12th May 2012 - 2WD
The second round of the 2012 BRCA 10th off road national series was at the all-AstroTurf robinhood raceway venue.
This is our closest track, so an early dash down whilst practice was underway was the order of the day.

The track has seen some work recently to improve the troublesome AstroTurf which caused some controversy in 2011. The weather was thankfully pleasent when we arrived - the previous weeks had seen all the rain already used up.

Drivers briefing!

YerJowkin! Robbo exclaimed, at the new rules against brummieness..	Andy Carter left drivers briefing feeling disappointed. AC was trying to comprehend some sort of stuff.

The BRCA lads threw in a curve ball for drivers briefing, in that itnwas de-livered by Charlie Fraser rather that PW. Paul was feeling a little unwell, so he just loitered in the wings while Charlie sorted the business.

The use of the microphone was also slightly strange, Charlie seemed to prefer it to Paul's normal un-amlplifed style. Graham North was not visible tp Charlie throught the briefing, strange as he was stood next to him.

The RHR venue has a new, second track, alongside the astro track being used for the national - the aptly named 'RHRdirt'. This new clay track is still being finished and will be the venue for the oople invernational race at the end of July. With the recent non-stop rain, the track was covered during the national weekend to protect it - with large puddles gathered on the surface.

The opening round of qualifying was close up front with 6 drivers making it through for the 13th lap. Neil Cragg led the charge in heat 11 with his Associated Centro C4.1, with Lee Martin and Paul Brady coming in second and third respectively, running in heat 12.

Neil Cragg	Paul Bradby

Lee Martin found himself in a Centro-sandwich

2WD Qualifying Round One - Top 10

Lee Martin improved the fastest time previously set by Neil Cragg to take the second round of qualifying with his Tamiya Vega car - as Neil sat on a near-equal but slightly slower time than previously. Local heros Tom Cockerill and James ' ooARrrr' Helliwell finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Only the top three made it through for 13 laps in this round.

	2WD Qualifying Round Two - Top 10
	position name result 1 Lee Martin 13 317.34 2 Neil Cragg 13 319.77 3 Tom Cockerill 13 324.02 4 James Helliwell 12 300.49 5 Kev Lee 12 301.23 6 Tom Yardy 12 302.70 7 Craig Collinson 12 304.98 8 Super Dan Greenwood! 12 305.43 9 David Orbell 12 306.79 10 Lloyd Storey 12 308.03

Cragg came back with a new fastest time - again 2 seconds quicker than the previous round TQ time.

	2WD Qualifying Round Three - Top 10
	position name result 1 Neil Cragg 13 315.43 2 Paul Bradby 13 318.76 3 Darren Bloomfield 13 321.31 4 Tom Cockerill 13 321.68 5 Ellis Stafford 13 323.48 6 Ben Jemison 13 323.49 7 Danny McGee 13 323.73 8 Grant Williams 12 300.11 9 Craig Collinson 12 301.87 10 Nathan Waters 12 302.06

Ballistic Buggy spike rear tyres seemed to be the popular choice on the rear in 2WD - Ben Jemison had used them in practice and was quick.

Neil Cragg used Schumachers in practice but switched to Ballistics for qualifying and finals having seen Ben going round. Some drivers didn't see much difference but others said the Ballistics provided more drive and were easier to drive.

Schumacher staggers were of course the choice on the front.

Ben Jemison made an error at the start of his final round of qualifying and had a couple of scrappy laps just after - but still managed an epic run. Neil Cragg was the only driver able to surpass Ben's time and took the round with a new fastest time - securing the overall TQ in the process.

2WD Qualifying Round Four - Top 10

Here is a sexy photo of regular nationals race commentator, Dave 'DC' Church. Who wasn't able to commentate this weekend due to some sore-throat action.

2WD A Final Leg One

Neil Cragg lead them away in the opening leg and barely put a foot wrong. Lee Martin was able to hang with Neil for a few laps before gradually dropping back. Neil felt a little too good out front and a couple of average laps saw Lee Martin close back up.

Neil Cragg is followed by Lee Martin	James Helliwell gets recovery in - back to 10th!

James Helliwell in the Cragg-replica car (well, not in it, he wouldn't quite fit) started well and worked up from 7th to 3rd by the 1st lap but a major error on lap two saw him waiting for the entire field to drive past before he could be marshalled - dropping him to dead last.
Craig Collinson put his Team Durango DEX210 off the track in the same place Helliwell had earlier - losing lots of time in the process. A later coming-together with Tom Yardy would cost them both time.

Craig Collinson makes a mistake	Lee Martin pushing hard

Paul Bradby came off in the same place again that Helliwell had - losing his wing in the process and retiring from the race.

Out front Lee Martin was giving it all he had to try and close up on Neil Cragg - but an error saw him stuck on a pipe and require marshalling. Cragg now had a nice lead and held it all the way to the line for the win, followed by Lee and Ben Jemison who'd held 3rd for most of the race.

2WD A Final Leg 1

The second leg of the A saw an intense non-event out front as Neil Cragg simply dominated - quickly pulling a large lead over second place Lee Martin and Darren Bloomfield back in third.

Paul Bradbys race started well and he was up to second on the first lap, but that was all he managed before smashing the back doors off his C4.1 during an altercation with a track marker. Neils lead looked to extend throughout the race, however a stunning 23.37second lap from Lee Martin saw this reduce visably, that was until Lee flipped out over a difficult corner and rolled off the track. Lee managed to recover and still made it through for 13 laps, but couldn't catch up to Neil who took the leg win and overall meeting win.

2WD A Final Leg 2

2WD A Final Leg 3

Neil Cragg was virtually untouchable in the finals - an error in leg three after already winning the meeting wasn't really a distraction from that. The hero of the meeting however had to be Ben Jemison, who's stellar performance from practice in the morning continued throughout the day and ended in a fantastic 3rd overall.

2WD Overall A final results

13th May 2012 - 4WD

4WD got underway on Sunday with more bright sunshine and clouds. The track layout had been changed the previous evening to make things fair.

	Interview with Ben Jemison - Team Associated driver You had a good day in 2wd finishing 3rd overall - well done. What has contributed to your success? I had my head screwed on the right way, made sure my car was well prepared and that everything was just right - good preparation really. Dan Greenwood noticed your great performance and wondered out loud - why don't you drive so sensibly on a more frequent basis? I think I put too much pressure on myself to do well normally, whereas I have tried to relax and have fun, and have drunk plenty of water to remain hydrated! Your use of Ballistic tyres in practice resulted in a surge of drivers switching their tyres - was it really the tyre or just pure skill? Basically we tested with ballistics a few weeks ago and they felt comfortable so that's what I started on. The car felt awesome in practice and when other drivers saw how well it drove they swapped to ballistics. What are your aspirations for the next 12 months? I'd like a pay rise at work, and more cups of tea are required. I'd like to make another national A final too, that'd be good. Which is your favourite track ever? West coast r/c raceway, California. Who is your RC hero? Paul Bradby - he's so helpful both on and off the track. He and Neil have helped me to get to where I am. What is your favourite tool? My hitachi device - it has so many uses (screwdriver, machine gun, bedroom activities - wtf?!) Would you eat Taty-Hash with a spoon or a fork? I'd use a fork then drink a pint of 'gravy afterwards. Reports of vandalism at the track one week before this event resulted in rumours and conspiracy theories circulating the world wide web. What are your throughts and what can you say about the mammoth clean up effort in the past week? I think it was the local pikeys rather than anyone involved in the race scene. Everyone involved has done a great job preparing the venue and making it right again. They definitely deserve the clap and a huge back-pat. What can you tell us about your 2wd? The set up was fairly standard, I used Ballistics green all day - about 8 sets! If you could be re-born as any animal what would you be? Something with a smaller head - perhaps a turtle, because I'm hard as nails on the outside. Bens Extra Comments: I'd like to thank all my sponsors, and also oOple for all the commitment to the hobby - bring on the oOple race! Thanks to Neil, Paul and Mick for being patient and caring towards me. :)

Less than a second seperated the top three in round one of qualifying - with Lee Martin's Tamiya TRF511 on top, closely followed by Paul Bradby and Tom Cockerill. Ellis Stafford was on a good run but a mistake dropped him down.

4WD Qualifying Round One - Top 10

Ellis Stafford - 200 national A finals, (at last) Ellis Stafford managed to finally gain his 200th national A final - receiving the trophy a little prematurely (last year) Ellis finally did it in 2WD at RHR. He'd grown a Craig David looking beard with expectations of his greatness, his greatness. Ellis started racing in 1984 and this is Ellis's 23nd year of 1/10th off road national racing - starting in 1989 with a couple of national races to see what they were all about, before starting his first full season in 1990 where he won two rounds of 2WD and placed 3rd overall.

Neil Cragg crashed on the straight and required marshalling at the start of his second qualifying run.

Lee Martin again proved he's the man to beat in 4WD with another round win and a provisional TQ spot - improving the TQ time by 4 seconds. Tom Cockerill lead a Schumacher charge in second, with team mate Simon Moss third - both guys running the Schumacher CAT SX3 buggy.

Darren Bloomfield sat 4th - improving his previous time by a couple of seconds with his ageing Losi XX4 buggy. Still - Darren was sporting some nifty new CVD's on the front of his ride - the guys at TLR in the USA managing to find him a couple of sets for the season.

4WD Qualifying Round Two - Top 10

Simon Moss just edged out Neil Cragg in round three with his Schumacher SX3 - taking the round with the fastest time of the day.

Simon Moss with his Schumacher CAT SX3 - round three winner

Only Simon Moss could steal away the TQ spot from Lee Martin going into the final round of qualifying - and it wasn't to be as he went from putting in his quickest run of the day (of anyone - all day) in round three, to putting in his slowest run of the day - though still good enough for 8th in round. Neil Cragg took the round just ahead of Tom Cockerill and Nathan Waters. The top 5 cars in round were Associated, Schumacher, Team Durango, Tamiya and Kyosho - what a nice mix!

	4WD Qualifying Round Four - Top 10
	position name result 1 Neil Cragg 14 308.04 2 Tom Cockerill 14 308.21 3 Nathan Waters 14 308.81 4 Lee Martin 14 310.59 5 Kev Lee 14 312.54 6 Danny McGee 14 313.32 7 Tony Truman 14 313.38 8 Simon Moss 14 314.24 9 Craig Collinson 14 314.90 10 Colin May 14 315.79

4WD A Final leg One

Tom Cockerill launched into the air off the start line - causing mayhem as drivers tried to avoid the insanity. Lee Martin lead the drivers away from the grid in style but an early, and rare, error saw Neil Cragg take up the lead as Lee went wide jumping into the bombhole.

Bradby accidentally stuffs mossy from behind at the start

Tom Cockerilll wheelies and rolls off the start	Lee Martin and Cragg tackle the tabletop

Cragg chases Lee into the bomb-hole	Lee Martin gets it wrong and Cragg is past

Lee kept his momentum and tried to pressure Cragg for a couple of laps before falling back slightly. Darren Bloomfield had worked his way from 6th on the grid and was running in third - and quickly catching Lee Martin. As Cragg extended his lead the battle was on for second as the Lee Martin-Bloomfield train lapped the RHR circuit. The pressure was too much for Lee and he turned in too early coming onto the main straight - turning his car over. Bloomfield was too close and choosing the same lines - a mistake that saw him join Lee on his roof.

Lee is about to flip with a line like that	Andy Marc Rheinard Griffiths - stellar marshalling

The marshalls were quick and only Ellis Stafford from 8th on the grid made it past for second before the pair were both back underway and charging down the main straight together with Kevin Lee. Lee Martin again made an error at the end of the straight as he and Bloomfield went side-by-side. Lee clipped the pipe and cartwheeled into the waiting arms of Tom Yardy.

Cragg was nowhere to be seen and now the battle was between Bloomfield and Ellis for second. Ellis lead the pair but Bloomfield looked quicker - trying everything to pass. Impatience got the better of him perhaps and he stuffed his car into the back of Ellis at the end of the straight, taking them both out. Bloomfield broke and Ellis just managed to get back underway as Kevin Lee and Lee Martin closed in, running in 3rd and 4th respectively.

Bloomfield looks like he was glued to the rear of Ellis	It ended bad when Bloomfield shunted Ellis & broke

Kev Lee made an error which saw Lee Martin past and back up to 3rd to chase down Ellis - but time was ticking away and things ended in that order - with Cragg way out front cruising to victory, Ellis second and Lee Martin close behind in third.

A range of emotions when the final was complete.

	4WD A Final Leg 1
	position name result 1 Neil Cragg 14 315.51 2 Ellis Stafford 13 302.64 3 Lee Martin 13 303.92 4 Danny McGee 13 305.17 5 Nathan Waters 13 305.76 6 Kev Lee 13 308.24 7 Simon Moss 13 310.86 8 Tom Cockerill 13 313.99 9 Darren Bloomfield 9 211.45 10 Paul Bradby 6 158.34

4WD A Final leg Two

Lee Martin lead them off and there were no dramas at the start this time. Cragg kept close to Lee in second with Simon Moss right behind him. A couple of laps down and the leading pair had broken away from Moss and Bloomfield running 3rd & 4th.

Lee leads them round turn one	Lee gets some pressure from Cragg and Moss

Cragg was all over Lee Martin and trying different lines to make a pass. As the pair jumped the tabletop in front of the rostrum Cragg finally had his chance - taking the inside and nosing ahead of Lee. It wasn't to be however as his car was seriously out of shape and he had to hold off and stay second for now.

Moss drops off the leading pair and is joined by Bloomfield - as Lee and Cragg make a break for it.

The battle for the lead was thrilling the crowd and it was disapointing to end so soon - as Cragg made the same error Lee had in leg one, taking the inside line coming onto the straight too tight and flipping onto his roof.

Cragg tries for an inside line but almost goes over.	Cragg rolls - Moss and Bloomfield through

Simon Moss and Bloomfield were through for 2nd and 3rd. Moss went wide as he lined up to jump into the bombhole and Darren took a super-tight line - the gap was there and then wasn't - Bloomfield T-boned Moss and Moss came off worst as he got stuck on the track marker.

Bloomfield tries for an inside line but Moss shuts him out - the ensuing tangle causes controversy.

Cragg took the chance and was through for second just ahead of Bloomfield who'd managed to drive around the outside of the track marker and back onto the racing line. The pair hurtled down the main straight and it was clear Bloomfields new Orion power was giving him an edge as he pulled almost alongside and looked for a pass. This time Bloomfield backed off rather than send Craggy into the spectators and never got the chance again as time ended.

Cragg and Bloomfield battle it out down the straight for second place

Bloomfield had made it through with Cragg for the extra lap but a penalty for the earlier incident with Moss dropped him back down the order, and Moss back up. Lee Martin cruised to victory to set up a 3rd-leg battle royale - WITH CHEESE!

	4WD A Final Leg 2
	position name result 1 Lee Martin 14 315.30 2 Neil Cragg 14 318.91 3 Simon Moss 13 302.95 4 Darren Bloomfield 13 303.08 5 Danny McGee 13 303.18 6 Nathan Waters 13 303.39 7 Kev Lee 13 304.91 8 Ellis Stafford 13 305.76 9 Paul Bradby 13 307.47 10 Tom Cockerill 11 265.65

4WD A Final leg Three

The third and final leg was delayed - a lot!
An incident during one of the higher finals had lead to the head referee quitting his role - this was combined with an appeal against the earlier penalty given to Bloomfield after Leg 2 meant there was a big delay whilst all the on-site BRCA officials were gathered to discuss. The light was beginning to fade and everyone wanted to go home, watch the eastenders omnibus, and sleep.

Officials discuss - they weren't happy with my photo	Geffo Moss

Ben Jemison entertains the anxious crowd with a display of tribal dance routines

These lads are entertained by something.....	...I think it's this

At last - a resolution. Now the A final can conclude.

Eventually things were sorted out - the earlier penalty stood, the head referee reinstated himself and everyone was happy. The third leg of the A could get underway.

The start of the third leg saw Moss nudge the rear of Neils car on the first corner - an accident which saw Cragg tumble to the back of the pack and effectively out of the running for the win. Lee Martin extended his lead as Simon Moss and Tom Cockerill fought for second place. Tom tried to pass where Bloomfield had in leg two - this time Moss wasn't going to be a victim and it was Tom that came off worse in the inevitable collision.

Neil Cragg gets a tap	Lee Martin leads Moss and Cockerill

Tom fought off a brief challenge from Bloomfield to keep his third place and gradually caught up to Moss in second - this time making a nice move stick as he followed Moss into the bomb-hole - coming out in front as the pair looked to clash wheels.

The battle between the Schumacher cars of Moss and Cockerill was the one to watch

Time ran out as Tom closed in on Lee Martin - the order didn't change and Lee held on for the win in leg three and overall victory.

	4WD A Final Leg 3
	position name result 1 Lee Martin 14 317.11 2 Tom Cockerill 14 318.94 3 Simon Moss 14 319.73 4 Ellis Stafford 14 321.94 5 Paul Bradby 14 325.67 6 Danny McGee 13 302.15 7 Darren Bloomfield 13 302.51 8 Kev Lee 13 304.37 9 Neil Cragg 13 304.76 10 Nathan Waters 3 77.66

Thanks to the RHR organisers and BRCA officials along with everyone that helped us do a race report. ...
PW's absence and the brief interruption in reffing duties during Sundays finals served as a reminder to us what a thankless job these guys do, to bring us expertly run top class events. Cheers guys :)