Photos: 1- 2 Chris Marrow, 3 - 14 Kimberley McPherson, 14 - 26 Damien Widdows, 27 - 38 Jim Harrod, 39 - 50 Major GIlbert
Report: Mark Paulson
A huge crowd was on hand to witness Halloweeen Carnival Night at the Adrian Flux Arena, King's Lynn. With nearly 100 Unlimited Bangers in action, including many hearses, limousines, Yank tanks and other exotic machinery, plus support from Reliant Robins and 1300cc Stock Cars, there was plenty to be entertained by, even before the massive firework display put on by experts White Lightning.
Unlimited Bangers
The evening commenced with the Supernatural Championship for hearses, limos and some of the more classic machinery, including the Jaguar 420G of #97 Russell Lawton. As soon as the green flag dropped, the big cars managed to squeeze four-abreast down the home straight, with #791 Nicky Young nipping past the ensuing pile-up to take the lead in his hearse. Looking to spice up the action further, #343 Lewis White turned around his massive Lincoln Town Car limo, although he didn't manage to do much damage until #557 Liam Jaggard targeted White with his hearse. The pair later enjoyed a head-on, as #673 Darren Fendley chased down 'Spud' for the win, with #591 Marc Blower making it a hearse 1-2-3.
Next up was the prestigious 25-and-under Championship of Great Britain, featuring 29 cars. #165 Ben Randell led away, but was soon passed by the battling duo of #466 Dalton Steele and #115 Joe Bull. #229 Harry Cobb joined the pair out front after a caution, and then, as Bull dropped out, began to challenge Steele, with last year's runner-up #178 Kieran Bowman also in contention. As Cobb challenged Steele, it allowed backmarker #279 Brad Bowman to get involved with his hearse. He planted Steele into #862 Reece Egglington's car, rolling it on impact. That led to red flags and the result declared with Steele as the winner from Cobb and Bowman.
With more than 40 cars on track, there was plenty of action in heat three. The highlight was a bend-four wrecking train which began with a head-on for #513 Sean Harvey and #623 Ricky Hutton before Rolls Royce-mounted #191 Kieran Greenway, #514 Charlie Taylor and #307 Martin Kent's big Yank joined in. Out front, #732 Chris Cullum motored to the win from #321 Andrew Newton's Series 1 Jag and #450 Glyn Platts.
It was a similar story in heat four. The first attempt was red-flagged after a wrecking train featuring the Jags of #7 Cade Bond and #100 Karl Toole, #555 Harry Gelsthorp's well-used Yank and #235 Danny Williams. After a complete restart, #100 Callum White was the first to go on opposite, before Gelsthorp also turned around to blast #757 Callum Gill on the nose. #741 Charlie Daniels then blasted Gelsthorp, with #224 James Burrows joining in, in turn. #28 Fred James took a flag-to-flag victory from #459 Blake Platts and #155 Sam Coote, but there were plenty of fireworks to come after the flag as the race turned into a de facto destruction derby. #103 Jack Deacon got White, before #604 Ross Cooper blasted Deacon, and Gill and Gelsthorp traded blows.
Heat five produced the action of the night, centred on the scoreboard bend. A huge wrecking train was kicked off when 'Spud' went on the offensive and was then blasted by Brad Bowman in some hearse-on-hearse action. Massive shots piled in from #828 Jordan Sharpe, #639 Tye Williams, #73 Dean Cruickshanks, #17 Kyle Overy, Kent and Bond, to the crowd's delight, while separately #180 Mark Foster followed in Cullum. The action came close to blocking the track, but the race continued, and #299 Tommy Callaghan survived the chaos to win from #362 Jonny James and #266 Big Al Roskell.
Given the earlier action, an impressive 37 cars for the King of the Fens final. After an early stoppage and complete restart, when Callum White put a fellow Jag runner on his roof, there was plenty of action through the remainder of the race. Red flags came out again late on with #180 Mark Foster leading from #182 Lewis Tingle and #760 Joey Reynolds. Reynolds hit the front and went on to win, reclaiming the title he won in 2018, with #209 Tom Waller and Dalton Steele completing the top three. Plenty stayed on for a lengthy destruction derby, which boiled own to Reynolds versus the Foster family, Mark and Jack (#382). The Foster saw off the southerner whereupon Jack expired and Mark took the win.
1300cc Stock Cars
The entry was split to each contest two from three heats, with the first reserved for white-tops only. It produced a comfortable win for #84 Josh Mace ahead of #113 Dean Sievwright and #7 Danny Bitson. Even with a field full of a higher-graded drivers, white-tops still dominated the 30-car heat two, which was won by #83 Darren Smith from Bitson and #623 Mark Bessant. Best of the stars was recent returnee to the formula, #600 Carl Waterfield. The quickest white-tops again escaped in heat three, with Mace taking a dominant second victory of the night from Sievwright and #537 Tom Alsop. Waterfield again led the star-grade challenge from the back of the field, the former Saloon Stock Car man coming through to sixth at the flag.
A combination of some of the quicker white-tops getting delayed and a yellow flag in the second half of the race allowed the stars to have a shot at winning the final. #12 Sam Bloomfield led at the restart from English champion #303 Jacob Bromley, who quickly hit the front with #391 Jake Banwell in tow. The two then traded places until Bromley decided to bide his time, ready for a last-bend lunge, over the past couple of laps. But Banwell realised that was his plan and slowed on the back straight of the final lap to avoid leading into the final bend. Bromley decided he'd better go for it and shot past, only for Banwell to make the lunge. Banwell scrambled out of the bend in front and took the win from Bromley, while #535 Conner Sheldrake was third.
Reliant Robins
An excellent turnout of 18 three-wheelers put on a show for the Halloween crowd, providing plenty of thrills and spills. In the opening heat, as #178 Kieran Bowman went for multiple rolls, #161 Billy Smith led much of the way. The lively #566 James Willis also had an early roll before delivering a big fencing to #229 Steve Futter. Smith threw away his lead giving Futter another hit and so it was #197 Tommy Tatham who took the win from #385 Roy Gedge. Rollers in heat two included Bowman, #490 Lee Barnard and #576 Colin Aldred, as #409 Carlos Pears took victory from the rapid #553 Daniel Douglas and Gedge.
Bowman was tipped into a barrel roll down the back straight by Pears early on in the final. On the resumption, Smith hit the front and looked in command until another caution for a Tatahm roll. Third in the queue, Pears quickly moved in front and Daniel Douglas also attacked Smith but didn't make it through. So Pears took the win from Smith and Douglas.