Caged! Rookie Banger Awards 2021

The annual ‘rookie’ awards have been totted up and are ready to announce. We would like to thank the #CagedNation once again for their contributions to voting, some close votes all the way throughout. Without further a do, here are your results.

Driver of the Year

1st -131 Harley McCarthy – 19.88%

What a year for young Harley! The 16 year old came into the 1600s at Spedeworth fresh off a successful Junior career and dominated proceedings. His maiden year seeing ‘Bunda’ take the silver roof honours in what was a highly competitive season for them; no mean feat when you consider he was pushed all the way by veteran racer 33 Gary Madgwick and 330 Tyler Wilkin. Superb effort and we are sure he’ll one to keep an eye on once again in the 2022 season!

2nd – 90 Joey Holmes Jnr – 18.67%

3rd – 77 Nino Flamang – 12.65%

4th – 440 Lennon Phillips – 11.44%

5th – 88 Lyndon Stark – 9.04%

6th – 2 Harrison Staples – 7.83%

=7th – 4 Josh Goligher – 4.21%

=7th – 478 Craig Royal – 4.21%

=9th – 141 Jake Stewart – 2.41%

=9th – 330 Tyler Wilkin – 2.41%

=9th – 702 Jordan Eagle – 2.41%

12th – 591 Aaron Morris – 1.81%

=13th – 63 Willie McFaul – 1.2%

=13th – 113 Chris Jeanes – 1.2%

15th – 929 Sam Baker – 0.6%

16th – 23 Barry Staples – 0%

Entertainer of the Year

1st – 455 Micky Cornish – 30.86%

Micky dominated voting and it’s clear to see why. Every time Micky is on track, there isn’t really a driver that is safe with some textbook followins throughout the season as well as other big hits. Micky will always try to have some different on track too, and it’s often them efforts outside of the track too which provide an overall ‘entertainment package.’

=2nd – 77 Nino Flamang – 12.96%

=2nd – 83 David Loakes – 12.96%

4th – 380 Lee Hopkins – 8.02%

5th – 305 Alfie Cornish – 6.79%

6th – 817 Toby Hodgkinson – 4.94%

7th – 182 Ryan Knight – 4.32%

8th – 171 Nay Brooks – 3.7%

=9th – 141 Jake Stewart – 3.09%

=9th – 214 Connor Osborn – 3.09%

=9th – 374 Jake Carter – 3.09%

12th – 700 Barney Purplett – 1.85%

=13th – 79 Artus Lejeune – 1.23%

=13th – 564 Shane Coupland – 1.23%

=15th – 20 Florian Duhem – 0.61%

=15th – 242 Koen Sanders – 0.61%

=15th – 400 Georgie Kelly – 0.61%

=18th – 525 Nick Andrews – 0%

=18th – 560 Matty Coupland – 0%

Most Improved Driver

1st – 449 Bradley Green – 14.88%

Bradley is your most improved driver of the year. Another young starlet that blossomed from the successful Junior Banger ranks, not only has Bradley had a strong season on the domestic 1600 front, we’ve seen some great National Banger performances too which has surely helped gather valuable experience. 

2nd – 166 Jeremy Temmerman – 13.1%

3rd – 746 Deejay Tyler – 11.24%

4th – 99 Levi Dewey – 10.65%

5th – 41 Robbie Steele – 10.06%

6th – 442 Tyler Ivins – 7.1%

7th – 161 Charlie Hutson –  5.92%

8th – 2 Harrison Staples – 5.32%

9th – 140 Thomas House – 4.14%

10th – 982 Steven Turner – 3.55%

11th – 97 Jack Shepherd – 2.98%

=12th – 460 Luke Tongue – 2.38%

=12th – 610 Devon Usher – 2.38%

=14th – 3 Ryan Martin – 1.79%

=14th – 128 Daniel Allen – 1.79%

16th – 306 Mitchell Hawkins – 1.19%

=17th – 171 Jamie Strange – 0.6%

=17th – 477 Martin Harle – 0.6%

19th – 114 Luke Niles – 0%

Best Newcomer 

1st – 682 Korben Quinn – 16.25%

Another driver fresh out of the Junior Bangers, a nice little theme going on here! Korbs chipped away all year with some great showings, narrowly missing out on qualifying for his first World Final by only a few points. Korbs took a third in the World of Shale at Northampton at the end of the year and he’ll be looking to continue that form into the 2022 season. We look forward to seeing Korbs mature on track and are sure he’ll be a contender for most improved or driver of the year come the 22 awards.

2nd – 293 Jamy Temmerman – 14.375%

3rd – 14 Will Walmsley Jnr – 12.5%

4th – 131 Harley McCarthy – 10%

5th – 12 Bradley Peters – 8.75%

=6th – 133 Faye Madgwick – 7.5%

=6th – 241 James Lake – 7.5%

8th – 257 Harvey Barrow – 6.25%

9th – 362 Katie Walden – 4.375%

10th – 531 Brent Tropper – 3.75%

=11th – 39 Ryan Knibbs – 3.125%

=11th – 44 Lucas Goligher – 3.125%

13th – 379 Brandon Kevern – 2.5%

Team of the Year

1st – Midnight Runners – 26.61%

A very close battle between the Midnight Runners and Scrapyard Screamers, with the classic purple, white and blue combination coming out on top. A particular highlight for the team being their strong showing at Mildenhall’s Gold Rush round among others.

2nd – Scrapyard Screamers – 25.8%

3rd – Team Haters – 16.93%

4th – The Bears – 14.51%

5th – No Limit – 4.03%

6th – Surrey Street Squad – 3.23%

=7th – Boston Bad Boy Crew – 2.42%

=7th – Gone Gang – 2.42%

=9th – First Blood – 1.61%

=9th – Witham Wreckers – 1.61%

11th – Wolf Team – 0.8%

12th – The Smurfs – 0%

Car of the Year

1st – 131 Peter Hamner – Ford Mk2 Escort Estate – World Final – 56.06%

There was never any denying that Gromit was going to win this award. His Mk2 Ford Escort Estate looked so good under the floodlights at Foxhall and provided that something special on World Final night that we all crave for – it was heartbreaking to see the engine give up before the start but we look forward to it hitting the track soon.

2nd – 370 Dylan Cornelis – Chrysler P160 – Warneton Pre 80 – 15.91%

3rd – 746 Deejay Tyler – Nissan Primera Limo – Trent Season Finale – 9.85%

4th – 687 Mark Cross – Ford Focus Limo – Trent Season Finale – 9.09%

=5th – 121 Gino Temmerman – 1928 Citroen AC4 – Warneton Pre 80 – 2.27%

=5th – 191 Tommy Merlen – Opel Kadett City – Warneton Pre 80 – 2.27%

=7th – 400 Georgie Kelly – Ford S Max – Smallfield Teams – 1.61%

=7th – 707 Barney Puplett – Nissan Primera Limo – Smallfield Opener – 1.61%

=9th – 19 Juan Vanhasselt – 1937 Austin Ten – Warneton Pre 80 – 0.8%

=9th – 112 Tony Spinnewijn – 1952 Austin Somerset – Warneton Pre 80 – 0.8%

11th – 22 Antoine Delvoye – Peugeot 403 Estate – Warneton Pre 80 – 0%

Meeting of the Year

1st – 1600 World Final (Ipswich) – 47.62%

Another award where the winner isn’t surprising. We were treated to a great night of entertainment at the 1600 World Final at Ipswich, coupled with great efforts on the paint front and thankfully some decent weather after their big brother, the Unlimited World, was a wash out a month earlier. We also got to see that great drive from 141 Jake Stewart to claim a flag to flag victory.

2nd – Warneton Pre 80 – 18.25%

3rd – Trent Season Finale – 7.94%

4th – Skegness Gold Roof Final – 7.14%

=5th – Ipswich Gala Night – 3.97%

=5th – World of Shale (Northampton) – 3.97%

7th – Ringwood Rookie World – 3.17%

=8th – Aldershot Gold Rush – 2.38%

=8th – Smallfield Teams – 2.38%

=10th – Buxton Peg Marson Memorial – 1.59%

=10th – Hednesford Gold Rush – 1.59%

12th – Supreme Championship (Taunton) – 0%

Promotion of the Year

1st – Spedeworth – 41.22%

Spedeworth certainly stepped it up a notch in 2021 with their 1600 Bangers, putting on some great meetings with the Gold Rush rounds. The Southern Shakedown Series also gave the typical Southern domestic meeting a ‘shake up’ that it needed and we saw some top meetings come from that too. 2022 looks set to be even bigger for Spedeworth with the introduction of the Cash or Card rounds, where the winner can chose an unknown cash prize or a spot on the World Final grid – tasty!

2nd – CAMSO – 16.79%

3rd – Skegness – 15.27%

4th – Trent Raceway – 14.96%

5th – Smallfield – 4.72%

6th – DMC Race Promotions – 3.93%

7th – Mendips – 2.36%

=8th – Autospeed – 0.79%

=8th Scunthorpe – 0.79%

10th – Buxton – 0%