3.5cc
Dave Hole took the win today in 3.5 ahead of Dave Marles in 2nd and Dean Lord in 3rd.
Some great racing with the lead changing hand several times. Dave Hole got a good start and led until lap 9 when he was passed by Dave Marles, who went on to control the race until lap 80 when he was overtaken by his young Padawan Dean Lord after a stop. This was short-lived however, and Dave Hole retook the lead on lap 82 after Dean stopped and he went on to win the race with 97 laps.
Not too much drama in 3.5, but I did manage to capture This Video of Richard flipping in Armens wash.
Best Lap – Dave Marles – 15.413

Keith Burgess goes for a dip

3.5cc Podium

7.5cc
A switch around for the Hillsteads saw Mikey running 7.5cc today with dad Martin running in 15cc with Mark Wraights old Tornado. Mikey got a good start and led every lap bar one until lap 58 when a stop allowed both Mick Fields and Nigel Smith to pass and relegate him to 3rd, which is how it remained until the hooter. Dave Marles put in some blistering laps with his new Drakkon, setting 9 out of 10 of the fastest laps.
Best Lap – Dave Marles – 13.674

7.5cc Boats – Click and Scroll

7.5cc Podium

15cc
An unfortunate early clash between Vladimir Getov and Dave Marles put an end to their race. Dave soldiered on but it was clear he had control problems and he brought the boat in to find a large split in the radio box had let in water, forcing him to retire after 8 laps.
Only 3 boats made it past lap 41 – James Taylor was on a mission to grab the win and £100 cash prize after a disappointing 27cc run. James set all the fastest laps, reaching a Brentwood record total of 120 laps, with Nigel Smith and Mike Holliday left for dust.
Best Lap – James – 13.550

27cc
Only 3 boats ran in 27cc after several drop-outs – 2 of them didn’t bother letting anyone know they weren’t coming. James Taylor lost a lot of time after several stops due a cooling tube disconnecting and flooding the motor.
Mick Pain took the win, with James 2nd and Terry Holmes in 3rd.
Best lap – James 13.425

Highest Laps
James Taylor wins the cash prize with a Brentwood record of 120 laps!

3.5cc – With 2017 3.5cc Champion Mark Wraight electing to sit the event out to save wear and tear on his boat for 2018, Andrew Aykroyd took the win with an impressive 93 laps from Dave Hole and Robert Daniel. Andrew finally seemed to have solved this seasons reliability issues by fitting a new float and catch tank and his Ikarus 2.3 did not miss a beat. Andrew also took 3rd highest laps of the day. [Click images to enlarge]

7.5cc – Following his incredible performance at the GB Team Eliminators, race sponsor Dave Marles takes the win and highest laps of the day adjusted fro the handicap from Robert Daniel and Steve Clements. Dave elected to give half the cash prize to his pit-man Dean Lord and half to the 3rd highest lap scorer. Mick Szebeko finishes off the podium in 4th, but takes the 7.5cc drivers title with consistent finishes throught the season [Click images to enlarge]

15cc – Disaster for double-chasing Mark Wraight who just needed a start to take the title. He broke the engine in his borrowed sons boat in practice, allowing Terry Holmes to sweep to victory and snatch the title in a 4 boat 15cc race. Terry was as pleased as punch to take his first title and Mark was kicking himself over what could have been a record-equalling title haul. Dave Marles and Paul Adams took 2nd and 3rd respectively. [Click images to enlarge]

27cc – James Taylor in a super performance – Race Winner. 27cc Drivers Title. Since giving up the 15cc class to concentrate on 27cc, James has been unstoppable and cruises to victory with an incredible 105 laps, leapfrogging Mick Pain to snatch the 2017 27cc drivers title. James now holds the GB record of 8 National Drivers Titles in all classes. Ian Folkson takes 2nd a Steve Baxter 3rd.[Click images to enlarge]

3.5cc Junior – Thomas takes the win today and Miha wins the Junior Drivers Title. It’s been neck and neck all year with these 2 young racers and we expect they’ll be beating the seniors very soon![Click images to enlarge]

The last race of the UK season is the traditional Prestwich Classic sponsored by Dave Marles of Prestwich Model Boats

As well as this race deciding the winners of the National Drivers Championship, Dave will be offering cash prizes of £100 and £75 to the top 2 highest laps of the day. The event is run under a handicap system so in theory, a 3.5cc boat has an equal chance of winning it as a 27cc boat. Last year the £100 was won by James Taylor

National Drivers Championship
With the 3.5cc class already sewn up by Mark Wraight Dave Hole and Dave Clay will be after the runner-up spot. In 7.5cc, Mick Szebeko leads and looks a safe bet for the title after Gary Wraight announced his withdrawal following the water-filled radio box catastrophe at the MPBA GB Team Eliminators. Julian Waumsley will need to outscore Mick by 29 points to overtake him. In 15cc, Mark Wraight needs 10 points to clinch the double of 3.5 and 15. He has made this slightly more difficult for himself by selling his Boudicca after the eliminators, so he is planning to race his brothers old Costa design boat that Andrew-Aykroyd last won with at the 2015 Nationals! You only get one bite at the cherry in the Prestwich Classic (1 x 30min race) so he will need to Make sure the boat is in good working order as Terry Holmes will be ready to pounce and snatch the title! So all eyes are on the 27cc class where James Taylor needs to outscore Mick Pain by 12 points to prevent Mark Wraight from overtaking his record number of titles. This realistically means James needs to win and for Mick finish 3rd or below. This is quite possible if Ian Folkson and Steve Baxter both run.