Group member Terry brought along a meticulously built Slot.it White Audi kitted out in the ‘Infineon’ livery. Terry had also spent some time getting the model balanced and on the track it looked rock steady. Well done Terry. Jordan is a Porscheophile so needless to say he had made a start on relivery of a Proslot GT2 body. Patto must be doing good trade at the moment! I took my Merc 154 for a spin with modified suspension and it seems to have paid off. The silicone sealer carefully applied between the leaf spring and the chassis damps it just enough to allow it to drive smoothly.
So on to the racing. There was plenty of activity on the track leading up to the first event but everyone seemed to be playing their cards close to their chest. No major give aways and comp models being held back for the race. Was this a good idea?? Shouldn’t we be making sure that every thing was going to be ok for the event? Apparently not!
First event was track owners choice. Alan had picked NC1/NC8 touring cars. This included models that had NC1/8’s retro fitted. There were plenty of DTM’s on the track and Jordan’s Scaley Vectra with a patched up light looked threatening but was it going to be good enough? There was a good display of Audi A4’s. Nearly all in the ORIX livery! A couple of Alfa 155’s and a whole bucket full of CLK’s!! I have to admit to being in that group but in fairness, I had trouble getting my model’s new Ninco tyres to hook up so I also raced and old Brockie Volvo 850 with an SCX RX41 in place! Not the quickest but it did work hard.
In the early heats racing was very messy with some people forgetting their road manners but it all settled down a bit later in the heats with some people learning that it’s no use trying to drive through people and staying out of trouble was the best policy. Front runners were the usual faces with Paul, Justin, Kev and Jordan making all the headway. I lost the plot completely and finished in with the group B drivers but that’s how it goes. I loaned my Volvo to Bill for his first heat but he declined the offer subsequently, for which I was quite hurt!
Eventually it was all over and ten heats later saw the truth laid bare for all to see, and it went something like this!!!
NC1/8 Touring Cars Overal Group B Position Position Driver 1. Paul 2. 1 Jordan 3. Justin 4. Kev 5. 2 Peter 6. 3 Ken 7. 4 Alan 8. Phil 9. 5 Bob 10. 6 Bill
Premier Sedans 1. Justin 2. Phil 3. Paul 4. 1 Jordan 5. Kev 6. 2 Ken 7. 3 Alan 8. 4 Bob 9. 5 Peter 10. 6 Bill.
Last heat was the much awaited first round of the Subaru Challenge. This is an event which replaces the Porsche cup from last season. With some loose nit rules it is important to retain a bit of stiffness so the maniacs do not loose the plot. Guidelines are
1. Must be a Subaru!! 2. Must be a plastic IM body 3. Must be a plastic IM chassis 4. Must be plastic IM wheels 5. Must be a plastic IM drivers tray 6. Must have a plastic IM driver and navigator 7. Must have clear windows. (IM = Injection Moulded) The motor, gears, axles and guide are left to the driver, not forgetting it is a non magnet class on wood AND plastic!
The heats panned out and it became a three way fight between Paul, Justin and myself. My Suby was a plain Ninco from eight years or so back. An NC2 and reduced to two wheel drive, solely because it always throws the drive bands off! Paul and I were drawn together in a couple of heats and we traded fastest laps with Murray ‘Wowing repeatedly’. Our last heat saw him very quick behind me so rather than do all the running i let him pass and left him to do the pace making, he eventually deslotted at about two thirds distance and a good two or three seconds marshalling left me to romp off into an almost comfortable lead but Paul is hard to shake and by the last lap he was only a bend or so behind me. I made a mistake and after reslotting had him on my back, but as fate decreed, I didn’t realise it was the last lap and I passed the line a car’s length in front!!
Justin’s times in his heats were good also but probably the lack of any head to head competition caused him to relax a bit. The end results were as follows.
Subaru Challenge – Round 1 1. Paul best lap 10.632 2. Phil 10.653 3. Justin 10.914 4. 1 Jordan 5. 2 Alan 6. Kev 7. 3 Ken 8. 4 Peter 9. 5 Bill 10. 6 Bob
Yet another great round of racing and some good performances from all the field. It is looking pretty obvious who might be taking a trip out of group ‘B’ next season! And an unfortunate Kev who usually does a lot better will no doubt regroup for the next round of Q32!
It must also be appreciated that Alan’s wife Jacqui laid on a sumptuous spread for the guys for which we are most grateful. Nibblies followed by munchies and to top it all, a choice of Meringue and Apple pie and ice cream. Alan too rustled up a first class barbecue and by the end of the evening we had raced AND eaten well!!
Next round will be a Q32 event which Glen will no doubt announce soon
I look forward to meeting you all once again.