TYRO National Rd 1 ? Tiverton
Keith Robertson reports back from the first round of the Tyro Nationals where an unusual end to the race had them reaching for the rulebook!
The inaugural round of the new TYRO National Rally-cross series took place at Burlescombe, home of the Tiverton club. The track has recently seen a redesign with it now being fast paced with big, well-profiled jumps. This was only my fourth rally-cross meeting, and although it was my first visit to this track I have to say it was great fun to drive, the double jump in front of the rostrum was a particular favourite spot and the fast 'S' section leading into the banked corner was a real 'commitment' piece of track to drive.
The weather forecast had not looked good, but apart from a minor shower mid-morning the sun shone for most the day. My HoBao Hyper 8.5 Pro was all prepped and ready to go and with practice a little wet, HoBao Angle Spikes were seen on most cars to cater for the conditions. R1 of qualifying saw the track a little drier but the Angle Spike still seemed the way to go. It was all very tight at the sharp end, a pretty good run put me into fourth place, only a few seconds off the fastest time. For round 2 I took a gamble on tyres, fitting Proline Bowties ? in the fast 'S' section the track was a little more slippery making things a little tricky, but on Bowties my car still felt better balanced. Again a good run resulted in fifth in round ? even though I had improved by five seconds.
Keith's HoBao Hyper 8.5 Pro.
For the final round of qualifying I reverted back to the Angle Spikes, although most the track had dried well there were still small areas that could catch you out. I also adjusted the droop and ride-height, lowering the car, and a subtle tweak of the brake bias was made too. This certainly did the trick as my 8.5 Pro was more responsive and better on the jumps, and even with an incident I once more improved on my time to go second in the round. With the scores all added I was content to be fourth on the grid, on the pace and making progress all the time.
The A final turned out to be a barn-storming race; unfortunately I wasn't involved as a problem with my starter box meant I lost time at the start. Pole man Jess Saunders led for much of the race, but coming into the final few minutes the top four were all in with a shout. Incredibly, as they were all stretching fuel mileage to the limit they ALL ran dry on the last lap! After some debate and consultation of the rule book Greg Hill was named the winner with Jim Davis second and Jess Saunders third. When I did get underway I was circulating at the same pace as those at the front, the latest Byron Gen 2 30% fuel gave plenty of go for my RB WS7III engine and I was pleased to be able to make up time on the others at the end of the uphill straight where power really mattered.
Round 1 Results - A Final
1 Greg Hill 45/ 1873.87
2 Jim Davis 45/ 1877.19
3 Jess Saunders 45/ 1893.00
4 Robert Cork 44/ 1825.82
5 Marc Knight 44/ 1862.52
A big thank you to the Glyn and his helpers, also to Richard and the Tiverton club for a thoroughly enjoyable day. Next stop is Grantham at the start of June ? try and make it if you can.
Keith's HoBao Hyper 8.5 Pro.
For the final round of qualifying I reverted back to the Angle Spikes, although most the track had dried well there were still small areas that could catch you out. I also adjusted the droop and ride-height, lowering the car, and a subtle tweak of the brake bias was made too. This certainly did the trick as my 8.5 Pro was more responsive and better on the jumps, and even with an incident I once more improved on my time to go second in the round. With the scores all added I was content to be fourth on the grid, on the pace and making progress all the time.
The A final turned out to be a barn-storming race; unfortunately I wasn't involved as a problem with my starter box meant I lost time at the start. Pole man Jess Saunders led for much of the race, but coming into the final few minutes the top four were all in with a shout. Incredibly, as they were all stretching fuel mileage to the limit they ALL ran dry on the last lap! After some debate and consultation of the rule book Greg Hill was named the winner with Jim Davis second and Jess Saunders third. When I did get underway I was circulating at the same pace as those at the front, the latest Byron Gen 2 30% fuel gave plenty of go for my RB WS7III engine and I was pleased to be able to make up time on the others at the end of the uphill straight where power really mattered.
Round 1 Results - A Final
1 Greg Hill 45/ 1873.87
2 Jim Davis 45/ 1877.19
3 Jess Saunders 45/ 1893.00
4 Robert Cork 44/ 1825.82
5 Marc Knight 44/ 1862.52
A big thank you to the Glyn and his helpers, also to Richard and the Tiverton club for a thoroughly enjoyable day. Next stop is Grantham at the start of June ? try and make it if you can.
