The Westy Meeting 23.07.2011 - Classic Banger Racing.......

[mab01uk]

I admit I used to like watching A60 banger races years ago but this is just not right now.........why use rare classic cars of any kind?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUOLfLQjsoU

RIP the 100 or so ageing Austin Westminsters and their Wolseley equivalents that were trashed in a banger race at the Arlington Stadium, near Hailsham in East Sussex. The Westminster was introduced at the 1954 Motor Show and continued in production until 1967, with 101,634 built.

Today, fewer than 500 are said to exist — and a fifth of them were at the event. Nick Larkin, of Classic Car Weekly, said: ‘I really do think anyone involved with this event should hang their head in shame. These were rare cars and part of our heritage.’

[coop12g295]

One of my friends went to the event as a spectator some of those cars were bought for over £1000 just to race.
That is just pointless destruction as some were mot'd

[mab01uk]

They are running an all Rover P4 & P5 meet next year too

[davidnutland]

A bunch of t%%sers, but on the up side the remaining few have just gone up in value!

David

[1965MOKE]

This barely legal mini banger is hardly a mini at all...much better than trashing classics?

[Pandora]

I don't like to see such things, but the problem is, often these cars have failed to find a buyer, even at knockdown prices before being bought by the banger boys.

A guy locally had a really rough Mk4 jag which he bought for spares and then offered the rotten chassis and shell to various enthusiasts at little more than scrap value. No takers. So, needing the space, he eventually offered it to a local banger racer who spent a LOT of time (and money) fitting an engine, fixing up the chassis and body, painting it up etc so that it actually looked pretty decent.

So decent in fact that apparently some of the other banger racers did suggest that maybe he shouldn't race it, and it should be offered to an enthusiast for restoration. When told that no-one had wanted it when it was offered, they couldn't believe it!

so, it was raced and is of course no more.

It's easy to say they should not trash rare old cars, but it's their money, and their sport, and it's certainly not always the case that 'true enthusiasts' would have saved the cars had they not been snapped up for their final 3 lap blaze of glory in the stadium.

[AustinSuperSeven]

I dont like the idea of these classics being smashed to pieces.... but the banger boys do put a lot of effort sorting them out for racing....
I would rather see them being used and abused than sit in a garden, shed or garage for years rotting away with the owner saying 'i'll do that up one day' (i'm guilty of that )

[Pete]

If you didn't like that, you certainly won't like this !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnvYljL ... re=related