Herefords Stephen Davies rose to the challenge though, and despite struggling somewhat in the early rounds he took TQ in the third and final round of qualifying after a mistake from Mark Stiles saw him lose vital seconds on what would have been his best qualifying run. Mark lined up second with Chris Doughty third and proudly flying the WRCC flag at his first micro national. Reigning BRCA champion and current championship leader Craig Harris was feeling unwell on the day, and after qualifying in 7th place he decided to go home and nurse what looked to be a terrible bout of the flu! Unlucky 11th was Essex Boy Steve Biscoe; a disappointing result for a driver who enjoys his racing and is often present at our Monday night club meetings.

A special mention goes to WRCC member Jake Venter, who at just 5 years old is the youngest competitor at the micro nationals and is already in his second season of competition! This proves that national level racing (and model car racing in general) can be enjoyed by people of all ages; well done Jake!

2WD only had 3 entrants, and the Losi Mini-t of John Timberlake dominated the class. He took his usual steady approach and TQ’d by a comfortable margin ahead of local drivers Chris Dean and William Ridgley.

At the start of leg 1 of the 4WD A final, Mark Stiles attempted a pass on the pole sitter Steve Davies at the end of lap one. The two cars collided in a racing incident, dropping both drivers to the back of the pack. This gifted the lead to Chris Doughty, who proceeded to pull away and looked comfortable at the head of the pack. Meanwhile, Mark had set about recovering some lost ground and after drawing upon his many years of experience racing at WRCC, he soon found himself back up into 2nd place. A small mistake from Chris was all the invitation Mark needed to snatch the lead, which he would hold until the end of the race. Chris crossed the line second, with Hereford driver Chris Bottle taking 3rd.

John Timberlake won the first leg of the 2WD A final with ease. Chris Dean and William Ridgley followed him home in 2nd and 3rd.

Leg 2 of the 4WD A final was almost as eventful as the first leg. This time Steve Davies got away cleanly and went on to drive a clean and consistent race to take an easy win. However, there was plenty of action going on in his wake! Another error from Mark Stiles saw him fall down the field early on, and whilst he managed to recover some lost ground he wasn’t able to challenge for the win. He eventually crossed the line third behind Chris Doughty, who it seems decided to drive a safe and consistent race rather than risking it all on the big jumps. This approach paid off for Chris, as despite not winning either leg of the final, his brace of second place finishes was enough to see him take the overall win on count-back from Mark Stiles! Chris Bottle finished 3rd overall after two solid runs in the finals. This was great news for WRCC as our drivers occupied the top two steps of the winners podium! Steve Biscoe won both legs of the 4WD B final, a result that came as some consolation for not making the A.

Leg 2 of the 2WD A final was once again won by John Timberlake. However, the 2nd and 3rd positions were reversed from the previous leg, and a faster final time gave William Ridgley 2nd overall at his first BRCA micro national.

“The Buzzard Boys” from the Leighton Buzzard club won the team for the second national in a row. WRCC entered 2 teams; one of which (Chris Doughty, Mark Stiles & Carl Venter) finished in a credible second place.

The Buzzard Boys took home a box of Maltesers each as well as bragging rights for the next national, which takes place in Macclesfield on 7th December. It would be great to see as many WRCC members there as possible to enable us to become better known nationally. We have a great club here at WRCC, and we need to let everyone know about it!