Although we always enjoy the SEGTO Championship meetings at Angmering, attending these means that we don’t usually get to see the local Hot Rod groups in action. The Jubilee Bank Holiday Friday, despite a multitude of different events available, gave us the change to rectify that, with the added attraction of a last-minute booking for the V8 Stock Car Tour, grabbing their last chance to race at the Sussex venue before it sadly closes its doors in October.

Despite the Sussex coast being a long haul for most of them, eight of the V8 STOCK CARS booked in, although a few outstanding engine issues from recent meetings meant that five made it on the day. On the tight Angmering track, that was enough to make it interesting. Pete Scott continued his winning streak by taking all three races, although each time he had to catch and pass fellow Essex driver Bill Chance and Cheshire’s Sam Wainwright. In the first heat Colin Moss snatched second from Sam on the last corner, but second time out Sam finished just ahead of Colin and Bill. In the final, when the warm sunshine had given way to spots of rain, Sam chased Pete Scott home, with Bill just holding off Colin for third. Completing the field was a newcomer to the class, second generation driver Dan Jennings who performed well despite taking a chunk out of Angmering’s heavy pit gate!

You never know quite what you’re going to get with the Angmering Hot Rods. They run in three groups, A and B being under and ever 1400cc, while group C creams off any National or 2-litre Outlaw cars, and others of equivalent performance. As with any track running Outlaw classes, turnouts vary from week to week; this time there were five cars each in groups A and C, which ran together, and eleven in group B. We’re anticipating bigger fields though at the next Hot Rod meeting here, the Scott West Memorial on 19 June, which is one date the Outlaw racers should all try to attend.

HOT ROD A was dominated by Jake Ford’s Stock Rod Corsa, finishing well ahead of the trio of Euro Rods of Callum Ray, Lee Ray and Luke Fitzmaurice, while Dave Lamb’s Starlet didn’t start any of the races. HOT ROD C featured Jay Norris’ superb 2 litre Pinto-powered Mk2 Escort, which rocketed through from the back of the grid to take a dominant win in the first race. In the second heat the two-litre Hot Rods of Stuart Beevis (106) and Rhys Hamilton (Nova) ran nose to tail all the way, with Jay Norris just managing to split them on the last lap. The final lost Jay when his propshaft came adrift. Stuart Beevis then won again with Stuart Davis’ redtop-powered Corsa holding off Nigel Farmer’s 2-litre Tigra for second.

HOT ROD B caters for a wide mixture of cars, from some standard machinery that can double up in the Thunder Rod class to Terry Mellish’s SEGTO Special. The first race was led all the way by Tay Coombes in a Civic, with Leanne Holmes’ BMW closing in at the end. Second time out Paul Mellish, taking over Terry’s other car, the Thunder Rod spec Fiesta, led most of the way but was being caught by Leanne Holmes, Dan McMenamin’s Fiesta ST150 and Terry himself in the Special. When they entered the last lap four-abreast the room ran out and the Special got tagged on a rear wheel, sending Terry spinning hard into the inside armco, also collecting Dan McMenamin, who spun into the barrier on the outside, bringing that race to an end. Everyone made the final apart from the unlucky Terry Mellish. Paul Mellish again led most of the way, but Dan McManamin took over to win, chased by Peter Dell’s Fiesta. Paul Mellish came in third ahead of Ash Wilkinson’s Puma, Jim Dell’s Puma, Leanne Holmes, Jordan Dell’s Puma and Tay Coombes, with the field completed by Zac Heaps in a Fiesta and Freddy Friend in a Civic.

All three of the regular Junior groups would be the only classes running on both Friday and Sunday’s SEGTO meeting. The PREMIER JUNIOR RODS featured a couple of regular Swaffham drivers having their first taste of Angmering, Alfie Freeman and Lewis Williams, while another Swaffham regular, Callum Woolgar, was promoted from the Novice to the Premier group during the meeting. The first heat was led all the way by Sam Boot, holding off another driver moving up from the Novices, Joe Plansom, until Kyle Wells stole second right on the line. Callum Woolgar joined the grid for the second heat and proceeded to take a runaway win, with Joe Planson this time hanging onto second from Kyle Wells and Sam Boot. In the final Callum Woolgar lost little time passing Lewis Williams and Sam Boot and Callum then led all the way. Kyle Wells was closing up in the final stages but had to make do with second, ahead of the tightly packed Joe Planson, Archie Mucci, Joe Boot, Hayden Hill and Sam Boot. Riley Lawrence and Alfie Freeman were next up, followed by Jack Farley, Frazer Denyer, the lone Nova of James Kerr, and Lewis Williams.

The NOVICE JUNIOR RODS also started the day with 13 cars on the grid. Among several first-time drivers at the front was Nathan Feltham, who certainly didn’t look like a novice as he ran away in the lead of the first two races. In the first one Nathan just held on to win as George King closed up. The second race was stopped as George unfortunately clouted the armco and made a mess of his nice new car. The final provided a fresh challenge as the fine sunny weather disappeared and the first spots of rain started to fall. After four abortive starts there was a clean getaway at the fifth attempt. Nathan Feltham was again well in the lead but spun out on the top corner, leaving Justin Johnson in front, chased by Riley Pentecost, before this race too was stopped, with George King and Abigail Finnie both spinning on the pit gate bend and bringing the rest of the field to a halt. Up to then Kayleigh Sewell had also been well placed, with sisters Ruby and Grace King, both making their Angmering debut,  also doing well and heading Jake Woolven’s well turned out car and Tyler Roberts, with a new car after his big wreck at the previous meeting. Another newcomer impressing through the meeting but having problems in the final was Annabelle Palser.

The JUNIOR PRODS, with their more basic build spec, had a smaller than usual grid of eight cars, which was reduced when Maison Brand, in the lead of the first heat, got out of shape and ended up with a heavy impact into the wall. After the restart the next early leader, Chloe Farley, had to pull out and Ryan Barrett ended up with a clear win over Jack Hughes, Charlie Finney, Albert Lee-Garrett and Bradley Lawrence. Second time out Courtney Hales joined in, after her Prod spec car had been mistakenly put with the novices for her first race, and she did extremely well to lead most of the way before Ryan Barrett got past to win, with Courtney holding off Bradley Lawrence for second. The final, on an increasingly wet and slippery track, saw Ryan Barrett overshoot the pits bend a couple of times while Jack Hughes, after taking the lead from Courtney Hales, spun in the top bend. Albert Lee-Garrett came in the winner from Charlie Finney, with Bradley Lawrence in third ahead of Courtney and Jack Hughes.

There were two classes of BANGERS billed, but the 1400cc National spec class didn’t get any entries, leaving the “Nudge and Spin” class to provide the contact action with 13 cars on track for their first race and one or two others joining in during the day. All three races were won by Tim James in a Honda estate, despite occasionally pausing to spin the odd car out, while much of the “nudge and spin” action was provided by Leanne Holmes in an Astra van. The day ended with a DD, won by the Focus of Steven Holdcroft, a survivor of the car jumping competition.

Angmering’s unique style of back to basics racing, the “CBs” (if you don’t know what that stands for, watching their races gives you a clue!) completed the programme, with races split between under and over 1500cc, with many of the cars doubling up in races with passengers on board. The class has progressed a bit; originally populated by cars mainly straight off the road, now most cars are race prepared in some way and carry numbers, although there’s still no scoring or results as they just race for fun. The grids are swelled by Bangers prepared to the wrong spec for whatever the day required, and also many cars that see duty in the Thunder Rods or Prodstox, racing in CBs when their own classes aren’t on the programme. The first race ended with a Peugeot 106 rolling unassisted in front of the pit gate, with a seemingly unimpressed passenger on board, and the final with the passengers ended with a blocked track and a pile-up when nobody stopped for the red flags! In between, with grids of 24 for the passengers, 18 for the “unders” and 26 for the “overs” they provided plenty of entertainment for drivers and spectators alike.

Finally, one reason why the Angmering oval was packed out with bank holiday crowds was the second staging this year of the ever-popular CAR JUMP. Although 13 drivers registered for this, seven actually took part, but that was enough to entertain the crowd, particularly as most cars nosedived into the last couple of the dozen cars they were supposed to clear end ended their jumps with spectacular somersaults. The only one to completely clear the cars, landing with a massive explosion as his tyres blew out, was Carl Sewell, who we assume was the winner, with Glen Cooper among the other trophy winners for the highest altitude. The other crazy drivers taking part were, Jack Langridge, David Holdcroft, Steven Holdcroft, Matthew Jenkins and Mark Packham.