Steve G - Scrappy Races

The earliest entries are at the bottom, and the latest entries are at the top

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Links section updated to reflect new locations for the official Channel 4 websites.

I can confirm that the second series of Scrappy Races will begin filming next Tuesday 14th September 2004 so keep a look out for a crowd of weird and wonderful machines near to your home town. They will be travelling from the Eastern area of England taking a route through England and they will finish in the Scotland area. This year will see a series of five episodes, that involve four scrappy racer teams who after their starting area test will then take part in four specific challenges along the route. You will not only see the familiar faces of last years winners the Chaos Crew in their attempt to retain the crown but you will also see 'other' familiar faces amongst them. Due to my being out of the UK until October this website will be next updated in a few weeks time, my apologies for the delay.

The fantastic news is that Scrapheap Challenge 2004 series 7 begins on Channel 4 television in the UK at 6.30pm on Sunday 5th September 2004. This opening program sees the 'Anoraks' battle it out against the fireman team named the 'Hoselliers' in a Sand Racing challenge. This series consists of 15 episodes, the first 13 episodes as previous years contain the heats, the final to decide this years winners, and then the grand final when this years winners take on the might of the reigning champions the Catalysts. The 14th and 15th episode are specials that are being edited as you read this that will consist of the results of the viewers votes as I mentioned below on 8th August 2004. I can also assure you from the e-mail that I have received that the makers RDF Media are indeed contacting many of those people who voted to decide who they will include as a part of the program doing an interview so YOU can personally give your reasons why you voted for a particular episode.

Set those video recorders and don't miss a second of the latest offering from RDF Media for Channel 4.

I have spoken today with the Barley Pickers and can tell you that they will be showing the Proper Job chicken shack at the 'Honiton Hill Rally, at the Rising Sun, Stockland, Honiton, Devon during the August Bank Holiday period Sunday 29th & Monday 30th August 2004'.

I have been informed that all three team members should be there so maybe we might see a few of you guys in person

Further to the continued rumour mill, my scrapheap investigators have uncovered evidence that means I can now confirm for all you Scrappy Races fans that 'Scrappy Races 2' will be returning to your screens for a season of fun and wild mechanical antics. The scrappy race will consist of new teams and of course the reining Scrappy Races champions, the 'Chaos Crew' will be on the grid in a bid to retain their title.

The planning is still in the early stages but the filming for the new show will take place later this year. After the series is filmed it will need to go into the studio for editing and therefore may not hit your screens until early 2005 but hit your screens it will. I will keep you all informed about developments and dates when they are confirmed late this year.

Well I am please to confirm for you that YES ...........SCRAPPY RACES WILL RETURN. I know I said that below already but now it is for real. The show have a production crew working on the project and the team selection process is being developed as you read this. The precise format of the show is nowhere near confirmed and even if it was ..........YOU KNOW I WOULDN'T TELL YOU ! Many other things have still yet to be put into place so I shall leave it at this for now. Get that welding mask on and start practising a good weld because you never know they may appear somewhere in your town and need a good engineer to help out.

If you want to keep up to date when new information is released later this year then bookmark this site.

visit the

the points score for this final actual 'water challenge' are :-

So the final overall official score at the end of the show was

The MEGS and the Boat Buoys only received a final score of zero because the scrappy rules say that the teams MUST finish the water challenge to score any points. However I don't personally agree, and therefore using the cumulative points gained during the series my own Steve G Website score board is awarded as

it doesn't change the leader board and it makes the whole thing feel fair.

But that's not all folks so don't run away

The evening continued to the joy of the crowd that had now increased in size as the word spread locally that the Scrappy Racers were in town. Now it is time for the .......................

SCRAPPY RACES AWARDS

The Humour Award

went to the Green Goddesses for their continued good & bad jokes, their rendition of 'patta cake, patta cake' on the wall and generally good fun

The Sneaky Devils Award

went to the Boat Buoys for not always telling their captain what was happening and the way they left their outboard motors behind as they raced away at Pendine Sands

The Stops Award

went to the Barley Pickers for 'pulling out all the stops' and their non-stop effort to continue against all the odds, in the way they replaced their complete engine to make it to the off-road section, to the way that Robin pulled the mighty truck from the waters of Loch Lommond

The K.I.S.S. Award

The Edit Out Award

went to RDF Media for not making everyone look like complete idiots, and for the thousands of hours of film that they gathered spending many more hours in the EDIT room to cut all this wonderful footage down to just four hours of viewing pleasure. The Megalomaniacs could also have named this the 'suck up' award to ensure their faces return to you screens in a future series of Scrappy Races

The Sneaky Tab Award

this went to Robert the Llew himself who apparently has never these day got any smokes and in the main has given up, but did however get caught by his Son and it was reported to Mum without delay .....opps.

The Non-Live Sync Award

went to our lovely Lisa for the manner in which she kept everyone entertained during what is know during filming as a 'high/wide shot'. This means that for a couple of minutes the cameraman, opps I mean the camera ladies and gentlemen (sorry Vron) film a high and wide view of the action during which Lisa has to just talk about anything to the teams so it looks as though she is still talking about the same subject as you viewed close up just seconds before. The only difference being is that Lisa can say anything, that is ANYTHING !!!!! and we love it, so the Non-Sync award is well deserved

The www.dot Award

The Big Help Award

This was dedicated to all the helpers involved to ensure the teams vehicles managed to pass the SVA testing. Without their help and support the project just seemed impossible.

Well guys and gals that is what happened at the Scrappy Awards. We continued into the night and then into the morning and most people stayed at the hotel to continue over breakfast. It was a fantastic evening that did truly reflect the character of every team member and every RDF crew member proving that when you work together you can make anything happen. The teams did not regret a thing and yes I did ask the teams the big question before we parted "Would you do it all again ?", and without any hesitation and a look of tears and hope in their eyes they answered "WE WOULD RETURN WITHOUT ANY HESITATION WHATSOEVER, WE HAD SOME OF THE BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES".

Very best wishes to you all

Steve G

Anyway enjoy the final program and remember that the first place in the next round win the team 7 points so it seems that the Chaos Crew only really need to finish the course and get 1 point to win the first series BUT will they sink ? will they complete the water section course without technical problems ? because if any team fails to complete the water section for ANY reason ................ they will loose Scrappy Races. Stay seated on the edge of your chair and grip tight for a thrilling final show.

Steve G

Well the Chaos Crew with their chaos cab are certainly causing chaos for the other teams after once again taking the top slot in the second special challenge where the Scrappy Races machines all had to be modified for the off-road section challenge.

The real time date is Wednesday July 23rd 2003 and after their long eventful journey from Wales to the North of England near to Bradford I meet up with all the teams at their hotel near to Bradford where many of the hardcore were already at the bar sharing stories of their events so far. All their wonderful machines are secured in a special area of the hotel car park under security guard. Although if anyone was stupid enough to nick one they surely couldn't have got very far with a description of "It looks just like a boat officer" or something like "Well it looks like a truck but is the size of a bus, oh and it is painted bright yellow officer", I can just imagine they would think we were taking the p!$$ and lock us up. The Barley Pickers were the last to arrive at the hotel and were greeted to a rapturous applause from the teams at all their effort and determination to get to the North of England after replacing the engine in Wales.

Tonight was special as everyone was going out to a famous Bradford Indian restaurant for a meal and I was invited to join them, so as the long line of ordered taxis queued outside the hotel doors we all piled in and off we went. At the restaurant the Chaos Crew were joined by their original team member 'Spike' who you will recall from those fantastic days of the Muncher of Scrapheap Challenge, Spike was unable to join the guys for Scrappy Races due to extreme commitments at work preventing him from having the two weeks off that was required for the filming. This was the reason that Andy and John's father Ray joined the team in the absence of Spike. Having now seen the program Spike has admitted that he feels absolutely gutted to not have been with them and if the future presented another opportunity he will be with them without fail. One of the first to rise from his seat to greet Spike with open arms was Robert the Llew who we are sure has always had a fond spot for the Chaos Crew since their appearance back in 2000. The meal was great and then all back into the taxi and off to the hotel for some more bevies of beer and banter.

Early on Friday July 25th 2003 the teams are reunited with their vehicles and off they go to the off-road course ready to do battle. Oh that rain it did fall .....oh did it fall, still just what is needed to make the off-road section even more challenging. The teams run each round individually against the clock and as you all saw in tonight's show (15th Feb 2004) the Chaos Crew's captain Andy flew around the course with Ray and John hanging on for dear life and this time the cameramen and women decided to not stay inside the vehicles ..... good move guys. As all the teams took the challenge some things broke, the Green Goddesses got washed out in the lake, the Boat Buoys machine went bang as the gearbox failed and the Barley Pickers managed to complete their first challenge after missing the Pendine speed challenge. After the challenge all the vehicles retired to a nearby barn area where all their machine had to be de-prepared back into road legal trim ready for it all to start again the very next day (yes for real it was the very next day) and travel up to Scotland ready to walk on water in Loch Lommond .... but that is all for next week.

So the points score for the 'off-road' challenge stand at :-

therefore the present overall Scrappy Races challenge points and places are :-

Have fun and see you next week ..................

Steve G

Well the Barley Picker's have left an impression with their engine antics, or as the Scrappy teams said off-screen 'the Barley Picker's may have left an impression on any unfortunate passing satellite at the time'. Whilst the other teams were sand racing the Barley's did work very hard back at the heap and you will see the results of their labour next week.

So the points score for the 'speed' challenge stand at :-

Steve G

It does seem that Scrappy Races was well received by all. The SVA issue just evolved in the Barley Pickers favour as time and situations developed. I remember talking with Andy 'BP' Barnes when I visited him just before they started the build and it was clear to me they thought that the SVA was on the cards for them as well. The rules of agricultural machinery and also as you have already pointed out above the additional situation regarding showman vehicles meant that the Barley Pickers avoided such pitfalls as the SVA, and fair play to them as well, or should we say Proper Job. The Green Goddesses also had a little luck as the chassis was not heavily modified and therefore also did not require an SVA test. Remember that all the teams have got a lot to contend with yet during their tour of the UK with, speed, off-road, water, and no single vehicle is yet fully a master of all these challenges so the local scrapyard modification will be crucial.

Now then what about that 'clothes line crash' that the Barley Pickers had with Andy BP Barnes at the wheel in his back garden ? The big question is did he really dump his wife's washing? So I had no choice but to telephone Andy a moment ago and I hear that in the heat of enthusiastic driving his wife ain't none to pleased about the state of her washing so Yup the clothes really did bite the mud.

When the GG's VW car was found to be beyond real use due to rust, yes the floor pans could have been done but the question was how many other problems were in store ? so they decided to go for another VW bug and the source of the machine was near to the Scrapheap set so that is were the Green Goddesses work continued. Where there was muck the GG's were in it, excellent.

I just hope that the next episode brings out the full flavour of their journey to South Wales with all it pitfalls and problems that needed to be attended to in real time. They have a great race to complete at Pendine Sands but they have to all get there first.

During their time on the road my mobile phone was red hot with text messages and calls from teams eager to share their emotions and experiences. At the end of this series I will be posting on this site details of many of the 'other' things that happened to the teams during their epic journey through the UK. Watch how the Chaos Crew make good use of some extra horsepower, look and listen in awe how the Barley Pickers demonstrate the limits of a Rolls Royce engine, see how a lake is dealt with Green Goddesses style, experience how the Megalomaniacs endure the bad weather on their exposed trike, and how the Boat Buoys have the help of their extra team member Mr Bongo.

Tune in next Sunday for the Pendine sand races in South Wales and let see who and if they all get there without problems ........ Hmmm! Watch the fun unfold and it gets better all the time.

we must all remember

Sunday 1st February 2004 on UK channel 4 television at 6.30pm

starring

The Chaos Crew

The Megalomaniacs

The Barley Pickers

Green Goddesses

The Boat Buoys

presented by

Robert Llewellyn and Lisa Rogers

judged by Hadrian Spooner

spread the word to the whole family and especially those who like engines, cars, fun, and scrap.

The earliest entries are at the bottom, and the latest entries are at the top