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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.

Vauxhall Viva HB

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.

Ford Cortina Mk3

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.

Vauxhall Victor

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).

Vauxhall Victor

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.

Ford Escort Mk 1

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.

Rover P5

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.

Triumph 2500 PI

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.

Renault R4 Van

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.

Ford Cortina Mk3

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.

I win a trophy

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.