
755 Martin Crabb
256 Chris Filby (Spedeworth)
303 Wayne Linsdale
72 Billy Bond (Barford)
54 Jason Blackford
Allstar Dash for Cash (Mildenhall October 30)
Qualifying is achieved by finishing in the top three in any final or
championship at Mildenhall between November 8 2009 and October 16 2010.
4 Sam Nice
15 Ben Tovey (Mendips)
17 Kyle Overy
22 Dave Vincent
53 Dave Palmer
64 Barry Lee
67 Mark Whittaker (Barford)
77 Russell Gill (TSR)
86 Alec Savage
88 Ash Burton
97 Dave Allen
101 Keith Roberts (Buxton)
107 Michael Seex
116 Nat Cohn (TSR)
119 Davey Cox (TSR)
124 John Chaplin
160 Perry Willings
180 Mark Foster
208 Jimmy Randall (Autospeed)
209 Tom Waller (Spedeworth)
232 Steve Pope (TSR)
239 Andy Swift
247 Lee Clarke (Spedeworth)
262 Jason Barnard
267 Martin French (Incarace)
303 Wayne Linsdale
328 Mark Hughes
331 Jason Jackson (Autospeed)
348 Sonny Sherwood (Spedeworth)
370 John Cobbold
382 Jack Foster Jnr
417 Dan Davey
446 Lee Greer
460 Lewis Barber (Spedeworth)
465 Andy Scarlett
511 Helen Licquorice
617 Jack Overy
673 Darren Fendley (TSR)
682 Paul Sparrow
741 Luke Parfitt (Spedeworth)
807 Chris Murfin
837 Martin Wesby (Incarace)
998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr (Startrax)
Important messages from ORC to all National Banger drivers (added June 30)
Following a mid season specification meeting of ORC promoters last wee we have some important information to relay to all National Bangers which come into immediate effect.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly for RDC in particular, the dizzy guard experiment for unlimited bangers which was announced in April has been scrapped with immediate effect. This has come with strong insistence from the ORC and such guards will not be permitted at Mildenhall this weekend or Dover next weekend. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes any drivers over the next two weekends. As it stands there appears precious little chance that a dizzy guard rule will be reintroduced at RDC or elsewhere in the immediate future.
Secondly a new rule has been introduced by the ORC, this morning we received an official press release detailing this. The statement is below in full.
The ORCi Technical Sub Committees met last week to discuss any rules changes for 2011.
These will be published in due course, however, there is an additional rule that will be implemented this year and will apply from 1st July 2010.
This new rule was based on the findings of four cars that were presented for scrutineering at Crasharama and were ‘overbuilt’ to the current specifications.
The ORCi does not wish to see Bangers with chassis strengthening and additional steel strengthening which goes well beyond the scope of the rule book.
The new rule reads as follows:
If a car is presented for PRE-RACE scrutineering and found to be armoured or strengthened and cannot be corrected on the day, the driver will receive an immediate 12 month ORCi ban. Please note, this includes engine or gearbox suspensions mounts that are over the top and also includes distributor and cam belt guards that cannot be corrected on the day and be re-presented for scrutineering.
If the car is subject of POST-RACE scrutineering checks and fails in any of the above noted areas, the driver will receive an immediate 12 month ORCi ban, irrespective of whether the problem could have been corrected on the day.
Please note that there will be no exceptions. This trend of the overbuilding of cars has to be stamped out immediately.
Finally, at all limited cc meetings where the Ford Mondeo is outlawed, the Ford Cougar is also excluded. This will be the case for the 1800cc Suffolk Open at Mildenhall on July 25 and also the 1600cc meeting on October 2.
Bangerstox and Super Rod grades and Masters qualifying points (added June 30)
Following last weekend’s meeting at Dover Raceway we have as promised new grades for the Bangerstox for the July 11 meeting and we also have updated grades for the Super Rods for the same meeting.
Furthermore we also bring you here extended editions of the current Masters Championship qualifying points.
While we appreciate we only had a new Super Rod grading list for the formula prior to last weekends meeting with the points race proving very close this season we will continue to update the grades as and when needed in a bid to keep the high standard of close and exciting racing.
Bangerstox Grades (effective on July 11)
Masters: 29
Southern: 15
Red: 32, 63, 64, 96
Blue: 11, 23, 36, 37, 40, 62, 65
Yellow: 3, 9, 26, 52, 55, 58, 61, 66, 80, 83, 95
Super Rod Grades (effective July 11)
Points and Southern: 88
Masters and Kent: 121
Red: 21
Blue: 7, 17, 41, 77
Yellow: 14, 28, 76, 271
Bangerstox Masters Qualifying Points
23 Darren Young 55pts
32 Gary Austin 50
40 Joe Taylor 46
64 Aaron Harris 45
9 Chris Young 38
52 Richard Randell 38
36 Kevin Sims 36
50 Ray Walker 35
63 Shane Bullen 34
65 Chris Bull 32
96 Andy Chapman 32
15 Jay Powell 30
69 Andy Bucket 30
11 Brian Willis 29
26 Ant Williams 29
33 John Butcher 27
62 Steven Cross 26
37 Del Jarman 25
47 Barry Sunter 25
29 Craig Groombridge 24
83 Paul Apps 24
3 George Forbes 19
53 Martin Charles 19
66 Kevin Hook 19
24 Mark Sweeney 17
28 Mark Robinson 17
61 Ken Hollamby 17
80 Stacey Griffiths 15
13 Tracey Gilbert 14
89 Gary Kimber 14
59 Nathan Port 13
73 Karl Taylor 12
34 Lisa Fagg 11
111 Nick Glover 11
Super Rod Masters Qualifying points
21 Kevin Hickey 61pts
41 Pete Emson 58
121 Nigel Goodwin 58
7 Dave Ward 56
88 Jason Anderson 53
77 Mark Shingleton 51
17 John Shilleto 26
28 Andrew Donavan 24
76 Oliver Jarvis 21
84 Gary Harvey 19
271 Aaron Beany 16
14 Frank Gough 13
8 Trevor Wright 11
04 Rick Williams 5
RDC at Bandit Memorial (added June 30)
As mentioned last week there was a bumper showing of RDC National Banger drivers at the annual Bandit Memorial at King’s Lynn on June 19 and as promised we now have a more detailed report on the efforts of our drivers.
Starting in the unlimited class where the majority of our 11 drivers were also competing in the annual pre 70 events. Four of these came from the WI Engineering camp with 101 Richard Rayner and 520 Derek Caton returning their Humber Hawks from the unlimited team meeting as did 503 Dan Hollinsworth with his Rover P5 while 352 Ben Mynott raced his ultra smart Super Snipe which failed to run at the same meeting. Also in the classic car events, 221 Michael Whitelock piloted a tidy Volvo 164, 125 Roy Preece debuted a cool Plymouth Fury and 830 Lee White turned out a lush looking P5. Also in the unlimited class was 99 Scott Gough, 133 Karl Day, 148 Ian Redden and 726 Kalin Dawe.
Rayner had the Mk2 Jaguar of 302 Tom Meekings out at the start of the pre 70 championship race while Mynott and 830 Stretch tangle and hit the back straight plating before Preece hit the marker tyres on the home straight. 520 the Undertaker removed 85 James Ellis at the end, the latter landing a revenge hit just as the reds came out with Rayner registering a fifth place finish.
Ellis laid into Mynott at the start of the pre 70 Allcomers while 503 Odd Job found the fence along with the Firebird of 425 Martin Stopher. This allowed 886 Adrian French to dish out a big hit to the former but WI revenge was swift when Rayner blasted 886 Shades’ Rover P6. Mynott recovered to attack Meekings as Odd Job traded blows with the similarly mounted Ellis, Mynott then attacking the latter as Rayner again posted RDC’s only top 10 finish in fifth again.
Onto the main unlimited programme with Rayner hitting the plating and taking a savage hit from 455 Rick Finney as 148 Shorty raced to a fifth and 99 Goffy claimed ninth. More Humber wreckage in the second heat as 326 Paul Picton span Mynott, the latter the decimated by 521 Ash Riley, the Snipe further wrecked when 726 the Chimp hit it later in the race.
Onto the final with no RDC action and Shorty again in the places in eighth but he came back to take the spoils in the Allcomers and with it secure a place on the grid in the World of Shale Championship in September.
No RDC interest in the demo so onto the 2litre class where we were equally well represented where the dozen strong RDC showing which made up almost a quarter of the entry. The majority were from the Predator camp who were racing in memory of their former team mate and their double figure entry included 38 Tom and 137 Jay Chilton, 79 Ricky Twell, 176 Ady Gibbs, 401 Steve Hemmings, 404 Luke Brinton, 519 Lee Middleton and 779 Luke Allen. Joining them were 396 Graham Hyla, 525 Wes Starmer, 527 Michael Norman and 715 Mick Prince.
The spinning 176 Gibbo was hit by 338 Terry Garrod in the first heat while 79 Twelly came under fire from 49 Marc Heilds, Gibbo rallying back for a big hit on the fenced Norman as Prince removed 269 Tom Morris. Jay Chilton took the honours with 38 Tommy Gun second and Prince fourth.
No RDC action in the second heat but 525 Wes claimed seventh so into the final where again the Predators were well involved. 404 Spook fenced Norman although the former was then run in hard by 223 Brett Harrison and 50 Simon West as 70 Ant Long buried 401 Psycho. The luckless Spook was then T-boned by 119 Davey Cox as Twelly buried 45 Rob Hughes and the recovered Psycho did the same to 791 Nicky Young. 779 Munch meanwhile raced to the win followed home by Tommy Gun, Gibbo and Chilton for a somewhat fitting Predator clean sweep while Wes was seventh and Psycho ninth.
Heilds was mauled by Tommy Gun, Chilton and others at the start of the Allcomers before Munch celebrated his win by following in Wes and Gibbo was buried by Cruncher. Psycho turned round to T-bone 317 Nick Wakeham with Tommy Gun taking second this time.
Chilton buried West early on in the DD as Munch nailed Hughes before he also stuck it to 5 Mark Codd while Chilton went on to give Long a big hit. 73 Dean Cruickshank later T-boned Chilton while 60 Kyle Stevenson and Munch enjoyed a head-on to wrap up the RDC involvement in the meeting.
Statement from RDC Promotions (added June 23)
RDC Promotions would like to take this time to make a statement in reaction to the comments made at the weekend by a fellow ORC promoter in their programme editorial which RDC
found absolutely shocking and would like to stress that what has been written is a complete lie.
The accusation that RDC were “doing their best to destroy a memorial meeting” by staging our event at Mildenhall Stadium last Saturday has left us somewhat dumbfounded that a fellow ORC promoter could write such an out and out fabrication.
RDC would like to stress that our 2010 fixtures were announced on this website as early as September 2009, many weeks and months before any other ORC promoter confirmed their dates. Further more the said author of the remark in question has clearly forgotten a conversation held in December 2009 when all our dates were discussed with them at length. Not only were no objections raised to us staging a meeting on June 19 2010 but in fact we were complimented by the promotion for considering their National Banger fixtures when we comprised our own dates.
Claims that the memorial meeting in question is held on a “pretty established date” are somewhat futile given that in its seven year history the event has been held on three different weekends in June and on three occasions the meeting has been held on a Sunday afternoon rather than a
Saturday. Again the promotion knew of our intended June 19 date in early September and at no time was any objection raised.
Accusations that RDC tried to ‘destroy’ the meeting are further laughable when you consider around 25 RDC registered National Banger drivers raced at the meeting despite us staging a meeting on the same night. As always these drivers
raced where and when they wanted with no objection from RDC.
This week we have been in contact with several members of the family in question and it has been somewhat reassuring that none of the people we have spoken
too, and it appears the family as a whole, share the opinion given in the programme and they have
instead been very complimentary to us in the situation and for this we are
especially grateful.
We are sorry for having to raise this matter here but since the subject was made public we felt we had little option but to answer it
publicly with the truths surrounding the issue which seemingly have been glossed over in a rather pathetic attempt to smear our reputation. We sincerely hope this puts an end to the matter and that there is no repeat of such incidents in the future.
BriSCA F2 Stockcars White and Yellow Grade Series (added June 23)
Following round four of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar track championship last weekend we have the current scores in this seasons white and yellow grade final.
Remaining rounds are on July 24 and 25 and August 28 with the series final on October 2 which will be open to the top 28 drivers in the chart.
150 Mark Thoms 65pts
662 Steve Wycherly 64
597 Barry Clow 50
495 John Cayzer 49
645 James Waters 43
259 Simon Farrington 41
37 Tony Smith 38
449 Mark Dorrill 36
922 Graham Lee 36
260 Anthony Winters 34
498 Derek Cayzer 34
366 Mick Kemp 32
450 Ben Goddard 30
291 Craig Tomblin 28
588 Matt Pettit 28
274 Trevor Bonnett 27
589 Colin Eardley 26
515 Lee Veall 25
448 John Wright 23
496 Anthony Dakin 23
466 Jamie Start 22
431 Andy Gibbs 21
607 Paul Barrett 20
925 Paul Wilson 19
369 Ben Atkinson 18
129 Bill Bignell 15
376 Darren Seneschall 15
423 Neil Darby 15
611 Jason Horner 15
917 Nigel Wiles 15
433 Steve Lilley 14
631 Ron Ferguson 13
995 Michael Lloyd 12
231 Matt Clayton 11
284 Jody Griffin 10
288 Stuart Whetstone 10
335 Danny Cassar 10
728 Carl Pilkinton 10
488 Liam Benton 8
332 Chris Eaton 6
Mildenhall June Weekend meeting round up and thanks (added June 16)
All at RDC would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who supported and made the first two day event at Mildenhall Stadium this weekend such a success.
In total 130 National Banger drivers competed over the weekend (racing 147 different National Bangers between them) and in all a whopping 186 different drivers raced with a total of 203 different cars in action.
There is no denying that the National Banger drivers generated two superb days of on track action, both the Inter Counties team challenge and Hot Shot Championship for the second year running producing some quality racing as they look to become established parts of the fixtures.
While it was disappointing that the Inter Counties team challenge was enjoyed by a smaller crowd that what we are used to at Mildenhall it was little surprise given the major sporting event on the same night. However those on hand enjoyed one of the hardest banger meetings we’ve seen this season at Mildenhall. With the Inter Counties now established as providing some of the best on track action in both of its outings we are determined to make this a must see fixture in 2011.
We want to very much thank the captains and all their drivers who made such an amazing effort behind the scenes to make this meeting what it was. Their support for this event so far has been incredible and will be a critical key to its future success.
Likewise the under 25 Hot Shot Championship proved another great success with another triple figure entry meeting at Mildenhall despite there being many high profile events on the same day (not only was the Hot Shot meeting the biggest banger turn out of the weekend, but the restricted entry Inter Counties event was the second highest). With around 75 young guns in action they again delivered a clear reminder of the superb amount of young blood in the sport and their championship was a fantastic event and a serious contender for race of the year at Mildenhall.
Away from the National Banger action we would like to extend a massive thanks to all our Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers who made a stellar effort for their maiden trip to Mildenhall for the first ever Suffolk Championship which based on the strength of support shown this year looks likely to be an annual event.
What was especially impressive was that not only so many drivers made the long trip from their Kent bases to Suffolk but how they managed to maintain strong fields throughout the weekend. Of the 29 Bangerstox which attended, only two failed to race on the Sunday and 21 competed in the all in Grand Final. The 13 Super Rods represented the majority of drivers who have raced in the formula this season and amazingly only one of their five races did not have a full field.
We would also like to thank all the drivers in the Bangerstox, Super Rods and 1300cc Stockcars who adapted very well to the tight turn around at Mildenhall and in almost every case the drivers were ready for action when we needed them. This helped us tremendously in completing each day of the programme so well with the 12 races on Saturday done in little over three and a half hours (despite a short delay for the ambulance and some waits for the National Banger drivers to complete repairs) and the whopping 17 race programme on Sunday was completed in around five hours despite some big clear up operations in the National Banger drivers and an unfortunate delay to repair some fence damage during the first National Banger support race.
Our thanks also go to our team who worked hard all weekend to get through the racing as well as possible.
Finally we would like to again thank everyone who stayed all weekend and once again created a fantastic atmosphere in and out of the stadium all weekend. Once again this was complimented by many people and the Mildenhall weekend’er reputation took another step forward with many now looking forward to the July event on July 24 and 25.
Congratulations to new Bangerstox and Super Rod Suffolk Champions (added June 16)
Congratulations are in order this week to 17 John Shilleto and 64 Aaron Harris who triumphed in the maiden Suffolk Championships for Super Rods and Bangerstox respectively at Mildenhall last weekend.
After much thought, we have decided that the event, like the existing championships, should be deserving of a roof grade so the driver’s car can wear something which indicates they are a champion. However as the Mildenhall event is likely to remain a once a year event at best we don’t feel it would be fair for a driver who excelled at Mildenhall to have to start at the back of the grid at Dover for 12 months, given the polar opposites of the track.
Therefore both Suffolk Champions will start in whatever grade they have currently earned for the next 12 months but if they wish they may paint two black stripes on the passenger side of their roof to designate they are Suffolk Champions.
However should the Suffolk Championship take place again in 2011, then both champions will have to start at the back of the grid with the other championship holders.
Bangerstox and Super Rod grade changes for Dover June 27 (added June 16)
Following last weekend at Mildenhall we have some grade changes for both the Super Rods and Bangerstox ahead of their next meeting at Dover on June 27.
As the majority of our 2010 Super Rods drivers were in action we have elected to do a full grade update but as only around half of our Bangerstox drivers were able to make the trip to Mildenhall we have decided to just move a few drivers up the grades which are the ones who have moved into the top 20 in the points after the weekend which means they must be automatically at least yellow grade. For the Bangerstox, the grades issued for the May 31 remain in effect (except the changes below) for June 27 and new grades will come in after this meeting.
The Super Rod grades for June 27 are as follows
Masters and Kent: 121
Silver and Southern: 88
Red: 21, 41
Blue: 14, 17, 28, 77
Yellow: 7, 76, 84, 271
The changes to the Bangerstox grades for June 27 are as follows
Up to blue: 64
Up to yellow: 51, 55, 80
National Banger bookings now open for One Wild Weekend (added June 16)
In the wake of our first two day event of the season at Mildenhall we have now opened bookings for the second weekend event of the year at the Suffolk shaleway, the second annual One Wild Weekend where National Banger racing will play a massive part on July 24 and 25.
As previously announced, the Saturday night fixture will be the third annual 2Litre all rear wheel drive meeting and Sunday will be the second annual National Banger Suffolk Open Championship. However this season’s Sunday fixture will be very different to the 2009 event, run to an 1800cc limit with Mondeos not permitted and additionally any 2Litre RWD car (again no Mk1/2 Granadas or large Volvos) can race.
Drivers can book in through the usual channels, ideally by e mailing wastedmc@btopenworld.com or phoning 01268 412299 or 07850 683953. However as always these lists should be treated as a guide only as all drivers will be welcome on both days and there are no limits on car numbers for either meeting. We will update the lists as and when we have new information.
2Litre RWD Bangers (no Mk1/2 Granadas or large Volvos): Mildenhall July 24
8 Dale Woolnough
17 Kyle Overy
21 Jason Colbert
67 Rickie Beasley (Spedeworth)
86 Alec Savage
128 Andy Shipp
160 Perry Willings
164 Barry Sedgwick
188 John Reeves
303 Wayne Linsdale
313 Craig Osbourn
320 Paul Seymour
349 Lee Saunders
385 Paul Evans
415 Scott Cornish
417 Dan Davey
446 Lee Greer
511 Helen Licquorice
538 Jake Swan
617 Jack Overy
1800cc Bangers Suffolk Open Championship (no Mondeos but 2litre RWD permitted): Mildenhall July 25
8 Dale Woolnough
61 Karl Totham
86 Alec Savage
128 Andy Shipp
160 Perry Willings
161 John Willings
188 John Reeves
303 Wayne Linsdale
320 Paul Seymour
385 Paul Evans
415 Scott Cornish
465 Andy Scarlett
511 Helen Licquorice
547 Tony McNeil
617 Jack Overy
807 Chris Murfin
928 Emmerson Prime
998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr (Startrax)
National Bangers White and Yellow Grade Series standings (added June 16)
As always we continue to bring you the latest standings in the National Banger white and yellow grade series at Mildenhall and here are the current points following Mildenhall on June 12 and 13. The top 40 in the chart following the all Granada meeting on September 11 will qualify for the final on October 16.
160 Perry Willings 130pts
262 Jason Barnard 119
313 Craig Osbourn 107
511 Helen Licquorice 97
303 Wayne Linsdale 95
17 Kyle Overy 93
8 Dale Woolnough 92
200 Wayne Holton 90
124 John Chaplin 88
326 Shane Lynn 86
328 Daniel Latham 79
547 Tony McNeil 75
587 Alex Humphrey 74
415 Scott Cornish 73
180 Mark Foster 72
21 Jason Colbert 67
446 Lee Greer 68
107 Michael Seex 67
912 Kieran Greenaway 67
382 Jack Foster Jnr 64
328 Mark Hughes 63
352 Ben Mynott 61
210 John Ellison 56
128 Andy Shipp 55
100 Callum White 54
54 Martin Lawton 52
527 Michael Norman 50
807 Chris Murfin 50
384 John Golden 49
538 Jake Swan 49
113 Steve Sedgwick 48
526 Tony Gates 48
442 Sean Crittenden 46
88 Ash Burton 45
320 Paul Seymour 45
659 Stu Bird 45
603 Jon Cooper 44
371 Jason Cobbold 43
417 Dan Davey 43
137 Jay Chilton 41
525 Wes Starmer 41
117 Karl Dack 40
830 Lee White 39
539 Danny Allen 38
701 Kevin Cooper 38
755 Martin Crabb 38
59 Ben Jackson 35
61 Karl Totham 35
209 Ben Hayward 35
801 Jack Foster 35
26 Daniel Holmes 34
205 Kieran Briddock 34
437 Chris Bailey 33
Congratulations to Mark ‘Sparky’ Foster (added June 9)
Just a short line to underline the impressive achievements of RDC young gun Sparky 180 Mark Foster who has been in superb form away from home in recent weeks.
Over the bank holiday weekend he finished at excellent second in the unlimited banger Crasharama event at Taunton before entering a trademark crashing display later in the day and last weekend he won the DD at Buxton during the second leg of the England v Ireland team race following a much rated never say die performance. His full contact display at the 2litre world qualifier at King’s Lynn on May 15 and 2litre team meeting at Arena on May 3 has also earned him race reviews on what is shaping up to be a killer season for the RDC livewire.
Dedicated Suffolk Open Championship section added to website (added June 9)
Those of you who visited the site earlier this week may have noticed we have added a section to the site which will be dedicated to the build up to one of the biggest banger meetings of the season at RDC, the unlimited banger Suffolk Open championship at Mildenhall on July 3.
Complete details of the meeting can be found from this page of the site including the current entry list which has swelled somewhat this week, another 20 new names taking the list towards the 70 mark and should we receive any more bookings in the next few days we will update the list next week.
Bank holiday weekend round up and thank you (added June 2)
Before we delve into the more news worthy items of this weeks bumper news update we would like to start by once again extending a massive thank you to everyone who contributed to two successful bank holiday weekend meetings at RDC.
While neither meeting was without its faults we enjoyed some fantastic support from drivers and fans and some great on track action.
Starting with Mildenhall where despite the bleak region wide weather forecast proving maybe too accurate we were still joined by a quite incredible turnout of drivers and fans. In all an amazing 132 drivers competed in the 18th annual pre 70 banger meeting including drivers from Scotland and mainland Europe and not for the first time the standard of presentation and material was second to none and a credit to all.
Furthermore the fans still braved the elements and turned out to support the meeting in fabulous numbers and for the second weekend running there was a great atmosphere reported on the stands, something many of the drivers have commented on.
We would also like to thank the RDC team for their efforts behind the scenes to help the night run as smooth as we could.
One area we would very much like to address was the questions raised by the Gaz M50 raced by 13 Pietra Liestra. As some of you may be aware this car was not originally intended to race at Mildenhall but the engine transplant used meant it did not meet the rules of the meeting Pietra built the car for. The transplant also meant the car did not meet the rules of our meeting but special consideration was given with all the extreme circumstances taken into measure such as the age of the car, the driver in question and the fact that we genuinely felt an honest mistake had been made in the first place. Therefore with several conditions put in place between ourselves and Peewee he was granted permission to race the car. However we must stress this was very much a one off based on very unique, unusual and somewhat extreme circumstances and there is no change to the pre 70 rules regarding engine transplants which must be no more than 2litre.
Onto Dover for meeting three of the season and once again the pits were rammed with over 110 race cars squeezed in and they served up some great action.
Two thrilling title races, some cracking action in the Rookie Bangers and one of the better caravan races as well all added up to a superb day on track which was only marred by the unfortunate accident in the public area mid way through the meeting resulting in a near 90 minute delay while the ambulance had to leave the raceway.
As announced at the track on Monday, we understand everyone involved is ok which is certainly the most important thing but again we would like to apologise for the delay and thank everyone who waited patiently for the racing to resume. To those who did leave early we trust you can understand the reasons behind the delay and we hope to see you again very soon.
Reliant Robin World Final grid (added June 2)
Following the final world championship qualifying round last weekend we now have the confirmed qualifiers for the 2010 Reliant Robin World Final which will be staged at Mildenhall on August 14.
Congratulations to defending champion 553 Daniel Douglas on topping the qualifying chart to secure pole position for the big race.
The race to join him on the front row went right to the wire, 96 Ian Robins looking on course to book the spot but mechanical failure saw his final end a lap early and 16 Ray Layton snatched the front row spot from him.
Well done to all the qualifiers who are listed below in points and grid order
553 Daniel Douglas 136pts
16 Ray Layton 92
96 Ian Robins 84
355 Mick Walker 84
66 Steve Willis 83
485 Gary Archer 61
87 Barry Richards 60
30 James Donavan 57
29 Steve Donavan 53
195 Pete Bowley 53
554 Chalky Douglas 53
103 Paul Fairman 40
85 James Ellis 39
484 Gary Harvey 38
78 Mark Bowskill 37
28 David Donavan 35
552 Karl Douglas 34
275 Phil Rowbottom 32
197 Tom Tatham 32
186 George Turiccki 31
339 Lee Pullen 26
117 Karl Dack 25
576 Colin Aldred 25
433 Andy Parker 25
04 Kevin Tatham 19
94 Mick Acheillous 18
185 Ben Oliver 18
854 Carl Pickworth 18
Reserves
1st: 272 Martin Vella
2nd: 12 Alan Norris
3rd: 264 Shaun Richards and 351 Tut Knowles
Fantastic National Banger stats at Mildenhall in May (added June 2)
May has been an incredible month of National Banger action at Mildenhall featuring the third British qualifier, unlimited van meeting, the maiden unlimited EA team championship and 18th annual pre 70 meeting.
All four meetings were superbly supported with entries of 84, 43, 97 and 132 respectively and together they have led to some stunning stats once again underlining the incredible commitment by the RDC banger drivers and the incredible support being shown for the meetings at
RDC.
It is also worth highlighting that of all the
National Banger meetings in the sport in May, the pre 70 was not only the
biggest turnout but the only one to break the magical 100 car mark. Furthermore
the unlimited team meeting was the second biggest turnout in May and also the
second biggest unlimited entry in the sport this season and the British
qualifier was the third biggest turnout in the sport last month making it the
best domestic turnout in May 2010. Adding to the impressive stats of last months
Mildenhall meetings, the unlimited van banger meeting was once again the best
attended van meeting of the month which are all amazing stats and we immensely
proud of them all so thanks to everyone who helped make them happen.
No less than 277 different National Banger drivers raced at Mildenhall during the month of May including drivers from almost every major promotion, Scotland and five from mainland Europe
Just three drivers managed to race at all four meetings so a massive message of congratulations should go to 17 Kyle Overy, 587 Alex Humphrey and 682 Paul Sparrow for this achievement. An extra mark is deserving to 17 the Little Chief and 587 Humps who also squeezed in trips to Sheffield and Aldershot respectively in the month.
Spare a thought though for 20 Andy Burbridge who raced at three of the four and would have made it a clean sweep had he not suffered a break down on route to the pre 70. As it was he was one of 14 drivers who raced at three of the four Mildenhall meetings this month and he also raced at both Dover meetings in May.
The remainder of the drivers who competed at three of the four Mildenhall meetings are all worthy of a mention and are listed below along with any additional meetings they raced at in May.
64 Barry Lee
67 Mark Whittaker
101 Richard Rayner
159 Darren Scarrow
262 Jason Barnard (who also raced at Aldershot)
303 Wayne Linsdale (who also raced at Arena)
333 Danny Webb
382 Jack Foster Jnr (who also raced at Sheffield and King’s Lynn)
384 John Golden (who also raced at Sheffield and Taunton)
511 Helen Licquorice (who also raced at King’s Lynn)
525 Wes Starmer (who also raced at King’s Lynn and Skegness)
617 Jack Overy (who also raced at Sheffield)
730 Dean Mayes
Further more 35 drivers raced at Mildenhall twice in May leaving 224 drivers who only raced once at Mildenhall last month. Of these 93 only raced at the pre 70, 55 only raced at the unlimited team meeting and 26 only raced at the unlimited van meeting.
Once again we want to thank all the drivers who raced at RDC last month, in all formulas at both Mildenhall and Dover and thank their teams and families for the tremendous effort they continue to make to bring great entries of cars to our meetings and supply superb on track action.
National Banger RWD Series standings (added June 2)
We are already half way through the newly introduced National Banger RWD Series with last weekend's pre 70 meeting at Mildenhall marking the fourth of the eight round series.
The next round is the unlimited Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall on July 3 which marks the first of three rounds in July which will together determine the 18 drivers who are seeded into the RWD Series Final at the all Granada meeting in September.
In the meantime here are the current points standings
349 Lee Saunders 69pts
67 Mark Whittaker 48
682 Paul Sparrow 47
446 Lee Greer 43
53 Dave Palmer 41
113 Steve Sedgwick 37
348 Sonny Sherwood 33
97 Dave Allen 30
382 Jack Foster Jnr 30
384 John Golden 29
728 Tim Dray 29
511 Helen Licquorice 28
101 Ian Norris 26
252 Steve Bugler 25
442 Sean Crittenden 24
4 Sam Nice 22
81 Lee Greenwood 20
188 John Reeves 20
445 Mark Dorrill 19
67 Rickie Beasley 18
12 Tony Spinnewijn 17
504 Mick Yorke 17
22 Dave Vincent 16
117 Trevor Wright 16
67 Charlotte Whittaker 15
20 Andy Burbridge 14
233 Rob Aldridge 14
303 Wayne Linsdale 14
128 Andy Shipp 13
55 Graham Smith 12
159 Darren Scarrow 12
312 Tom Reynolds 12
370 John Cobbold 12
587 Alex Humphrey 12
Unlimited Banger EA team championship round up and thank you (added May 26)
Everyone at RDC would like to extend a huge message of thanks to everyone who helped make last weekend’s maiden unlimited banger EA team championship at Mildenhall such a massive success.
Firstly we need to thank all the drivers and teams who competed on the night. The demand for bookings completely surpassed all of our expectations for the meetings as did the level of effort made by the drivers with machinery and presentation and there was a high quality of racing and action throughout the night. We would also like to extend our thanks to the teams and families of each of the drivers because as always their support is vitally important. Also we would again like to publicly praise the support shown by the number of teams who are regulars at RDC team events but are not regulars in the unlimited format. Certainly the several teams who made their unlimited banger team meeting debut Saturday played a huge part in the success of the event.
Sticking with the theme of thanking the drivers we would also like to express similar remarks to the BriSCA F2 Stckcars who continued their excellent start to the season at Mildenhall with another thrilling night of open wheeled stockcar action. While for many the stockcars were the supporting formula, they did everything they could to steal the show and produced fans with five highly competitive and action packed races which were a massive credit to both themselves but the formula as a whole.
We would also like to express a massive debt of thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of fans who attended the meeting. Once again this meeting received precious little hype outside of the RDC website but again the fans proved that sometime no hype really is needed as a monster crowd gathered and together generated a tremendous atmosphere throughout the night, something many of the drivers have commented on since.
And finally we want to thank our team who again worked very hard all night to get through the programme as smoothly as possible.
But, it goes without saying that the night wasn’t without it’s problems and in addition to several minor issues there are two main areas we would like to address. The first was the awful dusty conditions in the opening stockcar race of the night. Even with the fantastic weather on the night and in the days leading up to the meeting the amount of dust in race one was a big shock and disappointment to us. We are very sorry to everyone, both fans and drivers, whose enjoyment of the race was effected by this.
The second was that a small number of unlimited banger drivers missed the gate for the Accumulator qualifier and DD. Please understand that the pit gate was held as long as we possibly could in order to complete the programme ahead of curfew and we closed the gate when we did because we could not wait any longer, not because we didn’t think more cars were coming. It is always extremely disappointing when this happens but it was very much a case of this or not running the last race as it could not have started any later than it did.
Other than that, again thank you to everyone who helped make the meeting such a success and talks are already underway to see if we can make the 2011 event even bigger and better.
Swaffham Raceway Shale Shifter Series at Mildenhall Stadium (added May 26)
Although it has been the source of much discussion elsewhere we have been asked by our colleagues at Swaffham Raceway to mention their forthcoming Shale Shifter Series which will be held at Mildenhall Stadium over the next few months, the first event taking place on Sunday, June 20 at 1.30pm.
Round one in the Swaffham Raceway promoted series will feature 1800cc Rookie Bangers (no Mondeos), Stree Stocks, Mondeo Rods, Ladies Bangers and Junior Bangers.
Further events have been scheduled on July 18 and September 19 which will feature unlimited Rookie Bangers.
Although these meetings are being held at Mildenhall Stadium they are very much independent to RDC and are being run completely by the Swaffham Raceway team, for more information and bookings contact Shawn Mason on 07816 469582.
National Banger Old Skool team championship qualifying points (added May 26)
Following last weekends unlimited banger EA team championship we now have the current points chart towards teams qualifying for the National Banger Old Skool team championship in September.
Once again all reigning RDC team champions will be offered first refusal of an Old Skool booking (these teams are highlighted below with a *) and the remaining places will be offered in accordance to the points chart until all 12 available slots are filled.
The qualifying series started at last year’s Old Skool team championship and will conclude at the forthcoming 2litre Kent team championship at Dover in August. On that note we have this week begun contacting the teams from last year’s Kent team championship to see if they wish to race again this year. After this remaining places will be offered to other teams so interested teams are encourage to express their interest as soon as possible through the usual channels and early interest is very strong.
In the meantime here is the current Old Skool qualifying chart, teams with a * have already earned a place as reigning RDC team champions.
Team Green* 62pts
Team 22* 48
Midnight Runners 44
Team Flash 39
Dover Boys 36
Aftermath* 35
Team Kamikaze 32
Motley Krew 31
Predators 31
Damage Inc 30
Bad News 28
Bits and Bobs 25
Gypsy Crew* 25
Thattadoo 23
Clangers 20
Common Crushers 19
Team Black 19
Stanley Crew 16
Cowboys 15
Team Lips 15
The Hogs 15
Team Extreme 14
Mill Green Mafia 13
WI Engineering 13
Banger Wags 10
Grave Diggers 10
Rat Pack 10
Team Mint 10
The Cheetas 10
The Specials 10
Bad Manors 8
Crash Zone 8
Ministox grades for June (added May 12)
As promised following our run of Ministox meetings in May we have new grades for the June meetings. Please note these do not come into effect until the June meetings but we have announced them now in order to give you as much advance notice as possible
Silver: 306, 355
Red: 317, 356
Blue: 302, 309, 315, 366
Yellow: 300, 304, 316, 322, 328, 349, 350, 369, 376, 383, 391, 392
RDC on tour at Battle of Britain (added May 12)
RDC were well represented at the annual unlimited banger Battle of Britain team meeting on May 9 at Sheffield with the four Team Black sides boasting 617 Jack Overy, 807 Chris Murfin, 17 Kyle Overy, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 180 Mark Foster, 384 John Golden and 920 James Medley who were all either XJ or Volvo powered, the latter in a smart XJ coupe. Elsewhere and 148 Ian Redden guested for Six Bolt.
The day started badly for 384 Goldie who found a back straight post early in heat one and was blasted by the 300C of 451 Willy Blackwell before 148 Shorty clobbered the empty car of 132 Chris Cullum. 158 Shane Davies turned his Mercury Grand Marquis around and attacked Jack Overy, the latter replying with a shot behind the drivers door, albeit the first of many on the infield. Overy then switched his attentions to 203 Darren Nash as he came off the centre to dish out a head-on.
382 Chubby was quickly on opposite in heat two to stop 264 Mark Welland head-on only to take a shot from 2 Luke Dawson which left the RDC young gun open to a savage T-bone from 47 Andy Davies. 204 Charlie King meanwhile found the fence and was duly blasted by 180 Sparky as 17 the Little Chief delivered a big hit on 2 Spooky only to take an equally fierce hit himself from Andy Davies. 273 Kevin McClagish then turned round and stopped Sparky head-on with the impressive Andy Davies delivering another big hit on the Team Black guest.
No RDC action in the poorly subscribed heats three and four or the first Allcomers so we move to Allcomers two with Medley having Andy Davies out which allowed 362 Tilly to nail the Condom only to take one in turn from 264 Mark Welland, Medley blasting the latter a split second later. Overy meanwhile spotted Shane Davies on opposite and again came off the infield to nail him, the latter battling on to hit 807 Murf on the centre which led to an exchange of words between them before Overy again laid into the 158 Yank on the infield. Davies again rejoined the shale and was duly buried by Tilly.
The afternoon concluded with a final which would run into a DD. Tilly fenced 34 Wobby early on before Sparky connected on 409 Carl Pears. Into the DD with Medley going head to head with 409 Carlos, the former going on to deliver another to the Crown of 742 Ian Gregory as Overy attacked Blackwell. Sparky stuffed 32 Matt Small while Overy pounded 742 Taz before meeting Blackwell in a meaty head-on. Sparky dished out a hard T-bone to Small as Overy’s day ended with a fire leaving Sparky to silence Small and take the win.
More superb dedication from RDC Banger drivers (added May 12)
Once again a handful of our National Banger drivers have proven themselves as some of the most dedicated drivers in the sport.
Full marks this week go to 20 Andy Burbridge and 53 Dave Palmer who raced at three meetings at RDC in eight days having raced at Mildenhall on May 1 and 8 plus Dover on May 3.
Also not looking to be overlooked 587 Alex Humphrey who also took in three meetings in the same time, racing at both Mildenhall meetings as well as Aldershot on May 2. 17 Kyle Overy almost matched this with three appearances in nine days having raced at both Mildenhall meetings pus Sheffield last Sunday.
Finally we should also mention 511 Helen Licquorice who maintained her 100 per cent attendance record at Mildenhall last weekend at the unlimited van banger meeting.
Saloon Stockcars White and Yellow Grade Series Points (added May 12)
For the first time this season we have an expanded list of qualifying points in the Saloon Stockcar white and yellow grade series.
All meetings up to and including the World Final on September 11 will count towards the series and the series final will be held on October 16 with the race starting in points order. The current scores are as follows.
131 Timmy Barnes 54pts
190 John Wagstaff 52
305 Nigel Parker 43
420 Ivan Street 32
728 Kris Woods 32
731 Barry Wade 30
19 Karl Stubbles 25
127 Steve McMillan 24
570 Simon Venni 24
389 Ryan Santry 21
13 Lee Petters 20
964 Kenny Peters 19
191 Shaun McMillan 18
22 Karl Petters 15
106 Jamie Stafford 11
312 Neil Payne 10
912 Andi Newman 9
233 Rob Aldridge 7
65 Ian Willis 5
80 Lee Boyd 5
140 Joe Cole 5
317 Dwayne Powell 5
417 Fred Powell 5
508 Lee Green 5
638 Martin Bulldeath 5
738 Gary Munns 5
Bank Holiday message of thanks to drivers (added May 5)
All at RDC would like to extend a message of thanks to all the drivers who helped make the bank holiday fixtures at Mildenhall and Dover such a success despite difficult racing conditions.
Both events were superbly supported by drivers with the three formula meeting at Mildenhall boasting 155 race cars which included the biggest National Banger entry anywhere in the country on the weekend and one of the better BriSCA F2 Stockcar turnouts this season. Meanwhile the four formula meeting at Dover saw the pits filled to capacity with 96 race cars including a record breaking entry of van bangers and one of our best ever turn outs of Bangerstox.
But a special thanks goes to all those who competed so well in the wet weather conditions, in the final four races at Mildenhall and on a difficult day at Dover. We would also like to thank everyone at Dover for their co-operation in helping to squeeze all the cars into the pits following the heavy rain at the raceway the previous day.
We would also like to extend a special mention to all the RDC National Banger drivers who competed twice during the course of the weekend. 20 Andy Burbridge, 53 Dave Palmer, 267 James Steel, 402 Albie Jenner, 442 Sean Crittenden and 741 Charlie Daniels raced at both Mildenhall and Dover this weekend.
Meanwhile 262 Jason Barnard and 587 Alex Humphrey raced at both Mildenhall and Aldershot, 492 Dean Harper was in action at Aldershot and Dover and 360 Jack Reynolds raced at Coventry and Aldershot. Well done to all these RDC drivers on their top commitment this weekend.
National Bangers British Championship qualifying points (added May 5)
As always we aim to bring you extend points charts from the points page of the site on the National Banger British Championship qualifying points following the third of five rounds at Mildenhall on May 1.
Things are really starting to heat up now in the race to the big event this summer with the current top 10 boasting some new names. 60 Steve Laybourn, 107 Michael Seex, 160 Perry Willings, 262 Jason Barnard, 303 Wayne Linsdale and 442 Sean Crittenden are all chasing their first ever appearances in the race and 30 Roy Laybourn Jnr is going well in his bid to qualify via the RDC points for the first time.
With this massive influx of new names added to the mix this season it means many of the regular top names are currently on the outside looking in. Regular finalists 682 Paul Sparrow, 465 Andy Scarlett, 188 John Reeves and 53 Dave Palmer along with rated RDC young gun 370 John Cobbold make up the current reserves while note worthy names outside the top 15 include 511 Helen Licquorice, 502 Kayligh Dighton, last years runner up 86 Alec Savage, 61 Karl Totham, Hot Shot champion 180 Mark Foster and many more.
The remaining rounds at Mildenhall on June 19 and Dover on June 27 are set to be very interesting affairs.
Once again the top 10 RDC drivers will qualify for the championship at Mildenhall on August 14 with the next five RDC drivers in the chart acting as reserves. Furthermore there are two wildcard places up for grabs. These will go to the top two scoring visiting drivers provided they score higher than the 10th placed RDC driver in the final chart. Should one of these places go unclaimed it will be offered to the highest driver in the RDC National Points who has not qualified in their own right. Should neither place be claimed the second space will be offered to the highest placed driver in the Mildenhall track championship who has not qualified.
Here is the current standings. Drivers with a * indicates visiting drivers chasing a wildcard place.
617 Jack Overy 164pts
30 Roy Laybourn Jnr 82
60 Steve Laybourn 82
20 Andy Burbridge 75
262 Jason Barnard 71
442 Sean Crittenden 71
116 Nat Cohn 70*
64 Barry Lee 67
107 Michael Seex 67
160 Perry Willings 66
673 Darren Fendley 66*
303 Wayne Linsdale 64
682 Paul Sparrow 62
465 Andy Scarlett 61
188 John Reeves 57
370 John Cobbold 56
53 Dave Palmer 55
511 Helen Licquorice 54
101 Ian Norris 49
998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr 47*
313 Craig Osbourn 42
502 Kayligh Dighton 39
86 Alec Savage 35
402 Albie Jenner 35
61 Karl Totham 34
382 Jack Foster Jnr 34
21 Jason Colbert 32
473 Mark Nicholls 32
180 Mark Foster 31
239 Steve Carter 31*
17 Kyle Overy 30
912 Kieran Greenaway 30
349 Lee Saunders 29
328 Daniel Latham 28
552 Daniel Douglas 28
603 Jon Cooper 28
Congratulations to RDC’s unsung stars (added May 5)
Echoing some of the comments made in the opening paragraph of the National Banger British Championship qualifying points item we would like to congratulate a number of RDC’s rising National Banger stars who continue to make a great impression in 2010.
This season has seen a trend of rising and new stars shooting up the ranks and making quite an impression on the current landscape of the National Banger scene at RDC, a trend we hope will long continue.
Having won the Mildenhall Winter Series in January 442 Sean Crittenden and 511 Helen Licquorice continue to show great form. For the first time ever 442 Critter heads the Dover track championship as well as lying third in the National points, another best ever showing while Helen remains a loft sixth in the Mildenhall points.
Elsewhere and 682 Paul Sparrow continues to have his best season to date, currently lying second in both the Mildenhall and RDC points as well as heading the new Mildenhall DD Championship.
303 Wayne Linsdale’s breakout season is also still going strong and he is lying fourth in the National points and third at Mildenhall.
Meanwhile superb performances last weekend at Mildenhall mean 160 Perry Willings and 262 Jason Barnard currently enjoy their best rankings ever. 160 Pez is currently eighth in the RDC standings and fifth at Mildenhall while 262 the Verger lies seventh at Mildenhall.
Congratulations to all these drivers on their best ever form at RDC and we hope it continues for the remainder of the season.
RDC on tour at Aldershot pre 75 (added May 5)
RDC were well represented at Spedeworth’s annual 2litre and unlimited pre 75 meeting at Aldershot on May 2. The unlimited class boasted 239 Andy Swift and 500 Bill Wenham who were part of a 14 strong Metal Wrecker entry parading smartly turned out Rover P4 and Vanden Plas 4 Litre respectively. Elsewhere and 360 Jack Reynolds had a battle scarred Volvo 240 estate, 492 Dean Harper a simply stunning Vanden Plas 3Litre and 917 John Millen returned a Mk10 Jaguar. Meanwhile in the 2litre class WI Engineering trio 262 Jason Barnard, 520 Derek Caton and 587 Alex Humphrey made up around a quarter of the entry in their ex Hednesford pre 68 cars. The former and latter paraded Humber Sceptres and 520 the Undertaker had a Sunbeam Rapier.
Looking at the 2litres first and the Undertaker was among the early spinners in heat one thanks to 476 Matt Rogers but he recovered to fence 881 Timmy McDonald with 587 Humps then hitting the latter over the rear wheel. 476 the Mig again span the Undertaker as 881 Redneck gained revenge on the WI ranks with a hit on 262 the Verger while 557 Paul Bowen stuffed Humps. 91 Lee Herbert lunged at and span the Verger in the second before the latter came under fire from the Mig early on in the final which also saw humps help wreck Redneck with a good hit. Humps and the Verger made up half the field for the DD and they were well involved. First 794 Simon Foreman enjoyed a head-on with Humps while the Verger was buried by 557 Paranoid. Humps and 794 Shaggy again met on the nose with the Verger then giving the latter a big T-bone. Humps then blasted team mate Verger with Paranoid nailing the former in turn which left Verger as the only car running and he took the win.
208 Jimmy Randall made a beeline for 360 Jackstar in the opening unlimited heat while 492 Mullet was fenced by 373 Kevin Stace’s Westy. 206 Dave King used his DS420 hearse to leather 239 Swifty as the spun Jackstar was T-boned by 924 Matt Millen. 500 Wild Bill was fenced by 528 Alan Hunt’s well smart Trummy estate before 208 the Finger removed John Millen in an all Mk10 affair. Mullet was sent to the fence in heat two by 528 Jethro before Jackstar blasted the Westy of 488 Steve Murrell only to then come under fire from 814 Mark Millen. 82 Paul Tompkins then had Mullet out leaving the latter prone to a big hit from 492 Aaron Cornish. Into the final with John Millen spun early on by 331 Jason Jackson as 888 Andy Simmonds blasted Mullet hard, the latter battling on to have the leading 82 Winkle out and ram the world champion head-on. John Millen ended our interest with a pair of infield attacks on the Finger and Winkle after the reds had come out.
500 National Bangers drivers at RDC already in 2010 (added May 5)
Just a small line to say that we are delighted to report that the bank holiday weekend saw our total number of National Banger drivers to race at RDC thus far in 2010 has already hit the 500 driver mark.
Given that we have had just eight meetings at Mildenhall and two more at Dover, we’re sure you’ll agree this is a fantastic achievement and underlines RDC’s popularity with National Banger drivers at present, something we hope will long continue. Our thanks to all the drivers for helping us reach this goal.
RDC on tour at Coventry, Ipswich and Nutts Corner (added April 28)
With last weekend being a rare weekend off from RDC several of our National Banger drivers could be found in action around the UK.
We were best represented at Coventry on April 23 for their 2litre session but we are without full details at the moment although congratulations are in order to RDC young gun 362 Liam Friel who scored a race win on his trip to the Midlands.
Onto Ipswich on April 24 where 371 Jason Cobbold and 465 Andy Scarlett were among the 45 strong entry for a 1800cc National Banger (no Mondeo) World Qualifier. The latter suffered some serious rear end damage in the midst of a back straight pile-up in the opener but gamely battled on until a blow wheel sidelined him for the race, his car then deemed only fit for the DD by officials. Cobbold made up for being excluded from the opener by turfing 2 Luke Dawson into the marker tyres in the second heat before both featured in the DD. However Scarlett had zero luck, fenced hard by 460 Lewis Barber and then terminated by a head-on from 138 Jason Smy and a wicked T-bone from 247 Lee Clarke. Cobbold further wrecked his RDC stablemate when he buried 522 Tim James into him. Cobbold then unable to avoid catching the spinning 247 Bro in the door before he managed to outlast Midnight Runner trio 10 Paul Whiteman, 514 Marty Eighteen and 730 Dean Mayes to take the win.
Defending champion 133 Karl Day was joined by 726 Kalin Dawne at the annual unlimited Shamwreck at Nutts Corner on April 25 where they were a part of a nine strong Bears entry, armed with a Supra and Volvo 240 respectively. 133 Karly raced to a second in the opening heat before 726 the Chimp stuffed 39 Darren Gaffney in the second only to come under fire from the Ford LTD of 474 Matty Threlkeld. The Chimp was again in the wars in the final when he was followed in by 16 Mike Flaherty, neither RDC driver going the distance in a brutal title race. The Chimp returned for the Allcomers where he traded blows with new champion 271 Mark Dalgarno before he trashed 59 Steven Bolton in the DD. The Chimp was then silenced by 811 Motor Head while Karly delivered hits on 127 Davey Pointin and Matty before shedding a wheel to end our interest in the meeting.
RDC at King’s Lynn round up (added April 28)
It’s been something of a long time coming but we are finally able to bring you some roundups on the RDC driver’s involvement on the recent National Banger scene at King’s Lynn. While these reports are somewhat dated, given the strength of the RDC presence at these meetings we felt they deserved credit.
First up was the annual 2litre banger Commentators Cup on Easter Monday where there was a whopping 20 strong RDC entry among the 72 car field. These were 17 Kyle Overy, 38 Tom Chilton, 88 Ash Burton, 100 Callum White, 137 Jay Chilton, 180 Mark Foster, 303 Wayne Linsdale, 304 Lee Proctor, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 401 Steve Hemmings, 404 Luke Brinton, 415 Scott Cornish, 427 Dave Johnson, 519 Lee Middleton, 525 Wes Starmer, 539 Danny Allen, 779 Luke Allen, 788 Dan Burton, 807 Chris Murfin and 879 Reg Reed.
The meeting opened with a chained pairs race in which Linsdale and Proctor finished fourth before heat one saw Dan Allen spin 300 Darryl McMahon leaving the latter open to a monster hit from 779 Munch and a further shot from Cornish. 300 Weedy lost his helmet in the crash bringing the reds out but thankfully he was ok, 100 Captain Cock and Cornish trashing 443 Justin Warren on the restart, the former racing to third with Jay Chilton, Cornish, Allen and 779 Munch next home as RDC claimed five of the top seven and the latter claimed the entertainer award.
The Predators kicked off heat two with 404 Spook running in 388 Emmerson Fairweather while 519 Knuckles nailed 994 Reece Cox. Spook then rammed 791 Nicky Young on the concrete, the latter replying with an infield attack while Linsdale raced to third, 382 Chubby, 17 the Little Chief, 525 Wes and 88 Ace Ash filling the minor spots.
Knuckles and 401 Psycho fell foul of 50 Simon West at the start of the consolation, Psycho then taking a head-on from 333 James Cooke while Knuckles recovered to blast 285 Sean Dyer. Knuckles continued with a package on 73 Dean Cruickshank only to come under fire from 994 Grease and 457 Dan Cruickshank. 807 Murf claimed third this time with 180 Sparky also qualifying in a minor place.
Murf kicked off the final with a shot on Munch which fired the latter up to blast Grease. Jay Chilton meanwhilt buried 597 Andy Ashman and Linsdale in one go before Wes nailed the spun 372 Martin Scull. Ace Ash then span 38 Charlie Garrod leaving the latter prone to a shot from Jay Chilton, the latter then blasting the luckless Scully as did Murf. Jay Chilton was then destroyed by a series of hits including attacks from Chubby and Murf, the latter then delivering another big hit the lap later by which time the car was empty although he still received the entertainer award despite being loaded for the latter incident. Cornish recorded a fine second with Captain Cock fourth , Sparky sixth and the Little Chief seventh.
Wes treated 70 Ant Long to a head-on in the Allcomers while the on form Munch destroyed 73 Crucko with a rated hit. Ace Ash then buried 238 Graham Garrod while the spun Spook copped head-ons from 388 Emmo and 116 Nat Cohn. Ace Ash continued to bury 897 Matt Battle before Captain Cock destroyed 212 Richard Marion with a savage hit on the Power Station bend. Captain Cock registered seventh this time ahead of Linsdale and Chubby.
RDC were well represented in the DD, making up around two thirds of the 11 car entry. Wes was a non starter but a roof bending hit from Munch got him running only for him to be buried by West. 285 Mr Misery meanwhile attacked Munch leaving the latter open to a shot from Sparky. The Little Chief also laid into Munch as Chubby T-bond Captain Cock and Munch delivered a revenge hit on the Little Chief. Sparky and Munch met on the nose as Captain Cock silenced 5 Mark Codd with a solid hit. Chubby then hit the Aftermath young gun with Sparky also blasting the latter as Johnson scored on Mr Misery, the latter then blasted by Sparky. Mr Misery battled on to attack Johnson but took one in the front wheel from Chubby a short while later as the Little Chief and Johnson went head to head. Chubby and Mr Misery met in similar fashion which allowed Wes to nail the latter. The Little Chief and Johnson continued to trade blows with Wes nailing the former with a big hit as Chubby silenced Mr Misery. Wes then finished Johnson leaving the former and Chubby but neither had enough to finish the other and a dead heat was awarded, Sparky taking the entertainer award.
On to April 17 where the 60 strong entry for a 2litre domestic included RDC’s Knuckles, Jay Chilton, Ace Ash, Burton, Wes, 898 Andy Batte and 715 Mick Prince.
With heat one doubling up as the 2009 TSR White and Yellow Grade final heat two provided our firs interest with Knuckles attacking 858 James Bruce while Chilton delivered a big hit to 169 Len Brinkley. Ace Ash got the better of 897 the Duck and 433 Ben Smith in a fine race for the win with Wes fourth and Battle fifth.
Chilton nailed Burton at the start of the consolation as Prince removed Graham Garrod, the latter taking a mental T-bone from Chilton which brought the event to an early conclusion but not before Knuckles attacked 695 Mark Mason en route to taking second.
Battle came under fire from 47 Chris Malkin in the final while Knuckles again featured with a package on 785 Brendan Bird and Battle met 639 Paul Vines on the nose. Wes took fifth with Ace Ash in ninth.
Wes provided the remainder of our action, blasting 70 Ant Long only to take one from 338 Terry Garrod in the Allcomers in which he finished ninth (Ace Ash took fourth and Prince fifth) before Wes enjoyed hits with 611 Joe Geeves, Smith and 311 Gary Lown en route to sharing the DD honours with 247 Lee Clarke,
The RDC contingent are also impressing in the King’s Lynn points races, Wes and Knuckles currently third and fourth in the entertainers league while Captain Cock heads the visiting drivers points race which is dominated by RDC drivers who fill seven of the top 10 places. Ace Ash is second, Cornish fourth, Wes fifth, Linsdale and 726 Kalin Dawne joint sixth and the Little Chief tenth.
Format confirmed for National Banger Suffolk Open on July 25 (added April 21)
As promised we said we would wait until after our first 1600cc (no Mondeo) National Banger meeting at Mildenhall before settling on what format we would run the second annual £1,000 National Banger Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall on Sunday, July 25 and we can confirm this week that this meeting will be run to an 1800cc limit with Ford Mondeos not permitted but any rear wheel drive car up to 2litre being allowed.
The meeting will take part on the second day of RDC’s One Wild Weekend on July 24 and 25 and while last year’s event featuring 2Litre RWD Bangers on Saturday and National Bangers on Sunday was a great success there was a large area of concern which we were keen to address this season.
That was the very small number of drivers who raced on the Saturday racing their RWD cars on Sunday’s National Banger Suffolk Open Championship. Of the 111 cars which raced on the Saturday, just seven of these cars raced on the Sunday and only around 35 drivers raced on both days.
It was always, and continues to be our aim to come up with a format where drivers are able to race on both days without the need for two different cars and therefore we have given much consideration into what the format for this year's Suffolk Open Championship should be.
With that in mind we made the very unusual step (for RDC at least) to not confirm the meeting format when the rest of the fixtures were announced. This was because we wanted to see how our first 1600cc, no Mondeo, Banger meeting went last weekend with a view to possibly using this format but also including any 2litre RWD car.
While we felt the maiden 1600cc meeting last Saturday was a fine addition to the RDC fixtures we also realised that many of the cars on hand were leftovers from the two 1400cc meetings held the previous weeks. With no 1400cc meetings between now and July 25 we feel it is somewhat pointless to keep the cc limit for FWD cars to 1600cc as the main motivation for this meeting was to encourage drivers to race 1400cc ‘leftovers’.
Therefore for this meeting we are upping the cc limit for FWD drive cars to 1800cc to open the door for a few more cars to be used but also keeping it so those in RWD machines may have a small advantage.
Another motivation in this decision is that we already have several championship races at RDC which are for National Bangers where Mondeos can be used and feel something different may work out better in the long run.
While we appreciate this decision is likely to be met with a mixed reaction from drivers and fans, rest assured it has been taken with the utmost thought and consideration for all and we hope it will prove to be a success.
Please note that the non Mondeo National Banger meeting on October 2 at Mildenhall remains a 1600cc affair but we may look to allow 2litre RWD cars depending on how the Suffolk Open in July goes.
DK Salvage take Saloon Stockcar World Final sponsorship to £1,500 (added April 21)
We are delighted to announce this week that we have confirmed a 13th cash sponsor for the Saloon Stockcar World Championship at Mildenhall in September who have boosted our sponsorship fund to £1,500 on the night in addition to the £1,000 plus sponsorship from Teng Tools.
DK Salvage are the latest to back this year’s big event at Mildenhall and their generosity means we have again enhanced the much talked about Dash for Cash Super Final, which will now carry a whopping £1,400 in prize money, but we have also enhanced the World Final pay out by £100.
This latest sponsorship means three more bonuses will be available in the Dash for Cash Super Final. We will now have a fourth £50 bonus for the six drivers who finish either second or third in their qualifying race. There will now be a fourth £25 bonus between the seven drivers who finish either fourth, fifth or sixth in their qualifying race and there will also be £25 bonus for the first driver home who has failed to win a bonus via any other means. All together it means that potentially at least 13 of the 20 qualifiers for the Dash for Cash Super Final will win a slice of the £1,400.
In the meantime the additional £100 will be split five races to boost the prize money in the World Final itself with the drivers finishing fourth to eighth now receiving an extra £20 on top of the traditional prize fund which is £1,000 across the top eight (which is provided by RDC) plus the prizes from Teng Tools, the full break down can be found under the Dash for Cash Super Final info)
Once again here is how the Dash for Cash Super Final will work and a full break down on where the current prize fund is split.
Following the last chance qualifier and world final all drivers will compete in one of two qualifying races. The top eight in each race will advance to the Dash for Cash Super Final and will be joined by the top four finishers in the consolation for a 20 car grid in the Dash for Cash Super Final.
The final will be start in normal graded order with the usual spaces between the grades but the race will be run in two segments. The first segment is over 15 laps and at the end of the 15 laps he red flags will be shown. The cars will be re-lined up in the order they finished the first segment, three abreast with a clutch start for the final five laps.
The prize money will be paid out as follows
£300 winner take all to the race winner
£450 in leader lap bonuses with £30 per lap for the first 15 laps
Grade Awards
£50 to the best white grade driver after 20 laps
£50 to the best yellow grade driver after 20 laps
The three qualifying race winners will be racing for a potential £100 bonus. The first of the three qualifying race winners home wins £100, the other two receive £50
The six drivers who qualify in either second or third place will be racing for a £50 bonus. The first four of these drivers home will win £50
The seven drivers who qualify in either fourth, fifth or sixth place will be racing for a £25 bonus. The first four of these drivers home will win £25
The four drivers who qualify in either seventh or eighth will be racing for a £25 bonus. The first of these drivers home will win £25
The first driver across the line who has failed to win one of the above bonuses will win £25.
All bonus prize is in addition to the above prize money. So the race winner, all lap leaders and grade award winners can still win bonus prize money.
So for an example the maximum money which can be won is £900. Should a white or yellow top win their qualifying race then go on to win the race, having led all of the first 15 laps and in turn collect their £50 grade award and the winning drivers £100 bonus as well. The most a blue or red grade driver could win is £850 as there is presently no grade awards available for them.
With regard to the World Final prize money will be available to the top eight, the latter five places having been enhanced by our sponsors, with the top six winning prizes from Teng Tools. The prize fund for the World Final is as follows
1st: £500 plus £500 in Teng Tools and a Teng Tools toolbox
2nd: £250 plus £100 in Teng Tools vouchers
3rd: £125 plus £100 in Teng Tools vouchers
4th: £70 (previously £50) plus £100 in Teng Tools vouchers
5th: £50 (previously £30) plus £100 in Teng Tools vouchers
6th: £40 (previously £20) plus £100 in Teng Tools vouchers
7th £35 (previously £15)
8th: £30 (previously £10)
Our thanks to all of the sponsors for this race who are as follows, Chatteris Garage, S Venni Transport, Arbus Fencing Specialists, Newman Fabrication, Parker Skip Hire, Roundwheel Racewear, TW Crowden and Daughter, Keith Overy, Wisbech Car Breakers, Houghton Produce, W Lunn Haulage, DK Salvage and Aldridge Paving.
Once again we would like to express that every penny of the sponsorship will be going into enhancing the existing prize fund for this meeting. RDC will be covering the standard £1,000 pay out for the World Final plus the standard pay out for the last chance qualifier, and heats and consolation towards the Dash for Cash Super Final and will be providing the trophies for the Dash for Cash Super Final as well as all other trophies on the night and start monies.
We would still love to here from more sponsors to boost the prize fund even further, any interested is ask to speak to Michael Coventry or e mail wastedmc@btopenworld.com
Latest on Jaimie Neve (added April 21)
The biggest downside to last Saturday’s (April 17) meeting at Mildenhall was the unfortunate injury to RDC Banger young gun 257 Jaimie Neve in the consolation when he was accidentally struck in the drivers door.
We understand Jaimie has suffered some broken ribs and was also being treated for blood in one his lungs following the crash but was due to be released from hospital this week and this may well already be the case.
We hope to have more information next week and in the meantime all at RDC would like to wish this promising and entertaining young gun a full and speedy recovery.
RDC at BBA World Cup (added April 21)
Congratulations to 617 Jack Overy on a fine third place finish in the unlimited banger BBA World Cup championship at Cowdenbeath on Saturday, April 17.
It was a lively title race for Overy who found the time to stop long running rival 158 Shane Davies head-on while the Condom was leading before racing to third place behind the victorious 67 Mark Whittaker and former champion 269 Dean French.
Congratulations to 67 Sparky on finally winning a title he has chased for many years, representing RDC on several of his trips to Scotland.
Elsewhere in the title race 382 Jack Foster Jnr got taken for a wild trip round the Racewall by 27 Dale Hughes while 552 Karl Douglas was blown up by 239 Steve Carter having first landed a big hit on 190 Steve Bailey. 17 Kyle Overy and 807 Chris Murfin (who was officially representing Skegness) also featured in the main event.
National Banger stats update (added April 21)
With last weekend’s 1600cc Banger meeting marking five National Banger meetings in a six week window at Mildenhall we have updated some of the stats we brought you from in last weeks update.
With almost 20 drivers racing at RDC for the first time this season last weekend the total amount of National Banger drivers to have raced at RDC in 2010 is now up to 478.
Furthermore out of the 13 drivers who had raced at every Mildenhall meeting between March 13 and April 10, nine of them were in action last Saturday as well to make it five out of five, they are as follows
8 Dale Woolnough
159 Darren Scarrow
303 Wayne Linsdale (who also raced at King’s Lynn on April 5)
326 Shane Lynn
328 Daniel Latham
352 Ben Mynott
511 Helen Licquorice
The eighth driver in this bracket is 382 Jack Foster Jnr who actually raced at Cowdenbeath last Saturday rather than Mildenhall but we feel he is still very much worth including in this category. The incredibly dedicated RDC young gun also raced at Wimbledon, Ipswich, Belle Vue and King’s Lynn in this six week window. The ninth is 525 Wes Starmer who raced at King’s Lynn last weekend having also raced at the Norfolk Arena on Easter Monday and March 20
Meanwhile 13 drivers raced at four of these five Mildenhall meetings and are all worthy of a mention. They are
20 Andy Burbridge (who also raced at Dover on April 5)
22 Dave Vincent
100 Callum White (who also raced at King’s Lynn on April 5)
116 Nat Cohn
124 John Chaplin (who also raced at Ipswich on March 20)
141 Andy Neal
160 Perry Willings
200 Wayne Holton (who also raced at Arena on March 28)
313 Craig Osbourn
527 Michael Norman
682 Paul Sparrow
837 Martin Wesby
Thank you message to all drivers from April 10 (added April
14)
Just a short note to thank all the drivers who raced at Mildenhall on April 10 for their co-operation behind the scenes which helped make the meeting run very smoothly despite a last minute change to the programme.
With not enough BriSCA F2 Stockcars to run a full format their programme was changed to three heats and a final and in order to accommodate this we had to swap the second stockcar heat over with the first 1400cc Banger heat.
This obviously caused a little confusion as the decision to make the change was only made a few minutes before start time but we’d like to thank all the drivers who adapted very well to the switch. A special thanks go to the stockcar drivers whom we all asked to be ready for race one of the night only for the blue and red grade drivers to be told they weren’t needed. Again we’d like to applaud these drivers who never once complained or grumbled and just got on with things and the change to the format certainly produced some fine racing.
Again it was thanks to the co-operation of the drivers which played a large part in the 10 race programme being finished just after 10pm. This despite there being more than one period when the pit gate was held for several minutes to allow drivers much needed repair time later in the night. We hope these ‘spaces’ will become a thing of the past when we introduce a limited Ministox programme to selected F2 meetings at Mildenhall starting on May 1.
Congratulations to Paul Sparrow and others (added April
14)
Having been tipped as a future star of RDC’s National Banger scene, 682 Paul Sparrow has more than proved the point this week by reaching the top of both the RDC National and Mildenhall track championship points for the first time in his career.
And at the same time he is forging an impressive lead in the newly introduced Mildenhall DD Championship.
While there is obviously a long way to go in the 2010 points championships, all at RDC would like to congratulate Paul on this landmark achievement.
He is not the only RDC Banger driver worthy of credit this week. Having made very strong starts to the season in the winter meetings 303 Wayne Linsdale, 442 Sean Crittenden and 511 Helen Licquorice continue to enjoy their best ever positions in the points tables in 2010.
Wayne is presently third in the Mildenhall points and fourth in the RDC National Points while 442 Critter is currently placed fifth in the RDC points and Licquorice is fifth at Mildenhall and sixth in the RDC standings.
Another driver worthy of a mention is former RDC racer 116 Nat Cohn whose switch to TSR in 2010 has brought with it his best form at Mildenhall in many years and he is currently lying fourth in the track championship.
Impressive National Banger stats from start of 2010 season (added April
14)
It is no secret that we have once again enjoyed a fantastic start to the National Banger season at RDC with some great entries of cars at both Mildenhall and Dover and to underline that we have compiled some impressive stats from the first few weeks of the season.
So far we have seen 459 different National Banger drivers in action at RDC in 2010 (in just seven meetings).
The Easter weekend saw a fantastic 244 different National Banger driver races at either Mildenhall or Dover meaning 16 drivers raced at both RDC meetings on the Easter weekend.
No less that 303 different drivers raced at Mildenhall on either the Supreme Championship meeting or on Good Friday
273 different drivers raced at one of the 1400cc Banger meetings at Mildenhall in April
31 drivers raced at both 1400cc Banger meetings at Mildenhall in April.
It is also worth noting that out of the 80 1400cc bangers in action at Mildenhall last weekend, just 15 of them were returned cars from Good Friday meaning an incredible 289 different 1400cc bangers raced at Mildenhall in an eight day period.
We would also like to congratulate the 13 drivers who have raced at all four Mildenhall meetings in the regular season. They are…
8 Dale Woolnough
100 Callum White
141 Andy Neal
159 Darren Scarrow
303 Wayne Linsdale (who also raced at King’s Lynn on April 5)
313 Craig Osbourn
326 Shane Lynn
328 Daniel Latham
352 Ben Mynott
382 Jack Foster Jnr (who has also raced at Wimbledon, Ipswich, Belle Vue and King’s Lynn between March 13 and April 10)
511 Helen Licquorice
525 Wes Starmer (who also raced at King’s Lynn on April 5)
682 Paul Sparrow (who also raced at Ipswich on April 20).
Further more hats are tipped to the four drivers who have raced at three of the four Mildenhall meetings between March 13 and April 10 and also raced at the Dover season opener. They are
20 Andy Burbridge
81 Lee Greenwood
188 John Reeves
510 Dave Wilding
(81 Numb Nuts and 188 Victor also visited Ipswich in March)
Finally there are another 20 drivers who have raced at three of the four Mildenhall meetings in the main season so far. They are
17 Kyle Overy (who has also raced at Wimbledon, Ipswich, Belle Vue and King’s Lynn)
19 Joe Mullarkey
22 Dave Vincent
54 Martin Lawton (who was at Arena on March 21)
116 Nat Cohn
124 John Chaplin (who raced at Ipswich last month)
145 Graham Mole
160 Perry Willings
200 Wayne Holton (who also raced at Arena on March 20)
205 Kieran Briddock (who also raced at Arena)
208 Jimmy Randall
210 John Ellison
239 Steve Carter
370 John Cobbold
527 Michael Norman
538 Jake Swan
617 Jack Overy (who also raced at Wimbledon and Tipperary)
730 Dean Mayes
837 Martin Wesby
928 Emmerson Prime.
Given the ongoing difficult times across the country at present we’ll sure you’ll agree this are very impressive figures and well done to all these drivers for working so hard to achieve them.
National Banger Old Skool qualifying points (added April
14)
Following the Suffolk Open team championship at Mildenhall on Good Friday we are getting closer to determining the teams who will be invited places at this year’s Old Skool team championship in September.
Qualifying started at last year’s Old Skool team championship and two more rounds remain, the unlimited East Anglian team championship next month and the 2litre Kent team championship in August.
Already the Aftermath, Team Green, Gypsy Crew, Beck Row Bandits/Young Guns and Damage Inc are guaranteed places at the event as they will be RDC team champions when the Old Skool event comes around. Places will also be offered to the winners of the EA and Kent team championships.
The qualifying points table will then be used to fill the remaining places so we have 12 teams once again for this year’s Old Skool team championship.
The current points chart is as follows, teams with a * have already secured a place at the event
Team Green* 52pts
Aftermath* 35
Midnight Runners 34
Dover Boys 31
Beck Row Bandits/Young Guns* 28
Team Kamikaze 27
Motley Krew 26
Team Flash 26
Gypsy Crew* 25
Predators 23
Bits and Bobs 20
Damage Inc* 20
Common Crushers 19
Bad News 18
Stanley Crew 16
Team Lips 15
Thattadoo 15
The Hogs 15
Reliant Robins World Qualifying Points (added April 14)
Following the penultimate world championship qualifying round for the Reliant Robins at Dover on April 5 here is the current points table.
The final round is at Mildenhall on May 29 after which the top 28 drivers will be confirmed as qualifiers for the World Final.
553 Daniel Douglas 102pts
355 Mick Walker 69
66 Steve Willis 63
16 Ray Layton 59
96 Ian Robins 58
29 Steve Donavan 53
485 Gary Archer 51
195 Pete Bowley 48
554 Chalky Douglas 47
30 James Donavan 46
87 Barry Richards 41
484 Gary Harvey 38
78 Mark Bowskill 37
85 James Ellis 34
197 Tom Tatham 32
186 George Turicki 31
339 Lee Pullen 26
28 Dave Donavan 25
433 Andy Parker 25
275 Phil Rowbottom 21
117 Karl Dack 20
94 Mick Acheillous 18
103 Paul Fairman 18
552 Karl Douglas 17
12 Alan Norris 15
4 Kelvin Tatham 14
264 Shaun Richards 13
351 Tut Knowles 13
854 Carl Pickworth 13
576 Colin Aldred 12
185 Ben Oliver 11
94 Laurence Gill 10
272 Martin Vella 10
928 Sam Steele 8
564 Ryan Sutcliffe 7
285 Sean Dyer 6
Bangerstox Masters qualifying points (added April 14)
Following the first round of the Masters Championship qualifying series we have the expanded points chart for the Bangerstox following the first round of the series on April 5.
The top 24 in the points will qualify for the championship final at Dover in September and they will start in points order. The Super Rod qualifying points can be found on the points page of the site.
40 Joe Taylor 34pts
32 Gary Austin 30
50 Ray Walker 30
11 Brian Willis 29
9 Chris Young 27
65 Chris Bull 27
52 Richard Randall 26
47 Barry Sunter 25
23 Darren Young 23
26 Ant Williams 23
83 Paul Apps 19
28 Mark Robinson 17
61 Ken Hollamby 17
63 Shane Bullen 16
3 George Forbes 14
29 Craig Groombridge 13
73 Karl Taylor 12
111 Nick Glover 11
80 Stacey Griffiths 10
25 Dan Bancroft 9
33 John Butcher 8
69 Andy Bucket 8
15 Jay Powell 7
58 Owen Childs 7
6 Sarah Cox 6
98 Neil Jones 6
Mildenhall Good Friday round up and thanks (added April 8)
It will probably come as little surprise that this weeks news update features a special message to all those who helped make the weekend’s Good Friday fixture at Mildenhall such a success.
While we make special mentions of the Ministox later in this week’s update we want to thank each and every driver who participated, the 224 strong entry of 1400cc Bangers making this the odds on favourite to be the biggest banger turnout in the sport this season. And with this year’s Heavy Metal Classic event at Standlake attracting a smaller than usual entry of 174 cars it is likely to be the biggest banger turnout by some margin.
Coupled with the near 30 strong entry of Ministox and over 250 cars were in action on Good Friday making this one of the biggest turnouts of race cars at a short oval motorsport you are likely to see anywhere this season.
With such a massive turnout of cars it goes without saying that it was a massive programme of racing with 17 races in all, 13 of which were for bangers with just two of them failing to raise 40 or more cars, these events boasting grids of 39 and 37 cars and the latter was for the DD.
However much like last year’s event the massive programme of racing did come at a price, taking just over seven and a half hours to complete, making this perhaps the longest meeting in the history of RDC which is something we are not proud off.
Twelve months ago, the meeting ran as smoothly as could be expected behind the scenes and we reported on the website that the reason for the length of the afternoon was purely down to the sheer weight of the meeting itself. While that is very much the case again this year we were unfortunately hit with two factors which made the meeting somewhat longer than the 2009 event.
The first was the incredible amount of drivers who had repaired their cars from the heats and wished to continue racing after the qualifying part of the afternoon. While the heats were no doubt all lively affairs, there wasn’t the levels of destruction which this meeting has become well known for, this largely down to the slippery track conditions (more on that shortly).
Subsequently 110 different drivers competed in one of the three Accumulator qualifiers, 14 drivers managing to race in two of these. This does not include the 47 drivers who then raced in the Grand Final plus a further six drivers who came out for the DD having not raced since the heats.
While it is arguably that had we known we would have 110 drivers for the Accumulator races we could have perhaps ran two 55 car races this would have been absolutely impossible to predict. When the cars lined up for the first Accumulator we had 63 cars ready and took the decision to take 40 of them for the race and hope we would have another 20 or so line up for the second.
Instead by the time we were ready for the second Accumulator we had 69 cars ready for action, far too many for one race. At this point we took a gamble to run another 40 car race and hope more would come from the pits for a third Accumulator, the first time we have ever run three Accumulator qualifiers at this meeting.
While the gamble did pay off, we had just over 40 cars for the final Accumulator (and it should be noted that several were turned away from this event) it did lead to the two main factors which made this year’s meeting much longer than previous events.
The first was that obviously we ran an extra race when compared to previous years and the second is that during the clear up operation of this race we had two breakdown vehicles which suffered problems leaving them inactive until after the banger final when we were able to fix the problems.
For those delays we are truly sorry but we hope we made the right decision by giving the drivers who had made such a great effort in the pits the racing they deserved.
With that in mind we would to thank all the fans who supported the event on Friday, especially given the wet weather in the week leading to the meeting and the far from promising weather forecast. Even with so much choice for race fans on Easter weekend, hundreds and hundreds picked the Mildenhall meeting and we hope you all got your monies worth.
Finally we would like to extend a special thanks to all our staff who worked flat out all day to keep the meeting moving as quickly as possible and also to our track team whose work in the days leading up to the meeting played such an instrumental part in the meeting being as successful as it was.
Dover Easter Monday round up and thanks (updated April 8)
Continuing the theme of thanking people and we would like to thank all those who helped make the 2010 season opener at Dover Raceway on Easter Monday such a massive success.
Given the uncertainty of the raceway’s future in 2009 it was nothing short of amazing to see the pits absolutely rammed to capacity with 110 race cars plus a great turnout of fans for the event which left precious little room on the spectator banking.
This again following a week of far from ideal weather which had several questioning whether the meeting would even go ahead so to have such a strong show of support from drivers and fans was a great way to kick off the new season.
However there were again issues which we like to address. The biggest was the condition of certain areas of the pit area. The much talked about wet winter and the continued wet weather in recent weeks left many areas of the pits very tricky and combined with such a large entry of cars it make things very difficult in the pits to say the least.
We would like to thank everyone who coped with these problems so well and thank everyone who was effected by these problems but got on with the job as best they could. Despite these difficulties and a somewhat tricky pit area we were still able to get through the programme very well with the 16 races completed in around four and half hours.
It was especially pleasing to see such strong showings in the National Bangers and Super Rods. It was especially pleasing in the bangers given the lack of long distance travellers and that the bulk of the entry was made of local drivers which bodes well for the future.
And given that the end of 2009 saw the Super Rods struggling for numbers, Monday’s season opener was a massive step in the right direction with not only an improved turnout but some fantastic racing although all four formulas should be complimented on supplying the fans with some great racing.
Ministox driver’s newsletter (added April 8)
We have a mixture of good and bad news to bring to the RDC Ministox drivers following the weekend’s Mildenhall meeting on Good Friday.
Firstly we will start with the positive stuff and we would like to extend a big thank you to all those who provided some great racing at Mildenhall on April 2. Perhaps more importantly we would like to thank all the Ministox drivers who played such an important role on the programme, very much as the ‘support’ formula.
With the Ministox races positioned where needed to give the banger drivers valuable time to repair their cars for their next race it meant there were some very long delays between each of the Ministox. While we are sure several drivers made the most of this by enjoying the other racing on offer we appreciate this would have also been difficult for some and made it a very long day for many of you. So to those who stayed all afternoon and competed in every race a big thank you to you all and sorry to those who simply could not wait for the final Ministox race.
On a similar note we would also like to thank all the drivers who showed superb behaviour during the race stoppages in the first heat and final where a lap sheet order restart was required. On both occasions all drivers followed the instructions from marshals superbly and did everything which was asked which helped save vital time on what was always going to be a long afternoon. The behaviour shown here by the drivers was a credit to both themselves and the formula so well done to all.
Moving on to the bad stuff and first some problems from our end. We have two results which need correction following post meeting investigations. Firstly in heat one 383 Shane Harvey and 355 Sid Magewick have been instated in sixth and seventh place respectively with everyone who was originally placed sixth to tenth moving down two places as a result. Originally on the afternoon these drivers were announced as being a lap down prior to the aforementioned race stoppage but video footage confirmed this was not the case. The mistake was caused by a simple misunderstanding using the electronic lap scoring and now identified it is an area we are determined to improve in.
The second amendment comes in the final where 315 Triston Clayton was dropped three places for failing to start the race at the back of the grid having won an earlier race. Following an appeal by the driver and a subsequent investigation it has been decided that this was not the driver’s fault in this case and he has been reinstated in seventh place.
The amended race results are as follows. Heat two and the final remain as originally announced.
Heat one: 315, 304, 306, 352, 317, 383, 355, 322, 376, 324, 382
Allcomers: 369, 344, 320, 382, 309, 322, 315, 376, 355, 356
Now unfortunately onto the negative stuff and two areas of concern which need immediate attention. The first is drivers lining up far too early for their races. While we are appreciative of the eagerness and enthusiasm for the drivers to line up for races and on one hand it does help our staff that the cars are lined up in good time for the next race, this became a huge problem on Friday.
With drivers lining up so early for their next race it cause massive congestion on pit road which made things very difficult for us when clearing the track from banger races.
Therefore with immediate effect we are issuing a new rule with regard to lining up for races on pit lane in Ministox at Mildenhall. That is that no driver may line up for their next race until the previous race is on track. Drivers who break this rule run the risk of being made to start at the back of the grid, being excluded from the race or being excluded from the meeting.
The next meeting for the Ministox at Mildenhall is on April 17 where the format is much simpler and less likely to change than on Good Friday. Each Ministox race will follow the heats and grand final for Saloon Stockcars so it’s very simple, we do not want any Ministox on pit road until the Saloon Stockcars are on track for their race.
If you are a fan of Saloon Stockcars we recommend you watch the race and when the race enters its final stages you make your way to the pits to get yourself ready. Provided you do not waste time this should be more than enough time for you to get ready and line up on pit road.
The second issue is some driver’s behaviour on pit road. What might be seen as harmless fun is unfortunately getting somewhat beyond that. Common problems include unnecessary revving of engines and not following the instructions of pit road staff. Again this has got to stop immediately and offenders will lose races with repeat offenders running the risk of ORC bans.
Please note the final two points only apply to a very small minority of drivers so please don’t assume this applies to all drivers as it does not and it is only a few who are causing problems. However we need everyone to be aware of these issues so we can enforce the above points.
One Wild Night round up and thank you (added March 31)
Hot on the heels of a well received and action packed night at Mildenhall Stadium last Saturday (March 27) we would like to thank all the drivers, teams and fans who helped make RDC’s One Wild Night event such a huge success.
Not for the first time it was nothing short of thrilling to see, despite precious little hype outside of the RDC website, a great showing of fans and over 160 race cars in the pits making for a very busy night.
It was also especially delightful to see no less than 47 of the qualifiers for this years National Banger BBA Supreme Championship honour their place, making it one of the biggest title races in the events history and one which featured perhaps the best quality of drivers, no less than 23 of the contenders starting the race as current champions of the sport.
The 10 race programme was packed full of action with not a single poor race on the card and over half of the events were worthy of high praise as the drivers excelled and provided the fans with some tremendous racing and entertainment, something we are all very proud off.
The only thing which took the shine off the evening was that the programme swallowed up all of our allowed time and in order to meet our 11pm curfew we had no option but to shut the pit gate at exactly 10.45pm which meant a handful of National Banger drivers who had worked hard to repair for the final race, missed out. To all those who missed the race we are very sorry but we had to start the race when we did and could not afford to wait any longer.
There were two key issues, in addition to the obvious size of the clear up operations following many of the banger races, which caused the meeting to run a little later than we had hoped.
The first was that we suffered a mechanical problem on a tractor during the clear up of the first race which left it out of action for the rest of the night. This was an obvious burden which cost us time throughout the evening but our thanks as always to remainder of the tractor team who once again worked as hard and as fast as they could to keep the time damage to a minimum.
The second, more obvious, problem was the delay in starting the National Banger BBA Supreme Championship. While it was no secret that the championship would be the first race of the night, just as it was in 2009, (the drivers were informed of this in their invitations which were sent out in January) it seemed to catch some out.
While there were a handful of qualifiers who arrived at the stadium just before start time and others were still trying to get through the scrutineering queue, we are still somewhat at a loss as to why just three of the 47 qualifiers were lined up on pit road by 6.25pm, almost 10 minutes after we asked drivers to start lining up.
Ultimately we got all the qualifiers onto the track but the race did not start until 7pm. While we knew we would not start the race at 6.30pm, this was still several minutes later than we had hoped to begin.
It goes without saying that we are already looking at what measures to take in 2011. The knee jerk reaction would be to revert back to the traditional meeting format with the championship race later in the programme after a round of heats for the support cars.
However in doing that it would go back on one of the main reasons we moved the race to the start of the evening which was to give the qualifiers the best chance of getting the most from their evening. By having the title race first it meant, in theory, that the qualifiers would either have a better chance of getting in as many races as possible or those who wished to leave immediately after the big race could begin their journey much earlier.
The wet weather conditions which ruined the 2009 event made last year’s experiment somewhat hard to judge but this year, despite the late start in the meeting, we had a much clearer indication that the qualifiers reacted very well to having the big race first.
Out of the 47 qualifiers, just 23 of them failed to race again after the main event. Given that this includes one car which failed to run all night, two drivers who were excluded from the remainder of the meeting following the championship and the high levels of action this is a pretty impressive statistic and very favourable when compared to several other high profile banger events.
It should also be noted that while on the surface half of the top 10 were among the 23 who did not race again, two of them at least suffered engine problems which terminated their nights.
Out of the 24 who continued racing, 10 of them competed in one more race, 10 managed to race three times on the night and well done to 210 Paul Barnes, 241 Liam Cracknell, 247 Lee Clarke and 528 Alan Hunt who squeezed four races into their evening.
These are things which will all be weighed up when the decision is made on next years format.
Finally we would also like to thank all the drivers who continued to line up when needed for the remainder of the evening which helped the rest of the night run relatively smoothly. A special thanks go to the Saloon Stockcar drivers whose format was the most unpredictable as it was shaped around the changing banger format. Despite the somewhat uncertainty over their second heat and final the drivers reacted fantastically to the changes and on both occasions were lined up when needed which was a massive help.
RDC on tour at Arena Essex (added March 31)
There was a very healthy RDC showing among the 40 strong entry for PRI’s first 2litre banger domestic of the season at Arena on March 28. Among the field was 54 Martin Lawton, 105 Billy Standing, 154 Tony Lawton, 200 Wayne Holton, 205 Kieran Briddock, 345 Craig Hewitt, 363 Sam Keep and 755 Martin Crabb. Full marks to 54 Splat, 205 Koonta and Keep who had all raced at Mildenhall the night before.
Standing copped a T-bone from 349 Lewis Prince just after the reds came out for a race stoppage in heat one while the second heat saw 200 Skippy hit 498 Jay Curtis head-on, again just after the reds were shown for a false start. Splat began the restart by following in Curtis with 345 Chewy then blasting the Laindon Loon before Koonta homed in for a big T-bone. Chewy then turned round for another shot on Curtis but instead hit team mate 755 Crabby head-on. Standing was involved in the final, enjoying another head-on with 349 Squaddie which he survived to bury 336 Ian Smith while Keep turned round to assault 244 Colin Burnham. Standing copped a follow-in from 518 Vic Bilky Jnr in the Allcomers which left him prone to a hit from 336 Smiffy. The Thattadoo v Loons battle continued in the final with Laindon Loon 125 under fire from Chewy who took one from 514 Chas Taylor in turn before Splat laid into the luckless 125 with a T-bone. Keep blasted 268 Buster Hutchings as 589 Simon Smith followed in Splat with 206 Phil Milner delivered a T-bone. 518 Bilko Jnr then hit Keep on opposite to end our interest in the afternoon.
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn and Ipswich (added March 24)
Last weekend was a busy one for many RDC drivers, starting at a rain soaked King’s Lynn on March 20 where 148 Ian Redden, Bears 133 Karl Day and 726 Kalin Dawe, 525 Wes Starmer, 715 Mick Prince, 88 Ash Burton and new RDC signing 97 Dave Allen were among the 60 plus entry of unlimited bangers for the East Anglian Championship.
It was limited action for the RDC drivers all night on a very difficult night, 133 Karly using his Icebreaker Caddy Fleetwood to attack 98 Matt Harrison in heat one before 88 Ace Ash nailed the Mk2 Granada limo of 292 Keith Saunders in heat two, this race also seeing 525 Wes trade hits with 221 Justin Riley. 148 Shorty fenced defending champion 119 Davey Cox in the title race, won by 555 Sam Gelsthorpe before Karly was attacked by 43 Nicky Bishop in the Allcomers.
As predicted there was a massive RDC presence at Ipswich the same night but in the lack of a full report we only have results to bring to you and in the 1600cc Banger Raid our success was restricted to heat two. Here 17 Kyle Overy posted a fine fourth followed home by 86 Alec Savage with 807 Chris Murfin in seventh.
There were also several RDC registered drivers racing in the Ministox, 352 Connor Spall winning both heat races. 317 Bryson Walker was the runner up in heat one with 355 Sid Magewick, 366 Matt Noughton, 356 Georgie Boult Jnr and 300 Casey Englestone in third, fourth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Heat two saw Walker in fourth with Boult Jnr in seventh. 304 Jo Parker came through for second in the final which saw Magewick in fourth, Boult Jnr again in seventh and Walker eighth.
Mildenhall season opener round up and thanks (added March 17)
All at RDC would like to thank everyone involved for helping to make last weekend’s season opener at Mildenhall Stadium such a success.
After the wettest winter in many years we were blessed with a fantastic entry of around 160 race cars in the pits, the biggest National Banger turnout of the weekend and a great turnout of fans ready to welcome in the new season.
Given that the meeting also received precious little internet hype or coverage outside of the RDC website it was a huge sign of faith and enthusiasm by the drivers and fans for the promotion and something we are hugely pleased with.
While the turnout was very pleasing and so was the standard of action, obviously the track conditions were not at the standard we would have liked. Rest assured that every possible measure was taken to produce the best racing conditions we could and following the aforementioned dire winter, which led to the first time in the 17 plus year history of RDC at Mildenhall that a meeting was cancelled because of the track conditions, it was a miraculous job of how well the track team did.
Given that the weather only really took a turn for the better less than two weeks before the season opener every day possible was spent battling against time to repair the damage from the winter and while conditions were far from perfect on Saturday we remain very pleased with the work done.
Work on getting the shale back to its best began again on Sunday morning and by Tuesday night things were progressing well but still much work is planned between now and the weekends track day and again next week in the lead up to One Wild Night. With two of the year’s biggest banger meetings coming up in the next few weeks, every possible step will be taken to producing the best raceway we can.
There were other problems on the evening. The first was the dust in the opening races. Had someone suggested in February that dust would have been an issue on March 13 we would have no doubt laughed but a problem it was, primarily from the drivers using the concrete on the inside of the track. While the problem soon resolved itself we are again sorry for any viewing problems this may have had during the first two races.
The second problem happened in the pits where one of our tower lights suffered mechanical issues either just before or during the meeting, a problem we were unable to fix during the night. Again work is underway to have this addressed for March 27 and we are again sorry to anyone who was effected by this.
National Banger Mildenhall DD Championship launched in 2010 (added March 17)
We had promised in last weeks news update that we would make three big announcements at Mildenhall last weekend but a lack of time before the last National Banger event of the night meant we were unable to tell fans about our third announcement, the addition of a National Banger Mildenhall DD Championship in 2010.
As Dover has had a DD championship ever since RDC took over the venue in 2000 we felt a similar series was long overdue at Mildenhall and we believe it will give different drivers a chance for glory or alternative will highlight proven points championship contenders all round ability.
The points system will be very straight forward. Drivers score 10 points for a DD win and second for finishing second. Entertainer awards in an Accumulator qualifier/DD will carry 10 points as well.
However when official entertainer awards are held at meetings such as team and unlimited meetings these awards will also carry 10 points to the series.
While the series has only just been announced the points will be back dated to the first meeting of the 2010 season on December 27 and the early points standings can be found on our points page.
RDC on tour at Wimbledon and Arena (added March 17)
Last weekend saw a few RDC banger drivers in action apart from the Mildenhall season opener. Starting at Arena and the unlimited Shakedown where 10 Sam Topley, 333 Danny Webb, 363 Sam Keep, 402 Albie Jenner and 508 Harry Bradbury were in action. Topley’s afternoon was ended by a destructive follow-in from 78 Lee Macey in heat one while Keep ended 508 Led Head’s day with a burial in heat two which also saw Webb use his Firecracker Yank to attack 139 Ian Knight which in turn buried Keep. The Gladiator young gun recovered to hit 383 Jeff Smith head-on in the final which saw Webb hit 206 Phil Milner on opposite while Jenner made a mark by burying 78 Mad Mace.
Onto Wimbledon that night for an unlimited banger world qualifier where the pits included RDC’s the Little Chief, 360 Jack Reynolds, Chubby, 384 John Golden and 617 Jack Overy, full credit to the Little Chief, Chubby and Overy who had all raced at Mildenhall the night before. 360 Jackstar did well to survive an attack from 331 Jason Jackson in heat one which saw the Little Chief continue the Team Black v Condom war with a brutal hit on the fenced 204 Charlie King. This continued in heat two when 158 Shane Davies span Chubby into the wires. More feuding in the third heat where new Condom signing 2 Luke Dawson nailed the Little Chief before Jackstar rolled to bring the reds out. The Little Chief was fenced early in the final by a combination of 322 James Newland and 556 Phil Hampton and he was soon joined by Chubby who had King thundered into him by 67 Rickie Beasley. 384 Goldie meanwhile finished Davies with a pair of hits before Jackstar made up one half of the DD entry but despite outlasting 460 Lewis Barber it was the ex RDC, now Spedeworth registered driver who got the win with Jackstar deemed to have been out of the running for two long when his engine stalled on the home straight.
Ministox grades and RDC Drivers Championship points (added March 17)
As promised in the wake of the second round of the Ministox Mildenhall track championship at the weekend we now have new grades for the third round of the series on Good Friday, April 2.
In addition to the new grades we also have the latest standings in the RDC Drivers Championship where the top 28 drivers in the chart will qualify for the Grand Final on October 30.
The new grades for April 2 are as follows
Silver: 306, 355
Red: 356
Blue: 302, 309, 315, 317, 350, 366
Yellow: 300, 304, 322, 324, 328, 349, 383, 391, 392
The current RDC Drivers Championship qualifying points are as follows
355 Sid Magewick 45pts
306 Daniel Parker 42
315 Triston Clayton 37
350 Thomas Parrin 27
309 Ray Petty 33
304 Jo Parker 31
392 Reid Murray 31
356 George Boult Jnr 29
383 Shane Harvey 29
360 George Barber 28
366 Matt Noughton 27
317 Bryson Walker 23
316 Sam Dace 22
369 Liam Santry 22
376 Stephen Hackett 22
344 Ross Fisher 21
322 Thomas Fox 16
390 Karl Morris 16
352 Connor Spall 14
324 Georgie Lee 12
367 Tom Keep 10
302 Jordan Murray 7
320 Charley Streeton 6
National Banger British Championship- new wildcard places (added March 17)
With the first of the five National Banger British Championship qualifying rounds completed here is an extended list of the current points standings.
This year we are also introducing an official system for two wildcard places, a system which has remained largely unofficial until last year. There has always been an unwritten rule that should a visiting driver outscore the 10th highest RDC driver in the qualifying points he would be added to the grid as a wildcard entry but until last year when 247 Lee Clarke managed to achieve this, this rule had never been used.
With that in mind we would like to make the wildcard ruling official and add a small tweak. In 2010 there are two wildcard places up for grabs. These will be offered to the top two non RDC drivers in the British Championship qualifying points providing they score more than the 10th highest RDC driver in the table.
However should only one of these places be claimed then a wildcard spot will be awarded to the top RDC driver in the RDC National Points championship who has not qualified. If neither wildcard places are confirmed then the second wildcard spot will be awarded to the top driver in the Mildenhall track championship, regardless of promotion, who has not qualified in their own right.
RDC launch National Banger RWD series for 2010 (added March 10)
As promised in last week’s news update we have an announcement to make on the eve of the new season at RDC and that is that 2010 will see the introduction of a National Banger RWD (rear wheel drive) Series which will also feature a Series Final in September.
With a call from many fans and drivers for more recognised titles for RWD racing on shale, RDC have answered this by introducing an eight round points series where the highest scoring driver at the end of the series will be rewarded by joining RDC’s elite group of drivers to wear a silver roof.
The rounds will take place at Mildenhall and Dover and will include meetings where all the cars in action are rear wheel drive or the vast majority of them are. The series dates are as follows
Round One: Dover May 3 Big Van Bangers
Round Two: Mildenhall May 8 Unlimited Van Bangers
Round Three: Mildenhall May 22 Unlimited Bangers EA Team Championship
Round Four: Mildenhall May 29 Pre 70 Bangers
Round Five: Mildenhall July 3 Unlimited Bangers Suffolk Open Championship
Round Six: Dover July 11 Unlimited Bangers Kent Championship
Round Seven: Mildenhall July 24 2Litre all RWD Bangers
Series Final: Mildenhall September 11 All Granada (2Litre) National Bangers
While we admit there is a scope for some of these meetings to feature a small amount of FWD drive cars, especially the pre 70 meeting, we have included all of these meetings as they will see the vast majority of the drivers in RWD cars.
While the silver roof will go to the highest points scoring from the eight meetings there will also be the introduction of the first ever RDC RWD Series Championship Final which will take place at the much talked about all Granada meeting on September 11 at Mildenhall.
The top 18 drivers in the RWD series after the 2Litre RWD meeting on July 24 (regardless of promotion) will qualify to the series final. They will be joined by six drivers from the Mildenhall track championship (again regardless of promotion), a further six from the RDC Drivers Championship plus the winner of the Kent and Suffolk Open championship.
The all Granada meeting remains open to all drivers, from all promotions and the meeting will feature a minimum of a last chance qualifier (with at least four places available in the series final), the Series Final, two Allcomer races and an Accumulator qualifier and DD.
Initial reaction from drivers has been positive but being a new concept it is very much a working progress and the series remains open to tweaks and changes, any of which will be announced here.
This isn’t the only new points series we are introducing at RDC this season, details of another new series will be announced this Saturday night at Mildenhall.
RDC at London Open Championship (added March 3)
As expected RDC was well represented at the 1600cc Banger London Open Championship at Wimbledon on February 28.
The field of around 115 cars included 17 Kyle Overy, 30 Roy Laybourn Jnr, 50 Reece and 60 Steve Laybourn, 81 Lee Greenwood, 101 Ian Norris, 172 Ben Forbes, 180 Mark Foster, 188 John Reeves, 362 Liam Friel, 377 Gareth Brett, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 384 John Golden, 400 Kevin Shinn, 427 Dave Johnson, 460 Lewis Barber, 585 Kevin Giles, 617 Jack Overy, 801 Jack Foster and 807 Chris Murfin.
Also worthy of a mention was 289 Daniel Spinks whose only experience prior to the meeting was some Rookie Banger meetings at Dover and this was his National Banger debut.
289 the Victim was one of many drivers boasting some paint work for the evening and the same could be said of 81 Numb Nuts, 101 Bam Bam, 172 Manic, 384 Goldie, 400 Shinny, Barber and Jack Overy.
It didn’t take Laybourn Jnr long to find himself involved in the war with the Midnight Runners as he joined up with 592 Mark Marchant to run in 208 Jimmy Randall in heat one before administering a meaty head-on a lap later. Goldie meanwhile secured his spot in the final with a tenth place.
A big push on the back straight in heat two saw new Team Black addition 362 Tilly bundle 399 Andrew Cullen, 221 Mark Dopson and 146 Dan Wigman into the wires. Tilly then found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when Shinny latched onto 416 Danny Lawrence, looking for the big one but instead the latter hit the spun Tilly heavily in the driver’s door. Jack Overy meanwhile fired nemesis 158 Shane Davies into some dead cars while Shinny carried on to nail 597 Shane Lines. The race ended in style as 385 Roy Gedge treated the fenced Shinny to a fine hit triggering a Team Black/Condom wrecking train, Jack Overy having already registered fourth.
180 Sparky was under attack from 327 Syd Sherman Jnr early on in heat three with 188 Victor then piling 44 Jamie Ddin into the former as 377 Brettus took a big lunge at 710 Ben Wilkins. 807 Murf meanwhile fired Condom rival 203 Darren Nash onto the grass as Blue Crew pilot 250 Carl Howard missed his on opposite attack on Sparky, the latter connecting on Howard a lap later only to take one in turn from 552 Karl Douglas. 535 Ryan Cunningham meanwhile lunged as Numb Nuts as 60 Fat Boy claimed fourth and Murf fifth, RDC filling the minor spots with Victor, Brettus, 382 Chubby and Barber coming seventh to tenth.
Shinny fenced Sparky as the consolation got going before he earned a load up with an almighty follow-in on 816 Andrew Freeman on the scoreboard bend. 159 Mitchell Miles meanwhile homed in for a head-on to the well involved Sparky, 271 Dean Goodall then nailing the latter in turn. Foster attacked 203 Gnasher following a race stoppage while Laybourn Jnr continued his battle against the Runners with a shot on 341 Andy Jones. Foster and Numb Nuts grabbed last minute places in the final with a sixth and seventh respectively while Johnson just missed out in tenth.
Credit to Spedeworth before the final with Numb Nuts just making the gate only to then spot he’d forgotten his gloves, a Spedeworth official kindly sprinting to Lee’s truck to fetch them for him. The Incarace draw handed Jack Overy pole and he made the early running as Murf attacked Davies setting the latter up for a head-on from Chubby. Barber meanwhile picked up 516 Carl Gould but while the latter bounced off the wires, Barber wasn’t so lucky and caught a post. A big push into the pit bend saw Jack Overy squeezed into a post by Brettus, a head-on from Lines ending his race while Murf treated Brettus to one on the nose. 27 Dale Hughes meanwhile raced to the title, none of the RDC contingent making the top 10.
Fat Boy assaulted 10 Paul Whiteman at the start of the Allcomers only to come under fire himself from welcome returnee 331 Jason Jackson before Johnson treated the fenced 240 Rob Setters to one on the nose. 208 the Finger blasted Fat Boy head-on at the end of the race while Jack Overy picked up a sixth. Into the demo with Fat Boy again after Runners and enjoying a head-on with 341 Jonesey. Jack Overy met 676 Rob Beswick in similar fashion only to come under attack from 157 Carl Richardson. Jack Overy was then involved in one of the biggest crashes of the night as he met Fat Boy on the nose, just as 05 Carlos Perez blasted the latter from the other side in a massive crash which ended RDC’s involvement in the meeting.
More details following cancellation of Winter Series Final (added February 24)
Once again all at RDC would like to extend their apologies to anyone who was affected or disappointed by the cancellation of the 18th annual Mildenhall Winter Series Finale last weekend.
This is the first time in RDC’s history at Mildenhall that we have ever had to cancel a meeting because of the track conditions and we believe it is only the third time we have been forced to cancel a meeting at the Suffolk shaleway. The first was in the winter of 1994 when the car park was water logged and the second was during the foot and mouth crisis.
However despite the best efforts of the track team, we were beaten by Mother Nature on this occasion and there was no way the meeting would be able to go ahead because of the awful weather and the effect it had on the raceway. As stated in the official statement on the site last week, things looked promising mid-week when a day of good weather allowed much positive work to go ahead. However this was undone by a day of rain on Thursday and with similar forecasts predicted there was little hope of turning the situation around.
The good news is that already we are making good progress in repairing the damage in time for the season opener and much work has already been done to the shaleway. Ironically enough much work was done on Sunday afternoon when the weather on the day was actually kind although this was obviously far too late for the meeting to go ahead.
While our main focus is on getting the track ready for the Saturday night season opener on March 13, we are also looking to go ahead with the planned track days scheduled for this weekend (Saturday February 27 and Sunday, February 28). There is more information on this in the next news item this week but look out for official confirmation on the home page of the site by Friday morning at the latest.
In the meantime, with the loss of last weekend’s meeting the National Banger Winter Series points stand and we can now congratulate 442 Sean Crittenden and 511 Helen Licquorice who share the title this year in what will go down as one of the closest Winter Series’ to date.
Once again we want to say sorry to anyone who was left disappointed by the decision to cancel the weekend’s meeting and we hope you understand it was not a decision taken lightly, nor was it a decision we had much choice in and we hope to see you all on March 13.
RDC Ministox Presentation Night (added February 24)
One event at RDC at least was able to go ahead as planned at the weekend which was the second annual RDC Ministox Presentation Night which marked a successful end to the closed season run of social events at Mildenhall Stadium.
We were delighted by the support and turnout for the event which saw many of RDC’s Ministox drivers present as well as their family and friends who together pretty much filled the Fen Man bar at the stadium to enjoy the annual presentation of trophies.
In addition to the top four drivers in the RDC Drivers Points Championship and Mildenhall and Dover track championships, a number of merit awards were also presented which were as follows.
Newcomer of the Year: 306 Daniel Parker and 391 Jake Banwell
Improved Driver of the Year: 304 Jo Parker, 322 Thomas Fox, 327 Mick Maskall Jnr and 367 Tom Keep
Drive of the Year: 356 Georgie Boult Jnr (for the RDC Drivers Championship)
100% Attendance: 308 Alec Hannay
Graduate Award: 321 Ryan Mee
Hardest Trier: 350 Thomas Parrin
Attitude Award: 330 Jack Thompson
Congratulations to all of the trophy winners and well done to all the RDC Ministox drivers for a great season of racing in 2009 and thanks again to everyone who supported the presentation night.
RDC on tour at unlimited Icebreaker, Heartbreaker and London Open (added February 24)
We begin our on tour round at King’s Lynn for the unlimited Icebreaker on February 7 where, as expected RDC were well represented among the 150 strong entry. New signing 360 Jack Reynolds raced for 3Litre Magazine, 19 Joe Mullarkey and 22 Dave Vincent made up half of the Allstars and 917 John and 924 Matt Millen raced for defending champions the Ant Hill Mob, the latter returning a Rover P5 coupe. 21 Jason Colbert was among the Bad News ranks while 133 Karl Day and new signing 726 Kalin Dawe were with the Bears, both parading ultra smart Cadillac Fleetwoods, the latter’s a limo. 125 Roy and 325 Craig Preece raced for the Black Rats and 180 Mark Foster guested for the Cowboys, again at the wheel of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser estate first raced by Jack Foster Jnr. 359 Simon Rolph made a guest outing with the Mob, 38 Tom and 137 Jay Chilton, 79 Ricky Twell and 401 Steve Hemmings comprised the Predators and 525 Wes Starmer guested with Stinkbridge. Team Black boasted 17 Kyle Overy (at the wheel of his Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser estate), new signing 384 John Golden (in a used Mk1 Granada) and 807 Chris Murfin. 782 Glen Boyce had a lush looking XJ for Team Dave and the Team Extreme ranks boasted 148 Ian Redden and 898 Andy Battle.
Difficult track conditions for the start of the day and heat one saw Matt Millen score on the epic Buick Roadmaster of 51 Simon Heilds while 148 Ian Redden tasted the plating thanks to the Mobs 159 Paul Farrell but he recovered to connect on the Lexus of 439 Danny Sutton as Heilds evened the score on Millen. It didn’t get much better for the Millen brothers as John copped a head-on from Colbert, the latter posting a seventh place finish.
360 Jackstar found the wall early on in heat two as Jay Chilton ran in the Fleetwood of Cowboy 598 John Mills before 401 Psycho blasted 64 Lee Moore. 180 Sparky meanwhile used his Yank to nail 800 Tom Hannah, the latter recovering to assault Psycho as 710 Ben Wilkins hammered Craig Preece and Jackstar rallied back to hit 223 Ben Harrison on the nose. Craig Preece took a fine second this time with Jackstar fifth.
The spun P5 of 313 John Cullingford was hit head-on by 133 Karly in heat three as 359 Mr Mint stuck it to 04 Mick Croft, the former later coming under fire from both 262 Buddy James and 321 Andy Newton. However Mr Mint bounced back and scored on 265 Stewart Foster and then 361 Chris Walden although there were no RDC finishers this time.
726 the Chimp used his Caddy to assault 379 Ade Clifton at the start of heat four as Battle fired into 733 Carl Picton and 177 Phil Lambley attacked 384 Goldie. 756 Paul Stafford meanwhile powered into the Chimp as 525 Wes opened his account with hits on the luckless Goldie and 72 Billy Bond as Battle continued with a hard hit on the Chevy Caprice of 170 Simon Needle. Wes ended our involvement in this one with a shot on Battle en route to third place with 807 Murf taking second.
Psycho scored on 409 Carl Pears at the start of heat five but he paid for it when he was decimated by the Lincoln Town Car of 421 Nigel Riley. 38 Tommy Gun meanwhile attacked Heilds only to also fall foul of a big hit from 421 Nutty Nige as Jay Chilton blasted 71 Ciran Carton hard only to become the third Predator victim of the race when he was trashed by 451 Willy Blackwell. This triggered a fine wrecking train in which Jackstar destroyed 110 Garrie Mirza superbly only to be leathered in turn by Heilds. Shorty took second this time.
The lively Mr Mint blasted 98 Matt Harrison in heat six before taking one from Karly in turn as 800 Romeo hammered Sparky while Mr Mint now came under attack from Bear 331 Shane Fry and again there were no RDC finishers this time.
Heat seven saw 17 the Little Chief under early attack from 276 Steve Walden as 370 Mark French span Battle only to have Murf bury the Chimp into him as a result. The Chimp bounced back to give Goldie a big hit over the rear wheel with 67 Rickie Beasley blasting the RDC Bear in turn. Wes took RDC’s first win of the afternoon with Murf again in second.
No RDC action in the penultimate heat which saw a fine win for Vincent before the last heat saw Murf get run in early on by the Lexus of 215 Chris Bull. Wes meanwhile was nailed by 67 Sonny Black as Craig Preece connected on 147 Phil Purdy, 97 Stephen Anderson nailing the former in turn and again there were no RDC finishers.
Wet weather for the final and again no RDC action to report on but Shorty guided his Volvo to an excellent full contact win which proved enough for his team, Team Extreme A to finish second overall.
Moving onto the Heartbreaker at Northampton on February 14 where again RDC were well represented among the 120 car field which was spread between unlimited and 2Litre bangers. Starting with the unlimited cars and heat one began badly for 384 John Golden who ran into the stricken Lincoln limo of 514 Charlie Taylor as elsewhere 320 Paul Seymour traded blows with 252 Steve Bugler as 617 Jack Overy took first blood, racing to the win.
The only RDC involvement in heat two saw 384 Goldie again in the wars as he was fenced by 218 Rob Speak, the latter firing Overy wide in the opening stages of the title race. Nonetheless Overy broke away and battled team mate 998 Wayne Cotterill for the lead until the latter fell foul of a back marker. The reds came out with two laps to run and somewhat strangely a restart was ordered with Speak giving Overy a big shove to take the lead but Overy had other ideas turning round to stop Speak’s challenge with a head-on next time round.
320 Smiler repaired for the DD, coming under early attack from 196 Ben Harrison before 6 Mark Holdsworth attacked him on opposite leaving the Motley Krew man open to a big hit from the XJ-S of 133 Marc Paton.
Onto the 2litre class with 460 Lewis Barber attacking 800 Luke Benn in the opening heat before our involvement stepped up tremendously for heat two. New recruit 519 Lee Middleton buried 17 Kyle Overy leaving the latter prone to a big hit from 401 Steve Hemmings, the latter then burying 251 Bob Deep through the side of the spun 287 Dean Quinsee. 223 Brett Harrison meanwhile ran in Predator 779 Luke Allen as Psycho continued his display and ran in 83 Dave Thornley which also claimed fellow Predator 137 Jay Chilton. 779 Munch recovered to put away 195 Sam Tomlinson before he was again run in by 223 Bushy as 519 Knuckles and Psycho took the time to assault 199 Jacob Roff. 415 Scott Cornish meanwhile found himself planted by 237 Lee Millhouse as 404 Luke Brinton scored on 38 Craig Allen leaving 465 Andy Scarlett to register a flag to flag win.
100 Callum White made his mark at the start of heat three as he ran in 05 Carlos Perez while 157 Michael Piggott also made an impression with a shot on 199 Ginge before 404 Spook latched onto 69 Roger Skinner and piled him into 557 John Small leaving the lively 157 Piglet to nail 2 Jonathan Bricknell.
17 the Little Chief returned for the final and scored on 305 John Kirkbride only to again take a big hit from the on form Psycho which brought the reds out to check on the Team Black young gun but he soon exited ok. Psycho continued his destruction on the restart with a big hit on 591 Marc Blower as 898 Andy Battle found himself run in by 385 Jason Todd before he copped a package from Barber who was blasted by Piglet in turn.
Barber appeared for the demo and made it count with a shot on title race winner 730 Dean Mayes.
Finally we look forward to the coming weekend where a very large RDC presence is expected at the 1600cc Banger London Open Championship at Wimbledon on Sunday, February 28 where no less than 17 RDC drivers are among the entry list.
30 Roy Laybourn Jnr will be joined by brother 50 Reece and 60 Steve and will no doubt be continuing the battle with the Midnight Runners whose ranks include 180 Mark Foster while you would expect Team Black members 17 Kyle and 617 Jack Overy, 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 807 Chris Murfin to be well involved with the Condoms. Elsewhere on the booking list and RDC are represented by Accumulator champion 81 Lee Greenwood, 172 Ben Forbes, 362 Liam Friel, 377 Gareth Brett, big hitter 400 Kevin Shinn, 427 Dave Johnson, 460 Lewis Barber and RDC returnee 585 Kevin Giles.
Special mention again to 17 the Little Chief as this will be his eighth meeting of the season already while Foster Jnr will notch up meeting number seven of 2010 this Sunday and it will be 807 Murf’s sixth appearance of the year.
RDC young guns set the dedication bar in 2010 (added February 2)
RDC Young guns 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 17 Kyle Overy have set an incredible standard for dedication in National Bangers with an amazingly busy month in January.
Foster Jnr raced no less than six times in the opening month of the decade, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that he also raced at six different track. He took in meetings at Birmingham, Standlake, Mildenhall, Hednesford, Taunton and King’s Lynn. This meant he actually raced at all but one National Banger meeting in the sport in January 2010 (the only other event being van bangers at Cowdenbeath on January 31) and it also came with much success with no less than three DD wins from Birmingham, Hednesford and King’s Lynn plus a race win at Mildenhall as well.
Not to be outdone 17 the Little Chief raced at five of the aforementioned six meetings, only missing New Year’s Day at Birmingham which makes them the busiest two drivers in the entire sport for the month with no other driver matching their achievement.
Also very worthy of a mention is 180 Mark Foster, 807 Chris Murf and 303 Wayne Linsdale. Foster and Murfin raced four times in January, competing at Standlake, Hednesford, Taunton and King’s Lynn. Meanwhile Linsdale chalked up four meetings in a four week window between December 27 and January 31 with two outings a piece at Mildenhall and Lynn.
RDC on tour at Civil War, Winter Open and 1500cc Icebreaker (added February 2)
As promised last week, this week we bring you a detailed account of the RDC drivers involvement in the 11th annual Civil War which took place at Hednesford on January 23.
Racing for the South were new RDC signing 60 Steve Laybourn, Super Rod regular 117 John Shilleto, 161 Karl Totham, 172 Ben Forbes, 188 John Reeves, 262 Jason Barnard, 278 Tom Hills, new signing 360 Jack Reynolds, 898 Andy Battle and 917 John Millen.
Meanwhile in the North we fielded 17 Kyle Overy, 22 Dave Vincent, RDC returnee 88 Ash Burton, 180 Mark Foster, 320 Paul Seymour, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 391 Wayne and 400 Kevin Shinn, 525 Wes Starmer, 682 Paul Sparrow, 715 Mick Prince, 801 Jack Foster, 807 Chris Murfin and RDC returnee for 2010 920 James Medley. 807 Murf deserving extra credit as he raced in two classes.
The day started badly for 172 Manic who was followed straight in by 290 Ryan Davies at the opening heat of the Light Brigade (all Sunnys) began while 188 Victor was run in by 340 Jay Atkinson and 17 the Little Chief hit 174 Dave Osbourn over the front wheel. A lap or so later he again blasted the Gladiator while Prince rolled onto his roof at the end of the back straight but the race continued and he was able to crawl to safety. Murf meanwhile buried 252 Steve Bugler into Manic’s wreck en route to helping the North score some early points in third while the Little Chief also finished in the top 10.
Murf was first on the case for the RDC contingent in heat one for the Infantry (2Litres) burying 123 Rob Smith while 525 Wes crashed heavily into the infield wall. 161 Flash meanwhile fenced 451 Willy Blackwell before Battle was buried by 99 Jason Jukes and Murf assaulted 247 Lee Clarke before he administered a monster shot on 593 Tommy Harrell. 88 Ace Ash scored some more points in fourth, Murf just behind in fifth.
The opening heat for the Tanks (unlimited bangers) began with 22 Dave Vincent putting away 256 Shaun Kelly while 320 Smiler used his smart XJ to nail 592 Mark Marchant. 409 Joey Collins put Medley away following a race stoppage before Vincent dished out a hit to 523 John Swanborough after 262 the Verger had been blown up on the east bend. Vincent finished in fifth which was just outside the points positions.
Prince was again in the wars in heat two for the Light Brigade as he took a head-on from 508 Steve Ashby while later in the race Victor hammered 118 Jason Anslow before Foster Jnr traded blows with 826 John Murrell. Victor continued to attack the North with a shot on 223 Brett Harrison before Foster Jnr settled the score on Murrell with a massive blitz. Atkinson ran in 360 Jackstar in the final stages of the race while Shilleto survived an attack from 243 Doug Thompson to add to the Souths total in fourth.
171 James Simpson buried 400 Shinny at the start of heat two for the Infantry before the Aftermath man was nailed by 423 Danny Oliver. Ace Ash continued his day by running in 781 Shaun O’Donnell well while Wes delivered a shot on Oliver. Battle was hammered by 478 Chris Spiers and Wes, the latter then blasting 210 Paul Barnes, Ace Ash leading home a Northern white wash with a fine win.
Heat two for the Tanks saw the track completely blocked in the opening minutes of the race in which Smiler gave 206 Dave King a big hit before the race was stopped and declared null and void.
The Little Chief copped T-bones from 589 Simon Smith and 349 Michael Allard at the start of the Light Brigade final, the latter then taking a hit from Foster Jnr. Later in the event the lurking Murf absorbed hits from Smith, 146 Dan Wigman, 158 Shane Davies and 246 Jason Smith as Victor landed a revenge hit on Atkinson. Victor continued to destroy 310 John Nicholson with a fine hit only to again come under fire from Atkinson but ultimately no RDC went the distance.
The Infantry final began with 180 Sparky following in Rob Smith while 391 Ol Matey came under attack from 241 Liam Cracknell as Laybourn assaulted Shinny. 478 Chucksy buried Battle and 247 Bro delivered a revenge burial on Murf while 2 Luke Dawson nailed Shinny. Ace Ash hammered Cracknell as Laybourn scored on Wes only to take one in turn from Ace Ash with 436 Rob Cole hammering the latter as a result. Sparky blasted 436 Shaft in turn as 210 Barnesy scored on Ace Ash and Foster hit Shaft only to take one in turn from Laybourn who was then nailed by 455 Rick Finney. Bro now hit Foster only to take one in turn from Sparky as Sparrow hammered 549 Phil Smith as Battle hit Wes. Ace Ash laid into Battle in turn with Laybourn homing in for a head-on on the former only to again come under fire from Foster. With the track now completely blocked the race was stopped and declared null and void but nonetheless it had been a superb display by the RDC drivers with all of the final runners either RDC registered save two drivers who are frequent Mildenhall visitors.
Vincent again shone in the Tank final with a big hit on 55 James Ogborn while the North took all the points scoring places and the following DD which was sufficient to confirm them as the winners.
Foster Jnr set about Shane Davies in the Light Brigade DD before he set about 88 Josh Fuller and Atkinson, Foster Jnr then seeing off team mates 223 Bushy and 531 Toby Tropper to take the win.
Sparky was again on the case in the Infantry DD, following in final Southern survivor Oliver before shrugging off a hit from 451 Willy Blackwell to give 648 Kyle Guyler a monster hit. Sparky ended his day with a head-on to Chucksy while Wes outlasted Finney to be the second RDC DD winner of the afternoon.
Very briefly from Taunton’s 2Litre Winter Open on January 23 where RDC’s travelling quartet of 17 the Little Chief, 180 Sparky, 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 807 Murf. Sparky and Murf booked their place in the final in heat two with a fourth and fifth respectively and Foster Jnr joined them with a second in the consolation but none of them managed to go the distance in the final. Sparky came back to share the DD honours with team mate 10 Paul Whiteman wrapping a hard hitting display by the RDC Hot Shot Champion.
Moving on to last weekend’s 1500cc Icebreaker team event at King’s Lynn on January 31 where again there was plenty of RDC interest among the massive turnout of over 160 cars.
19 Joe Mullarkey once again raced for the Allstars, 303 Wayne Linsdale and 437 Chris Bailey were with Bits and Bobs and 26 Daniel Holmes, 76 Terry Mansfield and 313 Criag Osbourn raced for Damaged Goods, Mansfield in a smart Cortina estate which sadly failed to race. 180 Mark Foster was out for Midnight Runners B and was joined by 328 Daniel Latham on a guest appearance while 326 Shane Lynn and 427 Dave Johnson raced for the No Ones. 17 Kyle Overy, 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 807 Chris Murfin made up the majority of Team Black, 138 Jason Smy raced for Team Simple while 64 Barry Lee, 525 Wes Starmer and 898 Andy Battle were among the many WMS ranks.
Heat one saw Bailey under early attack taking a hit from 851 Adam Storr (Mean Machines), the luckless RDC man then having 237 Martyn Meldrum (Junkyard Mongrels) planted into him by 150 Andy Parrin (WMS), Bailey then collected in the door by 703 Matt Brown (Team Handsome). 19 Dove Toe Joe scored some points this time, finishing sixth.
Wes came under attack from 257 Steve Spika (Team Handsome) in heat two but recovered to bury 26 Hacker while 911 Pe Pe raced to sixth and Osborn scored in eighth.
180 Sparky began his campaign in heat three by following in 218 Steven Gray (Grass Cutters) he buried 310 Luke Holdsworth (Team Bash) which left him open to a shot from 49 Lawrence Dowds (Sharks). He rallied back though and followed in 202 Martin Pannett (Outsiders), staying on the boot of the latter to bury him again half a lap later which was sufficient to earn him the entertainer award. 64 Barry the Bull raced from pole to take the win only to get nailed by 149 Wayne Bailey (Outsiders) on the run down lap.
807 Murf hammered 399 Johnny Atkins (Mad Hatters) in heat four in which Smy whacked 128 Andy Lack (Mad Mob) over the front wheel, Murf then starring again as he dumped 115 Chris Wagg (WMS) into an infield tyre, Smy coming under attack from 67 Rickie Beasley (Team Black) just after the reds came out. Foster Jnr took second and Murf a full contact fourth with Smy in fifth.
525 Wes recovered from an attack from 211 Kevin Skill (Team BBC) to assist Linsdale in running in 279 Andrew Swallow (Junkyard Mongrels) in heat five. Linsdale was then buried by 673 Darren Fendley (Team Bash) which left him open to a hit from 303 Wayne Linsdale (WMS) while Dove Toe Joe added to his teams score with a tenth.
Sparky was again on form in heat six and began by following in 469 Michael Scally (Outsiders) with Osborn then hitting the latter head-on before Sparky followed in 59 Carl Mann (Team Handsome) only to come under fire from 218 Goober. Sparky rallied back to dish out a fine hit on 282 Bobby Daniels (Mr Men) and then he nailed 579 Gary Beecham (Mr Men) before concluding his display by blowing up 57 Max Stott (WMS). Sparky deservedly collected another entertainer award while Barry the Bull took the flag but was deemed to have jumped the start and dropped two places. Johnson finished sixth and Sparky eighth.
Murf featured again in heat seven when he followed in 500 Keiran Cannell (Team Savage) before he blasted 223 Brett Harrison (Stanley Crew) hard. 17 the Little Chief took second in this one.
Our only interest in heat eight came at the very end when 326 ratty came under fire from 10 Paul Whiteman (Midnight Runners) and 999 Shane Cottrill (WMS) but despite this he managed to register a seventh with Johnson in ninth.
The final heat saw Murf bury Mann before he belted 15 Kelvin Banthorpe (Team Savage) with a T-bone. Meanwhile the Little Chief hammered 61 Danny Coleman (Team Handsome) and Sparky again impressed with a big hit on 389 Charlie Garrod (Team Flat Out) which earned him a third entertainers award. The Little Chief was again second with Murf, Foster Jnr, Latham and Sparky all placing in sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth respectively.
Murf was again on the case in the final when he buried 97 Jim Maddison (Mr Men) while the Little Chief was stuffed by Wes and Sparky delivered yet another big hit with 230 Dean Moljourd (Mr Men) on the receiving end. The Little Chief had a pop at the passing 791 Nicky Young (Mad Mob) and ultimately Team Black finished third overall, WMS A taking the honours.
Foster Jnr concluded the day by winning the near 40 car DD, his third DD win of the month.
Important information for all drivers regarding recent police checks (added January 20)
The last few meetings at Mildenhall have seen a handful of National Banger drivers report that they have been stopped by local police officers regarding the transportation of their race cars to and from the stadium.
Following last weekend’s meeting some more drivers were stopped at the Barton Mills roundabout during which time we were fortunate enough to speak to the members of the Suffolk police unit who gave us some important information to pass onto all drivers.
We hope everyone will please take note of these details as they apply to ALL drivers wherever they transport race cars, in fact these checks apply to anyone who transports any type of car.
The officer informed us that the area of concern is with regard to safely securing all cars on a trailer, truck or lorry. While this applies to all modes of transport the biggest area of concern is when drivers are carrying two cars on one vehicle as apparently this often leads to the biggest breaks in the law.
We were told that the law stresses that every car must be secured to the trailer, truck or lorry in its own right and must not be dependent in any way on a second car, the Hi-ab or winch. The officer said that for every car being carried it should be secured by EVERY wheel (e.g. a ratchet strap on all four wheels) from the wheel to the trailer or lorry. So for one car you should have four ratchet straps, two cars would require eight and three cars would need 12.
Furthermore if you have a winch or side bars on the lorry these should be used as well.
The officer also said that it was best that the cars should be in neutral and with the hand brake on.
The officer informed us that there had been recent incidents where cars were being carried with no straps and just secured by the Hi-Ab itself (he did point out that these were not necessarily short oval racers) and that this had caused accidents which had led to the clamp down.
He was very clear that the initiative is with safety in mind and is not an attack on the short oval racing community but he also made it clear that people who break these laws may be fined and issued points on their driving license.
We would very much like to thank the members of the Suffolk Police unit who were spoke with on Sunday. They were extremely helpful both to the drivers in question and to us in providing all the information above which we hope everyone will take note of.
Mildenhall January 17-a thank you (added January 20)
In the wake of last weekends Winter Series event at Mildenhall, all at RDC would like to extend a massive thank you to all the drivers who made such a superb effort to entertain the fans who gathered at the raceway.
Given the diabolical weather we have experienced in recent weeks it took every effort possible just to allow the meeting to go ahead as planned and I don’t think anyone would have expected better track conditions than what we had so to have almost 100 race cars in the pits plus a very reasonable turnout of fans was a great showing.
Despite the large amount of rainfall in the 24 hours prior to the meeting the track team did everything possible to get the best racing conditions they could and while they were far from ideal the track was drive-able and some difficult decisions during the day with regard to the format ultimately paid off with some very decent and lively racing at the end of the afternoon.
Certainly to see so almost half the 2Litre Banger entry return for the final race was an excellent achievement and underlines the amazing dedication of these racers.
We are also grateful to our staff who worked as hard as possible to get the meeting over and done with inside three hours (almost a record at RDC!) which meant almost the entire meeting was run in daylight meaning the fans who made the effort to attend weren’t kept waiting in the cold for too long for the next race.
However we would like to apologize for the mix up prior to the last 2Litre Banger race of the afternoon where the drivers were informed it was a straight DD rather than 10 laps into a DD. On the plus side it did produce the most action packed race of the day but it also caused much confusion which we are sorry for.
Success for RDC drivers at Wasted Magazine Awards (added January 20)
There was much success for some of the RDC National Banger drivers at the second annual Wasted Magazine awards night which was held at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday night (January 16).
81 Lee Greenwood scooped most improved driver of the year, 17 Kyle Overy claimed newcomer of the year, 400 Kevin Shinn was named entertainer of the year and the Aftermath lifted team of the year. Furthermore 617 Jack Overy’s one man mission at the PRI World Final saw him win the performance of the year award.
There was more success in the driver of the year award as well with Supreme champion 188 John Reeves claiming third in the Driver of the Year category. All of these awards were determined by votes from a panel of the staff and contributors of Wasted Magazine.
However there was a twist to the final award of the night, the Driver of the Year. With Overy and 190 Steve Bailey tied on votes between the Wasted team the winner was determined by the driver who received the most votes in the Drivers’ Driver of the Year award which was decided by votes from drivers only where around 250 drivers from across the country took part.
Overy collected more votes than 190 Pikey and was thus named Driver of the Year and Driver’s Driver of the Year.
Elsewhere and 247 Lee Clarke won breakthrough driver of the year, 581 Simon Fixter claimed both unsung hero of the year and car of the year and Pikey scooped the dedicated driver of the year award.
We were delighted to see so many people turn out for the awards night and once again we were even more pleased to report on another hugely successful RDC social event at Mildenhall Stadium with a great atmosphere throughout the night and nothing but positive comments from those who attended.
RDC office now closed until February 22 (added January 20)
Following the news item last week we would like to again remind everyone that the RDC office is not enjoying its annual winter closure and will not reopen until after the final round of the Mildenhall Winter Series on February 22.
In the meantime you can still contact us via e mail on wastedmc@btopenworld.com until February 1 at which point this service will also be unavailable until February 22.
Drivers who need to be licensed to race before February 21 should send in their completed license form, photos and money asap and provided we receive it before February 1 your 2010 log book will be sent out asap. If your next planned meeting is Mildenhall on February 21 and you need a license for that meeting you are more than welcome to bring all your information there or alternatively send it to the RDC address and we’ll have it ready for the February 21 meeting.
Regarding booking in for meetings, if you need bookings for any meetings in the next few weeks
18th annual Mildenhall Winter Series closest yet? (added January 20)
This year’s National Banger Mildenhall Winter Series is set to be the closest for many years following the results of last weekend’s penultimate round.
With the recently announced extra meeting in the series on February 21 (featuring 2Litre Bangers and Ministox) this years series will be the first to be run over three rounds in many seasons but the title race could not be any closer with a mere five points between the top eight drivers.
Early series leader 511 Helen Licquorice has hung onto the lead despite failing to score in Sunday’s Grand Final but with a heat win for 442 Sean Crittenden they now share the lead on 31 points.
A storming display by rising star 326 Shane Lynn last weekend sees him race to second, a single point behind on 30.
Just one point behind him on 29 points is tip for stardom in 2010, 682 Paul Sparrow who has been the most consistent driver over the first two rounds and could have raced into a comfortable lead on Sunday had he not been stopped in the final stages of the last race.
Two points behind him on 27 is 465 Andy Scarlett who continued his great form of the second half of 2009 with a well planned out win in the final where he showed his strengths by being in the right place at the right time.
Then just one point behind him come three drivers on 26 points. RDC young guns 370 John Cobbold and 382 Jack Foster Jnr put all their points on the board last weekend and so will be big dangers next month. Sadly 303 Wayne Linsdale will be unable to challenge for the title as he has committed to a team event in Ireland that weekend. Nonetheless his early season form shows his growing ability and further underlines his potential to be a breakout star in 2010.
But with a potential 52 points available at the final round anyone can still win the series. Among the big names to have posted points on the leader board include 349 Michael Allard, 159 Darren Scarrow, 188 John Reeves, 53 Dave Palmer, 17 Kyle Overy and defending champion 841 Phil Jennings who will all be threats to the title as well next month.
Reliant Robin World qualifying points (added January 20)
Following round three of the Reliant Robin world championship qualifying series at Mildenhall last weekend we have an extended list of the current points chart. The top 28 drivers after the final round will advance to the championship in August with the remaining rounds at Dover on April 5 and Mildenhall on May 29.
355 Mick Walker 69
553 Daniel Douglas 63
66 Steve Willis 58
96 Ian Robins 58
87 Barry Richards 41
29 Steve Donavan 40
484 Gary Harvey 38
78 Mark Bowskill 37
30 James Donavan 35
85 James Ellis 34
16 Ray Layton 31
186 George Turkicki 31
197 Tom Tatham 27
339 Lee Pullen 26
433 Andy Parker 25
485 Gary Archer 24
275 Phil Rowbottom 21
117 Karl Dack 20
94 Mick Acheillous 18
195 Pete Bowley 18
12 Alan Norris 15
4 Kelvin Tatham 14
554 Chalky Douglas 14
264 Shaun Richards 13
351 Tut Knowles 13
854 Carl Pickworth 13
576 Colin Aldred 12
185 Ben Oliver 11
28 Dave Donavan 10
272 Martin Vella 10
103 Paul Fairman 8
928 Sam Steele 8
564 Ryan Sutcliffe 7
285 Sean Dyer 6
RDC at Heavy Metal Classic (added January 6)
The 2010 banger racing season kicked off with the traditional first big meeting of the season at Standlake on January with the Heavy Metal Classic which was once again well attended with around 175 cars on hand. However this was somewhat down on the expected entry which was no doubt down to the dreadful weather conditions around the country with those who were unable to attend including the entire Predators faction who fell foul of the snow in Wisbech and King’s Lynn on the night before.
Starting in the 1800cc (non Mondeo) class where we were represented by 140 Mark and 310 Chas Lee, new RDC signing 360 Jack Reynolds and 801 Jack Foster. The former trio provided the tin with a Hillman Minx, used Bubble A55 Cambridge and Austin 1300 respectively. It was a bad start to the day for Foster who was buried by the impressive 969 Andy Fryer in heat two and things didn’t get much better for 360 Jackstar who was nailed by 109 Paul Forbes in heat four. Meanwhile Chas Lee copped a head-on from the A60 of 727 Simon Young before taking additional abuse from Forbes with 140 Sass blasting the latter’s RWD Bluebird in turn which ended our interest in this class.
Onto the unlimiteds where we had 17 Kyle Overy, Jackstar, 617 Jack Overy and 782 Glen Boyce, the former turning some heads with the sports maiden Omega limo while not to be outdone the latter was at the wheel of a giant Lincoln Town Car limo. 782 Gladis made the first impression with a shot on the even bigger Lincoln limo of 296 Terry Barber in heat one before he was fenced by the stunning Fleetwood limo of 622 Garry Webb which left Gladis prone to a revenge head-on from Barber. Gladis recovered only to be fenced by the vintage Chevy Fleetline of 294 Steve Martindale before he took a hit from the Granada limo of 252 Steve Bugler. 17 the Little Chief appeared in heat two with a T-bone on 228 Tom Caplin while Jackstar recorded a fourth. Gladis returned for heat five where he buried 704 Kevin Chandler before Jackstar delivered a cracking hit on lone Bear 207 Michael Woodward. Overy meanwhile picked up a third in this one. Jackstar again entertained in the final, first planting 218 Rob Speak into 40 Pete Stanley before he laid into the game Barber. Having been sidelined in the final with engine problems, Overy returned in style to win the Allcomers with an impressive drive while Jackstar outlasted 362 Matt Godden to claim the demo.
Finally we had the all Mondeo class which boasted RDC’s 180 Mark Foster, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 807 Chris Murfin and 808 Jay Buckland. 807 Murf was put away by 572 Paul Scully in the opening heat before again tasting the wall but this time at the hands of 45 Anthony Crowshaw. Foster Jnr meanwhile finished second and Buckland sixth. 180 Sparky starred in heat two with an early burial on 416 Danny Lawrence before he hammered 379 Adrian Clifton. Murf meanwhile delivered a revenge follow-in on 572 Squirt as Buckland came under fire from 741 Alex Waterman. Buckland bounced back to attack 252 Steve Bugler before Sparky stuffed Squirt and Murf landed a hit on 19 Tony Mounger. 707 Mark Court meanwhile ran in Sparky which fired him up to deliver a big T-bone on 66 Mark Rogers as Buckland took the win only to get nailed by 239 Steve Carter on the run down lap as 45 Lips buried Murf. Foster Jnr was fourth and Sparky sixth. Murf was again in the wars in the final as he was buried by 391 Adam Bligden with Sparky moving in to stuff the latter who then came under attack from 379 the Worm. Sparky bounced back to run in 98 Brian Deeprose as Buckland took second. Foster Jnr claimed third in the Allcomers while Sparky was outlasted by team mate 208 Jimmy Randall in the battle for the DD honours.
Happy new year from RDC Promotions (added December 30)
We would like to start the final news update on the site of 2009 by wishing everyone a very happy new year.
Once again we would like to extend our thanks to everyone who contributed to making 2009 such a massive success at RDC and to all our drivers, their families, mechanics and helpers, every fan who supported us last year and to all those who visit this site we hope you all have a great time over the new year and all the very best for 2010.
Winter Series opener round up and thank you (added December 30)
This week we would also like to extend a big message of thanks to everyone who contributed to last weekend’s opening round of the 18th annual Mildenhall Winter Series.
While the meeting is certainly not destined to go down as one of the all time greats from RDC it was certainly a successful afternoon on many fronts.
The biggest success was the great turnout of drivers with a whopping 123 cars for the first ever Metro and Fiesta Banger meeting plus another 26 Ministox to make for an eyelash short of 150 cars in the pit area. Given the horrendous weather we experienced across the country in the week leading up to the meeting this turnout can surely not be considered as anything less than most impressive and we will never know how many more drivers intended to race only to have their plans ruined by the weather.
Nonetheless a heartfelt message of thanks to all the drivers and their teams for their stellar effort simply just to prepare a car and attend the meeting and then also for making the best of the difficult conditions on the afternoon to entertain the fans who braved the bitterly cold weather to attend and as always our thanks to them as well.
We would also like to thank our stadium and track staff who cleared the stadium of all the snow and ensured it was a safe environment for everyone to watch the racing and for preparing a racing surface which was perhaps better than many had expected.
We made an unusual decision at the start of the meeting electing to split the bangers much thinner than normal. At start time we had just over 100 cars in attendance (many delayed by various problems on the surrounding roads) and with no-one knowing for certain how wet the track would be we opted to run four heats of around 25 cars, which is far less than we would normally run.
The hope was the smaller grids would give the drivers the ability to have better racing and also to produce a better racing line and despite the set back of a small shower during the second heat this was ultimately achieved as the drivers had a far better raceway come the tail end of the afternoon and certainly the banger final and DD were the highlights of the afternoon.
Furthermore the maiden Fiesta and Metro Banger meeting proved a success with a strong field of cars and a little more variety than this meeting has seen in the past. Also the changes didn’t see anyone car dominate the meeting with a near even split of race wins between the Metro and Fiesta while the small number of other cars fitted in well. However we are continuing to discuss ways of improving this meeting in the future and we are looking at a number of ideas for next year’s meeting and we will bring you the latest news as soon as this is confirmed.
Christmas message from RDC Promotions (added December 23)
RDC Promotions would like to extend its best wishes to everyone connected to RDC at either Mildenhall Stadium or Dover Raceway this Christmas.
To all the drivers, their families and teams and to each and every fan who has visited us during the last 12 months and to all of our staff we hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and we would like to wish you the very best for the new year and throughout 2010.
2009 proved to be an incredible season for RDC with another record breaking season at Mildenhall and one of our best seasons at Dover during which we confirmed the continued legacy of the raceway which looked likely at one point to be closing at the end of the 2009 season.
All of these successes were in no small part down to the amazing support we once again received from the hundreds of drivers and thousands of race fans who came to our raceways at some stage during the year and for that support, especially given these difficult times, we are eternally thankful.
Merry Christmas everyone, Happy New Year and we hope to see you all very soon.
Saturday night start times in 2010 at Mildenhall confirmed and fixture update (added December 23)
After much thought and indeed soul searching RDC Promotions have this week confirmed that 2010 will see a new regular start time of Saturday night meetings at Mildenhall Stadium of 6.30pm.
Having stuck to our regular 7pm start times since we began Saturday night meetings mid way through our maiden season at Mildenhall in 1993, the change is not a decision which has been taken lightly and many factors were taken into consideration before the final decision was made.
We understand the switch is likely to not suite everyone and will especially be a problem to those who work on Saturdays and then travel to the stadium when they have finished. We sincerely hope that those effected will still be able to attend our meetings as and when they can and we also hope they can understand why we have taken the decision to make the change.
The only exceptions to the 6.30pm Saturday night start time is two meetings in July, the unlimited banger Suffolk Open championship on July 3 and the first night of One Wild Weekend on July 24 featuring 2Litre all RWD Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and BriSCA F2 Stockcars which will both start at 6pm. All afternoon fixtures at Mildenhall remain at 1.30pm.
We can also confirm this week that with Spedeworth’s move to switch the unlimited banger World Championship onto October 23, RDC’s Halloween Havoc meeting will now be staged on October 30.
The latest look at the fixture list appears below and we do not anticipate any further changes to the list, but as always if there is we will announce them here.
Mildenhall 2010 fixtures
Sunday December 27 1.30pm Metro and Fiesta Bangers and Ministox
Sunday January 17 1.30pm 2Litre Bangers Winter Series Round 2 and Reliant Robins World QF
Sunday February 21 1.30pm 2Litre Bangers Winter Series Finale and Ministox
Saturday February 27 1.30pm Track and practice day
Sunday February 28 1.30pm Track and practice day
Saturday March 13 6.30pm National Bangers British QF, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday March 27 6.30pm National Banger BBA Supreme Championship and Saloon Stockcars
Friday April 2 1.30pm 1400cc Bangers Suffolk Open Team Championship and Ministox
Saturday April 10 6.30pm 1400cc Bangers and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday April 17 6.30pm 1600cc Bangers (no Mondeos), Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday May 1 6.30pm National Bangers British QF, BriSCA F2 Stockcars and Ministox*
Saturday May 8 6.30pm Unlimited Van Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday May 22 6.30pm Unlimited Bangers EA Team Championship and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday May 29 6.30pm Pre 70 National Bangers and Reliant Robins World QF
Saturday June 12 6.30pm National Bangers Inter Counties Team Challenge, Bangerstox, Super Rods and PRI 1300cc Stockcars
Sunday June 13 1.30pm National Bangers inc under 25 Hot Shot Championship, Bangerstox Suffolk Ch/ship, Super Rods Suffolk Championship and PRI 1300cc Stockcars
Saturday June 19 6.30pm National Bangers British QF, BriSCA F2 Stockcars and Ministox*
Saturday July 3 6pm Unlimited Bangers Suffolk Open Championship and Ministox Suffolk Open Championship
Saturday July 24 6pm 2Litre RWD Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Sunday July 25 1.30pm 1600cc/2Litre Bangers Suffolk Open Ch/ship, Saloon Stockcars and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday July 31 6.30pm 1400cc Bangers, Small Van Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday August 14 6.30pm National Bangers BBA British Championship and Reliant Robins World Final
Saturday August 28 6.30pm 1400cc Bangers and BriSCA F2 Stockcars World of Shale Championship
Saturday September 11 6.30pm Saloon Stockcars World Championship and all Granada National Bangers (2litre)
Saturday September 18 6.30pm National Bangers Old Skool team championship and Reliant Robins British Ch/ship
Saturday October 2 6.30pm 1600cc Bangers (no Mondeos), BriSCA F2 Stockcars and Ministox*
Saturday October 16 6.30pm National Bangers Accumulator Championship and White and Yellow Grade Series Final and Saloon Stockcars Wayne Oslar Memorial
Saturday October 30 6.30pm National Bangers Crazy and DD Night and caravan race, Reliant Robins World QF, Ministox RDC Drivers Championship and Fireworks
Sunday November 14 1.30pm 2Litre Banger ORC Team Championship, Saloon Stockcars ORC Championship and Ministox ORC Championship
Sunday November 28 1.30pm 2Litre Bangers Mildenhall Team Championship and Ministox
*=Ministox heat/s will be pre meeting
Dover 2010 Fixtures
Monday April 5 2pm National Bangers British and Masters QF, Bangerstox Masters QF, Super Rods Masters QF & Reliant Robins World QF
Monday May 3 2pm Big Van Bangers, Bangerstox, Super Rods & Ministox Kent QF
Monday May 31 2pm Rookie Bangers Crazy Day and Caravan Race, Bangerstox Southern Championship & Super Rods Kent Championship
Sunday June 27 2pm National Bangers British and Masters QF, Bangerstox Masters QF, Super Rods Masters QF & Ministox Kent QF
Sunday July 11 2pm Unlimited Bangers Kent Championship, Bangerstox, Super Rods & Ministox Kent Championship
Sunday August 8 2pm 2Litre Bangers Kent Team Championship, Bangerstox Kent Championship & Super Rods Southern Championship
Monday August 30 2pm National Bangers Masters QF & Rollover, Bangerstox Masters QF & Super Rods Masters QF
Sunday September 26 2pm National Bangers Masters Championship, Bangerstox Masters Championship & Super Rods Masters Championship
Congratulations to Shorty-unlimited banger Nutcracker champion (added December 16)
Congratulations are in order to RDC banger star 148 Ian Redden who added to his growing title collection at King’s Lynn on Sunday (December 13) with victory in the unlimited banger Nutcracker.
The title goes alongside his unlimited banger Suffolk Open championship win in July plus victory in the final at Psycho Mania in September along with his King of the Fens and Masters Championship wins in previous seasons. It also means 148 Shorty is the first RDC driver to secure a spot in the 2010 Champion of Champions event at Birmingham which would be the third year running he has qualified for the event.
Making the afternoon even sweeter for Shorty who was that his one man stand against the Bears in the first Allcomers event was enough to snare him an entertainers awards.
The Nutcracker race was up first for the unlimiteds with Shorty under fire early on as he was fenced by 225 Nick Bull but he recovered and got the better of 313 John Cullingford and 185 Polly Reade for the win and celebrated with a shot on 207 Michael Woodward.
521 Ashley Riley nailed Shorty in the first Allcomers although the latter rallied back for a stiff hit on 331 Shane Fry only to then come under further fire from 521 Ace Ash and fellow Bear 726 the Chimp but this was sufficient for Shorty to take the entertainer award.
133 Karl Day made his mark in the second Allcomers with a big shot on 132 Rob James while 334 Stephen Court used his Granada hearse to bury 421 Nigel Riley. 133 Karly blasted 734 Mark Saunders in the demo before he later came under fire from 334 Courty.
In the 1500cc class 382 Jack Foster Jnr made a lively start to the day in the last chance race, starting by running in the Marina of 187 the Chavie. Foster Jnr continued with a meaty shot on 315 and concluded his display with a package on 174 Joe Ellis.
Precious little luck for our drivers in the National Championship with 425 Martin Stopher (who deserves much credit as one of three drivers to race in both classes) getting buried hard by 85 James Ellis. Our only other interest in the 1500cc class came in the DD where 64 Barry Lee delivered a fine hit on 392 Baino.
New Facebook group for Mildenhall fans to join (added December 16)
Facebook members may be interested to know that a new group has been comprised on the popular website which we believe will be of interest to many fans and drivers who visit Mildenhall Stadium.
The Mildenhall Hog Roast Appreciation group is proving an instant hit on Facebook and within a week of the group going live, almost 100 members have joined making it quite possibly the most popular Facebook group with a link to RDC!
New members are more than welcome to join up and we would certainly encourage any Facebook members to sign up.
Remember, as already mentioned elsewhere, the continued support of the Hog Roast van at Mildenhall is crucial to the internet PR of the stadium as in some internet circles it is only because of the popular catering service that Mildenhall exists!
Anyone considering joining the group is also reminded that unlike other ‘internet circles’ this group is not run by anyone who openly admits to ‘having no connection with banger racing’, nor is it moderated by an anti RDC group with any ulterior motives!
RDC at Champion of Champions (added December 8)
As expected RDC were well represented at Birmingham for the annual unlimited banger Champion of Champions event on November 22. In the main race we had 81 Lee Greenwood, 148 Ian Redden, 180 Mark Foster, 188 John Reeves, 473 Mark Nicholls and 617 Jack Overy making us one of the most represented promotions in the big race (and all without the aid of team champions and memorial champions!!!). Greenwood, 148 Shorty and 188 Victor returned their world final cars while 180 Sparky had his brothers Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser estate from Ipswich and Nicholls and Overy had fresh cars, the latter paraded a smart XJ. Joining them in the support were 17 Kyle Overy, 136 Adrian and 334 Stephen Court, 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 807 Chris Murfin. 17 the Little Chief also had his Ipswich Yank and 334 Courty returned his Granada hearse from the 2008 Suffolk Open.
The Little Chief made his mark in the first heat, blowing up 225 Nick Bull well only to bust his steering shortly after ending his night. The second heat saw Foster Jnr rattle 690 Pete Richardson into the wall while 807 Murf followed 337 Ian Power in superbly only to be leathered by a rated hit from 451 Willy Blackwell. Foster Jnr blasted the Stinkbridge star in turn but was duly hammered by both 51 Simon Heilds and 318 Wilf Speak as a result.
Onto the big race with Shorty drawing pole and Victor right behind and the former was among the early front runners. Overy meanwhile had his mind on other matters and treated the Mercury Grand Marquis of 158 Shane Davies to a killer T-bone. Victor’s race was ended by a hard fencing from 2 Jonathan Bricknell as Greenwood was followed in superbly by 670 Richard Flockton. Meanwhile the Caddy Fleetwood mounted 203 Gnasher and Overy had been playing cat and mouse on the back straight infield before the former made a hole in the tyres on the centre and crossed over to the home straight. Here he came inside out at Overy but thankfully missed with the Team Black man turning round to meet the Condom on the nose. Shorty then ran into Gnasher ending his podium hopes. Overy meanwhile gave chase to Gnasher on opposite down the back straight and homed in for a hit. However where the Condom had again moved onto the centre the hit took his Yank into the infield banking and left him a sitting duck for Overy to nail him with repeated hits over the drivers side rear wheel. Overy then did a lap on opposite before homing in with an almighty hit on the beached Fleetwood before receiving a huge cheer from the large crowd after the race. Meanwhile Shorty recovered for a fine sixth.
136 Junior copped a head-on from the Granada hearse of 268 Bradley French in the first Allcomers while Sparky was run into the pit gate hard by 474 Matt Threkeld in the second Allcomers in which Junior finished seventh.
Mildenhall Wreckage 2009 DVD now on sale (added November 25)
Last weekend saw Impact Videos' greatly anticipated Mildenhall Wreckage 2009 DVD go on sale and we now highly recommend the DVD to all armchair spectactors.
Featuring action from every meeting at Mildenhall in 2009 up to and including the 2Litre Banger Mildenhall team championship on November 8 the crash compilation weighs in at an almighty 1hour and 50 minutes and is non stop action from the stadium which simply underlines what an incredible season of racing we have enjoyed.
While most of the footage is filmed from the commentary box, with the camera which pumps the footage through the TVs in the bars at the majority of meetings, there is also footage from other cameras and this barely misses a beat with almost every big hit and crash from the 2009 season appearing on the DVD.
Furthermore this has been edited superbly and the crash compilation is opened and closed with a fabulous highlight package which is set to music and is simply incredibly well pieced together and is worth the £12 asking price alone.
Another cracking addition is an entire race with an in car camera on board with TSR world champion 1 Gareth Flatters where he delivers a superb full contact display at the 2Litre Banger Suffolk Open Championship which again shows what a superb venue Mildenhall is for bangers.
This DVD is highly recommended for all drivers and fans of Mildenhall Stadium and also to banger fans who enjoy their crash DVDs and it will make a great Christmas present for crash fans. To order your copy contact Impact Videos on 07795 214440.
ORC Championship weekend round up and message from RDC (added November 25)
RDC would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who helped make last weekend at Mildenhall Stadium such a massive success.
Starting on Saturday night (November 21) we were joined by a great number of guests for the Mildenhall presentation night which was a far, far greater number than we had for the maiden event which was held in February. More importantly there was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the evening with no problems reported at all (except for 400 Kevin Shinn's altercation with a broom...an altercation he lost!). We are now very much looking forward to the next big social event at the stadium which is the second annual Wasted Magazine Awards Night which takes place on Saturday, January 16. Once again everyone is welcome and tickets are just £5.
Onto Sunday and the ORC Championship and despite all the doubters and all the things which counted against the meeting we were able to enjoy yet another action packed event which brought down the curtain on a tremendous season of racing at Mildenhall.
With many parts of the country hit by heavy rainfall during the week leading to the meeting, the stadium was most fortunate to avoid much, if any, rain until Saturday night where there were showers during the presentation night which were followed by a very heavy downpour around two hours before the start of the meeting on Sunday. However thanks to the sterling work of the track team, the shale was still raceable from the first race and within three or four races, conditions improved dramatically and were nearing on perfect by the end of the day.
This meant that while some of the early races were hindered by the conditions, especially the opening Saloon Stockcar heat, the latter half of the meeting produced some excellent racing, in particular the last three banger races, the awesome Saloon Stockcar championship race and three highly competitive Ministox races as the young guns certainly cemented their status at this meeting and more than proved they belonged at this event.
We would very much like to thank all the drivers and fans who supported the meeting, despite the bleak weather forecast and we hope their faith was rewarded with an afternoon of great entertainment.
However we would like to address two problems which made the afternoon a little longer than we would have hoped. The first and most significant was the delay to the start of the meeting. As announced on the day this was caused by the matter of issuing all banger drivers with their electronic transponders taking starting later than we intended and then taking longer to complete than we had hoped. Starting meetings late is not something we make a habit off and it was most disappointing that it happened at the weekend and for that we are sorry. The second delay came a few races in when a mix up saw the Saloon Stockcars come onto the track for their second heat instead of the bangers for their third heat. This was caused by a simple mix up on the pit road but again we are sorry for the confusion. While it would have been easier to have left the Stockcars on track and switched the two races around we instead decided to run the format as planned as the format had been designed to give all the formulas ample time between racing, With some of the banger teams already struggling to get sufficient cars back out for the heats it was decided that had we run the aforementioned two races the wrong way round the teams would have struggled even more for their third heat and final, hence why the Saloons were sent back. Again this took time and the problem was 100 per cent our doing so again we are sorry for this.
As always we would like to thank our team of staff who worked tirelessly throughout the day and also to extend a special thank you to Marion and Leslie from Skegness and TSR who leant a very helpful hand in lining up the Saloon Stockcars for the championship in the pits and for the restart and we should also extend a massive message of thanks to the Saloon Stockcar drivers who showed great professionalism when the title race was stopped when almost all of the top 20 drivers reassembled themselves in grid order without any assistance which was superb to report and a massive time saver.
Finally we would like to congratulate the new ORC champions, the TSR banger team, 156 Georgie Boult Jnr in the Ministox and 570 Simon Venni in the Saloon Stockcars and also to the RDC banger team who put on a great show of racing and entertaining as defending champions.
More incredible stats from 2010 season at RDC (added November 25)
With the ORC Championship meeting at the weekend rounding off the 2009 season at RDC we have some more incredible statistics to bring you to once again highlight how tremendous a year we have experienced at RDC.
In 2009 an amazing 816 different drivers competed in National Banger meetings at Mildenhall and Dover (please note this figure does not include drivers who only raced Rookie Bangers at Dover), a whopping 73 Ministox drivers raced at RDC (of which no less than 61 were RDC registered), we saw a massive 70 different Reliant Robin drivers this season plus 92 BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers and 65 Saloon Stockcars.
Considering these fixtures are not only most impressive and very comparable to 2008, they also came during a year when the country was gripped by financial worries so our eternal thanks to all the drivers, their teams and families for continuing to support RDC in such great numbers and we hope to see you all again in 2010.
RDC at Spedeworth World Final (added November 18)
As expected RDC was well represented at Ipswich on November 14 for the 2009 staging of the unlimited banger Spedeworth World Championship. Seeded into the main event were 53 Dave Palmer, 81 Lee Greenwood, 188 John Reeves, 349 Lee Saunders and 617 Jack Overy, the former four all parading smartly turned out machines while 349 Finbarr turned heads by piloting a Granada hearse. Joining them on the big grid was Skegness seed 807 Chris Murfin who raced a smart, albeit tender Granada coupe.
Joining them in the support class were 17 Kyle Overy, 22 Dave Vincent, 61 Karl Totham, 86 Alec Savage, 99 Scott Gough, 128 Andy Shipp, 148 Ian Redden, 209 Ben Hayward, 382 Jack Foster Jnr (XJ), 425 Martin Stopher (Mk2 Granada limo), 460 Lewis Barber, 682 Paul Sparrow and 898 Andy Battle. Once again many of our drivers excelled on the presentation front with smart motors being displayed by 61 Flash, Savage, 99 Goffy, 128 Shippy, 209 Minge, Foster Jnr, 425 Mr Vauxhall, Sparrow and Battle.
Disaster for 709 Minge who was struck with mechanical woes before heat one started and failed to turn a wheel all evening. Goffy had a lively race, starting by spinning 873 Simon Wincote and 312 Tom Reynolds in one move before he had 249 Darren Brock out. 148 Shorty's night was ended with a follow-in from 380 Bradley Evans as Barber motored to third while spinning 70 Ant Long as the lively Goffy had 45 Anthony Crowshaw around. Barber's chances ended when he collected Brock but he recovered for third with Goffy in ninth.
Vincent started heat two in second before hauling himself into the lead. He then collected 869 Rob Houghton to again drop to second but his chances ended when he collected the spun XJ-S of 60 Kyle Stevenson on the nose. Vincent managed to recover in sixth.
A strong RDC presence in the final last chance race which started badly for Team Green as Savage span team mate Sparrow as 17 the Little Chief had 51 Simon Heilds around. Savage raced his way to fifth as Battle had 257 Timmy Aldridge out and Savage now moved into fourth only to come under fire from 409 Carl Pears and then spun by 423 Danny Oliver to end his hopes. 340 Colin Jones stuffed Flash which fired the latter up to run in 820 Martyn Perkins before he fenced 363 Sam Trim. Battle was run in hard by 241 Liam Cracknell as the Little Chief blasted 702 James Dodge in a scramble over the line. The RDC young gun was then clobbered by 133 Ben Wyatt sending him over the line where he was awarded fifth, even though he appeared to cross the line before others who were placed higher, but nonetheless it was a fine result having started at the back of the grid.
Onto the big race with the public draw placing Palmer on 16, 81 Numbnuts in 23, Finbarr on 33, 188 Victor on 26, 807 Murf on 35 and Overy on 28. Finbarr suffered an early spin at the hands of 107 Jack Barton with Victor also suffering an early spin which he recovered from to stuff 399 Phil Cullen as Overy attacked 837 Martin Wesby en route to motoring into third in the opening laps. The reds came out on lap eight for Murf who had copped a destructive hit on turn two, sadly while he was unbelted but we are pleased to report that Chris didn't suffer any serious injuries in the crash. The restart was headed by 294 Lee Hughes who quickly lapped defending champion 27 Dale Hughes who had positioned himself at the back of the grid for the restart and the now second placed Overy soon caught the back marking Condom and put the bumper in. A big push from the third placed 82 Paul Tompkins sent Overy in front of Dale Hughes and he duly buried him into some dead cars on the scoreboard bend. Overy wound up on the back straight shale when he was soon joined by team mate 998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr, who had been excluded from the restart, presumably for having a wheel in the floor. Dale Hughes spotted this and rammed 998 Cotty Jnr on the shale which prompted the latter to rejoin the track and nail the leading 294 Stuntman on opposite, Overy moving in to ram the Condom on the shale, a hit for which he was loaded for the remainder of the evening (despite conflicting claims elsewhere on the internet). This ended the RDC involvement in the race as long serving racer 82 Winkle motored to the title.
After a race stoppage Savage set the pae in the first Allcomers until he was spun by the back marking 380 Bradderz, the Team Green young gun recovering for eighth. Battle deslivered a decent hit to the spun 173 Steve Reynolds in the second Allcomers before he came under fire from 72 Billy Bond and Sparrow had 244 Michael Bunyan out. Flash hit 298 Sam Wyatt on the nose as up front the leading Little Chief reeled in 47 Andy Davies on the final bend, the latter hitting the brakes which allowed 203 Darren Nash to blast the RDC teenager and fire him across the line for the win.
Shippy was one of just seven drivers to contest the DD, the Little Chief among those who missed the gate and his challenge ended with a massive head-on with 649 Lewis Price.
November to Remember round up and thanks (added November 11)
All at RDC would like to extend a huge message of thanks to all those who helped make last weekend’s November to Remember meeting at Mildenhall Stadium such a huge success.
Although a combination of down sizing the amount of entries for the 2Litre Banger team championship as well as a last minute cancellation (Gypsy Crew B) and two no shows (Common Crushers and Ant Hill Mob) resulted in a smaller entry of cars and teams than previous years it was still an action packed session. Not only was it one of the liveliest meeting of the season at Mildenhall but it was also arguably the best 2Litre Mildenhall team championship to date.
However that is far to say the afternoon was not well attended as with over 150 drivers in the pits, it was yet another great show of support by the drivers.
A massive reason for the success of the afternoon was down to the hard work of RDC’s small but dedicated track preparation team. While we were unquestionably very fortunate that no rain fell on the raceway after around 9pm on Friday evening it was only because of the intense work before that the track was in such decent condition for the meeting. The track had been regularly hit by heavy downpours during the week culminating in dreadful weather during Friday’s greyhound meeting which caused two races to be aborted when the hare rail failed because of the volume of rain.
Given the weather in the week and the far from promising forecast for Sunday we were once again joined by a healthy audience of fans. Again considering the amount of high profile events this month, the current financial climate and the near arctic conditions Sunday we are once again delighted that so many fans chose to support our meeting and we are very grateful to them all.
With that in mind we are sorry that the meeting ran a little longer than we would have liked. With the exception of the meeting starting 10 minutes later than planned there were no significant delays to the afternoon, save a short break to assist 304 Jo Parker in one of the early Ministox heats. The main reason for the length of the afternoon was the volume of cars to clear after almost every banger race. Given the 14 race programme featured no less than nine banger races and each of the seven heats featured around 40 cars and plenty of action and much wreckage it certainly meant the tractor teams had their work cut out. Rest assured the entire RDC team worked as hard as possible to get through the day as quickly as possible and we hope everyone can understand the reasons why the day took the time it did to complete and we hope you enjoyed the meeting nonetheless.
One important thing we would also like to say sorry for was the confusion at the end of the final where Bits and Bobs were declared as third when it actual fact the place should have gone to Team Green B. We would like to thank Team Green for their understanding over the mistake.
Finally, one of the reasons the meeting started slightly late was in order to hold the minute’s silence in honour of our heroes on Remembrance Day. Certainly this is one delay we have no regrets about and we would like to thank everyone who helped make this such a superbly observed silence and a fitting tribute to all those who have given so much.
More amazing stats from 2009 season (added November 11)
With the final meeting of the 2009 season at Mildenhall being the ORC Championship event (December 27 is officially the start of the 2010 season) which is limited bookings for bangers, last Sunday’s 2Litre Banger Mildenhall team championship will be the final 100+ car entry of bangers at Mildenhall this year.
Incredibly this was the 13th three figure entry of bangers seen at the shaleway in 2009, one more than we enjoyed in 2008 which is an incredible achievement by all concerned.
Just to underline how incredible this statistic is, to the best of our knowledge the sport as a whole has though far seen just
11 other 100+ turnouts of bangers. While the smart money would suggest we will see at least another three before 2009 wraps up the fact that Mildenhall might enjoy
nearly as many 100 car turnouts than the rest of the country combined is a superb achievement and one we are immensely proud off.
It should also be noted that out of the meetings which didn’t reach the triple figure mark, we have several which broke 90 cars, the Old Skool and Inter County teams had a maximum turn out of cars possible and we had the best attended unlimited van meeting of the season.
Just to finish here are the meetings which made the magical 100 car mark. Just like last year the Metro meeting, 1600cc FWD bash, first British qualifier, BBA Supreme, Suffolk Open teams, 1400cc domestic in April, pre 70, unlimited Suffolk Open, BBA British and 2Litre Mildenhall teams all broke into 100 plus cars.
New additions to the fixtures, the Hot Shot Championship and 2Litre Suffolk Open both had over 100 cars at their maiden attempt and this years 2Litre RWD bash also made the magical 100 for the first time.
The only meetings which raised over 100 cars in 2008 but failed to do so in 2009 were the Accumulator Championship meeting and Halloween Havoc which both raised fields in the mid 90s.
Congratulations to Aftermath and Team Green (Added November 11)
We would like to extend our congratulations to the Aftermath and Team Green who finished the 2009 banger team racing season tied at the top of the RDC Team Championship chart.
The series was always set for a close finish heading into Sunday’s 2Litre Mildenhall team championship with only a handful of points between the top 10 teams but no one could have predicted how close the final outcome would be.
Certainly the Young Guns/Beck Row Bandits looked to be in the drivers seat having taking the win on the day (it should be noted that the points system set out at the start of 2008 stipulated that if a team fielded two teams which made it to the final, only their top score would count so they picked up 20 points and not 36). However a combination of four entertainer awards and making the final meant the Aftermath scored 22 on the day and a mixture of three entertainer awards, finishing third overall and winning the DD meant Team Green scored 24 on the day and thus these two teams finished tied at the top just one point ahead of the Beck Row Bandits/Young Guns.
Once again RDC has enjoyed a great season for banger team racing and the popularity and success of these meetings was the reason we came up with the season long points series to unify the championships and with just two points separating the top three teams it underlines just how competitive the RDC team events are. We hope to see the series grow even more in 2010 wit the addition of RDC’s first ever unlimited team championship which takes place in May.
The final result of the RDC team championship means both the Aftermath and Team Green have secured places in the 2010 Old Skool team championship next September as have the Beck Row Bandits/Young Guns having won Sunday’s Mildenhall team championship. The other team already confirmed is reigning Old Skool champions the Gypsy Crew.
Congratulations to Wes Starmer (added November 11)
All at RDC would like to extend its congratulations and best wishes to banger star 525 Wes Starmer and his partner Katie on the birth of their baby girl, Mazie, at the weekend.
Unfortunately for Wes, Katie decided to join the world at a slightly inappropriate time with Katie going into labour shortly after Sunday’s team meeting got underway and with Wes’ team not set to race until heat three he had to leave the stadium without making the track but I’m sure everyone will agree he had a far more important place to be!
We are pleased to report that mum and baby are both doing fine and are home from hospital and again we wish the whole family the best for the future.
RDC at Gala Nights and Firecracker (added November 4)
As expected RDC was well represented at major unlimited banger fixtures around the country last weekend starting at Ipswich on October 31 for the Halloween Spooktacular where the RDC entry made up around a third of the total field of around 45 cars. The WI Engineering team again made the effort with a fleet of Mk2 Granadas including a stunning looking example from 101 Richard Rayner while 17 Kyle Overy and 382 Jack Foster Jnr piloted Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser estates which were both smartly presented.
Our only action in heat one saw 503 Dan Hollingsworth recover from a fencing at the hands of 67 Mark Whittaker to dish out similar stick to 349 Michael Allard as 617 Jack Overy motored from the back to third, 61 Karl Totham taking sixth and 262 Jason Barnard eighth. Heat two began with 508 Harry Bradbury ramming the spun 516 Carl Gould head-on only to be fenced by 433 Ben Smith in turn. 516 Gouldy recovered to fence Foster Jnr which fired the latter up to blow up 867 Barry Beevor before the Team Black young gun assualted the Granada hearse of 22 Matt High and treated the spun 53 Justin Garman to a head-on on the run down lap.488 Duane Collins finished fourth in his Lexus with 587 Alex Humphrey sixth and Foster Jnr seventh.
382 Bob Ballard Jnr buried Rayner at the start of the final with Foster Jnr trashing the former's Carlton hearse as 395 Steve Hale was wasted by big hits from 262 the Verger and 165 Steve Chopping, the luckless Rainer then getting fenced by eventual winner 82 Paul Tompkins who passed would be winner 61 Karl Totham on the final bend for the win when the latter;s engine blew, 61 Flash still held on for second with Jack Overy in third. Our only action in the Allcomers saw 17 the Little Chief stuff the Lincoln limo of 514 Chas Taylor with Overy racing to second. The Little Chief was one of just two cars to feature in the DD and he took the honours after a big hit on the game 179 Shaun Rushton.
A smaller RDC contingent meanwhile headed to Eastbourne on the same night for the tracks annual Gala Night including 121 Steve Williams in a smart 300C. Our first interest came in heat two when 133 Karl Day blasted the smart AMC Ambassador of 583 Dan Weeks before 121 Pirate sent 828 Taz Taylor crashing into the wall. 133 Karly again featured in heat three with a big hit on the smart Crown of 869 Davey Peskett as 917 John Millen chalked up the race win. Karly meanwhile registered RDC's first final win of the weekend, taking the flag in the main event with Millen in second.
A handful of RDC drivers were in the Arena Essex pits for the Firecracker although this was reduced when Karly loaded before the meeting as he joined his Bear team mates in withdrawing from the meeting over scrutineering issues, 310 Chas Lee and 39 Steve Moore had the pick of our cars with a Rover P4 and a returned DS420 hearse from the Ipswich Spedeweekend respectively. It was a good start to the afternoon for the RDC drivers as Millen led 39 Peanut home for an RDC 1-2. Meanwhile Lee was involved blasting the Lincoln Town Car limo of 515 only to be leathered by a storming hit the Caprice hearse of 192 Grgory de Luyck.
54 Martin Lawton was pounded by 741 Cor Cuys in the second heat before taking a head-on from 727 Tommy Anderson in the consolation which also saw 363 Sam Keep get run in hard by 734 Mark Saunders.
Peanut dished out a meaty shot to 27 Andy Reynolds in the final only to take a splintering shot from 873 Frederik de Witte with Reynolds then ramming Peanut with a revenge head-on. Millen meanwhile fenced 432 Mark Munson and survived a revenge attack from the Gladiator to take the win. Keep made it back for the DD where he enjoyed a big head-on with the Rolls Royce of 141 Dan Steele.
Congratulations to Sean Crittenden (added November 4)
Slightly later than intended (we forgot last week!), all at RDC would like to extend their best wishes to RDC banger race 442 Sean Crittenden and his wife Holly on the birth of their second son Stanley in late October and we are very pleased to report that the whole family is all doing very well.
Halloween Havoc round up and thank you (added October 28)
Everyone at RDC would like to extend a huge message of thanks to everyone who contributed to last weekend’s Halloween Havoc meeting at Mildenhall being such a massive success and a superb end to the normal season at RDC.
Once again it was wonderful to see the pits packed to the brim with almost 100 National Bangers, 26 Ministox and 28 Reliant Robins, not to mention the 21 caravans which more than took up sufficient space in the pit area. And together the drivers served up a cracking evening of on track action, all three formulas in fine form and not a dull race on the entire programme.
And not the first time the Halloween Havoc event attracted the biggest crowd of the year to the stadium and they provided a
marvellous atmosphere throughout the night, something which many of the drivers have commented on which is excellent news.
We would like to congratulate all of the evenings big winners, 119 Davey Cox on winning the National Banger Allstar Dash for Cash, 350 Thomas Parrin on winning the Ministox RDC Drivers Championship following a fantastic drive, 188 John Reeves and 617 Jack Overy on completing their victories in the National Banger RDC Drivers Championship and Mildenhall Track Championship and to 85 James Ellis and 66 Steve Willis on winning the respective points titles in the Reliant Robins.
However there are a few things RDC would like to address from the evening. Firstly we would like to say sorry for a number of small delays throughout the evening which was caused by staff shortages behind the scenes. The most significant was that our lap scorer was unable to attend due to illness which resulted in many members of staff switching jobs and doing things which they were not 100 per cent familiar with. This would have been hard enough on a normal night, let alone one of the biggest of the year, and again caused a few short delays through the evening but it is testament to the hard working ethic of the RDC team at Mildenhall that we were able to complete the programme as smoothly as we did and for that they deserve the highest of praise. Having spoke to a number of drivers and fans after the meeting, several commented that they didn’t notice any problems which is perhaps the highest compliment they could have paid.
However the lack of our lap scorer provided many, as you may imagine, difficulties and on the night we were unable to announce full results for the Reliant Robins second heat and Grand Final. These results have now been determined and announced on the reports page for the meeting. These results have been pieced together through our recently introduced static camera at Mildenhall which we have been using at recent meetings. In case you have missed them, the full results from the Reliant Robins on Saturday are as follows.
Heat one: 117, 78, 485, 87, 85, 66, 355, 275, 96
Heat two: 355, 4, 195, 85, 78, 553, 66, 96, 87, 275
Grand Final: 85, 355, 87, 96, 351, 185, 66, 197, 564, 275
It should be noted that the heat two result was taken from the last completed lap as the race suffered a red and chequered flag finish. The last lap completed was in actual fact the lap when the race restarted prior to the final stoppage, but this needs pointing out as many of the minor places had changed by the time the red flags came out. However as always in this situation the result is taken from the last completed lap which is detailed above.
While we are delighted to report that to the best of my knowledge there were no significant injuries suffered to the drivers on track it was disappointing that there were a couple of minor injuries suffered to those in attendance although we believe the two people who were treated by the first aid team inside the stadium during the meeting are ok.
However there was a more alarming report about someone being hit by a car as vehicles were leaving the stadium at the end of the meeting which resulted in the emergency services being called. This in turn added to the delays in many people, especially drivers in the pits, and we are sorry for the extra time in took for people to leave but we hope you can understand given the circumstances.
The other area of disappointment is the report of a car being vandalized in the car park, something RDC is keen to address and if anyone has any information on this incident we would urge them to come forward and all information shared will be taken in confidence.
RDC World Finalists confirmed (added October 28)
Following the last points scoring meeting of the season for the National Bangers at Mildenhall last weekend we can now confirm the drivers who will represent RDC in the unlimited banger World Championship at Ipswich on November 14.
As has been well documented in the RDC media with 617 Jack Overy securing a wild card place in the race from his world figure of 8 championship win it opened the door for fifth place in the RDC points to qualify and with 188 John Reeves, 81 Lee Greenwood and 53 Dave Palmer comfortably clear the race was on for the final spot. It was 349 Lee Saunders who just held on with 64 Barry Lee’s bad luck at the final two meetings of the year meaning Saunders will join the aforementioned four on the big grid.
Just to underline how close the race for that final spot was, just 32 points stood between fifth and twelfth in the RDC National Points chart at the end of the season.
These five will also be joined by Skegness registered 807 Chris Murfin who is also on the big grid.
In the meantime we have also had our last chance qualifier places confirmed and RDC is set to be well represented on the night (looking at the current booking list the only promotion with more drivers booked in than RDC is Spedeworth and with the exception of Autospeed, RDC has significantly more drivers booked in than any other promotion). Booked in for action are 17 Kyle Overy, 22 Dave Vincent, 86 Alec Savage, 128 Andy Shipp, 148 Ian Redden, 180 Mark Foster, 209 Ben Hayward, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 415 Scott Cornish, 425 Martin Stopher, 460 Lewis Barber, 682 Paul Sparrow, 715 Mick Prince, 898 Andy Battle and 917 John Millen. Also booked in is the Spedeworth registered 61 Karl Totham.
Round up and thank you message from RDC's Thunderstruck (added October 21)
Finally this week we would like to express a big thank you to everyone who helped make last weekend's Thunderstruck event at Mildenhall Stadium such a great success.
Despite the event being run on the same night as significant events at Ringwood, Birmingham and Ipswich we were still blessed with a great turnout of fans, not to mention the support of the drivers with almost 130 cars in the pits which is a tremendous entry for any two formula meeting.
Congratulations to 81 Lee Greenwood for finally winning a major banger title with the Accumulator Championship and 545 Karl Hough on lifting the white and yellow grade series final. A special mention should also go to 527 Michael Norman on his podium finishes in both events and also to 209 Ben Hayward who enjoyed top 10 finishes in both title races.
In the stockcars our congratulations to 26 Tommy Barnes who won a dramatic white and yellow grade series final, 728 Kris Woods on
lifting the Wayne Oslar Memorial trophy and 219 Luke Grief on successfully claiming the £500 jackpot in a nail biting dash for cash series final.
Once again our thanks to everyone who supported this meeting and a special mention to many of the drivers who worked very hard in the pits to keep the flow of cars coming from the pits despite this being just a two formula meeting and on a few occasions there being precious little time between races so thanks to
everyone who worked so hard to ensure the programme was completed ahead of curfew.
End of Dover season message from RDC (added October 14)
Everyone at RDC Promotions would like to extend a huge message of thanks to all those who made Sunday’s Masters Championship triple header meeting such a great afternoon and a fitting conclusion to what has been another superb season at the raceway.
RDC would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the raceway during 2009, which may well go down as one of the most important seasons in the history of the track. It is no secret that after the first meeting of 2009 it appeared this would be the final season of racing at Dover Raceway but this will no not be the case. It is in part to the continued support of the drivers and fans during this season which means racing will continue in 2010 and 2011 at the very least, albeit with a smaller number of fixtures.
This level of support was underlined on Sunday where despite there being more than one other significant banger fixture on the national calendar on the weekend we enjoyed one of the best turnouts of the season at the raceway. This included a fine showing of Mildenhall regulars who covered many miles to attend as did 292 Keith Saunders who had raced at King’s Lynn the previous night, displaying exceptional commitment by the TSR pilot.
It was also pleasing to see a small number of Rookie Banger regulars having a rare or first time outing in National Bangers, something we hope to see more of in 2010.
On the racing front each of the formulas delivered some great racing, the Masters Championships for the National Bangers and Bangerstox in particular being superb affairs, in fact the latter race might have been race of the year for the formula.
From there the banger action steadily improved making for one of the best meetings this season at the track. After a somewhat subdued start in the last chance qualifier the action improved with each race leading to a belting destruction derby which must surely rank as one of the best DDs on RDC soil in 2009.
Congratulations are in order to many drivers. Well done to 473 Mark Nicholls, 29 Craig Groombridge and 121 Nigel Goodwin on winning the Masters Championship in their classes, congratulations to 53 Dave Palmer, 4 Robin Miles and 88 Jason Anderson on securing the track championship titles in their formulas and also to 64 Barry Lee who won a nail biting Trophy Winners Dash in the National Bangers.
Another highlight of the afternoon with the emotional farewell of 2 Fred Drayner after the final race of his career which began at Dover in 1974. It was truly fitting to see so many of his fellow racers join him on the track to pay tribute to the long serving racer who enjoyed one final, and superbly observed, lap of honour at the track.
The only draw back of the afternoon was that once again in the National Bangers the meeting officials had to deal with a small number of drivers who were attacking on and off the infield, something which has been a problem at the last few meetings and is something we plan to address for the 2010 season.
On a final note here are a few interesting stats from the 2009 season at Dover Raceway which just underline how popular the venue is, despite its obvious limitations. No less than 127 different drivers competed in National Banger meetings (this figure does not include any of the three Rookie Banger meetings), we saw a whopping 77 different Bangerstox drivers, despite the low turnouts in the second half of the year 24 drivers raced in Super Rods at Dover this year plus 18 drivers in the Ministox and 26 in the Reliant Robins making for a final total of 272 different drivers. Again this does not include the Rookie Banger meetings so if we had that information to hand it’s almost certain that over 300 different drivers raced at the track this year and the figure may even be closing in on 350 which is a tremendous achievement.
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn and Hednesford (added October 14)
RDC was well represented once again at King’s Lynn last weekend on October 10 with 14 drivers in action. The majority were in the unlimited class which featured the second annual King of the Fens Championship and the maiden under 25 GB Championship. 148 Ian Redden was defending the former title and was joined by 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 407 Ricky O’Neill, 830 Lee White, 715 Mick Prince, 898 Andy Battle, 17 Kyle Overy and 437 Chris Murfin. O’Neill returned a P5 Rover and Prince had the Crown which first saw action at Coventry in July.
First up was a heat race for those not in the under 25 race with Bailey chalking up a second before 830 Stretch kept his cool and drove a faultless flag to flag win from pole position in the under 25 GB Championship in which Foster Jnr found himself fired into the tractor tyres by 51 Simon Heilds.
No action for the RDC contingent in the King of the Fens race with Battle placing sixth while 148 Shorty recovered from some spins to take ninth. The latter bounced back to win the Allcomers with what is rapidly becoming a trademark display of sideways racing, after he had earlier followed Heilds into the pit gate. Elsewhere and Prince’s Crown was snapped nicely by 70 Ant Long and Heilds recovered for a solid hit over the rear wheel of 17 the Little Chief. Battle registered an eighth in this race. The Little Chief repaired for the DD where he met 115 Howard Draper in a titanic head-on before 807 Chris Murfin (racing the 382 XJ) silenced 804 Ben Small to take the win.
In the 2litre class RDC were represented by 74 Nathan Wiggins, 324 Mark and 328 Daniel Latham, 396 Graham Hyla, 503 Dan Hollinsworth and 525 Wes Starmer. The latter dished out a hard head-on to 238 Graham Garrod in the first heat before the rapid Hyla was sent spinning by team mate 74 Wiggy when the latter misjudged his recovery, Mark Latham narrowly beaten by 212 Richard Marion to the flag and having to settle for second. There was no RDC action to note in the final or DD.
Onto Hednesford on October 12 where we only have the results to comment on, 382 Jack Foster Jnr and 278 Tom Hills securing last chance places in the 2Litre BBA World Final with a second and third in their qualifying heat but it was 898 Andy Battle who enjoyed the best form in the main event with a most decent seventh place. Battle then matched that result in the near 60 car meting final and congratulations to 190 Steve Bailey on his second world championship win of the season.
Classic car show planned at Mildenhall Stadium in August 2010 (added October 7)
On a similar theme of fixtures we are at the very early stages of piecing together a classic car show at Mildenhall Stadium and a date has been ear marked as Sunday August 22 2010. Once again these plans are very much at the earliest possible stages but we hope that people with an interest in classic road going cars might pencil the date in their diary and we hope to bring more information in the near future as soon as more information is known.
Message to all BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers and teams following Mildenhall season finale (added October 7)
Following the conclusion of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar season at Mildenhall last weekend we would like to thank all the F2 drivers who have raced at the shaleway this year as well as their families and their teams for helping to make this season at the raceway so good for the formula.
While car turnouts have been down for the formula across the country, Mildenhall included, we have received great support from the drivers with only one of the eight meetings failing to have sufficient cars for a full format of heats and consolations. Fields ranged between 34 for the season opener and 59 for the first night of the two day meeting and along the way we have enjoyed some fantastic open wheel stockcar racing including many excellent Grand Finals including the meeting final last weekend.
Our congratulations to 606 Andy Palmer who won his maiden Mildehall track championship in commanding fashion and also to runner up 379 Stuart Cayzer who won the white and yellow grade series last weekend. 495 John Cayzer narrowly triumphed in a close race for third with just three points between himself, 103 Carl Issit and final winner last weekend 662 Steve Wycherly.
We would also like to extend a extra thank you message to the drivers with a 100 per cent attendance record at meeting this season. They are the aforementioned Palmer, Stuart and John Cayzer and Wycherly and 260 Anthony Winters, 597 Barry Clow, 145 Graham Mole, 798 Mark Sargent, 599 Jon Lawrence, 498 Derek Cayzer, 37 Tony Smith, 925 Paul Wilson, 434 Mark Gardiner, 431 Andy Gibbs, 366 Mick Kemp, 611 Jason Horner, 133 Jeff Byron and 274 Trevor Bonnett.
We very much look forward to welcoming the F2s back to Mildenhall in 2010 for a season where the World of Shale returns to the raceway on August 28 and the season opener is provisional set for April 10 subject to confirmation from BriSCA.
Congratulations to Jack Foster Jnr (added October 7)
All at RDC would like to congratulate RDC Ministox graduate 382 Jack Foster Jnr on his maiden National Banger race win at Mildenhall last weekend.
While the teenager took the chequered flag for Team Green against the Dover Boys in their head to head heat at the Old Skool team championship, this was hit first official points scoring race win under normal racing circumstances and it comes less than three months after his debut in the formula.
It would prove to be a memorable night for Foster Jnr, just missing out on winning the final before he won the Accumulator qualifier and DD to not only become one of the elite drivers to win a hat trick at Mildenhall and surely the first driver to achieve this feat as a 16-year-old, let alone on the same night as their first race win. A superb achievement for this promising young gun.
Sponsors confirmed for Saloon Stockcar Wayne Oslar Memorial (added October 7)
We are now just a few days away from the penultimate Saloon Stockcar meeting of the season at Mildenhall with the annual Wayne Oslar Memorial event on Saturday, October 17.
We are delighted to report that both the heats and final will once again have added sponsorship meaning extra silverware up for grabs with Fenfab engineering sponsoring heat one, Aldridge Paving sponsoring heat two and Martyn Oslar sponsoring the final. The annual memorial trophy will as always go to the top scoring white top driver over these three races and the meeting will also feature the white and yellow grade series final and £1,000 Dash for Cash Series Jackpot Final. We hope to have an entry list for this meeting next week on the site.
Congratulations to Steve Hemmings and James Ellis (added October 7)
All at RDC would like to extend their best wishes and congratulations to Steve 'Psycho' Hemmings and his wife Natalie on the birth of their second baby son at the end of last week.
While 2009 has seen him switch to TSR, we should also congratulate regular banger and reliant robin racer 85 James Ellis as well as his partner Danielle Hewitt (also a past racer at Mildenhall) on their birth of their first child, Jade, last week and a four day old Jade enjoyed her first race meeting at Mildenhall last weekend.
We are pleased to report that both families and doing very well and again our congratulations to all.
No Hype Needed round up and thank you (added September 30)
Better late than never we would like to extend a huge message of thanks to all those who contributed to making this year’s No Hype Needed, headlined by the National Banger Old Skool team championship, such a great success.
Despite falling on a very busy weekend for the sport and being on the same night as one of the biggest events in short oval racing (not to mention it being literally down the road) we were once again blessed with a superb showing of fans who witnessed a typically hard hitting Old Skool team session and one of the best Reliant Robin meetings of the year at the raceway.
While there is no denying that this year’s Old Skool team meeting wasn’t the best to date it was still an action packed night of racing and perhaps most importantly we are pleased to report that there were no serious injuries, the worst reported case being a rib injury to 801 Jack Foster whose situation in the final was thankfully much less serious than first feared.
However the incident involving Foster in the final did result in the team championship race ending somewhat controversially. However in accordance to the rules at RDC with the race inside the final five laps (albeit only just, 41 Lee Horwood having taken the five lap to go signal just a few seconds before the red flags came out), the race was declared from the last completed lap with 41 Lee Horwood recording the biggest win of his life to capture the title for the Gypsy Crew for the third time.
Finally, despite some comments it should be noted that the new static camera at Mildenhall was check multiple times to confirm that Horwood, who started the race on pole position, was the rightful winner having led flag to flag.
Congratulations to the Gypsy Crew on their victory and an extra pat on the back for 85 James Ellis who followed up his stunning performance in their qualifying heat against the Allstars by winning the Reliant Robin British Championship in a memorable night for himself.
Another comment from the evening which perhaps needs addressing was that many were pleased with the earlier than normal finish to the meeting than usual, the DD wrapped up by around 10.30pm despite waiting quite some time for drivers to repair for the DD. This was certainly down to the earlier start time of 6.30pm which has prompted many to wonder why more Mildenhall meetings don’t start at this time rather than 7pm, a question we are happy to answer.
The main reason is simply that we understand that a large number of people, not just fans but drivers and mechanics, have to work on Saturdays. Thanks to the excellent roads around the stadium (well to Barton Mills roundabout at least!!!) it means that anyone who works until 5pm still has a reasonable chance of getting to the stadium for a 7pm start because a two hour radius from Mildenhall covers quite a bit of ground using the main routes to the raceway.
While we understand that fans especially may be willing to have a day/half day off or work through their lunch to make a 6.30pm start for one of the bigger race meetings there is much fear that this would be less likely to happen for domestic meetings if they all started at 6.30pm.
In recent months we have seen far less drivers arrive at the stadium in the last 30 minutes prior to a meetings thanks to repeated calls for drivers to try and arrive early (something we are all very grateful for) but we still have more than a few who do arrive in that final half hour and many of them have a very good reason for this, mostly being work. Furthermore we have a great number of fans who turn up during the final few minutes prior to a meeting and again working on a Saturday is regularly mentioned as a reason for arriving so close to start time.
With the final touches being put on the 2010 fixture list (we hope to bring you the second draft of the 2010 RDC fixtures next week) we are looking at what, if any, meetings need to also have earlier starts but we only intend to do this where it is needed without alienating the hard working fans who, as so many do in these difficult times, work on Saturdays.
In the meantime we will forever continue to do our utmost to complete all our race meetings as smoothly as possible and are fully committed to always meeting our 11pm curfew.
RDC at PRI World Final (added September 30)
RDC was well represented at the PRI World Final at Arena Essex on September 20 with defending champion 617 Jack Overy joined by RDC seeds 53 Dave Palmer, 81 Lee Greenwood, 188 John Reeves and 465 Andy Scarlett (the latter in a smart Primera) and 807 Chris Murfin who was officially representing Skegness while PRI registered 6 Lee West didn’t show for his place on the grid. Meanwhile in the support we had 17 Kyle Overy, 20 Andy Burbridge (who failed to race), 54 Martin Lawton, 755 Martin Lawton and 382 Jack Foster Jnr. 180 Mark Foster was a part of a massive Midnight Runner showing, 330 Roy Laybourn raced with the Blue Crew and a surprise Cream Team entry included 30 Roy Laybourn Jnr, 105 Billy Standing and 460 Lewis Barber.
There was controversy from the word go as the 30 car field for heat one including 10 of the 12 Midnight Runners who were in the support races against just one Blue Crew and three Cream Team cars. This prompted the latter team to all initially pull onto the infield, including 30 Roy Jnr and 105 BillBob but the latter then rejoined following in 730 Dean Mayes before attacking the latter on the shape and then hitting 242 Ricky Korpiela and 511 Paul Staples on the dirt, the Cream Team young gun continuing to circle the centre pursued by marshals before finally giving up and swiftly being loaded. Meanwhile on the track 180 Sparky made his presence known by fencing 60 Steve Laybourn.
Barber found himself under attack from 84 Jerry Ansell on the rolling lap of heat two with 330 Old Roy then laying into the former, still before the green had fallen. When the race finally began BillBob (who had initially been loaded after heat one and then allowed back) ran in 94 Howard Martin before he came under attack from 567 Gary Brown before Barber nailed 514v Chas Taylor. 54 Splat just missed out on a place in the main event, finishing second while Barber took eighth.
Onto the main event with Palmer crashing out with team mate 209 Tom Waller while Overy quickly worked his way into sixth and 807 Murf had 423 Danny Oliver out before the reds came out when 474 Matt Threkeld followed in 103 John Seex big time wrecking the latter with a complete restart ordered which began without Palmer and 465 Nine Inch. 188 Victor began by fencing 173 Steve Reynolds as Greenwood removed 880 Evert Dijk as Overy again made a good start moving to fifth. Victor then span 10 Paul Whiteman into 571 George Goodall as Murfin lifted himself to fifth behind the rapid Granada of Overy. Victor meanwhile fell foul of a dodgy DSU burial from 549 Phil Smith as Overy removed 531 Danny Stevens en route to moving into third which became second when 474 Matty stopped 239 Steve Carter although by this stage 227 Dale Hughes was well clear. 363 Sam Trim turned round to attack Murfin as Overy slipped to third and opted to turn round with the leading Hughes in his sights. At this point 49 Billy King and 294 Lee Hughes rejoined the race on opposite having been parked on the shale on turn two for almost the entire duration of the restart. However before they reached the pit bend Overy went to stop Dale Hughes head-on, the latter turning towards the Armco causing Overy to hit his target in the door, albeit not very hard. Overy then met King on the nose before getting his initial target in a better head-on, all this causing a massive pit bend pile-up. King and Overy again went head to head with Murf laying into the former as Overy set about 294 Stuntman with two hits on opposite. Nemesis hit Greenwood on the nose while Victor met 190 Steve Bailey in similar fashion to get through the heap, the Supreme champion then T-boning 837 Martin Wesby. Overy meanwhile lined up Stuntman for a big hit on the pit bend only for the latter to bail out at the last minute, the defending champion doing well to not only avoid the car but the driver who had jumped into 617’s path as he tried to avoid the car. This did fire up Overy to ram both King and Hughes’ cars which were not also empty as 188 Matt Fuller raced to his second PRI world title, Greenwood and Victor surviving on opposite attacks from 542 Craig Oliver to finish second and third respectively. Furthermore Murf was seventh and Overy was credited with eighth, the latter receiving a huge cheer from the pit bend crowd as he left the raceway.
It was certainly a superb result for RDC with two of this season’s leading names finishing on the podium in one of the biggest races of the year but we should not forget that Fuller is a graduate of the RDC Ministox which is another excellent example of how great a training ground the RDC Ministox are for the drivers of the future.
Despite a whopping 120 cars attending the meeting, the format remained unchanged and the all in final went ahead as planned with 75 cars on the track. 539 Michael Outen scored an early hit on Sparky as Barber copped a revenge hit from Taylor but he shrugged it off to nail Gladiator 404. Sparky bounced back to hammer Staples before the former engaged head-ons with 339 Jack Garrod on the shale. Barber meanwhile blasted 44 Mike Nicholls but this left him open to hits from 512 Lewis Harvey and Staples. Foster Jnr meanwhile came from the shale to join Murf in wrecking 203 Darren Nash as Whiteman dished out further damage to Barber and Sparky enjoyed another head-on with Garrod.
Sparky was on form again in the Rawlins with a shot on 112 before the DD saw 17 the Little Chief nailed Oliver causing the latter to catch fire. The Little Chief then scored on Stuntman before Sparky hit team mate Brown on the nose, the former going on to dish out a wicked hit on 527 Dan Gardiner. The Little Chief then delivered several hits on 589 Simon Smith and was ultimately the last car running but this time the stewards decided he had spent too much time on the shale and he was disqualified.
Reliant Robin World qualifying points (added September 30)
Last Sunday afternoon saw the Reliant Robin 2010 World Championship qualifying series get underway at Dover Raceway and therefore we have listed the early scores below.
Round two of the qualifying series is at Mildenhall on October 24 and in the meantime congratulations to 484 Gary Harvey on winning the Masters Championship en route to becoming the early leader of the world qualifying series.
484 Gary Harvey 38pts
553 Daniel Douglas 34
66 Steve Willis 30
29 Steve Donavan 27
339 Lee Pullen 26
433 Andy Parker 25
30 James Donavan 23
94 Mick Acheillous 18
12 Alan Norris 15
197 Tom Tatham 15
554 Chalky Douglas 14
485 Gary Archer 11
103 Paul Fairman 8
28 David Donavan 5
129 Andrew Donavan 5
195 Pete Bowley 5
272 Martin Vella 5
275 Phil Rowbottom 5
290 Steve Collins 5
Shorty and Keefy lead RDC 1-2 at Psycho Mania (added September 16)
It was a fantastic RDC 1-2 in the final of one of the most talked about banger meetings of the year on Sunday (September 13) and 148 Ian Redden continued his excellent season by taking his second major unlimited banger win of the season, taking the main event in the Andy Holmes Testimonial meeting, Psycho Mania, at Sheffield followed home by fellow RDC pilot 260 Keith Reynolds.
However this perhaps wasn't the main talking point of the afternoon involving an RDC driver as this came in the Allcomers race when 401 Steve Hemmings found himself on the wrong end of an enormous follow-in from 08 Mick Holmes which not only snapped and rolled the latter's XJ but also folded Steve's Rover P5 beyond description. Despite the alarming wreck and being briefly trapped in the car once freed Steve only suffered cuts and bruises. Since then we are all delighted to hear that Steve is doing fine although he has decided to take a brief break from racing but promises to be back soon.
It wasn't the only big crash Steve was involved in on the day as in the final he picked up 236 Karl Hoffman with 09 Andy Holmes latching onto the Predator Rover to produce another big follow-in which destroyed 236 Nobby and rolled Hemmings.
148 Shorty enjoyed a lively time in an action packed second heat where a track blockage saw him deliver a couple of hits including a fine roof bending shot on 239 Steve Carter before he was nailed by 51 Simon Heilds. Shorty had to settle for second in this race despite the fact many felt race winner Heilds should have been disqualified for an infield attack on 7 Keith Greenwood.
Keefy also fared well in his heat, a superb 35 car invitational only race featuring several stars of the past and he finished second. He then finished second in the final despite reeling in Shorty in the final laps when the latter was battling steering and diff damage. Keefy though would win the Allcomers and he celebrated in style with a fine follow-in on 11 Darren Race in the DD.
57 Stu Cummings also appeared and
returned to his former Stinkbridge colours and had a lively afternoon including
a good shot on 428 Richard Regan.
Also present for RDC was 125 Roy Preece but sadly his Carlton limo was plauged with mechanical gremlins all afternoon although he and Shorty deserve much credit for attending both Mildenhall and Sheffield on the weekend, the only two drivers to compete at both events.
Race to Spedeworth World Final (added September 16)
With only a few weeks now until the end of the season the race for RDC's final place on the grid of the unlimited banger World Final at Ipswich in November is well and truly on and the chase has never been so wide open or competitive.
It is no secret that RDC receives four places on this prestigious grid but this year the RDC allocation has been extended thanks to 617 Jack Overy winning a wild card place when he won the world figure of 8 crown at Easter. Therefore at time of writing 188 John Reeves, 81 Lee Greenwood and 53 Dave Palmer look pretty much guaranteed a place on the grid with Palmer almost 100 points clear of his next rival.
But beyond that it could not be any closer with just 44 points between the next eight drivers who all stand a realistic chance of making it to the biggest rac of the year.
349 Lee Saunders leads the hunt on 255, 20 Andy Burbridge just behind on 247, then comes 346 Scott Saunders on 239, 64 Barry Lee right on his tail on 237, 465 Andy Scarlett on 339, 148 Ian Redden on 226, 682 Paul Sparrow on 220 and 898 Andy Battle on 211.
Just seven meetings remain in the RDC National Points race, four Mildenhall meetings, the Masters at Dover and the World Finals at Arena and Hednesford. Never has a race for fifth place in a points championship meant so much and every meeting and every point is bound to be precious for these drivers in their quest to race on banger racing's biggest stage.
Ministox RDC Drivers Championship Finalists and driver notes (added September 16)
Following the final qualifying round at Mildenhall last weekend we can now confirm the qualifiers and starting grid for the 2009 Ministox RDC Drivers Championship at Mildenhall on October 24.
All drivers are reminded that this meeting is invite only and that only the drivers who have qualified can race at this meeting and furthermore that there will only be two Ministox races on the programme, the championship and an Allcomers race (which will start in graded order). Therefore if you have qualified and are unable to attend please let us know through the usual channels asap so we can invite the next driver in the chart. Drivers who simply do not turn up jeopardise their chances of receive bookings for limited place meetings in the future.
Before we get to the qualifiers and the grid a couple of points which have come to light following Saturday's meeting. As expressed in the drivers letter given to all we are now not chasing anyone with regard to the rule of race winners starting their remaining races at the back of their grade. As detailed in the drivers letter if a driver fails to do this they will be dropped one place for every car they start in front off. 324 Georgie Lee became the first victim of this last weekend being dropped 12 places in heat two having finished second so we would urge all drivers to try and not become the second victim.
The second point is a small problem noted by a pit gate staff which at the moment seems to only be in the Ministox. This is the practise of handing your entrance tickets to the staff as you drive onto the track with your ticket screwed into as small a ball as possible. While this might appear harmless, it is extremely annoying and presumably time consuming for out gate staff so in future drivers who do this will be asked to unfold their own ticket and risk losing grid positions as a result while repeat offenders will lose races. We would like to nip this issue in the bud as quickly as possible.
Drivers are reminded that the RDC Drivers Championship meeting next month will determine the five drivers who represent RDC in the ORC Championship at Mildenhall in November. Once again though the ORC Championship meeting will not count towards either the RDC Drivers or Mildenhall Track Championship.
Finally a big congratulations to rising star 391 Jake Banwell on his maiden race win at Mildenhall last weekend.
Here is the 28 qualifiers for the RDC Drivers Championship next month, listed in points and starting grid order. We will confirm the grades for this meeting in the next week or so.
302 Jordan Murray 258pts
355 Sid Magewick 197
308 Alec Hannay 194
383 Shane Harvey 177
357 Jordan Cumming 157
317 Bryson Walker 153
376 Stephen Hackett 153
366 Matt Noughton 147
306 Daniel Parker 141
350 Thomas Parrin 139
304 Jo Parker 137
322 Thomas Fox 135
388 Ross Tyler 133
392 Reid Murray 119
349 Todd Payne 116
324 Georgie Lee 106
330 Jack Thompson 106
327 Mick Maskall Jnr 96
315 Triston Clayden 86
356 Georgie Boult Jnr 83
334 Patrick Beavis 79
328 Craig Banwell 74
391 Jake Banwell 71
309 Ray Petty 66
365 George Sedgwick 66
316 Sam Dace 64
367 Tom Keep 61
358 Jake Swan 43
Top dedication by Andy Burbridge over bank holiday weekend (added September 2)
A quick note to extend a message of congratulations to RDC’s 20 Andy ‘Baldy’ Burbridge who once again underlined himself as one of the sports unsung stars on the dedication front by competing in three banger meetings in four days over the bank holiday weekend.
He started at Coventry on Friday for the 2Litre Brandon Bowl where he was a heat winner and followed it up with appearances at Mildenhall on Saturday and Dover Monday.
To the best of our knowledge he was the only banger driver in the sport to total three meetings this weekend but regardless of whether that is accurate or not, it is still a tremendous achievement so well done.
We should not overlook fellow Kent based racers 81 Lee Greenwood, 188 John Reeves and 346 Scott Saunders who are competed at both RDC banger meetings this weekend. This brought significant success to the former pair as well with Greenwood winning the annual rollover contest at Dover while 188 Victor lifted the small car series title at Mildenhall.
Saloon Stockcar Dash for Cash Final Jackpot contenders (added August 26)
With 912 Andi Newman winning the final Saloon Stockcar dash for cash prior to the jackpot final at Mildenhall last weekend he also became the sixth different winner of a dash for cash race this year and also the sixth contender for the £500 jackpot in the series final at Mildenhall on October 17.
Amazingly each of the six dash races (including all three segments of the triple header dash on July 26) have been won by different drivers so well done to 219 Luke Grief, 311 Steve Newman, 360 Carl Waterfield, 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr, 911 Pete Jennings and 912 Andi Newman and each of them are locked into the dash for cash jackpot final on October 17 where victory will reward them with a cool £500 prize.
Between them and the jackpot will be any other driver who registers a top six finish in either heat or final on October 17 and they will be chasing the standard £100 winner take all prize on the night.
RDC on tour at Skegness (added August 26)
RDC was well represented at Skegness on August 16 for the tracks annual 2Litre Banger Crash Attack UK Open and they were well involved on the action front. 183 Bobby Wilmer blasted 451 Willy Blackwell in the opening heat only to take a swift revenge shot from 742 Ian Gregory with 391 Wayne Shinn aiding his team mate with a shot on the latter. Meanwhile fellow Aftermath pilot 400 Kevin Shinn rolled and was collected in the roof by 132 Rob James but thankfully he was unharmed. 525 Wes Starmer pounded 91 Steve Campbell in the second heat before the final saw 391 Ol Matey score on 321 Andy Newton. 400 Shinny meanwhile delivered a killer hit on 197 Glen Woodward before 807 Chris Murfin came under fire from 285 Sean Dyer with 180 Mark Foster slamming into Murfin. 180 Sparky continued to stick it to 330 Whitehead only to cop one from 51 Simon Heilds in turn as the recovered Murfin stuffed 01 Kyle Shires, Starmer ending the RDC involvement in the race by blasting 145 Luke Austin. Shinny played with 455 Rick Finney in the Allcomers which also saw Starmer stuffed 73 Dean Cruickshank hard as Sparky took the win. Starmer impressed in the death, starting with a big hit on 43 Nicky Bishop before he came under fire from 98 Matt Harrison. He shrugged that off and buried Woodward but was then nailed by Finney but again Starmer battled on and
hammered 132 Bubbles before he silenced 285 Mr Misery to take a hard fought win.
Ministox grades for September (added August 25)
Following last weekends Ministox meeting at Mildenhall we have new grades
which come into effect for September and these will be used at both Lydden Hill
on September 5 and Mildenhall on September 12.
While the Lydden meeting is a non points scoring event the Mildenhall meeting
next month is the final meeting towards the RDC Drivers Championship grid and
following that meeting we will have the qualifiers for the big race in October
and new grades for that meeting.
In the meantime the grades for September are as follows, any driver not listed
is white.
Red: 302, 306
Blue: 304, 309, 315, 317, 323 (Vinni Madden), 349, 355, 356, 366, 388
Yellow: 322, 324, 328, 350, 376
Congratulations to Carl Waterfield-new Saloon Stockcar World Champion (added August 19)
All at RDC would like to extend a huge message of congratulations to 360 Carl Waterfield on winning an action packed and very exciting Saloon Stockcar World Championship at King’s Lynn on Saturday night (August 15).
The young gun enjoyed a see-saw battle with defending champion 120 Shane Brown in which they traded the lead numerous times in the final stages before Waterfield managed to withstand a determined last bend attack from Brown to win not only his first major title in the sport, but also the biggest prize in Saloon Stockcar racing.
We are delighted to report that Carl, currently second in the Mildenhall Track Championship is booked in for action at Mildenhall this Saturday night (August 22) and as a local racer to Mildenhall we would expect to see the gold roof being proudly worn at most, if not all Mildenhall Saloon Stockcar meetings in the next 12 months until Carl defends the title at Mildenhall next season, an event where he is bound to be a contender once more.
What is also very pleasing to report was the final member of the weekend’s World Final top three with 115 Scott Aldridge completing the podium spots. Both Waterfield and Aldridge are graduates from the RDC Ministox in recent years. It was as recent as 2003 that Carl won the RDC, Mildenhall and Dover points in the Ministox while the same season saw Scott lift the Suffolk Open title as well as finishing third in the RDC points and second at Mildenhall. If proof was ever needed as to the value of the training ground that is the RDC Ministox then the result of this year’s Saloon Stockcar World Final is it.
This Saturday at Mildenhall will see both the Saloon Stockcars and Ministox in action and who would be against one of the leading stars in the Ministox this weekend being a world champion on the national scene in six years time.
RDC at London Open (added August 19)
As expected RDC was well represented at the 1600cc Banger London Open Championship at Wimbledon on August 16, the 85 strong entry including 138 Jason Smy, 163 Rob O’Connell, 172 Ben Forbes, 346 Scott and 349 Lee Saunders, 401 Steve Hemmings, 427 Dave Johnson, 525 Wes Starmer and 917 John Millen, 525 Wes turning heads with a typically well presented Mondeo estate.
The opening heat started badly for Millen who was fired into the fence hard by 2 Jonathan Bricknell before he took a savage T-bone from 84 Jerry Ansell. Despite losing his crash helmet in the crash, a shaken Millen was able to climb to safety as Smy had 804 Michael Bird run into him by 146 Dan Wigman. 401 Psycho opened his account by trashing the Sierra of 751 Laurence Well before he destroyed 763 Charles Wilson and concluded his performance by nailing 146 Wiggy.
There was no RDC interest in heat two so we moved onto the 70 car, all in title race and following a stoppage for the expected track blockage Wes threw a spanner in the works of front runner 294 Lee Hughes, punting him into the stricken 348 Sonny Sherwood. 294 Stuntman recovered and fired Wes over the rumble strips which nearly rolled the RDC pilot and saw him crash into the wires.
Psycho found himself stuffed up a post by 244 Michael Bunyan in the Allcomers as Wes treated the spun 528 Alan Hunt to a head-on before 163 Bert copped a stiff hit from 46 Keith Painter. Psycho received further credit, triumphing in the internet voting for the man of the meeting award.
RDC Ministox receive more praise on their travels (added August 19)
For the second time in a matter of weeks, the RDC Ministox have received much praise for their efforts on the road, the latest credit and thanks coming from Spedeworth where many RDC registered drivers, plus plenty of duel licensed drivers competed at Yarmouth on Sunday, August 16.
In total at least half of the 30 or so field were registered to RDC and across the night they enjoyed plenty of success. The white and yellow grade heat was won by 349 Todd Payne with 392 Reid Murray third, rising stars 391 Jake Banwell and 322 Thomas Fox fourth and fifth, 308 Alec Hannay sixth and 358 Jake Swan in ninth.
The blue and red grade race saw 388 Ross Tyler claim third, 317 Bryson Walker took seventh, 328 Craig Banwell eighth and 302 Jordan Murray ninth.
304 Joe Parker won the all in heat with cousin 306 Daniel Parker in fifth ahead of 366 Matt Noughton in ninth and Tyler in tenth.
The final saw Payne finish third with Fox fifth, Noughton sixth and Tyler and Walker also in the top 10 taking eighth and ninth respectively.
Finally was a Le Mans Race with Noughton taking fourth place and Jordan Murray coming home in fifth.
Congratulations to Dean Mayes (added August 19)
While not an RDC registered driver, all at RDC would like to extend their best wishes to regular National Banger visitor Dean Mayes on the birth of his child, Lexi Marie Mayes, who was born in the early hours of Saturday morning (August 15) weighing eight pounds five.
RDC’s Another Wild Night round up (added August 12)
Everyone at RDC would like to thank all those who contributed to making RDC’s Another Wild Night at Mildenhall Stadium last Saturday (August 8) such a great success.
Once again we were blessed with a tremendous entry of cars with just over 140 National Bangers and over 30 Reliant Robins with an amazing field of 175 cars in the pits (for a two formula meeting) which included drivers from all across the country, indeed the National Banger entry almost a 50/50 split between RDC and visiting drivers and including many of the biggest names currently in the sport.
Together they provided another fantastic crowd with an action packed, albeit controversial at times, 10 race programme and despite the high levels of carnage in all seven banger races (which had an average field of 39 cars) plus the job of two championship presentations the last race was comfortably underway within the curfew and as always our thanks to the small but hard working RDC team for their part in achieving this.
We would also like to extend our congratulations to 119 Davey ‘Cruncher’ Cox who celebrated his birthday in fine fashion by becoming only the third driver to win the coveted National Banger BBA British Championship more than once after a hugely competitive title race. And the same goes to 553 Daniel Douglas who raised the Reliant Robin World title after an equally thrilling championship race.
Amazing stats from RDC’s massive summer of banger action (added August 12)
Last weekend’s BBA British Championship marked the end of an incredible summer programme of major banger meetings at RDC with five significant banger fixtures in the last five weekends which have again produced some amazing records.
Things started with the unlimited Suffolk Open Championship where the 158 car field was the sports biggest entry of unlimited bangers since last year’s event. One Wild Weekend saw 111 cars for the 2litre RWD bash (a record breaker for an event of its kind) and 109 cars for the 2Litre Suffolk Open with an amazing 183 drivers racing over the weekend in an incredible 213 cars. The 67 car field for the 2Litre Kent team championship at Dover may seem much more modest it is still just one short of RDC’s biggest ever entry at the track and likely to be the best turnout at the raceway in 2009. Finally the National Banger BBA British Championship proved to be another massive event with a whopping 143 cars in action.
Together an amazing 374 National Banger drivers have raced at RDC over this five week period and no less 341 of them raced at Mildenhall alone. In all these latest stats now mean a mind blowing 724 different drivers have raced in National Bangers at RDC so far in 2009 (not including either Rookie Banger date at Dover).
It will come as little surprise that several drivers have impressed with their commitment to the RDC scene in these recent weeks and they are all deserving of a mention here.
Topping the bill are 17 Kyle Overy and 188 John Reeves who not only raced at all five of the RDC National Banger meetings but also represented RDC at the TSR World Final on July 18 and 188 Victor also raced in the Rookie Banger Southern Championship at Dover on July 19.
On top of these two a further nine drivers raced at all four of the big Mildenhall meetings so hats off to 117 Karl Dack, 148 Ian Redden, 159 Darren Scarrow, 209 Ben Hayward, 303 Wayne Linsdale, 352 Ben Mynott, 384 John Golden, 425 Martin Stopher and 511 Helen Licquorice.
In addition to these drivers another six drivers raced at four of the five recent RDC meetings. 20 Andy Burbridge, 53 Dave Palmer, 81 Lee Greenwood and 180 Mark Foster missed only the unlimited Suffolk Open while 183 Bobby Wilmer and 898 Andy Battle only missed the RWD session.
It should also be noted that 180 Sparky, 425 Mr Vauxhall, 20 Baldy and 81 Numb Nuts also competed at the aforementioned TSR World Final.
Finally we should also congratulate the incredibly dedicated 190 Steve Bailey who competed at three of the four Mildenhall meetings, all the way from his Devon home, only missing the 2Litre Suffolk Open when he was racing at Mendips.
Dover Raceway to continue until 2011 (updated August 5)
RDC were delighted to announce at Dover Raceway on Sunday, August 2 that a new deal has been struck with the land owner at the raceway and that despite news at the start of the season that 2009 would be the final season of racing at the venue, racing will continue, with RDC Promotions at the helm until 2011 at the very least.
The complete change of heart by the land owner was first hinted around six weeks ago but serious talks only moved forward shortly after the last meeting (July 19) and the contracts were only signed this weekend while RDC were preparing the raceway for the meeting on Sunday.
Everyone at RDC is overjoyed with the news, which we hope will be just as well received by all the drivers and fans who visit the track.
The new deal guarantees racing until the end of 2011 and we are all hopeful that this will be extended further.
However the new deal does see a reduction in fixtures with only eight dates available in 2010, which will be four bank holiday Mondays and four Sunday fixtures. Work is currently ongoing for a first draft of the 2010 RDC fixtures and we hope to announce this very soon but we can confirm that Bangerstox and Super Rods will have at least one fixture at Mildenhall Stadium in 2010 to compensate for the lost Dover dates.
Despite the last minute stay of executive the final two fixtures at Dover Raceway will remain as they currently are after we recently swapped the two fixtures around believing this season to be the last. Therefore September 27 is the Rookie Banger Kent Championship and Reliant Robin Masters Championship and October 11 is the Masters Championships for National Bangers, Bangerstox and Super Rods.
RDC added: “We are obviously delighted with this news and we are sure that the same is felt by all drivers and fans who visit this raceway which has provided short oval motor racing for around four decades.
“Obviously we want to thank the landowner for making this possible but we also want to extend a huge thank you to all the drivers and fans who have supported the raceway so well in 2009, especially since we announced that this season was set to be the last at the second meeting of the year.
“It is in no small part that the strength of support shown to the raceway each and every meeting had a big influence in the change of heart and without this support there is a very good chance that we would not be in this position so thanks to everyone who has helped make this possible.
“Obviously it is a little disappointing that there will be less dates in 2010 but we are already working hard on the new fixtures and are determined to make sure the eight dates at Dover are as good as they possibly can be.
“We hope that despite the good news that we will be continuing at the raceway next season, we will still see good entries of cars for the remaining four meetings this season to ensure 2009 ends on a high note and this wave of momentum will continue through into 2010.”
At Our Best round up and thank you (added August 5)
RDC would like to extend a message of thanks to all those who contributed to the success of last weekend’s At Our Best event at Dover Raceway which was headlined by the 2Litre Banger Kent Team Championship.
While the entry was a little down on what we had hoped the final total of 65 2litre bangers was still a fine field for this modest venue and the inclusion of four continental drivers and five long distance
travellers from the north was especially pleasing.
There were two major disappointments with regard to the final banger entry. The first was the cancellation of the Predators who despite their best efforts were hit with transport issues on Friday and despite them contacting us the RDC team had already left for the weekend’s work meaning we were unable to announce this on the website prior to the meeting.
The second disappointment was that 51 Simon Heilds would be the only member of the Stinkbridge team to race on the day. He wasn’t the only Stinkbridge driver in Dover on the weekend as his team mates had joined him the previous night but sadly major navigational problems on Sunday morning meant his team mates failed to locate the raceway and ultimately went home which was a great shame for all concerned. Our thanks to 450 Glyn Platts and 455 Rick Finney who continued their search for the track and two and half hours after leaving their camp site (which was five miles from the track) they found the raceway just before the first heat began.
Fortunately the aforementioned trio were rewarded with typically lively days but there were many other stars of the afternoon including 602 Shaun Cooper who took two entertainer awards after removing his engine to change a gearbox, 380 Trevor Wright who again showed his class with two full contact wins and an excellent team performance, 311 Lee Bradbury who gave a vintage performance of racing and crashing and was another double winner, 259 Dan Poole who impressed with a hat trick of second place finishes and 492 Dean Harper who worked hard all day after heat one damage to score an almost title winning third place in the final.
Congratulations to the Management who winning the title by the narrowest of margins from Team Sedgwick who made a fine debut in the event with the Clangers completing a Kent clean sweep.
And also congratulations to Robin Miles and Jason Anderson on winning the Bangerstox Kent and Super Rod Masters championship respectively.
Ministox road trip to Coventry hailed a success (added August 5)
Continuing this weeks theme of thanking people, we would also like to thank all 33 Ministox drivers and their teams for making the road trip to Coventry Stadium last weekend such a great success.
There were many positives to come from the trip, the first time ORC Ministox have raced at the venue, and almost no negatives. It was fantastic to see every driver who was booked in honour their place (not too often we can say that about any formula or any meeting) and the all in format produced some great racing with the 11 to 16 year old stars of the future getting to grips with the shaleway very quickly.
The feedback for the team at Coventry Stadium has also been very positive and their staff were impressed with both the standard of driving and racing but also the ‘toughness’ of the drivers and the co-operation and attitude shown by everyone on and off the track and hopefully this will leave the door open for a return visit in 2010, something many of the drivers have already asked for.
A report of the meeting and results has now been added to the reports section of the site, but an account of the Allcomers race will follow shortly as the increasingly heavy rain made note taking from the infield a non starter for this race.
RDC’s Michael Coventry said: “Once again I want to personally thank all the drivers and their crews for making this meeting such a great success.
“It’s sounds like a cliché but honestly everyone was fantastic to work with and we delivered everything we had promised to Coventry Stadium who appear very pleased with the racing and spoke very highly of everyone involved.
“Again it’s a cliché but all 33 drivers were a credit to myself, RDC, the formula, junior stockcar racing in general and most importantly to themselves so well done all.”
Congratulations to Jack Overy-Coventry Masters Champion (added August 5)
A handful of RDC Banger drivers were also on hand at Coventry Stadium on Friday, July 31 for the annual unlimited Masters Championship, 715 Mick Prince having the pick of our cars with a fresh Toyota Crown.
22 Dave Vincent led for the majority of the first heat until he was spun in the final stages by eventual winner 166 Lee Lawson while 148 Ian Redden just missed beating 474 Matt Threkeld on the line and had to settle for third, Vincent recovering for ninth. It was 617 Jack Overy who made a fine start to his evening winning the second heat. Our interest now moved to the final where a spinning 148 Shorty was whacked by Overy who slowly started to reel in the leading 474 Matty and instigated an all or nothing last bend lunge which saw him get up the inside of the latter and take the title.
One Wild Weekend roundup and thanks (added July 29)
For regular visitors to the RDC website it will come as little surprise that we want to take a large chunk of this week's news update to last weekend's One Wild Weekend two day event at Mildenhall Stadium.
First and foremost we want to express a huge debt of gratitude to all those who helped contribute to the triumphant return of the Mildenhall two day event during which we enjoyed two superb days of full contact motor sport featuring 30 races and a quite incredible 280 drivers. Adding to the amazing statistics of the weekend were the entries for the 2litre bangers with a mind blowing 111 cars for the 2litre all RWD session and 109 for the 2Litre Suffolk Open. Bearing in mind just 37 drivers raced on both days this means than a quite incredible 183 different banger drivers raced at Mildenhall at the weekend. Furthermore with only seven of the cars raced Saturday being used Sunday it means we saw no less than
213 different bangers (so it was over 300 race cars in action over the weekend) in action over the two days.
The weekend was already history in the making with the first time that Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and F2s appeared on the same programme at RDC, it also featured the first ever triple header dash for cash but the bangers also made some more history of their own. The turnout for the all RWD meeting was not only the biggest for a meeting of its kind but also the first ever triple figure turnout for a meeting of this format. Furthermore we believe this could be the first time the same raceway has boasted two 100+ car turnouts in as many days. It is certainly the first time this feat has ever been achieved at RDC and the only other events which may have done this would have been the big Swaffham weekends in the mid 1990s but it certainly the first time this has ever happened in recent memory, if ever.
However while there were many positives from the weekend there were also several problems, almost all of them on the Saturday night's programme which we would like to address and explain before talking about some of the many highlights from the two days.
Starting with the BriSCA F2 Stockcars who provided us with a rather tricky number of race cars on the Saturday with 59 cars in the pits. The rule of thumb at Mildenhall is that if we have 56 cars or less we run two heats and if we hit 57 we run three. This is not so much to keep car numbers down in the heats but is more to ensure we run less consolations than heats as previous experience tells us that two heats, followed by two consolations usually produces two poor last chance races. So with 59 cars we moved to our traditional three heat approach as had we run two heats with 30 and 29 cars, even if we had taken 12 qualifiers from each we would have been left with a potential 35 car consolation which in previous experiences would have been too many (and don't mention the finals yet, we'll get there :-) ). Sadly we were disappointed that two drivers failed to race until the consolation and one failed to race all evening so ultimately just 56 drivers raced in the heats which could have meant we may have been able to get away with two heats and not three but no one was to know this. Obviously people will then ask why we were reluctant to run a potential 35 car consolation when on each day we ran potential 36 car finals. The answer
is that experience tells you that at Mildenhall consolations with over 30 or 32 cars tend to be ruined by many race stoppages. There are many
theories as to why this is but no proven explanation but it is fact that a big field in the consolation can result in more than one stoppage and delays so it is something we try to avoid. Similar experience tells us that it is equally unexplained why you can more often than not run bigger fields in the final without similar problems. Again there are theories but no proven
explanation and we were certainly impressed by the finals on both days from the open wheel stockcars. On Sunday we had exactly 56 cars racing and were able to run the two heat format and I'm sure everyone will agree the racing was first class and the qualifying heats were superior events to those on Saturday but again the unspoken rule at RDC with regard F2 heats has and remains that 57 or more will be three heats and hopefully just one consolation.
Onto the Saloon Stockcars who were sadly the biggest losers of the Saturday as their Grand Final was postponed to the first race of Sunday morning. This decision stemmed from the great difficulty we had during the second heat of the stockcars where the race was stopped on lap seven or eight and a lap sheet order restart was ordered. For whatever reason lining the cars up in the correct order proved practically impossible. While there is no denying there were problems from RDC's side of things there were far greater problems from the drivers side who for whatever reason were seemingly unable to follow the instructions given. After around 10 minutes spent desperately trying to rectify the situation the stewards decided the only option was to call a complete restart meaning the race was run again from scratch causing more time lost. With the sheer weight of the programme on Saturday night caused by the massive turn out of cars (and the addition of three races to the card) the 11pm curfew was rapidly
approaching when the F2 Final was complete and there was no way that both the Saloon Stockcar final and Banger DD could both be staged. The difficult decision was taken to postpone the Saloon Stockcar Final until Sunday for two reasons. Firstly because there was no denying that several of the drivers themselves were responsible for the lost time and secondly and more importantly we believed the majority of the Saloon Stockcar drivers would be present Sunday and that many of the 2litre banger drivers racing Saturday would not be present Sunday and even those that were would not use the same cars. While the 2Litre RWD Bangers would have been ok to race on Sunday's programme the current trend of the sport suggested that few would be willing to. This point is proven with only 37 of the 111 banger drivers who raced Saturday racing again on Sunday and that almost 30 of them brought a second car for the second day of the weekend. The point regarding the Saloon drivers was also proved as the only driver who raced on Saturday who was not present Sunday was 41 David Maltby and technically he was the only driver who lost out, although the others were no doubt inconvinenced and obviously any stockcar fans who only joined us Saturday were disappointed as while. We too were greatly disappointed to have to postpone the race and are sorry to any fans who were let down but the decision was taken for the reasons detailed above to disappoint as few of the drivers as possible. It should also be noted that the postponement of the Saloon Stockcar Saturday night final led to many interesting and insightful discussions between the RDC team and drivers Saturday night and Sunday morning and these were no doubt instrumental in the slick running of the triple header dash for cash where all the competing drivers were a class act and contributed greatly to the success of the event.
Finally we address the problems we experienced with the 2Litre RWD Bangers on Saturday night. The first came with the consolation. A quick count of the bangers lined up for the last chance race following the F2 Consolation revealed 50 cars ready for action. With the third heat being the most destructive and the drivers in that race having just two stockcar races for repair (both of which ran flag to flag) we took a gamble to put just under 30 cars in the first in the hope that a few more cars would repair in the meantime and we would get another 30 car field for a second consolation. Sadly the game didn't quite work as 54 cars raced in the two consolation which included a handful of drivers who had already qualified (and they were left on the track to help boost the numbers). Had we known that the reality was we could have run one consolation with 45-50 cars then chances are we would have done this...but hindsight is a wonderful thing and I'm sure there were no complaints about the action in the first. The second problem came with the qualifiers only final where everyone was pretty shocked and surprised to see just 12 of the 30 plus qualifiers make the gate. Following the aforementioned problems in the second Saloon Stockcar heat the programme was behind time at this point and even before we called for the cars we knew we would have little time to wait for drivers but didn't suspect we would need to as only the qualifiers from the second consolation would have been short on time to repair (and two of them were among the 12 who made the gate). With only these few drivers present there simply wasn't any time to wait or chase up any other drivers and we had to go with what we had if we were to stand any chance of completing the remaining races on the night. Many have again points out the lack of communication between RDC and the pit area, a problem RDC will be the first to admit. However council restrictions (the same restrictions which forced the construction of the £40,000 sound barrier over the winter and insist on the 11pm curfew) prohibit us from having any kind of PA system in the pits and quite simply a lack of staff members means we don't have people in the pits in between races as they are all doing other jobs. It is a rarely talked about subject about how small the RDC team is and while many are
quick to pick fault, few are willing to join the team and until such time this problem is likely to continue. Therefore we put a great amount of responsibility on the drivers to make sure they are lined up when required. Every driver receives a programme and any changes are detailed on the chalk board and we encourage drivers to have someone responsible for letting them know when there races are on. Sadly for whatever reason this didn't work on Saturday and we were left very short on cars for the main event. During the course of Saturday night's party exploits and Sunday morning's hangovers many reasons were given by drivers for not being ready but in all honesty the most common
explanation is that most were sidetracked by the 'spirit of the weekend'. Finally on Saturday we had several miss the DD which was barely squeezed inside the 11pm curfew. Again there was little communication simply because the decision was made at the 11th hour (and 59 minutes!!!). Any driver who had come into the stadium to watch the Saloon Stockcar final and heard the DD was on next would have probably still not made the gate had they been an Olympic runner. However we had two choices with the DD, either run it with the 24 cars which were lined up by 11pm or not run the event at all. There was no third option available and we hope the option taken was then lesser of two evils.
As always it goes without saying that many lessons were learned during the course of the weekend and hopefully we won't see similar problems in the near future although the lack of communication between the stadium and pits is likely to continue to be a thorn in our side until some much needed more members join the team....
Right enough of the doom and gloom, let's talk about some of the cool things from the weekend which helped make the weekend such a success for so many.
The incredible atmosphere in and around the stadium after Saturday's meeting, especially in the Fenman bar which remained packed until around 3am, the bar finally closing at 4.35am with everyone seeming to have a fantastic time and we are delighted to report that there wasn't one hint of trouble at all during the whole weekend which ensures the weekend meeting will return in 2010.
One of the biggest problems in previous Mildenhall weekend meetings had been the ability to attract a healthy audience for the second day but this was not the case this weekend and no doubt the loaded line up of racing assisted in the great crowds on both days.
30 action packed races in around 10 hours spread across the weekend. It may have been far from perfect, especially on the Saturday, but again this was a fine effort by the small and hard working RDC team, especially when you consider than no less than 13 of these races were for 2litre bangers and the majority were lively affairs.
Already been mentioned but 111 2litre RWD Bangers...cool
The Saloon Stockcar racing all weekend was immense, once again underlining them as the Saloon Stockcar formula in the sport but the triple header dash for cash was a little special and many have hailed it as a success and we need to mention our good friend Stu Kearsley for 'sowing the seed' which led to this unique event, even if we did make the tweaks!!!
Two 35 car BriSCA F2 Stockcar Grand Finals which were each open wheel stockcar racing at its very best at Mildenhall. Again we have highlighted our reluctance to have more than 32 cars in the qualifying races at Mildenhall but these Grand Finals on the weekend have given us much confidence to run similar events in the future when there are sufficient car numbers.
Not one serious driver injury to report on during the weekend.
And finally much trademark two day weekend behaviour which will be a talking point for many weeks but we're not into revealing dark secrets here...so you'll have to wait until the next T-Bone magazine for more but once again we want to thank everyone for such an incredible weekend.
Important fixture changes to end of season at Dover Raceway (added July 22)
Following the sad announcement that 2009 is set to the final season of racing at Dover Raceway, RDC Promotions quickly confirmed that they would be looking closely at the remaining fixtures at the track with a view to making changes in order to ensure the raceway ends its time on a high note.
These possibilities have been fully examined and last Sunday at the raceway the changes were announced with one small, but very significant change which will see the final two fixtures essentially swap places.
The Rookie Banger Kent Championship and Reliant Robin Masters Championship will now take place at the penultimate meeting at the raceway on Sunday, September 27 and the final meeting to be held at Dover Raceway will be the National Banger, Bangerstox and Super Rod Masters Championship triple header which will take place on Sunday, October 11 and we hope this will prove to be a fitting farewell to this long serving raceway.
While bookings for the Bangerstox and Super Rods will be limited to the Masters Championship finalists and a handful of others based on track championship positions and attendance this season, the National Banger places will be open to all and we hope to see a good field of cars for this meeting, traditionally one of the best attended and most action packed meetings of the season at the track but this year an event with even more importance and significance.
Bangerstox Kent and Super Rod Southern Championship qualifiers and new grades (added July 22)
Continuing the theme of RDC's At Our Best at Dover Raceway on Sunday, August 2 we can also this week confirm the Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers who have been extended an invitation to contest their Kent and Southern Championships at this meeting.
Owing to recent turnouts for both formulas in recent meetings we have made a small tweak to the amount of cars we will invite from both formulas and subsequently the top 24 Bangerstox drivers and top 12 Super Rod drivers from their respective track championships have been given the chance to race here. Both formulas will race in two qualifying heats (in graded order) with the points deciding the grid for the championship final. Unfortunately due to pit space only these invited drivers can compete at this meeting.
Furthermore all drivers are reminded that they will be required to park at the top end of the banking in the pits owing to the expected entry of 2litre bangers and should bring suitable transport. Those who do not run the risk of not being allowed into the pits and not being able to race.
Finally with only a few meetings remaining at Dover Raceway before it closes in October we are underlining the importance of drivers honouring their places as we don't want anyone missing out on the chance to race at the track this season. Therefore if any driver does not honour this booking with cancelling before hand they will forfeit their booking for the Masters Championship should they qualify. If you have qualified below but cannot attend please let us know asap by phoning 01268 412299 or 07850 683953 or e mailing wastedmc@btopenworld.com so we can offer your place to someone else.
Bangerstox Kent Championship
2 Fred Drayner
3 George Forbes
4 Robin Miles
6 Sarah Cox
8 Gavin Warton
9 Nathan Dobson
12 Tyler Willis
15 Jay Powell
17 John Lingham
20 Shannon McMahon
21 Caitlan Murton
22 Lee Kembrey
25 Paul Barrett
26 Ant Williams
29 Craig Groombridge
30 Wayne Powell
32 Gary Austin
40 Joe Taylor
49 Pete Back
56 Dean Maitland
61 Ken Hollamby
65 Chris Bull
75 Chris Jarvis
83 Paul Apps
Super Rods Southern Championship
03 James Keep
7 Dave Ward
11 Gary Ward
17 John Shilleto
21 Kevin Hickey
28 Andrew Donavan
41 Pete Emson
66 Andy Reeve
77 Mark Shingleton
85 Jack Miles
88 Jason Anderson
121 Nigel Goodwin
We also have the new grades for both formulas which will come into effect for the August 2 meeting and will also apply on August 31 with new grades set to come into effect for the September 5/6 Lydden Hill/Dover Raceway weekend and they will be announced on the RDC website.
BANGERSTOX
Silver: 1
Masters: 11
Kent: 48
Southern: 26
Red: 4, 15, 25, 32
Blue: 2, 20, 21, 49, 75, 87
Yellow: 3, 5, 9, 17, 22, 24, 29, 30, 40, 56, 61, 65, 77, 90
SUPER RODS
Silver: 24
Masters: 66
Kent: 77
Southern: 44
Red: 88
Blue: 21, 28, 121
Yellow: 03, 11, 14, 17, 23, 41, 85
RDC at 2Litre Banger TSR World Final (added July 22)
As expected RDC was well represented at the 2litre Banger TSR World Final at King's Lynn on July 18 with 64 Barry Lee, 81 Lee Greenwood, 188 John Reeves and 465 Andy Scarlett flying the flag in the main event and joined by another 15 RDC pilots in the support races.
The opening heat saw 180 Mark Foster nail the Bluebird of 333 putting the latter's roof up before 324 Mark Latham went round and took a head0-on from 349 Michael Allard and 897 Matt Battle came under fire from 45 Rob Hughes. Meanwhile 425 Martin Stopher motored to the win with fellow RDC pilot 129 Dan Chaplin second they both advanced to the main event. 8 Dale Woolnough just missed out in fourth with 180 Sparky sixth and Battle in ninth.
The only RDC interest in heat two saw 807 Chris Murfin stuffed by 223 Brett Harrison with 17 Kyle Overy taking fourth while 86 Alec Savage and 20 Andy Burbridge came eighth and ninth respectively.
Onto the title race with Scarlett suffering a spin at the hands of 516 Carl Gould while 188 John Reeves assaulted front runner 128 Mark Adkins having suffered a spin himself and 81 Lee Greenwood dished out a shot on 160 Davy Patton. 64 Barry the Bull had 791 Nicky Young round in the final stages as the underrated 515 Gareth Flatters motored to the title and celebrated by spinning Scarlett who had registered an eighth place.
715 Mick Prince went head to head with 619 Karl Turnbull in the consolation while 807 Murf belted 321 Paul Manning only to take one in turn from 51 Simon Heilds as 801 Jack Foster took second with Prince in third.
Woolnough came under fire from 516 Gouldy in the World Masters as Battle came under fire from both 70 Ant Long and Sparky, the latter then fencing 451 Willy Blackwell before he again nailed the Stinkbridge man a short while later, Blackwell then fenced by Overy as the luckless Battle was attacked by 361 Chris Walden. Overy recovered a fine third but then went round and took a head-on from 20 Baldy on the run down lap.
RDC's Big Night Out round up and thank you (added July 15)
It should come as no surprise that we head up this weeks news update with a big message to all those who helped make last weekend's Unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship such a massive success.
Once again we were truly blessed. We were very lucky with the weather which was far better than some of the weeks forecasts, we enjoyed the sports biggest entry of unlimited bangers since last year's fixture and once again the drivers excelled with some amazing machinery and preparation. We were lucky to welcome to a massive crowd of great fans who together
created and enjoyed a simply awesome atmosphere throughout the stadium as the majority lapped up the stunning action the drivers served up on track and we were also blessed with a fantastic raceway thanks to our small but dedicated track team which meant not only did the heavy rain at the end of the night not completely ruin things but it also meant the following day's speedway meeting ran as planned and as of last night (Tuesday) the track was almost back to being perfect.
However it goes without saying that despite all the fortune of the night there were still points of concern and disappoint. For RDC at least the biggest was that once again this meeting suffered a late finish of after 11pm despite the earlier start time. There were many reasons which contributed to this. Of course the carnage of the six unlimited banger qualifying races was the biggest factor but there were many smaller hold ups which are just part and parcel of running a meeting of this size. We can honestly say that the entire team worked as hard as possible throughout the night to complete the programme as quickly as possible and our thanks to all of them. Discussions are already underway to see if anything can be done to improve the situation for next year's meeting.
One of the biggest talking points has been the meeting format with some questioning whether there were in fact too many cars in each of the races. The final turnout of unlimited bangers was almost an exact match to the figure from the 2008 event and the same format was used. Prior to the meeting RDC was faced with the tricky decision of four heats of 39/40 cars or five heats of 31/32. Bearing in mind it is very rare to have at any meeting every car in the pits make the heats (this was the case again last weekend with three fresh cars in the second consolation) we elected to take the former option. With the theory that
with perhaps too many cars for four heats but not enough for five we almost always go for the 'too many' option in order to try and provide the best on track
entertainment possible.
But the numbers probably mattered little in the end. In 2009 we ran qualifying races of 41, 40, 43, 39, 35 and 50 while in 2008 we ran qualifying races of 34, 45, 45, 30, 38 and 43. One of the problems of last years meeting was we didn't have sufficient cars ready for heat one, hence why it only had 35 cars and heats two and three were over subscribed. We were keen to avoid that this year, hence why heat one was a few minutes late in starting but as it turned out it mattered little getting the heat split more even. It should also be noted that running five heats of 31/32 would have not guaranteed no track blockages as the 35 car first consolation still provided a complete blockage. Furthermore the 43 car third heat on Saturday was the only heat to go the full 10 laps and not go last car running while the 50 car second consolation was the only race to not boast a complete track blockage (although it could be argued that the race stoppage played a part in this).
However that is not to say there wasn't some great unlimited banger racing to be found. 617 Jack Overy and 998 Wayne Cotterill gave a masterclass in sideways racing in the final heat with 19 Joe Mullarkey and 17 Kyle Overy not too find behind them while 148 Ian Redden and 474 Matt Threkeld gave a great racing performance in the championship final.
Another issue was the decision to stick to a qualifiers only final. RDC took this decision out of respect to the drivers who had earned their place in the final the hard way. Take eventual winner 148 Ian Redden for example. After getting trapped in the heat one blockage and absorbing much punishment, he repaired for the first consolation which he won after a very hard performance, battling through another big pile-up several times. We believed that opening the final to all available cars would have taken away from the achievements of those who had made their way through to the main event via six of the hardest hitting qualifying races you're likely to see anywhere in 2009.
While on the subject of 148 Shorty our congratulations to him on winning the third major title of his career. Further credit is deserving to RDC rising star 128 Andy Shipp who impressed many with three very lively performances on the night and Ministox graduate 17 Kyle Overy who marked his arrival on the RDC banger scene in mightily impressive fashion, winning his first race, the fourth heat as the last car running.
Once again Saturday night demonstrated how the entry lists on the RDC website should be treated as a guide only. Once again the final total of cars exceeded the number on the entry list with the final list boasting 142 names of which 26 failed to attend while an additional 42 arrived on the night.
Going back to the subject of the tremendous effort by the drivers we should also highlight their amazing attitude on the night and since. It is fantastic to report that we have no incidents to report off with the whole night complimented by smiling drivers and hand shakes who enjoyed the evening's racing in the manner intended and many have been very complimentary of the night since with precious few complaints or negative comments. Just to demonstrate this it is impressive to report that after the brutality of the four heats no less than 84 drivers competed in the two heats and an additional 16 drivers raced in the DD. So not including those who only raced in the final, no less 100 drivers (around 2/3rds of the total field) raced after the heats which shows their commitment to the meeting and to entertaining the fans.
Another big plus point is we have no serious injuries to report off and precious few disciplinary actions that took place with just one driver loaded up during the night and the black flag only used twice. However we did see the continuation of a trend we have seen in recent meetings which we need to get on top of and that if drivers using the infield to gain an advantage. Drivers who went onto the centre but rejoined straight away received a warning while drivers who stayed on the centre for an extended period of time were excluded from the race. This is what the two aforementioned black flags were for and as both drivers obeyed the flags no further action was taken but drivers are reminded at RDC that the track is for racing and the infield is a safety area, once on the safety area you need to stay there.
Finally we would like to thank the Ministox for their part in the evening. Truly handed the role of the support formula they endured lengthy waits between the heats and then had precious little time for the final while this formula was worst hit by the weather conditions but again no grumbles from the young drivers who just got on with the business in hand and well done to all the drivers who during the heat two stoppage acted very well in getting the cars relined up and restarting the race as soon as possible which was a massive help. Our congratulations to 388 Ross Tyler on winning the title.
As always a detailed report of the night can be found on the reports section of the site, we have some of Stu Bishop's best photos on the home page and we also have a link to a three minute highlight package to some of the action from the stadium's cameras but make sure you check out the various photo websites, many of which have loads of great shots from the night and also the various highlight clips on U tube and other internet sites which are great for those who enjoyed the racing Saturday night or for those who couldn't make it at the weekend.
Finally and continuing the theme of video footage, sadly some technical problems prevented the footage shot from the stadium camera from being screened on the TVs in the bars. However we are confident to have this problem resolved for the two day meeting later this month where the highlights of the night will be shown prior to each meeting so if you are joining us then why not pop into either bar before the start and enjoy the best action again.
RDC at Ipswich Spedeweekend (added July 7)
As expected RDC was well represented at the Ipswich Spedeweekend in the National Banger racing starting with the 2litre team event on the Saturday. The bulk of our interest came in the Aftermath squads with 391 Wayne and 400 Kevin Shinn, 602 Shaun, 603 Jon and 604 Ross Cooper and a guest appearance by 415 Scott Cornish. Elsewhere are 61 Karl Totham raced for 3Litre Magazine, 465 Andy Scarlett guested with the Condoms, 236 Clyde Williams Jnr formed a part of the Asbo Rejects, 180 Mark Foster raced with the Midnight Runners and 50 Reece Laybourn and 460 Lewis Barber raced with the Blue Crew.
603 the Younger Hitman opened his account with a shot on 171 James Simpson in heat one as 391 Ol Matey came under fire from 522 Tim James while Ross Cooper was run in by 209 Tom Waller before taking further abuse from 158 Shane Davies and 56 Lee Green. Meanwhile 46 Keith Painter laid into 400 Shinny as Laybourn nailed Midnight Runner foe 730 Dean Mayes with a head-on only to take a revenge hit from 180 Sparky who was blasted in turn by 271 Dean Goodall. The Younger Hitman bounced back to attack 208 Jimmy Randall as Williams Jnr was run in by 322 James Newland on the top bend. Scarlett meanwhile raced to second and Williams Jnr took ninth.
Barber nailed 208 the Finger early in heat two while Shinny stuffed 204 Charlie King and 61 Flash was ran in hard by 360 Jack Reynolds as 522 the Weevil again had a pop at Shinny. Cornish then buried 204 Charlie Boy before Shinny rallied back with a big hit on 271 Deano only to then be run in by 364 Nathan Olden a short while later. Barber then destroyed 730 Dean Mayes with a massive head-on on the scoreboard bend but he paid with big hits from Sparky and the Finger as Scarlett again scored with a fourth place.
Barber was again involved in the final, taking a savage T-bone from while Ol Matey destroyed 597 Shaun Lines with a big hit and the Younger Hitman ran in 410 Nigel Whayman only to be blasted by the Finger in turn. Scarlett failed to place this time but nonetheless his team ran out the winners on the day.
Information on Sunday’s all Limo, Hearse and Yank session is limited at present but 39 Steve Moore raced another of his trademark Daimler DS420s, this time a hearse and 88 Alan Read turned several heads by racing a home made, but by all accounts well put together, Rover P5 limo.
Congratulations to National Banger BBA British Championship finalists (added July 1)
Following the final British Championship qualifier at Mildenhall last weekend we would like to congratulate the 10 RDC drivers who topped the table and secured their place in the Grand Final, which will be staged at Mildenhall on Saturday, August 8.
So firstly well done to 53 Dave Palmer, 64 Barry Lee, 81 Lee Greenwood, 86 Alec Savage, 148 Ian Redden, 188 John Reeves, 318 Terry Chapman, 465 Andy Scarlett, 617 Jack Overy and 682 Paul Sparrow who are guaranteed starters on August 8, 64 Barry the Bull, 81 NumbNuts and 318 Shifty set to make their debut in the race.
Meanwhile just missing out on a guaranteed place but hoping to make it in as reserves are the remainder of the top 15 which are in order 455 Luke Cornish (who missed the top 10 by one point!), 37 Dave Lewis, 183 Bobby Wilmer, 492 Dean Harper and 20 Andy Burbridge and 346 Scott Saunders who finished joint 15.
Bad luck to 159 Darren Scarrow, 370 John Cobbold, 898 Andy Battle and 349 Lee Saunders who narrowly missed out by just a handful of points. Just to underline how close this years race for the championship spots was a mere 30 points covered 10th to 20th place in what has perhaps been the most fiercely contested British qualifying series to date.
Another driver deserving of much credit is Spedeworth's 247 Lee Clarke who has made history by becoming the first wildcard qualifier for the British. There has always been an unwritten and rarely spoken off ruling that should a visitor score more British qualifying points than the 10th highest RDC qualifier they would be seeded onto the grid and 247 Bro has become the first visiting driver to achieve this in 2009.
Bangerstox and Super Rods Masters qualifying points (added June 24)
Following the second Masters Championship qualifiers of the season at Dover Raceway last weekend we have the updated qualifying points for both formulas. One round remains on August 30 with the top 24 in the Bangerstox qualifying for the big race in September and the top 16 in the Super Rod chart making it through.
Bangerstox
22 Lee Kembrey 63pts
20 Shannon McMahon 56
25 Lee Barrett 54
49 Pete Back 54
15 Jay Powell 44
3 George Forbes 40
83 Paul Apps 38
64 Aaron Harris 36
5 Ian Norris 33
12 Tyler Willis 33
32 Gary Austin 33
40 Joe Taylor 30
61 Ken Hollamby 30
27 Michael Godfrey 24
45 Dave Back 23
17 John Lingham 21
29 Craig Groombridge 21
46 Pete Gaynor 21
90 Jay Sedgwick 21
24 Stu Buddle 20
75 Chris Jarvis 20
26 Ant Williams 18
87 Bobby Miles 18
30 Wayne Powell 17
77 Sam Miles 17
43 Steve Cross 15
9 Nathan Dobson 13
73 Karl Taylor 13
78 Steve Matthews 13
79 Jodie Fagg 13
21 Caitlan Murton 12
41 Jim Fisher 12
50 Ray Walker 12
6 Sarah Cox 11
56 Dean Maitland 11
65 Chris Bull 11
Super Rods
28 Andrew Donavan 56pts
121 Nigel Goodwin 51
21 Kevin Hickey 44
77 Mark Shingleton 44
88 Jason Anderson 44
41 Pete Emson 39
7 Dave Ward 33
17 John Shilleto 30
66 Andy Reeve 28
11 Gary Ward 27
222 Dick Tracey 20
85 Jack Miles 15
30 Tony Rossie 13
03 James Keep 12
8 Trevor Wright 10
76 Olive Jarvis 10
9 Rob Edwards 6
44 Steve Harrington 6
National Banger Inter Counties Team Challenge, round up and thank you (added June 17)
All at RDC would like to thank and congratulate all those who helped make Saturday night’s maiden National Banger Inter Counties team challenge such a resounding success.
After a decent, if unspectacular opening heat, the action really moved up a gear from the second heat onwards with two brutal heats followed by perhaps the best banger race seen at Mildenhall since last year’s Old Skool team championship final with the evenings Grand Final not only packed full of action but also an exciting contest as Norfolk, Essex and Kent battled over who would win the £1,000 for their chosen charity, the struggle going right to the minute 380 Trevor Wright crossed the finish line despite the best efforts of the Essex team. His second place was enough to secure Kent the eight points for the race and with it scoop the top prize for the Rainbow Children’s Ward at Margate Hospital.
Congratulations to the Kent team but many thanks are due to all 60 drivers who competed. Remember none of them raced for any self reward as all the money available on the night went to the chosen charities of each of the teams. It was also very pleasing to report that the event was taken very much in the spirit intended with great sportsmanship between all the teams and drivers. Certainly the atmosphere on the track after the DD between all the drivers was a joy to behold with so many smiling drivers and great banter between the teams.
It was also pleasing to report that the unusual format for the meeting appeared to work very well as did the points system, once everyone got their head around it. The decision to run the final into a DD and have it as the final race was certainly the right move as it meant the evening ended on a high note. Given the carnage of the final it is likely an additional Accumulator/DD would have only raised a small field and would have probably taken place some time after the final given the amount of work to clear the track.
And the unique points system was very successful in keeping the competition close and exciting all the way up until the final lap of the final race.
A few drivers are very much worthy of some additional praise and we would like to make mention of 90 Jay Sedgwick and 455 Luke Cornish who were drafted into their teams at the 11th hour, the former at 9am the morning of the meeting! PRI young gun 88 Josh Fuller again proved why he is a potential superstar of the future with a brilliant drive in the final which was something you would expect from a driver with 10 more years experience that he has and also a stellar never say die display by 807 Chris Murfin, who is having a brilliant season, who kept repairing his wrecked Mondeo for more action and continued to get stuck into the competition all night long.
With the drivers not racing for prize money on the night additional trophies were made available for those who excelled on the presentation and entertainment front. While they are listed at the end of the meeting report they all deserve another mention here so well done to 296 Liam Brinton, 391 Wayne Shinn, 179 Shaun Rushton, 349 Michael Allard, 400 Kevin Shinn, 88 Josh Fuller, 119 Davey Cox, 415 Scott and 455 Luke Cornish, 188 John Reeves, 117 Karl Dack, 682 Paul Sparrow, 311 Lee Bradbury and 320 Paul Seymour. It should also be noted that Fuller was judged to be the best entertainer in the DD and therefore qualifies for the Accumulator championship while his final win secures him a place in the Allstar Dash for Cash.
We also need to make mention of the Saloon Stockcars and Ministox who served up some excellent action throughout the night. Also congratulations to Ministox racer 358 Jake Swan on registering his first win in the opening race of the night for the young guns.
Finally we have some words from Michael Coventry
“I would just like to take the opportunity to pass on a personal thanks to those who helped make this concept, one of our new ideas for 2009, such a great success and make it an instant hit with fans.
“It’s safe to say that plenty of work had gone into the night since the idea was founded last year and the wheels were set in motion in February but fortunately for me much of this work was done by the six captains so I would like to pass on my heartfelt thanks to Victor, Kamikaze, Humps, Helm, Dave Vincent, Shifty and Twelly Snr for everything they did.
“I can honestly say that the captains who took on the roles were all the first people I asked, no one questioned it, they readily accepted it and brilliantly went about their jobs and each assembled quality teams which contributed to such a great night of racing.
“Obviously I would also like to thank the remaining drivers who took part and I know the majority of these jumped at the chance to take part which is fantastic to report.
“Finally I would like to thank each and every fan who supported Saturday night’s meeting. It was very much an untested format and no one really knew for sure how it would work out so to everyone who got behind it, a huge thank you to all and I hope you all had a great night. The large crowd was made especially sweeter bearing in mind the meeting once again received precious little internet coverage other than what was written on this website. Again further proof, if ever needed, of RDC’s No Hype Needed motto and further proof of how fantastic our loyal fan base is. Thanks again.”
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn (added June 9)
Once again RDC was well represented at King’s Lynn last weekend as TSR hosted their annual 1500cc Banger East Anglian team championship. Among the field of 20 teams and just over 70 cars we had 89 Joe Barrett and 79 Ricky Twell in the Mean Machines teams, 84 Lizzy
Crowden-Murfin, 317 Vicky Woods and 511 Helen Licquorice were a part of the Banger Wags and 303 Wayne
Linsdale, 425 Martin Stopher, 437 Chris Bailey and 761 Nat Cohn formed the Bits and Bobs team. Elsewhere and 807 Chris
Murfin, 808 Jay Buckland and 876 Neil Baxter raced for Crash Attack C and 911 Pippa Cable was in WMS B.
Barrett found the fence in heat one as a result of 47 Dwayne Peacock stuffing 231 Alex Smith while Linsdale and 425 Mr Vauxhall put some points on the board for their team finishing sixth and eighth respectively.
Licquorice treated former RDC Ministox pilot 340 Wes Freestone (on his first banger outing) to a T-bone in heat two while 79 Twelly wasted 74 Caroline Garner with a massive shot, the former then taking a head-on from 911 Pe Pe before he was stuffed by 285 Sean Dyer. 876 Butch took third this time with 84 Our Lizzy in fourth and Licquorice in sixth.
Mr Vauxhall was planted into the tyres by 566 Tony Pallet in the third heat while Linsdale was buried by 333 James Cooke but he recovered for sixth while Mr Vauxhall recovered for ninth.
Twelly copped a hit from 311 Gary Lown early in heat four before he also came under fire from 339 Jack Garrod while Our Lizzy buried 316 Sean Haller and 150 Andy Parrin en route to third, Butch taking the win and Licquorice in sixth with Buckland in seventh.
Into the final with Buckland scoring on 26 Paul Lovick before Our Lizzy and Licquorice ganged up to assault 785 Brendan Bird only for the former to take one from 578 Lee Ranshaw in turn while the recovered Lovick rammed Linsdale on the nose and Buckland continued with a shot on 393 Pete
Annells. Linsdale meanwhile recorded a fine second with Mr Vauxhall third and he
celebrated by burying 385 Roy Gedge hard, these results enough to earn Bits and
Bobs second place overall. Licquorice ended the night on a high for the RDC contingent by sharing the DD honours with
Parrin.
Although it was a couple of weeks ago we need to cover RDC’s involvement at King’s Lynn’s annual van meeting on May 25 as again we were very well represented at the event.
We’ll start with the unlimited vans where RDC made up more than a quarter of the 37 strong entry and our drivers brought some impressive machinery which is highlighted. In attendance were 33! Simon Reed (EA), 102 Steve Old, 157 Michael Piggott
(Iveco Turbo Daily Minibus), 186 Mick Gedney (Mercedes 510 ambulance), 192 Stu Warby (Leyland
FG), 231 Danny Harris, 385 Paul Evans, 401 Steve Hemmings (LDV ambulance), 448 Chris Smith, 488 Duane Collins and 830 Lee White.
With an assist from 256 Mark Ginders, 488 United rolled 232 Steve Pope in the first heat while 448 Mad Chris raced to the win.
More RDC involvement in the second heat with 192 Fat Head burying 227 Robert Culpin as Gedney and Old scored on 385 Roy Gedge’s monstrous Mercedes 810 bus. 33! The Legend then took a wild lunge at 36 Andy Parrin which managed to roll the latter’s titanic Dodge
motorhome. The latter was righted after a race stoppage and duly came under fire from 401 Psycho as Gedge evened the score on
Gedney. Psycho recorded a fourth in this one.
All in for the final with 1 Chris Walden T-boning Gedney while Mad Chris did the same to 673 Darren Fendley only to receive similar stick from 47 Chris
Malkin. Gedge meanwhile pounded 157 Piglet and Mad Chris ran in 728 Tim Dray’s collapsing
motorhome. Psycho was then assaulted by Parrin and 47 Malky but recovered to ram the former and then set about Gedge as Piglet also attacked
Parrin. Mad Chris again fenced 728 Spike while Psycho piled Parrin into 734 Mark Saunders with no RDC finishing this one.
Psycho was again on the case in the Allcomers as he fenced Harris before he nailed 44 Jamie Ddin and elsewhere Gedge ran in Mad Chris. Parrin again attacked Piglet but came under fire from Fat Head in turn. Mad Chris attacked Fendley but was hit by 390 Dave Gibson in turn while the luckless Harris was nailed by 40 Lester Freestone. Mad Chris now attacked Fat Head before Fendley gave Evans a massive T-bone which only served to snap his own Transit ambulance alarmingly. Piglet rammed Freestone and Mad Chris did likewise to 338 Terry Garrod before Ginders T-boned Fat Head leaving Piglet to end things as he T-boned Mad Chris and then ran in Ginders well. Psycho finished fourth this time with Piglet fifth.
Onto the demo with the Legend under attack from 07 Darren Nurkitt while Old scored on 562 Gavin Barnes and Psycho finished 85 James Ellis with a crunching reverse hit. Psycho then traded blows with 132 Rob James before he again attacked Gedge and then nailed 734 Fat
Git. Piglet meanwhile pounded 131 Claire Walker and 44 Trouble with Psycho blasting the latter on the nose only to take a hard T-bone from Piglet. The Legend got running again but was finished by Piglet but Psycho outlasted his team mate to take the win and end a great showing by the RDC contingent.
Also on the bill were small vans where Mr Vauxhall and Licquorice were in action. The latter finished eighth in heat one and then claimed second in heat two in which Mr Vauxhall was T-boned by 677 Matt Bradshaw. Licquorice’s luck expired in the final as she was T-boned by 1 Wally but she bounced back to finish second in the DD having enjoyed
head-ons with 349 Michael Allard and 389 Charlie Garrod.
Pre 70 meeting thank you and round up (added June 3)
In the wake of last weekend’s massive pre 70 banger meeting at Mildenhall Stadium, RDC Promotions would like to once again express a huge debt of gratitude to all those who contributed to such a hugely popular and successful event.
While there was no denying the pre 70 banger racing was not as heavy and action packed as last year’s epic event there was no denying that the standard of material and presentation in the pits and the quantity of classic cars was second to none and the evening was certainly not short on its memorable moments which were greatly appreciated by the massive turnout of vans who came to enjoy the night.
And so once again we would like to thank all the drivers, in both formulas, and their families and teams for their amazing effort to compete on the night as well as all of the fans who chose to support the meeting in such massive numbers and also to the entire RDC team who worked as hard as possible to ensure the meeting ran as smoothly as possible.
However there were several issues which we would like to take the time to address and explain. The first was the slightly late start to the meeting which was a knock on effect from problems during the grand parade. Despite all drivers being informed via a drivers letter given to all when they arrived that everyone on their car for the parade would need a ticket, once again many arrived at the gate with people who did not have tickets and this took vital time to sort out. Subsequently we have now taken the step to stress to drivers that if they come to the parade and everyone on their car does not have a ticket ready then the car will be sent back to the pits until they are ready as we cannot afford to lose time such as this. The next scheduled grand parade at Mildenhall is for the unlimited Banger Suffolk Open Championship on July 11 where it is crucial we begin the first race on start time.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night was how the split for the pre 70 banger heats panned out. The classic car meeting at Mildenhall is unlike any other of its kind and one of the reasons for its success is that drivers know when they bring a car to the meeting they will enjoy one race at least competing against similar sized cars. Therefore it is no secret that we essentially split the cars into three groups, small cars, A60s and similar and Triumph 2000s and larger. Once everyone was assigned a group/heat it left us with a rather tricky number of 52 in group one, 38 in group two and 48 in group three. While we had no reservations of splitting the small cars into two heats (one and two) and running the A60s as one heat (three) we faced an awkward decision with the final group as 48 cars was really too many for an all in race but not really enough for two. Being a classic car meeting, where the drivers had taken so much time and effort to prepare a car for the meeting we opted for the latter option and ran two heats in order to give the drivers a ‘race’ rather than a 48 car pile-up. Sadly the decision didn’t go to plan as 24 cars contested heat four and 19 in heat five. Had we known only 43 cars would have been ready for these races we would have put them all together but it was not a situation we could have anticipated. It is very rare that you get every car in the pits make it out for one of the heats and this risk factor is even greater at a pre 70 meeting but it was very unfortunate that all those who failed to make a heat came from the final group which left to the disappointing turnouts in the final two heats.
Another area of disappointment was that the DD had to be cut short because of an injured driver on the top bend. We had taken the decision to hold the pit gate open for as long as possible for the final race and closed it as close to the 11pm curfew as we could (sadly still one or drivers missed the race). Subsequently when the event was stopped for a second time we were past the curfew and with it looking like it may have been a significant delay to assist the driver (who we are pleased to report is ok) we took the difficult decision to end the evening there, even though it was clearly a very disappointing way to conclude the night.
On a similar theme we would like to extend our best wishes to 348 Sonny Sherwood who suffered a shoulder injury in the pre 70 banger final and we hope he enjoys a full and speedy recovery and we see him back in action soon.
Finally there were one of two comments made regarding the toilet facilities at the stadium as the massive crowds did led to some pretty hefty queues. It is no secret that this is an area of the stadium which RDC is keen to address in the near future and the need to address it has become even more paramount since we had to remove the small blocks of toilets to the far side of the home straight grand stand which had become beyond repair. It is also no secret that we have been extremely busy in recent weeks and months with other areas of work and improvement at the stadium which have sadly meant we have not been able to get to this item on our ‘to do’ list as soon as we would have liked but we do hope to make improvements in the near future. Some may have noticed some extra portaloos in place in the pits which we hope to make a regular fixture for the future. In the meantime RDC would like to apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced on Saturday night.
National Banger stats for May at RDC (added June 3)
May is traditionally the busiest month of the season for National Bangers at RDC and 2009 was no different with six meetings for the formula between Mildenhall and Dover plus a Rookie Banger meeting as well.
Subsequently here are some stats from the month which we think make for impressive reading.
No less than 298 different drivers raced at the National Banger meetings at RDC during May (this does not include the Rookie Banger meeting at Dover) and an incredible 275 of them raced at one of the four meetings of the month at Mildenhall.
Both the Hot Shot Championship and pre 70 meeting at Mildenhall attracted triple figure entries with 117 and 137 cars respectively which makes it eight 100+ car turnout from 10 Mildenhall meetings this season so far.
While all of the near 300 drivers deserve much credit for their efforts there are a few who certainly stand out.
Just four drivers attended all four meetings at Mildenhall in May so a massive round of applause is due to 117 Karl
Dack, 425 Martin Stopher, 511 Helen Licquorice and 682 Paul Sparrow for achieving that. Also full marks to 20 Andy Burbridge and 188 John Reeves who raced at three of the four Mildenhall meetings (both missed the May 2 session) and they also attended both National Banger meetings at Dover and the Rookie Banger meeting as well which is underlines their faultless dedication.
Furthermore the month of May has seen RDC drivers in action at many other tracks around the country and many of the sports biggest meetings including Coventry (unlimited domestic), Aldershot (pre 75 World Final and World qualifier), Arena Essex (1600cc team meeting and Bob Kitchener Memorial), King’s Lynn (1500cc Figure of 8, 2Litre domestic and Unlimited and small vans), Northampton (2litre domestic), Sheffield (Battle of Britain), Taunton
(Crasharama), Standlake (Mr Bean Memorial) and Eastbourne (1400cc team meeting) which again highlights how the RDC banger drivers are among the most dedicated and committed drivers in the sport.
Tribute to 31 Andy 'Andas' Nicholls (added May 27)
All at RDC would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of former RDC banger racer 31 Andy Nicholls who passed away this weekend.
We understand that Andas passed away in hospital after suffering head injuries when he fell in an accident. He was 30-years-old.
While work and family commitments means it has been a couple of seasons since we last saw Andy in action at RDC his death has still come as a great shock to all those who were fortunate enough to know him.
During his too brief time as a racer at RDC he quickly became a popular member of the RDC banger contingent both through his friendly and likeable attitude and his crash happy approach on track which later saw him become an ideal fit in the Bad News team.
Michael Coventry said: "One of my best memories of Andy was when he visited Arena for a Firecracker in an immaculate looking Austin 3Litre. In his heat the car failed to start but the green flag was waved nonetheless and he was duly wasted without even turning a wheel and making the start line. Speaking to him minutes later he had no
complaints with this incident and simply said 'that's racing.
"All the time he raced at RDC he was a valued member of the pit area, rarely without a smiling and never complaining and while he never won a major championship, his attitude made him a star."
Congratulations to Ant Williams and Mark Shingleton (added May 27)
RDC would like to extend its congratulations to the first championship winners of the season as 26 Ant Williams triumphed in the Bangerstox Southern Championship and 77 Mark Shingleton took the spoils in the Super Rod Kent Championship.
While both drivers were fortunate enough to start their respective races on the front row of the grid, both had to battle hard in each event and victory was certainly not each for either and we are sure they will both be fine champions for the remainder of the 2009 season.
Dover May 25-message of thanks to all drivers (added May 27)
RDC would like to extend its thanks to all those who helped make last weekend's bank holiday meeting at Dover Raceway such a success in spite of the wet weather which hit the track for the final hour or so of the meeting.
With the forecast predicting thunderstorms from 4pm the race was on to try and complete as much of the programme as quickly as possible and thanks to the drivers and the staff at the track we were able to complete a large percentage of the programme before the rain hit during race nine, the rookie banger figure of 8 race. Even more impressive was that thanks to the hard work of the RDC team and the co-operation of the drivers we were able to get through the remaining five races in just over one hour and with the heavy rain largely holding off the caravan race was a great success and rewarded the massive crowd, the majority of which had stayed until the end, with some top entertainment.
Adding to our fortune was that around half an hour after the end of the meeting the track was hit with a very heavy shower which could have completely ruined the final event (much like what happened in 2008) had it come at the wrong time so again thanks to all concerned for assisting in getting through the programme as well as possible.
National Banger May 23 Grand Final result (added May 27)
RDC would like to confirm that a significant change was made to the result of the National Banger Grand Final at Mildenhall on May 23 following the conclusion of the meeting.
An investigation into the result with the aid of the new video replays filmed from the commentary box confirmed that 370 John Cobbold and 247 Lee Clarke, who were initially awarded first and second respectively, went one lap down in the opening laps of the race. Ultimately 183 Bobby Wilmer, who was originally given third place, was deemed the winner ahead of 148 Ian Redden and 318 Terry Chapman.
We would like to apologize for the confusion and also thank all the drivers for their understanding as all five drivers mentioned acted with great sportsmanship and character as the situation was resolved.
Ministox Grades for June (added May 27)
Following the last Ministox meeting at RDC on May 17 at Dover we have the new grades which will come into effect for the next meeting at Dover on June 7.
Silver: 340, 370, 382
Red: 302, 356
Blue: 306, 317, 323 (Vinni Madden), 355, 366, 388
Yellow: 304, 314, 315, 328, 308, 349, 350
RDC drivers are also reminded that bookings for the meeting at Coventry on Friday, July 31 open on June 7 and RDC drivers have until July 11 (Suffolk Open) to book in as after that date places will be opened to non RDC registered racers.
RDC on tour at King’s Lynn May 16 (added May 20)
RDC was well represented at TSR's well supported 2litre banger domestic at King's Lynn on May 16, the entry of over 70 cars including a double figure turn out from RDC which was made up of 74 Nathan Wiggins, 180 Mark Foster, 183 Bobby Wilmer, 324 Mark and 328 Daniel Latham, 391 Wayne and 400 Kevin Shinn, 525 Wes
Starmer, 715 Mick Prince, 801 Jack Foster, 807 Chris Murfin and 897 Matt Battle. 180 Sparky provided one of the biggest pre meeting talking points as he arrived in his new Midnight Runner colours having joined the team the previous week.
Wilmer got heat one underway by fencing 57 Max Stott as 391 Ol Matey was fenced by 285 Sean Dyer and Foster ran in 177 Lee Ivatt well. 316 James Cushion fired Mark Latham into the tyres as Sparky got his attack on lone Blue Crew man 557 John Small all wrong and struck him heavily in the drivers side although despite this and a massive hit from 730 Dean Mayes, Small was unharmed. The race was stopped to check on Small and after an actionless restart Daniel Latham continued his recent form with a win, 400 Shinny taking third, 807 Murf in seventh and Prince ninth.
74 Wiggy fell foul of a first bend push in heat two which was instigated by 70 Ant Long and left him open to a package from 43 Nicky Bishop before 525 Wes opened his account with big follow-in on 07 Darren
Burkitt. After a stoppage for a fire Wes again made an impression on the restart with a truly titanic T-bone on 338 Terry
Garrod. No RDC qualified this time.
Sparky had better luck in the consolation as he followed 269 Greg Mulligan into the stricken Mark Latham and later he administered a brutal hit to 29 Adrian Cling before Wes struck 389 Charlie Garrod over the front wheel which led to some infield exchanges between Wes and 339 Jack Garrod as Sparky continued with a fine follow-in on 6 Rob Bennett. 897 Matt Battle meanwhile raced to his first ever win, Foster took fifth and Sparky eighth.
Daniel Latham hit the spun Cushion over the front wheel early in the final before Battle was fired into the fence by 51 Simon
Heilds, Battle taking the hit on the drivers side which brought the reds out to check on him. Foster was the only RDC in the top 10 come the end, taking eighth.
Sparky dished out a stiff hit to 49 Heilds on the restart as Battle buried 372 Martin Scully only to be destroyed by a hefty hits from Murf and Sparky in turn, Murf continuing to trade hits with 572 Paul Scully and end our interest in the evening.
Unlimited van bangers-a thank you (added May 13)
Once again, all at RDC would like to extend a huge message of thanks to all the banger drivers who made last weekend's annual unlimited van banger such a success and once again made it one of the most entertaining meetings of the year.
Each of the 45 drivers taking part contributed to the fantastic entertainment and action which was served up and RDC certainly appreciates the effort which went in as unlimited vans are not the easiest of machines to trace, build and transport so certainly an extra thank you is deserving to all those who took part and we very much hope they all enjoyed the evening as much as those on the stands appeared to and it was great to see so many fans sticking around to the very end of the destruction derby to witness the final few hits going in.
Just to clarify as there has been a little confusion owing to a mistake on the meeting report. 260 Keith Reynolds was deemed the best entertainer of the Accumulator qualifier/destruction derby while the six entertainers of the meeting awards were handed to 33! Simon Reed, 67 Mark Whittaker, 186 Mick
Gedney, 307 Jon Joe Cunningham, 527 Michael Norman and 807 Chris Murfin and as an added bonus and reward to those six drivers they have all been given places in the Accumulator championship in October as a result.
Congratulations to Luke Grief and Thomas Fox (added May 13)
All at RDC would like to extend their congratulations to 219 Luke Grief who added the Saloon Stockcar English Championship to his growing collection following a spell binding championship race at Mildenhall last Saturday which has got the entire short oval racing community buzzing.
Many are claiming that the big race on Saturday will go down as one of, if not the best stockcar race of the season and it is hard to argue against that with 35 drivers putting on a first class display of stockcar racing which had everything from the big crash involving 127 Steve McMillan and 738 Gary Munn to the thrilling last lap finish.
While all at RDC wish to congratulate Luke on his latest major victory we would also like to thank and congratulate all 37 drivers who competed on Saturday as they were a credit to themselves and the formula and together put on a tremendous night of racing.
RDC would also like to congratulate 322 Thomas Fox on his maiden Ministox victory on Saturday. Sadly the win didn't come in ideal circumstance as he initially crossed the line in the Grand Final in second and then was promoted to first when race winner 301 Trent Artherton failed post race checks. Nonetheless the race win for Fox is a just reward for many seasons of hard work which, until this season at least, had often gone with little reward.
RDC on the road at Coventry and Sheffield (added May 13)
Once again the RDC banger contingent have been putting in the miles and representing RDC on the road. We start at Coventry on May 2 where the venue hosted its first unlimited meeting of the year, the 50 plus entry including 22 Dave Vincent (used A110 Westminster), 57 Stu Cumming, 99 Scott Gough, 148 Ian
Redde, 260 Keith Reynolds, 509 Les Dolan (used Mk2 Granada limo), 715 Mick Prince, 782 Glen Boyce and 917 John Millen (used Mk1 Granada),
The first heat saw 782 Gladis nail 391 Adam Bligden before 134 Gav Smith used his beefy Chevy Caprice estate to run in 57 Dino, 148 Shorty chalking up a 10th. 260 Keefy scored on 67 Rickie Beasley en route to finishing seventh in heat two. Vincent found himself on the wrong end of a big burial from 383 Paul Adams in the third heat with 724 Mark Puddiphat offering a late assist to the latter before Dolan was fenced by 360 Jack Reynolds which set him up for a big hit from 215 Chris Bull.
Onto last weekend and the unlimited Battle of Britain team meeting at Sheffield where 21 Jason Colbert, 192 Terry Nightingale and 277 Des Owen were among the Bad News teams and 180 Mark Foster, 617 Jack Overy and 807 Chris Murfin raced with the Team Black factions.
Colbert notched up a third in heat one while Overy recovered from a spin from 501 Ste Kaye (Grave Diggers) to have Nightingale out. Overy came under immediate fire from 451 Willy Blackwell
(Stinkbridge) in the third heat while Colbert followed in Team Black's 67 Sonny Black before Blackwell T-boned 807 Murf with a hit which came after the reds were waved. 180 Sparky brought the reds back out on the restart when he followed in 313 John Cullingford (Bad News) rolling himself on impact. The final heat saw Colbert assaulted by 32 Matt Small (Team Small) as a spin by 321 Andy Newton (Bad News) fired Overy up to dish out big T-bones to Blackwell and 222 Matt Logan (Demons). Sparky concluded our action with a massive head-on with Blackwell in the demo.
2Litre Banger Hot Shot Championship round up and thank you (added May 6)
A quick line to thank all the drivers for their fantastic support at Mildenhall last weekend (May 2) which helped make the maiden under 25-year-old Hot Shot Championship a huge success.
Although the meeting was a titled meeting, in reality few considered it little more than a 'glorified domestic' so to once again have over 100 bangers in the pits is a tremendous achievement as was the wave of support and enthusiasm shown by the young guns.
While we had several drivers who were originally booked in for the event who had to pull out for varying reasons the final figure of 75 Hot Shots on the evening was most impressive and certainly one for all the 'doom and gloom' merchants who claim the sport has no future. It was also please to report that only six of the drivers on the list heading into the meeting itself failed to arrive without any explanation.
Congratulations to 180 Mark Foster on winning the event as he took another step towards being the next breakout star at RDC as he displayed his true all round ability with some rated hits in his heat to lift an entertainer award before winning the title event.
Other drivers who we felt deserved an extra mention were 802 Ben Jackson who came within one lap of springing a major upset by winning the title and could be one to watch this season while outside of the Hot Shot races full credit is deserving to unsung hero 303 Wayne Linsdale whose endless efforts were rewarded with a heat and final double and Ministox graduate 136 Adrian Court who enjoyed an excellent banger debut and came within laps of a podium finish in the final.
Credit is also deserving to BriSCA F2 Stockcars drivers who 925 Paul Wilson and 495 John Cayzer who crashed heavily into the home straight fence in the final where they remained stranded for the second half of the race. Much like 662 Steve Wycherly and 798 Mark Sargent did in the final laps of the April 18 final, the two drivers, in true stockcar fashion, stayed calm and sat tight for the remainder of the race which ensured a fantastic event was enjoyed by all drivers and fans so well done guys for that.
Bangerstox news and changes (added May 6)
This week we have a couple of important tweaks to announce for the Bangerstox for upcoming meetings at Dover Raceway.
After recent review we have decided to incorporate one of the Super Rod rules into the Bangerstox finals and now at all meetings all red and championship holding drivers will be seeded into the Grand Final even if they fail to net a qualifying position. In return we will only have a small number of drivers who will be red grade at any one time on top of the various champions. This rule has been brought in to reward champions and red grade drivers who will now be guaranteed three races at domestic meetings even if they have a 'bad day'. Please note this will not automatically apply to championship races.
Speaking of championships and the first Bangerstox championship of 2009 is coming up soon with the Southern Championship on Monday, May 25. This race will be the first Bangerstox race of the day and will be open to the top 24 in the track championship after the May 17 meeting and there will be an 'Incarace draw' for grid positions. The meeting remains open to all Bangerstox drivers but those outside those outside the top 24 will only be able to compete in two heat races which will be held after the championship with two heats for the white grade drivers and two heats for the yellow, blue and red graded drivers.
Finally, we announced at the start of the year that we would only move drivers up grades in between grading periods in special circumstances and we had our first case last weekend where 15 Jay Powell stormed to a hat trick of race wins and he will automatically move to the blue grade with immediate effect for the next meeting on May 17.
RDC at pre 75 World Final (added May 6)
RDC were represented at the unlimited pre 75 banger world final at Aldershot on May 3 by 33! Simon Reed, 260 Keith Reynolds, 917 John and 924 Matt Millen who formed part of the 26 car field in some tasty tin. 33! the Legend
wielded an Austin 3Litre, 260 Keefy a sublime Plymouth Satellite and John and Matt raced a trademark Mk10 Jaguar and Rover P5 respectively.
The main event was first with Matt Millen being spun by 395 Joe Donworth's immaculate 6/110 while the Legend was punted into the marker tyres by the Trummy of 433 Ben Smith. Keefy meanwhile wound out 439 Danny Sutton's raw Westy only to be fenced by 395 the West Howe Warrior but he recovered to put away 384 John Golden's well used Westy as John Millen registered a fine fifth, 528 Alan Hunt retaining the title in a rapid Mk1 Granada hearse.
Keefy put his rated Yank to good use in the Allcomers with a killer hit on Smith before the Legend took a real pounding, T-boned by 439 Sutty causing him to be collected near the door by John Millen before he was blown up by the Volvo 164 of 670 Richard Flockton which left the Legend shaken but he soon exited ok when the race was stopped. The race then saw an epic wrecking train on the top bend in which Keefy flattened 670 Tricky in style.
Keefy returned for the final event and starred in the demo, coming under fire from the repaired Smith and the Rover P5 of 24 Jason Cuddihy but the RDC man bounced back to blow up 24 Stinky with a big hit before he was silenced by 35 Rob Jopling's cool Majestic in the fight for the win.
RDC extend best wishes to Pete Corbett (added May 6)
All at RDC would like to extend their best wishes to Buxton based banger racer 470 Pete Corbett who was in a 'calm, but critical condition' following a very nasty on track accident at Buxton on Monday, May 4.
We last saw Pete in action in March for the BBA Supreme Championship where as always his conduct and attitude both on and off track was a credit to himself, Buxton Raceway and the sport as a whole and we wish him the best for a full and speedy recovery.
Video section added to RDC website (added April 29)
Those who visited the site since last weeks news update may have spotted a new section which has been added to the site where we hope to regularly offer links to some internet video packages from recent RDC meetings.
On Good Friday we introduced live race footage on the TVs in the stadium bars at Mildenhall with this footage being replayed in between races and then the highlights being used to make a video highlight package which will be screened prior to the next meeting.
However we are now hoping to have smaller highlight package put on the internet with links to the footage being added to our video page which was launched last week. The first 2minute clip is from Good Friday and includes some of the days biggest 1400cc banger crashes and 327 Michael Maskall capturing his first Ministox race win.
While the footage which is screened at Mildenhall meetings is not available for sale we have worked out a deal which means the highlights of the year will be put on one crash DVD at the end of the season which we believe will be a must buy for all armchair spectators and we will have more information on this when it becomes available.
RDC on tour at Cowdenbeath and Nutts Corner
(added April 29)
RDC was represented in the unlimited banger BBA World Cup at Cowdenbeath on
Saturday, April 25 by 782 Glen Boyce and 917 John Millen who turned out an XJ
and Mk1 Granada respectively with both cars smartly presented. Sadly neither had
much luck in the main event, the former failing to start with engine problems
while Millen was an early casualty of a massive home straight blockage in the
title race which was won by world champion 27 Dale Hughes.
Both recovered well with 782 Gladis dishing out a massive hit to 303 Jason Oliver in the consolation while Millen finished fourth in a destructive Open Scottish Championship. Also present was new RDC signing 509 Les Dolan who got two races out of his Mk2 Granada limo, his machine taking a real hammering in the consolation.
Meanwhile the following afternoon
saw RDC's 133 Karl Day join the Bears at the unlimited banger Shamwreck at Nutts
Corner in Ireland with 133 Karly winning the main event so big congratulations
to him from all at RDC on his success.
Message of thanks to BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers
(added April 22)
RDC would like to extend a thank you to all the BriSCA F2 Stockcar drivers who adapted so well to the last minute change of format. Following the current trend of lower fields for the formula across the country in 2009 we had anticipated a smaller field of cars than what we have enjoyed in the past but we had hoped to reach 36 cars and hold a traditional full format for the formula.
However we fell just short of this goal and with around half an hour to go until start time the difficult decision was made to change the format to a two, thirds heat system which also involved moving the second heat from race two of the programme to later in the night.
Despite the change coming at the last minute all of the drivers responded to the changes very well and helped contribute to the meeting running so smoothly and the format change also produced some fine racing from the formula and so again our thanks to all those involved.
RDC on tour at Aldershot, King’s Lynn and St Day (added April 22)
Last Sunday (April 19) saw RDC represented by 260 Keith Reynolds and 617 Jack Overy at Aldershot for an unlimited domestic meeting with both drivers involved throughout the afternoon. 260 Keefy stuffed 536 Annette Nicholls in the opening heat before Overy sent 730 Dean Mayes crashing into 228 Dan Caplin in heat four, 730 Deano responded by stuffing the triple world champion into a marker tyre which left Overy open to a big hit from 40 Dave Wilde. Overy repaired for the final and his effort was rewarded as he evened the score on 40 Wildy with a big revenge hit before he blasted the spun 2 Luke Dawson with a head-on.
Heading back to the Easter weekend and we look at the 2Litre Banger Commentators Cup at King’s Lynn on April 13 where there was a large RDC presence. 11 Pippa Cable, 79 Ricky
Twell, 99 Scott Gough, 176 Ady Gibbs, 183 Bobby Wilmer, 192 Stu Warby, 209 Ben Hayward, 303 Wayne
Linsdale, 324 Mark Latham, 401 Steve Hemmings, 444 James Patrick, 525 Wes
Starmer, 650 Ashley Shippey, 715 Mick Prince and 778 Aaron Boness were among the 70 plus entry with special credit heading to 192 Fat Head who had raced at St Day the previous afternoon.
Patrick was stuffed by 249 Ty Bisset early in heat one before 525 Wes followed in the Mk3 Cortina of 372 Martin Scully and then he latched onto 572 Paul Scully which in turn rattled 88 Ash Burton into the plating. Latham meanwhile was followed in by 149 Wayne Bailey as Wes destroyed Martin Scully with a series of heavy blows. Latham meanwhile motored to a rare victory with Patrick spinning 285 Sean Dyer, only to fence himself in the process en route to second. Wilmer took fourth.
401 Psycho nailed 551 Danny Blackwell in heat two only to take one from 99 Goffy in turn with 97 Glenn Woodward then running 638 Michael Walls into the Brampton based RDC pilot. Psycho took further abuse from Woodward and 247 Lee Clarke while Goffy went on to finish sixth, 176 Gibbo seventh, Shippey ninth and 79 Twelly in 10th.
Psycho was in the wars again in the consolation as 390 Dave Gibson buried him which also claimed 389 Charlie Garrod while Prince began a lively display by running 60 Kyle Stevenson into Walls. Prince then picked up 73 Dean Cruickshank and followed him head-on into the vacated car of 317 Nick Wakeham before he also blew up 128 Andy Lack nicely. Wes took third, 11 Pe Pe claimed fifth and Latham seventh.
Prince continued to entertain in the final as he fenced Twelly while Gibbo crashed into the spun 238 Graham Garrod and struck the fence as a result. Wes put Goffy away as Gibbo bounced back to follow-in 730 Dean Mayes and then collect Wes which sent the latter into the plating, the latter bouncing back to nail 338 Terry Garrod after the chequered had fallen. Wes finished in ninth with Prince 10th.
Wes again nailed Martin Scully in the Allcomers as Psycho blasted 886 Adrian French only to take one from 450 Glyn Platts in turn with Prince powering into the Stinkbridge man a second later. 51 Simon Heilds then connected with a big hit on Psycho as Wes dished out a stiff shot on 174 Curtis Rathbone before Twelly blasted Heilds only to take one in turn from
Platts. Twelly still finished second with Goffy taking eighth.
Wes provided our only interest in the DD with a stiff T-bone on 89 Jake Lakin which also ended his involvement in the event.
Finally we look at St Day on April 12 for the annual 1800cc Banger Boneshayker where RDC was represented by 19 Joe
Mullarkey, the aforementioned Fat Head and Aftermath members 400 Kevin Shinn, 602 Shaun, 603 John and 604 Ross Cooper, the majority receiving either a further traveled or smart car award.
The ‘Math were well involved in the opener as 603 the Younger Hitman fenced 207 Michael Woodward before 400 Shinny delivered the first big hit of the day when he followed in 511 Dan
Crosbie, rolling the latter on impact to bring the reds out but not before 604 Ross Cooper followed in 55 James
Ogborn. The Younger Hitman nailed 96 Dave Tancock on the restart before 602 Mr Moody made his mark with a head-on to 57 James Reeves only to then be dumped into the banking by 66 Dave Spooner. Mr Moody was then fired into the tyres by 190 Steve Bailey but he soon regained his form to run in 96 Dave
Tancock.
The Aftermath featured again in the consolation where the Younger Hitman buried 131 Stephen Cock into Reeves before 249 Darren Brock buried 714 Paul Smaldon into the former. 76 Kaylee Spooner nailed the Younger Hitman only to take a big revenge hit from Shinny in turn. 262 Buddy James then stuffed 650 Jamie Seery into Shinny, but the latter recovered to pile Mullarley into 76 Tigger’s wreck.
Mr Moody was fenced by 55 Oggy in the early stages of the final but he responded with a head-on to 239 Steve Carter only to take a shot from 241 Liam Cracknell in turn. Fat Head concluded our interest in the meeting as he was stuffed by 747 Liam Martin in the Allcomers which also claimed 747 Chris
Pearse.
Reminder of rules for 2Litre all RWD and unlimited banger meetings (added April 22)
With one or two other promotions running different variations to rules for banger meetings which are coming up on the RDC fixture list we thought it would be appropriate to just confirm the rules for our 2litre RWD Banger meeting (at Mildenhall on July 26) and all three unlimited banger meetings at RDC in 2009.
The 2litre RWD rules remain the same as last year, all 2litre RWD cars are ok except Mk1 and Mk2 Granadas and big Volvos. Everything else is fine but no FWD or 4 x 4 cars converted to RWD for the meeting and 2litre Pinto engine transplants are allowed in all cars.
In unlimited bangers, no FWD cars are allowed (except Yanks or cars with permission) at any of the unlimited meetings at RDC in 2009 including the domestic meeting at Mildenhall in September.
And before anyone asks...Mondeos are not allowed at either type of meeting.
Message to all Banger drivers re fin plates (added April 22)
Over the last few weeks we have seen an upsurge in banger drivers using some very smart looking fin plates on their cars, although while the plates are very smart to look at they are causing some problems for our staff, in particular the lap scorers.
The biggest problem has been the fin plates which are based around colourful photos of the drivers and while again they are very smart to look at up close and in the pits they can be tricky to lap score, especially at Mildenhall, where we will be the first to admit the lighting isn't the greatest but remains something out of our control.
We would like to remind all drivers that the best colours to use on fin plates are black on white or white on black and to stress to drivers that should any mistakes be made with the difficult job of lap scoring, those with such fancy fin plates are likely to receive little sympathy.
Bangerstox Masters Championship qualifying points (added April 22)
Following the first of this year’s Masters qualifiers for the Bangerstox at Dover on April 13 here is an expanded list of the early points chart. The top 24 drivers in the final chart will qualify for the championship and the second round is on June 21
25 Lee Barrett 36pts
5 Ian Norris 33
32 Gary Austin 27
20 Shannon McMahon 26
61 Ken Hollamby 25
22 Lee Kembrey 24
49 Pete Back 24
64 Aaron Harris 21
90 Jay Sedgwick 21
24 Stu Buddle 20
15 Jay Powell 18
87 Bobby Miles 18
77 Sam Miles 18
3 George Forbes 16
29 Craig Groombridge 16
17 John Lingham 16
79 Jodie Bannister 13
41 Jim Fisher 12
45 Dave Back 12
27 Michael Godfrey 11
1 Del Jarman 10
78 10
7 Andy Clayton 7
46 Pete Gaynor 7
11 Steve Sedgwick 6
48 Ryan Fisher 6
56 Dean Maitland 6
72 Andy Hodges 6
Super Rods Masters Championship qualifying points (added April 22)
Following the first of this year’s Masters qualifiers for the Super Rods at Dover on April 13 here is an expanded list of the early points chart. The top 16 drivers in the final chart will qualify for the championship and the second round is on June 21
28 Andrew Donavan 31pts
77 Mark Shingleton 31
121 Nigel Goodwin 29
66 Andy Reeve 28
41 Pete Emson 24
21 Kevin Hickey 21
222 Dick Tracey 20
88 Jason Anderson 19
85 Jack Miles 15
11 Gary Ward 14
03 James Keep 7
9 Rob Edwards 6
44 Steve Harrington 6
7 Dave Ward 5
8 Trevor Wright 5
76 Oliver Jarvis 5
Reliant Robins World Championship qualifying points (added April 22)
With the fourth round of the 2009 Reliant Robin World Championship qualifying rounds now complete we can also bring you an expanded list of the current points chart.
Once again it is looking like a very popular world championship campaign with over 50 drivers having competed in the series so far which once again means drivers are going to have to work hard to secure a place in the top 28 and qualify for the championship final at Mildenhall this summer.
In the meantime the current points chart looks as follows with the next round at Dover on May 4
38 Gary Palmer 100pts
339 Lee Pullen 78
433 Andy Parker 76
512 Chris Barnett 63
285 Sean Dyer 59
553 Daniel Douglas 57
16 Ray Layton 52
85 James Ellis 49
224 Dave Canham 48
484 Gary Harvey 47
485 Gary Archer 44
275 Phil Rowbottom 41
66 Steve Willis 38
30 James Donavan 34
129 Dan Chaplin 31
499 Tom Atkins 29
29 Steve Donavan 27
46 John Coombs 27
576 Colin Aldred 27
554 Chalky Douglas 26
351 Tut Knowles 24
399 Darron Atkins 24
114 Paul Jenkins 23
87 Barry Richards 22
197 Tom Tatham 21
115 Josh Collins 19
116 Sam Summerhays 19
398 Lea Atkins 19
116 Damien Andrews 17
28 David Donavan 15
32 Paul Powell 15
3 Danielle Hewitt 14
96 Ian Robins 14
265 Brian Willis 14
470 Simon Lattimer 14
94 Mick Acheillous 13
150 Mike Hewitt 13
211 Lee Cowley 12
185 Ben Oliver 10
272 Martin Vella 10
851 Adam Storr 10
Easter weekend round up and thank you (added April 16)
After a massive Easter weekend at RDC, we would like to express a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the massive success of both meetings held over the weekend.
Good Friday saw RDC stage its biggest race meeting of the year with over 260 drivers in action at Mildenhall on Good Friday and there was an equally marvellous start to RDC’s 10th anniversary season at Dover with the pits rammed to capacity with around 125 race cars and a fabulous crowd enjoying the action.
We would like to thank the drivers, their teams and families as always for their continued support in making both meetings so well attended and so action packed, to the fans who once again despite the financial uncertainty in the country turned out in such huge numbers and also to the RDC team at both venues who worked so hard behind the scenes.
As always there were several things which didn’t go quite as we had planned, the most significant being the length of time the Good Friday meeting took to complete at Mildenhall, the massive 17 race meeting (which included 12 banger races of which only two had under 40 car grids) weighing in at a whopping seven hours long. In all honesty there is no reason for the meeting taking so long other than the sheer size of the meeting itself and after further investigation the only way we can see to shorten the length of the event would be to downsize it. Obviously there are many pros and cons to this and it will give us much to think about over the next few months.
Here are a few other quick thoughts and points from the Easter weekend at RDC.
Thanks to everyone at Mildenhall Stadium who observed the minutes silence in memory of Jamie ‘Percy’ Percival prior to the first banger heat so well. We have this week received an e mail from a close family friend thanking you all as well and it’s safe to say that the round of applause at the end was both fitting and moving. Thank you to you all.
The new rule (which was introduced last summer) to allow 1600cc RWD cars in 1400cc Banger meetings proved most successful with a large amount of RWD machinery in action on Good Friday, including a double figure turn out of Cortinas and it was no great surprise to report that much of this machinery was well involved on the action front.
One big talking point has been 158 Shane Davies’ massive hit on 595 Andrew Tarn which some felt broke RDC’s new rule about T-boning against the Armco. It should be stressed again, as it was over the PA immediately after the hit, that upon closer inspection (mainly thanks to our new live video coverage and action replays-more on that in a minute) that at the point of impact Tarn was several feet away from the Armco and it was the force of the impact which left the car pinned against the fence afterwards. Furthermore the main bulk of the hit was directed over the front passenger side wheel, not directly through the passenger doors and therefore it was a legal hit. It should also be pointed out that 542 Ray Outhwaite’s attack on 157 Michael Piggott (which seems to have escaped any internet scrutiny) was perhaps closer to breaking the new rule as 157 Piglet was against the wall when the hit was delivered. However again this hit was directed at the passenger side front wheel and not the passenger doors and therefore was deemed legal. The new RDC rules will certainly take time to settle in and are under constant review but in both cases at Good Friday this rule was not broken.
Congratulations to Ministox drivers 306 Daniel Parker and 327 Michael Maskall Jnr on their first wins of their career on Good Friday and also to 322 Thomas Fox on scoring his maiden trophy. In a season which started with us expected a drop in Ministox numbers at RDC, the form of the formula has been every bit as good, if not better than seasons past and is a credit to all the drivers in the formula.
While the Dover season opener was a huge success, sadly the scenes at the end of the first banger heat tarnished the day somewhat. It is even more disappointing to report that none of the guilty parties where the drivers themselves who kept their business where it should be, on the track and furthermore were very proactive in calming the situation down and condemning the actions of those involved. The entire incident is being investigated at present and punishments will be forthcoming as this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated at RDC and all drivers are again reminded of the importance of being responsible for all those associated with you as when they misbehave it will be your racing they will ruin.
On a much more positive note, it was great to see such good turnouts in all the formulas. Even with a Reliant Robin meeting at King’s Lynn attracting a few RDC regulars we enjoyed one of our best 3-wheeler turnouts and meetings at the track and what we believe was a record breaking turnout in the Bangerstox. We were particularly impressed with the standard of presentation by many drivers in the Bangerstox so again well done everyone.
Congratulations to Jack Overy and great news for RDC banger drivers (added April 16)
All at RDC would like to extend a massive congratulations to 617 Jack Overy for lifting the unlimited banger World figure of 8 Championship at Northampton on Easter Monday.
Adding to the RDC success on the afternoon was 898 Andy Battle who took another step towards stardom with a fine third place in his debut appearance at the event confirming that two thirds of the podium came from RDC. 528 Alan Hunt was the runner up.
Overy’s win means he makes even more history in the sport as he now holds an incredible three world championships as he is also the reigning PRI and Autospeed world champion-an amazing achievement.
Furthermore Overy’s win carries great news for the rest of the RDC banger contingent as the winner of the World Figure of 8 bags a wildcard place in the Spedeworth World Final for unlimited bangers in November. So with Overy already locked in the championship we will now see five RDC drivers on the grid come this November. Should Overy be in the top four in the RDC Drivers Points Championship come the end of the season then the fifth places driver will be offered the spot.
Thanks to Andy Hankin for this photo of the top three. At the front is Spedeworth director Deane Wood who we suspect got in the shot in a bid to try and make picture of the week on the RDC website. Bad luck Deane you've been foiled-you'll have to make do with the news page!!!
Old Skool team championship qualifying points chart (added April 16)
We are now just one step away from establishing our line up for the National Banger Old Skool team championship at Mildenhall in September.
At last years championship we outlined some large changes for the 2009 event in which we would reduce the entry to 12 teams (of eight) rather than 14 teams (of six).
We also explained that the places would be offered via a tweaked use of the RDC Team Championship Points. The 2008 RDC team champions, defending Old Skool champions, 2008 Mildenhall team champions, 2009 Suffolk Open team champions and 2009 Kent team champions would be offered places first and the remaining places would be offered via the points scored in the team championship at the 2008 Old Skool and Mildenhall team championships plus the 2009 Suffolk Open and Kent team championships.
So we already know the Predators, Gypsy Crew, Team Green and Young Guns are locked in (providing they wish to compete) and with just one more meeting to go to determine the points chart used to determine the remaining places, we thought we would include the chart here which looks as follows.
In the case of a tie for the final positions first refusal will go to the teams who have attended the most team meetings in the last 12 months. Should that not settle things it will go to a team with the most Old Skool experience.
Gypsy Crew 41pts
Predators 41
Young Guns 35
Team Green 32
Dover Boys 28
Midnight Runners 24
Allstars 20
Gladiators 20
Team Flash 20
Common Crushers 19
Aftermath 18
Bad News 18
Damage Inc 18
Team Kamikaze 18
Bits and Bobs 15
Lean Team 15
Motley Krew 15
The Critters 15
Twisted Metal 15
Thattadoo 13
The Convicts 13
Crash Zone 11
Banger Wags 10
Cowboys 10
Renegades 10
The Contenders 10
WI Engineering 10
Clangers 8
Condoms 8
Crash Attack 8
Manic Messers 8
The Rejects 8
Points update explanation (added April 16)
For anyone wondering (well there might be one or two of you) we are still working on getting all the points charts completed after the very busy Easter weekend and we will have the points page updated asap, hopefully before the weekend. We also aim to have some expanded championship qualifying charts in next weeks news update.
RDC on tour at King's Lynn and Arena (added April 8)
Even with no RDC meeting this weekend there were several licensed drivers in action at the weekend. Our coverage begins at King's Lynn on April 4 for their 2litre all RWD session, 21 Jason Colbert racing to victory in a white top race in which 430 Andy Jones copped a hit from 137 Ben Edgington. 99 Ritchie Ahern fired 285 Sean Dyer into the fence in the first heat while 715 Mick Prince was stuffed by 47 Chris Malkin in the final which also claimed Colbert. The RDC pairing were stuffed into the fence together a second time by 555 Sam Gelsthorpe. Colbert returned for the demo where he enjoyed a head-on with Gelsthorpe before he was wasted with a stunning hit from 349 Michael Allard whole Jones was wrecked by 348 Sonny Sherwood.
Onto Arena on April 5 where 50 Reece Laybourn represented the Blue Crew against the Midnight Runners and was arguably the star of his team with a killer one man display against the odds. He first came under fire from 57 Harry Rawlings, a hit he later repaid. Following a couple of stoppages the RDC young gun enjoyed a head-on with 208 Jimmy Randall before taking one from 188 Matt Fuller. With Laybourn now the last man standing for his team he sat tight for an absolutely monster hit from 188 Smoker and kept his wreck going for a shot from 242 Ricky Korpiela and a hit after the reds from 190 Steve Bailey. The Runners took a convincing win while Laybourn received a large amount of applause upon exiting his wreck.
Among the supporting cast were 54 Martin Lawton, 105 Bill Standing, 200 Wayne Holton and 460 Lewis Barber but it was a quiet day, 403 Marcus Sprawling hitting 105 BillBob on the nose in heat two which also saw 54 Splat buried with a drivers side up attack from 49 Billy King.
Tribute to 'Percy' Jamie Percival (added April 8)
RDC would like to express its deepest sympathies to the friends and family of PRI banger driver 265 Jamie Percival, known more commonly as Percy, who died from a long term illness at the weekend, aged just 24.
Perhaps best known for his colourful and time consuming paint work, Percy was never recognised as a leading star in the sport but his attitude to banger racing made him a credit to the sport which he loved so dearly.
While he was a PRI registered racer we were fortunate enough to enjoy the company of Jamie a couple of times in 2008 where his character made a lasting impression.
Michael Coventry said: "I never got to know Percy that well but I have one very clear memory of him which I won't forget.
"He came to Mildenhall to race last May where he had a truly rotten night. His car failed to run in his heat and again in the consolation he suffered mechanical issues which resulted in him getting wasted without him completing a lap.
"At the end of the meeting he came to the commentary box to request a booking for the pre 70 meeting the following weekend. After I joked that I thought the meeting might have put him off Mildenhall for life he told me that instead he'd had a great night. When I asked why he told me, 'Because everyone I have met tonight has been smiling and having a good time and that's what I've come for'.
"The sport truly needs more of his kind, his attitude will not be forgotten and neither will he."
A minutes silence in memory of Percy is planned for Good Friday at Mildenhall and will be held prior to the first banger heat of the evening which is race three on the programme.
One Wild Night round up and thank you (added April 1)
On the heels of RDC’s One Wild Night 2009 at Mildenhall Stadium last week, all at RDC would like to once again extend a large thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the evening.
While there was no getting away from the fact that the wet weather in the days leading up to the meeting combined with a heavy downpour just minutes before the start of the first race, ruined the main event of the evening and also had an adverse effect on at least the following three races of the night. Mercifully there was no rain during the night and following race four the track conditions got better and better throughout the night producing some great racing from both formulas which is a testament to how much work has gone into the track in recent weeks.
While the BBA Supreme Championship race was a disappointment in many areas that should not in any way take away the fantastic achievement of RDC’s 188 John ‘Victor’ Reeves who won the biggest race of his 15 plus year career. Arguably RDC’s most dedicated racer last season and an MVP of the RDC ranks for many years he is most deserving of the prestigious title and he drove a faultless race against more than 40 of the sports best and in far from ideal conditions to take the title and we are confident he will be a very worthy champion.
The weather ahead of and during the main event wasn’t the only disappointments of the evening. Sadly the main event got underway slightly later than we would have liked. This was caused by one or two late arrivals for the championship (although our thanks to 349 Michael Allard for notifying us of the problems he was having), one of the seeded entries failing to honour their booking resulting in an 11th hour switch to one of the available reserves and also because of some technical problems behind the scenes getting the transponder system ready. However we should stress that the transponder system proved vital on the night, given the nature of the race and once again it was worth the extra effort and we hope to see this system used in other championship events in the sport.
The second disappointment was that a handful of banger drivers failed to get out for one of the heat races. We understand pit road was a very busy place that night and that mistakes may have been made although we are extremely grateful to all our staff who worked tirelessly throughout the night, although we are sorry for anyone who lost out. On the subject of our hard working team, thanks to everyone for getting through the 12 race programme (which boasted eight banger races) in just over four hours which was achieved by a great amount of work by all concerned behind the scenes.
On the other side of the coin the experiment of having the Supreme Championship race did work on the grounds that it allowed several of the finalists to compete in several races during the night which was one of the main reasons for the change in the programme. We have much to discuss about whether the experiment worked and whether the format will remain the same for 2010 but we are very pleased that one of our main goals was achieved.
It wasn’t just new Supreme Champion 188 Victor who shone on the night but there were many others who impressed, these included 157 Michael Piggott on his fine full contact display and keeping his wrecked Mondeo running until the bitter end, 502 Kayligh Dighton, 179 Shaun Rushton and 409 Carl Pears also excelled with their wrecking exploits and young gun 313 Craig Osbourne opened some peoples eyes with a lively performance and all three Midnight Runners earned much praise for their stand against the odds against the Cream Team and Blue Crew ranks.
On the racing front, 22 Dave Vincent was once again showing the old form which seemed to escape him so many times last season, 682 Paul Sparrow continued his climb up the RDC ranks with some fine results and young gun 673 Darren Fendley also impressed with a pair of wins.
We are also very grateful to everyone who contributed to getting all the drivers and fans into the stadium without a repeat of the problems we experienced at the season opener. Nearly 200 cars filled the pits Saturday night and again we were blessed with a tremendous turnout of fans for the occasion. We are sure everyone noticed just how busy the Motor-X raceway and its pits and car park was as well for their major event at the weekend so all in all the stadium was an incredibly busy place at the weekend. Despite this and thanks to everyone’s help we didn’t suffer with a repeat of the terrible congestion problems we suffered on March 14 so to everyone who played a part in this, a heartfelt thank you to you all.
Speaking of the turnout of drivers and fans again and yet again we find the level of support we are receiving to be nothing short of amazing. Given the state of the country’s economy coupled with the uncertain weather for the weekends meeting we are once again blown away by all your support so again thank you to you all.
Important news regarding new season at Dover Raceway (added April 1)
It is no secret that the land which houses Dover Raceway is under new ownership for 2009 which means some very important changes for the forthcoming season which begin with immediate effect from the season opener on Easter Monday, April 13.
Firstly no cars can now be left at the track either the night before or the night of a meeting. All cars must be brought and taken from the track on the day of the meeting without exception. If there is anyone who needs to do a ‘double run’ on the morning of a meeting, they will be allowed early access to the pits but this must be arranged in advance with a strict time on when they can leave the raceway to avoid causing congestion on the road into the track.
Secondly there is to be no engine noise at all prior to 11am and driver found guilty of breaking this rule runs the risk of losing their meeting while repeat offenders may suffer longer suspensions from racing.
Finally all Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers are reminded that day licenses are not available in either formula and that any driver intending to race at the season opener must be licensed prior to the meeting as no licensing will be carried out on the day of the meeting. Drivers are also reminded that no race numbers are being reserved any more and all remaining race numbers are up for grabs.
Day licenses are available for National Bangers on the day of the meeting but if any driver wishes to take out a full license for the season opener at Dover, this also needs to be done prior to the Easter Monday fixture.
Important message to all RDC drivers re fighting and violent behaviour (added March 25)
This week RDC would like to issue an important message to all RDC registered drivers following an
unprecedented move in which no less than six drivers have been issued with a one year ORC ban this week following various incidents, all involving fighting and violent behaviour.
What is most unusual is that only one of these incidents had any connection to an actual race meeting at an RDC venue and therefore the message is clear. It doesn't matter if you are watching, racing or helping a friend or team mate or whether it is a race meeting or otherwise, if you are involved in any kind of physical violence at an ORC venue and you are positively
identified you will be facing a one year ban in accordance to the ORC rules.
RDC on tour at King's Lynn, Arena Essex and Aldershot (added March 25)
As expected it was a busy weekend for many RDC banger drivers who could be found in action at King's Lynn, Arena Essex and Aldershot.
In action at King's Lynn on March 21 for the unlimited East Anglian championship were 79 Ricky Twell, 99 Scott Gough, 133 Karl Day, 138 Jason Smy, 148 Ian Redden, 176 Ady Gibbs, 192 Stu Warby, 260 Keith Reynolds, 286 Robin Ling, 401 Steve Hemmings, 425 Martin Stopher, 488 Duane Collins, 525 Wes Starmer, 782 Glen Boyce (who failed to race), 879 Reg Reed, 898 Andy Battle and 917 John Millen. Our line up boasted a lush looking Volvo 240 estate for 99 Goffy, Smy returned his Mk2 Granada limo from Gala Night, 192 Fat Head had his Rover P5 from the Icebreaker and 260 Keefy returned a Laurel, 425 Mr Vauxhall had a smart looked Omega estate and Battle returned his saloon from the World Final.
879 Wrecked Reg put away 451 Willy Blackwell in the opener only to suffer a similar fate at the hands of 804 Ben Small who had earlier attacked Smy. Our involvement with the Stinkbridge party continued as 450 Glyn Platts blasted 286 Lingo and 401 Psycho ran in Blackwell. 525 Wes ended the race with a stiff package on Smy only to take one in turn from Blackwell which was delivered just after the reds. Battle raced from the back to finish fourth while Wrecked Reg also qualified in 10th.
Fat Head combined with 421 Nigel Riley to invert the smart P5 Rover of 230 Dean Moljourd in the second heat which also saw 79 Twelly divert to the concrete to blast 791 Nicky Young but despite this he was still awarded sixth place.
No RDC involvement in the final heat so onto the consolation where 148 Shorty T-boned Goffy in the midst of an early pile-up and Mr Vauxhall splintered the smart Mk1 Granada hearse of 282 Simon Daniels in the same blockage. Wes was then thundered into the heap by 215 Chris Bull snapping his Volvo well while Millen copped one from the Granada hearse of 292 Keith Saunders who was blitzed in turn by 488 United, the latter going on to finish second.
Onto the final where the lively Wrecked Reg fenced 512 Lewis Harvey before the Predator T-boned 443 Dave Harvey and then later crashed into the infield tyres. Battle was again our top scorer finishing in fifth.
831 Shane Fry buried Keefy at the start of the Allcomers but he bounced back to blast 791 Spud in the middle of a road bend wrecking train. However his Laurel was wasted big time when 537 Martin Brunon thundered 421 Nutty Nige into him as on the opposite bend Twelly blitzed 86 Charlie Haller only to be wrecked in turn by 174 Dave Osborn who was nailed in turn by Reg. Battle continued his fine form with a fourth while Mr Vauxhall took sixth.
Onto Arena for a 2litre domestic on March 22 where RDC fielded newly licensed 6 Leew West and 200 Wayne Holton and the latter's Thattadoo team mate 54 Martin Lawton who made his track debut plus 50 Reece Laybourn, 105 Billy Standing and 460 Lewis Barber the latter pair a part of a large showing of the Cream Team on their first outing in over a year.
54 Splat registered a fine third in his track debut in the first heat while West blasted 244 Colin Burnham hard in the final which also saw Laybourn hit 331 Jason Jackson head-on after the latter had been knocked out by a nasty but accident drivers door hit from 539 Michael Outen and a huge blitz from 552 Karl Douglas although Laybourn would have had no way of knowing the Runner was in distress. Barber finished fifth and 200 Skippy claimed ninth.
Unfortunately information from the 1600cc Aldershot Open is currently in short supply but we do know that RDC young gun 362 Liam Friel was one of the afternoons entertainer award winners so congratulations to him.
Season opener round up and statement from RDC (added March 18)
Following the tremendous season opener at Mildenhall last weekend, RDC would like to extend a huge message of thanks to all the drivers and fans who supported the night.
Heading into the meeting, while we were hopeful of a good turnout in all three formulas we never expected anywhere near the levels of cars which actually turnout, the final totals being 128 National Bangers, 29 Saloon Stockcars and 32 Ministox making a grand total of 189 cars for what was essentially a domestic meeting, an incredible turnout and one we are immensly proud off.
And the standard of the racing was second to none with each of the 13 races on the card delivering some fantastic action which was well received by the large crowd which turned out to enjoy the evening. Considering the economic climate the country is in to receive such high levels of support for a 'run of the mill' meeting is simply amazing and we are truly thankful to each and every person who contributed to the
success of Saturday night in some capacity.
However there was one very large drawback to Saturday night's meeting, which was the late start and the subsequent late finish. Note we did not say the time it took to run the meeting as we were ready to bring the cars on for the 13th race of the night (the seventh banger race of the evening) at just past the four hour mark and had we started on time it is likely we would have finished at an acceptable time but sadly this was not the case. However we would like to thank all the RDC for their hard work in getting through the programme as quickly as possible.
The delay to the start of the meeting was not only caused by trying to get the massive amount of racers for the evening, in particular the mind blowing turnout of National Bangers, into the pits, but also because of several other factors which included many drivers racing on the evening completing their 2009 licenses on arrival which took extra time, an amount of people attending the motor-x event which took place at the stadium on Sunday arriving on Saturday and also because of several spectators parking their cars on the road outside the stadium rather than in the car park in order to make a quick getaway.
These factors caused a massive tailback down the road leading to and from the stadium and we would like to apologize to all those people who were caught in it, especially the local residents who were not heading to the stadium and we would like to express our determination to not see a repeat of the chaotic scenes outside the stadium seen on Saturday.
However in order to achieve this we do need the continued support of our drivers and fans. We would appeal to all drivers to try and make sure they have all the correct monies needed when they book in. We hope to have signage up in future meetings on the pit road with all the information and your help here would really speed things along.
Furthermore we would strongly urge all fans, especially those who do arrive early, to please park in the car park. We understand why people do park there and we don't wish to stop anyone from making a quick getaway when they choice to leave. But we would please ask people to park in the car park and if you do want to make a quick escape they feel free to park as near the exit as possible. Cars parked on the road into the stadium, especially so early in the afternoon contributes to the jams we experienced Saturday because it prevents two way traffic on that road and results in grid lock so again we would very much appreciate everyone’s help on this matter.
More improvements made at Mildenhall Stadium (added March 18)
Fans who joined us at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday night and enjoyed the action from the road bend may have noticed the latest improvements which has been made to the venue.
While the large acoustic fence which stretches from turn one to three is clear for all to see what is perhaps less clear is that a new wall has been built around the perimeter of the track in the same area and is coupled with a new concrete path as well which is another part of the ongoing enhancements at the stadium.
Jack Overy sets new record (added March 18)
World Champion 617 Jack Overy marked his maiden outing at Mildenhall as an RDC with a record breaking performance on March 14.
Overy, already one of the handful of drivers to have registered a hat trick of wins in a single meeting at Mildenhall in RDC's 16 year history at the venue, not only won three of his four events of the night claiming Final, Accumulator qualifier and Destruction Derby but he also set what we believe was an all time high score for a driver at a single meeting at Mildenhall.
Being a British qualifying round and all races carrying double points and a four race win maximum carried a potential to score 104 points. Having finished third in his heat Overy dropped just four points Saturday and racked up an amazing 100 point score which we believe is a certainly a record at Mildenhall and possibly a record for RDC.
Message to all Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers (added March 18)
With the start of the 2009 season at Dover Raceway just a few weeks away Bangerstox and Super Rod drivers are reminded that in order to retain their numbers used last season they need to license asap.
Race numbers are no longer being reserved for drivers who raced last year and all remaining numbers are now available so if you want to guarantee your traditional race number you need to license as soon as possible.
RDC on tour at Raid and Shakedown (added March 11)
As expected RDC was well represented at Ipswich on March 7 for the annual staging of the 1600cc Banger Raid, the entry of just over 100 cars including 8 Dale Woolnough, 61 Karl Totham, 86 Alec Savage, 101 Richard Rayner, 145 Chris Abbott, 183 Bobby Wilmer, 307 Jon Joe Cunningham, 363 Sam Keep, 370 John Cobbold, 405 Neil Cornish, 407 Ricky Wilson, 415 Scott Cornish, 432 Mark Munson, new signing 437 Chris Bailey, 455 Luke Cornish, new addition 460 Lewis Barber, 587 Alex Humphrey, 807 Chris Murfin and 897 Matt Battle. Full marks to all three members of the Cornish family and Battle who piloted superbly turned out cars for the evening.
Wilmer had a rough time in heat one, first getting fenced by 624 Jason Thurlow and then coming under fire from 423 Danny Oliver as 252 Steve Bugler ran in Abbott, the latter then taking a hard T-bone from 549 Phil Smith, the Gladiator having already delivered a similar hit to Bailey while Cobbold was turfed into the fence at speed by 264 Mark Welland. 432 Mental Mark meanwhile raced to the win with Savage in third.
Battle copped a head-on from 40 Lester Freestone in the opening seconds of heat two which also saw 61 Flash blast 961 Luke Parker hard, the RDC man going on to stuff 257 Steve Sipka as Cunningham drove well for second place.
Over 70 cars for the all in final in which Barber put away 247 Lee Clarke and Woolnough was stuffed by 236 Clyde Williams before Smith blasted 747 Danny Filmer and dumped him into the luckless Woolnough. Luke Cornish buried 77 Russell Gill but was leathered in turn by 306 Phil Milner as 807 Murf buried 670 Richard Flockton. 405 Nelly turned 426 Mark Pope into a dead car as Barber followed in 730 Dean Mayes well as in the race 206 Dave King motored to the title.
Mental Mark blasted the spinning 522 Tim James early doors in the dash for cash while Keep was run in by 22 Matthew High and the luckless Cobbold was stuffed by eventual race winner 741 Luke Parfitt, Wilmer going on to deliver one of the hits of the night with a massive shot on 385 Roy Gedge. Keep recovered for 10th place.
DD to close with Keep burying 521 Shaun Parker while Cobbold connected on 452 Sean Parrett, Keep ending our involvement in the night with hits on 190 Steve Bailey and 528 Alan Hunt.
Onto Arena Essex on Sunday March 8 for the unlimited Shakedown where RDC was represented by 78 Lee Macey, Mental Mark, Keep, 39 Steve Moore, RDC returnees 260 Keith Reynolds and 917 John Millen, 99 Ritchie Ahern, Ministox graduate 50 Reece Laybourn and new signings 508 Harry Bradbury and 617 Jack Overy. All were in Granadas, Millen's a smart Mk2, while Keep and 260 Keefy piloted large Volvos, 508 Led Head, Overy and Laybourn had Jaguars, the latters an XJ-S and 99 the Cheat had the ex Danny Webb Lincoln Continental.
Heat one began with 395 Steve Hale stuffing the Cheat who then came under fire from 158 Shane Davies a Led Head was thundered in on the top bend by 149 Wayne Bailey. Overy turned round and stopped nemesis Davies with a solid head-on before rejoining the race and finishing fourth while Millen took fifth.
39 Peanut had a short lived day in heat two, first run in by 583 Dan Weeks and taking further damage from 383 Jeff Smith as Keefy turned it on with hits 583 Weeksy and 457 Dan McCormack as Mental Mark chalked up the win.
Over 40 for the all in final with Mental Mark T-boning the spinning 719 Matthew McCormack as Overy again nailed Davies only to take one in turn from 294 Lee Hughes who had just rejoined from the shale, this ending our involvement in the race with Mental Mark coming through for the title and his third win of the weekend, Millen finishing in third.
Our only involvement in the final event of the day was Mental Mark meeting 730 Dean Mayes head-on in the DD.
RDC introduce new racing rules for all banger meetings in 2009 (added March 4)
Following much thought over the last few months and following increasing concerns over certain aspects of the sport both at RDC and nationally, RDC have made the move to introduce two important new rules which will apply to all Banger meetings at RDC throughout 2009, the rules being aimed at the practice of T-boning cars which are against or close to the Armco and with regard to stationary car attacks.
T-Boning cars against or near the Armco
This practise is one which while rarely seen at RDC is becoming more and more
apparrant at meetings around the country and one which is of great concern to RDC as we see this as a particularly dangerous move which could cause serious injury. Therefore with immediate effect T-boning cars which are against or close to the Armco with excessive force is outlawed. Please note that you can still hit cars position against the Armco over the front or rear wheel and hits on the passenger doors at reasonable speeds are unlikely to be met with penalty. What we are looking to stamp out are the hits where we believe the attacker's intention is to disable the driver rather than the car and therefore we will penalise offenders who we believe have carried out a potentially dangerous hit.
Stationary car hits
This new rule is actually born out of an increasing problem of drivers exiting their cars at dangerous times placing both themselves and fellow drivers in potentially dangerous situations. However we understand that this is perhaps a knock on effect of the existing stationary car rule where is a driver is still in their car they are effectively 'game on' to be the victim of a stationary car attack. Therefore we have decided to change this rule. We had considered stressing that if you have passed a stationary car once it subsequently becomes 'out of bounds' and you should not 'blow it up' the next time round. However we understand that this is a little difficult at Mildenhall where while the track is quite small it is still very fast and drivers probably lap in around 15 seconds. Therefore at Mildenhall if you have passed a stationary car twice it is then 'out of bounds' while at Dover if you pass a stationary car once it becomes 'out of bounds'. In the meantime while we are introducing this rule we now expect to see less drivers taking unnecessary risks when exiting their cars and unless you are in immediate danger you should always wait for a
marshal who will get to you as soon as possible. Remember that nine times out 10 the safest place is in your car. Therefore now we have introduced the new rule regarding stationary car hits we will also act against drivers who exit their cars in dangerous situations and place either themselves or other drivers at risk.
RDC would like to make it clear that we have introduced these rules after many months of thought and deliberation and have not done so in a bid to ruin drivers enjoyment or to ruin the racing in any shape or form but feel these changes are needed in order to ensure as much driver safety as possible.
Furthermore RDC would like to stress that we are planning a clampdown on some other areas which have been abused somewhat in recent months. These are attacking after the red flags, attacking on the infield (obviously the latter problem is more for Dover) and drivers persistently lining up in the wrong grade. For 2009 we will be clamping down on all of these issues, again largely motivated by driver safety (obviously that doesn’t apply to drivers lining up in the right grade but it is a consistent source of time wasting) and we would encourage all drivers to please stick to the rules.
Change to afternoon start times at Mildenhall Stadium (added February
26)
RDC Promotions have this week confirmed that with immediate effect there will be a change to the start time to all afternoon banger and stockcar meetings at Mildenhall Stadium.
Until further notice all afternoon meetings at the Suffolk shaleway will begin at 1.30pm instead of 1pm.
The first meeting to be effected will be Good Friday (April 10) featuring the 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open Team Championship and Ministox but this will also apply to the Sunday programme of the two day meeting on July 27 at the very least.
The change is part of the ongoing relationship RDC and the stadium has with the local council on the subject of
noise and the slightly later start times are at the insistence of the local authority and while RDC is very happy to meet with them on this condition we are actively working with them in order to try and restore our afternoon meetings at the track back to the traditional 1pm start but the April 10 and July 27 events will have a 1.30pm start time.
RDC at Heartbreaker (added February 26)
RDC was well represented at the rescheduled Heartbreaker at Northampton on February 22, the 2litre class having the bulk of our interest where we had 74 Nathan Wiggins, 334 Stephen Court, 455 Luke Cornish (in an ultra smart Cavalier), new signing 460 Lewis Barber, 525 Wes
Starmer, Predators 79 Ricky Twell, 157 Michael Piggott, 176 Ady Gibbs and 401 Steve Hemmings and Aftermath duo 602 Shaun and 604 Ross Cooper.
602 Mr Moody wasted little time in getting involved with a package on 913 Peter Berkshire in heat one while brother 604 the Younger Hitman connected on Common Crusher 448 Paul Dean only to take one in turn from 656 Adam Joyce which triggered a wrecking train. The Younger Hitman extracted himself and twice blasted Leveller 808 Steve Tyson on consecutive laps.
The second heat saw 157 Piglet stuff 334 Courty while 525 Wes delivered a cracking follow-in to 58 Andrew Girling before 176 Gibo was put away by 181 Grant Doe. The end of the race saw Wes under fire from the Scrapyard Screamers as he took hits from 999 Scott Hill, 132 Chris Callum and Doe before 401 Psycho also attacked him but he managed to shrug that off to connect with a revenge hit on Doe.
Mr Moody starred again in the third heat with a shot on 316 Cushy while Piglet scored on Joyce and Psycho blasted 744 Ben Jordan. Mr Moody continued his display with an attack on 251 Gareth Hoskin only to take one in turn from 247 Lee Clarke as Barber was fenced as a result of 247 Bro's attack on 699 Stacey Hands which left the Bad Boy open to a fierce hit from Piglet.
Piglet's lively day continued in the final as he followed in 478 Chucksy, Mr Moody then nailing the latter to boot as Psycho clobbered 840 Dan
Waddingham, the latter recovering to thunder in 79 Twelly a treat. Barber ended our afternoon on a high by winning a well subscribed DD.
Onto the unlimited class where we were represented by Motley Krew trio 46 Wayne Packer, 311 Lee Bradbury and 320 Paul Seymour (the latter pair in smart Volvo 240s) and they were joined by 99 Ritchie Ahern and 125 Roy
Preece.
99 the Cheat raced to victory in the second heat after a good battle with 218 Rob Speak while 320 Smiler featured in the third heat by fencing 154 Michael Plant's
XJ. Late arrival 125 Showtime's day proved short lived thanks to a solid hit from the Granada coupe of 298 Sam Wyatt as the Cheat took another win after another thrilling tussle with Speak. His hopes of a hat trick in the final ended with an early spin and subsequent head-on from 820 Martyn Perkins but the Cheat worked hard to battle back for a decent third place finish.
Mildenhall Trophy Presentation Night (added February
26)
Just a line to thank everyone who attended and supported the Trophy Presentation Night at Mildenhall last Saturday night (February 21).
While there was no denying the turnout of just under 80 people was a disappointment we are pleased to report that largely positive feedback was made by all and we will be holding this event again at the end of the 2009 season and we hope to make this a major social event on the RDC calendar and this years event has been provisionally pencilled in for November 21 which will be the night before the ORC Championship meeting at Mildenhall although this will be confirmed nearer the time.
RDC at unlimited Icebreaker (added February 4)
As anticipated RDC was well represented at the unlimited Icebreaker at King’s Lynn on Sunday, February 1.
Among the 140 plus entry were 260 Keith Reynolds for 3Litre Magazine, 19 Joe Mullarkey, 159 Darren Scarrow, 551 Stu Franklin, 22 Dave Vincent and 156 Mick Maskall among the Allstar ranks and 78 Lee Macey with the Ant Hill Mob. 192 Terry Nightingale, 21 Jason Colbert and 277 Des Owen were with Bad News, 133 Karl Day guested for the Bears once again and new signing 125 Roy Preece was joined by 810 Alex McBain in the Black Rats. 525 Wes Starmer again raced for Crash Attack, The Predators boasted 79 Ricky Twell, 176 Ady Gibbs, 401 Steve Hemmings, 879 Reg Reed, 192 Stu Warby and 776 Ady Groom while 502 Kayligh Dighton raced for Six Bolt. 33! Simon Reed made a guest appearance with Stinkbridge and 782 Glen Boyce guested for Team Savage while 148 Ian Redden was among the cosmopolitan Team Extreme ranks. 168 Calvyn Girling and 286 Robin Ling were in the Filth and 334 Stephen Court made a guest appearance with the Ullesthorpe Red Devils.
Our drivers also turned out some impressive machinery for the afternoon. In addition to the regulation Granadas and Volvos, Scarrow had a well smart Jaguar XJ-S, Franklin an XJ, Colbert returned his 420 from the Firecracker and 176 Gibo the ex 401 Psycho S Type. Psycho debuted a lush looking Lexus and team mate 192 Fat Head marked his first meeting as an RDC driver with a well smart Rover P5. 125 Showtime marked the start of his 25th season of racing with a fresh Rolls Royce Silver Shadow while 277 Desmondo returned his Firecracker example. Girling had the pick of the Volvos with a rare 262 while team mate 286 Lingo piloted a 4R, 133 Karly turned out a Ford LTD estate but not for the first time 33! the Legend had one of the cars of the meeting with an epic A135 Princess limo.
Heat one was over early for Scarrow thanks to a fencing from 455 Rick Finney (Stinkbridge) while Nightingale was buried into the plating with a T-bone from 221 Justin Riley (Bears). The RDC woes continued as Franklin was fenced by 451 Willy Blackwell (Stinkbridge) before 176 Gibbo delivered the first big hit of the day with a fine roof bending attack on 372 Martin Scully (Allstars). 776 Groomy then hammered the Yank of 639 Paul Vines (Bad News), the race ended soon after when a big home straight wrecking train blocked the track. 148 Shorty was declared the winner with 19 Dove Toe Joe in fourth and Nightingale in seventh.
Psycho took a stiff hit from 821 Brett Fry (Bears) in the second heat in which Colbert tagged 11 Darren Race (Stinkbridge) although revenge was swift thanks to a shot from 409 Carl Pears (Stinkbridge) with no RDC placing in the top 10 this time.
The third heat began with the Legend being fenced by the Caddy Seville of 345 Richard Lown (WMS Recruitment) which allowed 174 Curtis Rathbone (Ullethorpe Red Devils) to run in the epic A135. However the Legend rallied back to plant the epic XJ40 hearse of 583 Dan Weeks (Six Bolt) into the Mk2 Granada limo of 68 Stu Chapman (Mean Machines) which wasted the latter before he rolled 583 Weeksy in an epic crash. 591 Marc Blower (Team V) blasted the Legend before the reds came out for Weeksy, the restart seeing 70 Ant Long (Common Crushers) hammer 156 Micky Boy and Karly was fenced by 312 Tom Reynolds (WMS Recruitment). Karly survived this to pick up seventh place.
Wes opened his account in heat four by fencing Lingo before 782 Gladis was T-boned by 360 Jack Reynolds (3Litre Magazine) which caused a giant pile-up on the home straight. Wes now powered into 28 Neill Osborn (Bears) and planted him into 710 James Herbert (3Litre Magazine) before the Crash Attack man twice stuck it to the Supra of 640 Henk de Jager (Bears). 78 Mad Mace finished third and 260 Keefy came ninth.
879 Wrecked Reg gave the Lexus of 521 Ashley Riley (Bears) a solid hit in heat five which would earn him the entertainer award while Shorty looked on course to take another win until he ran into the spinning 221 Motormouth which ended his challenge with less than two laps to go.
79 Twelly delivered the RDC interest in the sixth heat with a meaty shot on 370 Mark French (Mr Men) only to be blasted by 831 Shane Fry (Bears) in turn. Vincent drove a blinder to take the win this time.
No RDC action in a quiet seventh heat which was won by 334 Courty while the eighth heat saw Girling stuffed into 323 Geoff Roberts (3Litre Magazine) by 379 Dave Sherwin (Mill Green Mafia). A wrecking train formed at the end of the heat in which Keefy hammered 215 Chris Bull (Wild Boyz) and Mad Mace scored on Sherwin.
Nightingale got the penultimate heat underway with an attack on 433 Ben Smith (Steam Team) before Groom followed in 821 Wingnut hard only to have Shorty bury 424 Jason Pollard (Bears) into him with 439 Danny Sutton (Steam Team) then blasting the Predator. Twelly zeroed in for a head-on to Blackwell as 169 Jason Thompson (Bears) met Wrecked Reg in the same way. Psycho treated 160 Davy Patton (Head Wreckers) to a fine hit but was blasted hard in turn by 424 the Wizard as 421 Nigel Riley (Bears) T-boned Reg. Twelly then came under fire from 521 Ace Ash and 48 Mark Cassidy (Head Wreckers).
Mad Mace fired Lown into a marker tyre in the opening stages of heat 10 as Keefy was punished by 28 Ozzie and 6 Ronnie Bennet (Crash Attack), the Legend blasting the latter in turn only to come under fire from Karly. 917 John Millen (Ant Hill Mob) also took a pop at the Legend with Mad Mace ending our interest with a shot on 94 Mick Heilds (Stinkbridge) as the Legend picked up the entertainer award.
The final started dramatically as the Wizard rolled and was collected in the roof by Courty but fortunately after a few tense minutes he was able to exit ok. The race resumed with Nightingale powering into 421 Nutty Nige before Mad Mace butted head with Colbert and was then on the wrong end of a big follow-in from 474 Matt Threkeld (Team Extreme) at the end.
However it wasn’t enough to stop the Ant Hill Mob from narrowly beating the Steam Team B and Allstars B (whose ranks included Vincent) to the title.
RDC drivers thrive at Wasted Magazine Awards Night (added February 4)
There was much success for RDC drivers at the first ever Wasted Magazine Awards Night with RDC drivers winning four of the evenings trophies.
898 Andy Battle was named most improved driver, the Predators collected team of the year, 604 Ross Cooper was voted best newcomer and brother 602 Shaun Cooper won performance of the year for his display at the Boneshayker.
In addition the Vauxhall PC Cresta estate of 362 Matt Godden which was raced at the Mildenhall pre 70 was named car of the year.
In other results 617 Jack Overy was voted driver of the year, 190 Steve Bailey won dedicated driver and entertainer of the year and 439 Danny Sutton collected Breakthrough driver of the year.
Each of these awards were voted on by a panel of the staff who help compile Wasted Magazine.
190 Pikey also won an additional trophy as he was named the Drivers’ Driver of the Year, the winner decided by the votes of drivers only with around 250 drivers from across the country taking part in the voting.
The maiden awards night proved to a popular one and a great success with around 220 guests packing out the Fenman Bar at Mildenhall Stadium to be a part of the evening, including many of the sports biggest stars from 2009 and plans are already underway to once again stage the event in 2010.
Statement from RDC concerning Wasted Magazine Awards Night (added February 4)
As mentioned above, while the Wasted Magazine Awards Night was a great success it was however spoiled to a degree at the very end of the event by a small minority whose actions tarnished what had been a great evening for all.
It is no secret what RDC’s attitude is towards this type of behaviour and it will probably come as an even smaller surprise to learn that all the drivers identified as part of the problems at the stadium and the nearby Bird in the Hand Hotel have been suspended from
ORC racing pending a full investigation.
Furthermore all of these parties have been banned indefinitely from attending any social or entertainment events at Mildenhall Stadium or organized by RDC Promotions which
includes all greyhound meetings at Mildenhall and any two day banger meetings hosted by RDC.
We are particularly disappointed to learn of the problems at the Bird in the Hand hotel which at one points looked likely to jeopardize the relationship between RDC and the stadium at the hotel and even end the ability for drivers to use its facilities. We are pleased to report that after much talking in the last couple of days that this will not be the case and this relationship is back on track but anyone who uses local facilities when visiting Mildenhall is reminded that their behaviour not only reflects on themselves but all of RDC and the entire short oval racing community.
Reminder re Mildenhall Trophy Presentation Event (added February 4)
This is likely to be the last reminder to everyone about our final social event at Mildenhall Stadium prior to the start of the 2009 season with the Mildenhall Trophy Presentation and Party night on Saturday, February 21 from 7pm.
All 2008 registered RDC Banger and Reliant Robin drivers have been send complimentary tickets and are reminded that they must bring them to the event to gain free admission. Otherwise they will have to pay £5 a head on the door.
Additional tickets are available on the door and the event is open to drivers, their family and friends and to all fans as well and during the course of the evening the various 2008 points championship trophies will be presented along with the 2008/9 Mildenhall Winter Series trophies.
Latest 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open team championship news (added February 4)
This week we can bring some more details for the upcoming 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open team championship at Mildenhall on Good Friday, April 10 with a couple more teams confirmed and one or two changes to the line up.
We will continue to bring you the latest news on this massive event when RDC reopens following its annual February break at which time we also hope to have news on the first drivers to confirm their intention to race in the National Banger BBA Supreme Championship at Mildenhall on Saturday, March 28.
RDC office closed for February (added February 28)
Owing to annual holidays please note the RDC office is now closed and will remained closed until the end of February.
You can still contact us via e mail on wastedmc@btopenworld.com but this service will be limited between February 4 and 18.
Please do not ring the office or the mobile numbers as you will get no reply.
One Wild Night and Good Friday detailed sections added (added January 28)
As promised we have stepped up our coverage of two of the seasons first big meetings with dedicated sections added to the site detailing One Wild Night and Good Friday 2009.
You can access the sections of the site via the links on the left hand side of the site or on the home page and both areas will be regularly updated following our short break in February with all the latest news on these two big banger meetings at Mildenhall.
One Wild Night takes place at Mildenhall on Saturday, March 28 and is headlined by the National Banger BBA Supreme Championship and will also feature Saloon Stockcars while Good Friday is on April 10 featuring the 1400cc Banger Suffolk Open Team Championship plus Ministox.
RDC Ministox date announced at Coventry Stadium (added January 28)
As promised we made our big announcement to the Ministox drivers at the presentation night at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday and again as promised we can now give details here.
We are very pleased to confirm that we have arranged a date for Ministox at Coventry Stadium which will take place on Friday, July 31 and support their biggest banger meeting of the season, the unlimited banger Coventry Masters.
Many of the details of the event are still to be confirmed but we can tell you that RDC will be organizing the Ministox races and responsible for the drivers and the races. There will be a limit of around 30 cars and the first chance of bookings will be offered to RDC registered drivers. Bookings will open in the summer (probably early June) and RDC drivers will have until July 11 (the Suffolk Open) to book in at which point remaining places will hopefully be offered to other ORC promotions although first refusal will be given to the visiting drivers who race at Dover and Mildenhall.
The meeting will also be a round of the RDC Drivers Points Championship.
Initial reaction from the drivers at the awards night Saturday was very positive with many drivers very enthusiastic to compete at what we believe will be a history making event as it will be the first time ORC Ministox have competed on the Brandon
shaleway.
RDC at 1500cc banger Icebreaker (added January 28)
As expected there was a healthy RDC presence at King’s Lynn on Sunday, January 25 for the 1500cc Icebreaker. New signings 650 Ashley Shippey and 792 Jon Warby were in BH Porter, 176 Chris Gould was a member of Beevors Allstars, new signing 525 Wes Starmer raced with Crash Attack and 84 Lizzy Crowden-Murfin, 317 Vicky Woods and 511 Helen Licquorice made up the majority of the Banger Wags. 19 Joe Mullarkey and 551 Stu Franklin raced with the Allstars, 352 Ben Mynott was in the Fen Boyz, new addition 437 Chris Bailey raced in the Misfits, 117 Karl Dack was with Scrapyard Challenge, 26 Dan Holmes guested for Team Pindar and 911 Pippa Cable was in the WMS B ranks.
Our first action came in heat two where 525 Wes Picked up an entertainer award with his follow-in on 196 Ben Harrison (Stanley Crew) en route to second.
84 Our Lizzy got caught in an early pile-up in heat three while Licquorice was hammered by 761 Rodney Thurgill (Smurfs) before Gould was attacked by 232 Steve Pope (Smurfs) and the luckless Lizzy copped a head-on from 559 Ben George (Team Skunks). Lizzy battled on to pick up seventh.
Bailey enjoyed a head-on with 570 Derek Newson (Team Crash) in heat four while 26 Hacker met 405 (Stinkbridge B) in similar fashion while 117 Kamikaze connected on both Bailey and 255 Tim Clarke (Boston Bad Boys) in one move. Kamikaze then came under fire from 861 Rob Milner (Outsiders B) and 355 Dave Green (Outsiders B). Kamikaze battled on to take more damage from 77 Russell Gill (WMS B) and Milner, his efforts being rewarded with an entertainer prize. 911 Pe Pe took third.
Warby assaulted 455 Rick Finney (Stinkbridge) in heat five before Gould was run in by 128 Andy Lack (Mad Mob) in the opening stages of heat six. Wes picked up where he left off by thundering in 130 Karl Craddock (Team Fatboyz) before doing the same to 65 Dave Holland (Outsiders D) in one of the hits of the day. Wes continued with hits on 57 Max Stott (WMS C) and 367 Barry Beevor (Beevor’s Allstars) before dishing out a meaty shot to 237 Lee Millhouse (Stanley Crew), the impressive Wes ending his performance by blasting 578 Lee Ranshaw (Mr Men B) and again he collected an entertainer award as well as fourth place.
Licquorice fenced 230 Dean Moljourd (Mr Men A) in heat seven before Our Lizzy stuffed both 393 Pete Annells (Mad Hatters Young Guns) and 97 (Mr Men A) en route to finishing second.
Bailey came under fire from an on opposite 717 Darren Pindar (Team Pindar) in heat eight while Mullarkey stuffed 638 Michael Walls (Team Crash) which also claimed 562 Gavin Barnes (Allstars) before Mynott delivered a fine shot on 388 Emmeron Fairweather (Misfits). Pe Pe chalked up the win this time.
We again starred in heat nine with an attack on 24 Anthony Waters (TCM) en route to taking eighth. Hacker stuffed Mullarkey in the final heat but he rallied back to destroy the A60 of 279 Andy Swallow with an almighty T-bone. Pe Pe fenced Mad Hatter pairing 399 Jonny Atkin and Annells before she ran into the lurking Mullarkey was was then trashed by hits from 390 Dave Gibson (Mad Hatters Young Guns) and 358 Warren Porter (Crazy Gang).
No RDC interest of note in the rain soaked final with WMS A running out overall winners while Wes’ efforts helped Crash Attack finish third.
Ministox Presentation Night a success (added January 28)
We are very pleased to announce that our first ever Ministox Presentation Night, held at Mildenhall last Saturday, was a great success.
Almost 80 people attended including around 25 RDC Ministox drivers, a number far greater than our initial hopes and we are pleased to report that feedback from the majority of the guests was they enjoyed the evening which we hope to make an annual event.
In addition to the various points championship trophies which were presented a number of merit awards were also presented and they went to the following drivers.
100 per cent attendance-351 Lewis Byron
Newcomer of the Year-383 Shane Harvey
Most Improved Driver-327 Micky Maskall Jnr
Hardest Trier-369 Emma Wallace
Drive of the Year-350 Thomas Parrin (September 13, heat one)
We were also able to present the various prizes from the Trunch Garage Shield on November 23 and again our thanks to the Payne family and Trunch Garage for their continued support of the event.
Statement from RDC re 1600cc all FWD Banger meeting on January 18 (added January
21)
It is no secret by now that the 17th annual Mildenhall Winter Series final last weekend suffered with some degree of controversy when a record number of cars (for an RDC meeting at least but possibly any meeting!!!) failed scrutineering with over 25 bangers exceeding the designated 1600cc limit.
Although we have no evidence to prove it, we had been fearful that such a problem may arise with this meeting but had never expected it to be as large as it was.
When the 1600cc all FWD meeting was introduced the idea was to encourage drivers to use smaller cars which were perhaps not suitable for the bulk of banger meetings at Mildenhall during the season while at the same time would be suitable for the typical track conditions at the time of year which are always at the mercy of the weather.
However as the meeting continued each year, more and more drivers started to use cars typically used in 2litre banger meetings (Bluebirds, Cavaliers, Primeras, Carinas, Mondeos etc), albeit with 1600cc engines giving the event the look much more of a 2litre banger event than anything else.
Furthermore the meeting has also, this year especially, lost the bonus of drivers being able to use leftover cars from other big winter meetings with the unders class at the Heavy Metal Classic always being 1800cc while this year the Infantry division at the Civil War went from 1600cc to 2litre just a few months prior to the event and we believe this is the first year the Mildenhall winter meeting has not seen a singe car returned from the Civil War’s Infantry class.
So while we predicted we may suffer from a lack of ‘returned cars’ at this meeting, owing to changing formats we were also wary we might suffer the problem of cars arriving with engines over the 1600cc limit, and our thanks to our scrutineering team who worked hard to identify as many of the culprits as possible. However again we had never predicted the number of drivers failing would be as high as it was.
Adding to the problems and confusion on Sundays meeting is that a high percentage of those who failed scrutineering were among the final drivers to arrive at the stadium and thus at start time only around 10 cars had been spotted at being over 1600cc. Hence we opted to make the decision to run a four heat format with around 32 cars in each and subsequently with so many more cars failing in the mean time the fourth heat was left short of cars for which we are sorry for but again it was a situation no-one at RDC could have predicted.
Initially we had no plans to stage any kind of racing for the drivers who brought illegal cars but after numerous calls to try and give them something for their journey, despite the fact that there is no argument RDC needed to give them anything, we made the decision to run a bonus race on the programme. Sadly our generosity was not rewarded with less than half of these drivers taking up the offer and further more a smaller number ruined things further with their actions at the end of the race by ignoring the red flags. The whole affair confirmed our initial feelings that we should have not run any racing for the drivers with the wrong cars and this case will be used should we ever be faced with a similar situation in future.
Put simply, in future, if your car does not meet the format or the rules of the meeting, you will not being racing.
Looking to the future and as already mentioned we were already wary that this problem may arise owing to car availability at the moment and other meetings goes on during the period. With the majority of drivers at this meeting now using typical 2litre cars it seems fairly fruitless to continue with the 1600cc limit (especially when many would argue the difference in speed between a 1600cc and 2litre at Mildenhall is minimal) as all we appear to be doing is creating a headache for both drivers and our staff and therefore we can now confirm that next years winter series finale will be 2litre all FWD bangers.
Congratulations to Phil Jennings (added January 21)
All at RDC would like to extend a big message on congratulations to 841 Phil Jennings, one of the unsung stars of the RDC banger scene, on winning the Mildenhall Winter Series for the second time on Sunday and becoming one of the elite few to win the popular series on more than one occasion.
Two years ago 841 Trigger shared the honours with 380 Trevor Wright at the top of the table but this year he won the title in convincing fashion following a dominant performance at the Metro Banger meeting in December and it only required a handful of points at the weekend to secure the title.
Completing the top three places in the 17th annual Mildenhall Winter Series were 117 Karl Dack and 346 Scott Saunders and the trophy presentations will be made at the Mildenhall Trophy Presentation and Party evening at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, February 21.
Important message to all drivers re new sound barrier at Mildenhall (added January 21)
Those of you who attended the meeting at Mildenhall on Sunday (January 18) will surely have noticed that the new acoustic sound barrier at the stadium has almost reached completion and aside a few minor finishing touches the massive project, which has engulfed much of our time this winter, is completed.
Furthermore we are delighted that the work has been met with complete satisfaction and approval from the local council.
However now that we have completed our part of the project we are now appealing to all drivers who compete at the Suffolk shaleway to play their role in continuing to meet the objectives we have over noise issues at the track.
Please understand we are not implementing these measures to be ‘kill joys’ or anything like that but these changes are very necessary with the growing difficulties we face over issues such as noise and sadly these issues are ones being faced by every track and promotion in the sport.
The main issues are
1. Drivers are asked keep engine noise to a minimum when making their way to and from the track and to refrain from revving engines outside the pit road while waiting to race. Obviously we understand banger drivers might need to make more engine noise when leaving the track, especially if their cars are badly damaged but we can no longer accept or tolerate needless revving and noise, especially when waiting to go on track.
2. Where possible keep noise to a minimum when leaving the stadium after a meeting (i.e. please refrain from using air horns until you get back to the A11!!!!!)
3. All drivers must remember to make sure their exhaust systems meeting those set in the ORC rules
Drivers will be informed of these details via letters and the new T-Bone magazine at the opening meetings of the season but we would again urge all drivers to please help us with these issues and to ensure we have no further problems in the future.
RDC drivers thrive in internet awards (added January 21)
It is very pleasing to report that RDC drivers have excelled in the annual banger racing awards on the Ovalchat website with the votes being made by message board users.
898 Andy Battle won the most improved driver award
The Predators were named team of the year
602 Shaun Cooper won the One Man Show of the year award for his display at the Boneshayker
88 Speedy Reed won the Comeback of the year award
33! Simon Reed’s Majestic Major limo won the old skool paint job of the year prize
400 Kevin Shinn once again lifted the Office World prize for his wrecking appetite
Elsewhere and RDC drivers secured several top three positions
401 Steve Hemmings and 33! the Legend were second and third in the entertainer of the year stakes
The Legend also finished second in the Tin King award
379 Adrian Clifton finished third in the most dedicated driver category
362 Liam Friel came third in the newcomer of the year division
The wrecking train at the Mildenhall pre 70 was named third in the crash of the year section
898 Andy Battle’s Old Skool display claimed third in the One Man Show of the year
379 the Worm claimed third in the Keeping the Signwriters in Business award
22 Dave Vincent was second in the Hardcore motor of the Year prize for his Westminster at the Suffolk Open
Furthermore RDC also fared well as we were named Promotion/Track of the Year, the unlimited Suffolk Open was voted meeting of the year and the ORC team championship was voted most surprising meeting of the year.
Mildenhall domestic meeting prices confirmed (added January 21)
RDC are delighted to report that admission prices at all domestic meetings at Mildenhall will be remaining the same in 2009 as they were in 2008 offering fans unrivaled value for money when it comes to the best in full contact short oval motorsport.
So throughout the regular 2009 all domestic meetings at Mildenhall will remain a mere £10 for adult admission with concessions only £5 and our family ticket (two adults and up to four concessions) is just £25 and as always these prices will include programme and car parking.
However instead of having three adult admission prices at Mildenhall as we had in 2008, this season all championship and major events will be £12 for adults which is comparable to what many tracks charge for domestic fixtures. Concessions remain £5 at all meetings and family tickets at these events will be £29.
Subsequently RDC will continue to offer fans more bangs for their buck in 2009 and we believe our prices are the best in the business and £10 domestic meetings will begin with the Saturday night season opener on March 14.
The full list of Mildenhall domestic meetings which will boast the bargain admission price of £10 for adults are as follows.
Saturday March 14 National Bangers British QF, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday April 18 1400cc Bangers and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday May 2 2Litre Bangers (inc under 25 Hot Shot Championship) and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday May 23 National Bangers British QF and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday June 13 National Bangers Inter Counties Team Challenge, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday June 27 National Bangers British QF and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday August 22 Small Van Bangers, Saloon Stockcars and Ministox
Saturday August 29 1400cc Bangers and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Saturday October 3 2Litre Bangers and BriSCA F2 Stockcars
Well done Splat (added January 21)
Just a line to extend a big message of congratulations to RDC banger young 54 Martin ‘Splat’ Lawton who registered his first race win in the sport at Mildenhall on January 18 when he won his consolation race.
To make his achievement even more significant is the fact that Splat received a trophy prior to the white and yellow grade series final in October for being the driver who had raced at the most meetings in 2008 without failing to score a single point.
As was said on the night, his attitude to the sport is second to none and he is a credit to both himself, the sport and to RDC and is most deserving of his victory on Sunday and hopefully it will mark the start of a great season in 2009.
Winter Series Stats (added January 21)
Once again the 17th Mildenhall Winter Series has proven hugely popular with banger drivers with 230 drivers competing at the series.
Around 125 drivers assembled for the Mini and Metro meeting on December 28 and just over 140 attended the 1600cc FWD meeting on January 18 and in total a whopping 230 drivers competed in the series.
Our thanks to all the drivers who supported the series, once again making it one of, if not the most popular series in the sport and we hope they enjoyed their racing at Mildenhall this winter and we hope to see them again in the regular season which kicks off on March 14.
Just as important is to thank the fans for their continued support throughout the winter meetings and a special thank you to those of you for bearing with us on Sunday (January 18) as we experienced several problems, some avoidable-some not, which unfortunately led to a longer afternoon than we had hoped for.
RDC at Civil War (added January 14)
As expected RDC was well represented in the 10th annual Civil War at Hednesford on Sunday with drivers from the promotion on both sides of the battle.
In the South we had 432 Mark Munson in the Light Brigade (Sunnys), 161 Karl Totham, 165 Steve Chopping, 174 Dave Osborn, 188 John Reeves, 278 Tom Hills, 330 Roy Laybourn and 898 Andy Battle in the Infantry (2litres) and 853 Jason Barnard in the Tanks (unlimited). Meanwhile in the North we fielded 143 Sam Begley, 148 Ian Redden and 807 Chris Murfin in the Light Brigade. 96 Liam and 404 Luke Brinton could be found in Infantry alongwith 180 Mark and 801 Jack Foster and 400 Kevin Shinn while new signing 320 Paul Seymour was a part of the Tanks alongside 340 Jay Atkinson.
148 Shorty gave a good account of himself in the first Light Brigade heat, fencing 404 Rob Mills before falling foul of the lurking 247 Lee Clarke which allowed 331 Jason Jackson to spin him just before the line. 188 Victor planted 212 Karl Hodgson in the wall as the first Infantry heat began while 174 Whipper took hits from 265 Ian Wallace and 170 Ant Long. Later in the event saw 400 Shinny come under fire from 363 Sam Trim before he was dealt a head—on by 165 the Reaper, the latter going on to treat Long to a large head-on after the latter had been turned into the wall by 161 Flash who went on to score points with a fourth. Atkinson had a rough time in the first unlimited heat taking punishment from 331 Jason Jackson and 264 Mark Welland.
Into the second round of heats and Shorty started the Light Brigade race by stuffing Edwards as 432 Mental Mark attacked 353 Sean Mullins, Shorty’s day then ended by a hard follow-in from 166 Mark Fletcher and a further hit from 311 Danny Smithson. 807 Murf meanwhile set about the latter as Mental Mark was fenced by 252 John Wibberley before Murf picked up 331 Boxer and buried him flat out into the passenger doors of 122 Steve Durkin, Murf helping to get his team on the scoreboard with a fourth. 239 Steve Carter ran in 801 Jack Foster at the start of the second Infantry heat before 330 Old Roy blasted 917 Derek Jones only to take one in turn from 300 Dan Kirkbride. 278 Sex Pest then blew up 917 Mr NSD only to take a big hit from 16 Rob Howard which left the RDC pilot shaken and brought the reds out. The race resumed with Whipper on the wrong end of Long and 16 Pob as Battle collected the spinning 404 Spook in the door, the latter bouncing back to nail 49 Rob Bevan head-on. 853 the Verger made an impression in the second Tank heat as he buried 591 Marc Blower while Atkinson’s rotten day continued when he was stuffed by 323 Geoff Roberts.
The day now moved into the finals with the Light Brigade first up and 143 Screamer treated 398 James McCarthy to a head-on only to be hammered by 512 Sean Harvey in turn with the latter copping a hit from Murf a few laps later only to take one from 396 Scott Mowlam in turn. Mental Mark destroyed 275 Joe Morgan with a crunching hit before the Gladiator T-boned 252 John Wibberley and Murf stopped 190 Steve Bailey with a head-on before enjoying further head-ons with 512 Shaggy and 208 Jimmy Randell. 188 Matt Fuller now targeted Murf for a head-on while Mental Mark boosted the Southern points total with a third. Old Roy took a pounding in the Infantry final, hits from 862 Dave Kingston and Pob leaving him shaken and bringing the reds out with 180 Sparky awarded third as the North fought back. The Verger was stuffed by 169 Mark Bass in the Tank Final where 320 Smiler also took one from 592 Mark Marchant while the Verger recovered to attack 05 Carlos Perez.
The DDs would settle the day with the South winning the Light Brigade and Infantry events (of which there was no RDC interest) to claim the win although the Verger was involved in the Tank demo taking shots from 920 James Medley, 474 Matt Threkeld and 617 Jack Overy before finally expiring.
Reminder re RDC Trophy Presentation and Party on February 21 (added January 14)
Just a quick reminder as there seems to be a small amount of confusion caused by the complimentary tickets being sent to out for the RDC Trophy Presentation and Party at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, February 21.
Two complimentary tickets have been sent to all 2008 licensed National Banger and Reliant Robin drivers for the event and additional guests can gain admission on the night for £5 per person.
During the course of the night the various track championship and outstanding national points championship will be presented. There will be a disco and possibly a live band as well and the doors open at 7pm.
This social event should not be confused with the Wasted Magazine Awards Night which takes place at the stadium on Saturday, January 31 or the RDC Ministox Trophy Presentation and Party at the stadium on Saturday, January 24.
RDC at Heavy Metal Classic (added January 8)
As expected there was a sizeable RDC representation at Standlake’s Heavy Metal Classic on January 4, the 1800cc class featuring 39 Steve Moore (Mk3 Cortina estate), 133 Karl Day, 163 Rob O’Connell, 180 Mark Foster, 303 Wayne Linsdale, 362 Liam Friel, 382 Jack Foster Jnr, 801 Jack Foster and 807 Chris Murfin.
Peanut started his day well by winning the first heat before 807 Murf copped a fencing from 207 Michael Woodward in the second heat in which 362 Tilly placed second. 704 Kevin Chandler followed O’Connell in during heat four while Linsdale suffered a similar fate from 416 Danny Lawrence in heat five, the latter bouncing back to fence 808 Jay Buckland while Jack Foster finished fifth. The penultimate heat saw Tilly stuff 397 Shane Lines before Foster Jnr scored on 108 Steve Thompson and 180 Sparky put away 583 Dan Weeks. Foster then buried 474 Matt Threkeld into some dead car with a drivers side up attack, Foster Jnr also laying into the latter before Sparky gave 7 Jamie Charles a stiff hit. Murf won this one with Sparky sixth. 741 Luke Parfitt provided our final interest in the class when he buried Foster in the final.
Meanwhile in the unlimited class we had 33! Simon Reed (Rolls Royce Silver Shadow from Ipswich/King’s Lynn), 99 Ritchie Ahern, 133 Karly, 334 Stephen Court, 426 Paul Horwood and 782 Glen Boyce (World Final Mk1 Granada).
782 Gladis treated the Rover P4 of 199 Andy Dodge to a T-bone in heat one before 99 the Cheat motored to the flag in the second heat, a fete he repeated in heat four before 33! The Legend came under fire from 2 Jon Bricknell in the final heat. The Cheat meanwhile sun 348 Sonny Sherwood en route to third in the final and followed it up with a second in the Allcomers.
Ministox trophy presentation and disco (added January 8)
As previously discussed on the site we are holding a trophy presentation night and disco for RDC Ministox drivers at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday, January 24 and tickets for the event (all 2008 RDC licensed Ministox drivers will receive three complimentary tickets) have been sent out this week.
As time is somewhat short we would be extremely grateful if drivers who intend on joining us for the night could please let us know with an e mail at wastedmc@btopenworld.com Remember additional tickets will be available on the door and cost £5 each and the night is open to everyone.
During the course of the night the various points championship trophies will be presented as well as some additional merit awards to drivers who have excelled in 2008.
Happy New Year message from RDC Promotions (added January 1)
Just a small line from RDC Promotions to wish all our drivers, fans and staff a very happy new year and all the very best for 2009.
As always this new year wish is extended to all the families of our registered drivers and to the drivers who have visited us over the last few months and we very much hope to see you all again during the course of 2009.
The new season has already started in style with an action packed Metro Banger meeting at Mildenhall and 2009 will see RDC stage more banger meetings than any other promotion in the sport as well as doing our best to provide the finest stockcar racing around and with the continued support of the drivers and fans we hope to meet this goal.
Have a great new year and see you in 2009.
Changes made to Metro Banger meeting in 2009 (added January 1)
Following Sunday’s annual Mini and Metro meeting RDC can confirm that changes will be made to the format of the yearly small car meeting at the end of December.
For the 2009 meeting (on December 27) it will be Metro and Fiesta Bangers which we hope will benefit drivers in finding suitable cars for the meeting.
Nearer the time we may consider allowing in other cars which are not suitable for 1400cc bangers but would appreciate it is any such requests could be held until closer to the meeting, rather than asking us now. However we can confirm already that Nissan Micras will not be permitted at this meeting.
Social event ticket details (added January 1)
Following a mix up with the tickets for the two RDC social events at Mildenhall in the new year we can confirm that people will be able to pay on the door for both nights.
The first is the Ministox Trophy Presentation and Disco on Saturday, January 24 and the second is the RDC Presentation Night and Party on Saturday, February
21. Both events start at 7pm and additional tickets for both events are £5 each.
All 2008 RDC registered Ministox drivers will receive three complimentary tickets for their event in January and all 2008 RDC registered banger and Reliant Robin drivers will receive two complimentary tickets to the event in February and these will be posted out in the next couple of weeks.
Tickets are still available for the Wasted Magazine Awards Night which takes place on Saturday, January 31. Tickets cost £5 and will be available from the Wasted magazine stand at the Civil War at Hednesford and from the trackshop at Mildenhall on January 18. It is intended that tickets will not be available on the night for the Wasted party.
All three social events will take place in the Fen Man Bar at Mildenhall Stadium.
Confirmation re 1600cc FWD Bangers on January 18 (added January 1)
Just to answer a popular question doing the rounds at the moment concerning the 1600cc (all front wheel drive) Banger meeting at Mildenhall on Sunday, January 18.
This meeting is open to any front wheel drive car which is 1600cc or under.
This includes Ford Mondeos and Nissan Bluebirds.
Congratulations to Daniel ‘Hacker’ Holmes (added January 1)
Just a quick line to say a small well done to RDC banger driver 26 Daniel Holmes. Prior to the White and Yellow Grade Series Final in October he received the ‘Carry on Regardless’ Award in recognition of the fact that he competed in 11 meetings in 2008 without managing to score a single point, more than any other driver last season.
However he broke his duck in the first race of the 2009 season where he registered a fine second place! Well done Hacker but it was good to see him back to his trademark crashing ways in the remaining races of the afternoon.
Congratulations to Victor and Stacey (added January 1)
We would also like to extend our congratulations to RDC banger driver 188 John Reeves and partner Stacey after they got engaged on Christmas Day.
RDC would like to once again congratulate the happy couple and wish them many years of happiness.
Christmas message from RDC (added December 25)
Everyone at RDC Promotions would like to wish all of our drivers, fans and staff a very happy Christmas and to also extend you the very best wishes for the new year.
As we have said countless times on this website we have once again enjoyed a fantastic season of racing and this is only possible thanks to the amazing support we continual receive from the drivers (both our own and visiting), the best fans in the sport and some of the hardest working members of staff around.
Our ever lasting thanks and gratitude to you all and once again we hope you have a wonderful festive time with your friends and family.
RDC at Nutcracker (added December 18)
As expected there was a large RDC presence at King’s Lynn on Sunday, December 14 for the track’s annual Nutcracker event.
The unlimited class featured 33! Simon Reed (in his Rolls Royce Silver Shadow from Ipswich Gala Night), 74 Nathan Wiggins (making his unlimited debut), 85 James Ellis (in his coke bottle shape Granada coupe), 133 Karl Day (who was part of a strong Bears contingent), 138 Jason Smy (in his Mk2 Granada limo from Ipswich Gala Night), 148 Ian Redden, 168 Calvyn Girling (in his Toyota Crown from the Suffolk Open), 175 Karl Corsby, 209 Ben Hayward (in a fresh and smart Mk2 Granada), 285 Sean Dyer (who debuted a pretty XJ), 338 Terry Garrod (in a smart Volvo 240 estate) and 898 Andy Battle (who returned his World Final Omega).
The day began with two half car heats with 209 Minge under fire from Corsby and 331 Bret Fry in heat one before 148 Shorty nailed and fenced 133 Karly. The latter bounced back to stick it to the luckless Minge before the Bear took one from 537 Martin Brunson. Girling finished third. 33! The Legend laid into 221 Justin Riley in heat two while Ellis fell foul of a fine follow-in from 521 Ashley Riley. The latter went on to bury the Legend who then came under attack from 421 Nigel Riley and 721 Grant Butler which allowed 285 Mr Misery to hammer the latter. The all in final saw Shorty wrecked by Bears 521 Ace Ash and Karly before Ellis again found himself on the wrong end of a follow-in from Ace Ash. 74 Wiggy was wasted by a stuff hit from the Caddy Fleetwood limo of 516 Carl Gould with Corsby laying into the latter in turn only to take one himself from 555 Sam Gelsthorpe with Girling nailing 537 Bruno in the later stages. After a lap sheet check it was Girling who was confirmed the winner, becoming the
fourth RDC driver to win an unlimited title at the track in 2008. Karly concluded our interest with a shot on 266 Callum Hall in the Allcomers.
We also had drivers in the 1500cc class in the shape of 119 Davey Cox, 235 Danny Rainer, 352 Ben Mynott, 776 Ady Groom and 807 Chris Murfin. 119 Cruncher attacked 788 Dan Burton en route to third in the title race where Rainer copped a follow-in from the lively 525 Wes Starmer while 776 Groomy spent the first part of the afternoon changing engines in time to compete in the second Allcomers. A burial on 3 Danielle Hewitt left him open to a big hit from 385 Roy Gedge before 312 Tom Reynolds and 209 Gary Haresign also laid in but the Predator battled on to exchange head-ons with 312 Turbo.
RDC on tour Ipswich (added December 2)
There was plenty of RDC interest at Ipswich on Sunday (November 30) but mainly in the Ministox where a large amount of RDC registered drivers competed in the Long Track Championship.
In heat one 328 Craig Banwell finished second, 349 Todd Payne fifth, 366 Matt Noughton sixth, 331 Rob Gamble seventh and 343 Dan Rose in eighth. The second heat saw Payne claim third, 381 Craig Upson finish fourth, 314 Jo Annison take fifth and Noughton seventh.
The final saw long time leader Gamble ultimately take second, Payne fourth, Annison fifth, 382 Jack Foster sixth, 370 Kyle Overy ninth and Upson 10th. The title was won by PRI’s 525 Vinny Madden.
The 1600cc banger entry included 898 Andy Battle who had a lively afternoon but failed to register an top 10 finishes and was involved in a cool wrecking train in the DD.
Follow up story to statement regarding Mildenhall Stadium (added December 2)
Finally and in another follow up story to a news items added last week, our article regarding the current building of a sound barrier at Mildenhall Stadium to appease concerns raised by the local concerns has become a talking point in some circles of the sport.
However the article on the RDC website appears to have raised a few needless alarms. RDC would like to again stress the work is well on schedule and we have a good relationship with the council to ensure all parties are happy and that none of the activities which take place at the stadium are under threat.
The purpose of the article last week was merely to address claims made in the speedway press that future speedway events at the stadium were in doubt which were completely
inaccurate. This matter has been since addressed in both the speedway press and in the local press as well.
November to Remember Part II round up and thanks (added November 25)
It almost goes without saying that after such a testing day at Mildenhall on Sunday (November 23) we would like to begin this weeks news update by extending a huge message of thanks to all the drivers and fans who supported us for Sunday’s November to Remember part II.
In what was perhaps one of the most difficult meetings RDC has ever staged in its 16 year history it is safe to say that things were at least 10 times harder for each and driver who competed and entertained.
While surrounding areas were badly hit by heavy snowfall on the weekend, Mildenhall by comparison escaped fairly fortunately and until 8am on Sunday morning there had been no snow and precious little rain which meant that until the heavy snow and rain arrived between 8 and 11.30am the raceway was in immaculate condition which is thanks to the tireless dedication of RDC’s small track team and it is thanks to them that the track was raceable on Sunday.
Given the driving conditions and the numerous problems on the surrounding roads few would have blamed anyone for not making the meeting on Sunday but despite all that was thrown at them 39 of the 40 teams were able to attend and an incredible 147 banger drivers raced as well as just over 30 Ministox drivers with drivers from all across the country in attendance.
One can only wonder what the meeting might have been had it not been for the dreadful weather just hours before start time but regardless of that full praise is deserving to each and every driver who braved the conditions to compete and certainly extra marks are deserving to those who continued to fix their cars and keep racing throughout the afternoon.
Furthermore a huge debt of thanks should also be extended to each and every single fan who again braved artic weather conditions and potentially dangerous driving conditions to attend the meeting. In a week where comments were made in the banger racing media about what makes a die hard fan, each and every person who attended the meeting on Sunday is most deserving of the title ‘die hard banger fan’ and it is fans like yourselves who make this great sport what it truly is so our thanks to you all.
While there was no shortage of entertainment during the afternoon there were a few matters to be addressed. The first was the late start. As always this is something we strive to avoid, however with so many drivers arriving late, not because of their own doing but because of the conditions, we had no option but to delay the start in order to get all the drivers in. The last thing any of the drivers deserved after their fantastic efforts was to then lose races because they could not arrive on time, they needed to be rewarded for their efforts.
The second was the decision to stick to the full format, in particular running heats eight and nine in the team championship racing that amalgamate the races. We opted to stick to the format for a few reasons. Firstly we had no idea how many cars we would get (ultimately just under 40 cars raced in the final two heats) and were concerned that a big field of 40 cars or more would not be the best race to run in the conditions we had and could also lead to a lengthy clear up process. Secondly we felt it would be unfair to the teams in heat seven (who would have all been in heat nine) as they would have only had one Ministox race for repairs. Had we cancelled heat nine in favour of an ‘all in’ heat eight, chances are high we would have either only had the 25 or so cars which were ready for heat eight or would have had to endure a lengthy wait for the remaining cars and we didn’t feel that was the best option at the time.
Finally was the length of the meeting which after starting almost 40 minutes late ended a little after 7pm. While this is again not what we aimed for we do believe that completing a 16 race programme (including 11 banger races) in around five and half hours was probably as good as we could have managed and we would like to thank all the drivers and especially the RDC team for everything they did to help achieve this. Sadly the meeting was extended by a few minutes with the pit gate being reopened not once, but twice for additional cars in the DD. Again we are sorry for the delay but with drivers working so hard in the rotten conditions for the final event the last thing we wanted was for anyone to miss out so to those of you who stayed put till the end, we are sorry for the extra minutes and we hope you felt it was worth the wait.
Lastly a special mention to the members of Team Dale, a group of individuals thrown together at the 11th hour to fill the final space in the line up. Thanks to 8 Dale Woolnough (who changed engines Saturday night/Sunday morning), 132 Rob James, 717 Craig Pendergast and 791 Nicky Young (who stepped in on Sunday morning) for taking part and filling the final space on the day.
Congratulations to championship winners from November 23 (added November 25)
Sticking with Sunday’s meeting for a moment longer and we need to praise those who won the various championships on the day.
Firstly well done to the Green Team, 86 Alex Savage, 370 John and 371 Jason Cobbold and 768 Pete Sparrow, on winning the 2Litre Banger Mildenhall team championship in a very close fought contest on Sunday and also well done to the Predators whose four entertainer awards meant the won the maiden RDC Team Championship series and as a result both teams have earned themselves a place at the 2009 Old Skool team championship should they wish to accept the invitation.
In the Ministox well done to 366 Matt Noughton for winning the Trunch Garage Shield, 340 Wes Freestone for winning the Mildenhall Track Championship and after such an incredible season it was in some ways a little fitting that 370 Kyle Overy and 382 Jack Foster tied for victory in the RDC Drivers Points Championship and both are most deserving of the title.
While it would be easy to simply single out Noughton and 350 Thomas Parrin for their fantastic efforts in the Ministox on Sunday there were a few others who made an impression. 304 Jo Parker had his best meeting to date with an excellent third in the Trunch Garage Shield while white tops 321 Ryan More and 327 Michael Maskall also impressed in the difficult conditions and credit to many of the visiting drivers who coped very well in the unfamiliar surroundings, especially 120 Casey Englestone who finished third in his first race at Mildenhall.
Urgent message regarding alarming reports (added November 25)
There have been some very disturbing reports of vehicles and lorries being vandalized in the pits during Sunday’s meeting at Mildenhall which has caused great concern to RDC.
These reports come a fortnight after reports of race cars being tampered with and equipment being stolen at the ORC team championship meeting.
RDC takes this matter very, very seriously and this problem needs to be stamped out immediately and should we identify the culprits they will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law and within the sport.
We call on anyone who has any information to please contact us, all information will be treated with the greatest of confidence.
Furthermore we ask all drivers and fans to look out for one another and keep an eye for any such low lives who clearly have no regard for other people’s property or safety. They clearly have no regard for the reputation of RDC, Mildenhall Stadium and the drivers and fans who attend there and together these people need identifying and driving out of our sport.
RDC statement regarding Mildenhall Stadium improvements (added November 25)
RDC Promotions have this week back hit back at claims made in the speedway media which have extended into local news stories that the future of speedway racing at Mildenhall could be in jeopardy unless certainly improvements are not made at the stadium.
Those of you who have attended meetings at Mildenhall in the last few weeks will have no doubt seen the work going on to build a new sound barrier fence at the road end of the stadium.
These work is the result of a small number of neighbouring residents to the stadium complaining about noise in recent months and the order to install the fence has been made by the local council who have set a deadline for the work to be completed at the end of December and have threatened to stop all motor sport at the track unless the fence is completed.
RDC are happy to confirm that work is very much on schedule and are highly confident the fence will be completed ahead of the deadline in order for our winter meetings to go ahead as planned which is months before the speedway season is due to start.
Subsequently we are also very disappointed by the attitude of the speedway team at Mildenhall for issuing the press statements they did without first consulting RDC as stadium owners and we believe this was a very ill thought out attempt at propaganda on their behalf which has done little but cause unneeded concern and alarm.
RDC at Champion of Champions (added November 25)
RDC was well represented at Birmingham’s annual Champion of Champions event for unlimited bangers on November 22 with 379 Adrian Clifton registering an excellent second place in the main event, arguably his best big race finish to date.
He was joined on the championship grid by 99 Richie Ahern, 148 Ian Redden and 340 Jay Atkinson, 148 Shorty following in 6 Mark Holdsworth en route to 10th place.
Kent pairing 328 Mark Hughes, 330 Roy Laybourn and 380 Trevor Wright were among the support cars, the latter having a lively time in his last chance race and 330 Old Roy fared well in the DD.
Shorty impressed in the second Allcomers, taking on the Posh Wash single handidly as he followed in 714 Paul Smaldon and buried 133 Ben Wyatt before trading hits with 372 Jay Matthews and 381 Trevor Joyce on the infield, the RDC young gun rejoining the track for the final laps while the others remained on the middle.
Final total of banger drivers who raced at RDC in 2008 season (added November 25)
During the course of the season we have made occasional updates on the running total of banger drivers who have competed at RDC this season.
Following Sunday’s event at Mildenhall we now have the final total for different banger drivers who have raced at RDC this season which is an incredible 815 drivers and again this is only those who competed at full contact National Banger meetings and does not include the rookie meetings at Dover.
As ever a huge thank to each and every one of these 815 drivers and to every other driver who has raced at RDC this season for their amazing support and dedication to the sport.
RDC at unlimited banger World Final (added November 18)
It’s very pleasing to be able to report this week on an excellent showing by the RDC contingent at the unlimited banger World Final at Ipswich on November 15 highlighted by top 10 finishes in the main event by 188 John Reeves and 125 Lee Overy on their debut outings in the big race.
188 Victor, who raced a very smart Mk3 Granada estate, was placed seventh and 125 Hitler ninth, and although several would argue that maybe those places were the wrong way around it was nonetheless a fine achievement by both drivers in the 60 car race.
898 Andy Battle (who piloted a very smart Omega), 349 Lee Saunders and 379 Adrian Clifton (who won a smart car award) were not finishers, the former being very much on the pace before his engine blew up while 349 Finbarr enjoyed a top three position in the opening laps having draw grid position two but collided heavily with Victor in the closing laps.
They were joined on the grid by 99 Ritchie Ahern who stormed to victory in the second last chance race, firing 710 Ben Wilkins in very hard on the way, but he had little luck in the main event and retired with mechanical damage.
He was almost joined by at least one other RDC driver via the last chance races, 22 Dave Vincent looking quick in his smart Granada estate before he faded in his race while 119 Davey Cox opted to retire from his heat as after a restart he was placed near the back of the grid when he, and many others, were confident he was in fact in third place.
Elsewhere and 415 Scott Cornish turned out a typically smart Mk2 Granada for the support races as did 330 Roy Laybourn with a Mk1 which he had precious little luck in. 2 Jonathan Bricknell was lively in the Allcomers in his pretty Volvo 240 estate having placed 10th in his heat while 161 Karl Totham was also lively with a wild attack on 537 Martin Brunson before he copped an on opposite assault from 549 Phil Smith.
148 Ian Redden had a decent night in his rapid Volvo 240 estate finishing seventh in his heat and fourth in the 75 plus car Allcomers, the latter race being good for the RDC contingent with 379 the Worm and Vincent sixth and seventh respectively.
Also in attendance were 168 Calvyn Girling, 545 Karl Hough, 174 Dave Osborn, 328 Mark Hughes and 782 Glen Boyce, the latter racing a pretty Mk1 Granada while a get well soon message should go to 174 Whipper who suffered a knee injury in the Allcomers race.
Congratulations to ORC Champions (added November 11)
This week we would like to extend a big congratulations to 219 Luke Grief, 382 Jack Foster and the RDC banger team who triumphed in their respective ORC Championships at an action packed and competitive meeting at Mildenhall on Sunday.
While Grief narrowly missed out on winning the Saloon Stockcar track championship (well done to 511 Craig Barnett for successfully defending the title) he wrapped up a sensational season with his second major championship win of the year and did so in dramatic circumstances, emerging victorious in a lively race which was made most tricky by the wet weather conditions.
Meanwhile Foster lifted the Ministox championship beating RDC stablemate 370 Kyle Overy to the title by a mere two points while 381 Craig Upson finished in fourth, missing out on making it an RDC clean sweep by a single point as 551 George Boult impressed on his track debut with a race win en route to third overall.
Finally we had the banger team championship where the RDC team made history by becoming the first team to win the event for the fifth time and they did so in fine fashion with a highly entertaining performance as they combined scoring points with some big hits throughout the day and they certainly put in a fantastic effort both on and off the track in order to lift the title
November to Remember part one round up and thank you (added November 11)
Once again we would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped make Sunday's ORC Championship such a great success.
Thanks to all the promotions for assembling their finest drivers to represent them and making such a quality line up in all three formulas and to the drivers and their teams who put on some fantastic racing. Truly all of the first 11 races of the afternoon were packed full of action and even the rain at the end of the day didn't completely ruin the final events which, while not as good as the previous events, were still most entertaining.
Thanks also go to all of the fans who turned out, despite the minority of sceptics who predicted the meeting would suffer from the weeks rainfall and despite the fact that meting received pracyically zero coverage on the internet save for this website, they still turned out in their hundreds to support the meeting and the drivers and hopefully they were all rewarded with a fine day of stockcar and banger racing.
And thanks to the RDC staff who worked very hard throughout the afternoon to help the meeting run as smoothly as possible. An extra special help is deserving of Dave Coventry and Peter Thorogood for the amazing work they put into the track preparations which defied the weeks weather forecast and the
misguided predictions of the minority and they deserve much praise and thanks for the work they put in which contributed to such a good race meeting.
However the meeting was not without problems. The first was the near half an hour delay to the start of the meeting. This was initially caused by the banger teams not being ready for the 1pm start and was compounded by technical problems in race control. Again we would like to say sorry for the delay, starting late is something we always aim to avoid and we would like to thank everyone for their patience in the circumstances.
The second problem was the alarming and disappointing reports of some cars being tampered with in the pits and others have property stolen. RDC take this matter very seriously and would ask that if anyone has any information that they contact RDC and that all information will be treated with strictest confidence. We would also urge all drivers and their teams to please keep a watchful eye in the pits for this kind of behaviour in future as this is a problem we need to stamp out immediately.
Finally we are delighted to report that it was agreed yesterday that the 2009 ORC Championship meeting will once again be staged at Mildenhall on a date in November or December which we hope to confirm as soon as possible.
Personal message to RDC team (added November 11)
The following statement is from Michael Coventy and is in no way an official comment from RDC Promotions.
"I would like to take the time to publicly thank the stellar efforts of the entire RDC Promotions team which won its fifth ORC team championship with a cracking display on Sunday afternoon.
"It is no secret that the team was not designed with the intention of pursuing the championship and while they more than achieved their goal of injecting plenty of entertainment into the afternoon they also managed to win the title as well.
"Making their achievement even more impressive is the fact that in some departments the team sustained some truly rotten luck with 117 Karl Dack failing to make the track all afternoon and 188 John Reeves' meeting being over within a lap but despite their disappointments both drivers gave 100 per cent to fighting the teams cause behind the scenes and played just as large a role in the teams success as the rest of the team.
"Furthermore I would like to thank 188 Victor and 137 Jay Chilton for stepping in at such short notice to replace the
injured Ricky Twell and Kevin Shinn.
"On track 898 Andy Battle once again showed why he is a star in the making with a pair of heat wins, 82 Wayne Quinn again showed his class with some vital places and 379 Adrian Clifton underlined his all round ability with crashing in the heats and a fine drive to win the final before entering a rated one man display in the DD. These three sealed victory with a brilliant 1-2-3 in the wet conditions in the final on a track and in conditions where
whizzy engines, sticky tyres and fancy set ups carried little advantage and driver ability shone through.
"Meanwhile 401 Steve Hemmings and 602 Shaun Cooper again proved why they are two of the top entertainers in the sport and Chilton also impressed with his crashing display, even though he cost the team some points in the first heat with his post red flag hit (it's a shame that some petty minded minority felt his disqualification from the result and warning wasn't sufficient punishment and felt it represented promotional
bias. Perhaps if the same minority want to ask we could show them some real displays of home promotion
bias just to highlight their pathetic and blinkered attitude but hey ho).
"In closing I would like to say that all eight drivers did RDC, themselves and, for what it's worth, myself very proud and it is an honour to have drivers like this represent RDC and I'm sure everyone connected with RDC will share in this sentiment."
Regards Michael Coventry
RDC on tour November 1 and 2 (added November 4)
As reported last week it was a very busy weekend for the RDC banger drivers last weekend with drivers in action at King's Lynn, Eastbourne, Ipswich, Arena Essex and
Standlake.
In potted highlights congratulations to 119 Davey Cox who won the 1500cc Banger National Championship in truly dire wet weather conditions at King's Lynn, following in the steps of 37 Dave Lewis who won the event 12 months ago, 119 Cruncher's achievement made even more impressive as he qualified via the last chance race.
At Eastbourne it was good to 346 Muttley back in full contact bangers for the first time since August, racing his lush Rover P5 first seen at Lydden Hill last year and he and 379 Adrian Clifton ending the night well wrecked.
Speaking of P5s and full marks to the WI Engineering team who raced a superb eight classic P5s at Ipswich Gala Night and went on to enjoy a great battle with the Bears during the night.
Another to make an awesome effort at the weekend was 33! Simon Reed who raced not one but two Rolls Royce Silver Shadows at Ipswich and the Firecracker at Arena, entering a great performance at the latter event in the consolation.
Back to Ipswich and 448 Chris Smith topped a cool line up from the Gypsy Crew with his massive Lincoln Town Car limo which was trashed in style by 421 Nigel Riley.
88 Speedy Reed made his latest appearance in a simply stunning Rover P5 alongside the return of former side kick 145 Sonic. Another star car was the ultra smart Mk2 Granada limo of 138 Jason
Smy.
On the results front 99 Ritchie Ahern stormed to victory in the awful conditions in the final ahead of 148 Ian Redden who earlier finished third in his heat.
There was a smaller RDC presence at the Firecracker this year but 277 Des Owen impressed in his Rolls Royce with some great exchanges with 190 Steve Bailey in his heat while 39 Steve Moore was his usual self in his trademark DS420 hearse and 99 the Cheat was on form again with a second in his qualifying heat.
782 Glen Boyce ends our round up by stealing the show at Standlake's Big Bang Bonfire bash with his well presented Yank estate.
Wasted Magazine Awards Night tickets on sale at Mildenhall this weekend (added November 4)
Readers of Wasted magazine may be aware that the first ever Wasted Magazine Awards Night is being planned at Mildenhall on Saturday, January 31 2009 and tickets are now on sale and will go on sale for the first time at Mildenhall Stadium this weekend.
Tickets, which cost £5, will be available from the trackshop at the ORC Championship meeting and will also be on sale on November 23, December 28 and January 18.
RDC extends its congratulations to Lewis Hamilton (added November 4)
Seeing as we wished him luck and congratulated him on his victory in the penultimate round of the season it seems only right to extend the biggest congratulations possible to Lewis Hamilton on his dramatic victory in the F1 World Championship at the weekend.
I'm sure everyone connected to RDC will join us in congratulating Lewis on becoming the youngest world champion ever and truly making you proud to be both British and a fan of motor racing, the greatest sport on earth.
Halloween Havoc thanks and an apology (added October 29)
RDC would like to extend a huge thank you to all the drivers who supported the annual Halloween Havoc event at the weekend and treated the largest crowd of the season to a fantastic night of entertainment and action.
On a cracking evening of racing, all three formulas delivered some great action with each of the 12 races producing some degree of entertainment, the National Banger
DDs, the Reliant Robin final and Ministox championship race in particular being especially rated and it is safe to say the standard of racing was appreciated by the monster crowd who supplied an excellent atmosphere which the drivers thrived on.
A special thank you to those who once again made the effort to compete in the National Banger caravan race and DD and just like year the drivers provided a sensational end to the night with perhaps the best caravan race seen in the sport this season.
However we would like to extend a deep apology to all the fans and families who were effected by the large gate at the main turnstiles not being opened at the end of the meeting resulting in large queues as people tried to leave at the end of the stadium. RDC accepts full responsibility for this oversight and would like to say a sincere sorry to all those effected and we hope it did not take away any of your enjoyment of the night.
New .com address for RDC Promotions (added October 29)
This week RDC Promotions is pleased to announce that you can now get access to this website via one of two new addresses.
You can now log on at www.rdcpromotions.com or www.rdcpromotions.net while the www.rdcpromotions.cjb.net address still works although the former addresses are highly recommended as they will not result in any unwanted divertions to the cjb.net advert pages.
RDC qualifiers for Ministox ORC Championship confirmed (added October 29)
Following the penultimate round of the Ministox points championship at Mildenhall on Saturday we can now confirm the drivers who will represent RDC in the ORC Championship at Mildenhall on Sunday, November 9.
Each promotion is invited to send its top six available drivers and it's little surprise that the RDC places have been filled by our top six drivers which are namely 301 Tom
Wellham, Suffolk Open Champion 328 Craig Banwell, Mildenhall track championship leader 340 Wes Freestone, RDC Drivers Champion 370 Kyle
Overy, former Suffolk Open Champion 381 Craig Upson and Dover Track and Kent champion 382 Jack Foster.
Further more 355 Sid Magewick will be in action having qualified via the PRI points, 314 Jo Annison is amongst the Spedeworth entries and 329 Reece Laybourn will also be competing as the first reserve filling a vacant place left by
Autospeed.
We have also heard from Incarace, PRI, Spedeworth and Autospeed this week who have confirmed their drivers and the current entry list can be found in our November to Remember section.
Over 800 banger drivers compete at RDC in 2008 (added October 29)
Following the Halloween Havoc event at Mildenhall on Saturday we can now confirm that the amount of drivers who have competed at RDC banger meetings in 2008 has smashed through the 800 mark.
In total an incredible 805 different drivers have raced at either Mildenhall or Dover this season and that does not include those who raced at any of the rookie meetings at Dover. This is purely the full contact meetings.
RDC would as always like to thank the drivers, their teams and families for this amazing show of support this season.
Shelby Coventry has arrived (added May 9)
Regular visitors to the site may have noticed the lack of our usually punctual news updated this week but I'm afraid normal service has been interrupted this week but the early arrival of the newest member of the Coventry family, Shelby.
Sian Coventry gave birth to her and Michael's first child, at 3.30am on
Thursday, May 8 and despite being more than two weeks early, Shelby weighs a very healthy six pounds and eight ozs and the whole family was allowed home just over 12 hours after the birth.
In the meantime many RDC drivers and friends who were foolish enough to leave their mobile phones switched on would have been rudely woken at around 4am with messages carrying the news.
Shelby is clearly a true Coventry having waited until after the busy bank holiday weekend to make her appearance and also choosing to come just ahead of a rare RDC meeting free
weekend