Italian Flyer,
I have never flown a mode 1 radio and I am sure at this point I would crash hard and repetedly if I attempted to do so. I mistakenly thought that Mode 1 simply changed the sticks left to right and did not read your post closely enough to see that the rudder and elevator are on the left and ailerons and throttle are on the right.

Had I started out with a Mode 1 radio, I think it would be easier for me to implement the pattern that was described for the rolling harriers. It would be a simple clockwise diamond pattern with the left stick while the right stick would be at or below half throttle and around half way to left ailerons and not have to move at all. That doesn't explain why a TOC champion would have switched at any time in his career though.