Helmets.
If last week’s seven-driver grid was a bit meagre, then this week’s turnout of six was worse, but what it lacked in numbers was more than compensated for by excellent midfield racing and proof, if any more were needed, that the shape of a driver’s helmet is mighty important. Forget about racing drivers needing big cojones. What they really need is something a little larger than the peculiar shrunken thing NSR plonks upon the shoulders of its F1 pilots.
Josh was once again in a class of his own, his nicely proportioned helmet making him so much quicker than the rest that in most heats he had time to stop and clean his tyres in his ongoing quest to push the in-race lap record below 7.5 seconds. Now at 7.519, he doesn’t have much further to go.
Benefitting from car preparation advice and driver coaching from Josh, David was having a good evening too, his mid-eighties Scalextric helmet not a match for Josh’s more recent version, but sufficiently pretty to earn him second spot on the podium.
With the rest of the field hamstrung by wearing original NSR midget helmets, none would trouble the podium’s top two steps, but that didn’t stop them trying. Graham got off to flying start, racing neck and neck with David and slicing a whopping half-second from his previous F1 best lap to take an early third place. Terry and Ed fought back though, Terry climbing to third in heat 2, with Graham clinging to fourth until the last few laps of heat 5 when he slipped behind Ed to finish fifth.
It’s been said many times before: “If you want to get ahead, get a helmet.” NSR’s F1 class proves it.