Tim Wood wins UK 1/8th on-road season opener

The BRCA 1/8th circuit national championship started off at Mendip and with 40 entrants, it was going to be a good start to the season and a very open first meeting with no Branson or Green due to ENS commitments. After arriving at the track and setting up in the pits, the track was dry and allowed most drivers to do some installation laps and some good practice before the scheduled rain arrived. The drivers looking to have good pace was Neal King, Andy North, Andy Hastings and Ashley Gouveia. Soon after Tim Wood had arrived, the rain arrived and disrupted the practice for the remainder of the day. Although the rain stopped and with no wind or sun, the track remained damp all afternoon. The tires to use were damps and these were clearly faster than dry tires when a back to back test was carried out.

Sunday arrived to a damp track but clear sky, so the track after continuous racing would eventually dry for the latter part of qualifying. Heat 4 was the start of the fast guys which suddenly upped the pace to 14 laps in favour of Sam Snell’s Motonica and in heat 5 and it was Daniel Bancroft who recorded the first 15 lapper of the day with Richard Hicklin recording a very quick 14 lap result. Heat 6 soon followed and it was DH Modelsports driver Andy Hastings who recorded 15 laps to TQ the round from Neal King and Andy North.

Into round 2 and in heat 4 it was Sam Snell who improved to 15 laps, which would elevate him to second overall at this stage. Into heat 5 and Richard Hicklin broke into the 16 lap bracket to take provisional TQ ahead of the final heat. Heat 6 and Tim Wood recorded a 17 lap result with North and Carr just behind.

Round 3 and with the track improving all the time, this could be the round to stake a claim for the finishing positions since rain was forecast. Heat 4 and Dave Miller improved to 16 laps which moved him up the overall leader board. Heat 5 and Hicklin confirmed the track had further pace with a solid 18 lap result which was bettered by Jason Frost and Tim Wood in the top heat.

Round 4 and this would obviously be the quickest round if the rain stayed away. In heat 1 it was Steve Scott who recorded 17 laps, just ahead of Wayne Briggs to put both in with a chance of a top ten finish if the rain arrived. In Heat 3 wit was Steven Smith ahead of Simon Smith which would put them in the mix for at least a B final position. In heat 4, it was Capricorn racer and CPD owner Chris O Donoghue who recorded 17 laps to put him in with a good chance of making the top ten. Heat 5 and after 2 minutes, the rain arrived and that was the end to any improvement chances. Heat 6 did not have any racers take part so, the final results were as follows with disappointments for Neal King, John Carr and Ashley Gouveia.

Qualifying result
1. Jason Frost – Serpent/Sirio – 18 laps 300s
2. Tim Wood – Serpent/Exceed – 18 laps 300s
3. Richard Hicklin – Serpent/Sirio – 18 laps 303s
4. Andy North – Mugen/Sirio – 18 laps 304s
5. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/IDM – 18 laps 312s
6. Andrew Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 18 laps 312s
7. Daniel Bancroft – Motonica/Vox – 17 laps 301s
8. Chris Simons – Serpent/Novarossi – 17 laps 302s
9. Chris O Donoghue – Capricorn/XRD – 17 laps 304s
10.Steve Scott – Shepherd/RB – 17 laps 307s

The main final was going to be who could circulate comfortably without making any mistakes. At the Start, it was Andy North who went into the lead, closely followed by Pete Hastings Shepherd. It was soon apparent that Pete had more speed and rear grip which allowed him to close and pass Andy and start to pull away. Tim Wood had a bad start and dropped to the last position, but his experience moved him up the order and he was soon back in a podium position. North and Frost where having their own battle mid race and although on slightly different fuel strategies, it would be close at the end. Up front, Pete was now maintaining a half lap lead over the fast charging Tim Wood and this was how it finished. In the closing laps, North managed to catch Frost and forced him into a mistake which gave him third place. The final positions however changed when Pete Hasting failed post race scrutineering due to the fuel tank size and his disappointment was clear to see after a very good faultless drive.

Final result:
1. Tim Wood – Serpent/Exceed – 76 laps
2. Andy North – Mugen/Sirio – 74 laps
3. Jason Frost – Serpent/Sirio – 74 laps
4. Daniel Bancroft – Motonica/Vox – 74 laps
5. Chris Simons – Serpent/Novarossi – 72 laps
6. Steve Scott – Shepherd/RB – 71 laps
7. Richard Hicklin – Serpent/Sirio – 12 laps
8. Andrew Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic – 8 laps
9. Chris O Donoghue – Capricorn/XRD – 1 laps
10.Pete Hastings – Shepherd/IDM –disqualified

The next round will be at the Halifax Track on the 27th April 2014.

Thanks to Andy North for sending the report.