The off road track had some interesting features including a corner table top, a near vertical wall ride and a slippery wood area.  These coupled with a selection of tricky bumps and chicanes resulted in a challenging yet fun layout for the drivers.

There were trophies up for grabs as well as some great raffle prizes. The proceeds from the raffle (which included a Mardave V12 kit worth £55 amongst other prizes) were donated to a local childrens charity.

Just under 40 drivers were booked into the event, which would see 4 rounds of qualifying followed by a single leg final.

18th Off-Road Stock

Using an Xray M18T for the first time, Mark Stiles dominated 18th scale stock qualifying by posting 22 laps; almost 3 laps clear of the second placed driver!  He was also only a few seconds shy of the modified tq time set by the current national championship leader Cris Oxley! Mark was as surprised by this as anyone, as it was the first time he’d ever raced an off road class!

Lining up behind Mark in the 18th Stock A final was Mark Dicks, and he was followed by Paul Perry (both driving Blazes). Chris Kerswell was driving a Losi Mini-t and lined up 4th on the grid. Local driver Andy Tietjen completed the A final with an RC18B. This meant that 4 different manufacturers were represented in the Stock A final; a great statistic for this growing class.

In the final itself Mark got off to a flying start, and cruised to a comfortable victory by 3 laps. He was followed home by Mark Dicks and Paul Perry. Andy Tietjen improved on his qualifying position to take 4th place, whilst Chris Kerswell retired on lap 2 with mechanical difficulties.

This was a great start to 1/18th scale racing for Mark, and he will be hoping to continue his success at the next round of the Micro Nationals at Tamworth in January. The M18T is already a proven winner, having taken victory at the US nationals, and Mark has proven the car to be just as competitive on the UK micro racing scene.

18th Off-Road Modified

Recoils

Local driver Bryan Lee took tq in the recoil class, and he also led the A final for the first part of the race. This was to turn out to be the most exciting final of the day, with a 4 way dice for the lead ensuing and continuing for most of the race! Bryan Lee, James Harrington, Chris Hampson and Will Brown all took turns at leading the race, but unfortunately Will’s chances were over when he crashed and dislodged his battery pack. James Harrington also fell down the field towards the end after a coming together with Bryan Lee whilst they battled for the lead. This left the door open for Leighton Buzzard’s Chris Hampson to take the win from Bryan and Tony Ryder, who benefited from other drivers’ mistakes in the final stages of the race to snatch the final podium place. James Harrington was 4th ahead of Will Brown and Joe Brown, who retired after 6 laps with a broken car.

Having never seen recoils run before, many of the drivers in attendance were very impressed by the speed and handling displayed in this class, and the general opinion was that they are ideal for small clubs where 1/10th touring cars are too big for the track. For £100 ready to run, they offer very good value for money as well; an ideal beginners class that would be particularly suited to young children.

Mardave V12’s

The Mardave class was dominated by Mark Stiles. He won all 4 rounds of qualifying, and then went on to take victory in the A final by over a lap from Schumacher’s Matt Digby and Corally 19t touring car ace Chris Kerswell. Team Associated 1/12th Circuit racer Nigel Hale made the trip down from Leicester to race in this class. He qualified well, placing 3rd on the grid, and would have been 2nd in the A final… if he’d had a transponder fitted in his car! It’s amazing to think that after over 25 years of racing model cars he can still forget something so simple! Graham Douglass, Will Brown and Bryan Lee completed the A final finishing order.

Overall a great day was had by everyone. Mark and his team wish to thank everyone for coming, and he has said he plans to run something similar again next year.