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I'm not quite sure how to put this, but for what I think is the first leg of the race, the answers are entered as they are and not split ie one letter in one lane and the rest in another. It doesn't say this as far as I can see.

Also, having thought (thanks malone) what the significance of the answer to the letters in circles is, then you can guess what the word in the last blue column is, helped by the "admiral in WW2" clue. I worked backwards from this with some help from Google

Perhaps I should have said "doesn't say this clearly enough".
You do have to admire the ingenuity.
My fav clue is 5 (3)
Some answers need Googling if you're not American eg 5 (2) but that's fair enough

Thanks for the help, Rosalind and Syzygy - once I'd had the instructions clarified, I was able to slot in all my answers. This was great fun and I am full of admiration for the setters.

Thanks, Syzygy. I would never have completed this without the help given by yourself, Rosalind and Malone. I think the preamble would have been easier to grasp without ' staying in that lane
for the rest of the leg.' However, that is a minor quibble about an ingenious puzzle.
Favourites were 2(3), Down B and E - the latter being my last in.
Haven't parsed 6(3)

mattrom, I think it's A THE EL
"One" before "the" and "el" is apparently a reference to the elevated railway at Chicago, usually known as L. First two words are the def, but as you have dogs you know that!!

Thanks, Rosalind, will have to stash 'EL' away in the memory bank. Yes, I know it but I can't say that my dogs do.

That was a piece of work. The preamble was confusing though in retrospect can't find fault with it.
Didn't watch the games so I'm not clear on the sequence of the blue bars.
?

I too starred Down B & E. Also 3 (4), 4 (3), 5 (3), & 6 (4).
Thought the last was exceptional.
1 (3) was new to me.

I have a tube of 1(3) in the kitchen, syzygy, it really is good stuff. Next time you come off your bike (or was it a motor bike??) .......
It would be nice if the setters siad how many proper nouns there are in a puzzle, or trademark ones.
It drove me bonkers for a while, but it was great to finish

Wow. That was something. Thanks, syzzie.

mattrom: I used "train" for EL in Clueless a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps that's why my clue didn't win.

Only just got round to this as I have a bit of a puzzle backlog (yes aristo my Dylan Thomas impression again, what appropriate initials) a superbly constructed puzzle with some belting clues. I particularly liked 1. 1st & 3rd, 2. 3rd, 4. 3rd, 5. 1st and agree B & E. Thanks very much syzygy.