I had missed the fourth round because of Hannah's graduation up in York but, coming back for round five I noticed a HUGE difference. Summer at last, as it was very hot and sunny and I was in T-shirt and shorts. Most unlike 2012! We also had young Dickie with us on this night as well as racing on Monday nights.
So it was straight into 2 litre Saloons which is an all SCX affair and I started off brilliantly. Off on lap one in my first race for one point. It didn't get much better for race two; second one off for two points! Then calming down and hanging on when everyone else was falling off I grabbed a second place finish in race three only to do a silly spin off from second in race four. In my fifth race, a two car pile up held me up substantially whilst it was cleared and I then went flat out for most of the race and caught DaveH right on the line at the finish. Unfortunately he was a bumper ahead so I finished in third place. Another second place finish followed in my last race but three poor races saw down in the points pile. It was reasonably tight at the top with the podium finishers all taking their best scores on the night. Taking three wins with his Seat Leon Mk1 on his way to first place with 32 points was Jim. I don't know how old that car is but it was very quick. Close behind in second place on 29 points and also taking three wins was Keith running a Honda Accord. In third place with the remaining two wins and also Honda Accord mounted was Will with 26 points. Yet another Honda racer came in fourth in the shape of DaveH on 22 points with me and Dickie tied on 19 points up next. Dickie was actually running something different in the shape of a BMW. PJ, with a Honda led in Trigger, with a Mitsubishi 11-10. This was one of Trigger's two best scores on the night.
So onto TransAm (open) and my Scalextric Camaro scorched off to three consecutive wins in my first three races. Without really understanding why, it seem to lose a bit of grip for the next two races and although they were exciting and neck and neck I ended up third in both of them. My grip levels came back to me for my last race and I was leading that pretty comfortably when an unfortunate incident happened. A car had spun off half a lap behind us and the marshall hadn't realised how quick the leaders were bearing down on it. Neither had I as it was across my lane as I hit it and went off! So first became fourth and three points were lost. I ended up tied in first place with DaveH on 29 points. He took two wins with his quick Camaro. Just one point behind us and taking the other three race wins was Keith with his Pioneer Mustang. A brilliant effort by Dickie saw him taking his best score on the night with 22 points on his way to finishing in fourth place running a club Camaro. He was just ahead of a tied Jim and Will who were on 20 points. Jim was running a SCX Barracuda but for some reason it didn't have the grip and speed it has had in the past. Will was running a club Camaro. Behind them were PJ and Trigger. PJ was also SCX Barracuda mounted but he also seemed to be suffering with grip and power problems as well.

At the break it was Keith on 57 points from Jim 52, DaveH 51 and ME on 48 points.
For the 70's Rally I've been running a Spirit Golf. I've wondered why this particular Spirit car seems to have no speed and DaveH (who also has one) and I agreed that the car is severely hampered by it's "wooden" tyres. Well actually Dave thought they were probably made of concrete! Fortunately for me this is a class where sometimes a lot of people full off and that's what happened in my first race as I ended up second. Generally, the lack of pace and sometimes the unfortunate front de-slotting syndrome makes this car very much a midfield contender and that's what happen in most of my races. I actually had a good race to second in my fifth race and I did lead another race briefly at one point. What was remarkable about this class on the night was how competitive it was, as we ended up with five race winners out of a field of eight. Top spot went to Keith who took three race wins on his way to 28 points running a SCX Fiat 131. One point behind him was Jim who took two race wins running a SCX Fiat 124. One point behind him was DaveH who took a race win running a SCX Escort. One point behind him was Will who took a race win also running a SCX Escort. I didn't take any race wins but was fifth, three points behind Will. Dickie, on 16 points was just ahead of PJ who actually took the last race win on his way to 14 points. Both were running SCX Escorts. This left Trigger to record the second of his best scores on the night, albeit another 10.
So onto the Open class and it goes without saying that I have really enjoyed running my Race Across America (RAA) Spirit Dallara LMP1. I cleaned sweeped the class with six wins and another perfect 36 points and only had a bit of trouble in my last race. I was actually running in third early on when the second place car fell off and I crashed through it and carried on to find the first place car off and I crashed through that and carried on. Slightly traumatic. The car certainly took a battering but I was well enough ahead to take the win. In second place on 26 points with one race win was Keith running a Ninco Subaru and just one point behind him was the other race winner, Will, running my Scaleauto Radical LMP2. Jim turned up with a Slot.It Porsche 956 in the "Boss" livery which I really like. It was a fast runner but seemed a bit loose sometimes. DaveH had a fast Slot.It Nissan but that seemed to suffer with the same problem as he only managed to score one more point than Dickie running a Ninco Ascari. PJ with his Slot.It Ferrari 312 led in Triggers Slot.It Nissan 13-9.

At the end Keith took the overall win on 111 points. I had bounced up to second on 106 points thanks to my terrific Spirit Dallara. Jim dropped down to third on 101 points from DaveH and Will tied on 96 points. Dickie on 75 led in PJ on 51 and Trigger on 36 points.