BRCA Rallycross Rd 5 - Nemo Raceway - Report

Round 5 of the BRCA RallyCross Championship took us to Nemo Raceway. The fast-flowing carpet track offers the racers a new challenge from the rest of the dirt tracks in the series, and this was sure to mix things up. With it all to play for in the championships it would be a great weekend of racing.

Qualifying was slightly rain effected during the runs on Saturday but even so the top drivers’ performances were great as usual. Neil Cragg of AE getting TQ in Round one and Will Skidmore and his Xray buggy getting the TQ in Rd 5 on Sunday, all the other rounds were taken by Elliott Boots and his Reds powered Sworkz. This gave Boots an advantage going into the finals. With Neil qualifying in 2^nd and Will in 3^rd, Jonny would be outside of the qualifying points in 4^th with Agama driver Lee Martin rounding out the top 5.

The Lower finals Bump ups were as follows:-

B 1/64

1^st – Jake Dell (Agama)

2^nd – William Paul (Xray)

3^rd – Chris Willetts ( Mayako)

4^th – Ron Lang (Agama)

A 1/64

1^st - Adam Reavey ( Mayako)

2^nd - Lewis Millman (AE)

3^rd – John Green (HB)

4^th – Nick Simmerson ( Agama)

B 1/32

1^st – Jason Ferguson (Mayako)

2^nd – Chris Carlisle (Tekno)

3^rd – Chris Proctor (Sworkz)

4^th – Jake Dell – (Agama)

A 1/32

1^st – Daniel Thorne (Sworkz)

2^nd – Mark Everitt (Mayako)

3^rd – Lewis Millman (AE)

4^th – Peter Van Tonder (HB)

B 1/16

1^st – Chris Smith (Kyosho)

2^nd – Zak Edwards (Xray)

3^rd – Daniel Andrews (Tekno)

4^th – Ricky Cooper (WRC)

A 1/16

1^st – Mick Butler (Sworkz)

2^nd – Daniel Thorne (Sworkz)

3^rd – Cayden House (HB)

4^th – Holger Lykke (Agama)

B 1/8

1st – Ben Billing (Kyosho)

2^nd – Adam Hall (HB)

3^rd – Chris Smith (Kyosho)

4^th – Tehannah Cradock (Kyosho)

A 1/8

1^st -  Cayden Stenhouse (HB)

2^nd – Luke Holdsworth (Sworkz)

3^rd – Mick Butler (Sworkz)

4^th – Dan Austin (Tekno)

B ¼

1^st – Simon Reeves (HB)

2^nd -  Liam Brocklehurst (Xray)

3^rd – Jon Spencer -  (HB)

4^th – Maxim Cook – (HB)

A ¼

1^st – Ben Simpson ( Agama)

2^nd – Josh Holsworth (Sworkz)

3^rd – Cayden Stenhouse (HB)

4^th – Jack Willetts (HB)

The Semi Finals started with the B side and Neil Cragg on pole, He retained the lead for the opening laps, but Jonny was able to get past and lead the race for the for-a while, with the exception of pit stops when Grahm Alsop was running 1^st until he refuelled. Jonny was back out in the lead and with no warning, approaching the 2^nd pit stop his car stopped on track, he returned to the pits and started the chase again, but it was too late, Neil was back out in the lead, and he took the win, an impressive 14s up from Graham in 2^nd. The pressure was on Jonny to get back up to 7^th and take a bump into the main final, he managed to catch the back of the Bump Chasers pack. Up at the front Jon Hazelwood took 3^rd. There was a decent gap to the chasing pack, giving Jonny a chance to get back into the main, but the buzzer came a few laps too short for him! Josh Grahm finished in 4^th, Bradley Baird 5^th with his Mayako. 6^th was the AE of Dave Bailey and 7^th Kevin Brunsden and his Agama. This result was a shock to all and had all but handed the title to Elliott, but he too would have to make the main and have a good finish to be crowned.

Elliott started on pole in the A Semi-final. Knowing he now needed to get through unscathed, he would start just ahead of Will Skidmore in 2^nd. Both had good starts, Will even taking the lead after a few laps but Elliott showed his class, taking back the place and going on to cross the line the winner. A great drive by Lee Martin from 3^rd saw him take the 2^nd spot after sharing it with both Paul Crompton and Will Skidmore during the 20mins final. Will coming home just half a second behind Lee in 3^rd. Paul Crompton got 4^th, Lewis Jones 5^th after a brilliant drive from 10^th on the grid and 6^th and 7^th were James Le Pavoux and Simon Willetts respectively.

Elliott would need to be in the top 10 to win the championship, starting on pole he had a great chance of retaining the title. The race would be fantastic, with Neil Cragg, Will Skidmore and Boots all in the mix for the win. Elliott leading the majority of the laps and with a problem for both Neil and Will it was Elliott who took the win, and taking the championship, his 7^th! Will would come home an impressive 2^nd, clinching him 3^rd in the championship behind his brother. Lee Martin got 3^rd.

The winners of the Championships were as follows: -

National Championship

Elliott Boots ( Sworkz/Reds)

Jonny Skidmore ( Xray/FX)

Will Skidmore (Xray/FX)

Over 40s Championship

Graham Alsop (HB/Nova Rossi)

Kevin Brunsden (Agama/Bullit)

Simon Willetts (Mugen/OS)

Clubman

Max McDonnell (Xray/OS)

Robson White (Xray/OS)

Liam Brocklehurst (Xray/GIMAR)

Juniors

Erik Lykke (Agama/Bullit)

Ben Simpson (Agama/Bullit)

Billy Grindley (Sworkz/Reds)

Another great end to the year at Nemo Raceway. The end of an era for a lot of the Rallycross team with Kevin and Suzanne Griffin retiring from their positions on the committee this year, and for Lewis Millman and Andy Conroy both stepping away after many years. We will miss them all greatly! Thanks to them, the rest of the committee, the team at Nemo and to all the drivers and supporters for a brilliant year – we will see you in 2024!