Unlimited Bangers Championship of the World 2018 - Foxhall Heath Raceway - Meeting Preview
It’s that time once again, where the biggest night of the year takes place in the Banger scene at Foxhall Heath Raceway, Ipswich and thousands of banger fans pilgrim to the Suffolk track on Saturday 6th October.
Just shy of 250 cars are booked in for action on the night, with 56 of those seeded straight on to the World Final Grid itself. The other 190 drivers will be hoping to come through the three last chance races on the night to book their place on the grid too. We’ll take a look at the drivers that have secured their spot on the grid for the biggest race of the year!
The Spedeworth World Qualifying procedure has seen drivers battle it out since November last year to book their spot in the World Final. 331 Jason ‘Boxer Jack’ Jackson ended up topping what was a very competitive qualifying campaign sparking a slight rivalry between himself and 699 Stacey Holdsworth who eventually came third and will certainly be one to watch on the night - Boxer being the most experienced man on the grid with 17 appearances behind him will certainly be looking to make this win number 4! 570 Jordan Cumming was the second place man in the Points proceedings and he continues to look more so like a future World Champion and will be on the radar for many to take the chequered flag on Saturday. Spedeworth boast some experienced drivers in their seeded ranks with likes of ex-World Champions 27 Dale Hughes, 33 Gary Madgwick, 294 Lee Hughes and 617 Jack Overy who all still are not ones that could be ruled out for Gold! 400 Lee Kingsnorth makes his debut World Final appearance after a strong first season in the Nationals coming from a successful stint on the Spedeworth 1600 scene; Ipswich is Lee’s local track and he typically goes well round here too so cannot be ruled out. 2017 Spedeworth Points Champion 209 Tom Waller slowed down a bit this year in terms of the amount of meetings he competed at but still qualified and boasts plenty of quality to add to the potential candidates, as do the likes of 196 Joey Palmer, 327 Mick Maskell Jnr and 887 Robert Browning who are fast Unlimited pilots.
The visiting entrants see a variety of wreckers and racers fill the line up. Spedeworth’s sister company Incarace have a strong calibre of drivers to take the victory away. 717 Jack Tuffen and 455 Ricki Finney both took wins in the Banger World Series after getting top two in the points, and will both be big contenders for the World win. Cream Team veteran 456 Nathan Roberts and the maiden 1600 World winner 309 Michael Lane also qualified through Incarace; both are top drivers in with a shout of being there at the end, along with 257 ‘Waterboy’ Timmy Aldridge who is always rapid. DMC Race Promotions are represented by defending World Champion 59 Steven Bolton who has been an outstanding World Champion competing in the majority of meetings on Irish soil and competing over mainland UK too and will be looking to go for it again this year. Joining 59 Leadfoot for Ireland are 24 Stephen Boyd, who is a World Final rookie and is making his maiden Unlimited appearance too in an ultra smart Ford Granada Mk2 and 215 Leonard Dunn who was quick in his first appearance last year. The Mildenhall entry sees Team Jackpot pairing 337 Ashley and 339 Jack Garrod make the grid and both are quick drivers but are both renowned for being lively too and will be ones to watch if it’s the latter. They are joined by experienced racer 78 Lee Macey who is only now set to make his first appearance in the World Final. They are joined on the grid by 673 Darren Fendley who has shown he is more than capable of winning round here taking the BWS Round earlier in the year. The Scottish contingent sees The Mob representing 2/3 of the entry - 159 Callum Campbell makes his debut World Final appearance after claiming the GMP Points Championship this year, achieving a goal he set for himself at the start of the year whilst running mate 880 Neil ‘Naisy’ Naismith takes to the grid for 6th time representing Hardie Race Promotions. The other entrant from Scotland is 222 Colin Riddell who represents Crimond Raceway and is another World Final ‘virgin’ taking to the grid. Trackstar’s entry boasts former World Champion and last year’s World of Shale Champion 22 Dave Vincent, the rapid 830 Lee White and Predator live-wire 178 Kieran Bowman. The PRI seeds are TMT duo 267 James Steele and 271 Dean Goodearl who are very quick drivers - the latter already claiming the British Championship and PRI World Championship already this year, but as proved at Arena Essex a couple of weeks ago, TMT are never too far from the action either. Barford Raceway have young gun 25 Joe Parsons flying the flag for them - Joe although young already has two World Finals behind him and came close in 2016 with a second place. Staying with up North and the Startrax seeds see Blooz Boyz entertainer 171 Tommy West make the grid alongside Welshman 252 ‘Mr Blobby’ Gareth Griffiths who is always on the pace. Skegness places Team Grey and Black brothers 82 Tom and 382 Jack Foster Jnr on the grid. Tom has previously worn gold with the 2l World win a few seasons whilst 382 Chubby took the European Championship at Warneton last month and has had three podium finishes in his previous 8 appearances although with warring factions in the race as well they could be ones to be within the action. Moving to the West Country and Mendips Raceway are represented by some top quality with 362 Johnny James and 440 Macauley Mills - Johnny took a big Unlimited win in July as he won the ‘Non-ORC’ Unlimited World Championship at Ringwood. Autospeed have 4 seeds on the grid and all have the capabilities of winning the race or the complete contrary and being top entertainers. 45 Antony ‘Lips’ Crowshaw is an experienced racer who is always consistent whilst 74 Adam ‘Scratchy’ Hitchcock is a previous PRI World Champion - they are joined by DWO pairing 162 Brett ‘Bad Boy’ Ellacott who snuck in at the last Wildcard meeting at Aldershot in September and highly coveted racer 190 Steve ‘Pikey’ Bailey. They are joined by teammate 341 Andy ‘Jonesy’ Jones who came through the Spedeworth WQ Points and will be ones to keep an eye on.
The continental entry sees 56 Karel Eecloo and 88 Randy Mulder represent the Belgium based CAMSO and will be used to the nature of the big race having both been on the grid before. The Holland based ASE (Emmen) isn’t typically associated with racing but more so crashing but 60 Laurens Van Dijk had the points championship wrapped up quite early into the season and he is joined by 116 MarkJan Klok ‘Klokkie’ who is another making his maiden appearance in the title race.
Having provided a brief overview of the drivers that have made the grid, there are another 150 hopefuls that will be battling their way to win 1 of 3 last chance races which is no mean feat in itself. The entry list alone oozes class and on the flip side has some born entertainers among the ranks too. 82 Paul Tompkins heads the entry as he returns from the circuits where he races his pick-up trucks and being a previous World Champion has been at the top of the grandest stage before. 247 Lee Clarke is one many would love to see win the biggest title of them all after already claiming the 2l Shale World Championship and Unlimited World of Shale Championships this year. 516 Carl Gould is another you’d typically expect to be in the main race but he will try his luck in the last chances as will seasoned racer 194 ‘Cecil’ Steve Anscombe - Cecil had a slower year this year as son 94 Jack Anscombe took centre stage qualifying for his maiden World Final. There is a heap of top talent that will be hoping there luck is in on the day and would also mount a challenge should they qualify - the likes of 67 Rickie Beasley, Startrax 1600 World Champion 69 Matt Randall, 99 Scott Gough, 129 Jono Brook, 143 Daniel Rose, ex-UK Champion 165 Ben Randell, last year last chance winner 181 Grant Doe, 200 Steve ‘Noon’ Farrell, 208 PJ Collins, 245 Jack France, 2017 1800 World Champion 281 Lewis Tingle, 328 Danny Lathan, 348 Sonny ‘Mushy’ Sherwood, 356 Harry Overy, 399 Jonny Atkins, 415 Scott Cornish, 528 ‘Jethro’ Alan Hunt, 760 Joey Reynolds and 787 Marc Key - it is definitely a lottery who will make it through as there will be some drivers looking to end the hopes of several. RAAL 6005 always make an impression wherever they go and with 1 Maarten Steenbekkers Chevrolet Bel Air Hearse and 63 Rene Tielmans Toyota Crown, there is no doubt they will be entertaining the packed crowd. Much the same can be said about Team Black duo 77 Patxi Beasley and 103 Jack Deacon who have no intentions of racing around on Saturday. Other factions that will be out to liven things up are the likes of the Gypsy Crew, Barton Boys, Team Sowter/Filmer, Scrapyard Screamers, TMT, The Bears, Gladiators and Posh Wash - the latter team love their jacking trains as seen at the 2010 staging where 298 Sam Wyatt was sky high along with 885 Maurice Kartier of the Boogiemen. Individual drivers who will be sure to entertain the packed capacity stadium will be 28 Craig Cooper, 60 Kyle ‘Shakey’ Stevenson who has not long made a welcome return to racing, 48 Foppe Minnema, 160 Jamie Warr, 240 Rob Setters, 274 Tommy ‘Leadfoot’ Grantham, 278 Sean Brokenshire, 305 Alfie Cornish, 367 Barry Beevor, 648 Jamie Smith and 662 Dalton Smith among others.
Whatever the outcome there can only be one winner; and there will be a pits full of gleaming motors of thousands of fans pour in to the stadium in awe of the great efforts all drivers, teams and Spedeworth and their staff have gone to for our enjoyment.
Just shy of 250 cars are booked in for action on the night, with 56 of those seeded straight on to the World Final Grid itself. The other 190 drivers will be hoping to come through the three last chance races on the night to book their place on the grid too. We’ll take a look at the drivers that have secured their spot on the grid for the biggest race of the year!
The Spedeworth World Qualifying procedure has seen drivers battle it out since November last year to book their spot in the World Final. 331 Jason ‘Boxer Jack’ Jackson ended up topping what was a very competitive qualifying campaign sparking a slight rivalry between himself and 699 Stacey Holdsworth who eventually came third and will certainly be one to watch on the night - Boxer being the most experienced man on the grid with 17 appearances behind him will certainly be looking to make this win number 4! 570 Jordan Cumming was the second place man in the Points proceedings and he continues to look more so like a future World Champion and will be on the radar for many to take the chequered flag on Saturday. Spedeworth boast some experienced drivers in their seeded ranks with likes of ex-World Champions 27 Dale Hughes, 33 Gary Madgwick, 294 Lee Hughes and 617 Jack Overy who all still are not ones that could be ruled out for Gold! 400 Lee Kingsnorth makes his debut World Final appearance after a strong first season in the Nationals coming from a successful stint on the Spedeworth 1600 scene; Ipswich is Lee’s local track and he typically goes well round here too so cannot be ruled out. 2017 Spedeworth Points Champion 209 Tom Waller slowed down a bit this year in terms of the amount of meetings he competed at but still qualified and boasts plenty of quality to add to the potential candidates, as do the likes of 196 Joey Palmer, 327 Mick Maskell Jnr and 887 Robert Browning who are fast Unlimited pilots.
The visiting entrants see a variety of wreckers and racers fill the line up. Spedeworth’s sister company Incarace have a strong calibre of drivers to take the victory away. 717 Jack Tuffen and 455 Ricki Finney both took wins in the Banger World Series after getting top two in the points, and will both be big contenders for the World win. Cream Team veteran 456 Nathan Roberts and the maiden 1600 World winner 309 Michael Lane also qualified through Incarace; both are top drivers in with a shout of being there at the end, along with 257 ‘Waterboy’ Timmy Aldridge who is always rapid. DMC Race Promotions are represented by defending World Champion 59 Steven Bolton who has been an outstanding World Champion competing in the majority of meetings on Irish soil and competing over mainland UK too and will be looking to go for it again this year. Joining 59 Leadfoot for Ireland are 24 Stephen Boyd, who is a World Final rookie and is making his maiden Unlimited appearance too in an ultra smart Ford Granada Mk2 and 215 Leonard Dunn who was quick in his first appearance last year. The Mildenhall entry sees Team Jackpot pairing 337 Ashley and 339 Jack Garrod make the grid and both are quick drivers but are both renowned for being lively too and will be ones to watch if it’s the latter. They are joined by experienced racer 78 Lee Macey who is only now set to make his first appearance in the World Final. They are joined on the grid by 673 Darren Fendley who has shown he is more than capable of winning round here taking the BWS Round earlier in the year. The Scottish contingent sees The Mob representing 2/3 of the entry - 159 Callum Campbell makes his debut World Final appearance after claiming the GMP Points Championship this year, achieving a goal he set for himself at the start of the year whilst running mate 880 Neil ‘Naisy’ Naismith takes to the grid for 6th time representing Hardie Race Promotions. The other entrant from Scotland is 222 Colin Riddell who represents Crimond Raceway and is another World Final ‘virgin’ taking to the grid. Trackstar’s entry boasts former World Champion and last year’s World of Shale Champion 22 Dave Vincent, the rapid 830 Lee White and Predator live-wire 178 Kieran Bowman. The PRI seeds are TMT duo 267 James Steele and 271 Dean Goodearl who are very quick drivers - the latter already claiming the British Championship and PRI World Championship already this year, but as proved at Arena Essex a couple of weeks ago, TMT are never too far from the action either. Barford Raceway have young gun 25 Joe Parsons flying the flag for them - Joe although young already has two World Finals behind him and came close in 2016 with a second place. Staying with up North and the Startrax seeds see Blooz Boyz entertainer 171 Tommy West make the grid alongside Welshman 252 ‘Mr Blobby’ Gareth Griffiths who is always on the pace. Skegness places Team Grey and Black brothers 82 Tom and 382 Jack Foster Jnr on the grid. Tom has previously worn gold with the 2l World win a few seasons whilst 382 Chubby took the European Championship at Warneton last month and has had three podium finishes in his previous 8 appearances although with warring factions in the race as well they could be ones to be within the action. Moving to the West Country and Mendips Raceway are represented by some top quality with 362 Johnny James and 440 Macauley Mills - Johnny took a big Unlimited win in July as he won the ‘Non-ORC’ Unlimited World Championship at Ringwood. Autospeed have 4 seeds on the grid and all have the capabilities of winning the race or the complete contrary and being top entertainers. 45 Antony ‘Lips’ Crowshaw is an experienced racer who is always consistent whilst 74 Adam ‘Scratchy’ Hitchcock is a previous PRI World Champion - they are joined by DWO pairing 162 Brett ‘Bad Boy’ Ellacott who snuck in at the last Wildcard meeting at Aldershot in September and highly coveted racer 190 Steve ‘Pikey’ Bailey. They are joined by teammate 341 Andy ‘Jonesy’ Jones who came through the Spedeworth WQ Points and will be ones to keep an eye on.
The continental entry sees 56 Karel Eecloo and 88 Randy Mulder represent the Belgium based CAMSO and will be used to the nature of the big race having both been on the grid before. The Holland based ASE (Emmen) isn’t typically associated with racing but more so crashing but 60 Laurens Van Dijk had the points championship wrapped up quite early into the season and he is joined by 116 MarkJan Klok ‘Klokkie’ who is another making his maiden appearance in the title race.
Having provided a brief overview of the drivers that have made the grid, there are another 150 hopefuls that will be battling their way to win 1 of 3 last chance races which is no mean feat in itself. The entry list alone oozes class and on the flip side has some born entertainers among the ranks too. 82 Paul Tompkins heads the entry as he returns from the circuits where he races his pick-up trucks and being a previous World Champion has been at the top of the grandest stage before. 247 Lee Clarke is one many would love to see win the biggest title of them all after already claiming the 2l Shale World Championship and Unlimited World of Shale Championships this year. 516 Carl Gould is another you’d typically expect to be in the main race but he will try his luck in the last chances as will seasoned racer 194 ‘Cecil’ Steve Anscombe - Cecil had a slower year this year as son 94 Jack Anscombe took centre stage qualifying for his maiden World Final. There is a heap of top talent that will be hoping there luck is in on the day and would also mount a challenge should they qualify - the likes of 67 Rickie Beasley, Startrax 1600 World Champion 69 Matt Randall, 99 Scott Gough, 129 Jono Brook, 143 Daniel Rose, ex-UK Champion 165 Ben Randell, last year last chance winner 181 Grant Doe, 200 Steve ‘Noon’ Farrell, 208 PJ Collins, 245 Jack France, 2017 1800 World Champion 281 Lewis Tingle, 328 Danny Lathan, 348 Sonny ‘Mushy’ Sherwood, 356 Harry Overy, 399 Jonny Atkins, 415 Scott Cornish, 528 ‘Jethro’ Alan Hunt, 760 Joey Reynolds and 787 Marc Key - it is definitely a lottery who will make it through as there will be some drivers looking to end the hopes of several. RAAL 6005 always make an impression wherever they go and with 1 Maarten Steenbekkers Chevrolet Bel Air Hearse and 63 Rene Tielmans Toyota Crown, there is no doubt they will be entertaining the packed crowd. Much the same can be said about Team Black duo 77 Patxi Beasley and 103 Jack Deacon who have no intentions of racing around on Saturday. Other factions that will be out to liven things up are the likes of the Gypsy Crew, Barton Boys, Team Sowter/Filmer, Scrapyard Screamers, TMT, The Bears, Gladiators and Posh Wash - the latter team love their jacking trains as seen at the 2010 staging where 298 Sam Wyatt was sky high along with 885 Maurice Kartier of the Boogiemen. Individual drivers who will be sure to entertain the packed capacity stadium will be 28 Craig Cooper, 60 Kyle ‘Shakey’ Stevenson who has not long made a welcome return to racing, 48 Foppe Minnema, 160 Jamie Warr, 240 Rob Setters, 274 Tommy ‘Leadfoot’ Grantham, 278 Sean Brokenshire, 305 Alfie Cornish, 367 Barry Beevor, 648 Jamie Smith and 662 Dalton Smith among others.
Whatever the outcome there can only be one winner; and there will be a pits full of gleaming motors of thousands of fans pour in to the stadium in awe of the great efforts all drivers, teams and Spedeworth and their staff have gone to for our enjoyment.
