Team Dremel UK

[Mark Christopher]

Dremel tools are proud to announce the “Dremel RC Team” which will Consist of Drivers Mark Christopher, Lee Chapman and Richard Boult. Aided by pitman Martyn Chapman. The Team will be competing in the UK IC Nationals covering eight tracks in the UK. They will also will be attending the Euro’s in Holland in July.
Mark and Lee will race in the competitive 835 Class using Serpent 835 cars, powered by Mega engines with support from Serpent UK
Richard will compete in the Truck Class with his Orion powered Xray NT1.
All three will run Serpent 835’s and Mega engines at the European meeting
All three drivers will be using Byron 16% Race fuel, Twister Tyres (twister UK) and receive further backing from MBModels in Leeds, Trakpower Rcracechat and Radio Race Car International
The team will be competing in other classes icluding on and off road meetings over the year, and will have a Dremel table on hand with Dremel tools for other racers to try and experience the quality of this brand. Look out for Team Dremel and come and have a chat and try out the tools.

Sponsors
www.dremel.co.uk
Serpent-UK
MBModels LEEDS
Trakpower
Radio Race Car

[Mark Christopher]

The team are also pleased to anounce support from
RW Racing
also
TIR

we look forwrad to working with you

[Mark Christopher]

The team have just taken delivery of thier Trakpower pit pro chargers, balancers, transmitter packs, and starter box lipo's.
our starter boxes are now soooo light and got plenty of power:D

[Mark Christopher]

The Team have also taken on a new team member, Lee Stokes will be the newcommer of the team, who is taking on the challenge of IC racing in his 1st year after racing in elelctric touring, Lee will be driving the Serpent 720 in the rubber national class

welcome aboard Lee

[Mark Christopher]

NAME: Mark Christopher

AGE: 41

OCCUPATION: Ford Master Technician

HOME: Haxey, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.

YEARS IN RC RACING: 19 years

OTHER INTERESTS: Caravanning with my wife, Fishing, Watching Motorsport. Trials Bike riding.

OTHER DETAILS:
I have raced radio control cars since 1989 and competed in many classes including electric off-road, electric on-road touring cars, F1 and IC on-road cars. All with varied amounts of success. I have won both club series and national titles. In 2007 I managed to win the Scale IC truck Nationals in the UK and have driven for several car manufactures. I am also an active member of the BRCA www.brca.org committee.
I have been working alongside Trakpower developing Lipo batteries for the RC car market
I am also the team manager for the Dremel Race team and I am looking forward to both using and promoting a wide range of Dremel products.

NAME: Lee Chapman
AGE: 36

OCCUPATION: Mobile Car Automotive Body Repairer

HOME: Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England

YEARS IN RC RACING: 17 years

OTHER INTERESTS:
OTHER DETAILS: I have been racing RC cars now since 1991, where I started racing off-road buggies locally. After supporting my local club for more than 5 years I started to take an interest in on-road racing where I have ended up competing nationally. My achievements within the RC world have been mixed, ranging from local club champion for 3 years and being the runner-up in the British indoor Touring Car Championships (Stock Class) I have also finished first in the National HPI racing sponsored Nitro class events. I have also raced in most if not all the off-road and on-road nitro and electric classes that are currently being raced.
Before starting RC Racing I had an interest in full size Short Circuit Racing where both my father and I competed building and racing under local sponsorship.
I also design and paint the paint schemes for our Dremel team.


NAME: Richard Boult
AGE: 42

OCCUPATION: Joiner

HOME: Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England

YEARS IN RC RACING: 28 years

OTHER INTERESTS: family days out when time allows

OTHER DETAILS:
I first raced at a BRCA national in 1980 in the 1/8th scale on road class and have continued in different classes on and off every since. In 1980 I won the saloon h/cap final at the BRCA nationals. In 2005 I was electric GTI champion in the HPI CHALLENGE and in 2007 I won the IC truck class at the Mendip round BRCA national.
I am really pleased to be part of the DREMEL RACE TEAM for 2008 and am looking forward to this seasons racing.


NAME: Martyn Chapman
AGE: 61

OCCUPATION: Data / Configuration Manager

HOME: Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England

YEARS IN RC RACING: 15 years

OTHER INTERESTS: Motor sport, Computers, Fishing, Painting.

OTHER DETAILS:
I have supported my son Lee as his Pit man in the many different classes he has competed in and this year I will also act as Photographer / Reporter for the Dremel Team enabling the others to concentrate on their driving.



NAME: Lee Stokes
AGE: 37

OCCUPATION: Salesman for a Builders Merchant

HOME: Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England

YEARS IN RC RACING: 3 years

OTHER INTERESTS: Anything to do with cars. I have built modified full size cars and still own a modified Vauxhall Astra. I also have a wife and a 6 year old daughter who take up the rest of my time when I’m not racing.

OTHER DETAILS:
I have only been racing for 3 years and have not yet won any major competitions although I once won a trophy at Aldershot club for over 210 practice laps in the BTCC one Saturday!
Pleased to be part of the Dremel race team.

[Mark Christopher]

DREMEL RACE TEAM REPORT
BRCA 235MM GT – ROUND 1 COTSWOLD 13 April 2008

Background

The Dremel Race Team was formed in January this year. The team is made up drivers Mark Christopher and Lee Chapman supported by their pit crew Richard Boult and Martyn Chapman.
Richard is also competing in the truck class and new driver Lee Stokes has joined and will run in the rubber class.

Mark and Lee have previously competed in the BRCA 200mm class and after what turned out to be a disappointing season decided it was time to change to a ‘new’ class in which they could enjoy racing at a less hectic pace. So, during the off season the decision was made to leave the 200mm class in favour of the 235mm GT Saloon class and search for a sponsor for the 2008 season.

After a considerable amount of correspondence and a promotion day at Silverstone they managed to successfully secure sponsorship from Dremel Tools, whose European office is in Holland. Dremel are a leading blue chip company specialising in hobby tools. After some research it became clear we couldn’t have chosen a better sponsor. Dremel are based in Holland where the Serpent cars are made and they are also a sponsor for the Formula One Team India. So, when Dremel agreed to provide support for 2008 season we couldn’t wait to team up with such a high profile Company.

With the initial plan of a two man team it was decided to increase this to four drivers, who all race and travel together the two new members were Richard Boult and Lee stokes

BRCA Round 1 Cotswold 13 April 2008

Practice Saturday 12 April 2008
Practice started at 9 am and ran throughout the day. Track conditions weren’t ideal owing to some overnight rain which left the track damp and very slippery. However; with a strong wind blowing it didn’t take long to dry out leaving the odd damp sections which caught several drivers out. Although mainly sunny it was cloudy at times which tended to keep temperatures down.

Practice turned out frustrating with both drivers finding the characteristics of the 235 chassis and engine very different from 200mm class. The general problem being a lack of power at the bottom end of the rev range which meant acceleration out of slow corners gave us a disadvantage against our competitors. Having made several adjustments to the clutch and suspension setup in was mid afternoon before both drivers began to achieve some respectable lap times. With less than half an hour remaining we were still trying to set the engines up. It was after 7pm before we left the track a little apprehensive as to how we would do the following day.
Richard’s truck was looking good and he was walking round with a smile on his face. Lee stokes was finding IC racing a new challenge and trying lots of different setups.

Race Day Sunday 13 April 2008
Weather/Track Conditions
Race day and the conditions were similar to practice with a cloudy blue sky, temperatures down with a cold wind and occasional dull cloudy periods. As for the track, it was generally dry with damp areas. However; as the day progressed it gradually dried but remained cold.

With 4 rounds of heats to decide the final placing and being new to this class it was definitely going to be a steep learning curve and every race had to count as everyone’s lap times would get quicker as the day progressed. With not getting the set up done earlier both drivers were at a disadvantage and therefore had to get some fast times posted quickly.




Round 1
As Lee’s first heat got underway he quickly began to settle down and with confidence in the car posted some good times. Although the engine wasn’t quite as we would like we felt it was quick enough to make the ‘B’ final with consistent results. Lee finished with a second place making it a promising start although still suffering from tuning problems. Sadly, it didn’t last long as halfway through the race I noticed his number wasn’t appearing on the lap board. The problem revealed a problem with the transponder, as a result there were no laps recorded. Unable to rectify the problem we borrowed a transponder which confirmed the problem.
Marks engine was still not running to his liking so he and his pitman spent the time making adjustments to his engine.
Richard took a strong round win while Lee S put in a good show.

Round 2
With minor adjustments to the suspension, camber and toe in Lee hoped for better results while Mark was now re-adjusting his clutch settings.
Richard stayed put due to a brief shower, and Lee S carried on as in round one.

Round 3
With a few more adjustments including lowering the body shell in an effort to improve handling we went out for our third heat. Still using the same set of tyres we noticed the car was becoming more stable allowing Lee to go into corners carrying more speed. Lap times showed we were improving and finally finished a creditable 2nd. Mark now had his car working better and put in a good run. Richard and Lee S both improved their times.

Round 4
The final round we really needed to finish high. Previous heats had shown we were more than capable of keeping up with the quickest and had we not suffered a DNF in heat 1 an ‘A’ final would have been well within our reach, so this was our last chance. We started the race with a clear track ahead which enabled Lee to put in some consistent quick laps. An uneventful race we were happy with a 3rd place which we worked out would give us a place in the B final. Mark took an impressive 3rd overall, Richard took FTD(Fastest time of the day) in the trucks, while Lee S qualified 9th in the B final.

The Finals
With the times posted Lee had qualified 9th in the ‘B’ final. A messy start for most but Lee made a super start and by the first corner had made four places! After the first pit stop he had moved up to 4th and he was now putting in some quick times. As the race progressed it was looking good for a top three finish as he began gaining on those in front. When the other cars started coming in for the second fuel stop I decided to keep Lee out hoping to gain track position by having a clear pit lane. With all cars refuelled I called him in fuelled up and out he went with a clear track ahead. Lee was getting better lap by lap putting in some quick times holding the gap with the front runners.
After some excellent driving we were up to fourth and still gaining when I called him in for the final pit stop. As he approached the pit lane he was carrying a lot more speed and going into the pit lane he hit the pit wall hard which ripped the front nearside wheel off. That was it, race over, sadly a disappointing end to what may have been a good finish.

Mark qualified 3rd on the grid in the A final. For Mark it was not the best of starts to the race but good team work from his pit man helped him settle down and improve. By calling good fuel stops over the 30 minute final he managed to drive into 2nd place being beaten by only by the current European champion Glyn Beal.

In the trucks A final Richard started on pole and stayed there taking an impressive outright win which again was helped by Mark doing some very quick pit stops with his fuel gun to hand.

Qualifying 9th in the “B” final Lee S drove the race of his life and finally finished 3rd in his final.

Overall it was a difficult and frustrating weekend. Being new to the 235 class it was a steep learning curve especially getting the car set up to handle properly. As a result we were down on speed and naturally lacked confidence on the track. The Dremel team worked well together and achieved some very good results.
Looking back it certainly has potential and we are positive for the season. Tyres and bodywork are two areas which make a big difference in performance. We all learnt a great deal which we’ll carry with us for Round 2 at Halifax.

The Dremel table created a lot of interest and was in use for most of the weekend. On here we had a selection of Dremel products including Lithium 10.8, stylus, Versatip and Multivice which the racers could try out for themselves.
Drivers also used Trakpower lipo batteries in their transmitters, cars and starter boxes, all performed perfectly


Martyn
Team Dremel


Below Mark, Richard and Lee Stokes who drove the wheels off his car :D

[Mark Christopher]

New Team picture
left to right
Richard Boult (truck) Mark Christopher (235) Lee Chapman (235) Lee Stokes (Rubber)
race report from round two to follow

[Mark Christopher]

Round Two was at the fantastic Halifax track in Yorkshire

Report Here (http://www.mark.christopher.btinternet.co.uk/TeamDremel/Round2Halifax11May2008.doc)

if you can not read the report please download THIS (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=95E24C87-8732-48D5-8689-AB826E7B8FDF&displaylang=en)

[Mark Christopher]

Team Dremel finally got to use thier new Gazebo, it will now be even easier to spot the Dremel team and Demo tools, just come under the huge 4.5m x 3m gazebo to have a go with some Dremel tools

[Mark Christopher]

A busy and fraught weekend for the Team.
see how they did
Brooklands National report 2008 (http://www.mark.christopher.btinternet.co.uk/TeamDremel/Brooklandsreport08.doc)


if you can not read the report please download THIS (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=95E24C87-8732-48D5-8689-AB826E7B8FDF&displaylang=en)

[Mark Christopher]

Team Dremel Driver Richard boult took a strong Ftd and Win in the A final,giving him a good championship lead, after a worrying start to the final, watch out for the full report soon to find out what actually happened!

[Mark Christopher]

Just come home from the 235 euro's in Holland, alll the team made the semi's with Lee Chapman making the main final, and finishing 6th , and top Brit!!!

[Mark Christopher]

race report fromm Aldershots fast drivers track

Race Report (http://www.mark.christopher.btinternet.co.uk/TeamDremel/AldershotRaceway.doc)

[Mark Christopher]

report Here (http://www.mark.christopher.btinternet.co.uk/TeamDremel/Eurosholland08.doc)

Team Dremel in Holland with Team supporter Dominic Dewsnap

[Mark Christopher]

The weekend of the 4th and 5th of October saw three members of Team Dremel Fly out to the Spa racetrack in Belgium, to promote thier team at the Dremel finals for gravity cars.
the team arived saturday afternoon to have a wander round the pits and take a look at the full size race cars there racing for the weekend.
sunday saw the team meet with the Dremel personal to prepare for the day. we were suprized to find ouselves in the house (where all the main F1 officials watch the race from) on the famous Eau Rouge corner, the room we were to demo from over looked the track.
with 2 TV/dvd players play radio control DVD's and a lap tp showing photo's from the year the team set out thier display of cars from , 200mm touring ic, 200mm ic truck's, 235 ic cars, 8th circuits cars, and thier three Hotbodies D4 buggies powered by Trakpower Lipo. Which ran fautlessly all day
They also had a loaned (Dremel Belgium) RTR monster truck. with a small off road track set up with jumps the team demonsrated thier buggies and then let the Dremel guests have a drive as they wanted to (never a shortage of volenteers)
the team explained all espects of rc car racing and at times took the help of one of the Dremel ladies to at as a translater.
they even had one guy who knew all about set up and he was amzed how set up guages etc were used, unfortunatly it was not till after he walked away that they realized thay had been talking to the force india driver:o

Dremel RC Teams show area






the que never dropped off




View of where the team demo's from





The famous corner in use



Such was the succes of our weekend Dremel are hoping we can attend some more shows in 2009 in France, Germany and the UK
Any UK distributors who would like to donate any electric of road RTR cars for us to let the potential customers use, would you please contact me

[Mark Christopher]

Another busy weekend for the Team

Report here (http://www.mark.christopher.btinternet.co.uk/TeamDremel/MendipRaceway08.doc)

[Mark Christopher]

full report here Click Me (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/Cotswold2.doc)








Due to other comitments Team dremel did not attend the final round at wrexham

[Mark Christopher]

team Dremel were asked to attend the Autosport show for the 10th scale ic section who ran lola shells on thier 235 cars

the team also lent there cars to drivers from other sections and in return drove other cars

some pictures below





lots more pictures fronm the weekend are here http://s490.photobucket.com/albums/rr269/mark_christopher/Autosport%202009/

[Mark Christopher]

Dremel are pleased to announce they will continue to support “Team Dremel” in the UK. The Team who recently helped with the BRCA promotion at the Autosports NEC show in January will continue to be seen in the UK’s racing scene.
Mark Christopher, Lee Chapman Richard Boult and new boy Andy Middleton will campaign in the 235 10th IC national championships with their Dremel liveried cars.
Lee Stokes will be running his Serpent 720 in the popular truck class, and one of the team may make a guest appearance in the class to support him.
The Team will be running Nova Rossi’s new line of engines on O’Donnell 16% race fuel, and ATS race tyres.
Members of the team will also be competing in the 8th circuit and 8th rally cross along with 10th touring and buggies. If you see them trackside come say hello and try the Dremel tools they carry for racers to use.
The Whole Team would like to thank their sponsors for all their help. Dremel, Serpent UK, Nova Rossi, MBModels in Leeds, Mirage R/C Enterprises and Trakpower.

I would like to Welcome new team member Andy Middleton the team, Andy is new to the national circuit but its our policy to encourage new blood to the sport who we know will promote our sponsors products to the maximun, Team Dremel wish him all the best for the up comming season.

[Mark Christopher]

the Team had a good start to the season read HERE (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/aldershot/Round%201%20-%20Aldershot%202009.doc) for more info

Pictures HERE (http://s490.photobucket.com/albums/rr269/mark_christopher/Aldershot%20national%202009/?albumview=grid)

[Mark Christopher]

Round 2 – Halifax, 26th April 2009

Arriving at a sunny Halifax circuit in Yorkshire, the Dremel team set up camp for a good weekend. The entire team turned up for this meeting as it was a local track for them all. Practice day started on Saturday morning bright and early with a dry and warm track. Weather forecast for the weekend was due to be dry with occasion cloud.
Qualifying started with Lee Stokes and his truck. Lee experienced ups and downs throughout his qualifying with a final position of 7th in his final.

With Andy being the new boy and only contesting one national to date he subsequently achieved a B final position with seconds on the clock from an A final position.

Both Lee and Mark swapped top of the table position throughout qualifying putting Lee in 4th and Mark in 6th position in the A final, with Richard on a close 7th.

The finals were up next:

Lee (Stokes), with his truck, started in 7th and managed to pull himself through the field achieving a well deserved 4th position.

Andy in the B final started in 4th position with his team mate Lee C pitting for him. Andy fought very hard throughout the race moving through the field along with his pitman he positioned himself for a podium finish missing out from the top spot by ½ a second. Andy finished finally in 2nd position again, well deserved.

Lee C set off with great determination to chase the leader in the first part of the race. All was going to plan as he moved himself up to 2nd away from the fighting field which consisted of Mark and Richard. Lee then experienced car failure after a 3rd of the race when he pulled out and didn’t finish. Both Mark and Richard pushed very hard rewarding both drivers with potential podium finishes. Mark finished a fantastic 2nd and Richard 5th.

Congratulations must go to Andy finishing on the podium in his final and Mark for finishing 2nd from a poor start. Well done all.

[Mark Christopher]

Another race report HERE (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/Brooklands09/Round%203%20-%20Brooklands%202009.doc)
Dremel have now been on the podium for every round!!

Richards well earnt second place





John Russel Won the Dremel Prize

[Mark Christopher]

Mark Christopher took a well deserved win in 235 class followed home by Richard Boult in second, Lee stokes took his first National win in Trucks, read more in the Race Report (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/cotswold09/Cotswold2009.doc)

[Mark Christopher]

Podium again for the team!!!
our longest trip for the team saw more points comming in read the report HERE (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/Adur09/Adur09.doc)

[Mark Christopher]

Due to the poor weather my camera stayed safe so no pictures for this one
Report is hereCLICK me (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/mendip/Mendip%202099%20R6.doc)

[Mark Christopher]

Quick report is here CLICK ME (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/Halifax09.r7/Halifax2009r7.doc)

[Mark Christopher]

The Team had a brilliant weekend securing 2nd,3rd,4th and 11th in 235 and third overall in trucks
read the report for moreHERE (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/TeamDremel/2009nats/Snett09/Race%20report%20template.doc)


The Jubilant Team



Dremel Prize winner

[Mark Christopher]

Team Dremel would like to extend their thanks to all those who have helped and supported them throughout the 2009 season.
The Team competed in the 10th Nationals, Mark Christopher, finished 2nd overall in 235, Richard Boult took 3rd Lee Chapman Took 4th place, and new to the National scene, Andy Middleton took an impressive 11th in his debut year. In Trucks Lee stokes to a creditable 3rd place overall.
The team members have also competed at various venues outside their national classes in 8th IC, electric touring and electric off road, with Mark and Lee Stokes competing in two indoor off-road series over the winter.
If you see them trackside and need anything Dremeling, just ask them and they will lend you whatever you need and they carry a full selection of Dremel Products

A big thank you to Dremel, Mbmodels in Leeds, Serpent UK, Nova Rossi, Elite power (Fuel) Trakpower, Inolabs, CML, Rcdisco, Hpi UK, ATS tyres and Radio Race Car International

L to R
Lee Stokes Andy Middleton Mark christopher
front row
L to R
Richard Boult Lee Chapman

[Mark Christopher]

2010 will see Team Dremel take on a small change in direction, Lee Chapman and Andy Middleton have decided to leave the Team. And we wish them all the best in thier racing.

The main news see’s three of the team take on a new chassis, in partnership with long term sponsor Mbmodels in Leeds and Rcdisco, Mark Christopher, Richard Boult and Lee Stokes will be competing with Xray’s NT1 10th IC touring car.
Richard and Mark will be entering the New GT class which opens up the outgoing 235 class to 200mm and 220mm cars, both will be running 220mm with Knack racing conversions, Bodies and wheels/tyres.
Lee stokes will be competing in the 10th touring class, all will be powered by Nova Rossi motors and Elite power racing fuel.
will be using his Serpent 835 with Nova Rossi engines also in the GT class.
Another new venture for the team is 8th scale on road where the Team will be supported by RcDirect running the Edam racer, although this is an entry level car, it has far from entry level performance.
Other new sponsors include Savox servos, Rcbearings and Boultspeed who will be wafting his skills and air brush on our bodies.




Boultspeeds paint work on the new Xray Nt1 220mm cars

[Mark Christopher]

Easter weekend saw Team Dremel take a road trip to the impressive Stonehaven track just below Aberdeen for the first 10th IC national of 2010.
Mark Christopher and Richard Boult were both entered in the newly re-named GT class with their Xray Nt1’s, which opens the old 235mm class to allow 200 or 220mm chassis to run. (220mm are simply wider wheels/tyres) Lee stokes ran in the 200mm touring class with his Xray Nt1 Saturday practice started damp and by lunch the track was dry, all three were happy with their cars and had to make only minor changes to their cars for the conditions.

Sunday again was a damp start, by the end of qualifying Mark had secured 2nd spot and Richard Fourth; Lee put his car in 8th on the grid at his first national 200mm touring meeting.
The GT final got underway and Mark took the lead when the 2009 champion flamed out, only to hit a dead car on the main straight, luckily his car was undamaged the body was causing a loss of steering for left hand turns. (The heavy 235 he hit suffered severe damage including a bent chassis, testament to the NT1’s strength) Mark eventually came home 2nd with Richard 3rd, a superb showing on the cars national class debut. Lee drove a calm collected race to take 7th overall beating a few big names on his way.


Mark and Richard on the podium



pitting area



Dremel Prize winner Alex Thurston

[Mark Christopher]

Report can be read here

Word Doc (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/2010-Nationals/Round2-cotswold/Race-report-cotswoldR1.doc)
PDF (http://freespace.virgin.net/mark.christopher/2010-Nationals/Round2-cotswold/Race-report-cotswoldR1.pdf)



Cotswolds Round 2

1st and 2nd of May Bank Holiday weekend saw the team traveling to the superb Cotswold race track.
After setting up camp and their pit area, Friday night left them pondering the mixed weather forecast and the fact the team had not driven their Xray NT1 cars in the wet.

The team woke up on Saturday morning to a damp track, so a cooked breakfast was called for to prepare for the day ahead. By mid morning the track was starting to dry and they ventured onto the track.
Both Mark and Richards 220mm cars were soon lapping at a consistent pace, allowing them to spend time with Lee’s New Xray NT1ec car and making running adjustments to get it handling to suit Lee’s driving style. Mark and Richard ventured out again after trying their car with large variations off differentials and spring/damping combinations to collate some data on the car with a final set up decided on Mark was able to set the fastest recorded practice lap in the GT class.
Around 4pm the heavens opened and all the other drivers decided to call it a day and packed up.
As Richard and Mark had not yet driven their cars in the wet, they decided to venture onto the soaked track. Both cars droved incredibly well, with the handmade Kiss rain tyres working perfect.
A good dry off and re lube of the cars saw them packed away ready for Sunday.

Over night the rain never let up and Sunday saw a wet track with lots of standing water.

Round1
First onto the track was Mark and Richard, and after round one the Xray 220mm cars showed their potential by taking fastest time with Mark on provisional pole and Richard second, both a lap up on the rest.
Lee stokes was next up and promptly set FTD also on his Kiss rain tyres, even though his one way bearing was slipping and he was losing time waiting for it to engage.


Round 2
Richard improved his time and was a lap up on the rest, Mark tried too hard and made an error costing him a full lap, but both were still the top two GT cars
Lee suffered electrical problems and failed to improve his time.



Round3
The track had now started to dry and was at the worst state for choosing tyres, as they are new to the car richard and Mark opted for rubber tyres, these did not work as well as damps would have so both pulled out of the heat, others improved knocking Mark to 3rd and richard 4th on the grid.
Lee failed to make the start fixing his car resulting in him, not improved and pole in the B final

Finals

The track was now dry and Lee was up first. A strong drive saw him battling for the lead eventually losing out and finishing a well driven second place.
Richard and Marks final was soon underway and Mark got a bad start, While Richard had managed to take second place which he held until lap 19 when mark managed to pass him, Mark then chased the leader down and was battling with the leader when a racing incident with a back marker damaged his body, a hasty repair cost him a lap, but he still held second place. Then on lap 75 and 5 minutes of racing left mark suffered an electrical failure putting him out of the race. Richard soon retook second place which he held on to till the end.

In summary Lee took a win in his final, Richard took a well deserved 2nd place and Mark ended up 5th, but happy to have held FTD and been able to challenge for the lead
Dremel prize winner was Simon Smith who won a 100 piece accessory kit and T shirt.

Lee's Second place



Richard's Second place



Dremel Prize winner

[Mark Christopher]

May 22nd/23rd saw the UK nationals move the fast flowing track of Halifax, with a perfect weather forecast the team were feeling high spirited.

Saturday
Saw hot weather with no clouds in the sky, the grip levels soon came up, being the teams local track both Mark and richard soon found their pace and spent time testing in the high grip conditions to gain further knowledge of their 220mm Xray NT1’s, Knack tyres and Novarossi engines. With more data collected they were happy with their performance and lap times.
Lee Stokes’ 200mm touring car was also looking good with Lee able to drive smooth fast consistent lines, Lee tried different try shore’s to find a balance with grip and wear rate he was happy with and played with gearing to suit his Novarossi 353 which performed faultlessly and had superb speed. The team now took time to prepare their cars for Sundays three rounds of qualifying and Finals.

Sunday
After a warm night the day was forecast for another warm day.
With drivers briefing over, first on the track was Lee. As a team we had decided track times may drop in the heat later in the day
Round 1
Lee’s car was as Saturday handling the track well and looking fast. Putting a safe run in saw Lee take 2nd in his heat and 14th overall.
Mark and Richard both set off at a strong pace with Mark taking the heat win with a time of 19/314.49, shattering the old track record of 18/305, Richard finished 4th matching the original track record.

Round 2
With his banked round 1 time. Lee now picked up his pace and went a full Lap quicker finishing the round in 13th place.
Mark again made 19 laps taking the round win.
Richard improved his time to miss out on 19 laps by 0.37 hundredths of a second placing himself 3rd.

Round 3
With this being the final chance of improving times Lee’s pitman shouted for lee to push hard to improve his time, Lee took the challenge and knocked 2 seconds off his time giving him the heat win and 9th in round. He had qualified 16th
Mark again made 19 laps but did not improve his time, but took the round win and an extra point for FTD.
Richard pushed hard and again improving his time but an error in saw him fail to finish his final lap which would have put him on a 19 lap pace. Though he was happy to have qualified 4th overall

Finals

First to race was Lee
After a good start the spring holding the exhaust to the engine failed, his pit man ran off with the car and replaced it but too much time was lost, although he did recover to 8th position
Mark and Richard got off to a good start with Mark taking an early lead, after the first ten minutes of battling for 1st place Mark took over the lead again and stayed there to take the chegured flag.
Richard had a strong drive and took second place and on lap 34 of his 103 he took 2nd place to finish on the podium with Mark.


To round off the team had an enjoyable meeting, gathering allot of data on the cars and coming away with a good bounty of points.
Both Richard and Mark are now tied on points in a 3 way tie at the top of the leader board in the GT class.
Lee is an impressive 3rd overall in the touring class.

The Dremel Prize winner was Andrew Gregory.

[Mark Christopher]

BRCA 10th IC National Snetterton Round 4


June 12th/13th saw the team traveling to Norfolk to the short twisty track situated on the Market at the Snetterton race circuit, alongside their own huge model shop.




Saturday
Lee started by trying different engines and setting up his car for the twisty track, with the help of Richard he was soon lapping fast and consistently.
Mark and Richard spent time setting their cars up to give a quick change of direction and gearing to enable their Nova Rossi engines to use their power an all parts of the track, as soon as they were happy both drivers managed to get just below the current fastest lap record.





Sunday
The weather was not as hot on Sunday, but all drivers were still happy with their previous days set ups.

Round 1
Lee had an unlucky run but still managed to take 20th position in the round in the Touring car class.
Mark took 2nd in the GT class and Richard took 4th both getting below the old Lap record

Round 2
Lee put in a better run to take 14th in his class his 353 Novarossi giving him all the power he needed to pass slower cars
Mark and Richard both improved their times to enable them to finish in 2nd and 3rd in round respectively.

Round 3
Lee Managed to knock another lap off in this round and apart from one mistake would have made it two laps improvement, lee is adapting to touring cars well now after his switch from the truck class from last year and he just keep improving his driving and times.
Mark and Richard did not improve as they tried something for the final to see which was going to work the best.

With Qualifying over Lee had placed himself 10th in the B final. Mark had secured 2nd place and Richard was knocked into 4th spot on the last qualifying run. The top five in the GT class was the taken by the new 220mm cars as drivers start to make the switch over.

Finals

Lee started his B final with nothing to loose, by mid race he had worked his way into 5th place and then took 4th, he subdued to some immense pressure from cars behind and eventually finished in 5th, improving his starting position from 10th to 5th.
Mark and Richard set off in their final and by lap 2 had took the lead, this he held onto until lap 25 when an unscheduled pit stop was needed to rectify collision damage from a slower car. Richard mean while was in third place and chasing Mark, Mark then had a engine cut while in the pits for fuel and richard took second place with Mark a lap down, he managed to catch Richard and make a clean pass only to tangle with a back marker and end up off the track, time was up and Richard took his Xray NT1 to a second position and Mark came home a lucky third.
In the overall championship Lee is still 3rd in the Touring class. Richard has now taken 2nd in the Sports GT class and Mark is one point behind in 3th place.

The Dremel Prize winner was Mathew Williams of Team Williams, well done Mathew.

[Mark Christopher]

Mendip Round 5

The 3rd and 4th of July saw the team travel to the holiday resort of Weston super mare where the fast Mendip track is situated.

Saturday
Mark and Richard tried different gear ratios and setups for the track as part is quiet bumpy an some is fast and smooth so you need to find a set up to cope with both conditions.
Lee’s car was pretty much on the pace allowing him to spend time trying different engine and exhaust pipe combinations to get the most from his Nova Rossi 353.
By the end of the day all were happy with their cars and celebrated with an extra large ice cream from the local ice cream van.



Sunday
With rain forecast for later in the day the team knew they needed to get a good clean run in.
Round one
Lee was the first driver to get a run and he put a good clean run to qualify 18th in the touring car class. Mark and Richard put a good run in to take first and second respectively
Round two
Lee had another good run to secure 15th in this round running out of fuel on the way back to the pits but he added a lap to his qualifying time. Richard improved his qualifying time and Mark made a driver error and damaged his rear tyre making the car unsafe to drive at speed so failed to improve.
Round three
Lee failed to improve his time his engine had gone rich meaning he ran out of fuel before the end of the run.
Mark improved his time to secure 2nd on the grid and Richard had a spur gear strip to prevent over revving his engine he pulled off the track
Lee qualified 20th in the touring car class Mark was 2nd in the GT class and Richard was 8th
Finals
During the warm up Lee was looking good, as he came into the pits for refueling and to start the final his car stopped dead. Pitman Mark realized there was a stone stuck in the drive belt so removed it. After 11 laps Lee was in the middle of the group when his front belt failed, damaged by the stone.
The sports GT A final was under way with Mark taking second spot, a gamble on set up meant his Xray NT1 was slowly loosing rear traction which saw him slip to 3rd over all. Richard put in a strong drive to pull himself into 4th overall.

The Dremel prize winner was Paul Bellinger who received a 100 piece accessory kit and a T-shirt

[Mark Christopher]

Brookland National Round 6

July 16th 2010 saw the Team travel the 235miles south to the Large Brooklands track in Kent.

Saturday
Practice was frustrating for both Mark and Richard who both bearing failure on their Nova Rossi .15 engines, both were had concerned it was the length of the track straight and the engines were over revving.
Both Decided to fit their Novarossi 353 .12’s which were more suited to the high speed track. With team mate Lee Stokes help all three spent time finding a good gear ratio and clutch combination and were soon on the pace of the fastest cars.
Lee’s Novarossi 353s was simply stunning in its speed and power and was one off the fastest cars on the straight.
The Team now had a good set up on their cars and were looking forward to Sunday qualifying and final.

Sunday
Round 1
Lee was first away and placed himself 8th overall in the round and setting the fastest lap in his heat
Richard was second in the GT class and was only 1 second off the FTD; Mark was down in 9th place after an incident with a back marker put him off the track
Round 2
Lee again did a good run to take 11th in round
Richard took second in round again and Mark ran out of driver talent and hit one of the unforgiving kerbs breaking a rear wishbone.
Round 3
Lee was again 11th in round and was pushing hard to improve his time.
Mark got a good clean run to take 2nd in round with a screaming engine suffering from a late gear change. Richard this time managed to clip one of the full size road kerbs and broke a wishbone.
Round 4
Lee stokes was 9th in this round but did not improve his over all time. He ended up qualifying third in the B final.
Richard failed to make the start of the heat so sat it out knowing he was in the main A final. Richard qualified 4th overall Mark had an untimely engine cut and made the Heat but failed to finish his timed 5 minute run. Mark qualified 3th overall just piping Richard by 2 seconds.

Finals
Lee’s final was the first final to run On the start Lee held third place as was on the leaders bumpers, unfortunately a trip into the scenery saw damage to Lee’s car and he retired from the final leaving him 9th overall.

Richard and Marks final was the last one to be run. After lap 3 mark moved into second spot by lap 28 Richard had taken the lead followed by Mark, by lap 61 Mark managed to take the lead from Richard and they finished the final in that order. Both team mates were only one lap apart and Richard was nearly 3 laps clear of the third place driver.
So we had the GT class drivers of Mark and Richard on the top two podium steps.

Mark was running the new servos from Xcore racing to give them a test and they performed well in his Xray NT1 car.


Both Richard and Mark Ran the Original Knack 220mm bodies which were used to start this UK class.



The Dremel prize was won by the smiling Tobie Manser

[Mark Christopher]

Adur National Round 7


With Lee unable to attend the seventh round in Adur near Brighton. Mark and Richard faced the long trip. Setting off mid Friday morning it was eventually 5pm when they arrived at the track. After setting up camp they were looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Saturday
A bright sunny morning saw both ready to go, Mark spent some time finishing running in a freshly rebuilt engine and in doing so was able to pick out the racing line at a sensible speed until the grip came up. Once Mark had done this Richard did the same and also tried some different set ups. By mid afternoon both had set their cars up to suit the fast but twisty track and were on the pace of their fellow competitors. Both happy that prepared their cars for Sundays racing.

Sunday

After a perfectly dry day Saturday the UK did its normal trick and made every where wet. Both driver made some quick set up changes and were ready to make the 1st round of qualifying.
Round 1
Mark qualified second and had been on for setting FTD until a driver mistake saw him on his side. Richard came home third both happy to put a good run in.
Round2
This round saw the track starting to dry quickly, Mark opted for dry tyres and Richard opted for damp tyres. The choice was damps and Richard set a new FTD and placed himself in 1st place.
Round3
With the track now dry both drivers changed their set up back to full dry and both improved their times, Mark took second and Richard fell back to third.
Round4
Both drivers improved their times to secure 2nd and 3rd position on the grid. Mark just missed the extra point he needed to have any chance of taking the championship by 1 second.

Final

With a clean start both Mark and Richard set off chasing the leader. Both drivers had an uncharacteristic engine cut in the second fuel stop. Mark managed to retain his track position but Richard slipped to fourth place, Richard drove hard and retook third place in some very close racing. With less than a minute to go the first place driver had a problem and Mark was able to take the 1st place position. Unfortunately for Richard he lost his third place by less than 1.5 seconds after 30 minutes of racing.
With one round remaining the title has been won and Mark has secured 2nd overall and Richard has secured third.

The Dremel Prize winner was a grateful Dave Forsythe

1st Place for Mark


Mark tucks inside the leader


Dremel prize winner

[Mark Christopher]

Round 8 Colchester
The final round of the 10th IC BRCA Nationals took place at a new venue to the calendar at the Colchester’s clubs track. This track is smaller than were used to but it proved to be a real drivers track, the track design giving some a combination of high and low speed but also allowing clean overtaking in the slower parts.
On arrival at the track Mark and Lee Set up camp, Richard was unable to attend due to family commitments.

Saturday
Morning saw the sun out but the wind was adding a chill factor to the venue. The sides went up on the Dremel Gazebo to ensure a comfy pit area.
Mark ventured onto the track and was soon circulating at a good pace. Gearing changes were made to suit the torque of the Nova Rossi engine and small alterations to the set up to enable the car to rotate in the corners better and suit the Track., with Mark happy attention was turned to Lee. His gearing was adjusted yet we were still unable to get a set up he was happy with and a few attempts we made improvements and the Xray NT1 was soon looking good.
Both drivers prepared their cars for Sundays qualifying and packed up. The usual home made chili was consumed on Saturday night.

Sunday
Saw a wet circuit and a drizzle in the air. We were informed that we would be having 4 rounds of qualifying, and if the weather deteriorated it would drop to three rounds.

Round 1
Lee took was first up and a gamble on tyres did not pay off and he qualified 6th in his heat.
Mark again made a wrong tyre choice in the changing weather going out on damp tyres, they did not have the grip but he managed to still qualify second overall in the GT class

Round 2
Lee took to the track which was not dry and improved his time by 3 laps, moving himself well up the qualifying order
Mark got his tyre choice correct and improved but only took third spot beaten by a local driver who was on a mission

Round 3
We were informed that this would be the final round.
The earlier heats has seen a slippery track from a shower and Mark thought it was too damp for Lee’s tyres, as the track was rapidly drying the dry tyres would have worked but only two drivers improved in lee’s heat so his overall position was safe.
Mark was not out to move himself up the qualifying list, lapping on a good average saw him retake his second place on the grid and improve his qualifying time.

Finals
Lee qualified in 15th overall giving himself a good chance of taking a good end of year result. Just prior to Lee’s final a shower came down wetting the track. Lee opted for damp tyres, the pre final warm up showed they had made the right choice and Mark held the car to stop the tyres wearing out prematurely to the start where others kept circulating.
At the start Lee jumped from 5th to second then started to challenge for the lead, which he took. Lee held on and a discussion between driver and pitman of fuel stops saw a change in strategy of matching the other drivers to keep the advantage. Just over mid way in the final the second place driver got to grips with his car dropping Lee into second place, which he kept until the end. A strong determined drive saw Lee ending the year on a high.
The Final Prior to Marks saw the heaven open and the track was now deep in water, luckily the club had designed the track so water would run off into a drainage area, but there was still standing water on the track. Mark made some quick changes to his set up to suit the lower grip of the wet track and went out on full wet tyres. After a few laps Marks pit man Lee held the car to keep it as dry as possible. When the buzzer sounded Mark took the lead. After a few laps he decided to drive to win by not pushing and maintaining a clean tidy race. This tactic pulled off as he finished the final a clear three laps up on the second placed driver

After the end of a busy year Mark has finished 2nd over all in the GT class, Richard in 3rd and Lee has Taken tenth place overall in the Touring class.

All three drivers would like to thank all thier sponsors and especially Knack racing for designing and developing the original GT shell which has set the standard and been the one all the others have "copied" to be able to compete with the team.


The Dremel prize of a Tee-shirt and accessory kit was won by Luke Longley.

Lee 2nd in the B final Touring


Mark 1st in GT


Luke Longley Dremel prize winner

[Mark Christopher]

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