Pictures: Holly Nash & Andy Crayford
A fantastic night of racing took place at King’s Lynn on 31 March with great turnouts in all three formulas in action.
Unlimited Bangers
Despite a number of late cancelations there were still over 60 Unlimited Bangers in action.
The 2017 Teng Tools White & Yellow Final was the first race for the Unlimiteds and began with pole sitter 388 Taylor Sowter blasting into the lead. Sowter was chased by 634 Ben Green who moved to the front at the end of the first lap.
633 Leeroy Heywood was in a lively mood and began by blowing up the stranded car of 16 Dan Fisher before 514 Charlie Taylor weighed in with a stiff shot on the Previa of Heywood.
Up front 634 Ben Green was enjoying a great battle for the lead with 662 Dalton Smith but both hit trouble when they sailed into a pile up which had developed on turn three which then saw 10 Ben Collins hit the front.
The stranded Green was blown up by 633 Heywood with 883 Jack Filmer then attacking Heywood.
In the latter laps 266 Callum “Oddjob” Hall was involved with 791 Nicky “Spud” Young before 883 Filmer weighed in with a big shot on hall with the latter then also being attacked by 388 Sowter.
The second heat began with 87 Damien Mathews running in 18 Ashley Law with Law then being left open to being destroyed by a big hit from 178 Kieran Bowman. 78 Lee Macey took in 669 Dave Fisher with 169 James Rushton becoming the early leader. 664 Ryan Sutcliffe was caught in a Rolls Royce sandwich between 211 Dennis Vorkink and 617 Jack Overy.
211 Jamie Pole was the leader on restart with 830 Lee White immediately spinning 673 Darren Fendley out of contention. White took the lead a lap later.
322 Tom Fox had problems on the back straight and 171 Tommy West took the chance to weigh in with a big hit with 195 Reece Marsh following up by caging Fox.
White was away up front whilst behind him there was a fantastic battle for second place between 617 Overy and 22 Dave Vincent which Overy got the better of in the closing stages.
388 Taylor Sowter kicked off the action in an excellent Consolation with a follow in on 212 Jack Maryon whilst 171 West was the early leader.
633 Leeroy continued where he left off in the White and yellow Final and weighed in with a good shot on 212 Maryon.
211 Vorkink collided with the pit wall and bounced out in the middle of the track which sparked a mini pile up.
634 Green got his revenge for the opening White & Yellow Final by weighing in with a hefty shot on 633 Heywood and he was then wrecked in turn with a huge shot from 514 Charlie Taylor with 9 Tom Jordan then joining the train on the back of Taylor. More action continued as 18 Law ran in 185 Polly Reade into the back of the train before 200 Steve Farrell came steaming in. before 9 Jordan who had earlier extracted himself from the wrecks rejoined the train on the back of Farrell. 18 Law who had also escaped then went in wrecking 9 Jordan before 757 Callum Gill pulled of a huge shot on Law and 211 Jamie Pole in went in with a massive shot on Gill with the reds then coming out
The restart saw the leading 288 Carl Sowter being wiped out by backmarking 211 Pole with 9 Jordan then going in with shot on Pole. 11 Ryan Leeks then briefly took the lead before 455 Ricki Finney hit the front with the remaining action in the race seeing 288 Carl Sowter going in on 460 Luke Tongue.
171 Tommy West was the early leader in the final whilst an early pile up claimed several with 883 Jack Filmer going in with a good shot on 78 Lee Macey amongst others. By this time 222 Matty High had hit the front whilst 419 Laura Quadling went in the fence and was nailed hard by 103 Jack Deacon with 768 Danny McSweeney also weighing in hard on 178 Bowman.
222 High led the restart but was involved in an early sort out which saw him tangle with 617 Overy. 830 White was attacked by 321 Andy Newton. 195 Marsh then hit the front from 10 Collins whilst 455 Ricky Finney took the opportunity to nail 791 Young.
Collins was spun out of the lead and a lap later Marsh spun himself whilst looking good. 321 Andy Newton took up the running but was moved wide a lap later by 160 Shayn Winsor who took up the running.
Late action saw 791 on receiving end again as he was firstly blown up by 171 West with 455 Finney then unable to resist the temptation to weighing in once more!
The terrific action earlier in the meeting took its toll as a depleted field entered the track for the All Comers and Destruction Derby.
388 Sowter immediately hit the front with 178 Bowman being flicked out by 884 Tom Filmer who was then t boned by 288 Sowter. The leading Sowter put 200 Farrell in the tyres. 673 Darren Fendley then went past Sowter to take the lead but Sowter took his chance to regain the lead by spinning immediately spinning Fendley. A lap later 160 Winsor went past Sowter to take the lead and went on to pull clear and take the flag.
The first action in the Destruction Derby saw 556 Matt Tillow immediately being blown up by 455 Finney with 388 Sowter coming round to do more damage to 556 Tillow.
884 Filmer went through back wheel of 200 Farrell and the pair then exchanged some head ons. 288 Sowter waited for 455 Finney who came in with a solid shot. Farrell went through back of Carl Sowter with 884 Filmer going through back wheel of Finney.
Finney and 388 Sowter then exchanged more head on before the DD was settled in Finney’s favour
2L Stock Cars
The first race for the 2L Stock Cars was the 25 & Under Championship of GB. 331 Mackenzie Whitehead was an early spinner with 350 Tommy Parrin meeting him on the nose and 131 Timmy Barnes also getting caught up in the early melee
502 Sam Bloomfield was the early leader but was spun going down the back straight for the first time by 573 Marty Lake. Lake then came under attack from 120 Luke Dorling which allowed 888 Shane Emmerson to hit the front. World Champion 306 Daniel Parker then started to chase Emmerson but the leader was too far in front for Parker to make any real impression. 350 Parrin had a great drive and rattled in 171 Adam O Dell en route to coming back to a great third place considering he was the last car in the fence at the end of the first lap
The Clive Grief Memorial was up next which was open to all drivers. As seems to be always the case with this race it was a fantastic spectacle from start to finish! 312 Neil Payne was the early leader with 448 Martin Kibble and 425 Tom Balls being the first victims and spinning before they crossed the start line. 172 Jack Rust – making his debut in the formula - drove a fantastic race taking the lead early and leaving the rest behind. He was mixing it with the backmarkers from all grades and looking a likely leader for most of the race. The star grade charge was being led by 219 Luke Grief and 349 Michael Allard and an error by the leader saw Grief catch the flying Rust and take the lead on the fourteenth lap. A lap later Rust pulled off which was unfortunate following a great drive. Allard kept pressure on the leader who scythed his way through traffic but he could not get close enough to make a telling blow
The first all comers saw 888 Emmerson put the field to the sword with a dominating display. 425 was the early leader but once Emmerson hit the front there was no doubt and he won by half a lap with Allard getting second place by half spinning 537 Tom Allsop on the final bend
The second Saloon Allcomers saw an explosive start when 448 Kibble was launched into a full rollover before coming to rest and he was then on the receiving of a hard accidental drivers dooring. Thankfully after some time Martin was able to climb from his car unaided.
425 Tom Balls led the restart and he was involved in a battle for the lead with 537 Allsop with both clashing and crashing out.
399 Cole Atkins then hit the front with 349 Allard chasing him. Allard got closer and closer until with thee laps to go he was on the back bumper of the youngster. Not for the first time though Atkins drove with a maturity belying his young age and with Allard about to mount an attack Atkins went deep and hard into the bend and used the backmarking 425 Balls to his advantage which saw an attempted Allard attack thwarted and Atkins got the breathing gap which would see him last to the chequered flag.
1300 Stock Cars
Like the Bangers the 1300 Stock Cars kicked off with their Teng Tools 2017 White & Yellow Final. 42 Carl Morgan was the early leader but 769 Ben Englestone was making good progress from the back of the whites and he was challenging for the lead by the fourth lap. Englestone forced his way past but a lap later Morgan went back to the front. This was reversed again a lap later with 681 Dan Moore then seizing his chance to it the front on the seventh lap. Englestone and Moore then enjoyed a great race with positions swapping each bend before Moore made a mistake with four laps to go which put him out of contention. 390 Karl Morris then set about chasing the leading Englestone and got close towards the end but just missed connecting on the final bend.
A top heavy heat two was initially led by 451 James Jackson but he went on hard onto the fence into the first bend which put 690 Jack Wilkins into the lead. A few cars piled into the stricken 451 machine which saw the yellows called for. 690 Jack Wilkins led away at the restart and was chased by 287 Dean Quincee before 730 Brandon Mayes moved into second place. 216 Dan Booth and 129 Will Morphey were flying through from the back of the grid. A few laps later 690 Wilkins pulled off whilst leading with mechanical problems and Booth forced his way to the front. From then on Booth continued to move further ahead whilst Will Morphey had a similarly comfortable gap between himself and the pack in second place. Behind Morphey there was a fantastic scrap for third place between 29 George Morphey, 730 Brandon Mayes, 400 Kevin Shinn and 450 Luke Jackson which was eventually won by Shinn.
858 James Bruce was the early leader of the consolation but he soon had 324 Mark Lathan challenging for the lead. By the third lap 560 Andrew Milner had hit the front whilst a pile up on the town bend had claimed several white top drivers. By the fourth lap this race had its fourth leader in the shape of 142 Jack Lower and then 142 Lower, 560 Milner and 535 Connor Sheldrake were engaged in a great battle up front. 125 Charlie Deane and 70 Sophie Unwin both visited the fence hard as there was action all round the track.
Up front 560 Milner spun 142 Lower in a challenge for the lead and 535 Sheldrake hit the front. 241 Beau Southgate was chasing hard and whilst up front it all kicked off and ended up with 560 Milner and 241 Beaumont on the middle with 535 Sheldrake up front whilst 421 Chris Taylor had emerged as the new challenger. A few laps from home Taylor hit the front and went on to take his first ever win.
The Clive Grief Memorial was another fantastic race for the 1300 Stock Cars. 287 Dean Quincee built up a good lead which was eventually whittled down by 421 Taylor who took up the running. 421 built up an increasing advantage until the backmarking 51 Tommy Aylward decided to play games with the leader which cost him time and allowed 769 Ben Englestone to catch up. There was then a fantastic few laps with bumpers and places being traded every lap with 400 taking up the running on the last bend after going down the back straight for the last time in fifth place to take a great win
142 Lower did not qualify for the final but he didn’t make any mistake in the all comers to take the race win. Lower disputed the early race lead with 535 Sheldrake but once he got the advantage in this he moved ahead. Behind there was some great racing between the reds in particular with 129 Will Morphey on a real charge