46 cars and some excellent racing were the hallmarks of tonight’s action at Launceston R/C.  Race wins went to Jarrod Painting (8th Buggy), Paddy Hume (10th Buggy), Ben Goode (Novice), Rocket Houghton (Tourers), Justin Strickland (Short Course B) and Scott Guyatt (Short Course A).

Full results are online here, or read on for a summary.

8th Buggy

6 cars marked the biggest field for a while in a class that has been struggling for numbers. Steve Madziara as usual was the fast man in qualifying, and led the A final over the first 6 minutes before electrical gremlins sidelined him, handing the lead to an ever-present (and very quick tonight!) Ben Wilson. Jarrod Painting wasn’t giving up and closed down Wilson’s lead, sweeping to the front to run out the winner of Wilson, John Silczak making a welcome return in third.

1. Jarrod Painting
2. Ben Wilson
3. John Silczak
4. Darren Sheehan
5. Troy Taylor
6. Steve Madziara

Novice

Ben Goode and Brett Baylis put on a cracker qualifying battle, Baylis particularly impressive in just his first competitive R/C outing.  The two battled early in the final before Goode put the hammer down and disappeared. He ran away to a one-lap win with Baylis a great second. Chloe Beresford got the better of a tight race-long duel with Sam Betts and Michael Taylor, with Danny Tatnell out early.

1. Ben Goode
2. Brett Baylis
3. Chloe Beresford
4. Sam Betts
5. Michael Taylor
6. Danny Tatnell

Tourers

Another big 9-car field meant for busy times, and I know a stack of TC/Mini drivers yearn for the day the class is big enough to split. Rocket Houghton was the quickest TC driver and dominated qualifying and the final with relentless pace. Gene Newell finished second in easily his best Finals performance, Damien Betts a great third (and first of the Mini pilots) after a tight race all night for the front-wheel drivers between he, Peter Hutton and Matthew Chandler.

1. Rocket Houghton
2. Gene Newell
3. Damien Betts (Mini)
4. Peter Hutton (Mini)
5. Matthew Chandler (Mini)
6. Graham Viney (Mini)
7. Jarrod Murray
8. Ian Scott
9. Derek Beresford (DNS)

Tenth Buggy

The 1/10th scale buggy class was scene of some of the best racing of the night. A ripper opening qualifier between Betts and Hume a pre-cursor to a 10 minute final that featured the duo going head-to-head once again.  Betts took the lead early, Hume starting slow and spotting Damien 7 seconds just a couple of laps in. From there it was just about the best 10 minutes Paddy has drive, hauling his way past Jarrod Painting and up to the rear bumper of Damien’s Durango before sliding past and escaping to an 8 second win.  In the battle of the 2wd buggies young tyro Calvin James was the man to beat, Leo Lorenzen’s new Durango 2wd also looking good.

1. Paddy Hume
2. Damien Betts
3. Jarrod Painting
4. Calvin James (2wd)
5. Leo Lorenzen (2wd)
6. Matthew Chandler (2wd)
7. Darren Sheehan (2wd)
8. James Atkinson (2wd)

Short Course Truck

17 trucks with a very fast pointy-end meant that qualifying was intense. Scott Guyatt got the better of Rocket and the north-west’s Mark Rayner, while Chris Madziara, Shaun Whatley, Richard Green and Chris Murray did well to make the A final cutoff.

Justin Strickland was disappointed to miss the A after mechanical trouble during the qualifying session, but did a ripper job in the B final, running out to a time that would have placed him 3rd in the A final. Calvin James likewise was very quick and Leo Lorenzen is going better and better as he gains experience.

1. Justin Strickland
2. Calvin James
3. Leo Lorenzen
4. Ian Scott
5. Derek Beresford
6. James Atkinson
7. Danny Tatnell
8. Philip Ferguson (DNS)

Guyatt cleared out at the start of the A final, while Rocket, Andrew Green, Adam Beresford and Mark Rayner all took a shot at top-3 spots. Mark eventually found his rhythm and pulled clear of the mid-field battle, while Rocket likewise got in the groove to break into 3rd around the 3 minute mark.  The gaps slowly opened from there, the order unchanged at the front for the remainder. Chris Murray’s fifth spot is worthy of note – an excellent drive.

1. Scott Guyatt
2. Mark Rayner
3. Rocket Houghton
4. Andrew Green
5. Chris Murray
6. Shaun Whatley
7. Chris Madziara
8. Richard Green
9. Derek Beresford