Seasonal showers throughout the afternoon were an unhelpful feature of Banger Bonanza 9, but nonetheless, a large crowd enjoyed plenty of entertaining racing.

National Micro Bangers

200 Jai Simmons built a decent lead at the start of the opening heat, as 278 Shaun Brokenshire followed in 76 Matt Hodgkins, who was then blitzed hard by 2 Jack Hodges.  As the red flags appeared to bring assistance to Hodgkins, Hodges also followed in 251 James Lake.  The re-run was far less spectacular.  303 Josh Jones did a decent job out front, but had to give best to gold top 114 Liam Lake who took over just before halfway and then stormed to victory.  Late on, 133 Terry Hill ran in 17 Jacob Filer, which concluded the action.  Another brutal race followed, with Brokenshire burying 775 Callum Congdon in the west bend, and 2 Jack Hodges steaming into a head-on attack of the spun 632 Ryan Karkeek in the pits bend.  The race was halted, and in the re-run, Lake bundled 355 Aaron Dark into the west bend plating and Jones sent Simmons careering into it.  842 Jack Perkins clouted Dark, and was then hit by 44 Liam Boswarthick who was collected by Hill.  After that stoppage, 741 Alex Waterman led away the single file queue but was challenged by Lake.  275 Liam Best brilliantly resisted the efforts of 77 Aaron Charles to spin him, although Jones did turn Hill around on the home straight.  When Hill rejoined, he expertly drilled Jones into the pits bend fence with a text book follow-in.  The final was lightly subscribed, and action was at a premium.  Waterman and Lake swapped first place time and time again at the front, with Waterman just getting the lead back in time to take the chequered.  Although only three drivers appeared for the Destruction Derby, the efforts of the trio were outstanding.  In torrential rain, 262 Rob Bugler, Brokenshire and 355 Aaron Dark sportingly took turns to blast one another, until Bugler’s car began to drag and Brokenshire ground to a halt, leaving Dark to administer the two final hits.

2 Litre Bangers

Former Supreme Champion 131 Sam Hill sped to a clear victory in the Last Chance Qualifier, leading home travelling companion 205 Charles Pearcey and 862 Darryl Cock.  A cloudburst ahead of the Supreme Championship left the track thoroughly soaked.  From the front row, 133 Terry Hill wasted no time in overhauling pole sitter 278 Shaun Brokenshire.  A battle for second ensued, with 238 Jake Hughes and 743 Jake Bond strongly involved, and they eventually broke clear, but by the time they had established their positions, Hill was a long way down the road, and in the closing stages Hill lapped all the way up to sixth.  A large grid assembled for the meeting final, and Cornish pair Hughes and 374 Rich Kelly led the early stages.  Hughes then edged clear and went on to win convincingly.  Supreme Champion Terry Hill sent Kelly and Bond into a half spin to steal second place in the closing stages.  Hughes completed a successful day with victory in the Allcomers, finishing ahead of 280 Harry Ricketts.

Back 2 Basics Bangers (Overs)

The lead in the opening heat changed several times.  After 31 Nathan Nichols had led the formative laps, 26 Craig Nichols took over in his VW Beetle.  When he was delayed at the midway point, 157 Rob Surman took over, but his time at the front was short-lived, and 890 Leszek Malinowsky inherited a lead he was to keep to the finish, whilst 383 Andre McLellan finished second in his Rolls Royce Silver Spur.  Veteran racer 282 Steve Hunt scored a commanding win in the second race, whilst pandemonium broke out in the west bend, with 18 Steve Soper and Surman heavily involved.  The final for the Back 2 Basics was livened up by some superb efforts by 756 Troy Hooper, who repeatedly parked on the exit of turn four to help cause a blockage.  Initially this hindered 80 Matt Nutley, and 382 Danny Hunt relieved him of the lead, but next time around it was Hunt who had nowhere to go with Hooper in his way, and Nutley was able to regain first place and see out the win.  Seven drivers fought out the Destruction Derby, which ultimately saw a VW Beetle shootout between 90 Blake Small and Craig Nichols.  Just when Small thought he was the last car running and set about trashing some other stationary motors, Nichols rejoined and blew Small up on the home straight.