hatclifferacing

The first big meeting of 2006, and it was a trip to a new track for Team Hatcliffe. Teesdale Park Buggy Club race on a converted bowling green at Stockton on Tees, just outside Middlesborough. Given it's history, the track is obviously flat grass, but the club have worked hard to spice things up a little, adding a bumpy "mole-hill" section, a small ramp, a small table-top jump and a BIG ramp that gives the cars serious air time. The club itself is little more than 18 months old, but they made all the visiting drivers welcome and ran a good meeting in difficult conditions - more of that later.

Along with the 3 Hatcliffe Racing drivers, the only other Bury Metro members present were Wayne Stockbridge, Spencer Mulcahy and Mike Pimlott who was making his debut at regional level. 80 cars in total started the day, which made for a bit of a squeeze in the pitting area!

Round 1 was completed in dry conditions, but then the threatening clouds came over and it rained....and rained, and rained. All day. Hard. The track stood up remarkably well, up until round 4 when the ruts had become severe and the surface had changed from grass to mud. The organisors wisely decided the cancel the finals, to save the track surface, and prevent potential injuries as marshalling was getting increasingly hazardous. Qualifying positions would be deemed to be finishing positions.

Curtis had driven well all day in the testing conditions, completing three qualifying rounds. He opted out of round four due to the fact that he was absolutely soaked, a good decision.

Allen enjoyed his first regional meeting, and completed the first two qualifying rounds. Like Curtis, Allen chose not to race in the worst of the weather as he had already posted the required 2 runs.

Rob had a poor first run due to a faulty transmitter, but then got better in the remaining three rounds. Not usually a good wet weather driver, Rob did get on the pace, although the big jump remained something of a nuisance!

Official results are not yet to hand, but we believe that Curtis 75th, Allen 72nd and Rob 38th. To be confirmed...

One comedy moment in the soggy day was when Curtis's car skidded under the small jump right at the end of his round 2 run. The marshall (wrongly) chose to leave it as the race had finished. Jimmy Storey captured the moment when Curtis had to retrieve the car himself - a photo which has now become the subject of a caption competition on Jimmy's site, www.oople.com

The Teesdale track stood up to the rain quite well.

Allen pressing hard, before the rain came

Caption Competition!!

North East Regional, Bury Metro, Manchester, 29th April 2006

There's something special about racing at your 'home' regional. Maybe it's the fact that you don't have to spend 2 hours on the motorway to get there, or worry about finding the venue, or that you feel you already know the track, but it always feels good to be at home.

The Bury Metro N.E regional round saw a whopping 100 car entry, although 13 were racing as non-points scoring visitors from other BRCA regions. Given that it was our club hosting, Hatcliffe Racing also acted as scrutineers and transponder officials for the day, making for some busy times for the 3 of us.

We were lucky to get a dry, bright, spring day, to leave the track in excellent condition. As with the first regional at Teesdale, the standard was very high, with consistancy being the key on a testing, technical circuit designed by top National racer Stuart Wood.

Curtis showed great control and maturity during the qualifying heats, and as a result secured his highest ever qualifying position at a regional. Unfortunately, a first lap pile up left Curtis at the back of the field in his final, and he never quite recovered from the early set-back. Still, it was an excellent result, finishing 10th in the G final to give 70th overall.

Allen put in some good, tidy qualifying runs during the day, despite the B4 having some handling problems. Like Curtis, Allen gained his highest regional position so far with a creditable 9th in the F final, 59th overall. During this meeting, Allen was presented with the trophy he won at Teesdale - our first Regional trophy this year.

Rob enjoyed a really good day, using home track knowledge to good advantage and gaining from the car's improved top-end speed. Rob finished 7th in C final, for 27th overall.

A good day all round for the team, watched by Deborah and Aaron, with the little fella getting to gleefully run around the track pretending to be buggy, to the great amusement of the visiting drivers!

Sincere thanks to Stu Evans of www.northernracer.com for the excellent photos.

Curtis powers down the Bury 'hill', with Rob observing

Allen is enjoying his first year of Regionals

Rob had a good result at our 'home' regional

North East Regional, Batley Buggy Club, Cleckheaton, Sun 21st May 2006

Round 3 of the 2006 championship took us the short hop across the Pennines to visit our friends at Batley Buggy Club on the outskirts of Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. Batley is an interesting track with a variety of surfaces and some good jumps thrown in too - very spectacular. 74 drivers started the day, it would have been more but the grim weather forecast had put many off.

Some race meetings are memorable because of great results, some are enjoyable because of the laughs and the atmosphere, sometimes you wish you had stayed in bed. This was one for the last catagory. A combination of radio interference, a poorly motor, a water-logged receiver and rain that would have worried poor old Noah contrived to ruin Team Hatcliffe's day. But never mind, others fared worse than us.

The forecast had been bad in the run up to the meeting, but the rain lashed down from early on and never let up. As the track slowly filled up with water, the hardy volunteers worked doggedly to keep it race-worthy, but it really was a hopeless task. After the 3rd round of qualifying a drivers meeting was called to decide what to do. "Carry on" was the decision. The rain got worse and the surface water got silly, so after round 4 the meeting was abandoned, with qualifying positions being deemed as finishing positions. A wise choice.

We gave thanks that our gazebo had at least given us a dry area to pit, and we had even managed to squeeze Mike Pimlott under there too. Many drivers suffered expensive breakdowns due to the standing water on the track, with receivers, speed controllers and motors particularly vulnerable.

Curtis suffered with chronic radio interference in rounds 1 and 3, a regular problem at Batley, but drove brilliantly in round 2, not making a single mistake for the whole run. Curtis sat out round 4 due to the horrible conditions, and came in 64th on the day.

Allen has now switched back to the Losi XXX car from the B4, and has made some fairly major modifications to the back end to increase stability. The car's debut (2nd time around) was very encouraging and Allen is looking forward to racing in better conditions. Rounds 1 & 2 were good for Allen, getting quicker as each race went on, but then disaster struck in round 3 when the car ground to a halt. Water in the receiver was the verdict, end of play for the day but thankfully the receiver has recovered now. 61st overall for Allen.

Rob is not known for his wet weather driving and today was no exception. Steady runs in rounds 1,2 & 3 put Rob in 46th overall, although a lack of straight line speed did hold him back rather. After the meeting it emerged that Rob's motor had really suffered with the watery conditions.

A day to forget really, roll on the next DRY meeting.

Rob scowls at the Batley weather, but Allen and Mike Pimlott can still raise a smile

The end of the main straight, totally awash.

Splash...fizzle...smoke...dead!

North East Regional, York Off Road Car Club, Saturday 29th July 2006,

29th July is always an important day in the Hatcliffe calendar as it is Rob and Deborah's wedding anniversary. This year however it was something much more important - the last NE regional of the year.

It was a pleasure to arrive at York in bright sunshine after the various soakings we had suffered on our travels this year. Graham North and his team had built another excellent track, transforming a flat area of grass into a fast but challenging circuit, which included a bomb-hole, shallow table-top and a tricky 90 degree corner jump.

It is a crying shame that this venue suffers with radio interference (there is a mobile phone mast in the corner), but we understand that a new location may be up and running for 2007. 70 drivers had made the trip this year, with many staying over for the 4 wheel drive event on the Sunday.

Allen was troubled by interference on the far side of the track which disrupted his racing somewhat, but still enjoyed putting the new development car through it's paces. The dry, grass surface suited the car well and when he was in full control the car performed well. Allen finished the day 63rd overall, with his 3rd place in the G final gaining him a well deserved trophy.

Curtis has a difficult time at York, interference caused him early problems, and then a troublesome steering linkage made his car unpredictable for the rest of the day. Occasionally his steering would stick - catching him and the marshals out when they least expected it. Unfortunately a broken front wishbone ended Curtis's G final early. To his credit, he kept a smile on his face though, 68th overall.

Rob performed well again at York (like last year), the nature of the track seems to suit his rather-sideways-back-end-out driving style. Rob's run in round 2 was good for 20th, and then in round 4 he scored 17th - putting him slap bang in the middle of the C final. The common first corner pile up left Rob dead last in the final, although by lap 3 he was up to 7th and gaining. Sadly, by trying too hard Rob clipped a track marker at the end of the straight and broke the front suspension. 10th in the C final meant 30th overall.

A mixed bag really for the team, but an enjoyable trip all the same.

Final championship positions for 2007:-
Allen 67th
Curtis 73rd
Rob 35th

Piczo