so how does banger racing work?

[jhrody]

I've been checking out the pics on this site for a couple of years now, but being in the US, I have never seen banger racing in person. Have some questions...

- do you race for laps or do you race til the last vehicle remains?

- do you travel clockwise or counter-clockwise (or both)?

- do you utilize the infield at all to cut though?

- is there anything illegal in this racing? Looks fairly viscious.

- whjat kind of surfaces do you race on? I've seen in your pics, some off road style hills too.

- where do all these old American cars come from in Europe?

- is the injury rate high?

[k.annets]

Blimey !!

Loads of questions [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'll try and answer them all for you, but I'm sure many more will correct me if I get anything wrong .....!!

Meetings over here in the United Kingdom consist of several lapped races around usually an oval circuit. At the end of each meeting (after the end of all the days racing), each meeting usually stages a Demolition derby which is basically a case of the last car moving is the winner [img]smile.gif[/img]

Racing is Clockwise around the Oval Circuit.

Generally the in-field is a no-go area, although it has been known for vehicles to cut across this (but generally this is frowned upon).

The only exceptions to this use of the in-field is when Figure of 8 meetings are staged, in this case the Oval circuit is not used, but instead drivers race in a figure of 8 pattern (which usually results in more impacts at the cross-over point in the centre of the field) as cars meet as they drive in opposite directions !!

As in all racing of this sort, some drivers will resort to "extra" strenghening of their cars, although apart from saftey plates on drivers doors, saftey cages and harnesses the aim is to race "standard / stock" vehicles.

The surfaces of the tracks vary all over the country here, from Concrete and Tarmac to plain old dirt fields and solid chalk or clay surfaces. Racing has also been conducted on coastal beaches at low tides (but I've not been lucky enough to see these).

Any cars basically can be used, as long as they meet the class that is set at each meeting (these differ from meeting to meeting)and they have a solid roof. The American cars are usually those that have long since become unroadworthy after being shipped over here years before, these usually compete in meetings with no engine limits set.

Surprisinely the injury rate is quite low apart from the expected knocks and bruises you would expect from this hard contact sport.
Most meetings run very high standards of safety, and marshals at meetings are generally very good at reducing more serious injuries.

I must add though, any sport will have injuries , and they do occur in this area as well.

I hope that I have answered many of your questions, maybe if you ever visit us over here, you will take a chance to visit one or two of our meetings [img]smile.gif[/img]

Many Thanks

Karl

www.BangerPhotos.com