Owners of such classics as Jaguar XK120s and Austin-Healeys may be less aware than most, but beneath the serene surface of the classic car world debate is raging around the rights and wrongs of banger racing.
It came into sharp relief for me a week or so ago: no fewer than three people stopped to chat about my Triumph 2500 and – to a man – each said that he had banger-raced the model during the 1980s, chatting fondly about the lusty straight-six and ratchet-strapping down the unpredictable rear suspension.
When I got home, I found that the argument had spilled over to the model’s Facebook page, with heated exchanges between banger boys and club members – most of which would make a bouncer blush.
One group saw nothing but wanton destruction, the other an attack on the freedom to do what they want with their own possessions. And a good few were caught in-between, from former-banger-racers-turned-clubmen to owners whose cars had been restored by racers.
As with most things in life, the situation is far from black and white.
