Martin Opens with Double Top

By Matt On April 13, 2015 · Add Comment

The first BRCA Off-Road National of the season took place at Robin Hood Raceway over the weekend. A full complement of drivers were greeted by a well prepped track and though the weather started wet, windy and cold the sun did at least appear once qualifying started on Saturday. For the 2WD event the all Astroturf track was a mixture of quick open corners with some really testing jumps and adverse camber sections. Grip was good and remained consistent once the track had dried. The defending champion Darren Bloomfield wasn’t in attendance, but the rest of the usual suspects were and competition was as tight as expected.
It was Neil Cragg that took pole position after a fabulous last round performance to just pip Lee Martin with Nathan Waters lining up third. The finals saw a cracking display of racing from the top two who proved to be a step quicker than the rest. Lee took the first leg after a mistake from Neil, with the latter making amends in leg two driving to a well controlled victory. The final leg was nip and tuck all the way with a definitive passing move from Lee flying out of the whoops to go around Neil into the banking. This was enough for the leg win and with it overall victory.

Result – 2WD
1. Lee Martin – Yokomo
2. Neil Cragg – Team Associated
3. Tom Cockerill – Yokomo
4. Nathan Waters – Schumacher
5. Tom Yardy – Yokomo
6. Simon Moss – Schumacher
7. Craig Collinson – Team C
8. Ben Jemison – Schumacher
9. Greg Williams – Team Associated
10. Kevin Lee – Team C

The weather for the 4WD event was still super windy with most of those pitting in gazebos moving into the relative safety of the huge communal marquee the RHR crew put on for the racers each year. The track layout was vastly different in shape, but saw the same mix of quick corners with various quirky features thrown in. Form was the same as 2WD with Neil Cragg and Lee Martin clearly ahead of the rest and although Lee closed the gap during the first three rounds, Neil was quickest in all of them to secure pole position with one round still to go. Just as well as the rain arrived halfway through the final round to really mix things up. The finals again were all about Neil and Lee, with Neil taking the first leg and Lee the second after some great nose to tail racing. The final leg was a fitting end to the season opener with Neil initially holding the advantage, but he made one tiny error which meant a missed apex and this was enough for Lee to pounce and dive through into the lead. With no errors from Lee it was all over as he took the leg and overall win.

Result – 4WD
1. Lee Martin – Yokomo
2. Neil Cragg -Team Associated
3. Tom Cockerill – Yokomo
4. Kevin Lee – Team C
5. Craig Collinson – Team C
6. Ellis Stafford – TLR
7. Richard Lowe – HB
8. Simon Moss – Schumacher
9. Tom Yardy – Team Associated
10. Danny McGee – Schumacher