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Slot-Racing 2011 For
2011, the Arena Slotstox Club effectively became two clubs - one for each of it's venues: Arena Slotstox 'Comrades' Club with
the primary formula classed as being Metal Slotstox (Parmastox) and Arena Slotstox 'St. Mary's' Club with the primary formula classed
as being Plastic Slotstox (National Slotstox Association specification). With several new drivers Parmastox remained
the main formula and this also restricted time for a second formula at a lot of the meetings.
Slotstox
On
11th January, I raced in round 3 of the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship at the Arena Slotstox 'Comrades'
Club. I was still starting from Red grade whilst all other drivers started from White grade. I scored 35 points in my first
two heats - heat 1, 18 points and heat 2, 17 points. Heat 3 doubled up as a semi-final and I won this scoring 23 points
to qualify for the final. This gave me a total of 58 points from my three heat plus 5 points for winning the semi-final.
I won the final (racing the Slotstox that someone borrowed to win the final ahead of me at round 1!) scoring 20 points for
5 points chart points and a total of 68 points. I followed this up by winning the Grand National, despite starting a lap down,
scoring 22 points. I was up to second in the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship points chart with 124 points.
I also had the highest average of 62 points and remained Red grade. I was joint top of the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter
Series Grand National Championship with 5 points.
18th January - Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship round 4 at the
Arena Slotstox 'St Mary's' Club. I scored 57 points in my three heats - heat 1, 19 points; heat 2, 18 points and heat 3, 20
points. I finished as 2nd highest points scorer in the heats. In a low scoring semi-final I finished 2nd scoring 10 points
with two wins in the last two races with no other drivers finishing for 4 points chart points. In the final I scored 16 points
and finished 3rd for 3 points chart points and a total of 64 points.
26th January - Arena Slotstox
2010/2011 Winter Series Championship round 5 at 'St Mary's'. I started by racing my spare Slotstox which went better on this
track before an engine break saw me switch to my main Slotstox. I scored 38 points in my three heats - heat 1, 15 points;
heat 2, 12 points and heat 3, 11 points. I finished as 2nd highest points scorer in the heats. I scored 12 points and finished
2nd in the semi-final to qualify for the final and add 4 points chart points. I won the final scoring 16 points for 5 points
chart points and a total of 47 points. Having won the final, I started a lap down in the Grand National, scored 11 points
and finished 2nd to score 4 points in the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Grand National Championship.
1st February - Arena Slotstox
2010/2011 Winter Series Championship round 6 at 'Comrades'. I scored 39 points in my first two heats - heat 1, 16
points and heat 2, 23 points. Heat 3 doubled up as a semi-final and I won this scoring 24 points to qualify for the final.
This gave me a total of 63 points from my three heats plus 5 points for winning the semi-final. I finished as runner-up in
the final scoring 17 points for 4 points chart points and a total of 72 points. I remained second in the Arena Slotstox
2010/2011 Winter Series Championship points chart with 307 points. I also had the highest overall average of 61.4 points and
the second highest average over the past three rounds of 61.0 points and remained Red grade. I was top of the Arena Slotstox
2010/2011 Winter Series Grand National Championship with 9 points.
8th
February - Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship round 7 at 'Comrades'. I scored 54 points in my three
heats - heat 1, 22 points; heat 2, 14 points and heat 3, 18 points. I finished as 2nd highest points scorer in the heats.
I scored 20 points and won my semi-final to qualify for the final and add 5 points chart points. I scored 20 points and finished
runner-up in the final for 4 points chart points and a total of 63 points.
8th
March - Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship round 9 at 'Comrades'.
I scored 41 points in my first two heats - heat 1, 20 points and heat 2, 21 points. Heat 3 doubled up as a semi-final
and I won this scoring 28 points to qualify for the final. This gave me a total of 69 points from my three heat plus 5 points
for winning the semi-final. I won the final scoring 22 points for 5 points chart points and a total of 79 points.
Having won the final, I started a lap down in the Grand National, scored 22 points and won this to score 5 points in the Arena
Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Grand National Championship.
15th
March - Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship 10th and final round at 'St Mary's'. Using my second
Slotstox on a track I do not like racing plastic's I scored 22 points in my three heats and was 5th highest points scorer
in the heats. I scored 3 points and finished 6th in the semi-final for 1 points chart point and scored 12 points and
finished as runner-up in the final for 4 points chart points and a total of 27 points. In the Grand National, I scored
5 points and finished 6th to score 1 point in the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Grand National Championship.
I finished as runner-up in
the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Championship Points with 476 points. I also had the highest overall average of
59.5 points and the second highest average over the final four rounds of 56.3 points and remained Red grade. I finished 4th
in the Arena Slotstox 2010/2011 Winter Series Grand National Championship with 15 points. On 26th February, I raced at
the Slotstox and Parmastox Hertfordshire 'Open' Championships held at the 'Comrades' - the first Slotstox and Parmastox
meeting held by the Arena Slotstox Club. This was a relauch of the Arena 'Open' Championship - previously for Parmastox only
- last held in 2008. In the Slotstox Hertfordshire 'Open' Championship I qualified for the semi-finals as the highest points
scorer in the heats with 66 points having scored in every race of the heats: 20 points in my first heat (1st in red and white
lanes, 2nd in yellow lane, 3rd in blue lane, 4th in black lane and 5th in green lane), 21 points in my second heat (1st in
blue lane, 2nd in yellow, red and white lanes, and 4th in black and green lanes) and 25 points in my third heat (1st in yellow,
red and black lanes, 2nd in blue and white lanes and 4th in green lane). I finished as joint runner-up in my semi-final with
19 points (I started in black lane and finished 2nd, 4th in green lane, 2nd in blue lane and 3rd in yellow, red and white
lanes) and qualified for the final of the inaugural Slotstox Hertfordshire 'Open' Championship. I started the final with a
non-finish in my first race in red lane (my first and only non-finish in the Championship!), I finished 2nd in my second race
in red lane and my first race in white lane, 3rd in my second race in white lane, 4th in my first race in each of black and
green lanes respectively and 3rd in my second race in each of black green lanes respectively, 3rd in my first race in blue
lane, 1st in my second race in blue lane, 4th in my first race in yellow lane and 1st in my second race in yellow lane). At
the end of the finaI I had scored 36 points and finished 3rd.
Following
on from the Winter Series and the Hertfordshire 'Open', the Arena Slotstox Club introduced a series to race Plastic Slotstox
once a month - however with new members joining it was decided to focus mainly on Parmastox for the remainder of 2011. On
8th June, I raced in round 1 of the Arena Slotstox Points Championship at the Arena Slotstox 'St Mary's' Club. With my Slotstox
struggling with a low power setting I scored 29 points in my two heats - heat 1, 13 points and heat 2, 16. Of seven drivers
I finished as 5th highest points scorer in the heats. In my semi-final of four drivers, I scored 10 points and finished 3rd
on race wins with 2nd having two whilst I had none to add 3 points chart points. In the final of seven drivers I scored 5
points and finished 5th for 1 points chart point. I scored a total of 33 points.
On 26th August, I raced at the 12th points meeting of the season at
the at the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club. My first meeting at this club since the 2010 Slotstox Suffolk Championship
the previous 16th July. Starting from red grade on the six lane small track, my Slotstox needed a lot of work on the tyres
during pre meeting practice for it to handle but the work paid off with a win in my second race following a non-finish in
my first. I scored 47 points in my three heats - heat 1 19, heat 2 12, heat 3 16 and qualified for the semi-finals as
the 6th highest points scorer. In my semi-final I scored 12 points - I was well placed in two races only
on the last lap of each to be stopped in one and delayed in the other by de-slotted Slotstox - the lost places probably
meant I missed out on finishing in the top 3 to qualify for the final as I finished 4th for 3 points chart points and
a total of 50 points. I was 21st in the points on the third Slotstox Foxhall Points Championship chart of the
season. With the 8th highest average of the season (50) I was top of the Red grade.
14th October 2011 was the 10th anniversary of winning the 2001 Slotstox
World Championship whilst chairman of the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club and not only did this fall on a Friday (the club night
of the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club) but a late meeting arrangement meant that I would be working at my employers Ipswich office
that day! It was also a Slotstox meeting (14th points meeting of the season) and it seemed an ideal opportunity to attend. Unfortunately
this meeting did not go as well as 10 years previous and in three difficult heats on the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club's six
lane big track (a track on which I had raced very little if at all) I scored 27 points - heat 1 11, heat 2
8, heat 3 8 and finished 14th highest points scorer to miss out on semi-final qualification.
I finished 20th in the Foxhall Slotstox Points Championship
with 77 points and with my season average of 38.50 points I remained red grade. With the Wisbech Fen Tigers Slotstox Club not hosting a Slotstox ‘Open’ Team Championship
since 2007, on 12th November the Arena 'Comrades' Slotstox Club, alongside its usual Parmastox 'Open'
Team Championship, hosted a Slotstox version also. I teamed up with Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club members Sharon
Brett and Charlotte Feek to form team 'Gumbies'. In our group of four teams we won two of our three
matches 39-28 (I scored 24 points - all my Slotstox races were on the inside two lanes - 3 in blue lane and 3 in yellow
lane), 39-36 (22) and lost the other 55-39 (13) to finish as runner-up in the group and qualify for the semi-finals. In
the semi-final we lost 51-37 (20) to the eventual winners O.M.B. Racing consisting of Mark West plus father and son Jim
and Paul Glading who won the Parmastox version too!
Parmastox
At
the Hertfordshire 'Open' Championship on 26th February I borrowed the spare Parmastox of Rob Porter due to mine being
unavailable. I won each of my two heats of six drivers and qualified for the semi-finals as a heat winner. In my first heat
I scored 50 points winning 10 of the 12 races only failing to finish in my first race in red lane and my first race in green
lane. In my second heat I scored 30 points finishing seven of the twelve races (1st in my first race in white lane and my
two races in black lane, 2nd in my first race in blue lane, my first race in red lane and my second race in white lane and
3rd in my first race in yellow lane). I finished as runner-up in my semi-final with 37 points (I started in white lane and
won the first race in that lane, a non-finish in my second race in white lane, 2nd in my first race in black lane and a non-finish
in my second race in black lane and my first race in green lane, 2nd in my second race in green lane and my first race in
blue lane, 1st in my second race in blue lane and my first race in yellow lane, a non-finish in my second race in yellow lane
and 1st in each of my two races in red lane) and qualified for the final of the Parmastox Hertfordshire 'Open' Championship
for a third time following 2005 (6th) and 2008 (5th) - when previously called the Arena 'Open' Championship. I only finished
five races of the final but won all those that I did - I started the final with a win in each of my two races in red lane
and led the final before a series of six non-finishes before winning my first race in blue lane and each of my two races in
yellow lane. At the end of the final I had scored 25 points and finished as runner-up as 1st scored 27 points (this being
Rob who had lent me the spare Parmastox for the day!) and 3rd scored 24 points. The scores are kept secret during the final
but subsequent review reveals that three drivers were in with a chance of winning going into the final race and that despite
all my non-finishes only a 2nd place finish in the final race by Rob denied me the win whilst a non-finish by the driver
that finished 3rd in the final helped me to finish 2nd. Having just raced in the Slotstox Hertfordshire 'Open' final, I was
one of two drivers to reach both finals and complete 24 races back to back! Switching between Slotstox and Parmastox together
with respective handcontrollers had been interesting and led to a few mistakes in the Parmastox final when leading races which
probably ultimately cost me this particular championship.
I raced in the first points meeting of
the season at the Arena Slotstox 'St Mary's' Club on 29th March - heat 1 finished 4th of seven drivers (11 points)
and heat 2 finished 1st of seven drivers (24 despite my Parmastox suffering handling issues - I had not seen it let alone
raced it since November!) I qualified for the final as a heat winner and finished 5th of six drivers (16) - 9 (best
heat 5 + final 4) points chart points. 5th April - second points meeting at the Arena Slotstox 'Comrades' Club
and with my Parmastox still suffering handling issues - heat 1 2nd of seven drivers (23) and heat 2 2nd of seven drivers (31 and
only missing out on 1st with a non-finish in my final race) plus final 5th of five drivers (13) - 8 (best heat 4
+ final 4) points chart points. 19th April - fourth points meeting of season at 'Comrades' and with my Parmastox
still suffering handling issues - heat 1 3rd of six drivers (25) and heat 2 3rd of six drivers (19) plus final 4th of six
drivers (22) - 8 (best heat 3 + final 5) points chart points. Following March and April I was 7th in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship with 25 points, the 8th
highest average of 8.3 points and was down to blue grade. I was 8th in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying points with
8 points but as no one had realised the meeting on 5th April was a Gold Top Qualifier this was void.
3rd May - sixth points meeting at 'Comrades' - heat 1 1st of six drivers (22
with 2nd 21 and 3rd and 4th 19) and heat 2 3rd of six drivers (19) plus final 6th of six drivers (0) - 8 (best
heat 5 + final 3) points chart points. 10th May - seventh points meeting at 'St Mary's' - heat 1 2nd of five drivers (21) and
heat 2 3rd of five drivers (10). I qualified for the final in the final qualification place this being decided by
points scored (31 compared with 29)! Final 1st of five drivers (16 - with no driver finishing more
than four races and only by virtue of a second place finish as I had two races wins, a second and a fourth whereas 2nd also
scored 16 but with a record of two race wins and two thirds whilst 3rd finished with 15). 12 (best heat 4 + final 8)
points chart points. 17th May - eighth
points meeting at 'Comrades' - heat 1 2nd of seven drivers (25) and heat 2 1st of five drivers (31) plus final 6th
of seven drivers (15) - 8 (best heat 5 + final 3) points chart points. During May I was 8th highest points scorer with 28 points, the
5th highest average of 9.3 points and retained blue grade. I was 8th in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with
a total of 53 points and the joint 8th highest season average of 8.8 points.
14th
June - eleventh points meeting at 'Comrades' - heat 1 3rd of seven drivers (27 - five wins and one third) and
heat 2 2nd of six drivers (33) plus final 2nd of six drivers (32) - 11 (best heat 4 + final 7) points chart points.
On
17th
June, I raced for the first time at the Wellgate Slotstox Club. The Wellgate Slotstox Club has close links with the Arena
Slotstox Club and race on a four-lane track with long straights and tight bends
not too dissimilar to the six-lane track at the Arena Slotstox ‘St Mary’s’ Club. Wellgate use brakes on
their Parmastox and also has marshalling so that if your car falls out of its slot it is replaced provided it is on four wheels,
not hooked to another car and not hooked to the fence. You also had to stay alert as if your car was on hooked up or on its
roof and then knocked and unhooked or put back on to four wheels then it would
be put back into it’s slot. With three races in each lane and starting from my Arena Slotstox Club grade of blue, in
my first heat I finished 4th of five drivers (16 points and someway adrift as 4th scored 27 points) but did obtain my
first race win. In my second heat, I finished 4th of four drivers (20 points and this time was a bit closer as 3rd scored
25 points). I did not qualify for the final and was offered an alternative Parmastox, more suited to the Wellgate track, for
the Grand National but decided to use my own again. I finished 5th of five drivers (13 points). For the Wellgate Parmastox
Points Championship I scored 4 points (best heat 2 + Grand National 2). Not good results but good to further my Parmastox
racing experience.
21st
June - twelvth points meeting at 'St Mary’s' - heat 1
1st of six drivers (23) and heat 2 4th of six drivers (13) plus final 4th of six drivers (16) - 10 (best heat 5 + final
5) points chart points. 28th June - thirteenth points meeting and Arena Gold Top Qualfiying round 2 at 'Comrades' having
missed Gold Top Qualifying round 1 and needing a good score at this round I borrowed a Parmastox as mine was still damaged
from the previous week - heat 1 1st of seven drivers (41) and heat 2 2nd of eight drivers (25 with five wins
and seven non-finishes!) plus final 3rd of seven drivers (26) - 11 (best heat 5 + final 6) points chart and Gold Top
Qualifying points. During June I was 3rd highest points scorer with 32 points, the 3rd highest average of 10.7 points
and was back up to red grade. I was 7th in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with a total of 85 points and the
7th highest season average of 9.4 points. I was 8th in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 11 points.
5th July - fourteenth
points meeting at 'St Mary’s' - heat 1 2nd of four drivers (25 and came down to the last race between me and
the driver on my inside. I tried to de-slot their parmastox on the first bend only to knock their parmastox sideways and block
my path. I was then de-slotted whilst the other driver just managed to get their parmastox going straight again to finish
the race!) and heat 2 4th of six drivers (16). I qualified for the final as the sixth and final qualifier although this
was only on raw points. Final 5th (12 - same as 4th but fewer race wins). 8 (best heat 4 + final 4) points
chart points. 12th July - fifteenth points meeting at 'Comrades' with my Parmastox not running well - heat 1 4th
of five drivers (16) and heat 2 3rd of five drivers (18) plus Grand National 1st (32 - won comfortably with 2nd scoring
10) - 8 (best heat 3 + grand national 5) points chart points plus 5 points for the Arena Parmastox Grand National
Championship. 26th July - seventeenth points meeting and Gold Top Qualifying round 3 at 'Comrades' with my Parmastox
running much better following some repair work by a fellow racer - heat 1 1st of seven drivers (26) and heat 2 2nd of seven
drivers (26) plus final 3rd (32) - 11 (best heat 5 + final 6) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During
July I was 7th highest points scorer with 27 points, the 6th highest average of 10.0 points and retained red grade. I remained
7th in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with a total of 112 points and the 6th highest season average of 9.3
points. Whereas in 2010 I seemed to save my worst form for the Gold Top Qualifying rounds, in 2011 I seemed to save my best
form and despite missing round 1 I was 5th (and in the top 6 qualifying places) in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying
chart with 22 points. I was joint 13th in the Arena Grand National Championship chart with 5 points.
2nd August - eighteenth points meeting at 'St Mary’s' -
heat 1 2nd of five drivers (19) and heat 2 1st of five drivers (26) plus final 2nd of five drivers (22 -
3rd 21) - 12 (best heat 5 + final 7) points chart points. 16th August - nineteenth points meeting at 'St
Mary’s' (the previous weeks meeting, that I was on holiday for and due to miss, ended up being cancelled due to riots
affecting members and in the local area) - heat 1 1st of six drivers (28 with three drivers scoring 0) and heat 2 3rd
of six drivers (19) plus final 4th of six drivers (19 - 3rd also scoring 19 points but having three races wins
compared with my no race wins!) - 10 (best heat 5 + final 5) points chart points. 23rd August - twentieth points
meeting at 'Comrades' - heat 1 3rd of five drivers (22) and heat 2 2nd of five drivers (28). With three drivers qualifying
direct to the final before the consolation, there were only two different heat winners and so the third qualifier would be
based on the next best record. I was one of two drivers with a 2nd and 3rd place finish but my 50 points outscored the other
drivers 44 points and so I qualified for the final. Final 2nd of six drivers (30). 11 (best heat 4 + final 7) points
chart points. 30th August
- twenty-first points meeting and Gold Top Qualfiying round 4 at 'St Mary's' - heat 1 2nd of four drivers (25
- 1st 27 and 3rd 24) and heat 2 3rd of four drivers (22 - 1st 27, 2nd 25, 4th 20 and in two races I did an
extra lap and in the final race a wheel fell off my Parmastox causing it to de-slot when the last one running!) plus
Grand National 2nd of four drivers (17 - 1st 19 and 3rd 15) - 8 (best heat 4 + Grand National 4) points chart
and Gold Top Qualifying points plus 4 Grand National points. During August I was 2nd highest points scorer with 41 points,
the 5th highest average of 10.3 points and remained red grade. I was 5th in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart
with a total of 153 points and the 5th highest season average of 9.6 points. I was 5th in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying
chart with 30 points and joint 12th in the Parmastox Arena Grand National Championship chart with 9 points.
6th September - twenty-second points meeting at 'Comrades' -
heat 1 5th of seven drivers (20) and heat 2 2nd of six drivers (32) plus final 1st of six drivers
(32 - 2nd 31 and 3rd 30 - originally declared 3rd with 30 and fewer races wins but corrected on re-count!) - 12 (best heat
4 + final 8) points chart points. 13th August - twenty-third points meeting at 'St Mary’s'
and having changed room for the previous 'St Mary's' meeting the track was now fitted into its new position at about
a 15 degree angle - heat 1 1st of four drivers (40) and heat 2 2nd of four drivers (34) plus final 6th of six drivers (7) -
8 (best heat 5 + final 3) points chart points. 20th September - twenty-fourth points meeting at 'Comrades' - heat
1 1st of seven drivers (37) and heat 2 3rd of six drivers (24) plus final 3rd of six drivers (31) - 11 (best heat 5
+ final 6) points chart points. 27th September - twenty-fifth points meeting and Gold Top Qualfiying round 5 at
'Comrades' (should have been at 'St Mary's' but due to access issues there was a last minute switch) - heat 1 1st of five
drivers (31) and heat 2 4th of five drivers (12) plus final 1st of five drivers (36 - same points as 2nd but with more race
wins 4 compared with 1) - 13 (best heat 5 + final 8) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During September
I was 2nd highest points scorer with 44 points, the joint 2nd highest average of 11 points and remained red grade. I was 4th
in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with a total of 197 points and the 4th highest season average of 9.9 points.
I was 3rd in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 43 points and remained joint 12th in the Parmastox Arena Grand
National Championship chart with 9 points. On
1st
October, I raced for the first time at the Pinewood Raceway Slotstox Club in an 'Open' event. The Pinewood Raceway Slotstox
Club was set up as a separate club to the Aldershot Knights Slotstox Club. The meeting was on a six-lane
track with one contact chicane going into one of the bends. With two races
in each lane and starting from my Arena Slotstox Club grade of red, in my first heat I finished 4th of five drivers (23 points)
and in my second heat I finished 3rd of five drivers (22 points). Having been told at the start of the meeting that qualification
to the semi-finals would be based on the highest points scorers in the two heats and thinking I had done ok I was surprised
to learn after the heats that qualification would be based on finishing positions. I raced in one of two consolation
heats with only the winner qualifying from each for the semi-finals and finished 2nd of five drivers (13 points as 1st scored
20 points). I therefore failed to qualify beyond the heats but good to further my Parmastox racing experience.
4th
October - twenty-third points meeting at 'Comrades' - heat 1 3rd of five drivers (21) and heat 2 2nd of
five drivers (40 - winner scored 58!) plus final 6th of six drivers (12) - 7 (best heat 4
+ final 3) points chart points. 11th October - twenty-fourth points meeting at 'St Mary's' - heat 1 1st of four
drivers (26 - very close with 2nd also scoring 26 but I had two race wins compared with their one whilst 3rd
and 4th each scored 25!) and heat 2 4th of four drivers (16) plus final 3rd of six drivers
(18 although I crashed whilst comfortably leading the final race which would have meant finishing 2nd as 2nd had already
crashed and scored 20) - 11 (best heat 5 + final 6) points chart points. I missed the the twenty-fifth points meeting at 'Comrades' on 18 October
due to being delayed at work which realisticly ended a slim chance of finishing 3rd in the Arena Parmastox Points Championship.
25th
October - twenty-sixth points meeting and 6th and final Gold Top Qualfiying round at 'St Mary's' - heat
1 2nd of five drivers (32 - 1st 33) plus final 6th of six drivers (18) - 7 (heat 4 + final 3) points
chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During October joint 6th highest points scorer with 25 points (having missed
one round), the joint 5th highest average of 8.3 points and was down to blue grade.
I finished 5th
in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship with a total of 222 points and the 4th highest season average of 9.7
points. I finished joint 13th in the Parmastox Arena Grand National Championship with 9 points. I finished 4th in the
Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 50 points and qualified
for the six driver Gold Top Championship final.
8th November - at 'St Mary's' - Arena Gold Top Championship Final. I qualified 4th of the six drivers who drew their starting lane in qualifying order. I started in the Yellow lane (lane 2) with drivers having two races in each lane all starting from the finish line. With my Parmastox not running that well I was always up against it and was going to need a little bit of good luck but instead I seemed to get hooked up in the aftermath of others crashes and always on about lap 7 or 8! In one of these early on I tried to get past a de-slotted Parmastox only to damage the gearing and tyres which did not help. With a rather poorly sounding Parmastox I kept plugging away, scored 14 points and finished 5th.
On 12th November, for the Parmastox ‘Open’ Team Championship at the Arena 'Comrades'
Slotstox Club, I also teamed up with Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club members Sharon Brett and Charlotte Feek to form team 'Gumbies'.
In our group of five teams we lost our first two matches 59-12 (I scored 6 points racing my six races in the middle
two lanes - 3 in red lane and 3 in white lane) and 66-20 (11 racing from now on in the inside two lanes - 3 in blue lane
and 3 in yellow lane). We then won our final two matches 33-28 (10) and 37-17 (19) to finish 3rd in the group with
only the group winners qualifying for the final.
29th November fun night on the four lane track at 'Comrades' - with my Parmastox showing the signs of a long season I raced it to start with before borrowing the Parmastox of Mark West who was not at the meeting but had left it for its own lesser handling issues to be resolved! Heat 1 4th of four drivers (4) and heat 2 3rd of the four drivers with the worst finishing positions from heat 1 (16 racing the 'other' way round the track). From my finishing positions in the two heats I raced in the 'C' final and finished 2nd of four drivers (8 same points as 3rd but better race positions record and again racing the 'other' way round the track). Parma-Saloons
The
17th June meeting at Wellgate also featured Parma-Saloons and being my first Parma-Saloons points meeting I started from white
grade! Heat 1 2nd of four drivers (35 – 2nd 33) and heat 2nd (27 – close same points as third but more race wins
and 1st 29) – 9 (5+4) Wellgate Parma-Saloons points championship points.
Parma-Bangers
10th May - Parma-Big Van Banger at 'St
Mary's' - heat 1st of four drivers (23) - 5 Parma-Bangers points chart 5 points. During
May and for the season, I had the joint highest average of 5 points although I retained Silver grade for the season by virtue
of being defending Arena Parma-Bangers Points Champion. I was joint 8th in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart.
7th June - Parma-Banger and Caravan at
'St Mary's' - heat 1 2nd of five drivers (9) and heat 2 5th of five drivers (0) - 5 (4+1) Parma-Bangers
points chart points. 21st
June - Parma-Banger at 'St Mary's' - eventful heat 5th of seven drivers (9) - 1 Parma-Bangers points chart
point. During June, I was
the 6th highest points scorer with 6 points and the joint 7th highest average of 3 points. I was 7th in the Parma-Bangers
Arena Points Championship chart with 11 points and the 7th highest season average of 3.7 points.
5th July - Parma-Big Van Banger at 'St
Mary's' - heat 3rd of five drivers (17 with a mixture of racing and wrecking) - 3 Parma-Bangers points chart points. 26th
July - Parma-Banger and Caravan at 'Comrades' - heat 3rd of four drivers (18) - 3 Parma-Bangers points chart points.
During July, I was the joint 6th highest points scorer with 6 points and the
6th highest average of 3 points. I remained 7th in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 17 points and the
joint 6th highest season average of 3.7 points.
23rd August - Parma-Banger at 'Comrades'
- heat 4th of seven drivers (19) - 2 Parma-Bangers points chart points. With only one meeting during August
the average for July and August was used, I was the joint 5th highest points scorer with 8 points and the joint 7th
highest average of 2.7 points. I remained 7th in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 19 points and the 9th
highest season average of 3.2 points.
20th September - Parma-Banger and caravans
at 'Comrades' with 4 lap races - heat 5th of five drivers (5 - one win and lots of crashes!) - 1 Parma-Bangers
points chart point. With only one meeting during September the average from July to September was used, I was the joint 7th
highest points scorer with 9 points and the 11th highest average of 2.3 points. I remained 7th in the Parma-Bangers Arena
Points Championship chart with 20 points and the 11th highest season average of 2.9 points.
25th October - Parma-Big Van Banger at 'St
Mary's' - heat 4th of five drivers (9 - a bit of a wrecking session!) - 2 Parma-Bangers points chart points. During
October and November I was the joint 10th highest points scorer with 2 points (having missed one round) and as no
longer the reigning points champion with the Silver roof, I would start the 2012 season from yellow grade.
I finished 7th in the Parma-Bangers Arena
Points Championship chart with 22 points and the 12th highest season average of 2.8 points.
29th November fun night on the four lane track at 'Comrades' - Parma-Banger and caravans - 4th of four drivers with 4 points racing the 'other' way round the track.
Parma-Minis
19th April - 'Comrades' - heat 1st of four
drivers (25 - five wins and three non-finishes) - 5 Parma-Mini points chart points. I
was joint 1st in the Parma-Minis Arena Points Championship chart.
14th
June - 'Comrades' - heat 3rd of five drivers (8) - 3 Parma-Mini points chart points. I
was 3rd in the Parma-Mini Arena Points Championship chart with 8 points. During August I won a Parma-Mini heat of three drivers - 5 Parma-Mini
points chart points.
I
won the Parma-Mini Arena Points Championship with 13 points.
Parma-Libre
12th July - 'Comrades' - heat 4th of six
drivers (8) - 2 Parma-Libre points chart points. I was joint 6th in the
Parma-Libre Arena Points Championship chart.
I finished 7th in the Parma-Libre Points Championship with 2 points.
Multi-formula
The
1st November meeting at Arena 'Comrades' was the traditional Halloween Havoc Championship meeting which takes place
on the nearest race date to Halloween. Total
points from all races (two in each lane over 8 laps) count towards this multi-formula championship format with all drivers
starting from the start/finish line. Parma-Legends provided by the Club and for fairness
a set Parma-Legend allocated in each lane (20) 1st overall - 1 point ahead of 2nd, Parma-Libre non-contact borrowing
a Porsche sports car due to my wedding car replica stretch Jag not having an appropriate chassis available (27) 2nd
overall with 47 points - 3 points behind 1st, Parma-Robin Reliants over 4 laps provided by the Club and for fairness
a set Parma-Robin Reliant allocated in each lane (13) joint 2nd overall with 60 points - 3 points behind 1st and finally Parma-Libre
again but this time with contact allowed (16). Overall I finished 3rd= of 13 drivers in the Arena
Halloween Havoc Championship with 76 points - 24 points behind 1st who scored a maximum in the Parma-Libre with contact!
On 8th November I raced in the Arena Firecracker meeting. Traditionally this meeting has required drivers to race something never raced before or at least something in a different paint scheme. As in 2010, an exception was made due to a few new drivers but the cars were still generally something not raced on a normal basis. I borrowed a limo - heat 2nd of five drivers (22 points) and final 5th of five drivers (4 - racing mainly to entertain as some of the new young members took to the limo and I managed to help the driver who lent it to me win!) Slot-Nascars
The meeting at Pinewood Raceway on 1st October
also featured a Team 'Open' event racing 1/32 scale Slot-Nascars on the Pinewood circuit track. Borrowing
a Slot-Nascar I teamed up with Jack and Chris Branch to form Team 'Gumbies' with each of the six teams racing in each
of the six lanes for 10 minutes (1 hour in total) with a driver change required every five minutes. At the
start of the event we were running in one of the worst lanes and were last of the six teams but as each lane passed and with
a couple of teams suffering mechanical problems at one point we had moved up to 2nd. Over the closing lanes it
was a two-way battle for 2nd and at the end we were just edged out by just over two laps and finished 3rd which was not
too bad considering none of the team had raced this car or on this track previously. Result: Team Difficult 509.18,
Team Lite 486.91, Gumbies 484.72, Quidder 475.05, WTF 455.29 and B&B 378.19.
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