[Gareth]

A Final

   

Pete (Super G+) chose red lane for his pole position while Keith (Mega G+) had gone for blue.  This felt like it would be a classic confrontation.  Keith’s MG+ cars always seem made for these twisty tracks while Pete can wring the neck of an SG+ in an almost unmatched manner.  Oliver (Super G+) has been a consistent feature of the A Finals this year and he’d be going from yellow with Ryan feeling pumped and confident that white lane could give him a double victory.  

   

Immediately Ryan took the lead of the race with Pete hot on his heels, both of them putting in eye scorching laptimes. 5.2 for Pete, 5.3 for Ryan both on just lap 2 of the race. The whole Barn was gasping as we tried to comprehend how the cars were staying on track at this pace!  Behind these two, Oliver and Keith were locked in their own tight battle, Oli having the upper hand until he crashed on lap 5. There were more crashes to follow and poor Oli was forced to settle for 4th place.  A great evening’s work but you could tell he was a bit frustrated.  Keith too seemed slightly mystified that his Jordan bodied rocketship was struggling to match the top 2.  Apart from one crash on lap 10 and the opening 2 laps, Keith never lapped above 6 seconds but he had no answer for Pete and Ryan.  


Meanwhile, the top 2 were fighting hard.  Ryan crashed on lap 6 then Pete crashed on lap 12 and again on lap 16.  That put Ryan back into the lead but thanks to some incredibly quick marshalling, Pete was right behind and lapping faster.  


Both drivers were onto lap 20 as the time ticked under 3 seconds before the unthinkable happened.  Ryan crashed in the esses right in front of race control and as the power cut, Pete was through to Degner 2 and the win.  Less than a quarter of a lap separated the two of them at the finish after an epic battle.  


So congratulations to Pete for the win, Ollie for the junior medal and Matthew and Kevin who took home AFX caps after a random draw.  

   

Thanks as always to the set up crew, the strike down crew and an especially big thank you to Ash.  For most of the heats, he heroically marshalled the Degners and hairpin which was where the bulk of the crashing took place.  A real selfless act and one that should be recognised.  Thanks Ash!  

   

See you all for the final rounds of the season.