Arena Essex Raceway - Meeting 04/15 Monday, May 31, 2004 Crashnet > Reports Index > PRI 2004 Index > Meeting 04/15

PRI Banger Team Championship Round 3 1300 Stock Cars SuperBangers

SuperBangers
Steve Davies came away with a final win at Arena Essex on May 31. The former captain of the Condom banger team, won the SuperBanger final in a meeting that was expanded due to a good number of cars turning up. Phil Butler also put in a good performance, taking two of the three heats, whilst Dan Lawrence won the third heat and came second in the final, not bad for a day licence driver in a borrowed car and possibly incentive for him to get a full licence.

PRI Banger Teams
Most of the teams qualifying for the PRI Banger Teams Final Eliminator in July had already booked their places by the time they turned out for the final qualifying round on May 31 at Arena Essex, though a number of places were still up for grabs. One team that has certainly come on since their early days is the Menace team, Ray Layton notching up a first win for the team, though the first heat set the scene for a lot of what would happen through the day and, more importantly, who would get the points. The meeting would become a fight between the top three teams; former champions Midnight Runners, defending champions Condoms and Bad Company, a team which has been gradually improving through the season, containing a number of team veterans. Billy Lee denied Jason Jackson in the second heat, grabbing ten of eighteen points, while Charlie Shanahan grabbed ten points for the Cream team, stopping Rob Farrington from grabbing a third win in as many rounds.

The consolation was very much a case of a last gasp dash for the last places as the Wrekin Krew grabbed a win courtesy of Chaz Taylor in an eleven point haul, though this was still not quite enough to allow them to pass the Ant Hill Mob score which means that the Krew will be the first reserve team as the final became a five way scramble for the last points between the three top teams plus the Cowboys and the Cream Team. The final itself was fairly heavy, coming to an end early after Danny McCormack was rolled onto his roof across the start/finish line, the win going to Rob Burbridge of the Condom team, who took the round overall by two points over the Runners with Bad Company third.

The Rawlins 2000 Qualifier seemed to take on a distinctly East Anglian feel as Martin Scully won the race before he took on Davey Cox in the destruction derby section of the event, though Scully would eventually bow out, Cox and Paul Wilks finally bashing themselves into mutual oblivion for a split decision for last car running.

1300 Stock Cars
James Radcliffe took a heat and final double at the May 31 Arena Essex 1300 Stock Car meeting, emulating Butch in the previous meeting though without the weather problems, though the racing was affected through the meeting by some problems with grip around the corners where the bangers had left their mark. Spike Ellis managed second spot behind Radcliffe both times, whilst Darren Pratt recovered from a lacklustre meeting in the rain at the start of May to grab a win in the helter-skelter race, nipping ahead of Keith Chapman late in the race.

Last Car: 119 Davey Cox/328 Paul Wilks

^* Race 0 was added to the start of the meeting due to an excessive number of cars. The meeting was changed to a "two-thirds" format with an allcomers' final.

Points after meeting 04/15

Please note that the points shown are unofficial and are given as a guideline only. For the official standings, you should consult the monthly newsletter or contact the PRI Office during office hours on (01708) 867728.

Also see Matthew Bull's website for more pictures from this meeting!

© 2004 Chris Johnson (Crashnet) / Promotasport Raceways