Photos: 1 - 21 Matt Bull, 22 - 39 Jim Harrod, 40 - 52 Damien Widdows
Report: Mark Paulson
Nearly 90 Pre-1975 Bangers put on a great display of old-school racing at the Adrian Flux Arena, King’s Lynn on Sunday afternoon (4 July). The heats were run to nudge-and-spin rules, with the first round largely run before the heavens opened, with the final and allcomers allowing the bigger hits on a drying track after the mid-meeting deluge. Providing support was a healthy field of Junior Bangers.
Pre-1975 Bangers (Unlimited)
Among nearly 30 Unlimiteds, star car was #155 Sam Coote’s 1967 Ford Galaxie, while #555 Harry Gelsthorp returned a Cadillac Eldorado. Joining Coote in earning material awards were #132 Will Thorpe (Austin 3-Litre) and #959 Aaron Keoghan (Austin A110 Westminster).
Heat one went the way of #950 Scott Gamble (Series 1 Jaguar), as plenty of action went on behind him. #589 Simon Smith (Rolls Royce) was particularly lively on his way to second, with #247 Lee Clarke (Rover P5) third.
On a much wetter track for heat two, chaos reigned at the start with cars spinning left, right and centre and creating a track blockage on Turn 4. Through it came veteran #112 Sean Gallagher (Rover P5) to lead before #336 Mark Davis (P5 Coupe) took up the running. But Davis slowed and was spun by #591 Marc Blower (Series 2 Jag) before a red flag was required for #307 Martin Kent (Rolls Royce) who had taken a few hits from the Freestone clan. Clarke led away the restart but then slowed, letting Coote’s massive Galaxie through. #188 John Reeves (Volvo 164) used his pace advantage to move ahead, chased by #171 Tommy West Jr (Series 2 Jag). On the final bend, the pair went either side of a stranded car and, as they came back together, West’s car was flicked around, allowing Reeves to win from Blower and Coote.
A complete restart was required in the final after Gelsthorp’s big hit on #704 Connor Siddells (Rover P5). Gallagher and #40 Lester Freestone (Jag) then pulled clear, with Freestone overhauling Gallagher for the win and Simon Smith also nipping past for second. Action came when #517 Sid Cooper (P5) spun and was T-boned by #201 Phil Milner’s Mercedes, with Coote also joining in. The Austin FX4 of #791 Nicky Young was then on the receiving end from Clarke and a three-pronged Yank attack of Coote, Gelsthorp and #551 Brett Jackson, leaving it well-wrecked. Coote wasn’t finished there, also blitzing #107 Taylor Pratchett’s Humber Hawk after that had previously had Davis’s Rover embedded in the back.
Just seven cars (with a further four awaiting the destruction derby) survived for the allcomers race, with Gelsthorp leading all the way to win from Reeves and Gallagher. The lively Lester Freestone enjoyed a few head-ons with Reeves in the destruction derby before going round to finish off Clarke, but it was Reeves who got the nod, just still mobile after Freestone’s Jag had conked out.
Pre-1975 Bangers (‘Unders’)
A terrific turnout of more than 50 pre-1975 ‘Unders’ included #419 Laura Quadling in the oldest car of the meeting (1949 Riley RMA) along with the similar RME model of nephew #420 Matthew Jode. #476 Ross Coleman (Morris 6), #375 Alex Hensby (Singer), #439 Danny Sutton (rotary-engined Mazda sourced from Belgium) and #721 Dan Clarke (smart Mk3 Cortina) also earned awards for their cars.
Split into groups for smaller and larger cars/engines until the allcomers, the smaller set went out first. #120 Lewis Campbell (Austin A60 estate) led the race from start to finish, either side of a red flag when #90 Joey Holmes Jr’s Hillman Super Minx shed a wheel. Initially pushed by Hensby, Campbell won from the matching car of running mate #122 James Woodley. Quadling’s Riley was third after #678 Alex Ward (Hillman Minx) spun out #433 Ben Smith (Mk3 Cortina) and took both into the wall.
The first heat for larger cars was led for several laps by #548 Alex Utting (Mk3 Cortina) until he got caught up in some home-straight chaos, which let #673 Darren Fendley’s Triumph 2000 through to win from #269 Dean French and Dan Clarke.
A torrential downpour mid-race transformed track conditions for the smaller cars’ second race. But it couldn’t stop #329 Michael Carter dominating from the front in his Eastern European police-liveried Lada. Ben Smith was closing him down in the latter stages but couldn’t quite challenge. #860 Christian Doughty (Austin Maxi) was third but #306 Marc Doughty didn’t go so well in his Morris Marina, taking a few hits before going up in a cloud of steam.
In very difficult conditions, #558 Donald Stewart (Triumph 2000 estate) led much of the second larger-car heat but couldn’t keep up the pace in the closing stages and was caught and passed by #556 Matt Tillow (Capri) and Utting. Tillow was then spun out by Utting who went on to win from Stewart and Fendley, through from the back of the field. Just as he had in the earlier heat, #551 Brett Jackson (Capri) did his best to entertain, getting stuck in with a few hits.
With full contact allowed for the final, the smaller cars produced the action of the afternoon. It centred around the Rileys of Jode and Quadling. Jode signalled his intent by blasting #100 Emma Mullins (Opel Rekord) into #277 Sean Rowell (Vauxhall Victor FB), before #611 Joe Geeves (Hillman Super Minx) did Jode. Quadling then blitzed Geeves, with Coleman, Ben Smith and Rowell joining in turn. Smith managed to escape and twice came round for another shot to entertain the crowd. Out front, after spells in the lead for #814 Mark Millen and Hensby, #88 Alan ‘Speedy’ Read overcame earlier issues with his Mk1 Cortina to win from Christian Doughty and Campbell.
Early hits in the larger-car final depleted an already fairly thin number of survivors as Sutton dominated out front. He was caught and passed by #67 Mark Whittaker (Triumph) but had a reprieve when a stoppage to retrieve a loose wheel put him back in front. From there, Sutton eased to the win from #673 Darren Fendley (Triumph), who spun Whittaker from second, and Stewart. Not to be outdone by the smaller cars, a private DD then broke out between Brett Jackson, #267 Martin and #269 Dean French, and Utting, with the drivers enjoying themselves with plenty of hits.
The two groups combined for the allcomers although only 11 cars returned (one waiting for the destruction derby only). Utting went straight on the attack, with Sutton also dishing out a few hits. #841 Phil Jennings (Austin Ambassador) came through to win from #17 Kyle Overy (Austin A60). That pair were joined by Carter as the last three in the destruction derby, with Overy dishing out the final hit on Carter to take the verdict.
Junior Bangers
The youngster’s action began with their White & Yellow Grade Series Final which proved to be a very good race for the Parrin family. #750 Rhys Parrin immediately hit the front from row two of the grid after polesitter #701 Riley Marsh was turned into the marker tyres on the first corner. Rhys’s sister #150 Katelyn Parrin passed #400 Riley Shinn and chased down her brother but, despite a few nibbles, the younger sibling held on for the win. “I thought she was going to take me out last corner!” he laughed.
The more-populated heat two began with a bang when #996 Jack Wright rolled. On the restart, #64 Danny Lee opened a big margin, only to throw it into the wall when he took a tight line into the corner lapping a backmarker. That promoted the tussle between #622 Harvey Webb and #133 Malakie Cullum into the lead battle. Webb brought his strong Tarmac form onto the shale to win, with #842 Keaton Ivins overhauling Cullum for second.
After four years of trying, #702 Ben Kaleta took his first win in the consolation. He powered to the front early on before #281 Jamie Wright took a big hit in the driver’s door area and required attention. Kaleta controlled the restart to win from #670 Max Eaton, who quickly dispatched #825 Sophie Allen from second, while #800 Jacob Rushton was third.
The final began with a Turn 4 pile-up that claimed many from the yellow and blue grades. That helped white-tops Cullum and Jack Wright to escape out front before Cullum was turned into the home-straight fence, before retiring with a ‘box of neutrals. Wright was chased down by the battling #190 Riley Holmes and Webb, with all three line astern at the start of the final lap. Wright was forced onto the wetter outside line, letting Holmes and Webb through, and then Holmes survived Webb’s last-bend lunge to take the win. Webb and Wright followed him home, with #999 Louie Cottrill fourth in his last appearance at the track before reaching retirement age.
A very lively allcomers, with the largest field of the day, rounded off proceedings. Webb showed a strong turn of pace for this second win of the day, just holding off Holmes and Eaton.