I was slightly concerned that people would find the Germany v Italy Euro2012 match too much of a draw for enough people to turn up for slot racing but seven of us turned up on a June night for round three that was actually quite warm for once. So warm in fact we didn't need to turn the heating on!
As ever we start off with 2 litre saloons which has become a SCX saloon class so is full of Honda Accord's with a sprinkling of BMWs and Alfa Romeos. All the cars are quick but for some reason the Honda normally seems to have the edge, which I think has something to do with the wheelbase. So it was perhaps a bit of a surprise that Jim's BMW took four wins and came top of the class with 34 points, his best score on the night. Mind you Jim and SCX cars go together very well so perhaps it wasn't such a surprise. Chasing him hard all the way was Keith, who took the other three class wins with his Honda Accord on his way to 33 points, one of his two best scores on the night. There was then a big gap to third place which I was surprised to find was me on 21 points. I was running my Alfa Romeo 156 and I couldn't quite decide whether I had my 'dreaded' controller problem or it was a guide problem. I decided in the end that the two prongs that come down to the guide aren't seated right, which will need to be sorted for my next round. Despite this, my Alfa was a good midfield runner apart from one race when I got "pinged off" by PJ at the starters hairpin as I was positioning myself to overtake him on the inside at the next corner. Will was one point behind me running a club Honda. Grouped fairly close together were DaveH on 15, PJ on 13 and Trigger on 11 points, all running Hondas as far as I can remember.
So onto TransAm (open) which was very good for me last time out with four wins but, it wasn't quite the same this time around with not a class win in sight. DaveH took the class win with four race wins running his Scalextric Camaro to 32 points, his best score on the night. I don't know what else he has done to his car apart from put "Wasp" tyres on but it really was blisteringly fast. In second place with one race win was Keith on 28 points with his Pioneer Mustang. PJ took third place on 25 points, this being his best score on the night, including the other two race wins with his modified SCX Barracuda. I was just one point behind him having also managed the same manoeuvre at the starters hairpin in my third race as I did in the previous class i.e. be on the outside of him as I lined myself up for the overtake at the next corner. Same result, "pinged off". Still I did achieve three second places with both my Camaro and Mustang, although for some reason my cars didn't seem to have the same speed on the night as before. The other three runners were a bit behind us led by Will on 18 points from Trigger 13 points and Jim who seems to have scored just 7 points. Why Jim got such a low score I can't remember especially as I have him down as running a Pioneer Mustang.
Anyway, at the break it was Keith on 61 points from DaveH 47, ME 45 and Jim on 41 points.
For the 70's Rally class I had run my Spirit Golf on my motor runner and it didn't seem so rough this time. I actually surprised myself by gaining two second place finishes in my first two races, although I have to admit that everyone else fell off. With everyone staying on (literally) for my next two races another lack of speed in my car showed itself up with two fourth place finishes. I was rather pleased that, notwithstanding the speed issue, my car seemed quite driveable compared to the previous round. I got another second place finish and was pipped for a fourth second in my final race by Will who came charging past me on the last lap. My score of 25 put me in third place which was quite amazing really. Taking the top spot with the second of his best scores on the night of 33 points was Keith who took three class wins running a SCX Fiat 131. Jim was in second place on 31 points with his SCX Fiat 124 even though he took the other four race wins. Will took another 18 points running a club SCX Escort to lead in DaveH on 15 also with a SCX Escort. Trigger took his best score on the night of 14 running a SCX Fiat 131 to lead in PJ on 11. At the finish Jim had bounced up to second place and DaveH had dropped down to fourth overall.
So onto the Open class. Unfortunately, I didn't get my perfect score of 36 this time around although I did take the first five race wins on the trot. In my last race I rather bogged down at the start and Jim scorched away with his Slot.It Lancia LC2. I got passed a couple of other quick starters and put in some blistering laps to catch up with Jim. Unfortunately as I did so, Jim hit the starting lights gantry and crashed out just as I was about to come pass, which wiped me out as well. The start light gantry has caught us all at various times so perhaps we should try to get it mounted on the barriers. Anyway I still ended up top of the class with my best score on the night of 33 points. Perhaps the moral of the story is not to get stuck behind the others at the start. Will came in second running my Scaleauto Radical LMP1 to 28 points, his best score on the night, which included a race win and possibly should have been two. Jim actually came in third on 24 points with his yellow "Marledeau" Lancia LC2 which was actually very fast and provided fierce opposition. Keith took the final race win on his way to fourth on 21 points with his Ninco Mosler. PJ was also running a Slot.It which I think was a Nissan (not sure) but had his usual problem of keeping it on the race track when it mattered. Someone else with a very quick car was DaveH running a Slot.It Nissan. Unfortunately for him, he also had PJ's habit of coming off when he was well placed and ended up with only 14 points.
At the end it was Keith on 115 points from ME 103, Jim 96, Will 84, DaveH 76, PJ 66 and Trigger on 48 points.

I will miss round four as I will be up in York for my youngest daughter's graduation ceremony so I won't be racing for a month.