Belle Vue - This Thursday

[Johno3]

THURSDAY 19TH NOEVEMBER

BELLE VUE STADIUM – START TIME 8:30PM

IT’S THE GRAND FINAL......... THE SHOOTOUT BETWEEN 2 DRIVERS......... TOMD AND MOR......... TO THE WINNER, GOES THE SPOILS........ THE SILVER ROOF

 

The season started way back on Thursday 12th March, with the drivers racing at Buxton. This was the meeting where the National Series was unveiled at UK Dirt, and who would have thought it would produce the excitement that it has.

 

In between times, the lead swapped many times, with TomD #112, Walker #363, and mainly MoR #137 leading the way. Michael #2 made his first appearance in of the season at Skegness, and round 5 of the National Series. Hoping just to settle in, little did he know that he would be in the shake up for the silver roof come the cut off point.

 

As the round went on, Mike #315, Tosh #8, Dazza #290/#1, Lee #531 and Grasser #233 started to show that they were more than capable of getting into that all important top 6, which meant that both Johno #3 and Kruiz #136 were worrying about their position in the shootout.

 

On Thursday 3rd September, after round 22 of the National Series, the top 6 were decided, but not before an exciting climax. Going into the last round, Johno and Kruiz were both worried about their position. Johno #3 was fortunate in that he would be racing the meeting, but for Kruiz, he was stuck at work, hoping that Mike #315 did not score the points required. Playing his joker, Mike gave it his all, including winning a heat race. But in the end, it was just a little bit too much, and he fell just 8 points short.

 

For the other 4 drivers, it was a case of finding out who was going to finish the cut off at the top. In the end, TomD beat Walker by 2 points, MoR by 16 points, and Michael by 22 points, with Michael finishing with the highest average of the top 6.

 

So onto the shoot out we went.

 

With the World Final out of the way, with Dazza taking the title for the first time, all attention turned to the shootout. I think based on comments made, TomD probably started as slight favourite from Michael. Kruiz and MoR were next up, with Walker and Johno expected to bring up the rear.

 

Sheffield

 

Onto the first meeting of the shootout, and it was to be a very bad night for the two favourites. Both TomD and Michael suffered with computer problems during the night, and in Michael’s case, it was to be a sign of things to come in the luck stakes.

 

Johno and MoR took full advantage though, sharing the league having both scored 25 points each. Walker and Kruiz scored 15 and 14 points respectively, with TomD and Michael managing just 3 and 2.

 

Points at the end of the night

Num .. Pts

3 .. 25

137 .. 25

363 .. 15

136 .. 14

112 .. 3

2 .. 2

 

Cowdenbeath

 

This was never going to be an easy venue for the shootout drivers, but there was one driver that really stood out, and that was TomD. Scoring consistently, he picked up 27 points, with Michael scoring 15 points to show he was not out of it.

 

Early joint leaders Johno and MoR struggled, with Johno scoring 10 and MoR scoring 6. Kruiz and Walker scored 6 and 5 respectively, and at this point, the scoring was very close, with Johno having a slight advantage.

 

Knockhill

 

Was this perhaps the meeting that swung the title in favour of TomD. Tom was the first driver to come out and play his joker, and despite visiting the gravel track on multiple occasions, he battled is way back well, to score 74 points, and take the lead for the first time in the series.

 

MoR picked up a handy 29 points to take second place in the series, but the others seemed to struggle for one reason or another, with Walker and Kruiz actually scoring no points for the meeting. Michael picked up 15 points, with Johno scoring 11 points.

 

Points at the end of the night

Num .. Pts

112 .. 104

137 .. 60

3 .. 46

2 .. 31

136 .. 20

363 .. 20

 

Birmingham

 

It was a big meeting for 4 of the contenders in the shootout, as MoR, Johno, Michael and Kruiz were all to play their tarmac joker. TomD on the other hand, had already used his joker, and all he could do was either try to stop the others from scoring well, or hope that they did not score well.

 

As the meeting played out, none of the drivers were to score quite as substantially as Tom did, with MoR scoring 44 points, Kruiz scoring 42 points, Michael 38 points, and Johno 26 points. Tom was to have a bad night, being spun out of the meeting final, and only managed to score 13 points. Even so, he scored 28 more points than MoR when playing his joker, and this was a very important gap. Walker was to get his second 0 of the shootout, making his task even harder.

 

Northampton

 

If Walker was to remain in the series, he needed to have a cracking meeting, as he played his joker at this meeting. Unfortunately, he was not to score big, with just 10 points being scored.

 

TomD though made up for a bad Birmingham by being the top shootout scorer at this meeting. He picked up a very handy 31 points, which was 11 points more than MoR and Kruiz, 14 points more than Johno and 23 points more than Michael, who once again had no luck on the night.

 

Points at the end of the night

Num .. Pts

112 .. 148

137 .. 124

3 .. 89

136 .. 82

2 .. 77

363 .. 30

 

Kings Lynn

 

If Knockhill was to be a major turning point for TomD, Kings Lynn was to become a body blow to the res of the field. TomD, MoR, Johno and Kruiz all played their Shale Joker. MoR suffered from bad luck, Kruiz was unlucky in the final when lucking to take the lead, and Johno made a decision that was going to cost him a lot of points in his quest for the silver roof.

 

Despite not being as quick as he normally is, TomD appeared to get the breaks that he needed, and once again, although he was not the top points scorer out of the shootout drivers, he scored big again, scoring 58 points. Kruiz was to be the top scorer on the night, scoring 60 points. Johno scored just 36 points, with MoR 2 points worse off. Walker and Michael once again had bad nights, scoring just 8 and 5 points respectively.

 

Points at the end of the night

Num .. Pts

112 .. 206

137 .. 158

136 .. 142

3 .. 125

2 .. 82

363 .. 38

 

Coventry

 

Walker unfortunately became the first driver officially out of the shootout, after only scoring 1 point at the Coventry meeting, and also forgetting to play his shale joker. Michael was at the last chance saloon, with his shale joker to play, he needed a good night if he was to lift the title, but unfortunately, it was not to happen, with him missing out on the grand final, with his meeting total amounting to 16 points.

It was also perhaps to be a nail in the coffin for Kruiz. A clash with Travel was to see him leave the meeting and not contest the final or grand national.

 

Of the other 3 drivers, Johno was to be the top scorer of the shootout drivers, but it was not to be by much, as all of the drivers struggled on the night. Johno was to score 18 points, with TomD scoring 10, and second placed MoR scoring just 4 points.

 

Points at the end of the night

Num .. Pts

112 .. 216

137 .. 162

136 .. 146

3 .. 143

2 .. 98

363 .. 39

 

Belle Vue

 

Well it is the final round of the 2009 National Series Shootout, and with the chance for all drivers to score double points, mathematically, only 1 driver can no longer win the series.

 

Realistically, with 130 points maximum, Michael would also have to be considered out of the series. In order for Michael to win the series, Tom would have to score zero, and Michael would have to win both his heats, the final and finish 3rd in the grand national from the handicap. That does not even taken into account the other drivers.

 

In the case of Johno and Kruiz, the situation, whilst easier than Michael, is still going to be a huge mountain to climb. Johno would have to scored 37 points (doubled to 74) more than TomD to lift the title. For Kruiz, he would need to score 36 points (doubled to 72) more than Tom to take the title. He can score 35 (doubled to 70) more than Tom and draw.

 

However, it is MoR who has the most chance of dethroning TomD. He is 54 points behind TomD, which means that he will need to score 27 points more than TomD on the night. With 50 points on offer for winning the final, it is still possible, but TomD will also be thinking that a decent result in the meeting final, and the title will be his.

 

Whatever happens, the series has been a real eye opener, and I personally think a great addition to UK Dirt.

 

BUT THURSDAY ISN’T ALL ABOUT THE NATIONAL SERIES…….. THERE IS ALSO THE SMALL MATTER OF WHO WILL BE CROWNED……….. THE 2009 CHAMPIONS OF CHAMPIONS

 

The Champions of Champions Race is now traditionally the last race of the season, and brings down the curtain on the UK Dirt F1 year.

 

The race is for any driver that has won a final in the UK Dirt season, and after 49 meetings, 25 drivers have qualified for the race. Should someone new wins the final at Belle Vue on Thursday, then they will also be seeded onto the grid.

 

Should everyone book in, then the grid will look as follows:

 

The grid for the race is:

ROW 1 - 126 .. 500

ROW 2 - 164 .. 259

ROW 3 - 391 .. 365

ROW 4 - 551 .. 588

ROW 5 - 236 .. 488

ROW 6 - 288 .. 8

ROW 7 - 323 .. 561

ROW 8 - 233 .. 531

ROW 9 - 16 .. 315

ROW 10 - 87 .. 1

ROW 11 - 363 .. 136

ROW 12 - 3 .. 2

ROW 13 - 112

 

This race is over 20 laps, closed grid, normal rolling start and non point scoring and will be run as the last race of the season. No gaps should be left on the grid - where a driver doesn't race everyone else moves up. The only addition to the grid will be if the winner of the Belle Vue Grand Final hasn't already qualified, in which case he will be seeded onto the grid on the night.

 

The grid looks absolutely fantastic, and should produce a fantastic finish to the year.

 

FINALLY….. A BIG THANK YOU

 

Iwould like to first of all take this opportunity to thank all of the drivers that have raced this season. By the end of Thursday, we will have ran some 50 meetings, and they would not of been possible with out you the drivers. I do hope that you wil be back next season.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the Admin Team for their job this season. I think it is important to remember that not only have they given you 50 Rfactor F1 meetings, but they also produced some Heat F1 meetings.

 

50 meetings is not easy to put on, and requires a lot of time and effort from many people. There were times when we may have been a little stressed, and the racing may have declined a little, but in the main, the season has once again been a very positive one, and something that can be built upon into the 2010 season – the tenth year of UK Dirt racing!!

 

So, on behalf of all of the members, I am sure I can thank the Admin Team for the superb job that they have done this season. From stewarding meeting, to skin packs, to race managing, to disciplinary, to collecting the points, to having to make tough calls, the guys have been there to help out throughout the year, and this league will not go on from strength to strength without them….. so take a bow guys.

 

THAT’S ITS…..

 

All that’s left to say is that I hope to see you at the final meeting of the season. 29 drivers raced at Coventry last Thursday, and it would be great if we could top that in the final meeting of the season.

 

So get yourself booked in, for what is set to be a cracking night of racing.

 

Cheers

 

Johno

 

[FastErnieJr.]

Great write up and can't wait for my first ever F1 outing!

[MoR137]

Excellent write-up! Been a great season - I've had a strange one really, lead the NS for the majority of it's run but only won two races all year! Come close to a final win Bradford shale, nearly took the Tarmac Masters at Ipswich and had the most stressful set of shootout meetings that I could've imagined.

 

Still, I am glad I can still challenge Tom for the silver at BV, although I have to admit it looks highly unlikely! Hopefully all my bad luck is out of the way after the nightmares at Kings Lynn and Cov and I can at least make Tom sweat for it lol!

 

See you all on Thursday!