Carisma Cars at the CML Carpet Masters

With the increased popularity of the 1/14th Carisma class at club level racing the CML Carpet Masters series added this class for the final round of the championship, with 12 drivers from the Bedworth and Stafford clubs taking up the challenge. During open practice it soon became clear there was a good level of grip available even at this early stage and drivers were looking for the hardest tyres available. Bob Burr, Mr. Carisma himself, testing the new Reedy Micro Brushless system was soon setting the pace with the smallest set of 45 tires you have ever seen. Round 1 With all drivers running carisma option foam tyres at either 40 or 45 rating, the drivers with the oldest tyres with a tiny diameter had the advantage. The early pace was set by Bob Burr with a time of 25 309.13 with Mark Handford Jnr in second place and veteran touring car racer Paul Leavesley in 3rd all the other runners struggled with to much grip and had work to do lowering the ride height, stiffening the suspension and working on the tyres. Round 2 Most drivers had got to grips with the set up and the grip available and the times simply got faster, on a pace which would have put the top 3 in the A final of the 1/10th 13.5 class. It was Bob Burr on the pace again with a 26 302.45 from Neil Tompsett on 25 303.26 followed by Stafford local Richard Exton on 23 307.40. Mark Handford Jnr was the quickest over a single lap with a 10.56 lap time but could not get a clean run and finished on 23 309.59. Round 3 No change at the top following round 3, but most of the lower order found some speed and closed the gap from top to bottom with Neil Crutchlow, Kevin Alcock, and Paul Leavesley all achieving 23 laps. Qualifying top 5 Bob Burr 26 302.45 11.13 Neil Tompsett 25 303.26 11.02 Richard Exton 23 307.40 12.37 Mark Handford Jnr 23 309.59 10.56 Paul Leavesley 23 310.62 12.11 B Final After 2 close finals the lads in the B final came down from the rostrum with beaming smiles and tales of racing maneuvers. Richard Wilson took the overall win taking both finals from Richard Harris and Howard Harrison taking 3rd place on his 60th birthday despite some seriously off putting commentary and birthday celebrations whilst racing. A Final It was similar case in the A final with all racers having a great time and enjoying their racing. It was Mr. Carisma, Bob Burr taking 1st place with 2 wins along with the FTQ trophy proving the new Reedy Micro Brushless System works perfectly under racing conditions. It was a tale of what could have been for the rest of the pack with Neil Tompsett taking 2 second places just not quite able to catch Bob. The seriously fast Mark Handford Jnr had to retire in the lead after his car was stood on by a marshall who was trying to save a back marker that had crashed (just one of those crazy racing accidents) so Paul Leavesley took 3rd place after 2 consistent drives.