British Nationals - F2C Event - August 28th-30th 1999

For once in a lifetime the weather was wonderful for all three days of the 1999 British Nationals with the final Monday being a little cooler than the first two days.

Flying started at 11:30 on the Saturday and the first race proved that the teams would have to watch the temperature with Langworth/Campbell being disqualified for whipping while trying to keep a bit of heat out of their motor as it burnt down. The second race saw Heaton/Broadhead set the standard with an easy 3:20.9, at last showing the pace we know their equipment is capable of after a few mixed performances during the 1999 season. The only other team to get inside the 3:30 barrier during the first round was Smith/Brown with a 3:23.3

The second round was held on Sunday afternoon and this saw a number of improvements from top teams with Ross/Turner putting in a 3:25.7 and Fitzgerald/Thomason a 3:29.7. Heaton/Broadhead and Smith/Brown were unable to improve on their first round performances but both teams recorded sub 3:30 backup times. Langworth/Campbell were given a refly when Tribe/Bollen landed on top of them (Carrier Style) and, with the two up refly managed a 3:19.9 – the fastest time in the heats. Brewin/Haycock were flying some new Mazniak gear and put in a 3:32.5 for 6th place at the end of the heats.

There were two foreign teams in attendance and both made the semi-finals – Vendel/Metkemeijer (Ned) with a 3:38.8 and Fairey/Fairey (Can) with a 3:44.5. The last semi-final place was taken by Walker/Peart with a 3:53.8 (a rather slow cut off this year). This was possibly partially due to there only being two heats – an unfortunate step backwards when most international sites are now attempting to race three heats at all competitions.

In the first round of Semis Langworth/Campbell had a repeat of their first heat performance and were again disqualified for attempting to whip the heat out of their motor the same race seeing Ross/Turner put in an excellent 3:15.6 and Vendel/Metkemeijer a 3:29.1. This round also saw Smith/Brown put in a 3:22.7 – benefiting from a 2 up situation for two thirds of the race and Heaton/Broadhead put in a 3:32.1.

The wind had risen slightly for the second round of semis and Langworth/Campbell’s model ran in at the start. After much argument a re-flight was granted because the wind had blown the model back before the start and a line had caught on the concrete, a strange decision because it opens the door for many more protests to occur and sets a dangerous precedent. This round of semis also saw Ross/Turner put in a 3:21.4 to back up their first round time and Heaton/Broadhead a 3:24.5 to grab third spot into the final. The re-flight given to Langworth/Campbell was held at the end of the round with the teams of Catlow/Jephcott and Miles/Banks entering the circle to make up the numbers. In the end Langworth/Campbell were only able to record a 3:35.7 and were thus unable to change the top positions (perhaps a good thing after a dodgy refly decision) and it was to be Ross/Turner, Smith/Brown and Heaton/Broadhead in the final.

The final saw all teams away without any problems at the start and for the first couple of stops they were all down together making it a good spectator race. All models were circulating at around 18.5 for 10 laps and with virtually no overtaking it was clear that the pitstops were going to be an important issue. Each team received one warning for whipping or blocking but in general the race was a very clean affair. A slight loss of concentration causing a couple of extra flicks at pitstops was all that it took to make a lap difference and the race finished extremely closely with Ross/Turner taking first place in 6:52.4. Heaton/Broadhead were just 2 laps behind with 6:56.2 and Smith/Brown another lap and a half behind with 6:58.7. The applause at the end of this excellent final showed that the spectators had enjoyed the race just as much as the flyers and it was heralded as the best final for many years, the outcome being unclear until the last pitstop for each team.

It was a superb final at the end of a glorious Nationals, BMFA Chairman - Kath Watson presenting the medals and certificates to all six finalists.

Thanks must go to Dave Rudd for running this years racing events and also to Ted Horne & Peter Mason for the help they gave.

Results :-

Heat 1

Heat 2

Semi 1

Semi 2

Final

1

Ross/Turner

3

37.7

3

25.7

3

15.6

3

21.4

6

52.4

2

Heaton/Broadhead

3

20.9

3

25.5

3

32.1

3

24.5

6

56.2

3

Smith/Brown

3

23.3

3

28.2

3

22.7

4

37.5

6

58.7

4

Vendel/Metkemeijer

3

41.6

3

38.8

3

29.1

3

31.7

5

Brewin/Haycock

4

05.6

3

32.5

3

40.3

3

31.6

6

Langworth/Campbell

dq

3

19.9

dq

3

35.7

7

Fitzgerald/Thomason

3

32.6

3

29.7

3

41.0

3

40.5

8

Fairey/Fairey

ret

33.0

3

44.5

3

58.5

4

18.7

9

Walker/Peart

3

53.8

4

12.5

ret

35.0

4

15.5

10

Catlow/Jephcott

3

54.8

5

05.9

dnf

ret

98.0

11

Miles/Banks

dnf

4

08.8

dnf

ret

87.0

12

Jones/Jones

4

29.3

3

54.0

dnf

13

Radcliffe/Yeldham

3

56.4

ret

00.0

dnf

14

Hill/Metcalfe

ret

40.0

4

04.2

dnf

15

Holmes/Robson

dq

4

39.3

16

Tribe/Bollen

ret

77.0

dq

17

Barker/Tomkins

ret

35.0

ret

63.0

18

Daglish/Worgan

dnf

ret

62.0