LFS Bangers

Round 1 (British Qualifier 1)
19 drivers attended the opening round of the Grades Championship at the Blackwood Car Park Non-Posts layout on 29th January. We had the third league debutant of 2016 in the curiously named 38 Femboi, a team mate of 796 Fluffu.

There was an error with the Car Park layout that resulted in drivers who were red roof and above gaining an unfair advantage over the rest of the field. This was corrected immediately after it was discovered. There were also some issues regarding lag that required multiple restarts, so please make sure your connection is stable before racing. Thanks to Luke and Foster for providing the replays of Heat 3 and the DD respectively as I had two big computer crashes in these races.

It was a slightly surprising winner for the first British Qualifier as Nay won the meeting by 5 points from the reigning British champion Foster. With top 6 finishes in all but one race, including a heat win, the white roof driver defied his grading to move all the way up to Superstar. Given his win in a round of the BWS last year, it's clear 171 has the ability but needs to back it up with consistency. Can he do it this year?

Elsewhere, 307 took two heat wins, Kane won the final and the DD(!), and Youngy, Miniman and Looney all won a heat each.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. No Allcomers were run due to the above issues. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Youngy, Nay, Rik, Foster, Kane, Miniman, Nova, Looney, Gildo, Cap, Zotez, Mr. T-Bone, Luke, Jon, Fluffu, Femboi
Heat 2: Nay, Looney, Foster, Pepino, Youngy, Miniman, Rik, Zotez, Gildo, Nova, Kane, Jake W., DarkMetalTim, Mr. T-Bone, Fluffu, Jon, Femboi
Heat 3: Foster, Miniman, Looney, Nay, Rik, Kane, DarkMetalTim, Gildo, Pepino, Zotez, Cap, Mr. T-Bone, Fluffu, Luke, Femboi
Heat 4: Foster, Cap, Looney, Rik, Pepino, Youngy, Gildo, Kane, DarkMetalTim, Miniman, Mr. T-Bone, Jake W., Nay, Jon, Zotez
Heat 5: Miniman, Nay, Gildo, Jake W., Foster, Cap, Nova, Rik, DarkMetalTim, Mr. T-Bone, Kane, Looney, Jon, Youngy, Zotez
Heat 6: Looney, Nay, Pepino, Miniman, DarkMetalTim, Jake W., Kane, Rik, Gildo, Luke, Jon, Mr. T-Bone, Foster, Zotez, Youngy

Final: Kane, Youngy, Rik, Pepino, Gildo, Nay, Foster, Looney, Jon, Nova, Miniman, Luke, Cap

DD: Kane

POINTS
1st: Nay - 54 points
2nd: Foster - 49 points
3rd: Rik - 47 points
4th: Looney - 44 points
5th: Kane - 43 points
6th: Youngy - 39 points
7th=: Miniman, Pepino - 37 points
9th: Gildo - 33 points
10th: Cap - 15 points
11th: DarkMetalTim - 14 points
12th: Jake W. - 12 points
13th: Nova - 11 points
14th=: Jon, Zotez - 4 points
16th=: Luke, Mr. T-Bone - 1 point
18th=: Femboi, Fluffu - 0 points

Round 2 (British Qualifier 2)
Before I announce the results, please let me apologise for the mess that was the running of 19th February's meeting. It was well below the high standards I hold.

Due to the restricted nature of the Autocross, there would have only been 22 drivers allowed to race at any one time. As the meeting was close to starting, it became clear that split heats would have to be used. This resulted in a huge delay and a mass of confusion for both myself and the drivers involved when it turned out that split heats were not required. This confusion may have also been the reason some drivers did not follow the rules while lining up; for two drivers, this resulted in an exclusion from the opening heat and a kick from a following heat. Please make sure you read what people are saying and follow other drivers if you are not sure where to line up.

Adding to all of these problems were the track itself. While the design of Buxton by Cap, with its long straights and tight bends, was good, the construction wasn't. Numerous drivers had their races ruined by weird object glitches, including multiple flips on the front straight by touching the wall and the ever-annoying inside kerbs of the circuit. It's a real shame because it's genuinely a great track that could have been great with just a bit more effort put into it.

And on a personal note, I had more computer issues ( ) that made me miss 4 races in total and the DD. Thanks to Luke for providing the replays of everything but the DD. I managed to get the winner of the DD from the server itself shortly after it had finished.

With all that negativity out of the way, we had a strong showing of 24 drivers for the second British qualifier at Buxton. There was another LFS Bangers debutant in this meeting as Dutchman 502 Reizenderam made his bow. It was interesting to note that only one driver (Splat) of the 24 was neither a white roof or a red roof or above, which may indicate the extremes of consistent performances in the league!

Nay proved his Round 1 victory was no fluke as he made it back to back British Qualifier wins. Being the only driver to score in every single race was key to his success despite not actually winning one. Youngy and Rik tied for second, the Englishman winning an allcomers and the Dutchman a heat, while reigning British champion Foster picked up two heat wins. Pepino also had a brace of heat victories while Lukey took the final and the other allcomers. Completing the races was Miniman with a heat success while Splat yet again emerged triumphant in the DD, although this was the first time this season that it counted for individual points. The destructive nature of the meeting may have been a reason why SEVEN drivers failed to pick up a single point, and just three of that seven even finished a race!

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Two non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Pepino, Miniman, Nay, Kane, Jordan B., Derohk, Jake W., Splat, Brett, Nova, Cap, Chunk
Heat 2: Miniman, Youngy, Derohk, Foster, Nova, Nay, Jordan B., Brett, Kane, Splat
Heat 3: Rik, Youngy, Foster, Derohk, Nova, Jordan B., Tim, Nay, Pepino, Brett, Jake W., Splat, Jam
Heat 4: Foster, Cap, Rik, Jordan B., Nova, Kane, Nay, Youngy, Splat, Jake W., Jordan N.
Heat 5: Pepino, Nay, Miniman, Jordan B., Jake W., Cap, Rik, Nova, Jam, Tim, Splat, Brett, Youngy
Heat 6: Foster, Youngy, Jake W., Miniman, Nay, Kane, Tim, Splat, Nova

Final: Lukey, Rik, Tim, Nay, Splat, Youngy, Jake W., Jam

Allcomers 1: Youngy, Cap, Rik, Kane, Pepino, Jam, Tim, Jake W., Jordan B.
Allcomers 2: Lukey, Cap, Kane, Pepino, Splat, Tim, Jake W., Luke, Jordan, Chunk, Foster

DD: Splat

POINTS
1st: Nay - 49 points
2nd=: Rik, Youngy - 40 points
4th: Foster - 35 points
5th: Miniman - 34 points
6th: Jordan B. - 29 points
7th: Jake W. - 27 points
8th: Splat - 26 points
9th: Tim - 25 points
10th: Nova - 24 points
11th: Pepino - 22 points
12th=: Derohk, Lukey - 20 points
13th: Kane - 19 points
14th: Cap - 14 points
15th: Jam - 8 points
16th: Brett - 6 points
17th: Chunk, Ellis, Jon, Jordan N., Luke, Mr. T-Bone, Reizenderam - 0 points

Round 3 (British Qualifier 3)
Once again, let me apologise for my prolonged absence from the meeting on 18th March.

After last week's issues, I thought I had fixed them in the week. It was clear from the moment I began the meeting these issues still persisted. I at least managed to compete in some of yesterday's races, which is a bit more of an improvement than last week, but still not good enough. A massive thanks once again to Cap and Jam for running and providing me with replays of the meeting respectively.

I may have to consider my position as the league admin if these problems continue.

The above aside, Standlake attracted 20 drivers for the third grade meet of the season. The Lake was unusually a bit of a rodfest tonight, with no race in total getting fewer than 10 finishers and no points race fewer than 14. Where were all the wreckers???

For the third round in a row, an unexpected winner emerged, but this time in the form of #910 Niall. Niall took three straight heats alongside an allcomers and had a second in the last heat before 4th in the double points final to take the meeting by just ONE point from #960 Pepino, who did not win a race but scored in every single one. Along with fellow N in Nay (who had a substandard meeting given his performances this year) Niall has performed well before but not on a consistent basis like he did in the meeting. Could this be the start of something big for #910?

Rik won the final and an allcomers with Youngy got two heats and Miniman getting the last one. A special congratulations must go to both DarkMetalTim and Aaron, who won their first ever LFS Bangers races with victory in the first allcomers and the DD respectively.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Three non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Youngy, Kane, Jam, Rik, Pepino, Cap, Nay, Splat, Jake W., Niall, Gildo, Looney, DarkMetalTim, Macca
Heat 2: Miniman, Rik, Looney, Kane, Pepino, Cap, Nova, Youngy, Gildo, Nay, Niall, Jam, Aaron, DarkMetalTim, Jake W., Splat, Chunk
Heat 3: Niall, Pepino, Nova, Cap, Youngy, Nay, Jam, Miniman, Kane, Splat, Gildo, Rik, DarkMetalTim, Looney, Chunk, Aaron
Heat 4: Niall, Jam, Pepino, Kane, Youngy, Nova, Jake W., Rik, DarkMetalTim, Looney, Cap, Gildo, Splat, Aaron, Chunk
Heat 5: Niall, Jake W., Cap, Youngy, Jam, Rik, Nova, Gildo, DarkMetalTim, Kane, Looney, Macca, Chunk, Splat, Nay, Pepino
Heat 6: Youngy, Niall, Pepino, DarkMetalTim, Nova, Rik, Nay, Kane, Gildo, Cap, Jake W., Jam, Looney, Splat, Chunk

Final: Rik, DarkMetalTim, Pepino, Niall, Nova, Jake W., Cap, Kane, Jam, Gildo, Looney, Splat, Chunk, Youngy

Allcomers 1: DarkMetalTim, Niall, Jam, Pepino, Cap, Jake W., Aaron, Rik, Nay, Looney, Splat
Allcomers 2: Rik, Niall, Jake W., Jam, Pepino, Nay, Gildo, Cap, Aaron, Looney
Allcomers 3: Niall, Jam, Jake W., Cap, Nay, DarkMetalTim, Splat, Aaron, Macca, Chunk, Rik

DD: Aaron

POINTS
1st: Niall - 54 points
2nd: Pepino - 53 points
3rd: Rik - 49 points
4th: Youngy - 42 points
5th: Nova - 39 points
6th: Kane - 35 points
7th=: Cap, Jam - 31 points
9th: DarkMetalTim - 29 points
10th: Jake W. - 28 points
11th: Nay - 14 points
12th: Miniman - 13 points
13th=: Gildo, Looney - 9 points
15th: Aaron - 5 points
16th: Splat - 4 points
17th=: Chunk, Jon, Macca, Zotez - 0 points

Round 4 (British Qualifier 4)
The strongest showing of the season so far featured at Warton for the fourth and final British qualifier, with an amazing 25 drivers competing to secure their place on the British Championship grid next month. Another two league debutants competed in Dutchman #33 Max and real life Ministox driver #183 Charlie, the latter of the two having a great first meeting with an 8th in the heats and a 4th place in the final. A real blast from the past also raced in #760 Ryano, racing his first LFS Bangers meeting since September 2014!

There were numerous issues regarding lag tonight which were concerning, including drivers being flung across the track, multiple time outs and disconnections (sometimes repeatedly from the same people) and in one instance a driver being on a lag time of 75 SECONDS before he finally left the track. Please make sure your connection to the server is stable before racing; if you cannot race comfortably, then it is best to leave until you get the problem sorted.

Ryano's return provided one of the more bizarre final standings seen in LFS Bangers as THREE drivers tied for first spot, all on 52 points. #760 himself recorded a heat win and a key second in the final, Lukey took two heats, an allcomers and a rare but vital DD win with Kane winning a heat and the crucial final to join the previous two at the top. Cap won a heat and finished best of the rest while Rik won an allcomers and Jordan N. recorded his first ever LFS Bangers victory after a number of near misses in recent weeks.

The sole Superstar at the start of the evening in #997 had an under-fire night by his rapidly improving standards, but his 24 points secured pole for this year's British Championship. Joining him on the front row is a minor surprise in Youngy, who only finished 7 points behind in his first competitive season for a couple of years: just goes to show that form is temporary but class is permanent!

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Two non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Ryano, Kizza, Kane, Foster, Nova, Cap, Jordan N., Lukey, Gildo, Rik, Jake W., Splat, Aaron, Nay, Macca
Heat 2: Lukey, Rik, Foster, Ryano, Kane, Nova, Jordan N., Jake W., Gildo, Nay, Jon, Splat, Aaron
Heat 3: Cap, Rik, Lukey, Nova, Foster, Youngy, Ryano, Gildo, Jake W., Nay, Splat, Brett
Heat 4: Lukey, Jake W., Youngy, DarkMetalTim, Kane, Gildo, Aaron, Splat, Jordan N., Ellis
Heat 5: Kane, Youngy, Cap, Ryano, Gildo, Lukey, Rik, Charlie, Aaron, DarkMetalTim, Foster, Jake W., Splat, Jon, Macca, Nova
Heat 6: Jordan N., Lukey, Cap, Nova, Ryano, Aaron, Jake W., DarkMetalTim, Kane, Rik, Gildo

Final: Kane, Ryano, Nova, Charlie, Cap, Youngy, Jon, Gildo, Jake W., Lukey, Max, DarkMetalTim

Allcomers 1: Lukey, Cap, Youngy, Ryano, Kane, Gildo, Aaron, DarkMetalTim, Jordan N.
Allcomers 2: Rik, Cap, Ryano, Gildo, Jake W., Jordan N., Kane, Aaron, Hamster, Lukey, DarkMetalTim, Jon

DD: Lukey

POINTS
1st=: Kane, Lukey, Ryano - 52 points
4th: Cap - 43 points
5th: Nova - 41 points
6th: Youngy - 32 points
7th=: Gildo, Rik - 24 points
9th: Jake W. - 22 points
10th: Foster - 21 points
11th: Jordan N. - 20 points
12th: Charlie - 17 points
13th=: Aaron, DarkMetalTim - 11 points
15th: Kizza - 9 points
16th: Jon - 8 points
17th: Splat - 3 points
18th: Nay - 2 points
19th: Ellis - 1 point
20th:= Brett, Bungal, Hamster, Macca, Max, Miniman - 0 points

Round 5 (World Qualifier 1)
After the current biggest turnout of the season in the previous graded round, the lowest turnout of the season competed in the fifth grade meeting and the first World qualifier with just 10 racers competing on the Blackwood Car Park Non-Posts layout; two other drivers attended the meeting but were unable to race due to computer issues. I'm really not sure why the numbers were so low. The one positive of such a small turnout was it gave drivers who hadn't done so well in the previous rounds of the season the chance to make up for it by just finishing races and gaining precious points that will make up the World Final grid in September.

Unsurprisingly, the top four were the highest graded drivers in the meeting, with Euro champion Nova winning a heat, an Allcomers and tying the DD while superstar Kane took two heats and the other Allcomers. Ryano managed a second in a heat and in the final but could not convert those into a win. The round's winner, however, was the lowest of these drivers in blue roof Cap. #27 managed three heat wins and the final alongside top 3 finishes in all but one scoring race to take the round with 80 points, which although it is the highest score in the grades this season, is far less impressive than it looks due to the low numbers. Aaron was the other survivor in the DD after a gruelling contest which he really should have won.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Two non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. 2 points went to the surviving drivers in the DD.

Heat 1: Cap, Nova, Ryano, Kane, Jordan N., Jon, Aaron, Brett
Heat 2: Cap, Nova, Kane, Ryano, Jordan N., Jake W., Jon, Aaron, Brett
Heat 3: Kane, Cap, Ryano, Nova, Jake W., Jon, Aaron, Jordan N., Brett
Heat 4: Kane, Nova, Cap, Jon, Jake W., Aaron, Ryano, Brett
Heat 5: Nova, Ryano, Jake W., Kane, Jon, Cap, Brett, Aaron
Heat 6: Cap, Kane, Ryano, Nova, Jake W., Jon, Aaron, Brett

Final: Cap, Ryano, Kane, Jake W., Brett, Nova, Jon, Aaron

Allcomers 1: Kane, Ryano, Splat, Cap, Nova
Allcomers 2: Nova, Cap, Kane, Ryano, Splat, Jon, Aaron

DD: Tie between Aaron and Nova - declared after 30 minutes.

POINTS
1st: Cap - 80 points
2nd: Kane - 67 points
3rd: Nova - 63 points
4th: Ryano - 62 points
5th: Jon - 40 points
6th: Jake W. - 37 points
7th: Aaron - 31 points
8th: Brett - 29 points
9th: Jordan N. - 15 points
10th: Splat - 0 points

Round 6 (World Qualifier 2)
There was a slight improvement on the last graded round with 12 drivers competing at Aldershot for the sixth graded meeting of the season and the second of the four World qualifiers.

I suffered a recurrence of the computer issues I had a few months ago, meaning I was the only driver not to score any points at all ( ), but other drivers had multiple disconnections throughout the meeting, which was a concern. I'm not sure why so many people had those issues, but as it was happening not just during the meeting but before it as well, there may be a server issue of which nobody was aware.

We had another debutant with Dutchman #66 Hammertime entering the league and not having a bad evening at all; he even recorded his first LFS Bangers win in the first allcomers, which is a great achievement.

It was the recently-crowned British champion who took the round as Rik delivered another excellent performance, combining a heat and final win with no finishes outside the top 3 in any other race but one, and even then he finished fifth. Cap took second with a heat, a tied DD and the other allcomers with Kane in third who took a heat of his own. Lukey won the opening two heats and Miniman recorded his first win in two months with the last heat. As in the last graded meeting, Aaron got close to taking the DD victory but could not win it outright, having it declared after 30 minutes.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Two non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 2 points went to the surviving drivers in the DD.

Heat 1: Lukey, Rik, Jam, Kane, Cap, Looney, Spook, Hammertime, Aaron, Splat, Jon
Heat 2: Lukey, Cap, Rik, Looney, Jam, Kane, Spook, Splat, Aaron, Hammertime, Jon
Heat 3: Rik, Miniman, Cap, Kane, Splat, Looney, Hammertime, Lukey, Aaron, Jam, Spook, Jon
Heat 4: Kane, Looney, Cap, Miniman, Rik, Jam, Spook, Splat, Aaron, Lukey, Hammertime
Heat 5: Cap, Miniman, Rik, Looney, Kane, Jam, Splat, Hammertime, Aaron, Spook, Lukey, Jon
Heat 6: Miniman, Rik, Cap, Kane, Lukey, Jam, Hammertime, Looney, Spook, Aaron

Final: Rik, Kane, Lukey, Cap, Jam, Looney, Spook, Miniman, Splat

Allcomers 1: Hammertime, Rik, Splat, Spook, Jam, Aaron, Lukey, Jon
Allcomers 2: Cap, Jam, Rik, Splat, Looney, Lukey, Jon, Hammertime

DD: Tie between Aaron and Cap - declared after 30 minutes.

POINTS
1st: Rik - 70 points
2nd: Cap - 65 points
3rd: Kane - 60 points
4th: Looney, Lukey - 46 points
6th: Jam - 42 points
7th: Miniman - 41 points
8th: Spook - 23 points
9th: Splat - 21 points
10th: Hammertime - 15 points
11th: Aaron - 13 points
12th: Jon - 0 points

Round 7 (World Qualifier 3)
Another improvement on the last grades round with 14 drivers attending Wimbledon for the third World qualifier and seventh grade meeting of the season.

Once again it was a very good night of racing and wrecking although some drivers couldn't race the meeting due to computer issues on their end, which is never good to see. Hopefully those who were affected will come back in future meetings with a more stable connection.

Following his success in the 2 Litre Best Buds last week, Youngy won back-to-back meetings for the first time in a long while as he took three heats and three seconds, including one in the final, to take the meeting with 71 points. Cap, now the new number one in the overall points table following Kane and Rik's absences tonight, took second after a heat win alongside the vital final win and two second places in the heat. Nova took one heat and the first allcomers while Looney won a heat and DarkMetalTim recorded his second LFS Bangers win of both the season and his career in the other allcomers. After two meetings in a row where he drew the DD, Aaron finally broke this curse to score 5 precious points by eliminating Cap to win a DD outright for the first time since March's British Qualifier!

A special congratulations must go to Splat who, thanks to his second place in the final, has moved back to a yellow roof for the first time since April

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Two non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Nova, Youngy, Splat, Cap, Looney, DarkMetalTim, Jam, Dumbo #649, Aaron, Hammertime, Chunk, Jon
Heat 2: Youngy, Cap, Looney, Hammertime, Jon, Splat, Aaron, Chunk, DarkMetalTim
Heat 3: Looney, Cap, Nova, Youngy, Jam, DarkMetalTim, Aaron, Spook, Chunk, Splat. Jon
Heat 4: Youngy, Nova, Cap, Splat, Jam, DarkMetalTim, Jon, Aaron, Hammertime, Looney
Heat 5: Youngy, Nova, Jam, Looney, Jon, DarkMetalTim, Cap, Aaron, Splat
Heat 6: Cap, Youngy, Nova, Sam, Splat, Looney, DarkMetalTim, Jam, Hammertime, Aaron, Jon

Final: Cap, Splat, Youngy, Sam, Jam, DarkMetalTim, Hammertime, Jon, Nova, Aaron

Allcomers 1: Nova, Jam, Cap, DarkMetalTim, Aaron, Jon, Sam, Youngy, Splat
Allcomers 2: DarkMetalTim, Cap, Nova, Looney, Youngy, Jam

DD: Aaron

POINTS
1st: Youngy - 71 points
2nd: Cap - 67 points
3rd: Nova - 48 points
4th: Splat - 47 points
5th: Jam - 39 points
6th: Looney - 37 points
7th: DarkMetalTim - 36 points
8th: Aaron - 24 points
9th: Jon - 22 points
10th: Sam - 21 points
11th: Hammertime - 20 points
12th: Chunk - 5 points
13th: Dumbo #649, Spook - 3 points

Round 8 (World Qualifier 4)
A fourth successive increase in racers saw 17 drivers attend Birmingham Wheels for the eighth graded meeting of the season and the final World qualifier. Birmingham's unique concrete track did feel a lot more "grippy" than other layouts, but it didn't prevent close racing and big hitting at all, which is always great. I apologise for the aborted first heat; we've not had a server crash like that for many months and hope not to have one again any time soon.

There were two LFS Bangers debutants tonight in Northern Irish drivers 515 Joshua and 911 Cole. Both drivers had excellent debuts, moving out of the white grade at the first attempt and one of the pair even made the World Final grid! It was also good to see Dutchmen 212 Bokito and 380 Pennywise return after a number of months away.

Miniman made up for lost time by dominating the meeting in a fashion that team mate Rik would be proud of; with 4 heat wins and three second places, including one in the final, he shot up the points table to end up 4th after the four qualifiers. Cap, with Kane and Nova's absences from the meeting, secured the pole for the 2 Litre World Final next month before the meeting had even started but strengthened his reign at the top of the points table with finishes in every heat, including a second and a third. He was unable to win the DD outright for the second time this season as Bokito survived until the 30 minute limit was reached. Lukey won the last heat and the final to end up third on the night, while DarkMetalTim took another heat in what is becoming a common occurrence now! Finally, to cap off a great debut, Cole not only qualified for the World Final automatically by scoring 23 points but also won the Allcomers in some style, lapping everyone in the process; he surely couldn't do that next month, right?

Top 10 scored in heats and final. A non-points Allcomers was run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 2 points went to the surviving drivers in the DD.

Heat 1: Miniman, DarkMetalTim, Cap, Brett, Jon, Cole, Looney, Jam, Cyankiller, Macca, Hammertime, Bokito
Heat 2: Miniman, Cap, DarkMetalTim, Joshua, Looney, Brett, Jam, Jon, Bokito, Macca, Pennywise, Cole, Aaron, Hammertime
Heat 3: DarkMetalTim, Miniman, Lukey, Pepino, Jam, Looney, Cole, Cap, Joshua, Jon, Aaron, Macca
Heat 4: Miniman, Pepino, Brett, Cap, Looney, Jam, Cole, Joshua, Lukey, Pennywise, DarkMetalTim, Hammertime, Aaron, Macca
Heat 5: Miniman, Lukey, Pepino, Cap, Pennywise, DarkMetalTim, Cole, Jam, Joshua, Hammertime, Bokito, Looney
Heat 6: Lukey, Miniman, Looney, Pepino, Cole, Cap, DarkMetalTim, Pennywise, Joshua, Jam, Hammertime, Bokito, Macca

Final: Lukey, Miniman, Looney, Cap, DarkMetalTim, Jam, Pennywise, Jon, Aaron, Bokito, Pepino

Allcomers: Cole, Cap, Looney, Jon, Pennywise, Joshua, Brett, Pepino, DarkMetalTIm, Lukey, Macca

DD: Tie between Bokito and Cap - declared after 30 minutes.

POINTS
1st: Miniman - 76 points
2nd: Cap - 55 points
3rd: Lukey - 49 points
4th: DarkMetalTim - 48 points
5th: Looney - 45 points
6th: Jam - 32 points
7th: Pepino - 31 points
8th: Cole - 23 points
9th: Brett - 20 points
10th: Pennywise - 18 points
11th=: Jon, Joshua - 16 points
13th: Bokito - 6 points
14th: Aaron - 4 points
15th=: Cyankiller, Macca - 2 points
17th: Hammertime - 1 point

Round 9 (European Qualifier 1)
Five consecutive meetings of increased driver attendance saw 19 drivers attend Warneton for the ninth graded meeting of the season and the first European qualifier. The Belgian track's lengthy straights and long bends saw many hits and some great racing, with the stronger drivers having to battle through to gain those crucial qualifying points for December's title meeting. As usual on Warneton, every race saw at least 10 finishers as it's not a place where you can get airtime easily and roll drivers.

There was a slight server wobble at the end of the fourth heat but thankfully no drivers were disconnected by it; this may be down to the newest LFS patch and its improved network handling capabilities, so that's great for the future

In somewhat spooky fashion, Youngy recorded his second victory of the graded campaign with the exact same points and wins he managed in Round 7: 71 points alongside 3 heat wins. Of course, this is usual for the former European champion, who placed in the top two for every heat but came a lowly ( ) 4th in the final. The star of the meeting, however, was Czech driver #47 Michal. After a very impressive performance in the 2 Litre World Final last week, he more than bettered it with 2 heat wins and that all-important final to instantly zoom to the top of the average table, knocking Ryano off by 2 points and immediately going to Superstar grade. We'll have to wait and see if he can keep up these performances when at the back of the grid rather than the front!

The other two race winners tonight were the continually improving young Dutchman Hammertime, who won Heat 2, and the reigning European champion Nova who won the Allcomers. Nova also tasted success in the DD with three drivers - himself, points leader Cap and Brett - all alive at the end of the 30 minute window. As a side note, while I have noticed that this is the 4th drawn DD of the graded meetings, the 30 minute limit does appear to be working and will be formally introduced to the rules next season.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. A non-points Allcomers was run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 1 point went to each surviving driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Youngy, Nova, Splat, Foster, Miniman, Hammertime, Cap, Kane, Michal, Bokito, Pennywise, Jam, Aaron, Looney, DarkMetalTim, Brett
Heat 2: Hammertime, Youngy, Foster, Nova, Michal, Splat, looney, Kane, Cap, Pennywise, DarkMetalTim, Jam, Jon, Macca, Aaron, Miniman, Brett
Heat 3: Michal, Youngy, Dumbo #649, Kane, Nova, Pennywise, Cap, Bokito, Miniman, DarkMetalTim, Jam, Jon, Aaron, Macca, Foster
Heat 4: Youngy, Nova, Kane, Michal, Hammertime, Cap, Looney, Aaron, Jam, Jon, Dumbo #649, Splat, Miniman, Pennywise, Macca, Brett, DarkMetalTim
Heat 5: Youngy, Michal, Cap, Nova, Kane, Hammertime, Foster, Looney, Jam, Splat, Aaron, Bokito, Brett, Miniman
Heat 6: Michal, Youngy, Cap, Nova, DarkMetalTim, Hammertime, Kane, Pennywise, Jon, Aaron, Miniman, Foster, brett, Looney

Final: Michal, Kane, Miniman, Youngy, Cap, Pennywise, Nova, Foster, Hammertime, DarkMetalTim, Bokito, Looney, Jon, Splat, Aaron, Brett

Allcomers: Nova, Michal, Pennywise, Cap, Foster, DarkMetalTim, Kane, Miniman, Looney, Aaron, Brett, Jam

DD: Three way tie between Brett, Cap and Nova - declared after 30 minutes.

POINTS
1st: Youngy - 71 points
2nd: Michal - 64 points
3rd: Nova - 54 points
4th: Kane - 49 points
5th: Cap - 44 points
6th: Hammertime - 35 points
7th: Foster - 25 points
8th: Miniman - 24 points
9th: Pennywise - 19 points
10th: Splat - 14 points
11th: Looney - 11 points
12th: DarkMetalTim - 9 points
13th: Dumbo #649 - 8 points
14th=: Aaron, Bokito, Jam - 4 points
17th: Jon - 3 points
18th: Brett - 1 point
19th: Macca - 0 points

Round 10 (European Qualifier 2)
The driver increases had to come to an end and it did on Friday at Emmen, but not by much: 18 drivers attended the tenth graded meeting and second European qualifier. The Kyoto variation of the track had a good estimate of the Dutch venue's shale surface (although the grip wasn't really there ) while the Blackwood variation used later in the meeting was a very quick track that will be used in future whenever Emmen is a venue again. I apologise on behalf of Pepino for the error in Allcomers 1 that caused some drivers to not be recorded as crossing the checkpoints; this was fixed immediately. It was interesting to note that the Kyoto variation had two occasions where every single driver who started finished, but as with Warneton it isn't a track that gives big airtime and consequently opportunities for rolls.

It was a suitable victor for the Netherlands circuit as countryman Miniman claimed the round. After a slow start, the Team Bandicoot man roared into action, winning 3 of the last four heats and claiming a second in the one he didn't claim, which was won by Looney. Current British champion Rik took the opening heat while there was a surprise winner of heat two as Macca had by far his best meeting in his short LFS Bangers career, with two thirds alongside the heat win and a top 5 meeting finish on 44 points. Cap, who is now only a few points from mathematically sealing his graded points title, claimed the final with Miniman, current Euro champion Nova and Jam all winning one Allcomers each. Splat returned to the groove with a well-earned DD win over Brett.

Although the Graded Points Champion Champion of Champions place was scheduled to be awarded after the European Championship in December, our qualifier was decided on Friday. The lucky person who qualified will be revealed below the results...

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Three non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Rik, Pepino, Miniman, Looney, Cap, Nova, Michal, Macca, Jam, Kane, Splat, Aaron, Pennywise, DarkMetalTim, Brett
Heat 2: Macca, Kane, Rik, DarkMetalTim, Looney, Aaron, Pennywise, Miniman, Cap, Michal, Jam, Bokito, Nova, Pepino, Jon, Splat, Chunk, Brett
Heat 3: Miniman, Michal, Macca, Nova, Pepino, Looney, Bokito, DarkMetalTim, Jam, Aaron, Kane, Cap, Splat, Chunk, Rik, Pennywise, Jon
Heat 4: Looney, Miniman, Macca, Aaron, Kane, Pepino, Cap, Pennywise, Nova, Michal, Jam, Bokito, Jon, Splat, Chunk, Brett, Rik, DarkMetalTim
Heat 5: Miniman, Pepino, Nova, Cap, Kane, Macca, Bokito, Jam, Rik, Looney, Chunk, Jon, Aaron, Splat, Brett
Heat 6: Miniman, Kane, Looney, Cap, Michal, Pennywise, Bokito, Pepino, Nova, Aaron, Jon, Jam, Chunk, DarkMetalTim, Brett

Final: Cap, Kane, Pepino, Bokito, Aaron, Macca, Miniman, Nova, Looney, Jam

Allcomers 1: Miniman, Cap, Kane, Michal, Jam, Macca, Splat, Nova, Bokito, Brett
Allcomers 2: Nova, Michal, Cap, Splat, Jon, Brett, Pepino, Macca
Allcomers 3: Jam, Pennywise, Cap, Pepino, Macca, Bokito, Looney, Jon, Michal, Splat, Aaron, Brett

POINTS
1st: Miniman - 58 points
2nd: Kane - 49 points
3rd: Pepino - 48 points
4th: Cap - 46 points
5th: Macca - 44 points
6th: Looney - 41 points
7th: Nova - 30 points
8th=: Aaron, Bokito - 26 points
10th: Michal - 21 points
11th: Rik - 20 points
12th: Pennywise - 12 points
13th: DarkMetalTim - 10 points
14th: Jam - 9 points
15th: Splat - 5 points
16th=: Brett, Chunk, Jon - 0 points

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS QUALIFIER
The Champion of Champions qualifier from the Grades points table is the first placed driver after all rounds have been completed. With all but one driver in the current top 10 of the graded points already in the CoC race, the remaining driver is now unable to be caught by any other non-qualified driver and so the Graded Points qualifier has been decided.

The Graded Points Champion of Champions qualifier is...

474 Miniman

Miniman's place on the CoC grid is the INSIDE of the SECOND ROW.

To top off Friday's performance, Miniman has finally made it on the Champion of Champions grid after many weeks of trying; his third in the Unlimited World Final was the closest he got to qualifying for the grid before the Graded Points opportunity opened up for him. It is a very strange coincidence that everyone ahead of him (Cap, Kane, Youngy, Nova) and behind him (Rik, Pepino, Looney, Lukey, Jam) in the top 10 had made the grid before he did, but Miniman has performed brilliantly all season across all formulas and completely deserves his spot.

Round 11 (European Qualifier 3)
Please let me apologise for my intermittent appearances in tonight's meeting; I'm away again and the laptop I'm using had a bit of an overheating problem with the humidity and consequently kept shutting off without warning. As is usual, thank you to Cap for running parts of the meeting where I couldn't attend. I've also forgotten to bring the results book spreadsheet with me so all points will be updated on Friday before the Figure 8 meeting.

I also am confused how only our Dutch-based drivers - Bokito, Miniman, Pennywise & Rik - suffered severe connection problems throughout the night, constantly timing out and having to rejoin. I will ask Looney to see if he has any clue what could have caused this. Pennywise did manage to compete in the meeting later on without lag problems, so it may have been a big error that eventually resolved itself. Please try and sort your connections out before the meeting as it will benefit everyone. It was slightly ironic that the Dutch drivers were affected in a meeting where they were racing on a track the right way round for them

Aside from these negatives, 15 drivers competed in the last graded meeting of the season which also counted as the final European qualifier. Kyoto Boerhaar was the host and its notorious ditches lived up to their reputation with many drivers getting stuck in them after getting punted in.

It was another Young brothers blitz as Youngy won the meeting with Nova 4th; 200 won three heats, the final and an allcomers to net 75 points and pole on the European grid and 220 a heat and the other allcomers. Looney was the only driver to break their stronghold on race wins with two heat wins of his own, while Pennywise defeated Cap and Macca in the DD to claim his first DD win of the season. Jam and Michal also had strong performances tonight, with 616 and 47 both finishing in the top 5 in all points races except one. Cap rounded off a stunning graded campaign in 5th on 49 points, his best performance being a second in the final.

Top 10 scored in heats and final. Two non-points Allcomers were run at the drivers' request. Drivers in italics finished but did not score points. 5 points went to the winning driver in the DD.

Heat 1: Youngy, Miniman, Rik, Jam, Michal, Looney, Nova, DarkMetalTim, Jon, Splat, Bokito
Heat 2: Looney, Youngy, Rik, DarkMetalTim, Cap, Nova, Jam, Aaron, Michal, Macca, Splat
Heat 3: Youngy, Michal, Nova, Jam, Cap, DarkMetalTim, Rik, Jon, Aaron, Looney, Macca, Splat
Heat 4: Looney, Jam, Michal, Youngy, Cap, Nova, Pennywise, DarkMetalTim, Aaron, Splat
Heat 5: Nova, Youngy, Jam, Cap, Michal, Aaron, Jon, Looney, Macca
Heat 6: Youngy, Nova, Jam, Michal, Cap, Looney, Macca

Final: Youngy, Cap, Michal, Jam, Nova, Looney, Jon, Pennywise, Splat

Allcomers 1: Nova, Jam, Michal, Cap, Pennywise, Jon, Looney, Macca, Splat
Allcomers 2: Youngy, Nova, Jam, Aaron

DD: Pennywise

POINTS
1st: Youngy - 75 points
2nd: Jam - 57 points
3rd: Michal - 54 points
4th: Nova - 53 points
5th: Cap - 49 points
6th: Looney - 44 points
7th: Rik - 20 points
8th: DarkMetalTim - 18 points
9th: Jon - 17 points
10th: Pennywise - 15 points
11th: Aaron - 12 points
12th: Miniman - 9 points
13th: Macca - 7 points
14th: Splat - 6 points
15th: Bokito - 0 points

GRADED POINTS CHAMPION
With the non-attendance of Kane in tonight's meeting, our graded points leader can no longer be caught in the points table and is therefore the 2016 Graded Points Champion: 27 Cap!

Being one of only two drivers to attend every graded meeting this year (and the less said about the other driver's performance, the better) Cap has had an amazing season, scoring 529 points at an average of 48.09 (as of this meeting) surprisingly winning just one meeting (Round 5 [WQ1]) out of the eleven but did finish 2nd in three World Qualifiers. It is LFS Bangers' godfather's first grades title since 2009, and it has been severely overdue. For 2017, Cap can wear a SILVER ROOF in the grades and will start right at the back.

CONGRATULATIONS TO 27 CAP - 2016 GRADED POINTS CHAMPION!

I don't know what happen that night. I only had the connection problem on the lfs bangers server. I joined after I timed out for the 3rd time the b2r server with 30 cars on and I had no lag or someitng like that. Normally I have problems by my own connection but this time it wasn't because I was the only one using the internet . So I hope it gets sorted )