So what do we have to look forward to in the 2019 domestic Circuit season?

3.5cc Hydro – 2018 winner Keith Burgess

As section chairman, Keith will normally be at all the Circuit races, which will give him an advantage in 3.5cc Hydro against the LM Racing crew of Martin and Phill Fields plus Leon Morgan (Maybe), who are all more focused on International competitions. Both Dave Marles and Dave Pillman occasionally run 3.5cc Hydro but have yet to get to grips with 3.5cc reliability-wise. Another win for Keith then.

7.5cc Hydro – 2018 winner Derek Owen

This is the one to watch! A big field for 2019 – Derek, Chas Tedder, Armen Boldy, Steve Clements, Martin Fields and newcomers Dave Pillman and Gary Wraight. No doubt, we’ll see some ‘thrills and spills’ from Dave and Gary whilst they try to get to grips with Hydro racing, so we’ll make sure to have the camera ready to capture those priceless disintegration moments! Any one of the other 4 could take the title in 2019, but Dereks consistency (And many spare boats) may edge it again.

15cc / 27cc Hydro – 2018 winner Armen Boldy

With Richard Harris now based in the Southwest, he’s unlikely to make it to Elmbridge much, so the 2019 field will comprise of Armen, Dave Marles (With his 27cc rigger) and Phill Fields. It was pretty close between Armen and Dave last year and could have gone either way. We expect a similar outcome in 2019, with Phill probably out of the picture by not attending all the races.

3.5cc Offshore – 2018 winner Miha Folkson

There are no separate junior classes in UK Circuit, and Miha beat all the seniors last year including his World Champion dad Ian. Our Juniors in fact, took the first 3 places in this class. We expect a fightback in 2019 from Ian and MPBA Chairman Mick Fields, but we predict another junior win.

7.5cc Offshore – 2018 winner Adrian Marshall

There’s a decent sized field in 7.5cc Offshore and we expect strong challenges from Mick Buonaiuto, Dave Marles, Julian Waumsley and Chas Tedder. Mick probably has the best boat if he can drive aggressively enough.

15cc Offshore – 2018 winner Les Wall

A fairly comfortable win in 2018 for Les, but Mick Buonaiuto has the speed to win it if he turns up to all the races. Dave Marles would also be in with a shout if he enters every race, but his 15cc boat has been a bit unreliable of late. We’d go for Les again.

35cc Offshore – 2018 winner Werner Bester

Werner is super consistent, and it’s hard to see him being beaten in 2019, especially while the usual suspects Mark Wraight, Dave Marles, Mark Rice and now Dave Pillman race each other full-on and inevitably take each other out. We’re looking forward to some spectacular action shots in this class!

Sport 60 – 2018 winner Les Wall

In the fun class, Les is quick and reliable. Probably only Thomas has the speed to beat Les, so uncle Steve Clements needs to make sure Thomas’ Silak is reliable if he is going to challenge Les in 2019

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 – 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.