XK120 banger racing!
Discussion
i thought i had seen it all... have seen various old jags, rollers, fords and merc find their way to that great scrappy in the sky, but the last thing i thought i would ever see was a a xk120 right-royally thrashed and bashed in a banger race at this weekend's ipswich spedeweekend!!!
not sure what the going rate for one of these is in 'to be restored' condition, but i'm quite sure it's worth significantly more than the average tat that is thrown round the track!
on a more positive note, it was great to see the huge increase in historic stockcars.. these are old mg's, triumphs, ford populars etc etc which are loving stripped out, armoured and turned into full-contact racing cars... unlike the bangers, their armour ensures that they survive each race, and watching them race is very much like stepping back 30yrs in time... the competitiveness is also fantastic... they don't hold back because they are driving old cars.
stockcar racing rocks, but a xk120 sent to it's death? surely one step too far!?!
not sure what the going rate for one of these is in 'to be restored' condition, but i'm quite sure it's worth significantly more than the average tat that is thrown round the track!
on a more positive note, it was great to see the huge increase in historic stockcars.. these are old mg's, triumphs, ford populars etc etc which are loving stripped out, armoured and turned into full-contact racing cars... unlike the bangers, their armour ensures that they survive each race, and watching them race is very much like stepping back 30yrs in time... the competitiveness is also fantastic... they don't hold back because they are driving old cars.
stockcar racing rocks, but a xk120 sent to it's death? surely one step too far!?!
just for my 2p's worth (as the original poster)... i am a great lover of stock-car racing and i look forward to seeing the extra special efforts made by the banger boys for the ipswich spedeweekend (which is not traditionally a major banger fixture)... with many thousands of people in attendance, the entertainment factor is worth plenty, but as a lover of cars, i will admit that more than an eyebrow was raised to see that car heading round the track.
the general idea of banger racing (and indeed stock-car racing) is great... cars are intercepted between being taken off the road and put in the crusher and given a new (and sometimes final) lease of life... this surely makes it one of the most environmental forms of motorsport out there (ignoring the national hot rods, superstox and f1 stock cars which are purpose built).
as i mentioned in my original post, the historic stock-car circuit on the other hand is fantastic... cars which are probably non-economically viable to repair are being lovingly converted to stock-cars which thanks to their body armour have a relatively infinite life... if anyone ever gets a chance to watch historic stock-car racing, i am sure you will love it... they definitely don't hold back and the field is now beginning to out-numbered those more modern formulas.
i look forward to ipswich next year!
the general idea of banger racing (and indeed stock-car racing) is great... cars are intercepted between being taken off the road and put in the crusher and given a new (and sometimes final) lease of life... this surely makes it one of the most environmental forms of motorsport out there (ignoring the national hot rods, superstox and f1 stock cars which are purpose built).
as i mentioned in my original post, the historic stock-car circuit on the other hand is fantastic... cars which are probably non-economically viable to repair are being lovingly converted to stock-cars which thanks to their body armour have a relatively infinite life... if anyone ever gets a chance to watch historic stock-car racing, i am sure you will love it... they definitely don't hold back and the field is now beginning to out-numbered those more modern formulas.
i look forward to ipswich next year!
Really pleased that I started this thread all those years ago (under my previous forum name).
The thread serves so many purposes. A look into the mentality of banger-racing (which is way more involved than many people give credit for - remember, for most people involved in the sport, cars are their life both in work and in leisure) and also in the determination to gives these cars a new life.
I think everyone comes out well in this, which make a change...
The thread serves so many purposes. A look into the mentality of banger-racing (which is way more involved than many people give credit for - remember, for most people involved in the sport, cars are their life both in work and in leisure) and also in the determination to gives these cars a new life.
I think everyone comes out well in this, which make a change...
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