[woodcote]

Facing Rob in the C Final were Deborah (blue), Pete (red) and Matthew (white)...

   

Deborah was off the line first and led Rob, Matthew and Pete through the opening laps - all four on a similar pace. It was exciting to watch. The pack started to fall apart when Deborah went off on lap 7 and then Pete crashing out of the lead on lap 8. That left Matthew and Rob in the gutter lanes fighting for the win, but with Deborah the fastest car on track and trying to close the gap....

   

It was a cracking battle over a dozen laps, Deborah continuing to chip away at the gap - and we suddenly had a three-way race for the win. The drama all happened in a couple of laps... Rob had increased his pace and eased past Matthew. Deborah saw her chance, but binned it on lap 19. Matthew tried to respond, but crashed out on lap 20...

   

Rob could finally take a breath, bringing his Viper home to victory after another perfect run on yellow lane - and a massive score of 26.55 laps.  Deborah had another late off, giving Matthew second place. Pete was a further lap back, having not enjoyed the track all night.

Sadly, Isaac had nabbed yellow lane for the B Final. Rob had to make do with white, with Gareth in blue and Terry in red...

   

The first four laps  of this race were very close - Terry leading the first time through, then Isaac led, then Terry again and finally Gareth. By which time Isaac was stranded trackside, receiving repairs and Rob was about to crash out of contention. That left it up to Terry and Gareth in the middle lanes to entertain us...

   

Both were on almost identical pace, never much more than a few hundredths of a second difference through the line. It was an enthralling chase - Gareth leading and Terry following. It wouldn't go to the finish line like that - Terry went off on lap 18 and again two laps later. The second one was crucial, as Gareth would be off track for six seconds on lap 23, allowing Terry to catch right up again. Given this huge opportunity, Terry didn't take it - crashing again on the next lap. Gareth cut his pace and limped to the line, delighted with his win. Rob had an excellent run in white, but it was only enough for third.

Gareth stepped up to yellow in the A Final, where he'd face Keith in blue, Andy in white and Oliver in red...

   

Qualifying had been so close and the top two continued their speed-fest by rocketing away from the line. Both had wanted blue lane, but Andy was managing to keep pace in the early laps. Going all out for the win, Andy blasted past into the lead on lap six. Keith tried to respond, but crashed out at the hairpin on lap 8 - a corner Andy could take faster. Backing off slightly, Andy spun at the 'wiggles' a lap later, letting Gareth slip through...

   

Andy's pace saw him back into the lead two laps later and on lap 12 he led Gareth by half a second, with Oliver and Keith exactly a lap back after their early offs...

   

Lap 13 was unlucky for Andy - a first of three offs in four laps in the wiggles, followed by two more later. John was kept busy with the marshalling, but it was the end of Andy's challenge. Now Gareth led with a minute to go and just under a lap lead ahead of the charging Keith. Gareth knuckled down to execute a perfect run on yellow lane, averaging around 4.300 second a lap. Keith was faster, banging in some 4.0s. As the clock ran down, it looked like Gareth would just about make it...

   

Gareth's times had drifted out into 4.4s as his concentration levels began to hit overload... Keith managed his fastest lap - a 3.849 - on the penultimate lap and a 3.956 saw him lead by 0.094 of second as they passed through the deadstrip for the final time. As the power was cut, this is where the cars stopped...

   

A brilliant recovery drive by Keith, who was dead last and a lap down with not much more than a minute left. Oliver was just half a lap behind in third, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 21. However, it was bad luck for Gareth, who so very nearly pulled off what would have been one of the best yellow lane A Final wins at the Barn.

   
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Huge congrats to Keith on his pole and win - and to Isaac on a massive junior medal victory. After a frustrating qualifying, James cleaned up impressively in Tuners and the Rookie competition.

   

Championship tables and a bit of video will follow.

A very big thank you to everyone who came along and made it another brilliant night at the Barn. Special thanks - as always - to the set-up team, race control crew, and to all those who stayed behind to pack away. We couldn't do it without you.