DS Reports on Plymouth National

This past weekend was the third round of the 1/12 BRCA national championship taking the competitors down to Plymouth for the weekend, a long drive for most but the crew always put on a superb event. The track was fast and flowing leading to some incredibly close racing which at times did get a little too close for comfort. In 10.5 Olly took the pole position with the top three separated by less than one second, all using different products just proving that Blinky mode racing really does equalise performance. In the final the start was a little tough for some but a good get away for the top two a small mistake from Olly allowed Andy Griffiths past in the last minute and promoted Chris Kerswell into second place and Myself into the top three. The Horizon Hobby team once again too the overall team prize so chocolates for everyone in the pits after the finals.

With the track as open and as fast flowing as it was the cars on Sunday were nothing less than awesome to watch and drive, monster top speeds and with such good grip corner speeds were very high. Stood at the side of the track you could feel a car go past with the air disturbance and the sound was superb. In the early rounds Olly was at the top just a little infront of myself and then Mark Stiles took up the challenge taking the TQ honours, a position he would then hold through the entire 8minute race to win his second national of the season. I was fortunate again from some early mistakes to secure second overall with Olly finishing 3rd. With a nearly perfect score from the Horizon Hobby team we secured the team prize and a few more boxes of chocolate to eat on the way home.

As always the Plymouth crew put on a really good event with some of the local Cornish Pasties for lunch it was an all round great weekends racing.

LSOR Indoor 2012 Challenge Cup

Over the weekend of February 18th and 19th the inaugural indoor meeting at Norton Heat Equestrian centre in Essex took place, the event was held in a large well equipped horse arena with a viewing gallery and separate indoor pitting area that meant the drivers did not have to pit in the same area as the cars racing so no fumes and good on site facilities for both food and drink that led to this meeting being a success on two levels with awesome racing on an exceedingly tough track and a good social atmosphere.

The event attracted a top entry from not only the UK but also international drivers form as far afield as France, Belguim,Germany, Holland and Turkey.

The racing featured three classes 2 and 4 wd buggies and a 4wd SCT class that proved very very exciting indeed. The new 4wd SCT class attracted a entry of 16 participants mainly featuring the new Losi 5T truck and the MCD for Turkey.

The track proved to be a challenge with the awesome power of the big gas motors and the grip that these cars generate quickly taking the well rolled and prepared surface from a flat track to a true off road course with amazing burns and plenty of troughs and jumps to test not only the cars strength, handling and performance but also the drivers skill at getting the cars around the track.

The losi 5T proved well up to the job, with eleven being entered in the event and in fact three of them where purchased the day before the event and the only complaint from the drivers was "what am I supposed to do between heats, to start with I am not used to finishing every run with my old car and I am definitely not used to having to not rebuild the car after every heat, all I do now is polish the body shell"

In qualifying Darren Bloomfield led the Losi Charge and TQ'd in the SCT class, but come Sunday Darren had to pack up and go home due to the imminent arrival of a addition to the family so did not get to start the A final.

After the B final this left the A final with seven Losi 5T's and 3 MCD to fight out the final, after a thrilling battle the Losi's strength and the drivers ability to control the cars on a challenging track left the Losi drivers claiming all three podium spots with Mark Pearson First place and Jimmy Davis of Horizon Hobby in second with Dave Smith in Third.

Just under 100 drivers from all across the UK and Europe convened at the Norton Heath Equestrian Centre for the inaugural LSOR Challenge Cup meeting over the weekend of 18th-19th February.
An indoor dirt racing surface with a viewing area coupled with a separate indoor pitting hall, good on-site food and drink facilities and a friendly atmosphere all contributed to making the LSOR Challenge Cup a fantastic, hard fought yet sociable and friendly event and thanks must be given to all involved with the organisation and preparation of this well-run event.

The indoor track had been carefully planned and laid out by the organisers to make the most of the loose track surface and provided a variable challenge for both drivers and cars alike and with separate classes for 2WD, 4WD and Short course Trucks being catered for, the entry field was varied but accommodated, meeting everyone's needs. What begun as a largely flat and rolled top surface soon became ferociously challenging as the field of 1/5 scale petrol engined behemoths literally carved their own lines through the twists and turns, creating berms and troughs that sought to challenge even the most experienced of drivers in the international field.

In the SCT class, it was the new Losi 5ive-T that dominated proceedings with double UK 1/8 rallycross champion Darren Bloomfield taking TQ honours before having to retire from the meeting before the finals could be run in order to be present for the birth of his new born son. As the track blew out and became rougher and even more challenging, the 5ive-Ts seemingly stepped up the ante, revelling in the arduous track conditions and in a class that is famed for testing the limits of any car's durability, the 5ive-T quickly established new benchmarks for its strength and durability, with all 6 of the cars in the A-final finishing and taking the top 6 positions.

Accounting for 11 out of the 14 strong SCT field, the 5ive-T's reputation was further enhanced by the fact that 3 of the competitors had turned up with stock out-of-the-box 5ive-Ts that had been purchased literally just days before the event, leaving their owners beaming about their newfound reliability and increased race finishing capability.

Horizon Hobby's Jimmy Davis was on hand throughout the weekend, providing free-of-charge wit and banter in his unique style whilst proving that beyond the cheeky grin and mischievous glint, he's still got what it takes behind the sticks as he piloted his Losi 5ive-T into 2nd overall behind fellow 5ive-T driver Mark Pearson and ahead of the 5ive-T of Dave Smith.

Click here for Race Results
Click here for more images of LSOR