NERFERS NEWS. AUGUST 1999.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM.
DAVE WATERS (502) - CHAIRMAN’S CHAT. PETE TOWELL ( 7 ) - Crank - no I am not. RICHARD SAGAR - GOODBYE. TOM YARWOOD - Euro’s take 2. SCOTT CROMTON - A Rodder’s Comment
******************************************************************************************** CHAIRMAN’S CHAT.
Welcome to the August issue of the excellent ‘ Nerfers News ‘, and congratulations must go to Simon Galbraith on winning the Michelin European Championships at N.O.R.A. over the May Bank Holiday weekend. Although entry’s were down on past years, those who made the effort enjoyed themselves. What was most disappointing and a point of concern was the non appearance of any Dutch drivers, in the weeks leading up to the event some rumours were circulating that the N.S.O. ( the Dutch B.R.C.A.) had put an informal ban on Dutch drivers coming over because it was a two day event , now as I said earlier this is only a rumours which I sincerely hope is not true but I will still be writing to the Dutch Chairman to get some clarification on the matter. We all know that our section is suffering from lack of drivers although when you look at the registered drivers list numbers are on a par with past years. What we need is to get registered racing more often and to attract new blood into the sport. What we do not need is sort of behaviour I experienced recently at a Midlands club. Three experienced drivers did there dirty washing in public, in full earshot of potential new members for our section. This is not good enough and even after they were spoken too, one still continued to make comments that could be taken to inflame the situation further. I am of the personal opinion that if this goes on much further it can be taken as bringing the Section into disrepute and if the case be proved it could mean no more car racing of any description under the banner of the BRCA. You have been warned. Come on it’s only a hobby so lets all enjoy it win or loose. National Grading - at our last AGM we made a few changes to the system, with the aim to take away the pressure of having to complete 4 meetings over a 13 week period, that’s racing on average once every 3 weeks. Now we have a ‘running system’ which take into account your best 8 scores from 10 meetings. This is OK but I am of the opinion we need to have minimum number of meeting over the year, lets say 6 then if do not complete 6 then you will down graded, that’s having to race once every 8 weeks, I think we could manage that. Some may also say ‘do we need National Grading’. Clubs can operate the system that suits the clubs need, and when we come to the Regional and National events we now have a straight line start so grading does not come into consideration. How about us also having a season that runs from AGM to AGM that would make getting your six scores in much easier. Talking of the AGM which this year takes place on Sunday 31st October at the usual venue in Chesterfield, at we hope all drivers will make an effort to attend. So if you want to make any changes to construction or race procedure rule I must have them in writing by Sunday 17th October 1999 , all changes must be proposed and seconded by drivers who currently hold both BRCA and section race number membership. A list of proposals will be available 1 week prior to the meeting and any current registered driver may request a copy by sending a SAE to my home address, if possible a copy of these proposals will placed on the Internet on our official web site. Enjoy your Racing. Dave the Chair.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS.
Skegness secretary now Len Alexander. 29 Brunswick Drive. Skegness. Lincolnshire PE25 2QT.
****************************************************************************************** CHANGE OF FIXTURE.
Chessington - Model World Show will now be on 5th September and not 22nd August as shown in section handbook.
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CRANK - no I am not !
I have just fitted a clutch to a new OPS engine which are now available again thank goodness, and at more acceptable price. The engine was a Buggy Power, which has a new type crank that is identical to the famous HF engine of two years ago. In our experience with the HF the straight swirl gives a quicker acceleration and very smooth power delivery. Some of the cranks that I have for sale are of the competition type i.e. without the swirl. Idea ! Why not copy the straight swirl in these plain cranks. Not only will they be of the latest design but as my cranks are 12mm dia . ( the buggy power is 13mm ) They will fit any crankcase with a 12mm bore even the side exhaust that you have. Good chap that I am I have stood the cost of conversion for this batch, which as usual are sold on a first come basis. The price is as before , only £25.
See you around. Pete Towell ( 7 ).
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PLEASE SEND MORE NERFERS NEWS ARTICLES.
ITS YOUR UNIQUE NEWS LETTER
THEN EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS AND OPINIONS.
MAKES THE WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. SUPPLIERS OF 1/8th & 1/5th SHORT OVAL RACING PRODUCTS. CALL / FAX JOHN ELLIOTT ON 01903-714353 OR WRITE TO 56 HIGHDOWN DRIVE. LITTLEHAMPTON. WEST SUSSEX. BN17 6HH.
AS USED BY THE 1999 BRITISH & SCOTTISH CHAMPION.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. AFTER ROUND 4.
391 JODY FOSTER 50 422 PAUL CULLVERWELL 30 477 GORDON MACKENZIE 26 73 PHIL TOWELL 25 1 SIMON GALBRAITH 23 168 EDDIE WHITE 19.5 352 STEVE SWALES 19 304 JULIAN VAUX 18 37 BARRIE JONES 18 5 MICK GOODHALL 13 157 NIGEL WILLIAMSON 12 57 KEVIN BARRIE 11 28 JOHN MIDDLETON 11 358 DAVE STELL 11 99 STEVE WEARING 11 512 ANDY DENHAM 10 800 DAVE BRUCE 10 53 RICHARD WATERS 9 241 OLLY WHEATLEY 9 317 MICHEAL GOVER 9 71 TONY BALL 7 237 IAN WOOD 6.5 176 TONY WILLIAMSON 6 316 ROB TOMMS 5 630 CRAIG THOMBLIN 5 65 DAVE HOLDEN 5 97 LEE WEARING 5 54 ALLEN BORLAND 4
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EURO CHAMP’S - TAKE 1 .
I would like through Nerfers News to say thank you to every body who attended the 1999 European Championships. It had a great atmosphere throughout the entire weekend, may I also say a big thank you to every body who helped get the track ready, they are Tom and Ian Yarwood & Ian’s family , thank’s Lynn, Paul Truepenny, Steve Drain, Dave Holden and Family, Graham Boland, Ian and Bomber Chambersand every one at the M.A.C. without who’s help the event would not have been possible. To the rest of the N.O.R.A. members THANKS FOR NOTHING, WE COULD ALL HAVE TURNED UP TO JUST PRACTICE. Thanks to everybody who rung me to say how much you enjoyed yourselves, that’s made it all worth while. Yours in Sport. Richard Sagar ( ex Secretary / Treasurer N.O.R.A.
NOISE, SOME MORE INFO. The following information has been acquired from a number of different people that have all had to find answers to the same problem that we now face. They ask me not to name them as they all have industrial premises that are still monitored by their Local Planning Department. There are three main area’s of concern. The first is how does noise once produced, escape from the local environment? What effect does volume and frequency have ? and , What are the feelings of the recipients i.e. people in the local area. There are two paramount ways that noise escapes the local environment (a) by reflection, which is being bounced off a surface that keeps the sound together in terms of both volume and frequency. Some types of surface absorb some volume and also split the sound into it’s component frequencies. Surfaces such as the ‘egg box’ shape absorb and split sound ( hence the use in sound proofing ), were as hard smooth fairly flat ( in one plain ) surfaces reflect very effectively. Surfaces such as Tarmac, concrete and metals ( incidentally radio frequencies are affected in the same way and by the same conditions). The use of wood and composites helps in these cases. It may be that the fact we bounce the exhaust off of the track up into the air therefore loosing control of it, that is our main problem. If it emerged horizontally and was quickly dispersed i.e. out of the rear of the the car it would be more easily controlled. (b) The atmosphere, more specifically the moisture content enhances the distance noise travels ( the fact that noise travels further over water and at night is well known, an increase in distance of between 10 and 100 fold depending upon conditions). There is little to be gained here other than to note that night meetings may be heard at greater distances than day ones. Volume can be measured and so is the main focus of the Local Council rules. it is not commonly known that if you have a noise source say RC Stockcars that is producing 80Db and you add another producing the same than the combined output will be 83Db. As the Db scale is logarithmic, a 3Db increase is 3 fold. 3 cars will be 86Db. So with 6 cars in a race the total output will be 95Db. To achieve a total output of DB then each car can only have an output of 65Db. as the background noise is usually between 60 and 70 DB you can see where the friction with Local Councils comes from. I do not see how we cam win in this situation other than to avoid rules that refer to decibel levels. Frequency or pitch is normally only a problem at the extreme ends of the scale i.e. a high pitched whine or low bass thump will always be noticed. A 12 to 15mm outlet creates a fairly low note. A 6mm outlet promotes an exhaust note considerably higher in the middle of the human ear range. this almost certainly accounts for the fact that a 6mm outlet sounds much quieter ( less obtrusive ) than a 12mm even when the DB readings are similar. As the pitch of the 6 mm outlet is in the midrange of the human audio senses, it sounds natural ( does nor attract attention ). If the noise level is measured close to the source then the differences are much more difficult to detect. The 1mtr x 1mtr rule is meaningless as the sound passes and re-passes the meter giving a multiplying effect for each car. it may be difficult to find a place to measure at 30mtr from the track but that is where the complaints come from, out there! Not at track side. If only one site at 30mtr can be found, then that is where there noise will be most intensive. This there fore is the ideal site to monitor and control sound leaving the site. The feelings of the recipients ( people ) in the local area will depend on such factors as age, lifestyle and likes / dislikes than the amount or frequency of noise we produce. I only have to refer to the modern music styles played on car stereos to illustrate the point. if you are of a certain age ‘its kicking’ any other age its killing. I do not think that we can gain anything in this area. To sum up we should avoid producing high or low frequency noise as these travel further. Produce noise of a frequency that is more acceptable, and avoid reflecting the noise as this has a multiplying effect. In doing this could mean that we have reduced the difficulty of managing the output from our tracks into the local environment. Think of a time when we must limit the volume of the public address as this is attracting more attention than the cars, and if we do not attract attention No Complaints. The pitch of the sound that our engine produce can be modified as we see by control of the outlet diameter ( this was the original idea of the AGM proposal ). if we could alter the direction of the outlet then refection would be also reduced. How about a driver who already has a 6mm outlet running horizontally end pipe to try the effect. We would the know if this works in terms of noise as well as engine performance. We are now on the Electronic Anorak and can be contacted on PeteT@ukgateway.net or as always by phone 01332 - 811547. See you all around.
Pete Towell ( 7 ). ******************************************************************************************
EURO CHAMP’S TAKE 2 - TOM’S VIEW..
This report, as are most report’s in Nerfers News, is a personal view on the event. I will split this report into 2 main sections 1) A pre-amble up to the meeting and 2) A view of Race procedure and race control. 1. When the meeting was offered to the NORA club and we was accepted by the committee, I was extremely apprehensive, knowing what was available at the track and surrounds, what work would be required to be done to bring it up to the WEMSA requirements, and as with every club in the section, the distinct lack of members who are prepared to carry out even the minimum amount of voluntary work for the club. However, I think deep down every club is proud to put on a prestigious meeting and succeed; so here come the bouquets. Michelin were extremely helpful in not only agreeing to sponsor the meeting but also provide much needed material for the job in hand. I make no apologies in naming names because I believe they deserve every plaudit that can be given. Steve Drain not only worked tirelessly on the work parties , but provided mechanical assistance in spreading the tons of boiler clinker provided by Michelin, provided the marquee and the caravan in the pits. Dave Holden likewise, not only worked on the parties but provided ‘hardware’ with Mick Mellor providing ‘general supplies’ ( make of that what you wish). These provided supported by hard working Rich Sagar, Ian & Lynn Yarwood, Paul Trupenny, ‘Bomber Chambers, not to forget my grandtwins, Thomas and Lynnette and young Johnathon Holden who got more green paint on themselves than where it was supposed to go. 2) In the past I have criticised, in writing, on more than one occasion WEMSA run meetings; however, I believe the two day meeting helped to solve some of the points due to the increased time available to run the meeting. I understand the two day meeting is still an experimental venture and the Coventry Worlds last year was the first attempt. As we allowed to choose the race procedure, subject to WEMSA agreement, we choose a procedure different to Coventry to perhaps stimulate future discussions and comparisons. We chose to have 1 1/2 days of free practice leaving 1 1/2 for the actual meeting, best 3 of 4 heats to count run over Saturday afternoon / Sunday morning with the quarters, semi’s and the final on Sunday afternoon, time also allowed us to have some practice on the Sunday morning before the 3rd and 4th rounds of heats. A question from a couple of drivers on Sunday morning as to why the heats had not been shuffled after the first two rounds on Saturday unlike the usual BRCA meetings, in WEMSA meetings you do not have shuffle heats. The saddest part of the whole event was the alleged boycott by all the Dutch drivers. No real practical reasons for their actions other than they do not like meetings over 2 days even though they are usually here for 3 days ( what a shame ). This meant the only overseas competitors were Jean Pierre Steegan from Belgium, Lother Peterman from Germany and the Englishman Mike Cooper who resides in Greece. Sixty three drivers ready for the ‘off’ and the value of being able to ‘stop the clock’ and suspend the programme after the start on 2 occasions when transponders were not immediately returned and on 1 occasion when a transmitter was not returned meant that 2 of my moans were elevated. Another pleasing point that when a driver found it necessary to change crystals during the meeting was quickly delt with by the WEMSA committee member, well done ( unlike a previous experience of mine). Due to the ‘ increased time available’ the heats were completed approx. 1 hour before the official finish time , and we were asked if this could be used for extra practice, WEMSA advised this practice would be at the clubs desecration and we readily agreed to the request. Unfortunately after a short time into this session - 8 cars were on the track at one time with drivers not on the rostrum and after 3 ignored requests to ‘ stick to the rules ‘ we had to make ourselves unpopular and suspend , and to make matters worse, very senior drivers who should have known better were equally to blame. However, after a cooling down period practice was resumed. At the conclusion of the first 2 heats there were no real surprizes with the top drivers being Simon, Jody, Gordon Mc , up and coming young drivers Alan & Lee with (Dad) Wearing and Harvey all up there. For rounds 3 & 4 on Sunday 3 drivers failed to appear leaving 60 to continue. Simon, Jody, Gordon, Alan and Lee consolidated top spots by posting 50+ heat scores, 7 further drivers completed 2 + 50 heats to make certain of qualification. In the first 1/4 final the unlucky Jean Pierre suffered in first bend action and had to withdraw with steering problems. Jody did not have things his own way and hit the front finally a good 2/3 rd. into the race with Alan and Dave Bruce taking the other qualifying places. The second 1/4 was a more steady race, Simon just doing enough to take the first place , Eddies White taking full advantage of his last qualifying place to take the 2nd place and long time third place Kevin Barrie slowly and steadily pegged back by Dave Stell who just made the third place his. The first bend melee in the 3rd 1/4 had quite an effect on the final placing, Olly Wheatly who had gone well in qualifying suffered a stall and never managed to ‘catch up’. Julian had the lucky break and stormed away to dominate from the front. Godders pulled off after 40 laps leaving Scott, Allan Williams and John Allen to battle out for 2nd and 3rd places. In the final 1/4 with Lee and Dad in possession ( who would move over ) turned out a real scrappy affair; but with steady Eddies Gordon & Paul reaping from this type of racing easily qualified with 64 laps and Dad Wearing grabbing 3rd - 4 laps down. So to the Semi’s - The first turned out to be a very close affair with only three laps between 1st and last. Jody equalled the 5 minute track record with 67 laps to take first place, but oh so close for 2nd & 3rd places, 3 drivers finished on 66 laps, Gordon on 0.86, Paul on 0.66 with young Alan o’Brian on 0.14 ( sure as eggs this young Scott will have his day soon). Not to be out done by Jody, Simon also equalled the 5 minute record to take first place in the second semi, with Julian comfortably in second place with 66 laps, this time oh so close for the last qualifying place, Dave Stell, Scott and Eddie finish on 63 laps, Dave taking it with o.80 Scott on 0.57 and Eddie 0.32. A predicatable Final I suppose with Simon breaking the 5 min track record with 69 laps showing his class in form, Julian and Jody 2nd & 3rd, local driver Dave Stell 4th with steady Paul and Gordon 5th and 6th. Post meeting bouquets, many thanks to those ‘home club’ drivers who helped Rich and Bomber on the scutineers table. Braham Bolland who ran the transmitter compound with part time help. Lynn Yarwood as race control ‘runner’ and supplier of much needed sustenance for race controllers. But most of all to those invaluable raffle prize donations who we can not thank enough ( I hope John Cleeves enjoyed hid tin of beans). I hope you all enjoyed the ‘Cloth Cap and Clogs ‘ hospitality and see you again soon.
Tom Yarwood (224)
HOT RODS - SCOTT’S VIEW. - A reply to TT’s hot article. I was very disappointed by your negative views about hot rods, even more so Southern Drivers. On reading your article I read that you disagree with running hot rods with a standard hot rod kit. You also disagree with ‘Mr Warners full Monty Mantua car, so what do you agree with? I would be most interested to hear your details in more detail. Hot Rods were introduced with some considerable success to SORA to attract more racers and revenue to the club, and to replace, and I think you will agree, a dramatic slump in stock car drivers not only in the South bur across the whole country. As As numbers of hot rod grew, there seemed to be confusion about what you could not and could not race, and what modifications you could or couldn’t make. At the time, all the cars running at SORA were all Midriff kits and had been modified in one way or another. With no other rule in existence within the oval section, and please correct me if I am wrong, still none (BRCA rule book Jan 99), it was decided that all modifications by the majority of drivers at SORA would be taken into account and we would call call our cars MODEL NATIONAL HOT RODS, the principle of hot rod racing. I trust that you have a copy of these rules which were written with the backing from the full size governing body NHRPA, and I would be most interested to hear your views on them, and perhaps a few words in the next Nerfers News. our close links with the full size NHRPA have helped with sponsorship, and this year sees the National Points championship being sponsored by Sanwa. Our formula has appeared in the NHRPA’s newsletter World of national, and model national hot rods as well as stock cars have had articles in short Circuit magazine, which also sponsored one of our championships last year. Moving to your point about allowing cars with fully independent suspension on the track is not wise. At SORA we have one full Monty Mantua on the track. This car has had one seasons racing with considerable success. I’m not suggesting that this car indestructible, but I have never seen anything beak apart from on clutch assembly ( it still runs the original belt). We have also have had the first 2.5cc engine raced at the track which proved the fact that they are just as fast as 3.5cc engines by winning the final in just four meetings, one of which was used only to run the engine in. I don’t feel that your suggestion with regards to limiting the engine size will therefore slow this formula down, and to be honest this is not what the driver want anyway. The full size sport is quick, and we want to do the same. I personally feel to attract more drivers to hot rods we need to seriously think if the Mardave kit is the way forward. I recently tried to convince a good friend to have a go ( he races 1/10th scale nationally), but when I showed him the cars he laughed and said that he would prefer something a little more ‘hitec’ which is what he is used to. Model cars have become technically advanced in recent years and I feel this is where oval racing has been left behind. Hot rods have the opportunity to bring people old and new back to the oval. I personally, and I know other who would like to have something a little more challenging than adjusting two two nuts for the suspension and changing four tyres in setting up a car. It may sound a s though I am not a fan of the Mardave car, but I have had two years successful racing with this kit but feel that racing all drivers racing it have reached a plateau and cannot gain any more from it. I feel that if we all get together and stop making niggling remarks we could make this sport a real national success. Just look at circuit chatter and all the positive things going on in electric and circuit racing with hardly a mention of 1/8th oval racing. No wonder there is a drop in numbers. I race both formulas, stock cars and hot rods, bur particularly enjoy hot rods. Full size National Hot rods is fast an close, and to me , the best from of short circuit racing. At SORA we tried within reason to get the some excitement on the 1.8th oval. With a lot of hard work from members and dedicated drivers we have achieved this. We are holding the first European championship ( 18th July) this year and the second British Championship (26th September) under MNHRA rules and all drivers from around the country are welcome. I particularly invite you , Mr Tennant either to compete or as a social visit, as you appear to have many views on our formula , but to date have never seen model National Hot Rods at SORA. I trust that this letter will go to print in full, hopefully it will get the ball rolling to get other drivers from around the country to put forward their views, and make a success of the formula
Scott Cromton ( 998 ).
A REPLY FROM THE CHAIR.
First of all I congratulate Scott in taking the time to write in with his feelings on Hot Rodding but I would like to take this opportunity to make some personal basic reply’s. Trevor has succeeded in his aims by trying to generate comments on Hot Rods by his article in the April edition of NERFERS, as you (and perhaps a few others ) seem to have taken exception to his piece. So stage one has been a success. You mention no rules in the BRCA handbook, well at the last section AGM, I proposed a set of rules for Rods, this was turned down in favour of us appointing a Hot Rod Officer ( Trevor ) for all BRCA members to send in rules so that he could come up with a set to satisfy most of us so that we can all get on with racing rather than bitching about silly little things. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I heard that some racers had got together and formed the Model National Hot Rods, rather than coming through the 1/8th Oval Section of the BRCA. >From my information, and I do stand to be corrected, but this only involves tracks in the Southern 1/8th Oval Section with none in the Midlands and Northern areas invited to take part or host these meetings only a open invitation compete via your letter. Within the section we have wanted and will get the show on the road, that is why a officer looking after rodding was appointed. So until we get some rules together they will not appear in the BRCA handbook and it must be understood that until we do come up with some rules etc. all the different championships you mention are not recognised by the BRCA and are such unofficial championship to us. So lets all pull the same way and get rodding going via the BRCA and stop setting up satellite organisations that perhaps suit just a few rather than the sport of model car racing. I hope all goes well with your unofficial championships. Scott did mention why have had NO entries in Circuit Chatter, well the answer is quite simple, what have you sent the PRO ( Alan Godfrey ) for entry into this BRCA newsletter, NOTHING. The same applies to NERFERS, if I do not get sent articles then we may soon have issues with just adverts. So get those pens out and drop me a line. If you have any rules etc. for Hot Rods etc. then send them to Trevor so he can then issue them for us all to see.
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PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
Do you know of anyone who can professionally produce a promotional video for the section to use at exhibition etc. at shall we say a very reasonable cost then give me a call for more details.
Dave Waters.
Gary Mills Racing.
Tyres for Winners !
5 out 6 finalists at the Euro’s used our tyre’s. Gold, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue. Red and Pink.
Phone Gary on 01903 - 859508 and start WINNING. ************************************************ Articles wanted for your NEWSLETTER. SEND TO DAVE WATERS NOW.
BRCA AGM 1/8th OVAL SECTION.
PROPOSAL FORM.
SUNDAY 31st OCTOBER 1999.
PROPOSAL 1. PROPOSED BY................................................................
SECONDED BY................................................................
PROPOSAL.
_________________________________________________________________________________________ PROPOSAL 2. PROPOSED BY.......................................
NERFERS NEWS.
DECEMBER 1999.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM.
Dave Waters (452) – From the Chair, Colin Packman (113) – Champion of Champions. Al Benton (128) – Just for
Fun.
FROM the CHAIR.
Well our section AGM is over for another year, and once again we had what can be described as a eventful meeting.
The attendance was very good with a number of drivers having to sit on the tables at rear of the room. I tried to run
the meeting so that every body could have their say on matters to which they had an opinion and I must say that you
all conducted yourselves in the correct manner and did not get to personal when you disagreed with a point from
another member.
With the changes we made to the grading system and the points scoring for the National and Regional Championship,
I hope a genuine increase in drivers actually taking to the track is on the cards. It’s now up to us all to help to get the
numbers up to insure the future of the premier section of the BRCA, it is a little known fact that our section has the
best attendance of all the section’s for the AGM’s. The only disturbing fact to come out of the meeting was our
failure to find rep’s in certain areas of the country. Come on lets have some volunteers for these positions, you will
find it rewarding.
At last we have a set of rules to cover Hot Rod racing, in fact have we gone one better and accepted two set’s ?.
Let’s see how we get on this year with one set covering just the basic entry racing and the MNHRA set which use a
more sophisticated racing machine, these are mainly based in the south of the country.
Early in the new year we will be demonstrating our sport at the Autosport show at the NEC in Birmingham. Last year
this proved a great success and lets hope we get some more potential members for the section.
To finish off may I wish you all a happy Christmas with a happy and successful new racing year.
Dave the Chair (452)
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1999 Champion of Champions
A late change of venue brought the 1999 Champion of Champions to the Chessington Club Surbiton Raceway, the
meeting being sponsored by Mick’s Body Shop (alias Mick Betts).
A total of 45 drivers accepted their invitations to this last major meeting of the year, and the millennium, so with a
strong field of runners we looked forward to what we hoped would be a good days racing. Conditions were pretty
good, with it being sunny and dry, but a brisk east wind made it feel very fresh indeed. The format for the meeting
was the usual one of four rounds of Heats (best 3 to count), quarter finals, semi finals and the main Champions final.
So there you have it, the scene was now set for the meeting, and after a trouble free practice session, scrutineering
and the drivers briefing, the serious stuff got underway at about 11.20am.
The first round of heats saw everyone at trackside to see how things went and what might be the standard for
qualifying through to the latter stages. In the first round Phil Towell set a good pace with a 46 lapper but he was
closely followed by Harvey Fox, Michael Gover, Steven Swales, Tim Pole, Julian Vaux and Paul Cullverwell all on 45
laps, Steve Wearing, Nigel Williamson and Lee Wearing with 44 laps apiece and eight others on 43 laps.
The second round saw Jody Foster come alive after a dismal 3 laps in his first heat and a score a 46 lapper, thus being
the eventual FTD (Phil Towell and Stuart Tennant’s 46’s were in a slower time), but he closely followed by Mick
Goodhall, Steven Swales and Phil Towell all on 45 laps, Steve Wearing, Harvey Fox, Michael Gover, Lee Wearing,
Julian Vaux, Richard Waters and Stuart Tennant all on 44 laps and another group of drivers all on 43 laps.
We were now at the mid point of qualifying and everyone was now fully aware of what was required score wise. It
looked like that mid 40’s was the aim for a sure place into the quarters, with low 40’s meaning a lot of drivers would
be sweating on getting through.
The third round of heats saw Phil Towell and Stuart Tennant top the list, both scoring 46 laps, with Paul Dexter, Julian
Vaux and Paul Culverwell close behind on 45 laps apiece and Steven Swales and World Champion Olly Wheatley
(having a bit of an off day) both on 44 laps. There were also a number on 43 laps, including Gary Mills, Ian Spiller,
Richard Waters, Darren Gregory, Micheal Gover, Harvey Fox and Steve Wearing.
Last chance time, the fourth round of heats – the top runners were now secure in the knowledge that they were
safely through to the next stage, but the rest were now having to go for it, some in a big way. In this last round Phill
Towell, Steven Swales and Mick Goodhall came out tops, all on 45 laps, with Julian Vaux close behind on 44 laps,
David Herridge, Harvey Fox, the Paul’s Cullverwell & Dexter all on 43 laps and Andre Vaux, Terry Sykes and
Darren Gregory on 42 laps apiece.
So that was the qualifying over and done with and with all the scores now added up it showed that Phil Towell was
top qualifier on 137 laps, with Steven Swales second on 135 laps and Julian Vaux on 134 laps, with the last group of
qualifiers back on 122 laps, which gives you some idea of the spread of scores in the heats.
It was now Quarter Final time and a sudden death situation from now on. All four Quarter Finals run more or less to
form – In the first one saw Stuart Tennant and Phil Towell go through on 45 laps a piece, with Mick Goodhall jioning
them on 42 laps – The second one saw Steven Swales easily go through on 45 laps, with Andre Vaux and Harvey Fox
being the other two to make it through, goth on 42 laps, - The third Quareter saw Julian Vaux on 44 laps and Micheal
Gover and Darren Gregory both on 42 laps as the three through in this one – In the last Quarter it was Paul Dexter on
43 laps and Lee Wearing and Andy Denman both on 41 laps being the last three to make the semi’s.
Semi Final time – In the first semi Julian Vaux hit problems and Struart Tennant’s progress was delayed by a stalled
engine, but the end result of this one couldn’t have been closer, with the top three of Lee Wearing , Darren Gregory
and Mick Goodhall all finishing up on 44 laps – The second semi was almost as close, with Phil Towell and Steven
Swales both going through on 47 laps and Michael Gover on 44 laps also going through to the final.
So there we have it , we were now down to the final six, a good cross section of youth and experience.
The Final started in a fast and furious way, with plenty of passing and re-passing. Phil Towell took an early lead ,
albeit a slender one, but gradually Steven Swales reeled him in and eventually got past Phil, with Mick Goodhall
always close by to pick up any places that might be going on offer should the leaders fall foul of any problems. In the
final stages of the race Steven got a bit tangled getting through the traffic which allowed Phil to nip back into the lead,
a lead which he held onto, but just only – So the end result was a win for Phil Towell on 58 laps, with Steven Swales
second, also on 58 laps (just 1.7 seconds behind), Mick Goodhall third on 56 laps, oung Micheal Gover fourth on 54
laps, an equally young Lee Wearing fifth on 49 laps and Darren Gregory sixth on 45 laps.
The final task was for the meeting sponsor Mick Betts to present the trophies to the 1999 Champion Phil Towell and
the other five finalists.
Finally I would like to thank Mick and everyone else for their support of this meeting, which turned out to be the last
meeting to be held on this tracksite ( more on this later).
Colin Packman (113).
A BIT OF FUN.
As some people may have read in Radio Race Car, Trevor Tennant believes that running 1/10th Electric Saloons on
the oval may be fun. Well since the 'Speed Weekend' at Coventry Race Track, Skegness Oval Racing Club has been
running 1/10th Electric Saloons at all of their Club meetings. We have had anything from 4 to 8 cars at the meetings,
all running 4 minute heats and a 5 minute Final, with quite good results, most of the Electric drivers are new people to
the meetings, and though it has been directed more at fun than anything else, we are hoping to get new club members
from the experiment, (two drivers seem to be very interested and are asking a lot of questions about available cars).
Any driver coming to Skegness for our club meets are quite welcome to bring along a car if they have one, and to join
in. Hopefully we can get even more cars next season, we shall certainly be working on it
during the winter.
Al ‘Bendy’ Benton (128)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION AGM
HELD AT THE CHESTERFIELD HOTEL.
SUNDAY 31ST OCTOBER 1999.
MINUTES OF MEETING.
Members Present.
452 Dave Waters, 3 Terry Dickinson, 202 Ann Chamber,Tony Perry, 188 Trevor Tennant, 44 Mark Flood,4 Pete
Flood,55 Paul Dexter,21 Tim Pole,5 Mick Goodhall,417 Chris King, 97 Lee Wearing, 99 Steve Wearing, 422 Paul
Culverwell, 250 Terry Sikes, 7 Pete Towell, 73 Phil Towell, 189 Stuart Tennant, 391 Jody Foster, Tony Phillips, Hazel
Phillips, 127 Colin Phillips, 396 Harvey Fox, 525 Tony Nevin, 128 Al Benton, 59 John Ferringo, 215 Kieth Booker, 71
Tony Ball, 43 Gary Mills, 65 David Holden, 65 Dick Batty, 143 Ian Chambers, 142 Hugh Chambers, 583 Paul
Trupenny, 628 Richard Sagar, 224 Tom Yarwood, 374 Graham Brotherton, 28 John Middleton, 205 Lee Middleton,
446 John Cleeves, 358 Dave Stell, 226 John Allen, 316 Rob Toms, 951 Suzanne Cooper, 168 Eddie White, Mick
Wheatley, 705 Phil Vaughn, John Powell WEMSA, 135 John Elliiott, 8 Dave Oakley, 113 Colin Packman, 170 Philip
Swales, 352 Steven Swales, 213 Steve Kinton, Alan Kinton, 351 Racheal Merry, 221 Mick Betts, 1 Olly Wheatley, 87
Diane Merry, Steve Merry.
Apologies for Absence. Alan Godfrey, Richard Waters, Ivan Black, Roy Watson, Graham Oxford, Gary Clapham,
Scott Bonallo, David Bruce, Ian Yarwood,Colin Warner, Steve Woodend, Bob Middleton, Rob Thorp, Dave Herridge,
Chris Herridge, Eric Stevenson.
1.Minutes of AGM held 25th October 1999.
With there being no queries arising the minute were passed as a true record of the meeting.
2.Chairmans Report.
The Chairman addressed the meeting and report that the number of registered drivers in the section was only 3 down
on last year, even with the loss of the Yorkshire and Boarders tracks. Although a number of these had not raced
during season. It was highlighted that a number of drivers had raced without renewing their BRCA membership, so
that this will not occur in future years the section committee proposed that when a driver paid for their race number
they also paid their BRCA membership. To this end the section committee will now that all members are paid up to
the BRCA. The section did attend the Rally and Short Circuit show in January of the year, which proved most
beneficial to the section. The chairman also thanked those club who promoted the sport away from their race site.
3. Treasurer / Race Numbers Secretary’s Report.
The Treasure gave brief report on the section accounts which was well within credit. It was announced to the meeting
that for the coming season will re-name the position as Membership Secretary as the office will also now be handling
the BRCA membership.
4. Grading Officers Report.
Mr Perry informed the meeting that 182 of the registered driver had raced over the season, of which 89 had been
re-graded over the season. Some 93 drivers did not get any re-grade due to insufficient meetings.
5. Hot Rod Report.
Mr Tennant reported that Hot Rod in the main were successful in the main at two clubs which raced to different
rules. He outlined his proposal’s for the BRCA standard of car, which would be discussed latter in the AGM.
6. Section Awards Ceremony.
The section awarded the following trophies.
Presented by Ann Chambers.
NORTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP.
1st 477 GORDON MACKENZIE, 2nd 800 DAVE BRUCE,3RD – 105 SCOTT BONALLO
MIDLAND CHAMPIONSHIP.
1st 5 MICK GOODHAL, 2ND – 304 JULIAN VAUX 3rd PAUL CULLVERWELL.
SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP.
1st 168 EDDIE WHITE 2ND – 1 OLLY WHEATLEY 3rd 37 BARRY JONES.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
1st JODY FOSTER 2ND – PAUL CULLVERWELL 3rd 477 GORDON MACKENZIE
NATIONAL GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP.
1st PHIL TOWELL , 2ND – 53 RICHARD WATERS, 3rd JODY FOSTER
BEST NOVICE.
STEVEN WOODEND (NORA)
BEST JUNIOR.
RACHEAL MERRY
GRADE AWARDS.
TOP YELLOW- 583 PAUL TRUEPENNY,TOP BLUE- 59 JOHN FERRINGO
RED – 27 ERIC STEVENSON.
DRIVER OF THE YEAR
73 – PHIL TOWELL.
Presented by Dave Waters.
DEREK BIRD AWARD.
JOHN POWELL.
Presented by Chris Hardesty (BRCA Chairman).
BRCA SECTION AWARD.
RICHARD SAGAR & TOM YARWOOD.
7 – 1999 PROPOSSALS
Construction Rules.
The Chairman made the meeting aware that under the BRCA Constitution that any construction rule changes
had to have a 2/3 majority.
Proposal 1.
Proposed by Tim Pole ( 21 ).
Seconded by Paul Culverwell ( 422 ).
Rule ( change maximum weight limit to 4kg.)
Voting - For 45, Against 0 Abstentions Proposal Carried.
Proposal 2.
Proposed by John Middleton. (28)
Seconded by Lee Middleton (205).
To limit the outlet pipe of an exhaust to 6mm diameter for a single pipe or 4mm diameter in the case of two outlet
pipes.
Amendments – Single outlet of 15mm – proposed by Paul Dexter, Seconded by Mick Godhall
Voting – For 2, Against 38, Amendment denied.
Voting - For 13, Against 25, Abstentions 7 -Proposal Denied.
Proposal 3.
Proposed by Dave Waters (452)
Seconded by Terry Dickinson (3).
Rule 15 – Amend for 2001 season and every season onwards, that the noise output of the car be a maximum of 95db,
measured at 1 metre high by 1 metre from the track outer barrier. For 2001 also remove the 10-metre
measurement.
Voting – For 55, Against 0, Abstentions 4 – Proposal Carried.
Proposal 4.
Proposed by Tim Pole ( 21 ).
Seconded by Paul Culverwell ( 422 ).
The roof of the car may be any colour when a areofoil is used which must be the colour of the drivers grade.
Voting – For 25, Against 16 Abstentions – Proposal Denied.
Proposal 5.
Proposed by Tim Pole ( 21 ).
Seconded by Paul Culverwell ( 422 ).
The maximum nitro content the will be permitted at BRCA sanctioned meetings will be 25%.
Voting – For 9, Against 41, Abstentions 9, – Proposal Denied.
Proposal 6.
Proposed by Tom Yarwood (224).
Seconded by Pete Towll (7).
Construction rule 8 – amend to read ‘ the tyre width to be the contact surface with the track’.
Voting – For 6,Against 8, Abstentions – Proposal Denied.
Race Procedure.
Proposal 1a.
Proposed by Terry Dickinson (3).
Seconded by Richard Sagar (628).
To return to club grading but continue to co-ordinate results centrally to a nationally agreed formula
How it would work.
1.Clubs send meeting results to Tony Perry.
2.Tony, Using the agreed formula, works out meeting positions based on a points system (detailed later) and
returns these to the clubs, together with an overall, updated points chart.
3.Clubs are responsible for ensuring their drivers are correctly graded based on these charts and also decide how
often to re-grade (in agreement with their drivers).
4.Clubs can either use the grading points to decide their club championship, or devise their own but ONLY
grades based on the nationally agreed formula will be used.
5.Drivers who are MEMBERS of more than one club will adopt their highest grade when these are issued by the
club concerned.
6.Only club meetings will be graded. Nationals, Regionals and Majors to be taken out of the grading system.
7.Formula: Heats: Points: 6,5,4,3,2,1.
Cons/Semi’s: 4,3,2,1 (non-finalists)
Finals: 12,10,8,6,5,4.
Bands (per club): Top 2%- Superstar
Next 10%- Red
Next 30%- Blue
Next 40%- Yellow
Rest (18%)-White or CBDG.
Note: If A, B, C etc. finals are used: A Final: 12,10,8,7,6,5. B Final: 5,4,3,2,1.
Drivers are upgraded or downgraded when they fall into the bands above.
Points that drivers score at away tracks will be counted to-wards there total for grading as long as there home club
has no scheduled meeting.
Note – race controllers must where ever possible have 6 cars in each race and have a cross section of grades.
The point:
This is a simple system which everyone will find easy to understand. It will therefore be relevant, appropriate and,
above all, fair.
Under this system, you are only in competition for your grade with those at your club(s) as it used to be, BUT the
system will be fairer and a better indicator of ability nation-wide because the system will be applied equally across the
competing clubs.
It will also bring back the missing element to racing which is the most important one of all i.e. WINNING RACES at
club level. After all, without the clubs, there is no sport!
Proposal 1b.
Proposed by Al Benton ( 128 ).
Seconded by
National Grading rule 3 – change to read – The grading season to commence from the Sunday following the Section
AGM till one week prior to the following years AGM. This allows drivers who wish to drive through the winter
change their grade.
Proposal 1c.
Proposed by Al Benton ( 128 ).
Seconded by
Insert new rule National Grading – At the end of the grading period , any driver who has only raced in 8 or 9
gradeable meetings , be graded on the scores that they have attained. Any driver who has not completed 8 gradeable
meetings, be down one roof grade.
Proposal 1d.
Proposed by Al Benton. ( 128 ).
Seconded by Tony Perry ( 376 ).
That the start point for Super Stars in the national grading starts at 100%.
Proposal 1e.
Proposed by Tony Perry ( 376 ).
Seconded by Ann Chambers (202).
That the start point percentage for Red Tops be changed to 93%.
Proposal 1f.
Proposed by Ann Chambers ( 202 ).
Seconded by Tony Perry (376).
That drivers have less than 10 grading meetings in the grading period be down graded on grade.
Proposal 1g.
Proposed by Philip Swales (170)
Seconded by Steven Swales (352)
That the National Grading system be altered to a straight points scoring system as shown below.
Club Meetings.
Heats 1st - 3pts, 2nd – 2pts, 3rd – 1pt.
Semi Final 3rd – 4pts, 4th – 3pts, 5th – 2pts, 6th – 1pt.
Final 1st – 16pts, 2nd – 14pts, 3rd – 12pts, 4th – 10pts, 5th – 8pts, 6th – 6pts.
National / Regional Events.
Heats – scores as per club meetings.
Semi – Finals. 3rd – 8pts, 4th – 6pts, 5th – 4pts, 6th – 2pts.
Finals 1st – 24pts, 2nd – 20pts, 3rd – 16pts, 4th – 14pts, 5th – 12pts, 6th – 10pts.
Major Meetings ( British & Euro’s etc ).
Heats as per club meetings.
Quarter Finals – 4th – 6pts, 5th – 4pts, 6th – 2pts.
Semi Finals 4th – 12pts, 5th – 10pts, 6th – 8pts.
Final 1st – 40pts, 2nd – 30pts, 3rd – 25pts, 4th – 20pts, 5th – 18pts, 6th – 16pts.
Re-grade drivers 3 or 4 times per season.
Top 20 scores Red tops, ( top 6 to be super stars ).
Next 30 Blue tops.
Next 40 yellow tops plus other previously graded drivers as per existing rules.
Rest of drivers White tops
Due to some of the proposals being similar was decided that all the grading proposal to be taken as one.
As two of the proposals (1a & 1g) concerned the suspension of the current National Grading system a vote was taken
on whether the driver present wanted to stop this system for the 2000 season.
Voting For 33, Against 21, Abstentions 7 – National Grading to be suspended.
As proposals (1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f and 5) were for modifications to the National Grading system they were automatically
defeated by the last vote.
The meeting the voted on accepting proposal 1a or 1g.
Voting For 1a 35 – Voting For 1g 19 – Abstentions 7 - Option 1a Accepted.
Amendments to 1a.
1- Delete the line starting ‘Note: If A,B,C etc……. Proposed by Pete Flood
Seconded by Steven Swales
Voting For the Amendment 24, Against 2, Abstentions - Amendment Carried.
2 – Driver can down graded to white once they have reached a higher grade
Proposed by Pete Flood, Seconded by Trevor Tennant
Voting For 2, Against 53 – Amendment denied.
3 – Drivers can only be down graded 1 grade at a time
Proposed by Ann Chambers, seconded by Tony Perry.
Voting – For 53, Against 2 – Amendment carried.
Proposal 2.
Proposed by John Middleton ( 28).
Seconded by Lee Middleton (205).
To allot a block of race numbers from the number register as emergency numbers and empower clubs to utilise these
when someone wishes to book in whilst not having an official number. Normal race number fee to apply.
Voting For 56, Against 0, Abstentions 3 – Motion Carried
Proposal 3.
Proposed by Tim Pole ( 21 ).
Seconded by Paul Culverwell ( 422 ).
Only the appointed marshals will Marshall cars, all helpers etc must return behind the track safety fence once the race
has been started.
Voting – For 53, Against 0, Abstentions 6 – Motion Carried.
Proposal 4.
Proposed by Terry Dickinson ( 3 ).
Seconded by Ann Chambers ( 202 ).
Change to rule 22b – Add ( a minimum of 15 meetings, which will be evenly spaced as possible between the first
Sunday of March and the Sunday prior to the section AGM in October, ( excluding WEMSA events) must be open to
BRCA 1/8 stock cars) – this to be inserted after the word full.
Amemdment Proposed by John Allen, Seconded by Terry Dickinson, Change number of meeting to 12
Voting with the amendment, For 58, Against 0 Abstentions 1. Amended motion carried.
Proposal 5.
Proposed by Ann Chambers ( 202 ).
Seconded by Tony Perry (376).
That drivers have less than 10 grading meetings in the grading period be down graded on grade.
Proposal 6.
Proposed by Dave Waters ( 452 )
Seconded by Terry Dickinson ( 3 ).
Change the meeting format for National and Regional Championship to the following.
1.Change the scoring system for points for drivers system (if 50 drivers enter the meeting then the winner
receives 50 pts with the 50th place driver getting 1 point.
2.Meeting to be run over 4 qualifying heats if less than 54 drivers entered and 3 qualifying heats if more than 54
drivers entered.
3.Top 5 qualifying drivers to the A final, next five drivers to the B final, next five drivers to the C final and so on.
(A final will not run if less than 4 driver’s points will be awarded according to qualifying positions).
4.The final with the lowest qualifiers will be run first. The winner will move on to the next final. The next final
will run 8 minutes following the end of the last final. This will carry on until the final is run. All finals will be 5
minutes duration.
5.The winner of the National Championship will be the driver with the best 4 scores from the six rounds. The
winner of each regional championship will be the driver with best point’s score from 3 of the 4 rounds.
6.Double points to be awarded for the final round of the National and Regional Championship contestants.
7.This table to be used for qualification into the following years WEMSA events (any driver not scoring a point
will not race in a WEMSA event).
Amendment to line 1, winner to receive 100pts, 2nd 99pts ect. plus 1 point for stetting the FTQ, Proposed
by Dick Batty, Seconded by Tom Yarwood, Voting For 36, Against 0, Abstention 5 – amendment
carried.
Amendment line 3 – Revert to present system of 2 semi finals and a final – proposed by Pete Flood,
Seconded by Paul Dexter – Voting – For 34, Against 5, Abstentions 7. – amendment carried.
Amendment to line 7 – delete wording in brackets – proposed by Pete Towell, Seconded – John Allen.
Voting – For 54, Against 2, Abstentions 5 – amendment carried.
Voting on proposal with amendments – For 26, Against 0, Abstentions 12 – Motion carried.
Proposal 7.
Proposed by Dave Waters (452).
Seconded by Terry Dickinson (3).
Changes to qualification to Champion of Champions.
1.Invite to top 60 drivers from the National / Regional points score’s.
2.The meeting will be pre-booked. If drivers decline the invitation then the next in line will be invited to the
meeting until 60 drivers are confirmed for the meeting. (No driver will be invited if they have not scored any
points).
3.The table of scores will be made up of scores from the National, Regional and all Major championships
(excluding WEMSA events). The score from the National Championship will count when joint National /
Regional meetings are held. All scores from meetings attended will count towards the table.
Amendment- Add to qualifiers all current major title holder’s – proposed by Pete Towell, seconded by Phil Towell.
Voting – For 3, Against 53, Abstention 3 – Amendment denied.
Meeting to be the top 60 invited only – Proposed by Pete Flood, seconded by John Middleton,
Voting For 24, Against 18, - Amendment carried.
Voting on amended proposal – For 53, Against 3 – proposal carried.
Proposal 8.
Proposed by John Allen (226).
Seconded by ().
That the UK – WEMSA Chairman to be someone who would participate in 1/8 stock cars and who would attend at
major meetings, and not be attending some other form of model racing.
Proposal 9a.
Proposed by Dave Waters (452).
Seconded by Trevor Tennant (188).
BRCA 1/8 SCALE HOT RODs
CONSTRUCTION RULES.
.1. All models to be a 1/8th scale and a reasonable representation of a short oval Hot Rod.
2. Body shells can be made from ABS / LEXION (or any other plastic material - no steel) and must
Resemble a four-seat saloon used for short oval Hot Rod racing.
3. All cars to have 2 wheel drive via a solid rear axle.
4. The front suspension must use a fixed wishbone configuration.
4. All cars will be belt driven.
5. Steering by front wheels only.
6. Operational brake must be fitted and working at the start of each race.
7. The bodyshell must cover chassis, wheels and tyres.
8. If front bumpers are fitted they must not project more than 6mm in front of the body shell and must
be made of plastic / nylon.
9. Chassis to be of a single flat plate construction.
13. The engine will have a maximum capacity of 3.5 cc. Only those engines with a RRP of £130 or less
can be used. This value to be increased by the rate of inflation at each year AGM.
14. Any size of clutch drum can be used but the final drive ratio must be between 5:1 and 5:1.1.
15. All engine must be silenced to the satisfaction of the race organisers but must be below 80db at 10
Metres. No tuned exhaust systems will be permitted.
16. Any fuel tank can be used but not exceed 160cc in capacity.
17. Maximum weight of the car will be 6.5 lbs. in a ready to race condition.
18. All cars will have a maximum overall length of 500mm and a maximum over width of
245mm. There is no restriction on the wheelbase of the car but must comply with rule 1.
19. Driver’s name must be displayed on the body of the car.
20. All drivers will be members of the BRCA.
21. All drivers will have a 1/8 Oval section race number (those drivers racing stock cars car use that
Number). The race number will be displayed on both sides of the car with the numbers at least
30mm
high.
23. Both 27Mz & 40Mz frequency radio systems may be used. All aerials on the cars will be housed
within the body. Driver must have at least 2 frequencies available. (when there is a clash of race
frequencies the driver with lower qualifying score will be requested to change frequency.)
24. No tyre additives may be used.
RACING RULES.
1 Race can be run in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction depending on local track conditions, with a
maximum of six cars in each race. ( only six cars allowed on track while practise taking place).
2. All car will have a hand held start with cars lining up in two rows of three.
3. Race duration will be 4 minute for heats and 5 minutes for finals. .
4. No deliberate contact will be allowed. ( Note the race controller has the authority to penalise drivers
who in there opinion continue to have deliberate contact by deducting from 25% to 75% of lap
scores from the race . If deliberate contact continues then the driver may be excluded from the
meeting ).
5. Club can run any type of meeting format to suit their needs.
6.If the body or exhaust systems becomes detached from the car then it must be removed from the
track,
repaired before continuing the race.
7. Qualifying heats will be over 4 minutes duration with finals over 5 minutes duration.
8. If the body becomes away from it’s fixings then the car must be removed from the track and repaired
before continuing the race.
Proposal 9b.
Proposed by Rob Toms ().
Seconded by John Allen ().
National Hot Rod Rules
Formulated by the MNHRA, approved by the NHRPA
CONSTRUCTION RULES
Bodyshell
a.. Models are to be 1/8 scale and be a reasonable representation of a NHRPA National Hot Rod. The cars must be
both realistic and be a reasonable representation. When initially entered into the meeting, the bodyshell must be neatly
finished with windows cut out, or window templates positioned over the front and rear windscreens and also over the
four side windows. These templates must be of a different colour to the bodyshell. The bodyshell must have the wheel
apertures removed. The wheel arches must cover the top edge and leading and trailing edge of each wheel.
b.. Bodyshells to be of a small family saloon/hatchback. Only bodyshells raced in the last 10 years at an NHRPA
meeting are eligible to compete. Bodyshells conforming to this rule are: Peugeot 205/306, Vauxhall Corsa, Mitsubishi
Colt, Renault Clio MK1, Renault 5, Toyota Starlet, Toyota 1000, Ford Escort MK 2/3/4, Ford Fiesta MK 2/3/4,
Vauxhall Nova, VW Golf MK 1/2, VW Corrado
c.. All drivers must have a racing number unique to each driver. This number must be displayed on both sides of the
car, either on the side of the bodyshell or on the aerofoil. The minimum size of the driver's number must be 30mm and
must be of a contrasting colour or background to the bodyshell colour.
d.. The driver's name must be clearly visible on the bodyshell. Aerofoils if fitted must be, made of plastic and be a
reasonable representation. If fitted the base of the wing/aerofoil is to be a maximum of 10mm above the roof of the
bodyshell. The wing/aerofoil must not extend beyond the outer edge of the bodyshell i.e. outer edges of rear wheel
arches and back panel.
e.. No external bumpers are permitted; internal bumpers (if fitted) must not be made from steel.
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
f.. Steering by front wheels only.
g.. Operational brake must be fitted and working at the start of each race
h.. No part of the chassis may extend outside the bodyshell.
i.. The chassis may be made of any material.
j.. Any type of suspension is permitted
ENGINE & TRANSMISSION
k.. Cars may be front or rear wheel drive.
l.. Only two wheel drive is permitted.
m.. Drive may be of gear or belt drive or a combination of both but must be of fixed gear ratios (i.e. no 2 speed gear
boxes)
n.. Maximum engine capacity is 3.5cc (0.214cu in)
o.. Engines must be silenced to the satisfaction of the race organisers, but must be below 80db at 10 meters
p.. All exhaust pipes must exit from inside the bodyshell and must point down.
q.. Maximum fuel tank size is 160cc
DIMENSIONS
r.. Maximum weight of car less fuel must not exceed 3kg
s.. Wheel base to be between min 270mm - max 340
t.. Width to be between min 245mm - max 275mm
u.. Maximum width of tyre to be 35mm
v.. There are no cost restrictions on National Hot Rods but cars should be light with no armour to promote non-contact
racing.
RACING RULES
a.. All races to be run in an anti-clockwise direction on an oval track. The track must have a fixed
inner barrier and should be approx. 1/8 scale of 1/4 mile.
b.. Cars are to line up on the red starting line in graded order.
c.. All heats and finals will be a clutch start with no out side assistance allowed
d.. Cars stopped during a race may be returned to the track, providing that no other cars are
obstructed in doing so.
e.. No repairs may be carried out on the racing surface, marshalling area or the in field.
f.. In the event of a silencer, bodyshell or wheel becoming detached from the car, the car must be
removed from the track and repairs carried out. Failure to do so will result in further laps being
uncounted.
g.. Cars may be scrutinised at any time during a meeting and if necessary, on more than one occasion.
h.. All drivers to drive cars from a designated driving area during all heats and finals. Failure to comply will result in
laps being deducted.
i.. Drivers to marshal the heat following their last race. Failure to comply will result in laps being deducted.
j.. In the interest of both drivers and spectators, no practise is allowed with any other formula. Allocating practise
sessions is the responsibility of the organising club.
k.. No practise is allowed once the meeting has started, unless at the organiser's discretion.
l.. A driver may have 2 (two) complete cars scrutinised at the beginning of each meeting, and may substitute any part
of, or the complete car at any stage during the meeting.
m.. If a driver wishes to use his/her spare car, or that of a fellow competitor, they are free to do so, as long as the said
car has not been raced by any driver in the meeting (except for use in practice).
RACE CONDUCT
a.. No deliberate contact or balking should be allowed. Driver's may have laps deducted, awarded a black cross or be
excluded from the meeting if, in the race organiser's or appointed race steward/s, feel that a driver's behaviour is
unsuitable for a National Hot Rod racing.
In the following examples, Car A is being overtaken and car B is the car, which is lapping
1/1) Car A changes lanes and contacts car B
1/2) Car A races car B down the straight and contacts car B entering the corner
b.. Black crosses: These are awarded for driving misdemeanours and are converted into penalty points. Should a
driver score more than 10 penalty points in a 6 meeting period, then the driver will be unable to compete at the
following two (2) fixture meetings.
c.. Disqualification from a heat or meeting counts as five- (5) penalty points.
d.. A driver that is experiencing radio or handling problems should remove his car from the track if it impedes the
process of other drivers. Failure to comply may result in penalty points and or disqualification.
e.. Spun, or returning cars, must give way to racing traffic.
RACE MEETING PROCEDURE
Normal/domestic meetings.
a.. Race duration for heats is 5 (five) minutes. Finals 6 (six) minutes. All meetings to consist of at least 4 (four) heats
with the lowest scoring heat for each driver dropped. There is no maximum number of heats. Qualifying drivers for
finals and semi-finals are to be advised at the beginning of the meeting about the race format, which will also be
dependent upon driver entries.
b.. In the case of drivers qualifying on the same number of laps, the highest discarded score will count. If all else fails,
a run off over 2 (two) minutes will ensue.
Championship Meetings
a.. Minimum number of qualifying heats for British/English Championships will be 5 (five) five minute heats- best four
to count. European/World championships minimum number of heats will be 6 (six) - best four to count.
b.. Championship quarterfinals will be run over 6 minutes, semi-finals over 8(eight) minutes.
c.. If an entry of 36 or over, quarterfinals will be run, 6 (six) minutes. The top 3 positions through to semi final.
d.. Position in championship finals will be made up as follows: Top qualifying driver 1st and 2nd place from each semi
final plus best third place overall from the semi finals.
e.. Championship final format: British and English 3 (three) x 6 (six) minute finals with 5 (five) minutes break between
each leg of final.
f.. Championship final format: World/European 3 (three) x 8 (eight) minute finals with 5 (five) minutes break between
each leg of final.
g.. Laps from each leg of the final are added up to decide race result.
Comments – At the present time we have 2 organisations administering the rules for the hot rods in the south
(BRCA & MNHRA), this may lead to some disagreements in the future, so it may be advisable if for one
organisation to take charge of the running of this class.
Proposal to accept both set of rules for 2000.
Votes – For 45,Against11, Abstentions.
8. ELECTION OF SECTION OFFICERS.
Chairman – Dave Waters (452), Secretary – Ann Chambers (202),
Membership Secretary – Terry Dickinson (3), Grading Officer – Tony Perry (276).
PRO – Richard Sagar, Hot Rod Officer – Trevor Tennant (188).
Scottish Rep, Northern Rep Bob Middleton,
Midland Rep – Tim Pole (21), Southern Rep Philip Swales.
WEMSA REPS.
Northern – Bob Middleton (808), Hugh Chambers.
Midlands – Tim Pole
Southern – John Allen , Gary Mills.
UK / Secretary – Dave Waters
Following reps need to be appointed ASAP, BRCA Scottish, WEMSA – Midlands rep.
9 AOB.
Tom Yarwood (224). Regarding the use of spit 27Mhz crystals, no vote was taken but the meeting was in general
agreement that clubs should allow splits to be used as they were on the BRCA recognised list. The Chairman also
confirmed to the meeting that blue is an illegal frequency.
The Chairman thanked everybody for their attendance and wished them a safe journey home and the meeting closed
at 13.50.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
CHANGE OF PHONE NUMBER.
PAUL DEXTER – LEICESTER - 0116 - 2219357
_____________________________________________________________________________________
CHANGE OF VENUE.
The Chessington Winternational , which will be sponsored by Mick’s Body Shot on December 5th 1999 has been
switched to the Moat Farm track with a 11.00 start.
MAKES THE WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.
SUPPLIERS OF 1/8th & 1/5th SHORT
OVAL RACING PRODUCTS.
CALL / FAX JOHN ELLIOTT ON 01903-714353
OR WRITE TO 56 HIGHDOWN DRIVE. LITTLEHAMPTON.
WEST SUSSEX. BN17 6HH.
AS USED BY THE 1999 BRITISH, ENGLISH, SCOTTISH and
Now the CHAMPION of CHAMPIONS CHAMPION.
NEW ITEM – HEAVY DUTY STARTER BOX STANDS - £15.00.
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used our tyre’s.
Gold, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue.
Red and Pink.
Phone Gary on 01903 - 859508
and start WINNING.
_______________________________________________________________
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NERFERS NEWS.
NEXT ISSUE – SECTION HANDBOOK
OUT IN FEBRUARY 2000.
NATIONAL FIXTURES 2000.
March
5
12
19
26
April
2 Nat Rnd 1 / Mids 1 Coventry
9
16 South 1 / North 1 / Mids 2 Adur /NORA/RSCL
23
30 .
May
7
14 Nat Rnd 2 / South 2. SORA.
21
28 WEMSA European Championships Holland.
June
4
11 Nat Rnd 3 / North 2. Yorkshire / Nora
18 Scottish Open Livingston.
25 British Championships Chessington.
July
2
9 Nat Rnd 4 / Mids 3. Skegness.
16
23 English Open Coventry.
30
August
6
13
20
27
September
3 WEMSA World Championships SORA
10 Mids 4/South 3/North 3 Notts & Derby/Livingston.
Adur.
17
24 Nat Rnd 5 / South 4. Chessington.
October
1
8 Nat Rnd 6 / North 4. Livingston.
15
22 Champion of Champions, NORA.
29 BRCA - AGM
FINAL NATIONAL & REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
391 JODY FOSTER 55
422 PAUL CULLVERWELL 46
477 GORDON MACKENZIE 35
53 RICHARD WATERS 27
5 MICK GOODHALL 26
73 PHIL TOWELL 25
154 SIMON GALBRAITH 23
168 EDDIE WHITE 19.5
352 STEVEN SWALES 19
37 BARRY JONES 18
304 JULIAN VAUX 18
336 PAUL BROTHERTON 14
52 BOB READ 12
157 NIGEL WILLIAMSON 12
28 JOHN MIDDLETON 11
57 KEVIN BARRIE 11
99 STEVE WEARING 11
358 DAVE STELL 11
65 DAVE HOLDEN 10
105 SCOTT BONALLO 10
512 ANDY DENHAM 10
800 DAVE BRUCE 10
55 PAUL DEXTER 9
1 OLLIE WHEATLEY 9
317 MICHEAL GOVER 9
405 JOHN STURGESS 9
71 TONY BALL 7
213 STEVE KINTON 7
431 K.WALLACE 7
237 IAN WOOD 6.5
417 CHRIS KING 6
176 TONY WILLIAMSON 6
250 TERRY SIKES 6
446 JOHN CLEEVES 6
97 LEE WEARING 5
142 HUGH CHAMBERS 5
216 DENNIS WATSON 5
307 STEVE MERRY 5
316 ROB TOMS 5
630 CRAIG THOMBLIN 5
17 KIETH DOWSETT 4
54 ALLAN BORLAND 4
585 TOM MONTGOMERY 4
351 RACHEAL MERRY 3
396 HARVEY FOX 3
215 KIETH BOOKER 2
236 IVN BLACK 2
PLUS A NUMBER OF DRIVERS WHO SCORED 1 POINT.
NORTHERN MIDLANDS.
477 GORDON MACKENZIE 39 5 MICK GOODHALL 38
800 DAVE BRUCE 38 304 JULIAN VAUX 36
105 SCOTT BONALLO 33 422 PAUL CULLVERWELL 35
52 BOB READ 28 417 CHRIS KING 35
65 DAVE HOLDEN 27 53 RICHARD WATERS 28
431 KIETH WALLACE 20 515 ANDRE VAUX 23
142 HUGH CHAMBERS 15 391 JODY FOSTER 18
236 IVAN BLACK 15 99 STEVE WEARING 18
336 PAUL BROTHERTON 14 189 STUART TENNANT 15
64 DICK BATTY 13 73 PHIL TOWELL 14
57 KEVIN BARRIE 13 97 LEE WEARING 14
28 JOHN MIDDLETON 12 405 JOHN STURGESS 13
143 IAN CHAMBERS 11 154 SIMON GALBRAITH 12
195 STEVE WOODEND 10 250 TERRY SIKES 12
358 DAVE STELL 10 175 MARTIN KINTON 11
141 DEREK COLVIN 9 55 PAUL DEXTER 9
446 JOHN CLEEVES 9 213 STEVE KINTON 7
442 KIETH COLLEY 8 125 DAVE EVISON 7
444 JOHN COLLEY 8 127 COLIN PHILIPS 7
214 IAN YARWOOD 7 216 DENNIS WATSON 7
588 STEVE HAY 7 396 HARVEY FOX 6
585 TOM MONTGOMERY 7 126 GED EVISON 5
757 GRAHAM ECCLES 7 21 TIM POLE 4
13 TOM GREENOCK 6 272 DARREN GREGORY 4
109 JOHN HOLDEN 5 82 DARYLL WHITFIELD 2
224 TOM YARWOOD 4 525 TONY NEVIN 2
101 ALAN GODFREY 4 33 MARTIN BOLSOVER 1
67 PHILIP HATCHER 3
91 WILL HOLDEN 1
SOUTHERN.
168 EDDIE WHITE 40
1 OLLIE WHEATLEY 39
37 BARRY JONES 35
316 ROB TOMS 32
317 MICHEAL GOVER 31
157 NIGEL WILLIAMSON 21
54 ALLAN BORLAND 19
307 STEVE MERRY 16
71 TONY BALL 15
352 STEVE SWALES 14
512 ANDY DENHAM 13
351 RACHEAL MERRY 13
226 JOHN ALLEN 12
221 MICK BETTS 10
237 IAN WOOD 9.5
43 GARY MILLS 9
553 DAVID HEERIDGE 8
174 GORDON WRIGHT 7
17 KIETH DOWSETT 7
31 ASHLEY EVANS 6
59 JOHN FERRINGO 6
176 TONY WILLIAMSON 6
215 KIETH BOOKER 6
96 JOHN WIGGINS 4
191 ROB WINTERS 3
341 IAN SPILLER 3
503 NIGEL TONG 3
113 COLIN PACKMAN 2
252 ALAN GREEN 1
286 ROB ADAMS 1
433 JAV SULTAN 1
WINTER FIXTURES 1999 / 2000.
DECEMBER 1999.
5 Chessington B Winternational at SORA. 11.00
NORA B Winter Series 13.00
12 SORA B Open Meeting 11.00
19
27 RSCL B Bob Jessup Memorial 12.00
SORA B Open Meeting 11.00
JANUARY 2000.
2
9
16 SORA B Hot Rod Winter Series 11.00
23 NORA B Winter Series 13.00
30 SORA B Hot Rod Winter Series 11.00
FEBRUARY 2000.
6
13 SORA H Hot Rod Winter Series 11.00
20 Coventry B Open Meeting 11.30
NORA B Winter Series 13.00
27 SORA H Hot Rod Winter Series 11.00
B = Open Meetings to all BRCA Drivers.
H = Hot Rod meeting only.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
EVERYBODY.
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