[woodcote]

   

It was clear from the start of the shake-down that the Avant Slot Lancers really struggled with the corner pieces that had obstacles fitted - rather like Savage GT's SCX Touareg. Because they were great fun in almost all the other parts of the track, I decided to help them through the tricky bits and see which of the three would come out on top. It was a rather odd, but intriguing battle - ultimately won by Hotlap, 2.4 seconds ahead of the RNLI Lancer and 7.5 seconds ahead of Makem's car.

   

The two Scaleauto Porsche 959 Raid cars were utterly sensational to drive, having the agility of the best SCX cars and plenty of power. They were also the first cars I could safely give some air over the dune. There wasn't much between the two, but I was able to drive James' 959 a little more aggressively and he took the class win by 3 seconds ahead of the Rothmans car.

That just left Top Down's gargantuan Powerslot Hummer H1. A very useful shake-down session helped me understand how to get the monster round the lap without falling off the edges of the track... Once mastered, this was awesome fun to drive! Over five timed laps, the Hummer was a solid third in class - 17 seconds behind the winner, but snatching the final podium spot from Hotlap by 42 seconds...

   

A very enjoyable class to drive, despite the challenges for the Avant Slot Lancers. Thank you to all the entrants for giving me the chance to drive some 'Pro' RTR off-road cars for the first time. I now have a hankering to try some more.

That leaves only one class - the five Open category cars. I'll try and get that wrapped up by teatime.