2008 BRC / Juniors / Vets - EASTRAX

BRC End of season finals along with the juniors and veterans event was held at the splendid Eastrax venue in the Mid-East region of the UK. This was the first time the club had held a National event at its 100% astro track. The track features many bumps and jumps, making up the bulk of the challenge. The actual layout of the track was fairly straight forward both days, some commented the layout was a little like a touring car circuit with many back and forth hairpin type things.

The Eastrax venue is really for Motocross so all the facilities are geared toward those bad boys. Overnight camping and toilet facilities were all available to the buggy racers and were of a really high standard.
The main Motocross track features some jumps the likes of which not even Jebus has seen. Check out the chubby lad on the bike (left) staring down the lens of the camera - he forgot to look where he was going unfortunately, but soon bounced back.


Tom Cockerill checks out some possible competition	Tom drives R/C better that he does his real car


James "Ralph" Helliwell's awsome Jammin Brushless 8th	More Dirt Bike madness at the venue

Due to a lack of entries in the Juniors and Veterans classes, these were merged with the British Regional Championships in 2007 (An event which excludes the 'F1' top-level racers to allow someone else to win for a change). The Juniors have two age groups, Under 13 and Under 16 - with veterans being for the old boys over 40.

UNDER 16's
Mathew Latham, the defending Under 16 champion was back with a slightly deeper voice and more sparkly ear ring, and was looking to take his last Juniors titles, with this being the last year he'd be eligable to compete.


Andy Myers was told by his supporters to 'go like a rocket' - Andy took this literally, eventually qualifying third (if only he had 4 wheels on the ground)	Matt Latham only managed to qualify second, nothing wrong with the 2007 Champs performance - he was just out-classed on the day.

Young Greg Williams from the North East started off the day driving his own Losi XXX car, but Nathan Ralls stepped in to offer his own National A-final XFactory X6 for the day. Greg took to the car really well from the start and his performance stepped up a gear.

Greg put in some solid and consistent qualifiers to give him a well deserved position at the front of the grid for the 3-leg A final.

With Mat Latham as mentioned in second and Andy Myers in third - LiL Ben Jemison lined up fourth and Andy's brother Matthew Myers placed 5th on the grid.

Nicholas Child was the first non-North East driver on the grid, lining up 6th. The North East is THE region it would seem.

Come finals, Greg Williams continued his dominant performance, winning the first leg from Andy Myers. The second leg was another display of pizza perfection with extra toppings of cheesy speed from Greg - this time displacing the slightly un-pizza like Matthew Latham - second. Winning the first two legs - Greg was in an unasailable position and took the title with one leg to go.

Matthew Latham scavanged from the corpse of what remained to take the third leg and the consolation prize of second over all - putting in the fastest time of any U16 all day, a little late for Matt to retain his title.

Right: Winner Greg Williams with Under13's protagonist and sister - Natalie Williams. Barry Williams (gregs dad) did well all day to 'stay away' from Nathans car - meaning it kept going well.

Under 16 2WD Final Results

Pos	Car	Name	Result	Formula	Team
1	1	Greg Williams	2 [ 1 1 3]	F2	North East
2	2	Matthew Latham	3 [ 3 2 1]	F2	North West
3	4	Ben Jemison	6 [ 4 4 2]	F3	North East
4	3	Andrew Myers	7 [ 2 5 7]	F4	North East
5	8	Chris Brooke	8 [ 5 3 5]	F3	South East
6	5	Matthew Myers	10 [ 7 6 4]	F3	North East
7	6	Nicholas Child	12 [ 6 7 6]	F5	Mid South
8	10	Shane Hopper	16 [ 8 9 8]	F5	Mid South
9	9	Daniel Rawcliffe	17 [ 9 8 9]	F5	North West
10	7	Charlie Ware	20 [ 10 10 10]	F5	Mid South

UNDER 13's
In the Under 13 class, Connor Cocker was nearly in a class of his own - dominating qualifying to put yet another XFactory car on pole position for the final.

The only driver that really came close to Connor all day was Jack Neal driving the Associated B4.

Connor took the first leg by 10 seconds over Jack in second with the excitable Jay Homes taking third.

A few mistakes from Connor in second leg allowed Jack past to take a 10-second lead by the end, with Connor now second and Jay third.


For a little lad Jack coped well with the big jumps.	Jay, qualifoed 3rd and looked to be finishing in 3rd, with yet another X-factory car.

Above: The veteran marshalls were on their toes at all times.

Connor and Jack had a leg win each so the title was still up for grabs. Connor had a poor first lap in leg three, with Jack stretching his lead out front.
Toward the end of the final Connor strung together as series of consistently fast laps to reel in the leader and get past when Jack had a poor lap. With his two leg wins, Connor Cocker was crowned the Under 13 National Champion, to the delight of Dad Chris.

Above, Connor with his dad Chris.

Under 13 2WD Final Results

Pos	Car	Name	Result	Formula	Team
1	1	Connor Cocker	2 [ 1 2 1]	F4	North West
2	2	Jack Neal	3 [ 4 1 2]	F4	Mid East
3	3	Jay Holmes	5 [ 2 3 5]	F4	South East
4	4	Aaron Leven	7 [ 3 4 4]	F4	North West
5	5	Adam Winyard	8 [ 8 5 3]	F5	East of England
6	6	Thomas Watkins	11 [ 5 6 6]	F5	East of England
7	7	Natalie Williams	13 [ 6 7 8]	F5	North East
8	8	Connor Watkins	14 [ 7 8 7]	F5	East of England

OLD BOYS
In the over 40's 'veteran' class Dave Church won. That's about all really.


Richard Isherwood with the now ageing Losi car - 3rd	Alec springer - 4wd champ last year, came home 2nd.

BRC - British Regional Championship

The largest class at the event was the BRC, going all the way down to the H final. Nick Goodall (nothing to do with caravans) was the defending champion but chose not to race this year - again, nothing to do with caravans.

The other main contender in 2007, Mark Stanley, was an F1 grade for the 2008 season so was ineligable to compete. This left things wide open for a new contender.


Some warriors	Ted and Ralph get down to some lovin' !

The Burnley Barnstormer - Damian Whittle, getting to grips with his new B4. He is ace, and smooth of head.

Top heat lines up, Nathan waters (in there somewhere) TQ'd the meeting with Richard Sharp and Andy Carter 2nd & 3rd.


Some strong stilton being cut by the top lads	Andy Carter with Kinwald's borrowed car

Nathan Waters took the win at the event, becoming the 2008 BRC champion. Solid wins in legs 1 & 2 nailed the title like Gred did in the U16's - before leg 3.

Richard Sharp took the consolation win in leg 3.

Connor looks up, maybe in another 5 or 6 years mate!

Lil Ben's girlfriend looks bored.

BRC 2WD Final Results

Pos	Car	Name	Result	Formula	Team
1	1	Nathan Waters	2 [ 1 1 2]	F5	Mid East
2	2	Richard Sharp	3 [ 2 4 1]	F5	Mid East
3	4	Nigel Buck	5 [ 7 2 3]	F2	Mid South
4	3	Richard Hamblin	7 [ 4 3 8]	F2	Mid East
5	5	Andy Carter	10 [ 3 7 9]	F5	South East
6	9	Paul Fox	10 [ 6 5 5]	F5	Mid East
7	6	David Orbell	11 [ 5 8 6]	F2	East of England
8	10	Ian Cockerill	13 [ 9 10 4]	F5	North East
9	8	Kit Jones	13 [ 10 6 7]	F2	Mid South
10	7	Daniel Austin	17 [ 8 9 10]	F2	Mid East

I'm off on Holiday now - I'll cook up some 4wd stuff when I get back - later.... Stu.

Sunday morning dawned a foggy day, the 'bad-lands' of East Anglia are well known for this. 4wd practice was not interrupted or delayed of course, it was just a little difficult to see the far side of the track in early heats.

Last years winner in 4wd, Dan Cockhill seemed to struggle in the previous days 2wd encounter, Matt Lathan would certainly be in the mix, along with 2wd winner Gregg and oOple- powered Ben Jemison.


The Motorcross lads were out in force again. It didn't seem to be any organised racing as such, I think they were just razzing about.	Mick Doughty on had to lend experience. Mick's been the winners right hand man at many big events, the 2002 euros at Tiverton being top of my list.


Some nutters.	Lewis & Yanina from Extreme-RC, lending team help.

At the End Of Season Finals only one round of practice is run, this is to allow for more finals (the U13, U16 & BRC all get triple leg A's). It was the same the previous day. It's not an easy thing for drivers that are used to 2 sessions to deal with, it puts pressure on to get to know the track quickly, and problems/breakages during practice have more of a knock-on effect through the rest of the day.
Qualifying gets under way 30 mins sooner than at a 'proper' national - at 9.30.

UNDER 16's
Round 1 went to Ben Jemison,with the 'Doughty' car. Ben will have a new Schumacher 4wd for next year, but didn't have it in time - it seemed not to matter. Consistant 26 & 27 second laps almost brought a 12-lapper. Matt Latham in second with 11 in 305 and Greg Williams with 11 in 307. Round 2 went almost the same way, but ben got the 12.

Ben took round 3 (and therfore TQ) with 12 laps all under 27 seconds, awesome.

Matt had probelms towards the end on the heat, leaving Greg to score a 2. The Predator x11's driven by the Myers brothers both put in decent 11's in round three.

Round 4, again to Ben, nailing the hat on TQ. The time was slower than the previous round, still a 12 though.

Andy Myers put in an 11 in 300 dead - just missing out on being the only driver other than Ben to knock off a 12. This was not enough to take Matt for second though, due to Matt's consistancy.

Gregg, like Matt, had a very consistant day with the HB car, just lacking the edge of speed that Ben seemed to get out the
Doughty car.


Matt's X-Factory X-5	Andy's Team-Extreme Predator X-11


Ben thraps round with the 'Doughty' Atomized B44	Shane Hopper.

Finals

In leg 1 Matt Latham got the 12 that he was promising in the rounds, Andy Myers again with a fast 11. Niether were fast enough to take the win however, Ben put in a 12 in 315.

For leg 2 it was Ben again, taking the overall meeting. Matt Latham again with a 12 lapper and Andy Myers with (another) fast 11. Finishing order was 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 - how often does that happen (maybe Paul knows!).

In leg 3 Greg almost got the 12, but like Matt M he'd have to settle for second with an-almost 12.

Mick Doughty "I've done nothing all day - honestly - it's all Ben's work"
Mick oviously had the car prepped perfectly but he was right, Ben has put in a faultless days racing.

Ben Jemmison - 2008 U16 Junior Champ

Under 16 4WD Final Results

Pos	Car	Name	Result	Formula	Team
1	1	Ben Jemison	2 [ 1 1 1]	F3	North East
2	2	Matthew Latham	4 [ 2 2 3]	F2	North West
3	4	Greg Williams	6 [ 4 4 2]	F2	North East
4	3	Andrew Myers	6 [ 3 3 5]	F4	North East
5	5	Matthew Myers	9 [ 9 5 4]	F3	North East
6	6	Nicholas Child	11 [ 5 6 7]	F5	Mid South
7	9	Daniel Cockill	12 [ 6 9 6]	F3	Mid South
8	7	Chris Brooke	14 [ 7 7 8]	F3	South East
9	8	Shane Hopper	16 [ 8 8 9]	F5	Mid South

The 'Twins' - Andy & Matt Myers.

They seem to be have been collectivly & affectionately cristened 'Mandy' by the NE lads, a fusion of both names.

The Preds were undoubtadly fast, but looked a little hard work over the jumps. The features at the Eastrax venue did not seem to jump 'naturally' well, which did not suit them. Andy & Matt showed the natural speed of the car over the rest of the high grip track, this was a good leveller.

Andy Qualified the higher of the two 'Mandy's', but as is usual for the two lads there was very little in it. They may be doomed to race each other for years to come.

Vets are all pretty old and probably dont know how to use computers
so there is not too much point going into much detail about them.

Above: First in quality around the world.

Top: Alec Springer TQ's with the XX4

Right: DC on his way to victory from second.

Dave Church - on the razz.

BRC - Saturday's winner in 2wd, Nathan Waters, was off in heat 11 in 4wd, seeded outside the top heat. Due to the unique nature of this event each year it's quite normal for the eventual winner to come from ouside the top heat.

In Round 1 Richard Sharp took a MASSIVE PIE out of the oven in heat 10, posting a 12 in 314. One of 4 Schumacher cars that were hungry for hot tasty meaty treats.
From heat 11 it was Arslaan Butt who took the next bite from the pastry related product, chewing off another decent 12-lapper, with Nathan Waters nipping off one also - just. David (Doorbell) Orbell laid claim to what was left on the plate, gobbling it down for second in round with a 316, nice.
(is my tea ready....errrrrr, yes - PIE, back soon!)


Shane Foote - Hull Hero & oOple tatoo legend	Alan Hart's Slim-4 attacks the track under power.

Some Aero/Slim/Losi madness.


Brian Preddy hammers after the oOple review X11	Graham Hunter on a mission.


After a big crash in RD4 G & Jim go to work on a broken Predator Chassis, complete strip down needed.	Just 25 mins later and ready for leg 1 of the 'A-main', thanks to Lewis for the supply of the new Chassis.


Track action from the lower heats.	Try before you buy - Jones with the 'Moss' Cat SX


Action from the 'C' final - Whittle vs Dixon.	Jim held out for nearly the full final - nearly.

Round 2, the movers and shakers were Andy Jones (running the Moss Cat SX) and Arslaan again. Richard Sharp once again was in the mix, with James (Ralph) Helliwell, (James is a farmer who likes tractors & carrots - 100% true) with another borrowed Cat - Grant Williams' car.

Round 3 brought Richard Sharp another good 12, followed by Nathan Waters. Good runs from Tony Bishop, Andy Griffiths and Ralph again. Richards consistancy had the TQ in the bag.

In Round 4 Nathan had his washing on MAX-SPIN - an awesome string of 25 second laps bringing a 12 in 309, the fastest run of the weekend. Had it been a TQ meeting that would have been it - but under the Round by Round method it was only good for third.


Aslaan Butt - second qualifier	Richard Sharp - consistant qualifying.

Some chat about finals......


Aslaan harries ...... in the lead	James Chapell - by leg three he'd sorted electrical gremlins, the X-11 blew the rest away - but too late

Leg 1 was taken by Nathan from 3rd, fragging Richard and Arslaan on lap 2 and then putting in laps like the ones from round 4. James Helliwell came home second with Andy Jones 3rd - CAT's 1,2 & 3.

Leg 2 went to Arslaan, doing what Nathan had done in leg 1, leading from lap 2. Richard's consistancy during qualifying had brought pole, but it was speed needed now, only Arslaan & Nathan seemed to be doing the stuff.

Leg 3. The deciding leg was an awesone display by James Chappell with the Predator X11, but it was the second place man that would win the day.

Nathan Waters - 2008 BRC 4wd Champion.

British Regional Championship 4WD Final Positions

Pos	Car	Name	Result	Formula	Team
1	3	Nathan Waters	3 [ 1 2 2]	F5	Mid East
2	2	Arslaan Butt	4 [ 4 1 3]	F2	North East
3	6	James Helliwell	7 [ 2 6 5]	F5	North East
4	8	Andrew Jones	7 [ 3 9 4]	F2	Mid West
5	4	James Chappell	8 [ 7 8 1]	F3	North East
6	1	Richard Sharp	9 [ 6 3 6]	F5	Mid East
7	10	Graham North	11 [ 8 4 7]	F2	North East
8	7	Andy Griffiths	12 [ 5 7 8]	F2	Mid West
9	5	David Orbell	14 [ 10 5 9]	F2	East of England
10	9	Tony Bishop	19 [ 9 10 10]	F2	Mid West

At the EOS finals there is always a winning region, for 2008 the North East take home
the honours. It was close but with an individual winner on Saturday (Greg) and Sunday (Ben)
and consistant A finals from from many of the other team members the tropy goes North.