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Well the day started off well, no rain and enough bikes for 2 heats. The rain came later, but didn't spoil the racing too much. Steve Newey started the meeting and as usual, nitros were off first. With new nitro pilot Jonathan Bradbury not running due to a radio problem, it was down to Ken Gospel and J V. Ken drove brilliantly on the damp and slippy surface to win each qualifier and both leg finals, getting a personal best in the process. John got servo problems with his nitro and ran the ARX in the 2nd final, getting lap times pretty much the same as everyone else! Ok, there may well have been a shortcut taken at some point, I can't remember. Anyway, in the superstock rounds there was some great close battles going on, with Ken Dineen, Alan Watkinson and Ian Gosling pushing and shoving each other round the track. Ken and Alan have been entertaining us like this for a few years now and it was good to see Ian fighting for position with them and driving superbly. Another newcomer to Superstock racing is Chris Ridgway, who steadily improved throughout the day, learning loads in the process and finishing with a personal best. Race Director Steve Newey was the lonely electric pilot mixed in with the nitros but managed to avoid the chaos to get the meeting's fastest lap and best race time.

Thanks to everyone who turned up despite the poor forecast and many thanks to Steve for running the meeting yet again.

Next race August 3, bring the sun cream, we're due some nice weather I think.

Skipton club day June 1

racing abandoned due to consistent rain

Skipton Club day May 4

Having missed the National, it was nice to get back to racing at Skipton again. This time the forecast must have put off a few regulars, as numbers were a little lower than normal. However, the on/off rain was enough to keep the track wet enough for fairly high grip levels, with most using dry setup lean angles. Fresh from his 2 leg National wins 2 weeks previous, top Supersport pilot Dave Scouse put on a dazzling display of wet weather riding to get 3 x 22 lap wins before calling it a day in the 2nd final due to heavy rain. Skipton regulars Alan Watkinson, Ken Dineen, Carl Lister, Ian Gosling and Mick Laing had a mixed day of gremlins, water ingress and hitting ARX 540s (sorry Mick that shouldn't have been there) but overall a very enjoyable day. Thanks again to Steve Newey for manning race control and getting all qualifying and finals done and dusted by mid afternoon, leaving plenty of time to get home and watch the GP. And football of course!

Next race in a months time June 1, after the 2nd National race which is at Halifax May 18.

Skipton BRCA National Rd1 April 20

For the full race report and results, including championship points table and link to photo gallery, see the BRCA web site, link in the left column.

Skipton Club Day April 6

This was 2 weeks before the Skipton National and an ideal time to set up and test the bikes. But as it turned out, I think most turned up just to have a bit of fun. With the sun out most of the morning, the track was dry and inviting serious lean angles. This was to last until 2pm when the heavens let rip with enough snow to make driving difficult. At times it was hard to make out the furthest parts of the track, but racing continued anabated and on time. Top electric pilot today, getting easily into the 22 lap bracket and in with a top chance for a Supersport win in the National was Dave Scouse. In nitro Team Superblade employed a 3rd driver to ensure top points today, with all 3 running OS 2 stroke motors, it was a formidable display of raw power. Sadly only one off road bike turned up, so no Supermotard today. Would have been great in the snow though. Come on all you ARX owners! Get it to the next club Day.

As you can probably tell, there are no race results to publish, due to the secretary forgetting everything (he's getting old you know)

Skipton Winter Series Rd 5

Report and results not available

Skipton Club Day 17 Feb

12 competitors turned up for this month's club day, all greeted by wall to wall blue sky, warm sunshine and and a dry grippy track. Steve Newey was back in race control and decided to split the racing into 2 heats, 5 nitros and 7 Superstock, although both Chris Douglas and Dave Scouse were running the equivalent brushless systems. In fact it was these two that were at the front all day, never far apart and putting on a great display of close racing. Dave won the first leg final and Chris the 2nd leg, with Chris overall winner. Superstock regulars Ken Dineen and Alan Watkinson also had some excellent close racing, with Alan getting the overall win. New nitro pilot Tony Bennet popped along to see what the club was up to and I'm sure we'll be seeing him again soon. And it was good to see Carl Lister back at the track after a short absence, obviously he's not forgotten how to drive a bike! Skipton regular Ian Gosling showed some improvement today and I think maybe with a bit of persuasion, might be enticed into the nitro camp sometime soon!

Talking of nitro, the 2 strokes of Ken Gospel, Allan and Shaun Waterfall were running a little better today and the lap times showed a narrowing of the gap between the 2 and 4 strokes. Overall win went to John, but I suspect things will be a little closer from now on.

Thanks again to Steve for running the meeting, next one in 2 weeks, 2nd March.

Skipton Winter Series Rd4 Feb 3

It may have been chilly, but the action was hot. Once again the Skipton regulars put on a great show in the Silvercan class with some very close and exciting racing and it just proves what a great and cheap way this class is to enter the wonderful world of rc bike racing. Not the warmest of days, but certainly the driest this year and a track that just got drier and drier (thanks to the strong wind!) until bone dry by mid afternoon, producing some serious lean angles and really fast laps. In heat 1 Ken Dineen topped the leader board in all 3 rounds with some great driving and in heat 2 it was the dynamic duo of Colin and Phil battling all the way for the top spot, passing each other too many times to count and keeping the many spectators enthralled with some of the best racing yet. Surprisingly, no records were broken, but with a fastest lap of 20.33, Col came within a fraction! In the finals Col took the first leg win by 6 seconds from Phil and in the second Phil crossed the finish line just 1.5 seconds ahead of Col, after a collision forced Phil to take to the grass, just managing to keep it upright while crossing the line. In nitro the cold weather was playing havoc with the 2 strokes, but the KD FS-2 ran great and took the top honours. Many thanks to Phil for running the meeting and managing to race aswell, no mean feat. Next meeting 17 Feb, let's hope it's a little warmer! It's a club day, ideal for newcomers to have a go, so let's see all you newbies there!

Skipton Club Day January 20

The changeable forecast did little to dampen the enthusiasm of 9 Skipton regulars who braved the elements for yet another day's racing. Unfortunately the rain hardly stopped all day and although it actually provided plenty of grip for some close racing, it was the major cause of many retirements, particularly in the nitro class, with wet air filters, servos and receivers. It was Ken G with the most reliable nitro of the day taking both A final leg wins. In Superstock it was Ken D and Chris D on similar lap times but Dave S was the runaway winner taking both leg wins, although Ken D was sooo close in the 2nd leg. Both Ian G and Mick L were showing marked improvements in performance, Ian getting used to a new and better handling bike and Mick mixing it well with the leaders and doing similar lap times. No media today due to the consistent precipitation. Thanks again to Steve Newey in race Control for another well run meeting, next race in 2 weeks, February 3 for Rd4 of the Winter series.

Skipton Winter Series Rd3 6 January

The first race meeting of 2008 and the weather gods were again kind to us. Although cold, there was plenty of sunshine to lift the spirits. The Silvercan challenge proved again to be great fun and very close at the top and it was Dave Andrew and Dave Scouse at the front swapping the lead all day with Ken Dineen not far behind, scoring consistent 3rds and Allan Watkinson with as many 4ths. Mick Laing, Clive Andrew and Ian Gosling had their own close racing but could not quite catch the two Daves and by round 2 Dave Andrew had gained the new race record and both Daves had moved the lap record up a notch with Dave Scouse getting the faster lap. Round 3 saw both records fall again as the pace increased with Dave Andrew getting both fastest lap and new race record. The pace was relentless and it was interesting to see that the fast laps were gained by keeping up a good corner speed on the slower corners, I don't think either Daves let off the throttle at all! In the first leg of the finals Dave S took the lead after an early mistake from Dave A and never looked back, narrowly missing Dave A's new lap record by 0.03 second! Leg 2 saw the reverse as Dave A set off to win right from the off, a mistake by Dave S made him push to catch up, breaking the lap record again in the process, but not able to catch hard storming Dave A, who took the overall win. In nitro there seemed to be a rash of gremlins causing Shaun and John to miss the finals and Ken G to use his spare bike after a runaway sidelined the main bike. By the finals it was just down to Ken and Allan Waterfall, both who put in great performances and the second leg was superb to watch, with Ken trying everything to catch Allan, Ken getting his bike completely sideways onto the straight at one point and recovering superbly. But the well deserved overall win went to Allan Waterfall with a great drive, even though he was struggling with a few fork problems.

So, overall a great day, lots of fun, a few spills, but the racing was really great to watch. Thanks to Steve Newey for running race control again, hopefully we'll see Steve back on the track again soon. Next race in 2 weeks, January 20th.

RESULTS

17 Feb Skipton Club Day 2

3 Feb Skipton Winter Series Rd 4

20 Jan Skipton Club day 1

6 Jan Skipton Winter Series Rd 3

Winter Series Points Chart

4 May Skipton Club Day

July 6 Skipton Club Day