Mechanical gremlins hit West Norfolk driver in bid for World glory

Jake Banwell put in a great performance in his bid to lift the 1300 Stock Car World title at Lynn on Saturday night but mechanical problems saw him fail to finish the race.

The meeting was a wonderful advert for the saloon stock cars with both the 1300 stock cars and the two-litre stock cars putting on a superb performance.

Banwell was the only West Norfolk representative in the World Final and was in the middle of the action after a hectic start before dropping down to eighth place on the second lap.

However, he refused to throw in the towel and a battling performance saw him cross the line in second place on the 12th lap only for him to lose power and the race.

Banwell said: “So it was not to be. We licked the stamp, and we sent it, but we just couldn’t deliver on this occasion.

“The car felt really good and was running fifth for the first half of the race. We battled up to second and really felt like we could challenge for the lead only for the engine to go sick off turn four.

“We dropped back to about fifth again as we tried to continue but then another caution and the car overheated and then finally went bang with about 5 laps to go.

“I would have definitely had a great chance of winning without the engine problems but I would like to congratulate new champion Jacob Bromley on winning a great race.”

One of the local highlights was the return of Lee Sampon who made his first appearance of the season and was heavily involved in the forefront of the action.

Sampson recorded a top-ten finish in one of the heats. The best local finish came from Austin Freestone who secured second ahead of the likes of Chris Masters and Levi List.

Adam O’Dell won the 2L Stock Car British Championship with a great drive while Chris Masters was the best local finisher in 12th place.

He was followed by Freestone, who had driven well after crashing out early and finding himself in 30th spot on the third lap, which he battled back from.

A massive weekend of racing action takes place at Lynn this weekend with three meetings.

Nigel Riley has been a long-time stalwart of national banger racing and on Saturday (5pm) and Sunday (1pm) there is a testimonial event taking place for him.

On Monday (1pm), the annual Big Van Banger meeting takes centre stage with racing also coming from the 1500cc bangers and Reliant Robins.

These events are all expected to be sell-outs and are advance ticket only.

Tickets can be purchased from the Trackstar Website at: www.stockcar-racing.co.uk