Mildenhall Saturday September 3 2005
Saloon Stockcars World Championship and Unlimited Bangers

Meeting sponsors Hedges Car Transport, TW Crowden and Daughter, Parkers Skip Hire and Dave Parrin Quality Used Car Sales

The 2005 Saloon Stockcar World Final raised an excellent 64 cars to Mildenhall on September 3, the line up including a good showing from the west country, a smattering from Scotland and even four from Ireland plus 30 Toon Schut from Holland and German 303 Frank Loeff.

There were sufficient cars for only one last chance race to be run and so a packed field of 36 assembled for the race with 368 Steve Santry setting off on pole and making the early running ahead of 401 Steve Webster as 312 Neil Payne was the first to spin and 360 Carl Waterfield squeezed 219 Clive Grief into the wall and 438 Tony Lay removed 441 Phil Martin and 419 Luke Grief hooked out 167 Richard Cosbey before 149 Jamie Sampson was spun by 912 Andi Newman and clobbered in turn by 26 Tommy Barnes. Clive Grief then squeezed 417 Fred Powell into the wall as 51 Paul Licquorice moved into second and a recovered Powell spun Scot 640 Kevin Letford while there were spins from 377 Mick Oslar and Clive Grief as Webster fired in 420 Ivan Street. Santry then spun from the lead and Waterfield took it up from Licquorice and Lay as 31 Dave Smith spun 917 Graham Rutherford and 356 Anthony Filbey scalped Powell before 603 Wayne Peckham and the luckless Santry went round. Smith spun Irishman 160 Dave Patton and they went in hard on the top bend before the recovered Santry, Peckham and Newman crashed out in a heap. Licquorice removed Powell and 156 Darren Goudy spun Oslar before Peckham claimed Patton as Waterfield held his nerve to win from Licquorice and Lay. Webster, Goudy and Luke Grief took the remaining spots in the big race.

All 34 qualifiers lined up for the World Final with defending champion 402 Shaun Webster on pole alongside 677 Eddie Darby while the suspension of 382 Danny Hunt meant 511 Craig Barnett moved to the inside of row two. The grade parade included a cheerleading troop leading 490 Ian Jarman out while 666 Stan Perry was his usual charismatic self for his world final debut. With all the cars lined up in order the call for the drivers to start their engines was followed with a loud explosion of fireworks and then two very slow rolling laps before the cars exploded into life. Shaun Webster made a dream start as 499 Dave Aldous became an early casualty thanks to the bumper of 114 Nick Courtier while 624 Ryan Wilson spun and took a pounding from the pack as Goudy spun Licquorice and Schut claimed 224 Mark Calvert. The reds were then shown with Wilson in trouble following his barrage of abuse but mercifully he was only shaken and was actually given clearance to restart the race which was soon underway again thanks in no small part to the drivers who wasted little time in arranging themselves back in grid order. Another very slow rolling lap with Shaun Webster again making a great start to blast into the lead as Shaun Webster spun Wilson as 511 Craig Barnett bounced 720 Shane Brown into the wall and Loeff piled up the back of a struggling Schut. Petty removed Steve Webster who was clobbered by 3 Derek Howard as Darby moved into second and Aldous went third while Barnett lost several places. Darby the got passed Webster and took the lead but the defending champion quickly reclaimed his spot while Brown and Barnett moved up to third and fourth respectively. Lay hooked out 5 Mo Crown and on lap 14 Brown overtook Aldous for second but Webster had already opened a healthy lead. Crowson fired back to spin Jarman and 512 Darren Barnett had a pop at Courtier with 428 Lee Sampson spinning the latter as Calvert hit the wall hard, surviving only to be spun by Goudy as Courtier came back to fire 170 James Cochrane in as Howard put away 777 Alan Ainsle. Darby had a go at Wilson but paid for it as Crowson spun him while Licquorice removed Howard and Courtier delivered the final action by fencing Darren Barnett. Meanwhile Shaun Webster was nothing short of majestic as he tore through the field to successfully retain his title by more than half a lap from Brown with Craig Barnett beating Aldous for third. 807 Chris Murfin, Darby, Sampson, Lay, Goudy and Courtier completed the top 10.

28 starters for the first Allcomers which was another cracker. An action packed start saw Martin spin Jamie Sampson and Street with Powell T-boning Sampson as 569 James Radcliffe, Patton, Goudy, 468 Kelven Nicholls and 220 John Englestone were all caught in a pit gate pile-up. 710 Vince Stone spun 111 Darryle Goodard as Lee Sampson fired in Patton. 50 Darren Day led from 562 Trevor Gray until the former crashed into the luckless Patton who was hit again by Nicholls and Crowson as Gray also crashed out and 305 Nigel Parker took it up as Peckham put Cochrane away. 369 Andy Santry attacked Nicholls and Lee Sampson neatly spun Murfin and Goodard en route to taking the lead when the back marking Radcliffe spun Parker. Powell had Newman round and Steve Santry fired in 625 James Strath before Parker collected the spun Sharp and Andy Santry continued to be lively fencing Oslar as Lee Sampson motored to the win from Craig Barnett and Steve Santry.

Just 19 for the second Allcomers but it was still lively. Calvert got the action going by fencing 851 Brian Irvine as Luke Grief did the same to Letford to grab the lead while 425 Richard Baldwin spun on the back straight. Letford again lost out to the Grief family as Clive spun him and Aldous fenced Calvert. 2 Paul Tuppen moved into second as Brown spun from contention while Shaun Webster fired 207 Darren Bradford in hard on the pit bend and Irishman 842 William Taggard was walled by Calvert before the yellows came out to retrieve some debris on the track. Howard moved into third on the restart as Irvine spun and Jarman hooked out impressive Irishman 190 Marcus Watt. Calvert and Shaun Webster both spun on the back straight, the latter recovering to remove Clive Grief as Aldous fenced 32 Tom McRory who recovered to have 199 Phil Powell out, Brown collecting the latter. Howard had taken up the running as a four way battle for the lead developed with Jarman then using his bumper to move through into the lead and hanging on to win, Howard retiring just before the end with Aldous taking second and Luke Grief third.

29 cars for the final Allcomers with Newman the first to strike spinning Oslar as Stone set the pace and Baldwin spun Englestone with Gray clobbering the latter in turn. Jarman had a pop at Aldous before the spun Steve Santry was hit head-on by Barnes and Jarman continued to stuff Powell and Crown had a go at Lee Sampson. Strath spun Goodard who was hit by Andy Santry and Jamie Sampson removed Stone and so Goudy took over but it was short lived as Street spun him and Filby took up the running but this didn't last long either as Lee Sampson came through. Powell removed Nicholls and Luke Grief did likewise to Street only to be dumped out in turn by Andy Santry as Jarman spun Stone with Powell hitting the latter. Radcliffe then spun Jarman and was taken out in turn by Nicholls as Lee Sampson recorded his second win from Aldous and Darren Barnett. Stone was awarded with the Roundwheel Racewear sponsored Trier Award.

Last Chance Qualifier: 360 Carl Waterfield, 51, 438, 401, 156, 419, 441, 369, 625, 305
World Final: 402 Shaun Webster, 720, 511, 499, 807, 677, 428, 438, 156, 114
Allcomers One: 428 Lee Sampson, 511, 368, 369, 603, 417, 305, 220, 441, 156
Allcomers Two: 490 Ian Jarman, 499, 419, 2, 720, 512, 219, 402, 224, 207
Allcomers Three: Sampson, 499, 512, 356, 305, 369, 199, 377, 569, 624

An unlimited banger domestic session raised a very respectable 54 car entry with the field largely RDC based although there were a handful of visitors from PRI, TSR and Spedeworth. A decent showing of material with the pick of the Granadas a used Mk2 limo for 33! Simon Reed while the best of the nine XJs was a series one for 768 Calvin Girling. 127 Dan Lynch returned a Mercedes 280SE and a good showing of Japs with used Crowns for 22 Dave Vincent, 271 Dean Goodall and 384 John Golden plus a fresh one for 665 Stu Scarlett, a late Laurel for 67 Mark Whittaker and a 300C for 167 Kev Ling. 425 Martin Stopher dared to be different with the sports first Omega estate while 814 Mark Millen returned a 6/110 but topping the bill were the well smart Rover P5 coupe of 313 John Cullingford, the PC Cresta of 813 Mick Cotton and the smart Super Snipe of 14 Colin Lacey.

26 cars for the opening heat with 445 Mark Dorrill (XJ40) making a beeline for 378 Steve Smith (Volvo 240 estate) as 553 Justin Garman buried Lynch and 879 Reg Reed (Volvo 240 estate) broke the back of 137 Lee Turner's XJ with a solid hit. Stopher put away both 211 Barry Franklin (XJ) and 14 Babyface as 263 John Jacombs (Volvo 240 estate) gave 813 Mayhem a hard T-bone with 553 Garmo then attacking the former against the flow. Dorrill continued to bury 35 Peter Lewis (Volvo 240) as 378 Pockets gave 879 Wrecked Reg a wicked T-bone. 67 Sparky stuffed 813 Mayhem and Scarlett did the same to 324 Mark Latham (Volvo 240 estate) before the luckless Mayhem was attacked by 53 Dave Palmer and T-boned by 462 Lee Campbell (XJ40). Garmo gave Latham a T-bone but took one of the same from Babyface as 249 Matt Frost fired up the back of Latham and Garmo came back to spin Babyface rolling the Snipe onto its side on the top bend but the race continued for its final laps as 37 Dave Lewis (XJ) attacked Scarlett while 158 Shane Davies motored his Bluebird to the flag from Sparky and Palmer.

Same amount for heat two with 336 Nigel White attacking Millen from the off before he T-boned 644 Mark Neame and 715 Mick Prince put away 64 Piers Turner. The luckless Neame took a head-on from 188 John Reeves as 321 Andy Newton and 323 Paul Wilkes met in the same way. 313 Cully fired up the back of Prince but took a big hit in turn from the lively White as 384 Goldie landed a T-bone on Girling while 188 Victor did likewise to Newton. 167 Mr Mardy connected with a head-on to 323 Wilkie who came back to blast 93 Ady Chilvers as 877 Adam Perrin used his smart Granada to fence Millen. Victor wrapped things up by firing up the back of Goldie as 119 Davey Cox motored to the win from 364 Sean Winchester and 348 Sonny Sherwood.

Up to 29 for a quality consolation with Mayhem firing up the back of 550 Craig Farrow from the off only to take one in turn from 753 Billy Cunningham as Dorrill blasted 751 Michael Carrol (XJ). 462 Leeky and Babyface enjoyed a head-on as Millen blasted Turner and a pile-up formed on the pit bend with Babyface also attacking the Essex Boy as 165 Darren Wilson scored on Millen. 753 Young Gun blasted 550 Cookie on the nose and Wilkie attacked Scarlett before Millen evened the score on 165 Herb and 33! The Legend fired hard up the back of 751 Mad Mickey. Leeky turned round to assault the latter as Girling stuffed 271 Deano into the pit bend heap and Wilkie ran Latham into the pile before Prince delivered a T-bone to Millen. 249 Frosty did the same to Garmo as Mr Mardy hit 801 Dickie Raymond and Wilkie and Frosty continued to pummel Garmo who shrugged it off to hit Peter Lewis on the nose only to take one in turn from Millen. Mr Mardy again hammered Raymond by burying him as Herb belted Millen head-on only to take one from a recovered Raymond in turn as Wilkie went in on Young Gun but was T-boned by the lively Millen in turn. The leading Girling belted Millen on the nose but took one in turn from Prince as Wilkie attacked the Westy but came under fire from an on opposite Pockets with Frosty also weighing in on Wilkie who battled back to hit Goldie head-on. The Team Black man came back to hit Pockets on the nose as Raymond took stick from Mr Mardy and Frosty, the latter finishing second behind Girling with Deano third and just six finishing.

Just 21 cars returned for the final but it was surprisingly lively. Prince gave the smart Granada of 78 Lee Macey a T-bone from the off with Mr Mardy and 211 Bazza hitting the former. Bazza continued to stuff Sparky as Mr Mardy again stuck it to Prince. White then zeroed in for a massive head-on to Sparky and was nailed in turn by Dave Lewis with Perrin also connecting with a T-bone. After nearly rolling 119 Cruncher turned round to deliver a hard T-bone to Mr Mardy. Deano attacked 78 Mad Mace but the Crown threw a wheel which fortunately safely found its way to the infield as 338 Terry Garrod (Volvo 740) fired up the back of Perrin. 348 Mushy then hit the spun Dave Lewis on the nose which in turn pinned Vincent against the wall as 331 Jason Jackson attacked Davies and Garrod turned round to land two hits on Perrin. Palmer meanwhile motored to the win from Frosty and Vincent.

Over half the field returned for the Accumulator and DD, the race beginning with Leeky attacking 311 Gary Lown (Volvo 240) which was quickly repaid as Bazza attacked the Legend and Wilkie did the same to Jacombs with Bazza turning round to blast the former. Leeky also went against the flow for a hit on Bazza who shrugged it off for another head-on to Wilkie but he was T-boned in turn by Young Gun who took a decent hit in turn from 207 John Randall (XJ). Davies took his second win from Mushy and Dave Lewis and the DD began. Mad Mace fired up the back of 331 Boxer as Jacombs assaulted Chilvers with Frosty picking the latter up and following him in while Bazza connected with a T-bone on Mad Mace. The Legend scored on Frosty and Vincent stuffed Mad Mace by the pit gate allowing Mushy to blow the latter up. Vincent then fired up the back of 207 Rocket but was buried on the top bend seconds later by Mushy. A bit more cat and mouse was followed by an explosion on the back straight as Mushy trashed Frosty only to take a killer hit in turn from Vincent with Rocket completing a fine train. Pockets then emerged from the top bend heap to hit Rocket on the nose, the latter firing back to blast Turner as Vincent dug himself out to hit Deano on the nose and then join forces with Rocket to waste the Legend. Boxer then burst back into the life but Vincent quickly finished Rocket with a head-on before meeting Vincent on the nose but only the Crown survived and continued to celebrate the win with two hard head-ons to the PRI points champion.

Heat one: 158 Shane Davies, 67, 53, 22, 131, 331, 37, 211, 553, 425
Heat two: 119 Davey Cox, 364, 348, 336, 321, 323, 877, 78, 271, 338
Consolation: 768 Calvin Girling, 249, 271, 321, 167, 715
Grand Final: 53 Dave Palmer, 249, 22, 158, 348, 37, 768, 364, 331
Accumulator: Davies, 348, 37, 22, 249, 78
Into DD: 22 Dave Vincent from 207

A quality night's action with both formulas delivering plenty of top racing, the Saloons entering a sensational world final while the supporting programme was equally action packed and some good racing from the bangers, especially the consolation with some fine hitting to be found.