The 13 car grid for the 2019 European Championship was therefore as follows (pole on the left side of the front row; reigning champion denoted by the italic C in gold brackets next to their name):
628 Stwarm - - - - - - - - - - - - 320 Hunter
911 Cole (C) - - - - - - - - - - - - 616 Jam
673 Sam - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 606 Jon
473 Dean - - - - - - - - - - - - - 573 Shane
961 Pepino - - - - - - - - - - - - 66 Colin
97 Jake - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 474 Miniman
675 Beatdrop - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The last ever major title race on LFS Bangers fittingly produced one of the greatest races ever, with the lead changing multiple times and the title was decided on the very last bend...
2019 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
1st: Shane
2nd: Miniman
3rd: Cole
Other finishers: Jam, Hunter, Sam, Dean, Pepino, Jake, Jon
Incredibly it's back to back major titles for Shane, who has added the European Championship to but was made to work incredibly hard for it by no fewer than 4 competitors, all of whom had their fair share of the lead.
There was an immediate change on the start line as surprise front row pairing Stwarm and Hunter were passed by reigning champion Cole and it looked like he was on course to retain the title he won last December, with the Moat boys of Sam in second and Shane in third chasing him down. But the first big movement saw Colin decide to go on oppo and hit 911 hard on lap 4, allowing 673 and 573 to catch up to the Ulsterman and put him in to the top bend. This allowed 2016 European champion Jam to steal the lead with Miniman falling into place behind Cole, but again 66 did the big hit (this time to 616) to put 474 in front, but incredibly he was then taken out on the top bend with Shane going into the lead for the first time on lap 6. 911 attacked 573 but couldn't get him out of the way as Sam dived in on Miniman to try and take him out. A badly timed oppo for Team Bandicoot's Colin on teammate Miniman then separated themselves from the lead two in Jam and 573. Backmarker Jon then got caught up with the front two, colliding with 616 on lap 8 and allowing 474 to catch up yet again. Behind them though was a huge pile-up involving reigning champion Cole and many others, including Jake, Hunter and Sam. 66 just kept on with the oppo, upping MIniman into second with a hit on Jam on lap 9 but then hitting his own driver a lap later to put him under pressure from 616.
At the halfway point, it was Shane in the lead but was stopped again by 66, putting 474 through once more. The third Moat in the race then got involved with Dean grinding Miniman against the wall and putting Sam in first place for the first time, but this lasted only momentarily as Colin again delivered a solid head-on on the bottom bend. 474 got past and the top 3 on lap 15 was the aforementioned 474, 616 and 673. Jam then broke away as Miniman ran wide and did another teammate (Pepino) on the nose, but it would be 961 who made up for that error in judgement by hitting 616 solidly, spinning round the PiranMoto machine and sending his Dutch pal through yet again. Cole, who had recovered remarkably from the earlier pileup to get to second, was then stopped by Pepino with 3 to go and his reign was all but over. Sam was punted into a pile of cars on the top bend on the same lap, ruling him out as well. This meant it was down to Miniman and Shane. The Dutchman's lead was being eaten away by the Englishman, and when Sam inadvertently turned in too early and somehow forced 474 wide on the final bend, it was two major titles in succession for 573. Miniman kept second and Cole, already confirmed as graded points champion, picked up third. As always, commiserations to those who finished the 22 lap race but got nothing for it, especially Jam and Hunter who were the only drivers on the lead lap not to finish in the top 3.
Once again Shane proves why he has always been rated as one of the greatest racers in LFS Bangers history with a stunning drive to claim the European Championship, which sadly marks the end of all title meetings in LFS Bangers. There have been some remarkable title races over the years and it is a huge sadness that it was the final one, but it was truly one to remember.
The European Championship replay can be found here: https://www.sendspace.com/file/ab7sfe
Here are the results from the other races that took place tonight, which were all non-points. Well done to all the winners:
Heat 1: Dean, Shane, South, Jam, Drakey, Jake, Stwarm, Pepino, Jon, Sam, Hunter
Heat 2: Cole, Jake, Stwarm, Shane, Jam, Dean, Colin, Miniman, Jon
Heat 3: Shane, Jam, Stwarm, Dean, Jake, Hunter, Pepino, Colin, Jon, Sam
Heat 4: Jam, Dean, Shane, Hunter, Brett, Sam, Colin, Jake, Jon, Miniman
Heat 5: Jam, Brett, Pepino, Jake, Colin, Jon, Sam, Miniman, Hunter
Heat 6: Miniman, Hunter, Brett, Sam, Dean, Pepino, Colin, Shane, Jake
Final: Miniman, Dean, Sam, Hunter, Jake, Shane, Pepino, Colin
Allcomers 1: Sam, Miniman, Dean, Jake, Shane, Hunter, Jon, Stwarm
Allcomers 2: Beatdrop, Jon, Dean, Miniman, Hunter, Sam, Stwarm, Shane
DD: Miniman/Shane/Sam; declared by drivers as a draw
So, just to remind you:
![Image](https://7img.net/users/4211/35/40/96/smiles/1616.gif)
![Image](https://7img.net/users/4211/35/40/96/smiles/1616.gif)