BRCA 1/8th Circuit Nationals Rd4 – Report
The fourth round of this year’s BRCA 1/8th Circuit National Championship was hosted by the Halifax circuit in West Yorkshire. The entry list was good, so the competition between drivers in their respective skill levels would be very close. Local driver Tim Wood was the first absentee on Saturday due to racing the Euro B finals in Italy but was due to attend on Sunday after a night flight and travel back Sunday morning. Saturday and the pace was set by Mark Green with his Novarossi-powered Serpent but the gap back to the chasing pack was around 0.1 second per lap with the track evolving and getting quicker throughout the day.
Sunday was again greeted with rain as per the weather forecast and although the Halifax track dries quickly with no standing water, the fine drizzle would prevent it from being dry tires. In the first round it was Karl Dransfield who set the initial pace recording a 15 lapper which was 10 seconds clear of Wayne Briggs. This was Karl’s first race for two years after reducing his commitments due to University studies but continued his fast pace from Saturday practice. In heat 5 it was Andy Hastings who grabbed TQ with a time 7 seconds quicker than Green.
In round 2, the track started to dry but another short rain spell meant it was damp tires again. In heat 4 the track was a little faster but a mistake by Dransfield meant that he didn’t improve his time. In heat 5, Green produced a consistent standard to TQ the round and move to the top of the overall standings ahead of Neal King and Tim Wood and just made the start of the heat.
In round 3, the track was almost dry and the dry tires were now the correct choice. Off line the track was a little damp but if you remained on the driving line, the grip was good. In heat 4, Karl Dransfield improved by 2 laps to confirm the track was good and in heat 5, Neal King recorded 19 laps in 305 to take overall TQ with Green not finishing the run.
In round 4, it was Clive Connolly from Ireland who recorded the first 20 lapper to go TQ. In heat 4, it was Dransfield who recorded a fast 19 lap time to secure a final position with Wayne Briggs back in second. So into the final heat and it was Between King and Green for overall TQ but on lap 9, Green blew a Novarossi engine and with no previous dry time would result in him not making the main final for the first time in a very long time. This then gave TQ honours to Capricorn/Tesla combination of Neal King with Andy Hastings Shepherd 2 seconds behind.
Qualifying top 10:
1. Neal King – Capricorn/Tesla – 20 Laps 308s
2. Andrew Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 20 laps 310s
3. Tim Wood – Serpent/O.S. – 20 Laps 313s
4. John Carr – Serpent/O.S. – 20 laps 314s
5. Clive Connolly – Mugen/Novarossi – 20 Laps 315s
6. Karl Dransfield – Shepherd/Sonic – 19 Laps 302s
7. Andrew North – Mugen/Sirio – 19 laps 304s
8. Jason Frost – Capricorn/XRD – 19 laps 304s
9. Wayne Briggs – Serpent/RB – 19 Laps 305s
10.Chris Snell – Shepherd/Sonic – 19 Laps 312s
The A-final started with Andy Hastings taking the lead ahead of Tim Wood with pole man King dropping to third but on lap 5 he moved up to second and then started to chase down the leader. North up to fourth but dropped back after going wide and onto the grass. Dransfield was the first to suffer from problems but he rejoined the race. On lap 37, Wood eventually got in front with the battle for second very tight between Hastings and King until King was hit with a plug failure and into retirement. This then promoted North to third who was clear by 3 laps over Frost and Carr.
Final result:
1. Tim Wood – Serpent/O.S. – 115 Laps
2. Andrew Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 114 laps
3. Andrew North – Mugen/Sirio – 112 laps
4. Jason Frost – Capricorn/XRD – 109 laps
5. John Carr – Serpent/O.S. – 109 laps
6. Wayne Briggs – Serpent/RB – 106 Laps
7. Clive Connolly – Mugen/Novarossi – 106 Laps
8. Chris Snell – Shepherd/Sonic – 102 Laps
9. Karl Dransfield – Shepherd/Sonic – 101 Laps
10.Neal King – Capricorn/Tesla – 60 Laps
Current championship standings (best 6 of 9)
1. Andy Hastings – 385 (1 x win /TQ + 1 x second)
2. Andy North – 385 (2 x third)
3. Steve Scott – 368
4. Wayne Briggs – 357
Notable Drivers with less rounds to date:
9) Tim Wood – 299 (2 x win + 1 second)
10) John Carr – 290 (1 x third)
11) Jason Frost – 290 (2 x fourth)
12) Neal King – 283 (1 x second + 1 TQ)
13) Mark Green – 281 (1 win + TQ , 1 second)
The next meeting will be at Adur circuit over the weekend of 20/21 June 2015.
Thanks to Andy North for the report.
