Round 3 of BRCA Nationals at Brookthorpe. The team prepared a great track for us, with the periodic rain showers throughout the day on Saturday making it even more challenging!
Due to the heavy rain and time taken from rain breaks, qualifying was cut down to 4 rounds, with best 3 to count. Overall TQ was to be decided on Sunday morning, after another delayed start due to rain overnight - the top 3 overall was:
TQ Jonny Skidmore (XRAY)
2nd Elliott Boots (SWORKz) 
3rd Lewis Jones (WIRC) 

The finals gave us some brilliant action as a number of drivers were “out of position” compared to their expected final due to the “mixed up” qualifying (as a result of the weather!) That didn’t matter one bit come Sunday and it was great to see so many tight battles, with a number of drivers progressing through more than one “bump up” – notably Simon Reeves (HB) who progressed from 1/32 to the semis!!.

Here are the top 4 bump ups from each final:

1/64B 
1st Cayden Stenhouse (Mugen)
2nd Gavin Powell (HB)
3rd Matty Box (WIRC)
4th Bruce Lee (AE)

1/64A 
1st Connor Hamblett (HB)
2nd Dennis Holding (Mugen)
3rd Craig Russell (XRAY)
4th Lewis Trafford (Agama)

1/32B 
1st Simon Reeves (SWORKz)
2nd Cayden Stenhouse (Mugen)
3rd Gavin Powell (HB)
4th Daniel Troughton (Agama)

1/32A
1st Connor Hamblett (HB)
2nd Jonathon Wolfe (Agama)
3rd Dennis Holding (Mugen)
4th Daniel Andrews (HB)

1/16B 
1st David Gibson (CPX)
2nd Simon Reeves (HB)
3rd Maxim Cook (WIRC)
4th Cayden Stenhouse (Mugen)

1/16A 
1st Dom Nunn (HB)
2nd Liam Brocklehurst (XRAY)
3rd Jonathon Wolfe (Agama)
4th Josh Holdsworth (XRAY)

1/8 B 
1st Simon Reeves (HB)
2nd David Gibson (CPX)
3rd Max McDonnell (AE)
4th Maxim Cook (WIRC)

1/8 A 
1st Jack Willetts (WIRC)
2nd Josh Holdsworth (XRAY)
3rd Darren Hayden Ball (SWORKz)
4th Dom Nunn (HB)

1/4B
1st Mike Lewis (Mayako)
2nd Jon Hazlewood (Agama)
3rd Simon Reeves (HB)
4th Simon Willetts (Mugen)

1/4A 
1st Billy Grindley (SWORKz)
2nd Dom Nunn (HB)
3rd Bradley Baird (Mayako)
4th Josh Holdsworth (XRAY)

Semi-finals:

Semi B started with Elliott Boots (Sworkz) leading the pack ahead of Graham Alsop (HB). As the final progressed a few mistakes made by Graham Alsop allowed William Skidmore (XRAY) to pass and take 2nd . After passing Graham Alsop, William Skidmore caught up to Elliott Boots and passed to take the lead and eventually win the semi-final. A well-driven race from 7 th on the grid! The top 7 to bump from semi- final B was 1 st William Skidmore (XRAY), 2 nd Elliott Boots (SWORKz), 3 rd Kevin Brunsden (Agama), Graham Alsop (HB), Mike Lewis (Mayako), Jon Hazelwood (Agama) and Simon Willets (Mugen) in 7 th .

Semi-final A was led by Jonny Skidmore (XRAY) followed by Lewis Jones (WIRC), after a short battle between the top two a few errors allowed Skidmore to pull away. The top 7 completing the A final line up were, 1 st Jonny Skidmore (XRAY), Lewis Jones (WIRC), 3 rd Erik Lykke (Agama), 4 th Neil Cragg (AE), 5 th Ben Simpson (AE), 6 th Billy Grindley (SWORKz) and in 7 th James Le Pavoux (SWORKz).

Main Final
The A main started with William Skidmore leading from Elliott Boots and Jonny Skidmore. An early error from Jonny dropped him down the running order and gave way to a three way battle for 3 rd from Graham Alsop, Erik Lykke and Lewis Jones. As the raced progressed a few small errors grom Graham Alsop and Lewis Jones allowed Erik Lykke to pass. At the 30 minute mark the battle for the top 2 spots was raging on between Elliott and William until unfortunately William had an issue forcing him to stop in the center of the track. Elliott then took the lead for the remainder of the final and went on to win round 3 of the championship. Erik Lykke finished in 2 nd place with his first ever top 3 at a national (!) followed by Graham Alsop in 3 rd .

National: 

1st Place Finish - Elliott Boots (SWORKz)

2nd Place Finish -  Erik Lykke (AGAMA)

3rd Place Finish - Graham Alsop (HB)

Junior:

1st Place Finish - Erik Lykke (AGAMA)

2nd Place Finish - Ben Simpson (AE)

3rd Place Finish - Billy Grindley (WIRC)

40+:

1st Place Finish - Graham Alsop (HB)

2nd Place Finish - Kevin Brunsden (AGAMA)

3rd Place Finish - Jon Hazlewood (AGAMA)

Clubman:

1st Place Finish - Josh Holdsworth (XRAY)

2nd Place Finish - Joe Chew (WIRC)

3rd Place Finish - Callum McLoughlin (KYOSHO) 

Thank you to the Brookthorpe Team for putting on a spectacular track and to the BRCA for running the meeting.

All Results are online now, and we will see you in August for Round 4 at North West Nitro.

Round 2 of the British RallyX National Championship was held at East Shrewsbury BRC club. Over the winter break a lot of work went into the track, and it proved to be a great weekend of racing with a fast layout creating some exciting races!

During qualifying, alike to the first round at HNMC, overall TQ was decided during round 5 on Sunday morning between Elliott Boots and Jonny Skidmore who were both tied on points by the end of round 4. Jonny Skidmore (Xray) clinched the overall TQ in the final round by just 1.3 seconds (!), followed by Elliott Boots (SWORKz) in 2nd & Neil Cragg (Associated) in 3^rd.

The finals provided some exciting races throughout, with close racing the “bump up positions” – with the following drivers moving up: -

1/64B 

1st Matty Box (WIRC)

2nd James Boulton (HB)

3rd Gareth Davies (Mugen)

4th Micheal Riviere (SWORKz)

1/64A 

1st William Paul (Xray)

2nd Bruce Lee (AE)

3rd Ben Kennett (Agama)

4th Daniel Lewington (Agama)

1/32B 

1st Joshua Graham (Xray)

2nd Chris Carlisle (Tekno)

3rd Dave Williams (Agama)

4th Rob Cockcroft (Mayako)

1/32A 

1st Jake Dell (Agama)

2nd William Paul (Xray)

3rd Ben Kennett (Agama)

4th Clive Maland (AE)

1/16B 

1st Joshua Graham (Xray)

2nd Jonathan Wolfe (Agama)

3rd Connor Hamblett (HB)

4th Allan Ward (Kyosho)

1/16A 

1st Daniel Austin (Tekno)

2nd Darren Warburton (AE)

3rd Lee Bunker (WIRC)

4th Jake Dell (Agama)

1/8 B 

1st Joshua Graham (Xray)

2nd Scott Walker (Mayako)

3rd Mick Butler (Schumacher)

4th David Shedd (WIRC)

1/8 A 

1st Cayden Stenhouse (Mugen)

2nd Oliver Nattress (Kyosho)

3rd Jon Spencer (HB)

4th Michael Shorey (Agama)

1/4B 

1st Joshua Graham (Xray)

2nd Jack Willetts (Mugen)

3rd Simon Reeves (HB)

4th Dave Bailey (AE)

1/4A

1st Luke Holdsworth (Xray)

2nd Max Mcdonnell (AE)

3rd Simon Willetts (Mugen)

4th Callum Mcloughlin (Kyosho)

A specific mention to Joshua Graham, who after a qualifying session beset with many problems, drive brilliantly in the finals – winning four finals in a row from 1/32 to 1/4 - an engine cut in the semis finally ending his great run!

Semi B:

Semi B was led by Boots from start to finish, however, at the 13-minute mark of the semi unfortunately a crash on the back step up saw William Skidmore retire from the race whilst running in 2^nd place. Ben Simpson (AE) finally finished 2^nd, Kev Brunsden (Agama) in 3^rd, James Le Pavoux (SWORKz) in 4^th, Jack Willetts (WIRC) in 5^th, - making his first A Final at National level! Simon Reeves (HB) was 6^th, and the last transfer out of Semi B was Taro Cradock (Kyosho) in 7^th after a long and closely fought battle with Dom Nunn (HB).

Semi A 

Semi A started with Jonny Skidmore leading the pack, however just 5 laps in Jonny made a mistake over the back of the track causing an early retirement. The remainder of the race saw a furious battle between Lewis Jones and Neil Cragg. Lewis Jones (WIRC) ended 1^st, followed by Neil Cragg (AE), Michael Lewis (Mayako) 3^rd, Josh Holdsworth (Xray) 4^th, Graham Alsop (HB) 5^th.  Paul Crompton (Xray) qualified in 6^th and Erik Lyke (Agama) securing the final spot in the A main in 7^th place. 

Grand Final

The A Final Started just after 4 PM, with an earlier start to avoid the forecasted heavy rain and was a race for the history books! The final started with Elliott leading and in race order, then the biggest shock of the race with Elliott Boots flaming out on lap 1, putting him a lap down.

A three way battle proceeded between Josh Holdsworth (Xray), Neil Cragg (AE) and Lewis Jones (WIRC). The lead was changing every few laps whilst Elliott slowly unlapped himself. Elliott had unlapped himself to 5^th place by the 15-minute mark.

Sadly, at the 30 to 35 minute mark, Lewis Jones (WIRC) experienced a technical issue whilst in the lead causing him to retire from the race, with Josh Holdsworth then taking the lead. Shortly after this Josh had to retire with a technical issue with Cragg taking the lead. However, Elliott Boots had not only unlapped himself but charged all the way back to 2^nd place! With 6 minutes of the final remaining Boots had caught up and passed Cragg, we then saw Cragg flame out, but he was also that far ahead of the rest of the pack he retained his second place.

Whilst the battle for the lead had been won, another battle for the final podium spot was raging on. Graham Alsop (HB) and James Le Pavoux (SWORKz) were closely fighting until the final lap, with both sending it full speed over the loop for 3^rd. Graham Alsop came out on top and secured 3^rd for the final podium spot and James Le Pavoux in 4^th.

Round 1 of the BRCA Rally X National and we arrived at Herts Nitro Model Car Club. The technical layout of the circuit made for an interesting season opener, with 126
drivers ready to start their campaign for the National Championship. Qualifying was tight at the top, with the fastest qualifying times increasing as the day progressed with Jonathan Skidmore, William Skidmore, and Elliott Boots all contesting individual round TQ’s. Overall TQ was clinched by Xray’s Jonathan Skidmore at the end of Day 1, with Elliott just taking  2nd from William in the final round 5 on Sunday morning!

Top 3 drivers after qualifying were: TQ Jonathan Skidmore (Xray), 2 nd Elliott Boots (Sworkz) and 3 rd William Skidmore (Xray).

The lower finals saw some fantastic racing and exciting battles for the “bump up” positions. A special mention to Andrew Rennick who made four finals!!

Drivers moving up were:

1/64 B 
1st Andrew Rennick (Mayako) 
2nd Will Turlin (Sworkz) 
3rd James Boulton (HB Racing) 
4th Lewis Turlin (Sworkz) 

1/64A 
1st Thomas Russell (Xray) 
2nd Adam Reavey (Mayako) 
3rd Alan Paver (Agama) 
4th Nick Millett  

1/32 B 
1st Henry Tomkinson (Mugen) 
2nd Dave Williams (Agama) 
3rd Sam Cobley (Sworkz) 
4th Andrew Rennick (Mayako) 

1/32 A 
1st Jay Westwood (Tekno)
2nd Ian Gillespie (Agama) 
3rd Kev Jones (Agama) 
4th Jordan Young (Associated)

1/16 B 
1st Wayne Buckhorn (WIRC) 
2nd Josh Bougourd (Sworkz) 
3rd Jonanthan Wolfe (Agama) 
4th Andrew Rennick (Mayako)

1/16 A 
1st Peter Van Tonder (Associated)

2nd Jay Westwood (Tekno) 
3rd Jason Ferguson (Mayako) 
4th Barry Abbott (Mugen) 

1/8 B 
1st Ashlee Owen (Agama) 
2nd Gary Gregory (Kyosho)
3rd Jon Spencer (HB Racing) 
4th Daniel Andrews (HB Racing)

1/8 A 
1st David Gibson (CPX) 
2nd Ricky Cooper (WIRC)
3rd Darren Warburton (Associated) 
4th Tehannah Cradock (Kyosho) 

1/4 B 
1st Max McDonnell (Associated)
2nd Darren Hayden Ball (Sworkz) 
3rd Ashlee Owen (Agama) 
4th Adam Hall (HB Racing)

1/4 A 
1st Joshua Graham (Xray) 
2nd Maxim Cook (WIRC)
3rd Joseph Howson (WIRC)
4th Cayden Stenhouse (Mugen) 

Semi B saw Boots starting from pole with HB Racing’s Graham Alsop and WIRC’s junior Billy Grindley rounding out the top 3. The top 3 finished in their starting order a lap ahead of the rest as the buzzer went after 20 mins. Elliott had managed to pull an impressive 27.8 second gap over second place! The top 7 was rounded off by Mayako’s Michael Lewis in 4 th place, Associated’s Ben Simpson in 5 th place, Sworks’ Simon Reeves in 6 th place, and the last bump-up spot filled by Xray’s Paul Crompton. A notable mention to Erik Lykke who in the first 10 minutes was battling mid-pack and showing some great pace, but unfortunately had an engine cut after a mistake, knocking him out of bump up contention.

Semi A was led by Xrays Jonathan Skidmore followed by his brother, fellow Xray driver William Skidmore with a 10-second gap between the two after the 20-minute buzzer. WIRC’s Lewis Jones followed closely behind 2 seconds back, which made it an exciting final to watch! Agamas Kevin Brunsden finished in 4 th place, followed by teammate Lee Martin in 5 th place, Associated’s Neil Cragg in 6th place, and Sworks-powered James Le Pavoux in 7 th .

The final….given how intense the racing was for both sides of the Semi-finals, the main final did not disappoint! Early on mistakes by Jones and Boots would enable Jonny to extend his gap to almost half a lap over 2 nd place by the 15-minute mark of the race. Boots slowly picked his way back up the pack, with an incredible mid-race stint, setting one of the fastest lap times of the whole weekend with a 41.40. William had brilliant battles with both Jones and Boots for the remainder of the podium positions throughout the 45 minute main.

Fuel stops saw the three change running order many times, and in the final 10 minutes Boots made a final charge to catch Johnny, however, was unable to secure the position, finishing just 1.06 seconds behind after 45 minutes!! A great race, and an impressive performance from Jonny to secure the win and kick off the 2024 season. The top 5 was rounded off by Associated’s Neil Cragg in 4 th place, followed by Lewis Jones in 5 th .

Plaques were supplied by J5 Racing to commemorate our friend and fellow racer, Karl Jackson:

National Championship:

1st Place Finish - Jonathan Skidmore (Xray)

2nd Place Finish - Elliott Boots (Sworkz)

3rd Place Finish - William Skidmore (Xray)

Junior Championship:

1st Place Finish - Ben Simpson (Associated)

2nd Place Finish - Billy Grindley (WIRC)

3rd Place Finish - Maxim Cook (WIRC)

40+:

1st Place Finish - Neil Cragg (Associated)

2nd Place Finish - Kevin Brunsden (AGAMA)

3rd Place Finish - Simon Reeves (Sworkz)

Clubman Championship:

1st Place Finish - Kyle Boon (Kyosho)

2nd Place Finish - Joe Howson (WIRC)

3rd Place Finish - Adam Hall (HB)

Thanks again to the BRCA team, HNMC and to all the racers and supporters in attendance over the weekend.

We look forward to seeing you at the East Shrewsbury Club for round 2 of the British Championships!