3.5cc – 2018 champion Dave Hole

The 3.5cc class offers the most competition, with several potential winners. If he has the motivation for 2019, then 2017 3.5 NDC winner Mark Wraight is both fast and reliable. Alongside Mark, we would consider 2018 Champion Dave Hole, Andrew Aykroyd and Dave Pillman, who has a brand new ultra-light Ikarus 2.3 which will undoubtedly be very fast, but will it be reliable?. We’d probably make Andrew the favourite this time if he goes to most of the meetings. We have also heard that Phill Fields has a 3.5 boat for 2019, but he’ll probably stick to the Internationals and maybe the 2 big domestic events. Battle for the King of Speed will probably be fought out between Dave Marles and Dave Pillman, but as usual, those last few km/h of speed usually come at the expense of occasional reliability issues. Last year, only 1 driver (Zack Humphries) managed to win more than one race.

7.5cc – 2018 champion Andrew Aykroyd

Dave Pillman will be desparate to atone for the disastrous 1-point Championship loss to Andrew Aykroyd in the final race last year. Dave knows the Championship was his for the taking with one of the best 7.5 boats we’ve seen for years, right up there with Dave Marles own Pegasus. If only Dave could match his speed with race strategy! We expect the 2019 title to be fought out between Andrew and Dave.

15cc – 2018 champion James Taylor


James Taylor may have done a clean sweep in 2018 in 15cc and 27cc, but that was less important to him than the 2018 World Championships where he came away disappointed feeling he hadn’t performed to his full capabilities. We’d normally say James was nailed-on for another 15cc title in 2019, but he is intending to do a lot of internationals so this may let in other drivers. Mark Wraight will be looking to rack up some wins with his Seljak design 15cc boat, if he can contain the red-mist that descends on him in 15cc, but stangely not in 3.5cc. Paul Adams is very fast now and could trouble the top 2.

27cc – 2018 champion James Taylor

27cc would be another win for James Taylor if he does enough races. The other contenders would be Paul Adams and Mick Pain who is ultra reliable, but not quite on the pace. Last year, James led the Championship from round 3 and was not troubled for the rest of the season.

3.5cc
A Northern Monkey clean sweep in 3.5cc, dominating the class and producing all 10 of the fastest laps (we count the Midlands as North). Andrew Aykroyd #dominated the race from start to finish, his lightweight Ikarus 2.3 not missing a beat. When Mark Wraight saw the size of the first place trophy he was gutted he didn’t enter, although he would have been unlikely to beat Andrew today, such was his #domination. After giving Nigel Smith a lot of stick for a poor showing in Hannover, Dave Marles had to eat some humble pie this time with his magnificent score of 2 laps, even though one of these was rather suspiciously the fastest 3.5cc lap! It’s always said that they go really well just before they break!

All the 3.5cc boats [Click to enlarge]

7.5cc
Dave Marles sets the highest laps of the day and wins his own cash prize 2 years in a row! After adjustment for the handicap, Dave Marles pips James Taylor’s 27cc score by 2 laps to claim the cash prize. Dave generously gave half to his pit man Dean Lord and half to 2nd highest laps James. Another 2nd place for Robert Daniel was some consolation for a string of frustrating mechanical issues in the last few races. Dave Pillman took the 3rd podium place despite 3 stops, which would have given him the Drivers Championship title if only this race were included in the 2018 results. Lol.

All the 7.5cc boats [Click to enlarge]

15cc
Low scores in 15cc as mechanical issues and crashes result in an underwhelming 15cc race performance wise. By this time of the day, the low sun had moved into the perfect position to pretty much obscure the whole left-hand side of the course. It was nigh on impossible to see any dead boats, making the transit down the left squeaky bum time for the drivers. Usually, we would have lots of shots of spectacular crashes, but we couldn’t see a thing either, with all the highlights being too white and all the shadows too dark! Not the best time of year for boat photography.

All the 15cc boats [Click to enlarge]

27cc
You need to go out aggressively if you want the highest laps and James Taylor could tell he was not going to beat Dave Marles score unless he got a move on. Unfortunately, a desperate attempt to pass stubborn Paul Adams resulted in the crash that put an end to James hopes of the cash prize. This battle produced an exciting few minutes of racing, so well done to James and Paul for the entertainment factor! Mick Pain was very pleased with the performance of his new Costa design 27cc boat first time out, although a bit down on speed compared to Paul and James.

All the 27cc boats [Click to enlarge]

3.5cc Junior
No juniors ran today

We saw a really impressive turnout at Elmbridge for round 1 of the 2018 MPBA Circuit National Drivers Championship, including 5 junior entries. This was the first race booked in with the new MPBA designed forms, making the race organisers job a lot easier and the response was very positive. We also had enough entries to run a separate 3.5cc Offshore race numbering more than the 7.5cc for the first time.

7.5cc Hydro – Derek Owen took the win with Armen Boldy 2nd and Chas Tedder 3rd. Chas had a Specsavers moment in the final heat, hitting the transponder line float at full bore! Martin Fields brought along a new 3.5cc Hydro but could not get it going right. We’re sure he’ll have it perfect at the next race.
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15cc / Gas Hydro – Dave Marles takes the win with his 27cc rigger powered by a Tiger King motor. Dave was flying, literally. In the final heat, the boat took off at the end of the pit straight and seemed to spend an eternity in the air before eventually hitting the left bank. Miraculously, there was no damage. Unfortunately we didn’t have the camera out for this as it had started raining. Armen Boldy took 2nd with his 15cc StingR hydro, setting the fastest lap of the day at 11.254 seconds. Phill Fields took 3rd.
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3.5cc Offshore – A brilliant one-two by Team Folkson, with Miha beating his World Champion dad Ian. Ably pitted by Andrew Buonaiuto, Miha nailed the starts and took the win. This duo is looking strong in the juniors for the 2018 iMBRA World Championships in August. Luke grabbed 3rd spot in his first race! Top showing from all the juniors today. The futures looking bright!
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7.5cc Offshore – A great first outing for Dave Marles’ new 7.5 Kraken 42, a scaled-down version of his 15cc/Gas boat. Mick Fields took 2nd with his tight driving and Julian Waumsley 3rd
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15cc Offshore – Les Wall takes the win. Nice to see Steve Whenham back racing again.
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35cc Offshore – Neil Ward takes the win
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Sport 60 – Adrian Marshall from Les Wall and Thomas Clements
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3.5cc – 2017 champion Mark Wraight

In the 3.5cc class, 2017 iMBRA European Champion Zack Humphries is untouchable, but the NDC is not his priority – He has eyes on bigger prizes at international level. 2017 3.5 NDC winner Mark Wraight is both fast and reliable, but he is also in the world championships team which may open the door for others if he doesn’t attend all the races. Alongside Mark, we would consider Dave Hole, Geoff Parmenter and Andrew Aykroyd in with a shout and we haven’t yet seen the best of Ian Folksons Ikarus. We’d probably make Dave the favourite but Andrew can win it if he goes to most of the meetings. Battle for the King of Speed will probably be fought out between Dave Marles and Dave Pillman, but we suspect neither of them will do enough events to win the title and those last few km/h of speed usually come at the expense of occasional reliability issues. Keith Burgess also has great speed but has been thwarted by reliability in recent seasons.

7.5cc – 2017 champion Mick Szebeko

The 7.5 should be interesting this season as we have another top racer in Andrew Aykroyd joining the class. Gary Wraight will be looking to return to the podium with his 8 Ball after extensive modifications. Gary will be determined to make 2018 a success after scuppering his chances of the 2017 title by attempting major changes mid-season only for it to backfire spectacularly. Everyone is looking forward to the first glimpse of 2014 World Champion Martin Fields new self-designed 7.5. Martin will be hoping the new boat is as good or better than his superb Pegasus Evo that he sold after the GB International win. Martin will no doubt putting most effort into the internationals so he’s not really a UK title contender. In no particular order, we would say that Mick Szebeko, Gary Wraight and Andrew Aykroyd are the front runners. Julian and Ross Waumsley are also strong in 7.5 and Julian’s average of 26 points per race would have been enough to take the title last year had he competed in every event. Ross may be looking for some wins to make up for the disappointment of missing the eliminators having contracted a serious infection in 2017 which almost cost him his leg.Dave Pillmans new Pegasus Evo may give everyone a fright (Video), but will he do enough races?

15cc – 2017 champion Terry Holmes

The best 15cc boat in the UK is Phill Fields Tornado T7, but like other top racers he will be considering potential damage in a world championship year so Mark Wraight will be looking to put right the disappointment of missing out on an 8th title in 2017. Facebook users will have seen the progress of his all-new Seljak design 15cc boat. We will shortly bring you a build masterclass of this boat. However, we hear he may have to contend with James Taylor who is rumoured to be returning to the 15cc class with a new Tornado T7. James is arguably (With Zack) the best driver in the UK, so Mark will have his hands full if James gets his boat built. James/Mark 2017 champion Terry Holmes will also be a strong contender as he only had one DNF all season last year on his way to the title. 2015/2016 champion Sam Lincoln would normally be considered one of the favourites, but is almost certainly focused on the world championships. We would also back Mikey Hillstead if he can keep the consistency he showed in the latter part of 2017.

27cc – 2017 champion James Taylor

27cc is a straight fight between Ian Folkson and James Taylor in our eyes. Or CMB vs Tiger King! James average 35 points per race in last years championship was simply phenomenal and if he carries that form into 2018 he will be unstoppable. The other contenders would be Steve Baxter and Mick Pain who is ultra reliable, but not on the pace of Ian, James and Steve. All 4 are qualified for the world championships, so this may let in Terry Holmes.

As we enter mid-season, every class is wide open with the only significant gap of 12 points being held by new 3.5cc leader Mark Wraight. As usual, full heat and lap breakdown available. Additional photos in our Google Gallery

3.5cc – The airwaves of the internet were chocka with friendly (And not so friendly) banter durng the week and ‘DNF’ Dave Pillman overcame his usual reliability problems to take the win. No TowRope or GPS required. Mr #boughtnotbuilt Mark Wraight was hot on his heels in 2nd and Colin Croxford (No nickname as far as we know) took 3rd.

Click on a boat for fullsize image:

7.5cc – A superb maiden win with his #boughtnotbuilt 8 Ball for Gary Wraight sees him climb the table after his 3rd in the first outing at the Masters. Steve Clements took a solid 2nd and Martin Fields came in 3rd after only fuelling for 18 minutes instead of 20!

15cc – 2 in a row for Dave Marles following his victory at the Masters in June. Dave has his Tornado T7 really flying and reliable. Terry Holmes grabbed 2nd, sending him to the top of the 15cc table, replacing previous joint leaders Mark Wraight and Mike Holiday who took 3rd.

27cc – James Taylor took the win, making it 2 in a row and is in great form in this World Championship eliminator year. Steve Baxter took second, underlining his consistency with his new boat. Another good performance from Terry Holmes, taking 3rd spot means he’s overall top in the 27cc, replacing Mick Pain who has now missed a few races after a strong start.

Juniors – Thomas and Miha both put on good performances and are now tied for the Championship lead. They’ll soon be beating the seniors!

Our thanks go to the Elmbridge Club for hosting this event and to the many people involved in its running. The racing program alternating between a ‘M’ course and an ‘Oval’ meant the course had to be re-deployed twice over the 2-day event.

Championship Tables

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