Big Bang inc Camper & Bus Show 2008 Report
25th/27th April at Santa Pod Raceway
Big Bang 2008 incorporating Camper & Bus Show has been and gone, read the report below and view more photos on the 2008 Gallery page.
Big Bang opened its gates on Friday morning to a gentle stream of Dubbers, some of which had been waiting overnight for the big weekend ahead. As the day went on the trickle turned into a torrent, and it soon became apparent that the Camper & Bus element of Big Bang had attracted lots of “vanatics” to the show. Awning were erected and beer cans immediately opened, and Big Bang was a-go-go!
Out on track on Friday was the Alternative Energy Racing event, which included no less than 5 VWs entered in both the Alternative Fuel and Electric Vehicle classes, with Hungerford VW Club’s Sam Young taking the electric class win. Read more here: www.aeracing.org
Friday evening was Dirty 80’s Disco in the bar, which had a enthusiastic reception that spilled out into the catering area, and bang up to date dance music in the Big Top. Old friends from the VW scene met for the first time in the new season, and new friends were made as the music went on into the night.
Saturday morning brought sunshine and springtime to the Santa Pod site, and the warming rays burnt off the clouds of hangovers, and allowed the Run What Ya Brung on the track to get going without delay.
This year, the RWYB at Big Bang on Saturday was split into classes to find the fastest of each kind of Vee Dub, and it proved to be a popular and exciting addition, allowing us to see for the first time who has the top non-race cars in the UK. Check out where you came on the RWYB Times '08 page.
No registered entries in H - Other Aircooled VWs (Fridolin, Kit cars etc).
Also taking place on Saturday were a number of fun games in the Camper & Bus area, including the Campervan Cook Off, a “Ready, Steady, Cook” style competition where contestants had to cook up a storm in their campers. Despite nothing being cooked properly due to the 30 minute time restriction, there were some delicious dishes cooked up in the confines of the campervans, and it was a tough job picking the winner. But if Fingy knows anything about anything, he knows his food, and declared Chloe Baum from Southend the winner with her lovely concoction, all the more impressive considering it was achieved without much cheating. Well done also to the other competitors, Ruth Vickery, Patrick Carr, Kev Mclean and Nick Davies.
After the Cook Off came the Awning Erection, a manic race to get a Just Kampers awning up in record time with no previous knowledge of the technique! In the end Team Buggin You narrowly beat Crusty's Bay to claim victory.
Next item on the agenda was the Bus Pull, where strongmen (and women) lined up to tug an enormously heavy T25 fully loaded with PA gear, commentator and fatty at the wheel over as large a distance as possible in just 10 seconds. It was a massive effort just to get the thing moving, but thoroughly entertaining.
A new addition to Big Bang was the Driving Test, where dubbers could “drive it like they stole it” and dodge cones on a slalom course that required full-lock steering and reverse parking combined with the ability not to squash the cones as they went. Originally a camper-only activity, we decided to let all VW owners have a go due to popular demand.
| Name |
Vehicle |
Fastest Time |
|
| Mark Salisbury |
VW Polo Mk3 |
29.23 |
Fastest Overall |
| Shane Allan |
VW Bug 1965 |
30.07 |
Fastest Aircooled |
| Phil Dutton |
VW Passat L Estate |
33.66 |
Fastest Estate |
| Karl Buckby |
VW Baja |
36.00 |
Fastest Baja |
| Lee Cooksey |
VW Meyer Manx |
37.19 |
Fastest Buggy |
| James Forster |
VW Beetle 66 |
40.65 |
Fastest Staff |
| Daniel |
VW Beetle |
40.69 |
Fastest Orange Car |
| Derek Drinkwater |
VW Type 2 Split |
40.72 |
Fastest Bus |
| Andrew Forster |
New VW Beetle |
41.97 |
Fastest Old Man |
| Greg Sargent |
VW T25 |
42.94 |
Fastest T25 |
| Rick Cuthbert |
VW Beetle 66 1300 |
44.75 |
Fastest Borrowed Car |
| Steve Allan |
VW Type 2 Split |
47.97 |
Fastest Grey & White Split |
| Justin |
|
49.84 |
Fastest Mystery Entry |
| Dave Jones |
VW T25 |
52.00 |
Fastest Devon |
| Mark Salisbury |
VW Split Electric RC |
55.97 |
Fastest Radio Controlled Van |
| Laura Thompson |
VW Beetle 1969 |
1.07.00 |
Fastest Girl |
Saturday night came round and sunburnt bodies readied themselves for the evening ahead. Stupid wigs were donned for the 70’s disco in the Big Top, and those that didn’t want to remember that dark part of their history headed over to the bar for live bands and alternative music.
Sunday threatened rain, but in the event, it simply didn’t happen, and sunburned necks just got redder and redder as the clouds dispersed. Out on track, the serious Drag Racing was taking place, and kept a large crowd all day as the racing unfolded.
Results for the day were as follows:
You can read the full race report and view the pictures in Eurodragster’s excellent coverage here.
John Walklett, winner of RWYB class A on Saturday, also won the Show & Go competition on Sunday, which was very well attended with the new system for 2008. Some entries had lots of “show”, and some entries had lots of “go”, but John had both, and topped the table with a total of 225 points, by scoring 140 points for his 13.00 on Saturday, and 85 out of 100 for looks in the Show & Shine on Sunday.
| Name |
Car |
Show |
Go |
Total |
| John Walklett |
VW Beetle 1200 |
85 |
140 |
225 |
| Peter Williams |
VW T25 Porsche Eng |
95 |
88 |
183 |
| Andy Keating |
VW Beetle 1200 |
85 |
88 |
173 |
| Lee Bishop |
VW Splitscreen Hightop |
85 |
84 |
169 |
| Turbonutta |
VW Bug |
95 |
68 |
163 |
| Stuart Hall |
VW Golf Mk1 1.8Gti |
85 |
76 |
161 |
| Kev Donlon |
VW Deluxe Bay |
65 |
96 |
161 |
| Michelle Oliver |
VW Beetle |
80 |
76 |
156 |
| Fl4tlanders VW Club |
VW Beetle |
86 |
60 |
146 |
| Stephen Turnbull |
VW Camper |
75 |
64 |
139 |
| Iain Ambrose |
VW Beetle |
70 |
68 |
138 |
| Luke Vanhegan |
VW 69 Karmann Ghia |
80 |
12 |
92 |
| Alex Palmer |
VW Trekker |
15 |
12 |
27 |
The 2008 Big Bang Show & Shine, incorporating the Camper & Bus Magazine Show & Shine was by far the biggest ever seen at Big Bang, with well over 100 entries of outstanding quality entered. The participation levels were so high, that we had to close entries prematurely due to a lack of space! As ever, picking winners was a real headache, with so many worthy entries, but the following took home the silverware (except the trophies were glass!):
General Show & Shine Awards
Camper & Bus Awards
View more photos from Big Bang 2008 on the 2008 Gallery page.
The Text to Win Competition in the programme was won by Joanne Lewis. We’d like to thank everyone who attended what was certainly the biggest and best Big Bang yet, as racers, traders or simply VW fans.
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