59th Australian Nationals 2005-2006

"Fleurieu Peninsular"  - 18th-25th April 2006

CLASSIC B T/R was on next day and a small but dedicated bunch of team race enthusiasts were back for a crack at a B class win. Entries were again low with not a single person from Qld or NSW on the start line. Yes, it’s a very big country with a relatively small modelling population…. And it is a 3 day drive from Brisbane to Adelaide. But it’s much further across the Nullarbor to Perth and a large group of really keen WA flyers made the trip. No doubt this will all change at the more central Albury Nats at the year’s end.

Back to the racing and Graeme Wilson and Mark Ellins were giving the Double Dice one of it’s last outings before the replacement Rocket that Graeme is building takes over. They took a big chance when they elected to sit on their first round time of 3.20. The gamble didn’t pay off… and it was time keeping duties this time. Maybe just as well for the eventual winners as this team would have done the 140 laps with one less stop. Could have made it interesting!

Lance Smith had ‘son of a gun’ Murray Wilson as his handle grabber. Murray was in fine form at these Nats with a spectacular win in F2D combat. Murray will be flying Junior F2D Combat at the Worlds in Spain this July. Their scintillating second round 3.16.1 was a PB time and would have made the last three at most contests in this country. Lance has an interesting experiment to try (trust a scientist to want to experiment…) when he gets back to Melbourne. He has put a Davis Diesel head on one of his LA 25’s. He hopes to have a very fast Classic B with lots and lots of laps!

Bob Fry and Alasdair Taylor had a ‘steelie’ OS 25 that probably needed many more hours running than it was possible to give! So despite having fast starts and a quick model, the motor just wouldn’t give the necessary revs in the air to keep up with its ABN cousins… It was great to see them competing and gaining experience in this easy to fly event. Next time they’ll do more than make up numbers…

Fellow West Aussies, Hans Bertina and Ian Thompson had the familiar Thornley Thunderbolt wound up to put a workman like 3.17 next to their names in the CD’s book. This beautifully built lightweight special was debuted at the first Albury Nats and has been racing continually since that time. A new model is now being built.

John Hallowell and Keith Baddock had Paul Stein working the battery for the Rocket. The trio got their act together in Round 1 with a very fast 3.07.3 and elected not to fly a second round.

At the start of the final’s warmup, watching from the pilot’s circle, I was totally gob smacked. No, it wasn’t big Thommo’s elbow, it was Han’s efforts in the pits. At the start of the warmup, his engine threw the prop and did a shaft run. Imagine the chaos!!

Full credit to Hans Bertina and his vast experience… Being ‘Mr. Cool’, Hans just gathered the bits, bolted them all back on the MRS OS 25 FP and was standing with just seconds to spare as the countdown went 5-4-3-2-1-GO! And Hans & Thommo were away first flick!!

The Rocket and the Antares were also quickly in the air and the race was on in earnest. The West Aussies were surprised by the speed of the Rocket ship and being passed so often. Strangely, all teams were down on laps and needed an extra stop to make the 140 laps. Teams were getting 43-45 laps per tank instead of the usual 48 – 50. 47 is the critical lap number in B Class racing for a two stop final. We were using exactly the same fuel and equipment a week ago in Victoria and laps were not a problem. It seems the atmosphere on the day here in Murray Bridge required a richer needle.

The Rocket was again successful, taking back to back Classic B titles and making it 5 Classic B wins in a row for the H/B stable of racers. Hans Bertina & Ian Thompson from Western Australia were 2nd and Victorians Lance Smith and Murray Wilson were 3rd. A new lightweight Rocket is now being developed to counter the anticipated challenge in Albury from Queensland’s Mark McDermott’s fleet of super quick Classic B racers.

BENDIX TEAM RACE was much anticipated despite another small entry. It would have been good if the top NSW teams like Tony Bonello and Andrew Heath had been in the mix. We’ll have to wait until the end of the year for that… Also, looking forward to see who is the first to plant a Fora .36 in the nose of a Bendix machine. Will the real ‘Captain Bendix’ please stand up…! That was the question to be answered on this day. Rob Fry and Alasdair Taylor were fired up to win this time with the big case Nelson and Shoestring. However, their heats of 3.48 and 3.49 were slow and a long way behind the H/B record of 3.21.

Richmond Nats winners John Hallowell and Keith Baddock also had a slow first round with a blown plug but managed to get their act together in the second round with a smart 3.28 with the Nelson .36 Combat powered Nemesis. Graeme Wilson and Mark Ellins had the Ray Cote Shoestring wound up for a 3.50 in the first round. Good enough to make the last 3.

The Richard Bellis / Dave Gannon entry had good airspeed and was only 1/10th of a second behind the Wilson / Ellins second round time. Fellow West Aussie Jim Stivey teamed up with John Taylor from Qld. Their model was showing much promise before breaking a fuselage at a pitstop in the second round.

The final was a shootout between the Victorian Nemesis and the West Australian Shoestring. And boy, was it close, with just 2.2 seconds in it at the finish. Both teams made mistakes and lost chances for a clear victory. But that’s racing… and no doubt both teams did their best.

Congratulations to Rob and Alasdair. Wilson / Ellins were a credible third. The good news for us that it’s only 6 months before the title of ‘Captain Bendix’ again comes up for grabs… No doubt other strong contenders will emerge. For starters, how about the Qld combo of Harry Bailey and Marky Mac…? Word is they are practicing VERY quickly at the moment!