The Peter Brown Developments Ipswich Banger Championship reaches round 6 at Foxhall on Saturday evening (6.45 start time) and although a change at the top of the points chart looks unlikely it’s all to play for in the places as the series is now past the half way point. Martlesham’s Simon Berry sits at the top but he is currently serving a racing ban which he picked up at Great Yarmouth Stadium back in June. His 28 point lead looks safe enough, but with Ipswich star Dave Canham who is right behind him and given his form anything looks possible, and probably is. Michael Mills will be looking for a haul of points from this meeting as he looks to improve on his tenth place. Harwich driver Steen Rozier is another who always does well at Ipswich and needs the points. To ensure a little Suffolk/Norfolk rivalry the crew from Yarmouth will be in town led by Kieron Cannell who favours the quick Rovers, on his day Cannell is very fast around his home track at Caister but Foxhall with its long straights and wide open bends is a different proposition altogether. There is nothing the Yarmouth boys enjoy more than coming down to Foxhall and taking points and trophies back up the A12, and they could well be worth watching this time. Joe Palmer could well have a busy night as he could well decide to race his Banger and his Stock Car at Foxhall. Two big crashes in as many months have made Palmer into a bit of a local celebrity, his double roll over with another car at Spedeweekend and his balancing act a few weeks earlier both earning him coverage in the Evening Star.
1300 Stock Cars keep the contact side of the evening going with a good entry of drivers from East Anglia and the South. Led by World Champion Simon Welton who will be looking for a slightly better evening than last two weeks ago at Yarmouth when he rolled his brand new NEC car first time out. In true style the World Champ just shrugged his shoulders and said “it’s a Stock Car, that’s what its built to do” before heading back to the pits and getting ready for his next race. Local drivers Mark Bloss and Kevin Thurlow, both from Woodbridge are regular place men in this class which often gets quite heavy in the contact department. One to watch is Pete Beldom from March his Nova always looks quick at Foxhall and he will be determined to ensure that the Southern travellers including Steve Marten all the way up from Newhaven and Bromley’s Lee Pearce don’t have things all their own way. Joey Palmer is racing, hopefully with a few more Essex drivers who are being welcomed into the Formula as Spedeworth works alongside Essex promoter PRI to bring the two respective 1300 Stock Car groups closer together in specification and performance. Spedeworth Racing Manager Christer Earrey explains “This sort of co-operation is needed throughout the sport and spectators will see good numbers of cars on the raceways as the Uk’s leading promoters work together. There are differences between the cars right now, but its early days and as time moves on the cars will become more evenly matched.”
One of the success stories of 2009 at Foxhall was the introduction of racing by the European Late Model Series, such was that success that three meetings are on the 2010 fixture list for them, and this is the second. As far as looks go these cars resemble the American Nascar racers that we see on TV, and they do fit around Foxhall with good close racing and, despite the non-contact status, a few incidents on track to keep everyone entertained. Lat time out at Foxhall Gary Ellis secured the hat-trick in his Chevrolet Impala. A former Superstox driver he used his local track knowledge to great effect as he powered his way to victory with a superb display of driving skill in his V8 engined car. The international field features drivers from UK, Holland, Belgium and France and is certainly a thunderous sight, although for Stuart Whalley the last visit will hold painful memories as he T-boned the stricken Andrew Knight car in the final and inflicted considerable damage on both cars.