2000 HPI Challenge UK
30 April 2000
Round Three - Tibshelf
Well
round three is here, and didn’t that seem a long time between rounds.
Tibshelf was the venue for round three and a new track for me. A beautiful
track, well laid out and for the majority very fast, with a huge banked
curve and sweeping bends leading into fast straights. A well built rostrum,
high up, giving even shorties like me a great view of the track. With
a well stocked shop on hand as well as a catering facility and all was
set for a good days racing. My only moan about the day (and that of quite
a few others) was the lack of any in race commentary. This not only detracted
from the atmosphere of the day but also made the racing more confusing
for both racers and spectators alike.
One of the high points of the day was the presence of a film crew from the “Discovery Home and Leisure Channel” filming for part of a series called “Model Mania”. My thanks to Kevin, Mike, Suzanne and Chris who could be seen for most of the day around the track filming, and talking to various people about their kits and expectations for the day. This along with the helpful attitude of all around can only serve to help our beloved sport. The show will be broadcast sometime during September.
Turnout
was good as expected, but not full, helped by the indecisive weather.
Still with a total of 95 drivers spread over twelve rounds, it was going
to be a busy day. Pro class was again the class to be in if you wanted
a lot of competition, consisting of 6 heats. The sport class had 2 heats
with minis and the different nitro classes all having one heat each.
Drivers
briefing was at 9.15 and consisted of the usual do’s and don’ts, with
the addition of a new ruling resulting in disqualification for any one
being, shall we say, less than polite verbally, on the rostrum. The day
was to run to the now tried and trusted 3 rounds of qualifying and 2 finals.
The nitro’s were to have 5 minute races for qualifying with finals of
one 5 minute and one 10 minute races.
Scrutineering
was to be done after each first heat, again by Greg.
Qualifying-Minis
The
lead was taken early on by Micheal Creasey, and that’s where he was to
stay, putting in a pole winning time of 13-300.270 that no one else could
match on the day. Keith Brooks held second for a while with a 10-319.170,
until newcomer to the Mini’s Mike Rolinson, put in a valid attempt with
a 12-300.880, earning him on second place on the grid. With Kevin (spanner)
Davis taking the third place position it was all set for an interesting
final.
Qualifying
-Sport
It
was all change for the sport class with the top spot changing hands more
times than a circus juggler. Early lead went to Jon Wittington with a
16-313.290, only to see this slip into the hands of Dominic Carter who
put in a 16-306.360. Round three saw yet another change with Ricky Copsey
taking pole in the A final with a great run of 16-304.180. Championship
leader Alan Harrington, who up till now had just not been on the pace,
moved into second place just half a second behind Ricky. This saw Dominic
being pushed down to third place.
Darren
Griffiths took pole in the B with a 14-310.960, followed by Simon Cheeseman
putting in a 14-312.150 and Barry Champion putting himself into third
place.
Qualifying
– Pro
With
such a large turnout it was always going to be a battle, with nearly 60
drivers all competing for a place in the A – final. Darren Styles took
an early lead with a 17-300.170, just two seconds ahead of Robin Hamett,
but enough to give him a provisional pole. Robin was not going to take
this lying down and in round 2 was to take the lead with a 18-306.5, with
Kevin Brunsden moving into second with a 18-307.190 and Darren slipping
down to third despite improving on his first round time. Round three saw
Robin hold onto pole and take FTD with a time of 18-303.200,Darren Styles
moved into second with a 18-303.850, while Kevin had to make do with taking
third on the grid.
Things
were shaping up for a really close final with any one of a handful of
drivers capable of winning the race. Don’t get me wrong the standard of
driving throughout was great with only a few seconds separating any of
the drivers at any given time. For the majority the racing was fast and
clean, a pleasure to watch.
Qualifying
– Nitro Stock
The
nitro’s as usual were loud and furious, don’t you just love em! John Davis
took an early lead putting in a 14-306.630, a full 2 laps ahead of Matt
Colwill. Round 2 saw Lee Groves taking the lead away from John with a
14-299.590 to give him a provisional pole. Chris Lomas was not far behind
also getting in 14 laps, just a few seconds behind John. Round three saw
David Wright put in his best time of the day, 14-291.100, To give him
pole ahead of Lee who was ahead of John and Chris, in third and fourth
respectively.
Qualifying
– Nitro Modified
All
went well for Johnathon Dobney who put in a fantastic time of 18-306.800,
a time that was not to be beaten even by himself. Pat Piesley was in second
place just ahead of Steven Brunsden both on twelve laps. Round two saw
David Luscombe move up into third ahead of Steven, with a time of 13-316.680.
The third round saw Marc Knight stealing third on the grid with a 14-315.290,
a five-lap improvement over his second round run.
Qualifying
– Super Nitro Modified
The
turn out for this class was not brilliant with only three drivers in it.
However it didn’t stop Johnathon Dobney (who was racing in this class
as well as Nitro Mods) from putting in an early, and again unbeatable,
time of 18-306.800. Nick Bruty and Nigel Moss were left to battle it out
for second and third places on the grid. Nick was to win this battle with
a time of 16-316.700 and Nigel putting in a 13-262.570. So the final placings
were to be Johnathan, Nick and Nigel with the addition of Greg Hill as
a fourth place driver.
Wow!
What an array of choice and colour, it was like an explosion in a paint
factory. I’m only glad that I didn’t have to pick the winner alone. After
choosing an initial three Greg and myself were unanimous in picking Steven
Wheeler as winner with his beautifully painted Corvette. Some HPI vouchers
were Steve’s prize, which should help him pay for a new shell and another
chance at the concours in round 4.
Finals
– First leg
Mini’s
- A
Micheal
Creasey started in pole and was not about to give it up, holding on to
first place till the end with Kevin (spanner) Davis taking second, just
one lap behind. Mike Rolinson came in third a lap behind Kevin.
Sport
– B
Simon Cheeseman was to take first place when Darren Griffiths spun out on the infield bend, after fighting his way back through the field Darren managed to come in second.
Third
place was a close battle between Barry Champion, Samantha Groves and Phillip
Brown with only a few seconds separating them all through the race. The
honours were to go eventually to Barry and put him into third place.
Sport
– A
Adam
Read took first place with 16 laps. Dominic Carter was second, also on
a 16 lapper. With Ricky Copsey coming in third a lap behind the other
two and a handful of drivers hot on his heals just missing out on a placing.
Pro
– F
Not
many in this one, with it only being a two horse race. However first place
was to go to James Flaczynski, ahead of Bobby Towers who came in a good
second. James (the newest and youngest member of team C.B.A) had never
won a race before and the huge grin on his face as he came off the rostrum
said it all.
Pro
– E
Mike
Rolinson took a convincing win here, winning by a clear 3 laps. Scott
Murray had a blinder to come in second from 9th on the grid
with Kristy Rosenberg Doing well to take 3rd from a starting
position of 8th.
Pro
– D
Ian
Davis took first place with David Lippiatt in second, not bad considering
Dave started in 9th on the grid (another one who obviously
excels under pressure). Chris Hughs started in third and was able to hold
on to this till the end, despite James Hart being just half a second behind.
Pro
– C
This
was close! A good battle throughout saw David Hall take first with Martyn
Rose a few seconds behind him to take second place. Syd Evans was just
two seconds behind Martyn in third position.
Pro
– B
Dominic
Carter did well to hold off the competition and take first with Paul Truelove
less than a second behind him in second place. With three drivers all
within a third of a second of each other it was anybody’s race, but Craig
Williams came out of the last bend ahead to take third place.
Pro
– A
The first three on the grid were the first three over the line although not in the same order!
Darren
Styles moved up from second on the grid to take first. Robin Hammett dropped
a place but still came in second and Kevin Brunsden held on to his third
position.
Nitro
Stock – A
John
Davis finished first with Matt Fisher coming in second a lap down. David
Wright took third but was off the pace two laps behind Matt. After holding
FTD earlier in the day Lee Groves failed to get off the line due to major
engine problems (a blown head as it turned out).
Nitro
Modified – A
Johnathon
Dobney was not taking any prisoners here and just pulled away from the
lead to finish first, 4 laps ahead of Pat Piesley in second, who was 3
laps ahead of David Luscombe in third.
Super
Nitro – A
This
proved to be battle of the day with Johnathon Dobney and Greg Hill neck
and neck for the entire race. So much so that their average lap times
were just two tenths of a second different. In the end Johnathon took
first with Greg just a third of a second behind to take second. Nick Bruty
came in third but just couldn’t keep up with the leaders.
Finals
Second Leg
Mini
– A
Micheal
Creasey took first with 14 laps ahead of Kevin (spanner) Davis in second.
Mike Rolinson was a little off the pace with 10 laps but still good enough
to put him third overall.
Sport
– B
This
leg was to go to Barry Champion who came in first from third on the grid.
Simon Cheeseman started second and that’s where he was to finish while
Darren Griffiths could only manage a third after dropping back from pole.
Sport
– A
Dominic
Carter took First place ahead of Mark Jackson in second. Steve Wheeler
came in third just a second behind Mark with championship leader Alan
Harrington just missing out on a podium place.
Pro
– F
The
honours here were to go to James Flaczynski again. Bobby Towers just couldn’t
keep up with James who lapped Bobby twice (obviously full of confidence
after his first round win).
Pro
– E
The
second leg was to see three new names at the front. This time round it
was Graeme Silcock who was to take first place with 15 laps. Paul Bently
came in second place with 14 laps, ahead of Ian Pelger who was to take
third.
Pro
– D
Chris Hughes was able to take first this time round ahead of
Pat Piesley in second but with not much separating them. David Lippiatt
was to come from behind again to finish third, from way back on the grid.
Pro
– C
This
time Syd Evans was able to improve on his previous third place to finish
in first place. David Hall took second place just a few seconds behind
Syd. Whereas Anthony Blackburn had a fantastic race and from 10th
on the grid managed to fight his way to take third place.
Pro
– B
Stuart
Crates takes first place here a lap ahead of the rest. Second was a different
matter with 8 drivers all on 17 laps and only nine seconds separating
them all. However Craig Williams was able to hold onto second from second
on the grid and Mark Cox came in third ahead of the pack.
Pro
– A
As
in the first leg, the top three stayed the top three. This time Kevin
Brunsden finished first with Darren Styles second just two seconds behind
him. Robin Hammet held on to third place behind the other two.
Nitro
Stock – A
This
leg was to see 10 min finals run, Matt Fisher made the most of this to
finish in first place on 27 laps with John Davis second also on 27. Andy
Knowlton takes third place with 25 laps to his credit. David Wright had
to retire after just one lap after starting from pole. Lee Groves failed
to get off the line again, this time due to fuel line problems.
Nitro
Modified – A
After running an impressive race Johnathon Dobney was to finish in first place, with 34 laps, ahead of Mark Knight who was only half a lap behind. Pat Piesley finished in third place albeit a few laps off the pace.
Super
Nitro – A
This was almost a carbon copy of the first leg with Greg and Johnathon fighting it out from the off. At times you could tell that they were playing with each other, but at one point there was a nice touch when Johnathon took out Greg then held off the throttle allowing Greg to catch up. After this it was a battle royal to the finish line where Greg was to go ahead in the very last bend to take a well deserved first place, to the obvious pleasure of everyone around the track. Nigel Moss took third place behind the others.
All in all a great day was had by all, the weather was warm and sunny all day. The track conditions and facilities were excellent and the day was well organised. A big thanks to all the staff at Tibshelf for the work they put in on the day. Next round Stonehaven, see you all there…
Report by Darren Griffiths. Thanks, Darren!