Mildenhall Stadium Saturday September 18 2010
RDC's No Hype Needed
National Bangers Old Skool Team Championship and Reliant Robins British Championship

CL=Clangers, DM=Damage Inc, DV=Dover Boys, FL=Team Flash, GC=Gypsy Crew, GR=Team Green, KM=Team Kamikaze, MK=Motley Krew, MR=Midnight Runners, ST=Stinkbridge, TM=Team 22, TT=Thattadoo

The 2010 staging of the National Banger Old Skool team championship saw a full field of 12 teams gather for battle and they raised a near full compliment of 93 cars, last minute transport issues leaving Team 22 one man short while defending champions the Gypsy Crew were two short. Several visitors in attendance with all of the Stinkbridge team putting in plenty of miles as did DM474 Matt Threkeld from the North while from the opposite end of the country came MR239 Steve Carter and for the second year running TM173 Steve Reynolds and KM388 Steve McGrath came from Ireland. On the car front it was wall to wall Mondeos with just four exceptions, GC273 Kevin McClagish debuting a Cougar while DM516 Carl Gould returned one. KM324 Mark Lathan had a Vectra and FL837 Pete Nash returned a Bluebird and CL20 Andy Burbridge stole the show with a Mazda 929 estate.

The draw pitting Thattadoo against Stinkbridge in heat one although the latter started a man down with ST318 Wilf Speak a late arrival. A lively start saw ST04 Mick Croft and TT200 Wayne Holton tangle on the home straight and they both crashes into the infield blocks, the former rolling onto his roof to bring the reds out immediately while 200 Skippy’s race ended as well after he was beached on the blocks. ST50 Simon West began the restart by applying the anchors on TT54 Martin Lawton which allowed ST451 Willy Blackwell to attack the latter before he lunged at PRI legend TT111 Vic Bilkey. ST01 Kyle Shires upped the action with a wicked hit on TT508 Harry Bradbury on the road bend as 111 Basher Bilkey turned round but got it all round and hit team mate TT585 Kevin Giles. This allowed ST551 Danny Blackwell to fence Basher Bilkey, the latter then coming under attack from ST455 Rick Finney. This allowed Willy Blackwell to administer a solid head-on with Basher Bilkey. Thattadoo revenge came in the shape of a hard hit from 54 Splat who was collected by TT205 Kieran Briddock but he escaped the scene leaving his team mate open to a big hit from ST742 Ian Gregory. 742 Taz continued to spin TT518 Vic Bilkey Jnr, the latter then turning round but instead of going for the leading Finney he tried to help team mate Basher Bilkey which allowed Finney to take the flag and win for Stinkbridge, Willy Blackwell named the best entertainer.

Heat two was a clash of the titans with Damage Inc pitted against the Midnight Runners but mechanical problems meant MR10 Paul Whiteman and MR998 Wayne Cotterill Jnr missed the gate leaving their team under strength. DM128 Mark Atkins fired the first shot with a solid head-on to the spun MR433 Ben Smith which allowed 474 Matty to blast the latter but he took one in turn from MR331 Jason Jackson. The wrecking train continued on the road bend as DM70 Ant Long blasted 331 Boxer hard and he took one in turn from MR88 Josh Fuller. 516 Gouldy then lunged at 239 Nemesis with Matty nailing the latter on opposite which fired the west country young gun to blast DM564 Mark Cooper with a T-bone and DM60 Kyle Stevenson quickly homed in on the Runner. MR180 Mark Foster turned round and met DM247 Lee Clarke in a big head-on as Matty and Nemesis met in similar fashion as did Atkins and 180 Sparky. 60 Shakey Jnr then blasted Boxer as Matty made his way to the pit bend where he connected with a monster T-bone on MR208 Jimmy Randell. Boxer then went head to head with Atkins which left the former open for a titanic roof bending blitz from Long. 208 the Finger turned round to repay Matty but he duly came under fire from Long before Shakey Jnr also weighed in on the Finger. Long now zeroed in for a wicked head-on to the still mobile Boxer and the Finger enjoyed one of the same with Matty as did Long and 88 Splosh. Gouldy hammered the Finger, the latter then enjoying head-ons with both Coatie and Gouldy but it wasn’t enough for the latter to come through and take the flag for his team with Long judged the best entertainer. 

Team Flash were drawn against Team Kamikaze in heat three with both team fielding all eight cars. KM210 Steve Hayward began by squeezing FL74 Matt Hill into the fence as KM278 Tom Hills attacked FL931 Ricky Humphrey on the back straight. FL122 James Woodley picked the action up by following in 210 Stevo hard before KM117 Karl Dack dished out a big shot on Humphrey while 122 Woodsy got a taste of his own medicine when he was followed in by FL388 Emmerson Fairweather. Lathan buried KM388 Stevo while KM209 Ben Hayward went head to head with FL326 Shane Lynn. The stiff follow-ins continued as KM8 Dale Woolnough ran in 837 Mr Happy hard before the leading KM328 Daniel Lathan hammered 74 Ninja which allowed 388 Stevo to hit Ninja over the front wheel. 326 Ratty then turned round and met step brother and leader Daniel Lathan in a storming pit bend head-on, Woodsy blasting the latter in turn while Mark Lathan connected with a big T-bone on Ratty. Ninja hit Mark Lathan head-on in turn which caused a flash fire for the latter as 388 Stevo blasted Ninja. FL427 Dave Johnson scored on the Irishman in turn as Woodsy went head to head with the still game Daniel Lathan. Woolnough turned round on the last lap and connected on the leading FL388 Emmo but it wasn’t enough and the latter battled past for a hard earned win for Team Flash, Daniel Lathan taking the entertainer award. 

The Dover Boys and Gypsy Crew fielded all of their cars for the fourth heat but there were even more woes for the defending champions as GC500 Kieran Cannell failed to start leaving them with just five car. The race started in style as DV88 Ash Burton followed in GC26 Daniel Holmes superbly on the pit bend, GC85 James Ellis landing an equally fierce hit on DV88 Ace Ash in turn as GC132 Rob James went head to head with DV511 Helen Licquorice which allowed 273 Mad Mouse to blast the latter. DV402 Albie Jenner dished out a head-on to 132 Bubbles as Licquorice was hit head-on by Ellis which allowed DV188 John Reeves to blast the latter. Mouse continued and went head to head with DV7 John Shilleto. 402 Albert turned round and went in hard on Ellis before DV442 Sean Crittenden connected with a T-bone on Mouse. Licquorice repaid Ellis with a head-on of her own as DV259 Dan Poole delivered a big hit on Bubbles on the back straight, the impact stuffing the latter through the wires on turn three which caved in the roof on the drivers side and knocked the driver out bring the reds out immediately. With the leading DV113 Steve Sedgwick being inside the final five laps the race was declared with the Dover Boys winning while Ellis took the entertainer award. 

The Clangers and Team 22 raised all their cars for the penultimate heat which also enjoyed an explosive start. TM119 Davey Cox picked up CL180 Malcolm Burbridge and with an assist from CL34 Paul Beavis he followed him in big time creating plenty of airtime in the process. In the meantime CL164 Barry Sedgwick had immediately turned round but his suicide mission backfired as he was subsequently hit in the door by team mate CL81 Lee Greenwood. 119 Cruncher continued with a package on 20 Baldy before he also hit the luckless Barry Sedgwick over the front wheel. Baldy then got the pit bend all wrong and fenced himself hard and was duly T-boned by team mate CL326 Paul Miller. The impressive Cruncher continued and turned round to meet the still running Burbridge on the nose but took one in the front wheel in turn from Greenwood. TM436 Matt Arnold also turned round and nailed CL129 Alan Norris on the road bend as TM22 Dave Vincent rattled Miller into the Armco hard which left the latter open to a big hit from TM538 Jake Swan. Baldy rallied back and met Cruncher on the nose as 34 Beaver dished out a hard T-bone to 436 Arnie only to take one in turn from TM597 Andy Ashman. This fired up Beaver to turned round and power into Cruncher as Arnie also went against the flow to hammer the luckless Burbridge but he took one in turn from Beaver. Vincent attacked Greenwood which left him open to a bigger shot from Cruncher as Beaver continued against the flow to blast TM72 Billy Bond. A lively finished saw the leading Vincent bury CL101 Ian Norris into Beaver as he took the win, Bond then hitting Beaver over the front wheel but it was the latter who took the entertainer award. 

Both Team Green and the Motley Krew started the final heat a man down and this also enjoyed an incredible start as a big push into the road bend saw GR370 John Cobbold bury MK210 John Ellison as immediately behind MK316 James Cushion rattled GR682 Paul Sparrow into the fence, the force of the impact rolling the latter pair on impact to again bring the reds out immediately. Both exited ok but were out of the race and the event restarted with GR371 Jason Cobbold spinning MK170 Darren Teal into the blocks with MK311 Lee Bradbury then burying the former. Teal then rammed GR617 Jack Overy on the infield, a hit which was repaid earning them both a black flag but the latter rejoined the race where he was hit head-on by 311 Helm. 210 Slim struck GR382 Jack Foster Jnr over the rear wheel as Overy now went head to head with MK303 Wayne Linsdale with MK392 Dave Bradbury blasting the former in turn as GR807 Chris Murfin enjoyed head-ons with Slim and 392 Retardo. Linsdale turned round and scored on Murf as Overy met the leading MK320 Paul Seymour head-on. Retardo hit GR82 Wayne Quinn in the same way as did Slim and 807 Smurf. 82 Quinny meanwhile survived on opposite attacks from Retardo and Linsdale to take the chequered flag while Retardo was named the best entertainer. However with the disqualified Overy having stopped the leading Smiler, the decision was taken to also put the Motley Krew into the final while Overy was excluded from the rest of the meeting. 

With only five team eligible for the non qualifiers Accumulator race and the Clangers not fielding a single car there was still a reasonable field of 19 cars. Cannell began by attacking TT205 Kieran Briddock and 54 Splat before 117 Kamikaze sent 585 Big Ears crashing into the infield blocks. Cannell continued and fired Slim into the fence hard with Kamikaze then following Splat into the latter hard. Kamikaze stayed glued to Splat and buried him on the road bend as well as 388 Stevo nailed 998 Cotty Jnr who rallied back to nail 518 Bilko Jnr. Kamikaze then turned round and dished out a wicked shot to Smith with Cannell then homing in on Basher Bilkey. Splosh took the win from team mates Cotty Jnr and Boxer while Kamikaze took the entertainer award. 

The seven qualifying teams raised a fine 42 cars between them for the championship final and a manic start saw Willy Blackwell roll onto his roof at the end of the home straight to again bring the reds out immediately. The race resumed and what followed was not only crash of the night but one of the biggest of the season. An almighty push into the pit bend saw Jason Cobbold climb up MK287 Dean Quinsee as the pack headed towards the Armco. Behind Matty was pushing 50 Munch with Croft also involved and the subsequent impact with the fence saw Jason Cobbold continue climbing up Quinsee and going into a full roll. Croft meanwhile climbed up the former and rolled onto his roof while Matty followed in Munch so hard it launched him airborne, standing the car almost vertical before he came to rest on his attackers bonnet. The reds were showing before the crash had even finished and everyone exiting ok but it left a depleted field for the restart. This saw Jason Cobbold hit the spun Emmo on the nose with Shakey Jnr coming on opposite to blast the latter and take one in turn from Bond with Munch then hitting the former on the nose. Finney fired Atkins into the fence as Bond went head to head with Munch. A big train then headed into the road bend in which 7 Hot Pants was spat out and into the wall heavily while the remaining cars rattled round the turn one wall hard. Gouldy then stuffed the leading Licquorice into this heap with Willy Blackwell then burying the former on the pit bend but the former took the brunt of the impact in the door. A second later and Jason Cobbold followed Ninja in hard as Emmo battled back to hit Quinny on the nose with Munch, who had been repeatedly going on and off the centre for which he was also loaded, ramming the former. Taz then followed in the recovered Ninja and continued to bury the second placed Quinsee which gave 382 Chubby a big lead. Quinsee then came under fire from Smurf who landed hits on two consecutive laps. The leading Chubby was then span into the post at the end of the back straight by DM525 Wes Starmer which left him open to an almighty hit from Taz. This now set up a thrilling finish with 538 Swanny Jnr leading but with Licquorice, Jason Cobbold and Smurf on his tail. Entering the final bend Licquorice went for everything on Swanny Jnr but the young gun withstood the attack as the former crashed into Gouldy’s dead car. Meanwhile Matty had turned round and ploughed into Swanny Jnr but the latter was carrying enough speed and came through for the win of his life, Jason Cobbold and Smurf crashing into Matty as a result. Team 22 were named champions while Taz took the entertainer award. 

A most decent 23 returned for the demo, the Runners fielding seven cars in a superb effort, but was a quiet start until Splosh blasted Splat which allowed FL128 Andy Shipp to T-bone the latter as 173 Hot Socks crashed into the blocks. Woolnough then buried Jason Cobbold with a drivers side attack, Quinsee then powering into the latter which set the Team Green pilot up for a head-on from Licquorice and she was duly nailed by Wes. Daniel Lathan went in hard on Smith before 388 Stevo T-boned team mate Woolnough and was duly blasted by Quinsee. Smurf then turned round and laid into the luckless Woolnough. Atkins meanwhile stuffed Jason Cobbold into the growing heap on the pit bend as Wes blasted 388 Stevo only to take one in turn from Quinsee as Boxer turned round and blasted Atkins hard. Splosh meanwhile hit Wes with Sparky homing in for a head-on to the latter as Daniel Lathan also turned on his team mate with a big hit on 388 Stevo. Chubby evened the score on Wes with a shot on opposite. Quinsee buried Whiteman but took a head-on from Splosh in turn with Lathan blasting the Runner a second later. A somewhat ungrateful Quinsee then hammered Daniel Lathan which allowed Chubby to T-bone the former as Daniel Lathan battled on and met Jason Cobbold on the nose. Smurf rejoined from the infield and was duly black flagged as Jason Cobbold and Daniel Lathan went head to head as did Smurf and 388 Stevo. Jason Cobbold then powered into Smurf and buried him into 388 Stevo with Daniel Lathan homing in for a T-bone on Smurf. 388 Stevo then escaped the heap and went head to head with Jason Cobbold, the latter going on to hit Chubby on the nose which finished the latter. 388 Stevo then delivered two hits to Jason Cobbold but expired leaving the Team Green man a worthy winner while Daniel Lathan was the best entertainer. 

Head to Head Heat One: 455 Rick Finney wins for Stinkbridge. 
Head to Head Heat Two: 516 Carl Gould wins for Damage Inc
Head to Head Heat Three: 388 Emmeron Fairweather wins for Team Flash
Head to Head Heat Four: 113 Steve Sedgwick wins for the Dover Boys
Head to Head Heat Five: 22 Dave Vincent wins for Team 22
Head to Head Heat Six: 82 Wayne Quinn wins for Team Green
Accumulator Qualifier: 88 Josh Fuller, 998, 331, 205
Old Skool Team Championship: 538 Jake Swan wins for Team 22
Destruction Derby: 371 Jason Cobbold from KM388

The 2010 Reliant Robin British Final attracted a decent, if slightly disappointing field, of 20 cars with a very much local based entry, only 851 Adam Storr putting in great distance to attend.

With a couple of cars not making it out of the pits all evening, 17 cars contested the British Championship race with 28 David Donavan attacking brother 30 James early on before 553 Daniel Douglas span and 554 Chalky Douglas fell onto his side to bring the yellows out in the first lap. David Donavan tipped onto two wheels on the restart before 195 Pete Bowley did a ¾ roll to bring the yellows out again but in the meantime 564 Ryan Sutcliffe caught fire on the road bend which brought the reds out and a complete restart was ordered but in time to prevent 761 Sharon Ashworth attacking Storr which rolled them both. The race restarted with Storr attacking 800 Craig Bolton before the former fell over to bring the caution flags out while a clash between James Donavan and 456 Nathan Roberts sent the latter into a double roll, 19 Joe Mullarkey also falling onto his side to bring the yellow flags out. The race soon resumed with 576 Colin Aldred leading James Donavan and 215 Michael Croxon while the recovered Roberts rolled David Donavan and Daniel Douglas sent Mullarkey into a complete roll. 66 Steve Willis meanwhile worked up the order and reeled in 576 Porkey but instead of delivering a hit on the last bend he tried to pass on the outside and Porkey held on for a long overdue major championship from 66 Pork Pie and James Donavan, the latter getting a well overdue title result.

Even with a couple of cars out for the first time, 14 cars made the gate for the first Allcomers although it suffered a false start but when things got going a hectic start saw spins for Roberts, David Donavan and 275 Phil Rowbottom followed by James Donavan as elsewhere David Donavan did a full roll. Roberts led from Pork Pie but shortly after 16 Ray Layton attacked James Donavan, Pork Pie raced into the lead before Daniel Douglas piled Mullarkey into the fence. Bowley tipped himself onto two wheels as Pork Pie romped to the win from Roberts and Bowley. 

One more for the second Allcomers which started in epic fashion as Daniel Douglas not only sent Mullarkey into a high speed roll at the end of the back straight but he then climbed on top of him and was carried into turn three on top of the 19 car as it rolled underneath him in a crash which almost defied physics. The pair then piled into the fence leaving Daniel Douglas hanging on the wires to bring the red flags out to check on both drivers, who were fine, and a complete restart was ordered. Bowley and Chalky Douglas performed complete rolls at opposite ends of the track. Pork Pie then dived up the inside of James Donavan to take the lead which sent the latter into a double roll as Porkey lunged at 96 Ian Robins. Pork Pie motored to a second win from Croxon while Porkey just held off Robins in a good scrap for third. 

British Championship: 576 Colin Aldred, 66, 30, 195, 96, 761, 554, 16
Allcomers One: 66 Steve Willis, 456, 195, 576, 96, 30, 16, 28, 554, 761
Allcomers Two: Willis, 215, 576, 96, 28, 851, 16, 195

A storming night of action with one of the best Old Skool team meetings to date with almost every head to head heat providing some top action plus a thrilling final which produced one of the all time greatest crashes ever seen at the track and the same could be said of the crash in the final Reliant race which ranks as one of the most spectacular ever seen on a night where the 3-wheelers entertained in fine fashion.

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