Llantrisant Slotcar Club

The racing was great fun and the cars behaved impeccably. The only thing we did was unscrew the pods half a turn – apart from Leon dunking his in go-go juice, because apparently “someone else did it, but I’m not going to grass them up”, nothing other than tyre taping and sticking lane colours on was done. We all fell for watching the wrong car once or twice, except for Craig and whoever he was racing, as he had the only red car. The rest of us were of the opinion that if we are going to have a McLaren, we want Brucie’s one. Plus we knew the red one had mega huge induction shrouds, so weighed in at a whopping 0.12 grams heavier than the rest of the pack.

So no motor running in, no tyre truing or gluing, no weight in the nose, just box fresh cars straight out of the sealed carton and away we went. Damn, these cars are top quality. Have a look at the charts for the results, these babies were going far faster than they should have been and we had great fun in each of the 10 heats.

Are we the first club in Wales or the UK to run them in a competitive event? Or run them exclusively at an event? I think we deserve a first Class VIP trip to that place up near Brescia where Thunderslot are located. Or at least we’ll go and say hello to Giovanni and any other of the team at Gaydon in May. Should be worth a few stickers. ;)

We had so much fun tonight, that we have decided to ask around beforehand to see who will be coming to future club nights where the numbers will be lower than normal, and decide what we think we may do – club cars, night running, bring all your cars and have a test, different class on different lane, Thunderslots, Policars, etc. etc.. Let’s be creative, and then the world is our lobster!

Don’t forget next week, March 20th is DTM Round 2. Rescheduled from a few weeks ago.

The racing was, as always, quite quick and closely bunched. All three groups saw some very close quarter battles throughout the night. So let’s go racing – Alan got the launch spot on in Yellow as Heat 1 kicked off proceedings, Junior followed on in Blue with Lee at the tail in Red.  A lap later and Lee drove inside Seb to take P2 as he started to chase Alan. An off for both the leaders saw Lee rejoin at the front, with Alan snapping at his heels with Seb still within striking distance in 3rd. Alan got the slipper down as he harried Lee, and by L9 Lee succumbed by the smallest of margins as Alan regained the pointy bit.  These two guys drove the opening 13 laps absolutely side by side – you could tell they were really enjoying the dice. An off on L13 saw Lee drop back a few inches as Alan set off on his almost perfect run to the line. The single off on L4 was Alan’s only blemish as he stormed Heat 1 for the victory.

Seb was very relieved to get onto Green for H4 after the frustrations of Blue in H1. So much so, that he went flag to flag without too much interference from the other two.  Alan enjoyed the opening two laps in P2, but a poor L3 saw Lee capitalise and grab it from him, going all the way to the flag behind Seb, with Alan crossing the line at the back. A reversal of H1 !

Lee had the bum deal in H7, a lonely drive at the back trying to get the best out of Blue lane. Alan was within a whisker of Seb as he circulated in Green, but a trip up on L8 let Seb have a bit of breather as he started to pull away at the front in Red. A couple of hiccups just before the 2/3rds mark perked Alan’s ideas up a bit, but Seb soon got back in the groove and pulled away for a comfortable win.

The guys last outing in H10 looks relatively boring from the graphs – it was anything but! Seb got away in Yellow like a scalded cat, Alan was next away in Red with Lee chasing him from Green. Seb worked away at getting his laps consistent and thus eked out a good gap of several seconds from Dad who was doing a very good job of keeping his laps consistent too. It was a ll looking like a bit of a foregone conclusion, until Seb slid off on L25 – Alan was right on his tail! Both banged in four great laps and then both crashed on the last lap. Does neither want to win! Well, of course they did, with bated breath the Scuderia floored it for the line, with Seb keeping his composure and lead to tag a well earned win for the final heat. Lee kept bashing away at Green, but was unable to make significant inroads into Alan’s safe P2.

H2 was another linear affair, Martyn bringing up the rear with an utter nightmare in Blue – that’s his night in the bin! Leon charging hard and having a flawless Red, as Mike had just that little edge as he ran a flawless Yellow. The two front guys were nip and tuck all the way, a very exciting, close, and well driven race – try as he may, Leon was never quite able to pull in front of Mike, despite them both alternating a few tenths faster than the other as the laps counted down. Great racing!

ForH5, Mike sat out in Blue and sung Team America’s “Roanreee” for the solitary thrash around in the slow lane. Meanwhile, Leon got the drop in Yellow leading Martyn (Green) off the line. Leon’s first fumble of the night came on L4 and Martyn was through to the lead. On L9, Leon literally just squeezed ahead. The guys then had a great dice until Martyn got too excited and slid off on L15. Leon drove the remaining 15 laps very well, so Martyn couldn’t get a sniff in. The only other excitement in the heat was Martyn trying to fend off the shame of being lapped by Leon, but I.I.R.C. the king of slapshot did him on the last corner to earn lapping bragging rights.

Next time out, Martyn got the holeshot in Red and drove his first flawless heat in a long time to tag a flag to flag win. Leon got away 2nd in Blue with Mike on the chase in Green. There was about 0.5s in it until L13 – Leon ditched it and Mike took P2. Mike got his rhythm going and finished the heat with only one incident on L2, meaning Leon had no chance of closing the gap.

As they entered their last heat, Leon held a 9 seconds advantage over Mike, with Martyn a further 10 seconds back. The lanes were looking better for Martyn (Y) and Mike (R ) with Leon in Green. Martyn got a good start, edging away from Mike and Leon who were locked in a paint swapping duel just behind. An off for Martyn on L7 allowed Mike through, but it was Slipper time for Martyn as he regained the lead a lap later and started to pull away.  Leon and Mike once more put in flawless runs and were really chasing the bejabers out of each other. Another silly off for Martyn on L25 put paid to any chance of just nicking a place from mike at the end of the night, but have a look at the score sheets to see how far Mike was ahead of Leon as their race night drew to a close!  I think the three lads really enjoyed themselves tonight.

And so to group 1 in H3. Steve had a lightening start in Yellow and apart from his opening lap of 8.6s, did every other lap under 8.5. Craig was holding P2 in Blue, with Russ going pretty quickly in Red. L8 saw Craig’s charge slowed as he had an off, meaning he had to try and chase down Russ for P2. As Steve cleared off on his immaculate run, Russ ran consistently under 8.5 himself. The gap between Steve and Russ stayed around the 2 to 3 second mark for a good part of the race, with Steve eking it out to 4 seconds at the line. Craig had started to creep back towards Russ, but finished in P3 about the same distance back.

Craig (G ) got a flyer off the line as H6 got under way, Steve was pretty sharpish off the line in Blue, with Russ having a bit of a doze in Yellow. By L2 Russ was up to speed and demoted Steve to P3, and closing the gap on Craig. Good lap times from Craig made life tricky for Russ, though his persistence paid off as Craig binned it on L13. I was going to say “the bearded one then set off…..” until I realised everyone in the top group sports whiskers. Remember Leon, we need to grow a beard to win more regularly at Llany! So Russ set off to do some very quick laps until he overcooked it on L19 – whiskers in the eyes perhaps? But he got his mojo backstraight away and managed to keep a second a half gap over Craig as the latter drove the wheels off trying to catch Russ.  Steve, meanwhile kept it smooth to get the best out of Blue.

H9 by contrast was a “no overtaking” sesh, Craig taking the win in Red, Steve P2 in Green and Russ tail-end Charlie in Blue.

The grand finale of H12 had a little more of a dust up in it. Craig shot out of the gate in Yellow, with Steve half a second back in Red, but sadly it all got a bit cross threaded for Russ in Green as a double off dropped him out of contention – still podium slots to play for though, so he knuckled down and did the remaining 29 laps with his racer’s head on and came home without further mishap. P1 swapped hands on L4 as Craig hit the barriers, immediately followed by 4 sub-8 second laps as he chased the auld fella. All it took was one tail-slide from Steve on L11 to allow Craig to edge ahead.  Unheard of! Craig binned it again L18, but graciously, Dad did likewise a lap later. You couldn’t separate the two now. Then Craig went to the next level and started pulling out 3/10ths a lap – Steve was spent, he just couldn’t catch the youngster, with Craig taking a very well earned win and Steve taking P2 with full battle honours. What a race to finish the night on. And there was me bumping my gums a few weeks back saying we should drop Group C because it was boring! Not a chance, if any doubt about which class to run at this years GP, the excitement of tnight cemented the decision for us! Roll on Fiat 500s next week.

There was a little bit of a change around for the podium spaces, with Craig taking full honours, Michael in second, and Leon pipping Steve t 3rd by a massive 0.495 seconds.

Again, we see a close battle for places in this class. I think we all had a great night out and we are all very much enjoying this class. Of particular note was Seb's inline Calibra going very well indeed. A lovely looking car with a good turn of speed.

The groups were Russ and Martyn in the slower qualifying slots and Craig, Steve, Leon in the faster group. After two heats, Steve was leading from Martyn, both having done yellow lane in their opening heats. Sadly, that was the only glimmer of hope for Martyn. Things went rapidly downhill from there! The first three heats saw no overtaking at all – but H4 made up for that. The lead changed constantly in the first 12 laps, with all three taking a go at the front. By L13, Leon had secured a small lead in Yellow and he managed to keep it going till the flag. Meanwhile, the Jones’ were having a continued battle with Craig finishing P2 in Green with Steve at the rear in Blue.

Russ had another belter in Red in H5, with Martyn struggling in Green after trying a fresh set of rubber – oops, still no grip. H6 and H7 again saw no overtaking, but the speed Russ carried through H7 meant it would come down to the wire for the top spots in H8.

Craig took the win comfortably in yellow, Steve following home in Red and Leon bringing up the tail.

And the times? It was close, oh so close.

Quali in Green was the usual affair, the Martyn and Mike were pretty close on their best laps.

H1 started Seb (R ), Mike (B ), Alan (Y).Mike and Alan were very close for the first 6 laps, with Alan just getting past on L2. 3 laps later saw Seb clatter from the front to the back, which in turn saw the completion of Alan’s steady climb in the opposite direction. Mike and Seb now entered into a ferocious duel which lasted until just after the halfway mark, at which point Mike started to edge away from Seb. A concerted effort in Blue then saw Mike creep up on Alan, but the wily old fox was up for it and would not be pressured into a mistake – a good chase to the finish saw Mike come up a second and a bit short – a well driven heat win for Alan being his reward.

Things were a little less frantic in H3 for Alan, time to focus on getting a good time out of Blue lane. Meanwhile, Seb and Mike were having a riot in Yellow and Green respectively. They were passing each other tow or three times a lap whilst having great fun. An off for Mike on L18 gave Seb some breathing room, but rather than sit on his laurels, Seb squeezed the trigger a bit harder for a bit longer to reduce his lap times, thus not allowing Mike to make a counter charge. A well raced heat and relief for Seb with the win.

H5 saw Mike go start to finish in P1 in Red, as Seb and Alan had a good battle in Blue and Green, until a nightmare lap o L9 blunted Alan’s attack.  Undeterred, he soldiered on and his persistence paid off as on L27 Seb had an excursion followed by another a lap later – Alan just squeezed ahead to take P2. I couldn’t tell who was leading on L29, but on the final lap Alan was off allowing the young buck to pinch P2 from under dad’s nose! What a finish to the Scuderia’s evening of racing.

So no Joneses in group 1 – can’t remember the last time that happened! Sniffing glory, the three despeardos got away sharpish in H2. Leon took the lead off the line in Yellow, Martyn following him Red and Russ bringing up the rear in Blue. L2 was horrendous for Martyn, a big off saw Russ take P2 and a gap open up between P2 and P3. Despite being in a faster lane than Russ, Martyn was not able to keep pace as Leon went on to run very consistently from flag to flag, whilst Russ was getting some very fast laps in Blue, but a solitary off on L22 prevented him catching Leon.

It was Russ’ turn to lead off in H4, Martyn P2 in Yellow and Leon at the rear in Blue. Another L2 catastrophe for Martyn saw Leon take P2. By L4, Leon had driven past Russ to take the lead – again these two going like the clappers as they drove in close formation. A tailslide on L7 for Leon was enough to see Russ hit the front. Despite the pair blasting round close together, he was not to be bested again in this heat. Martyn took a lot of time to close in on the pack, eventually taking advantage of Leon’s only other slip in Blue and elevated himself to P2. Sadly, a blow out on the penultimate lap saw Leon ease back into P2 for the finish.

Russ relished Red in H6, an absolutely flawless run saw him take a flag to flag win. In Green, Leon was keeping Russ honest until his only mishap of the heat saw him in the kitty litter on L13. Despite his best efforts of squeezing his throttle trigger like (synonym removed for family viewing) mad, his Green pace could not match Russ’ Red pace. All the while, Martyn trundled around at the back in Blue for a lonely P3.

Last heat of the night was shaping up to be a good ‘un. Martyn lightened the mood by “murping” in Green – no idea how he did it, but there was the traditional 3 seconds of mickey taking as he waited for the jumpstart clock to run down! Russ (Y ) and Leon (R ) meanwhile were having a cracking scrap. The opening laps were very very close, but once again, Russ’ speed saw him edge away lap by lap to take the heat win. Both guys drove flawless heats with some very good times in both.

So Russ takes a night win, of course, he wouldn’t have done it if the Jones boys were in town ;o) His other great idea of the “buddy-buddy” marshalling system worked very well. Particularly for the racers of the more robust physique  - basically, you were paired up with someone in the other heat, and each would only marshal your buddies car – great fun with lots and lots of running around. Let’s hope it catches on in future!

And is it just me, or has Russ grown in stature since this win?

A clean getaway in Yellow for young Russell saw him get some clean air between himself and the chasing pack – a nice flag to flag to open proceedings. Martyn was away next in Blue, followed by Alan in Green and Seb in Red. Seb’s outlap proved to be a touch tricky, but he gathered up the skirts of his Mossie and went hell for leather after pater. By L3 he was through into P3. Some blistering laps saw him catch up to Martyn, who promptly did the decent think and fell off, allowing the young whipper-snapper to glide up to P2. A good recovery by all accounts there from Seb. Six laps of hard charging from the silver fox (!) and Seb repaid the compliment allowing the old codger to be right on his shoulder. The two were really flying, as first Martyn edged ahead, then Seb did likewise – the guys had a really intense 5 lap battle until the pressure got to Martyn and Seb was away. But oh, no missus, wait! On L19 Martyn managed to squeeze passed the lad, as once more no quarter was given for three frenetic laps – sadly, a slip off by Seb broke the spell and Martyn was able to see out the final laps with a small gap to take P2. The heat has certainly got to these guys.

The guys got cleanly (and rather smartly) off the line in H2, Martyn (G) followed by Russ (B), Seb (Y) and Alan (R ). H2 and Seb went from P3 to P1 in one blistering lap. Sadly, the following two had minor transgressions, dropping him back to P3. During this fun, Alan worked his way from P4 to P2, as Martyn went P2 to P1. Seb set after Alan, passing him on L10, only to have an off that dropped him to P4. He got up into P3 two laps later, and that’s how the heat ended, Martyn, Alan, Seb, Russ.

Martyn went flag to flag in Red during H5. One off marred an otherwise good run, with 26 of his 30 laps be under the 8s mark. Russ in Green was in hot pursuit during the opening laps, but L4 saw his car stutter allowing Alan to catch up from P4 to P2 by L5. Russ’ car would absolutely fly, then stutter, until eventually he had to withdraw to effect repairs. This was a great shame, as he and Alan were having a fine old time dicing, Russ retaking P2 on L8. As Russ’ car was withdrawn, Alan cemented P2 with Seb trailing home in P3.

Martyn (Y) went flag to flag again in H7, as Russ’ car had a DNF to end his night. Annoying, as it flew earlier in the night and he had some very good dices with the other guys. Scuderia Birchmore decided to rip up team orders for their final heat of the night. They were locked in battle from the off to L30 – Alan in Blue and Seb in Green. The lap charts shows only 7 place changes, but it was far more than that. On some lpas, you had no idea who was ahead. What a way to finish the night. It’s sad to have to give them placings, so look at the charts for that little spoiler!

The quicker qualifiers were out in H2. If you look at the charts, it doesn’t look like a very exciting event, but look at the times and see how much of a cat and muse affair it was between Michael in Red, Steve in Yellow and Leon in Green. Craig was doing a very good job of taking Blue, but he was a little back on the other three after 5 laps or so. Leon dropped off the back of the train a little, around about the halfway mark, as Green wasn’t at it’s peak tonight. At the line, it was Steve, Michael, Leon, Craig, with gaps of 3,5 and 4 seconds splitting the pack. A case of not judging a book by it’s cover, eh?

H4 saw Craig reverse his fortunes, having a great drive in Green to go start to finish at the front of the pack. Steve started well in Blue as Leon and Michael tripped over each other in Red and Yellow. Michael was up to P3 by L2, as he set off to chase down Steve. Both were going very quickly in their lanes as was Leon as he kept pace with Michael. Another double off saw Michael and Leon loosing the amps on L5, which gave Steve a bit of breathing space. But it was short lived, by L11, Michael had used the speed of Yellow lane to catch then pass Steve. Leon was closing in, and on L18, Steve had his only off of the night, leaving the door open for Leon to snatch P3 from under Steve’s nose. Charge as he may, he couldn’t close the gap to Leon, so P3 and P4 was decided. Meanwhile, Michael was giving it what for in an attempt to get nearer Craig, but a wobble on the last lap gave Michael a fright! A good recovery (and some adept marshalling!) made sure he was quite safe, taking P2 comfortably at the end.

As is often the way these days, the racers calm down a bit after a brew and a nice sticky bun. H6 saw the guys fairly well spread out, and very little excitement, other than good, fast, laptimes. Off the line it was Craig (R ), Steve (G), Leon (Y) and Michael (B). And that was how H6 ended. Let’s hope for fireworks in H8!

Craig and Steve were stuck together in Yellow and Red as H8 got underway, whilst Michael (G) and Leon (B) tangled on L2. The guys out front romped away and finished with Craig in P1 and Steve P2 in a formation dash. Meanwhile, the other guys were having a beaut of a duel. After a very close opening 5 ;ps, Michael caught then passed Leon to take P3, which seemed to spur Michael on to get some very consistent laps in and saw him pull away from Leon. An excursion on L28 put paid to any hope of Leon getting on a par with Michael, a shame, as the guys were having a right royal ding dong for overall honours of standing on the podium. .

Another exciting night of very fast racing, but more importantly, a good shakedown of the cars ready for Wales and West R4 at Oxford on the following Sunday.

As Mike put it whilst walking off after H1, “that will make your chart look a bit busy!”. How right he was! Compared to some of last weeks heats where nobody swapped positions, H1 did a weeks worth in 30 laps. So Alan cleared the grid in the lead in Yellow, Seb was next in Red and Mike was at the rear in Blue. Seb and Alan swapped the lead on paper 3 times in the opening six laps, though they were trading places throughout each lap. A big off by Alan on L6 and a similar excursion for Seb on L7 saw Mike capatilise and go from the rear to the front. As Alan gathered his wits and got back on the pace, Mike then had two laps with offs, so it as Alan’s turn to go from the back to the front over two laps. Alan settled down to consistent laps out front, as Seb and Mike traded P2 and P3 for the next four laps. Seb then hit a few problems allowing Mike to keep P2. Seb got his act together, much as Dad had done a few laps earlier, and Seb then set off in pursuit of Mike. The guys had a great game of cat and mouse, with Seb eventually easing past Mike with one lap to go. An exciting end to a frenetic heat! In H3, Mike (G) and Seb (Y) had another close battle for the whole heat, as Alan battled gamely against Blue lane. The lads in Green and Yellow were locked in a very tight heat from start to finish – the lead swapping on virtually every lap. Neither could extend much of an advantage over the other – an off by one was matched by an off by the other. Despite the speed and intensity, there were only 5 offs between the pair. This in a class where the difference between pushing hard and disaster is very very close indeed. At the flag, Seb had the nod by just over a second. Two very exciting heats from these three so far, lets see what a tea-break could do for them. The answer, by way of the H5 scoresheet, was “it calmed them down a lot”. Mike went flag to flag in Red, Alan followed home in P2 in Green and Seb brought up the rear in Blue. So Camomile tea really does do the trick. Mike repeated his flag to flag in H7 in Yellow, whilst the Scuderia had a bi of a ding dong, Dad in Red, Junior in Green. The gap between these two opened and closed fairly regularly, with Alan being in P2 at the start, swapping places LLs 5 & 7, then it was 23 laps of chase and be chased. A stumble by Alan on L29 saw Seb take the lead, followed by Alan driving the wheels of it on the last lap to come up short by 2/100ths of a second at the line. What an amazing finish to a cracking bit of racing from these three. Despite loosing out on P2, Alan was as bubbly as the other two as they left the stage. Great stuff. The other three also had an interesting evening, Steve (Y) was first away when the flag dropped and was never bested for the res of H2. Russ (B) an d Martyn (R ) meanwhile had a very entertaining first half of the race. Sadly, Martyn’s challenge ebbed as his car began to stutter – Russ finishing a very comfortable P2 after a good drive in the slowest lane. Investigation after the heat saw Martyn discover a very badly damaged braid which was soon removed and replaced. H4 saw only three offs for the heat, all Martyn’s in Yellow. The first brace at the halfway mark allowed Russ to glide by on his blemish free Run in Green to take a well deserved win. Martyn rallied well as he chased Russ, but his third off, 10 laps from home, put paid to any sniff of glory he may be thinking of. All the while, Steve was plugging away at Blue emulating Russ’ drama-free heat. Martyn’s turn to battle Blue in H6, although a massive tangle of the other two on L1, met by cries of “Ha ha, missed!” from Martyn saw him glide around in the lead for the opening three laps. Red Russ and Green Steve soon got their racing heads on and both demoted Martyn to P3 as Russ took the lead and Steve took P2. These two had a good race, but Steve’s first off of the night on L29 saw Russ go 2:1 up in the heat win stakes over Steve.

Russ showed the other two a clean pair of heels in Yellow as he got away on the last heat of the night. Steve (R ) was battling with Martyn (G) as they circulated closely. Martyn was away first but after 6 laps Steve was past, only to trip up on L10 and see Martyn move into P2. Steve again got past on speed and set about opening a gap. Steve set off after Russ, the pressure mounting until L19 as Russ went off. Steve was alongside as Russ rejoined, but the speed was with Steve as he pulled away to take the final heat win by almost lap. Russ’ woes continued with him coming off several more times. Martyn managed to sneak into P2 on L24, but Russ fought back with superior speed to get P2 once more. Russ had an off o the final lap of the night, a brave marshal risking his nails by reslotting Russ alongside Martyn – a mad dash for the line saw Russ edge it by 0.3 of a second. What a dramatic finish to an entertaining night of racing. Once more, these tiddlers proved to be an exciting class to race. Can’t wait for R5 which should see a few more racers on track.

From memory, Seb and Craig ran 908s, Lee, Leon and Michael ran P68s, Alan, Karl, Martyn, Russ and Steve ran Lolas (Karl’s was literally unboxed and plonked straight on the track for quali) and Mike ran his Matra Simca. A good variety in the field there. Quali saw the top three separated by 100ths, with (I think) Martyn taking his first ever pole. Nothing much to brag about, seeing as there was such a mixed field tonight. Russ couldn’t quite get to club in time for quali, but made it just as we were about to start the racing. He was quite happy to tag onto the bottom of the list so joined Lee and Karl in group 3.

Russ’ Lola got off the line first in red for H1 with Karl next in Yellow and Lee following in Blue. Russ was off on L5, so Karl nipped past. The tables were turned a lap later as it was Karl’s turn to sit on the sidelines for a second or two. By L14, Lee was close behind Karl as Russ strolled away from them at a fair old lick. Who needs practice, eh Russ? A lap later and Lee got past Karl, holding position to the end of the heat. Russ got another storming start in H4, this time in Yellow. As he managed to keep his laps consistently on or just under 8 secs, it was a very consistent drive to the heat win. Lee (G) and Karl (B) had a good dice for the opening few laps, but the lack of speed afforded by Blue lane allowed Lee to ease out a comfortable lead in 2nd as the heat progressed. Lee got a slight edge in Red as H7 got underway, with Russ chasing hard in Blue and Karl just behind in Green. By L9, Russ was a nose in front of Lee. Lee’s P68 was running very well in P2, and Karl’s Lola was performing astoundingly well straight out of the box in P3, but the unglued (and untrued) tyres were rolling off one rim, so it knocked the edge off his challenge a bit. Look out when he runs them G&T next time out! Try as he might, Lee couldn’t quite close down the gap as Russ took a well-earned heat win again. Lee had another good start from Yellow in H10, consistently getting his P68 around in the mid 8s with only two interruptions, the first on L25 and the last4 laps later. Russ had to chase like Billy-oh in Green, after a torrid first lap left him at the rear. Russ worked hard harrying Karl as he was getting some great laps in on his brand new Lola. Russ was through on L3 and set off chase Lee. As Russ narrowed the gap, Lee kept his head putting in very consistent laps. Russ’ Lola, however, was just that little faster than Lee’s P68 and on L28, Russ was ahead by the thickness of his bumper. At the flag, Russ took a narrow victory after a well fought race/Lee was cruelly robbed of his victory* (* delete as applicable!). H2 saw Seb, Michael, Leon and Alan line up in Y,R,G,B lanes respectively. Seb got off the line slowest but was in front at the end of L1, Leon marginally behind with Michael and Alan following with progressively larger gaps. The positions didn’t change from this point on, but the heat was remarkable in that there were only 2 offs, both Seb’s, though he was charging hard in a technically challenging lane (at those speed, anyway!). A reset for H5 had Leon away first in Red, Michael next in Yellow (and they stayed in those positions till the flag) Seb next in Blue and Alan at the tail in Green. The first half of the heat saw the Scuderia have a right royal battle, with positions swapping several times, but from L17 Alan started to open up a bit of a gap to which Seb had no answer. Bragging rights equal so far for the trip home! Leon (Y) and Alan (R ) had P1 and P2 as we started H8, again, neither to change position to the flag. This time, Michael (B) and Seb (G) had the battle. The positions swapped twice up until L11 at which point it was Michael’s turn to start opening the gap and leave Seb in his wake. The first three laps of H11 saw the four contenders within a very short space of track from each other – it was a very thrilling opening to a heat as the guys were all over each other and managing to keep it clean as they barrelled through bend after bend. Alan was out front in yellow, Leon in P2 in Blue, Seb in P3 in Red and Michael at the rear in Green. An off for Seb on L3 (clean – no contact in this instance!) saw Michael take P3. As Alan and Leon eased away, the other two really got stuck into some serious racing. They were inseparable for the next 8 laps – corner by corner the lead changed as the guys tried to edge an advantage over their adversary. Two poor laps from Seb allowed Michael to step ahead, but an off for both Leon and Michael a lap later saw Seb edge closer as Michael had Leon firmly in the cross hairs. The gap between Leon and Michael yo-yo’d between 1.5 and 3 seconds, but at the line, Leon won the battle of the P68s with Seb just a few seconds back in P4, as dad had already romped home to a comfortable win to end his night on a high. Craig got away cleanly in Red as H3 saw the last group get their racing underway. Steve was just behind in Yellow ,followed by Mike in Green and Martyn in Blue. Steve hit the buffers on L2 which dropped him to the back of the pack. Mike and Martyn were glued together at this stage, another corner-by-corner duel, until L7 when Mike, Martyn and Steve crossed the line side by side – awesome stuff. Steve then edged ahead, demoting Martyn to 3rd. Two awful laps then saw Martyn hit the back and stay there – in fact, nobody changed places after L9, although Steve managed to claw back some time on Craig to cross the line 3.4 seconds adrift. Craig took the lead in H6 in Yellow, with Martyn (G), Steve (B) and Mike (R ) were running very close together. Another bit of paint swapping, without any accidents, as Mike and Steve traded P3 and P4. An off for Mike on L4 saw Steve cement P3 for the final 27 laps. Just ahead, Martyn was giving his all to try and keep Craig in site, but it appeared a fruitless exercise as Craig just had 1 or 2 tenths on him every lap – until disaster struck. First on L14 for Craig, which allowed Martyn to within sniffing distance, then again on L14 which allowed Martyn through to hit the front. It was the longest 13 laps of his racing career as Martyn hovered between the 8.1s and 7.9s as Craig was on the hunt. He almost collapsed like a big drama queen as he managed to just stay in front of Craig at the flag. But we all could see Craig was having trouble with his 908 as he prepped it for next Sunday’s Wales and West and Llany – time well spent sorting out the car, as the results from the following Sunday show! H9 looks like a fairly boring affair on the charts, with no overtaking as Steve won in Green, followed home by Martyn in Red, Craig in Blue and Mike in Yellow. All four were pushing very hard and getting good lap times. A few stinkers in the opening laps for Mike and an accident on L10 for Martyn were the only excursions in this heat. Craig opened the grand finale by leading off in Green, with Martyn (Yellow), Steve (Red) and Mike (Blue) in hot pursuit. On L2 Martyn squeezed past Craig, with Steve chomping at young Jones’ feet with Mike pushing hard. L5 saw Mike drop off the back as he came out of the slot, with Craig following suit a lap later. Steve got up to P2 as Craig had another off with his experimental car on L12. Now it was a dash for the line – who’s nerve would hold? Who would crack being chased? Who would crack chasing? It was a tense few laps as the guys went for it, but all went off without hitch with the guys finishing Martyn, Steve, Craig, Mike.

Another great night with lots of close racing, and several people feeling quite glad that they tried their race cars for Sunday out – others happy to give them a quick test in open practice ready for Sunday’s big event.

On the subject of RDSR shop – we have a complaint from one racer tonight – apparently, he bought a Slot.IT LMP from you and it came fitted with a Scalextric 360 guide, first time we’ve ever had a car do a 180 and set off the other way around the track. Still, it made for a good game of cops n robbers.

Martyn had a nice quiet H1 in Blue as he plodded around on his lonesome, as Alan (Red) and Russ (Yellow) had fun swapping places on a regular basis.  Alan’s Red run was flawless – not a single offski, as Russ was going a bit quicker but doing a “Knights that say ‘NIH’ “ – also known as having the odd excursion into the shrubbery. The fifth time Alan got into the lead was the last change of places in this run, Alan takin the in by a good 5 seconds from Russ, as Martyn was being timed by a sun dial at  this point.

Craig took the drop in Blue for H2, with Seb close behind in Red and Michael at the rear in Yellow. Seb soon found out the interesting handling characteristics of the novelty guide, allowing Michael to climb to second. The guys in the two outside lanes really were shifting, but an off for Craig on L5 saw Michael complete the back to front move as he stepped out into the lead. The lads in the two outer lanes really were shifting, a single off on L16 being the only blemish as they ran for the flag. Michael took the win by just over 7 seconds.

Russ got a flyer off the line in Blue with Alan just behind in Yellow as Martyn had a stinker of an outlap in Green as H3 got under way. Alan’s speed saw him take the lead from Russ on L2, and 3 laps later Martyn took 2nd spot off Russ, as Russ had a bit of an off. Martyn was chasing Alan with just a very brief deslot on L26 as he closed to within a second of Alan’s win at the finish.  

H4 was another that saw a great tussle between the outer lanes, Seb in Yellow and Michael in Blue, as Craig serenely did the “buggering off” routine in Green. By the flag, he had managed 28 sub 8 second laps to take a comfortable win. Seb and Michael swapped 2nd and 3rd 3 times in the opening laps, but a series of sympathy crashes saw it stay tight tight tight all the way to the wire (you know “sympathy crashes” – the bloke you are chasing bins it, so you have a chance to get him, only to bin it yourself). The guys really enjoyed the battle as we stopped for a quick spot of tiffin.

H5 didn’t see a lot of overtaking, I think the lads were too upset at not having their choccy this week. Kids, eh? Martyn went flag to flag with a no-offs run in Red, Russ followed him home in Green after they drove side by side for the opening ten laps and Alan followed up in Blue. Russ and Martyn really did have a close dice in the opening laps, it shows Martyn crossing the line in the lead each time, but within the laps, it was corner by corner lead changes. A shame the single off disrupted the intense battle.  The scores at the end of this heat meant it was all to play for in H7 – it looked like the bottom step of the podium may well be up for grabs as Martyn sat on 795.76, Alan on 794.4 and Russ on 794.01 !

Almost the same thing happened in the next heat with Craig taking the flag to flag in Red, Michael following him home in Green and Alan taking up the guard in Blue.

H7 saw third place settled. Martyn got away first in Yellow, Russ following close by in Red and Alan following along in Green. Once again Russ and Martyn were cheek-by-jowl for the opening 7 laps. An off by Martyn giving Russ a little breathing space. Russ ran a flawless heat, whilst Martyn was trying a bit too hard and fell off 4 laps later in an otherwise clean sheet. A good solid ownership of the bottom step of the podium well earned by Russ there.

To round the night off, Craig and Michael had a frantic opening 6 laps, going like the clappers in each others wake. Craig lost it on L6, so Michael pounced, only to tumble himself in the next lap. Although Craig did likewise, he was ahead – just. A brace of offs on LL9 & 10 allowed Craig to give him the slip. Chase as he might, Michael couldn’t wind Craig in as Craig hit every other lap under the 7.5 second mark, even Sebbing it by saving his fastest for Lap 30!  Seb meanwhile was having fun in Green, as he finished off the racing for us all. Quite early we finished too!

So despite only 6 racers, we had an exciting night, even though it was a lot quieter than usual!

It was Yellow’s turn to host quali this week – a few members thought it was a bit flat, power-wise, tonight, but I’m pretty inept so couldn’t tell the difference. Craig gave us muggles a glimmer of hope by having a poor opening brace of laps, but normal service was resumed on his final lap – us lot would not have been able to cope with the pressure ☹ Steve, meanwhile, built lap on lap to take a well-earned Pole. Martyn’s interval to Craig and Leon’s to Martyn were both 0.084 – I love that sort of trivia.

H1 saw Seb and Alan pair up in Yellow and Blue, whilst Karl and Lee did likewise in Green and Red. The latter pairing had a right old destruction derby on the outlap, but soon calmed down to have a good dice all the way to the flag. Lee had let Karl get away early in P3 but got the hammer down and chased hard until L23, when Karl had an off, Lee was close enough to move ahead. Karl’s turn to keep cool and chase. Karl had an off on L28, but Lee outdid him with a double off – Karl finished the lap under a second ahead! Then disaster – Karl had an off on L29 and Lee was a full second up. On the last lap, more drama – Lee was in the ditch with only 3 corners to go – zoom, there goes Karl taking P3 at the flag.  Meanwhile, Seb was having a great run in Yellow, with just the one off to pause the charge, and Alan wasn’t doing too bad in Blue either. The Scuderia coming home in formation for P1 and P2.

Alan had a good start in Green in H3 and proceeded to amble away from the pack a they had a right old scrap in his wake. Lee held the upper hand of the chasing pack in Yellow for the first 18 laps, but a brace of poor laps saw the other two close in. Of which, Seb had the better first lap in Blue compared to Karl in Green, but L2 went the other way with Karl slipping up to 3rd as Seb was relegated to the tail of the field. L18 was an odd affair – Lee slipped from 2nd to the rear, as Seb swapped places with him, and Karl sandwiched in 3rd – you could cover them with the proverbial pit cloth. Seb took a tumble on L26, putting him right next to Lee, as Karl was promoted to 2nd. Karl made a dash for the line as Lee chased Seb – a hiccup for Seb on L26 saw Lee pinch 3rd spot. Good thing Seb didn’t give up, Lee had two stinkers to finish his heat – Seb slipping up to third, then on the last lap for Karl deslotted, but Seb couldn’t quite get close enough to take second from him. Frantic stuff, eh?

I’m glad to say, a restorative cup of rosie calmed things down for H5 – no, wait, it didn’t. H5 was a frantic affair, Seb leading away in Green with Karl next in Yellow, Lee 3rd in Blue and Alan at the rear in Red. Lee and Alan swapped positions on L2, just on speed. Karl rocketed to the rear with problems on LLs 3&4, inspiring Alan to continue his meteoric rise of a place per lap, going rear to front in four laps. The Birchmores squared up and had a right old ding-dong, swapping places 5 more times before an off on L21 scuppered Alan’s charge. A great recovery saw him close to within 1/10th of Junior, but an adventurous lunge to pass Seb on the last lap came to naught and Alan found himself in the stingies. His place was safe though, as Karl and Lee scrapped all the way to the line, there was enough gap between Alan and third placed Karl for him not to panic too much.

I think the excitement of H5 was a bit too much for the boys, H7 started Seb red, Alan Yellow, Lee Green and Karl Blue. It also finished that way without a single overtake. Seb and Alan had one poor lap apiece -would have been great to finish with a clean sheet, and Karl wasn’t making life easy for Lee in the earlier laps, but still, it ended as it begun. Not a bad night of racing for these four.

The guys running the even heats stepped up for H2, Craig leading off in Yellow, Martyn following in Red, with Leon Green and Steve Blue. L2 saw Craig off – everyone stepping up a place. Next lap saw Leon crash to the back of the field. Craig was circulating at a far old pace, so predictably, on L5 his superior lap times saw him swap places with Dad as he eased his way into second. Craig furiously hunted Martyn down, the latter getting respectable laps in Red, but Craig was flying in Yellow.  An off for Craig on L17 thwarted that comeback, and again 5 laps later saw Craig once more in the gravel. This excursion blunting his assault on the lead. So that’s how they rolled out at the end of L30. “Three offs for Craig in Yellow with a superb car” I hear you say – well you’ll have to wait till tea break before I reveal the cause.

And sure enough, out they toddle for H4, kettles on, watch the lights – Martyn is away I Yellow, Leon behind him Red, followed by Steve in Green and Craig in Blue. L2 saw both Craig and Leon off – Mr Gibbons being careful not to wantonly and with malice aforethought clout a Jones onto the floor like he did on Sunday (damn, promised not to mention that too often). These two separate incidents allowed Martyn and Steve to leg it. Steve really was leaning on Martyn, putting loads of pressure on him as he circulated a few tenths off his tailpipe. Luckily for Martyn, Steve had an off on L13, also allowing Leon to step up to P2. Apart from the early off and the good fortune in passing Steve, Leon had run a fairly uneventful heat – rather playing a canny long game of keeping out of trouble and being Mr Very Consistent. Martyn’s only slipup of the heat came on L24, which saw Leon close to within two seconds of the lead. Uncharacteristically, Martyn managed to keep it in the slot for the short sprint to the line to maintain a 100% record. Since ceding 2nd place, Steve drove a very aggressive heat to close to within 3/10 sec of Leon at the line. All the while, Craig had adapted his styling and got his car home with some very controlled laps, not losing any more time out of the slot. Not surprisingly, Martyn declared the rest of the night abandoned and proceeded to take photos of the score sheets – it’s not very often the cocky little oik is in front of the two Jones’ after two heats, so probably a long time before he can bask in that false glory again.

And the secret of Craig’s woes? A clerical error back at Jones Racing’s state of the art headquarters in Pontypandy saw Jones junior have to race with a faulty throttle – the wrong throttle had gone into his box after the last event on Sunday. An internal investigation concluded it was either due to Jones junior’s euphoria at his result in South Mancs, on the upset of Jones senior after his event was ruined by (oh there I go again!). H6 saw it really start to play up, sadly, which ruined Craig’s attack.

H6 saw Leon out front in yellow for the opening six laps, before he hit the back after a derailment. Steve started in P” in Red, with Craig P3 in Green and Martyn at the rear in Blue. Craig passed Steve on L2, but L3 saw him loose 2 places. Martyn enjoyed three laps in P3, then got passed by Craig on L6, Craig moving to P2 a lap later as Steve inherited the lead and Martyn followed Craig up to P3. Craig again lost 2 places on L8, but 3 laps later managed to pass Leon. Martyn then lst 2 places to hit the rear. L17 Craig lost 2 places to hit the back once more, Martyn moved up to P3 and Leon to P2. From L17, Leon started to open a gap, lap by lap, on Martyn, but Jones snr was way out in front. A double off 5 laps from home gave Leon a bit of a twitchy moment as Martyn got back to within less than a second. T the flag, Steve was well ahead, Leon next, Martyn a second and a quarter adrift and Craig a few seconds back. 

Going into the last heat, if Steve could use the broken controller, Martyn might just have an outside chance of making up the 7 and bit seconds he needed to beat Steve. The chances of that happening with Steve in Yellow and Martyn in Green were about nil – still, you can’t knock a lad for dreaming, eh?  Craig started beautifully in Red, but the wonky controller stuffed him on H2, Steve took to the fore in Yellow, never to be bested again tonight. Almost flag to flag Steve, but Craig’s gunfighter reflexes off the line dd for you. Martyn got away 3rd in Green, but also tripped up on L2 thus giving Leon a leg up in Blue, just as Craig passed him going the other way. P4 to P2 in one lap – nice one big guy! P2 was short lived though, Craig was back there a lap later. Martyn managed to squeeze into P3 on L12, just on speed, as he and Leon had some fun circulating together, teasing each other that they were going to whack the other’s car off the track. Decorum was maintained, and by dint of Green being a lot easier (and a bit shorter) than Blue, Martyn was able to edge away. The controller bit Craig again on L19, and Martyn was able to slip into P2. Craig got some significantly faster laps in over the closing stages, but the controller was throwing the odd wobbler, so Martyn was lucky to hold P2 to the end. A great run by Steve extended his lead from just over 7secs to just over 20 – storming drive. What might have been for Craig? He was driving like a demon when the throttle was behaving, but the unpredictability was a variable you can’t cope with at the speed we were running tonight.  Needless to say, the offending throttle is off to Italy for a repair under warranty.

And seeing as it was only two groups, we were finished nice and early allowing a bit of testing to go ahead.  Oh yeah, and we discussed the South Mancs new track for quite a while too!

Martyn opened proceedings by getting the holeshot in Red – Russ starting a little slower in Yellow, with Lee taking second birth in Blue. Russ’ speed started to build, allowing to pass Lee on L2, and eventually (after one mishap) he managed to glide past Martyn and hit the front. He continued his serene progress all the way to the end of L30 to take a well-deserved heat win, Martyn trailing him in over 1 lap down, and Lee concentrating furiously as he battled Blue.

H3 saw Russ lead off in Blue, though Martyn passed him on L2 with Lee just adrift in Green. L5 saw Martyn pull the hero to zero move, Russ taking the lead temporarily. L6 saw Lee hit the front and hold on for two laps. Russ got past on L8 and a stumble from Lee on the following lap allowed Martyn through into 2nd.  The guys cracked on with some great driving, but no more changes to the order over the next 21 laps.

After tiffin, the guys all had a go at leading H7 within the first 9 laps, but unlike H4, the place changes lasted till L10, as opposed to L9!  Martyn took the lead in Blue, Russ following in Green and Lee at the back in Red. Martyn slipped to 2nd on L2 as Lee screamed into the lead and Russ hit the tail. Martyn’s heady 2nd position only lasted 2 more laps, as a good off let Russ through into P2. Lee fended Russ off well for the next laps, but an off on L9 let Russ get on point for the first time in this heat. He obviously liked it, as that’s where he stayed till the end. A alp later and Martyn managed to just edge his way past Lee. They then spend 10 laps having a really exciting scrap, but sadly Lee’s great challenge slowed a little on L19, allowing Martyn to get to the end in 2nd.

For their last showing, a bit of throttle fixing had been entered into and Martyn had a far more confident run in Green. As good as this late charge was, H10 belonged firmly to Wuss in Wed. He really hit a good rhythm – his outlap and one wobble on L5 were the only two laps not in the respectable 7s bracket. A great way to finish the night for Russ. Behind him, Martyn got reslotted in the wrong lane, hence missed a lap and lost valuable time which may have cost him a place overall (only writing this to make Llandiloes’ favourite sweaty silverback feel bad), but nevertheless he was having great fun entering into an ontrack battle with Lee. The two really enjoyed themselves and ended the night both having learnt a lot. Not least Russ was on fire in Red lane!

Next up was Leon in Blue, Alan Red and Seb Yellow as H2 got under way. Leon had a scorcher of a first lap, scored an 8.008 on L2 (THAT SPELLS BOOB, THAT DOES!) and then got some seriously fast times in. Alan was away second and was almost towing Seb from LLs4 to 12, then a costly pair of offs in LLs 13 and 14 allowed Seb to get a bit of a gap on his car share buddy. Alan got some screaming laps in, but was not able to keep the young Buck in sight as Seb banged in fast lap after fast lap. So fast were Seb’s laps, that by L25 he was just millimetres behind leader Leon. On the very next lap, the hard charging Seb was through for the lead. He kept the pace up and by the flag was 1.6seconds ahead for the win.

H5 was a little different for Seb – having blasted around yellow in the previous heat, he now had to keep a cool head and just race Blue lane, not the other two lads. Leon got the drop in Green, heading Alan in Yellow for the first 6 laps until he binned it, allowing Alan to build up a decent buffer. L15 and it was Alan’s turn to have an excursion, but by building up a small lead, he was under 2 seconds adrift of new leader Leon as he rejoined. Alan finished the race well, keeping within sniffing distance of Leon, to cross the finish line just 2.3s adrift. Seb did well to cross the line a further 10 seconds back in blue.

After tea, Leon got a bit fruity in Red and screamed off for a flag to flag win in H8, as Seb in Green and Alan in Blue entered battle with one and other.  Six position swaps for 2nd and 3rd showed these guys meant business, but an unfortunate off on the last lap allowed Seb to get away and take 2nd by just over 2 seconds.

So big the lad from down west was getting a taste for this flag to flag malarkey – a good outlap in Yellow saw Leon get a  headstart on the Scuderia as they tripped up – not over each other, thankfully. Alan recovered well in Green with Seb having similar trouble on L2, allowing dad to sneak away. A good third and a messy fourth lap before Seb got into the groove in Red. And by jingo, did he ever get in the groove! By L11, he had caught and past Alan, then set off after the leader. Seb and Leon then played cat and mouse, matching each other lap for lap, sometimes opening the gap as wide as 5 seconds, sometimes Seb shaving 2/10ths back. It was a riveting heat to watch, but sadly it all came to an end on L22 with an easy off from Seb. Shame, it was building to a tight finish. The heat ended in the same order as the three eventually ran out – some great laps from these three, and both Alan and Seb were nervous that their tyres would go the full 120 laps, but they had no need to worry – they got to the end with rubber to spare!

Primo batteri! What would these guys get up to with their arse-dragging super speeders? Steve pulled out a healthy lead in Yellow, with Craig following in Blue. Meanwhile, Michael put a heap of pressure on himself with a double off on his first lap of H3 in Red. Steve was of and running as Michael slowly gained his momentum and started the chase after Craig. L17 saw Craig have a slip up, so the gap between 2nd and 3rd was halved. Both Craig and Michael were putting in great times for their lanes, but eventually, Blue just proved too long a way around for Craig and Michael drove into 2nd spot on L25. Boy that was a tight race.

The order off the line for H6 was Craig (Green), Steve (Blue), Michael (Yellow). By L2, Michael had hit the front. He flew for all 30 laps, and L17 saw our first lap of the night in the 6s. Craig meanwhile was having a quiet race in Green., with Steve having likewise in Blue – that was the way they came home for this heat.

Craig had a great start in H9 in Red – Steve looked like he was on tow in Green. Michael was doing the Blue thing and concentrating on getting a good time in the bogey lane. L8 saw the briefest of offs for Craig (no, honestly, you don’t have to thank the author for his feline-like reflexes, really) but seeing as Steve was so close behind, he inherited the lead. By L11, Craig’s speed had him back at the pointy end. 14 laps late and Craig had a bit of a rotten lap – and there was Steve out front and going for gold. It was a good reward for a very well driven heat – an 8.2 outlap and the other 29 all in the 7s.

And so to the last heat and all to play for – going into H12, we had Michael on 685 seconds, Craig on 687 seconds and Steve on 700.  Craig led off in Yellow, with Steve in Red and Michael in Green. The gaps settled down to around 2 seconds separating each driver. After a very fast start, Craig was pushing had and tripped up on L10, the ever attentive Steve was through once more. His glory was not to last, as Craig found party mode and steamed back into the lead two laps later. A few laps around the 7seconds dead mark, then Craig dipped into the sixes, matching Michael’s best time of H6 exactly! Craig then switched his Cobra controller to party mode and put in a lot of seven deads, until he robbed Michael of the night’s fastest lap by 4 thousandths of a second. My word, that was close! At the end, Craig pulled out 5 seconds on Steve and 10 on Michael – the podium spots were going to be tight!

Karl got a new Petronas Fiat 500 (I remembered that bit as I sold it to him), Steve was visiting the Taoiseach, so they were trying to drain all the Guinness out of St James' Gate - sounds and looks like they did a half decent job of it. The rest of it is a bit of a blur, apart from Craig putting in a sterling effort to replenish the tuck shop in Steve's absence. Me, Seb and Russ did our best to empty it.

As is the norm with this class, practice was a total crash-fest, we keep forgetting these funny little cars aren't Moslers! We usually work it out fairly sharply when the serious heats begin.

As you can see from the photographs, our winner, SuRie, was accosted by a protester. A portend for the upcoming Eurovision?

Racing got underway, despite Russ’ car catching fire in quali – we have now banned him from cleaning his armatures with neat vodka – with Lee (Red), Karl (yellow), Alan (Blue) lining up for H1. Lee got a flyer of a first lap, followed by Karl and Alan. A slip up saw him go from front to back on L2, Karl gratefully taking the lead. An off for Karl the following lap saw Alan complete his last to first run, then the two leaders started pegging each other.  Three laps later, Karl was back in front for two laps. It was then Karl’s turn to go hero to zero just after Lee had got up to second. This meant as Karl slipped, Lee hit the front with Alan close behind.  Lee got his head down and despite two little  mishaps, kept the lead for the next 22 laps – he was a little nervous towards the end, but his good laptimes stood him in good stead for the win. Behind him though, Karl and Alan had a right royal battle, with four more position swaps before Karl eventually rolled out in 2nd place  2 seconds up on Alan.

I think Lee was enjoying this heat win mallarky, so much so that H4 was the “Lee’s Yellow Lane showtime” with him taking a flag to flag win. Karl was fighting Blue lane, managing to lead Alan for the opening laps, but Alan soon got to grips with Green and despite a pair of wobbles before the half way point, got some very consistent laps in to comfortably bag second.

The big drama in H7 came on L2, when Alan (Red) got past Lee (Blue) to take the lead, with Karl just behind in Green. Ans so it stayed for the next 29 laps!

As the boys started their last session of the night, Alan decided to make a bolt for it in Yellow. He had obviously taken a leaf out of Lee’s H4 book and screamed off to take the win without being hassled too much by the other pair. Lee got the early lead over Karl (Green and Red), but they had a good old scrap, trading places as they circulated side by side. At the flag, Lee just got the nod over Karl, but they looked like they had really enjoyed the battle.

The middle group started off with a very well driven, though not very nail-biting heat in H2. Seb took the L1 to L30 lead for a well driven heat win, Russ was only 3 and bit seconds adrift at the flag, with Mike getting his head down to get a good time in Blue.

Great excitement for them in H5! Mike (Gr) passed Sen (Bl) on L2 to snatch second place from our young student lad, as Russ scuttled off to do the usual Yellow lane start to finish lead. Again, that’s how the heat finished.

H8 saw a repeat of H5 – Russ (Bl) overtook Seb (Gr) on L2 to take 2nd spot, as Mike scampered off in red for his flag to flag! What DID we put in the tea tonight, boys?

H11 was a bit more of what we want – Seb got a great start in Red, Mike a hair’s breadth behind him in Yellow, with Russ at the same interval behind in Green. The guys really rolled they sleeves up and had a great scrap. Seb ad Mike were really mixing it up at the front, swapping the lead many times until Mike had two consecutive laps with offs which saw him slip to the back. Russ was close enough to slip into 2nd place, with 10 laps to go. Mike wasn’t taking it lying down, as he mounted a valiant charge to get back in contention. At the flag, Seb had it by 1.2 seconds ahead of Russ, with Mike a frustrating yet tantalising proverbial 2/10ths behind. What a finish to the evenings racing for these three. Superb.

The third group had a low overtaking, but quite exciting (and fast) first heat in H3. Steve got the lead off the line in Yellow with Leon up his chuff in Red. Craig got away third in Blue with Martyn chasing in Green.  Although Martyn managed to sneak into 3rd for two laps at the halfway point, an off saw his challenge fade, with him eventually trailing Craig in by 4 seconds for last spot, but up front, Steve just got to the line 1.2 s ahead of Leon. Quite an intense heat for all four racers.

H6 saw Leon (Y) and Craig (Gr) have a very close battle. Craig got away first, but Leon managed to get past him on L3 to take the lead. They then spent the next 25 laps within half a second of each other, until a small off on L28 saw Craig’s challenge falter and Leon took the flag by 2 and a half seconds.  Martyn (Re) and Steve (Bl) had a good old dust up in the first three laps, but Martyn binned it and Steve edged away to take third comfortably. Martyn was belly-aching as usual about power surges – turned out a stray strand was shorting his braids. Teabreak sorted that out.

H9 was a bit of a topsy-turvy start. Martyn took the holeshot in Red, Steve relieved him of the lead one lap later in Green, Leon ploughed a lonely-ish furrow in third place in Blue, with Craig have a poor outlap and languishing at the back in Red – but not for long! Three laps later he was in second spot, and two laps later took the lead from Steve. During this, Martyn had managed to pull off a spectacular two place drop as he hit the back of the field. Craig was now on his own out front, with Steve dropping away slowly. Leon having a fairly quiet time in third, only very occasionally troubled by Martyn who stayed planted at the rear.

The last heat of proceedings tonight was a far less demanding affair for the timekeepers. Steve got a flyer in Red, followed  and soon to be passed by Craig in Yellow, Leon and Martyn holding station in Green and Blue respectively. Some hot laps from all, but no more changes in position till the end. But the big excitement was who be on which step behind Craig? Steve and Leon were very very close on time, and as the laps counted down, it was anybody’s second step. There was much celebrating from one of them, and much groaning from the other as they both finished their heat  - have a look at the pictures to decide who got it!