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Qualifying Part Two

With Kev's cars qualified, here are the results for the other 3 classes...

   

   

   

And congratulations to our Top Qualifiers!

   

[BAracer]

Jeepers Creepers...Gotta luv Smokey Joe!

And I just noticed the time improvement between ET2 and ET3. Looks like somethings about to blow!!!

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Smokey Joe smoked away on warm-up, as usual. The first two runs started very slow and then was a rocket over the last couple of feet. The third run was just a rocket from start to finish. Who knows what will happen in the eliminators? You have Pete in Round 1 and I wouldn't want to call it.


Match Racing Round One

Anyway, with six matches, I'd better get cracking...

   

Jerome and Kev both had NHRA 4-Gears to race, so this made a perfect match - plus a good opportunity for Kev to get some data with his first 4-Gear build. The first race went the way of Jerome by 0.090 seconds. The ETs were 0.857 and 0.948 - the speeds through finish line 5.375 and 3.989 mph.

   

This match almost didn't happen - but Bill's isolated front axle 'Vette arrived just in time... to be beaten by Ken's 'Cuda. The winning margin was a big 0.226 seconds, the ETs 0.641 and 0.840 - the mphs 7.955 and 5.682.

   

More standard 3-Gears next, Andy's Rat Pack 1 facing Bill's Motown Missile. The first run was close - Bill just stretching a gap at the end to win by 0.032 seconds. The ETs 0.666 and 0.701. The speeds 8.523 and 6.119 mph.

   

Another pair of Pro Stocks - Rebecca's California Flash and Kev's green '55 Chevy... These were slow - but slow is still a match! Kev won by 0.105 of a second, the ETs 1.162 to 1.283 seconds and 3.517 mph to 2.273. These will be going back to the warm-up track before their next run.

   

Iain withdrew his gorgeous Ford 'OutLaw' Hot Rod as the engine had become loose in transit. It does look sensational - and will be going home with a Best-in-Show sticker.

Iain sat out the Micro 2019 races, leaving Rebecca, Kev, Bill and Ken to race. The latter two would start...

   

This looked super-close, Bill edging it at the end by 0.030 seconds. The winning ET 0.447 to Ken's 0.477. The speeds a massive 10.985 and 10.101 mph.

   

Finally, Kev's Pontiac edges Rebecca's Merc by 0.013 of a second. Their ETs were 0.461 and 0.476 - with speeds of 10.027 and 9.588 mph through the finish line.

More match racing later... but next there's 4-Gear Funny Cars.

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Nostalgia Funny Car 4-Gear eliminators

   

Top qualifier Iain crushed the Snake in race one. The gap back to Ken was 0.477 seconds - the ETs 0.696 and 1.144.

   

It was also a convincing win for Bill against Jerome - 0.234 seconds. Bill was close to Iain's ET with a 0.707, Jerome's Ramcharger putting in a 0.935.

   

The third and final Round 1 race was a much closer affair - Rebecca beating Andy by 0.034 seconds. The Bounty Huntress clocking 0.821 to the Pontiac's 0.843. Probably nothing for Bill to worry about...

   

And indeed it wasn't. Bill's Vega beat the 'Stang by 0.094 seconds to tie up a showdown with Iain in the final. His ET was 0.728, Rebecca's 0.813.

Again, the top two qualifiers lined up...

   

And this is what happened...



Oops, I must have knocked the camera. So this is what happened...

   

It was pretty even at the start, the Vega even getting a slight lead...

   

Only for Iain's Whipple & McCulloch 'Cuda to steam through to the line. Okay, the winning margin wasn't quite that big - 0.039 seconds... which for the pancake cars ain't much at all.

So congratulations to Iain on a second pancake win of the day. He has these cars sussed...

   

Here's the Funny Car ladder...

   

And here are the stats...

   

I'll take a break now and return with Match Racing Round 2 and Micro Scalextric Super Stock 6.0 around 7.45-ish.

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Match Racing Round Two

Another full set of matches, starting with Kev and Jerome...

   

Closer this time, but another win for Jerome - meaning he wrapped up the match 2-0. The winning margin was 0.059 seconds, the ETs 0.872 and 0.937 - the speeds through the finish 4.972 and 4.688 mph. It's back to the trailer for these two.

   

Ken looked to be breezing to a second win against Bill in the isolated front axle match... However, one shoe caught a track join and threw him off the track. Bill cruised through in a 0.820 to take the win - clocking 6.291 mph at the finish. Ken's car went straight to the workshop to see if there was any damage. This one will go to a decider.

   

Andy and Bill's X-Traction Pro Stocks were close first time - and they couldn't be separated on this second run. Identical reaction times and identical ETs (0.688) gave a dead heat through the line - Bill making up lost ground with a 1mph advantage. That leaves Bill one-up in the match, giving Andy the chance to square things in round three.

   

Both Kev and Rebecca's cars had been inspected and fully warmed up after a sluggish first run. Both cars had wonky bodies, so there may have been some tyre-rub in play. The second run was smoother - the Camaro setting a scorching 0.653 to win by 0.180 seconds. Kev's Chevy clocked 0.822 and 7.035 mph.

   

The first of the two Micro 2019 races saw Bill wrap up the match 2-0 against Ken. It was close - 0.022 seconds - with ETs of 0.445 and 0.473, plus speeds of 10.298 and 9.569. That's it for these two tonight - job done.

   

The final race in this round was a strange one. Kev was slow to start and Rebecca's Merc got a big holeshot to win by 0.012 seconds - her ET 0.478 slower than Kev's 0.468. It's who crosses the finish line first who wins... This one will go to a decider.

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Micro Scalextric Super Stock 6.0 Eliminators

Top qualifier Rebecca had a bye in Round 1 - the races started with Iain and Jeremy, the fifth and sixth qualifiers...

   

This was very close, but Jeremy led down the strip - finishing 0.013 seconds ahead of the JAGS Jag. The ETs were 0.528 and 0.540 - a minor upset...

   

There was no upset in race #2 - Kev comfortably beating Andy Phillip's awesome Mini by 0.238 seconds. Their ETs were 0.474 and 0.697.

   

In the bottom half of the ladder, Pete's Crazy Ivan hatchback swept past Andy Player's Nissan by 0.055 seconds, clocking 0.495 to Andy's 0.551.

   

And finally for Round 1, Bill beat Jane by 0.051 seconds - the ETs 0.512 and 0.564.

In Round 2, it was Kev who had the bye. Rebecca's first race of the eliminators was against Jeremy...

   

The two Nissans were 0.088 seconds apart at the finish line - Rebecca winning with a 0.450 pass, Jeremy clocking 0.532.

   

It was closer between Bill and Pete - 0.030 seconds. Crazy Ivan won - the ETs 0.478 and 0.503.

Pete was straight through to the final, where he'd meet either Kev or Rebecca...

   

The top two qualifiers had their showdown in the semi-final. Off the line it was extremely close, but Rebecca had extra speed through the finish to win by 0.035 seconds - their ETs 0.451 and 0.482. That gave a final between Rebecca and Crazy Ivan...

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Super Stock 6.0 Final

Rebecca lined up against Pete - Sanditon Motorsport Nissan vs Crazy Ivan...

   

And this is what happened...



It was close at the start...

   

But there was a 0.047 second gap at the finish line...

   

A blistering 12.675 mph clocked at the finish - and another Super Stock win for the silver Nissan...

   

Another medal and visit to Victory Lane...

   

Here's the Super Stock ladder...

   

And the stats...

   

Time is getting tight tonight... So I'm going to run the concluding round of match races and Micro Scalextric Street Stock eliminators tomorrow (Thursday) lunchtime. Tune in around 12.30 for the action. Hope you've enjoyed it so far!

[KensRedZed]

Congrats to the winners so far!

Stunning race coverage! 

My 4-gear must be running on maybe 5-cylinders?

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Match Racing Round Three

For a change, we have four matches going to a deciding third round - and one that might go to a fourth...

In the isolated-front-axle-pancake (IFAP) battle, the coin toss kept the cars in the same lanes at last time. However, a bent shoe on Ken's 'Cuda was beyond repair - and all that Bill's 'Vette had to do was make it down the strip and avoid a red light at the start. A 0.792 run to a DNS gave Bill's slower car the match 2-1...

   

No such mechanical gremlins in the second race...

   


After the dead-heat in race 2, Andy's Camaro needed a win to tie the match. However, the Motown Missile had the edge, crossing the finish line 0.022 seconds ahead and winning 2-0 (or maybe 3-1?). The ETs were 0.667 and 0.692 - the speeds 8.523 and 7.576 mph.

   

Rebecca's orange Camaro had recovered some form after some unfortunate tyre-rub in Race 1. She put in another quick run - 0.656 to beat Kev's Chevy by 0.212 seconds and take the match 2-1. Kev's ET was 0.855 and the speeds 8.207 and 6.715 mph through the finish line.

With Bill having wrapped up on Micro 2019 match already, the final race was again between Rebecca and Kev...

   

Kev's Pontiac was checked for any rear tyre-rub after his poor start in Race 2... However, it was another slow get-away, giving Rebecca a head-start. The Pontiac came back very strong and the two cars crossed the line side-by-side. Who'd won? The Thursday lunchtime crowd looked to the scoreboard and it was the red Merc with a 0.008 second advantage! Rebecca had another holeshot win - her ET 0.480 to Kev's 0.475. The speeds were 9.024 and 10.027 mph. Another tortoise beating the hare.

That's it for match racing this time. The Pro Stocks and Micro 2019 cars will have a full qualifying and eliminator format in March - the isolated front-axle cars will return for some match racing, fingers-crossed Ken's car can be repaired back to its form in Race 1 and three-quarters of Race 2. If anyone else has a suitable car for a match race, send it in.

Next is the final action of the event - the Micro Scalextric Street Stock eliminators.

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Micro Scalextric Street Stock eliminators

Twelve cars gave us a ladder that was rather bottom-heavy - the second to fifth qualifiers would battle it out to meet Jeremy (or whoever could beat him) in the final.

The traditional bout between first and last started us off...

   

Jeremy's Smokey Joe Veyron had a mixed-bag of qualifying runs, but the quickest was enough to be Top Qualifier. This race against Pete's Audi R8 was horribly stop-start... a burst of power coming too late to salvage anything at all. Pete won by 0.046 seconds with an ET of 0.758. Jeremy's 0.806 was on a par with his first two qualifying runs. Ouch.

That really chucked the cat amongst the pigeons - Jerome and Sue now had a great chance to make it to the final...

   

Sue got by far the better start, but Jerome's orange Veyron came back strong... A close 0.036 second margin at the finish, but it was Jerome who took the spoils and becomes odds-on for that final spot. His ET of 0.699 compared to Sue's 0.748.

In the bottom part of the ladder, second qualifier Jane faced Andy's Alfa...

   

It was another woeful run... thankfully not for Jane. Her rapid 0.613 seconds gave a 0.243 winning margin - the Alfa even slower than Jeremy at 0.854.

   

Rebecca beat Mary by 0.047 seconds to get through to Round 2. Their ETs were 0.687 and 0.718.

   

Next, Kev overcame Ken by a comfortable 0.152 seconds. Kev's ET of 0.610 was the quickest of the eliminators so far - Ken's 0.754 certainly not the slowest.

   

Finally for Round 1, Bill's little DB5 beat Iain's stuttering Porsche by 0.167 seconds. Their ETs were 0.633 and 0.793.

Round Two

   

That orange Veyron didn't get the best of starts again... Pete's Audi had a fabulous run to clock 0.703 seconds. Jerome clocked 0.700. But with a holeshot, Pete crossed the line 0.011 seconds ahead! Oh yes - that means the last-place qualifier is going to the Street Stock final.

   

Predictably, Jane beat Rebecca to book her place in the semis. A 0.616 run gave Jane a winning margin of 0.047 over the Porsche, which clocked 0.690.

   

The last Round 2 race was close. Kev got it 100% right with a 0.612 second run - enough for a 0.026 win over Bill's Aston. Bill's 0.633 matched his Round 1 ET.

Who would meet Pete in the final - Jane or Kev?