4th August 2012 - Silverstone 2wd National.

The Silverstone national this year poses one quite unique feature when compared with all the other events on the outdoor calender, for this race is held indoors. Not only is the track undercover, but when usually we'd be rocking up to a race venue and erecting tents or seeking out the nearest travelodge, this weekend we checked in on-site to our very own en-suite dorm. Oh yeah!

Silverstone is probably best known for racing big cars, but for the first weekend in August drivers flocked from far and wide to race the 1/10th off-road version, much safer and more fun, I say.

When we arrived at the track, we were surprised to find the pitting area was set up on a floor of Britains finest horse excrement. Indeed our home for the weekend would be the equestarian centre at moulton college. The track however was multi surface and constructed of astroturf, carpet, and grass.

Originally a horse-poo corner had adorned the far end of this track, but due to the fine nature of this surface it cut up instantly during practice and emergency track repairs resulted in the team laying carpet tiles to cover the area.

Emergency laying by the track team

The rain didn't affect any racing.

2wd Qualifying Round 1.
As we settled down into our undercover pitting area, the changing conditions outside for once didn't make any impact on the racing. We quickly adapted to the idea of racing indoors during the outdoor season however on the track some drivers were struggling to adapt to the freshly laid astroturf. One driver described the surface as being so grippy that even the marshalls were grip rolling. One certainty however is that on a track like this there can be no home advantage - the surface and layout being completely new to everyone present.

TQ of round one - Darren Bloomfieild with the TLR 22

Tom Cockerill - Schumacher Cougar SV2

Nathan Waters - Team Durango DEX210


2WD Qualifying Round One - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Darren Bloomfield

13 304.99

2

Lee Martin

13 306.77

3

Tom Yardy

13 308.13

4

Kevin Lee

13 309.24

5

Tom Cockerill

13 309.57

6

Neil Cragg

13 310.80

7

Nathan Waters

13 312.40

8

Craig Collinson

13 312.41

9

Richard Lowe

13 314.52

10

David Poulter

13 314.54

 

Neil Cragg's Associated C4.1

Cragg loves a neat wiring job

All regulation C4.1 stuff

Neil looked to be using some big bore springs on his 2wd. And Kyosho springs on his 4WD.

2wd Qualifying Round 2

The second qualifying round had gone to Paul Bradby initially, however his glory was short lived as his 14 lap time was incorrect due to a 15-second start lap which had occured when Bradby triggered the loop on his late journey to the start line. Instead it was Kevin Lee from Inside line racing who took the round nearly two seconds ahead of Darren Bloomfields round 1 TQ time.

2WD Qualifying Round Two - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Kevin Lee

13 303.30

2

Darren Bloomfield

13 303.87

3

Lee Martin

13 304.08

4

Tom Cockerill

13 307.28

5

Nathan Waters

13 307.49

6

Craig Collinson

13 307.61

7

Tom Yardy

13 307.82

8

Simon Moss

13 308.07

9

Lloyd Storey

13 309.82

10

David Poulter

13 311.04

 

Kevin Lee's Kyosho Rudebits DB1

 

 

This car's much easier to identify with its neatly stickered wing.

Some middle end business

Sexy low profile shot.

2wd Qualifying Round 3.

The track certainly hasn't been agreeing with last weekends oOple Invernational winner Neil Cragg, who sits 2nd overall in the championship currently but would have to TQ and win both here at Silverstone and at the final round in Kidderminster later this month, if he was to be in with a chance of knocking leader Lee Martin out of the top spot. Neil looks as though he'd be far more comfortable driving around the dirt surface in the pits.

In qualifying round three Elliott Boots quite literally stormed out of nowhere to take the round win, just a fraction of a second away from a 14 lap time.

2WD Qualifying Round Three - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

13 300.37

2

Tom Cockerill

13 302.39

3

Simon Moss

13 304.58

4

Tom Yardy

13 305.21

5

Craig Collinson

13 305.25

6

Paul Bradby

13 308.75

7

Lloyd Storey

13 309.13

8

Ellis Stafford

13 309.31

9

David Poulter

13 309.82

10

Danny McGee

13 309.89

 

Qualifying Round 4.

Elliott stayed at the top and put in the first 14 lap time of the day to take qualifying round 4 and overall TQ of the meeting.

2WD Qualifying Round Four - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

14/ 320.07

2

Craig Collinson

13/ 300.90

3

Darren Bloomfield

13/ 302.57

4

Tom Yardy

13/ 305.42

5

Neil Cragg

13/ 306.07

6

Ashley Caunt

13/ 306.36

7

Nathan Waters

13/ 307.50

8

Richard Lowe

13/ 307.74

9

Tom Cockerill

13/ 308.04

10

Simon Moss

13/ 308.09

 

Elliott Boots TQ car - Kyosho Rudebits DB1

This one was easiest, the shell was a giveaway.

Jimmy had taken the time to wire up Elliots car. lol

Nice rear end?

Tq warrior - he was LOVING IT - RB6 now tho mate.

2wd Overall Qualifying

Overall Top Ten Qualifying - 2wd

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

(12) (115) 0 0

2

Darren Bloomfield

0 2 (17) (3)

3

Kevin Lee

4 0 (18) (20)

4

Lee Martin

2 3 (19) (51)

5

Tom Cockerill

(5) 4 2 (9)

6

Craig Collinson

(8) (6) 5 2

7

Tom Yardy

3 (7) 4 (4)

8

Simon Moss

(120) 8 3 (10)

9

Neil Cragg

6 (12) (21) 5

10

Nathan Waters

(7) 5 (54) 7

 

The track.
The Silverstone crew have planned a national meeting quite unlike one we have seen before. Usually the off-road nationals held during the outdoor season are at outdoor venues on tracks with which we are familiar, however although we have raced previously at an outdoor track in Silverstone, this years national was announced to be on an indoor track. In fact few details were available of this track which no-one had seen or heard off and rumours of its existence circulated in the months running up to this weekends national.

The dirt surface of the equastarian centre was too soft to use as a track surface, so the team used primarily an astroturf surface set out with some constructed jumps and features. The grass-turfed corner, tabletop jump and carpetted areas added variety into the mix of surfaces at this venue.

The rostrum was professionally constructed

Race control has been built from breezeblocks and finely finished with cherrywood.

 

 

Matt Owen of Silverstone club explained the sequence of events which lead to us racing at this venue.

Matt: We had an outdoor track which we put a lot of effort into but unfortunately we couldn't deal with the landlord.

Matt loves to be photo'd

We found this place when we were looking for a venue to host the Petit RC earlier this year. We basically said it's not big enough, and they showed us the bigger room next door (this equestarian). It was too cold at that time of year to hold the petit race, but over a couple of beers we decided to apply to hold a national event here.

We'd hosted some good events over the past couple of years which had been successful, so we went with the concept and applied for a national without having a track yet prepared. With our experience putting on the previous events the team felt confident that the national would be a success.

We had to swap dates with Kiddy because there was already an event planned here for that date, so we booked for this weekend but then found out that the local hotels were booked up due to another event being held nearby. The site propietor said this was no problem as there are dorms available on-site, which racers were able to book for a competitive fee.

There were some concerns about people getting upset about a national event being held at a track which technically didn't exist, but we went with the concept and our experience and here we are today. We hope that we haven't offended anyone in the process and that everyone enjoys the race we've organised.

The club usually run Tuesday evening races in the hall next door, which this weekend is being used for a weights competition. The club nights have proved to be a great success and we look forward to seeing this popularity increase over the coming months.

 

A final leg 1

Elliott Boots lead them off from the pole position and was instantly away - with Bloomfield and Kev Lee in tow. For the first couple of laps things kept fairly close up front with Bloomfield pushing hard to stay with Elliott.

   

Elliott Boots was on a mission and was now pulling away from the rest - whilst everyone else looked to be driving on the edge, Elliott seemed in full control and didn't ease off as he took the jumps with perfect precision.

A mistake from Bloomfield allowed Kev Lee to close in and after looking for a way past jumped big to the corner tabletop and the pair went side by side. The inevitable collision occured and it was Kev who came off worse - and instead of gaining second he was now on his roof dropping down the order.

   
   

Elliott came through for the 14th lap on his own - a victory lap as it were - so far ahead was he by now. Bloomfield came in second after the battle with Kev Lee earlier didn't slow him too much, 4 seconds off the 14 lapper.

 

Elliott sports a DiCaprio titanic winning hair style

Bloomfield and Kev Lee have a polite discussion


2WD A Final Leg 1

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

14/ 321.61

2

Darren Bloomfield

13/ 304.76

3

Lee Martin

13/ 308.64

4

Kevin Lee

13/ 309.51

5

Simon Moss

13/ 315.46

6

Craig Collinson

13/ 315.85

7

Tom Cockerill

13/ 316.46

8

Neil Cragg

13/ 319.24

9

Nathan Waters

13/ 319.76

10

Tom Yardy

13/ 320.49

 

A final leg 2

Pole man Elliott 'DiCaprio' Boots leads them round the first corner - my goodness he was quick.

Elliott lead the race away and held an extending lead for the first few laps before a grip roll error saw him drop down into 2nd place. Kev Lee took up the lead but Elliott was hot on his gearbox, pushing for an error.

2nd 3rd & 4th - try to keep up with Elliott - lap one!

After an error - Kev Lee took over the lead from his Kyosho team mate.

Kev raced hard but couldn't make it pay, and a sneaky underpass from Elliott saw Kev drop down into 2nd place. Elliott was away, gaining time lap by lap to build up a 7+ second lead. Kevin was pushing hard to catch up but some grippy errors saw him struggle to keep up.

2nd 3rd & 4th - try to keep up with Elliott - lap one!

After an error - Kev Lee took over the lead from his Kyosho team mate.

Kev jumps high - Elliott goes low

After several laps Elliott finally got his chance - taking the inside over the grass and took the inside round the tabletop for the lead.

No-one could challenge Elliott and as he chucked in another 14 lap time - even faster than round one - he crossed the finish line to take the 2nd leg and with it, his first 10th National win. Kevin followed through in 2nd place to make it a Kyosho DB1 1-2 in leg and Tom Cockerill slid his Schumacher Cougar SV2 into the third spot.

2WD A Final Leg 2

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

14/ 320.85

2

Kevin Lee

13/ 304.55

3

Tom Cockerill

13/ 309.91

4

Lee Martin

13/ 313.62

5

Neil Cragg

13/ 314.16

6

Craig Collinson

13/ 314.49

7

Tom Yardy

13/ 315.44

8

Darren Bloomfield

13/ 315.96

9

Nathan Waters

13/ 316.66

10

Simon Moss

13/ 321.22

 


Some random new stuff:

New bling-as' weights from JConcepts that XFactory UK are bringing into the UK - covered in JC logos like a crazy hooker. If Jason Ruona ever reads my reports - please send me some Jason! ;)

Sexy JConcepts wing mount for the B44.1 - NICE

3Racing bearing sleeve for the Kyosho gearbox - Inside Line racing will be bringing these in.

A Final Leg 3

Elliott stormed off from the start line and was never seen again, he was well away. The battle was for 2nd place - any one of 7 drivers in this race could make it onto the podium from the last leg, so the pressure was on. Lee Martin and Kev Lee pressured Darren Bloomfield for 2nd place, Lee made an error and dropped back which left Darren in Kevs hands. Kev was pushing hard and looked every possible way to make a pass. The two cars were close but professional, a brief connection between the two saw both cars on their lids but Darren came away in 2nd place and Kev never quite caught up to him.

 

2WD A Final Leg 3

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

14/ 322.61

2

Darren Bloomfield

13/ 310.52

3

Kevin Lee

13/ 312.51

4

Tom Cockerill

13/ 313.29

5

Simon Moss

13/ 313.87

6

Craig Collinson

13/ 314.64

7

Lee Martin

13/ 315.97

8

Nathan Waters

13/ 316.96

9

Tom Yardy

13/ 318.35

10

Neil Cragg

3/ 76.99

 

 

Kevin Lee 3rd - Elliott Boots TQ & 1st - Darren Bloomfield 2nd

A truly awesome display of driving from Elliott Boots in the finals was the long awaited display of what he can really do with a car - remember, this guy had the fastest laps at the 10th Worlds! Sadly for the Rudebits team this will be Elliotts last race with the DB1 despite it's obvious success here today with 1st and 3rd place.

Elliott receives the new RB6 this week we're told - a few weeks ahead of the official launch of the car, and being a factory-direct team driver he's got to run the new car of course. But - it does look good so we'll see how he does at the final round in Kidderminster.

2WD Overall A final results

 

position

qual

name

score

chassis

1

2

Elliott Boots

1 1 1 (2)

Kyosho / Rudebits DB1

2

4

Darren Bloomfield

2 8 2 (4)

TLR 22

3

1

Kevin Lee

4 2 3 (5)

Kyosho / Rudebits DB1

4

3

Lee Martin

3 4 7 (7)

Tamiya Vega 201

5

5

Tom Cockerill

7 3 4 (7)

Cougar SV2

6

9

Simon Moss

5 10 5 (10)

Cougar SV2

7

10

Craig Collinson

6 6 6 (12)

Team Durango DEX210

8

6

Neil Cragg

8 5 10 (13)

Centro C4.1

9

7

Tom Yardy

10 7 9 (16)

Centro C4.1

10

8

Nathan Waters

9 9 8 (17)

Team Durango DEX210

 

With Neil Cragg missing out on taking TQ at this meeting, Lee Martin was the 'Champion Elect' whatever that means - basically unless Lee punches a referee at the last round of the championship then no one can now challenge his points lead. Neil Cragg had to TQ and win here today to even stand a chance. The BRCA don't want it to be announced that Lee has taken the 2012 2WD series until it's actually official after the series is completed - so for now we shall refer to him as 'champion elect'

But between you and me - Lee has won the 2012 2WD BRCA Championship. (Allegedly)

Civilised Evening
The evening of the first day of the Silverstone National a lot of the racers gathered at the local pub for some good times and much needed food-stuffs.

Upskirt! Phwarrrrrrrrr.

Zombie-Jim didn't even need zombifying

Boy racers

Wayne got a meal larger than him

Wayne Collinson completes the challenge

Ralph and Wayne go lady and the tramp on Lowe's dessert.

 

Sunday August 5th - 4wd

After a comfortable night in the on-site dorms and an early start to work on the previous days report, we rolled up at the track just as drivers briefing was dispersing. We caught up with some of the drivers to capture their response.

Drivers Briefing:

Anonymous: I really wish microphones would be used at drivers briefing, surely the whole point of a drivers briefing is to inform everyone at the venue of details of the event, do's and dont's, safety etc. It's good to get everyone there in one place but you still miss things that are said. The microphone is there to be used; please use it. This would be better for everyone, for instance non racers in the pits who may need first aid! :)
This was sent in by an anonymous racer who wished not to be named and as professionals we cannot reveal his, her, or their identity.

Weird!

Special Friends. Joe is increasingly man-friendly

Jim can't believe what Damo keeps inside his shorts.

Special Friends.

Nathan Ralls shows off the new HPI Flux Pro Competition Brushless controller

We followed with interest the development of the HPI racing brushless system over the past - well - what seems like years, but is in fact several months. Finally it's here and the team have been using the final production versions for a little while now and getting used to all the settings.

 

The Flux Pro Competition as it's known is a hugely customizable ESC - suitable for everything from top level touring car racing to modified off road where smooth throttle response is more usually desirable.

 

 

The top of the case on the new ESC is a one piece alloy with integrated heat sink to soak up the heat and allow the included fan to do its job.

Nathan seducively poses with the new HPI Flux Pro Compeition and Flux Pro motors

Nathan Ralls:
Having spent the last 18 months working on the programs and ideas to the flux pro speed controller to see it finally in production is great. The best features I've found so far is the two-stage punch setting that also has a 'slider' - so you can effectively control where stage 2 comes in. This really helps to create a smooth feeling car that can, and does, return faster and more consistent lap times for the average racer.

Nathan's currently ruunning the Associated B44 - powered by HPI of course.

Flux installed!

They should have called it 'HPI UNO'

The brakes also have the same 2 stage settings as well so fine tuning them is very easy. The programing box adds a very familier feel so most racers will automatically feel at home and will only need to master the newer perameters. due to the efficiency of the unit, setting-for-setting, the speedo and motor both run aproximatly 25-30 degrees cooler which with the turbo function means you can push the motor a lot harder than previously. This has ment I'm personally able to run aproximatly 1 wind less than I need to gain more drivability but the car is still like a rocket ship quick down the straight (best of both worlds for me personally). There's also a new turbo disengagement slope to help add an extra adjustable amount of drag brake at the end of highspeed sections which once you've tried it, has been raved about by all the test drivers and new customers alike.

Nathan will gladly help set up your HPI Flux trackside and give some tips - here he's setting mine up.

For those jumping on board with the products feel free to either send a private message to Nathan (Ralls Racing) or Craig Collinson (Oople screen name HULK) or of course you can come say hello track side for all the latest settings and setups from any of the team.

Qualifying Round 1

Neil Cragg took round one despite a good effort by Ellis Stafford to challenge Neil's time. Previous days winner Elliott Boots was looking fast but took the front of his car off in a grip-roll incident and that was the end of his round one.

4WD Qualifying Round One - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Neil Cragg

15 302.21

2

Ellis Stafford

15 305.30

3

Nathan Waters

15 309.20

4

Lee Martin

15 310.41

5

Greg Williams

15 310.89

6

David Poulter

15 311.21

7

David Orbell

15 311.82

8

Craig Collinson

15 313.01

9

Adam Mackman

15 314.71

10

Tom Cockerill

15 315.95

 

 

 

Jack Neal - Junior (under 13) champion 2011 in 2wd and 4wd.

 

 

 

Age: 14

Years Racing: 5 years.

Usually races at: Holbeach community centre Wednesday night, mid-east Regional series, nationals.

Current License Grade: F2.

This is his 3rd year doing nationals in both 2wd and 4wd classes. Also races superstock on Wednesday nights.

First got into racing: A friend used to come racing and invited me along, I had a go with his car one Wednesday night and pretty much started from there.

Support team: Tom Cockerill helps if we're struggling with a set up. I come racing with my Dad who helps with wrenching. Direct Schumacher sponsorship and customblitz for bodyshell paint.

Favourite race: Any of the nationals.

Favourite track: Eastrax - one of our regional tracks.

Aims for this year: I'd like to achieve my F2 through the national series, aiming for another win at the juniors this year after taking the 2wd and 4wd under 13 win last year. Connor Cocker and Ashley Caunt will be my biggest competition in the Under 16 group.

 

 

 

 

 

Rudebits Ackerman plate for the Kyosho ZX5 FS2

Tony's car with the new steering installed.

Lots extra holes for mega steering!

Tony Evdoka had a new steering part on his Kyosho Lazer - giving extra ackerman positions. The thin but strong matt-finish brass plate allowed the driver to space the ball stud fore/aft using shims for extra tunability.

Lots of option to pust the ball studs further forward if steering is needed.

Check out the Rudebits website for more information - www.rudebits.co.uk

 

The 4WD cars were suffering a little from excessive grip at the Silverstone track - the astroturf making the cars edgy and ultra responsive - sometimes a little too responsive. Some drivers opted for heavily cut 4WD Schumacher tyres up from to calm things down whilst a lot of drivers started experimenting with 2WD fronts.

The track had a lot of traction

Ellis Stafford - lots of rows cut off

Ashley Caunt took things to the extreme and ran the high profile cut staggers up front on his Kyosho 4WD car - with the sidewalls glued for extra stiffness (and even less agressive steering. Did it work? 11th in round as Ashley was happy to mention.

A lot opted for standard 2WD front spikes - cut down!

Ash Caunt was running 2WD staggers!

Damian Whittle - Tyre guru and adviser to the stars.

Even former World Champs were seeking out Damo's sage advice.

I think in the USA they sometimes refer to some tracks as being 'high traction' - this would probably blow their minds.

 

 

 

 

Qualifying round 2

Danny McGee took the second round - storming it with the first 16 lap run of the day. Most drivers were running narrow front (2WD) tyres on the front - but with Danny TQ'ing with the standard wide Schumachers up front, some were reconsidering their options.

Lee Martin made it a Tamiya 1 - 2 in round but things were tight at the top and there was nothing between most of the top ten.

4WD Qualifying Round Two - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Danny McGee

16 319.85

2

Lee Martin

15 301.56

3

Neil Cragg

15 302.47

4

Tom Cockerill

15 302.84

5

Greg Williams

15 303.43

6

Paul Bradby

15 303.93

7

Nathan Waters

15 303.95

8

Simon Moss

15 305.03

9

Kev Lee

15 307.86

10

Craig Collinson

15 309.19

 

Top off business on Danny's 511

Danny McGee - Rd 2 Top Qualifier

Extra Curricular Activities

Throughout the weekend here at Moulton College, R/C racing wasn't the only competition on the agenda. In the stables next door we discovered some very strong people lifting extremely heavy weights. Referee Dave Kirkham kindly explained a little about their activities. The weights are scored in three categories - deadweights (pictured), squats, and benchpress. We don't know what squats are but that's probably for the best, and when we discovered that benchpress were part of the competition we had to take it an oOple step further. Powerlifting winner Ben Banks kindly stepped into our aromatic equestarian for a few minutes to lift the lightest (but most wriggly) weight of the event.

Dave Kirkham posed for this photo just to shut us up.

The judging panel nearing the end of the event.

Ben Banks on his way to taking the win

What a warrior

 

The trolly races one stadium down had finished early.

Baby Boomers

Small people have been cropping up left right and centre over the last few months, so these proud fathers kindly agreed to pose for some celebratory photos. Griff's mini-Ffion certainly captured the attention of Lee's Scott and Darren's Warwick.

Griff TQ'd the offspring championships followed by Lee in 2nd place and Darren in 3rd. Congratulations boys, and especially the ladies in charge of production and quality control.

Qualifying Round 3

 

4WD Qualifying Round Three - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Lee Martin

16 319.74

2

Neil Cragg

15 300.23

3

Paul Bradby

15 300.46

4

Nathan Waters

15 302.86

5

Tom Yardy

15 302.94

6

Greg Williams

15 307.65

7

Tom Cockerill

15 308.80

8

Elliott Boots

15 308.70

9

Tony Truman

15 310.46

10

John Spencer

15 310.48

 

 

 

TQ in round 3 blew Lee's hat off. Cheese.

Qualifying Round 4

4WD Qualifying Round Four - Top 10

 

position

name

result

1

Neil Cragg

16 321.18

2

Simon Moss

15 301.76

3

Nathan Waters

15 302.36

4

Greg Williams

15 303.03

5

Craig Collinson

15 304.26

6

Danny McGee

15 304.48

7

Tom Yardy

15 305.98

8

Lee Martin

15 306.40

9

Elliott Boots

15 308.13

10

Tony Truman

15 308.50

 

 

Super weight lifter Ben Banks came to show off his immense powers.

 

The weightlifting competition next door was interesting enough but how could we really 'oOple' it up? How about getting the winner of the competition Ben Banks, to lift our stick-like oOple man Stu Evans! Now that would be funny as...... Something very funny.

We tried to get Stu into the idea but he was just having none of it - claiming he already looked like a fool on many race reports at my request - and this, was for him a step too far. So to avoid the situation Stu went and queued for his race - which wasn't for about 15 minutes!

We took the opportunity to fetch Ben and bring him into the racing arena. Impressed with the setup and all the little cars going round Ben really was there for one reason, and one reason only. The sweet talking of Mrs.oOple was all the motivation Ben needed to show off his competition winning power.

At this point Stu had no option as he was confronted by the enormous weightlifter - nervously introducing himself and concerned about what was going to happen. The combined gathered crowd and the huge man next to him finally convinced Stu to be quite literally man-handled. Ben explained that Stu would have to remain rigid (!) so it didn't flop around up there - and he worked Stu up onto his shoulders before carefully positioning his hands so as to avoid the man-tackle of the oOple man then proceeded to power Stu high into the air as racers all round the hall cheered.

Afterwards Ben claimed it was the easiest lift of his careed and that Stu's mass compared to the weight of a KFC selection bucket. Stu commented that he had never had a mans hands so close to his genitala before - but quite enjoyed it.

Stu gets sized up by Ben as he looks for hand holds

Not a drop of sweat from big Ben

I personally appologised to Paul Worsley for bringing the serious sport of National-level off road into disripute with the antics I had both encouraged and indeed, insisted upon. Paul was generous in his reply that the sport can survie a little of this sort of stupidity from time to time - little does he know our forthcoming plans. Giggle.

 

 

 

Overall 4WD Qualifying

Overall Top Ten Qualifying - 4wd

 

position

name

result

1

Neil Cragg

0 (3) (2) 0

2

Lee Martin

(4) 2 0 (8)

3

Danny McGee

(16) 0 (78) 6

4

Nathan Waters

3 (7) (4) 3

5

Paul Bradby

(15) 6 3 (21)

6

Greg Williams

(5) 5 (6) 4

7

Simon Moss

(12) 8 (19) 2

8

Tom Cockerill

(10) 4 7 (106)

9

Tom Yardy

(112) (15) 5 7

10

Craig Collinson

8 (10) (23) 5

 

A Final Leg 1.

Poleman Neil Cragg lead the guys around with Lee Martin hot on his heels. Neil held the lead for a few laps but a grip roll saw Lee Martin move into 1st place. Neil didn't drop back though and was hassling Lee for the lead. The chase stepped up as the two lead cars drove almost side by side down the straight, and Neil pulled the perfect move coming around the slabbed corner, moving smoothly into 1st place. Lee prepared to hammer back onto his line but couldn't quite pull it off.

Error from Neil

Lee comes up the inside

Neil keeps close...

...piling on the pressure

Taking the inside line over the tabletop corner

 

Dominates the racing line

Lee hot on the gearbox of Cragg

The race was on for 2nd place, Lee had Danny McGee and Nathan Waters on his tail. Nathan pulled a move on Danny and slipped into 3rd place, Danny chased hard but pushed too much and grip rolled, losing him valuable time but not missing out on any places.

Danny approaching Lee to fight for 2nd.

Nathan joined in the fight for 2nd place.

Nathan pushed to catch up with Lee who was trying to catch a rapidly escaping Neil. A grip roll from Lee saw Nathan catch up and the pair drag raced down the straight battling for 2nd place, Lee took 2nd place 2/100ths of a second ahead of Nathan.

4WD A Final Leg 1

 

position

name

result

1

Neil Cragg

15/ 319.16

2

Lee Martin

14/ 302.94

3

Nathan Waters

14/ 302.96

4

Danny McGee

14/ 303.95

5

Tom Cockerill

14/ 306.29

6

Simon Moss

14/ 308.89

7

Paul Bradby

14/ 308.90

8

Tom Yardy

14/ 311.19

9

Craig Collinson

14/ 313.37

10

Greg Williams

11/ 316.97

 

 

Paul Bradby put in the fastest lap of the race with 19.12sec lap.

 

Greg Williams - 2nd National A Final - 6th on the grid!

Schumacher driver Greg Williams was on top form at the Silverstone national, qualifying with his highest score to date, placing him 6th on the grid in the 4wd A final. With multiple junior championship titles under his belt Greg is now making a big name for himself (Gregtholemew perhaps) on the 1/10th national scene.

At oOple we're looking forward to seeing Greg putting in some top results in the coming season - future national champion? Definitely one to watch.


Greg uses Thunderpower electrics and his CAT is near standard spec with a couple of optional hop up parts.

 

 

 

L Final
Shaun lead from pole but grip rolled shortly into the race. Mathew Johnson took up the lead but was under pressure from 2nd place EyeBall Paul who toyed with him for the entire race. Paul knew he was clearly the quickest guy in the final and cooly sat in 2nd place for 4min 30sec, taunting the leader. Mathew wasn't able to hero the triple jump and on the last lap as he went single-single-single, eyeball Paul monstered over. The two cars connected but Eyeball Paul came off OK and completed his lap to take an epic victory.


4WD L Final

 

position

name

result

1

Paul Crawford - aka EYEBALL PAUL

13/ 306.70

2

Mathew Johnson

13/ 310.88

3

Shaun Howe

13/ 314.34

4

Chris Reardon

12/ 302.64

5

James Maggs

4/ 100.21

6

Matthew Latham

3/ 355.01

 

 

Featured Driver ; Craig Mead - aka 'Johnny Wishbone'.

Vital Stats: Started racing in 1985.

Best Result: Hotel Capsis Table Tennis Champ.

1st R/C Car: Mardave Meteor, then JRX2

Best Racing memory: Once got a trick nut lodged in my head and had to have it removed in hospital.

Worst racing moment: Selected reverse in a cavalier 4x4 at 100mph - that turned ugly!

Quote of the day: After the first round of qualifying I decided to motor her up to give her some more rive, she's got a lot of uck low down. Improved in round four which had a solid start and ended up 4th in my heat after a few offs.

Round 3 was a good run, the backend went a bit loose then the front drive shaft shit itself. Decided to change the pinion to give her some more rive, again.

Round 4 was a hell of a run, finally nailed the jump every lap then on the last lap was a disaster but overall a good run.

Overall qualified pole in the K Final, finished 6th.

Craig Mead - Famous for doing unmentionable things to wishbones.

GOOD LORD, HE IS QUICK

 

 

 

A final leg 2

The second leg of the A kicked off with Cragg and Lee Martin pulling a small gap back to Danny McGee in third. Danny put in some hot laps to catch the leading pair and it was now a three-way battle up front with Cragg still in charge.

Top 3 leaders

Lee chases Cragg hard

Danny pushes to catch up

Cragg drops down the order after an error.

Coming over the 'triple tabletop jump thing' Cragg caught the side slightly which flipped him and dropped in right down the order as the Marshall did his best to right the TQ man. Lee was now leading but McGee was on a mission and closing right up on the back of Lee's car as the pair circulated for several laps. Coming round the corner onto the main stright Lee went wide and Danny made the most of the opportunity to take the inside line and go out wide on the exit. Lee looked to try and take a much tighter line onto the straight but it didn't pay off as Lee clipped the pipe and rolled.

Lee and Danny now out front...

Danny piling on the pressure

Error from Lee as he tried to come back in for a tight line.

Bradby in the mix

McGee was now in charge out front with Lee managing to hold onto second place - he closed the gap a little in the dying laps but missed out on the extra lap as Danny just made it - giving him a lap on his own to cruise to the win.

Cragg moves up the order - Waters goes nuts.

Lee tries to catch up but doesn't make it through for the extra lap

Danny cruised around his victory lap solo style.

Danny McGee erupted in laughter at his leg win


4WD A Final Leg 2

 

position

name

result

1

Danny McGee

16/ 319.03

2

Lee Martin

15/ 300.57

3

Paul Bradby

15/ 302.63

4

Neil Cragg

15/ 303.75

5

Tom Yardy

15/ 306.97

6

Craig Collinson

15/ 307.78

7

Greg Williams

15/ 308.67

8

Nathan Waters

15/ 311.95

9

Simon Moss

15/ 313.36

10

Tom Cockerill

4/ 90.10

 

G Final

4WD G Final

 

position

name

result

1

Dave Belsten

14/ 307.90

2

Nick Caro

14/ 308.20

3

Kit Jones

14/ 308.55

4

Paul Timberlake

14/ 311.39

5

Michael Elliott

14/ 313.26

6

Nicholas Child

14/ 316.71

7

Chris Pattinson

14/ 317.04

8

Mike Craddock

14/ 317.64

9

James White

14/ 322.41

10

Chris Delves

6/ 143.33

 

After leading for most of the race, Mike Elliott dropped down to 5th place due to a penalty for cutting a corner on his last lap.

Dave Belsten did some madness and cruised across the line in 1st place. Right: Belsten knows he's #1

Lee Martin - New Tamiya bits

Lee Martin had a couple of new parts on his cars for this weekend - with some brand new rear hubs on the 2WD buggy - these look like they will fit on either side of the car and there's plenty of tuning options.

New 2WD Tamiya 201 hubs

Lee packs away his racing gear for the day

Lee also had a new 'rudebits' weight on the back of his 4WD 511 buggy. The weight replaces the plastic skid plate on the original car and puts weight over the rear wheels much like the rear skid weight on the Team Durango DEX410. No idea on pricing or availability of these but Lee said he had it for the Euros in Austria to aid with traction on the dirt - but has kept it on since.

Rudebits rear skid plate weight - very nice. Check www.rudebits.co.uk for more information.

B Final.

Elliott Boots won!

4WD B Final

 

position

name

result

1

Elliott Boots

15/ 302.80

2

Tony Truman

15/ 310.10

3

David Orbell

15/ 314.89

4

John Spencer

15/ 319.77

5

David Poulter

15/ 319.85

6

James Helliwell

15/ 321.71

7

Nathan Ralls

14/ 308.60

8

Ashley Caunt

14/ 308.77

9

Adam Skelding

14/ 310.58

10

Ellis Stafford

10/ 217.93

 

Might have been only the B final for Elliott today - but he had other things on his mind:

Kyosho UK's Mick Craddock came to help prepare Elliott's Kyosho 8th buggy for the Euros in Austria which start the day after this meeting finishes! Good luck in Austria Elliott.

A final leg 3.

Lee kept close to Neil from the start line, Nathan waters was soon up to 3rd place. Top two pulled away slightly. Neils lead was just a fraction of a second, the two cars barely visibly seperated on the track. Lee was pushing harder in the last minute of the race, he pushed too hard and rolled coming onto the triple jump. Lee was back on his wheels quick but Cragg now had some breathing space. Lee charged hard to catch up, and closed the gap once again. As the pair rode the single jump beneath the rostrum Lee went for a jump-past but made contact with Cragg. This didn't pay off for Lee and he was unable to make it through. If Lee had managed to pass Neil in this manoevure he would have been penalised due to the contact on over-jumping, however if he'd jumped past without contact it would have been an acceptable move.

Close battles throughout.

Lee and Neil enjoyed the close competition

The error didn't stop Lee from trying again however and Lee attempted a smooth move coming over the triple jump. This time he tumbled into the track marker and needed guiance from a marshall to get back onto the racing line. Neil now had the track to himself to cruise down the straight to take the 3rd leg and overall win at the event.

 

As far as we are aware, Neil would have to TQ and win the 6th round of the 4wd national series just to be able to share the trophy with 'Champion Elect' Lee Martin.

4WD A Final Leg 3

 

position

name

result

1

Neil Cragg

16/ 315.52

2

Lee Martin

16/ 317.51

3

Nathan Waters

16/ 320.00

4

Paul Bradby

15/ 300.20

5

Greg Williams

15/ 304.24

6

Danny McGee

15/ 305.81

7

Tom Yardy

15/ 308.56

8

Craig Collinson

15/ 308.56

9

Tom Cockerill

11/ 233.84

10

Simon Moss

9/ 185.70

 

Lee Martin 2nd - Neil Cragg TQ & 1st - Danny McGee 3rd

This win keeps the 'dream' alive for Cragg - taking the TQ and Win here still gives him a chance to claim something from this season - although the best he could do would be to go equal on points with series leader Lee Martin, effectively tying the championship and being joint champions of the 4WD series. The final round at Kidderminster should be an interesting one that's for sure!


4WD Overall A final results

 

position

qual

name

score

chassis

1

1

Neil Cragg

1 4 1 (2)

Associated B44.1

2

2

Lee Martin

2 2 2 (4)

Tamiya TRF511

3

3

Danny McGee

4 1 6 (5)

Tamiya TRF511

4

4

Nathan Waters

3 8 3 (6)

Team Durango DEX410v3

5

5

Paul Bradby

7 3 4 (7)

Associated B44.1

6

6

Greg Williams

10 7 5 (12)

Schumacher CAT SX3

7

9

Tom Yardy

8 5 7 (12)

Associated B44.1

8

10

Craig Collinson

9 6 7 (13)

Team Durango DEX410v3

9

8

Tom Cockerill

5 10 9 (14)

Schumacher CAT SX3

10

7

Simon Moss

6 9 10 (15)

Schumacher CAT SX3

 

Thanks kindly to Schumacher Racing for sponsoring our BRCA nationals coverage.

As usual photo galleries will be up very soon - videos of all the mentioned finals are coming too. We need to streamline the process for videos is all as they currently take a lot of work - but we're getting there.