Press Release From RacewayOne:
www.racewayone.com
Round 5 of the 2024 BRCA 1/tenth Offroad Nationals was an intense curler coaster journey the place the monitor bit when least anticipated. Over the weekend of July 27/28 the sequence progressed to TORCH at Swanmore College not too removed from Southampton. The membership actually is aware of the best way to placed on an occasion – good monitor, good services, nice choice of meals distributors and a fantastic choice of girls fashions – if you understand, you understand. The climate over the weekend was principally sunny and heat other than one heavy bathe on Saturday which upset issues at a vital second.
The Saturday morning drivers briefing was held in wonderful morning sunshine and within the absence of Section Chairman Martin Owen, Tony Evdoka MC’d proceedings. The briefing was complete as there are a number of further restrictions with the monitor being primarily based at school grounds. The monitor stroll confirmed that the circuit design was a really welcome development as UK tracks goal to change into extra 3D with the addition of the very giant 3-way desk high which may very well be utilized in a number of methods relying on the lane structure. Another factor that’s new at TORCH is the quantity of droop within the soil below the substitute grass. The result’s that the monitor floor has change into very undulating, and the bumps would play a key function within the outcomes that unfolded over the 2 days.
As 2wd observe bought underway on a moist however rapidly drying monitor, most of the bystanders had been chatting about how the 2wd championship was unfolding. Neither Neil Cragg, Tommy Hall, Ben Smith nor Lee Martin can win the championship at this spherical, however they will deal themselves out of their likelihood with a poor efficiency.
First out of the blocks and quickest in 2wd observe was title contender Ben Smith who managed a time over three laps significantly faster than second quickest Tommy Hall. The clarification for this isn’t clear – maybe simply uncooked early tempo. Neil Cragg was third and Lee Martin fourth so from the outset the championship favourites had been working quick.
The monitor was bone dry by the point 2wd qualifying began. Ben Smith couldn’t preserve his damp monitor relative tempo and it was Neil Cragg who got here by means of to take Rounds 1 & 2. His automobile producing an unimaginable quantity of ahead drive although it didn’t look nice on the bumps. The traction benefit allowed him to hold extra pace out of the turns the place others had been over-running the slipper clutch. In Round 3 it was Tommy Hall who put in an identical efficiency to take the TQ. Tommy’s automobile seemed rather more settled over the bumps however there was undoubtedly room for enchancment. The remaining spherical was moist and brought by Josh Holdsworth with a quick and clear run the place others made errors. Josh’s automobile seemed superb over the bumpy floor however appeared to step out of line below energy out of the corners. Cragg took 2wd Pole Position with Tommy Hall beginning in second on a quicker time.
Light rain began to for 2wd A Final Leg 1 ensuing decrease traction ranges all spherical. Neil Cragg led them away, intently adopted by Tommy Hall. The subject of vehicles had been all working at an identical tempo. Cragg on the entrance trying clean and in management, Hall behind trying extra aggressive with a number of rotation on the apexes. With 90 seconds down, Hall was proper on Cragg’s again bumper with Holdsworth, Martin & Pugh very shut behind. On the fifth lap, the lead two had slowly separated themselves from the principle pack. The two crossed the road working very intently and made their approach as much as the one earlier than coming again in direction of the podium. Coming off the one, Cragg bought a foul touchdown inflicting his automobile to momentarily get out of form and this was the chance Hall was in search of. Hall dived for the hole in the back of Cragg’s out of form automobile, however by the point he occupied the hole Cragg was rapidly pinching that hole and there was a collision. Cragg was spun round twice while being pushed on by Hall attempting to get by means of. When Cragg completed spinning round he discovered himself on the apex of the subsequent nook forward of Hall! A impossible consequence. The race continued as if no collision had ever occurred – the one proof being that Holdsworth was now an in depth third. For the subsequent 4 laps, Cragg and Hall ran nostril to tail as they gapped the sector. Late within the lap with practically 4 minutes down, Cragg within the lead touched off the hose on the entry to the chicane earlier than the straight and put his automobile right into a barrel roll. The incident resolved itself quicky however not earlier than Hall was by means of. Hall’s lead was brief lived as he put his automobile up on a hose earlier than the one – beaching it briefly and letting Cragg and Martin by means of. Hall put in an outstanding efficiency within the final minute to catch Martin and put him below strain however there wasn’t sufficient time and even with a final nook lunge third was the consequence. Cragg taking the win, Martin second.
After 2wd A Final Leg 1 there was a torrential downpour. The rain got here down exhausting for five minutes non cease earlier than fully ceasing and returning to blue skies. 2wd A Final Leg 2 bought off to a slippery begin with some drivers reverting again to their moist setup vehicles. Neil Cragg led the sector away however his lead was very brief lived when he caught the hose on the apex simply earlier than they arrive throughout the beginning/end line. His rolled over onto its roof and the entire subject handed by means of. Tommy Hall now main, Cragg relegated to final. The grip ranges had been low and the subsequent to show it was new chief Tommy Hall when he fishtailed earlier than the double in the midst of the monitor and got here up brief on the bounce. Josh Holsworth travelling at pace in second jumped nicely, however landed on a recovering Hall inflicting his automobile to roll over. Hall bought away within the lead, Lee Martin in second, and a recovering Holdsworth in third. Over the continuing couple of laps Hall and Martin propelled themselves at pace away from the remainder of the sector. Hall with a 1 second lead meant that the battle wasn’t on, however the chase and strain was. By the halfway level a fast efficiency had given Tommy Hall a really wholesome lead. Just a few bobbles and errors from Lee Martin left hello trailing in second with Luke Holdsworth at a really protected distance behind in third. The fundamental battle on monitor was for third between Luke Holdsworth and Neil Cragg who trailed Lee Martin by about 4 seconds. Daniel Pole one other few seconds behind in fifth. The ending tone rang out as Tommy Hall made his approach down the straight to take the Leg win. Lee Martin was second to cross the road, so it was all eyes on the Holdsworth/Cragg battle for third. The two had been now working very shut with Cragg making use of bucket a great deal of strain. The two got here off the straight at excessive pace solely half a meter aside with just one chicane to go earlier than the road. Holdsworth made his automobile a large as attainable by rolling the bounce earlier than the final nook and Cragg hit it with extra pace that means his automobile left the bottom and on touchdown collided with Holdsworth. The two vehicles intertwined and wanted to be marshalled. Whilst that was being sorted out, Daniel Pole skipped by from fifth to 3rd. Cragg and Holdsworth go going once more, and Cragg was throughout the road first just for the referee to reverse his place within the curiosity of equity. Final Leg 2 order: T Hall, Martin, Pole.
All that motion made 2wd A remaining Leg 3 the decider. Tommy, Lee, Neil & Daniel might win it and primarily based on Leg 2, Tommy Hall was certainly the favorite. The race began and the sector made its approach spherical by race management with out incident. The first situation from Josh Holdsworth as he made his was in direction of the podium shortly after – clipping a hose and barrel rolling the automobile permitting Ben Smith although. There was instantly additional drama when Holdsworth collected Smith over the tabletop dropping each down the order. Back on the entrance of the sector the battle for the lead was between Cragg and Hall who had been nostril to tail. On the second lap the 2 jumped the desk high very intently, then once more virtually inseparable by means of the correct angle desk high and continuing double bounce. On touchdown off the double, Cragg went broad – solely a automobile’s width – which was sufficient for Tommy Hall to push by means of into the lead. Cragg utilized strain right away and the battle continued by means of the subsequent few corners and down the straight. Coming by means of the curler earlier than race management Hall made an unforced errors and tipped the apex rolling his automobile over. Cragg with nowhere to go, collected him and cane to a lifeless cease because the marshal sprinted in direction of them. Taking full benefit, Lee Martin from third went across the outdoors of the incident and assumed the lead. Over the subsequent couple of laps, Lee Martin seemed clean and in management. Various errors from Hall and Cragg left them trailing by 5 – 6 seconds. That good lead was being eaten by Hall – grip was enhancing, and he was flying – however his connect was too heavy and crashed giving second again to Cragg. That change of order decided the ultimate consequence. Although the Leg ending order was Martin, Cragg, Hall – the second place place for Cragg propelled him to the general win.
Once once more, the Sunday morning driver’s briefing was held in wonderful sunshine and as soon as once more it was Tony Evdoka who led proceedings as Section Chairman Martin Owen was away within the USA. Temperatures had been predicted to climb into the mid-twenties over the day and never a drop of rain was forecast.
The membership laid a brand new monitor design for 4WD. The design was good nonetheless quite a lot of individuals commented that the 2wd and 4WD layouts ought to have been swapped and that leaping the complete size of the large tabletop would have been extra suited to 4WD. There was additionally a difficulty with the disbursement of marshals on Sunday with a typical prevalence of marshals working and leaping over lanes of visitors to get to accident black spots as a substitute of being posted near them. Track design is a compromise all over the place and I feel the membership did a strong job in offering a structure that wasn’t already acquainted to the regulars.
4WD observe bought underway on a moist monitor which dried in a short time. Tommy Hall’s automobile seemed much like his 2wd. Tons of grunt and superb nook pace however a little bit unsettled over the numerous bumps. On his second try he went quickest over three consecutive laps with Ben Smith in second. Ben’s automobile was the flipside in efficiency to Tommy’s. It was wonderful by means of the bumps however lacked preliminary grunt out of the corners. Ben was having to try to carry extra nook pace to compensate which induced its personal points. Neil Cragg went third. With the championship settled in Tommy Hall’s favour all efforts on today can be in an try and settle the remaining podium positions.
Round 1 of qualifying bought underway on a monitor that was now bone dry. Niel Cragg seemed totally fired up and he put in a staggering time to go quickest contemplating he did have a tumble mid run. That run was Neil’s peak efficiency of the day, and it was Ben Smith who went quickest in spherical 2. Smith’s automobile once more trying superb over the bumps. In spherical 3, now we have out third TQ driver – Lee Martin. Martin’s automobile trying superb certainly and you possibly can see his confidence rising over the run. And lastly in spherical 4 it was Tommy Hall’s flip to assert a TQ additionally with a really clean and quick exhibition of driving. With 4 winners from 4 rounds the factors state of affairs was full. Hall, Martin & Smith all with a TQ and a second in spherical. Cragg with a TQ and a 3rd. It’s very uncommon {that a} whole factors haul of three would depart you fourth on the A Final grid! Once once more, we noticed Thomas Phipps within the A Final – he’s turning into a daily.
4WD A Final Leg 1 began at tempo below blue skies and nice sunshine. Tommy Hall fired out of the field and pushed on from the phrase go. Lee Martin in second seemed far much less fired up however was matching Hall’s tempo with none fuss. Smith, Cragg and Phipps making up the lead pack. Towards the top of the primary lap, Hall bought a foul bounce which resulted in him clipping the hose on the apex of the 90° left earlier than the hairpin onto the straight. Martin tried to go across the outdoors of Hall as he recovered, however as Hall moved throughout to cowl Martin, the vehicles grew to become entangled, and Smith handed to take the lead. The accident was fast to rectify itself and Hall rejoined in second with Cragg third, Phipps fourth and Martin fifth – all 10 vehicles now tightly grouped. With solely two laps down, Smith was main with Tommy Hall second. The former being very quick by means of the jumps and the latter being very quick out of the corners – the space between them was very variable. There had been sections the place Hall would reel in Smith after which different sections the place Smith would break free at tempo. An apparent place to see this was by means of the second half of the lap there the bumps had been much less concentrated. Hall caught Smith by a few metres over a couple of corners and was very quick by means of the second 90° tabletop. Unfortunately, on the third and extra extreme 90° tabletop he carried an excessive amount of pace and rolled on the touchdown permitting Smith away and 9 of the ten vehicles by means of – with three and half minutes remaining. With Hall out of the equation, a mix of a few nice laps from Cragg and a few not so nice ones from Smith meant the battle for the lead was on. The two dragged down the straight for the fifth time and rounded the tightening nook at its finish. Switching again over the one bounce, Smith touched the within hose and was compelled broad letting Cragg by means of. Smith didn’t look snug with the adjustments he had made to the automobile as he had a few dangerous landings and grazes with hoses – Lee Martin having to again out of a few overtaking alternatives for the protection of each vehicles. When Smith was settled, he was in all probability the quickest driver on monitor however the efficiency window main as much as the restrict was very slim. A few laps later after reeling in Neil Cragg after which falling behind once more he grazed a hose a bit too exhausting below the driving force’s stand and put the automobile onto its roof letting Lee Martin by means of. And then Martin did the identical on the subsequent nook which a recovering Smith couldn’t keep away from. When the mud settled Cragg had an enormous lead out entrance, with Smith main the chasing pack of Luke Holdsworth, Lee Martin & Josh Holdsworth. Martin’s automobile was like a caged animal again in fourth – he had tons extra tempo than the vehicles round him and he was having to be very affected person at each nook. Over the double earlier than the hairpin in the midst of the monitor the inevitable occurred. Luke Holdsworth jumped brief on the double and chassis slapped his automobile leading to a double bounce. Martin, already dedicated to the touchdown, had nowhere to go other than into the again of the recovering Holdsworth and the 2 grew to become entangled permitting many of the subject by means of. Very irritating for each drivers however particularly for Martin who had doubtlessly assembly profitable tempo however too many errors and slower vehicles to take care of. With thirty seconds to go Cragg remained out in entrance with an enormous lead, Ben Smith second and Thomas Phipps holding again Tommy Hall in third. This remained the race order to the end of this eventful A remaining.
4WD A Final Leg 2 had the potential to be a basic. Neil Cragg had taken leg 1, however didn’t look notably delighted with the automobile. Hall had a great deal of tempo as he was regularly working on the ragged edge – if harnessed he might win it. Ben Smith can be higher in Leg 2 after undoing the setup adjustments he made for Leg 1 – one other potential winner, and Lee Martin would certainly function as he is aware of he has race profitable tempo if he can keep away from different individuals errors in visitors and even Thomas Phipps was a possible shoe-in for the win.
All the drivers remained calm initially of the race and a procession lead by Tommy Hall labored its approach across the monitor. On the third 90° tabletop within the latter half of the lap, Hall touched the apex and slowed. Martin went for the chance however needed to examine as much as keep away from hitting Hall on the apex of the continuing hairpin. Hall bought away as Martin ended up within the valley of the double and Smith bought by means of to second. Ben Smith’s automobile seemed fully completely different this time – certain footed and pin level correct. He rapidly reeled in Tommy Hall and sat on his again bumper in search of his likelihood. With two minutes down, Smith’s alternative was introduced to him. Tommy Hall got here off the one bounce after coming off the straight and on touchdown the automobile bought all out of form. Smith was in a position to go across the outdoors and overtake on the brief straight right down to race management. Smith benefit was elevated when Lee Martin glanced off Hall’s left again wheel at continuing hairpin and narrowly avoiding a pile up. Smith continued to construct his lead and was now out in from by a few seconds – the principle battle being between Hall and Martin for second. Then with solely two minutes left on the clock, Hall had a reproduction crash from Leg 1 rolling on the touchdown of the extra extreme third tabletop – Lee Martin, Thomas Phipps and Neil Cragg all getting by means of. With a little bit of respiratory room, Lee Martin might actually present the tempo of his automobile. He left Phipps in his mud and began to make inroads into Smith’s lead – managing to get the hole down to at least one second. But as he bought shut the ending tone rang out – remaining order: Smith, Martin, Phipps.
Going into 4WD A Final Leg 3, Tommy Hall didn’t have a mathematical likelihood of having the ability to take the win. The high spot would go to both Ben Smith, Neil Cragg or Lee Martin. Hall led the sector away in a barely frantic type with the rest of the sector trying relaxed. After a few laps, Hall & Martin had damaged away from the sector. There was lower than a second between the 2 which may very well be evaporated by a bobble or a double bounce. It was a minute and a half in earlier than the primary cracks confirmed on this epic duel. Tommy Hall coming throughout the road, oversteered below energy up onto the monitor marking and rolled throughout the lane, permitting Martin and finally Cragg by means of. For the subsequent three minutes Lee Martin settle right into a clean quick tempo out on the entrance on his personal. Cragg & Hall slowly gained on him, however there was no strain on the lead. Martin continued to take the Leg win and draw on factors with Ben Smith for the general 4WD victory. His time turned out to be 2 seconds quicker which secured the win.
It was a superb end to a tricky day’s racing. Lee Martin has hopefully damaged the again of the interval of horrible luck he had and we see him return to championship dominating type. Another winner this weekend was the Titchfield Offroad Racing Club Hants themselves as they’ve taken the controversial transfer of including some large 3D options – one thing that isn’t all the time greeted with open arms. The UK should transfer in direction of extra 3D tracks if the nations greatest drivers are to dominate and European and World stage.
The 2wd Championship nonetheless has not clear chief. Hall and Cragg have doubtlessly a 128 level rating to enhance on whist Ben Smith has a 127 level rating to enhance on. TQ at Boughton shall be essential.
Tommy Hall has already secured the title however the battle for the rostrum positions is between Martin, Phipps and Cragg. Martin with a 125 to drop!