Round 5 Southport Race Report and Results

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Round 5 saw our return to the first track ever to agree an oOple Series round five years ago and that was Southport!

The Southport track has evolved over the years from a multisurface track to the 95% astro track it is today with some new for 2018 features such as the big step up step down jump in the middle of the track and the now astro covered cobbled horse shoe corner.

The team arrived a bit late to the track on Friday evening and there were plenty of racers already pitched up with tents, caravans, campers etc enjoying the nice weather. One wasp sting later and we were all set up ready for practice on Saturday morning.

The weather for Saturday was forecasted to be pretty much anything from sunshine to rain to thunderstorms and anything in between.

What actually happened was that it was mainly dry and sunny all day with the odd spot of light rain for the odd heat but the sun was shining so strongly it quickly dried as the rain hit the track so nobody was unduly hampered.

The team decided to run an extra round on Saturday and this was to prove crucial as it meant the meeting was declared official and results could be decided.

Unfortunately the weather was forecasted to be wet on Sunday and indeed in reality was a lot worse on as we awoke to heavy persistant rain which caused large puddles on the track meaning the meeting could not continue.

So, the results were declared on qualifying and the results are below:

2WD:

A Final - Chris Evison
B Final - Matt Guppy
C Final - Aidan Burke
D Final Charlie Saunders
E Final - Terry Fensom
F Final - William Hodgekinson
G Final - Colin Kirkham

4WD:

A Final - Kev Lee
B Final - Mark Thornewill

Truck 2WD:

A Final - Mark Broklebank

Truck 4WD:

A Final - Damian Whittle

Of course this was the end of the 2018 oOple Off Road Open Series so we had some big pit boards to give out as trophies, kindly supplied by Gareth Hartley.

OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS:

2WD

1st Chris Evison - PR
2nd Ian Joyner - Schumacher
3rd Tony Parr - Associated

4WD

1st Andy Woods - Schumacher
2nd Stephen Lawson - Associated
3rd Chris Ely - Tekno

2WD TRUCK

1st Colin Kirkham - Xray
2nd Oliver Kirkham - Xray
3rd Mark Broklebank - PR

4WD TRUCK

1st Damian Whittle - TLR SCTE 3.0
2nd Neil Burdess - TLR SCTE 3.0
3rd Dave Madson - Durango.

BIG THANKS to all the clubs, officials and drivers that have supported the Series in 2018!

Massive Thanks to all the oOple Team who help set up and run the meetings.

Special mention to my wife Alex who puts up with me on a daily basis and lets me play with toy cars!

Finally, Jimmy, if you are watching, I hope it's what you envisioned, a clubmans National Series with hardly any rules and most of all massive FUN!

Roll on 2019!!

Full Results and End Of Year Championship Results are below:

oOoo's Southport Qualifying Results.pdf

oOoo's Southport Overalls.pdf

oOoo's 2018 Championship After 5 Rounds.pdf