1/8th Circuit Model cars come in many different shapes and sizes but with acceleration times of 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds, and top speeds in excess of 75 mph is it any wonder that 1/8th gas powered radio controlled model cars are considered the formula one of all radio controlled model car racing?
Racing 1/8th circuit radio controlled gas cars will add a whole new meaning to your understanding of the word excitement. Once you have driven a 1/8th car and experienced its awesome power, and stunning cornering speed, you’ll never be satisfied with driving anything else, and be back for more, again and again and again.
Your 1/8th scale I.C. powered four-wheel drive car can be built from one of the many available kits now on the market. Powered by a racing 3.5cc two stroke engine capable of delivering over two brake horsepower, you are just minutes away from the most mind-blowing experience in model car racing. Your car complete with engine will be a high tech 1/8th scale model racing car. All cars have front and rear independent suspension controlled by fully adjustable shock absorbers and springs. In addition you’ll have disc brakes and automatically shifting transmissions.
All this topped with a sports car style bodyshell painted to your own individual team colour scheme and designed for you to get the best from your car both mechanically and aerodynamically. 1/8th racing is a great activity and hobby for all the family to participate in, and as well as racing as individuals, many father and son teams compete in racing events. Once you’ve got used to the thrill of driving your own car around one of the purpose designed scale circuits located throughout the country you’ll be able to compete in your first event.
Following a practice session you’ll have tuned your car and engine for maximum performance. With your engine running you head for the drivers rostrum, whilst your pitman puts your car on the track for one of your qualifying races. Having qualified for a final you wait on the drivers rostrum as tension mounts waiting for the flag to drop. Accelerate hard into the first bend as you jockey for position with your fellow racers. As the race settles down you’ll have to think about the first of your scheduled re-fuelling pit stops. Head down the pit lane to your pitman, a full tank of fuel taken on in seconds, and you blast back into the action.
Well, could you handle it? If the answers yes, then come 1/8th I.C. racing!
By Nikita Finnigan We visited the Wombwell circuit near Barnsley for Rd6 of the 1/8 circuit national championship, the hot weather continued for practice on Saturday but Sunday was much cooler and saw some rain that mixed things up again.
Electric saw two heats of drivers which competed in one main final over 3 legs. The Serpent chassis remains the favourite with some ARC and Shepherd cars also running. Hobbywing is still the choice used by most for ESC and motors.
In Nitro the Shepherd brand has a big team of drivers competing at the sharp end of the A-final list, with Mugen, Serpent, Infinity and the odd Xray making up the other chassis represented in Nitro.
Qualifying
Running Serpent Mark Green dominated again the electric class taking FTD from a close battle between Glyn Beal and Michael Walton, Mark Boothman and Justin Heath made up the top 5 also running Serpent chassis. In the nitro class Tim Wood left it late in the final round to take pole position for Shepherd from teammates Andy Hastings and David Spashett. Only small margins covered the remaining A final drivers and the top of the B final. Karl Dransfield (Shepherd) and Ashley Gouveia running Mugen completed the top 5 runners.
Finals
In the C-final pole sitter Hayley Baker unfortunately had issues which allowed Mark Ayers and Mike Manning through, with Mark taking the win, Dean Miles kept going to take third behind Mike.
B final
The end result of this final was Lee Holland taking the win from Andy Mollett and Graham Wildgoose in third place.
A-final Nitro
Tim made a great start to the half hour final and was able to pull a gap, meanwhile Andy and David battled hard making contact with each other allowing Craig Hook to come through, David then worked hard to regain second with Craig ending up third. Tim comfortably took the win with a few laps in hand over second leading a complete Shepherd team podium.
1st Tim Wood – Shepherd
2nd David Spashett – Shepherd
3rd Craig Hook – Shepherd
Electric
The electric racers were all eager to do well in the three leg finals, with the first laps very competitive and some contact involved. Mark Green took two finals with ease but was made to work a little harder on the third against Glyn. Michael Walton and Glyn had some close battles throughout the first two finals and in the third leg Justin Heath put a great performance to get a third place. Mark took the overall win from Glyn who had two second places and Michael third with a second and a third. Justin and Joe Diacono completed the top five places.
1st Mark Green - Serpent
2nd Glyn Beal - Serpent
3rd Michael Walton - Serpent
[Photos by Donna Boothman]
By Ollie King Over the bank holiday the 8th circuit section hosted an exciting double header, two rounds of racing over two days! Saturday began with bright weather, which gave drivers the chance to refine their setups to help them survive this challenging circuit. Brooklands is the fastest track on our calendar, with its enormous back straight and sweeping layout, it requires focus and patience to stay out of trouble.
On Sunday, the second round of the national championship began. Overnight, rain had fallen on the track. Throughout qualifying lap times fell gradually. Tim wood set the fastest IC time in round 3 and Mark Green set the fastest Electric time in round 4.
Finals got underway in the afternoon, the IC B final win was taken by Dean Miles, followed by Jon Withington in 2nd and Robin Gearing in 3rd. A close race throughout, all three of the podium finishers showed good consistency from start to finish and crossed the line separated by just two laps. Paulo Fernandes showed great pace, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 15.56 but unfortunately didn’t finish the race.
The IC A final demonstrated how punishing this track can be. With only 5 drivers still going at the end of the race. The win was taken by Tim Wood who finished with a comfortable 3 lap lead over second place, David Spashett. Craig Hook finished Third and showed great pace towards the end of the race, setting the fastest lap of the race, but not quite enough to catch David.
The 3 leg electric final saw a continuation of Mark Green’s dominance, consistently finishing a lap ahead of his teammate Mark Boothman. The 3rd place spot was taken by Adrian Dew in leg 1 and then Jamie Goodall in legs 2 and 3.
Monday began with quicker lap times than we saw on Sunday morning, as it was dry overnight. Top spots in qualifying were again taken by Tim wood in IC and Mark Green in Electric, both in round 3.
The IC B final was won by Hayley Baker, who displayed impressive defensive driving skills in the middle of the race as she was challenged by former chairman, Andy Mollett. She then went on to continue to drive consistently to the line to take the win. Just 1 lap behind was Jon Withington, taking his second podium of the weekend. A great demonstration of the patience needed at this track. Dean Miles followed up his B final victory from the previous day with a 3rd to round off his weekend.
The IC A final saw another impressive result for Tim wood; setting an impressive best lap of 12.92, completing 2 more laps than his result from Sunday and beating teammate Craig Hook by 8 laps. Neil Diver had a great race, starting from 7th on the grid he managed to work his way up to 3rd by the end of the race to put himself on the podium.
Speaking to Tim Wood after the meeting, he said it was “A success for all the drivers. With the extended meeting, it offered a nice, relaxed atmosphere.”
A document with current championship and formula standings is available on the BRCA site at:
https://brca.org/8th-circuit-documents/8th-circuit/5059-champoinship-rd3-2026
See you all next time in the Cotswolds on 06 - 07 June for round 4!
September 23, 2026
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