Smith & Stafford win at EssexCarpetClash Rd4
The fourth encounter of the 6 round EssexCarpetClash took place last weekend in the UK where Round 3 double winner Ben Smith & his Schumacher took the 2WD while the Team Associated of Ellis Stafford took the 4WD honours. For many it was the first race of the year, with a few looking forward to trying their new equipment they had received from Christmas, with the organisers creating a flowing track with a double jump section and dog leg table top would challenge the drivers. In 2WD it seemed to be a battle between Smith and Harley Eldridge for the entire day. Both managed to top the qualifying sheets twice so it came down to the fastest time which was Smith. Next to line up on the grid for third and fourth would be a fight between Aaron Nash and Oliver Nattress, again joint on points with Nash having the faster time. Alfie Castle would get to grips with the track after round one putting in some decent times with Billy Fletcher having a very consistent day. The finals would be a continuation of qualifying and would be a fight on track between Smith and Eldridge. Smith was able to wrap up the day with two leg wins with Eldridge consistently finishing in the top three. Aaron Nash was able to secure the bottom step of the podium with two decent leg finishes.
4WD would see the talented Ellis Stafford drive his Associated to take three of the four qualifying rounds and line him up pole for the finals. Stuart Joyce had a great opening round and followed it up in round four to give him great results lining him up in third. Steve Biscoe would be very consistent and managed to line up third, with Richard Miller and Stephen Brown rounding out the top five on joint points In the finals and it was all to play for, with three different leg winners, Stafford taking the first leg, Oliver Nattress taking the second and Stuart Joyce taking the third. With two legs to counting Stafford would come out on top with better scores than the others. Joyce would take second with Biscoe rounding off the podium.
Source: Essex Carpet Clash [essexcarpetclash.co.uk]
