2WD Photos

4WD Photos

Talywain in the south of Wales is a rare excursion out of England in the 10th off road BRCA National series and is the second time this venue has hosted a round, the first time being 2008. The venue was a golf driving range in a previous life – and where in 2008 the track looked very much like a temporary setup, for 2009 the club has put in a huge effort to create a permanent mostly astro-turf track with some great features.

As per the usual BRCA National format, booking in opened at 7.30am, with the first heat of practice on the line at 8am, in 3 minute slots. As the first national event of the season, the heats had been seeded with the F1 drivers (the top guys) in heat one through to the f5 drivers (the utterly pants drivers) pumping it home in heat 12.

Despite the early risers being greeted with bright sunshine, by the time most sleepy racers had emerged from their tents the clouds had formed and appeared to be threatening rain. A combination of being in wales and being high up in the mountains ensured that the climate would be wet, windy and a little chilly for the first national event of the season.

FACTOID 117 drivers booked in on the day for 2WD - only three under the maximum allowed. A few drivers managed to get reserve places in the week leading up to the event but Talywain still had the lowest entry on the national calendar.

After two rounds of practice Damo was heard describing the track as being quite a challenge - Dan Greenwood agreed with this comment, adding that it was especially challenging for those drivers who haven't changed their shock oil since 1999. We think that Dan changes his shock oil every day - he loves it. A sheep dropping was observed overtaking Damo on the straight.

Top tip of the day from Dan Greenwood – keep your hands warm and dry, moist hands can be benefitial in some circumstances, but  not at Talywain.

The drivers briefing was fairly standard, however to spice things up a little PW did not stand on the rostrum to deliver his business, instead standing on the floor with the rest of us – very nice. Paul did his usual very thorough job of describing in detail the rules and procedures for this event.  There was some mad shizz about Li-Po's – we tried to listen, but we didn't understand.

H looks like he's gona bite someones head off.	Paul knows the answer.....

This is the first year that LiPo batteries have been legal for 1/10th off road Nationals - and Mr.Worsley is the man in charge of approving all the many-many new LiPo packs on the market so he's been a busy boy this year.

Current 2wd European champeen Neil Cragg unfortunately couldn't be present for the first 1/10th offroad national of the season due to a clash with some sort of 8th buggy race in Austria.

XFactory dominated round 1, filling the first 4 slots, lee martin did quite well to finish 5th considering the handicap of having to run a b4 (joke). Phil Sleigh took the win ahead of team mate & reigning 2WD National Champion Ellis Stafford. Matt Dodd wowed the crowds in third. Nathan Waters topped out the XFactory dominance in fourth despite his relatively low qualifying heat.

Worksop warrior Leon Morrell was the first driver of the day to receive a warning - for jumping too aggressively, he was told to calm down. Interestingly, Leons motto is 'go Long or go Home'. It's quite a long drive home to Worksop so he'd better set off soon.

BRCA stats
There are 36 new drivers racing in this years 1/10th scale national series who haven't competed in previous years events. Defying concerns that the economic recession would adversely affect R/C racing, every event has
reserves, with Oswestry and Stotfold having the highest number of drivers on the reserve list. There have been a total of 1550 entries submitted to 2wd and 4wd events across this season, this includes entrants on the reserve lists. A dedicated 125 drivers have submitted entries for 4 or more events in 2wd, and 123 in 4wd.

Entries from different regions are made up of 24.4% midwest drivers, 20.9% mid south, 16% north east, 12.1% North West, 9.9% mid east, 6.9% south east, 4.7% wales, and Scotland and the South west having 0.8% each.
136 different drivers entered into 2wd events, and 137 4wd, which is a total 156 different people
across both classes.
Unfortunately there remains a lack of presence from the 'up and coming' superstars in younger age groups, with only two under thirteens entering for 2wd nationals, and a stray lone under 13 entering in the 4wd series - Go Greg!

Thanks to Paul Worsley for his help

Round 1 Qualifying

The Track: The 2009 Talywain track is on the same site as the previous years but is completely re-done from scratch using astroturf for the most part along with some grass and dirt areas. A series of jumps are arranged around the track but are generally quite low and there's no serious air-time on offer here. The track is quite bumpy throughout but this is most evident on the straight which really throws the cars around and was the cause of many crashes through the weekend.

Ellis Stafford went quicker than Sleighs round one time to take the second round of qualifying just barely in front of Lee Martin. Lee was in the same heat as Phil Sleigh and passed Phil on the track - Phil managed to regain the front but ended up a second behind on time, still taking third in round though.

Round 2 Qualifying

The new X6 body from PHAT Bodies.

Ellis gives us a big XFactory 'X' after taking round two

Phil 'the machine' Sleigh took round three to steal the round from team mate Ellis - by a mere half a second. Kevin Lee made it another 1-2-3 for XFactory just missing out on the magic 13 laps in the process.

Round 3 Qualifying

RUMOUR has it that there will be a new 2WD Schumacher buggy for next season. The car might make an appearance this year but final production is likely to take place in time for next. No details of the design but we're told only the rear hubs from the SX are the same.

Phil Sleigh had already taken two wins and was looking 'rather good' for TQ - but Ellis Stafford went out in round four to take his second leg win and with a quicker time than Phil he was looking likely to steal TQ. Lee Martin was out to spoil the fun and coming through for the final lap in his race he was absolutely flying and set to punt Ellis down to 2nd in round and 3rd overall, with Lee stealing 2nd on the grid by virtue of his faster time.
It wasn't to be however and only a few corners from the end after a stunning run he rolled the car - dropping off the winning pace and having to settle for 2nd in round.

Nathan Waters was again on stunning form in round four to improve his position in the A final - a couple of 'gentle' laps mid-run were possibly caused by the commentator 'putting him off', but he quickly threw the hammer down once more and was the only driver in his heat to be clearing all the jumps - consistently as well.

Round 4 Qualifying

Overall Qualifying

Nathan Waters gets his first national A final driving the XFactory X6 car. Well done Nathan!

A Final Leg One
Ellis and Phil Sleigh got away cleanly from the start but 3rd place qualifier Lee Martin wheelied and lost control - collecting Bradby who lost several positions as a result. Lee was lucky and got shunted back on the right line.

Ellis was in control out front with Phil Sleigh hot on his tail - then a gap back down to Yardy and Lee Martin. Phil put some early pressure on Ellis but hit a bad bump and rolled out of the track. Ellis now had a good lead by the end of just lap 1!

Early pressure from Sleigh	Sleigh rolls

Over the next few laps Ellis slowly eased away from Yardy in second - building up a 3 second buffer. Coming down the main straight Ellis went a little wider than previously and hit.... nothing! but all the same he cartwheeled like a maniac all the way down the straight and into the catch net. Yardy went through as Ellis returned to the track but his steering had vanished and he had to retire.

Ellis had a crash with some bumps on the main straight	The resulting roll broke his steering

Nathan Waters in his first National A final	Tom Yardy took up the lead with Lee Martin in hot pursuit

So it was now Tom Yardy in the lead with a healthy gap back to Lee Martin in second. Tom kept it smooth - maybe a little too smooth though and Lee began to slow extremely quickly. With a few seconds to spare the two made it through for the extra lap. Tom eased over the large double at the back of the track whilst Lee chose to go 'balls out' and clear the entire thing - jumping over Tom and taking the lead for the win. Awesome stuff.

Lee edging closer as Yardy leads on the final lap	Yardy bobs down for the single-single whilst Lee powers up to jump over and into the lead.

A Final Leg 1

A Final Leg Two
Ellis lead from Sleigh and Lee Martin around the first lap - Sleigh put on some early pressure and Ellis wasn't giving anything up. Lee Martin was biding his time and things stayed the same for several laps.

Sleigh chases Ellis hard	Lee Martin was looking for another win

Ellis eventually pulled away and with a clear track in front looked like he might take an easy win as Lee Martin started to look for a way past Phil Sleigh for second place. Coming down the main straight to start a new lap however Ellis took a corner too tight and rolled onto his roof - the marshall was quick to put him back on his wheels but Phil Sleigh had made it through and Lee Martin was right on his tail.

Sleigh takes over the lead - Lee Martin still chasing	Ellis never gives up

...But Ellis finally dropped down the order with another roll.	...And it starts to go wrong.

Lee hit a 'bobble' on the straight and lost some time so it was just Sleigh and Stafford out front - with Stafford looking for ways past on almost every corner the next few laps were a great display of driving. Ellis eventually made a mistake and Sleigh was free to go on to take the win.

Both Ellis and Lee Martin quickly dropped down the order and Paul Bradby took up the chase on Sleigh. Bradby put a couple of the fastest laps of the race in on lap 12 and 13 to really close the distance but time was against him and Phil Sleigh held on to win by a second from Bradby, with Tom Yardy and Mark Stanley battling to the line for third and fourth respectively.

A Final Leg 2

A Final Leg Three
Ellis lead them round the first lap, Kevin Lee broke a wishbone and had to retire but the rest got through for the first lap - Ellis, Sleigh, Yardy. Ellis had another spot of bad luck on the main straight and ended up stuck on a pipe as Sleigh went through for the lead and Ellis dropped further down the order. Bradby moved up to second place but had a crash on lap 5 which saw Danny McGee take up the chase on Sleigh who'd built himself a little lead out front.

Danny McGee worked hard to slowly reel in Phil Sleigh and with 2 laps to go was within striking distance. Sleigh wasn't taking too many chances but McGee was making up massive distance over the large double at the back of the track as he cleared it every time. Last lap and McGee went big - overtaking Sleigh and securing the win a couple of corners later. Danny McGee had nothing to back up the win and with his 1st and 2nd in legs 2&3 respectively, Phil Sleigh took his first National A final.

Second corner - lap one	Kev Lee out early

Ellis gets marshalled as Sleigh goes through	Phil Sleigh - second in leg but overall winner.

A Final Leg 3

Overall results - A Final

Sunday May 10th 2009 - Talywain - BRCA 4wd National Championship Series - Round 1

Sunday started with glorious sunshine and temperatures climbed to much more bearable levels. Racing started just after 10am with the top drivers going off first. The track was pretty much the same layout as the previous day but run in reverse - so the 4WD cars were heading down the main straight and into the face of the steep-steep grass banking.

Tom Yardy went out like a man posessed with the new Yokomo BMax in round one - taking the round with the honour of being the only driver on 13 laps. Danny McGee got awfully close but just missed out on the extra lap to get 2nd. Racer magazines Matt Benfield rounded out the top three. All the top 6 drivers were running different chassis - Yokomo, Losi, Schumacher, Predator, HotBodies, JConcepts - respectively.

Round 1 Qualifying

Dan Greenwood from the XFactory team wanted to see how free his drivetrain was. He took the motor out- removed the pinion and put the motor back in place to push it along his table like a 3yr old with a Tonka toy. Unfortunately he then decided it was FINE and set about screwing it all back together.... Without the pinion! Needless to say he didn't realise until he was trackside for his race. Awesome.

Before the start of round two the start line was moved all the way up the main straight to just behind the start loop - meaning cars would at least be able to start the race on the timing system.

Cars were still taking off down the main straight and jumping over the loop during racing. Did I mention this is a bumpy track!

The Predator X11 cars are going well, with John Spencers 4th in round one. Young Greg Williams from the North East was another - on a storming run in round two and with a lap to go he was set for 7th in the A final but the demanding track took its toll and a screw jammed in the wheel which killed his run.

Round 2 Qualifying

'The balls' were out in round three - either that or the track was getting worse! Tom Yardy had a great run but was heard to say "It's like the surface of the moooon, boss" - we agree.

Ellis Stafford was having a nightmare in heat two - eventually retiring with a broken wing mount but it looked like it could have been a lot worse with some high-speed crashes on the main straight.

	The top heats were like a comedy show of errors with cars flipping, flapping and generally going off their nubs big style. The end of the straight was still a nightmare for some - and 'top' drivers are generally the ones that don't want to be backing off the power and losing time. It made for some excellent stunts however. Ellis tumbles up the hill past the marshall.... But this lucky driver was caught mid-air - AWESOME! Kev Lee tries a different aproach to crossing the loop Doh.

Tom Yardy once again lead the charge - going off in heat one he set a blistering time of 13 laps in 318.99. No one could match the pace of the bendy Yokomo but 4 more drivers made it through for 13 laps in the round. John Spencer murdered 2nd in round with the Predator whilst Tom Cockerill took third just 4/100ths of a second behind.
Top Schumacher in the round was oople-star Grant Williams in 6th.

Tom Yardy brings home the baconator.

Round 3 Qualifying

Tom Yardy once more showed not just how quick he is, but also consistent with the Yokomo by taking round four.

Round 4 Qualifying

Overall Qualifying

The 4wd A final was made up of 6 different chassis, with the Yokomo B Max taking TQ, Losi XX4, X factory X5, two Predator X11-08s, two AE B44s, a Schumacher Cat SX, and an HB D4.

The previous days winner of the 2WD event - Phil Sleigh had a bit of a nightmare and only qualified for the E in 4WD!

John Spencer had an amazing day to qualify 4th and gain his first ever national A final, his first National with the Xtreme Predator X11.

A final leg 1.
Lee Martin had a mysterious electrical problem which couldn't be sorted which caused a delay to the start - thankfully the weather was like a mid-summer afternoon and no one was in a hurry. Lee ended up borrowing another car at the last minute.

With the cars finally underway everyone in the crowd gathered at the end of the main straight were amazed to see every single car get through unscathed. Tom Yardy kept his position and with Danny McGee close behind the pair slowly eased away from Tom Cockerill in third - then a gap back down to fourth.

Yardy leads them round the steep banked corner	McGee gets closer.

Tom Cockerill held onto his awesome qualifying position in third.	McGee looks for the inside line - and forces the error 2 corners later..

By lap 4 Danny was showing he had the pace required to 'do' Yardy and the pressure eventually told as Tom Yardy clipped a corner and rolled - allowing both Danny McGee and Tom Cockerill though for 1st and 2nd respectively. Cockerill rolled after the straight and Yardy was back to 2nd but McGee was just too fast and too consistent. Danny McGee rammed it home to take leg one.

A Final Leg 1

A Final Leg Two
The drivers got away cleanly again with Tom up front and Danny McGee again pressing hard. Danny crashed out over the first small double jump and was collected by the other 8 cars it seemed - eventually getting back underway after some dramatic marshalling, but down to last place!

Tom Yardy was out front followed by Tom Cockerill, Lee Martin and Ellis Stafford - though they were already a little spread out by lap two. Yardy had a nice cusion back to Cockerill but Lee Martin and Ellis were closing fast on Cockerill.

Yardy leads them round	Kev Lee in the mix with the Predator X11 '08

McGee OVER!	Lee Martin had more problems and had to retire.

Lee and Ellis were swapping positions like crazy - Giving Tom Cockerill a brief respite before Ellis finally got clear of Lee and quickly reeled in the sheepy haired young pretender & team mate, Cockerill. Yardy (who incidently we just passed on the motorway as I write this - and he waved at US!) was in full-on TOMINATION mode and wasn't looking to make the same mistake as in leg one.

John Spencer made his first ever national A final at Talywain - putting in one of the two Predator cars into the main.

GRANT WILLIAMS TOOK THE LEAD - but in actual fact had crashed on the main straight and the marshall put the pieces next to the timing loop, never mind Grant, we still thought you were leading.

Ellis Stafford chases his team mate Cockerill	Grant Williams experiences the straight - and the string of electrics hang out of his car, like a pearl necklace.

Matt Benfield, our chum from RACER magazine, was on fire and flying the flag for Schumacher as Grant Williams had just crashed out on the straight. Matt was tearing his way through the field and quickly up on - and past - his long-time friend Ellis Stafford for third.

Tom Cockerill makes a mistake but keeps position	A rare mistake over the first jump section saw Tom Yardy roll but his commanding lead meant Cockerill wouldn't be able to close the gap.

It was Yardy, Cockerill and Benfield out front - all spread out. Cockerill made a mistake allowing Matt Benfield to close the gap but things didn't change and the order stayed the same for the remainder of the race.

A Final Leg 2

A Final Leg Three
Going into leg three - Yardy was looking good with a 1st and 2nd - but McGee could win by winning the final leg - and the same for Tom Cockerill who had a second in the previous leg but would also need to go faster than Yardys previous time if he wanted a chance at his first national win.

Yardy with McGee in tow	McGee puts the HAMMER down

And flies past	McGee hits the banked corner like an angry pirate

McGee is all over and collects Yardy	Yardy never slows down whilst McGee quickly gets back underway - good effort though!

Yardy lead them round and again everyone came through the first couple of corners safe and sound. At the half lap point it was Yardy-McGee-Cockerill bunched together and with a small gap to the rest. Tom Cockerill got caught up on the same corner that had claimed Yardy in leg one which dropped him back. Yardy and McGee came onto the main straight together and McGee saw his chance, blasting down the dangerous outside edge of the straight, passing Yardy like he was stood still! McGee went sideways as he hit the steep banking at the start of lap two and Yardy was back into first.

Yardy goes for a tumble	McGee gets caught up - dropping several places

Ellis briefly took the lead	...Ellis rolled just after the final lap buzzer sounded - Yardy back into the lead to take the leg

Several drivers were trying different things to cope with the bumps at Talywain. Paul Bradby tried re-mounted dampers on the back of his B44 for his final but said it felt too soft. Simon Moss tried it on the CAT SX and said it was loads better! Lee Martin meanwhile was running Losi dampers on the B44. The positions were unchanged but McGee was hot-of-head and the excitement seemed to claim him as he immediately made a mistake allowing Cockerill up to second. McGee was underway quickly and the order was Yardy-Cockerill-McGee and Ellis Stafford - as these four now pulled away from the rest of the drivers. McGee in third was all over Cockerill and forced his way past - but Cockerill was having none of it and put on his own pressure - amazingly both drivers crashing without contact over the first small double allowing Ellis Stafford up to second. Yardy built up a nice lead whist the other scrapped but had a small roll round the grass banking which allowed ellis to close - and now Ellis had something to focus on, like a 4-wheeled homing missile he locked on and when Yardy went slow over a jump Ellis went BIG - sailing over the top to take the lead. Ellis came over the small first jump which had already seen so many accidents just as the buzzer sounded - Ellis rolled and Yardy was back into the lead and held it to the line.

Yardy gets some love from his many fans	TOMINATION

A Final Leg 3

Overall results - A Final

Interview with 4WD winner - Tom Yardy

Tom, congratulations on winning your first National - it took 46 A finals to finally do it, how does it feel?
Thanks a lot. The main feeling is just one of relief I guess, as you say it’s not much of a conversion rate but hopefully it’s just a (delayed) start. There are many people who kept the faith and told me it would happen, the response from people as I crossed the line was wonderful, I was really touched. (emotionally as well as physically, thanks Robbo & Doddy J)
 
The Yokomo doesn't look anything special but has already had some major wins in the hands of Cragg - did you always have confidence in the car and did you think you'd get to the top so quickly?
To be honest, when the offer was made to run the Yokomo I was a little bit tentative, we had only seen the Yoke run in the hands of Neil and as you know, that doesn’t give a clear indication of the cars nature just because he can win with it! But as soon as we were able to put some packs through it the immediate indication was just how easy the car is to drive, and more importantly, very respondent to set up adjustment, no matter how minor. By the turn of the year, we were making bigger and bigger strides forward with the car and going into the summer, I believed wins were possible, and so did others who saw it run. This installed a lot of confidence.
 
Anything special about your car, or is it fairly standard?
There is nothing unique about my car, it is standard B-Max with the addition of the champ pack. Only hop ups onboard are lightweight diff halves and a Yokomo spring tuning kit. The car was dialled all day, even on what proved to be such a challenging track.

How much track time have you had to get a setup you like on the car?
Over the winter, me and dad have certainly clocked up a lot of miles, both on and off the track. It has probably been one of the most intense winters we have had. Having said that, the time hasn’t been devoted to finding a set up, we landed upon a good starting point very early on and found the only changes that need making for condition changes are basics like camber, shock positions or occasionally spring rates. The car has always been consistent on a variety of tracks, and after today, all those early mornings and long drives through the winter have certainly been justified.
 
Who do you wish to thank now you're in the spotlight?
All of my family, but my dad is the main one of course, as I say we have done some really good preparation ahead of the season and as ever I rely heavily on his maintenance and knowledge. Thanks to all my friends on the national scene including team mates and rivals and not forgetting Dave and all the guys at CML/Yokomo for the opportunity to race such a great car. Lastly, the BRCA and Talywain members for putting on a great event, it’s certainly one I’ll always remember!

Thanks to the organisers for putting on an awesome event and to our sponsors for helping us cover it.

2WD Photos

4WD Photos