Pre 85 Bangers – Kings Lynn – 5/8/23 – Meeting Preview

The annual Pre 85 session returns to the Adrian Flux Arena with three classes of Bangers set to feature over the course of the evening.

You can expect to see the likes of Mk1 + 2 Granadas, as well as Rover P5s, all the way through to Cortinas and even smaller thrown around the shaleway. Newly crowned 2L Shale World Champion 178 Kieran Bowman headlines the Overs bookings. He was on blinding form last week, lifting the title to a great ovation from a packed crowd before going on to get a couple of entertainer awards displaying the Gold. He’ll be looking more of the same this evening. The battle for the entertainer points doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon as both World of Shale Champion 828 Jordan Sharpe and Gladiators man 214 Connor Osborn are set to feature in all three classes, and they’ll be a sure bet to be at the centre of the action. Another Gladiator driver competing in all three classes is 589 Simon Smith. It seems pretty guaranteed that Simon is going to win the Trackstar National Points title having taken a 200 point margin into last week’s meeting, where he then guided his Mondeo to a hattrick of victories, securing 3 out of the 4 Alcomers, but he appears to be determined to make sure that becomes reality and he’ll be among the front runners all evening. 673 Darren Fendley will be looking to bounce back from that last bend heartbreak at Mildenhall’s Banger World Series round. Having lead the majority of the race, a tangle with Barton Boys driver 211 Jamie Pole allowed 555 Harry Gelsthorp to steam in and blitz Fendley. Luckily for Darren, he shouldn’t run into either driver this evening. There’s an outbreak of Rover P5s in the Overs with 150 Lewis Richards, 419 Laura Quadling, 420 Matthew Jode and 624 Cameron Hubbard all opting for one – Lewis’ looking particularly smart whilst on show over the weekend at the Weymouth Nostalgia Weekend. 72 Billy Bond and 288 Chris Ford are always good value for money, and will be ones to keep an eye out for on the crashing front. 

Looking at the mid-size vehicles, and the bookings see a sprinkling of veteran talent. 537 Martin Brunson loves these type of events and it’s always great to see the Steam Team man out on track. 439 Daniel Sutton is another top driver we don’t see enough of these days, but is always tempted by a classic meeting and will be well up for it. It’s been a while since we’ve seen ‘Porky’ 576 Colin Aldred in a Banger – I’d expect he’ll be Triumph powered. He always has a smile on his face and no doubt will carry that attitude into his racing. 352 Stu Brookes is another you often see out in the older cars. There’s no Damage Inc out tonight to have a play with so Mr Bilge can have a drive around instead tonight. 114 Liam Lake is a welcome visitor, with his second visit within a week. He put a top display on here last Saturday taking the DD win seeing off 512 Matt Armstrong. 85 James Ellis and 611 Joe Geeves take a night off from piecing together old material to race it instead. Joe currently heads the BWS Entertainers League but will maybe be hoping for a quieter night before the big finale at Yarmouth next weekend. Boogiemen pilot 15 Colin Toussaint is a welcome visitor across from The Netherlands, and he’ll likely be a candidate for some action. 224 James Burrows, 275 Joel Bond, 281 Lewis Tingle and 350 Ryan Yeo will be others keen for a crash.

The Unders class is the most subscribed of the three. The Team Jokes/Simple contingent are always firm supporters of this event and they are back once again with a fleet of four of them. You can expect them all to be up for the occasion and always brilliant whenever they venture up to the Adrian Flux Arena. 88 Speedy Read has dusted off his wellies for another ride out. It’s always good to see the legend back out of retirement for a blast. Resident photographer Kieran Bonsall swaps camera duties for a night in the hot seat and will be looking to have some fun in his Austin Maxi. 869 Jamie Steele made an impressive adult debut in the Micro Bangers here a few weeks back and will be looking for more of the same tonight. He is joined by mother 477 Amy who is now stranger to victory lane here, normally piloting some cool machinery in the Unlimited Lady Bangers. 100 Emma Mullins is another lady driver opting for a change of machinery and she usually goes well also. Keep an eye on the battle between 165 Ben Randell and White brothers 335 Lee and 343 Lewis. The latter pairing aren’t usually too far away from a battle. 557 ‘Paranoid’ Paul Bowen is another welcome returnee to the ranks. 678 Alex Ward braves it with an MG. The word brave may be an understatement as she was a tender example.

If the Bangers aren’t enough to satisfy your needs, then we also have the 1300 Stock Cars who have been in superb form all season. They are the formula to be in currently with consistently strong numbers and close racing. The drivers compete in their last outing at the Adrian Flux Arena before their World Championship here on the 19th August. Some of the formula’s elite will be out in force, itching to ace their set-ups ready for the big race. National Points Champion 303 Jacob Bromley hasn’t featured too heavily this year but luckily found some form at the Steve Newman Memorial last night out. The Memorial race itself saw a Spedeworth dominance with 302 Jack Smith securing the win from English Champion 137 Curtis Tebbenham and 409 Joe Giles. ‘Tebbz’ is a very popular driver with his weekly YouTube blogs and will be among the favourites for the title. He is joined alongside Giles tonight. 167 Jimmy Morris and 600 Carl Waterfield have dominated proceedings here at Trackstar throughout the season and will very much hold high expectations for themselves – they’ll be hoping for a good showing here tonight. Hardie Race Promotions Point Champion 715 Kyle Hegg and European Champion 106 Darren Terry-Brand join a star-studded line-up, which also includes Banger ace 570 Jordan Cumming enjoying an outing in the Stock Cars. It will great to see how he fairs. The Heat wins last time out went the way of the lower grade drivers with 14 John Riley, 144 Jordan Godfrey and 165 Justin Wade taking the chequered flag. 13 Sonny Wright will be looking to bounce back after a heavy fencing at Mildenhall a few weeks back.

Another great night of racing expected, we hope you enjoy your night here at the Adrian Flux Arena.