BRCA 1/8 Circuit Brooklands Rd6 – Report

It was back down to the south of the UK for the penultimate round of the championship. Brooklands is a real treat for the drivers and offers high speeds which rewards the bravest of drivers. In nitro qualifying Alex Thurston got off to a convincing start and took a clean sweep of all the rounds in qualifying with his Capricorn chassis with Tim Wood (Shepherd) and Mark Green (serpent) following him to line up 2nd and 3rd for the 30 minute A final.

The final would line up as below
1. Alex Thurston (Capricorn)
2. Tim Wood (Shepherd)
3. Mark Green (Serpent)
4. John Carr (Shepherd)
5. James Connolly (Capricorn)
6. David Spashett (Shepherd)
7. Richard Hicklin (Serpent)
8. Andrew Hastings (Mugen)
9. Steve Davis (Mugen)
10.Jack Garrent-Lines (Mugen)

Numbers in electric were lower than expected for this round but it didn’t stop the drivers from putting on a brilliant show. Qualifying got under way with front runners Billy Fletcher and Mikey Mansell crashing out leaving Greg Fairlie, Lee Henson and Chris Goldsmith to take first blood. Mikey bounced back to take TQ in the remaining qualifying rounds followed by Greg and Lee.

The 3 leg finals would line up as below
1 – Mikey Mansell (Capricorn)
2 – Greg Fairlie (Serpent)
3 – Lee Henson (Capricorn)
4 – Chris Goldsmith (ARC)
5 – Bob Harley (Capricorn)
6 – Pete Yaffia (Serpent)

The 30 minute nitro A final got underway, engines screaming and drivers 100% committed. Pole man Alex managed to open up a comfortable lead for himself but dragging Mark with him in the process. The track was full of little battles for the entire 30-minute final, James Connolly VS David Spashett VS John Carr went on for most of the final until troubles for John put an end to the battle. Alex remained out front managing the gap to the ever fast Mark and Tim and managed to take the win by 9 seconds. Tim and Mark had an intense battle, Mark closing in on Tim in the last 4 minutes. Then a small mistake from Mark dropped him back giving Tim some breathing room. People watching at that point thought Tim and his 2nd place was safe, but as always you can never underestimate the speed of Mark and on the final lap he managed to pass Tim flat out coming off the sweeper to take P2. The overtake was possibly the pass of the season so far and was met with gasps from the spectators. The finishing time between the two drivers was a mere 0.73 seconds.

The A Final finishing order was as follows:-
1. Alex Thurston (Capricorn)
2. Mark Green (Serpent)
3. Tim Wood (Shepherd)
4. David Spashett (Shepherd)
5. James Connolly (Capricorn)
6. Andrew Hastings (Mugen)
7. John Carr (Shepherd)
8. Jack Garrent-Lines (Mugen)
9. Steve Davis (Mugen)
10.Richard Hicklin (Serpent)

Electric Finals Leg 1 was taken by Greg who managed to get passed Mikey on lap one. The two drivers would race off into the lead with Mikey finding it impossible to get passed Greg. This battle was cut short after an error from Mikey dropped him back, he then went on to not finish due to a LiPo wire coming off the terminal. Greg went on to win.

Leg 1 with Chris and Lee finishing in P2 and 3. Leg 2 Was very much the same as leg 1. Greg and Mikey pulling away into the lead. This time Mikey keeping it clean and managing to make a gap to Greg. Half way through the race Greg made a rare mistake which dropped him behind Chris. The final went on to finish with Mikey in P1 followed by Chris and Greg. Leg 3

The overall win was still up for grabs between 3 drivers. Greg and Mikey’s wins in the past two legs made them the favourites but Chris with his P2 in the 2nd leg would cause major issues if he was able to take the top spot in this final leg. The final got underway with Mikey pulling a gap straight away. This left Greg and Chris to fight it out. Mikey went on to win and secure the win followed by Greg and then Chris.

The final results after the 3 legs (best 2 to count)
1. Mikey Mansell (Capricorn)
2. Greg Fairlie (Serpent)
3. Chris Goldsmith (ARC)

The final round of the series is at Cotswold 16/17 October with many championships still to play for.

Thanks to Mikey Mansell for the report.