Report: Mark Paulson
Pictures: Damien Widdows
The Banger Racing world gathered at Lynn’s Adrian Flux Arena on Saturday night (4 June) to bid a fond farewell to one of East Anglia’s greatest ever racers, 88 Alan ‘Speedy’ Read.
‘A Speedy Exit’, featured nearly 120 pre-1975 cars, including many that were very rare. A selected list is shown below, categorised according to how they were split in the first round of heats.
Unlimited – ‘Modern’
06 Niek Tippe Volvo 240
15 Ryan Thomas Volvo 240
17 Kyle Overy Volvo 240
87 Justin Kappert Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
90 Adrian Harbord Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
160 Shayn Winsor Ford Granada Mk1
172 Simon Byrne Ford Granada Mk1
174 Curtis Rathbone Jaguar Mk10
186 Mike Pullen Ford Granada Coupe
211 Dennis Vorkink Volvo 240
222 Matty High Jaguar XJ6 Series 2
235 Danny Williams Volvo 244 Saloon
266 Callum Hall Toyota Crown Super Saloon Mk1
321 Kieran Fry Volvo 240
321 Andy Newton Volvo 240
338 Terry Garrod Volvo 240
399 Jack Garrod Volvo 240
343 Lewis White Ford Granada Mk1 estate
372 Barry Overland Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
390 David Gibson Volvo 240
397 Stuart Sandell Jaguar XJ6 Series 1
409 Carlos Pears Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
439 Danny Sutton Toyota Crown Super Saloon
611 Joe Geeves Volvo 240
632 Callum Reed Ford Granada Mk1 estate
768 Calvyn Girling Jaguar XJ Series 2
777 Arian Vorkink Volvo 240
844 Tom Haggerty Volvo 240
883 Tom Filmer Mercedes W123 Coupe
Unlimited – Yanks
10 Bert Petter Pontiac Benneville
70 Charlie Cunningham Chevrolet Kingswood (DNR)
85 James Ellis Mercury Colony Park station wagon (DNR)
273 Kevin McClagish Pontiac Tempest hearse (DNR)
280 Simon Goodale Chevrolet Caprice estate Mk3
332 Chris Reed Plymouth Volare
753 Billy Cunningham Chevrolet Caprice estate Mk3
999 Klaas Slager Chrysler New Yorker Mk9
Unlimited – ‘Old’
1 Maarten Steenbekkers Austin A135 Princess limo (1963)
22 Dave Vincent Rover P5
27 Will Longford Rover P4
40 Lester Freestone Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire
41 Kevin Freestone Jaguar Mk2
61 Hendrik Domine Humber Super Sniper MkIII (1952)
63 Rene Tiemens Wolseley 16/60
88 Alan Read Austin A135 Princess hearse
132 Robert James Rover P4
155 Sam Coote Mercedes 114 Coupe
176 Ralph Emerson Daimler V8
206 Phil Milner Jaguar S-Type
211 Barry Franklin Rover P5
246 Luke Taylor Rover P4
249 Matthew Frost Vanden Plas 4R
288 Carl Sowter Jaguar 420
307 Jon-Joe Cunningham Rover P5
312 Tom Reynolds Daimler DS420 limo
313 John Cullingford Rover P5
326 Shane Lynn Rover P4
328 Daniel Lathan Rover P4
336 Nigel White Vanden Plas 3L
341 Austen Freestone Rover P5
342 Ryley Freestone Rover P4
388 Taylor Sowter Cadillac Fleetwood limo (1961)
396 Karl Turner Daimer DS420 limo
502 Doug Walker Rover P5
537 Martin Brunson Rover P5
557 Paul Bowen Daimler Majestic
576 Colin Aldred Vanden Plas 4R
601 Chris Medler Austin A135 Princess hearse
673 Darren Fendley Humber Super Snipe
757 Callum Gill Cadillac
788 Aaron Riches Ford Granada Mk1
811 Pete Winter Rolls Royce Silver Cloud
830 Lee White Mercedes W114
884 Jack Filmer Austin A135 Princess limo
888 Shaun Stark Vanden Plas 4R
925 Aaron Preece Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
970 Bob Turner Rover P5
997 Meilof Troost Simca Beaulieu
‘Unders’ – small/slow
10 Ben Collins Vauxhall Six (1948)
27 Will Longford Austin A60
72 Billy Bond Morris Marina Coupe
82 Tom Foster Saab 99
128 Andrew Shipp Lancia Beta HPE
145 Colin Dicken Vauxhall Six
188 John Reeves Vauxhall Viva
272 Garry Murrell Austin A60
276 Adam Rowell Morris Marina 1700
293 Nick Houghton Wolseley 16/60
312 Tom Reynolds Datsun 180B
333 Hayden Read Morris Marina estate
349 Lee Saunders Austin A60
352 Ben Mynott Vauxhall Victor F (1960)
382 Jack Foster Jr Morris Oxford estate
396 Kev Harland Triumph Dolomite
421 Laurence Ault Morris Oxford estate (1958)
439 Danny Sutton Mitsubishi Celeste A70 coupe
548 Alex Utting Sunbeam Rapier
581 Simon Fixter Standard 12 (1931)
587 Alex Humphrey Austin A60
601 Chris Medler Austin A60
821 Ryan Preston Humber
869 Sam Steele Wolseley 16/60
902 Tony Lowther Lada Riva
‘Unders’ – medium/fast
5 Jeffrey Woolford Triumph 2000 Mk2
21 Jason Colbert Triumph 2000 Mk1
25 Mark Thomas Triumph 2000 Mk2
88 Alan Read Triumph 2000 Mk1
141 Dan Steele Triumph 2000 Mk1
186 Brett Gedney Austin A60
243 Jamie Millen Triumph
303 Brian Cope Wolseley 18/85 Landcrab
312 Brad White Morris 1800 Landcrab
313 Craig Osbourne Triumph 2500 Mk2 estate
321 Andy Newton Triumph 2000
346 Scott Saunders Triumph 2000 estate
390 David Gibson Triumph 2000 Mk2
566 Andrew Potter Triumph 2000 Mk2
791 Nicky Young Triumph Renown (1952)
851 Adam Storr Saab 99
888 Shaun Stark Ford Cortina Mk3
Arguably, the cars of the meeting were the stunning Rolls Royce Silver Cloud of 811 Pete Winter and the 1931 Standard 12 of 581 Simon Fixter, one of the oldest cars ever raced.
Unlimited Bangers
The first Unlimited heat was for the more modern cars – if they can be called that! – and tracked 27. 222 Matty High made the running but gave his lead away to blast 321 Kieran Fry. That allowed 777 Arian Vorkink into the lead but it would be 160 Shayn Winsor who came through for the win in trademark sideways style. Behind him, third-placed Vorkink latched onto runner-up 409 Carlos Pears as they crossed the line, and together they took 90 Adrian Harbord hard into the fence.
Next up was the all-Yanks heat. Sadly, with a couple of late arrivals, a couple more that either failed scrutineering or chose to load up, and a few more who decided they’d rather not go out against other Yanks, it fielded a much lower than anticipated four cars. Action was provided by 280 Simon Goodale spinning 10 Bert Petter into the home straight marker tyres, before being removed from the lead himself by 332 Chris Reed. Reed went on to win from 999 Klaas Slager and Petter.
The older cars went in the third Unlimited heat, featuring an excellent 39 on track, including a number of Yanks. 22 Dave Vincent would probably have rathered that those had been confined to the previous heat, as while most of the early races were fairly quiet, to let the drivers get some laps out of their special cars, he was absolutely obliterated by 388 Taylor Sowter’s big Cadillac. A big pile-up on the scoreboard bend had claimed many, including Speedy’s hearse early on, and set Vincent up for that shot, with 970 Bob Turner also well involved. The most action-packed race of the meeting so far earned entertainers awards for Turner, 155 Sam Coote and 601 Chris Medler, as 830 Lee White took the win from 288 Carl Sowter and 326 Shane Lynn.
The other newer Yanks went in with the more modern machinery for the next round of heats. The first of those, with 25 cars on track, saw Petter on a mission, delivering follow-ins to Arian Vorkink and 844 Tom Haggety. Then, on the road bend, High was set about by team-mates Petters and 06 Niek Tippe. Petters’ car eventually snapped and was blasted by 339 Jack Garrod, setting up a superb wrecking train, also featuring 883 Tom Filmer, 186 Mike Pullen and Carl Sowter. Out front, 439 Danny Sutton led much of the way, but the win went to 632 Callum Reed.
The 29-car heat five featured plenty of action including a rollover for 925 Aaron Preece before the car was flipped back onto its wheels by an accidental hit from 211 Barry Franklin. 557 Paul Bowen’s Majestic was ‘caged’, while 1 Maarten Steenbekkers’ Princess also took some hefty damage from Taylor Sowter and 313 John Cullingford. Bowen managed to keep his car going and joined in the fun, as the race effectively turned into a DD, with only Lee White and Taylor Sowter still running at the end.
The Unlimited final also featured 29 cars. After a complete restart, Speedy, who had managed to effect repairs to the hearse, hit Pears, with Medler then going in on Speedy in his matching hearse. There was also some cool Yank-on-Yank action involving Slager and Taylor Sowter, before Pears did 884 Jack Filmer on bend four. Pete Winter and Slager also piled in, along with Pears, Medler and Pullen, delighting the large crowd. Winter in particular was on form, pulling himself out, driving a lap and charging in again twice more, completely splintering Medler’s hearse. When Carl Sowter piled into Winter a fire broke out, bringing out red flags and an early finish, with 17 Kyle Overy declared the winner from Sutton and 576 Colin Aldred. The 17-car DD then provided some more excellent action, with Speedy appropriately winning his last-ever event in the fresh Rover P5 he had saved for the occasion. It was a fitting way to bring the curtain down on a night of nostalgia, and the career of one of the most successful East Anglians of all time.
Unders
The opening two heats for the smaller cars were both relatively quiet affairs. The 25-car opener, for smaller/slower cars was won by the unusual Lancia of 128 Andrew Shipp from 82 Tom Foster in his well-used Saab and the A60 of 869 Sam Steele. That after the returning 145 Colin ‘Sonic’ Dicken had provided some sideways entertainment in his superbly presented Vauxhall Six. He survived an attack from 312 Tom Reynolds but was then done after the flag, while 902 Tony Lowther’s Lada was blasted by 27 Will Longford.
The 16-car heat two was won in style by the man of the moment, 88 ‘Speedy’. He carved his way from the back of the field to third within two laps and was there to pick up the pieces when 851 Adam Storr put away 312 Brad White and 888 Shaun Stark put himself in. Speedy was delighted with his win, suggesting it proved he still had what it took – not that that was ever in doubt – and he could now relax and enjoy the rest of the meeting.
The same split for the next round of heats saw Tom Foster win the next by half a lap, having deposed 821 Ryan Preston of the lead, from Shipp and 439 Danny Sutton. 396 Kev Harland took some punishment in his little Triumph Dolomite, while 188 John Reeves rolled after the flag after a coming together with Reynolds.
The middle-sized/faster cars’ second race was a quiet one, won by 25 Mark Thomas from 566 Andrew Potter and Shaun Stark. Speedy had spun 21 Jason Colbert from third but could not catch the leaders, then got caught up in the aftermath of Storr’s t-bone on Colbert, spinning and dropping to fifth at the flag.
The Unders final raised 24 cars. It was led much of the way by the Triumph estate of 313 Craig Osbourne before 382 Jack Foster Jr took over but he was beaten to the flag by younger brother Tom, with 141 Dan Steele completing the trophy placings. Colbert and Read were again in the thick of the action, with Speedy joined this time by son 333 Hayden ‘Greedy’ Read, while Sonic took some hefty hits after being turned into the path of 390 ‘Gibbo’.
The smaller cars’ action was completed with their own DD which raised 14 cars and saw Danny Sutton eventually prevail after seeing off 293 Nick Houghton, 349 Lee Saunders and Stark. That after 10 Ben Collins had pulled off a superb on-opposite hit in his little Vauxhall Six on John Reeves, and Dan Steele blasted Potter, earning the pair entertainers’ awards.