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7 turned out for the shortest track day of the year, no doubt too close to Xmas for many of the regulars, but the all day sunshine kept everyone warm enough to enjoy the day. No racing, just plenty of practice and time enough to try new setups and new driving styles! The track was damp enough to allow the Superstocks and nitros to wheelspin out of the corners in a controlled manner, providing much entertainment. Next race Jan 6, Rd3 of the winter series. Happy Xmas to all, hope to see more of you at the track next year, especially those with new bikes still trundling them around car parks - come on, you know you want to!

Skipton Winter Series Rd 2 December 9

The stormy forecast was wrong again, we were bathed in sunshine for much of the day and next to no rain! Phil ran the meeting today in place of an absent Steve and did well to get 3 heats with 3 rounds and 2-leg finals all done by the time it got too dark to see properly. We had 9 entrants for the silvercan class today and apart from a few minor problems and Mick's radio range problem, it seemed lots of fun and looked to be a really enjoyable class to race in. Just to re-iterate, these bikes are prepared to Superstock rules but with the use of handout 'silvercan' motors that need to be fitted in to the bike at the start of the meeting and returned at meeting end. This keeps it fair and actually provides for very close racing as the performance of each bike is almost identical. And of course this is the cheapest class to run in, ideal for beginners as well as experts. All races were run in the reverse direction (clockwise) and in the Silvercan 2 leg finals there was little between the top 5, with Colin just taking max points with a win and 3rd place from Chris D with a win and 4th. Phil, Dave Scouse and Dave A followed. Ken D stayed at the top of heat 2 and took a double win in both B final legs, with Clive A a double second and Ian Gosling and Mick Laing following. In nitro we had a rare appearance of Shaun W taking on the regular duo of Ken G and John V and Allan W with a lone Superstock bike mixed in for good measure. Allan's consistent laps were at a similar pace to the nitros and indeed was top qualifier with 2 wins until round 3 when John pulled his finger out, hounded by the 2 strokes of Shaun and Ken. Both final legs went to John with Shaun close behind and a smoked out Allan and Ken G who struggled with a bent chassis all day. Thanks to Phil for running the meeting, next one in 2 weeks. Checkout the photos on the relevant page.

RESULTS HERE

Skipton Club Day Nov 25

No rain, but a track surface that stayed damp all day. This had the effect of reducing the lap times and kept everyone on their toes, but the racing was still fun and at times very close. Some pictures from the day are in the gallery.

RESULTS HERE

Skipton Winter Series Rd 1November 11

Skipton Club Day October 21

Surprisingly, yet another warm and dry day! Today we saw a bunch of new guys trying out their hand at this excellent sport - Ian Gosling, Tim Jones, Richard Mountain and Mick Laing all making the effort to turn up at the track and give it a shot. A club day is always a good way to start, help and advice is always there for the asking and willingly given. Race director Steve Newey ensured the event had a laid back atmosphere which helped with the usual teething troubles experienced by first timers. Hopefully we will see them all will be back again for the next race, November 12, which is the first round of the famous Skipton Winter Series. We will be running a new class in this Series, the Silvercan Class. To enter, you will need a bike set up as Superstock rules, but using a handout silver can motor supplied and returned on the day. Previous events have proven this to be a closely competitive class and a lot of fun to participate in. All other classes will of course be catered for as well.

RESULTS HERE

Skipton Club Day 23 Sept

Another warm and dry day. Top nitros were Allan and Shaun Waterfall, top Superbike was Derek McLarney, with Steve Newey and Dave Scouse at the front in Superstock.

Tibshelf GP Sept 2

Skipton Club Day 17 June

It was nice to see a dry track today after a horrendously wet and stormy week and it eventually turned out to be very pleasantly warm and sunny. In Nitro, we had 4 different winners in each round, the final won by Colin with Allan a close second. In Superbike, Ian and Derek McLarney were here testing new stuff, but it must have worked well, with Ian taking the win on 22 laps. Stock was another great showing of skill, with all the drivers putting in great performances - Dave Scouse broke the lap record in round 1, Chris Douglas did the same in round 2 and Dave topped it off in round 3 with a superb 23 lapper and broke the lap record again! Exciting stuff. It was also good to see 'newbie' Carl Lister on the track again, putting in some very fine laps, considering his driving, he's my future tip for the top. So, a record breaking day and most enjoyable without the stress of the National Championship. Thanks to Steve for doing another great job in race control and managing to race as well.

RESULTS HERE

Demo Day, Donnington Bikefest 26 May

It was great to finally run the bikes at the famous Donnington Park race circuit! Not actually on the real track of course, but on a specially prepared temporary track right at the back of the paddock. The event was put together by our own hard working BRCA bike PRO Dez Chand and with Mike Chilvers manning the static display stand and Chris Kennedy with absolutely brilliant running commentary throughout the day, this certainly was a top event of the year. And what about the drivers? The paddock was packed out and all Superstock, Superbike and nitro drivers put on a fantastic display, the close racing, all the wheelies and slides were great to watch, the smiles and appreciation of the crowd made it all worth it - we were even joined on the rostrum mid afternoon by top SBK rider Ron Haslam, who got the hang of it frighteningly quickly and looked to be really enjoying it! Race results? Well, we all won, hopefully another milestone in promoting rc bikes to the public. Thanks to Dez, the BRCA and everyone who gave up their time to help. A little of the atmosphere is hopefully captured in the clip on the video page.

Skipton club Day 20 May

Warm, dry, mostly sunny and a very pleasant laid back day. These club days are great for new pilots, a good time to learn and to practice with different setups.

RESULTS HERE

Skipton Club Day 22 April

After two to three weeks of warm, dry sunny weather, it all started to change for the first Summer season club day at Skipton. The first round got underway on a track that was neither damp nor dry, a little slippy, but easy enough to drive with the current soft tyres. The track then mostly dried out for the rest of the day, allowing max lean angles and near lap record pace. Fresh from his first round BRCA win, Dave Andrew was getting back in the groove, having some very close racing with Steve Newey and setting fastest lap of the day in the final, only 0.22 seconds off the record. Ken Dineen and Allan Watkinson did their usual ding dong racing in qualifying, with Ken getting the better of Allan in the final. In nitro Allan Waterfall had a good day, getting the better of John in the final after a mistake put him back down the order and needing to re-start the engine. Chris Douglas had a mixed day, starting in nitro and finishing in stock and Ken Gospel's gremlins did their usual work. It was also nice to see Steve Croston again, getting some help with a new bike and getting a few practice laps in. Many thanks to Steve for running the meeting and all who attended. Next club day is May 20, but don't forget the 2nd round of the BRCA Nationals at Brooklands on May 6.

RESULTS HERE

Tibshelf Club meeting 15 April

It was the last Tibshelf club meeting before August. With a depleted car section, the 11 bikers that turned up were in the majority again and a full race day was on the cards with 6 qualifying rounds, yes 6! After the first round, new pilot madpete from Warwick had his first taste of getting round a track and once the tranny settings were sorted he was starting to get the hang of things. So much so,that it didn't take any persuading to join in the fun part, the racing! All 3 classes were mixed into 2 heats. Superstock was again very close between the top 3, with Chris Douglas taking the A-final win from Paul Thompson, both making absolutely no mistakes throughout the whole of the 7 minute race. In Superbike, it was both Steve Newey and Dave Andrew, both taking wins throughout qualifying, the final going Steve's way after a perfect run, but Dave setting a new lap record! Nitro was between John, Allan and Shaun, but with both Allan and Shaun suffering from the gremlins, it was John who took the win with Ken Dineen's new awesome FS-2.

BRCA Rd1 Snetterton Park 8 April

See report and media on the BRCA Central Booking site http://www.centralbooking.org/brca_bikes/

Final Winter Series Points - NITRO -SUPERBIKE - SUPERSTOCK

Skipton Winter Series Round 6 March 18

The final round of the Skipton Winter Series took place in gale force winds, hail and snow, with even blizzard conditions at times. Air temp was only just above freezing. Considering the wintry conditions, I fully expected a no-show from the Skipton regulars and have to abandon the meeting. But, the tenacity and high spirits of this group of Northern Hardnuts showed through and we soon had enough for 2 heats. No wussies here. Being the final round, Phil had managed to acquire a lovely set of trophies for the series top 3 in each class. Superbike was pretty much sewn up with Derek and Ian McLarney getting 1st & 2nd respectively and Phil Tennant put in a good performance to take 3rd. In Superstock the big battle for points was between Ken Dineen and Allan Watkinson, whoever finished in front would be the series winner. Both had a bad start in the final, both crashing on the first few corners, caused by either the strong wind, or more likely, race nerves. As the race wore on it became clear that Allan had a lean problem, turned out to be loose crashbar holders, allowing Ken to get away and chase down race leader Steve Mattison. Steve was driving really well, holding off Ken in a close fought race, first Ken passed Steve on lap 11, then Steve passed Ken on lap 16, holding the lead till the end and winning on 18 laps, just 6 seconds ahead of Ken. A great race to watch. Colin McCabe, John Veal and Phil Miller were all fighting for the top 3 nitro trophies, Phil has put in a good set of steady scores all winter and looked set for 3rd place. John was set for 2nd, it seemed unlikely that Col and the ever reliable FS-1 would not score top points, but a damp brake servo was all it needed to prove that in racing, anything can happen. Ken Gospel had his usual bad luck in qualifying, but got the TTn singing and dancing for the final, coming home in a well deserved 2nd place. With John scoring top points for this meeting, that meant both Col and John were on equal points in the championship. A quick look back at the wins in the series showed Col was the overall winner, collecting the Series 1st place trophy, John with 2nd and Phil with 3rd. Overall the series was a great success and provided all the members who participated with enormous fun. Many thanks must go to Steve Newey and Phil Tennant for running the meetings and also to the enthusiastic bunch of die-hard rc bikers that made it all worthwhile. Next meeting here is in 5 weeks, April 22. But don't forget the first round of our BRCA NATIONAL series starts on April 8 at Snetterton. See you there Saturday.

RESULTS HERE

Halifax club meeting 4 March

A wet forecast and 15 entrants booked in for Sunday's racing proved what a popular track Halifax is for bikes. A dry start to the day brought out the best laps and the best racing in rounds 1 & 2. In Nitro / Stock (mixed), Colin McCabe pulled in the only 15 lapper in round 1, with John and Steve battling close for second spot, Steve getting it by 2 seconds at the end, with Chris Douglas 5 seconds behind John. This was a close fought race, at times the top 3 were neck and neck and it was anyone's guess who'd appear out of the next corner first. Round 2 saw a reverse of round 1, with John getting FTQ, only 2.5 seconds ahead of Steve, Col having a few problems in 3rd. In Superbike, James Crunden stormed away to a 16 lap and FTQ in round 1, with Dez Chand second, only 3 seconds ahead of Ian McLarney. Round 2 caught a few out as the rain started coming down, but James again pulled in the win from wet weather ace Dave Andrew in second. The sight of every Superbike wheelspinning up the back straight was awesome. Gary Clarke takes top honours for style though, at one point his rear wheel spun off the track and stayed on the grass wheelspinning the full length of the straight with the front wheel still on the track! Round 3 for all classes was wet, Steve Newey took control in Nitro / Stock and didn't look back. James again took the win in Superbike, with Dez again second and on the same lap and Derek McLarney 3rd. Finals were held in pouring rain, Steve Newey took the Stock win from a much improved Graham Clarke, which was a real achievement for his first time at this track, 3rd going to Chris Douglas. James took the Superbike final win with an impressive 15 laps which is a good time in the dry never mind the wet! Phil Tennant gave up the wheelie / slidey stunt show to concentrate on the chase and came home 2nd, followed by Dez. So, although a wet end to the day, the rain didn't spoil the racing and with only one DNS in the finals (John with a flat starter battery) it just shows yet again that bikes in any class work just as well on wet tracks as dry ones. Next race at Skipton March 18, which is the last round of the Winter Series. Be there for an exciting climax to the series and a chance to win a lovely trophy .

Skipton 18 Feb Winter Series Rd 5

Second dry and sunny meeting! Steve split the group into 3 heats, one for each class, with Steve's Stock bike put in the Superbike heat to even the numbers. Both Ian and Derek Mclarney entered the Superbike heat, both bikes looking great under power, although Derek did have a problem with the esc re-setting itself, this gave max punch at about 1/4 throttle, making the bike extremely difficult to drive (see video clip below). And a welcome return for John & Steve Mattison, both now racing Superstock, , Steve's new brightly coloured bike looked great but gave my camera fits whenever it came near! But the main battle in Superstock was with Ken Dineen and Allan Watkinson, both running at a similar pace, it was easy to see that both were really trying hard and the racing was close between these two all day. In nitro, Ken Gospel was having a more reliable day (relatively speaking!) and Phil Miller's bike was back on the track running as well as ever, with a more reliable starting system. Check out Phil's new colours at the start of the video. John still had overheating problems, even after fitting a new motor, but WILL have it sorted for the next meeting. Col did his usual 'make it look easy' stunt and ran away with the win with another reliable and consistent day's racing. Highlight of the day for me was watching Steve Newey's very well set up stock bike lap the track at Superbike speeds, the corner speed of that bike is absolutely amazing. A good day's racing overall, made better by the sunshine and spring feel. Next race at HALIFAX, not Skipton, in 2 weeks time.

RESULTS HERE

Skipton Feb 4

First dry and sunny meeting of the year and loads of grip with some serious lean angles. In fact it was such a nice day we added an extra round. In Superstock, Steve Newey and Ken Dineen were at the top with Steve deciding to get his finger out and up the ante by banging in a new lap record AND race record with some great driving - watching Steve 'rear wheel steer' out of the bottom hairpin almost every lap was just awesome. In Superbike Phil T came back to show us all how to do it and popped in a cool 23 lapper along the way, even putting the lap record in serious jeopardy by 0.09 sec! Ken Gospel had a mixed day with more of the familiar bad luck present, but even so, still managed a 16 lapper and a personal best of 22.41. Phil Miller started out pretty good, pulling in an 18 lap race, but gremlins of the one - way variety dogged his bike towards the end and was unable to enter the final. Allan Waterfall was another casualty of the gremlins, but had enough time earlier in the day to prove he's well on the pace. John tried valiantly (haha) with an overheating motor to keep up with Col, but Col's consistently fast lapping with the FS-1 won the day and he just went one step further and broke the lap record - again! All in all, a great day, excellently run by Steve. Next meeting in 2 weeks.

Skipton 21 Jan Winter Series Rd 4

A cold day with occasional short wintry showers, the track was wet all day. Also the first time in a while that electrics outnumbered nitros. Although there were a few mechanical breakdowns during the day, the meeting produced some of the best and closest racing to be seen in a long while. To watch 4 or more Superstock bikes in very close proximity fighting to be the first into and out of a corner was amazing. With crashbars touching crashbars on the straights and wheels inches from each other in the corners, this is what you call close racing. Made me wish I'd brought the video camera. Also made me glad I raced nitro, so I get to watch it!

Results updated;

RESULTS HERE

Halifax January 7

Halifax welcomed the bikes for the first time in a YRCMCRC club day, with 14 bikes entered and 15 cars. Weather was better than expected, only the occasional short shower, which really didn't seem to make much difference to the racing or the grip, which was a little unpredictable, but good enough to allow some fun racing and reasonable lap times. No records broken today, but Col came close to the race record with Ken Dineen's FS1 and what a gorgeous noise it made going down the back straight, it certainly had heads turning wherever it went. Surprise of the day was Alan Waterfall's performance, no doubt spurred on by the never ending quest, he pushed hard and was not far off JV all day, getting a well deserved 3rd place medal at the end. Top nitro spot went to Colin McCabe again, unrivalled at this point in time, but I forecast the gap getting closer from now on! (we can't let him have it all his own way, can we?) Electric racing was split 2 superbike, 5 Superstock and not much difference in the lap times between the 2 classes. Derek McLarney's Superbike pulled in the fastest race time of the day to win, but Chris Douglas split the 2 superbikes with a consistent run to score top dog in Superstock. Have a look at the results below. Also it's interesting to note the lap times of the 1/5 cars compared to the bikes.

Many thanks to John, Muriel and Bev for running an excellent meeting and all who ignored the forecast and turned up.

RESULTS HERE

2005 Race Reports

SKIPTON RECORDS

______________________LAP RECORD RACE RECORD____________

STANDARD - 20.03 Ken Dinneen 20 laps 7m 5.40 Mike Delaney

MODIFIED - 18.11 Colin McCabe 23 laps 7m 14.02 Dave Andrew

NITRO - 19.85 John Veal 18 laps 7m 4.32 Dave Andrew

11 December Skipton Winter Series Rd 2

RESULTS for finals only

27 November Skipton Trophy meeting

The good news - No snow, no frost, no ice, no bitter wind. The bad news, VERY slippy track, neither dry nor wet, just greasy only 5 turned up! Well, yet again we had more superstock entries than Superbike, this time with the 2 Kens and Allan Watkinson in Superstock and Phil Tennant and John Veal in Superbike. Nice and cosy! The conditions pretty much evened out the bikes, the Superbike motors far too powerful to use fully, a real handful to ease around the track and even the Superstock bikes were wheelspinning and going sideways all over the place, great to watch! And no-one posted more than 17 laps all day! The first round was a lottery as drivers tried to found out the optimum bar length to cope with the conditions, Ken D getting it right first time and leading with a good (for the conditions) 15 lapper. In Superbike Phil T showed us why he's the best wet weather driver with a cool 'no mistake' 17 lapper. Round 2 and Ken G got it together and in true Skippy style post one lap more than Ken D to post 16 laps, with Alan in 2nd on 15. As for the Superbikes, I think we'll forget this round, too many mistakes, trying to find the limit. Round 3 and Ken D was back in front, one up with 17 laps. Ken G and Alan both on 16 with only 2 seconds between them at the end. Superbikes saw Phil and John swapping the lead many times, John trying the V2 in this round and crossed the line with a magnificent advantage of . .. 2 seconds. Round 4 and Ken G was back in front again! This time with a good 17 lapper and fastest lap of the meeting, Alan W 2nd with another good 16 laps, Ken D down 2 laps on Ken G after a really close race ending with a coming together down the back straight, pushing Ken D into the grass. Superbikes saw Phil at the front again with FTD and 17 laps, and again 'no mistakes'. And so to the Finals, run a little earlier than usual due to the short daylight hours and the possibility of grip worsening. A -final Superstock - yet another close race with these 3, but unfortunately Alan retired halfway through with a lost layshaft bearing while in 2nd position. Ken G made a few small mistakes trying to keep with Ken D who stole the show with a perfect 17 laps. Superbikes was another grip lottery, worsening as the race wore on, Phil making a few mistakes and getting his fastest lap of the day catching John, but John managed to take the V2 to a slow but steady win. And at the end of the day, everyone went home with really nice trophies! No time for video, marshalling was more important today, but some idea of the slippiness in the following clips, taken from John's patented portable camera bridge, with Alan's and Ken D's STOCK bikes sideways!

RESULTS HERE

20 November - Tibshelf Multi Class

Tibshelf Report - by Steve Newey.

Along with the return of the Northern Monkey, came the brass monkey, the weather, that is. A beautiful sunny day, but freezing cold, but luckily, no wind, which would have made it feel even colder. Made the trip with Chris Douglas, and arrived at the circuit at 9-15am to find the surface covered in a layer of frost. Unfortunately, on some parts of the track there was ice, underneath the frost, making the first two rounds of qualifying a complete waste of time. Although, most of us gave it a try, it was more like a game of pass the parcel, but with bikes, being passed from marshal to marshal, amidst much laughter, at the breathless marshals. Round three, and things were starting to improve, with most of the track clear of the dreaded ice, apart from the very tricky section in front of race control, which had a nine inch wide, ice free line to negotiate. Dez became the first man to complete a clear lap, (in the Superstock Class) to great cheers, and also posting an overall TQ time, with the Superstock Ducati. With grip improving minute by minute, Dez’s time was beaten in the very next race, for Superbikes, with Steve N leading the way from Colin Mc running his new MaClarney Bike and Ian MaClarney likewise. Proving a popular chassis kit that mate !

Round four, and all the Superstock bikes set their fastest times. Again, Dez lead the way with the well sorted TT bike, just in front of Chris D, Dave Richards third, just in front of David Hall and Paul Tommo. The last round of qualifying for Superbikes also saw improved times for most of the competitors, with Col getting his act together to take TQ. An excellent performance from Dave Andrew with the TT nitro bike, saw him qualify in second place, just ahead of Ian Mc. Dez also racing in the Superbike class (as well as racing an 1/8th scale car - NEVER doing 3 classes again I must have been mental - Dez) put another TT Nitro bike into fourth place, ahead of Shaun W, beating dad (Alan) Followed by Dave’s dad, Clive (Mr fix it) Neither Steve N (bike problems) nor the brass (northern) monkey (long since departed for home) posted any times.

Superstock Final.

A Super race between the two top qualifiers, Dez and Chris, with the lead changing hands a number of times in the first half of the race. Chris leading the way hounded closely by Dez after a little mistake on lap one turn one let Chris through. Dez was looking just a little steadier around the tricky right hander in front of race control, and eventually reeled Chris in. After a small mistake by Chris which spoilt the cracking punch up at the front, Dez pulled away with an otherwise clean run to win with the fastest time of the day 15 laps in 6m 51.75 secs. Paul Tommo made excellent progress from 5th place on the grid with a very steady run to claim third place, in front of David H getting revenge over his mate, Dave Richards, for fourth and fifth places respectively. The superstocks proved how slippy the conditions were as the shadows started to fall across the track, by posting times that would have seen them comfortably amongst the Superbike riders, lack of traction limiting the overall performance. It's unusual to see the stockers wheel spinning the length of a straight !

Superbike Final.

The start was a disaster for second place qualifier Steve N with the bike stopping and falling into the grass after only ten yards racing. Col was away at the front with Dez's Nitro bike doing battle with Dave similar TT Smoker, closely followed by Ian. Steve had got going again, all be it a lap down, but was lapping faster than everyone else, and cutting through the field. Shaun, Clive and Alan (running the Bergo nitro) where having there own battle a few laps further back. The grip was disappearing lap by lap, and after the seven minutes was up, Col crossed the line in first place, followed by Steve and Dez, all on thirteen laps. Dave’s TT nitro again proved its reliability, but running crash bars too short meant he slipped away just once too often and finished in fourth place, ahead of Ian Mc. Shaun W grabbed sixth place in front of Mr fix it, with Alan bringing the Berg home in eighth.

Well, despite the conditions, a super days racing at a lovely venue, and a big thank you to the host club for making us so welcome.

Steve.

Well done to all the boys, I honestly thought having seen the Arctic conditions on the track first thing that bags would be packed and people would head for home, but amazingly you proved yet again what an awesome bunch of guys the bikers really are, sticking it out in horrendous conditions in good spirits, making a go of it. Good for all to see ! - Dez.

RESULTS HEAT 4 RESULTS HEAT 5

13 November - Skipton Winter Series round 1

I know I always beat on about how lucky we seem to be with the weather, whenever we run a meeting here, but the forcast for Sunday was dire, as were the previous two days, with high winds and heavy showers. Well, as luck would have it, Sunday dawned, bright and clear, and very still, amazing. We have moved into a slightly new era with new rules, and name changes for both classes, now Superstock, and Superbike. The new rules for the Superstock class, has obviously captured the imagination of some of the competitors, with a number changing classes, and for the first time, the Superbikes were out-numbered by the stockers.

Superstock.

As is well documented, this class is usually dominated by the two Ken’s, Dineen and Gospel. Both drivers received a very rude wake-up call during qualifying. Convert, Chris Douglas was flying, and improving in every round, and set TQ on twenty laps, just in front of the very impressive Paul Thompson, also recording his first twenty lapper. Mike Delaney had had a few problems during qualifying, but dragged himself up to third position with a good run in round three. The two Ken’s where still tied at the hip, with only two seconds separating them in fourth and fifth positions, and Alan Wokko enjoying his venture into Superstock, almost bettering his previous best time, set in the summer, using his Novac brushless system, front brake etc.

Superbike.

After a busy period, over the last few weeks, some of the regular drivers had to give this meeting a miss, leaving only four of us to do battle, the McLarney bros with there new chassis, Steve N and JV running NF’s. Nobody was using Lipo’s at this round, but I’m sure it won’t be long before some appear. Steve set TQ with a 21 in round two then had to retire for the day when a steering servo went bang in a big way in round three. Ian and Derek both had up’s and down’s, with Ian getting the better of the two, qualifying in second place, with JV sandwiched between them, in third place.

Superstock Final.

A good close race, with TQ man, Chris D getting the hole shot, and holding a commanding lead, until half distance, until an incident with another bike cost him a lot of time, and the lead to Mike D. Paul T carried on his good form, to also squeeze past Chris to take second place, with Alan W beating Ken D by two seconds, to claim fourth place. Ken G retired the green meanie mid race with some gremlins.

Superbike Final.

With Steve a non starter, Ian was first away, before a mistake relegated him down to fourth place, and big brother Derek taking the lead from JV. The thirteenth lap was unlucky for Ian, with a problem putting him out of the race. Derek kept it nice and steady to take the honours, just making a twenty one laps, almost a lap ahead of JV.

Sorry that no results have been posted as yet, because I don’t know how to publish them. Phil T will be popping in during the week to sort it and send them on to John to put on the Skipton site.

Snooey

RESULTS HERE

5/6 November - Barham / Brookland

Barham - Brookland weekend.

We went south, so did the weather.

Barham is at first an incredible sight, a race track in your back yard, every boys dream (after the usual ones).

Initially you don't think your bike will make it round, but given the multi layout there's always something that can be found to suit. The locals knew which suited them best and we had a full day of qualifying and collective mayhem.

The sun shone, times were great, what more could you ask? Nitro, well no sorry, Lyden Circuit 2 miles away get girly and moan about the noise, can't hear their real bikes if we were to start up, electrics only at Barham.

Mark Heckles was on a mission, as was Colin Clark, side mounted shock proving a revelation in the handling stakes. BAN IT QUICK or we'll all have to have one !!

The astro turf in field was hellish slippy, moss cover and a marshal trap. A few course words between a slip and a kick, even taking young Gary down from a great height to land on his hip, pretty nasty, so understandably marshalling was a careful affair after that. If you crashed you lost two laps !

The starting blocks worked reasonably in qualifying so were set up for the finals, but alas, chaos reigned.

I was so busy picking bikes up for the entire race that I didn't get chance to record the race details (ok I was taking pics - anyone fill in a race report here??)

The A final was similar chaos off the start, not helped by some having a hand start and others jamming in the blocks. The pace was furious, Dez and Gary were counting as one bike, Garry way faster thanks to having a front brake and Dez's spare Novak 5800 setup (having shed copper sections from his 12T in qualifying). Gary had a 7 transponder instead of 10 so counted as Dez, who came in under 10 seconds behind every lap and got ignored as a double blip, so when Dez got third overall in he final it was actually Gary, damn.

Pretty sure Colin won, Heckles and Jimbo must have been close behind, but it was chaos, anyone get the results ?? Insert Here.

General testing and silliness commenced, Colin flying his Formosa, Heckles decking and destroying it for him, having mastered the bikes so well he figured he'd take on the skies, and lost !

Dez's Drift car with Chav underlighting and headlamps proved popular, but despite ten different pilots it lived, quite amazing !

The proposed Fireworks and bike frying spectacular fizzled out as the rain fell and bodies scuttled away to tents, caravans and mostly Jimbo's house for curry and qualifying highlights, cheers Jimbo.

Brookland is huge, back straight awesome. grip was low as were the clouds. But everyone managed in one form or another. Despite balloons several glitches were suffered, receivers were drowned (I did 3!!).

Dez's Nitro TT proved to the on lookers that a nitro could be reliable while Graham and Jako cursed and cajoled theirs into varying degrees of performances.

Long crash bars, a steady throttle thumb and soft Nimh seemed the order of the day, avoiding marshals also worked to improve your overall lap times.

The meeting ran smooth, the car boys hiding in their paddock while the bikes splashed around regardless.

John V started the Nodding Rider Fan club, a Mexican wave every lap accompanying him across the line, just dying for his head to finally disengage but alas, it remains attached by a single tendon even now.

B final was a tussle between Ken and Derek with their superstockers, several times the close proximity was quite breath taking, only to be upset by one or the other making a mistake and handing the lead over. Ken got a hold in the later half of the race and hung on for grim death to win by a lap. The wind was carrying bikes sideways into corners, even causing crabbing on the straights !

A finals was a much cleaner start, Colin and Phil away at the front, Dez giving chase, slow but steady, no mistakes, while Colin and Phil enjoyed fastest lap followed by collisions again and again. Jimbo was suffering glitches galore, probable condensation induced, Jako gave it a brave shot with his Nitro after the demise of his Novak 5800 in the wet, but alas didn't see the flag. John started well but slipped back with muddy tyres just once too often ending his challenge for the lead.

Colin started kicking the rostrum, rare to see him so frustrated, turns out his GRP brakes don't work in the wet, so his Lipo rocket was a handful, whereas Dez-no-brakes-no-brain, Nimh belly pan ballast proved steadier, Phil away at the front and just doing enough to hold a half lap lead over the constant tortoise behind.

Shame about the weather but everyone agreed a great venue, covered pits with lights and mains, cafe, good setup and no noise restraints during daylight hours means we can't wait to go back in the dry, sunny weather and have another go !

Barham 20mb Brookland 12mb

Results: Barham B Final A Final

Brookland results HERE (not available yet)

22 October Tibshelf club day

Every Dog has his day.

A dark and cloudy morning, a damp track and lower turn out than previous Tibby meetings didn't bode well, but the ten drivers split into two heats, a drying track and usual laughs amongst the combatants produced the usual fun we are familiar with.

Alan was insisting on using his Bergo Flamer all day, as was Dave A, didn't even bring his Electric bike, having tested his TT Nitro all week at Tibby (real busy huh Dave) he was in highly confident that it would be on the pace.

With most of the front runners absent, Dave A was the big dog on the day and everyone's target. Ian Mac was quietly confident, running his newly completed carbon conversion kit to good effect. Even sold one or two on the day, probably take a few orders too very soon.....

A slight hitch in proceedings when it was announced Spektrums wouldn't be tolerated today, so half the bike crew started packing up, which turned the decision around. Negating the BRCa insurance is not to be sniffed at and a BRCA rep on site that had to follow procedure and fill in a variance log should anyone actually use an illegal radio system. It was all dissipated pretty harmlessly but was touch and go at more than one point.

Anyway... practice kicked off, the track dried straight off, second round of Qualifying was definitely the fastest the track would be all day. Dave A had a rough time in first round, his receiver pack fell out when his back tyre rubbed through the cable ties holding it in. Dez's Nitro was looking good but flaming out on each straight and was deemed too unreliable to bother with today.

Second Round Dave set the one and only 18 lapper of the meeting, while Ian and Dez ran him close but both making one mistake in their best runs to just miss out on an 18 by 3 seconds. Close but not close enough.

So to the finals.

B final, Paul Rodgers took off from pole, followed by David Hall, Alan Nitro Waterfall and his lad Shaun in hot pursuit, Clive Andrew learning fast but bringing up the rear in his dayglow pink outfit.

The order stayed as per the grid and ended up the same order, 1, 2 ,3 ,4 ,5, not often I've seen that happen ! Paul had just one marshalling stint, while Dave had to be rescued nearly half a dozen times, Paul and David were on the same lap by the end, just 16 secs apart though David took the fastest lap of the race with a 26.2 as the surface cooled in the late autumn cool.

A final, the grip was falling fast, several warm up laps were required to get the tyres working, while Dave A got his Nitro fired up and finally joined the grid. Well almost. He was launched from the loop hairpin as the grid were set off on the main straight by a mob that had gathered to volunteer. unfortunately instead of sending each bike off in turn they decided to try and launch all bikes as a grid and chaos ensued. Dave pulled through to take the lead, chased by Ian and Dez. The trio pulled away to form a front bunch, Dave pulling away steadily at the front while Dez slowly slowly reeled in Ian Mac. Maybe the extra weight of the nitro was generating more grip, maybe the engine was warming the rear tyre, either way Dave had something Dez couldn't match, neither running a front brake and both struggling to slow for the loop hairpin. As the bunch closed up Ian took a tumble, Dez had a fail safe lock up moment right in front of the rostrum (even on Spektrum, weird huh) and Dave was away with it. Rejoining the track Dez over took Ian on the grass and was pushing for all his worth to catch Dave A's flying TT Nitro. There he was on the back loop on the grass being attended by a marshal, struggling to get the crash bars back in their holders or something, we all thought it had cut as there was no noise except from the rostrum !!

Dez and Ian passed Dave on the grass still, but he rejoined much to everyone's amazement, passing Ian as he had another glitch on lap 16, then as Dave chased down Dez on the last lap having just beat the clock to squeeze another lap, heading down the back straight Dave's bike looped hi in the air, his crash bar had dangled out and sent the bike pole vaulting. Dez had it in the bag and cruised to the flag 8 seconds clear. Dave was gutted, Ian likewise, Dez was just gutted, a real close three way battle dissipated by little problems. Dave has set the fastest lap with a 23.5, Dez's best just half a second off that, Ian a further 0.2 secs adrift. Dave Richards came in two laps behind Ian and Paul Thommo had suffered more bad luck than anyone to complete just 6 laps in his first A final

A queue formed for a play with Alan T.O.M. nitro Bergo and all agreed it has a lot of potential, Both Dave A and T.O.M. are now Nitro converts and determined to run only Nitro from now on.

Many thanks to the guys at Tibshelf for another excellent meeting, hope to see a few more faces next month. Maybe we'll have a Nitro Only heat as well as two electric heats, wouldn't that be cool !

Dez

RESULTS: Heat 5 Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5 Heat 6 Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5

16 October Skipton Club day

It had been a while away from Skipton for me and I am pleased to say it had lost none of its appeal when I arrived on Sunday morning to a dry and well groomed circuit (thanks Ken!).

Only nine competitors this time but still some excellent racing in the two race classes-Standard and Modified.

Standard class had the two Kens, Brian and Mike D competing - until Mike informed me he was running a brushless AFTER we had sorted the races!!

We left him in that heat anyway - I think Mike has learnt that a faster motor is not always faster round a track....it looked quite spectacular though as he was wheelspinning his way around on his TEFLON rear tyre and with no front brake either Check out the video on the Skippy site!!

I'm sure it won't be long before he is biting at our heels in the Moddy class!

Qualifying was hard fought all day with Ken D getting pole in the Standard A final followed by Ken G and Mike D (NOT Standard but in the heat anyway!) and Brian.

In the Final Brian led for a couple of laps then Ken D snatched the lead back which he carried all the way to the finish whilst Brian clung on to second till lap 10 when he was punted off the track and down to third place and let Ken G through and thats how it finished with Mike bringing up the rear.

Moddy qualifying was a mixed affair with breakdowns for Steve,Allan,John and Phil.

Allan and John were running their Nitro's in the Modified class were lapping at a reasonable pace not much slower than the electric bikes. John's bike was a match in a straight line for Col's Lipo powered bike and was great to watch

Col managed to qualify pole with Steve,Phil,John and Allan following.

Bit difficult to tell you all about it as I was in it but I'll tell you what I know!

Col got off to a bad start and let Phil through to take the lead but rejoined to catch Phil and overtake briefly but slipped on some Bergonzoni poo from Allan's bike gave Phil a bit of breathing space to carry on for the win. Steve suffered a nightmare start but made a valiant effort to catch up with 14 of his 21 laps under the 19 second mark This gave him second place in the final with Col an unlucky third.

Allan managed to make it to the end with a creditable fourth place with his nitro and John Fifth with mechanical trouble.

Another Great days racing at Skippy with a good buch of lads - I can't wait to go back again!!!

Phil

RESULTS HERE

26 September Tibshelf multi class

Results- Heat 5 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5 Heat 6 Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4

11 September RACER final round

Travelled down to Mendip on the Saturday with Chris Douglas. Arrived at the circuit mid afternoon to find the pits quite full, and a lot of bikes out practicing, along with the 1/5th scale cars and trucks. Quickly remembered last time I practiced here with the big petrol cars, getting my bike almost written off, so this time it stayed in the boot until race day. The usual Saturday night out at the famous or should I say infamous curry house, with seventeen of us in attendance. The highlight of the evening was when this not so young, and not so ladylike lady got up from the table opposite and started telling naughty jokes, and firstly taking a shine to Dave Andrew, but then she must have smelt Col’s after shave, and poor Dave didn’t stand a chance, yet another win for Col, and we hadn’t even started racing yet. Col certainly knows how to pull a classy bird NOT. It hardly seems worth reporting on the racing after that, but here goes. Overnight rain had left the track quite wet with virtually no grip for practice and little better for the first round of qualifying, with everybody using long crash bars to limit the angle of lean, with lap times well down, but most people coping ok. Round two, and the cars had dried the track out and the grip was good and the times came tumbling down. The atmosphere in the pits was brilliant, as usual with twenty four bikers, racing sixteen modified and eight stock class bikes, this was our biggest attendance yet. A number of the guy’s were having various problems, interference being one, but the ones I felt most sorry for were ‘Jimbo’ Crunden and Graham Clark. James has a long standing problem of breaking spur gears (three today) and no one can explain why, I’d feel like crying for him if I didn’t make so much money out of him, sorry Jimbo. Graham worked tirelessly on his bikes all day without any reward, keep at it Graham, results will come. The most depressing person in the pits was a guy that looks a bit like Des Chand, but this fellow had a beard, however, he was racing TT bikes, Hmmmm. Anyway, this person decided to play mind games with us with some nifty battery analysing equipment, and was testing all our batteries, then telling us how crap they were, some people will go to any lengths won’t they !! With qualifying over, in stock class, Mike Delaney hadn’t had it all his own way, with Dave Richards taking TQ. In modified class, Col led the way, but a number of us were close behind.

Stock class final.

This was one of the races of the year !! Fifth place qualifier, Ken Dineen got a great start to get away with Mike and Dave and the lead kept changing hands for the whole race. But when it counted, at the flag Mike D was at the front, beating Dave, by 2.3 seconds and Ken D just a short way back in third.

Modified class B final.

Sorry guys, I couldn’t watch the whole race as I was getting my bike ready. ‘Jamming’ Jamie G was the man in this one recording a respectable 11 laps to win by the very comfortable margin of two laps from ‘jumpin’ Jacko Buglione who in turn was only two seconds in front of Alan (carbon fibre) Watkinson.

Modified class A final.

Well, this was another difficult one to report on, as I had had one of my better days, (hooray) qualifying third, behind lady-killer Colin Mc and Davey A. Trying to race and take mental notes of what’s going on is quite difficult, but here goes. Col got the hole shot from Dave and Derek Mc with me dropping to fourth after a small mistake. My bike was feeling really good, and I managed to get inside Derek at the beautiful left hand sweeper (my favourite corner of all the circuits) . I then caught Davey up and tried to take him at the same place and clipped his back end, sending him spinning off the track, (very sorry Dave). Then, to my surprise I was catch up to Col, and feeling like a win was possible when my interference problems returned and my bike kept throwing it’s self at the scenery, race over for me. Col now had a clear lead, but behind, a battle was raging for the lower places, with only eight seconds covering the next six bikes, Derek taking second from Jimbo, Phil ‘Taxi’ Tennant, Davey A, John V and myself.

The full results will be posted on the Racer 1/5th site shortly.

Well that brings to an end another memorable Racer series for this year, and a big thank you must go to Chris Wright for organising and co-ordinating the series for us, and special thanks from me Chris. From myself, I want to thank all the guy’s and characters who have taken part, it’s an honour to compete with such a superb bunch of people, and by far the most fun and enjoyment that I’ve had in my many years of r/c, thank you all. Hopefully next year will be even better, with more competitors, and the POSSABILLITY of a ‘Worlds’ event. Keep you eye on rc racechat.

Steve.

See the new modified champ here >

Results and points on the Racer site http://www.1-5racing.com/

21 August Skipton RACER rd7

Again, we were blessed with beautiful weather for the penultimate round of the Racer Series, with wall to wall blue sky, and high temperatures. There were fewer bikes than anticipated, but it was good to see more cars and trucks than at the previous round in July. With seven heats (three bikes, and four cars and trucks) it was going to be a busy day.

Stock class bikes.

Qualifying was very close, but Mike Delaney came out on top, and was the only driver to record a twenty lapper. Brian Parker ran him close, only missing the magical 20 laps by 0.31 secs to out qualify club mate Ken Gospel. Dave Richards and Paul Rogers also put in creditable performances to push Ken Dineen down to an unfamiliar sixth place with David Hall in seventh place.

Final.

A good start by Ken D saw him up to second place, and giving TQ man Mike D a hard time until a mistake on lap six allowed the leader to get away to win at ease with another very consistent drive, and another twenty lapper. Ken D recovered from his earlier mistake to fight his was back up to second, just in front of the improving Dave Richards and Paul Rogers. Brian P couldn’t quite maintain his earlier form to take fifth. Ken G and David Hall both had problems which forced there retirements just after mid race.

Modified Bikes.

It took a while for things to get going, and not until round three did things spark into life. Phil T and Derek Mc went to the top of the pile, both recording 22 laps after a enjoying a good battle between themselves. Alan Watkinson also had a big smile on his face after recording his best ever time around the tricky Skipton circuit. Then things really exploded into life, with Dave Andrew recording an incredible 23 laps to seal the TQ position. The very enthusiastic Dez Chand cane and made history, running the new Thunder Tiger nitro bike, and finished all his races, showing the bikes reliability. The bike looked a little unstable over the Skipton bumps, but with a little tweaking, it’s possible that this bike could be raced competitively, watch out for the review in the next edition of RRCI. John Veal returned from his success in California, but not until the last round did he get back into the groove and record a fast 21 laps to book his place in the A main with Chris Douglas claiming the final place. What of Colin Mc I hear you ask?? Col had a really bad day, suffering a number of electronic problems, and just when things were looking better in the last round of qualifying a small mechanical problem forced another retirement. I think Col can afford one bad day though.

B final.

This was a very good humoured race with all three drivers Col, Alan W and Dez, again running the nitro bike, swapping paint with each other, before Col cleared off in the latter part of the race, to leave the others to scrap over the minor places, Alan just scraping over the line in front of the impressive nitro bike.

A Final

All the drivers maintained there qualifying positions for the first seven laps, at red hot pace. Phil T was desperately trying to hold on to TQ man Dave A, with Derek Mc close behind in third place, until lap eight until a front brake problem put him out. Dave was just managing to eek out a tenth of a second a lap from Phil, who was doing the same to new third place man John V, and John doing the same to Chris D. That’s how it finished, with a very happy Dave A adding the win to his TQ position.

Trucks.

Again, the trucks provided great entertainment around the bumpy Skipton track. Dave Pugh looks a very class act, banging in 15 second laps consistently to win by the comfortable margin of seven laps from Andy Williamson, and Les Allen picking up the third place trophy.

Saloon.

This was quite a close race, with a number of drivers getting into the 15 second lap bracket. Les Gowan went even better, recording a number of 14 second laps, to come from fourth place on the grid, to win by two laps from Andy Williamson, with TQ man Brian Robertson in third.

Sports GT.

Again, another close race, with the ever smiling Charlie Stewart coming from fourth place on the grid to snatch first place with 69 laps in twenty minutes, two laps up on Kevin Gosling who in turn finished a lap up on John Walton.

I’d just like to thank all competitors who travelled from far and wide to race with us, and to all the club members for there hard work in preparing the circuit etc. I hope you hall had a good day, and a safe journey home. Looking forward to the last round at the beautiful Mendip circuit on the 11th September, hope to see you there.

Results will be posted on the Skipton club and Racer websites.

Steve.

Some close action from the standard class race

RESULTS HERE bikes, cars & trucks

7 August SV Speedway, California - 2005 US r/c motorcycle races

This year the intrepid Team Veal crossed the water again to enter the annual American National r/c motorcycle racing event, this time at SV Speedway, California. And what a track! By far the longest track we've raced on and certainly with the fastest straight, but with a twisty, technical side to it that makes an ideal setup very difficult to find. Team Veal arrived at the track with some very special bikes, made by top engineer, Patrick Alleven. Dubbed the V2, the bikes were entered in the stock and modified classes and early practice looked very promising indeed. The stock bike (17 turn), driven by Jonathan, was extremely quick, with sharp handling to match and was soon absorbing the slightly bumpy parts of the track with ease. Two modified bikes were run, Jonathan's with a 10 turn modified motor and John's with the new LRP brushless combo. Both proved very quick, wheelying with ease out of most corners and ballistic down the straight. With all 3 bikes ready and Patrick's willingness to turn pit man, just minor alterations were needed before race day. Friday and Saturday practice saw Steve Bowen and Mike Dulian on the track, both improving fast with every run. Ian Francisco was also very fast and all 3 were obviously looking for a podium finish on race day. This year the nitro class was boosted by the addition of newcomers Lorenzo, John Espinor and Italian Marco Verna. Steve Bowen and Kevin Hicks also ran in this class.

Mains; 1/8 electric looked great, these little bikes were pretty quick and the track almost dwarfed them, even using just half of the layout, but the high speeds made the racing look great. The racing eventually turned into a 3 bike affair, with Ian Francisco dominating and taking the win in the mains, but Ray Ruggles was close behind, with Ken Johnson putting in some good laps to finish third. Stock class saw the V2 pitted against the usual NF/TT for the first time and doing very well, Jonathan recording the fastest electric race time of the meeting with 8 laps in 5.02.77 Not far behind and also on 8 laps was Steve Bowen, showing much improvement since Vegas, and Larry Dy 3rd. Modified class Mains saw Team Veal again take top honours, with a 1,2 and again Steve with a good 3rd. Mike Diulian, Ronnie Dillan and Ray Sandoval came home only 1 lap down. The nitro Mains started with a first corner crash leaving Marco, the favourite, to work a little harder than normal to claw back over half a lap in 5 minutes, which of course he did with ease. Bar problems left John's bike stranded on the last 2 corners, allowing Steve B through for a well deserved second place. Lorenzo, John Espinor and Kevin all had problems, leaving them off the pace, but no lack of talent here. A great weekends racing, run by some really great guys, results are on Bruce's site here www.OnlineRC.com

Jonathan in the Stock A-Main

7 August Skipton Club Day