Arena Essex Raceway - Meeting 03/05 Sunday, April 6, 2003 Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 2003 Index > Meeting 03/05

SuperBangers Essex County Championship 2002 Small Van Banger Championship 1300 Stock Cars

The Essex County Championship 2002 for SuperBangers was run as part of the April 6, 2003 meeting. This event was postponed from October 2002 as a result of severe weather conditions that caused that meeting to be abandoned, the first cancellation of a meeting in 25 years at Arena Essex.

SuperBangers
Nigel Carroll can sometimes be accused of not looking ahead. Certainly this proved true later in the April 6 meeting at Arena Essex, when he lost the lead in the meeting final on the closing lap when he caught a spinning driver on the back straight. However a side effect of this is the speed that can be achieved when not worrying too much about the cars in front, and this allowed Carroll to drive away with the Essex County Championship title for 2002.

Billy Merle took control of the Championship race early on, and seemed to have the race to himself for much of the opening segment with Tubbs Butler and Bruce Kierney in pursuit. However, with 25 laps to cover and a good number of cars out there, it was unlikely to stay that way, especially with Carroll moving up and spins obstructing the way. Butler eventually got the better of Merle only for Carroll to pick Butler off to take the lead, all before half way. The race was held up at one point when Richard Smee hit the wall courtesy of Butlers' nose, but Carroll took off on the restart from Jamie Wilders who fell back as they closed on the flag, Merle finishing second behind Carroll with Chris Whiteman taking third spot.

Then they reversed it. The second heat was a reverse grid of the Championship race, allowing the folk at the back, mostly new drivers for the 2003 season and other non-point scorers from last year, to have the front of the race to themselves for a bit. Merle got hit well during the race when Chris Hussey got hold of him round the pit bend in what looked like an attempt to save himself from his own wipe out, though Glenn Killick would spin Hussey out soon after that as a number of drivers tested the bounds of the "limited contact" rule. Some could have called this an old-timers' race, especially considering the eventual result and some of the action that made it up, the winner being none other than Steve Davies, the original Captain Condom, with Whiteman in second ahead of the new Essex supremo.

Smee looked like he was controlling the Festival qualifier early on, but was far too wide on the corners to hold out for long and would eventually give up his place. Bob Sterling and Glenn Killick took up the front end following that, Carroll put Tubbs off while Whiteman went for a rest on the centre. Davies eventually hit the front only to pull out with problems of his own, leaving a last gasp battle between Carroll and Killick that seemed to go Carroll's way until the back straight of the last lap. Carroll passed Killick inside the two lap board, then Smee took a final role in the race, having spun out of turn two. Carroll spotted Smee far too late and pinned him on the, Killick dodging outside to take a surprise win ahead of Carroll, with Butler getting his best place of the day in third.

The PRI SuperBangers return to Arena Essex on Bank Holiday Monday, April 21, then again on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, May 26.

1300 Stock Cars
Colin Thorndyke has to be regarded as the biggest rising star of the 1300 Stock Car domestic formula at Arena Essex, having managed a heat/final double at first time of asking and notching up another final win in the April 6 meeting. The car sounds pretty awful right now, but the view is that, if that can be fixed, goodness knows who will be able to catch him!

The numbers seemed to be on the increase when looking at the first grid of the day, with a number of new drivers joining the die hards, plus a few returning folk, though the first race was taken by one of the new bugs. Paul Griffiths had been showing some promise in his last outing, and would show even more this time as the first race and, later, the Festival of Speed Qualifier both fell to him and his Corsa, formerly Darren Cardy's beast of choice which he had used to great effect in the 2001 and 2002 seasons before shifting to the Lightning Rods. Michael Coventry had something of a close miss as he spun by the Tavern only to watch te rest of the field pass him, some with perhaps a little less room than any would have liked, while Trevor Bibby, another new driver to the circuit in this formula who had shown promise at his first showing, gave Alec Mortimer something to think about that sent him back a couple of spots which he was unable to recover before the end of the first heat. Paddy Palmer put up a good show throughout the race but ran out of time and had to settle for second place having put Bibby down to third in the closing stages, while Thorndyke was having real problems with Derek Mortimer and Spike Ellis, the scrap at the back allowing Clark Wells to put a few more points on his tally.

Alec Mortimer sacrificed his early lead in the final very quickly going a little too wide on the corners, which let Paul Griffiths through though the warm up winner would be doomed to a lower place before the race was up. I had been somewhat confused by this time by the numbering on the James Radcliffe car; the car had three different numbers on it and, though it never managed to get to the front, it did put on a good show mid field which made identifying it that much more exasperating! The Thorndyke car, as mentioned before, sounded pretty dire but seemed to have the speed and direction as the reigning Ministox champion pushed through the field while Bibby was kicking his car in the centre following his retirement from the event, though how much good that did the car is open to debate! Darren Pratt was taking his frustrations out on the Mk.II Escort conversion of Paul Staples, spinning it hard more than once, neither car making it onto the result table this time though Staples took on Coventry following a quick trip to the shaleway. By mid point Thorndyke had just about nursed his wagon through most of the field before pulling past Griffiths who then got caught up with Radcliffe, allowing Palmer to grab second spot with Ellis and Delbert Mortimer in tow. Palmer tried his best to get ahead of the ailing Thorndyke car but with the laps against him and many laps of experience in Ministox in the driver ahead of him, Paddy had to settle for second again.

The last race of the day for the 1300's was a Festival Qualifier, and was pretty much a repeat of the first race though a strange scrap emerged at the back as final winner Thorndyke took on Roger Sugden, who tended to haunt the back markers in many races these days. Pratt ended the race on the centre and even Palmer seemed to drop off the pace a little, Griffiths taking the win from the front followed by Alec Mortimer and Ellis, Delbert getting ahead of Radcliffe in an otherwise unremarkable race.

The PRI 1300 Stock Cars join the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and the National Bangers next at Arena Essex on April 27.

Small Van Bangers
Just as we all thought the run of wins was broken, Sonny Sherwood pulled another final win in the Small Van Championship on April 6 at Arena Essex, making four finals from five meetings and a trophy in each of the meetings so far (if you count the wreckers‘ award he shared with Frankie Skinner). The meeting was not the biggest, but it certainly showed quality in both material and damage, some of the most notable surrounding a trio of old Morris vans (two moggies and a Cowley).

The first race featured some interesting material and Jason Jackson also made an appearance to defend the Small Van title he won last year. Boxer Jack had been busy already that weekend, getting second place in the BBA Supreme Championship the previous evening at Mildenhall, the title going to Shane Davies. The race was a little underattended, the pole sitter Terry Coster getting a flag to flag victory, though there was no lack of action including a two way rollover for Roy Laybourn, his Bedford HA rolling sideways then bouncing back, allowing him to continue though he failed to pick up any points for his finish though he did appear to try to get the ruined Bedford to roll again before the reds came out.

It was the second heat when we first saw Morris Major and the Minors, two Morris Minor vans with Ricky Korpiela and Thomas Lyons behind the wheels and a rare Cowley van driven by Paul Korpiela, the combined effort earning the trio an award. It certainly earned them more than that, especially Ricky's Minor which became more Minor later on! The old adage about the strength of old metal certainly proved true as the Cowley met up with something a little more modern and was barely scratched by it, though the engine certainly let the old Morris down on occasion. Meanwhile RDC traveller Colin Boswell set out to prove that anything could be improved on and put his van into an eight corner roll over by the pit gate and the Tavern turn started getting blocked. The race went to Simon Smith ahead of Gary Brown and Sonny Sherwood, but the race would be remembered more for what didn't cross the finishing line!

Another car that had problems with motive power was the Martin Scully Anglia van. The Scullyvan was brought out onto the circuit on more than one occasion but failed to make a start of it, which was a pity considering that the van was well turned out and pretty rare these days. It returned to the pit with not a scratch on it while forty vans contested the Small Van Championship, of which only six vans survived. Many vans were trapped in scrap piles, others were disabled by the usual crashes but none were more destroyed than the Minor van of Ricky Korpiela which was jammed up at the bridge end of the circuit outside then repeatedly smashed up the back! The first notable hit, however, was on the safety area; something which is never welcome on any circuit and got the perpetrators, Joe Warner and Stu Brooks, a load-up. Korpiela was stuck in and crushed by a combined effort from Ian Smith and Dean Kingsnorth, the result being made worse as every car that got a little too enthusiastic going into turn one ended up shortening the Moggy. This included James Brooks whose attack on Andy Reynolds finished in the back of the sorely abused Minor which, by this time, had lost any real structural integrity anywhere rear of the drivers' seat! Both ends of the circuit were jammed up tight by half way, Luke Radley being the latest passenger in the Korpiela Minor following a shunt from Boxer Jack. By the end of the race, very little was on the move but what there was had been brought home first by Sherwood with Matt Fuller in second, Jackson third then Lee Caunter, Buzz Kelsey and finally what was left of second heat winner Smith as the chequered flag fell and the pit crew started the onerous task of clear the carcasses away, though not before a final hit for Radley from Mark Newman, a vicious hit from behind on turn two sending the remains of Radleys' van first up then over!

As usual, the day ended with the Rawlins 2000 qualifier and, though the final had been big, heavy and filled with hard knocks, a respectable number returned to finish the demolition jobs on their vans, though the Scully Anglia stayed out of it again. The Korpiela Cowley made it back up as did the unstable Laybourn HA and quite a few other wrecks including Newmans' Runner which had last been used to dispatch Luke Radley's car but had been on the end of a fair amount of hits itself. As usual, the mechanics did miracles getting the remains of the day back onto the track for this final run, which Newman won ahead of Sherwood and Jackson before Boxer Jack turned on the field, survived everything that was thrown at him, limped on as Billy Kings' van died and crashed his way into the big money final the hard way as the last car running in a race that also featured one last rollover, this time for Buzz Kelsey.

The next van action at Arena Essex is the annual Rawlins Transport Big Van Championship on August Bank Holiday Monday, August 25.

Where shown below, "NOCR" indicates "No Other Car Running". All results are subject to confirmation by the steward and promoter of the meeting.

Last car running: 331 Jason Jackson

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©2003 Chris Johnson/Crashnet