LFS Bangers

Round 1
Ten drivers attended the first round of the new-look Unlimited championship this evening at the big cars' spiritual home of the Autocross Skid Pad. It was a solid session of racing and crashing despite the low numbers.

It was a former 2 Litre World Champion who largely dominated proceedings as Young claimed the opening round with an excellent showing. Four heat wins, a second place and a third in the final saw him claim 72 points, 7 ahead of Rik in second who won a heat, an Allcomers and a rather long DD that ended with Pepino rolling himself! Speaking of another ex-2 Litre World Champion, the German won a heat and an Allcomers to end up in the top 5. Ahead of him was Jam who picked up three seconds including one in the final but only 1 Allcomers win, and Miniman whose sole race victory was in the final. Michal rounded out the winners with an Allcomers victory of his own.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Allcomers were non-points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Young, Jam, Michal, Miniman, Rik, Colin, Pepino, Cap, Jon, Tilson
Heat 2: Young, Miniman, Pepino, Colin, Rik, Cap, Jam, Jon, Michal, Tilson
Heat 3: Rik, Jam, Miniman, Young, Pepino, Michal, Cap
Heat 4: Young, Rik, Colin, Pepino, Jam, Cap, Michal, Jon, Miniman
Heat 5: Pepino, Young, Miniman, Rik, Jon, Michal, Jam, Cap, Tilson
Heat 6: Young, Miniman, Rik, Colin, Jam, Jon, TIlson, Pepino

Final: Miniman, Jam, Young, Rik, Pepino, Colin, Michal, Jon

Allcomers 1 (Ramp Race): Rik, Michal, Miniman, Tilson
Allcomers 2 (Standard): Pepino, Jam, Cap, Jon, Michal, Rik, Colin
Allcomers 3 (All Car Ramp Race 1): Michal, Jam, Tilson, Jon, Cap, Pepino
Allcomers 4 (All Car Ramp Race 2): Jam, Pepino, Jon, Rik, Tilson, Michal

DD: Rik

POINTS
1st: Young - 72 points
2nd: Rik - 65 points
3rd: Miniman - 63 points
4th: Jam - 56 points
5th: Pepino - 50 points
6th: Colin - 37 points
7th: Michal - 32 points
8th: Jon - 25 points
9th: Cap - 20 points
10th: Tilson - 8 points

Round 2
Only eight drivers made it to the Fern Bay Oval for the second round of the 2018 Unlimited Championship, but despite the single-digit attendance there was a lot of great racing and wrecking on show, with the oval's notorious Smallfield-style bank ruining everyone's races at some point in the evening.

In what appears to be the trend of points meetings, Rik dominated. The Dutchman claimed 4 heats, a 2nd and 2 3rds as well as an Allcomers to end the night on top, dropping just 12 points from the maximum haul of 85 available. Jam also had a great evening, winning 2 heats back-to-back as well as the final and 2 consecutive Allcomers. Reigning Unlims World and Points Champion Looney finally got going in the series tonight, winning the DD and finishing 4th overall. Brett won an Allcomers too (in which only he and Looney finished ) while Ade impressively finished 2nd in the points despite not winning a race, largely due to his 4 2nd places, the last of which was in the final.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Allcomers were non-points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Rik, Ade, Jam, Looney, Cap, Pepino, Jon
Heat 2: Rik, Pepino, Jam, Cap, Looney, Ade
Heat 3: Jam, Rik, Ade, Pepino, Looney, Jon, Cap
Heat 4: Jam, Ade, Rik, Brett, Pepino, Looney, Cap, Jon
Heat 5: Rik, Ade, Jam, Jon, Pepino, Cap, Brett, Looney
Heat 6: Rik, Jon, Looney, Ade, Brett

Final: Jam, Ade, Rik, Jon, Cap, Brett, Looney, Pepino

Allcomers 1 (Big Ramp Race): Rik, Brett, Cap, Looney, Jon
Allcomers 2 (All Car Ramp Race): Brett, Looney
Allcomers 3 (All Car Race): Jam, Rik, Brett, Pepino, Jon, Cap
Allcomers 4 (FXR Race): Jam, Looney, Brett

DD: Looney

POINTS
1st: Rik - 73 points
2nd: Ade - 65 points
3rd: Jam - 64 points
4th: Looney - 48 points
5th: Jon - 42 points
6th: Pepino - 39 points
7th: Cap - 38 points
8th: Brett - 27 points

Round 3
Thanks to the nine drivers who attended this rearranged meeting and for doing so at such relatively short notice, considering the decision to run tonight was only taken on Sunday. The meeting saw the welcome return of 2-time 2 Litre World Champion 573 Shane to competitive action after a few years away. The final was preceded by a largely well-observed moment of silence in memory of Cap's father, who sadly passed away on Saturday. The large Wimbledon Stadium layout saw some good racing at times as well as some big hitting from all involved.

Rik made it back to back wins in the Unlimited Championship and once again pushed the boundaries of success with possibly his best ever performance in a grades meeting by missing out on the maximum of 85 by just SEVEN POINTS! Four heat wins combined with the final as well as the second Allcomers race saw the 2 Litre British Champion set another watermark in what is becoming an incredible season for him already. However, it was the returning double 2 Litre World Champion who put up the biggest threat to the Dutchman's achievements, getting consecutive 2nds in the last heat and the final before defeating Rik in the DD; considering Shane is one of LFS Bangers' greatest ever rodders, a DD win is a bit out of the ordinary for him! Rounding out the top 3 was Colin, who had 2 heat wins as well as 3 3rds. Cap and Looney were the only other winners on the night, both claiming an Allcomers.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Allcomers were non-points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Rik, Colin, Tilson, Jon, Looney, Pepino
Heat 2: Rik, Colin, Shane, Tilson, Looney, Pepino, Jon
Heat 3: Colin, Rik, Cap, Shane, Tilson, Jon
Heat 4: Colin, Rik, Cap, Tilson, Shane, Pepino, Jon
Heat 5: Rik, Colin, Shane, Pepino, Cap, Jon, Looney
Heat 6: Rik, Shane, Jon, Pepino

Final: Rik, Shane, Cap, Jon, Pepino, Colin, Looney, Brett

Allcomers 1: Cap, Rik, Jon, Tilson
Allcomers 2 (All Car Race 1): Rik, Shane, Pepino, Cap
Allcomers 3 (All Car Race 2): Looney, Rik, Jon, Colin

DD: Shane

POINTS
1st: Rik - 78 poins
2nd: Shane - 61 points
3rd: Colin - 57 points
4th: Jon - 47 points
5th: Pepino - 41 points
6th: Cap - 38 points
7th: Tilson - 28 points
8th: Looney - 24 points
9th: Brett - 6 points

Round 4
An excellent showing of 14 drivers attended the iconic Arena Essex Raceway for the fourth round of the Unlimited Championship. Swiss driver 145 Celeritas made his full LFS Bangers debut, having previously raced in the very short- lived Rookies series from a few years back, while it was a welcome return for 649 Dumbo after a period away. It was an incredibly destructive meeting with only one race getting 10 points finishers as the perilous Essex oval claimed every driver at some stage!

It was the third Dutch winner of the Unlimited season as Miniman claimed victory with a stunning set of heat performances that made up for the fact he failed to place in the final. Three heat wins, two seconds and a fourth secured the round for him as no other driver performed consistently enough to overtake him, and as an added bonus he also won the ramp rollover competition with a stunning 5 full rolls! Cap finished second thanks to his 4 third places in the heats and claimed the first Allcomers, while Rik's final win saw him tie for third with an impressive performance from his compatriot and newcomer GoodHabits. Celeritas's first LFS Bangers meeting saw him finish in 6th despite three excellent heat wins and an Allcomers as he failed to score in the first two heats nor the final. Tilson secured a rare DD win to complete the victors.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. The Ramp Rollover and Allcomers were non-points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Miniman, Rik, Cap, Pepino, Tilson, GoodHabits, Colin, Brett
Heat 2: Miniman, Mr. Perfect Jr., Cap, GoodHabits, Jam
Heat 3: Celeritas, Rik, Mr. Perfect Jr., Miniman, Colin, Dumbo, Tilson, Cap, GoodHabits
Heat 4: Celeritas, Miniman, Cap, Pepino, GoodHabits, Dumbo, Jon, Looney
Heat 5: Miniman, Tilson, Cap, Mr. Perfect Jr., Dumbo, Celeritas, Jon, Pepino
Heat 6: Celeritas, Miniman, Mr. Perfect Jr., GoodHabits, Jam, Looney, Brett, Tilson, Pepino, Rik

Final: Rik, Pepino, Dumbo, Cap, GoodHabits, Jam, Looney, Jon

Ramp Rollover: Miniman (5 rolls)
Allcomers 1: Cap, Tilson, Jon, GoodHabits, Jam
Allcomers 2: Celeritas, Tilson, Jam, GoodHabits, Brett

DD: Tilson

POINTS
1st: Miniman - 55 points
2nd: Cap - 49 points
3rd=: GoodHabits, Rik - 39 points
5th: Pepino - 37 points
6th: Celeritas - 35 points
7th=: Dumbo, Mr. Perfect Jr. - 32 points
9th: Tilson - 27 points
10th: Jam - 22 points
11th: Looney - 16 points
12th: Jon - 14 points
13th: Colin - 10 points
14th: Brett - 7 points

Round 5
Just the 10 drivers made the trip across the Irish Sea to Nutts Corner for the fifth round of the Unlimited Championship. 167 Huski returned to action after a spell away (albeit for just one race ) in an evening that saw some great racing and some incredible hits, including one in the DD that saw Mr. Perfect Jr. smacked out of the track like a baseball!

Pepino came out on top with a heat win and the all important final. Tilson won three heats but was eventually targeted for his dominance and got blitzed repeatedly (taken in good spirits, which is always great to see) with Brett claiming the last heat and the DD, while Jam also picked up a heat win. Cap finished second thanks to two thirds and a second while Mr. Perfect Jr. joined Tilson in third place overall thanks to a brace of seconds and a third.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Tilson, Mr. Perfect Jr., Colin, Jon, Pepino, Cap, Huski, Looney, Brett
Heat 2: Tilson, Mr. Perfect Jr., Pepino, Cap, Colin, Jon, Brett
Heat 3: Jam, Colin, Cap, Mr. Perfect Jr., Pepino, Looney, Tilson, Brett, Jon
Heat 4: Tilson, Cap, Colin, Pepino, Jam, Jon, Mr. Perfect Jr., Looney, Brett
Heat 5: Pepino, Tilson, Mr. Perfect Jr., Colin, Jam, Cap, Brett, Jon, Looney
Heat 6: Brett, Colin, Tilson, Cap, Pepino, Jam, Mr. Perfect Jr., Looney

Final: Pepino, Brett, Cap, Jon, Looney, Mr. Perfect Jr.

DD: Brett

POINTS
1st: Pepino - 63 points
2nd: Cap - 57 points
3rd=: Mr. Perfect Jr., TIlson - 51 points
5th: Brett - 48 points
6th: Colin - 47 points
7th: Jon - 36 points
8th: Jam - 27 points
9th: Looney - 25 points
10th: Huski - 4 points

Round 6
The sixth and final qualifying round of the Unlimited Championship from Norfolk's Swaffham Arena saw just nine cars in attendance but all who turned up put on an excellent display. Northern Irishman 911 Cole competed in his first meeting since May as he made a late bid to get onto the Unlimited World Final grid.

Cole ended up in a monumental battle with Rik that literally went down to the last bend in the final. With Cole having claimed three heat wins and two seconds but significantly failing to finish Heat 4, Rik's sole heat win of his own alongside top 4 finishes in every heat saw the pair enter the final tied on 48 points each. #911 had a great lead to start but was caught up by #997, who put Cole into the fence on the final bend of lap 15 to gain the crucial extra 2 points to finish ahead of the man from across the Irish Sea. Rik then claimed an Allcomers win and the DD to put some polish on the result. Brett claimed a heat and an Allcomers, Colin also picked up a heat and Looney won the MRT race.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Cole, Tilson, Rik, Cap, Colin, Mr. Perfect, Jr., Looney, Brett
Heat 2: Cole, Rik, Brett, Mr. Perfect Jr., Jon, Tilson
Heat 3: Brett, Cole, Cap, Colin, Rik, Jon, Looney
Heat 4: Colin, Cap, Mr. Perfect Jr., Rik, Looney
Heat 5: Rik, Cole, Looney, Cap, Tilson, Colin
Heat 6: Cole, Tilson, RIk, Colin, Mr. Perfect Jr., Looney, Brett

Final: Rik, Cole, Colin, Cap, Tilson, Loney, Mr. Perfect Jr., Jon

Allcomers 1: Brett, Tilson
Allcomers 2: Rik, Cap, Tilson, Brett
Allcomers 3 (MRT Race): Looney, Rik, Cap, Colin, Jon

DD: Rik

POINTS
1st: Rik - 73 points
2nd: Cole - 66 points
3rd: Colin - 51 points
4th: Cap - 45 points
5th: Tilson - 41 points
6th: Looney - 37 points
7th: Mr. Perfect Jr. - 34 points
8th: Brett - 25 points
9th: Jon - 17 points

Extra congratulations are in order as following tonight's meeting there are a maximum of 60 points left to win at the World Final. Rik's 73 points combined with 2nd place Pepino's no show and 3rd place Cap needing 67 points means he cannot be caught at the top of the table. So a very big congratulations to him!

CONGRATULATIONS TO 997 RIK - 2018 UNLIMITED POINTS CHAMPION!