Keith cleans up at TYRO
CML Distribution/Microtech Racing driver Keith Robertson reports back from the sixth round of the TYRO Nationals.
Herts Nitro Model Club were the hosts for round 6 of the BRCA TYRO series. It was my first visit to this dirt track venue and what a fine place it is! Unfortunately the inclement weather had been doing it?s best to put a dampener on things (literally) but the organisers worked hard and got the track into a race-able state with minimal delay.
Herts Nitro Model Club Race Track.
Not everyone ventured out for practice, although there was no rain the track was still wet and the cars were coming back rather mucky ? thank goodness for the water jet supplied by the club, it was rarely seen without a queue?
As my Hyper 8.5 Pro had been working so well, I left the set up the same and headed out for the first round with Proline Step-ups fitted which certainly seemed to be the tyre of choice at this time. Matthew Lewis went fastest and I was a little disappointed with 5th in round feeling I could improve on that. As the second progressed there was a light sprinkle of rain which was just enough to make the track a little slippery. My car actually felt better in these conditions and I took fastest in round. The final round was a nightmare as I proceeded to drive possibly my worst 5 minutes of the series. The net result was no improvement as Marc Knight took top spot this time. This put me 2nd on the grid behind the consistent Carl Richards and just ahead of Marc Knight, Robert Cork and Pete Stevens.
Maximum respect for the track staff at Herts for making the track race-able.
By the time the finals came around the track was much drier, but as expected had rutted in a couple of places ? particular care had to be taken on the jumps in front of the rostrum now. They could still be jumped but you had to get the take-off right. With this in mind I added both droop and ride height to the front of my car to help with the bumps.
At the start of the A final, pole man Carl made an early error and dropped back (becoming an early retirement) leaving me in the lead. Until the second lap when a shocker of a mistake dropped me back into the chasing pack. Marc took up the lead and was looking confident out front, but once the pit stops started it all changed. Matthew took over the lead with Marc, Jess Saunders and myself battling for 2nd place. Around the twenty minute mark Marc dropped out with tyre dramas leaving Jess and myself racing hard. I tried all I could but the track was hard work and a few too many errors left me in third a couple of seconds behind Jess in second after the thirty minutes with Matthew taking a well deserved win. Special mention to Richard Palmer and Mark Tarrier who both bumped up through the D, C and B finals to make the main show in the A final.
Keith's HoBao Hyper 8.5 Pro.
I?d made a last minute decision during warm-up to change tyres, going with Proline M3 Crime-fighters for the dryer conditions and they performed great. The best bit is that they look as if they have hardly been run ? let alone done a thirty minute final!
With the finals finished I quickly worked out the series points. By my calculations I had done enough with this result to take the TYRO title, ahead of Jess and Marc. This is still unofficial though with the trophy presentations and final championship positions to be announced at the end of season open meeting at Frankley on Sept 28th.
Herts Nitro Model Club Race Track.
Not everyone ventured out for practice, although there was no rain the track was still wet and the cars were coming back rather mucky ? thank goodness for the water jet supplied by the club, it was rarely seen without a queue?
As my Hyper 8.5 Pro had been working so well, I left the set up the same and headed out for the first round with Proline Step-ups fitted which certainly seemed to be the tyre of choice at this time. Matthew Lewis went fastest and I was a little disappointed with 5th in round feeling I could improve on that. As the second progressed there was a light sprinkle of rain which was just enough to make the track a little slippery. My car actually felt better in these conditions and I took fastest in round. The final round was a nightmare as I proceeded to drive possibly my worst 5 minutes of the series. The net result was no improvement as Marc Knight took top spot this time. This put me 2nd on the grid behind the consistent Carl Richards and just ahead of Marc Knight, Robert Cork and Pete Stevens.
Maximum respect for the track staff at Herts for making the track race-able.
By the time the finals came around the track was much drier, but as expected had rutted in a couple of places ? particular care had to be taken on the jumps in front of the rostrum now. They could still be jumped but you had to get the take-off right. With this in mind I added both droop and ride height to the front of my car to help with the bumps.
At the start of the A final, pole man Carl made an early error and dropped back (becoming an early retirement) leaving me in the lead. Until the second lap when a shocker of a mistake dropped me back into the chasing pack. Marc took up the lead and was looking confident out front, but once the pit stops started it all changed. Matthew took over the lead with Marc, Jess Saunders and myself battling for 2nd place. Around the twenty minute mark Marc dropped out with tyre dramas leaving Jess and myself racing hard. I tried all I could but the track was hard work and a few too many errors left me in third a couple of seconds behind Jess in second after the thirty minutes with Matthew taking a well deserved win. Special mention to Richard Palmer and Mark Tarrier who both bumped up through the D, C and B finals to make the main show in the A final.
Keith's HoBao Hyper 8.5 Pro.
I?d made a last minute decision during warm-up to change tyres, going with Proline M3 Crime-fighters for the dryer conditions and they performed great. The best bit is that they look as if they have hardly been run ? let alone done a thirty minute final!
With the finals finished I quickly worked out the series points. By my calculations I had done enough with this result to take the TYRO title, ahead of Jess and Marc. This is still unofficial though with the trophy presentations and final championship positions to be announced at the end of season open meeting at Frankley on Sept 28th.
