Boots Take First BRCA National Victory for Team Durango
Team Durango report from Slough and the third round of the 2011 BRCA 1:8 Off-Road National series:
Held at Slough, this is the only event in the calendar that’s stretched over two days and runs to a similar format to the EFRA and IFMAR championships with Christmas tree finals. For this reason it’s the most prestigious and highly regarded of the series.
The meeting kicked off on Sunday 29 May with a round of practice in heat order followed by five qualifiers – with the best three from five results to count toward overall qualifying positions. The Team Durango drivers tried a few things out during qualifying to get the cars ready for the main event with all the guys trying out the rear shock position on the back of the car – a Team Tech Tip on the rear shock modification will follow soon.
Leading the Team Durango charge in qualifying was team leader Chris Doughty who was fifth overall. Team mates Kevin Brunsden and Elliott Boots were seventh and ninth overall respectively and this meant all three drivers lined up in the same semi-final together in positions two, three and four.
The semi went smoothly for Doughty and Boots, but Brunsden had to fight back from a poor start to bump up with the other guys into the A final. Elliott Boots meanwhile after a poor days qualifying (by his usual high standards) the previous day, but was back on form and sailed past Doughty and Richard Barton to quickly establish a lead and sail through to win the semi.
In the break between the semis and the A final, it started to rain and the weather continued to be changeable throughout the 45-minute final. Elliott Boots sat in fourth on the grid and quickly passed Simon Willetts after a few laps and then John Holmes for second position. Elliott battled with defending national champion Darren Bloomfield for around seven laps before passing over the back jumps and laying down the fast laps. Fuel strategies came into play with Neil Cragg having a longer gap, which allowed him to catch Boots. In the end though, it was Boots that came home first and was the only driver on 70 laps to give Team Durango their first BRCA National victory and at the premiere event in the calendar.
Source: Team Durango
