Pro-Line EP Masters – Rnd 2
So the eagerly awaited second round of the Pro-Line EP Winter Series was upon us at the excellent Storm Valley Raceway near Stoke. The only permanent indoor clay track in the UK.
CML’s Iain McCallum reports.
Seventy plus drivers, a power cut and an extra heat full of micro off road racing cars made the day very memorable and a good time was had by all despite the hour long delay.
For me the day was very pleasing as my etronix powered B44.2 did a lot better this time (thumb rustiness a little less with each race) the motor speedo combo is proving to be a quick and reliable package despite its budget price tag. It was as quick as anything else on show and was only let down by the drivers talent!
Two wheel drive got of to a flyer in round one with Ash Owen taking TQ but by only two seconds from Mitchell Booth, Alex Mortimer a further ten seconds down and Matty Dodd the only other man to get 16 laps in this round. Round two saw Mitchell up the anty with the meetings first seventeen and CML tech guy Liam Galvin jumping into second in round, Ashlee clinging onto third with Stuart Wood fourth. Round three saw Ash back on top Mitchell second and Matty Dodd third with Liam coming in fourth in round.
Due to round by round qualifying and some drivers leaving before the finals due to the power failure delay the overall TQ was taken by Ash with Mitchell in second and Alex in third. The final saw very very close exciting racing with the top three finishing within four seconds of each other Ash Owen driving brilliantly to take the win from Mitchell who was just 8 hundredths of a second away!!!! Maybe put your PT on the front bumper next time Mitch! So an Associated top three in this class proving the car to be just as good on loose grip surfaces as it is on high grip with the Centro 4.2 fitted.
Graham Howard led the way in the first round with his Xray with Alex Mortimer coming in second just two seconds down and Ryan Lawrence making up the top three a further second behind Alex. The top five in round one only split by twelve seconds overall. Round two saw the other Howard brother Glen take top spot with Alex coming in second again and Mitchell Booth nicking third from Xrays own Greg Hill who was in fourth. Third round and Glen continued his good form to TQ again but AE/PL driver Mitchell jumped in to second and Gregg moved up to third in round. The final was another close affair with Mitchell Greg and Glen battling hard for the full five minutes with no one able to pull a gap at all. All three had almost identical average laps but Associated’s Mitchell ran out the eventual winner by just eight seconds from the X-rays of both Greg and Glen.
A few more attended this class this time and I have to say they do look awesome on the track. With no control tyre and both two/ four wheel drive running together this is just a mega fun class and all the drivers where grinning from ear to ear from start to finish! As it was Paul Avery took the TQ honours in round one with CML’s own Liam Galvin second, Adrian Prince making up the top three. The second round saw Robert Childe get his thumbs working and take pole with the fastest time in this class with Paul second and Liam third. Round three was a photo fit of round one as Paul took the round win and Liam second again. The final was again a close run affair with Liam battling valiantly with his 2wd Associated against the mighty four 4wd Durango’s of both Robert and Paul. As it was he finished a creditable third just ten seconds down from the eventual winner Robert who drove superbly to secure his second win in a row in this series. Paul was unlucky on the last lap and could have won it but had to settle for second a mere one second down. This class really is fun and I would recommend anyone to try it as it’s a real laugh.
BRCA national champ Phil Slay dominated round one as you would expect but Jim Davies of Horizon fame put in a creditable second place with a fast constant run with former Pro RC shop owner Steve Carrigan coming in third. Phil continued in the same vain in round two as did Jim but a new name in the shape of Matt Francis completed the top three. Unfortunately Phil had to leave before the start of round three to attend a pre arranged event which left the way open for Jim to take the final round top slot with Rob Charmers in second and Steve once again coming in third. In the final Jim got a good start and led from start to finish Matt coming in second and Rob third.
As a test class for this round it worked pretty well and CML have decided to run the remaining four rounds including Micros with best three to count,so if you fancy a real good laugh have a go! Phil’s round two time would have put him mid ‘b’ final in the 4wd main class so these little babies aren’t slow!
So that’s it again until round three on 17th November hope to see you there!
Special mention this month to Formby Models own Steve Newey who raced cars for the first time in at least twenty years, he never stopped laughing all day and had a thoroughly good time keeping me entertained in the process. That’s what racing should be like!!!!!!
