Todd & Baird take Rd1 honours in Ireland
The opening round of the RCCAOI Irish National 1:8 Off Road Championships took place over the weekend at the well presented Navan Nitro Nuts Astroturf track where superb sunny conditions greeted the 40+ strong entry. In Qualifying it was Alan Bickerstaff, better known for his electric touring car exploits, that secured pole after TQ’ing 3 of the four rounds of qualifying with his Associated RC8. Second on the grid went to Team Xray’s Barkley Abernethy, who TQ’d the opening qualifier. Next up was Losi team driver Michael Todd followed by defending Champion Mark Harron and his Hot Bodies with Crono’s David Curtis and Kyosho’s Gary Baird completing the top 6 on the grid.
After a rather chaotic start to the final it was Abernethy who led the way but the 2008 Championship Runner-Up was to suffer an engine cut as he left the pit lane after his first fuel stop. A number of drivers miscalculated their run time including poleman Bickerstaff which resulted in him dropping to 9th. In the end it was Todd who repeated his 2008 result to win the opening round of the championship with a one lap advantage over Abernethy and Bickerstaff who put in a great recovery drive recording the fastest lap of the final. Derek Mc Cluskey made a strong return to 1:8 off road racing to claim fourth ahead of Harron, who also ran out of fuel, with Cathal Taffe completing the Top 6. In the Truggy class it was defending Champion Bradley Baird who took his Xray to victory over Christopher McCauley and Oisin O’Briain who crossed the line seperated by just 2 seconds. Round 2 of the 4 round Irish Nationals will take competitors to the large BADMCC track in Northern Ireland on June 28th.
1:8 Buggy Result
1 (3) Michael Todd – Losi – 56/ 2717.98
2 (2) Barkley Abernethy – Xray – 55/ 2713.23
3 (1) Alan Bickerstaff – Associated – 55/ 2737.43
4 (8) Derek Mc Cluskey – Hong Nor – 54/ 2728.94
5 (4) Mark Harron – Hot Bodies – 53/ 2702.90
6 (7) Cathal Taffe – Crono – 51/ 2700.39
7 (5) David Curtis – Xray – 50/ 2722.39
8 (10)Darren Hill – Kyosho – 49/ 2736.31
9 (9) Richard Quigley – Losi – 48/ 2710.21
10(6) Gary Baird – Kyosho – 40/ 2664.51
Truggy Result (Top 3)
1. (3) Bradley Baird – Xray – 36/ 1809.14
2. (1) Christopher McCauley – Losi – 34/ 1815.30
3. (2) Oisin O Briain – GS Racing – 34/ 1817.42
Source: Hobbies Ireland [hobbiesireland.ie]
