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Task
Force Banger Racing Team
I
started my Banger Racing days in 1983. Martin and
I, who were friends at the time, decided that we
wanted to do some motor racing and the cheapest
form in those days was Banger Racing. We bought
an old Vauxhall Viva HB between us, prepared it,
and raced it at Needwood Raceway, near Burton
Upon Trent. The name of the team was derived from
the name of the company "Craven
Tasker", who Martin worked for at the time.
We chose a camouflage colour scheme to go with
the name "Task Force", as it allowed us
to paint the car without any complicated colour
scheme that we may have to repair along the way.
For some reason we decided to name the cars after
Warships to stick with the military theme and the
first Banger car was called
"Invincible" The 1983 Season
Vauxhall
Viva HB - "Invincible"
My first banger race in the HB ended with me
being pushed onto the tyres after a couple of
laps. The car was shared with Martin and I used
the number 88. We swapped the driving numbers
between 87 and 88 depending on who was driving,
by adding some black insulation tape to the
number 7.
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Ford
Cortina Mk III - "Defiance"
The Viva didn't last too long, but it didn't put
Martin and I off racing. We bought a Cortina
between us, which we managed to keep going till
the end of the season. At the Needwood Raceway
Awards night, Martin and I were presented with a
trophy each for sportsmanship and enthusiasm. |
The
1984 Season
We had enjoyed our days racing during the 1983
season and so for this year we decided to buy and
race our own cars. we were also joined by three
other people to expand the team to five cars at a
time. The Raceway had changed hands and it was
now known as Trent Raceway, but ultimately it was
the same faces and teams that competed.Ford Cortina Mk III
- "Destroyer"
My first car of the 1984 season was a 1600cc
Cortina. This was agreat car and it lasted me
most of the season, with minor repairs here and
there. Won some trophies with this car and the 17
points I scored was enough to give me a 3rd in
Class trophy.
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Vauxhall
Victor - Raider
Nice big car for Banger Racing. Unfortunately it
wasn't very reliable and I ended up being pushed
off the track more times than I finished. As you
can see from the photo we had to change the
clutch before it had even competed in its first
race. (Rolling it on its side meant that we could
get at the gearbox a lot easier). |
The
1985 Season
For the 1985 season, I decided to change formulas
as I had bought a 1300cc Escort, so instead of
racing in the Bangers Class I raced in the under
2 litre Stocks Class.Ford Escort Mk I - "no
name"
Really liked this car. It was light and quick and
I won quite a few races in it. By the end of the
season I had scored 31 points and had come 4th
Overall in the Class.
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The
1986 Season
1986 proved to be a crap year for me car wise.
Most of the cars I bought didn't last very long
and I ended up marshalling more that I did
driving. Even marshalling proved to be a bad idea
for me as during one banger heat race, I managed
to get knocked over by a couple of cars. Luckily,
after a trip to the hospital, I only ended up
with some cuts and bruises.Ford Capri 3000 - "no
name"
The Capri was an ex rally car and had some real
power. I raced it in the hot stocks class at
Trent Raceway. Managed to win the first race the
Capri took part in, but after that I just
couldn't get it around the corners. It was just
too fast on the straights and when I got to the
corner, I just couldn't turn it in without power
sliding it around the bend, which ultimately
meant I was bouncing the side of the Capri off
other cars. Unfortunately I haven't got a photo
of the Capri.
Austin
Allegro 1500cc - "no name"
I bought the Allegro, which was still Taxed and
MOT'd, and prepared it to race in the front wheel
drive class, as I didn't think it would last that
long in the Banger Races. It ran great and I took
it up to the track on the Satrurday (as you could
store your cars overnight at the track ready for
racing the next day.) When we got to the track on
the Sunday, it just wouldn't start no matter what
we did to it. We think someone had
"nobbled" it after seeing it running
around on the Saturday. Unfortunately I haven't
got a photo of the Allegro.
Rover P5 -
"Reaper"
I bought the Rover fully prepared as it was
(complete with dents) from the Demons Banger
Racing team. I painted it in our colours and took
it up to the track. I managed to wreck it in it's
very first race by breaking the steering rack and
bending the front wheel.
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The
1987 Season
Another non too brilliant season for me.Triumph 2500 PI - "Terminator"
I bought this car locally, prepared it and took
it up to the track, although I could never get it
to run on all six cylinders. It threw it down
with rain for the first race it took part in, and
although it didn't run properly, I won the heat,
probably because everyone else's cars were
misfiring in the rain as well. The car was
wrecked in its second race, with someone ramming
the backend so hard that it pushed the boot all
of the way up to the back window and the back
axle collapsed. We managed to repair the car and
I actually raced it a few more times, with me
even managing to win another race in it. The
Triumph was the only car that I raced at a
different track, namely Lutterworth.
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I
hadn't got another car prepared when I finally
wrecked the Triumph,so I ended up borrowing a
Ford Escort Mk 2 for a meeting. The car was good
and I won my heat and the final. 2 more trophies
for my trophy cabinet. |
Renault
R4 Van - *****
I actually ran the Van on the road for a while as
it was still Taxed and MOT'd when I bought it.
Once the MOT was up I prepared it and then raced
it. The Van was very quick as it was so light,
but unfortunately once the other cars got within
range, the Van was toast. |
The
1988 Season
The 1988 season at Trent Raceway was the last one
for me.Ford
Cortina Mk III - "Gladiator"
Yet another Cortina. I really liked racing them
as I found them to be my ideal banger car. I
managed to make this car last most of the season
and won a few trophies with it. Once it was
wrecked I decided not to carry on racing any
longer.
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Due
to circumstances beyond my control, I gave up
racing in 1988. I had won 21 Trophies in 6 years,
which I didn't think was too bad in a sport that
relies on a lot of luck to actually finish, never
mind finish in the Trophies.
It was my
intention to take up some form of track racing at
a later date, which is why I went looking for an
Anglia some years ago, as I had the urge to do
some historic circuit racing. My Yellow Saloon
came along and I decided that it was too original
to mess around with it. Maybe one day I'll end up
back on the track.
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