15/07/21: NSR Classic – Final Five

Final Five.

Well, that’s it. The final race to be held under Covid restrictions is over. With just five drivers present, you’d be forgiven for expecting it to have been a dull affair, but it was anything but.

Perhaps the slot gods, in a final two-fingered salute to the restrictions that have blighted life for more than a year, wanted to put on a celebration of everything that’s great about slot car racing, or perhaps Terry just needed an excuse to get trigger-happy with the track-call button, but whatever the reason, it was a terrific way to say goodbye to a dark period and to welcome what will hopefully be a much brighter one.

Four P68s were wheeled out: Josh’s pink missile, a new red Martini liveried machine for Ed, David’s faithful orange No.9, and a white one for Neil. Some kind soul must have wheeled Terry out and pointed him towards Molesey, because he turned up too, although it was left to Josh to provide him with a car and controller.

NSR Classics usually provide close racing, and tonight was no different. Heat 2 even saw the rare sight of Josh being beaten, a combination of a crash by Josh and a storming drive by Terry seeing Terry take the heat win.

To nobody’s surprise, Josh took top spot overall, but in a race littered with crashes and track-calls, Terry handled the pressure and mickey-taking the best, lapping consistently all evening and finishing in a well-deserved second place, with David, Ed and Neil not far behind. It was a nice end to a miserable year for slot car racing. If we’re lucky and the same close racing continues when we have double the number of drivers present, we have a lot to look forward to.