[woodcote]

We planned to get in two more stages before lunch and began with Muddy Flats - a new routed layout making its debut at the event...

   

Sixteen laps required plenty of concentration to hit the brakes at the end of a long straight and then not to over-egg things on the twisty return. Sixty-four laps with four cars proved exhausting!

   

The two boards are cleverly joined by a jigsaw-style arrangement, presumably CNC-routed. All-in-all it was a very well put-together stage.

Next was Welsh Dragon - a hill climb of sorts - a sloped board with added elevation at the top and then some tight twisty bits through Abbott Woods at the bottom...

   

And it was fast. I watched John attack the stage and tried to follow suit - not doing badly with my three Ninco cars, which were all within a second and a half of each other and comfortably within the one-minute target time...

   

That was lunch - or an extended tea-break really. Time to relax and get some fresh air on what was becoming a warm and humid day. I also spotted this magnificent 3D-printed rally box in Gulf colours...

   

The Quarry Stages was our first destination after lunch...

   

Twelve laps round this small, twisty track took precision and patience. I probably attacked this one a little bit too hard and going fast sideways isn't always the quickest way round. It did look good and was a lot of fun!

   

Six laps round Verulamium Farms was our penultimate test. Although not quite dating to Roman times, vintage Scalextric Classic track was fixed to a board, painted with textured paint and a more modern Ninco cross-over thrown in for good measure. The placement of that crossover was just one of features that mean you couldn't take this track at almost full throttle - although John completely nailed it and was a class apart on this stage.

   

That just left 'Keep Off The Grass' - a nice big routed stage...

   

It was a little down on power, but that did make it a slightly easier challenge for our final run of the day. Having started Verulamium Farms first, I was last on this stage - banging in four decent time to end my day. The Lancia 037 came close again to beating the Subaru and all four cars were a lot of fun...

   

Totting up my totals, the Subaru was quickest of the four over the nine stages - still sounding a bit rough after its gear issues last time out - followed just seven and a half seconds slower by the 037. The Porsche was disappointing, another eight seconds adrift. It wasn't as smooth as at Farnborough. 

There were still three groups on the stages when we finished. the other tracks were being dismantled and loaded into the van. There was also time for some more Scalextric pre-production samples to be photographed, this time the 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline. Sadly, there was no power connected to the track, so we couldn't experience the blue neon underglow...

   

And there was time to get all the trophies, awards and magazines ready for the presentations...

   

The wait continued...

   

Eventually, the results came. From our group, John went home with a whole pile of trophies and framed prints - getting at least a podium in each class and winning the rally overall with his SRC 914. Wayne was mentioned several times in the top ten run-downs, but missed out on a podium. As did I, but that is a very rare occurrence. I did get a ninth place in 80s/90s for the Lancia 037, rounding off an excellent day for that car...

   

Huge thanks to everyone at St Albans Slot Car Club for hosting and providing nine excellent stages. Thanks to Seb and Alan for running the day and the championship - and to everyone who came along for creating a great atmosphere and plenty of fun. 

Next stop is Worthing on Saturday 18 July.