[Wambulance]

Just one round to go, so it was a pleasant surprise to see two old friends return, Matt and Robin, this gave us 10 racers for the evening.
Jim chose Golfs for the first class, this was a bit of a luck in for me as I had been practising with them in readiness for the new NNR series. Not only that but I was started in yellow with the yellow car the exact combo I had been practising with. So in the first race Tony was pretty shocked to see me giving him a hard time for the lead. I started on a high - trouble was this meant I could only go one way - DOWN , and I did. Class ended with Tony on 33 then Keith 31 and Jim 29.
Richard went for 2CV's, he clearly had never tried to drive this truculent and variable bunch of garlic swingers. A full set of 5s' gave Chris a surprise chance to sport the winners berét for this class, this means he can add the whiff of garlic, stale Gauloises and rank wine to his growing list of good natured attributes in the clubmans class. While all the attention was on Chris it was Jim who sneaked enough points to bring him level in the lead with Tony and Keith, all on 58.
Rubens sought out the Ninco 911s', I can't remember using these before, but I found them a good natured and fast looking class that I hope to revisit. And the results showed a close spread, Jim only needed just 30 for a clear win while the lowest score was a highish 12.
After the break it was Chris's choice of Hornby F1, they did him proud and got him runner up in class to Jim - yes folks by this time it was Jim who was on his way to another - RUNAWAY WIN for the evening. At the tail end Matt had his best class to level Richard with a 14.
As so often happens after getting comfortably in front of me Wez found himself in danger as I pulled myself up to just 3 behind him, so he let out an agonised scream when Robin picked Accords for the final class. It is true that I have done good work with these in the past but the entire class of cars had been given a much needed makeover with new brades and blades all round. I found my first two cars rather flat and could only manage 3s', then the ole' Accord magic returned and I whipped up a string of 5s' to stick one on Wez - YES, that's what I am talking about! Meanwhile, back with the real world Keith had managed to lead the class home with a very slender 29.
So Jim continues his way to take the series we only have one more chance to stop him getting a full sheet of wins. Keith was a strong runner up on the night with Tony a way further behind. In the Clubman's Chris had it all his way and is pretty well sure of taking his first Clubman's Championship. Robin had a a difficult return to action but managed to keep his head as all his controllers played up one after the other. Richard kept off the bottom yet again. Matt was last but his scores showed up something interesting, he had a 4 in every class, if you got a 4 in every race on this night you would come 3rd overall, which goes to show if you are off the pace there is a lot to be said for Wambulance mode.

Bolwextric Racing results updated

 

[Wambulance]

Last round tonight, what's on the agenda?
Jim can't be beat, but can anyone stop him netting the full 98 marks?
"anyone" means, you have the best recent form Keith, no pressure mate!

Chris has the Clubmans in the bag so he has his sights set higher - a podium finish overall. If Tony is a no show then Chris only needs 4th place (by my back of a brain cell reckoning), and that is a possibility because tonight is a reverse direction night and Chris is a reverse direction specialist! Bring it on guys.

Wez has little to gain or lose in either class so will he use tonight to sharpen his already considerable black art skills? Chang on tight everyone!

 

[Keef921]

No pressure felt mate, but unless there is a severe amount of team changing I fear Jim will complete a clean sweep tonight - it's a bit Man U playing in the Conference.

The real pressure is on you to stay ahead of Rubens for 5th place.

 

[Wambulance]

Yeh well, series has finished and it was as predicted: yet another Moy's Massacre. Well done Jim. Runner up in the final round was Tony and this coupled with Keith having an "off" night secured Mr T the runner up spot with Keith a close third.
Even though Chris had a poor reverse direction night by his standards and Wez had a brilliant night Chris still cruised to his first Clubmans win, well done Chris. He was followed onto the Clubmans podium by an undeserved ME and then Wez.

Round 8 saw a new racer, Ruben's friend, James. Welcome to the Club James.
Reverse direction action started with Chris's pick of Pro Trucks and these served him well as he took 3rd in class close behind Tony and Jim. Richard surprised us with and almost full set of 5s', the start of his strongest night so far.
And Rich did even better with his pick for the next round, NC1 Clio's, in which he got a famous win and a runner up finish. Jim took this class from Wez who was also having a brilliant evening. The rest of us except James finished the round clustered closely around 22.
Rubens picked Ninco F1s', he started with a win but it wasn't a brilliant class for him. Again it was a cluster of scores this time in the mid 20s', with Wez getting class honours on 26.
After the break it was Skylines, this pick of Tony served him well, his unremarkable 31 gave him a clear lead over everyone else's average scores.
Jim spent some time shuffling a set of Ninco Subarus that had been lurking unloved in the end cupboard, he nearly succeeded getting a full set working but in the end we had a rouge car in the mix, I think it was a Ninco Citroen. The winner of all Jim hard work was Wez who took the class with 29 and sealed his 3rd place for the night. Another decent class for Richard who had his best night ever finishing with 104 enough to give him 3rd place in the clubmans - Well done Rich.

Results for the series and the Championship are on the web site. The big tables at the bottom show the scores before the missed round adjustment, the final Championship outcomes are on the tables on the side.

The Winter Championship starts on Nov 28th, but please note that the following round will skip a night, that would make round 2 on Dec 26th, that may need confirmation?

 

[Wambulance]

PLEASE NOTE the next round will not be until January 9th.

An interesting start to this Championship, which we are (that means I am) calling 2012 Spring. A round where I just missed out on coming 3rd overall and beat an ex champion, but I suppose the biggest upset had to be Tony coming next to last. Yes, a pretty topsy turvy round, but it almost goes without saying there was someone who never seemed to go that quick but "behind our backs" clocked up at least 3 wins in each class to take top honours by a margin of 26 marks clear of a very well earned 121 by Chris - actually I really don't need to write down the name as you all know who!

Cars wise it was a bit of a Ninco night, with Cobra, Porsche and Indy making up the majority of the classes, with Hornby F1 and Austin Healey (they may also have been Ninco, but I wouldn't know about that).

On the way to a good result by my standards I obviously had loads of fun and also some good racing, I think I found myself head to head against everyone at some stage. In the open wheelers I really tried to keep out of trouble, staying back at the start and then trying to pick off one at a time, this worked, between the 2 classes I only came last once and got 5 second places. In the other classes I tried my best to get a good start (especially if I knew I had a "good" car) and then let the aces slip past rather than trying to hang to the lead - all very boring but effective.

One incident that tickled us all was when I had been battling the entire race with young Rich, it could have gone either way and I just could not get clear of the little bu___er, with one lap to go I fell off and Richard let out a heart felt chuckle which we all heard.

Over the Christmas have a thought for Chris who is having an operation on his knee and may miss a few rounds as he will be unable to drive for a while. So all the best Chris and everyone have a great Christmas. I will be going to Valencia, I say it is to visit my sister but really I will be doing some winter testing ready for next year.

Bolwextric Racing results

 

[Wambulance]

So after a huge Christmas and New Year holiday we finally made it to round 2. The long gap meant that Chris was back from his operation without missing a round - great to see you back Chris but us Clubman racers saw an opportunity denied as this was a reverse direction night - a Chris speciality. So while Chris limped around the unit his cars certainly didn't as he stamped his presence on the series with a comfortable 3rd place overall just behind Tony, can't remember who won (only kidding).

A night with some great racing, but only average class scores, Tony managed a couple of 32s', while Rich, Wez, Keith and myself posted 11 as our lowest scores. We started with Richard's pick, Pajaros, he started with a 3rd place, he best score of the night. Ruben went for the DTMs', the green one was not as dominant as usual (see Escorts later), though Wez took it to a fine win and got his best class on 26. Jim started with a 1 but still went on to take the class with 30. We were all amused when Chris chose Pro Trucks, which he then used to take us all to pieces and win the class with 30, so at break time Jim had Chris not far behind him with Mr T in 3rd spot. With only 51 from 3 classes Keith was having a terrible time.

Keith got us going again with the enjoyable Escorts (now if this wasn't a slot car racing report that phrase could have meant something else much more interesting). I started with the Red Hot Escort (calm down Will, that's enough!), and after a shaky start I was soon challenging for the lead - I was really flying and should have won but over excitedly threw it away on the last lap. I and several others put my uncharacteristic pace down to the car, one of Tony's Purple Spot Specials, but Tony smelt a rat and it was soon discovered that the red lane had been set slightly over voltage all evening. In the final class Jim cursed himself with the SCX GTs', Tony had a great round and managed to squeeze past Chris who had a rare "one" that certainly cost him runner up for the evening.

Great fun all round, and there is room for others to join in, come along to the next round, you don't even need your own cars, it's on January 23rd. Bolwextric Racing scores.

 

[Mr.M]

3.31AM Will??

Are you nocturnal?

Come to think of it has anybody ever seen Will in daylight?

 

[Wambulance]

More a sad person with a cracked tooth situation - actually not painful, but I am dentist phobic, so couldn't sleep. Decided a spell in the office sorting the results and report would induce tiredness, much in the same way that readers of my reports experience.

I have just returned from the dentist, who is most understanding, he does his best to put me at ease. One strategy he uses is translating all those long Latin words he uses when talking to his assistant. One of my back teeth had lost an inside rear quarter, until recently the classic treatment would involve extensive civil engineering, including liberal use of "The drill", or even just taking the remains out altogether. Thankfully Japanese technology has come to the aid of wimps like me, with a material that bonds tenaciously to teeth and filling, and sets in a few moments. A blast of air is the only preparation needed and it was job done in a couple of minutes. It seems that the traditional drill n' fill methods are avoided if possible, as each time you drill you remove part of the tooth you are trying to preserve.

Oh dear I am now well off topic. I did get a bit nocturnal on my Spanish holiday, where people really go to town on New Year celebrations. For us these started at 7pm on the eve in the village restaurant. The first thing is to pay the bill, ours was 350 Euro for 8 of us. Then the food, water and drink start to flow in a slow but relentless way till just before midnight when we all get a party bag, hats, garlands, poppers ....... and 12 large grapes! The idea is you skoff back a grape as each of the twelve bells ring, and then the party really starts. It's dancing to the local band, they are well cheesy, lots of singing along to pre-recorded backing, the only instrumental action is of the 2 fingers and Kimbal style, I have to watch and laugh, everyone from youngsters to ancient great grandparents are having a ball. We leave at 4am, as we have our holiday video to make and a plane to catch, but some will be singing and dancing till 6.

And here is that video.

 

[Wambulance]

For round 3 we had the usual 8 suspects racing, plenty of room for more. If you fancy trying your hand at some racing with a motley crew of top class aces through to idiot also rans come along, remember for this series all the cars are supplied.

Chris had the 1st pick and he went straight for the belligerent 2CVs', this random bunch of garlic swingers need a cool head and a steady hand if you want to score points - which Chris does and did though Wez did manage best Clubmans on 21, a point ahead of Chris. Up at the top it was business as usual as Jim found his trigger finger skills straight out of the box with a winning 30.
Tony has a new set of cars made up of 3 each of Blue White BMW and Orange cars (can't remember or never noticed), these are SCX DTM. Ruben picked these and did well enough to end up at the top of a close bunch of also rans, Tony was tops with 33 and Jim did badly (his standards) with two 1s' he ended up 3rd.
Richard picked Austin Healeys', these are always good racing, Jim was on another planet with a 35 and so by the break he was well away in front, while the also runs were flushed together: Ruben 57, Chris 56, Wez 55 and me 54.
I went for Cortinas', time and action has turned them into a rickety bunch, in dire need of some new rubber they needed luck and a cool head, so that was good for Jim and Chris in their respective battles and not so good for Rich who did really badly - come on boy you know you are better than that!
F40s' were Tony's choice for the final round. And straight away there was a welcome surprise - Richard won the first race, though he was quick to say he thought his blue car had been in a class of it's own. It was, it had better tyres that the rest, and all of a sudden there was a new agenda, either make sure you won with the blue car or try and stop the blue car from winning. It was Ruben who was kicking himself as he came off while coasting to his blue win, and gave Keith that win. I was blue on the last race of the night, the class had been torrid for me with a total of 9 from 5 races. After a couple of laps I suddenly woke up to the fact I was last and I should have been winning, I needed to get a move on. It was easy to storm past the field apart from Mr T who engaged in some sharp race practice and nearly changed me, but I picked my place and cruised off to a win I didn't deserve.
Jim was the night's easy winner with Chris taking the Clubmans' honours again (and this is supposed to be his bad night?). Series points so far. Round 4 is on February 6th - bring it on.

 

[Wambulance]

Round 4, with Wez away I had high hopes to make a good showing in this Bolwextric Cars reverse direction round, Chris has a reputation as a reverse direction specialist and was starting to pull out a good lead in the clubman chanpionship. If I could have a good night, perhaps beating Chris I could turn the Clubmans' tables on their head.

Rich chose Focus, Jim won this class with a meagre 28 followed by Tony, sadly I shared the bottom of class with a surprising Keith, things weren't going my way.
I plumped for modern F1, I started with a 5 and then 4s but in the end I ended up last together with Rich, Ruben and Keith all with 17, up front Chris took the class together with Jim both on 30.
Ruben gave 911 a try, Chris scratched together 24 points but that was enough to win the class - my 17 put me last in class and last on the board - so it was looking like good night to my "good night".
With just 7 racers we decided to add an extra round and so fitted in Chris's Pro Trucks before the break. Ruben did well winning on 28, I seem to remember Ruben picking those so they may be his speciality.
After the break Keith went for Escorts and they gave him a much needed class winning 29, I often do well with Escorts but this time my slide continued with 11, by far the lowest round score of anyone all night. Oh heck.
Jim finished the night picking Golfs, and he won the night on 158, only Chris had kept in touch with him finishing with 147 - WHAT! Rich finished with 104 enough to put me in last place.

Although results wise this was disastrous for me, I have to say I still enjoyed it, I spent my time scrapping with Ruben, Chris and Rich and we had some good races. Congratulations to my rivals Chris who is now firmly in second place in the championship and to Rich who is now in third place in both his Clubmans championships. Bolwextric Racing results.

Next round in on the 20th, on that night everyone will let me win while I ply them with doughnuts and cake (hopefully not miced) - because it will be my birthday.

 

[Wambulance]

R4 saw us welcome 2 new racers in the form of Toby and Paul, welcome to the mad house chaps. Both of them had done minimal racing so we started with the easy going SCX DTM. Wez got off to a flying start with 4 wins to take this class, Tony did poorly by any standard and finished next to last.

Chris picked Pro Trucks and it did him no good, Rich went for Skylines - they didn't do him any good either, but I thought them OK and managed 4 second places - which is excellent for me. Keith won this class with 33.

During the break Jim sorted out a motley selection of Ninco GTs' from the end cupboard, these went better than they looked, on my practise lap I my white lane example seemed a bit special and so I took a chance and went for an early lead which worked and I went on to win the race, I wish more of my plans would work out like that. Tony at last worked out that his highly expensive controller was rubbish and he started winning with an el cheapo model, he looked set to take the class but then got an embarrassing "1" in the last race which sent the toys flying yet again. This left Keith to take the class.

In the last class Keith decided Ninco F1 were what was needed to keep his only challenger for the night, Jim, at bay. A successful ploy, Keith won the class and Jim did badly, even letting Wez through for a surprising second place for the night, well done Wez. But I was having my own battle as I started the final class 1 point ahead of Chris, to beat him would be a real feather in my cap. I started my defence well with a couple of second places but then Chris fought back "as he always does" and we ended up with a race each to go on level points. The money was on me as I had the potentially winning red car and I was soon doing well running comfortably in second place but I knew I needed the win so went for it, but it ended in tears as I crashed out for 2, Chris ended his night with a 5 to seal his place over me - curses!

New boy Paul started the last class with a win, which had us all cheering. In fact both Paul and Toby did pretty well and were starting to amass some useful marks by the end of the night.

Yet another entertaining night with some surprise results - I might even revisit that white Ninco GT to see how it works as an open car, though I am not sure how well it would cope with no barriers to lean on.

Bolwextric Racing results

 

[Wambulance]

Round 6 of the Spring Championship and time to welcome THREE new racers: Chris, Russ and Richard. Welcome Guys. Aha, bit of a clash of names, so for now the new Chris will be known as Khris and little Richard will now be known as Dicky.

Bit of a change from the expected was "no change of direction" so this means that we should finish the series with 2 rounds in reverse direction, this was caused by the unavailability of suitably qualified staff.

New Khris was helped with his choice of Puntos' and he got a win in his 4th race. Wez took the class with 32 with Keith and Jim both on 30. I found the Puntos' far more tricky to drive than I remembered but I managed to start with a 5 and totalled 25 which is a good score for me.

Dicky went for Enzos', these can be "Tricky" but they proved good for him with a win and a class of 21. New Richard got a second place and 16 total in this class. Chris did well with two wins to be runner up with 30. Somehow I managed a couple of wins and general kept my nose clean and I finished the class with a record (for me) 31 - and it put me in the lead at that stage of the night - WOW. As Wez said "Will's on fire tonight!".

Russ chose Bentleys, these looked a bit dusty and rusty, surely a gift to Jim but it was not to be as he crashed to unbelievable 22. Russ had pickers good luck his 16 was his best class. Keith was class victor on 29 with Wez and me on 26. This meant at the break I was still leading the night. Double WOW!

Ninco 911s' were Ruben's pick, he started with a win and went on to 28 enough for a class 3rd, these faster cars saw Jim up to usual speed to take the class with 35 and Keith on 30.

The final round was Jim's pick, SCX GTs', and off he went to win the evening on 143. Keith was runner up with 137. Wez finished the evening by winning 2 races netting class runner up. New Richard did well with 15 to give him a nights total of 70. I had had another "good" round and it was close for 3rd place between Wez and me.

Jim checked and rechecked the scores largely because like most of us - he couldn't believe it - I had finished in THIRD place and on the nights virtual podium - Hooray.

I think the real winner of the night was the Bolwextric series, running club cars and some reverse direction running it provides a more level playing field to give numpties like me a chance. Looking at the evening from my eyes there was a vast range of racers from beginners to highly experienced, all having a good time and with a bit of luck and a level head the opportunity to sometimes run with the big boys.

With just 2 round to go and both should be reverse direction (we need to train up a reverse direction technician), the main Championship is pretty well sorted. But in the Clubmans class, given more rounds like this - anything could happen. Except for the winner, with 2 rounds of reverse action I think that is already sorted.

Bolwextric Racing results so far, next round on March 19th.

 

[Wambulance]

Round 7 saw us racing with the hard core of 8 drivers and in reverse direction.

Jim started us off with Carrera Muscle, he only scored just 31 but this was enough for him to take the class easily with everyone else in low 20s'. Amazingly it was I that lead the stragglers home with a lucky 24.

Mk 2 Escorts were Keith's choice and they brought him no luck and he was on his way to a grim night by his standards. Jim was now off into the sunset without even looking behind at us strung out behind, only Chris was near him with a 26 being 3 behind J.

Tony wheeled out the Nissan Skylines, these free running and tail swinging hipsters are tricky to drive but always make for good racing. It was a good choice for Tony and he dominated the class on 34 with Jim a massive 8 behind. Perhaps Mr T would give the big man a run for his money - did we have a race on?

And the answer was NO. Chris picked the Scalee F1, not a good draw for Tony and it wasn't long before the Bolwextric toys started to fly. Mind you it was a bad pick for Chris too with him, Tony and me finishing the class on 20. Wez and Ruben had their best rounds on 25 and 24 respectively, no need to record who scored the class winning 30.

Wez decided to finish the night with the "new" SCX DTM set. He needed a good score as he was in the middle of a close spaced clump including Keith, Chris, Ruben and myself. It wasn't a good round for Wez and he slipped below "the clump". I had my second lump of luck with a good run including a win. It was Jim that took the class and night with Tony 17 behind - still spitting out bits of rattle to the end.

Another night of enjoyable racing I did well more by luck and definitely not by pace. And my good luck was to continue see below.

You will see on other threads how Jim has been showing me how to run a double check on scores before I publish them on-line, he can't sleep if he knows they are RONG. So I was a bit miffed when I typed the scores in and the spreadsheet said NO, this meant I would have to check to find the error. But my tears of miff turned to joy as it turned out Wez had been allocated a tasty 10 additional points in error, and so I had beaten him on the night. YES! Wez you only scored 14 in your class pick, hard luck mate

Bolwextric Racing results so far, next and last round on April 2nd.

 

[Wambulance]

The final round and a night of average scores with Jim getting the best class score of a lowish 31 in the Modern F1.
Tony and Jim had some good races, which Tony seemed to win most. But towards the end it was clear Jim had the advantage and Tony's toys were starting to fly.
I had a terrible night and after 4 rounds I was clearly last, I had the pick and went for Accords, although I managed a win and my best class score it was the culmination of a dismal performance and I ended up tail end Charlie.
Jim won the evening with Chris a fair way behind. But that second place and Keith finishing the evening 2 places behind him was enough to get Chris the runner up place in the Championship. Chris also easily won the Clubman Championship and has now earned his place racing with the big boys.

I will put the Championship winning tables on the web site later but the corrected podiums are thus:
1st Jim 98
2nd Chris 72
3rd Keith 70

and the Clubmans:
1st Chris 96
2nd Wez 84
3rd Will 76

Bolwextric Racing results are on line and the next Championship will start on April 16th.

 

[Wambulance]

As promised - threatened the web site has now been updated with the championship final outcome - and it is a confirmed three cheers or jeers for Jim and Chris for winning their championships.

Some/one of you will be delighted to see the spreadsheet for the series is available to peruse, this is a pretty strange affair as it is purely for my benefit to provide a feed table for the web site software, it now also features a crude total points checker and a record of Clubmans upgrade status. Remember I only provide the link and file, you do not have to click the link - only click if you really want to.

All the score sheets for each round and a printout of the spreadsheet are deposited with Mr T at the end of each Championship, please ask him if you want to eyeball them.

For the next series the clubmans looks like a straight fight between Wez, Dicky and myself - Hey ho!

Clock that archive

 

[Wambulance]

Round 3 already - and complaints about no forum reports - point taken, here we go.

Firstly a big welcome to two new racers, Colin and Mick. They seemed to enjoy racing each other and finished just 2 points apart. They are to join the Manor Farm Racers as well.

Chris got things going with his pick of Modern F1, and with so many racers without their own controllers, Bolwextric controllers were allocated to each lane, so for many of us the diverse characteristics of the the cars was compounded by the spread of controllers, all great fun as far as I was concerned and a bit of a leveller. Tony got off to a good start, 31 was a clear class win followed by by Jim, Keith and Chris clustered in the mid 20s.
Keith went for American Muscle, I was starting my class in the yellow lane and I shot off into a comfortable lead. Instead of getting overexcited and throwing it away I "managed my lead" just like Jim does and got me a real live win - no kidding folks. The pick was good for Chris and he finished the class 2 behind the winner Jim who got 30.
Colin was helped to chose the diverse SCX DTMs where having 3 tyres makes you one of the quickest cars? Only Tony came anywhere near Jim's winning 32.
During the break I helped Mick with his choice of Accords, now I know what you are thinking but my advice was they would give him and Colin a chance to blossom. I was right they both scored 17 buy far their best class scores. OK so I did get my best score, but I should have done even better as I threw away a near certain 6. But my class leveller advice had and even greater affect than I could have anticipated as Chris won it on a low 28 while Ruben's and Dickies 15s was enough to put them last in class.
Tony picked the juddery Skylines to end the evening, these jumpy little beggars are more tenacious than they appear and this led to the best racing of the night with Jim coming up smelling of roses (we wish) on 33.
A good natured night, where after a slow start I finished pretty well, Dicky started matching me point for point and I thought we were in for a Clubmans upset, Wez was not arround. But then Dicky went a bit crashy n smashy and threw it away. Near the end Dicky did get a big cheer when he raced Tony closely for several laps till Tony and a pram full of toys got thrown away. Come on Dicky - you CAN do it.

Another winning night for Jim with 149, Tony 10 behind and Chris 3rd on 131. I took the Clubman's honours with 106. Next round will be a direction reverse on May 28th. Wez though I love you, don't come back too soon!

Bolwextric Racing results

 

[Wambulance]

Round 4 saw just 7 racers to take the challenge forward, could be the heat got the better of others, though it must be said the MFR stadium is always delightfully cool whatever the weather

After I put some cars on the track facing the wrong way for the Nth time Jim said how sad I was and I must be losing it. Well get this folks - I can remember at one stage saying "that's something for the blog" - I can't remember what it was - help me out guys. And of course that means that Jim was absolutely right again!

So reverse racing - a Chris speciality. And he was going for it, as soon as he was in the door it was a quick hello and then he was on the track and flying, in no time at all he had 115 laps of reverse direction under his belt and his massive data base stuffed full of track detail. But fate dealt him a cruel blow when Dickies number came up next to his and he had to spend the first laps of each race trying to avoid "The Dicky chang".

And so to race, Jim went for SCX Touring (SCX DTM?), this class levels the scores as some cars are much quicker. And straight away Dicky showed his spots, but in his enthusiasm and due to Chris's foresight his missile missed its intended target and took out the next WHICH WAS ME! And of course Chris sailed off to win the race and Dicky got the first of his 1s. Tony also had a couple of 1s, so he managed 3rd in class but up front with 3 wins and 29 was enough for Jim to take the honours followed by Chris. Ruben clocked 16 together with me to prop up the bottom.

Tony went for Skylines, these wobbly jellies are an acquired taste, I love them not because I do well but because they make for some close racing. Up front the Jim n Chris show was in full swing, Jim was the star with 32 with a great supporting act on 31. Dicky was back row of the chorus has antics did him no favours as he crashed in last, which was to become the story of his evening.

The little Ninco F1s were Ruben's choice, these are great fun but didn't work for Ruben as he didn't do well, but neither did Jim. So who did well? Chris did, with a couple of wins he clocked a winning 26, BUT SO DID I - somehow I had managed a rash of runner up action. We were followed OH SO CLOSELY with Tony and Keith both on 25. Not only did Jim have a surprisingly poor round on 22 this was added in to the sub totals a 23, an error that was picked up by the spread sheet, surprised you didn't clock that Jim?

So as we stopped for the break it was all about Jim on 83 and Chris on 82, were we heading for a big upset?

Keith got us started again with Pajaros, and for some reason I seemed right on the pace and started my first 3 races in the lead, but I failed to accept I was punching above my station and stupidly finished those three races with a total of 5 and went on to have my worst round. Up front the show continued with both "Stars" winning on 28. Could this be Chris's night?

I thought Escorts would provide some good sport and they did, but not for Chris as he had his only 1 of the night, though he managed second in class just ahead of Keith, it was another Moy's munch up as Jim took the class and night with 31 and a total of 142.

Now listen to me Dicky - you are faster than me, but I finished the night with nearly twice your points and I threw away 10 points trying to hang on the lead with the Pajaros. When Chris looked over the score sheet he didn't point to his 12 wins, what he noted was his only 1. You have to cut down on those dastardly ones!

Bolwextric Racing results

Now, what was that thing I wanted to put in this blog?

 

[Wambulance]

We had eight of us for round 5, which is the minimum to have time for some serous biscuit action. Wez had been on a sun bathing trip to Devon (sic) and came back with some Saga Lout beer mats, one of which he presented to me, I shed a tear but avoided an Osca style speech.

Ruben started us with a real curved ball, Ninco Porsche GT. Betting on the outcome of the night based on this class would have lined you up for ran upset, after some excellent racing the class worked out like this Tony 26, Wes 26, Keith 22, Chris 21, Ruben 20, Will 20, Dicky 18 and bringing up the rear was Jim with 14, yep FOURTEEN! In fairness to Jim he may have been distracted by an ample supply of MILK chocolate devils. In real fairness it seemed Jim's controller was going home, releasing the trigger did not always mean no power.

Keith picked Scalee Indy, Jim was now sporting a Bolwextric "party time" controller and started off with 3 wins, but this was another round of close racing which Jim won on a lowly 28. After 2 classes Ruben and Dicky propped up the mid 30s' while the rest of us ended clustered in the mid 40s', with only Wez with his head above the clouds on 52.

The score sheet said we had Honda Civics next, but in reality Chris had picked ACCORDS, which should have been a gift for me - it wasn't and I crashed to my worst score of the night. So did Wes who could only manage an embarrassing 14. Buy the break it was Tony and Chris up front on 70 each with most of us close behind. One sad thing to report is one of the dependable Accords had shredded a drive gear and had to be replaced with a Volvo - I expect someone will fall on their sword for that.

Jim went for SCX saloons and he ended the class well clear with the highest score of the night, 33. In this round I collected a bit of a coup (by my standards):
Soon after the start of a race I realised I was last and some way behind Tony and Chris who were in lanes either side of me and were going nip and tuck for a victory. My last position was also 3rd as everyone else was off. Slowly my bird brain worked out I had nothing to loose, so I went for it. For some unaccountable reason I was far quicker that the battling giants and quickly caught and passed them for a famous victory. With them racing side by side I had no choice but to "just pass the buggers" but couldn't understand why one of them didn't take me off. Turns out Chris had thought Tony would knock me off, while Tony had been so surprised to see me going at speed that I past before he realised what was going on. I recon Tony had been like a rabbit caught in my headlights

I had the last pick and much to most peoples annoyance (we had already had open wheelers) I went for Modern F1, I often do well with them - I didn't. By now the Moy's Magic was well up to speed as Jim took the class from Wez.

If, at the end of class 1 you had put money on Jim you would have done well as he won the night by a huge margin on 133. Dicky came last, but he had been working on NO ONES and he did clock up a reasonable 82.

The next round is a reverse direction, Chris has come close to winning one of these perhaps it will be his night?

Bolwextric Racing results

 

[Wambulance]

Sadly no Ruben or Wes, so just 6 racers who ran 6 classes on 5 lanes (black out) in reverse direction.

Keith, had been laid up for a week with a ferocious summer flue, but he managed to leave his bed to come racing - what dedication. AND he got the first pick, Pajaro. Chris was straight out of the reverse direction box with a win on 25 followed by Jim with 23, Dicky won the first race but it ended with EVERYONE ELSE TIED on 18 - WOW!

I went for the Ninco DTMs, these have got to be a grizzled bunch of growlers, Tony had 3 wins and the class on 27, which left Jim on top.

Scalee F1 were up next, Tony's pick which we ran on 9 volts, personally I prefer them on the full Monty, so they are more like real F1s, it doesn't make any difference to my final result which as ever is dire. Tony managed 3 wins but they were not enough to out smart Jim for a class win.

We sneaked in an extra class before the break, Dicky plumped for Austin Healey, despite a last place it was another big J win, Keith had a good round with 5 2nd places putting in a class 2nd with 22 points. So with 2 classes left it was a widely spaced Jim 101, then Tony and Chris with the rest of us all around 70.

Chris thought Pro Trucks would be good, they were, but not for him. This was by far my best round and in the last race a chance for my only win of the night. The race quickly came down to Jim and I alone in a bit of a tussle for the win, Jim was just a little in front but I quickly ascertained he was not just cruising and I was in with a chance of victory. I gradually reeled him in and came level - and came off still with a lap to go, ah well, another one given away. AND I gifted Jim the only 30 of the night, my 22 was a commanding runner up with everyone else in the teens.

Jim had the last pick, these were DTMs, it goes without saying of the SCX variety, but what can be said was "Jim had a rubbish round" with 2 last places, most wins going to Keith and Chris.

So not a round win for Chris yet, but to be in with a chance against Jim and Tony has to be impressive form and I am sure that story has not ended yet. So with 2 rounds left Jim has things pretty well in hand, he has won every night. But runner up is very tight between Chris and Tony. With Wes missing rounds I would have to really mess up not to take the Clubmans - but messing up is a speciality of mine.

Bolwextric Racing results

 

[Wambulance]

With Tony flue bound and Ruben still away it was just 6 racers for round 7, Jim soon whipped us into shape and we opted to use the 4 middle lanes and focus on getting in as many classes as possible.

I started with the Scalee modern F1, still on 12v we had some good races. Good racing was to be the order of the night, true some races should have been put forward to the Guinness Book of Records for shortest race ever, but many went the full distance and with a lot of close racing about. Keith and Jim shared the honours for this first round.
Jim won his pick of NC1 Touring but I was a close second, my best round of the night and meant I was in 3rd spot after these two rounds. Wes set his form for most of the night by clocking the worst class score of just 5, never mind Wes it could have been worse - just!
Pajaro were Keith's choice and he shared a win with Chris.
We encouraged Dicky to go for 2cv, I think we wanted him to get the coveted "4 in class" award, he didn't. Keith won with 14, Dicky was last but his 6 was a score that could easily happen with this class.
Wes thought SCX Touring might save his skin, they netted him 11 points but that was not enough to save his bacon, Jim won while Keith's 8 whas by far his worst and got him a class last, it also meant at the break Jim had just overhauled Keith for the lead.
Chris went for Pro Trucks, these gave us some of the best racing of the night with the scores clustered between Keith on 13 and Wes on 7.
I got a second choice, as SCX 4x4 had been picked for another night Jim suggested I go for them. We managed to find/make 4 fairly even cars. More close racing ending with Jim on 12, 8 being the lowest.
Saxo didn't prove winning for Jim, Keith took the honours with 13 and it was again close with three others on 10.
Keith had the last pick, and he needed to pick well as he was just a point behind Jim and this was to be the final round. The race for last place was also close with Dicky just 4 behind Wes there was a shock last place in the offing. Keith went for more open wheel action with Indy Car, and jolly good they were to. Many races with a close four to the finish. But there was no upset, Jim's 15 was the best score of the night and Wes had his joint best of 11 to keep him out of Dicky's clutches.

So with a round to go, Jim cannot be beat but it is very close for runner up between Keith and Chris, Chris is to miss the final round but Keith will need to drop a score so it will be close. I was best Clubman on this night and means I will be Clubman Champ.

Final race is is on July 23rd, and with Chris away we might be struggling for numbers, so turn up if you can please.

Bolwextric Racing results.