Scottish BRCA 10th Offroad Regionals 2023
This was always just going to be about who could come out on top in a two man gunfight between Allan O'Brien and Daniel Pole. Both now capable of getting into National BRCA 'A' Finals and therefore the cream of the crop North of the Border. However, there are other players in the championship. David Scott is always incredibly quick and we now also have Euan McLeod capable of picking up any scraps dropped by the top two.
And so it played out.
We run both 2WD and 4WD at the same 1 day meetings in Scotland which makes for a busy day’s racing. There were 6 rounds this year with your 4 best to count. We raced at Stonehaven, Dumfries, Glasgow, Ayr (Glasgow track), Stonehaven again and Falkirk (Dunfermline track).
In the end Daniel won both the 2WD and 4WD crowns with a pretty devastating display of driver skill and finesse. He only attended 4 rounds this year, due to other commitments, but still won 6 of the 8 'A' Finals he started! His cars always looked beautifully setup thanks mostly to his Dad, Duncan and the input from the GB Associated Team. His driving was never anything other than blindingly fast combined with an accuracy that defies belief. Future British Champion? But credit must go to Allan for chasing so hard in most of those finals! He wrung the neck of his Schumachers but the cars just didn't seem to have the composure Allan needed to mount a realistic challenge. Having said that, he still won 4 'A' Finals, (Two in head to heads with Daniel) and ended up the year only 2 points behind in 2WD and 4 points behind in 4WD! So, really not that much in it!
The top ten in 2WD for 2023 were:
1) Daniel Pole (522)- Associated
2) Allan O'Brien (520)- Schumacher
3) Euan McLeod (516)- Schumacher
4) David Scott (509)- Schumacher
5) Martin Wallace (509)- Schumacher
6) Jimmy Hamilton (502)- Sworkz
7) Martin Inglis (501)- Xray
8) Allan Bridgeman (500)- Associated
9) James Bisset (492)- Schumacher
10) Fraser McLeod 489)- Schumacher
The top ten in 4WD for 2023 were:
1) Daniel Pole (522)- Associated
2) Allan O'Brien (518)- Schumacher
3) David Scott (515)- Schumacher
4) Euan McLeod (514)- Schumacher
5) Allan Bridgeman (506)- Associated
6) Martin Inglis (505)- Xray
7) James Bisset (498)- Schumacher
8) Fraser McLeod 497)- Schumacher
9) Raymond Kerr (492)- Xray
10) Jimmy Hamilton (489)- Sworkz
Allan is changing brands for 2024 and is hoping this will help him properly challenge Daniel next year. Throw into that mix the distinct possibility that the likes of Euan and David and perhaps some unknown others might also be challenging them next year. It bodes well for 2024!
Of course, there are other players who are challenging for wins in different formulas. We have a Junior class for both 2WD and 4WD with 18 juniors scoring for this year’s Championship. Inevitably Daniel bagged both of those classes with Fraser McLeod in second and Aaron Carberry third. The juniors are the future of our sport and it's great to see them being so competitive and also learning how to race and behave well during the drama of a racing battle!
Then there is the Veteran class with 39 drivers competing for the over 40s trophies. The 2WD class was won by Martin Wallace, followed by Jimmy Hamilton and Allan Bridgeman. 4WD was won by Allan Bridgeman followed by Paul Kerr then Raymond Kerr.
At the end of the year we all felt that this had been a fantastic championship with some superb racing on some really well prepared tracks. Thanks must go to Duncan Pole who set up the race meetings, to Derek Ferguson for commentating and refereeing most of the meetings and to Stevie Sheridan in his role as the Scottish BRCA Off road rep. Also thanks must go to all the club reps who take part in the organising group and for running the meetings!
We are already looking forward to 2024!
[Article by Kenneth Rogers]
[Published by Nikita Finnigan]
