Race Results & reports
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Points table
Round 1 - Mornington Park - 5/11/24
1st - Rob Golley
2nd - Dave Bantoft
3rd - Bruce Thomas
1st - Rob Golley
2nd - Dave Bantoft
3rd - Bruce Thomas
Race Report - Round 1
Well, in a packed program tonight there were two brand new series on the cards and the first of these in tonights schedule were the Group A touring cars. There was the usual anticipation and expectation than goes with bringing out either a brand new car, or an old reliable runner and putting your trust in the preparation (or lack of) to see you through the first round.
There was a wide variety of cars in the field as they were all assembled on the grid for the usual pre-series photo shoot. There were BMWs, and BMWs, and BMWs, and even BMWs to make up half the grid. To be fair, the other half of the grid was quite interesting with Jags & Rovers & the occasional Commodore, Sierra, Nissan……..and a Maserati.
However, it was no surprise to see the top 3 placings fought out between an all BMW group of drivers and it was an emphatic win in round 1 for Rob Golly in the first of the 635 BMWs with his total of 114 laps. This was 4 laps clear of any other car this week with the battle for 2nd & 3rd fought out between DB & Bruce on a shared total of 110 laps. In the end it was DB who grabbed 2nd from Bruce in the mobile art installation, who had to overcome the slight inconvenience of missing his entire front axle for the last part of heat 1.
Only 2 laps back from the BMWs was the first of the rest in 4th. Rhys in the Maserati BiTurbo managed to notch up 108 laps in a consistent performance and showing promising signs for the series. Another 4 laps back to 5th place, and it was Phil on 102 laps, although a much higher place could have been achieved if not for the regular occurrence of people randomly taking his car off the track & banging it quite hard on the track edge during heat 2. Once the problem leading to this “fix” has been sorted we can expect a jump up the results table in upcoming rounds.
Luckily for Phil, he was quick enough in his other 2 heats to still manage to finish 1 place ahead of Caine in 6th. Phil was very keen to maintain bragging rights over the grandkid, which he did by 3 laps….this wouldn’t last past the end of the night !
Anyway, that later, Caine’s total of 99 laps was shared with Dave Gray, but Caine took 6th on track ahead of Dave in 7th. Ben in the Sierra was another 3 laps back on 96, and this was enough for 8th place, 1 lap clear of JB in the lovely looking, but difficult to drive Commodore in 9th.
Tom took out the final top 10 position with his 88 lap total, which left yours truly down at the tail end of the field in 11th on a mere 71 laps. In a sign of things to come for the writer, it was the pinion on a brand new car that gave up the ghost and will require some rebuilding work over the next week.
Well, in a packed program tonight there were two brand new series on the cards and the first of these in tonights schedule were the Group A touring cars. There was the usual anticipation and expectation than goes with bringing out either a brand new car, or an old reliable runner and putting your trust in the preparation (or lack of) to see you through the first round.
There was a wide variety of cars in the field as they were all assembled on the grid for the usual pre-series photo shoot. There were BMWs, and BMWs, and BMWs, and even BMWs to make up half the grid. To be fair, the other half of the grid was quite interesting with Jags & Rovers & the occasional Commodore, Sierra, Nissan……..and a Maserati.
However, it was no surprise to see the top 3 placings fought out between an all BMW group of drivers and it was an emphatic win in round 1 for Rob Golly in the first of the 635 BMWs with his total of 114 laps. This was 4 laps clear of any other car this week with the battle for 2nd & 3rd fought out between DB & Bruce on a shared total of 110 laps. In the end it was DB who grabbed 2nd from Bruce in the mobile art installation, who had to overcome the slight inconvenience of missing his entire front axle for the last part of heat 1.
Only 2 laps back from the BMWs was the first of the rest in 4th. Rhys in the Maserati BiTurbo managed to notch up 108 laps in a consistent performance and showing promising signs for the series. Another 4 laps back to 5th place, and it was Phil on 102 laps, although a much higher place could have been achieved if not for the regular occurrence of people randomly taking his car off the track & banging it quite hard on the track edge during heat 2. Once the problem leading to this “fix” has been sorted we can expect a jump up the results table in upcoming rounds.
Luckily for Phil, he was quick enough in his other 2 heats to still manage to finish 1 place ahead of Caine in 6th. Phil was very keen to maintain bragging rights over the grandkid, which he did by 3 laps….this wouldn’t last past the end of the night !
Anyway, that later, Caine’s total of 99 laps was shared with Dave Gray, but Caine took 6th on track ahead of Dave in 7th. Ben in the Sierra was another 3 laps back on 96, and this was enough for 8th place, 1 lap clear of JB in the lovely looking, but difficult to drive Commodore in 9th.
Tom took out the final top 10 position with his 88 lap total, which left yours truly down at the tail end of the field in 11th on a mere 71 laps. In a sign of things to come for the writer, it was the pinion on a brand new car that gave up the ghost and will require some rebuilding work over the next week.
Round 2 - Gotham Park - 12/11/24
1st - Adrian Gray
2nd - Phil Kalbfell
3rd - Dave Bantoft
1st - Adrian Gray
2nd - Phil Kalbfell
3rd - Dave Bantoft
Race Report - Round 2
Well, after the magnet-gate scandal in the Historic NASCAR round had finally been put to rest & tensions had once again dissipated it was with a refreshed feeling of optimism that we approached the running of the Group A series safe in the knowledge that surely lighting couldn’t strike twice.
........How wrong we were.
After having run a nice perfectly legal Scalextric XJS in round 1, Tom decided in his wisdom to crack open a brand new Scalex Sierra & give that a run…..with no changes whatsoever……which obviously included the item that caused so much contention in the first series.
As a response to the goings on during this weeks racing, some track owners are considering the introduction of some more efficient magnet testing equipment as a strong deterrent to this evil practice in the future.
The simple introduction of a electro magnet, similar to that pictured below, will work by immediately removing (vertically) any magnetic effect cars from the track as they pass under the tester, and then leave them suspended above the track for the remainder of the round to serve as a timely reminder to anyone else considering the use of these devious devices….
Well, after the magnet-gate scandal in the Historic NASCAR round had finally been put to rest & tensions had once again dissipated it was with a refreshed feeling of optimism that we approached the running of the Group A series safe in the knowledge that surely lighting couldn’t strike twice.
........How wrong we were.
After having run a nice perfectly legal Scalextric XJS in round 1, Tom decided in his wisdom to crack open a brand new Scalex Sierra & give that a run…..with no changes whatsoever……which obviously included the item that caused so much contention in the first series.
As a response to the goings on during this weeks racing, some track owners are considering the introduction of some more efficient magnet testing equipment as a strong deterrent to this evil practice in the future.
The simple introduction of a electro magnet, similar to that pictured below, will work by immediately removing (vertically) any magnetic effect cars from the track as they pass under the tester, and then leave them suspended above the track for the remainder of the round to serve as a timely reminder to anyone else considering the use of these devious devices….
Actual racing summary –
Adrian turned up for round 2 & brought his tried & true JPS XJS, which was a winner on the track with his 101 laps, & had the added bonus of being a very good scrabble hand. The 2nd big Jag of the series, Phils, showed its true form this week as well and took out 2nd spot, 3 laps back on 98. In 3rd (& redeeming himself after NASCARS) was DB on a total of 97 laps. His BMW was the first of the results for this make, which so dominated the round last week.
This week they would dominate the middle part of the results as we shall see. In 4th, Bruce Thomas on 96 laps (BMW). Same lap but in 5th, Callan Thomas (BMW), and in 6th spot this week, and on 93 laps Rob Golley in a ….wait for it…..BMW. So that’s 3rd to 6th taken care of by the Bavarian Motor Works.
Rhys Filbee sadly broke the run in the Maserati by finishing 7th on 91 laps, just 1 lap ahead of yet another BMW, the writers, in 8th on 90 laps for the night.
We finally had some variety in 9th, with the Commodore of JB on 89 laps, 1 lap ahead of Dave Gray in the Rover in 10th with Caine in the Skyline in 11th on 86 laps.
Ben had some lead wire issues after heat 1 & this put paid to his night back in 11th, with the final driver Tom Males racking up some extremely impressive lap times, which unfortunately didn’t count.
Adrian turned up for round 2 & brought his tried & true JPS XJS, which was a winner on the track with his 101 laps, & had the added bonus of being a very good scrabble hand. The 2nd big Jag of the series, Phils, showed its true form this week as well and took out 2nd spot, 3 laps back on 98. In 3rd (& redeeming himself after NASCARS) was DB on a total of 97 laps. His BMW was the first of the results for this make, which so dominated the round last week.
This week they would dominate the middle part of the results as we shall see. In 4th, Bruce Thomas on 96 laps (BMW). Same lap but in 5th, Callan Thomas (BMW), and in 6th spot this week, and on 93 laps Rob Golley in a ….wait for it…..BMW. So that’s 3rd to 6th taken care of by the Bavarian Motor Works.
Rhys Filbee sadly broke the run in the Maserati by finishing 7th on 91 laps, just 1 lap ahead of yet another BMW, the writers, in 8th on 90 laps for the night.
We finally had some variety in 9th, with the Commodore of JB on 89 laps, 1 lap ahead of Dave Gray in the Rover in 10th with Caine in the Skyline in 11th on 86 laps.
Ben had some lead wire issues after heat 1 & this put paid to his night back in 11th, with the final driver Tom Males racking up some extremely impressive lap times, which unfortunately didn’t count.
Round 3 - Sorell Creek - 26/11/24
1st - Dave Bantoft
2nd - Rob Golley
3rd - Phil Kalbfell
1st - Dave Bantoft
2nd - Rob Golley
3rd - Phil Kalbfell
Race Report - Round 3
As supper duties were an even more pressing priority during the 2nd round of the night, I saw even less of the Group A round than I did of the NASCARS, and so will have to use my very limited creative writing skills in writing up this report based almost entirely on seeing the end results sheet……almost.
I did however have a close up view during my final 2 heats of the driving tactics of DB this round. Seemingly endless instances of cars being left in his wake strewn all over the track, with the unlucky drivers (Adrian, Callan & myself) left to negotiate the carnage at regular intervals.
I can only assume that this tactic was quite successful though, as at the end of the nights racing DB had totalled 99 laps to take out the round win by a lap from fellow BWM teammate Rob Golley on 98 laps in 2nd.
It was a battle of the big cats for 3rd between the Jaguar XJS of Phil & Adrian on 95 laps each, and it was Phil who took the place on track position from Adrian in 4th.
On 91 laps and in 5th this round, Caine finished ahead of a 2 way struggle for 6th & 7th between Ben & the writer on 91 laps. Once again it was the downhill that saw Ben coast past my own stationary car on the way around the hairpin to grab the position. I’ll have to do something about my brakes & gearing !
Dave Grays Rover was just 1 lap back in 9th on 90 laps for the night, with Rhys in 9th on 89 laps in the Maserati.
In 10th & 11th & in unfamiliar positions, Bruce & Callan, each having a breakdown on Blue lane putting paid to their chances on the night. Well, in actual fact, Bruce had sabotaged any chance of a series result himself by running a different car to the earlier rounds.
In 12th and with a total of 68 laps, Toms ANZ Moffat Sierra suffered from the occasional de-slot which was enough to make interested onlooker Roger Mahoney smirk with satisfaction.
As supper duties were an even more pressing priority during the 2nd round of the night, I saw even less of the Group A round than I did of the NASCARS, and so will have to use my very limited creative writing skills in writing up this report based almost entirely on seeing the end results sheet……almost.
I did however have a close up view during my final 2 heats of the driving tactics of DB this round. Seemingly endless instances of cars being left in his wake strewn all over the track, with the unlucky drivers (Adrian, Callan & myself) left to negotiate the carnage at regular intervals.
I can only assume that this tactic was quite successful though, as at the end of the nights racing DB had totalled 99 laps to take out the round win by a lap from fellow BWM teammate Rob Golley on 98 laps in 2nd.
It was a battle of the big cats for 3rd between the Jaguar XJS of Phil & Adrian on 95 laps each, and it was Phil who took the place on track position from Adrian in 4th.
On 91 laps and in 5th this round, Caine finished ahead of a 2 way struggle for 6th & 7th between Ben & the writer on 91 laps. Once again it was the downhill that saw Ben coast past my own stationary car on the way around the hairpin to grab the position. I’ll have to do something about my brakes & gearing !
Dave Grays Rover was just 1 lap back in 9th on 90 laps for the night, with Rhys in 9th on 89 laps in the Maserati.
In 10th & 11th & in unfamiliar positions, Bruce & Callan, each having a breakdown on Blue lane putting paid to their chances on the night. Well, in actual fact, Bruce had sabotaged any chance of a series result himself by running a different car to the earlier rounds.
In 12th and with a total of 68 laps, Toms ANZ Moffat Sierra suffered from the occasional de-slot which was enough to make interested onlooker Roger Mahoney smirk with satisfaction.
