Here are some pics from the Old
Boys Banger meeting on 30th May 2005, a special meeting
for drivers who have been racing for 15 years or more,
some of them are still active.
Photos are presentation lap pics, and in glorious black
and white to give that 'aged' feel!!
Photos:
Dean Mayer
Notes are
from the meeting programme
4 Phil Brooks Phil started racing Bangers in 1980 and was a
regular contender for many years. Another who was keen to
travel and raced at the following tracks: Buxton.
Hednesford. Crewe. White City. Rochdale. Blackburn.
Wolverhampton. Norton Canes. Arena Essex. Taunton. That
list will certainly bring back some happy memories for
not only Phil, but many Banger fans of tracks no longer
with us.
His favourite cars were Morris Oxford and Granada - bet
they were easier to find then? No major achievements came
Phil's way although he got to red top. He just raced for
fun.
6 Bill Lever Bill raced from 1980 through until 1995, mainly
at his favourite track at Long Eaton, but also ventured
to Skegness and Scunthorpe. His favourite car was an
Austin Cambridge, and one in particular he remembers,
which did 56 miles around the Long Eaton circuit.
He raced both Bangers and Saloon Stox achieving blue top
status, and also had an outing in an F2 mechanics race.
He devoted a lot of time to the Long Eaton circuit and
was their Oval Drivers Club Chairman.
Bill is a present day staff member here at Buxton, but
one thing we did not know until he applied for this
meeting is that in his racing days he was known as
"Bomber Bill".
7 Peter Lever Peter, currently racing at Buxton in Formula
MiniStox, started racing at age 10 (1983) in National
MiniStox. He has now raced for a total of 17 years,
progressing from the National MiniStox through Bangers,
Saloon Stox before moving onto the Formula MiniStox.
Long Eaton is quoted as Peter's favourite track but he
has also raced at Hartlepool, Skegness, Crewe and Stoke
in addition to Buxton.
When asked about his favourite car he had raced he quoted
both Escort and Mini. He has achieved SuperStar status in
the Formula Mini's and also won the Northern and Midland
Championship.
17 Malcolm Ledgar Malcolm is one that falls into the category of
having raced more than 15 years ago, restricting his
racing to Buxton for a three year period. His favourite
cars raced were a choice of either an Mkl Escort or a
Ford Anglia 1500gt. No major wins came his way but he did
reach star status.
25 Roy Preece Roy, who hails from Chilwell, near Nottingham
started racing in 1982 and raced right through until now.
He tells us he has raced at all tracks throughout the
Midlands, with Long Eaton being his favourite. Apparently
Long Eaton was only five minutes from home on a tow rope.
This will be the first time he has I, and his favoured
car is a Triumph 2000.
Long Eaton brought Roy much success - Crazy Car Champion
in 1991 and 1992, Banger Points Champion in 1996 and most
destructive driver award winner four times during the
early 1990's
38 John Kinghorn Ask John when he first raced and he cannot only
remember the exact date but also the car he raced: -it
was 25th March 1984 in a Hillman Avenger right here at
Buxton. He now states his favourite cars raced as
Granadas, Fiat 131's, Cortinas and A60's. Again an
extensive traveller having been in action at Buxton,
Birmingham, Wimbledon, Hednesford, Ipswich, Rochdale, Old
BelleVue, Crewe, Bolton and Stoke. His favourite was
Buxton in the 1980's, and also loves Hednesford in
something very quick, but reckons that nothing beats
coming through the tunnel at Wimbledon on a big bright
night in the dark.
He blames Dickie Davies from "World of Sport"
for getting him into racing but we do not have enough
room here to tell you all about that. Amongst his
achievements are figure of 8 points winner at Buxton, as
well as second in the banger points, plus winning all the
memorial trophies and numerous "Entertainer
Awards", which he still continuing to do right now
in 2005. He also remembers with fond memories the Sharks
v Ashwood Alcoholics team races. In 23 years, John has
earned the reputation of a "hitter" more than a
winner, but does tell us his biggest disappointment was
being taken out of the lead in the last '/2 lap in a
George Mycock Memorial race. only to find out later that
the race had run for 16 rather the scheduled 15 laps. As
an afterthought John reminded us that he has raced in
America - and he won!
51 John Worstencroft John started his racing career
in 1983 and is still at it. John has travelled
extensively and amazingly continues to do so. He has
listed around 21 tracks that he has raced at and they
include Newton Aycliffe and Cowdenbeath in the north,
Birminghamand Northampton in the midlands, and Taunton
and Westworld, plus all the Spedeworth tracks, in the
lower half of the country.
The favourite car he has ever raced is a toss up between
an Mk3 Cortina and an A60. John has won most of the
Championship trophies at Buxton, has recorded a fifth
place in the Wimbledon World, was the first ever winner
of the Chig Memorial Trophy, and was an important part of
the Buxton Team that finished second in the ORCi Team
Race at Swaffham in 2004. He has asked us to pass on this
message "Thanks for your support over the years to
Jane (Mrs W) and family, Dave and family, and anyone who
has found me a car or helped me". The PS reads
"Kram (205) will not win this one" Kram is of
course the nickname for Mark Hall (205). I wonder what he
will have to say about this?
52 Rick Bagshaw Another driver from Chilwall, near Nottingham,
Rick has raced for 17 years. Not surprisingly Long Eaton
was one of his favourite tracks, although he also tells
us Hednesford was also one of his favourites. Rick has
raced at all the tracks in the Midlands and I think we
can assume this will be his first racing visit to Buxton
today. He tells us he is looking forward to mixing it
with the rest. Rick's favourite car was a Triumph 2500S,
and he also tells us that he has had numerous race wins,
the best of which was winning the "Gold Top" in
1993.
59 Brian Heywood Brian was A late entry for this meeting so we
have not managed to gather a great amount of information
from Brian, although most Buxton regulars will remember
him as a long standing Banger driver. 1975 was the year
he first started racing, and he has raced constantly
since that time.
Brian has travelled extensively during his career
including several local tracks now sadly long gone- White
City.Rochdale.Old Belle Vue.Nelson.Blackburn. His
favourite car was a Hillman Minx and he rates Arena,
Essex as his favourite track. Has won most Championships
at Buxton at some stage in his career.
69 Mark White Mark is another who started racing well in the
past-1986 to be precise. Living as he does near to
Nottingham, it is no surprise his favourite track was
Long Eaton, but he also raced at Trent, Sheffield and
Boston. He is obviously a shale racer but we hope he will
adapt to the tarmac for our special event.
His favourite car was a Triumph 2.5pi and when asked
about his achievements he declared they were very few. On
the injury front, he was unlucky enough to break his leg
in three places when racing in Saloon Stox at Long Eaton
in 1992.
75 Steve Thacker Steve is another regular campaigner at Buxton
from his Chester base, and has raced for 15 years. He has
travelled extensively during this term taking in northern
tracks such as Barrow and Bolton, the midlands tracks at
Birmingham and Hednesford, plus Bristol, Mildenhall and
Ipswich in a list, which took up quite a lot of room on
his questionnaire. Steve tells us that Arena is his
favourite track and his favourite car is any Cortina. He
is still travelling to many "away" meetings,
even in 2005. Steve was also a member of the ORCi team,
which finished second at Swaffham last year. He has won
the Buxton banger points twice, the King of the Peak
twice, and also tells us that racing at the Wimbledon
World was one of his major achievements.
85 Phil Swindells Phil, who was a "Bosley Bunch" racer,
last raced in 1984, when his career had spanned 9 years.
During that time he raced at Buxton, Hednesford,
Wimbledon and Belle Vue. He rates the Jaguar XJ6 as his
favoured car for racing.
Philip has quite an impressive list of Points
Championship of which he is justifiably very proud.
Banger Points Champion at Buxton in 1979 and 1980
expanding on that in 1981 and 1982 to also add the Figure
of 8 Points Championship.
He also represented Buxton at the Wimbledon World Final
in 1980 and 1981, and finished third in the Hednesford
Nationals on 1981.
116 Jeremy West Jeremy started racing Bangers in the 1970's but
it is now 27 years since he raced. His career lasted for
four years and he only raced here at Buxton. Favoured car
was an Mk3 Cortina and Jeremy achieved 3 race wins during
his career and numerous second places.
125 Tim Marson Tim must be known to everybody connected with
the Raceway, as he has raced for a staggering 31 years,
and is still showing some of the youg ones the quickest
way around the Buxton oval in his Hot Rod. It would be
easier to tell you which tracks Tim has not raced at
rather than those he has raced at, as the list would be
very small. Suffice to say, Tim has travelled extensively
during his racing career. It is similar with his list of
Championship wins-Tim has won everything at least once.
Tim tells us his favourite car he ever raced was a Mini
in Bangers. He is really looking forward to this event,
and making contact with the old boys and the young guns
again.
127 Ted Preston Ted, started racing way back in 1976 and had a
15-year career based right here at Buxton. His favoured
car for racing was an Mk2 Zodiac, and he was runner up in
the banger point's championship in 1976. It's great to
see Ted with us today.
133 Ian Hertzog Ian has not been trackside for quite some time,
but did start racing in 1985 and raced "in his own
words" for a few years on and off.
His favoured car was an Mk3 Cortina and as well as
Buxton, he put in appearances at Crewe, Rochdale, Old
Belle Vue, Hednesford and Arena Essex.
140 Andy Robinson Andy is one those drivers who has raced
continually once he started in 1986. That was when he
started to race MiniStox and has graduated through
Bangers (first meeting on Boxing Day 1988), Saloon Stock
Cars, both F2 and Fl Stock Cars.
Where has he raced? may be easier to give you a list of
where he has not raced. As well as the regular haunts of
other drivers he has also raced at Armadale (Scotland),
Workington, and Lelystad in Holland. We asked Andy about
any favourite car he has raced, and he told us he just
enjoys racing and that each formula has its own fun. He
was BriSCA Fl Novice of the Year in 1994 and has notched
up many race wins during his career.
Andy races for fun and we found out his first few laps
around Buxton were on his 3 wheeler bike when he was aged
2, having attended his first meeting there in his pram 32
years ago. He is grateful for his dads help in getting
him into racing - that would be Alan Robinson (148). Just
to keep it in the family Andy's mum was 1979 British Open
Ladies Champion.
170 Micheal Wood It is now 18 years since Michael last raced,
having started in 1979 and he raced for 8 years. He kept
his racing activities to Buxton and his favourite car was
an Mk3 Cortina. No major achievements came his way but he
did manage to win several heats and finals. He would like
to pass his thanks onto Pete Corbett for preparing his
car for today's event.
205 Mark Hall Mark, from Macclesfield, started racing bangers
way back in 1980, but in latter
years has raced in different formulas, being presently in
the V8 Hot Stox. Mark also is an extensive traveller,
having raced at a variety of tracks in his
career including Buxton, Rochdale, Hednesford,
Birmingham, Coventry, Kings Lynn, Skegness and
Northampton to name just a few.
Another driver to rate the Cortina as his favourite car
raced, he was points champion two years in Bombers (now
National Bangers) at Buxton and also has won the Super
Banger Points Championship.
270 Keith Burgess Keith, who started racing in 1979, was a Buxton
regular for 10 years. Now resident in York, we are glad
he has made the effort to be with us for this event. He
was an original member of the famous "Ashwood
Alcoholics" with John Howarth, another we tried to
talk into making an appearance, but sadly we failed.
Promoters Note-John has had a change of heart and will be
here with us today. Anybody watching racing at Buxton at
the time will remember the "Alcoholics" with
great affection always in the thick of it!
A Mkl Capri is said to be his favourite car ever raced,
and not only did he race bangers, but also Stock Saloons
as well, winning numerous heats and finals in both
formulas along the way and reaching the top grade in each
formula. In addition to Buxton, Keith also raced at
Birmingham, Ipswich and Hednesford.
295 Graham Heywood 26 continuous years of racing for Graham
"Havoc" Heywood and another regular at Buxton,
although he does like to travel and usually plans his
year well in advance to take in major meetings at other
tracks. When we asked Graham for a list of the tracks he
had raced at, it would have been easier if he gave us a
list of those he had not raced at, as they total 22.
There are some interesting tracks amongst those he has
raced at, which are sadly no longer with us:Bolton.
Stoke. Rochdale. Blackburn. Aycliffe. Old Belle Vue.
Crewe. Norton Canes. Graham tells us his most favourite
car ever raced is a Jaguar XJS, as he considers them to
be hard as well as fast.
As you would gather for someone who has been racing this
length of time he has had considerable success: he has
won the Points Championship twice at Buxton, plus all the
titles on offer, plus British and Northern Champion. His
favourite meetings are the FireCracker at Arena and the
Civil War. He is quoted as saying that Arena is his
favourite track. We knew that anyway, but he does still
support Buxton as much as he can.
370 John Howarth It was 26 years ago since John started his
racing career, which he recalls was alongside Keith
Burgess (also racing today), as the "Ashwood
Alcoholics". John tells us Buxton was his favourite
track although he put in some travelling also to tracks
such as Hednesford, Birmingham, Ipswich, Cowdenbeath and
Wisbech. John's favourite car was an escort Mk2 and he
has an impressive list of major successes: Buxton Points
Champion. National Champion. Northern and Midland
Champion (3 times). 2nd and 3rd positions in the World
Final. He has not said if all these were in Bangers, as I
am aware John was also a successful Saloon Stock Car
Driver. He is also an ex Bangers scrutineer from Buxton
Raceway.
390 Steve Unsworth Steve really has shown his commitment to Banger
racing having now achieved a 25 year unbroken record.
He tells us that Wimbledon and Kings Lynn are his
favourite tracks and he has a choice of favoured cars -
either an A60 or Mkl Granada. Steve was Buxton Points
Champion in 1994 and is proud to have been a member of
the Northern Team who won the Civil War four times.
470 Pete Corbett Pete started racing bangers in 1983 and is still
an active driver, without a break. A very widely
travelled driver taking in such tracks as Birmingham,
Hednesford, Ipswich, Swaffham, Cowdenbeath, Bristol,
Wimbledon and Mildenhall. Pete was also a member of the
team that took Buxton Raceway to second place in the ORCi
Team Championship at Swaffham last November. his
favourite car- seems anything is OK except for the 2CV he
raced at Buxton some 2/3 years ago, which was an
experimental meeting. Has won the Buxton Points
Championship seven times and his other claim to fame is a
pre 68 win at Hednesford (unders). He is currently
wondering if he will receive his long service medal for
his commitment to banger racing.
606 Nigel Denby Nigel recalls it was 1970 when he first raced
and he has been there off and on ever since. He is still
a regular competitor here at Buxton, which is not too far
from his Chelmorton base, and he was part of the team who
finished a creditable second place in the Oval Racing
Council event at Swaffham in November 2004. Nicknamed
"Red Mist", he is still capable of winning any
event he enters. ie has ever raced was a Humber Super
Snipe, and during his term he has visited tracks far and
wide, including those at Ipswich, Rayleigh (Essex), Great
Yarmouth and Wisbech. Claims his main achievement during
his racing career as staying married nice one Nigel!
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