The Test
The 16 teams, one of which would challenge the All Stars, assembled on a bright sunny day at the world-famous Beaulieu National Motor Museum for the formula one furniture fixture – the Sofa Speedway!
The first round was a knockout where, after a frantic morning of racing, 8 of our 16 teams were sent for an early bath. The major surprise was last year's champs The Rocketeers crashing their Mad Hatter's tea party inspired machine and thus relinquishing their throne at the first hurdle.
Quarter-finals
The first quarter-final pitted the Rubber Duck Racers and their Panda-engined bathroom suite against early favourites Bath Vader with their quad-engined bath tub. The speedy bath tub proved to be too much of a handful with two spins leaving it trailing the slow but steady bathroom boys at the chequered flag.
The next race saw Blackpool Pleasure Beach engineers The Blackpool Players race their mini-engined pool table against local heroes The Beaulieu Recliners. The locals are a group of farmers who built a motorbike-engined chaise longue. The northern boys proved too fast as they stormed around the course and into the semis.
Race three of the quarters was a high-tech affair with West Midlands-based Dinner For One racing their electric winch-powered table against the Cyber Aces' petrol-powered PC! The teams were neck and neck for almost the entire circuit until a huge spill for the Cyber Aces gifted Dinner For One the race.
The final race was a battle of the beds! The very popular Essex-based team Bubble Boys duelled their divan against the King Size Coopers in their Mini-powered king size bed. The Coopers won with ease as the Bubble Boys seemed to devote more time to destroying the course than winning the race!
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were a high-pressure face-off with the chance of a pop at the Scrapheap All Stars drawing ever closer.
The first semi saw the Blackpool Players race head-to-head with the Rubber Duck Racers. An early crash by the Racers saw the Blackpool boys take the lead, but then disaster struck. As they took a corner at speed, their pool table toppled, handing a place in the final to the Rubber Duck Racers.
The second semi-final saw the electric-powered Dinner For One forced to eat a main course of petrol exhaust by the King Size Coopers who raced into the final.
The Final
So to the final, and a showdown with the mighty All Stars at stake. The tension mounted as the Rubber Duck Racers and the King Sized Coopers waited for the off.
As soon as the race started it became apparent that the Rubber Duck Racers had let the pressure get to them – a series of crashes gifted the King Sized Coopers a showdown with Andy Barnes and the All Stars.
Facing the All Stars
The grand final didn't disappoint, as the two most powerful machines of the day lined up against each other.
Both cars shot off the line with the All Stars using dubious blocking tactics to shunt the King Size Coopers into the hay bales. This enabled them to establish an early lead.
Karma struck though as the All Stars attempted to take a corner too fast; their worst fears were realised as the heavy piano destabilised their vehicle which crashed spectacularly. The team were thrown across the track, with Andy Barnes going for the biggest burton of the lot.
The King Sized Coopers saw their chance and zipped past to a well deserved victory.
