Hats Off, Jim.

Who knew? Under the hat that he wears constantly, Jim is follicly challenged, but courtesy of Neil seeding him into the fast group for this week’s race, Jim’s secret is secret no more.

It’s been seven months since Jim first rocked up at Molesey, all keen and enthusiastic, and in that time he’s slowly chipped away, improving little by little. Tonight, race controller Neil rewarded him with a place in the fast group for the first time. Woo hoo!

Racing slot cars is supposedly a relaxing hobby, but that’s not how it looked for Jim. After an excellent first heat in which he’d finished third, his nerves started to get the better of him, and it showed. So anxious was he to hold his position that by heat 3 the hat was gone, his hands were shaking and sweat was pouring down his face, all of which gave the distinct impression that he was losing his hair in real-time. Still, he remained just composed enough to fend off a late charge from Graham and hold on to third place by 1.64 seconds, an excellent result and his first visit to the podium.