EASTER Monday's motor sport meeting at the Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich, is the traditional mix of speed and action, featuring the National Hot Rods, the Superstox and Big Van Bangers.

EASTER Monday's motor sport meeting at the Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich, is the traditional mix of speed and action, featuring the National Hot Rods, the Superstox and Big Van Bangers.

It's a busy weekend for the National Hot Rods, who have two World Championship qualifying rounds in four days. These are rounds nine and 10 out of a total of 17 which started back in August of last year.

The top scorers at the end of the series go forward to July's World Championship here at Foxhall, with the highest scorers guaranteed to start somewhere near the grid for the start of the race.

Three of the customary top four are once again leading the points in world champion Carl Boardley from Ipswich, Scunthorpe's Steve Thompson and Matt Simpson from Slough, but the other member of the “Big Four” Malcolm Blackman, from Langley, is further down the points chart than usual owing to a mid-season suspension.

He'll have to be at his best to give himself a chance, while another who has got to give it everything on Monday is the popular Phil Spinks, who always goes well in the World Final race, but gives himself too much to do by qualifying too far down the grid.

It's the same story this year for him, with work commitments abroad limiting the amount of racing he can get in, but he is a brilliant driver with a very exciting style which is always seen at its best on the big Foxhall track.

The National Hot Rods are ultra fast, purpose-built modern-day race cars, with the Vauxhall Tigra, Peugeot 206 and Ford Fiesta all popular choices, so the single seat Superstox offer a nice contrast of racing styles. Unlike the Hot Rods, which are strictly non-contact, the Superstox are allowed to push and shove.

Sean Smith from Marlow took a surprise victory in the East Anglian Championship at Yarmouth a fortnight ago, and it will be interesting to see whether he and his southern colleagues are able to repeat the treatment at Ipswich.

The Big Van Bangers are an ever-popular attraction involving the “standard” Transits, Sherpas and the like as well as burger vans, camper vans, ambulances and mini buses being pressed into service over the years.

The meeting will end at around 6pm with the traditional Destruction Derby where the last van left running under its own power is the winner.