A wave of fiendish colds and sore throats was sweeping West Sussex for half-term,
but twenty-four healthy-ish souls made it to the Barn for our Halloween Micro Scalextric
team endurance race. We gave a warm welcome to Faye, Jamie and David for their first
tastes of WHO Racing action.
The track was a little different, with a Micro version of the Spa-Francorchamps 'old'
circuit - a long, fast-flowing drive with the tricky La Source hairpin tucked just
inside the main doors. For a change, race control was opposite, rather than next
to, the drivers.
Stephen orchestrated the team selection, with eight juniors acting as captains, picking
one of the eight leading grown-ups in the Micro championship and drawing the rest
of our names out of Ben's hat. Twenty-four racers went very nicely into eight teams
of three.
First segment
The first four teams got off to a rapid start. Jamie's Skeleton Racers set a blistering
score of 132 laps on blue lane, just ahead of Ben's Road Warriors in red. It was
no surprise that the middle lanes would be good to drive, but how teams performed
on white and yellow - the gutter lanes - would probably decide who'd win and who'd
lose the race.
Yellow had a very tricky left-hander at Les Combes and too many offs are just no
good for those pesky braids! Scary Spooky - Faye, Duncan and Andy P - managed 121
laps on yellow in that first run, a score which ended up the best effort of the night.
Nathaniel's Spectre scored 116 laps in white, not quite hooking up with the inner
lane.
When the second group of teams got their first go, Aaron, Neal and Richard - Ghost
Rider - showed us all how to drive white, scoring 127 laps, the best of the night
on white and putting them fourth overall after fifteen minutes.
Second segment
Scary Spooky powered into the lead after a strong run of 136 laps in blue - Faye
was really enjoying herself. Corey's Pumpkin Smashers also enjoyed blue, scoring
134 laps and moving smoothly up the order. Of the two teams in red, Skeleton Racers
- Jamie, Hayley and Stephen - had a disappointing run, whereas Alex's Skelly Bobs
did much better and jumped up to second overall.
Of the teams in the gutters, Road Warriors - Ben and the two Mikes - and Oscar's
Iron Zombies held up well in white. Spectre - Nathaniel, Simon and Andy J - struggled
in yellow and Ghost Rider's team members were simply exasperated by their mis-firing
Nissan and that Les Combes left-hander...
At halfway, the field was covered by thirty laps, first and second separated by about
three feet and Road Warriors tying with Iron Zombies - Oscar, Tony and Neil - for
fifth. We sure like close races!
Third segment
Although Spectre - racing in blue - set the top score of the night so far (138 laps),
this segment was all about red lane. Scary Spooky did okay with 124 laps, but the
Pumpkin Smashers - Corey, John and Robin - did much better (131 laps) and jumped
into the lead. Ghost Riders had another frustrating run, scoring a mediocre 123 in
blue.
Out in the gutters, everyone was struggling. Skeleton Racers, Road Warriors, Iron
Zombies and Skelly Bobs - Alex, Andrew and David - all lost ground. However, all
the teams where still in with a chance and it would all depend on the final fifteen
minutes...
Fourth segment
The adrenaline was certainly pumping when the first group of teams started their
last stint. Ben and the two Mikes - Road Warriors - absolutely monstered blue lane,
throwing down the gauntlet with the best score of the race, a huge 141 laps and breaking
the 500 lap barrier overall. A solid run for Scary Spooky in white put them just
ahead of Spectre, with Skeleton Racers a fair way back.
Road Warriors' total of 506 laps set a target for the Pumpkin Smashers of 122 laps
on white lane - not impossible, although only two teams had managed it so far. Although
they had the middle lanes, Ghost Rider and Iron Zombies were just too far back to
catch the leaders and the same went for Skelly Bobs in yellow. Although there was
still plenty to race for, all eyes were on white lane.
Corey and Robin just about hit their marks, leaving John a target of 45 laps in five
minutes. It should have been comfortable for the multiple WHO champion, and a string
of early offs didn't seem to bother John at all. Once he got the hang of the lane,
the laps were knocked off as regular as clockwork. Ben and the two Mikes still had
their fingers crossed, but as the timer hit 21 seconds, white lane clicked round
to 122 laps and victory went to Corey, John and Robin.
Huge congratulations to our winners, especially to Robin on his first WHO medal.
An extremely competitive second were the Road Warriors, ahead of Ghost Rider, who
came back to grab third with an impressive final stint on red. Fourth were Scary
Spooky, with Faye our top first-timer of the evening. Fifth were Spectre, sixth Iron
Zombies, seventh Skelly Bobs and eighth Skeleton Racers.
What a fun evening it was - thanks go to everyone who took part, especially Neal,
Hayley and Tony who helped me set up, to Stephen, Duncan and Hayley (again) who ran
the race and to everyone who packed up the Barn so quick that I comfortably got the
ten o'clock bus home.
Happy Halloween!
- Andy P
