Club News – 25 November 2025
Tuesday nights at the Miners Welfare Hall are a pretty reliable formula: fast racing, plenty of laughter, the odd race-ending bounce off the boards, and enough tyre additive in the air to make the carpet shiny. This week was no exception.
With our Tamiya Touring Cars, Minis, Formula 1 and Group C classes all taking to the track, and with some new drivers in the mix, it was another excellent night as we edge toward the finale of the 10-Year Champs next week.
And remember — if you’re reading this and thinking about joining in for the first time, the club has full guides on our website on how to get into RC, what the cars cost, and which class might suit you. You’re welcome to spectate, or just jump straight in with a car. Plenty of us did.
Qualifying – Three Rounds, Four Classes, Lots of Data
Tamiya Touring Car (Iconic)
Chris Milner continues to look very comfortable in his third or fourth night as Chairman. He topped all three qualifying rounds:
- Round 1 – 31 laps in 303.67
- Round 2 – 32 laps in 309.91
- Round 3 – 32 laps in 302.40
His fastest laps across the night were dropping into the 8-second bracket, with a best of 8.73. It was metronomic consistency and relentless pace.
Behind him, it was tight:
- Thomas Horyczun’s best was a 31/302.
- Shane Childs matched that with 31/307.
- Paul Campion was the first of the 30-lappers, all within tenths of Thomas and Shane.
The mid-pack was incredibly close. Beautiful battles developed between Paul, Dave Manning and Alexander Hall. They were not far off the leaders on raw pace, and all three were running in the low 9s and 10s when the laps came together.
There were also some excellent drives deeper in the order:
- Martin Matthews: 27 laps, 9.78 best lap
- Ben Bass: 25 laps with a blistering 9.66 best
A special mention again for Alex Mallinson — youngest club member, no fear, and already stringing together laps at 12-second pace. This kid is the future of the club.
12th Mini – Brushed
A one-man class this week for Ashley Mallinson, but don’t let that fool you. He was knocking out consistent 20-lap runs each time.
Even as a field of one, Ashley kept pushing the pace with a best lap of 10.90 — faster than some Touring Cars and faster than quite a few Minis when the class first began.
12th Mini – Brushless
Quite possibly the class of the night.
Four drivers battling within a single lap of each other:
- Wayne Meade – 34 laps / 8.51 best
- Mark Harper – 34 laps / 8.19 best
- John Mudway – 34 laps / 8.09 best
- Jamie Meade – the fastest single lap of the entire Mini field: 7.93
The Meade father–son pairing were visitors from the Gloucester club, coming to Forest Raceway for the first time — and what a debut. Wayne’s clean, measured driving and Jamie’s all-or-nothing pace slotted into the class perfectly, and they were immediately right on the front-running pace.
Every round in this class was close:
- Round 1 – Wayne wins by just over a second.
- Round 2 – Harper matches the 34-lap pace.
- Round 3 – Mudway fires back with another 34.
All of them were running best laps in the 8-second bracket. For reference, that is Formula 1 territory.
Formula 1
Fresh from retiring as club chairman, Mark Raddenbury seems to have discovered a few extra tenths now that he is not answering WhatsApp messages all week.
His qualifying results were:
- 34/313
- 35/304
- 36/306
Fastest lap of the night for him? 8.11.
Right behind him was Mark Bruton-Young, normally a GT12 driver and more accustomed to high-speed machinery. It was brilliant seeing him in something slower (borrowed from Bruce), and his pace was right there:
- 33–34 laps every round
- 8.46–8.55 lap times
Chris Bullock wrapped up the field, and although not quite on the pace of the top two, his best lap was still an 8.56, proving the whole class was quick.
Group C & 10th GT
Bruce Poole dominated from the start:
- Round 2: 33/305
- Round 3: 34/301
Those laps were good enough that a few Formula 1 drivers may have quietly wondered whether they should switch classes.
James Stuart chased hard all night and delivered consistent 24–30 lap runs with best laps in the low 9s.
Finals – Where the Drama Happens
Tamiya TC – B Final
Winner: Alexander Hall – 28 laps
His best lap was 9.74 — faster than his qualifying pace — and when the pressure came from Martin and Ben, he held his nerve.
The rest of the field:
- Martin Matthews – 27 laps / 10.03 best
- Ben Bass – 26 laps / 9.66 best (fastest lap of the B Final)
- Ashley Mallinson – 24 laps
- Alex Mallinson – 8 laps before the car decided it fancied a rest in the infield
Tamiya TC – A Final
Winner: Chris Milner – 33 laps in 310 seconds
Fastest lap of the final? 8.84 — the quickest of anyone in Tamiya TC all night.
Final results:
- 1st – Chris Milner – 33 laps / 8.84 best
- 2nd – Paul Campion – 32 laps
- 3rd – Thomas Horyczun – 32 laps (less than a second behind Paul)
- Retired – Shane Childs – 17 laps
- Retired – Dave Manning – 17 laps
12th Mini – A Final
Winner: John Mudway – 35 laps / 8.04 best
This was an excellent race. The three drivers behind him were incredibly close:
- Mark Harper – 34 laps / 8.03 best
- Wayne Meade – 34 laps / 8.24 best
- Jamie Meade – 32 laps / 7.93 best (fastest Mini lap of the night)
- DNS – Ashley Mallinson
Jamie was quickest on raw pace, Mudway was king of consistency, and Wayne and Mark were practically tied all night.
Formula 1 & Group C – A Final
Winner: Mark Bruton-Young – 35 laps / 8.20 best
A brilliant performance in his loaner car, holding off Raddenbury who finished on the same lap just two seconds behind.
Final classification:
- 1st – Mark Bruton-Young – 35 laps / 8.20 best
- 2nd – Mark Raddenbury – 35 laps / 8.02 best
- 3rd – Bruce Poole – 31 laps / 8.10 best (Group C winner)
- 4th – James Stuart – 26 laps / 9.24 best
- 5th – Chris Bullock – 13 laps / 8.51 best
Looking Ahead – The Big One
Next week is the final round of our 10-Year Champs, celebrating a full decade of Forest of Dean RCCC. We are expecting:
- Big grids
- Close championship battles
- Returning drivers
- Surprises
- A very special guest handing out the trophies
If you are thinking about coming to watch, this is the week.
And if you want to try RC racing for yourself — we have a full guide on our website. No experience required. No pressure. Plenty of advice and spare parts if you need them.
The last round of 2025 is going to be one to remember. See you on the grid.