After a bit of bench racing and meeting and greeting, the first race up was for contesting. This was unmarked sedans. Technically, it was for any model which was issued as a ‘road’ car. No numbers, no decals, and a good honest driver and even a companion on occasions. Most joined in the spirit of the event and there was a good cross section of seldom seen models on the grid most of the time although some couldn’t resist racing naked GT’s. Amongst the entries were Autoart Nissans and Mazdas, Carrera rods and hotrods and a couple of well prepared Ferrari GTOs too. Also out to entertain was an Austin Maestro and a Veedub kombi!!! Nicest model on the track had to be a classy Porsche Boxster!
Racing got off to a traditional Q32/Legends start with a jumpstart and the race management system still set to one thousands practice laps, traditional mayhem followed and the tone had been set for the evening. Marshalling too was of a calibre often dreamed about and it was a shame Eggy wasn’t there to plant some well chosen words of wisdom! Eventually normality resumed for a brief period and the heats rolled on.
While some where busy tearing up the track in front of them, others like myself set about some honest driving. The Maestro was abandoned in my second heat for the Pontiac GTO which acquitted itself well with an honest fourth place. Heat four saw it and the Mazda throw their tail shafts and I was back at the mercy of the Maestro. Rob had developed a passion for Norm’s Policar (Proslot) Porsche GT2 and was just a blur in the distance to some of us. Paul and Glen had a couple of GTO’s cleaning up and for the rest, staying on was the main achievement of the afternoon.
John decided to attack the race with a new tactic, That was to race his model with one and a half braids!! Unusual but we have to accept he knew what he was doing!!?? Even if the model did baulk at the start of his heat! Jordan practiced his Los Angeles police tactics by boxing people in and then punting them off the track quite unceremoniously! Peter’s raison d’etre was to be a mobile chicane which he achieved quite admirably. I just had problems with red lane controller!
Norm’s master stroke was his personal rendition of the Louisville slugger when he slapped into the back of my Maestro and set it headlong into the scenery!! Fortunately there was a marshall on hand and I was soon back in the race and back in the way! . The last heat was run and Norm took line honours with Rob close behind and Justin taking third place. The moral of the story is. In a handicap race, DON’T be the handicap!
Next up was Rally NC1. A popular class for the group and on the Boondall track it was essential to stay in front to stay out of trouble. Justin seemed to have several issues with the marshalls in this event but then that’s nothing new, I had ongoing issues with the controller on red lane which no one else seemed to worry about?? There was a moment when it looked like the line-up might be all Ninco Celicas but there were a few choice rally cars to split them up.
As the evening progressed it became obvious that there some amongst us that had committed themselves fully to the revelry and perhaps a little less to the racing. On more than one occasion a certain apron bedeck impresario was more than late to the track, delaying proceedings appreciably. Claiming cooks duties as the distraction.
Next season I think we will have a wooden spoon awarded to the person who regularly holds up heats. But then again, I think Peter may well have his name all over it! Sorry Pete, only joking! Once again, red controller was to prove my nemesis, and no amount of protestation was to change anything. Indeed, I wondered if ANYONE was listening???
Finally, the computer spat the names out and this time Justin was able to claim that his driving skills were the product of rigorous training. Rob took second place again and Paul was a close third. With numbers burgeoning we departed to the food hall for a magnificent feast of sausages and kangaroo pâté’s. After a good degree of feasting it was time fore the presentation of the season’s trophies.
Many thanks to Bob for once again keeping the points and sorting the trophies, without which we would be just a bunch of slotties meandering through our hobby. And as always, Bob’s calculations were meticulous and precise and the results put all matters beyond dispute. And this was the indisputable results for the Q32 – Slotcar Legends second half 2008!
Firstly, the award of ‘top contender’ went to yours truly. This was the accumulation of season one and season two results.
The Subaru Challenge was won by Paul Stephens on 71 points, I took second place with 69 points and Justin Parkinson took third with 51 points
Ken stands in for Alan
Group ‘B ‘ winners were third, Bob Seeney 219 points, second, Ken Cosgrove, 231 points and first Alan Page, 316 points. Well done Alan
Overall group winners were, third Justin, 352 points. Second Phil 431 points and first Paul with 522 points.
Paul has appeared consistently and has performed consistently and is going to be a very hard act to beat in the future. In keeping with the promotion and relegation rules to keep groups even. Alan, as winner of group ‘B’ has been promoted to group ‘A’ and Eggy has been relegated to Group ‘B’. That’ll give the ‘B’ boys something to focus on!
After due process and with the trophies having been presented it was back to the track for event three. This was an invitation to run your favourite car. The idea was to run some models which would normally be shelf queens and to just give them an airing in a competitive line up against other loved ones, and hopefully there would be no wrecks or tears before bedtime!
Once again there were a couple of people who missed the point but in general all was good fun and humour. Glen braved at least one heat with his ‘Racer’ Vesty Racing Ferrari 250 LM. Paul dragged out an Ostorero Offy for a heat and I experimented with two or three of my ‘babies’ one being the Merc W154 which had trouble getting round a particularly tight turn four!
I was also particularly maltreated in heat two by people who should have known better and my poor RS200 braved the storm to finish its heat. Once again the red controller took a toll of my results and I’m sure my name was off the bottom of the results list!! Peter lived up to expectations and decided to race a Formula one in this class?? But the results were moderately surprising and Justin romped home first, followed by Ken and Glen!
Jordan !! You're on GREEN!!!
It cannot be denied that the end of season is always looked forward too and this year was no disappointment. Many thanks to Jordan for hosting and all who showed up. And a welcome to newcomer Justin Sweet for making the effort. Lets hope this bodes well for the future and we’ll see you all in the new year!
Merry Christmas.
