Griffiths and Stiles Win Round Six of 2010-11 BRCA 1:12 Nationals

The sixth and final round of the 2010-11 BRCA 1:12 Nationals took place at Chesterfield last weekend. Most of the regular front runners were in attendance, with the only exception being Elliott Harper who was away in Poland contesting the Euro Touring Series.

Saturday – Stock

On Saturday in the Stock class, Andy Griffiths took pole position driving his Nosram-powered V-Dezign. Andy just needed to finish inside the top three to secure the British Championship and with his only competitor Chris Kerswell qualifying down in fourth, Andy’s job in the final looked to be relatively straightforward. Matt Varah and Mark Stiles qualified second and third respectively to make it a V-Dezign lock out of the first three spots.
In the Stock A final, Andy led away the field, but a mistake allowed Matt Varah into the lead for a short time. Andy kept his cool and managed to recover the lead though and eventually went on to win the race, just ahead of Matt. Mark Stiles was a distant third after enjoying a race-long battle for the final podium spot with Chris Kerswell. So the V-Dezign top three from qualifying was converted in the final to the delight of team boss Vesa Yli, who had travelled over from Finland to race in his fourth national of the season.

Sunday – Modified Classes

On Sunday the field are split with half of the competitors choosing to keep their stock motors fitted for racing in the Sports Modified class, while the remainder race in Open Modified. In the sports mod class, Daniel Holmes TQ’d ahead of Mark Jewitt and Jim Spencer. In the A final, Daniel led for a short time until an incident allowed his cousin Damien into the lead after starting fourth on the grid. Daniel managed to recover though and eventually regained the lead to take his second win of the season. Mark Burgess  finished second ahead of Damien and Mark.
The Open Modified championship had already been decided before the meeting; Elliott Harpers absence meant that Andy Griffith’s points tally could not be beaten whatever the outcome of the final round. After a slow start to the day, Mark Stiles set the fastest time in round three before following it up with and even quicker one in the final qualifying round. Appearing to have regained the pace he showed at the Plymouth round two months previously, Mark took TQ by over six seconds ahead of a frustrated Andy Griffiths, who just couldn’t get his car to work to his liking. Chris Kerswell and Vesa Yli were third and fourth ahead of Matt Varah; these five having been the class of the field for most of the season.
In the A final Mark got away cleanly and proceeded to drive away from the chasing pack. After settling into a rhythm he built a lead of over half a lap by the end of the race to take his first national win for 18 months, and the first for speed controller manufacturer Castle Creations. Vesa Yli came through the pack to finish second and was the only driver to remain on the lead lap. Chris Kerswell completed the podium ahead of Andy Griffiths, whose handling woes continued in the final. The win was enough to give Mark third in the championship, beating Chris Kerswell on count back.

Summary

So a great weekend of racing for the V-Dezign team; TQ’s and wins in all three classes and seven of the nine podium places in the A finals. On top of this, Andy Griffith’s championship wins were the fifth and sixth for V-Dezign in the UK and secured back to back British titles for the Finnish manufacturer. Full results and final championship standings will be posted here.

Report Mark Stiles
Photography Chris Taylor