Kyle Branson wins British 1/8th Rd5

Round 5 of the BRCA 1/8th on-road Championship was hosted by the Adur club which is situated on the south coast, near to Brighton a couple of weeks ago. The weather forecast was for rain on Saturday and showers on Sunday which would make qualification very interesting. When arriving on Saturday the track was very wet and heavy rain poured down which did not relent all day with most of the drivers deciding to not run. Towards the end of the day, the track did eventually dry out but with grip levels very low, drivers decided to use the time to setup engines. Sunday, the track was dry which allowed for practice in heat order before a rain shower. The showers soon past and the track dried out very quickly which enabled qualification to begin.

In round 1, Kyle Branson set the pace recording 21 laps with Tim Wood second and Andy North third. The track was getting quicker by the round with every driver making improvements. In the final round and after a brief rain shower and restart of the last heat due to lap timing issues, Neil Diver took advantage to move up to second overall. The lap times were considerably slower than last year which confirms grip levels were low in comparison.

Qualification top 10
1. Kyle Branson – Serpent / Sirio
2. Neil Diver – Shepherd / IDM
3. Tim Wood – Serpent / Exceed
4. Andy North – Mugen / IDM
5. Andy Hastings – Shepherd / IDM
6. Dan GhibaLdan – Serpent / IDM
7. Richard Waters – Shepherd / IDM
8. Pete Hastings – Shepherd / IDM
9. Karl Dransfield – Shepherd / IDM
10. Luke Longley  – Serpent

The finals got underway at around 2 p.m. with dark clouds gathering overhead. The first final was interrupted with a rain shower but this cleared and we were hoping the track would dry again. This was not to be the case and the rain continued to fall at a storm like rate. With the chances of the main final starting in storm conditions it was agreed after a meeting with all drivers that the results will be based upon qualification results and as per BRCA rule 2.3.9.

The official BRCA statement is as follows:
Due to the extreme weather conditions racing ceased prior to the A final being run.
After consultation BRCA Officials and the Race Director deemed that the conditions were too dangerous to continue at that time in accordance with 2011 BRCA 1/8 Circuit Race Rules and Procedures item 2.3.9.
Accordingly in these circumstances the points for the A final drivers will be awarded based on qualifying position in accordance with 2011 BRCA 1/8 Circuit Race Rules and Procedures item 2.6.9
The points for the other finals, which had already been concluded, will be awarded on the drivers finishing position in their appropriate finals.
Andy Longley
BRCA 1/8 Circuit Chairman
July 20th 2011

The results of the finals run are as follows:
D Final: (Dry / Wet)
1. Tony Clowes – 57 laps
2. Earl Mclean – 56 laps
3. Leo West  – 54 laps

C Final: (Wet)
1. Andy Mollett – 37 laps
2. Peter Lague – 35 laps
3. Dave Jones – 25 laps

B Final: (Wet)
1. Ian Billett – 32 laps
2. Greg Fairlie – 30 laps
3. Graham Hurley – 27 laps

A Final: (Results as qualification)
1. Kyle Branson – Serpent / Sirio
2. Neil Diver – Shepherd / IDM
3. Tim Wood – Serpent / Exceed
4. Andy North – Mugen / IDM
5. Andy Hastings – Shepherd / IDM
6. Dan GhibaLdan – Serpent / IDM
7. Richard Waters – Shepherd / IDM
8. Pete Hastings – Shepherd / IDM
9. Karl Dransfield – Shepherd / IDM
10. Luke Longley  – Serpent

Next up is Round 6 at the Brooklands circuit in Kent.

Thanks to Andy North for sending the report.