Do you really need three Lipos though?
Because I'd be seriously surprised if you were using much over 1/2 capacity in each round - so you don't need an hour to recharge. In fact, you hardly need to recharge at all - I know a lot of 2wd club drivers using 4500+ mAh Lipos simply use them for 2 rounds before charging.
Even with 3 rounds and a final it works like this:
Pack 1: 1st and 2nd heats then stick on charge
Pack 2: 3rd and 4th heats
By now pack 1 will have been charging for at least 30mins even at the smallest clubs so will be above 50% capacity and therefore ready to go in the finals.
This to me is the real beauty of Lipo's - you don't need to start the race at 100% charge - all you need is enough to reach the finish.
Brushless wise the cheap Ezrun systems can be found on E-bay and are perfectly competitive at club level, yet cost no more than a brushed setup. If buying from Hong Kong via Ebay scares you Giant Cod now supply them in the UK. You'd want
this esc and
this motor for starting. Its called a 9T but since its not really 540 sized its more like a 10.5t in performance. The whole bundle comes to just over £60!