Jon Howells wins Round 3 of the ESBRC Summer Series

On the way to the track the weather was not looking good and the rain was coming down in buckets, but to our surprise we arrived to a dry and dusty track. For the majority of the team it would be the first time they would be running on dirt this year.

Round 1 and he plan was for all the team to try different compounds and treads and learn the track. Tyres were selected but setups would need some tweaking as the track was dry. At the end of round 1 our RC8B3’s were looking good and only needed a few minor tweaks, thinner oil in the shocks and some ride height adjustments to account for the dirt tyres.

Round 2 and the team set out again having made a few minor changes to the cars, tyres were swopped between drivers to give us a better idea of what direction to go in. The team started to put some good lap times together for their overall qualifying positions.

Round 3 and light rain would hit us and we thought this would put an end to the day, but just 15 minutes later the sun came out again and the track soaked up the water up like a sponge and dried very quickly. Most the team improved times as the track dried so the rain did not affect us too much.

Round 4 would see us back on a dry track, most the team had made their choice of tyres ready for the finals and tried to gain a place or 2 in the last round of qualifying.

Jon Howells would qualify on pole for the A final and said “my car felt super great and I was super happy driving on the dirt again” His other team mates would make the B final “to avoid marshalling” quote Mark Westwood!

Qualify was done, tyres were selected so it was onto the Finals. Nigel “The Fire Starter” was up first and with a dry track, he drove well and bumped up to the C so he could continue his battle.

The C final would see Gaow Headley, Pete Headley and Nigel pushing hard to try and bump up to the B. All three pushed their RC8B3’s hard and drove well but just missed out on the bump up spots.

The B final gridded up and we had 4 cars, Lloyd Pitt, Gareth Harrold, James “all wheels spinning” Harrold, and Mark “I've got a plan not to marshal“ Westwood. Then the rain started again so it was going to be a tough B final. James and Mark soon worked their way up to 1st and 2nd with some nice driving skills and would secure the bump up spots to the 25 minuet A final.

As we approached the A final the rain was starting to hit the track hard turning the off line dust into mud. The buzzer went and Jon shot away to the first corner to keep the lead only to be hit from behind pushing him back to third, Jon pushed hard and by the second lap managed to get back into the lead. Jon drove a great race and went on to win the final lapping the entire field. Team mate James would bring his car home in 4th and Mark managed to work up to and hold 6th.

A Final results

1. Jon Howells (RC8B3)
2. David Brown
3. Ben Billing
4. James Harrold (RC8B3)
5. Kyle Boon
6. Mark Westwood (RC8B3)~
7. Mick Butler
8. Rich Price
9. Matt Slaney
10. Tristram Neal
11. Gary Gregory

So all in all a good day for CML’s Associated team with 3 RC8B3’s in the top 6.
A big thank you to CML for all your support and the Shrewsbury's Club for their efforts with the track.