Another huge crowd packed into Arlington Stadium for the annual Austin A60 banger night.

These cars were the mainstay of banger racing through most of the 1980s, and thousands must have perished on UK racetracks over the years, so they are now relatively scarce.

Although very strong, they are much slower and don't handle as well on the bangers, but on a night like this, up against similar machinery, they can again be seen in all their glory and serve as a reminder of how banger racing used to be when it first became popular in this country.

Drivers came from far and wide for the event, including Holland's Geert Roebroeks, who ended on his roof last year but managed to stay upright this time.

There were several others who didn't, particularly in an explosive first heat when Scott Hamby and Danny Sutton both rolled on the first lap, followed a few laps later by David Wilde.

The race eventually produced a win for Sonny Sherwood, closely followed by Horsham drivers Jack France and Colin Farley.

Another huge crash for Roebroeks and Richard Flockton in the final brought about a mid-race stoppage, East Anglian Jack Overy going on to take the win.

Local Seasiders star Mark Welland won the ten-lap dash after stopping Overy with a bit hit, but Overy had the last word when he demolished everything in sight to win the destruction derby.

The rookie bangers were just as lively, with track championship leader Harvey Devall winning the final.

The drive of the night, though, came from Alan Letts, who used to race in the stock rods but had not raced for the best part of ten years.

Despite a very sick car that was blowing large quantities of smoke and steam from both ends, he managed to keep it going to the flag to take a fine win.

The Reliant Robins produced roll-overs galore and some good racing among all the mayhem, with Gordon Coull and Samantha Holland taking wins in the heats.

All the big names, however, found trouble in the final, which produced a rare win for Stuart Beevis.