The annual More Sparks fixture attracted a mammoth entry of Bangers for another wonderful evening of fun and frolics, as the meeting delivered in spades for a third successive year.

Bangers

With just shy of 120 cars in attendance for the third annual More Sparks meeting, there was plenty to talk about in the pits before the action began.  Oldest/Rarest awards went the way of 31 Liam Shipway (Hillman Super Minx), 246 Ryan Sparks (Ford Taunus TC1), and the three MK5 Cortinas of 756 Troy Hooper, 838 Damien Tiley and 991 Ben Hale which were further honoured.  Hooper and Tiley were declared joint winners in the ‘Just Right’ category and Hale also claimed a thoroughly merited ‘Best Presented’ prize.  In all, there were ten smart cars recorded and presented.  196 Phil Chapman claimed the ‘Worst Car’ award with his stunningly hideous Renault 5 Campervan, although there were plenty more awful motors in the pits, not least the Austin Ambassador of track debutant 710 Jamie Waller-Jones. There were several Ford Sierras, with 81 Gary Emery, 104 Lee Mitchell, 154 Błażej Szczygiel, 775 Brad Hunt, 881 Caitlin Emery and 919 Oscar Berry all turning out some rather crispy examples. Elsewhere, 113 Aaron Brown had a MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier, 841 Tom Perkins brought a fresh repeat of last year’s voted ‘Worst Car’, the Nissan Serena, which proved to be a rather formidable tool once again. 142 Tyler Brownless had a Nissan Figaro, one of the smallest cars of the day.  At the other end of the scale, the Philips family turned out a trio of truly ugly Citroen Picassos and were never far away from the action.  Shout outs must also be given to 209 Zac Pears, 555 Harry Gelsthorp and 886 Andrew Topham, who all travelled some serious miles to be with us and were each awarded with ‘Furthest Travelled’ bonuses.
In all, seven heats were contested.  The first of these featured the rear-wheel-drive cars and other assorted vintage motors.  After Caitlin Emery and Ben Hale had each taken a turn in the lead, Ryan Sparks hit the front, and he was clearly in his element drifting the Taunus spectacularly around the circuit.  Some confusion reigned for heat two, as to which cars were eligible, but eventually the race got underway and in style too.  The slow-moving Ambassador of Waller-Jones was blitzed on the back straight by 746 Deejay Tyler, and Chapman’s awful Campervan did the decent thing by falling over on to its side on the home straight.  The re-run race was led off by 18 Corey Karkeek, from the outstandingly smart car of 42 Bazil Barron.  By midway, 366 Pete Warren had taken over at the front, and although the lead and the win was initially awarded to 743 Jake Bond, a subsequent check of the charts revealed Warren as the true winner.  100 Dan Turner, 523 Jon Swanborough and 209 Zac Pears each had a turn at the front of heat three, before 138 Dan Rice took command.  He went on to win from Pears, despite a red flag period mid-race when 13 Phil Saunders required attention.  Running mates 515 Sam Fowler and 717 Donna Cottrell dominated heat four, with Cottrell timing her charge to perfection in the closing stages as she grabbed the win late on.  Heat five was a mix of the rear-wheel-drive and pre-90 cars, which produced a packed grid of 36 starters.  A big jacking train formed, but the race had to be halted with a fire under the car of 11 Molly Tyler.  Glesthorp and 154 Barry Pike each used their respective Bluebirds to provide plenty of action in the pits bend, whilst Hale stormed a comprehensive victory.  In the 29-car sixth heat, 938 Ash Rice was untouchable as he romped to an emphatic success, with Warren and 816 Martin Gill some way adrift in second and third.  Heat seven was wonderfully chaotic.  786 Grant Harris scored heavily on the Waller-Jones Austin, whilst Gelsthorp continue his seek and destroy mission, but was decimated by a stonking hit from 360 Jack Reynolds in the west bend as 718 Adie Brown fired 161 Anton Ferris into the growing heap.  404 Jake Curtis-Stevens then clobbered Brown and was targeted by Fowler as the red flags came out.  208 Kieran Barrett looked to have the race sewn up, but he threw away the lead to annihilate 222 Reece Butler, which left him exposed to a thunderous hit from 999 John Glover.  As 908 David Brown limped out of the pile-up, he was collected by 154 Joe Odhams, who was in turn belted by 78 Max Weare as he secured an unlikely victory.  The More Sparks final began with 166 Luke Gillbard following in Warren in the west bend, That triggered a huge heap of cars to pile in on subsequent laps, including 451 Nigel Belfield, 788 Darren Morgan, and 193 Ollie Turner who was on the receiving end of a thumping hit from 194 Michael Winter.  353 Mark Phillips was at the back of a trail involving 75 Josh Collings and 354 Simon Phillips which only added to the wreckage, with 189 Ry Beardwell next into the melee.  349 Tyler Millen made a bungled attempt to bury Swanborough, only serving to fire himself into the plating.  Tom Perkins continued to get in the way of most things in his Serena, and Gelsthorp’s action-packed display was a fine feature.  Naughtily, but with no malice, 247 Rich Sparks turned it around on the exit of turn four, and that was the catalyst for a magnificent track blockage.  Cars entered the mayhem, and tried to beat their way through, often to no avail.  All the while, Ash Rice was repeating his commanding display from heat six, and he eventually led home Pike, Gary Emery, Bond and 768 Tyler Cock as the only five to go the distance in a hugely entertaining race.  Another fabulous blockage was to follow in the Allcomers race.  458 Layton Quinn was adjudged the winner, having completed just three laps, but with no prospect of an escape route emerging, the signal was given to begin the Destruction Derby, and further havoc was to follow.  Finally, 205 Alex Ganter silenced the Serena of Perkins to end a truly outstanding meeting.  Gillbard was declared the Entertainer of the DD, whilst other bonuses saw the Ford Escort of 121 Aaron Jennings identified as the Most Wrecked Car (one of a deluge) and the fun-filled DT Videos Dustcap Award went to team mates 110 Matt Irish and 690 Dan Irish, who had comically contrived to take one another out in one of the heats.

Ministox

The youngsters were back at Smeatharpe for the first time since their Devon Championship fixture, and numbers were boosted by the latest addition to the ranks, 607 Bonnie Weston, who made a competent debut.  Heat one was led off by 218 Rory Pearce and 770 Delilah Farrell, and as the laps ticked by, it looked as though they may have built an unassailable lead.  A late surge by 99 Jacob Roff saw him hunt down Farrell, but Pearce held firm at the front, as he secured a maiden Ministox success.  Farrell made the running in heat two, whilst fellow white graders Pearce and 117 Max Starr tangled and crashed out at the Honiton end.  313 Charlie Weston and 257 Kieran Hibberd also made good starts, and they were soon advancing towards the front.  Hibberd eventually took command, to win from Weston, whilst 522 Jacob Mikulla grabbed third place late on.  The final, for The Lego Trophy, brewed into a duel between Weston and Hibberd.  With the track surface slippery, traction was at a premium.  Weston kept the lead for the second half of the race and withstood a spirited last bend challenge from Hibberd to hold on for a fine win.  114 Chalie Lomas completed the top three.