MARANGONI ULTIMATE STREET CAR 2011 - REPORT

Read about what went on and who won what at Marangoni Ultimate Street Car 2011 in the report below and view more photos on the 2011 Gallery page.

While it hammered with rain all around the country, Marangoni USC basked in glorious sunshine for almost a full 3 days. Only a couple of short showers got in the way of the modified car fan’s summer highlight.

As usual, USC was a mix of music and cars, and both of these two elements were at the very top of the game. On Friday night, a Chase & Status DJ set sent the crowd wild, while BCM gave a Mallorcan-vibe to the Dance tent, and Hyperbolic gave hardcore fans something to move to. Saturday night featured Skepta, The Ministry of Sound and Richie Don – it doesn’t get much better than that for a weekend at the Pod! But beyond the music and the crazy summer nights, there was some serious and not-so-serious fun with cars too.

Marangoni USC packed in four huge Live Action Stunt Shows that included the Team Maximum Lock synchronised drift show, the high-flyin’ UK FMX freestyle motocross show, the dizzying Terry Grant Stunt Show and the heavyweight monster trucks, Podzilla and Swamp Thing.

Saturday at USC was also a day of serious competition in the Live Action Arena: If you think doing burnouts isn’t a serious sport, then think again! A huge entry to the annual burnout competition made it another tough challenge. But a big power car and stupid fancy dress outfit saved the day for Roy Chubby Brown, who battled everything from 1.0l Corsas to turbo-charged Jap weapons in his V8 Lexus to take the win.

Burnout Contest

Burnout Winner Roy

Flame-Out Contest

The Live Action Arena also hosted the flame-out competition, where competitors lined up to produce the biggest flame. Another big entry-list created another tough competition, with no cars using injection systems all entries were flaming out the way nature intended. However, it was Jay Pallass from Lancaster who blew the biggest plume of flame in his Vauxhall Tigra to take the trophy.

Flame-out Winner

Mr & Miss USC

The Mr & Miss USC competition took place on Saturday afternoon, and it was another year of madness and nudity and lots of laughs. The annual Mr USC trophy went to Andy Pugsy from Newquay. Despite an appalling showing in the press-up competition, Andy went on to impress/upset the crowd with his mankini outfit and unique style. The Miss USC contest involved blind-folded banana eating, lap-dancing and girl-on-girl action to decide the winner, but despite her diminutive size, the stunning Kecia Card from St Albans beat off pretenders to her crown with ease. A winning smile for the crowd and some perfectly formed assets made her an instant favourite.

Sunday morning saw the Show & Shine competition take over the area in front of the main stage, and it was another fantastic showing from the UK’s top show cars. With over 120 cars in the competition, the show area was extensive and packed with glorious metal. The entries were a bit more subtle than we have seen in past years – but there was beauty in the details and picking winners was as tough as ever, but the following cars took the trophies:

Show & Shine Winners

Best Of Show Scott Austin – 1998 Nissan Skyline GTR

This was a subtle but stunning car. The deep purple paint meant it didn’t exactly catch the eye, but closer inspection revealed a car that was detailed and extremely high quality throughout. The engine bay was packed with performance mods and chrome, and the air suspension allowed a usable ride height or an aggressive slammed stance.

Best Engine Michael Fisher – 2003 Citroen Saxo VTS

A perfectly presented and super-tidy smoothed-out engine bay was the highlight of an excellent car all round.

Best Exterior Paul Whitlam – 2003 Vauxhall Astra Coupe

An incredibly detailed paint-job was an airbrushed work of art. With stunning metallic green and real gold, this was a true labour of love.

Most Radical Ben Koracevic – 2004 Ford Fiesta mk6

A monster ICE install was combined with a fully custom dash and interior that totally changed the nature of this car. A custom bodykit and vinyl wrap finished the bodywork off.

Best Wheels Michael Ewins –2001 Vauxhall Astra Van

Some crazy wood-effect wheels really caught the eye on this fun and flippant van.

Best Interior Aaron Taylor – 2003 Vauxhall Signum

At first glance, this was a tidy but standard family wagon. But beneath the surface was a serious show car with air-ride and most impressive of all – a beautifully made quilted red interior.

Best ICE Sharon Holmes – 2003 Citroen C2

A nice car all-round, with a pink and barbed-wire theme airbrushed throughout. A very well presented and high-quality ICE install set this car apart.

Best Race Car Jeff Creedy – 2004 Vauxhall VX220

Loads of serious performance upgrades combined with a fine body and fun Ed Hardy theme on the inside. This car also came very close to topping the show & go scoreboard.

Best Retro Ram – 1992 BMW E30 V8

This old-skool BMW featured a custom front and rear end, a well presented unique interior and a monster 740i engine under the bonnet, all finished to a high standard.

Judges Choice Ashley Busby – 2000 Honda Civic

A super-tidy engine bay and crazy camber on the BBS alloys made this a real head turner, and it deserved a trophy for a whole number of reasons.

Show & Go Winner Lee Robinson – 1999 Mitsubishi Evo 6

This car scored a huge number of “Go” points for a superb 12.62 second run on the strip, and backed it up with good presentation in the show paddock for an extra 160 (of a possible 200) points. Total 308 points.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday featured wall-to-wall Run What Ya Brung, and over 1,200 cars hit the track to set a time over the weekend. With so many cars entered into the RWYB competition, USC is one of the toughest and most prestigious RWYB competitions in the UK, and winning a class means beating the very best in the UK. Therefore huge congratulations go out to the following for winning their RWYB classes:

RWYB competition winners

Class A – FWD normally aspirated Matt Marsden Peugeot 205 GTI-6, 2,100cc 12.4727s @ 111.11mph

Class B – FWD with turbo/nitrous/supercharger Matthew Paul Jobling Peugeot 205, 2,100cc turbo 11.829s @ 131.72mph

Class C – 4WD/RWD normally aspirated Peter Howard Radcliff Caterham 1,800cc 12.9721s @ 103.74mph

Class D – 4WD/RWD with turbo/nitrous/supercharger Mark Wenn Ford Escort 1.3 Street Sleeper 9.9942s @ 134.42mph

Class E – 8+ cylinder engines Bobby Wallace Ford Pop 350 cubic inch 10.3558s @ 132.45mph

Class X – Non Road Legal Jonny Gibson Honda Integra 1,800cc on slicks 11.8635s @ 122.40mph

The track also hosted the Euro Sports Compact demonstration drag class, where the championship concluded with the final round. ESC features some of the fastest modified cars in the UK, and racing head-to-head on track is the best way to see them in action. Some exciting finals at the end of Sunday resulted in the following conclusions to the season:

Euro Sports Compact

ESC FWD Street

USC Winner James Hodson USC Runner Up Nathan Ringham 2011 Champion James Hodson VW Golf

ESC FWD/RWD

USC Winner Andy Waite USC Runner Up Mark Gunns 2011 Champion Mark Gunns

ESC FWD Pro

USC Winner Robert Johnston USC Runner Up Sam Bolton 2011 Champion Sam Bolton

Marangoni USC 2011 will go down on the records as one of the biggest and best yet, and huge thanks go out to all the clubs, individuals and staff who make the event the best in the UK. We hope to see you back at the Pod soon.

View more photos from USC 2011 on the 2011 Gallery pages.