Leek Slot Stox Club

4th June, 2002 - Pages Updated
Meeting report added for meeting 16. The League Table page has been updated.

21st May, 2002 - Race Meeting 16

Plenty of good 'ol fashioned pushing and shoving going on, on the track, to entertain the small (but perfectly formed) number of spectators trackside this evening. Bros started it, with a push on tank-meister Mesh, actually managing to unsettle the hulk of metal putting it up onto two wheels and off into the infield at the chicane. Soon after Aleks was out for revenge managing to force not only Bros off at the same place but forcibly, yet neatly, parking Jon's car in behind.

The plethora of concoctions inside Chaz's box continues to amaze worried onlookers. Not content with the ritualistic pre-race smearing of unnamed substances all over his car and all down his, ahem, dapper looking lemon coloured shirt, Chaz was clearly seen getting a bright blue bottle of nail varnish out too. "We're just wondering what colour the lipstick is going to be" said a spokesperson for the club today, who wished to remain anonymous.

Carole was doing a bit of fine tuning on her controller as it didn't appear to be performing as well as she expected. 'Fine tuning' Carole Jones style consisted of battering the offending controller against the side of the track repeatedly, until bits started falling out. "Well those bits can't have been any good" commented Carole as she inspected the now somewhat spartan looking interior of the controller.

Phil was struggling to find a decent motor to put in his car for tonight's racing. The best of the bunch appeared to have a fault causing the brushes to light up like a Christmas tree as soon as the power was applied. A dash of magic spray appeared to ease the situation. Dee too was struggling as the pinion gear failed on her car.

Rob and Nick got off to a good start in the final closely followed by Dunc and Bros. Nick and Rob continued to bank the scores while Phil and Chaz started to take advantage of some mid final tangles. Nick found himself having to make his way through some carnage and almost making it through, only to find Bros lying in wait, one moment stationery, next moment at full throttle careering into the back of his car, forcing him off. Following a unanimous cheer Bros's face turned to a look of smug self-satisfaction. Phil, having just about kept ahead of Dunc and Chaz, found himself alongside Rob and Nick needing only to finish first across the line in the last race. Typical last race chaos ensued but Rob and Nick were left to race it out to the finish with Nick gaining the upper hand for his fifth final win of the season.

The Tank Gets The Push
Bros goes in heavy on Mesh

Revenge
Aleks forces Bros and Jon to park their vehicles

Wake up lads
Jon and Adam strain to contain their excitement

Attention Grabber
Chaz's new car woos the drivers and spectators alike

Take That
Mesh teaches Dee not to get in his way

Happy
Mesh made like the proverbial Cheshire Cat

Glinting in the light of the camera flash was Chaz's latest stock car creation, looking somewhat concept, it's ultra sleek, ultra shiny lines were rightly the centre of attention in the pre-heat warmup period. So much was the allure of the smooth streamlined bodywork that it would be Chaz's downfall however, as his lack of concentration on anything else caused him to miss the first race completely, failing to notice he had been called.

Now both running from the red line the DS Racing boys were finding the going somewhat tough, both finding themselves in the consolation race. "Well to be absolutely honest with you, it's makes a nice change" claimed Dunc, trying to look like he meant it.

After a long period of absence the fabled Pants Trophy somehow made a reappearance, waiting in time honoured tradition to be awarded to the lowest scorer of the night. That person happened to be Den tonight but Nij was "confident it will soon be back in the hands of it's rightful owner". He was, of course, talking about himself.

Dee's return continued well as she earned herself a place in the final for the first time this season. The final started well for Bros who took an immediate lead but Mesh was right there with him from the outset. However, by the half way stage Mesh started to drop back and by race eight Bros looked untouchable with 36 points, requiring only a further four points to claim victory. Little did he know how hard those four points would turn out to be. Nick, for one, turned his car into a rolling road block for Bros, who starting behind Nick for each race, was going to find it almost impossible to find a way through, race after race. Bros tried to take out the gaining Mesh in the penultimate race, clattering into the back of his car and straight off the track, hitting innocent bystander Den, whose voice curiously reached an octave higher than normal after the incident.

"Pleeese let me through, let it be a fair race" - getting desperate and still needing three points Bros pleaded with Nick to let him through for a clear run. Nick obliged albeit belatedly leaving Bros, Chaz and Mesh to battle it out to the chequered flag. It all started to unfold in the chicane as Chaz failed to negotiate Dee and both cars ended up blocking the track. Mesh and Bros, still battling, piled into the back of them and both left the track with Mesh's car grinding to a halt literally an inch ahead of Bros's. "I won it by an inch !!" exclaimed an elated Mesh. Well they always say size matters and in this case an inch made all the difference. Well done to Mesh for winning the 2001-2002 season Kiwi Cup.

9th April, 2002 - Race Meeting 13 Pictures from meeting 13
GET IN THERE Carole gives Chaz a nudge in the wrong direction	ANYONE GOT ANY GLUE ? It can be tricky getting your rubber to stay on
BROS'LL FIX IT Rob wrecks it, Bros mends it.It's the way things are.	WHAT'S GOING ON ? "Help - I don't have a clue what's going on" are the cries - and that's only from the starter
TANK TRACK Take on a tank and you can expect there to be tears	DEE WILL NOT BE PLEASED ! Paul scoops the Jackpot and makes an enemy at the same time

Rookie Racers
Just two of tonights five new-comers

Bros: My, you're a big boy aren't you ?
Jon: Yeah, and I'm tall as well

Chaz: Ooooh, what a jolly bad show, I just spun out whilst leading and consequently lost the final, what dreadfully awful luck, I am most disappointed

Carl's car was throwing off sparks and bottoming out all over the place tonight as he struggled to maintain an even weight distribution - and that was just on his way to Leek as he had his car loaded down with budding slot-stox racers. With all the new drivers in attendance the result was a record turnout of 20 racers so it was all hands to the decks ready for some fast heats, fast racing and the occasional fast beer.

Mesh wasn't racing tonight though, preferring simply to observe the carnage his car was inflicting on poor unsuspecting drivers as the heavyweight vehicle was loaned out to other drivers and being put to effective use as a brick wall. In one heat five cars were ramming it trying to get past but nothing was going to budge this colossus once it had stopped.

Paul continued his big comeback from last meeting, scoring well again in the heats, qualifying for the final with ease. Dee also did well after getting back on track following a break, and was seen to be noticeably out-pacing Nij during one race.

Phil's unpredictable form continued once again. He's still struggling to get back to his previous performance, languishing amongst the lesser experienced white tops after reaching blue top earlier in the season.

Bros found himself up against the 'DS' boys and experiencing a modicum of difficulty keeping them at bay as they scored a synchronised one two in one of the races. "Ahh, now I know what the 'DS' stands for on your cars" he concluded with a knowing look, "DS means 'Dead Spawny' in your case" he revealed.

The letters DS had a totally different meaning during the final however as reluctant starter and scorer Nij had fun keeping track of who had scored what where and when. The expression 'Dynamic Scoring' fitted perfectly as Nij tried to convince the competing drivers he HAD got a clue what was going on.

After a shaky start Bros's final got well under way, maintaining a consistent lead albeit a slight one, over nearest rival Jon. Very close behind the leading duo were Chaz and Paul, always within a few points of the lead. For Dunc and Nick the final was a completely different story as they found their cars getting just that bit too close to each other, crashing into each other during most of the races, putting them well out of contention. Bros started to stretch his lead only to be fenced during the latter stages by Nick, allowing the rest of the field to close right up. In the last race three drivers were in sight of the win - Bros was the closest points-wise but Jon and Chaz were in a position to snatch it, starting slightly further ahead on-track and on inside lanes, Chaz on lane two and Jon on three. All Chaz had to do was keep ahead which he did with ease. And then he overcooked it all by himself and spun out. This left Jon running ahead but needing five points so all Bros had to do was take his car out and the win would be his. He put in a last second lunge but missed and Jon cruised in for the necessary points and his second final win of the season.

Mesh: Watch me and you will learn a lot Dave
Dave: So I need to drink more beer then I take it ?

Not Chaz's Night
If it wasn't car failure it was driver failure for Chaz

Rob: It's a bit scary being in with the big boys isn't it ?
Bros: Yes, but drink plenty of Bud like me and you'll be alright
Chaz: It could be worse - you could have a car like mine
Mesh: Do you want some lead for your car - I've got loads
Rob: You boys sure are scary

Meeting 11 got off to a bad start for Phil tonight - when his car failed scrutineering he was most annoyed. Nothing strange about that you may think until you realise that Phil is actually the official club scrutineer.

Mesh's heavyweight car was found to be causing a few blockages around the 'dog leg' section of the track. Whenever his car come out of its lane nothing else could get past the lead laden obstruction as no other car could budge it. Maybe this was a new tactic - if he couldn't finish the race he didn't want anyone else to either.

There was a bit of confusion for Rob as he had seemingly forgotten how to count to six - he kept on doing five laps and then claiming to have done the full six, blaming the computer. Now starting way back at the red line, by the time he crossed the start line at the beginning of a race he thought he'd already done a lap the poor lad. Perhaps it was a bit confusing for him starting so far back with the big boys, he's just not used to it.

New racer Dave was struggling during one of the heats when his car apparently lost power and came to a complete halt. Expert in-depth post race investigation revealed the cause of the problem to be an obstruction in the track - belly button fluff was found to be the culprit, which had somehow got wedged in front of the guide blade. Claims of deliberate interference from other drivers were not upheld as no-one could prove who it belonged to.

Nij was found to be causing some controversy but then that is nothing new. His car became de-slotted whilst Aleks' car was in his lane and he 'accidentally' scored another lap by using her car to complete a lap in his lane. Shouts from the opposing racers suggesting disqualification were not acted upon as Nij somehow managed to bluff his way out of it claiming he thought his car was still in.

Chaz's night didn't go quite as planned. After working his way up to second place in the league points table his good run had come to an end and concluded with his pinion gear failing during one of the races, losing him even more points.

After an absence of a few meetings Paul got straight back into the flow, now back at white top, scoring highly in the heats and qualifying for his first final of the season alongside Adam, Bros, Nick, Nij and Rob, who qualified for the final once again via his now customary method of winning the consolation.

The final turned out to be a somewhat brief affair. After a recent bad run, Nick has been re-graded at blue and consequently had a clearer run at the start of each race. He capitalised on this immediately and scored 29 out of a possible 30 points in the first five races. For some reason no-one was able to administer the required push on his car to prevent his lead stretching further. It looked like Nij and Bros were also going for the points up until the mid point by which time it was too late to stop Nick. "Yeah well you would win from the bandit position" was Rob (I'm a big boy red top now)'s congratulatory comment as Nick took his fourth final win of the season.

Steve: Hey guys... I've just thought of an excellent tip...

Track Invasion
All eyes down as a suspected track fault is investigated

Dunc: Hehehe... I won, I won !!

There was a welcome return visit from veteran drivers Steve and Kev tonight after a long spell away from the track. They got straight back in amongst the thick of the action without delay. "Look, you've come second" was the shout to Steve during one of the heat races. "But I was watching the wrong car !" he replied, totally oblivious, the old magic clearly still there. "Mind you" he added, gesturing toward the controller in his hand, "I'm not surprised with this thing - you push it in and then you have to pull it out again !". Just like the old days it was like Steve had never been away, we were just waiting to hear another one of the famous 'Steve Bold's Top Tips' just for old time's sake. How could anyone forget those fabled words of wisdom like the classic "Keep going forward and try and do six laps" or the legendary "Don't go near the soldering iron with your willy hanging out". Ahh, the memories.

Back to the harsh reality of track action and Mesh was making a point of proudly parading his latest slot-car incarnation, which incorporated numerous additions of rather hefty looking lead weights. "Surely it must be over the permitted weight of 200 grams" was the burning question. "Not so" said Mesh, master of the vernier gauge and purveyor of digitally calibrated scales. "I know the weight of this car down to several decimal places I'll have you know" he boasted. On the track the car was unmovable. Nick's car hit it hard and at speed, broadside, and just stopped dead in it's tracks. A slight scratch was the only damage evident to Mesh's side rail.

Carole was on good form tonight, scoring consistently well putting her straight into the final with ease. Dunc was flying too, although racing from White Top was a bit of a novelty he's not used to and will no doubt not last for long.

Rob struggled through his second heat and found himself in the consolation against the likes of Nij and Nick who he successfully managed to fend off, somehow scraping another final place.

Dunc got off to a flyer followed briefly by fellow RMSCC racer Jon. By the half way stage though Jon, along with Chaz and Bros seemed to have lost the plot, leaving Dunc and Rob to fight it out with Carole doing a good job of keeping up. As the end neared though Dunc proved unstoppable and romped home for his first final win with Rob second and Carole third. High scores mean high grades however and Carole will be moving up to the blue line for the first time this season, Dunc moves up to Yellow and Rob now finds himself right back at the red line for the first time.

Phil: I wonder if I press hard enough this car will fit in the box

Not Enough Room
Three into one doesn't go

Rob (Junior): Hey you big bully, you just wrecked my car
Rob (Senior): Oops, I've been rumbled

Now past the half way point of the season things are hotting up in the league points/gold top challenge as Nick maintains his lead but Bros, Chaz and Rob all start to close in fast. Bros was getting up to his "malicious after race activities" once again, trying to cause havoc by placing his car the way of racers who hadn't finished yet, almost causing him to leave the designated 'end zone' risking disqualification from the race.

Bullying tactics seemed to be catching on with other drivers too. Rob (Senior) was caught in the act after blatantly destroying the bodyshell of Rob (Junior)'s car, smashing the roof clean off. Rob (Senior) looked around trying to look innocent as Rob (Junior) looked up in despair at the 6 foot plus bully. "You just broke my car" he alleged as Rob (Senior) concentrated on perfecting his complete look of righteous indignation with notable success. "It had nothing to do with me, it wasn't me, it wasn't me" he continually repeated, unconvincingly. Out came the superglue.

Laura's second ever race meeting wasn't quite going to plan. "Rob (Junior) keeps knocking me off the track" she claimed. Maybe he was just taking out his frustration on the only person present who was smaller than him.

Aleks made the mistake of picking one of Chaz's cars up and wished she hadn't bothered. "I got covered in Charlie's excrement" was her dismayed exclamation as she began to wipe her hands of oil and the other unknown substances.

The final caused something of a logistical problem for Mesh and Aleks as they had been sharing a car and now both had qualified for the final. Development of Mesh's new car had been ongoing all evening and it's current build status was "a bag of bits" so a loan from Chaz was required. Not that it helped much though as Mesh got off to a very slow start as he got used to the car. Conversely Aleks started very well running in equal second to begin with. Rob wasn't doing too well, struggling to keep up. Maybe he was racked with guilt from his earlier kid-bashing incident. The sly smirk on his face suggested otherwise.

Bros spent most of the final running in third as Nick and Chaz battled it out up front, seemingly unstoppable. Nick had the edge and was leading up until the penultimate race until Chaz caught up and levelled the scores forcing a head to head battle. The other drivers could force another race if they got the bumper in early enough to keep the leaders scores to a minimum. Nick got away off the red line and immediately clattered into the back of a stationery car on the blue line ! What, surely this vehicle wasn't deliberately stopping at the start of the race ? And who was the driver, oh what a shocker, Rob (Senior) in the thick of the action once again. "I did start" he maintained, "It's just that my finger slipped off the trigger straight after". The words 'story' and 'likely' immediately spring to mind. Chaz managed to get a lap in before being punted off by Bros, but his usual surgeon-like precision wasn't quite there as his car got carried round to the start of the lap in another lane, giving Chaz sufficient points to win his elusive first final of the season.

Nij: Do you know you're burning my arm with that soldering gun ?
Rob: You hum it and I'll sing along

Nice Parking
Rob goes the extra mile for that photo opportunity

Ben: Dad, you've got the scores all mixed up
Nij: Shut up son and keep smiling, hopefully no-one will notice

Bros was in a distinctly devilish mood this evening. He took great amusement during one race as he saw several cars crash out onto lane six, blocking the path of Nick who was struggling to push the wayward vehicles aside. When Bros completed his six laps though it seemed he was going to get off on hampering Nick's progress further still as he proceeded to park his car broadside astride Nick's lane. "You ****er" said Nick, sounding somewhat disappointed at the lack of sportsmanship going on "I can't believe you just reversed across my lane you ****ing ****" he added, evidently not impressed with Bros's expert manoeuvring skills. Conversely, Bros was clearly very pleased with himself.

Nij had had his work cut out in order to get his and Ben's cars running in time for this meeting. Ben's gear assembly had to be repaired and the bodyshell got smashed off his own car last time out. Ben continued the theme from the last meeting, entertaining onlookers with his car's weird sound effects. This time it was sounding like an old steam train, chugging round the track. He's obviously been watching too much Thomas The Tank Engine.

Rob was on top form again, raking in the wins. "I've been Rob'd... again." was the cry heard from many a racer, an expression all too commonplace these days. Another high scoring meeting moves him up two places to fourth in the League Table. Following a long spell starting at the yellow line, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain the pace much longer though, as a re-grading for meeting nine will move his start position to blue. This is good news for Carole, Aleks and Phil as Rob's points will now not be counting towards the Whites & Yellows Championship, for the next two meetings at least.

Nij tried to help on the computer with the development of a new score calculation spreadsheet. Things were evidently not going to plan as he announced the drivers who had qualified for the final - some of them hadn't even attended this evening's meeting. Whoops, looks like a bit of fine tuning required there then.

In the final Bros and Nick got off to the fastest start but were quickly overtaken by Chaz. He held the lead until the obligatory shouts of "Get Chaz" and a four race run of wins for Rob put them neck and neck only a handful of points from success. Then Bros began to make a late comeback and the three of them were within reach of a win, first across the line in the last race would do it. A plan was hatched between Aleks, Ben and Nick to take out all the other cars. Bros was taken out early and Nick put the necessary move on Chaz but Rob escaped unscathed and cruised in for six points and his first final win of the season.

Just Try And Stop Me
Domo puts on a brave face

Whaaaahhhhh !
Adam gets a nudge in the chicane

You Can't Park Here
Phil parks outside a marked bay

Nice To See You, To See You
Bet you didn't know Chaz could do Brucey impressions

Ben's car was not very popular with the crowd tonight, going around the track making noises not that dissimilar to those of a dentists drill, as the gear assembly spat teeth out all over the place. His car was going nowhere fast. Correction, his car was going nowhere.

Domo was back, after missing a few races through injury. Arm in a sling or not, he was determined a mere broken arm wasn't going to spoil his fun.

Chaz's car was sporting a nice new body shell and paintjob and it seemed to be helping him. Maybe it was just psychological but whatever it was Chaz reeled in the points, not winning many races but not getting any low scores, which all added up to make him the highest heat scorer, enabling him to close up on the league table leaders.

Bros's new car seemed to be going from bad to worse, "I wish I never built this car now" he said despairingly. "The only thing that works is the braids" he added. "Never mind" he said hopefully, trying to look on the positive side, "I think I'll change the tyres."

Nick's night didn't seem to go well either, as he kept on finding himself struggling to finish races and tripping over other cars. Even Chaz had it in for him, blasting him off the track on a lap 5 as he was coming round for the win, citing the loan of duff insulation tape earlier in the evening the reason for the attack.

For the final the likes of Bros, Nick and Rob, having had their problems, were out of it and the line-up looked a little bit different from the norm. First time final racers Adam and Duncan were in there alongside Chaz, Jon, Nij and Mesh.

Chaz got off to an early lead and was determined to maintain it. Mesh had other ideas and had clearly decided his plan was to cause as much chaos and devastation as possible. "That's three out of three ! " he announced elatedly with a manic grin from ear to ear, reeking with self gratification as he picked off a different car race after race, forcing them hard into the fence. He was a boy gone bad. Or was it the boy had gone mad ? This was undoubtedly due to what is known in medical circles as 'Chronic Carnij Syndrome', an illness thought to be caused by excessive exposure to the on track exploits of one Nigel Jones.

Meanwhile the DS boys were biding their time. Together in the final for the first time maybe their plan could finally be realised. Trying to keep out of trouble appeared to be the highest priority but with Mesh's car lunging down the back straight like an unguided missile, anything could have happened.

Chaz somehow managed to maintain his lead from the outset, with Jon ever-present waiting for his opportunity, closing in all the time. It all came to a head for the grand finale in the last race as first across the line would decide the winner. In true LSSC professional style Chaz got all unnecessary at the last minute and just couldn't hold it together long enough to finish the race and Jon swept past to claim his first final win in only his fourth visit to the club. Chaz held second and Dunc finished in a commendable third.

Weird & Wonderful
Mesh has one of his moments

Come On !
Bros holds Mesh up

Excuse me !
Nick squeezes through past Paul & Carole

There were all sorts of funny goings on and tonight which may have been due to a little of the Christmas spirit come a bit too early ? Not so much funny but strange perhaps, was Bros's decision to build and race a brand new car half way through the season without even testing it. Unsurprisingly he found himself struggling to some extent in the first heat and might have considered himself fortunate during the second as the Bud kicked in and scores started to improve. Another strange occurrence came from the Jones pit, as Nij somehow managed to win half of his 12 heat races, pumping his scores up to dizzy heights. His car appeared to get a bit giddy however (or was it the driver) as the legendary CarNij-flip saw his car somersault over the fence, forcing spectators to duck for cover.

"My car died. It was crap anyway" was Aleks's frank announcement as inevitably her car had come to the end of its run of funny sound effects as the motor finally went up to the big parts bin in the sky and Mesh might have been thinking on another plane, as he tried to explain how during one of his races he experienced "a weird and wonderful moment". The Christmas spirit was well under way by this stage. Ben decided to keep his head down though, having been elevated to the red top starting position for the first time ever (a praiseworthy achievement) but he was clearly not enjoying it.

Nick appeared to be benefiting from the misfortunes of others (boo hiss) as he cleaned up in the heats, coming either first or second in all but two of his races. Evidently on a roll he succeeded in keeping the ball rolling and went into an early lead in the final as every other car crashed off the track around him in the first race. Chaz observed his car wasn't performing quite as it normally did. "In fact it's only held together by a mixture of oil, grease and other residues" he announced, seemingly proudly as the other drivers started to cringe trying hard not to imagine what the 'other residues' might actually consist of. Bros, now beginning to get the best out of his car, put up the best fight but there was just no stopping Nick this evening as he romped away with an insurmountable lead and took his third final win of the season.

16th December, 2001 - Page Updated
The League Table page has been updated with the scores from Race Meeting 5.

4th December, 2001 - Race Meeting 5

Team DS Racing
Looks like a plan is hatching

Team Attack
Watch out, here they come

Whammo !
Rob escapes but DS Racing boys make sure Phil is going nowhere

Slight panic started to set in at the commencement of this weeks meeting as no-one appeared to have a key for the control box which houses all the equipment necessary for running the track. Unfortunately Nij had done such a good job on the locking mechanism it was not going to be easy to bypass it. Desperate measures were required and Chaz was dispatched to go and get his angle grinder from home. In the meantime Carole arrived and promptly produced the mythical key much to the disappointment of Chaz who was tooled up and ready for action.

Ready for action was not an expression that could be applied to Phil however. Still not satisfied with his recent promotion to Blue top, Phil announced at the last meeting a new motor was on the cards. On the cards maybe but in the car in wasn't as he frantically tried to fit said motor literally minutes before he was due to race. Unluckily for him the modifications appeared to drastically upset the handling characteristics of the car and he found himself struggling to even complete a race, as the car hopped around the corners in the fashion of a demented kangaroo on steroids. Nick stepped in, albeit too late to improve Phil's heat scores, and gave him the benefit of some of his handling knowledge; "It may help if you had some round tyres" was amongst the enlightening advice on offer.

Phil's scrutineering was certainly up to scratch tonight as several cars were rejected for car construction rule infringements. One of those caught out was visiting racer Dunc, whose car was lacking in ground clearance. This was the least of his worries however as getting used to a different type of track and way of racing would serve to keep him occupied. Rob's car was looking a little straighter now, after having it's roof crushed at the hands of Mesh during the last meeting. Mesh was having problems himself though, missing a couple of races after his motor fell out.

In the final Chaz and Nick got off to a good start as did Mesh with his repaired car. Rob and Carole were suffering somewhat however and Jon also seemed to be struggling for some reason. Now down to White top (due to the way grades are calculated for 'new' racers) Jon should have been cleaning up; "I blew it" he concluded, "I might have done better if I had stayed in the slot". Surely it had nothing to do with keeping his averages down, to hold on to that white top a little longer. Chaz and Mesh continued their valiant efforts but to no avail as Nick just stormed ahead to take his second final win of the season.

1st December, 2001 - Page Updated
The Grades page has been updated with the new grades for Meeting 5 on December 4th.

20th November, 2001 - Race Meeting 4

Don't try this at home kids
No wonder Nij is losing it

Carole sandwich ?
The purple car is going nowhere

What did you say ?
You question the scores, you take on Fiona

Ben opened with some belting scores in the heats tonight but couldn't quite fathom why, "I don't know why I've scored so well this time" he stated looking rather perplexed after either winning or coming second in 9 out of 12 of his heat races. On the flip side Dad Nij must have been going for the lowest score record with his array of mishaps and misdemeanours. "I was just on the in stroke and it went off prematurely down the back straight" was Nij's explanation for a rather untimely fire up during one of the races. It was not a pretty site for all concerned, that's for sure. Not content with that, whilst trying to fire an innocent racer off the track after his race was finished, Nij rolled his car into a precarious position across Adam's lane causing a dead short and instant disqualification from the proceedings. He was not a happy bunny and even had the cheek to claim he was being victimised. Tut tut, silly boy.

Phil's recent good form has seen him moving up the grades this season, moving from White to Yellow and now on to Blue Top. "I have ordered a new engine for my car" he proudly announced, showing clear intentions he was not going to let a tired motor slow him down. It sounded as though Aleks may be in need of some new parts too, "My car sounds rattly" she complained as the car moved around the track emitting strange noises. The words 'hoover' and 'gravel beach' immediately sprung to mind.

Carole started well in the final, having scored well in the heats but started to struggle as the others muscled in. Chaz was in with the early lead but soon lost out as Nick and Bros quickly took over and even Nij was putting in a reasonable performance moving within a point of the lead at the mid-point. Ben too was not going to let the leaders move too far ahead as his apparent unfathomable high performance run continued. It was Nick however who became strongest towards the end putting in several late wins but he hadn't calculated for Bros's last minute surge. Nick only needed two points to take the final win and Bros needed six. In the last race Nick easily gained the required score but had taken a far too leisurely pace as Bros crossed the line first, taking the required six points and his first final win of the season.

18th November, 2001 - Page Updated
The League Table page has been updated with the latest scores.

11th November, 2001 - Page Updated
The Drivers page has been updated.

6th November, 2001 - Race Meeting 3 & Qualifying Round 1

Long Distance Travellers
Calgary is a long way to travel from for one meeting

This way up ?
Rob demonstrates how not to do it

Take That
Nick takes a hit from Nij

Pile up
Notice how Nij is always there

With another excellent turnout the night was going to be demanding for the likes of starter and scorer but things were considerably more organised than the chaos of the last meeting. Amongst the racers driving tonight were Tony Gammon and his two lads from Calgary, Canada, in the UK on holiday. Tony has raced at the club a few times in the past back when the club raced at Cheddleton. He races full size saloon cars and wasn't doing too bad on the Slot Stox track either, going on to qualify for the final with ease. Also racing was Carl who spends his spare time repairing Rob's full size stock car after he has trashed it.

During the heats Jon quietly notched up an amazing 58 points qualifying him for top position in the final. "I'm used to racing where you have to finish to score" was his explanation for his high score. Aleks was unable to find anyone to blame for her consistent crashing "Normally I point the finger at Mesh but I can't even blame him this time" she admitted. She did first-rate job co-ordinating much of the scoring this evening though which more than made up for it. There were some contentious decisions made by some of the starters causing some debate - Bros was caught out during one race as he was found doing more than the maximum of six laps - the hard faced starter (Nij) duly disqualified him from the race. Bros looked somewhat perturbed.

In the final Jon, not used to running from the forward position afforded by running from the Yellow line, was taking maximum advantage of a clear track. With three Red tops and a Gold on the track, starting round the back wasn't going to be so trouble-free. Mesh, Nick and Nij had to negotiate each other off the line, with Bros starting just behind ready to put the push in where required. Initially Bros got off to a good start keeping Jon in check who was straight in there, taking the early lead. Tony was up there too but Mesh found himself suffering, getting tangled up on some of those close starts.

Nij, 20 points down on leader Jon by the eighth race, conceded he was not going to win. He decided driving around the track at a snail's pace, causing others to crash into the back of his car, was the best plan of attack. It certainly worked on Jon, who was consequently unable to win a single point out of the next three races. Bros, Nick and Tony were all able to capitalise on this, coming closer to their goal. The last race saw Jon knocked out of the running once again and Nick and Tony were left to battle it out to the finish. Nick managed to keep out of trouble and ahead of Tony to take his first final win of the season.

5th November 2001 - Page Updated
After some deliberation the Grades page has finally been updated. The deliberation was due to the fact we had so many White Tops which included a number of regular racers who are clearly above White Top ability. Now the Red, Blue and Yellow Top positions have three places each instead of two.

3rd November, 2001 - Meeting Report Added
The report for meeting 2 (23rd Oct) has been added below.

2nd November, 2001 - New Page Added - 'Items For Sale'
A new page has been added to the site where you can find items for sale. If you want to advertise on this page for FREE contact lsscmail@talk21.com. Jon Ashworth gets things kicked off with some items offered from DS Racing. Click here to take a look.

30th October, 2001 - Pages Updated and New Email Address
The League Table page has been updated with the latest scores. Grades will be updated shortly. Club Rules pages are due another update too ! The club email address has been changed - please use the new address if you wish to send mail relating to Leek Slot Stox Club - it is now:-

lsscmail@talk21.com

23rd October, 2001 - Race Meeting 2
Pandemonium. If there is one word to accurately illustrate the course of events during Points Meeting 2 that word has to be - pandemonium. An attendance of 17 racers, a record in recent times, didn't help. With all the effort and preparation that has gone into making meetings run more efficiently, what with the new computerised scoring and all, things should have gone like clockwork. Not tonight. Chaos reined and what could go wrong did and what couldn't go wrong just got delayed.

Visiting RMSCC racer Jon and first time rookies Adam, Laura and Little Rob complimented an almost complete turnout of regular racers. Having not raced for a while, Dee took some time to get back into the swing of things. Jon proved to be a fast learner - getting used to a different way of racing didn't appear to be a problem as he gave some of the home racers a run for their money. Car problems plagued both Chaz and Mesh who both ended up having to find replacement cars during the course of the evening.

Rob pulled off a couple of sneaky race wins in the heats not dissimilar to the last meeting - just when you thought you'd got a nice six points Rob announces he's already finished. Comments like 'We wus Rob'd' were heard being muttered amongst the racers.

In the final Phil took an early lead, riding perhaps on the success of winning last meeting's final. It was soon to be short lived however as in hot pursuit were battling duo Bros and Nij, who rapidly started hogging all the points. Nick made a half hearted attempt to slow the pace of Bros and after fencing him was seen to clear the fence himself a couple of times with some neat aerobatic turns. The scorer was none too impressed however, awarding Nick none. Chaz and Mesh were left struggling with their replacement cars and were unable to make any impression on the leaders.

Unknown by the racers at the time, as the last race began there were a mere two points separating Bros and Nij and Nij needed second place or better to take the final. Bros came home for a win and six points but was taken somewhat by surprise as Nij got that vital second place and claimed his first final win of the season.

20th October, 2001 - Club Rules Section Updated
The club rules section of the site has been updated with the new rules for the 2001/2002 season. The rules have had to be changed somewhat since the AGM which in the most part is to accomodate changes required since introduction of the computerised lap counting system. Racers are requested to review the new rules at their earliest opportunity and address any issues or questions to Bros, Nick or Nij as soon as possible.

13th October, 2001 - Fixtures Page Updated
The fixtures list page has been updated with details of the 2001/2002 season.

9th October, 2001 - START OF NEW 2001/02 SEASON - Race Meeting 1

Ready For Action
Cars ready for the new season

Whoops - Ben's car gets bent
Ben gets a playful nudge from Bros

The first meeting of a brand new season and there were some improved cars on display having been overhauled or rebuilt during the off season and there were some cars which, in time honoured tradition, had just been rehashed from the bits left over from last season's battering.

With the track being skilfully re-taped by Mr Broster there was no question of track faults tonight but a learning curve was still being climbed by those getting used to the new starting positions and computerised lap counting system.

Carole, whose off-season performance had been exemplary, was unfortunately unable to reproduce her winning form. "Now it's for real again, you lot have stopped messing about !" she complained. Some good solid scores were achieved by Nick, Rob, Nij and Ben in the heats, with Phil getting top scores of 6 for half of his races but scoring zero's in the other half. Mesh and Aleks seemed to be struggling somewhat and Chaz just couldn't get it together, citing lack of off-season practice as the cause.

The final saw Nick and Bros get off to a good start, with Phil who had scraped in from the consolation close behind. Nij played a good job of a supporting role but was no match as Nick and Phil stormed ahead. Bros put the lid on it concisely at the commencement of the last race by steaming into the back of Nick's car at full chat, enabling Phil to get the vital few points he needed to win his first ever final, despite being fenced himself at the end. Not bad for a guy who normally bottles it in the last corner if he's in the lead. Looks like Phil, who's low scoring averages are keeping him down in white top position, could be one to watch out for.

14th August, 2001 - First Real Trials for Computer Controlled Lap Counter
Racing was conducted this evening under the watchful eye of the computer. It became clear that although one or two things in the way the racing and scoring is conducted would have to be changed, the benefits of the speed and accuracy of collecting results far outweighs any downsides. Debates about who crossed the line first will now be a thing of the past as split finishes can be settled in an instant as the computer displays the finishing times to the nearest thousandth of a second ! There will also no longer be any question of how many laps people have done, although racers using light coloured guide flags will have to replace them with black ones to ensure their car triggers the track mounted infra red sensors every time around - these will be supplied by the club.

8th July, 2001 - Computer Controlled Lap Counter Project Begins
After much deliberation, discussion and debate, work on the installation of a new computer controlled lap counter system has begun. After the best part of 8 hours of drilling,filing and wiring not to mention sweating, cursing and crying, Bros, Nick and Nij were triumphant in their efforts of fitting the necessary parts to the track.