The third round of the 2009 10th off road National Championship series returned to the popular Eden Park Raceway for the second time in as many years. The EPR club put in a massive effort to resurrect the track in time for last years race meeting.

The usual two rounds of practice allowed the racers to get to grips with the layout before drivers briefing. The heat order was back to 'regular' style, the the lowest drivers going off first and the top guys last.

Drivers briefing was awesome, Paul laid down The Law about why it is needed. He told us an amazing story about some dozzers who claimed they didn't know when and where it was, whats that about boss? He told us some results from hs statistical mission to take on the world of Li-Po charging, that was ace. The performance was from atop the rostrum, like at Oswesry, it's good for the ear but a little bland we feel. It would be nice if he could be in with the lads next time, like at a Pantera gig. The race director today is some southern local warrior, we don't know his name though - sorry gaffa. He does not have a beard.

Serious business.	Paul tells it how it is.

Round One
Former champeen Neil Cragg was again down in a fairly low heat but went a whole lap quicker than anyone to that point, getting the first 14 lapper - but with three heats to go afterwards. Neils time was good but last years winner here at EPR, and the reigning 2WD national champion Ellis Stafford was in another league to everyone else with the only 15 lap run. Kevin Lee snook in 5 seconds ahead of Neil Cragg to claim second in round - giving the XFactory car 1-2.

Round 1 Qualifying

Round two followed a pretty similar pattern to the first round, with most of the usual suspects making A and B qualifying times. Ellis took the round in style, improving on his round one time by a whole 7 seconds. Ellis was still the only driver making 15 lap times by the end of round two. Tony Truman worked some magic at the end of the straight, hitting a bump and hurtling through the air into a wall, ending his qualifyer after just 8 laps.

Danny McGee, driving the new Atomic Carbon CR2 for the first time was another top lad to mess this race up - rolling at the end of the straight and popping out a couple of screws. Danny had a special bit to add to his car to strengthen it up - which he added to prevent any more mishaps.

Round 2 Qualifying

	Dan Greenwood didn't try hard enough to win tool of the month this time - but Ben Riley ramped his car into this track marker and it just couldn't be budged!!! Eventually he had to remove the gearboxes and electrics and just leave the rest on the track - luckily he had a spare chassis since it's still there! OOPS! Ben also missed round two of qualifying because he was too busy playing computer games - apparently The Sims3 is really taking off.

Round three followed the form of the previous two rounds, making this quite a standard report to write, no random madness going off here. Ellis was STILL on fire, taking yet another TQ in round, chomping off the biggest bite of tasty speed pie, and once again putting in the only 15 lap time. Local star and piespeed hero Grant Williams maintained his top 10 spot, improving his round position in each race so far. Tom Cockerill posted a 7th in round, pencilling his name on 10th place in the A final after 3 qualifying rounds.

oOple team drivers, Damo, G, Kev & Stu are all putting in standard performances, like a pint of John Smith's at a real ale festival. Jim Dixon however is far from standard today lining himself up after round 3 for a large slice of B final PIE! Ralph pimped out some ace B and C final qualifying times. Jimmy is not racing today, he's saving his special juice for tomorrows 4wd event.

At the very end of round three the clouds thickened up, jumpers were seen being shaken off. We are reliably told (by Carrie) that it's raining up in Burnley, so hopefully that shizz is not heading our way, though it looks likely.

Round 3 Qualifying

If there's one thing we at oople love - it's Weather!
There was plenty of it going round at Eden Park - with hot sunshine followed by overcast skies and cool temperatures, changing constantly. By round four of qualifying it seemed like the cloud was here to stay however.

Dave Church sports a sexy little number - giving him plenty of lower body cooling	Yummy ice cream - this chap goes cold on the inside

Name: Chris Long
Nickname: Longy. The Schlong.
Age: 29.
Years racing experience: Since 1990.
Home Track: Bury
Favourite Tyre: Schumacher Yellow minispike 2.
Favourite Track: Kampenhout. Bury.
Best Racing result: A final 7th or 8th Bury national 07.
Occupation: Logistics manager.
Cake or Biscuit?: Sausages.
Gravy or custard? Custard - it's not very nice on chips though. I'd rather have custard on me chips
than gravy on my profiteroles.
Favourite take away: Chanes in Didsbury, on Mondays and Wednesdays you can get 4 dishes for a tenner
but it lasts for days. I get the Chicken chow mein and beef curry. Claire chooses the other two
dishes.
Favourite cheese (not wensleydale): Stilton.
Where do you see yourself in 2 years time? 31 years old. Living on the streets, begging for money
under cash machines and giving hand jobs for crack.
Favourite method of transport? The beer scooter.
All time favourite R/C car? Pro cat.
Left or Right Handed (Handwriting) Ambidexterous.
Who would you like in the team: Stephen Hawkings.
How would you improve the car if you could have any changes: Heat reactive paint on the bodyshell.
What is your favourite British product besides the CAT SX: Black puddings. But they take about
3 days to clear, they bung me up.
What is your favourite breed of feline cat? (?Manx,Siamese,Tom,Tiger,Leopart,Pussy-Cat-Doll?)
Black and white ones.

Eden Park 2wd Day Legends Race
The Legends race is held for superstar drivers - 'blasts from the past' to compete in, where they haven't qualified to race in the national event. It was held in between qualifying and finals, and proved to be an all round fun event to compete in.

The drivers had some 'free for all' driving time to warm up their tyres, whilst a stealth driver hiding up on a mound of dirt drove around a vicious looking monster truck, aimed at distracting and destroying the competitors. After some playtime the drivers were instructed to line up on the grid, and following some confusion and alterations with the start position, drivers were finally signalled to leave the line, Reedy style, with a simple '3-2-1' countdown. It was chaos on the first corner as the cars piled up, and team oOple driver Vicky sped to the lead. Drivers with a range of experience battled to keep up, but Vicky kept well ahead of the pack, flying around the track so fast that it was easy to lose sight of the Damo-Whittle sponsored RC10B4. After three minutes of action packed racing, Vicky crossed the finish line to take the Legend win, following closely behind (2 laps down) was BRCA Chairman Paul Worsley and chewing on third place was Geoffo Moss.

Hmmmmmm! This rogue SC10 appeared just after the start but no one could work out who was driving over all the cars with this scale-truck warrior! ....	...Wonder who it could have been!

Other competitors - all in joint 4th place: David Burton, Tom 'HKP/The legend' Stacey, Steve Brooke, Phil Robinson, Mark Knight, Elliott Boots, Richmond Rogers, John Dell, Kevin Moore, Mark Bailey and the Mighty Chris 'Mega Machine' Doughty. OK Chris Doughty wasn't really there, but seeing as he won last years EPR national and waited so long for a mention we thought it was only fair to pretend.

Concours
Along with the Legends race - before the first A final was ready there was a Concours competition for the nicest looking bodyshell. We don't usually get such ' fun' things at races in the UK so it was an interesting change. Brian Preddy somehow managed to get two of his cars in the final group but it was Nick Caro from the North West who took the trophy with his fancy green RB5.

Severe judging	Brian Preddy	Nick Caro with his trophy

A Final Leg 1
TQ dude Ellis Stafford led the pack cleanly away from the grid, with an air of confidence having qualified almost flawlessly at his local haunt. For the first couple of laps Ellis held the top spot, but coming up to the loop for lap 3 Ellis misjudged the corner, mounting his car onto the track marker and allowing Kev Lee and Neil Cragg through. Ellis kept hot on the tail of now 2nd place Cragg, and slipped through past the current European Champion coming down the straight. Ellis' success was short lived however as he rolled the mobile on the tarmacced corner at the end of the straight, leaving Kevin and Neil to battle for 1st place whilst Ellis slipped further back down the running order.

Referees for the A final - Whittle and North	Ellis dances them round

Infield action - Stafford, Lee, Cragg	Lee Martin stuffed his run early

Ellis stuffs it on a pipe	and loses several seconds as his tyres balloon up

Kev Lee kept his car on its wheels and calmly thrashed it around the track, with the superstar Cragg starting to close in on him. A bacon roll from Kevin in the middle section seemingly knocked his confidence, and allowed Cragg to get even closer, now hot on the rear end of Kevins X6, piling on the pressure to claim 1st place.

The cracks were starting to show and Kevin started to make mistakes in his bid to lose the chasing warrior, clipping corners and mounting kerbs, Kevins 1st place spot wasn't to last much longer. As the two cars crossed the loop just over 3 minutes into the race, Cragg made his move and slipped it into the top spot much to the delight of the onlooking crowd.

Ellis TAKES Cragg	Cragg says NO - HAVE IT.

Ellis going off his nubs after losing the lead	Kev Lee waiting to pick up any scraps

Kevin Lee tried to remain close to Craggs rear, giving it the occasional sniff to try and reclaim 1st place and a big cash prize from XFactory, but Neil wasn't having any of it - his car was on fire (not literally, because it probably wouldn't win the race if it was, oops, I just gave the game away). The two cars remained close for the final laps of the race, but Kevin was too polite to pile any pressure onto Neils rear, and the Northern Hero took 1st place with his first 15 lap time of the day.

Ellis Stafford only made 5th but still took 6 of the top 10 fastest laps in the race.

Neil Cragg - former World Champeen & mild mannered super hero.

A Final Leg 1

The Horizon sponsored guys at Eden Park all turned up with the new Atomic Carbon conversion for the Losi XXXCR - the fittingly named 'CR2'. The cars are final production spec apparently and differ from the car seen at the previous national round driven my Andy Griffiths. The cars use a standard Losi gearbox without modification - so the motor is running backwards, which is simple to acheive on most brushless controllers.

Ben Jemison is all about the TEAM - he only hangs out with TEAM now, but we still love him.

Matt Benfield gets some shots of Kev Lee's 2WD

Camper vans are getting popular!

Lots of Scottish people came to EPR

A Final Leg 2

The weather turned slightly in time for leg two - a light rain shower before and during the leg would make things more interesting.
Kevin Lee didn't hang about at the start of the 2nd leg of the A final, thriving on his leg one score he went in for the kill and made his move on Ellis at the first turn, instantly slipping through into the lead whilst still in 1st gear. Somewhat bewildered by this act of heroism, quad-round winner Ellis tried to keep it steady in 2nd place, but lost his cool and slammed the car (albeit mistakenly) into the fence at the end of the straight, losing him valuable time in the race to pick up 1st place, and allowing Neil Cragg in 3rd place to close in, smothering his gearbox with chocolaty kisses.

Ellis gets away but is soon on trouble as he hits the tarmac corner and loses traction	....Kev Lee takes advantage and is straight through on turn one.

Ellis was having real problems on the banking in the wet conditions - Grant Williams TAKES HIM	Lee Martin goes 'Days of thunder' styleee around the wall

Another end-of-the-straight error from Ellis Stafford saw Neil Cragg sneak through into the 2nd spot, but not for long as Neil mis-judged a corner coming up to the loop, flipping his car onto its lid and seeing a keen Ellis fly past to reclaim 2nd place, and PieSpeed warrior Grant Williams promoted into 3rd place, and with an air of confidence Grant breaks the sound barrier as he hurtles down the straight, kicking the tarmac on Ellis as he slipped past into 2nd place.

Despite a spin on the straight - Kev kept his lead	Leg 1 winner, Cragg got mixed up in the pack

Ellis made an error in the middle section, clipping a corner and losing another place in the running order, as Johnathan Palmer moved through to 3rd spot.

Debbie McGee goes all TOP GUN	Ellis goes UNDERNEATH Jonathan Palmer - ooh sir.

A Final Leg 2

These guys love it!

Ellis Stafford came to the race in his own bus.

A Final Leg 3

In a repeat of leg two - Ellis went nuts off the line again, running wide on the tarmac and allowing the smiley-faced Kev Lee straight thru - almost like XFactory boss Chazz was shouting chipmunk style in his ear to let him thru. Either way, Kev was straight through - that's the simple way of saying the same thing. Ellis was on Kev's rear end like a homing missile - but his lock-on failed as Kev kept his head like the Ice Man.

It was Kev Lee, Ellis Stafford and Grant Williams as they came round lap two - Grant chased Ellis down the main straight and again Ellis went wide as Grant hugged the inside to rail past into second. These three went round the next couple of laps together with a small gap back to Cragg in 4th. Grant was now looking for a way past Kev Lee but got it wrong over one of the jumps, rolling and allowing Ellis back into second - but it was short lived as Grant forced his way back past the TQ man.

Positions behind the leader were changing like they were going out of style - Kev Lee wasn't phazed however and drove his own race as the rest fought it out behind.

A Final Leg 2

Overall results - A Final

The XFactory X6 continues its domination - winning the previous 7 Nationals in a row (counting back to 2008). XFactory team superstar Ellis Stafford has TQ'd every 2wd 2009 National so far, though only managed to secure the one win.

The 4WD event started on Sunday and things were looking a little like they'd ended up the previous day, with cool temperatures and overcast skies. The track was still dry however and grip levels during early morning practice were high.

Returning North East hero, Craig Collinson was having all sorts of problems in round one and had to retire early. Cragg put in a great time but running a later heat, Grant and Ellis went even quicker to go 1-2 respectively

Round 1 Qualifying

John Spencer at speed with the Predator X11 '08

Ellis Stafford was on to take the round but a roll saw him lose out to Grant Williams.

After the first round of qualifying, Danny McGee was qualifying last out of everyone at the entire meeting, good skillz Danny! Debbie McGee would be faster than that.

Neil Cragg took round two of qualifying with a new fastest time - the only driver on 14 laps this time also. Lee Martin finished second less than a second off 14-lap pace, giving the Associated B44 a 1-2. Nathan Ralls threatened to take second but had to settle for third in round with the Predator X11.

Round 2 Qualifying

Neil Cragg took another win and was looking likely to TQ but Grant Williams could still take it if he got a great run in round four.

Round 3 Qualifying

Mens Health week 2009

Mens health week is an annual event held throughout the week prior to Fathers Day, and aims to promote health and awareness in males, who predominently don't visit their GP or seek healthcare advice as readily as women.
Healthcare trusts across the country run their own programme of events throughout the week, including offering health checks on business/social premises, organising sporting events and general health promotion aimed at men.
With the timely planning of the Eden Park National being held at the end of mens health week, what better opportunity to throw a little health promotion in the direction of those who live on average 6 years less than women, and who apparently suffer more. The health promotion stand was set up by an anonymous individual and proved to be a roaring success, with smoking rates across the South east reducing by 76% in the first morning alone (official statistics to be confirmed). Other information on display included drinking safely, testicular/prostate awareness, and general lifestyle advice. There may be scope for similar information at future events, so constructive feedback would be welcome :)

It's not often that we get to see new X-5 stuff - but at Eden Park, Dan Greenwood was sporting a very interesting reverse-motor modification. In a similar way to the Schumacher CAT SX and Xfactory X62, the motor spins in the same direction as the wheels to add to the traction / mid-air ability.

Dan's car is running an extra idler gear (from the AE B4 gearbox) to allow the (reverse of normal) motor to drive the car forwards. Dan is running a 96T Tamiya spur with Tamiya slipper pads.

Tom Cockerill had a neat looking machined spur gear designed by Carl Latham which allows his car to use Associated-style slipper pads and keep the original gearing.

Some of the XFactory drivers are choosing to replace the XX4 front wishbones with those from the CAT SX, since the geometry is the same and presumably they're in more plentiful supply.

Round 4 Qualifying

A Final Leg 1
Neil Cragg led the pack away from the start line, with a clean start and no dramatic moves the top three were Neil Cragg, Lee Martin and Grant Williams. Chaos on the corner following the double jumps saw changes in the mid-field order, with the previous days winner and local hero Kev Lee dropping right back to last place as Danny McGee ragged through to the 4th spot.

Cragg leads them around the first turn	Lap two and Cragg has pulled a small gap - Lee Martin and Grant Williams fight it out in the blurry background

Top three in the in field	Grant Williams takes advantage of Lee Martin going wide and shoots past - next corner it swapped back.

Coming over the jumps to the finish Stafford was within striking distance	Ellis jumps over Cragg in one last desperate move

..........but couldn't stick the landing as he bounced badly and Cragg went through for the win.

The top three continued to race for the first few laps, but at two minutes into the race and error from Grant coming up to the loop saw Ellis move into 3rd spot whilst Grant McWilliams slipped down to 6th place, finally settling for 5th place to finish the race. Ellis continued to storm around and pull some moves until he was in the 2nd spot, but couldn't slide past the European Champ, despite a roll from Cragg coming off the double jump with just half a minute left to race. The pair raced closely for the final lap, with Ellis pushing for Cragg to make an error, and in a desperate last ditch attempt to take the leg win, Ellis attempted a brave over-jumping manoevure coming off the double jump and up to the loop. This was an unsuccessful move however, as Ellis landed off line and Cragg smoothly cruised over the loop to take the 1st leg win.

A Final Leg 1

A Final Leg 2
Cragg lead them round in number order for the first two laps but coming up over the large tabletop jump before the start of lap three Neil made a mistake and crashed out as Lee Martin, Grant Williams and Kevin Lee all went through. Grant had already been threatening Lee Martin on the opening lap and it was this pair out front that rapidly pulled away from the rest.

Matt Benfield from Racer magazine - the UK's best magazine!	Neil Cragg out front on lap one - Lee Martin under pressure from Grant Williams.

Ellis had a big crash ending his rear shock tower early	Grant Williams looking for a way past Lee

Coming around the hairpin onto the banked 'raceway' corner Grant looked for the inside line which wasn't there - The pair touched and Lee went up on one wheel, recovering quickly as Grant came off the throttle to wait for a clean pass instead.Grant was driving as well as he's ever done and looked to be attached with a bit of string to the back of Lee Martins car - there was so little in it. Coming around the same hairpin that they'd had a collision on the previous lap, Lee just got it wrong under the pressure and rolled as Grant went past cleanly.

Lee clips the corner and goes over	Cragg and Lee Martin go at it

Lee needed marshalling but the gap down to third place was such that he just managed to keep second. Coming round to the large tabletop however Lee made yet another mistake and Danny McGee was up to second with Cragg now back to third.

Danny McGee goes nuts after a brief spell in second place	Grant Williams took a well deserved win in leg 2

Grant Williams wasn't going to be caught and held onto the lead to win by 4 seconds from Lee Martin. Talywain 4WD National winner Tom Yardy driving the Yokomo BMax was on a mission to take third from 10th on the grid.

A Final Leg 2

A Final Leg 3
Leg two winner Grant Williams had a nightmare start - getting shunted off the big tabletop jump, breaking and going out before he even had a chance to threaten for the win. Cragg was out front leading them round with Lee Martin right behind then a small gap back to Danny McGee in third.

Cragg leads	Children run and scream as the fans favorite Grant 'The Destroyer' Williams goes out early.

Cragg made a small error and slowed right down before crossing the line to start lap two - Lee Martin had to take avoiding action and lost a position in the process as Danny McGee now moved up to second. A corner later and Cragg wheelied and crashed so Danny was up into the lead and looking GOOD. For a corner anyway, as then Danny rolled and Lee Martin was up to first. The order was Lee Martin, Danny McGee and Ellis Stafford.

Danny rolled out at the end of the straight and Ellis was now up to second. Things were going NUTS in this race as Lee then rolled exactly where Cragg had done earlier in the race - Ellis into the lead! Ellis almost rolled but managed to recover as Kevin Lee now in second looked for a way past.

Lee Martin briefly in front of Ellis	Ellis leading but gets it sideways and almost rolls.

Ellis looked like he was pushing harder than anyone even though he was leading, but a couple of small errors meant he couldn't pull away from the chasing pack. Kevin Lee was holding onto second but Cragg had been looking for a way past for a couple of laps - finally his patience ran out and he muscled his way past to take second.

Danny McGee passed Kevin Lee for third and Lee followed suit but took a warning from the refs for the move - things stayed the same for the final few laps and despite doing his best Neil Cragg couldn't catch Ellis out front.

A Final Leg 3

Neil Cragg and Ellis Stafford ended up on equal points after the three legs - with a win and a second each. With the faster on his winning leg, Ellis Stafford took the victory - which might ease the pain of a disapointing 2WD event.

Ellis completes an XFactory close-out of the Eden Park event, not bad for a small team.

Unlike previous years things are very much open with no single driver dominating.

Overall results - A Final

2WD Photos

4WD Photos

2WD Video - James Helliwell

4WD Video - James Helliwell