After a run of poor weather for the event, this year’s Championship of the World for National Bangers finally enjoyed conditions more akin to summer with a dry, warm afternoon and evening at Smeatharpe.  Indeed, the sun was shining on what looked to be a very fast Saturday night at Smeatharpe for the 42nd running of the National Bangers World Championship, which proved to be one of the best in recent memory. Also joining the fray were the Heritage F2’s making their sole appearance of the season at Autospeed, and the Special Rods visited once again to complete the line-up.

National Bangers

An entry of 44 drivers was very much appreciated for the 42nd running of the World Championship, showing that the meeting continues to grow in the modern era of racing. Amongst the entries, TCM members 166 Luke and 266 Scott Gillbard both turned out smart Jags (XK8 and S-Type respectively) for the main race, while 2023 World Champ 133 Terry Hill and 158 Shane Davies also received trophies for their presentation efforts. Oldest cars of the day were the MK2 Granada Saloons of 32 Callum Reed and 360 Jack Reynolds, a sign of the times some would say! Fourteen cars made it out for the last-chance qualifier, with only two being able to qualify for the main race. In what was (probably understandably) a quiet race, 625 Josh Gooch fought past 21 Dean Tompkins and 146 Dan Wigman to take the win, with Tompkins taking the last qualifying spot.  The 32 World Finalists came out on track to complete their grid draw, with 648 Jamie Smith claiming pole in his used Jag, while 362 Johnny James was parked alongside in his BMW. 32 Callum Reed and 266 Scott Gillbard were behind poised to take advantage, with 166 Luke Gillbard and Spedeworth World Champ 414 Jimmy Craig on row three and defending Autospeed World Champ 916 Luke Thomas eighth on the grid, meaning it was all to play for. Trouble plagued a couple of drivers before the race even started however, with Manchester-based 73 Jon Hodgson and 154 Joe Odhams having to pull off due to running issues sadly. Following the traditional fireworks display, the green flags were waved, and Reedy immediately fought hard by punting Smithy wide into pit-bend. This, however, meant that 362 James was able to fire it round the outside and take the lead before even crossing the line. Thomas was spun soon afterwards, putting an end to his defence, with 617 Jack Overy and 639 Tye Williams carving their way through the field, while 570 Jordan Cummings got up to second. Further back, 838 Jamie Peters picked up where the DWO v BRCM war left off, slowing down the Bugler brothers throughout the race as Drifter continued to build an impressive gap between him and second placed Cummings. Ultimately, it was Drifter’s race, drifting round the final bend with his fist in the air to cross the line with effectively a flag to flag victory, and claim the title of 2025 World Champion. Cummings maintained second, whilst Overy once again finished on the podium with a third. The top six was rounded out by 639 Williams, 760 Joey Reynolds and 32 Reed.

The first Allcomers race was a lively affair due to most drivers getting their cars back out. Williams started proceedings by following 186 Lewis Fasey in hard into turn one, which soon caused a huge pile up, 06 Tommy Rawsthorne taking the brunt of the action after a jack-up from 208 Kieran Barrett. The reds came out soon after due to 246 Ryan Sparks losing the whole front right corner of his BMW. The restart didn’t last long after 625 Gucci blew up 726 Lewis Senford down the back straight which caused more debris to fall on track. The second restart began with 252 Steven Bugler spinning 838 Peters out, before 242 Toby Doo came round and gave the latter a head on. This didn’t faze the Peters Merc, which left the stranded Doo prone to a shot from Peters one lap later. In the dying laps, Boogie tried his hardest to catch up to Peters, and was able to pick the DWO entertainer up and bury him into the side of Doo’s BMW, leaving the latter's car a mess. 739 Jason Moore took the win ahead of 146 Dan Wigman.

The new initiative for World Final night of Crash 4 Cash brought out a decent field of cars, with many looking to put on a show to win £250. 781 Blake Dudley was the first to give it a try, after he picked up 639 Williams and followed him hard into pit bend, Dudley then came under fire from 670 Max Eaton who buried Dudley into turn one. This left Eaton a sitting duck though, and 648 Smithy was more than happy to blow up Eaton’s dinosaur Frog. 252 Boogie once again clipped 838 Peters into a spin, only for 186 Lewis Fasey to give Peters a stonking head on! 555 Harry Gelsthorpe and 648 Smith then combined to annihilate the 186 Frogeye, leaving it well snapped. 555 Gelsthorpe got going again, picking up 177 Ryan Miles and steaming him into the wall hard down in turn one, which brought out the reds with a lap to go, 62 Harvey Webb managed to blow up 648 Smithy before the reds came out. The last lap shoot-out proved to be very entertaining, with 617 Overy holding on from an ambitious last bender by 739 Jason Moore to take the win and the £250. 648 Smithy meanwhile claimed Best Entertainer, and the rest of the cash!

The DD raised 5 drivers, including 73 Jon Hodgson who gallantly decided to bin his fresh Merc. Hodgson was the first to come under fire from 555 Gelsthorpe who spun him out. 625 Gucci then spun it round only to cop a head on from 648 Smithy, who soon got blown up by Gelsthorpe. Hodgson then in turn was done hard by 838 down the straight which buckled the clean Merc, but Hodgson still tried for a head on with Gelsthorpe.  However, Hodgson only clipped Gelsthorpe, which broke the steering of both cars. This left Hodgson prone to two hard shots from Peters and one from Smithy, causing it to have a small fire which brought out the reds. Thankfully Hodgson was alright and got out to a thoroughly deserved round of applause. Restart began with Peters going in again on the Stinkbridge Merc to confirm its demise, before slowing down to take a shot from Smith, which finally killed the TCM Jag. Peters came round and blew the Jag up, only to come round again to celebrate his DD win with another shot on Smithy to end a superb night of racing and crashing!

Special Rods

Making their annual guest visit, the Special Rods revelled in a dry track at Smeatharpe for the first time in a number of years and although numbers could have been better, there were just about enough to run the two from three format.  Sole white grader 264 Shane Jennings made the early running in heat one, but 118 Iain Truman spun whilst challenging for the lead and lost a lot of time before rejoining.  303 Jason Oliver fared far better as he made his move to grab first place and despite being chased by 278 Andrew Bressington for two thirds of the race, it was Oliver who claimed the first chequered flag.  Truman was an early spinner in heat two as well, as 51 Andy King mounted a successful move to relieve 26 Leah Bennettt of the lead.  133 Jody Jeanes climbed to second place, and that swiftly became first when King slowed and edged to the infield.  60 Tom Bristow then made a clean pass of Jeanes who fell down the order after a subsequent tangle with 445 Niki Loader as Bristow went on to win with Oliver the runner-up.  Heat three saw Jennings out in an early lead again, but he could not withstand the pursuit of 43 Andy Howard who went on to win from Jeanes and 68 Pete Jennings.  Aptly enough, the Mark Loader Roofing Contractor final attracted the highest car count.  Shane Jennings set the early pace, from Truman, but Jeanes and Oliver swept by into second and third respectively before overhauling the leader by lap seven.  Jeanes held firm at the front, even though Oliver was close on his tail for a number of laps.  Into the closing stages, Jeanes edged a little clear to get some breathing space, and he duly won to be the fourth different winner in as many races.  Oliver was the runner-up and Pete Jennings completed the top three.

Heritage Stock Cars

The two from three format was deployed for the Heritage Stock Cars, with 50 Matt Foster out front in heat one until stalwart 728 Graham Bunter reeled him in before halfway.  However, Bunter encountered mechanical issues and retired, just as 555 David Speed closed on him.  Speed went on to win by a huge distance from 424 Mike Heyworth.  A second win for Speed soon followed, as he convincingly took the chequered flag in heat two after spells in the lead for 143 Ian Dominey and 198 Alan Nicholson.  Heat three featured Dominey and Nicholson as the leaders again, but with Speed absent this time, Nicholson held on to win despite 58 Dex Linden closing strongly late on.  The final was suspended when 517 Dan Cooper and 711 Charlie Mustoe tangled on the back straight.  Foster led off the restart, but soon lost the lead to Linden.  With the laps running away, Linden looked like he might clinch victory, but a very late charge from 734 Richard Johnson saw him sweep past for the win, as Linden and Speed filled the other trophy positions.