[woodcote]

   

Our final HO event of the year saw a select bunch of racers turn out for the end-of-term goodbye to the Barn. With almost all the championships decided, it was all about the race. Of the sixteen drivers, Oliver K was first to pick up his silverware as our WHO junior rookie of 2025...

   

Oliver also had the bonus of running all four heats before his home time at 8pm. We have a revised format for 2026, which will mean Oliver and any other under-10s can complete their races at the start of the night.

Voted at our AGM last month, the racers' choice for our final AFX F1 championship round was our Silverstone layout, harking back to the 'proper' configuration of Britain's Grand Prix circuit...

   

This puts the drivers in an unusual position, looking down the length of the Barn...

   

It's a fast track and relatively short, so plenty of scope for carnage - of which there was plenty during the heats. This is how things looked after 8 of the 16 heats...

   

The climax to qualifying was super-exciting, with a three-way battle for third - and the last automatic A Final spot - decided by the smallest of margins...

   

Congrats to James for an amazing result with a borrowed Super-G and to Kev, who showed the potential of the Bulldog F1 chassis under a special dispensation. Isaac and Kevin also raced the new chassis in advance of its official inclusion in the class for 2026.

   

The five finals all offer up the usual drama. Kevin finally got to grips with the Bulldog in the E Final, but couldn't beat Rob's Super-G. Mike managed a double step-up, first dispatching Tracy and then pipping Kev in the C Final with a huge score for his Mega-G+ car. The B Final was a cracker, with Terry prevailing ahead of James and Ollie.

   

That just left us the A Final, which turned out to be an odd one. A-Final adrenaline + a fast, challenging track = carnage. Andy soon found himself out front and continued to build his lead, until a late-race power drop let second-place Pete unlap himself and start reeling in the leader. Andy asked if anyone was on his lane, but the other three drivers were convinced they were driving their cars. The chequered flag fell with Andy scoring a huge score - but he knew he'd just pipped Pete to the line. A post-race post-mortem showed Oliver's body-less chassis on Andy's lane. The result below is adjusted...

   

Our twelfth pair of HO medal winners for 2025 were Andy and Ollie...

   

Which meant our 2025 AFX Formula One champions were Pete and Ollie...

   

Pete and Ollie were also crowned 2025 WHO Club and WHO Junior champions, with James winning a hotly-contested WHO Rookie of the Year battle...

   

Huge congratulations to all our 2025 champions! The final tables will follow in due course.

As always, big thanks to everyone who came along and took part in a most enjoyable final HO round of the season. Special thanks goes to the set-up and race control crews and to those who stayed to pack away - it was a pretty early night this time. 

It all starts again on Wednesday 7 January 2026.