[$Bill]

Some good racing action so far.  It’s good to see everybody back at the track!

My cars took a leisurely drive trough Florida courtesy of the US postal system and spent 3-4 days in sunny Miami.  I hate having them delay the event for everyone else.  If they don’t make it by tomorrow, perhaps they could run a few match races after the event.  Provided that the other competitors haven’t already loaded up an headed home by the time they get there.

$Bill

[woodcote]

Micro Scalextric Super Stock 6.0 - Elimination rounds

The first of today's Micro Scalextric classes is the ultra-fast Super-Stock 6.0.

Round One of the eliminators saw twelve cars lined-up, with the top and bottom qualifiers going first...

   

Rebecca comfortably beat Andy Phillip's Mini - although the pick-up remains one of the best looking cars in the line-up. The winning margin was 0.211 seconds and the ETs 0.446 and 0.649.

The second race was between the sixth and seventh qualifiers...

   

And it was a close one! At the end, Clive's white Nissan was ahead of Andy Player's green one by 0.009 seconds - their ETs 0.505 and 0.511.

Dropping down to the bottom half of the ladder saw Bill meet Jeremy...

   

A huge upset for Jeremy? Bill's run was a below-par 0.498 and Jeremy got a better start... However, it was the second place qualifier who got to the line 0.012 seconds ahead - Jeremy's 0.507 run wasn't quite enough.

Next were Alan and Jane...

   

Alan's Mercedes was just too good - a 0.039 winning margin and the ETs were 0.469 and 0.508.

Third place qualifier Pete was next - up against Ken...

   

Crazy Ivan got the job done with a 0.466 and a 0.055 second winning margin. Ken's ET was 0.522.

Finally for Round 1, it was Iain and Nico - fourth vs ninth...

   

Nico's Ferrari went sub-0.500 with a 0.499, but Iain was comfortably through to the second round with a 0.035 win and an ET of 0.465.

[woodcote]

Round Two of Super Stock started with the Nissans of Rebecca and Clive...

   

Rebecca was through the finish line first - 0.049 seconds ahead of Clive. Their ETs were 0.450 and 0.497. That meant Rebecca was through to the final.

In the bottom half of the ladder, two quarters and a semi would decide who'd meet Rebecca in the final.

Bill and Alan lined up and gave us a dead-heat...

   

That's the first one of those for a while! They lined up again for a re-run...

   

This time, they both clocked 0.470 seconds... but a holeshot for Bill gave him the win by 0.012. Incredibly close racing.

Could Pete and Iain match that excitement...

   

Iain looked like he had the win... but then Pete came back strongly and passed him. Was it before the line? No... Iain won by 0.010 seconds - his ET 0.463 to Pete's 0.468. Exciting stuff!

That gave us second-place qualifier Bill against fourth place Iain for a trip to the final...

   

It was close, but Iain had his nose ahead all the way - a 0.027 second win, with the ETs 0.458 and 0.476.

[woodcote]

The two silver Nissans of Rebecca and Iain lined-up for the Super Stock final...

   

And this what happened...



That's what a 0.024 second win margin looks like with cars running at 12mph.

The two cars were off the line together, with Rebecca just easing away...

   

And that continued to the line...

   

The crowd knew who'd won - but looked at the scoreboard just to make sure...

   

Congratulations to Rebecca on another Super Stock win for the Sanditon Motorsport 350Z...

   

This is the full ladder...

   

Plus all the stats from the elimination rounds...

   

   

That's it until 7.30pm and the second round of the match races.

[woodcote]

Match Racing - Round 2

Five second round matches started with Pro Stock Magna / Xtractions - Alan and Clive went first...

   

This time, Alan's Camaro hooked things up properly at the start - a 0.657 second run gave him a 0.165 win. He also pushed his speed up to 8.838 mph through the line. Clive's ET was slower than before - 0.819, with 7.035 mph recorded. This one will go to a decider - now re-scheduled for tomorrow, between the pancake races.

Next were Iain and Nico, with the Petty Charger 1-0 up in this match...

   

It was another sizzling run for Nico - 0.574 seconds. He's found one quick AW chassis! The winning margin was 0.190, with Iain's Camaro clocking 0.742. Their speeds were 10.227 and 7.164 mph. That's the match: 2-0 to Nico.

The third pair of Pro Stockers were the two new AW Camaros...

   

This one was soooo close. The cars passed through the finish line side-by-side - Trackmate giving the race to Rebecca's 'California Flash' by 0.004 seconds. The ETs were 0.672 and 0.676 seconds. Rebecca wins the match 2-0.

And now the Nostalgia Micro Scalextric cars, starting with Bill and Alan...

   

Alan's Corvette grabbed the win by 0.021 to set up another match race decider tomorrow. The ETs were 0.424 and 0.435 - their speeds exactly the same as Round 1.

Finally for tonight's match-racing, there was Iain and Rebecca...

   

This was another win for Iain's Ford - he's managed to wring some impressive pace out of it... maybe in touching distance of breaking the 0.400 second mark? The ETs were 0.411 and 0.463 - the winning margin 0.048 seconds. Iain wins the match 2-0.

The first round of Street Stock Eliminators will follow in about half an hour.

[woodcote]

Micro Scalextric Street Stock Eliminators

Seven first round races began with top qualifier Laura and bottom qualifier 'Smokey Joe' (aka Jeremy)...

   

If I hadn't witnessed this race, I'd presume something glitchy had happened with the timing. As it was, both cars went down the strip side-by-side. Had something awful happened to Laura's DBR9? No... her ET was a quick 0.624 seconds. Yet the win had gone to Jeremy by 0.007 - his not-so-smokey Veyron clocking 0.615 seconds. Utterly perplexing... although the motor in the car had suddenly come to life on the warm up - maybe the last of the oil, muck or whatever was burned off. Will it stay quick - or will it be back to high 0.700 second runs? Jeremy has a bye in the next round, so we'll have to wait.

Nothing was going to match that shock - ever.

   

Clive duly dispatched Andy's Alfa in the second race by a comfortable 0.111 seconds. Normal service resumed. Their ETs were 0.619 and 0.723. Pretty quick for the Audi.

Next, we had Ken and Jerome...

   

Ken went sub-0.700, but not quick enough to outpace Jerome's orange Veyron. A 0.651 second run gave him a win by 0.032.

Second qualifier Bill was now the top seed left in the race...

   

Pete's Audi TT managed a quick run of 0.697... but Bill's 0.624 was just too quick. The winning margin 0.089.

Rose and Rebecca met in a tense race: seventh vs eighth qualifier...

   

And it was eighth qualifier Rose who won - by 0.011 seconds. A close one. The ETs were 0.667 and 0.685.

Could Nico manage a sub-0.700 run to put pressure on multiple race winner Jane?

   

Sadly not. But it's been a solid run on debut for the racer from Salzburg. Jane banged in a sensational 0.606 second run to win by 0.114. Nico's ET was 0.721 seconds.

The final first round race saw Sue face Alan...

   

Not spectacularly quick from either of them - Sue winning a tight race by 0.026. Their ETs were 0.684 and 0.708.

Round One over - and everyone still in deep shock from that very first race. Unbelievable... if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

[BAracer]

Gooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllll

[woodcote]

There was still a sense of bewilderment in the crowd - and amongst the crews - after the first round elimination of the Top Qualifier... What surprises would Round 2 throw up?

With Jeremy taking a well-earned bye (and more time on the warm-up block), it was Clive and Jerome who started round two...

   

Jerome was very tardy off the line, Clive getting a nice lead - although Jerome was gunning for him by the end... The finish line arrived too soon for the orange Veyron and Clive had the win by 0.026 seconds - the ETs 0.621 and 0.630.

Bill and Rose were up next...

   

It was a comfortable win for Bill (four legs good, two legs better...). The gap at the line was 0.073 and the ETs 0.615 (getting quicker...) and 0.679.

Finally in round 2, we had Jane and Sue...

   

Jane smashed in a 0.600 to win by 0.073 - Sue's ET was 0.664 seconds. That means both Team Eastbourne cars progressed into the third round...

Round three on this 14-car FIA ladder gives us two semi-finals.

First to go were Jeremy and Clive...

   

Would Jeremy's smoke-free Veyron stay quick? Yes, it did - 0.618 seconds. Was that enough to get to the final? Hmmm... No. Clive smashed it with a 0.604 and a 0.013 second win. That was one very quick semi-final.

Either Bill or Jane would meet Clive in the final...

   

Jane's Nissan was too quick for the DB5 - but it was close. A slender winning margin of 0.021 seconds and ETs of 0.606 and 0.632. Probably the fastest four semi-final times we've ever had.

[woodcote]

Clive and Jane lined up for the Micro Scalextric Street Stock final...

   

And this is what happened...



It was close at the start...

   

And at the end...

   

Really close...

   

But Jane won it - to continue her amazing run of Street Stock results. Congratulations!

   

Here's the full Street Stock ladder...

   

And all the stats from the elimination rounds...

   

   

There ends the first evening of racing... Hopefully - please all cross your fingers - Bill's extra cars will arrive tomorrow during the day and I'll warm them up and get them into the pancake elimination rounds. In any case, we'll be back racing the same time tomorrow - 5.30-ish for T-Jets and 7.30-ish for the Nostalgia Funny Cars. The match race deciders will be in there too.

[Nico]

Congrats to Rebecca and Jane!!!!!!!