B.R.C.A. 1/10^th I.C. 200mm Foam National Round 1

Aldershot Model Car Club 30^th March

The 2008 BRCA 1/10^th IC 200mm Scale Touring Championship started at the Aldershot Club in Hampshire over the weekend of the 29/30th March.

Saturday

About 40 drivers turned up Saturday and the track was very busy. With rain forecast for midday everyone wanted practice time. Mark Green set the Practice pace with lap times of 13.33 with Darren Johnson on 13.34 with his new drive XRay NT1 followed by Mark Gilliland 13.58 and Peter Watt on a best lap of 13.68. So not much in it between Serpent and XRay. At 1pm the forecast rain arrived right on cue and most drivers gave up for the rest of the day. A few stayed out but by 1.30pm it was raining hard so everyone called it a day. Nigel Moss, the club Race Director, and our own Malcolm Norwood (1/10^th IC Secretary) stayed in race control so we could use the ic sections BBK Timing System. All fingers crossed for better weather for Sunday.

Sunday

The sight that greeted us on Sunday morning was a very wet track after overnight thunder and lighting. Fortunately the standing water had drained away so we were able to start on time.

Drivers Briefing

Wayne Lander, our new Vice Chairman, explained that for 2008 the BRCA 1/10th IC Section would enforce the rules concerning driving standards, e.g. deliberately hitting other cars when overtaking, holding up quicker cars on track or refuelling in the pit lane. The penalties for such offences vary from a warning to a 'stop and go' penalty or a 1 lap deduction. In extreme cases disqualification can be used. The drivers referred to this as being be LANDERED since Wayne had enrolled his brother Steve Launder to help as the referee. The new IC committee were introduced to everyone, then told everyone format for the day. Nigel Moss told us they were 45 drivers 4minutes between heats, and 4 rounds and finals, with rain forecast for 3pm first heat was on the line at 10.10am.

Qualifying

Round 1

With the track wet from overnight rain caution was the word for this round

Heat 1 saw Alex Brown do 14 laps in 309, Jim Beesley (formally a 235 driver) do 13 laps in 307 and Nigel Philpott did 12 laps in 303.

 Heat 2 Mark Owen did 14 laps in 310, Dave Forsythe did 14 laps in 315, and little Alex Thurston did 14 in 318

Heat 3 Daniel Williams went round for 15 laps in 311, Dave Gerard got 15 laps in 313, Adrian Poole 14 laps in 302

Heat 4 Peter Watt had 15 laps in 302, Kevin Taylor also got 15 laps in 302, and Adam Walker Catchpole went round in 15 laps in 315

Heat 5 Chris Slater set the pace here with 17 laps in 299 followed closely by Ben Cosgrove with 17 laps in 302 and last year’s Champion Darren Johnson with his new XRay NTI went round 17 laps in 303

Chris Slater

Matt Brown closes on Matt Williams

Round 2

By now the track had some dry parts but was still very slippery under the rostrum and through the S bend by race control. A few drivers changed to rubber slicks, some found them better but not all

Heat 1

Jim Beesley went quicker with 16 laps in 306, Mark Brown came from nowhere with  15 laps in 312 but he was not happy as he wanted more. Matt Williams only made 13 laps in 305 but said he had steering problems.

Heat 2

Dave Forsythe improved with 17 laps in 316 and Jon Withington, another 235 driver last year, posted 15 laps in 311. Alex Thurston improved with 15 laps in 313

Heat 3

Local driver Jay Westwood improved with a time of 19 laps in 314. Dave Gerard improved with 18 laps in 324 and Matthew Oke went round in 17 laps in 312

Heat 4

The only improvers here were John Zotti with 18 laps in 300 and Simon Wood got 17 laps in 315

Heat 5

Darren Johnson posted 20 laps in 306. Young Kyle Branson went round in 19 laps in 306 and Ben Cosgrove did 19 laps in307 Yes I know what you’re thinking where is Mark Green, well you can’t rush something good.

Round 3

Heat 1

Alex Brown improved this round with 15 laps in 303; Les Mainwaring had mechanical problems and did not get out in the first two rounds but he finally posted a time of 15 laps in 313

Heat 2

Dave Forsythe found the right tyre choice and he improved with 18 laps in 309, Ashley Bond put in a 18 laps in 312; Alex Thurston improved yet again with 17 laps in 315.

Heat 3

The three improvers here all made the right tyre choice. Matthew Oke posted 19 laps in 307, Daniel Williams also made a 19, but in 311 and young Joe Kerry made a good improvement with 18 laps in 304.

Heat 4

John Zottl went quicker with 20 laps in 310 followed closely by local driver Aaron Wearn who also posted 20 laps, but in 313. Peter Watt improved again with 19 laps in 304.

Heat 5

Mark Green finally found the magic formula, moving the FTD up to 21 laps in 305. Kyle Branson improved with 20 laps in 303.

Mark Green and Darren Johnson

Jamal Ainul gets the S Bend all wrong

Round 4

The track was now much dryer, apart from the section shadowed by  the rostrum. If you put the power down too quick here the cars would spin out very readily. With most drivers going running foam tyres the final round of qualifying was the most important for final positions. In this round most drivers were a lot quicker.

Heat1

Jim Beesley posted 18 laps in 311, Alex Brown 17 laps in 300 and Les Mainwaring 17 laps in 309

Heat 2

Jamal Ainul scored 20 laps in 319, Ashley Bond 19 laps in 300 and Jon Withington 18 laps in 301.

Heat 3

After a few tyre problems Joe Kerry was back in the groove with 20 laps in 304 and Adrian Poole very close behind with 20 laps in 305, Mark Sellers improved with 20 laps in 315.

Heat 4

Peter Watt also went quicker with 21 laps in 307, Simon Wood very close behind with 21 laps in 308 and John Zotti 21 laps in 311

Heat 5

Mark Green was not going to give in easily with 22 laps in 300, Darren Johnson right behind with 22 laps in 304 and Mark Gilliland put a good run in with 22 laps in 308.

With qualifying over at 1.45pm and the threat of rain at 3pm, many were asking if it was going to be a repeat of Brookland 2007 when as the B and A finals started it poured down.

The Top Ten after Qualifying:

Joann Williams, Scrutineer

The Finals

E Finalists:

Hayley Baker (3) Matthew Cook (1) and Peter Spratley (2)

E Final: 15 minutes.

With the track now mainly dry, it was straight into the finals.

Only 5 cars in this the first final and as the flag went down Mark Brown's car stalled and could not be re-started. Everyone else got off to a good start.

Matthew Cook, who had trouble in qualifying  with the tyres choice and then engine problems, seemed to have his sorted it all out and was pulling away from the other 3. Peter Spratley was in 2nd place and was trying everything to catch Matthew Cook.

As they came in for the first fuel stop Matthew Cook's Dad, who was pitting for him, said "This is where it goes wrong." But no, it was a quick and fault-less stop.

Further back was new lady driver Hayley Baker. This was her first IC National and she was lapping very consistently in 3rd place. Nigel Philpott was in 4th place and this was how they it stayed to the finish.

D Final: 15 minutes.

With the sky still slightly overcast we had 9 cars starting this final.

As the flag went down this time it was young Alex Thurston's car that stalled on the line. His Dad Martin ran back to pit lane and got him going again.

Mark Owen lead from the start, Dave Forsythe in 2^nd place and Alex Brown was third. David Gerard was in 4^th Place and was not going to give that place up.

After the first fuel stop everything changed Alex Brown was now in 1^st place David Gerard had moved up to 2^nd place and now Dave Forsythe was in 3^rd place.

Matt Williams had started 10^th but was now in 4^th place looking to move up to 3^rd, but after 11 minutes of this 15 minute final Matt Williams was out of the race with a broken steering-rod.

At the 8 minute mark the order was Alex Brown in 1^st place Dave Forsythe in 2^nd place and David Gerard back in 3^rd and this is how it finished.

D Finalists:

Dave Forsythe (2) Alex Brown (1) and Dave Gerard (3)

C Finalists

Adam W Catchpole (1) on the left and Matthew Oke (3)

C Final 15 mins

Everyone gets away with no problems this time.

By lap 12 Gareth Bell was in 1^st place from Adam Walker Catchpole (who had started 10^th) with Matthew Oke in 3^rd place.

Jamal Ainul had problems and was trying very hard to get up the field as he went through the Ss by race control he caught the kerb and his car spun in mid air.

At the first fuel stop Gareth Bell dropped back to 3^rd place, Matthew Oke went to 2^nd place but there was no way Adam Walker Catchpole was giving up 1^st place to anyone. He was on a mission!

After the second refuel stop  Adam Walker Catchpole was still in 1^st place, Gareth Bell moved back into 2nd place and Matthew Oke had dropped back to 3^rd place which is how they finished.

B Final 20 minutes.

In this final there was only one driver to watch. Young Kyle Branson and his Serpent 720. Kyle had 'under achieved' in qualifying and was going to get the maximum out of his 'B' Final . Kyle led from start to finish. He never put a wheel wrong, even his Dad got him in and out after refuelling withminumum drama.

After 14 laps 2^nd place was Neal King, and Kevin Brown was in 3^rd place. Aaron Wearn retired at 16 laps, Joe Kerry retired at lap 28. Joe had had trouble most of the day.

After the 2^nd round of fuel stops positions were 1^st Kyle Branson, 2^nd Kevin Brown and 3^rd Adrian Poole. Neal King had dropped back to 5^th place but he was trying hard to recover.

15 minutes into this final and 72 laps Kyle Branson 1^st  Kevin Taylor back in 2^nd place and Neal King fought a hard to get back to 3^rd place and that’s how they finished.

B Finalists

Kevin Taylor (2) Kyle Branson (1) and Neal King (3)

A Finalists and their pitmen get Ready

A Final 30 mins

This final was going to be a close one judging by the qualifying results. Was it going to be Serpent or XRay?

All ten drivers on the line everyone got away and no collisions on the first lap, not that you would expect it at this high level of driving

The order changed so many times during this final between two expert drivers Darren Johnson and Mark Green. Stephen Brown, with his new drive for Team Magic, was in 3^rd place and 4^th place was Mark Gilliland who, as ever, had travelled over from Ireland with his pitman.

After the first fuel stop still Darren Johnson and Mark Green still doing battle but after a good fuel stop Mark Gilliland was now in 3^rd place. There seemed to be a problem with Stephen Brown's car. This unfortunately put him out of the race on lap 25. The look on Stephen's face said it all, he was gutted.

Robin Hammett was now in 4^th place followed by Ben Cosgrove in 5^th but loosing place's. He had stripped his 2^nd gear but kept going. Lap 61 saw Chris Slater's car loose a wheel. His pitman Aaron Wearn got the wheel back on and Chris was back on track only to get further problems on lap 65 when the car kept stalling, apparently caused by a broken clutch pin.

Mark Gilliland was still in 3^rd place with Robin Hammett in 4^th. By lap 91 Darren Johnson seemed to start to pull away from Mark Green, but by lap 104 Mark Green had caught Darren again and Mark passed and seemed able to pull away from Darren. These guys were having some great fun out there in front.

Mark Gilliland Heads Ben Cosgrove and Robin Hammett

Stephen Lander Keeps a Close Eye on Driving Standards

Ben Cosgrove on lap 106 pulled off the racing line to let Mark Green and team mate Darren Johnson through. By now a lot of back markers were moving off the racing line to let the race leaders through, no doubt reminded by Referee Stephen Lander.

After 26 minutes the order was 1^st Mark Green (Serpent 720/08)  2^nd Darren Johnson (X-Ray NT1) 3^rd Mark Gilliland (X-Ray NT1) and 4^th Robin Hammett (X-Ray NT1). This was how they finished, Mark Green fastest lap was 13.34 and Darren Johnson was 13.33 so very little to choose overall between these two drivers.

So first blood of 2008 goes to Mark Green with a win and FTD to take maximum 101 points in Round 1 of the series. If this is anything to go by this series will go to the wire for this year’s championship.

Full Results from the meeting can be seen here.

A Final Result:

A Finalists

Mark Gilliland (3) Mark Green (1) and Darren Johnson (2)

Many thanks from the BRCA 1/10^TH IC Section go to the Aldershot Model Car Club, Chairman Dave Skelton and Nigel Moss Race Director. Not forgetting Deb Mainwaring and her crew in the tea hut, a vital part of any meeting. This was a very well run meeting and a excellent start to the season.

See you all Next Round 2 Brookland 20^th April.

Pictures and Text by Grant Williams (Section PRO)

Edited and prepared for the web by Malcolm Norwood (Section Sec and Webmaster)