Round Five - the mini National
The fifth round of the Sandy 1/8th winter series turned out to be a mini national event! Due to he first national being held at this track it was a good opportunity for drivers from all over the country to test and get used to the track surface. An ideal opportunity for the local drivers to compete against some of the countries best at thier local track.

The Lead Up
The weather over the last few days running up to the event had not looked so good but with great work from the club members the track held up to the abuse from the 110 entrants. Due to the number of people it was decided to run 18 car finals with 3 bumping up and 9 qualification heats with 3 rounds, best two scores to count.

Qualifying Over
When the frantic qualification session was over, Losi 8ight and Novarossi driver Sam Taylor found himself at the top of the pile.
The track held up to the continual pounding from the 110 cars thanks to the dedication of the club members and their work on it.
The day was still not over for the few who had not made the final as with bump up finals being used there was still a chance for anyone to fill up the last few places and race for the overall win.

Those Moving Up
Mark Dell and his Losi 8ight proved to be the star of the finals bumping from the C final to the main show. Also making it into the main final was Reece Sawyer who had to miss one round of qualification during the day. The final was set and with six out of the top 18 being Losi it was sure to make for an interesting final.

Finals
Sam Taylor came out top of a frantic qualifying session
Going into the final it was fair to say that anyone who could run lap after lap with no mistakes and not getting caught out by the bumps would do very well. Samizukkka drove a steady pace through the 15m final and after a very controlled drive rounded out a great qualification performance with the win.
Our thanks to Pirate RC for the use of their pictures
A Final Results  
Pos Name  Result    Car Engine
1 Sam Taylor 25/15m 5.76 Team Losi 8ight Novarossi
2 Simon Willetts 25/15m 9.59     Hong Nor  
3 Karl Jackson   25/15m 24.20    Kyosho SP2 Sirio
4 Graham Alsop 25/15m 24.43 Ho Bao Hyper 8 RB
5 Jon Hazlewood   25/15m 26.02    
6 Dave Crompton 24/15m 7.53     Team Magic M1-B    RB
7 Stewart Wilcox 24/15m 8.27     Team Losi 8ight Novarossi
8 Elliot Boots    24/15m 8.97     Kyosho SP2 RB
9 Brennen Ralls 24/15m 12.36    XRay XB8  
10 John Holmes   24/15m 20.96    Ho Bao Hyper 8  
11 Mike Cradock    24/15m 30.43    Kyosho 777 Sirio
12 Justin Mackey   23/14m 55.40       
13 Mark Dell       23/15m 6.55     Team Losi 8ight  
14 Jon Howells     23/15m 16.42    Ho Bao Inferno ST-R
15 Kevin Brunsden  22/15m 9.93     Team Losi 8ight  
16 John Niall      20/15m 28.82    Team Losi 8ight RB
17 Reece Sawyer    18/15m 2.45     Team Losi 8ight Drake
18 Bob Ryan        9/ 6m 20.08     Kyosho 777 RB