Photos: 1- 16 Jim Harrod, 17 - 32 Kimberley McPherson, 33 - 48 Kieran Bonsall
Report: Mark Paulson
Wisbech racer #57 Max Stott claimed a unique double at the Adrian Flux Arena, King's Lynn, by adding the Trackstar World Banger Championship title to the Saloon Stock Car version he won at the same venue in 2018. Racing in support, #730 Deane Mayes scored a heat-and-final double in the Saloon Stock Cars, while #626 Kayleigh Sanders claimed the main honours in the Unlimited Lady Bangers.
A 91-car turnout was slightly lower than expected but an impressive figure nonetheless. The action began with two last-chance qualifiers for the big race, each featuring 25 cars. Out front in LCQ1, #403 Dan Jordan came out on top of a scrap for the win with #356 Sam Hildon (piloting a Vauxhall Astra estate) and 191 Kieran Greenway, with all three secruing their places on the grid for the main race. That meant three-time world champion #119 Davey Cox just missed out. The action came behind, with much of it involving #459 Todd Archer and #859 Terry Archer. The former was initially challenging for the lead before being spun by Hildon. He was then blasted by #317 Callum Jacobs, while Terry Archer was attacked by #270 Mark Hutton, with #171 Andy Frost, #830 Jay Sharpe, #370 John Cobbold, #314 Luke Rawlins and #210 Callum McKee all joining in. Frost, Hutton and Rawlins were named the race entertainers, securing three more places on the World Final grid.
In what was an otherwise quieter LCQ2, #558 Donald Stewart copped plenty of damage and then was 'caged' by a length-of-the-straight blast from #101 Cieran Harmer, which brought out the red flags, as Stewart required some attention, and earned Harmer the race entertainer award. #594 Mason Burdett led the remaining three laps untroubled by #129 Joe Skutela, while #100 Callum White (Jagur X-type) just held off the challenge of #12 Troy Cobbett (Astra) for the final qualifying place.
The World Final was next, with #317 Bradley Cushion and #73 Dean Cruickshanks drawn on the front row of the grid, and defending champion #830 Lee White (Cougar) on row six. The full grid lined up as follows, with the absent #382 Jack Foster Jr replaced by #908 David Brown (X-type estate):
After a brief delay for a visit by the air ambulance, the World Finalists were introduced to the crowd before fireworks signalled the start of two rolling laps. Cruickshanks burst into the lead as Cushion was slow away but there was an early red flag as #519 Lee Middleton rolled onto his side. Cruickshanks pulled clear at the restart as #808 Fabian Leathers-Ashley consolidated second and Cushion was spun from third by #60 Kyle Stevenson. When Cruickshanks was delayed by a pile-up, it let Leathers-Ashley gain the advantage and he started to build a gap to the chasing Stevenson and Cruickshank. But Leathers-Ashley was spun out by the backmarking David Brown and then blown up by #191 Kieran Greenway. That put Stevenson ahead but he clipped a car in the chaos and folded a front wheel back, ending his chances. So Cruickshank returned to the lead but it wasn't going to be a happy ending for the Yorkshireman as his car began smoking with three laps to go. #57 Max Stott had been carving through from the back half of the grid, and closed in towards Cruickshanks. He initially shoved the backmarking #188 John Reeves into the leader, a move that didn't pay off, but Cruickshanks's hobbled car became easy prey anyway. Stott hit the front with two laps to go, avoided a couple of lurking cars and took the flag to claim the second gold roof - in different formulas - of his career. From even further back, #552 Karl Douglas - carrying a Suicide Squad livery in tribute to Barry Wilsher - came through to second, with #123 Kieran Gray third. Cruickshanks limped home fourth ahead of Autospeed representative #355 Aaron Dark, and last-chance qualifier Jordan completing the top six.
A 31-car field took part in the first allcomers race, with #366 Nathan Wren spinning #9 Ben Cox from the lead before losing out himself in the back-straight chaos which left #732 Mac Free in particular with heavy damage. #214 Shane Rawlins led the majority of the rest of the race before Cobbett spun him out with a lap to go to take victory from #466 Dalton Steele and Cobbold.
Forty-two cars made for a hectic second allcomers race, which began with David Brown following in Ben Cox, and Skutela turning round to inflict more damage on Cox. Stott's car, now resplendent with a gold roof, was tipped into the wall near the pit gate, before #359 Lee Moatt was blasted on the back straight by #220 Troy Cooper. #817 Kurt Jacobs blitzed #669 Cal Curtis on the exit of Turn 4, with plenty more piling into the action. Through it all came Brown to take the win, from #248 Jamie Blything and #466 Dalton Steele.
Leathers-Ashley was taken out and blasted by Skutela early in the last allcomers race before red flags were required for a loose wheel. #296 Tom Jennings led a relatively quiet restarted race before being passed by running mate Shane Rawlins. The duo were then passed by Cobbold, crossing the line in that order, with Rawlins then following in Cobbold. Further action came from #178 Kieran Bowman who blasted #69 Brad Bartram (Astra).
Bartram was the star of the meeting-closing destruction derby, exchanging plenty of hits with the likes of #910 Jack Rookard, #307 Martin Kent, Kurt Jacobs and #299 Dale Locker. Bartram, Kent and #542 Craig Oliver were the last three genuine contenders. Bartram and Kent exchanged many head-ons before Kent's car finally expired and Bartram backed off to take the win.
A lower than usual 25 Two-Litre Saloon Stock Cars were in the pits, with one not making it on track. #48 Brad Dyer led the opening laps of heat one, as the star men made light work of carving through from the back. #370 Rowan Venni was shoved past Dyer, with #389 Ryan Santry managing to pass both to take up the lead before Dyer was blasted into a marker tyre, with yellow flags then coming out to assist him. The restart only lasted a few laps as Venni was spun out of second by the backmarking #329 Kegan Sampson, and left facing the traffic, requiring another caution. A slow rolling lap by Santry caught out his pursuers and he was left with a big lead that his pursuers could not overcome. #131 Timmy Barnes and #341 Austen Freestone pushed though into second, while #349 Michael Allard recovered from a spin for fourth.
After slipping back in the closing stages of the first heat, #730 Deane Mayes took an impressive win in heat two. "The car is on rails round here," said Mayes after scything through from the back. #13 Robert Heanes led until around half-distance when #333 Daniel Weavers (in the Diggy Smith car) took over, but Mayes was on his tail and quickly through, before Weavers spun Heanes. That let Freestone through into second and Timmy Barnes third. Allard shoved past #126 Harry Barnes for fourth but was then spun by a combined effort between Barnes and Rowan Venni, who took the place. #120 Luke Dorling recovered from an early spin for fifth.
Mayes continued his fine form in the final, calmly picking his way through the field at high speed. He relieved long-time leader #769 Ben Englestone of the lead in the second half of the race, with #328 Michael Boswell following through. Hanging back in the closing stages to avoid a lurking Harry Barnes, Mayes completed the win from Boswell. Allard also passed Englestone for third with four laps to go, while there was action all around the raceway. Barnes in particular was on the rampage, with #238 Alfie Aldous feeling the full force of the Dereham man's bumper.
An excellent turnout of 21 ladies contested their third Unlimited fixture of the season, with a nice variety of cars in action. Heat one featured plenty of spins and incidents but was won in fairly convincing fashion by #232 Sammy While (Toyota Previa) from #626 Kayleigh Sanders, who just held off the fast-closing #477 Amy Steele. #67 Charlotte Whittaker had been running third in her Mk2 Granada before crashing out with the limo version of #551 Jade Grant. Experienced racer #95 Jade Harbord took her Vauxhall Carlton to a flag-to-flag victory in heat two. While spun #12 Kelly Skinner to take second and #313 Shannon Woods demoted #257 Anna Piggott from third on the run to the flag, as Steele bore down on them.
Sanders was in fine form in the final, spinning both While and #584 Kim French (Volvo limo) from the lead. Sanders continued to lead into the closing stages, with the rest of the top five - Harbord, Piggott, #85 Danielle Ellis and Steele - in close order. But Sanders ran wide and clipped the wall, with Harbord's car unsettled and flying into an inner marker tyre as she tried to avoid the erstwhile leader. Red flags came out, with Sanders just edging the win from Piggott, Ellis and Steele.