Michael Lane marked the final meeting of another action-packed season at Foxhall Stadium with his very own one-man show managing to not only scoop the big prize money but also roll his car not just once but twice in successive races, writes Kevin Wegg.

With generous backing all year the Peter Brown Developments Banger series came to a head in the opening race of the day with double points on offer however with series leader Lane starting from pole it was never in doubt as he cantered home in some style. Victory was sweet for the Lavenham driver yet it all went downhill thereafter with a spectacular roll-over in his next race landing on top of Lee Bassham. Not content with that he then treated the crowd to an even more spectacular one and a half roll routine which would have looked good in any gymnastics hall!

Saloon Stock Car racers Niki Jarvis and Billy Smith disposed of the challenging Ben Lloyd in the first Banger heat with the cars of Aaron Thorp and Graham Fuller both catching fire. Kieran Murphy was looking particularly quick in second place and went one better in the following all-in “Fireball” race which featured over fifty cars. Murphy sent race leader Steen Rozier spinning on the very last lap only to fall foul of post-race scrutineering, this coming after Gavin Sheldrake had joined the roll-over club. Murphy and Simon Ford held their own private destruction derby at the start of the 4th race which had no less than three restarts following pile-ups and once again the car finishing first was disqualified for illegal components. This time Darren Yates came unstuck but there was a silver lining as it only handed victory to Adam James, former team-mate of Darren Jones for whose benefit the meeting was being held.

A good entry and mighty blows in the Destruction Derby concluded an excellent Banger programme with the oldest man in the field making his vast experience tell as Eric Pearson took a well-deserved victory.

STOCK RODS – BRUSING AFFAIR!
Chances went out of the window for some of the more-fancied names in the non-contact Stock Rods during a series of spectacular crashes as drivers contested two qualifying heats for their Best in Britain championship final. Andy Sturt comfortably won the first heat and would surely have been there or thereabouts in the big one, but like Banger racer Lane earlier, his afternoon also went pear-shaped as did his car. A stricken Wayne Leedell was hit hard by Sturt in heat two and then Robert Jackson for good measure whilst another top performer Scotsman Kerr Paterson was ruing his luck after limping out when well ahead, leaving Jamie Bowring to clean up. All that left world champion Stuart Smyth on pole and a win was never in doubt especially after a big turn four smash involving Luke Oliver and Adam Daniels snared several others including Sturt. It was a case of what might have been for Paterson who drove brilliantly and nearly snatched fifth in a blanket finish.

BROWN BRACE BUT LAST “WORD” FROM MOORE!!
A good entry of thirty 1300 Stock Cars served up a lively opening heat with Jason Nicholls and Paul Brown having a great tussle for the lead which eventually saw Brown come out on top with Jason Askew looking menacing in second. He was also well in contention in heat two until getting snared in a pile-up with Clive Herve as Brown completed his second win of the day. David Thursting proudly waved the flag well for the yellow tops with a fine win in a final that was surprisingly quiet until the last lap when debut-making Phillip Moore rolled on the very last bend, the Legend car racer having looked well at home in the contact formula.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
He will no doubt be in the thick of it again next season with Foxhall hosting the mouth-watering World Championship double header featuring both Stock Cars and Superstox on August 18th. The season starts on March 3 with the bone-crunching National Bangers ‘Raid’ and the legendary Spede Weekend is on July 7/8.