Our mate Harry Redstone is a keen young competitor in the BRCA Micro Nationals (when he's not busy competing in the SRS series) & so far he's had a pretty eventful season - he's doing so well by round 3 in Dudley that he rated a mention as the top junior competitor in RC News magazine!
The micro track set out for round 3 of the BRCA Micro Nationals competition at Dudley
This video gives you a real flavour of just how fast and furious these micro RC races can be:
Harry Redstone competed in the final round of the radio controlled car competition, the BRCA Nationals in Slough on 7th-8th September. Harry says:
"Well the national series is over, I had a good time progressing with each round which is always a good sign to show that all the hard work is actually doing something. I really enjoyed the round at Slough, I just need a bit more consistency and I'll be up there.
I will definitely be doing the nationals again next year, I really enjoyed it. Shame its over - bring on the BRCA micro nationals! A big big thankyou to all my supporters/sponsers - a big help as always! Big thanks to Smb Bearings, IB Prostart, Anthony Lorton, Kevin Brunsden and Modelcars Reading and thanks to Colin Kirkham for actually getting me into the nationals (shame your not doing them next year)"
It seems that Harry experienced highs & lows, but it's all been a great learning curve & we're sure he'll storm it in next year's competitions!
Well done Harry, you may not have won the series this year but we are so, SO proud of you! We know how much hard work you've put into getting as far as you have - even with the support of your amazing family & friends, it's still a really tough challenge.
We'd like to wish Harry Redstone the very best of luck for this coming weekend - he's taking part in the fourth round of the BRCA Rallycross Championship 2013, being held in Bromsgrove this weekend.
Harry has been racing for a number of years, on a local & regional level, with great success but he is new to the national competition this year & it's been a bit of a steep learning curve. Harry says "Yeah its alot harder and alot more serious - you've got to move out the way for faster drivers and stuff. And tracks are highly prepped so it's a lot better - there are referees as well, so say your driving bad they'll tell you to calm your driving and if you take someone out you get a championship warning :-) !!"
Harry has learnt fast though & has improved his rankings meet on meet. Of the coming weekend Harry is pretty philosophical... "I'll be happy if I beat my last race, which was 78th place - I've gradually got better, first national I came 124th, second I came 80 something and third I came 78th" So by the fifth & final round of the BRCA Rallycross Championship this year we reckon Harry could well be on the podium!!
Good luck to Harry & all those taking part - have a great weekend of racing.
We are so, so proud of our friend Harry Redstone - he is not only a great RC car racer, he's also pretty good at the engineering behind his cars too. Here we can follow his new kit, an SWorkz 350, from build to race day...
From a box of bits...
We contribute to Harry's car with a precision Japanese bearing set at this point, but I'm not sure if that's good or bad news will all these bit lying about!!
...to components parts...
...to the finished product!
Check out a vid of the SWorkz in action here...
And so, the car is built & ready for action - Harry says of this weekends competition "Suprised with my result today, i really liked the set up and found it drove very well, quite a wierd set up at 7,5,5 front to rear - still not happy with this novarossi though, qualified b, 6th and finished b 4th not far off the bump up place! Very good day".
In action on race day...
some vital tune-ups between races...
going for that elusive podium finish...
Harry & his S Works 350 after a busy day at the track...
Well done Harry, you'll always be a number 1 racer to us! We'll look forward to keeping you up to date with Harry's progress throughout the year.
We also hope to be able to bring you an update from our RC Heli pilot, Ian Emery, very soon - his first competition of the season was last weekend & he'd had a bit of a disaster beforehand - we had an eleventh hour visit for bearings after his heli caught fire in training... more news as soon as we have it!!
We continue to sell over 2000 other items via our traditional store (ye olde fashioned telephone & email), but thought that we'd give this a whirl & so far, so good!
June
Vive La France! Our French gravity sports champions took podiums galore & most of the style & glory at La Rigalet...
Marie Bougourd & Philipe Dupuy at Rigalet
Schaeffer Mclean continued to wow us with his skills - this 8 year old skateboarder has had quite a year & his international acclaim continues to grow.
Check out this great vid for a show of skills & also a lovely reminder of what summer sunshine looks like!
July
We were so, so proud of young Harry Redstone - we went to watch him competing at Swindon Radio Controlled Model Car Club (SRCMCC for short!) & although he didn't do so well whilst his bearing sponsors were watching (I think we might have put him off his stride a bit :-) ) he has had an amazing overall season & race series & is thinking of competing in national competitions next year...
Harry & his Dad in the pits between races
August
We were delighted to catch up with Stan at Jankowski Weathervanes again, it is always a real treat to see where our bearings end up & this is never truer than in the hands of a real artisan like Stan...
September
We got in early & donated heaps of prizes to Hogtoberfest - a downhill skateboarding weekend of mayhem!
October
Ian Emery finished 3rd in the AHA British Nationals! What an astounding first-season result for our local RC heli hero.
November
Our customers continue to delight with their ingenuity - not least this month RSL Steeper & their prosthetic hand (that allows one wearer to make a famous Gallic gesture for the first time in 5 long years!), & Hans Meevis, a wonderfull talented jeweller currently based in Germany.
The fun part came when the lovely ladies at Valleys Roller Dolls got in touch - this dynamic bunch of roller derby afficianados needed some decent skate bearings & we were happy to oblige.
We look forward to helping them out in the future & following their roller derby progress -if they're not too shy, we'll hopefully tell you more about them soon :-)
December
Well, what a year it has been! I hope you enjoyed just a small sample of our many highlights from 2012. We'd like to thank our clients for their continued custom, our suppliers for their continued support & our friends for keeping us entertained all bally year!
Christmas lights in London last weekend
We'd like to wish you all the very best for the festive season & the coming year - see you in 2013!!
Many congratulations to our friend Harry Redstone, who's just been in touch to let us know that he's finished 2nd (out of around 30 competitors) in the latest round of Swindon Radio Controlled Model Car Club's (SRCMCC) summer race series. If Harry can win this weekend, then he stands a great chance of clinching the championship as a whole. We will keep EVERYTHING crossed for you Harry :-)
The latest race in the series took place over 12 rounds & Harry used his Losi 8 EU to great effect to clinch 2nd spot overall!
Harry's keen eye & attention to setup detail (changing bearings & oil) meant that his car was race-fit & ready to kick some serious butt... Harry says "my setup influences the end result, because on the outdoor astroturf track you get a lot of grip, so you end up rolling on corners/flipping & things like that - but if your setup is right you should just fly!"
So what's next for Harry? He's looking to bag the top-spot next time around, as well as competing in the SRS race series & also the ultra-competitive national competitions if he can get in...
I asked Harry if he had any advice for people just starting out in the sport & he says "In this sport, you get what you pay for - if you pay £100 for a brand new car it will fall apart so research & then research some more, save up & buy the best car that your funds allow - it will help you in the long run :-) "
It's always great to learn from someone who's been through it all, so thanks Harry - I am sure your sage words of advice will help save a fair few people from disaster!
We'll look forward to bringing more of Harry's news as the season progresses.
YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!! Our friend Harry Redstone had an awesome race series this weekend, at Swindon Radio Controlled Model Car Club (SRCMCC), & it saw him clinch victory, even leaving his older brother, Ben, eating his dust! Check out these results:
Harry tops the tables, beating off some stiff competition...
Harry has just acquired a new baby - perhaps that's what swung victory in his favour?!
Harry's Losi 8ight EU
Harry & his dad, hard at work in the pits
Harry is competing in the regional leagues this year, but next year is moving onto the bigger national competitions, where we're sure he'll be an absolute star.
