Skeet_Tong

Naw the UK-Dirt lads are just like new drivers, same as I was at the start of the season...gotta start from zero and work yer way up! World Rankings are always a year ahead anyway, gotta do the championships to creep up the table.

Thanks as ever for running the meeting Kev, I can honestly say there's never been a poorly run meeting all season, it's been a pleasure to be back Strange to think that I was looking forward to this meeting almost as much as Wimbledon earlier in the season, yet at Wimbo I registered my first and so far only nil score purely down to bad luck, whilst tonight looked very likely to be heading the same way only this time thanks to electrical gremlins with my steering wheel...hardly the way I wanted to celebrate my upgrading to blue! The woes started when I went into the server for some pre-meeting practice and the car just would not go where I pointed it...I know it takes a few laps to get back into your shale rhythm but the car just seemed to have a severe jolt to the right whenever I tried applying opposite lock round the bends. Had a wee look at the controller setup menu and noticed that even tho the wheel was centred, the game was showing a slight left turn. Nae bother I thought, I'll exit oot to the controller software and recalibrate...only to find that once everything was eventually centred, I was getting full 90degree cornering to the left but turning right was maxing oot at less than 45...eek! Tried tweaking the deadzone, sensitivity and my setup the best I could so I could at least turn in some decent laps without twitching towards the fence, so was relying a lot more on the brakes doing the work...which is fine when yer racing by yourself, but as I found oot in the World of Shale, bloody useless when being battered aboot! So, apologies if I ersed up anyone's race during the evening...tried keeping oot the way in the early laps of the heats but cos I was braking so early, I was the perfect cueball for the reds and stupidstars! Had a sniff of a jammy point in the first heat as a stricken car sent people scattering on the last bend, only for me to be ricocheted towards the fence letting Spike sneak through for 10th. After a woeful second heat I thought aboot loading up but with the Final expected to be lively, I was gonna give it a few laps to see if I got lucky...which I nearly did as the rest of the blues delayed themselves at the start leaving me in the top 5 for a handful of laps til I was caught by the reds and bundled into a marker tyre. Thought if the same happened again in the GN I might just avoid that dreaded nil score, and hallelujah I drove one of the most difficult races for me so far and held on for a scoring finish...what a relief! Had nowt to lose in the Thunder Races...got a decent draw for a change, first race from the front, managed to hold onto the big shove on the first bend, slotted in behind Mike and then watched him disappear. Spike seemed to cause plenty of bother in the second race, sent a few cars scattering from a lap down letting me pick up a few more places! Not exactly the most ideal way of celebrating my hard-earned(!) upgrade to blue or the end of my first season back in the league...it's all part of Stock Car Racing tho, tis why we keep coming back for more! Might have to do a winter rebuild of the wheel in order to allow me to upgrade the GFX card, otherwise you'll just have to come cheer me on in the Stoxkarts next season instead Top marks admin and to everyone I've raced, upset and wound-up this season, I've enjoyed my return to UK-Dirt...will hopefully cya'll again soon.

Cheers for the "big ups" The grid is set for the "Big One"...30 karts on the grid for the Gold Top Championship at Birmingham Wheels on Saturday 13th November - Clicky Here to see the grid. Need to know numbers ASAP for those of you who wanna come along...need to know if I need to book a single or a double decker coach Cya'll at Warwick Ellis's pub for the celebratory drinkies!

Aye am looking forward to some shale shiftin' in the Bru Bumperspecial! Was hoping to take my place on the grid for last week's Grand National Championship but work has been absolutely mental since I got back from holiday, so have been racking up the overtime. This will prob be my last meeting of the main season (gotta show off my new blue roof, it matches the Stoxkart!)...Arena was on the planner but thanks to the team boss being in Ghana until next Wednesday, we're gonna be spending Thursday night (and prob some of Friday's early hours) in the workshop getting the karts ready for the Gold Top race! Nothing like a mad rush before the biggest race of the year haha!

2010 Scottish Series Points Champion ...gonna take some expert font work from Bob Falconer to squeeze that onto the aerofoil!!!

Top gesture Tosh, thanks very much

Cheers Spike for running the meeting so smoothly, despite Kev's best efforts to sabotage Another successful evening, and a stark contrast from my Ipswich debut earlier this season...back then, I barely scraped into the Final via the Consolation but netted my first rFactor F1 Final points paying finish...whereas tonight I scored well in the Heats, and ran oot of luck in the Final! Straightforward first heat...got lucky to find myself in the lead after some of the whites got tangled up with fellow yellows Spike and Jarry, leaving a bit of a gap til Dan caught up...there was no point in mucking aboot as I would only come off worse, so tried to stick with him after he got past to try make up for the lack of setup time. Tried a different gearing in Heat 2 but couldn't get a clear enough track to see if it made any significant difference as the blues were amongst us yellows almost immediately, and I counted myself lucky to finish in the top 10. Was in the wrong places at the wrong times in the Final...first I was the meat in the sandwich between a blue top and a white top which pitched me skywards, and on landing I was battered into a spin. Got going again and set aboot trying to catch up with the pack, but came across Murf entangled with someone on the outside of the home straight...tried my best to take avoiding action but I just caught Murf's back bumper which again sent me into a spin. By the time I was pointing in the right direction, race leader Jarry was filling my mirrors within a few laps...managed to hold him off for a few laps but made a couple of mistakes, so eventually let him through and tried not to get too close...lol. Well done to him on the victory, edging ever closer to Spike for the Whites & Yellows title!!! MON THE JOCKS!!! Again got quite lucky in the GN when it seemed the white tops got into a bit of a tangle with the chasing pack behind, but by then Tosh and Corny were already through cleanly whilst soon after the World Chump came rattling past lol Three points finishes oot of 4 is nothing to be sniffed at...but it looks like I'll need to change my tactics for the Thunder Races...managed to scrape into the top 10 for both races but it was awfy rough stuff! Will hopefully cya'll again after my hols

Cheers James, enjoyed some gid racing tonight but was witness to a few dodgy moves too! Final was brill stuff...my fastest lap must've been bumper assisted, either that or I'll have to race more often with a sticky throttle pedal!!! Hope to cya'll again soon.

Well done Dazza, Aub did warn you at the start that you had the lucky grid slot haha! Thanks again to Kev for running the meeting despite the server doing it's best to put you off your stride with a couple of wee hiccups! Along with Mike I just had nae luck last night whatsoever...it seemed that whilst the other yellow tops managed to get the lucky breaks resulting in heat wins for Jarry and Steppy plus good places for Spike, I was the one that kept getting half spun or bounced towards the infield tyres during the early lap exchanges. I was rather fortunate in Heat 2 to climb back into the points thanks to a couple of pile-ups delaying the red tops ahead...likewise in Heat 3 when I was one of aboot 5 cars battling for tenth heading into the last lap, and thankfully (for a change!) I was the one that managed to vault back into the points on the last bend! Heat 5 was a stinker, got spun oot twice during the race but at long last got a bit of a break during Heat 7 as the whole field seemed to condense at one point as TomD came steaming through quite early on, and I managed to hold on for 6th. Kept the good fortune going in Heat 8 by breaking away from the rest of the yellows early doors with Jarry keeping me company...caught up with Peppi in the second half of the race and noticed he kept braking deeper and deeper into the corners but seemed to get enough traction to avoid any move up the inside. Eventually he slipped wide enough on turn 4 to let me through cleanly but decided to take me to the fence on the next bend...caught back up with him on the next lap and made sure he couldnae do the same again but this was all the invite Jarry and Aub needed to take advantage of my delay and sneak through the inside. Thought my luck was finally in during the British tho as I seemed to avoid most of the early lap bumperwork and found myself flirting with the top 10, until aboot halfway when I had nowhere to go as Tosh was sent spinning on the back straight, with the subsequent head-on sending me spinning doon the order. Gathered it back up tho albeit a lap down, and was then bounced off the infield tyres on turn 2 whilst battling with a group of cars - that included those in my battle and those in the lead battle! - which put me another lap down, but during the last few laps I noticed that I was still picking up positions as more cars bit the armco and marker tyres. Didn't progress much further tho as the next car was a lap ahead...but instead got a front row seat for Murf's assault on (I think) FastTrack on the last bend! Here's hoping I remember to pack my luck for Ipswich next week - cya then!

Was good to catch up with many familiar ugly faces, and a few new faces during the F1 and F2 World Final weekends. From the old-skool, gid to have banter again with Trav, Spike, Spike Jnr, BB, Lord Snooty256 of Oxfordcestershire, Aub (remember, Irn-Bru is to me what spinach is to Popeye agh agh agh agh agh agh agh!!!), Dave and TomD (booooooooooooooo). Also big-up to those I met for the first time, Drumb, Robin (bam bam), Mike315 (Wainman licker), Tinman, Kendo, Nezza, DanSkin, FastTrack and Madcowie. At least the two good F1 and F2 real-life World Champions make up for the disappointment of the new UK-Dirt champs fnarr fnarr fnarr!!! Was a good laff at both weekends, my throat still hasn't recovered from Skeg. Look out for news over the winter of the UK-Dirt invasion of the Stoxkarts early next season...Trav, Aub and hopefully a couple more fence fodder will be trying to team-up against yours truly at either Brum or the Buxton Speedway track depending on how the fixtures plan out. Forgot to mention lads, hire drivers can either start in their grades or at the back with the rest of the hire drivers...either way, I'll be catching you first

Thanks again to admin, hope the real life WF meeting is just as slick Enjoyed my first taste of rFactor F2 World Final action...picked up the usual minor damage during the early lap exchanges so handling went a bit off, but if anything it made the car a bit more driveable, at the price of a couple of tenths slower per lap than I would've liked tho. Battled for a wee bit with Jnr, Pedz and Fordy until I got half spun on turn 2 and ended up getting a birdseye view of the backmarker influenced lead change a couple of laps later...tried to get oot of Tom's way when he recovered but he still managed to rattle my fillings on his way past lol. Happy to have finished the race tho, still learning these cars bit by bit. Nae luck in the Consi...was shuffled back early on but had a good dice towards the end of the race with Johno, although I think his car was damaged! Amazed I managed to survive the Final...there were cars dropping like flies lap after lap, but unfortunately not enough of you fell by the wayside! GN was the highlight of the two nights racing tho, what a superb race between all of the blue tops and for once I actually got the better of a last bend exchange to finish 3rd. Plenty of bumperwork, no stupid hits causing unneccessary damage, red tops holding each other up and letting us get on with it...just how I like it

Who else is invading the land of the inbreds??? I'll be there, pretending to look like I know what I'm doing on the 71 F2 of Kev Bruce whilst trying to ignore the chorus of mutton abuser chants from Trav and the rest of the Sunshine Variety Day Care club oot on another weekend trip

Well done Drumb, drinks are on you at Skeg

Awesome video, what a race!

Gary - you've missed my points from Heat 2...316 in the results should be 318 Gotta say sorry to Hooty for totally botching the start of the GN and wiping him out...got a bit confused when Drumb's fat fingers pressed the wrong key again lol. I did brake when I realised that the "Go" hadn't been given but my throttle pedal had started sticking again after the Consi Semi so when "Go" was finally called, as soon as I pressed the loud pedal it just sent me into a tankslapper...soz Mr McFly Cracking race with Dave in the Consi Semi, well done sir. Was lucky to finish Heat 2 as I picked up damage on the first corner when one of my fellow blue tops decided to go for a kamikaze move down the inside, but only succeeded in wiping himself oot and delaying the pack behind. There must have been some scrapping going on between the reds and S/S cos it wasn't until the final quarter of the race that Robin and Ali finally caught and passed me. Heat 3 was a race for survival with the sticky throttle and I was chuffed to still be in the top 10 going into the last lap when I could smell Aub getting closer...he planted a cracking hit to send me wide and then Dave finished the job off by sending me vaulting over the winner's rostrum...thankfully it seems I crossed the finish line at some point in mid-somersault! Great stuff. Nae luck in the Final, again a couple of the blues pressed the self destruct button at the start of the race and left me with damage...car was still driveable tho so kept going for a few laps and was picking up a few places until I came across a recovering blue top who - for reasons best known to himself - decided to go for a cheap back corner shot when I pulled wide to let him past, leaving me broadside across turn 2 with no drive Enjoyed it tho, gotta say a huge thanks to Robin for his recent help and advice as it's given me a bit of confidence in these cars on tarmac now...hopefully if I get the pedals fixed later I might stand a chance of avoiding some of the action in the World Final...then again maybe not!!!

Count me in for the whole meeting now please...Jersey Shore is on tonight so I'm sure she won't notice my absence

Thanks as ever to Kev and the rest of the admin team for another great meeting Have to echo the comments above, last night was a belter of a meeting even if it wasn't as successful for me personally compared to Wednesday evening. I think everyone can award themselves some credit for being part of an epic double-header...shame a few folk had to cancel for last night but even with lopsided heats, the racing was still top notch. Well done everyone, long may it continue And what a World Final debut! The first quarter of the race was an absolute blur...didn't have much of a plan except to try and keep out of any major trouble and get on the inside as quick as possible, and with big hits flying in over the first few laps I was amazed to find myself in the top 10 at one point, despite suffering from shock when seeing - and passing! - both Murf and Dazza recovering from separate incidents! The glory was short lived tho, as the expected big shove from the pack behind sent me into a half-spin on turn 4, and relegated me to 17th. Thankfully that gave me some clear track for a few laps to get a rhythm allowing me to quickly catch up with the pack, and thus spent the entire second half of the race having a great battle with MOR, Corny, Lee and even Harmen!!! There was not much to choose between us for a good few laps but not one of us gave in to the temptation of going in for a stupid hit as we were not slowing each other much - if at all - to sabotage our own chances of picking up the pieces somewhere in the last few laps. Superb bit of racing for sure, and just another argument in support of showing racing respect but still racing hard, I think that sums up what made the World Final such a stonker! Cannae grumble at finishing 12th tho, and after having had a quick flick through my replay last night I still can't believe just how close it was during the first half of the race. Tom came flying past me after the first bend but was soon relegated back doon the order and didn't pass me again until the spin...and when I did spin on turn 4, Matthew was the last car to pass me and had to drive right to the armco in order to miss me, yet still managed to climb his way up to 4th by the finish. Amazing stuff! As for the rest of the meeting, had a cracking battle with Spike at the start of Heat 2 but it only served to ruin both our races as it allowed the blues to catch up and we soon found ourselves shuffled down to the lower end of the top 10...and I then had the misfortune to clash with a suspiciously slow moving Pixie on a few different occassions, including on the last bend when his car almost stopped on the racing line leaving me nowhere to go but hit him square on his back bumper, with the subsequent ricochet from the cars behind sending me spinning. I can only assume the Pixie's distinct lack of pace was as a result of picking up some damage somewhere... Got a distinct feeling of deja-vu in the Final as after the early lap sort-oot, I found myself chasing Spike down again for most of the race, only this time as the laps ticked by, I could smell Aub getting closer and closer. Again, Spike made my end of the race decision for me, only this time I caught him with 2 laps to go, so left me with no option but to go for the big hit on turn 4 and hope I could shove him deep enough into the corner to give me a break for the last lap...nae luck tho, Spike held the hit superbly and returned the compliment on turn 1...if it wasn't for that pesky F2-rodder nerfing his way up the inside aswell, then maybe one of us would have had a shot at Spike on the last bend Fair play to Spike tho, I can't think of a more worthy winner of the Final on World Final night...jings it was almost like Cov on Saturday when Les Spencer had a shot back at Matt Newson in the Final! Well done to you Spike, a very well deserved victory not because of your efforts as a hard-working member of the admin team and the fact you've been part of UK-Dirt since the beginning, but because you drove the wheels off that car on Wednesday and Thursday and won it by racing hard. And so I salute you all...thanks for two great nights of racing and congratulations to a worthy World Champion and a worthy Final winner. All that's left to be said is good luck to Johno and thanks for all your hard work along with the rest of the admin team, bring on the British Championship!!!

Well done Paddy! A determined drive...that practice you got at Cov on Saturday must've worked wonders

Top read lads, took me a few days of tea-breaks at work to read through it all! Fantastic work, a credit to the league...well done!

Stick yer World Final...I'm happy to retire now after that hat-trick tonight!!! Thanks again to Kev and the rest of admin for running another slick meeting Well how times have changed...whilst everyone behind seemed to be hitting the self destruct button, us yellow tops seemed to enjoy some good racing and it's aboot bloody time too! Most of the early part of the season seemed to be a fight amongst a large grid of yellow tops that only succeeded in dropping us back into the pack but top marks to Spike, Jnr, Big Al and Jarry for some hard racing tonight, brilliant stuff. Even tho I led Heat 1 almost from flag to flag, it was one of the toughest races I've had in rFactor with Jarry keeping me very honest throughout...when I finally got a decent gap built up I caught up with GIS399 and feared the worst but luckily he very sportingly kept out the way, well done. Heat 2 was a bit more straightforward but not at the start, as Big Al planted a stonker of a hit in the early laps as we battled for the lead with Jnr...luckily (again!) I was able to use Jnr's car as a cushion to help keep my car from spinning and after that I managed to make a clean break. As for the Final, well very lucky again indeed...made a decent start and settled into 2nd behind Spike and just ahead of Jarry...began to reel in Spike and pull away from Jarry but at aboot halfway, I made a tiny error on exit of turn 2 and almost spun the car, which allowed Jarry through and gave Spike a big lead. With Jarry and me now battling side by side, it allowed Dave, Leek and Tosh to join our battle...Jarry sensed there was no time to muck aboot and gave me a decent hit but it served only to slow us both down and allow Dave and Tosh to mount their challenge on Jarry...Dave was spun giving me enough of a gap to escape as Tosh and Jarry began swapping bumperwork. By now Spike was ahead by the length of a straight but now amongst traffic, including Jnr who seemed to hold him up for a few laps...with 2 to go, I was on Spike's bumper but dare I risk making an early move, as Tosh was now closing in fast??? Spike made my decision for me...on the last lap he ran wide on turn 1 allowing me to sneak through, but that put me well within firing range for the last bend...somehow I managed to hit my braking point to aim the car for the corner and then accelerated deep into the bend...sure enough Spike got some contact but his momentum was lost, allowing me to stay clear of the armco and boot it to a Final win! What a hard race! Again, got some lucky breaks in the GN with a few different red tops battering off the infield marker tyres, but my luck finally ran oot in the Thunder races as I had no less than 5 spins thanks to unlucky corner hits or being collected by a car bouncing off the armco down a straight. Such is life as they say...guess I'll just have to wait for the phone call from the BBC!!!

Book me in plz, Skeet #318 (blue)...will prob only be able to do the Consi Semi on the Sunday but will defo compete in Monday's support meeting

All aboard the Irn-Bru Bumper Express!!! Will be there for both nights

Great stuff, just like the random grid days of Heat's "Afters"

Pffftttt....Schaapneu**r to you Mr Shorty. I'll probably be able to see you from my house in Aberdeen before I even leave for Coventry!!! If enough folk read this, could always try and arrange a wee dram in the stadium bar at aboot 4:30 or summink???

Howdy, Who's all heading to Coventry this Saturday for the Big One??? Will it be another '99 epic...perhaps this time with Lundy letting Smithy and Wainman sort themselves oot first before launching himself in!!! Has all the ingredients to be a belter tho, I missed out last year due to it being an arse of a journey to Kings Lynn from Aberdeen, but was determined not to miss it again this season. I'll no doubt bump into a few familiar (and ugly) faces during the day so if you're unfortunate enough to know the likes of Trav, Spike and TomD then you're sure to bump into me somewhere...if no, just listen out for the references to sheep abuse and you know I won't be far away! Hope to see some of you there...COME ON SMITHY!!!