MARANGONI ULTIMATE STREET CAR 2008 - 1st to 3rd August, Santa Pod Raceway

Marangoni Ultimate Street Car 2008 has been and gone, read the report below and check out photos on the 2008 Gallery pages and the Show & Shine winners page. More photos coming soon.

Marangoni USC 2008 - Event Report

USC is now over! But what a weekend it was. Forecasts of perfect summer weather (i.e. RAIN!) might have seemed like a damp and dreary weekend lay ahead, but the sheer awesomeness of USC seemed beat back the clouds each day and USC went ahead in fine style. New attractions and best music line-up ever really got things going. There was even enough sun to bring the bikinis out and sunburn out!

The Run What Ya Brung competition was the first thing to open at USC, and one of the last things to conclude. A vast number of cars took part, and the variety and quality of motors taking part was hugely entertaining. The winners were declared at 4pm on Sunday as:

RWYB competition winners:

Class A (FWD, All Motor) Nick Owens Peugeot 205, GTi-6 13.59 seconds @ 101.19 mph

Class B (FWD, 1 power adder) Jonny Gibson Honda Integra Type R 12.46 seconds @ 118.30 mph

Class C (FWD, 2 power adders) Danny Brooks Vauxhall Tigra Turbo with Nitrous 12.36s @ 130.59 mph

Class D (4WD/RWD, All Motor)
Michael Smith
Austin Mini Clubman Estate twin-engine
13.18 seconds @ 110.31 mph

Class E (4WD/RWD 1 power adder)
Lyle Meikle
Nissan Skyline Turbo
11.03 seconds @ 130.59 mph

Class F (4WD/RWD 2 power adders) Rod Stacey Toyota MR2 turbo with nitrous 11.85 seconds @ 126.65 mph

Class X (non-road-legal) Ben Hardy Ford Escort 11.04 seconds @ 126.81 mph

Friday night came round, and the cold evening air was massively heated up by the booty shakin’ and MC contest on the Fuel stage followed by fire shows and big, bass-tasic tunes. Over in the Big Top tent, super-star DJ Jeremy Healey kept the crowd dancing until late, and Clockwork kept Fuelers Bar jumping.

Saturday morning started off wet and bleary-eyed, but by midday the sun had started to break through the clouds, the drift track was in full rubber-burning swing, and the Amateur Transplants entertained the crowds with their hilarious collection of songs.

At 1pm, the Live Action Arena started up with the ever-popular burnout contest, and went into motorcycle stunt shows, Terry Grant’s amazing routine and finally, a two-truck car-crushing show from the Podzilla and Red Dragon monster trucks!

The evening came round and the eagerly-anticipated Mr and Miss USC competition sorted the men from the boys, and the girls from the ladies! USC regular “Gorgeous” George impressed with his strength and beer-swilling abilities to take the Mr USC title, and Becky got down to the tough business of winning the Miss USC title, with amazing gymnastics and stunning good looks. It all got a bit naughty to be honest, but Becky sure knew how to work the crowd!

Back in the Live action arena at 9pm, the Flame-out contest took place, with white-hot pipes and huge plumes of flame, it would be easy to make a pun about it being hotly-contested! But it was looking close until Michael Clark set fire to the tarmac with his petrol-injected Ford Escort, and then the winner became clear. Thanks to Fuel for the prize of a top-quality Subwoofer.

Saturday night featured current dance-music sensation, BASSHUNTER on the Fuel stage, along with other top DJs from Hard2Beat records, while Cream Anthems put on an awesome night in the Big Top. Those looking for something a little different could get down to the History of Hardcore in Fuelers Bar.

More rain hailed the start of Sunday morning at USC, but it soon cleared to make way for a MONSTER show & shine. The paddock was packed with quality cars, and Jonny Smith of Fifth Gear was given the incredibly tough job of picking winners. After some serious deliberation, and some frantic swapping around, the final winners were decided. View all the Show & Shine winners on the 2008 Show & Shine page.

After the Show & Shine competition had taken place, the Miss Promo competition took to the stage, and after a very tense final, was won by the adorable and extremely well-endowed Hannah from StreetRace.co.uk. Congratulations Hannah!

On the track the UK's fastest European cars were competing in the Euro Sport Compact shootout. The final was won by Andy Waite in his VW Golf with 10.33s run at 134.86mph beating Mark Gunns' VW Corrado, read a full report on the Euro Sports Compact page.

Thanks to everyone who made it along to Marangoni USC and made it one of the finest yet. We hope you had a great time, and we look forward to seeing you back at the Pod soon! Perhaps the hangover will have worn off by Christmas…

View photos from Marangoni USC on the 2008 Gallery pages.

MAILING LIST

Fill out your e-mail address to receive the USC newsletter!

©2007 Santa Pod Raceway. All Rights Reserved.