Round 2 of the 2024 BRCA 1/10th EP Offroad National Championships took place at Herts Nitro Model Club near the town of Ware in Hertfordshire – about 40 minutes north of London – on the weekend of May 18/19. It is the first time that the series has been hosted by the club, although they are regulars in the 1/8th Nitro Series. The venue is expansive with covered pitting, 3 track areas, model shop, café and restaurant– they have thought of everything! One of the club officials was able to tell me that the cost of running the whole place was covered by the practice fees alone and that race fees can go straight to improving the facilities – quite impressive. There is evidence of ongoing improvement as a new concrete raft had been poured behind the current drivers stand to facilitate a new, more permanent, one – perhaps later this year.
Track was bumpy but good.
It was a not so bright but early start on the Saturday morning for the 2wd portion of the meeting. The forecast was for possible rain in the morning with a front passing through at midday and a return to brighter skies in the afternoon. There were a few spits of rain just before practice, but thankfully it stayed dry as the rain showers passed to the south of venue.The few drops of rain were enough to keep the sand at bay for now whilst the drivers took their practice. You could see rooster tails of sand from the car’s tyres under power and the level of abrasion was high and likely to get higher as the track dried. But that was not the driver’s biggest problem. The track is quite bumpy and attacking it hard will only result in a crash – and almost every driver crashed at some point in practice – nobody having clean runs. The leading drivers who we are used to seeing attack at 100%, now looked reserved and cautious. That paid off large dividends and a slow approach led to fast times.