Big Bang Camper & Bus Show 2011 Report
6th to 8th May at Santa Pod Raceway

Read the Big Bang 2011 Report below and view more photos on the 2011 Gallery page.

Yet another wet Big Bang… but this time all the rain was at night when no-one cared! Big Bang Camper & Bus got off to a great start when it threw open it’s gates on a hot and sunny Friday. Campers settled in and the track was open for the Run What Ya Brung competition which ran from Friday through to Saturday.

Friday daytime also featured live bands in Fuelers bar which gave way to the amateur efforts of the Singstar competition. Lots of fun was had by all, but Amy scored the most points with her pitch-perfect renditions of various classic pop anthems.

Friday night descended into a real monster party, with Doctor and the Medics seeing to the main tent in fine style, while dance anthems rocked Fuelers bar. Saturday was hectic with activities, and only the very committed would have got to see everything! First up, the campervan cook-off took place in the main tent, with a special early-morning hangover breakfast. The winner was Kev “Synchro” Mclean who cooked a full English breakfast followed by a Latin version!

The Rust & Rat Show took place on Saturday morning, and yet another great show was put on by the rat-fans. The following cars took home trophies, but the whole paddock oozed with awesomeness:

Best Beetle Carl Gutteridge – 1966 VW Beetle This car featured a moldy and mossy exterior and a worn out interior that can only be achieved through a long and eventful life. Pure rat.

Best Van Tony Purdy – 1966 VW Splitscreen Deluxe Van A fascinating sign-written van that was covered in detail and real joy to behold.

Best Other Aircooled VW Brett Elesmore – 1968 VW Karmann Ghia Pure patina that came straight from years abandoned in the American sunshine. Now looking sweet and running well.

Best Watercooled Moss Winteringham – 1989 VW Caddy An audacious wreck of a truck, that quite simply refused to die. Like an old dog that dribbles on the carpet, this truck still loved a bit of attention.

Judges Choice Dave Baines – 1983 VW T25 An odd combination of resto and rat that seemed to work surprisingly well. Like a beautiful emerald mounted in a rusty iron ring, the contrast made it perfection and it deserved a trophy.

The Human Powered Racing competition took place on track at lunchtime, with a huge number of competitors taking part to make this hilarious fun. All types of vehicles were present, from the obvious bikes through to pedal cars, unicycles, roller-skates and scooters. But it was Ross Gaforg who beat all other competitors to win the race on his retro Phillips Phantom bicycle. His unusual combo of jeans and no gears made his super performance even more remarkable!

Saturday afternoon also saw the Live Action Arena open up, with a brilliant show of monster trucks, top stunt driver Terry Grant, the mad Colin Furze and the Vander Space Wheel coming together to make a brilliant show.

In the afternoon, the Bring and Buy auction generated over £135 for the air ambulance charity, and then the Guitar Hero competition followed on, where Nick Adamson smashed his way to the win for a second time, by rocking his way through “You got another thing coming” on expert-mode to score a huge 229,560 points.

The off-road and handling tracks gave people the chance to have a serious play with their vee-dubs, dodging cones or getting dirty, whatever their preference was. Andrew Thelan won the handling track trophy with a time of 32.6 seconds.

Ross - Human Power, Nick - Guitar Hero, Andrew - Handling and Amy - Singstar.

Saturday night was another night of great tunes, with 70’s night in Fuelers Bar and live rock n roll in the Main Tent.

Sunday morning saw campers waking up to a bit of a water-world, but the sun was already beating down on the wet camping fields and drying the puddles out. The Show and Shine competition opened up and was soon buzzing with brilliant rides. As always, choosing the winners was extremely difficult, but the following vehicles were given the Volksworld Camper & Bus seal of approval:

Best of Show Paul Dean – 1967 VW Bay pick-up This pick-up truck was well over 40 years old, but an amazing restoration has seen it brought back to life in stunning fashion.

Best Original Robert Smith – 1983 Mk1 Golf This perfect mk1 Golf looked like a great restoration, but the fact that it was a factory fresh original unrestored car made it totally remarkable.

Best Custom Warren – 1963 VW Beetle This roof-chopped bug was a 90's-style hotrod that still looked the part.

Best Interior Gary Bain – 1965 VW Splitscreen van A real piece of master carpentry made this interior stand out, but loads of hand-made finishes sealed the deal.

Best Exterior Amy Williams – 2003 VW New Beetle Cabriolet This retina-searing pink Bug was getting so much attention with its deep pearlescent paint that we couldn't overlook it.

Best Engine Laurie Poyser – 1966 Splitscreen Devon Van This was a great vehicle all round, but the engine was perfectly clean and tidy like new.

Best Beetle Adam Prior – 1971 VW Beetle A stunning original exterior was matched to a low and narrow suspension set-up and huge Porsche wheels.

Best Other Air-Cooled Craig Last – 1968 Type 34 Razor Ghia An original and unrestored car that is a real rarity in itself, but this had cool wheels and a special something that made it really catch the eye.

Best Water-Cooled Ben Fisher – 1989 VW Golf Rallye A perfect exterior and a super-tidy stripped-out interior made this Golf the stand-out water-pumper.

Best Splitty Steve Lawrie – 1967 VW Splitscreen Bus This stunning-looking split was also packing a mean engine and fantastic walnut interior.

Best Bay Peter Andrew – 1972 VW Bayscreen Bus This lovely bus was as good inside as it was out and featured loads of retro style executed to perfection.

Best Late Van James Hart – 2002 VW T4 Van A clean and tidy exterior and a very cool and modern interior made this the stand-out late-model van.

Best Camper Interior Kevin & Sue Hibbert – 1958 VW Splitscreen This custom-built interior was a perfect place to be inside this early van.

Show & Go Winner Alex Oakman – 1980 VW Beetle 1200 This home-built Bug scored an almost-perfect 190 points in the “show”, and the 2100cc engine helped it to 13.5 seconds and 132 points in the “go”, giving it a very tough score to beat.

Camper & Bus Choice Elliot Mackness – 1964 VW Devon Deluxe Splitscreen van This van has led a charmed life, and a recent resto has made it almost good as new again.

Over on the track, more serious business was taking place as the drag racing from the weekend concluded. Great racing and big upsets were the order of the day, and the full race reports can be found over at www.eurodragster.com.

Drag Racing Winners:

VW Pro Winner Sam Young Runner-up Phil Norman

VW Sportsman Winner Matt Bennett-Sime Runner-up Paul Herbert

Super Modified Winner Andy Hone Runner-up Nigel Payne

Sportsman ET Winner Sara Unsworth Runner-up Sean Armstrong

Lucas Oil Junior Dragster Winner Brad Jackson Runner-up Rhiannon Bellenie

Outlaw Anglia Winner Cliff Griffin Runner-up Richard Colby

Junior Drag Bike Winner Scott Collier Runner-up Louis Davies

8.50 Bike Winner Dave Batcheler Runner-up Dave Thomas

9.50 Bike Winner Jake Mechaell Runner-up Richard Sawatzki

The top cars in the RWYB competition were as follows:

Class A – Beetles Andy Searle VW Beetle 1303S 11.8729 Secs @ 113.76 mph

Class B – Splitscreen Vans Steven James Chivers VW Splitscreen Van 13.0855 Secs @ 107.57 mph

Class C – Bayscreen Vans Neil Reid VW Bay-window camper 14.5635 secs  @ 94.46 mph

Class D – Late Model Vans Ms Susan Patricia M Wills VW T4 22.6275 secs @ 58.58 mph

Class F – Other Air-cooled Vws Scott Oliver VW T3 Variant 12.1073 secs @ 114.07 mph

Class G – Watercooled VW Thomas J Etches VW Polo G40 11.9547 secs @ 121.74 mph

Class X – Non Road Legal Scott Cooper CBR1000 Kart 10.47secs @ 123.25mph

A huge “thanks” go out to everyone who supported the show. We hope you had a great time and we look forward to seeing you back at the Pod next year.

View more photos on the 2011 Gallery page.