BRCA R5 TORCH – 2wd Qualifying Round 2

It’s just been brought to my attention that to fend off Neil Cragg’s championship title hopes today, Michal Orlowski needs Pole Position as well as the overall 2wd win. Pole Position will give him an extra point. The various connotations and points combinations make it complex to grasp, but essentially if Neil either wins or finishes second with a TQ he can’t be beaten….. I think..??

2wd Qualifying Round 2….

Heat 10 offered us the first glimpse of real speed. European Champion Tommy Hall laid down a very polished run with only one error going 12/322.29. Tommy put in a fantastic display of smoothness and maturity – barely putting a wheel wrong all run. Jamie Hall came home second in heat some 7 seconds behind – 11/303.25, just beating Yasir Mughal on a 11/303.82.

2022 BRCA 1/10th Offroad National Championships

Round 5 – TORCH – 6/7 August 2022

Heat 11 was next up. Steve Brown had surprised a few people in round 1 of 2wd qualifying so lots of people had an eye on his car as well as title challenger Orlowski’s. Steve got off to a blistering start. His racing lines on some of the corners are unconventional, but are definitely a competitive alternative to the more common line most racers are trying to get onto. Brown led for a considerable portion of the race before Orlowski closed the gap and passed. Brown actually made a late challenge in the heat, hanging onto Orlowski’s back bumper for several laps – however Orlowski took the heat win on a 12/325.85 – some 3 seconds off Hall’s time. Brown had an error to relegate him back to a fast 11 lapper.

As seems the norm now for this series, there was a buzz around the track for the top heat as the pits emptied to watch Neil Cragg’s attempt at TQ. His car looked no quicker or slower than Hall’s – but Tommy had had an error on his run and if Neil could have a clear run, there was a good chance of TQ in round.

Neil Cragg got off to a well paced start and continually banged in fast lap after fast lap during the whole run. He didn’t make any significant mistake and put in a time very close to Tommy Hall’s – 12/322.06 – 0.74 seconds faster. This was Neil’s first TQ. Round 1 TQ Ben Smith went third in round on a 12/325.05.

2wd Qualifying Round 2 top 10