Griffiths wins CARS AMC Shootout Rd4, Stiles takes title

V-Dezign duo Andy Griffiths and Mark Stiles took a dominant 1-2 finish at the final round of this years Action Model Centre Supported Summer Shootout Series at Chesterfield last weekend. Andy Griffiths dominated qualifying with his Carpet Ripper car, setting the fastest time in all five qualifying rounds, while Mark Stiles was a little slower to get on the pace, but eventually put in a solid run to line up second on the grid, 3 seconds behind Andy. Mick Farrell lined up 3rd driving a Hot Bodies C12X.

In the A-Final, early mistakes from Andy and Mark dropped them down the order. However, about 3 minutes into the race Mark found his way into the lead and pulled a small gap to the chasing pack while Andy was still stuck in traffic and trying to recover from his earlier mistake. Eventually Andy got through into second spot and put the hammer down to catch Mark.

The lead pair were by now over half a lap ahead of the chasing pack. With 3 minutes of the race remaining, Andy slid through to take the lead after Mark got caught out by a tape join at the end of the main straight. This is how the order remained, with Andy pulling a lead of several seconds by the end. Andy Sawyer drove a consistent race to finish 3rd with his Corally.

Although slightly disappointed to finish in second place, the result was enough to give Mark the overall championship win by a single point from Hot Bodies driver Mick Farrell! This adds to the already comprehensive list of accolades for the Carpet Ripper chassis, and sets the UK team up nicely for the BRCA nationals, which start in a few weeks time.

Thanks to Mark Stiles for the report.