THE PLAYERS 2009, Worksop


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Sunday 29th March 2009 - Day Three - Finals Day

Racing got underway a little after 8am and was straight into the Players race number 25 - no practice round first. Neil Cragg was quick to improve the fastest 2WD time he'd already set - just missing out on the extra lap but improving by a second. Neils run of wins wasn't to last however and in round five of the Players he got a 2nd behind Bradby in 2WD and after a break in 4WD got an 8.

1: 'Mega Jump' - two huge table top jumps linked together
2: Staggered mats covered with carpet
3: Rutted section
4: Small tabletop jump
5: Small Double
6: Small Double
7: Low rise banked corner


Dave Belsten	Ellis Stafford


The parts monster - 'Breakasaurus'	Lee Martin


Professional reporters	skyburger3000

Interview with Leon Morrell, from Touring Car superstardom.

Leon, is it true that you live in a shed with james and muzzy?
Hahaha, no. I do spend most of my time in a shed though. It's not a porn shed, although I do have a laptop with wireless internet access.

What has been your involvement in the planning and running of the Players 2009 event, and the preceding Schumacher indoor masters series?
I've sorted most of the sponsors out, and just helped build the track. Muzzy tends to handle the paperwork side of stuff, booking in, confirmations etc. James does the promotion on the
internet, posting on forums and stuff. He has so much time because farmers never do anything.

Have you been pleased with the outcome of the first Players event?
I think it's been awesome, it's run well, there haven't been any issues, everyone seems to have enjoyed it.

When did you first begin racing toy cars?
When I was 9. My first ever toy car was a tamiya mini racing green.

What is your lifetime ambition?
I've got lots, but one would be to have a nice house with a ferrari in the garage.

Where is your favourite holiday destination?
Courchevel, France.

Who is your dentist, and would you recommend their services?
My dentist is Pav Carer, redskydentalspa.com - work in process. This guy says that for 7.6k he'll make me look like Tom Cruise.

What is your profession and do you think it helps in your racing or running of worksop club?
I'm a self employed carpet fitter, so yes - i can take time off and organise work when I want to do it. I tend to stay away from fitting the carpets on the track though.

Do you think that being calm whilst racing helps results or does getting excitable as you seem to?
Staying calm at racing helps results, but results aren't everything - come to racing to have fun. touring cars are more serious, I'm calm and collected when racing TC.

Do you think that the chicken looks gritty?
Yeah, ever so gritty.

What is your greatest acheivement in blagging, and will you blag Jimmy a new speed controller?
I'll try and blag Jimmy a speed controller, but my greatest achievement in blagging is paying 7.5k for my teeth, but then earning 18.5k by fitting carpets at the dental surgery following a flood (that must be a lot of carpet!)

For all your fanclub out there, are you available?
what do you mean by available?
For Rent?
To do what?
Anything
If they pay enough,then yes.

Anything else to add to your interview?
Say thank you to everyone for supporting players, and thanks to all the sponsors for providing raffle prizes, and stuff like that :)

We also managed to get hold of an exclusive 'to do' list that was supplied to Leon by an 'unknown' person!

Lindsay Skelding - Dad of super star Adam Skelding.

How long have you known adam?
Since he was born in September.

I work with a nurse called Lindsay, do you ever get get mistaken for being a nurse?
No, blood frightens me, especially my own!

How long has Adam been racing?
Since 1989.

Did you get him into the hobby?
Yes, unfortunately(!)
Our first race was at the three legged stool, a pub not far from here - that was the first ever meeting run by the original Worksop club. That was how I got involved in model car racing around the north east.
And the first car was a Tamiya Falcon.

What roles have you had within R/C racing?
I used to be involved in two different Worksop car clubs, then got into the North East region; got to know Derek Bradby quite well, got involved with the North East consortium.
We moved on to doing regionals, then doing nationals, and got to know Jamie and Dave Booth - who was then the BRCA ref.
He asked me to referee, so I started reffing in about '94.
I did that for 7 years then retired, then I have done it again for the last 2 years and have now retired again.
No more now! retired from reffing, but not retired from racing.

Have you done any racing yourself?
I've tried racing but I cannot keep it in a straight line.
We used to go motorbiking on Saturdays, then RC car racing on Sundays, and eventually Adam had to choose between this and racing motorbikes, at the time this was the least expensive option.

What has been your favourite race ever?
when we entered the worlds in 2002. The other one was a European race held at the NEC in '96.
I enjoy all racing - at club level and regional/national level.

Do you see the younger generation of your family getting involved?
she knows how to pick up a transmitter. We'll wait and see what she does with it.

Have you enjoyed the players 2009 event?
yes, it's been a really good event. The meeting has been fantsastic. I am looking forward to next years, hopefully the attendance will be better next year. I like the Reedy style of racing.

If you could be any superhero, what would you be.
I'd probably be Batman. I like his cars and bikes.

We also managed to get hold of an exclusive 'to do' list that was supplied to Leon by an 'unknown' person!


Fabien Simonini - Kyosho FS	Neil Cragg - Associated B44

Players Race 39
Was a massive titanic dual between Matt White, Damian Whittle and Brian Shardlow.
Brian ended up coming on top followed closely by Matt and Damo absolutely Hammering away at the rear of both of them.

Players Race 40.
Danny made it into the lead straight away on the first corner, cragg moved up to 3rd and then jumps into 2nd over the
MegaJump. Drama on the track as neil broke his car on lap 3 - making this the first race he hadn't won in 4wd.
Leon up the rear, Danny pulled a 10 seconed lead on the rest of the field.
Leon nailed Danny as he was lapping over the MegaJump, then smashed his car over the middle section, taking him out
of the race.
Helliwell was through to 2nd place with 2 minutes to go. Stanton going for big air, pushing Helliwell for the 2nd place,
sniffing at his rear and piling on the pressure, but Helliwell kept his door well and truly shut.
Danny lapped the field and kept well ahead.
Stanton took a tumble down the ramp coming off the MegaJump, landing on his wheels but gave Helliwell some breathing
space as he breezed around the track to take 2nd place in the race.

Players Race 54.
Neil and Lee racing head to head but with the likes of Vermin, Coatsey and Jim Dixon to contend with, who could demonstrate the best display of skill?
Lee Martin and Cragg moved up to the front of field on first corner, Neil searched eagerly for way through, but Lee was keeping his back door shut. Upton was up to 3rd, and Coatesy to 4th place. Neil teases the audience and rolled over middle section, and at the same time Lee nudged the pipe, allowing Neil to instantly close the gap. 1.5 sec seperated the pair as they chased around ahead of the field.
Neil Cragg set his fastest lap of the weekend mid-race - 21.08 sec. Cragg was on fire! (not literally) and with the faster car he jumped over Lee on the middle section. The pair then drove side by side on straight, leaving the audience gasping as lee regained the lead. Cragg wasn't giving up though, and continued to apply the pressure, eventually Lee rolled off triple and Neil moved into lead.
Lee then rolled off the megajump, allowing a little breathing space for Neil. With 1 minute to go the pair had a 3 sec gap, when Lee rolled off megajump once again and tumbled into a chair, resulting in time off the track for his car to be repaired. With this error Neil flew off and there was no chance for Lee to catch up, Neil took the win and effectively won the event.

Players Race 55.
williams, stafford, helliwell, whittle, nathan waters

Damian 'Damo' Whittle took the lead on the 1st corner, holding off ellis for an entire lap - hero!
Ellis, keen to take first place launches through over the MegaJump, slipping his car through the traffic, whilst Nathan Waters moved up to 3rd. Grant Williams started the race at the back of grid, but rapidly worked his way up the order.

Ellis passed Whittle to take the lead, much to the disappointment of his online fanclub. Helliwell takes 2nd and pushes Ellis for the lead, whilst Grant follows close behind in 3rd place. Helliwell took the lead superstar style over the middle section. A mistake over the tripple saw Ellis drop down to 4th.
A mistake from Helliwell over the middle section enabled Grant to catch up and step up the chase. Waters in 2nd place was sniffing for a pass, looking close when Helliwell went wide on the straight, but Nathan couldn't pick up the speed to get past.
Further chaos in middle section set Ellis back down the order, and Grant takes up chase. Helliwell maintained a 1.5 second lead although the cars looked close on the track. Waters applied the pressure, eager to take the 1st place.

There were three cats out at the front - Helliwell, Waters, Williams.
Trouble over the middle section as Williams passes - gaining two places and setting Helliwell back to 4th place. At this cruicial point in the race, when Helliwell should have been flying back into 1st place, his diff decided to 'un-do' itself, and the CAT moved noticeably slowly down the straight, pulling out of the race shortly after. Nathan waters kept close to Grant, eager to move up into the lead, but Grant pprotected his rear and took the race, with Waters in 2nd place and Ellis Stafford in 3rd.

Players RACE 63 - 4wd
MCGEE, STAFFORD, BRADDERS, HELLIWELL

Away from the start line and Helliwell clipped the pipe on the straight, threatening to send him spinning, but he
kept his cool and swiftly moved into 2nd place.
At the front of the queue Bradders took the lead with Helliwell hot on his tail, dropping back slightly after a spin
off the middle section, but pushing to close the gap and moving even closer when Bradders spun a 360 at the end of the
straight, Bradders' lead was down to 1second. Further up the field and Stafford was struggling to get through the traffic
and into his usual lead. A flip from Helliwell saw McGee closing in, and two bad landings off the MegaJump for Bradders saw Helliwell take over the lead, the bad landings for Bradders ultimately saw him pull his car out of the race, leaving McGee and Helliwell to battle for the top position. McGee attempted a mid-air overtaking manouevre on the MegaJump, and nearly had Helliwell nailed, but flipped on the downramp. With 30 seconds to go McGee was piling on the pressure, and despite trying hard to keep his backdoor shut and fight Danny off, an error from Helliwell over the MegaJump enabled McGee to take the lead.
With Helliwell safely behind in 2nd place, McGee pushed hard to keep ahead and take the win, pushing too hard as he mounted the MegaJump on his penultimate lap, snapping part of his car but continuing through for a final lap to take the win ahead of Helliwell in 2nd place.

This meeting is HARD to report on as there's no real leader or 'final race' - so here's some mad photos while we try figure out who's winning.


Ole Karlsen from Norway	10:20am, Lee Martin - Interviewed under caution.


Erotic	Hypnotic


Bodyform	Bodyform for you

Stu please go away.

The guys that didn't make it into the Reedy style players completed traditional qualifiers and finals - Ole Steen Karlsen from Norway was the class of the field in 2WD - winning all three A finals to take the overall victory.

Position	Quali	Name	Results
1	1	Ole Steen Karlsen	2 ( 1 1 1)
2	3	Jim Dixon	5 ( 4 3 2)
3	4	Stuart Band	5 ( 3 2 6)
4	5	Ian Ford	8 ( 5 4 4)
5	2	Kevin Kitchen	11 ( 2 9 10)
6	6	Will Johnson	11 ( 6 8 5)
7	9	Russell Woodhouse	12 ( 7 5 8)
8	10	Leon Morrell	13 ( 10 10 3)
9	8	Graham Smith	14 ( 8 7 7)
10	7	Ryan Keck	15 ( 9 6 9)

Andy 'Sheepy' Griffiths took the overall win in the 4WD non-players class, winning the final two legs of the A final. Lewis Dickinson from Team Xtreme took second with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Position	Quali	Name	Results
1	1	Andy Griffiths	2 ( 7 1 1)
2	4	Lewis Dickinson	3 ( 1 2 3)
3	3	Nick Caro	6 ( 2 5 4)
4	5	Dave Thorns	8 ( 6 3 5)
5	6	Rob Carlin	8 ( 4 4 7)
6	2	Ian Ford	10 ( 10 8 2)
7	7	Russell Woodhouse	10 ( 3 7 8)
8	8	Will Johnson	12 ( 9 6 6)
9	9	Ryan Keck	15 ( 5 10 10)
10	10	Graham Smith	17 ( 8 10 9)

Neil Cragg had a great start in 2WD but on day three things didn't go quite as well with a 2nd and 8th in rounds 5 & 6 respectively. Meanwhile Lee Martin was on fire, taking win after win to go into the final round with a perfect score and with Neil needing to get a win and in a better time than Lee Martins best time of 14laps 323.81 in the previous round. It wasn't to be and Lee took yet another win while Neil had to retire early and settle for an 8th place score.

With 7 wins out of a possible 8, Lee Martin was a well deserved winner of 2WD. Neil Cragg was close by with 5 wins for second place overall and Ellis Stafford with 4 wins to clinch third.

Neil Cragg 2nd, Lee Martin 1st, Ellis Stafford 3rd

Pos.	Name	Result	Car
1	Lee Martin	6 - [3] [1] 1 1 1 1 1 1	Associated B4
2	Neil Cragg	7 - 1 1 1 1 2 [8] 1 [6]	Associated B4
3	Ellis Stafford	8 - [4] [3] 1 1 1 2 2 1	XFactory X6
4	Paul Bradby	8 - [2] 1 2 1 1 1 2 [2]	Associated B4
5	Nathan Waters	8 - [6] 1 1 2 [3] 1 2 1	Associated B4
6	Danny McGee	10 - 2 2 [4] 2 1 2 1 [3]	Losi XXXCR
7	James Helliwell	12 - [3] 2 2 [2] 2 2 2 2	XFactory X6
8	Nathan Ralls	13 - 1 [4] 2 2 [4] 3 3 2	Kyosho RB5
9	Ben Jemison	17 - 1 4 4 4 3 [8] [6] 1	Associated B4
10	Greg Williams	18 - 3 4 3 [7] 2 3 3 [8]	XFactory X6

Name	Sponsors	Car	Motor	Speedo	Servo	Cells
Lee Martin	AE, Reedy, JConcepts, CML, MK Racing, Rymart Racing, JAB Graphix, Ghea Racing.	Associated B4	Novak 6.5 L	??????!	AE XP	Reedy Lipo
Neil Cragg	AE, Reedy, JConcepts, CML, MK Racing, Rymart Racing, JAB Graphix, Ghea Racing.	Associated B4	Nosram 6.5 Pure	Nosram Matrix 2007	AE XP	Reedy Lipo
Ellis Stafford	XFactory, LRP, Savox, DMS, Decal Designs, Kolors by Kropy	X6 Squared	LRP 6.5 X12	LRP	Savox 1258	LRP Lipo

Adam Skelding and Neil Cragg went into the last Players round together both with 6 wins, a 'perfect' score since all drivers would drop their two worst scores. Neil Cragg had the faster time which gave him the #1 spot. To win Adam would have to really pull all the stops out to go even quicker than Neils fastest time. To make it even more exciting both were cast in the same 'Players' heat and would go head-to-head for the 4WD title.

Players Race 62 - 4wd
The 'Skelding and Cragg decider'.

Skelding needed to win with a faster time than cragg to take the 4wd win of the day - would need to improve on his best time by 11 seconds in order to do this. What could have been a very dramatic and exhilirating race for Cragg and Skelding actually turned out to be quite a clean ride, especially for Cragg who took the lead from the start and never looked
back.
skelding moved up to 2nd place coming over the middle section, but by this point Cragg had already pulled a lead of 4.5 seconds, and a flip by Skelding coming over the MegaJump saw Cragg extend his lead to 7 seconds.
Skelding ended up in a kerfuffle mid-field, allowing room for Nathan Waters to sneak through into 2nd place, and seeing
Adam pushed down into 5th place. Neil Cragg took the win a whole two laps ahead of 2nd place, and set himself a new fastest time in 4wd, winning the Players 2009 4wd event.


Cragg and Steven Bond get thru the first corner - Skelding faces the wrong way which isn't a good start.	Hot Bodies Adam Skelding leaves the rostrum pondering what could have been - Cragg looks ecstatic with his victory.

Neil Cragg took the win and with 7 wins out of a possible 8 for a perfect maximum of 6 points, he did the same as Lee Martin had done in 2WD. Adam Skelding took a very respectable second with the same score as Neil - Neils faster time giving him the win.
Lee Martin was the 4WD National Champion but had to settle for third overall with a score of 7.

Adam Skelding 2nd, Neil Cragg 1st, Lee Martin 3rd. - The guys give a big 'craggy' smile in respect of the winner.

Pos.	Name	Result	Car
1	Neil Cragg	6 - [1] 1 1 1 [8] 1 1 1	Associated B44
2	Adam Skelding	6 - 1 [4] 1 1 1 1 1 [3]	Hot Bodies D4 Worlds
3	Lee Martin	7 - 2 1 1 1 [6] 1 [6] 1	Associated B44
4	Danny McGee	9 - 1 2 [3] [8] 1 2 2 1	Losi XX4
5	Grant Williams	15 - 2 [7] 2 3 6 [8] 1 1	Schumacher CAT SX
6	Dave Belsten	15 - 2 1 2 4 3 [7] 3 [7]	Associated B44
7	Richard Hamblin	15 - 3 [6] [5] 1 4 3 2 2	?
8	Nathan Ralls	15 - [4] 2 3 2 2 [4] 3 3	Xtreme Predator X11 '08
9	Gareth Stanton	16 - 1 1 5 4 3 2 [7] [5]	Associated B44
10	Nathan Waters	16 - 4 5 2 dns 1 dns 2 2	Schumacher CAT SX

Name	Sponsors	Car	Motor	Speedo	Servo	Cells
Neil Cragg	AE, Nosram, CML, Reedy, Proline, Edit, GHEA Racing, Upgrade RC	Associated B44	Nosram 6.5 Pure	Nosram ISTC	AE XP	Reedy Lipo
Adam Skelding	HB, Mirage, Nosram, Trakpower, EDIT, TS Designs.	HB D4 WCE	Nosram 6.5 Pure	Nosram ISTC	KO 2413	Trakpower 3200 (saddle)
Lee Martin	AE, Reedy, JConcepts, CML, MK Racing, Rymart Racing, JAB Graphix, Ghea Racing.	Associated B44	Novak 5.5 L	Novak SLYDR	AE XP	Reedy Lipo

For whatever reason The innaugral Players meeting wasn't as well attended as hoped - the 3 days, late organisation, close proximity to other meetings and general economic climate all conspired to lower the numbers. For those that didn't make it they'll surely be kicking themselves since this was one heck of a meeting, with some of the best drivers around and possibly the most exciting race format which really doesn't come over in this race report but was fantastic to watch and compete in.

The Worksop team, BBK Rob and MCDC Dave Church put on an amazing show over the whole three days - giving the UK the sort of high profile and extremely modern race meeting it's been crying out for. We're sure the next 'Players' meeting will be even bigger and better - and we'll be sure to be there reporting on it.

Thanks to all the sponsors for supporting the event and helping make it all possible - that's why we've gone to the trouble of including the sponsors logos in this report to thank them.


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