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Slot-Racing 2012 For 2012, the Arena Slotstox Club
split the racing at its 'Comrades' and 'St Mary's' venues between Metal Slotstox (Parmastox) and Plastic Slotstox
(National Slotstox Association specification) at separate meetings to the support formulaes i.e. Bangers (including Vans,
Small Vans, + Caravans), Minis and Libre. Slotstox On 17th January, I raced at the
non-points season opening meeting at the Arena Slotstox 'Comrades' Club. I scored 20 points in my heat and was third
highest points scorer in the heats. I won the final with 22 points. 24th January - Arena points
chart round 1 at the Arena Slotstox 'Comrades' Club - heats 51 points (heat 1 27 and heat 2 24) and second highest points
scorer of six drivers. Final 1st (26) to add 6 points chart points. I scored a total of 57 points
chart points. 21st February - Arena points chart round 3 and Gold Top Qualifying (now being run by the Arena Slotstox
Club for Slotstox as well as for Parmastox) round 1 at 'Comrades' - heats 26 points (heat 1 14 and heat
2 12) and joint 5th highest points scorer of twelve drivers. Run-off of three drivers for the 5th and 6th
places in the final - 2nd 9 points and final 1st (24) to add 6 points chart points. I scored a total of 32
points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. 28th February - Arena points chart round 4 and my first meeting of
the season at the Arena Slotstox 'St Mary's' Club racing my second Slotstox - heats 32 points (heat 1 16 and
heat 2 16) and 2nd highest points scorer of eight drivers. Final 5th (4) to add 2 points chart points.
I scored a total of 34 points chart points. During the first points chart
cycle I scored a total of 123 points and had the third highest average of 41.0 points and I remained red grade.
With the highest three out of four meetings counting to the points - although as I had missed round 2 all three meetings
I attended counted - I was 2nd in the Slotstox Arena Points Championship with 123 points. I was joint 3rd
in the Slotstox Arena Gold Top Qualifying points with 32 points. On 3rd March I raced at the Slotstox
British Championship hosted by the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club. I was racing the Slotstox that I won
in the raffle at the 2004 British 'Open' Championship and that won the same Championship in 2008 - both hosted by the
Great Blakenham Slotstox Club. This Slotstox when raced at Arena so far during the 2012 season had a habit
of handling badly at the start of the meeting before improving dramatically as the meeting went on and so it proved again
at this meeting. I qualified from the heats as 11th highest points scorer with 39 points: 12 points
in my first heat, 7 points in my second heat and 20 points in my third heat knowing that a good score was needed to hopefully
qualify. I finished 3rd in my semi-final as my Slotstox continued to improve and qualified for my second British
'Open' Championship final (the other being when I won in 2008) by 1 point as 4th had 15 points. In the
final I was leading the first race before being deliberately taken out by a back marker - despite being the Foxhall Foxes
Slotstox Club website administrator I was classed as a visitor - although I had also had a few run-ins with this particular
driver when we raced together during the early 1990's so it came as no real surprise! In the second race I was taken
out properly by the eventual winner and congratulated this driver on 'doing it properly'! I continued to give
as good as I got throughout the final with the driver that took me out in the first race which whilst good fun was
not so good for my chances of winning! In the end the two of us finished joint 5th with 9 points
requiring a run-off. I won the first race of the run-off on the inside before missing whilst attempting
to de-slot both cars on the outside meaning that I had to settle for 6th and last in the final - although this was no disgrace
as five of the six drivers in the final had previously won this championship including each of the past five seasons - the
exception being the driver I had my individual battle with. 20th March - Arena points
chart round 5 at 'Comrades' - heats 42 points (heat 1 26 and heat 2 16) and second highest points scorer of eight drivers. Final 2nd
(17 - 3rd also scoring 17 but having no race wins compared with my one - although I should have won two but I mis-counted
my laps in the final race and did an extra one when running a clear first - and only beaten by someone borrowing my
second Slotstox and without my error in the final race it would have been by only 1 point instead of 7!) to add 5
points chart points. I scored a total of 47 points chart points. Having been on holiday for round 2 and including the
season opening non-points meeting this was my first non-final win out of eight in Slotstox or Parmastox at
'Comrades'! 27th March - Arena points chart round 6 and Gold Top Qualifying round 2 at 'St Mary's' - heats
34 points (heat 1 16 and heat 2 18) and fourth highest points scorer of ten drivers. Final 6th (5 - 5th also
scoring 5 but with more fourth place finishes - one compared with my none!) to add 1 points chart point.
I scored a total of 35 points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. 17th April - Arena points chart round 7
and Gold Top Qualifying round 3 at 'Comrades' - heats 36 points (heat 1 13 and heat 2 23) and second highest points scorer
of thirteen drivers. Final 3rd (18 - 2nd scoring 19) to add 4 points chart point. I scored
a total of 40 points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. 24th April - Arena points chart round 8 at 'St
Mary's' - heats 43 points (heat 1 16 and heat 2 27) and third highest points scorer of eight drivers. Final 1st
(15 - 2nd scoring 14 and 3rd and 4th 13) to add 6 points chart point. I scored a total of 49 points chart points.
During the second points chart
cycle I scored a total of 171 points and had the third highest average of 42.8 points and I remained red grade.
Following the second points chart cycle of four meetings (highest three out of four meetings counting to the points) I was
2nd in the Slotstox Arena Points Championship with 259 points. I was 3rd in the Slotstox Arena Gold Top Qualifying points
with 107 points. On 9th June, I raced at the Slotstox
and Parmastox Hertfordshire 'Open' Championships held at the 'Comrades'. In the Slotstox Hertfordshire 'Open' Championship
I qualified for the semi-finals as the second highest points scorer in the heats with 42 points and the only driver to finish
every race of the heats: 24 points in my first heat (1st in white, blue and yellow lanes, 3rd in black lane and 4th in green
lane) and 18 points in my second heat (2nd in yellow and white lanes, 3rd in green and blue lanes and 4th in black and red
lanes). I started well in my semi-final (3rd in white lane, 4th in black lane, 3rd in green lane 2nd in blue lane) but two
non-finishes in the last two races (yellow and red lanes) – yellow lane, my first non-finish of the meeting, being
deslotted by on the last lap by a deslotted Slotstox whilst leading - meant that I finished 5th and missed out on qualification
for the final (12 points - 4th scored 13 whilst 2nd and 3rd each scored 14). 12th June - Arena points chart
round 11 (missed rounds 9 and 10 plus Gold Top Qualifying round 4 due to holiday) at 'Comrades' - heats 47 points
(heat 1 27 and heat 2 20) and highest points scorer of seven drivers. Final (being run with all driver starting
from yellow grade at 'Comrades' until further notice) 2nd (21) to add 5 points chart points. I scored a total of
52 points chart points. 26th June - Arena points chart round 12 and Gold Top Qualifying round 5 at 'Comrades'
- each driver raced in 3 heats with the best 2 heats counting - heats 33 points (heat 1 19 and heat 2 14 - heat 3 score
dropped 11 including my Slotstox crashing on to floor during heat 2 and finishing the heat with no inside weight and a broken
straight through!) and fifth highest points scorer of eight drivers. Final 1st (22) to add 6 points
chart points. I scored a total of 39 points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During the third points chart
cycle I scored a total of 91 points and had the highest average of 45.5 points and so became the silver stripe
holder (first time ever at any club!) for the fourth points chart cycle. Following the third points chart cycle
of four meetings (highest three out of four meetings counting to the points - although I had only raced at two meetings during
the third cycle and so both these counted) I was 2nd in the Slotstox Arena Points Championship with 350
points and just 1 point ahead of 3rd. Having missed round 4 I was down to 6th in the Slotstox Arena Gold Top Qualifying
points with 146 points. 3rd July - Arena points chart
round 13 at 'St Mary's' borrowing a handcontroller due to problems with mine during my second heat of the Parmastox and
starting for the first time ever from Silver grade - heats 30 points (heat 1 16 and heat 2 14) and fourth highest points
scorer of seven drivers. Final 4th (9) to add 3 points chart points. I scored a total of 33 points
chart points. On 6th July I raced at the Slotstox
Suffolk Championship hosted by the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club. This meeting was moved to coincide with the
eve of the Ipswich Speedweekend and for 2012 it was open to anybody to race as a one-off. This enabled me
to race and the meeting attracted 36 drivers including several visitors and debutants. Starting
from Silver grade I was happy to have qualified from the heats as 5th highest points scorer with 53 points:
18 points in my first heat, 17 points in my second heat and 18 points in my third heat. I finished joint 5th in
my semi-final with 8 points and was eliminated - a non-finish in lane 3, 3rd in lane 4, 4th in lane 5,
a non-finish in lane 1 (which ended my chances of progressing) and 3rd in lane 2. 24th July - Arena points chart
round 14 and Gold Top Qualifying round 6 at 'Comrades' - heats 32 points (heat 1 15 and heat 2 17) and third highest
points scorer of six drivers. Final - all drivers starting from yellow grade over 10 laps - 5th (7) to add 2
points chart points. I scored a total of 34 points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. 28th August following
a break for the Olympics - Arena points chart round 15 and Gold Top Qualifying round 7 at 'Comrades' - each
driver raced in 3 heats with the best 2 heats counting - heats 48 points (heat 1 23 and heat 2 25 - heat 3 score dropped
16) and second highest points scorer of eight drivers. Final - all drivers starting from yellow grade -
2nd (20) to add 5 points chart points. I scored a total of 53 points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. I was up to 2nd in the Slotstox
Arena Gold Top Qualifying points with 233 points. 25th September - Arena points
chart round 16 and Gold Top Qualifying round 8 at 'St Mary's' - heats 34 points (heat 1 22 and heat 2 12) and
top points scorer of four drivers. Final 2nd (17) to add 5 points chart points. I scored a total of 39 points
chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During the fourth points chart
cycle I scored a total of 159 points and had the second highest average of 39.8 points and was back down to
red grade for the fifth points chart cycle. Following the fourth points chart cycle of four meetings (highest three
out of four meetings counting to the points) I remained 2nd in the Slotstox Arena Points Championship with 476 points.
I finished 2nd in the Slotstox Arena Gold Top Qualifying points with 272 points 2nd October - Arena points chart round 17 at 'Comrades' - heats 45 points (heat 1 21 and heat 2 24) and second highest points scorer of ten drivers. Final - all drivers starting from yellow grade - 1st (28) to add 6 points chart points. I scored a total of 51 points chart points. 23rd October - Arena points chart round 18 at 'St Mary's' - heats 52 points (heat 1 27 - 5 wins and 1 4th and heat 2 25 - 5 wins and 1 non-finish) and highest points scorer of four drivers. Final 1st (18 - although this was only due to being the only finisher in the final race on the outside lane as 2nd scored 16) to add 6 points chart points. I scored a total of 58 points chart points. During the fifth and final points chart cycle (2 of 2 meetings counting) I scored a total of 109 points and had the highest average of 54.5 points.
I won the
Slotstox Arena Points Championship with a total of 255 points - although this was helped with the 2nd placed driver missing
the final round...all this meant was that over the course of the full season we both had the same number of meetings count
towards the points chart as I had missed two rounds during points cycle 3. 6th November - at 'Comrades' - Arena Gold Top Championship Final. I qualified 2nd of the six drivers who drew their starting lane in qualifying order. I started in the inside Blue lane (lane 1) with drivers having two races in each lane over 10 laps all starting from the yellow grade line. I won my first race in blue lane and 2nd in my second race in blue lane, won my two races in yellow lane, I began being targeted by another driver but finished 2nd in my first race in red lane and 1st in my second race in red lane, did not finish my first race in white lane and 3rd in my second race in white lane, did not finish my first race in black lane and 2nd in my second race in black lane having backed out of a coming together going into the chicane whilst leading knowing that 2nd at this stage of the final was still a good result, 4th my first race in green lane and 6th in my second race in green lane. At the end of the final I had scored 38 points and had won the Arena Gold Top Championship – my winning margin was 4 points and so effectively accepting 2nd place (and 4 points) in my second race in black lane had proven to be a good decision!
At the 30th Slotstox World
Championship on 2nd December at ‘Comrades’ - the first to be hosted by the Arena Slotstox Club – and despite
a wire needing to be soldered on my Slotstox before the meeting began, I qualified 14th of 36 drivers from the heats
with 45 points: 20 points in my first heat (1st in lane 1, 2nd in lane 5, 3rd in lanes 2, 4 and 6 and 4th in lane 3),
17 points in my second heat (1st in lane 4 and 2nd in lanes 1, 2 and 5) and 8 points in my third heat when I already
knew I’d more than likely done enough to qualify (3rd in lanes 2 and 6 and 4th in lane 3). I was consistent
through-out my quarter-final starting with 3rd in lane 6 before 2nd in lane 1, 1st in lane 2, 2nd in each of lanes 3 and 4
before a non-finish in lane 5. I finished joint 2nd with one other driver in
my quarter-final with 20 points just 1 point behind 1st and I had qualified for the semi-finals. I was also consistent
through-out my semi-final starting with a 3rd and 2nd from each of my two races in lane 4, 4th in each of my two races in
lane 5, my only non-finish in the semi-final was my first race in lane 6 followed by 3rd in my second race in lane 6, 2nd
and 3rd from each of my two races in lane 1, 2nd and 4th from each of my two races in lane 2 and 2nd in each of my two
races in lane 3. Although I did not win a race throughout my semi-final sufficient 2nd and 3rd place finishes together
with only one non-finish were enough to finish as runner-up with 35 points to qualify for my fifth Slotstox
World Championship final and first since 2006. This fifth final followed 4th
in 1996 and 2000, 1st in 2001 and 5th in 2006. I had also now reached a
Slotstox World Championship final across three different Slotstox Clubs as 1996, 2000 and 2001 were hosted by Foxhall Foxes,
2006 by Wisbech Fen Tigers and now 2012 by Arena. All five of my Slotstox World
Championship finals had also come at different venues - 1996: Foxhall Stadium, 2000 Rushmere Village Hall, 2001 Bucklesham
and Foxhall Village Hall, 2006 Emneth Village Hall and now 2012 Cheshunt Comrades Club!
I was confident ahead of the final following my recent Arena Gold Top Championship win and whilst the final started
ok with 4th in each of my two races in lane 5 it then never really got going with a non-finish and non-scoring 6th from each
of my two races in lane 6, non-finishes in each of my two races in lane 1, 4th in each of my two races in lane 2,
5th and 4th from each of my two races in lane 3 and a non-finish and 5th in each of my two races in lane 4.
Overall I finished 6th and last with 12 points (10 points adrift of 5th) which meant that this was the second time my Slotstox
had finished last (although on the previous occasion it was 5th) in the Slotstox World Championship final following 2004
at the Foxhall Foxes Slotstox Club (although on that occasion, I had loaned my Slotstox to Arena-Essex
Slotstox Club member Dan I'Anson for the meeting!) It was also the Slotstox
I used when finishing 5th in 2006.
Parmastox On 17th January, I raced at the
non-points season opening meeting at the Arena Slotstox 'Comrades' Club - borrowing a Parmastox - from blue grade
finished 1st in each heat of six drivers (36 and 41 points respectively). I qualified for the final of
six drivers as a heat winner and won this too (39). 24th January - Arena points
chart round 1 at the Arena Slotstox 'Comrades' Club - heat 1 2nd of six drivers (24 with 3rd scoring 23) and final
1st of six drivers (41) plus Grand National 2nd of six drivers (17 starting a lap down with one race per lane and only being
denied 1st by a de-slotted Parmastox when I would have finished 2nd in the outside lane as the Grand National's
leaders Parmastox had stopped in the inside lane!) - 12 (best heat 4 + final 8) points chart points and 4 Grand
National points. 21st February - points chart round 3 and Gold Top Qualifying round 1 at 'Comrades' - heat
1 1st of six drivers (29) and final 1st of six drivers (45) - 13 (heat 5 + final 8) points chart
and Gold Top Qualifying points. Having been on holiday for round 2 and including the season opening non-points meeting
this was three final wins in a row! 28th February - points chart round 4 and my first meeting of the season
at the Arena Slotstox 'St Mary's' Club - heat 1 4th of four drivers (14 and Parmastox not handling
well), consolation 1st of four drivers (34 and Parmastox handling much better) and final 5th of five drivers (5) - 9 (heat
5 + final 4) points chart points. During January and February I was
joint 3rd highest points scorer with 34 points, the 2nd highest average of 11.3 points and was up to red grade. I was
1st in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 13 points and joint 7th in the Parmastox Arena Grand National Championship
chart with 4 points. 20th March - points chart round
5 at 'Comrades' - heat 1 2nd of six drivers (32), heat 2 1st of five drivers (36) and final
1st of six drivers (38) - 13 (heat 5 + final 8) points chart points. Having been on holiday for
round 2 and including the season opening non-points meeting this was four final wins in a row - all the meetings at 'Comrades'
(and combined with Slotstox: 7 final wins out of 8 raced in during 2012 at 'Comrades')! 27th March - points chart
round 6 and Gold Top Qualifying round 2 at 'St Mary's' - heat 1 3rd of six drivers (13 - same
points as 2nd and one win each but the other driver had two 2nd places compared with my none), heat 2 3rd of five
drivers (21) and grand national 2nd of five drivers (13 - 1st scored 14) - 7 (best heat 3 + grand
national 4) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points plus 4 Arena Grand National Championship points. After March I was 2nd in the Parmastox
Arena Points Championship chart with 54 points. I was 4th in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 20
points (although it was very close with 1st having 22 and two drivers joint 2nd with 21) and joint 4th in the Parmastox
Arena Grand National Championship chart with 8 points. On 31st March, I raced for the
second time at the Wellgate Slotstox Club - the first being a normal club night in June 2011 - at the inaugural 'Metal
Mania' Open meeting. The meeting featured marshalling to Wellgate rules. Heats were two races per lane over 8 laps with
finishing positions in those heats deciding which drivers qualified to the A, B, C or D final with the other drivers racing
in consolations and the winner of each of those going into the E final. The winner of the E final was added to the D final
etc. Heat 1 3rd of four drivers (18) and heat 2 3rd= of five drivers (16 and identical records). This was not enough to qualify
for the finals and so I raced in a consolation and finished 2nd of four drivers (24) to be eliminated. At the end of
the main meeting there was a Grand National finale with drivers each racing in a heat and the winners qualifying for the final. I finished 4th
of four drivers (9 – having had an eventful few races with another driver!) in my Grand National. 17th April - points chart round 7
and Gold Top Qualifying round 3 at 'Comrades' - heat 1 3rd of six drivers (28), heat 2 3rd of eight
drivers (30 - same points as 2nd but they had four race wins compared with my two) and final 2nd of six drivers (35
- same points as 1st but they had five race wins compared with my four - although I also failed to finish one race
due to a wire becoming detached. 3rd scored 33) - 10 (best heat 3 + final 7) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying
points. Having been on holiday for round 2 and including the season opening non-points meeting this was my first non-final
win in all the meetings at 'Comrades'! 24th April - points chart round 8 at 'St Mary's' - heat 1st
of four drivers (39 - high scoring as 2nd scored 35 and 3rd 31) and final 3rd of five drivers (25) - 11 (heat 5
+ final 6) points chart points. During March and April I was joint
2nd highest points scorer with 41 points, the joint 3rd highest average of 10.3 points and remained red grade. Following
April I remained 2nd in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with 75 points. I was joint 2nd in the
Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 30 points (although it was very close with 1st having 32, 4th 29
and 5th 27) and joint 6th in the Parmastox Arena Grand National Championship chart with 8 points. At the Hertfordshire 'Open' Championship
on 9th June I finished 2nd in my first heat of six drivers (29) which was good enough to qualify for the semi-finals finishing
eight of the twelve races (I started in red lane – first race won, second race 2nd, white lane – first race 3rd,
second race non-finish, black lane – both races non-finish, green lane - first race 3rd, second race 2nd, blue lane
– first race non-finish, second race 3rd and yellow lane – first race 3rd and second race 2nd). In my second heat I finished 4th of six drivers (25 - 2nd scored 26 whilst 1st was Charlotte Feek a team
mate from the 2011 Team 'Open and who I helped in this heat knowing that I had already qualified for the semi-finals). Again I finished eight of the twelve races (again I started in red lane – first
race non-finish, second race won, white lane – first race 2nd, second race non-finish, black lane – first race
non-finish, second race 3rd, green lane – both races 4th, blue lane – first race 3rd, second race non-finish and
yellow lane – first race 4th and second race 2nd). In my semi-final I
was on course to qualify but failed to finish each of the last two races and missed out on qualification finishing 4th of
six drivers (33 - 3rd also scored 33 and qualified with 4 races wins compared with my 2 although it was all very close
as 2nd scored 35 and 1st 36). I finished nine of the twelve races (I started
in black lane – first race 2nd, second race won, green lane – first race 4th, second race non-finish, blue lane
– both races 3rd, yellow lane – first race 2nd, second race 3rd, red lane first race won, second race 2nd and
white lane - both races non-finish). 12th June - points chart round 11 (missed
rounds 9 and 10 plus Gold Top Qualifying round 4 due to holiday) at 'Comrades' - heat 1 2nd of four drivers (27),
heat 2 2nd of five drivers (40 - same points as 1st but they had six race wins compared with my five) and final
3rd of six drivers (18) - 10 (best heat 4 + final 6) points chart points. 26th June - points chart round
12 and Gold Top Qualifying round 5 at 'Comrades' - heat 1 1st of four drivers (50) and final 4th
of six drivers (26 - 3rd scored 27) - 10 (heat 5 + final 5) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During May and June I raced at
two of the four rounds and was joint 6th highest points scorer with 20 points, the joint 4th highest average of 10.0
points and remained red grade. Following May and June I was 4th in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart
with 95 points. I was 4th in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 40 points and joint 8th in
the Parmastox Arena Grand National Championship chart with 8 points. 3rd July - points chart round 13
at 'St Mary's' - heat 1 3rd of five drivers (18), heat 2 1st of five drivers (27 including suffering from
handcontroller problems) and final 6th of six drivers (10 - borrowing a handcontroller and same points as 5th but they
had two race wins compared with my none) - 8 (best heat 5 + final 3) points chart points. 24th July -
points chart round 14 and Gold Top Qualifying round 6 at 'Comrades' - heat 1 1st of five drivers (45),
heat 2 3rd of four drivers (20 - taking it a bit easier having won my first heat!) and final 3rd of six drivers (28
- same points as 2nd but they had four race wins compared with my three and 4th scored 27) - 11 (best heat 5
+ final 6) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. 28th August following a break for the Olympics - points
chart round 15 and Gold Top Qualifying round 7 at 'Comrades' - heat 1st of four drivers (47) and final 1st of six
drivers (32) - 13 (heat 5 + final 8) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During July and August I was 2nd
highest points scorer with 32 points, the 3rd highest average of 10.7 points and remained red grade. Following July
and August I was 3rd in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with 127 points. I was 3rd in the Parmastox
Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 64 points and remained joint 8th in the Parmastox Arena Grand National
Championship chart with 8 points. 25th September - points chart
round 16 and Gold Top Qualifying round 8 at 'St Mary's' - heat 1st of four drivers (39) and final 2nd
of four drivers (19 - 3rd scored 18 with a win for me a non-finish for 3rd proving decisive in the last race) - 12 (heat 5
+ final 8) points chart and Gold Top Qualifying points. During July to September I was
2nd highest points scorer with 44 points, the 3rd highest average of 11.0 points and remained red grade. Following July
to September I was 3rd in the Parmastox Arena Points Championship chart with 139 points and only 2 points behind 2nd. I
was 2nd in the Parmastox Arena Gold Top Qualifying chart with 76 points and remained joint 8th in the Parmastox
Arena Grand National Championship chart with 8 points. 2nd October - points chart
round 17 at 'Comrades' - heat 1 2nd of five drivers (30) and heat 2 3rd of five drivers (17 - 4th scored
16) - time did not allow for a final - 7 (4 + 3) points chart points. 23rd October - points chart round
18 at 'St Mary's' - heat 1 2nd of four drivers (21 - came down to the final race with 1st scoring 24 and winning
by virtue of being the only finisher of the final race and 3rd scoring 19), heat 2 1st of four drivers (45 - 9 wins and 3
non-finishes) and final 1st of four drivers (32 - I won by 10 points even though the body of my Parmastox broke
lose at the front and was only connected by the rear hook for about half of the final costing me two race finishes!)
- maximum 13 (best heat 5 + final 8) points chart points. 6th November - at 'Comrades'
- Arena Gold Top Championship Final. I qualified 2nd of the six drivers who drew their starting lane in qualifying order.
I started in the Red lane (lane 3) with drivers having two races in each lane all starting from the yellow grade line. I
started the final well and was always there or thereabouts but my chances of winning effectively ended when I crashed during
the early stages of the penultimate race - my first race in the Yellow lane (lane 2).
I scored 31 points and finished 3rd just 2 points behind 1st and 2nd - each scored 33 points. Parma-Bangers 6th March - Arena points chart
round 2 - Parma-Bangers and Parma-Banger and caravans at 'Comrades'. Parma-Bangers starting from yellow grade -
heat 2nd of four drivers (5 - one race per lane), consolation 1st of five drivers (14 - one race per lane) and final 3rd of
five drivers (19 - two races per lane and 2nd scored 20) - 11 (best heat/consolation 5 + final 6) Parma-Bangers
points chart points. Parma-Banger and Caravans - heat 3rd of four drivers (16 - two races per lane over 4
laps with all drivers starting from blue grade and 2nd scored 17) - 3 Parma-Bangers points chart points for a total
of 14 Parma-Bangers points chart points. 13th March - Arena points chart round 3 - Parma-Big Van Bangers and
Parma-Small Van Bangers at 'St Mary's' all one race per lane. Parma-Big Van Bangers heat 1 3rd of
four drivers (8), heat 2 2nd of four drivers (12), consolation 1st of four drivers (18 - only the winner qualifying
for the final) and final joint 1st of four drivers (5 - lots of crashes and three drivers with one finish/race win each!)
- 13 (best heat/consolation 5 + final 8) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Small Van Banger debut
having completed painting in 113 Carl Gallagher 'Warriors' paint scheme on 31st January when a meeting was cancelled
and the only driver racing with my own painted Parma-Small Van Banger. Races over 6 laps - heat 1 2nd of five drivers
(10) and heat 2 1st of five drivers (19) - 9 Parma-Bangers points chart points for a total of 22 Parma-Bangers
points chart points. 3rd April - Arena points chart round 4 - Parma-Big Van Bangers and Parma-Small Van Bangers
at 'Comrades' all one race per lane. Parma-Big Van Bangers heat 1st of four drivers (20) and
final 1st of four drivers (18) - 13 (heat 5 + final 8) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Small
Van Bangers heat 1st of four drivers (23) and final 1st of four drivers (29 - one points away from a maximum!) - 13
Parma-Bangers points chart points for a maximum total of 26 Parma-Bangers points chart points. 10th April
- Arena points chart round 5 - Parma-Bangers and Parma-Banger and Caravans at 'St Mary's' all one race
per lane. Parma-Bangers heat 1 1st= of five drivers (10 - me and one other driver with two race wins
each), heat 2 3rd of five drivers (5) and final 3rd of five drivers (9 - 4th scored 8) - 11 (best
heat 5 + final 6) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Banger and Caravans heat over 4 laps one race per
lane 3rd of six drivers (4 - low scoring as 2nd scored 5 and three drivers scored 0!) - 3 Parma-Bangers points
chart points for a total of 14 Parma-Bangers points chart points. Following March/April I was 1st
in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 76 points and the highest average of 19.0 points. I
was up to red grade. 1st May - Arena points chart round 6
- Parma-Bangers and Parma-Banger and Caravans at 'Comrades' all one race per lane. Parma-Bangers heat
1 2nd of six drivers (10 - same points as 3rd but I had two wins compared with the other driver having no wins), heat 2
2nd of six drivers (13) and final 2nd of six drivers (14 - 3rd scored 13) - 11 (best heat 4 + final 7) Parma-Bangers
points chart points. Parma-Banger and Caravans over 4 laps - heat 5th of five drivers (5 - 4th scored
6) and consolation with winner qualifying for the final 4th of five drivers (10 - 3rd scored 11) - 3 (heat 1 + consolation 2) Parma-Bangers
points chart points for a total of 14 Parma-Bangers points chart points. 29th May - Arena points chart
round 7 - Parma-Big Van Bangers and Parma-Small Van Banger at 'Comrades' all one race per lane and Small Vans
five races over 6 laps. Parma-Big Van Bangers heat 1 2nd of four drivers (13), heat 2 1st of five
drivers (20) and final 1st of four drivers (23) - 13 (best heat 5 + final 8) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Small
Van Bangers - heat 1 2nd of five drivers (15) and heat 2 1st of five drivers (19) - 9 (4 + 5) Parma-Bangers
points chart points for a total of 22 Parma-Bangers points chart points. During May I was 2nd highest points
scorer with 36 points, the joint 3rd highest average of 18.0 points and remained red grade. Following May I remained
1st in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 112 points and the 3rd highest average of 18.7 points. 10th July - Arena points chart
round 8 - Parma-Bangers and Parma-Banger and Caravans at 'Comrades' all one race per lane. Parma-Bangers heat
1 3rd of six drivers (11), heat 2 2nd of six drivers (16) and final 3rd of six drivers (12) - 10 (best
heat 4 + final 6) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Banger and Caravans over 4 laps - heat 3rd
of five drivers (11 - 4th scored 10 and 2nd scored 12) - 3 Parma-Bangers points chart points for a
total of 13 Parma-Bangers points chart points. During May to July I was 2nd highest
points scorer with 49 points, the 4th highest average of 16.3 points and remained red grade. Following May to July I
remained 1st in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 125 points and the 3rd highest average of
17.9 points. 11th September - Arena points chart
round 9 - Parma-Bangers and Parma-Banger and Caravans at 'St Mary's' all one race per lane. Parma-Bangers -
not helped by my Parma-Banger not running well - heat 1 3rd of three drivers (4), heat 2 2nd of three
drivers (8) and heat 3 3rd of three drivers (0) - 10 (4 + 3 + 4) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Banger
and Caravans over 4 laps - heat 1st of five drivers (10 - two finishes both race wins and the only driver to
finish more than one race!) - 5 Parma-Bangers points chart points for a total of 15 Parma-Bangers points
chart points. 18th September - Arena points chart round 10 - Parma-Big Van Bangers and Parma-Small Van Banger at 'Comrades'
all one race per lane. Parma-Big Van Bangers heat 1 2nd of four drivers (12), heat 2 2nd of
five drivers (15) and final 3rd of five drivers (15 - 2nd scored 16) - 10 (best heat 4 + final 6) Parma-Bangers
points chart points. Parma-Small Van Bangers - racing with new braids that took heat 1 to bed in - heat 1 4th
of five drivers (4) and heat 2 1st of five drivers (21) - 7 (2 + 5) Parma-Bangers points chart points for a
total of 17 Parma-Bangers points chart points. During May to September I was 2nd
highest points scorer with 81 points, the 4th highest average of 16.2 points and remained red grade. Following May to
September I remained 1st in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 157 points (only 1 points ahead of
2nd) and the 3rd highest average of 17.4 points. 16 October - Arena points chart round 11 (having missed round 10 being a VIP guest at a book launch!) - Parma-Banger and Caravans and Parma-Bangers at 'Comrades' all one race per lane. Parma-Banger and Caravans over 6 laps - heat 1 4th of seven drivers (10 - 2 wins and no other finishes) and heat 2 1st of seven drivers (15 - 3 wins and no other finishes!) - 7 (2 + 5) Parma-Bangers points chart points. Parma-Bangers heat 1 3rd of seven drivers (14 - 2nd scored 15) and heat 2 1st of seven drivers (22 - 2nd scored 20 and 3rd 19 and level with 2nd going in the final race on 20 points as they had four wins and I had five 2nd places so I had to out score them in the final race. 2nd was on the inside lane to me and raced ahead before de-slotting across my lane but I managed to push them into my lane and finish the race 4th which was enough to win the heat!) - 8 (3 + 5) Parma-Bangers points chart points for a total of 15 Parma-Bangers points chart points. Along with Parma-Minis on the same night I won the second heat of each formula! During October and November I was 4th highest points scorer with 16 points (having missed one round) and the highest average of 16 points and remained red grade.
Having missed round 10, I finished as runner-up in the Parma-Bangers Arena Points Championship chart with 173
points and the 2nd highest average of 17.3 points. Parma-Minis 6th March - Arena points chart round
2 at 'Comrades' - heat 1st of four drivers (15 - one race per lane all drivers starting from blue grade) and
final 1st of five drivers (34 - two races per lane and again all drivers starting from blud grade - 2nd scored 18!) - 13 (heat
5 + final 8) Parma-Mini points chart points. 10th April - Arena points chart round 3 at 'St Mary's' one
race per lane and all drivers starting from the start/finish line - heat 1 2nd of four drivers (13 - 1st scored 15 and 3rd
12), heat 2 2nd of five drivers (9 - 1st scored 10) and final 4th of five drivers (2) - 9 (best heat 4
+ final 5) Parma-Mini points chart points. I was 2nd in the Parma-Mini Arena Points Championship chart with
22 points. 1st May - Arena points round
4 at 'Comrades' one race per lane and all drivers starting from the start/finish line - heat 1 1st of six drivers (15) and
heat 2 2nd of six drivers (10) - 9 (5 + 4) Parma-Mini points chart points. I was 1st in the Parma-Mini Arena
Points Championship chart with 31 points. 10th July - Arena points round 5
at 'Comrades' one race per lane and all drivers starting from the yellow grade line - heat 1st of five drivers (23)
and final 5th of seven drivers (11) - 9 (5 + 4) Parma-Mini points chart points. I remained 1st in the
Parma-Mini Arena Points Championship chart with 40 points. 11th September - Arena points
round 6 at 'St Mary's' one race per lane and all drivers starting from the chequered finish line - not helped
by my Parma-mini not running well - heat 1 4th= of five drivers (0) and heat 2 5th of five drivers
(0) - 3 (2 + 1) Parma-Mini points chart points. I remained 1st in the Parma-Mini Arena Points Championship
chart with 43 points but it was close at the top (2nd 42, 3rd 41 and 4th 39). 16th October - Arena points round 7 at 'Comrades' one race per lane and all drivers starting from the yellow grade line - heat 1 3rd of six drivers (11) and heat 2 1st of six drivers (26 - 2nd scored 25 and we had an identical record going into the last race which I won in yellow lane (lane 2) whilst 2nd finished 2nd in the green lane (lane 6 / outside lane)) - 8 (3 + 5) Parma-Mini points chart points. Parma-Libre 13th March - Arena points
chart round 1 at 'St Mary's' - borrowing a Parma-Libre (chevrolet sports car) heat 4th of five drivers (5) - 2 Parma-Libre
points chart points. 3rd April - Arena points chart round 2 at 'Comrades' all one race per lane - borrowing
a Parma-Libre (dodge pick-up truck) heat 2nd of four drivers (21) and final 2nd of four drivers (13) - 11 Parma-Libre
points chart points. I was joint 2nd with two other drivers in the Parma-Libre Arena Points Championship chart with
13 points. 29th May - Arena points chart
round 3 at 'Comrades' all one race per lane - racing my stretch limo jaguar heat 1 6= of seven drivers (0 -
went crashing!) and heat 2 4th of seven drivers (8 including one win - 3rd 9 and 2nd 10) - 3 Parma-Libre points
chart points. I was 4th in the Parma-Libre Arena Points Championship chart with 16 points. 18th September - Arena points chart round 4 at 'Comrades' all one race per lane with all drivers starting from white grade - borrowing a Parma-Libre (dodge pick-up truck which I raced for the first 5 races with the bodyshell on back to front!) heat joint 6th of seven drivers (0 - not taking it too seriously!) - 1 Libre points chart point. I finished outside the top four in the Parma-Libre Arena Points Championship with 17 points. Multi-formula The 30th October 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 count towards this multi-formula championship format. Parma-Robin Reliants provided by the Club, three drivers in each heat, one race per lane over 8 laps with all drivers starting from the start finish line. For fairness a set Parma-Robin Reliant allocated to each of the two inside lanes, two middle lanes and two outside lanes. Heat 1 – 18 points and 4th overall 6 points behind 1st and 1 point behind joint 2nd and 3rd. Heat 2 – 28 points and the only driver to finish all races in one of the Parma-Robin Reliants heats! 2nd overall with 46 points and 3 points behind 1st. Parma-Libre borrowing a sports car due to my wedding car replica stretch Jag not being available – one heat of six drivers, two races per lane over 8 laps with all drivers starting from the start finish line – 31 points - 1st overall with 77 points and 9 ahead of 2nd and 15 ahead of 3rd. Finally Parma-Legends provided by the Club, three drivers in each heat, one race per lane over 8 laps with all drivers starting from the start finish line. For fairness a set Parma-Legend allocated to each of the two inside lanes, two middle lanes and two outside lanes. Heat 1 – 21 points and going into heat 2 I needed 13 points to win the Arena Halloween Havoc Championship – 2nd in each of my two races in the middle lanes and a win in my first race in one of the outside lanes was enough and I ended up with 26 points – 124 overall to win the Arena Halloween Havoc Championship – 14 points ahead of 2nd.
SLOTSTOX
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: 6TH
SLOTSTOX
BRITISH 'OPEN' CHAMPIONSHIP: 6TH
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