It’s another bank holiday, which means another Monday afternoon spent the right way here at the Adrian Flux Arena. The Van Bangers make their first appearance of the year, and are joined by the Micro Bangers, Junior Bangers and Unlimited Lady Bangers.
As is usually the case with these type of meetings, the more casual side of racing appeals to a slightly different driver base and we have a whole host of entertainers set to provide the action. 71 James Unwin and running mate 711 Lewis Hewitt look to provide the van ‘beef’ with a Leyland DAF 400 Ambulance and Mk3 Ford Transit Ice Cream Van. 862 Reece Eglington will likely be causing mayhem in his Bedford CF Camper. 51 James Licquorice currently leads the Entertainer Points and will be one of the main stars to keep an eye out for today – he loves these types of event’s and will be doing anything to turn his long-wheel base Transit into a short-wheel base by the time the day is over. Brother Jack, 511, is back for more in his Volkswagen LT35 from last year that we’re sure he’ll be looking to finish off. 69 Brad Bartram is always game for a crash – expect to see him putting his Vauxhall Vito to good use. We have the fleet of drivers that we only see normally as part of the Van fixtures – 17 Gary Beck, 21 Ralph Wright, 41 Tom Dye, 171 Andy Frost, 182 Pagnton Gibson, 288 Chris Ford, 473 Mark Nicholls and 700 Harley Butr are back for more frolics. The Gill family love a van meeting – it’s great to see 77 Russell and 757 Callum back out. Callum recently had a heat and final double in his BRISCA F1 at Sheffield, but we doubt much racing will be going on today. 996 Jack Wright shall be tooled up with an Iveco which will more than likely be painted in one of themes; we look forward to seeing what he opts for this time.
Micro Bangers – micro in size, and also micro in bookings today, but don’t let that fool you. The combination of 28 Mac Bell, 51 Licquorice, 204 Justin Warren, 428 Nick Ashbridge, 557 Liam Jaggard, 710 Sean Unwin, 713 Oscar Preston and 869 Jamie Steele should be more than enough to provide some top action. 869 Steele leads the way in the UK Championship qualifying from 557 Jaggard and 830 Lee White, and they’ll be looking to add points on the board where possible.
The Junior Bangers continue to impress, and once again it’s a healthy looking booking list with over 40 cars expected from the youngsters. The racing has been top drawer since the start of the season, with some real hard and fast racing on display. 08 Taylor Morton only joined the class at the start of the year and is already making a big impression sitting comfortably at the top of the points. 2023 Whites & Yellows Champion 669 William Cartwright sits in second behind him, with 478 Morgan Bailey up there in third. Those three have been race winners here already this season, and are joined in that club by 920 Rhys Medley, 517 Rylee Taylor, 329 Jayden Carter, 609 Lenny Murkin, 515 Reagan Flatters, 753 Tommy-Joe Cunningham and 339 Jack Garrod Jnr, and there are certainly a host of others that are capable of joining them.
Concluding the fixture are the Unlimited Ladies in their first outing of the year. 477 Amy Steele took the points honours last year, whilst 502 Becca Bitson, 85 Danielle Ellis and 92 Amylee Harper also impressed with their performances. 626 Kayleigh Sanders is set to be busy on double duties, also being out in the Vans today.
It’s set to be a fun-filled day to celebrate the bank holiday properly.
