Fast And Fearless: Britain's Banger Racers

This 2x60-minute series will follow the passionate drivers of the Arena Essex Raceway both on and off the track as they compete in the 2013 season: elevating cheerless Granadas and ageing Mondeos to racing car status for a final burst of heavy driving before they head to the scrap heap. Along the way, we'll find out about the mechanics involved in this transformation - the driving skills that have to be honed and the engineering secrets that give some drivers the edge. The rules are simple: be the first to get round the track 15 times. No hits allowed to drivers’ doors, but other than that, anything goes! United by their quest for glory and their love for the sport, this series will feature an array of banger enthusiasts, from retired world champions on the comeback trail to kids as young as 10 who compete in their own Mini Cooper league, each hoping to achieve champion status. In episode one, with a passion for banger car racing in their blood, racing veterans, brothers Paul and Ricky, work on a Pontiac in preparation for the Firecracker showdown at Arena Essex Raceway. Rather than being ‘rodders’, who are the fastest drivers on the track, the brothers are ‘wreckers’ who love nothing more than hearing the audience cheer when they spectacularly wreck their opponents cars on the way round. They have a self-confessed chequered past but their love of the sport is helping to keep them on the ‘straight and narrow’. The Firecracker is an ‘unlimited meeting’ in which there is no restriction as to the size and model of vehicle. Drivers compete in anything from stretched limos to robin reliants. There is even the occasional hearse! Two-time world champion Bill gives an insight into how you go about converting domestic cars so that they’re ready to take to the banger track. Since he’s become more successful, Bill has gone from working on the cars himself to paying others to do the necessary work for him. Darren, who has broken nearly ev