VMPRA regulars headed to Warrnambool for an event held on the weekend of 17–18 October. Most competitors arrived on the Friday. The club did a fantastic job preparing the field, which was in immaculate condition. The weather also cooperated, allowing plenty of time for practice flights and setting up the pylons.
Saturday proved to be a stunning and unusually calm day for Warrnambool, leading to slower-than-usual times. Four classes were flown on the 10 ½ lap course – Q500 Sport, along with E2K, F3D, and F3T. Sadly, the weather deteriorated, and no flying took place on Sunday due to the windy conditions.
Q500/E2K was first up and four rounds were flown. Q500 attracted seven entries, and it was good to see the return of Alan Swift and new entrant Jack Andrew. Jim Orenshaw, aka Crash Panda, finished in first place, followed by Eddie Rich and Alan Swift. John Schmidli set a fast time with a 99.82, but unfortunately, his model was lost due to a spectacular mid-air collision.
E2K was flown on the usual “long course” to save time resetting the pylons. Jim and John battled it out until John was watching the wrong model, which caused a crash. As a result, Jim finished first. John posted the best E2K time with a 112.26 – not much slower than many of the times in the Q500 Sport class. We expect to see more of these 3D-printed models appearing at future VMPRA events.
FA1 was up next with five entries, and five rounds were flown. Ever-improving Anthony Thurgood finished in first place, flying an ex-Leigh Hocken model. He also posted a fast time of 65.98. Glenn Matthews came in second, and Tom Wetherill was third.
Last class flown was F3T, which attracted eight entries with five rounds completed. The race was very close, and Brian Steele finished in first place, followed by Andrew Davies and John Schmidli. Brian posted the fastest time for the class and for the day, with a 66.24.
As mentioned earlier, Sunday’s weather was unsuitable for flying, so the course equipment was packed away and the awards ceremony took place. Special thanks were given to the Warrnambool club for providing the field and for it being in such great condition. By finishing early, we gained more time to navigate all the potholes on the Hamilton Highway on the way back to Melbourne.
Results
These are the placings for this race weekend, plus the fastest times. For all the results, see the “Result” button below.
Class – FA1
Places:
1st Anthony Thurgood
2nd Glen Matthews
3rd Tom Wetherill
Fastest Time (Red Box): 65.98 Anthony Thurgood
No. of competitors: 5
Class – F3T
Places:
1st Brian Steele
2nd Andrew Davies
3rd John Schmidli
Fastest Time (Red Box): 66.24 Brian Steele.
No. of competitors: 8
Class – Q500
Places:
1st Jim Orenshaw
2nd Eddie Rich
3rd Alan Swift
Fastest Time (Red Box): 99.82 John Schmidli
No. of competitors: 7
Season Championship
This being the 2nd last championship race for the 2025 season, with only Munro to be flown in November, the championship placings are really being consolidated.
FA1
No change in the top 3 positions. Brian is still in with a chance to take out the position, but he would have to win and Anthony come 10 or lower, which is unlikely with the current competitor number.
1st – Anthony Thurgood
2nd – Brian Steele
3rd – Andrew Davies
F3T
No change in the top 3 positions. Brian doesn’t even have to enter the Munro race to take this one out.
1st – Brian Steele
2nd – Anthony Thurgood
3rd – Jim Orenshaw
Q500
No change at the top 2 positions, but John Schmidli has moved up into 3rd place, displacing Alan Whitbourn by 1 point. Jim doesn’t even have to enter the Munro race to take this one out.
1st – Jim Orenshaw
2nd – Eddie Rich
3rd – John Schmidli
Next Race Events:
– Munro Nov 22 – 23.
Please check out the updated calendar as most of next year’s events are now listed.
Report – Tom Wetherill.
Photos – John Schmidli
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