Team Talk
News
and Gossip from the Northern Ovals
Updated
6th May
New: Smallfield South East Open
We should be well represented at this years South East Open which takes place at Smallfield on the 23rd May. This years meeting is shaping up to be a real corker with a lot of work going on behind the scenes to attract drivers, not just for the South East Open but also the World Dirt on July 4th. From up here at least 3 Levellers will be travelling for the day including 688 Wayne Morphet, 59 Marc Blower and 917 Derek Jones. Also from the Leveller camp but not 100% sure yet are 16 Rob Howard and 684 Alan Morpeht while the Mobs 152 James Dillon and 252 John Wibberley are also making the trip down. From the Lancashire area come the ever keen 143 Sam Begley, 147 Chris Detton, 409 Carlos Pears and loon 350 Danno(put him over the bank Nige, please!!)
428 Richard 'Grumpy' Regan and Sharon are putting in loads of work to attract drivers and, as can be seen from the Northerners doing it, with a rough list of drivers who have said they'll be there on the day which it is upto around 50 at the present time its looking like it could well be a top meeting. Smallfield locals the Bears, Hitmen, Ant Hill Mob plus Grumpy himself will all be out on force on the day to give everyone a warm welcome. Plenty other visitors will be there on the day including the Tangos, First Blood plus a few old boys who will be out for the day. Plenty of trophys are on offer plus prizes for Best Entertainer, Best Turned out, Best wrecker, Best cars etc which will be a fin plate to the winning drivers from top EA Signwriter Jobie Cobb. The best wrecker incidently being sponsored by ourselves here at Crash Zone.
Looking ahead to the World Dirt which has also attracted a lot of northern interest with Team V's 266 Alan 'Big Al' Roskell looking to represent Barrow while 461 Pete Singleton, 510 Alan Lewis and 514 Paul Woods should be there for Warton, Singy most likely in his Yank that was meant for Metal Mania.
These are two meetings which are looking at being top meetings and should not be missed, just got to pray the weather gods are on our side on the day!
Dont forget to check out lots for information at http://www.smallfieldraceway.co.uk/
First King of the Peak booking recieved
It has happened today--the first booking has been received for King of the Peak VII scheduled for Buxton Raceway on Sunday 11th July.The action starts at 1.00pm.
Keith Greenwood (7) is the first (hopefully of many) to call us and he weighs in with a Lincoln Stretch Limo.
Just to remind all drivers we are open for bookings for this premier event and the prize fund will once again be £1500 shared between wreckers,winners and "good lookers".
Bookings can be made to the office on 01663 741353 or by e-mail to buxtonraceway@aol.com
ORCi licensed drivers should of course book in through their own Promotion.
Battle of Britain VII 3rd May Sheffield 1.00 pm
With the Sheffield Battle of Britain drawing closer we're finding it a little frustrating that we can't actually tell you which teams will be there! We can confirm CrashZone, The Bears, Team Black x 2. Strong rumours suggest Stinkbridge (almost guaranteed) will be there and also the Hitmen. For some reason (and we know Trackstar had the same problem last year) the teams seem to want to keep it a secret until they arrive. Okay it's a nice surprise if you turn up and and have teams like Stinkbridge and the Hitmen arrive on the day. But....it doesn't give the promotion any chance to give the meeting the publicity it deserves if we can't confirm such teams. With driver lists understandably expected by the public most promotions oblige by making them readily available. The problem arises when on paper it looks as though there will not be many cars/teams at an event which could sway the decision for a lot of people to stay away, which doesn't do future Banger events any favours at all, especially if you have what could be a brilliant meeting with nobody there to see it! As you can see we are being honest about the amount of teams confirmed and are not in the business of misleading people and hope you can sympathise with our predicament. So please don't blame Startrax if you miss what could be a cracking meeting with possibly some of the best teams in the country doing battle, blame the drivers for NOT booking in early enough!
STARTRAX.
Bank Holiday Action at TSR and Skegness
There is plenty on offer on the East Coast this weekend whether or not you are a serious Banger fan or just fancy looking at something verging on the bizarre!
The action kicks off at the Skegness Funcoast on Sunday (2pm) when the Unlimited Bangers make their first appearance on the rediscovered tarmac raceway. The speeds attained by the Saloon Stock Cars around the all-improved Skeggy oval have been breathtaking which suggests that the top Banger drivers will be nothing short of frightening if they get the cars set up correctly.
There is always a shortage of drivers over the Bank Holiday weekend because just about every track in the country is running some sort of Banger event. Therefore, it is pleasing to see that there is some visiting interest for the Unlimited Bangers Lincolnshire Open with quite a few Incarace drivers expected including a significant contingent from the Flying Squad. As well as that, Steam Team regular 536 Annette Nicholls should be in action as well as World of Shale Champ 321 Andy Newton who is looking for some better luck than he has had so far in 2004. He’s managed to blow an engine at every meeting he has raced at so far this year and whilst that probably constitutes some sort of record, I don’t think he’ll want the same to happen this weekend. On top of that, the usual Team Black suspects will be out to get some Skegness tarmac experience before June’s BBA Grand Prix event.
Moving on to Monday, the key attraction at Kings Lynn (1pm) is likely to be the bus and coach racing. Five drivers have confirmed that they will be racing in this event being 69 Terry Clarke, 203 Mark Moljourd, 334 Stu Green, 401 Steve Hemmings and 776 Ady Groom. Of these, 334 Greeny and 776 Ady have both got full size coaches whilst 401 Psycho will be at the wheel of a coach which spent it’s final days on the road converted to carry a stock car in the back. We’ll have to wait and see what the other two turn up with! In addition, 292 Keith Saunders had also got hold of a double decker bus to race in this event. Whilst the bus ran perfectly OK when it was put into storage, 3 months of British weather have taken their toll and the last I heard was that they couldn’t get the engine running again. A team are working hard on the bus and I can guarantee that if it doesn’t make it to the track on Monday, it won’t be because of a lack of effort. If it does make it, then it probably won’t be Keith at the wheel as he intends to hand the bus over to whoever can get it ready for action. Fingers crossed for that one!
The other Bank Holiday Banger action sees the Micro Bangers back in town for another miniature motor massacre! The Micro Bangers were massively popular in 2003 with over 70 cars in action at the UK Open and there is still a massive amount of interest in the Formula this season. It would be optimistic to hope for a quite so many cars this Bank Holiday - drivers are unfortunately having to cut down on their racing this year because of the current peak in scrap metal prices making it difficult to get hold of cars at sensible prices. However, the Easter meeting for the BangerStox was well subscribed which is a good omen for plenty of cars this Monday. Expect most of the usual Kings Lynn suspects to be in action together with a few visiting drivers from RDC. 44 Adrian Deer made his first visit to Kings Lynn for the last micro Banger meeting and was rewarded with his first ever race victory. He promises to be back for this meeting and should be bringing a few other Mildenhall racers with him including 111 Derek Matthews.
Sheffield Battle of Britain news
With a little under 3 weeks to go to the annual biggie at Sheffield the teams are starting to come in nicely for what promises to be another cracking event following on from last years rated session. Us here at Crash Zone have entered a team again and with once again help from 428 Richard 'Grumpy' Regan we have organised the following drivers:
172 Simon Byrne
252 John Wibberley
428 Richard Regan
514 Paul Woods
Im sure they'll all put on a top show and have another great day, they did us proud last year, on the crashing front that is, not the points scoring!!:-)
We can also confirm that the Bears(might yet have two teams) are the latest to add there names to the list and the Hitmen are also going along with Stinkbridge also, though bear in mind the latter isn't officially booked in. Last but not least come Team Black who team captain 617 Jack Overy has booked two sides in. An interesting team in the shape of the Manchester Mafia has also added their name to the list which so far inlcudes the legendary 318 Wilf Speak plus 187 Lee Shovelton, other names likely to be 319 Shovy and 815 Lee Farrington expected to be added to the team. Im sure the Steam Team will be present once again while it is hoped that at least a couple Startrax and other northern/midland/north west based teams will be attracted. We have had the following info sent to us from Startrax...
3RD May SHEFFIELD 1.pm UNLIMITED BANGER BATTLE OF BRITAIN VII
20 teams of 4 cars being accepted PLEASE BOOK IN ASAP Phone 01484 850081 or use the online Booking In form at http://www.startrax.info/bnbform.html
Prize Money: Winning Team £500
Runner Up £250
3rd Place £150
Destruction Derby £100 winner
4 x £50 awards for best turned out cars
4 x £50 awards for best material
2 x £50 Awards for Best entertainer.
World Cup Roadworks
Alan
Panther has been in contact with us to let everyoen know that major
road works are taking place on the Forth Road bridge heading to
Cowdenbeath so could everyone please allow plenty of time for queues or
go in via the Kincardine bridge instead.
For more info see the following links;
For more info see the following links;
www.feta.gov.uk and www.nadics.org.uk
or phone 0131 319 4897 for travel info.
No
loads over 9ft 6in wide will be allowed through the works.
TSR Easter Weekend preview
Banger action returns to the Kings Lynn shaleway over the Easter Weekend with two full contact Formulae in action on Easter Monday starting at 12:30pm.
Headlining the day is the Earthshaker Championship for Unlimited Bangers, which once again will see the big cars racing and wrecking their way towards the annual title. 2003 Champion 879 Reg Reed is unlikely to be present to defend his title due to work commitments and the fact that he is getting engine cradles ready so that he can race his favoured Volvo’s with Ford V6 engines later in the season. However, there will be plenty of drivers looking to be the next person to hold the Earthshaker crown.
The day should see some impressive machinery in action with 443 Dave Harvey likely to steal the show for many people with his stretched Lincoln Limo. It has already been said twice so far this season, but assurances have been received that 85 James Ellis will be ready to debut his Cadillac at this meeting whilst 19 Joe Mullarkey is also expected to race. Joe still has his Caddy Seville from the Firecracker at his disposal but could just as easily return a Volvo from the Ringwood session last weekend so it will be a case of wait and see on that front. Finally on the material front, the rumour machine (and I don’t mean the Trackstar one!) has been suggesting a Mk10 Jag for 97 Dave Allen but the proof will only come if the car rolls into the pits area on Monday.
What can be said with more certainty is that all of the usual TSR Unlimited Banger crowd will be in action on Monday. This will include TSR World Champion 617 Jack Overy, World of Shale Champ 321 Andrew Newton and a host of other stars such as 536 Annette Nicholls and 998 Wayne Cottrill Jnr.
Joining the Unlimited Bangers will be the smaller BangerStox although they are no less action packed. As well as having the Norfolk Championship up for grabs, the Bank Holiday focus on fun is kept alive with the staging of a chained pairs race. In this event, pairs of cars are chained together nose to tail and the winning combination are the two drivers who don’t only survive the attentions of the rest of the field but also manage not to ruin each other’s chances by failing to drive in perfect harmony!
Expect some of the local drivers and teams to dominate this event with 566 Tony and 567 Geoff Pallett sure to feature well in both events as well as the likes of the Mad Mob and team Aftermath.
It should be a great afternoon of crashing entertainment.
Important announcement about Warfare
Skegness Stadium have announced that the “Warfare” Unlimited Banger Team Championship scheduled for Sunday 2 May has been called off. Some teams had pledged their support for Warfare whilst other major teams had said they would go to the Battle of Britain instead. In reality, the weather conditions in the last week of April were also a major factor as to whether Sheffield or Skegness would be the favoured meeting for some teams.
Faced with this uncertainty, the promotion has decided to revert to the earlier fixture plan and will now be running the Unlimited Banger Lincolnshire Open Championship on Sunday 2 May. This is an individual driver event and all drivers are now invited to book in on 01754 811228 or alternatively you can use the electronic booking form at www.skegness-stadium.info.
The revamped tarmac track at Skegness stadium has so far gone down a storm with drivers from all formulas and spectators as well. May 2 is the first opportunity for Unlimited Bangers to race on the new track so get down there and see what all the fuss is about!
Northerners hit road over Easter
The annual Good Friday team session at Mildenhall will see the presence of Barrows finest, Jaks R Us. They come well tooled up with two Mk2 Escorts in the hands of 231 the Old Man and 175 Les while 477 the Ginger Assasain is Proton powered. Joining them will be the Colne and Penrith branches of JRU with RDC regular 143 Screamer and 144 Johnny Sum Knackers plus 851 Shafter. Im sure all the lads are well up for it and will be looking at putting on a good performance for their first Midlo outing. Its about time we saw some half decent drivers at Mildenhall!!!:-)
Cowdenbeath Opener and coming meetings
Judging by the photos on Roskso Photos Cowdenbeath looked as though it had a pretty reasonable opener and a decent entry to match of at least 25-30 motors. Drivers in action included 152 James Dillon, 13 Colin Johnson who was at the wheel of a hardcore Maxi plus 225 Duffle Coates complete with new JC Signs roof fin! 348 Kenny Connor took home his second big wreck in as many meetings(remember the Worko opener). The aforementioned Mob captain Mr Grumpy took the opening heat as the last car running before 271 Mr Fizzy won heat two and 456 Steve Allan took the DD.
We would love to cover more of the Scottish scene more so if anyone out there could send in a report or maybe even a few photos from when the Bangers are on then we would be most greatful and they would be published ASAP.
Of course the next Cowdenbeath meeting is one of the highlights of the year on the whole nationwide Banger calendar, the Unlimited Banger World Cup and we'll be there to cover all the action for you. Already news filtering through of the usual English presence including a big Barrow presence, Incarace, Trackstar and the usual Spedeworth, PRI visitors while 428 Grumpy is making a return visit with something just a little bit special. Also on his wagon will be 172 Bernie while the Hitmen are planning a 4-5 strong visit, the well keen 584 Sharky planning also to be at the wheel of something special. Other drivers of note also planning of making the long trek up the A1 include Spedeworth World Champ 22 Dave Vincent, the Davies brothers 158 Shane and 47 Andy, Hughes brothers 27 Dale and 294 Lee plus 670 Tricky. No doubt the Scottish continengent will be out in force to give the English a warm welcome, most of them make the effort for the World Cup so expect most of them in some well rated tin. With all this talk I can feel the unique Racewall atmosphere buzzing already!
Dates after the World Cup see the Bangers back in action on the 29th May, then on 19th June, back again 31st July then 28th August and the last meeting is for the Scottish Championship on 2nd October. All meetings are 1600cc and start at 6pm. We have a couple Cowdenbeath meetings pencilled in the diary to bring you some coverage of the Scottish scene.
Drivers and spectactors travelling to the World Cup can also take in Workington of course the night before where 2 Litre Bangers are on the bill, hopefully a decent turnout which will be in front of a big crowd at the superbly appointed Derwent Park Stadium. And for those travelling home on the Sunday why not take in Barrow who host there annual Cock O' the North All Sierra Challenge, always attracts a healthy turnout and produces some big hits. Every meeting so far has had a big follow in and plenty action. Oh and not forgetting you'll also be able to see yours truly in action!
Sheffield News
Startrax promoter Steve Rees has said "Since Startrax took over Sheffield we have looked to keep Bangers on as one of the main formulae, but we need their support if we are to continue running the formula at Sheffield in 2004. The meeting on 12th April will have great importance on any decision as to whether the following 2 Litre Banger events are shelved and changed to another formula. This would leave just one other Banger event at Sheffield, that being the Monday 3rd May (Unlimited) Battle of Britain. This is not a threat but pure commonsense, if there are not enough entrants then we cannot put on a decent show for the public. It does the reputation of Bangers & Startrax no good at all if there are only a dozen cars on track, especially if spectators have come specifically to watch Bangers. We've put everything in place to put Bangers back on the map in the Sheffield area, it's now up to the Drivers to show their support. If they don't then it's no good complaining afterwards if Bangers are withdrawn from Sheffield altogether because of a lack of support from the local drivers.
Just to confirm we did recover the stolen generator after saying we would withdraw Bangers if it was not returned, so in case some drivers thought there would be no more Bangers because of this incident...this is not the case".
I just hope that Bangers are not withdrawn from Sheffield, it would be a great shame.
Northerners at Mildenhall Supreme
Once again northerners take to the road this weekend, this time heading down to the BBA Supreme at Mildenhall this coming Saturday(27th). From Warton comes 510 Alan Lewis who qualifies via his World Cup win at Cowdenbeath last year, not much shale experience but went well at last years WF at Kings Lynn and will be looking for more of the same this time. 55 Graham Smith is on the grid for Startrax who went well at the wet opening meeting two weeks ago, could well be a major threat on the night while 295 Graham Heywood and 75 Steve Thacker both represent Buxton. Graham has had Mildenhall experience before and will know the track while Steve will have the ability to drive on any surface.
We wish all drivers the best of luck and look out for how they got on, on the Away Days page early next week
Buxton 1400cc Open
Bookings have now started to flow in for the 1400cc Open Bangers Meeting at Buxton Raceway on Sunday 28th March--start time 1.00pm.Drivers should not no RWD Fords are permitted.
A full booking list will be issued next week but already booked are several visitors:252 John Wibberley heads the list,closely followed by Steve "Noon" Farrell (200), Sam Begley (143) and Paul Chaffer (251) from RDC and Graham Kiddle (148) from Incarace and Northampton based.
From the home base, already booked, are the brothers Heywood, Graham (295) and Brian (59), Craig "Lord Bump" Phillips (818), Joe Baxter (36) and Pete Corbett (470).
This is the first time Dave Pierce has tried a meeting for the smaller cars at Buxton and is looking forward to receiving drivers bookings as soon as possible.
Incarace News
Birmingham Wheels on Saturday night (start time 6.30pm) features the 2 litre Banger Team Championship (with over 50 cars booked in so far!) plus V8 Stockcars, Lightning Rods and Incarods - well over 100 cars expected.
Northampton International on Sunday kicks off at 2.00pm - with the first outing for the BriSCA F2s at Northampton in 2004. Joining the Tooz on the line up we have a good field of Rebels and Rookies ... with a Smash the Trash Demo Derby just for Sierras!
Around 160 cars are anticipated for this meeting!!!!! The BriSCA CENTRAL Lotto will also take place and there is a FREE GIFT for Mums!
Well Bent Issue 15 out now
The latest Issue of the PRI based magazine contains all the PRI based drivers on their travels due to it being the out of season period at Arena. Meetings covered in this one include the Firecracker, Wimbo World and London Open, Brum Champion of Champions, Swaffham ORC Teams, Coventry Unlimited and 2 Litre sessions, Kings Lynn Nutcracker and Icebreaker, Ringwood Open, Yarmo Teams, Standlake Heavy Metal Classic, Hedno Civil War, Mildo Teams and Winter series, NIR Heartbreaker, Retro pics plus loads more including some quality humour, more of it Neil! Only a quid fifty and judging by the content its well worth it! Grab your copy from the Arena Trackshop or Neil himself around the tracks.
Trackstar 2004 season preview
The first Banger meeting of the East Coast season has now taken place and it won’t be long before the racing gets back into full swing at TSR and Skegness Stadium. Once again, 2004 will see regular full contact Banger action from the Bangerstox (under 1600cc), 2 Litre Bangers and Unlimited Bangers and there will also be meetings for Micro Bangers and Big Van Bangers.
The Bangerstox opener is at Kings Lynn on March 20 (7pm) and is a busy night for the under 1600cc class. As well as being the start of the 2004 Gold Roof and World of Shale qualifying campaigns, the meeting also features the first staging of the Commentators Cup. Sponsorship for this event has boosted the prize fund by £200 with half of this amount being awarded for material and presentation (4x £25 awards) whilst the rest is going to boost the payout of the racers and reward the wreckers. There isn’t usually a lot of material in the unders, but maybe the extra incentives will entice something out of somebody’s stockpile!
The first outing for the Unlimited Bangers in 2004 is the East Anglian at Kings Lynn on March 28 (2pm). For those people interested in other racing formulae, this meeting is also the opening fixture of the BriSCA F1 season and features the hard hitting 2L Saloon Stock Cars which makes it a real cracker of a line-up. As well as all of the TSR Unlimited Banger regulars, this meeting is also expected to attract a few visitors. Drivers are reminded that the BBA Supreme takes place the night before at Mildenhall so it may be an ideal opportunity for travelling drivers to make a weekend of it and bring a second car or alternatively use up any leftovers which are still running. 2 Litre Granadas are plenty quick enough around Kings Lynn to not get cleaned up by the V6 brigade and advance booking is not essential (although preferred)!
Some of the other highlights to watch out for during the season are as follows:
Unlimited Banger Earthshaker - Kings Lynn 12 April
Unlimited Banger Lincolnshire Open Team Championship - Skegness 2 May (Teams of 6 cars - enquiries from Bears, Steam Team and Team Black already)
2 Litre Banger head to head vs Standlake - Kings Lynn 22 May
Big Van Bangers (no upper limit) - Kings Lynn May 31
Bommer (478 Michael Bailey) Memorial for Unlimited and 2 Litre Bangers - Kings Lynn 5 June
Unlimited Banger BBA Grand Prix - Skegness June 27
2 Litre Banger head to head vs Standlake - Standlake 11 July
Unlimited Banger East Coast Open - Skegness 18 July
Bangerstox World of Shale - Kings Lynn 15 August
Unlimited Banger TSR World Final - Kings Lynn 22 August
Unlimited Banger War of the Worlds Teams - Kings Lynn 12 September
Pre 70 Bangers (unders and overs) - Kings Lynn 30 October
Bangerstox Gold Roof Final - Kings Lynn 6 November
All Kings Lynn and Skegness fixtures are open to all drivers and day licences are always available for drivers not holding an ORC licence. Certain makes and models are outlawed from the Bangerstox and 2 Litre Bangers and so all visiting drivers are advised to call first and confirm the acceptability of the car you intend to race before travelling. For Skegness information and bookings call 01754 811228 or visit www.skegness-stadium.info for an online booking form whilst for Kings Lynn call 01553 630507.
Let’s hope for a great Banger racing season at both venues.
Workington Bomb Threat
Startrax have issued a statement following last Saturdays cancellation of the rest of the meeting at Workington for the 2 Litre Bangers Cumbrian Open. After receiving the threat, it was the decision of the Stadium and County Council stewards to cancel the rest of the meeting. Issues regarding the bomb threat were today(Wednesday) due to be discussed by the Police, County Council and Startrax.
However, rumours circulating that a bomb had gone off in a certain Mr Kearsleys trousers at Birmingham, the after affects of which could be (sm)felt as far away as Workington are being strongly denied as the reason for the cancelation!
Hednesford Spring Open Classic
At last, Hednesford Hills Raceway kicks off the 2004 season - and some meeting it is going to be ...
This Sunday Hednesford opens to the roars of top racing and wrecking cars doing what they do best ... at one of the top arenas in the UK.
National Hot Rods, BriSCA F2 Stockcars, Unlimited Bangers and Rebels - quite a line up and the makings of a cracking event.
The main points of this amazing meeting are ....
There are 60+ F2s booked in!!!
The National Hot Rods will be buring rubber in their 10th World Qualifying Round
The big Stinkbridge invasion in the Unlimited Bangers ... Mick, Andy, David Holmes plus Nigel Ashley, Glynn Platts, Will Balckwell, Ricky Finney and Michael Barber will join top Midlands Stars Jim O'Brien, Lost Lloyd, Rob Baker, Woka, Usha, Clellend, Buster, McWibbs, Dan Lucas etc
Plus over 30 Rebels!
This is a mega meeting .... admission £10 Adults and £5 Children and family ticket just £27!!! Including colour souvenir programme.
Also at this meeting ... the BriSCA CENTRAL LOTTO!! Predict 1st-4th in the BriSCA CENTRAL Final on Sunday and WIN WIN WIN ££££££s.
The Hedno Opener kicks off at 1.30pm this Sunday ... hope to see you there!!!
478 Michael 'Bandit' Bailey
News has reached that the court case following the death of 478 Bandit has just concluded with the killer being convicted and must serve at least 14 years in prison as a result. The incident happened last June and hopefully now justice has been done and Michaels family can now grieve in peace and Bandit can rest in peace.
We have published this with the permission of Michaels friends at Wisbech.
Dont forget that Trackstar are running a memorial meeting for Bandit, which takes place at Kings Lynn on Saturday 5th June, for Unlimited and 2 Litre Bangers.
203 Mad Russ news
A lot of you may have learnt about 203 Mad Russ McBains unfortunate accident at Barrow last week. When taking part in the ramp rollover contest at the end of the meeting he suffered terrible injuries and is currently in Preston Royal Infirmary. Russ has undergone an operation to relieve pressure from the brain and is to undergo more operations to reconstruct part of the face and regain speech but its said that he is well on the way to recovery. Im sure you join me and everyone here involved with Crash Zone in wishing Russ all the best for a speedy recovery and in sending wishes to his family and loved ones.
For upto date info on Russ' progress keep an eye on the official Roosecote website
Message on 16 Pobs Volvo at Wartons Metal Mania
March Incarace news
This weekend the Stockcar Season starts at Northampton and Birmingham!
The Season Opener at Birmingham Wheels features 2 litre Bangers (with over 50 expected) in the first 2000cc World Qualifier of 2004.
Joining the Banger on the Saturday night show are the excellent Stock Rods and the popualar Hot Fords. Around 130 cars will compete over the three formulas. This will be a top meeting! Start time 6.30pm
The Season Opener at Northampton also features a huge turn out of cars, with well over 100 competing in the day. Joining the Unlimited Bangers, Rookies and Lightning Rods on the programme, there will be a sneak (pre-season) preview of the awesome Legends Cars (see later).
The Nothampton season opener kicks off at 1pm on Sunday!
Other news:
Birmingham Banger March Mini Series
This Month Incarace are running a Banger Mini Series throughout the month of March.
There are four Banger meetings at Wheels this Month … 2 litres tonight, 1400cc on the 13th, 2 litre Teams on 20th and Unlimited (as part of the Unlimited Weekender doubleheader) on the 27th.
The series points work as follows:
Attendance Points: 10pts (must compete in at least one race)
Heats: 1st - 8th 80pts - 10pts
Final: 1st - 8th 160pts - 20pts
Demo Derby 80pts
The mini series winner will receive £150 and a free licence in 2005!
2 Litre Team Championship
The annual Incarace 2 litre Banger Team Championship takes place at Birmingham Wheels on 20th March.
This should be a cracking meeting - with some excellent teams already booked in.
If you can muster a team of 4 and fancy a place on the grid, give the Incarace Office a call and book yourselves in!
The Midlands now boasts some of the best Teams in the Country - so expect a top night of racing action!
The Unlimited Weekender
The 27th and 28th June sees a fantastic weekend of Unlimited Banger racing - and the chance to get double the fun out of your Unlimited Banger.
A big Banger takes a lot of preparation - and the Unlimited Weekender, with at least four Heats, two Finals (including a Figure of Eight) AND a Demolition Derby to finish things off will make sure Drivers get maximum value out of their machines AND finish them off good and proper!
Make a date in your Diary - the Unlimited Banger Weekender will be a classic two days of racing.
Northerners not on road last Sunday!
After much talk about the northerners travelling down to Swaffham for last Sundays Hurricane we didn't manage to have any! The much talked about Stinkbridge invasion didn't materalize due to 'work commitments' while 252 Wibbsy couldn't make it due to engine problems with his Cortina that he was due to return from the London Open.
Another sponsorship deal struck!
Further to Myself and the boy Kearsleys sponsorship for Buxtons 1400cc Open at the end of March, we will also be putting up a JC Signs roof fin for the winner of the Barrow points championship. Along with Dave Pierce, 231 Trev 'Grandad' Whelan has told me Barrow are very grateful and feel it is much appreciated. Its our pleasure to put these prizes up and feel it goes someway to rewarding the drivers for all the hard work they put in over the season.
Buxton 1400cc Opener sponsorship deal struck!
News from Dave Pierce
Stu Kearsley (Northern Steam Magazine) and Rob Teasdale (Crash Zone website) have jointly offered sponsorship for the final at Buxton's 1400cc Open Banger meeting to be staged on Sunday 28th March.
The lucky winner of the final will receive a roof fin from the top East Anglian Sign Artist-----------"JC Signs".
Raceway Promoter, Dave Pierce, is extremely grateful for the kind offer of sponsorship and has added £200 himself to the winner of the final.
The booking list is open and all visiting drivers are welcome.
New: Northerners on tour again
A Northern contingent hits the road once again this Sunday with the main talking point being the large Stinkbridge party heading to Swaffham for the annula Hurricane session. All the team are on the list, though it is to be confirmed if all the side are doing the meeting, and we can guarantee they'll be well involved, Team Black no doubt at the top of their list. Also a late booking is 252 McWibbs who will be taking his London Open Cortina back, looking to finish it off properley this time.
We'll have report and photos up, hopefully sometime Monday evening
Workington Opener
WORKINGTON 2 Litre Bangers Saturday 6th March 7.00 pm.
Cumbrian Open Championship
Any drivers wishing to race at this meeting should book in as soon as posssible. You can book in online by clicking here http://www.startrax.info/bnbform.html or phone 01484 850081 or 07952 050198.
Northerners at Heartbreaker
Northerners again hit the roads this weekend in order to attend the annual Heartbreaker meeting at Northampton. 350 Dan Peel, 144 Johnny Townson and 225 Duffle come in from GMP while the north west contingent is headed by 477 Rob Bell from Barrow. Also from Barrow would have been a trio of Levellers but it doesn't appear that they will be attending now. Running mates 147 Chris Detton and 143 Sam Begley will be in attendance, the latter in a Bluebird while the TNT duo of 191 Chip Kitchen and 291 Jason Hewlitt make the trip from Blackpool. Moving onto Buxton and the usual suspects appear, 51 Wusty, 75 Steve Thacker, 295 Havoc and 470 Pete Corbett. A decent entry of drivers from the North, all eager no doubt to put on a good performance and have a tidy session. The full booking in list can be seen on the driver lists page, all in all looking like a decent session. We should have report and photos online by Monday night.
Heatbreaker news
This weekend the ‘Heartbreaker’ kicks off the Northampton International Raceway season in style.
Heartbreaker 2004 looks like being the biggest for a number of years with interest from drivers surpassing all expectations.
Around 90 Bangers are anticipated - and with 40+ Rookies joining them in the line up, a massive 130 cars are expected to race.
The last chance for drivers to book in for this event is Wednesday 18th and confirmed bookings will be posted on the Incarace Web Site on Thursday 19th February (www.incarace.co.uk).
Promoter Philip Bond told us “The Northampton has an excellent year of Banger racing planned - the track is perfect for full contact racing and it is hoped that the Banger scene will really flourish throughout the year here”.
“The track has some highly rated drivers, and it is hoped that many visiting drives will give the raceway a try this season”.
The 2000cc Heartbreaker meeting starts at 1pm on Sunday 22nd February.
First editions of the Incarace Fixture List 2004 will also be available at the event!
Northerners hit the motorway again
This coming Sunday the London Open at Wimbledon will see a large northern presence, none more so than the annual Buxton raiding party. The latter includes 51 John 'Wusty' Worstencroft, 59 Brian Heywood, 75 Steve Thacker, 295 Graham 'Havoc' Heywood and 470 Pete Corbett. Although registered with RDC, 243(143) Sam Begley makes the trip down from the north west while Incarace are also well represented including the Mobs 252 John 'McWibbs' Wibberley, 75 Jim O'Brien and 262 Buster Godden. We'll be there in support of all the northernerns and expect a report and photos up sometime Monday evening. Best of luck to all.
Check out a full booking in list at Well Bent!
New: Looking forward
You may have noticed another new feature on the site which is the Interviews section. We would like any feedback sending in on these, are they good or bad/any questions you'd like to see asked for next time/any drivers you'd like to see interviewed(northern of course!)? The Interview section is just another recent addition to the growth of the site as we strive to bring you more new features all the time. We would like to hear from anyone(mail by the two address' on the homepage) with any ideas for new sections/ways of improving the site etc. Dont forget for anyone to send in reports/photos/news, we will do our best to get it online as soon as possible. Thanks for your co-operation during 2003, heres to a top year in 2004 and dont forget to keep checking back on the Zone!
Workington date change
News has reached us that Workington have had to change the date of their opening 2 Litre Banger meeting at the track to the week before and will now take place on the 6th March, 7pm start. This is due to the Speedway having a clashing fixture. The fdate on the fixture page has been changed accordingly.
