We got the lowdown from CML’s own Iain McCallum as he reports back from the first round of the Pro-Line EP Winter Masters held at Storm Valley.

I was pleased to be asked by Jared and Martin to attend the first round of the inaugural Pro-Line EP Winter Masters at the excellent indoor dirt arena at Storm Valley Raceway.

Storm Valley is the first permanent indoor race track in the north of England for 1/8th nitro and 1/10th electric. It has a large pitting area and plenty of parking for up to ninety cars. The series is for electric off road vehicles primarily 10th 2wd, 4wd and short course although if enough numbers book in 14th scale off-road will be run as well.

A good attendance was enjoyed at the first round with over fifty drivers booking in and taking advantage of the free tyre voucher offer, with an even split of 2wd and 4wd and a small heat of short course. Four rounds of qualifying and bump up finals were the format (first two in each final move up to the next one) with 2wd and 4wd running consecutively so plenty of time to charge battery’s for the next final.

2WD

Early pace setters were Matt Dodd, Ross Barras, and CML’s own Alex Mortimer, all split by only nine seconds. Ash Owen getting in on the act in round two just missing a 17 lapper. Round three and Ross rose to the challenge taking TQ with the first 17 and a new name in the top four appearing in the shape of CML and Associated’s Liam Galvin. The final round saw Matt take overall TQ by three seconds from Ross and another new top four name in the shape of Dominic Nunn, Ash just ahead of Dom in third by 200dths of a second.

The final was awash with Associated vehicles, with half the A Main B4.2 drivers, three Yokomo and two Shumacher. First corner carnage prevailed and saw Ross end up last, and Mark Smith jump from last to fourth, Ash moving straight into first were he stayed for the whole final. Mark had a good battle with Matt for second which he eventually won, moving up on lap nine and staying there for the duration. All three drivers split by only nine seconds. Associated first and second with Yokomo coming in third.

4WD

Top three in this class were Lewis Beach, Greg Hill, and Leigh Richardson, all split by 1.5 seconds! Associated/PL’s young driver, Mitchell Booth, and Storm Valley regular, Graham Howard, got to grips with the track in round two, both getting into the top three with Graham top qualifier for the round. After an unchanged round three, round four saw a few breakages and Lewis qualify second in round. Because of round by round qualifying this put Lewis second on the grid behind Graham and just ahead of Mitchell but bizarrely having gone a lap slower than both Mitchell and Leigh who was in fourth.

As with 2wd, the first corner melee saw winners and losers, Lewis being the main man to cop for it, ending up last. Associated/PL driver Mitchell came off best, going straight to the front. This however was short lived as the unlucky AE driver snapped a center driving shaft on lap two while have a good old tussle with the Xray of Graham. Shame that, as it was shaping up to be a good race between two evenly matched racers. As it was, Graham was largely untroubled for the remainder of the race, winning at a canter. Leigh Richardson and Matthew Dodd had a cracking race for second and third with the former staying just ahead for the whole race with only half a car between them at some points.

Short Course

Only four in this fun class which was a shame as these cars do go round well and are a lot of fun to drive.

Robert Childe pretty much dominated from start to finish, winning every qualifier and the final by some margin. There is no control tyre for this class so if you fancy giving Rob a run for his money the next meeting is 27th October.

Special mention to Mathew Dodd who took a whole lot of time helping me at my first meeting in a long while. He managed third in two classes while dealing with my panic attacks (things I’d forgotten/not brought with me) and should be knighted for his efforts. The B44.2 and Etronix brushless system proved a match for all cars and equipment on show and was only let down by a severe dose of ME!

Don’t forget next round is 27th October….can’t wait!

Source: Buggy-Sport.info