Trax At Silverstone – 2012 EMMA UK Finals

You have to hand it to the management of the UK EMMA organisation. This season’s sound off scene was just brilliant. Fun, hectic, well managed and scrupulously judged. We have a crew of ultra keen hobbyists and some really clever installers, flexing and showing off what they can do.
We had five rounds of sound off contests and the EMMA lads themselves have shown up at a whole lot of other shows just to demonstrate what they do and bass test people’s cars for free. Of course, ownership of a laptop and also the magic attaché case of USB hub and blast overpressure sensors in a box-on-suckers that comprises the TermPro software peripherals is much more common than it used to be. So the have-to-charge-to-use compulsion is not so hot. In fact at every one of those rounds, the essential simplicity of the EMMA SPL format has meant that many other cars could be tested or simply messed about with for yes, FUN! As a result, we saw all sorts of new folks dare to come take part. I even inveigled a couple of TRAX visitors to go get their cars and run them through the SPL lane to see how loud their car went.
Estelle’d love him&;.

Point is that new blood is flowing into the sound off scene, both boomer and tweak, as it is fun and challenging and a cool community to be a part of. Yes, it’s wonderful to have patriarchs like Dave Legg return to the scene but it is the influx of new teams and entrants that keeps it all alive. And at the end of another entirely successful sound off, I asked the assembled entrants to offer a cheer of thanks up to the team who make it all happen for them. We were in the hallowed portals of the Silverstone Scrutineering arch and they raised the roof of it with a happy roar of approval!

I have asked Andrew Ackerley, boss of the EMMA UK organisation (who has his Da, ‘Pa Bear’ with him at every event to be upper management) to feed Talk Audio with some salient facts about the people and what they achieved in the 2013 season.
Andrew – The Guv!

An ADAM-sized thank you is also offered up to Celsus Ice’s brands Dynamat and Phoenix Gold, who were the happy sponsors of the 2012 UK League Winners’ trophies. There, gleaming behind the gaudy silverware, were bigger engraved glass plaques than we use for the UK trade awards! Lovely job!
Here’s what Andrew had to say about his successful season. Note how the taciturn Geordie in him is literally compelled into some happy optimism. He almost seems surprised that his events have been such a hit, daft ‘hap’orth! (Means half-penny’s worth, an obsolete affectionate term my mum used to use. Ed.)

First off, A Big Thank You for everybody’s efforts put in so far , I hate to be confident but we are moving forward which makes me smile
We spoke about a few key facts to be mentioned in the write up , feel free to use if you wish.
Andy Blanch & Lee Johnson:  both won FIVE out of FIVE 1st places this season .
Elliot Whitby attended every event. To my calculations, counting Glasgow to each of the five championship events made for 2,906miles driven. According to Google .
Highest Sound Score of the season was Dave Legg on 292 points @ Round 4 with Nige Skingley also with 292 @ Round 5.
The Loudest ESPL reading of the season was Edd Elson’s 155.8db @ Round 1

Staff & Judges (in no particular order, as we love them all) who have helped over this season:
Dave & Jo Legg ( Head Judge & Back Office)
Andy Blanch
Kevin Hall
Horst Starke (Ironman’s love child)
James Ralph ( website & photography – often stolen by Adam Rayner)
Carlo Corbin (guest judge at Trax Round five)
Cristian Martin, Mick Alderson & Stu Dollery (trainees)
Adam Rayner (gob that won’t stop, paparazzo and video pain-in-the-face)
And many, many more including all the competitors. Everyone’s support has been fantastic.

Main sponsors
Fusion
DLS
Hybrid Audio
Pioneer
ZeroCake
Dodos

Supporters
Talk Audio, for the editorial and news and video coverage.
Rockford Fosgate for their one thousand pounds’ worth of system prize for the Install Challenge.
Car Audio & Security for letting us kick off the season with round One and being such great hosts and of course, for sponsoring the for the Bass King 2012 event with the Propper Droppers and dB Drag Racing guys.
Mr. Skittles from Dodo Juice for his support for a second year in a row with some awesome giveaways for twelve lucky EMMA entrants, who each got £50 of goodies.
Mark, the promoter at the Modified  Nationals,
Glen the dude at Modified Live, Brands Hatch
Santa Pod Raceway for Ultimate Street Car and simply for having Martin Hill and his Fireforce jet funny car.
The cool guys over at Future for Trax
Pa Bear

And my biggest apologies if I’ve missed anyone out. That said, I do have to mention the competitors again – without the passion of these guys, none of this would be here.
A huge thank you to all. We have lots more to come !
Andrew & Pa Bear
Andrew Ackerley
MD EMMA-UK
I dunno about you, but I got all emotional at the end of that. He cares, right deep down into his middle, that man!
Here is the gallery of the photos I took. There are much better ones of the cars and systems, taken by much better snappers than I, with far superior equipment, on ruddy Facebook. But I do specialise in ordering folks about for shots, so there are lots of waving girlies in mine. And I break my own record for lining up with just me and lots of lasses:
gallery