Mid East winter series

[(off)roadrunner]

Mid East region are running an outdoor winter series this year between A1 RACING CLUB. BROXTOWE MODEL CAR CLUB AND BINGHAM MODEL RACEWAY.

Proposed dates for the 6 round series are as follows:

28th October - BMR
11th November - Broxtowe
9th December - A1
20th January - Broxtowe
3rd February - BMR
10th March - A1

It will be best 4 from 6 scores to count for the championship. This is being run through Me-Or as a central location for information, pre booking, results etc. It is, of course open to people who may race in other regions through the summer.
Based on info from oople. A1 are using RC3. BROXTOWE RC3. And BMR RC4. So most transponders should work at all events.

Prices:

Adults £10
Juniors £5
2nd class £5

2wd buggy
4wd buggy
Short course/stadium trucks
Rally cars.

[Dave Dodd]

All information can be found here:

http://me-or.co.uk/mews/

booking in should open on Monday

[Dave Dodd]

http://me-or.co.uk/mews/pre-booking/

[Dave Dodd]

We will have a hot food van on site for tomorrow, Gates open at 8am and practice starts at 9:15am.

Space available to book in on the day

[Dave Dodd]

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...2ka6g/viewform

[Dave Dodd]

Following race report by Darren Wells.
The first round of the Mid East Winter Series at Bingham Model Raceway kicked off a new venture for the region. Having gained inspiration from neighboring region, Mid-West, who have ran a successful MAM series for a few years now, BMR, A1 Raceway and Broxtowe Model Car Club teamed up to create something different to the many indoor winter series now on the calendar. It was probably no surprise that a good proportion of the competitors at round 1 were from the aforementioned Mid-West region, there was also a fair showing of Mid-East racers in attendance. These hardy souls were greeted with a bright sunny, dry, but chilly morning at BMR and a tight, technical but flowing track with varying grip levels depending upon the line taken.
There were four main categories being contested. The rally class for converted touring cars and purpose built rally cars from Tamiya and the like, 2wd and 4wd buggies and short course trucks. After a generous open practice session to test grip levels and tweak setups it was into a familiar format of four qualifying rounds (round by round) with the best two scores to count for the final.
The first heat was the rally cars and with the exception of Paul Dickens, it was a recommencing of the battle from West Bridgford’s Rally X event of two days prior. However the surface was very different and so there was a great deal of changing of setups and different combinations of tyres being tried (some more legal than others). It was a tight and hotly contested class with three different winners in the four qualifying heats. Scott Quinn was the most consistent, taking wins in rounds 1 and 4 to give him TQ. The final started with the almost obligatory first corner pile up, a consequence of the two row grid perhaps. But from the carnage, Darren Wells and Paul Dickens emerged with a slight lead. A close battle ensued with the lead swapping between the two, eventually Darren held on to take the win after showing promise with the fast but fragile Kyosho Lancia. Behind them, Andy Hicklin and Scott Quinn picked up where they left off on Friday with Andy coming out on top this time to claim third. Dave Dodd and Curtis Hurt looked less comfortable in the now quite wet and low grip conditions.
In 2wd buggy it was a Mid-East / Mid-West battle between Anthony Potter with his crazy Associated B4 derived car and Steve Haskins with his Schumacher. Anthony took three out of four rounds to take TQ with Steve finishing second to him every time. When Anthony did blot his copybook by finishing third in round 3 (a consequence of a rain shower), Steve could only manage fourth. Jason Bennett took that round which was enough to give him second on the grid. In the final, Steve quickly dispatched Jason and set about the leader. However, on a very slippery track, mistakes were commonplace and Anthony eased away to win by a lap. Ken Rieth battled up to fourth from seventh and there was a notable mention for young Alex Spray who was up to third at one point before slipping back (literally) to seventh.
4wd was dominated by LMR driver Joe Cockill and his Yokomo YZ4SF. Only a breakage in round 3 stopped a clean sweep. Behind him was a close battle for second between Ian Wyatt and Dave Dodd. Ian taking the win in round 3 after Joe’s misfortune meant he secured second on the grid. The final was ran under heavy rain with the drivers really struggling. However the top 3 all maintained position with the big mover Steve Stone from sixth to fourth with a relatively smooth run.
Trucks was disappointingly undersubscribed with only two trucks in attendance. Kevin Brittain taking TQ and win with his 4wd Tekno ahead of Dave Ingram with his 2wd Associated.
Thank you to everyone who braved the weather and supported the series. Just two weeks until the next round at Broxtowe, let’s hope some more of the region’s regulars get involved. As Delia Smith once said to the Norwich fans, where are you? Let’s be having you!

[Dave Dodd]

MEWS round 2 brought the drivers to Broxtowe Model Car Club.
At gates open, the rain poured down and it looked as though we were going to be in for a wet and miserable day. Some even came, took one look and quickly disappeared again. Those who committed to racing were rewarded with a great day with the weather coming good and the track drying throughout. The track itself was a good combination of flowing corners and undulations that rewarded a smooth approach.
First up were two heats of 4wd buggies, an enlarged entry boosted by four new drivers joining those that had already enjoyed round 1 at BMR. The constant from round 1 was that Joe Cockill again drove largely fault free to sew up TQ and final win. Behind him was a close battle between Dave Dodd, Ian Wyatt and Jonathan Kedge. Dave Watson’s electrical gremlins continued from round 1 despite extensive testing beforehand. It was finally cured by pulling out his trusty Yokomo BMax4 iii only for that to then fail in the final. Cruel luck for sure. By far the youngest competitor in 4wd, 8 year old Kamran Wells showed great maturity, especially in the final by battling his way to P5 at the finish.
In 2wd Simon Flude seemed much more at home on the smoother and higher grip surface to take rounds 1, 2 and 4 to take TQ. Grip was sufficiently high for Ant Potter to park the praying mantis and pull out his Schumacher KC, taking round 3 and P2 on the grid for the final. Paul Flinders beat Potter in 3 out of 4 rounds but still lined up behind him in 3rd. However, he more than made up for it in the final by passing both cars to take the win. Behind them, Garry Hallsworth and Ken Rieth held positions from Mark Brownsword and Alex Spray whose good work in qualifying was undone in the final.
The rally class saw a battle in the sheds before racing had even begun. The rate of development something akin to Group B back in the day. Amazingly, the cars were still very close as, although Andy Hicklin took every round in qualifying, he was chased hard by both Scott Quinn and Darren Wells although a mechanical issue left the latter with only rear wheel drive for the final. In a tense finish, Hicklin and Quinn were neck and neck with Quinn finally taking it. Behind them, Paul Dickens kept up his consistent results which keeps him second in the championship.
The vastly undersubscribed truck category was walked by Mark Ashforth.
The next round is 9th December at A1 Raceway and as it’s best 4 from 6, there’s still time to get involved. Especially you truckers.

[Dave Dodd]

Pre booking for round 3 is now open.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...PlPzA/viewform

[Dave Dodd]

MEWS round 3 was the first stop at the final venue of the championship, A1 raceway. Although after over a week of heavy rain it was more like Grantham docks. As is the way with outdoor winter series, everyone mucked in and, after an hour and a half of pumping, sweeping and scooping of water, it was declared race worthy, though there were concerns of electrical gremlins throughout the pits. Indeed, shares in blutack and duct tape will surely be up on Monday.
Naturally, the poor weather in the lead up to the event meant that numbers were down. The popular rally cars, who were first up, down to just three hardy souls. There were two shortcourse trucks in attendance too so the classes were grouped together. Surprisingly, the two classes were very evenly matched with the long travel suspension and spiked tyres being neutralised by the 4wd and nimbleness of the rally cars. In rally, it was the Kyosho Lancia of Darren Wells that was a good margin ahead of a great battle for second between Dave Dodd and Paul Dickens to the extent of being able to sit out round 4 as TQ was already secured. Dave eventually succumbed to water in the receiver and had to sit out round 4 and the final. In the final, Darren was mugged off the start by both Paul and the SC truck of Mark Ashforth who was now the only truck running. However, he patiently waited for mistakes and was able to work his way back through to take the win.
All of the 2wd runners deserved a medal for just keeping their cars in a straight line. Round 1 belonged to Ken Rieth after water in the electrics stopped Ant Potter. There was also a great drive by Alex Spray to claim second in round. Ant got his act together and took the next three rounds to secure TQ, the bendy Mantis had been shelved in favor of a Schumacher KF with the motor as far back as possible. Sadly more electrical gremlins sidelined Alex keeping him out of the final. The final was an absolute battle royal between Ant and Ken, the Associated looking much more planted than the KF but shear driving talent keeping Ant in front. In the end there was less than two seconds between them.
4wd looked tasty in the days before the event as, summer regional champion, Iain Mellish and his Tekno teammate Toby Stevenson had pre-booked to challenge Joe Cockill’s domination. However, just a couple of practice laps were enough for the Tekno duo to decide that it wasn’t worth a blown speedo and they called it a day. Joe, on the other hand, was leading the efforts to scoop water from the track, determined to stick another 200 points in the bag. There was also the UK outdoor debut of the new Kyosho ZX7 to look forward to, run by 8 year old Kamran Wells. It was a baptism of fire (and water) but the car looked well balanced and got through the day with only minor electrical issues. Round 1 was taken by Ian Wyatt showing that the X-ray XB4 was more than just a one trick EOS pony after Joe was sidelined by water in his receiver. Joe employed the WD40 to good effect and was able to win rounds 2, 3 and 4 to take TQ. With Ian second overall, the battle behind was very tight between the two Teknos of Dave Dodd and Rob Jaques and behind them, Kamran and Dwain Ashdown. In the final Joe escaped leaving Ian and Dave to battle closely for second. In the end it came down to seven tenths of a second in Ian’s favor. Rob was sidelined after he lost a wheel leaving Kamran and Dwain to fight for fourth. The gap seesawed with them both setting their fastest times in the last few laps but Kamran held on, a great result on his car’s debut. In fact, the top 5 in 4wd saw five different manufacturers represented and not a single Schumacher in sight showing how competitive modern 4wd has become.
A few special thank you’s to round off. Dave Dodd and Rob Jaques for running race control. Kev Jones for opening up and keeping everyone fed and watered, Richard Spray for being series photographer again and everyone who mucked in to ensure the race could be run. The championship is half way through now and 2018 is done. We are back to Broxtowe on 20th January, have a great Christmas and new year everyone.

[Dave Dodd]

Pre booking is now open for Round 4 at Broxtowe.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...RoytQ/viewform

[Dave Dodd]

Pre booking is now open for Round 5.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...4RgxQ/viewform