Griffiths & Kerswell win BRCA 1/12th Nats Rd4
Round 4 of this season’s BRCA 1/12th scale nationals saw the annual trip south to Plymouth, a venue that remains a favourite on the calendar for many of the drivers. When entering the venue the drivers were greeted with an extra 2 meters of carpet width, ensuring that this is one of the largest venues visited during the series. The track had been laid to produce a fast flowing circuit which provided some excellent racing throughout the entire field.
Saturday – Stock
Through stock qualifying Chris Kerswell showed dominance to hold back Andy Griffiths, Mark Stiles and Matthew Varah who just couldn’t match Chris’s pace. Once again the 2011 season welcomed another new member to the ‘A Final’ club with Mark Burgess making his first ‘A’ in spec class.
The A final saw Chris convert his pole into a stable lead, bringing home the win with just over 3 seconds to spare and allowing him to produce the only 40 lapper of the final. All eyes were on the battle for 2nd between Andy and Mark; after a slightly poor start Mark had lost out to Matthew Varah and found himself having to reclaim 3rd and then close down Andy. A minor mistake from Mark gave Andy a couple of seconds breathing space, but this was soon clawed back giving the spectators an enthralling last couple of laps, where Andy had to use all of his experience to keep Mark at bay. A final sprint for the line from Mark made the final a dead tie for second with both drivers finishing their 39 laps in 2.88 seconds on the split!
A tie has never occurred before at a BRCA 1/12th scale national. As a result there is nothing in the rules to accommodate such a scenario! In the end it was decided that both drivers would be awarded equal championship points, with Andy being awarded the trophy for 2nd by virtue of qualifying higher.
Sunday – Sports Modified
There were no surprises during qualifying in the sports modified class. Mick Farrell took TQ despite claiming to be slightly out of sorts (perhaps due to losing at blackjack the previous night?!).
The A final saw some bad luck for Mick; whilst comfortably leading his motor came out of mesh, forcing him to retire. This gifted the lead and eventual win to Daniel Holmes, who kept his composure to record his first win with his V-Dezign car. Peter Craig’s Serpent kept Daniel honest for the whole race, with Jim Spencer finishing 3rd driving an Associated.
Sunday – Open Modified
Open modified provided saw all the usual suspects at the front, all of whom were looking to capitalise on the absence of current championship leader Elliott Harper.
Chris Kerswell was quickest in round 1, but the remaining 3 rounds saw a dominant performance from Mark Stiles. Mark seemed to have found some horsepower since the previous national and was also driving exceptionally well. He set his quickest time in round 3, and was on for an even faster time in the final round until a mistake lost him valuable seconds. Andy Griffiths was his usual consistent self and made it an all V-Dezign front row ahead of Chris Kerswell’s GM powered Serpent. Mark Payne made his first A final and would start 10th on the grid.
Many people felt that the A final would be a one-sided affair, and Mark’s times during qualifying appeared to suggest this. However, a small diff adjustment prior to the start made his car push during the final and he couldn’t match his qualifying pace. Andy and Chris followed Mark for almost 7 minutes in the final, and the slightest of mistakes from Mark was enough to let Andy sneak through for the win. Mark crossed the line 0.2s behind, with Chris ending up a few seconds back in 3rd.
Thanks to Mark Stiles for the report.
