Photos: 1- 20 Matt Bull, 21 - 36 Jim Harrod, 37 - 51 Kieran Bonsall

Report: Mark Paulson

Unlimited Icebreaker XXVIII brought a welcome return of the long-running team event after Covid forced its cancellation last year. A massive entry of nearly 140 cars across 39 teams put on a terrific show for the good crowd in perfect conditions - cold but dry. Team Black took their third overall Icebreaker crown, while the Barton Boys were victorious in the day's Entertainers' League.

Star cars included the pair of Rolls Royces for Scrapyard Screamers' #224 Graham Gamble and #950 Scott Gamble, while Crashzone's #113 Lee Waller fielded a Cadillac and #195 David Forrest (Boys in Green 'B') had a big Lincoln Town Car limousine. Fresh limos were also tracked by #555 Harry Gelsthorp (Team Black 'A', Scorpio) and #920 Terry Church (Matt's Mafia 'D', Mk3 Granada).

Thirty-six cars contested heat one which was led from the start by Mercedes-mounted #760 Joey Reynolds (Team Black 'D') and fellow young gun #364 Bradley Lee (Team Cheeseburger), with the latter taking the win. A pile-up soon developed on Turn 2, with Irish visitor #388 Stevo McGrath (Team Extreme 'A') getting blitzed by the Jaguar of #282 Bobby Daniels (Useless Stunts) as Daniels's team-mate Jason Giddings also copped plenty of damage. Also getting stuck in were the Gambles, getting the Scrapyard Screamers' Entertainers' League challenge off to a good start.

A relatively quiet heat two was won by #349 Michael Allard (Team Extreme 'B'), the Saloon Stock Car British champion making good use of his contact racing experience as he charged through, despite his Mercedes dropping onto three cylinders. Long-time frontrunner #110 Garrie Mirza (Matt's Mafia 'B') was pipped to second by #830 Lee White (Team Mates) on the final bend after an attack by Allard's team-mate #182 Reece Tingle.

Heat three was highlighted by a wrecking train begun by #881 Shane Brown (Team Bad Boys 'B') blasting #195 Reece Marsh (Barton Boys 'B'), with #51 James Licquorice (Dover Boys) and #83 Julian Grant (Matt's Mafia 'F') joining in. The Wrecking Crew got stuck in all race long with #313 Craig Osbourne and #328 Dan Lathan of Matt's Mafia 'A' and they later joined the train, along with #188 John Reeves (Dover Boys). That earned Liquorice and Reeves race entertainer awards, putting the Dover Boys into an early lead in the day's Entertainers' League, as well as Grant, #201 Phil Milner (Wrecking Crew) and #252 Steve Bugler (BRCM). Bugler's brother Rob (#262) raced to the win from Team Black 'B' duo #217 Sid Madgwick and #399 Jonny Atkin.

The action in heat four, which completed the first round of heats, was largely confined to smaller hits and spins as #161 Billy Smith (Mad Hatters) tamed his aggression to race to a dominant win from pole position, surviving an on-opposite attack by the Gladiators' #589 Simon Smith on the final lap, which missed. Filling out the top three were Team V pairing #366 Nathan Wren and #266 Big Al Roskell.

After Allard and Smith, the run of stock car driver winners continued in heat 5 as BriSCA F1 world champion #84 Tom Harris took the flag from his Team Black 'C' team-mate #3 Mitchell Finney. The race began with a bang when #279 Brad Bowman (Predators 'B') was put into the fence and rolled, bringing out the red flags, before the action quietened down in the restarted race.

The action stepped up in the 42-car heat six, with plenty to entertain on the roadside turn kicked off by #213 Mark Watkins (Barton Boys 'B') turning aorund. After a couple of glancing blows, he was done by the Jag of #816 Jack Weeks (Matt's Mafia 'E'), who had already looked lively. Weeks was then blasted by Licquorice and #519 Lee Middleton (Predators 'A') another who had already been lively in his Toyota Previa, reversing into the traffic to cause chaos. That earned Watkins, Liquorice and Middleton rae entertainer awards. Another went the way of Team Black 'B' runner #570 Jordan Cumming, who got stuck into the Barton Boys, before Team Black 'D' captain #617 Jack Overy was taken out head on by #169 James Rushton (Barton Boys 'B'), scooping Rushton an entertainer award to make it a profitable heat for the Barton Boys. Out front, Overy's team-mate #67 Rickie Beasley took the win from the hearse of #673 Darren Fendley (Dover Boys) and #400 Lee Kingsnorth (Team Black 'B').

Heat seven was another fairly lively affair, begining on the home straight with plenty piling in before #390 David Gibson (Mad Hatters) blasted #7 (Matt's Mafia 'G'), earning Gibbo a race entertainer award. Lee Waller was also rewarded after he turned his big Caddy around and got Team V's Al Roskell before getting stopped himself, while #299 Tommy Callaghan (Boys in Green 'A') also got involved in the on-opposite action. At the head of the race, #349 Lewis Price (Gladiators) was spun from the lead by #252 Gareth Griffiths (guesting for the Junkard Dogs, who became the Junkyard Blobs for the day!), who went on to win from team-mate #230 Scott Paterson and #882 Nathan Grant (Matt's Mafia 'D').

With two heats contested by each team, effectively the halfway mark of the contest, there were joint leaders of the overall points in the form of the Junkyard Blobs, and the 'C' and 'D' string line-ups of Team Black, with Team Black 'B' fourh overall, five points back. In the day's Entertainers' League, the Dover Boys were in command, holding a 10-point lead over the Barton Boys 'B' team and the Scrapyard Screamers.

For heats eight and nine, the teams were split only two ways which, combined with some excellent repair work in the pits, made for a 50-car field for heat eight. Unsurprisingly, a big pile-up developed almost straight away, leading to red flags and a complete restart. In that, #195 David Forrest used his big Lincoln to follow in #198 Zach Clements (Barton Boys 'A') and earn an entertainers' award, with Licquorice and #178 Kieran Bowman (Predators 'A') then piling in. At the other end of the track, #801 Mason Foster (Grey and Black) was blasted by Rushton, who copped a shot in turn from #382 Jack Foster Jr (Grey and Black), with #183 Mitchell Banton (Barton Boys 'A') and #239 Steve Carter (DWO) also piling in before red flags came out to assist Jack Foster Jr, who at least had earned himself a race entertainer award. Banton, Rushton, #195 Reece Marsh (Barton Boys 'B') and #341 Andy Jones (DWO) were similarly rewarded. The third attempt to complete the race was much quieter, with long-time leader #577 Alfie Lee (Team Cheeseburger) eventually losing out to Beasley, who took his second win of the afternoon. Spedeworth world champion #217 Sid Madgwick (Team Black 'B') and Banton completed the top three points-paying positions.

Forty-four cars returned for heat nine, where the pick of the action came at the end of the race. Tom Harris turned around and enjoyed a crunching head on with #100 Callum White, who was single-handedly representing the Aftermath. Harris's fellow Blacksters Gelsthorp, #215 Leonard Dunn and #3 Mitchell Finney then all piled in, to huge cheers from the crowd, before the red and chequered flags came out. #549 Phil Smith (Gladiators) took the win, fighting off the attentions of Team Extreme 'B' pairing #171 Tommy West and #181 Grant Doe. Earlier, #542 Craig Oliver (Gladiators) had thunderd in Billy Smith, with Lewis Price joining in, while #279 Brad Bowman was another to turn around for some hits. White, Harris, Gelsthorp, Oliver and Bowman were named the entertainers of the race.

Ahead of the decisive final, Team Black 'D' now held a 10-point lead over the Junkyard Blobs and Team Black 'B', with Team Black 'C' a further five points in arrears. The Barton Boys 'B' held a big advantage of 20 points in the day's Entertainers' League over the Dover Boys, with the Scrapyard Screamers 10 points further adrift.

A massive field of more than 60 cars returned for the final, which inevitably led to an early pile-up on the scoreboard bend, with half the field piling in, and red flags required. In the restarted race, Leonard Dunn led from start to finish but it wasn't enough to lift his Team Black 'A' squad into overall contention. Second was the Gladiators' #542 Craig Oliver, promoting the Essex team into joint second in the standings, and #262 Rob Bugler was third. Behind them, the action continued around the raceway, with Harry Gelsthorp turning round to dish out a head-on to #281 Aaron Pole of the Barton Boys 'A' team, earning him one of several race entertainer awards. Two more went the way of #188 John Reeves and #87 Damien Matthews, which clinched second and third in the day's Entertainers' League for the Dover Boys and the Predators 'A' team, but it wasn't enough to deny the Barton Boys 'B' team the crown after a great afternoon's wrecking.

In the overall standings, Team Black 'D' had already done enough to claim the title, while a three-way tie for second was resolved by placings in the final, with the Gladiators edging the Junkyard Blobs and Team Black 'B'.

Just over a dozen cars survived for the destruction derby with many of them piling into the heap on the scoreboard bend. As the runners were whittled down, Rob Bugler dished out a few high-speed hits and was deservedly declared the winner when red flags came out to assist #862 Reece Eglington.

Icebreaker XXVIII standings

1st Team Black 'D'  40

2nd Gladiators  30

3rd Junkyard Blobs  30

4th Team Black 'B'  30

BRCM  25
Team Black 'C'  25
Team Black 'A'  20
Mad Hatters  15
Predators 'B'  15
Team Cheeseburger  15
Team Extreme 'B'  15
Team V  15
Dover Boys  10
Team Mates  10
Barton Boys 'A'  5
Matt's Mafia 'B'  5
Matt's Mafia 'D'  5
Predators 'A'  5

Icebreaker Entertainers' League

1st Barton Boys 'B'  65

2nd Dover Boys  60

3rd Predators 'A'  40

Boys in Green 'A'  35
Scrapyard Screamers  35
Team Black 'A'  35
Team Black 'B'  30
Wrecking Crew  30
Crashzone  25
Mad Hatters  25
Team D.W.Lakey.O!  25
Barton Boys 'A'  20
Boys in Green 'B'  20
Gladiators  20
Grey and Black  20
Predators 'B'  20
Useless Stunts  20
Aftermath  15
BRCM  15
Matt's Mafia 'F'  15
Team Black 'C'  15
Barton Boys 'C'  10
Team Extreme 'B'  10
Junkyard Blobs  5
Matt's Mafia 'E'  5
Team Bad Boys 'B'  5
Team Extreme 'A'  5

Unlimited Bangers	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Heat 1	364	760	307	178	800	327	507	577	624	67
Heat 2	349	830	110	99	3	181	278	84	623	246
Heat 3	262	217	399	386	341	400	801	239	999	673
Heat 4	161	366	266	560	882	356	710	477	828	85
Heat 5	84	3	191	110	183	281	577	192	364	278
Heat 6	67	673	400	388	760	333	21	367	262	440
Heat 7	252	230	882	549	624	85	555	nof
Heat 8	67	217	183	577	673	110	201	506	239	21
Heat 9	549	191	230	710	3	85	589	555	nof
Final	215	542	262	201	188	417	252	366	3	299
Destruction Derby	262