catterline

Team Rooket's pratice didn't go to plan

Current standings;    1. Team Rooket - 13    2. Team Alford - 12    3. Pist'n'Broke - 11    4. Centa Bavaria - 11    Click here for full results and current table

Pist'n'Broke's hopes of securing the 2011 SCA Championships took a heavy blow at the Catterline Cartie Challenge on Sunday when they crashed out on the first bend during practice. Failing to negotiate the tricky right-hander at Jimmy's put them up on the bank and snapped their front axle, effectively ruling them out for the rest of the day and meaning that they would collect no points for the day.

Team Rooket had to work hard to stay in the race, with two major crashes giving them plenty of work on in between the runs, but their biggest downfall was a 5 second penalty for clipping a cone in their second run, which dropped them down from 1st to 4th place on aggregate.

The Catterline Cartie Challenge is an annual competition for home made "gravity powered" soapbox carties which is held as part of Catterline Gala Weekend. It was first held in 2005, and is one of the highlights of the village year.

It also forms part of the SCA Championship series.

Entries for existing teams will be available from 1st January 2011, with entries from new teams being accepted from early February 2011.

Details, entry forms, rules, etc are on Catterline Online.

The SCA Championship race tightened up last weekend when Crockle was unable to capitalize on his early lead, allowing Alford to draw level on points.With just one round to go at Cairngorm Soapbox Extreme next month, there is still everything to play for with Crockle on Alford tied for first place and Team Rooket just one point behind.

The second round of the SCA Championship will take place this weekend at the pictureque clif top village of Catterline, on the North East coast of Scotland. Now in it's 6th year, the Catterline Cartie Challenge has been entertaining competitors and spectators alike as the home made carties fly down the steep road from the Creel Inn to the harbour. At ~300m in length, it is a relatively short course but its combination of gravel and tarmac surfaces and tight turns makes it a track that favours nimble carties and courageous drivers.

Alford Gravity Racers will be hoping to use this to gain some ground on Crockle and level or draw ahead on championship points. but none of the SCA Cartie teams have competed at Catterline before and their lack of local experience may be crucial. Despite several visitors from far and wide, Catterline has always been won by a local team.

Reckon you've got a quick cartie? Taking part in more than one event in Scotland this year? Why not register for the SCA Championship and find out how good you really are! 

The SCA Championship is a competition run across the main soap box events in Scotland with the aim of encouraging participation in the various events and to creating friendly rivalry between teams.

Registered teams are awarded points for their final position in the participating events, and the team with the greatest number of points after the last event will be crowned as the SCA Champion. There are separate classes for Soapbox Cartie and Gravity Sidecar.

Please note that each race is independantly organised as a separate event, and in many cases by organistions that are not directly connected with the SCA. Teams registering for the SCA Championship must also register with each event that they wish to take part in. Registration for the SCA Championship does not include automatic entry into competing events, nor does it confer any special privileges. Since each event is an independant entity, the rules for each competition vary slightly. Please check with each event organiser to ensure your cartie or sidecar is eligible to compete.

Further information;