Race Report - Finals
25 racers meant eight full step-up finals, starting with Ray (white), Ollie (blue), Dexter (red) and Kevin (yellow) lining up in the H
Final...
Although Ollie had car problems in the heats, it meant he could run a new Turbo-based chassis that may well become a common sight at the Barn over the next few years. He did a great job in this race, getting straight to front and banging in just shy of 25 laps...
Behind Ollie, three Mega-G+ cars battled for runner-up spot. Kevin had a lengthy off at the first corner, letting Ray and Dexter get away. All kept the marshals busy, but Ray had the cleanest race and deservedly finished second. Kevin recovered well to finish third, just ahead of Dexter.
Ollie stepped up to yellow lane in the
G Final - probably the least favourite lane and one that would not suit his car. Steve had chosen red for his Turbo, Ozzy was in blue and Tracy white...
Ollie had the disappointment of a first lap crash at Turn 2, but fought back well. It was Tracy who led a very close three-way battle at the front, until Ozzy slipped through into the lead on lap 7. He'd hold first place for another 5 laps, but then offs for the front two gifted the lead to Steve...
There was no stopping Steve - a totally clean run meant he finished on 25 laps, two and a half ahead of Tracy. Both Tracy and Ozzy had rather crashy second halves of the race, letting Ollie get back into the mix and grab third place.
It was Steve's turn to step up to yellow lane in the
F Final, alongside Isaac in red, Ash in white and Nathan in blue...
The pace ramped up for this heat - and there were fewer errors. Ash was first to complete the opening lap, his nearest challenger Isaac falling on lap 2 and then Steve and Nathan both crashing on lap 8. Ash had survived some very intense opening skirmishes and pushed on...
The tension built as both Isaac and Ash put together near-perfect runs to the line, Isaac's Super-G+ taking a couple of tenths per lap out of Ash's Mega-G+. Under huge pressure, Ash held his nerve and finished the race half a lap ahead of Isaac, the youngster missing out on the chance to challenge Dylan for the junior medal. Nathan held off Steve, taking third place by half a lap and maximum points for the rookie championship.
Ash switch from outside to inside for the
E Final, where Dylan (white) had a clear run at the junior medal. Rob would start in blue and Kev in red...
This was another cracking race - Dylan taking the early advantage, but crashing on lap six. That handed Kev the lead and he had a decent gap to the others - all three having had offs in the opening ten laps...
Dylan was the quickest of the bunch, his Super-G+ dipping sub-4 seconds and relentlessly closing the gap. Kev's Gen6 Mega-G+ was a sitting duck and Dylan grabbed back the lead just after half distance. Kev tried to stay in touch, but crashed twice. Dylan had a perfect run to the line, just shy of a 30 lap score - an awesome way to win your first HO club night junior medal. Kev was second, Rob third and Ash fourth.
Dylan followed Ash from outside to inside for the
D Final. Matthew had chosen blue, Keith red and Mike white...
Dylan was rapid off the line and lead the first four laps. Matthew and Mike crashed on lap three, so it was Keith who inherited the lead when Dylan had a lengthy off a lap later. In this fast and chaotic race, any of the four racers were in with a chance...
Everyone would lead for at least a couple of laps, Mike getting his chance when Keith had his first off. However, the advantage swung to Matthew, who was both fast and found the best rhythm. His race was not without incident - the marshals were certainly busy - but he got to the line first, two laps ahead of Mike, with Keith holding off Dylan for third. That meant Keith missed out on a Gen6 showdown with Deborah in the next race.
Deborah was the last Mega-G+ standing in the
C Final. She started in blue, John in red, Alex in white and Matthew had stepped up to yellow...
This race had everything - close combat, intrigue and late drama. Alex blistered off the line, closely followed by John and Matthew - Deborah losing half a second a lap, but hanging on in fourth. A slip-up for Alex on lap 5 saw John move into the lead, Matthew already having visited the scenery. John was off two laps later, but didn't lose the lead. Alex re-took second, then crashed again and found himself back behind Deborah
Meanwhile, John was fast and consistent, with a very brief excursion on lap 14 giving away only two seconds to his pursuers. Alex and Deborah continued their scrap, for what looked like second place - that was until John and Matthew had a coming together in closing stages...
Both cars hit the floor, Matthew losing ten seconds, but it was race over for John. The lead went to Alex, who kept things clean until the end and finished a lap up on Deborah, who hadn't crashed once. Matthew failed to reach the point of John's retirement, so finished fourth.
So it was Alex who stepped up into yellow for the
B Final. Ryan has surprisingly chosen white, Gareth grabbing blue and Terry happy with red...
The start of this race was incredibly close - the lead changing on almost every lap and all but Alex getting a taste of being out front. Gareth grasped the initiative and set about building an advantage, his challengers falling by the wayside as Alex crashed on lap 7 and Ryan followed a lap later. However, Gareth could not shake off Terry.
It was unlucky 13 for Gareth as he crashed out of the lead and dropped into a battle with Ryan. Terry was fully-focused and would err only once on his way to the chequered flag - fortunately it was an easy off and he lost just two seconds...
Gareth had second, until a very late off left him half a lap behind Ryan. Alex did a great job to finish less than two laps adrift in the tricky yellow lane.
Terry was presented with blue lane for the
A Final. After pole-sitter Pete chose red, Oliver surprisingly went for white and eyebrows were raised even further when Andy chose yellow...
Pete's slammed Super-G+ really suited this tricky track, the pace he lost on the long straights more than made up with speed and predictability in the tight Turns 1 & 2. He'd got through the heats without bothering the marshals unduly. And in this race, he was off the line first and into a first lap lead. It was neck-and-neck with Terry in the early stages, Oliver right behind and Andy settling into his own rhythm in yellow...
Andy's strategy paid off as Terry crashed for the first time on lap 8 and Oliver followed on lap 10. Pete was lapping a tenth quicker than Andy each lap, very gradually building his advantage. Oliver and Terry recovered well, but couldn't close the gap quickly enough and both would have late offs. Pete lapped Andy with a few seconds to go - both went from start to finish without any errors. Oliver was two thirds of a lap back from second and Terry three laps off the winner...
Huge congratulations to Pete on his first HO Nascar A Final win! It was another first with Dylan's junior medal, but certainly not the first time Deborah had won the Gen6 race. Nathan pipped Steve to top rookie honours in what was a very tight battle...
And here are all the results from the finals...
Click image to make it bigger.
A very big thank you to everyone who came along and made it such and enjoyable evening of Nascar racing at the Barn. Special thanks goes to the set-up crew, race control team and to all who stayed behind to pack away. We couldn't do it without you.
Updated championship tables will follow tomorrow. The next HO race at the Barn is round 2 of the AFX Formula One Championship on Wednesday 5 June.
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