The first wet meeting for quite a while turned up some surprises on the grid.
Despite being a wet meeting around 20 drivers attended hoping that the forecast showers might miss the track. Early on it seemed to be the case as the track was damp but drivable. Before long though the first shower arrived and qualifying commenced in the wet. The scheduled format was shortened to two rounds of qualifying to give drivers chance to get a score. The usual problems of water soaking into the electrics after the first run on the track meant that several drivers were unable to run for round two or the finals. The drivers decided to carry on in between the showers which meant the track could have the biggest puddles swept off between races. All in all a case of survival of those with the best waterproofing. All but one of the more experienced modified drivers decided to miss the fun in the wet as the damage to non-waterproofed speed controllers and failure of receivers plus bad effects on motors was best avoided. Those who chose the easy option not to race also avoided hours of work stripping down and rebuilding their cars to prevent rust and damage to bearings etc.
Damon Blackmer
Photo courtesy of A.Fuggle
Despite all the problems several drivers achieved their best ever results. Damon Blackmer took FTQ for the 27T Stock class, and Ken Cooper as the only Modified driver had no opposition and so took an easy victory in both qualifying and the final. A mention is also well earned for Tony Fuggle who despite problems caused by the wet weather managed an excellent 3rd place in the 27T Stock A Final, a good way to finish off the championship!
The summer championships will be starting on 23rd June
with the Open and Club rounds alternating throughout the summer. The trophy
meeting to
be held this coming Sunday looks set to be an exciting
meeting and will be used as a guide for the likely choice of tyres for
hot weather. Pit Shimizu D30 and D35 tyres plus Take Off CS27 and B30 tyres
seem the most popular choice. With hot weather being expected for the summer,
harder tyres and firm inserts on rigid stiff wheels look set to be the
fast and popular choice.
Congratulations go to the winners of the BRCT Spring Championships.
George Simmons overall and under 13 winner of the Open 27T Stock class
Championship and Clive Stockham winner of the open
modified class. The BRCT Spring Club Championship winners were: Les Help
27T Stock class, George Simmons 27T Stock under 13, Keith Simmons 15T Control
class, and Clive Stockham for the Modified class championship. The championship
trophies will be presented in the near future.
