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Round 3 of the British National Championship was held on 12-13th July 2008 at the West London track in Hillingdon. With around 120 drivers taking part covering Prostock (10.5T) and Open Modified, it was a very competitive event.
Team XRAY were out in force with the whole UK team hoping for good results!
Chris Grainger had won the previous 2 Nationals and was looking to secure the championship for the 5th year in a row. Mathematically, there were only 3 drivers left that could mount a challenge to Chris - Ben Cosgrove lying in 2nd place in the Championship, Olly Jefferies 3rd and Elliott Harper in 4th place. |
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Ben, Mark, Darren & Elliott
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The weather forecast was variable with the threat of rain throughout. On the Saturday the rain clouds skirted the track and it wasnâ™t until the last few qualifiers that the skies opened up and drenched the track. With âśRound by Roundâś qualifying this adjusted the pointâ™s positions significantly by the close of the days racing. Sunday stayed mostly bright but getting more over cast as the day went by. However, the whole event was enjoyable and balanced for everyone involved.
With 4 sets of tyres allowed for the 5 qualifiers and 3 finals, tyre strategy was a major deciding factor. Only a few drivers managed to achieve good results in all 5 qualifiers to retain 2 new sets of tyres for the final. The rain in the last few qualifiers did help the decision making on the Saturday. |
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Ben's car
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Qualification 1
The first qualifier went off smoothly and Olly Jefferies took the first win, with Chris Grainger in 2nd, Ben in 3rd and Elliott 4th. This was a good start to the weekend with Team Xray gaining a good set of points from round 1
Qualification 2
Again Olly Jefferies took the win with Andy Moore 2nd, Elliott 3rd and Ben 4th. Once again, consistent driving meant that the Xray car was always placed highly on the time sheets.
Qualification 3
Rain started part way through the round making it difficult for the higher heats to compete. By the time it got to the top 3 qualifying heats there were large puddles on the track. Very few drivers elected to venture onto the track and this adjusted the mid point placings for the overnight rest. This meant all the top drivers would be forced to drop this round from their scores. |
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Elliott's car
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Qualification 4
Early morning qualification was preceded by a short practice session. This helped drivers get back into the rhythm and clean the track for the forthcoming qualifiers. Chris Grainger came back into contention with the win having some minor problems the day before. Ben again put in a solid run for 2nd and Glen Doman in 3rd. Elliott did not have such a good run and later found this to be down to his tyres. The Xray cars were delivering very good results and at this point, Ben and Elliott were 1st and 2nd with Ali Graham 9th.
Qualification 5
The 5th round was a major decision point for many drivers. The evening rain before had given many drivers some good points and the choice was to run a 3rd set of new tyres and secure the best placing or save a new set to improve the chance of doing well in your final. For most it wasnâ™t an option and this made the last qualifier variable. Those with good points were secured in the â Aâ™ and automatically opted for 2nd run tyres and this showed in the results. However, Ben and Elliott remained 1st and 2nd on the grid for Xray. The Xray trio of Mark Gilliland, Phil Chambers and Ali Graham qualified 13th, 14th and 15th respectively and Darren Styles qualified 39th after having many problems at the track.
Final Qualifying Positions
1. Ben Cosgrove â“ XRAY T2â™008
2. Elliott Harper â“ XRAY T2â™008
3. Andy Moore
4. Glenn Doman
5. Chris Grainger
6. Olly Jefferies
7. James Howarth
8. Mark Stiles
9. Lee Woodhams
10. Chris Kerswell |
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Elliott challenged by Olly
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Five Cell Mod Leg 1 A Final
The track remained dry for all finals. In the 1st A final it was a one â“ two for the Xray T2008 with Ben Cosgrove 1st and Elliott Harper 2nd. The race was actually fairly uneventful and the Xray pair inched away from the following pack. The two cars were evenly matched and crossed the line at the end of the race by the same margin as at the start just shy of 3 secs in front of Andy Moore in 3rd.
Five Cell Mod Leg 2 A Final
A good start from the grid for Elliott saw him tuck neatly in behind Ben and for a while it looked like a repeat of the first final. Olly Jefferies mount the challenge having come off the line from 6th place to 3rd and the 3 cars chased around in file for the mid part of the race. About the 3 min. mark, Ben made the slightest of errors on the D leading into the straight. Although this only cost him a second it was enough to let Elliott and Olly through, with Ben back in 3rd and now having to chase the lead. It looked stable until Olly also made a slip and Ben seized the opening to pick up the chase on Elliott again and this was how they finished in reverse order from the initial Xray win with Elliott 1st and Ben 2nd. Xray had guaranteed a 1-2 at this point but in which order? |
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2nd A Final Rostrum & Olly challenging Elliott
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Five Cell Mod Leg 3 A Final
With both sets of new tyres now used it was back onto a 2nd run set for both Xray drivers. From the start, Elliott was off quickly and managed to make a pass on Ben before the end of the 2nd lap. From this point on, he pulled out a good lead and took the win by 6 secs. Ben had already secured 2nd place and experienced some problems later on during the run and fell back. |
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Elliott's car & Trophy
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| The race was a big success for Team XRAY. The T2'008 took a 1-2 in not just qualifying, but the finals aswell! proving once again the strength of the car. Ben Cosgrove is now sitting top of the championship table. The final event is at Halifax on the 16th/17th August and it will be close with only 5 points separating the top 4 drivers â“ anyone can win. |
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Team XRAY UK
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Full results can be found on the BRCA website at: http://www.centralbooking.org
FINAL POSITIONS
1. Elliott Harper â“ XRAY T2â™008
2. Ben Cosgrove â“ XRAY T2â™008
3. Andy Moore
4. Mark Stiles
5. Olly Jefferies
6. Glenn Doman
7. Lee Woodhams
8. Chris Kerswell
9. Chris Grainger
10. James Howarth
12. Mark Gilliland â“ XRAY T2â™008
13. Phil Chambers â“ XRAY T2â™008
15. Ali Graham â“ XRAY T2â™008
43. Darren Styles â“ XRAY T2â™008 |
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Top 3 - Andy, Elliott, Ben
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Ben Collecting Trophies
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