The Northern Rivers Championship was run and won today, with Kirby Masterman (modified), Corey Broadstock (Superstock), Chris Shevelling (Stock) the big winners after two excellent days racing at the fabulous Gold Coast Model Raceway.
Team Action R/C Schumacher won the teams championship, with the Hervey Bay members of the team taking the big trophy home to “The Shed”. Stay tuned for details on a team trip to Hervey Bay to visit the trophy (and the boys).  And read on for more details…
(photo courtesy Beach Mums Racing – more photos here. used by permission)
540
The 540 results turned out a little differently that expected with the normal 2/3 A finals format giving way for the Northern Rivers format in which all A finals counted.  Kenny Nham was quickest in qualifying and won a couple of finals – but a DNF put him out of action.  The A finals were entertaining and close affairs at times, but I ended up a little unclear as to who had won what.  As soon as the final results are posted, I’ll update here.  Ethan and Elliot Joyce did a great job in their first touring car race – both improving by around 5 laps between the start of qualifying, and end of the finals. Well done boys!
Stock
A big battle loomed between the returning Chris Shevelling and evergreen Adrian Beggs in this class – but Peter Beckett almost spoiled the party. Shev was quickest throughout qualifying to set TQ from Becket and Beggs – with Matt Belton a great fourth from Heavy.  A messy start in A1 put Beckett out in front and he drove to the win from Shev….before being DQ’d for being around 10 grams underweight. A tough way to lose a race, and with the format of all three finals to count, Beckett was basically out of the running. He won A2, before Shev finally got a clean start in A3 to win big – and take the overall win from Beggs.  Rough starts featured in all three A finals – a legacy of a tightening first corner, and long run from the starting grid.  Heavy did an excellent job in top company and finished mid-field after some good races with Matt B and Toby.
SuperStock
A weekend long battle between Tony Lewis and Corey Broadstock was fantastic to watch. In the first two finals, the two were rarely apart by more than about 10 feet – with Broadstock just doing enough to get home first.  It was interesting to watch this battle between Lewis’ smooth style and sweetly handling car, and Broadstock’s talent to hang on to a chassis that just wasn’t happy on the track. In A3, Corey won big to take the overall win from Lewis.  Peter Joyce (of Racing Lines fame) made the trip up from Macksville and was rewarded for his persistence with an excellent third place – getting the most out of his chassis, while keeping the boys on track in the 540 class.
Modified
Visiting Victorian Kirby Masterman was on a tear on Saturday – going fastest in most of the qualifying rounds…until the one that mattered. On a slightly cooling track Anthony Atack was stellar, setting TQ….and locking in the difficult inside starting spot for the finals. Kirby was second, with a very tight midfield of Corey Broadstock, Leonard Lai, Scott Guyatt and Tim Weier lined up right behind.  In A1 Anthony and Kirby got away clean to fight for the win with the battle between Broadstock, Weier and Lai raging behind. Anthony got to the line from Kirby, Lai and a recovering Guyatt.  A messy start in A2 put Lai out in front before a costly error returned Kirby and Anthony to the frame. These two, plus Guyatt stretched away to run to the line in that order.  A3 was again a messy start with Schumacher pilots Masterman and Guyatt coming through the carnage best, before vanishing in a race-long duel that thrilled both drivers, both dad’s and lots of spectators. Kirby took the win and the championship, with Atack and Guyatt filling the podium.
Schumacher Team
We of course, can’t publish a story without a few comments about the wonderful performances of Schumacher pilots. Strong throughout the field, and picking up wins in both Stock and Modified, plus a podium spot in Superstock, the Mi4 chassis is definitely performing well.  Better even than the results, the Schuie pilots worked together to get the cars performing, and took home the Teams Championship trophy. Nice work boys!
My Race
I was rapt to be back on the touring car track after 18 months away from SEQ. I finished the Mi4 build on Friday morning and spent the rest of the weekend re-learning how to drive modified touring cars. The car was a jet today and I really enjoyed the finals.  I think over the course of the two days I had close and fast races with Corey, Kirby, Anthony, Leonard and Tim – and enjoyed all of the battles.  A full build-and-race report on the Mi4 will follow later.