Mildenhall Stadium Saturday June 18 2016
Unlimited Van Bangers, BriSCA F2 Stockcars World QF and Ministox

The annual unlimited van banger meeting attracted decent, if unspectacular field of 23 entries on June 18, the exact number advertised by the final entry list although they weren’t exactly the same drivers with 76 Terry Mansfield impressing again with Mercedes 811 bus while 206 Dave King’s Iveco bus was almost as large but stealing the show were the superb Bedford CF campers of 46 David Cooper and 47 Archie Butts.

With an all-in format all 23 contested heat one with Cooper spinning into the infield blocks and collected by 47 Butty Jnr before 170 Chris Shipp span 292 Harry Airey into the infield blocks with 622 Jack Baker cracking the latter with a head-on as 300 Ben Wright buried 38 Alec Hannah and 76 Top Gun caused the first splintering damage to Cooper with a passenger side shot with 204 Charlie King then managing to spin the former’s bus while 246 Jimmy Butts buried the smart LDV of 86 Simon Royall. 817 Kurt Jacobs then attacked Butty Jnr and the latter’s camper fell apart in grand fashion as Top Gun rallied back to stuff 535 Matt Ford and Butts span the remains of Butty Jnr into the infield blocks. 187 Andy Marshall took the win only to then get stuffed by 200 Ash Grieson while 204 Charlie Boy again managed to turned around Top Gun. 328 Dan Lathan and 673 Darren Fendley were the placemen with Shipp taking the entertainer award with a full contact drive.

Impressively 21 returned for the second heat which delivered the best action of the night and started with Shipp spinning Cooper who took a wicked hit from Charlie Boy which saw the camper start to fall apart before a playful 206 Kingy reversed into 164 Jack Turner which caused a massive pile-up on the pit bend with Top Gun then smashing 757 Tom Farren into the heap and Baker homed in for a hard hit on Kingy before Wright added Grieson to the mess. 308 the Tit nailed Baker and was blasted by Butts who took one in turn from Airey and Farren moved in to the stuff the recovering Butts into the infield blocks as Kingy came under fire from 86 Marlon who was then pasted by Shipp. Charlie Boy again stuck it to Cooper as Lathan span 317 Callum Jacobs into the wall and Kingy homed in for a T-bone on the latter as Cooper’s camper fell apart gloriously with Charlie Boy delivering the final touch to the destruction. Top Gun then homed in for a bruising hit on the lurking Farren who battled on to reverse into 317 Stress and then 164 JT with 19 Joe Mullarkey wise to his plans as he smashed Farren with a T-bone as did Charlie Boy shortly after but this left the latter open to a big revenge hit from Top Gun. Butty Jnr then dumped the leading Mullarkey into the wreckage on the pit bend which ended his challenge with the finish line in sight and 817 the Stig smacked Wright in the rear wheel to come through for the win, the final action seeing Shipp assault Butty Jnr and Kingy nail JT. Fendley and Stress were the placemen with just six finishing a quality affair, Charlie Boy the best entertainer.

15 repaired for the final with Shipp nailing the spun Ford in the rear wheel as 205 Mike King made his intentions clear by stopping on the pit bend and reversing straight into Top Gun who happily delivered a hit before he continued to attack Charlie Boy who joined his brother on the pit bend and Baker happily treated him to a T-bone as Gava again took one from the game from Top Gun. Baker meanwhile piled Stress into Grieson and Top Gun again laid into the playful Gava before Charlie Boy reversed into JT and Gava was now hammered by Stig as he tried to cause mayhem on the pit bend, Marlon then blasting Charlie Boy before the reds flew with a wheel on the track and sufficient laps had been completed for a result to be given with JT the winner from Shipp and Airey, Gava the best entertainer.

13 returned for the Accumulator with Shipp turning Airey into the infield blocks while Stig cracked Kingy in the rear wheel which left him open to a package from Top Gun before Marlon dumped Ford into Kingy and Top Gun found Charlie Boy’s battered LDV and delivered a T-bone but the former brushed it off to reverse into Marlon before JT homed in on the lurking Gava for a belting T-bone. Ford now assaulting Kingy to cause a pile-up on the pit bend with JT now assaulting Charlie Boy as Stress gamely zeroed in for a hard T-bone on Kingy and Top Gun nailed JY. Charlie Boy now reversed into Shipp before Top Gun delivered a ground shaking hit on Kingy. Lathan emerged from the chaos to take the win from Marlon and Shipp and Top Gun signalled the start of the DD with a head-on to Stig. Top Gun continued to T-bone the mangled Charlie Boy as JT delivered a second massive hit on Gava. Charlie Boy now took one from Shipp before Stig buried JT into Kingy in another big impact with the reds coming out to assist a shaken JT. The event soon resumed with Lathan duly blasted Charlie Boy with a hard T-bone which spelled his own demise and Shipp then piled Stig into the side of damage magnet Charlie Boy. Stig continued to fire into and spin Kingy as Marlon smashed the impressive Charlie Boy with a T-bone and Kingy arrived for a crunching head-on to Marlon which stopped both in their tracks. Stig and Top Gun delivered further punishment to Charlie Boy with Shipp laying into the former as Charlie Boy repaid Top Gun with a head-on. Shipp then took hits from Stig, Top Gun and Charlie Boy, the latter then switching his focus to Top Gun which allowed Shipp to deliver a hit on the latter before he met Stig in a solid head-on and Charlie Boy homed in for a stiff hit on Shipp. With the final four now on their last legs the action went a little cagey, Shipp eventually finding Charlie Boy for a hit before he met Stig on the nose with Charlie Boy then hitting Stig but a shot from Top Gun saw the latter barely escape as the winner, JT taking the entertainer award while entertainer points went to Stig, Charlie Boy, Gava and Shipp for their efforts.

Heat one: 187 Andy Marshall, 328, 673, 246, 622, 200, 817, 164, 204, 86 Best entertainer: 170 Chris Shipp
Heat two: 817 Kurt Jacobs, 673, 317, 47, 206, 76 Best entertainer: 204 Charlie King
Grand Final: 164 Jack Turner, 170, 292, 673, 817, 317 Best entertainer: 205 Mike King
Accumulator qualifier: 328 Dan Lathan, 86, 170
Destruction Derby: 76 Terry Mansfield from 204 Best entertainer: Turner

Round four of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar track championship was also the season’s World Qualifier at Mildenhall and also being the final shale round of the series it helped attract a fine entry of 57 cars which was boosted by a double figure number of drivers on their first appearance of the year at the raceway including welcome Dutchman H305 Ron van Wamalen.

19 cars for heat one with 431 Andy Gibbs setting the pace before 166 Tony Cordiner went around on the top bend and was collected heavily by 26 Gary Ford to bring the reds out and a complete restart was ordered. 19 Martin Ford immediately fired into 464 Matt Linfield as Gary Ford span and was collected by 225 Tony Blackburn as Gibbs again led the way while 289 James Waterfall and Martin Ford tangled and crashed into the fence on turn two where they remained locked together for several laps during which time they were collected by Linfield who span into the fence. 283 Gary Allen span 73 Dale Bennett into the fence as they fought for third with 59 Lee Dimmick climbing to second before 987 Sam Brigg span Allen who lose a wheel in the process and the waved yellow flags were thrown. Gibbs continued to lead but was soon joined by Dimmick and 103 Carl Issit for an intense battle for the lead over a few laps with Issit slipped passed Dimmick for the lead with four to run and he raced to the win with 226 Billy Webster besting Gibbs for third, just five finishing the race on the lead lap.

19 again for heat two but 177 Glen Scott failed to make the start leaving 417 Allan Weston to set the pace as 124 Ollie Skeels fired into 925 Paul Wilson and 623 Rob Dobie took a wild attack from 524 Michael Wallbank as 150 Mark Thoms climbed to second. 774 Steve Flatt attacked 235 Bradley Blyth as the latter raced into third with the latter then fighting Wilson for fifth as behind 606 Andy Palmer fired 298 Jake Walker wide. 81 Mark Clayton climbed to third as Weston led the pack to half way and Flatt span from contention. Clayton moved into second as the race entered the final five laps before 219 Chris Mitchell attacked Flatts which flipped the latter onto his roof bringing the reds out immediately and the result was declared with Weston the winner from Clayton and Wilson.

With 449 Mark Dorrill proving to be a very late arrival at the stadium, the final heat still raised 19 cars with Scott permitted a second chance having failed to see the green flag in the previous race. 849 Triston Claydon set the pace as 376 Daz Seneschall attacked and rattled 887 Neil Brigg into a half spin and further down the field 905 Rob Mitchell charged at 871 Mark Simpson. Claydon led the field to half way ahead of 735 Mick Haworth, 741 Luke Branston and Brigg as Mitchell got stuck into 136 Kyle Taylor. Branston moved into second but Haworth briefly reclaimed the place but a big lunge from Branston saw him secure the spot as 13 Andy Ford climbed to fifth before he barged Haworth out of the way for another place while Branston eased past Claydon for the lead. Brigg stepped up to challenge Branston for the top spot but his hit saw him overcook it and lose time and Branston broke away to win from 184 Aaron Vaight and Ford while a last bend hit on Claydon earned Mitchell fifth, the former just beating Taylor, Haworth and 441 Mick Branston home in a close finish for fifth.

A slightly lower than anticipated field of 20 returned for the consolation with Bennett under immediate fire from 724 Tom Pell who took second while 447 Richard Hampshire opened an early lead before Seneshcall fired Bennett into Pell spinning the latter and Seneschall emerged in second with 597 Barry Clow quickly into third before he came under fire from 225 Tony Blackburn as Seneschall moved into the lead only for the caution flags to fall for the stricken Bennett who had spun. The race resumed with van Wamelen barging past Blackburn for a place as 662 Steve Wycherly span 219 Chris Mitchell while 66 Tom Neat moved into second and then fired Seneschall wide for the lead as Clow and 977 Dave Massey battled for fourth. With five to run things were getting tense at the front with only six qualification places up for grabs. 995 Michael Lund fired Clow wide to move into seventh as Massey did the same to 715 Scott Aldridge to take third and Blackburn followed him through for fourth and Aldridge then came under fire from van Wamalen which dropped him further down the order. Neat was clear at the front but no one else was safe as Massey used his bumper to take second from Seneschall and Blackburn then did the same to the latter to take third and that was how the top three stayed. A final lap sort out saw van Wamelen best Seneschall for fourth but perhaps more significantly Lund got past Aldridge for the sixth and final qualifying place to end a fascinating final few laps.

35 of the 36 qualifiers returned for the final but it was reduced to 34 when Wilson failed to make the start, the field perhaps somewhat surprisingly including eight white grade drivers. Early action saw Martin Ford land a big hit on Neat as Weston sent Thoms spinning and Branston, Mark Clayton, Seneschall and Skeels all crashed out in a heap leaving Gibbs to set the pace from Blyth and Wallbank. The luckless Clayton went round again closely followed by his brother Matt as 823 Sam Wagner span into the infield blocks before Mark Clayton’s bad fortune continued as he went out in a crash with Dimmick before Gibbs span from contention and Blyth emerged in the lead before Webster fired into Lund and they clattered into the fence on the pit bend before the waved yellow flags flew for the stricken Skeels on the pit bend. 23 remained for the restart with 19 on the lead lap including the first 12 with Blyth leading from Linfield, Blackburn, Weston, Rob Mitchell and Palmer but sadly the field was reduced to 22 when 788 Stephen Malinson expired on the rolling lap. Despite the green flags never waving the field roared away with the stricken 788 car on the track and so the race was stopped again and the grid reset, Ford crashing into van Wamalen in the confusion which ended the latter’s race with a further four failing to make the restart. The race got underway the next time with Luke Branston firing into Neat outside of the top 10 and Blackburn quickly climbed to second and eased passed Blyth on lap six of 20 with Rob Mitchell into third and by half way he was second ahead of Palmer, Blyth, Linfield and Branston while Wallbank overcooked it and was collected by Weston., the latter rallying back to fire into Neat which in turn shot the luckless Wallbank into the wall with Weston then spun by Haworth. Issit then moved Linfield wide to take fifth as Palmer challenged Palmer for second which allowed Blackburn to edge away as the race entered the final five laps. Issit bested Blyth for fourth and elsewhere the back marking Waterfall fired into van Wamelen as Blackburn motored to the win from Mitchell and Palmer, an excellent fifth for Blyth earned him the white grade award and a seventh secured the yellow grade award for Branston.

A slightly disappointing 26 returned for the Grand National including Dorrill in his first race of the night. Wallbank had Pell around early on as Blyth set the early pace and van Wamelen span while a big push among the lower grade saw the luckless Pell spat out by the traffic while Dorrill’s efforts to get on track weren’t rewarded as he span. Issit sent van Wamelen around again as a pile-up formed on the road bend to bring the caution flags flying with concern then shown for Thoms who was in the centre of the crash. With Blyth crashing out in the aforementioned pile-up it was Wagner who headed the restart as Issit barged past Pell to move into ninth as Rob Mitchell quickly climbed into second as the race hit halfway and Issit now overhauled Blackburn in the race for sixth and he was up to fifth with five to run with Blackburn in his shadow as Wagner fired the luckless Pell wide en route to taking the win ahead of Mitchell and Mallinson.

Heat one: 103 Carl Issit, 59, 226, 431, 18, 464, 987, 471, 289, 19
Heat two: 417 Allan Weston, 81, 925, 150, 124, 788, 235, 823, 606, 524
Heat three: 741 Luke Branston, 184, 13, 887, 905, 849, 136, 735, 441, 871
Consolation: 66 Tom Neat, 977, 225, H305, 376, 995, 715, 377, 597, 298
Grand Final: 225 Tony Blackburn, 905, 606, 103, 235, 226, 464, 741, H305, 441
Grand National: 823 Sam Wagner, 905, 788, 441, 103, 225, 298, 93, 289, 219

Round 10 of the Mildenhall Track Championship raised another strong entry of 24 Ministox with the field boosted by three Incarace visitors and two from PRI.

All in for heat one and 258 Craig Elthan had 318 Codie Reeves out immediately before 368 Dan Santry charged at 304 Tony Elbourn as 342 Freddie Crittenden did the same to 327 Jolie Pettit to take the lead as Elthan rattled 340 Sam Bennett into a half spin and 566 Steph Sore went round. 259 Bradley Elthan then lunged at Pettit to take second as 315 Charlie Santry had 514 Abbie McGuinness out and 320 Luke Dorling also span. Crittenden was joined at the front by Bradley Elthan and Pettit for a great scrap for the lead as behind 229 Megan Petherick span and Dan Santry removed 344 Danny Elbourn and he was clobbered by 392 Charlie Morphey. 328 Ben Nichols dumped out Bennett as the recovered Dorling barged past Reeves and 303 Jacob Bromley removed 390 Nina Leigh. Bradley Eltham finally secured the lead as Tony Elbourn fired into and fenced Morphey as the race hit half way with Nichols and Craig Eltham combining to dump out Pettit. This promoted 356 Harry Overy to fourth with Bromley sixth as 339 Harry Atkins removed Charlie Santry only to come under immediate attack from Dan Santry which span Atkins as Nichols challenged and took second from Crittenden which allowed Overy to move into third with five to run. Bromley dive bombed Craig Eltham for fifth as Nichols barged past Reeves and Charlie Santry did the same to Dorling before Overy lunged at Nichols to claim second as Tony Elbourn lunged at and span 308 Molly Smithson who was collected by Bromley and Craig Elthan but it was Bradley Eltham who claimed his maiden Mildenhall win from Overy and Nichols as behind the final bend saw Tony Elbourn survive a last bend attack from Bromley to take sixth and Morphey charged at the recovered Smithson which sent Danny Elbourn around to end a superb opening race.

Just one missing for heat two which was just as manic with Pettit rattling Reeves into a half spin and she was struck by Bradley Eltham as Crittenden again set the pace while Petherick charged at Craig Elthan, the latter then dumped out by Atkins while Petherick squeezed Charlie Santry into the wall. Crittenden had opened a useful lead with Reeves second ahead of 350 Liam Webster and Nichols before the latter came under attack from Craig Eltham and Nichols fired Reeves wide to take second. Dan Santry then lunged at Tony Ebourn as Leigh battled her way into fourth. Reeves came back with a big swing at Nichols in the fight for second. Smithson then lunged at and fenced Craig Eltham and 364 Dave Shearing shot Petherick into the wall as Reeves and Nichols continued to trade dive bombs which allowed leigh to snatch second as the race hit half way. Dan Santry rattled Atkins into a half spin as Smithson was spat into the fence by the pack and Craig Eltham fenced Webster. Nichols established himself in third with Dorling on his tail and Bromley and Overy next and Dorling was soon into third as Atkins barged his way past Reeves, the latter then spun by Craig Eltham as Bromley fired into Nichols. Overy lunged at Dorling to move into third and was soon joined by Bromley and Nichols in a great fight for third before the latter was shot into the wall. Leigh meanwhile gradually reeled in Crittenden and slipped into the lead on the final lap to take the honour and again deny Crittenden his first win with a last bend lunge from Bromley seeing him just beat Overy for third with Dorling right on their tail as they crossed the line in another superb finish.

23 again for the final with Pettit setting the initial pace as Overy wasted no time in barging past McGuinness as Bromley did the same to Atkins as Pettit extended his lead to a useful advantage ahead of Crittenden, Craig Eltham, Bennett, Bradley Eltham and Nichols. Sore then charged at Dan Santry as Bennett battled his way to third and Dan Santry came back with a big attack on Morphey. Nichols moved into fifth ahead of 331 Archie Fryatt and they soon passed Craig Eltham to gain a spot each as Bennett bested Crittenden for second with Nichols and Fryatt soon doing the same as elsewhere Leigh removed Bromley and Atkins had Smithson out. Pettit led the field to half way with Nichols now second ahead of Fryatt, Bennett, Crittenden and Overy as Bromley charged at Danny Elbourn and Overy did the same to Fryatt as he fought he way to third, Dorling then lunging at and spinning Fryatt who was collected by Bradley Elthan as Bennett span from contention. Atkins now removed Petherick and Danny Elbourn shot Reeves into the wall. Pettit led the field into the final five laps ahead of Nichols, Overy, Dorling, Tony Elbourn and Dan Santry as Smithson again came under fire from Atkins which allowed Bromley to barge past the latter, this perhaps firing Smithson up to send the leader spinning with a lap to go handing Overy the lead. Atkins meanwhile charged at McGuinness and as Overy took the win as behind a last bend lunge saw Tony Elbourn charge at Dorling and Nichols which shot Dorling through for second and saw Tony Elbourn just beat Nichols home for third, Pettit got some consolation as she and Craig Eltham claimed the white grade awards.

Heat one: 259 Bradley Eltham, 356, 328, 342, 258, 304, 303, 368, 364, 320
Heat two: 390 Nina Leigh, 342, 303, 356, 320, 304, 315, 368, 328, 566
Grand Final: 356 Harry Overy, 320, 304, 328, 368, 566, 364, 392, 390, 259

Another thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining Saturday night’s racing with no bad races among the 13 race programme and a couple of crackers among them, the highlights being the second Unlimited Van Banger heat, the second half of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar consolation with all three Ministox races serving up some more great action which has almost become customary from the formula. The main disappointment that maybe the false restart and the subsequent impact it had took the edge of the BriSCA F2 Stockcar final meaning it wasn’t the show stealer it promised to be.

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