Attritional meeting of racing beats the weather at King’s Lynn

It was a day of attritional stock car and banger racing at King’s Lynn on Saturday.

With several visitors including overseas ones already en-route, the decision was made for the Pre 80 Banger and 1300 Stock Car meeting to go ahead despite heavy rain throughout most of the day.

Unsurprisingly, there were several late cancellations due to the conditions but the drivers and race teams who did attend should be applauded for putting on a tremendous show and managing to keep repairing cars despite the conditions.

The conditions played into the hands of some drivers as well – ones who revel in the wet – and some of the local drivers enjoyed some fantastic results.

Darren Fendley was in action in a super smart Rover P5 in the over class. His car went as well as it looked as he took the chequered flag in the opening heat and then went on to record a third place finish in the second heat and third place in the final.

Ashlun Woods was in action in a Triumph 2000 in the middle class which was one of the best presented cars in the class. Ashlun went on to put on a great show, being heavily involved in the action throughout the night.

Davey Cox raced an Austin Ambassador which was painted up in the colours of his late father Ally who was a force to be reckoned with around the tracks in the 1970s and 1980s.

The car proved problematic for the team and was on its third engine before it even hit the track! All the hard work was worthwhile though when Davey powered the car to victory in the final with a drive Ally would have been very proud of.

Amy Brown recorded a win in the unders class which she was over the moon with. Great performances were also recorded in the class from Paul Lovick, Alex Smith and Alex Ward, with Ward in particular getting stuck in well and taking home an entertainer award for his efforts.

The conditions made things far less than ideal for Jake Banwell in his preparation for the 1300 Stock Car World Final.

His best finish of the night came in the opening heat in which he came home in fourth, before recording a sixth place in the second heat and 10th place in the meeting final.

Sheffield’s Chris Taylor took to the conditions well and was unbeatable on the night, taking a hat trick of victories.

King’s Lynn’s Darren Fendley showed great pace in the wet conditions in his smart Rover P5. Photo: Kieran Bonsall