Fastrax Summer Series 2011

Well a 6am start for me, we have a track to set up, booking in throughout the week was busy and a turnout of 70 Drivers seems the Fastrax Series has a few followers. By 9am the mass of tents are everywhere but the 2 noticeable ones are Team Hobao including there 2 Team Hobao Vans and gazebo?s and the other Team Associated with there massive gazebo, nice to see the 2 teams supporting the series. Truggy Rd 1, Stuart Mckellar took the honours with the only truggy driver to hit 8 laps followed by Sean Bailey and Andy Tobutt and again making the top 5 truggies was young Cameron Taylor Rd 2, no change there, the top 3 stayed the same so Stuart was proving why in winter he deserved to win the supported drive from Rc-bits Rd 3, Andy Tobutt took the Tq and placed the Associated RC8T at the front of the grid for the final Darren Hughes taking 2nd and Stuart Mckellar 3rd Truggy Final Sean got away and stayed in front for the first 12 laps only to pull the car up on lap 22 and sadly retire, Darren Hughes who drove a steady and consistent race and had traded places with Sean a couple of times then took the lead and hold it comfortable to the end and on his final lap the rear wheel came lose but still brought the car home to win, Andy Tobutt had a nice steady race and has shown that in the last 8 months he has been racing that he does have the driving capabilities. He got a well deserved 2nd place finish with Rc-Bits supported driver Stuart Mckellar in 3rd place only 1 and a half seconds behind. Buggy Rd 1, Graham Alsop laid the law down from the start and was only 2.01 seconds off doing the first ever 9 laps @ Stoke (another feature I think to slow the track down soon) John Holmes just short of 4 seconds behind his team mate, with Team Hobao captain Jon Howells 3rd Rd 2, A small shower affected the tyre choice and the track slowed down with most racers opting for the trusted Hobao angle spike, Sloppy took the win with Kong Mckenzie 2nd and Hobao driver Ashlee Owen in 3rd place nothing affected the top 5 drivers in the overalls. Rd 3, Track was dry again and Sloppy showed the way to go coming closer to 9 laps with 1.98 seconds off, Howler put another quick run in with the Hyperstar 2 and a half seconds behind with John Holmes in 3rd spot again improving his time, Team Hobao looking strong with Ashlee Owen 4th and Mitchell Booth 5th making it 3 Hyperstars in the top 5. Top 5 After 3 Rd?s of Qualifying Graham Alsop ? 8/301.98 Jon Howells - 8/304.29 John Holmes - 8/305.11 Ashlee Owen ? 8/305.73 Mitchell Booth ? 8/312.43 E Final 1st - Brandon Tills 2nd ? Dan Evans 3rd ? Mike Foster D Final 1st - Mathew Lawrence 2nd ? Andy Tobutt 3rd ? Steve Shakespeare C Final 1st ? Ian Barnard 2nd ? Clive Maland 3rd Graham Howard B Final 1st ? Scott Francis 2nd ? Lloyd Pitt 3rd ? Mark Kay A Main With the top 2 from the B final bumping up giving the A main 13 cars and again Hobao driver Lloyd making the A final was going to be a very entertaining 25 minutes, Graham Alsop got away clear and stayed at the front to the end with a faultless drive, Howler on the other hand doesn?t like to do things easy and got caught up with a few cars and got taken out dropped to 6th so it was a drive to get himself back to 2nd which he did by lap 14, John Holmes drove a consistent drive and finished 3rd 19 seconds behind Howler, 4th place went to Ashlee Owen and 5th Mitchell Booth making it 2 Hot Boddies and 3 Hobao?s in the top 5 with a total of 4 in the Top 8. A Final Result 1st - Graham Alsop 40/1507.52 2nd ? Jon Howells 39/1518.00 3rd ? John Holmes 39/1538.49 4th ? Ashlee Owen 38/1514.86 5th ? Mitchell Booth 37/1506.82 Final word?s, I would like to thank CML & Fastrax & the driver?s for there continued support, all the Stoke guys who get up at daft o?clock to set the track up and get it ready to run the meetings, its appreciated. Next Rd and the final is on Sunday 25th September, booking in can be found on the stoke-Nitro website under the booking in form. Hopefully see you all soon, Jared Stoke-Nitro Racing Club