BRCA Truggy and E8 Buggy 2014 Championship round 1 race report

[madonrc]

BRCA TRUGGY AND E8 BUGGY ROUND 1 RACE REPORT - Herts

Sunday 16th March 2014 was the start of the national calendar for the Truggy and Electric 1/8th drivers. The championship will be ran over 5 rounds with the best 3 to count towards the championship. Each round will consist of a Practice run, 3 qualifying runs with the best 2 to count followed by the finals which will be as follows. Truggy 15 min for the lower finals with the top 4 to bump up and 25 min for the A final. The electric Buggy class will have 12 min finals, again with the top 4 to bump up.



Well after the horrendous weather the UK has had over the last 2 months the Herts track was in tip top condition for the first round which is a credit to Jim and his team at the club.

The first qualifying run was off the line by the new series race director Chris Jeffery and race Referee Ashley Coupland. It was evident from the first run that the racing was going to be close in the ideal conditions for both the Truggy and E8 class. The qualifying session did test the new race director team, as out of their control, the computer glitches raised their head. These were resolved by running some heats again.




At the end of the 1st qualifying session for the E8 class, Elliot Boots and his Kyosho MP9E was the only driver to complete the technical Herts track with 10 laps in 392.538. Eight seconds then covered the next 5 drivers. Qualifying in round 2 saw Lee Martin knock Elliot off the top spot. So it was all to play for in the final qualifying round as it was the best 2 to count. Lee came out on top of round 3 closely followed by Jack Embling, Simon Willetts and Darren Bloomfield with his Agama. This resulted in the overall final standings as follows

E8 Buggy
1 Lee Martin - Mugen
2 Elliot Boots - Kyosho
3 Jack Embling - Mugen
4 Simon Willetts - Mugen
5 Simon Reeves - TLR
6 Darren Bloomfield - Agama
7 Michael Lewis - TLR
8 Richard Barton - Agama
9 Tony Truman - Agama
10 Tommy Chung - Kyosho



In the Truggy class all eyes were on Darren Bloomfield as he at the start of the year changed sponsors to Nemo Racing Agama. This also included the Bullitt Motors and new Sanwa radio. He did not disappoint his new sponsors, as he finished his first qualifying run in first place. He was however closely followed by the 2013 truggy Champion Jack Embling. Local Racer Jon Hazelwood finished off the top 3. Round 2 saw Oliver Currie with his Agama topping the sheets. Just to mix up the qualifying rounds Jack Embling posted the fastest time in round 3. A special mention should go out to the BRCA Truggy Secretary Ben Cosgrove who finished 9th overall with a ARRMA RTR electric truggy. This resulted in the final qualifying places as follows.


Truggy
1 Jack Embling - Mugen
2 Darren Bloomfield - Agama
3 Oliver Currie- Agama
4 Jon Hazelwood - Agama
5 Micheal Lewis - TLR
6 Daren Hayden-Ball - TLR
7 John Howells - Associated
8 Tom Saggers- Mugen
9 Ben Cosgrove - ARRMA
10 Jim Thompson - Agama



The 77 drivers who were participating in championship at this stage were all placed in their final heat lists and after a short break the finals started, the first off the line was the Truggy alternating with the E8 class. All drivers were looking at the top 4 places to achieve a Bump up to the next final. These places were awarded to

TRUGGY D FINAL
1 Tony Scott - Agama
2 Geoffrey Blackwood - Mugen
3 Steven Winson - Serpent
4 Kayleigh Blackwood - Mugen

E8 BUGGY D FINAL
1 Jonathan Warburton - Kyosho
2 Mark McDonnell - Hong Nor
3 Toben Lundberg - Xray
4 Lewis Whitley - Associated

TRUGGY C FINAL
1 Michael Shorey - Agama
2 Peter Hedley - Associated
3 Steve Carter - TLR
4 Phillip Michael - Mugen

E8 BUGGY C FINAL
1 Fabien Simonini - ARRMA
2 John Niall - Hong Nor
3 Taro Cradock - Kyosho
4 James Tatlow - Agama

TRUGGY B FINAL
1 Neil Sivins - Agama
2 James Tatlow- Agama
3 Josh Johnson - TLR
4 Richard Cousins - Kyosho

E8 BUGGY B FINAL
1 Lewis Jones - Kyosho
2 Bart Banach - Serpent
3 Ashley Owen - HB
4 David Burton - Kyosho




So onto the A finals. The truggy class was the first to start out on there 25 Minute race. Darren emerge from the first corner in first place which is where he stayed for the rest of the race. He competed at the end 37 laps in 1515.679 seconds. His best lap was 39.341 and average lap was an impressive 40.964. The next 2 steps on the podium were closely contested throughout the race between Jon Hazelwood, Michael Lewis and Jack Embling. At the end the final top 3 places were as follows

TRUGGY A FINAL
1 Darren Bloomfield -Agama
2 Jon Hazelwood - Agama
3 Michael Lewis - TLR




The Electric 1/8th Buggy A final was to be a 12 min in duration. Elliot boots was off to a cracking start but on lap 2 he was taken over by Jack Embling. On the 3rd lap Elliot was back at the front which is where he stayed for the rest of the race. Lee Martin who was in pole position had a poor start and on lap 1 was in 4th place dropping to 8th in lap 3 he gradully chipped away and worked his way up to 2nd postion on lap 8. the battle for the 3rd place was very close throughout the 12 min between Jack Embling, Simon Willets and Darren Boomfield. The final places were as follows

E8 BUGGY A FINAL
1 Elliot Boots - Kyosho
2 Lee Martin - Mugen
3 Jack Embling - Mugen



A big thanks goes to the Herts Crew for a fantastic track and facilities. The Catering team. Race Director Chris Jeffery. Race Referee Ashley Coupland. Ross Whitelock, Lewis and Kieran for the photos. Lastly you the drivers and families for supporting the championship. Hope to see you all for round 2 at Coventry on 13th April 2014.

[Neil Skull]

Thanks for report.