RC racings hot new under 12’s on-road championship, the Tamiya Junior-E crowned Eastbourne's Archie Matthews its first champion on Sunday at a sunbaked West London Racing Centre.

Matthews started round four of the five-race series knowing second place to arch-rival Finley Lanaway was enough to secure the championship. The racing between the two young drivers has been extremely close all year, needing tie-breakers to separate them at every round so far. Matthews was the clear favourite in championship points, but the bragging rights were far from settled. Matthew's Dad explained, “I’ve been telling him all week second will do it, but he just wants to win the race”. So, as qualifying started Archie made clear his intent setting off as fast as he could from the first beep.

Too fast, in fact. A grip roll halfway around the first lap put his car on its roof. Lanaway knew he needed to win and have Matthews finish third or worse, took over at the front. Every race and every qualifying heat in the series so far has been nip and tuck between the two and this was no different, Lanaway coming out on top by just two seconds.

The result was reversed in round two, this time Lanaway was unable to catch Matthews, having to deal with the newly found pace of Aldershot’s Keny Hyde starting to mix it with the front two with Ethan Webb never far behind. The development of these Tamiya Junior-E drivers is as fast as it is a joy to observe for everyone involved.

Round three and it was Matthews having to deal with Hyde pushing towards the front of the race. After three minutes all eyes were on the battle for second, Matthews and Hyde swapping places once or twice a lap. Heading into the West London sweeper side-by-side Matthews came out of the contact worse, losing ground before a few crashes as he pushed hard to close the gap decided the end result. Lanaway from Hyde from Matthews - suddenly the title wasn’t a foregone conclusion and the championship leader couldn't hide his disappointment. Lanaway went on to TQ with a strong win in the final qualifier from Matthews and Hyde. The race was less dramatic but all the more impressive as the top three drivers showed a level of consistency that belied their age and experience, and Matthews bounced back to relieve the pressure from Hyde’s challenge.

The performance boosted both Matthews' confidence and his start in the first final race. After a clean start, the schoolboy demonstrated a textbook inside pass to take the lead from Lanaway before some sudden oversteer entering turn 10 gave the place back to the fastest qualifier. Two more half spins for Matthews suggesting grip was disappearing for the yellow and orange TT02, and a tumble roll from taking too much kerb onto the main straight at the end of lap five allowed Lanaway’s silver arrow to open a gap. 

Compliment after compliment flowed from the RC Racing TV broadcaster at the racecraft as Lanaway dealt with backmarkers - the young drivers unable to resist scrapping with the leader as he came through - to take the win by 5 seconds.

Kenny Hyde led leg 2 at the end of the opening lap, coming out on top in a 4-way dice through the opening corners. Hyde, Lanaway, Matthews, Webb entered the infield section on lap 2 - a result that would keep the championship alive into the final round at Adur in 4 weeks time. Lanaway and Hyde swapped places through the infamous West London D section at the end of the lap. Lanaway then won the drag race back into turn one. Matthews made another textbook pass into the hairpin, relegating Hyde to third, then passed Lanaway to lead. Contract during the pass left the leg 1 winner with work to do to catch back up and keep the championship alive. The 5-second gap had closed to 2 seconds with 90 seconds left on the clock. 1.8 seconds a lap later. Matthews feeling the heat as he came round to lap traffic. Two contacts in two corners left Matthews on his roof and Lanaway in the lead he would hold to the finish. A TQ and double win was a great result for Lanaway, while Matthews had the consolation of securing the title with a round to spare to make up for the second place in leg 2 that really should have been a first.

Commenting after the race, Lanaway said:

 “This is how I would want every race meeting to go - a perfect round for me. The weather was good and the track was hot so you had a lot of grip. Each round I feel like I am getting to know my new Tamiya TT-02 more and more. The finals at West London were really good. I was sad for Archie when he got caught out by a back-marker whilst leading the second leg. It’s a shame that the championship couldn’t have gone down to the final round, but congratulations Archie!” 

The new Junior category champion, Matthews commented:

“I am super excited that I managed to win the Tamiya Junior-E championship on Sunday at West London. I was a bit disappointed to come second on the day because every time I race I want to win. I am happy for Finlay as we have become friends since racing together and he deserved the win as we have been super close each round. I can’t wait for the next round at Adur so we can do it again.

I have really enjoyed the king of clubs series as well as my races I get to watch the top drivers in modified. They are so so fast its amazing. My favourite is Harley as she races for Eastbourne. I hope one day I can race modified, maybe even for the world championship as I’d like to race in different countries. That would be fun. “

My dream would be to race in Formula 1 for McLaren like my favourite driver Lando Norris 😀”

A double win for Tyler Standing takes the Rookie class championship into a final round decider.

The Rookie section within Tamiya Junior-E is for drivers with less than ten races experience. Tyler Standing joined the series with his cousin, Harry, and the two boys' journey has captured the attention of the whole racing community.

Tyler is a young boy with a rare condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and has not been able to participate in competitive sport before because of this disability.  His family chose RC racing as an accessible hobby and activity for the boys to enjoy together. Totally new to the sport, Tyler finished 6th in the opening round at Aldershot. Impressive in the wetter than wet conditions. In the warm weather at Eastbourne, he edged it over cousin Harry to take 4th place. Harry repaid the compliment, winning at round 3, with Tyler in second place. And now, this last Sunday Tyler won the applause from the fans with a double race victory. A fantastic achievement for our sunshine champ. We’re all proud of you.

At the start of the day it looked like Adlershot’s Top Gun Maverick Adams was the driver to beat, taking a hard-fought (dog fight surely–Ed) first round. Tyler, DNF’d with a technical problem.

Round 2 became a two way battle between Tyler, back at the front and the other Admas family Rookie, Emilia. The 9 year old delighted to win the round from Tyler with debutants Elliott Smith (age 6), Frankie Fletcher (4) and James Binnie (6) not far behind at all. Tyler upped the pace in round 3, setting the fastest time of the day so far - an impressive 11/322. Only Adams (M) being able to stay in touch, just 2 seconds back.

As the tyres started to struggle with the hot track, the fourth round was an untidy affair - Adams (M) coming out on top from Adams (E), Tyler and then Binnie setting his personal best time so far.

Cousin Harry had been running with the more experienced jnr section to even up the heat numbers, TQ’d from Adams (M), Tyler, Adams (E), Poppy Hyde, Fletcher, Binnie and Smith.

A mistake from Harry early in the first final upset the order, Tyler coming through to lead from Poppy Hyde after one lap. The following laps were a textbook display of RC racing; on the subject of Brownian motion. As the race settled it was Tyler leading from Maverick Adams. By mid-race Harry had worked his way back through the field into second, but Tyler’s consistently over the final two minutes was a lesson for all in how to win. Tyler hit the front of Leg 2 within a couple of corners with Adams (M) in hot pursuit. Too hot - as the Aldershot driver continued to write cheques his tyres couldn't cash. Cool as a cucumber in the scorching heat, Tyler led all the way to the end to win from Maverick, Poppy, Emilia, Harry, Frankie and James.

Tyler's dad, David summed up everyone's feelings, saying:

“It's fantastic to see Tyler be able to enjoy a hobby that he can excel at and enjoy with his cousin Harry. It is such a great opportunity for Tyler and all the other kids to relax and have fun but also to understand what it is to be successful and to compete.”

And so say all of us.

Full results from round 4

The final round of Tamiya Junior-E is on 15th August at Adur Model Car Club.

Contact us for entries

Eldridge, still just 19 years of age, won the first two rounds of qualifying with her Yokomo BD10. In Round 3, Jefferies bounced back, showing his psychological strength to deal with the few spots of 'mental rain' and the third run tyres better than the rest. Heading into Round 4, the on-site commentators from RC:TV wondered if Jefferies would break the seal on his second set of tyres and push for TQ, needing to win the round and better Eldridge's best time from RD2. Those who know Jefferies already knew the answer - he is not a driver who settles for second place. The X-ray man was forced to accept being out-qualified; however, after the first few laps of the final qualifying run were enough to understand the changes made in the hope of bettering Eldridge weren't working.

Eldridge got off to a blistering start in the first leg of the two-legged final races pulling a small gap on Jefferies with Capricorn's Kyle Branson in third. Jefferies, however, responded mid-race to close the gap and pile the pressure on the leader in impressive style, under mounting pressure himself from Branson behind. But, again, Eldridge showed class and steely determination, changing lines through the tight infield section to thwart any potential pass from the drivers behind to take a stellar win.

Leg two started similarly, Eldridge getting away, Jefferies closing and nipping at her heels from mid-race. This time, Jefferies made contact with the rear end of Eldridge's Yokomo. Eldridge emerged from the mele still leading, but not unscathed, with a tucked body shell fouling a rear tyre generating erratic handling. Unable to maintain her previous pace, Branson swiftly moved past to lead. The fight for second was suddenly a four-way battle with Matthew White and Zak Smith catching Jefferies and Eldridge. Smith tagged White soon after to end the challenge, and Jefferies finally made a pass stick through the infield, the shell tuck leaving Eldridge unable to hold a line. Frustration then told, Eldridge took too much kerb into the final sweeper, launching her Yokomo into the side fence. A thrilling race finished with Branson P1 from Jefferies, White, Smith and Eldridge.

After the two finals, Branson took the overall win on countback from Jefferies and Eldridge. The crowd (and promoter) wished for a third final to resolve matters.

Commenting on his victory, Branson said, "We all need a little bit of luck sometimes, and I certainly had some today. Still, I was really pleased with how my car responded to changes throughout the day. I'm happy to take the win".

Responding, Eldridge commented, "That's racing, and that's close racing. But, breaking Olly's dominance in the series is a great feeling, and I'm looking forward to the next one".

Jefferies said, "You can't win them all, even though that's the aim. Harley had the pace today and really deserved to win overall. But this race is done, and I'll be back next time, trying even harder". Magnanimous. And still, the man to beat.

Aldershots Glenn Westwood returned to form with a fine TQ and double victory in 17.5 blinky. West London's Ash Wiffen and Colchester's Ricky Copsey took a win apiece in an extremely close 13.5 blinky class, but Adur's Marcus Askell won overall with two solid podium drives.

The Monitex Formula One class proved itself again as another home for thrilling RC racing. Aldershot's Dan Robins took victory from Eastbourne's Aidan Gale and West London's Paul Ellis in an exceptionally close-fought set of races.

Fourteen young drivers, all under 12 years old, took to the track in the Tamiya Junior-E, one of the highlights of the day. Split into 'rookies' and 'juniors' depending on experience and driving stock Tamiya TT02's championship leader Archie Matthews once again came out on top in the Junior's after battling his now established rival Finlay Lanaway. But it was 'Team Standing' that left the podium with the biggest smiles as cousins Harry and Tyler Standing finished first and second in the rookies class.

Round 4 of the King of Clubs is at West London Racing Centre on 18th July.

Eastbourne's Archie Matthews and Finlay Lanaway continued their battle for the championship at round 3 of the Tamiya Junior-E. In the rookies section, it was Harry and Tyler Standing that left everyone smiling as the cousins took the honours in the second heat.

The tight and twisty Colchester Model Car Club track hosted fourteen young drivers, all under 12 years old, in the Tamiya Junior-E on Sunday, one of the highlights of the MB Models King of Clubs race series. Split into 'rookies' and 'juniors' depending on experience and driving stock Tamiya TT02's the drivers were racing alongside a packed entry of touring car drivers including two world champions in Andy Murray and Marcus Askell, and the reigning national touring car champion Olly jefferies.

Championship leader Archie Matthews once again came out on top in the Junior's after battling rival Finlay Lanaway throughout qualifying. Both drivers won two legs apiece, but it was Matthews in pole position for the two legged final races on the tie-break.

The two drivers swapped places 4 times in the first four corners of leg 1 before a fifth pass ended with Matthews TT02 flipping onto its roof in the in-field section. Having to battle back from last position, Matthews showed impressive pace and some fine overtaking to pile pressure on Lanaway, who cracked in the final third of the race, grip rolling in his effort to up the pace. Matthews back into a lead he would then hold to the flag, Lanaway recovering to second in front of newly promoted Oliver Woodall.

Lanaway again took the lead from Matthews early in leg 2, a clever clean pass up the inside at turn 3. This time however Lanaway’s silver and black TT02 stayed in P1. As they crossed the line to start the last lap Matthews was just half a second behind. This time the racing Gods were with the leader. Lanaway was forced wide during a pass on a backmarker, letting Matthews through to lead. Archie must have thought he had the win in the bag as an uncharacteristic mistake saw his car hit the kerbing and flip over, allowing Lanaway back through to win the race.

A win apiece left the drivers tied yet again, Matthews taking the overall win thanks to his faster time in qualifying.  With four qualifying heats and two finals unable to separate the two rivals, a third final to settle the battle on track is surely needed!

The rookies section - for drivers with less than ten races experience - saw Poppy Hyde as top qualifier with two impressive qualifying wins. It was Harry Standing however that took the first final win ahead of Hyde, with cousin Tyler Standing in third. The three drivers put on a fantastic race ahead of the field. Team Standing repeated the feat in the second leg, but Hyde had one crash too many, dropping to fifth. Local debutant Emily Southgate took full advantage to complete the podium.

Round 4 of the Tamiya Junior-E is at West London Racing Centre on 18th July.

Finals 1: https://youtu.be/RPsVpJYsvV0?t=8461

Finals 2: https://youtu.be/RPsVpJYsvV0?t=13593