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Our final third round race is some back-to-school AFX Formula One action this Wednesday. Autumn is upon us and we have the excitement of the championship run-ins.

A brand new track has been designed, inspired by the West Bend circuit in South Australia...

   

Doors open at 6.15pm for practice, heats start between 6.45 and 7 depending on numbers, so we can finish the step-up finals by 9.30. Race fees are £3 adults, £2 for under-16s. We ask all racers aged 13 and under to bring a responsible adult with them. Club cars and controllers are always available for no extra cost. We have suitable cars and a vast array of spares for sale in the club shop.

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Race Report - F1 Qualifying Heats

We welcomed three new HO racers to our September F1 race. Frankie was racing at the club for the first time, alongside his dad Ryan, who has one HO race under his belt - albeit ten years ago in March 2014, when he finished sixth in the F1 race. Isaac and Simon raced at the WHO Digital Wednesday last month and were back for their HO debuts. In total, there were 25 drivers on the grid, ready for the challenge of a new layout...

   

The West Bend inspired track was fast, with some tricky corners and certainly offered something in every lane. Super-Gs were quick round three quarters of the track, but many of the Mega-G+ cars were dominant in the central technical section, which was pretty busy for the marshals all night...

   

Big scores were posted during the first pair of heats, but there was some wreckage for a few of the Super-G+ runners, including June's F1 winner Darren. At the half way point, Pete led Ryan by less than half a lap, Gareth a further lap behind. Ollie was top junior and debutant Simon was top rookie and top club car racer...

   

There was a lot of movement in the second half of the heats, some improving, some tumbling down the order. Darren's expected rise up the table did not materialise, with a second heat written off with a dislodged shoe and spring. That left him hovering in the midfield...

   

At the top, Pete held off Jerome to give us a Burley 1-2. Ryan held on to the final automatic A Final spot, followed by Terry, Andy and Gareth who were separated by 0.4 of a lap. It was even closer further down the field - John, Tracy and Simon equal on 51.6 laps and their dropped score determining qualifying position. Ollie qualified as top junior in ninth place. Nathan was top rookie in an excellent eleventh and Simon best of the debutants and club car drivers in eighteenth...

   

The finals will follow...

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And here's what happened...




Full report and results to follow...

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Finals - Part 1

Twenty-five racers gave us eight full finals, starting with the H Final - rookies Ryan (red) and Frankie (yellow) taking on veterans Gary (blue) and Alex (white)...

   

In his last race before heading off to uni, Alex had finally settled on a car which seemed okay-ish. He'd use every F1 model in the Ferrigno pit box during the heats and had a difficult time, qualifying last. Alex made his debut at the Barn when he was a similar age to Frankie - and it was the latest WHO youngster who was first round to lead the opening lap. A brief off for Frankie on lap 2 let Gary through and his Super-G looked to have the better of the Mega-G+ field...

   

However, Gary crashed on lap 8 and again on lap 10, this time the sort of lengthy off that had blighted his evening. That meant Alex led from Frankie and Ryan. With his experience, Alex got his Mega-G+ to the end without any errors. The same couldn't be said for Frankie and Ryan - and it was only a couple of late crashes that handed his dad second place. A very promising debut performance by the youngest racer on the grid.

Alex stayed in white lane for the G Final, where he'd face Rob (red), Kev (blue) and Isaac B (yellow)...

   

Kev was the Super-G runner in this race and he made the worst possible start when he binned it on the final corner of the first lap. Alex would find himself out front alone when Rob and Isaac both crashed the second time round. Having stayed in white, Alex already had a good rhythm and kept chugging round...

   

Kev and Isaac were quicker over a lap than the leader, but neither could keep their cars on the track - and nor could Rob. Kev's crashes came just as he was closing in on the lead - shortly after half distance and then right at the end. Whether he had the time to grab victory at the chequered flag, we'll never know - but Kev had a rueful smile as he finished the race. Rob managed a more consistent race than Isaac and took third by three quarters of a lap.

Alex remained in white lane for a third race in a row - the F Final. He'd line up against his dad in red, Tracy in blue and Simon with the yellow club car...

   

It was Alex who led Tracy, Simon and John on lap one. This was an incredibly close start to the race, John gradually shuffling himself into second place, but with Simon and Tracy on his tail. It was lap eight before anyone crashed - and that spelled the beginning of the end for Tracy's challenge, two offs followed by a lengthy stop for repairs. The order was now Alex, John and Simon - all on the same lap...

   

The second half of the race was more scrappy - a crash for Simon and two for John left them in a frantic fight for the runner-up spot. Both crashed in the dying seconds, but it was John who grabbed the place by just a fifth of a lap. Ahead, Alex cruised to another error-free victory.

Alex was certainly getting his money's worth tonight, starting his fourth final and eighth race of the evening in white lane. Also in the E Final were Ash (red), Kevin (blue) and Isaac F (yellow)...

   

Could any of them get the better of the step-up kid? Yet again, Alex was quickest off the line and led the first lap. Isaac needed a push at the start and Kevin crashed second time round. However, Ash looked like he was going to give Alex his sternest challenge so far. Lapping at a similarly rapid pace, Ash shadowed Alex through the first half of the race...

   

Then, on lap 9, Ash crashed and suddenly found himself a lap down. Any chance of victory now depended on Alex making an error - which he hadn't done so far in the finals. In fact, it was Ash who'd crash again, leaving him nearly two laps adrift at the chequered flag. This was another awesome, faultless win for a delighted Alex! Although Kevin was quicker over a lap than Isaac, he just missed out on third thanks to a few too many offs. Nonetheless an E Final appearance must have pleased him.

White lane was waiting for Alex in the D Final - as it would be right up to and including the B Final. However, the competition was getting stiffer all the time - Darren in blue, Nathan in red and Mike in yellow all having their eyes firmly on the win...

   

Alex got another great start, but he still trailed Darren by half a second as they crossed the line a lap later. Darren had won last time out in June and was desperate to make up for some hugely frustrating heats. Once he got fully into his stride, Darren's Super-G was taking nearly a second a lap out of Alex...

   

It would turn out to be Alex's best score of the night - his 20.05 the best score of any Mega-G+ runner - but his only chance of a fifth step-up was if Darren suffered the mechanical issues that wrecked his heats. It didn't happen. Darren ran through to the end without incident, recording a massive 23.80 lap score in blue. Nathan finished just a lap behind Alex for a very good result and taking top rookie honours.

That was the end of Alex's run in white lane - five races that will live long in the memory! Could Darren now carry on the white lane adventure and get to the A Final?

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Finals - Part 2

Darren moved to white lane in the C Final, where he'd face Matthew (red), Oliver (blue) and Ollie (yellow)...

   

Top junior Ollie was Darren's closest rival in the early stages, leaving the other two in their wake. Oliver lost touch on lap 2 with yet another off - he'd really struggled with consistency tonight. Sadly, Ollie was the next to fall - a long stop on lap four taking the pressure of Darren. The youngster would now need to refocus on catching the others. Matthew was the nearest challenger to Darren until lap 8, when he became the third racer to crash. That left Darren comfortably ahead of Oliver...

   

The battle for runner-up spot was fun to watch - all three having a chance. And if Darren's mechanical gremlins returned, it could suddenly become the race of the win. An off with 40 seconds left did give Darren a brief scare, but he was a country mile ahead, passing 23 laps again at the chequered flag. Offs for Matthew and Oliver towards the end made things exciting for second - Matthew managing to keep a lap ahead and Ollie missing out on third by 0.45 of a lap.

   

It was white lane again for Darren in the B Final. So far it had been the lucky lane, but could Darren get past top guns Terry (red), Andy (yellow) and Gareth (blue)?

   

Darren led Terry and Gareth through the opening laps. Andy lasted just under three laps - crashing at the final corner and Gareth blasting the stricken Super-G half way to Portsmouth. Both Gareth and Terry then had wobbles, losing time to the leader. Terry's crash spawned several more, dropping him out of contention, but safe in third place...

   

The race settled down with Darren leading, hoping his car would hold together - and Gareth desperately limiting his losses and waiting for disaster to strike Darren. It seemed a forlorn hope until the penultimate lap - Darren went off in the final corner, re-slotted on the wrong lane and smashed into turn one. Gareth came through, passed Darren's stricken car and got away with one of the most fortunate victories we've seen at the Barn. It was so nearly a perfect recovery for Darren - from D final to A final - but he was thwarted at the last.

That gave a delighted Gareth yellow lane in the A Final. He'd face pole-sitter Pete (red), Jerome (blue) and Ryan (white)...

   

Pete and Jerome powered off the line and gapped Gareth and Ryan immediately. Jerome overcooked things on lap 3, losing almost half a minute on repairs. That left Pete out front and putting half a second a lap on the chasing pair...

   

Apart from Jerome's big off, it was an error-free race until Gareth crashed with just 5 laps to go. That handed the runner-up spot to Ryan - meaning white lane had five wins and three second places in the eight finals - and only Ryan picked it! Gareth cruised in third, with Jerome fourth. However, no-one got anywhere near Pete, who set the biggest score of the finals at 24.25, although shy of his 25.1 on the same lane in the heats.

   

Huge congrats to Pete's hat trick of pole, win and fastest lap. And a brilliant drive from Ollie to grab top junior and top Mega-G+ runner...

   

Here are all the stats from the finals...

   

Championship tables will follow at the weekend.

A very big thank you to everyone who came along and made it such an enjoyable evening of F1 racing. Special thanks goes to the set-up and race control crews and to all those who stayed behind to pack away at the end. We're back with more HO racing - WHO Mod and WHO Tuners - on Wednesday 2 October.