My new friend Andrew (who I met at the Shootout and came from Thailand to race) and I decided to head out to WCRC in La Mirada, to run the 1st ever offroad club race there!
I had no idea what tires to start on, so I just ran what I had on my car at the time, Gold Barcodes. I ran these for 3 runs, while learning the layout. The Barcodes weren't hooking up very well, so for my next battery, I tried the following rear tires- M3 Square Fuzzies, Green Double Dees, and Red X-3000's, all paired with M3 wide ribbed fronts. The Square Fuzzies and X-3000's seemed to hook up the most. I was able to get on the gas really hard as long as my car stayed pointed straight! The track was more bumpy/wavy than the tracks I usually race on. Which is good I think, as I get more experience running on this type of surface, but I'm slow compared to the rest of the field :( The dirt at WCRC is 100% clay, and still a little soft I guess, causing it to get a little rutted and bumpy.
Two jumps were giving me issues on the layout. A fast kicker jump that went down hill into a hairpin, and a large double with short takeoff. I was having trouble getting the right speed to hit the kicker, downside the lander, and make the hairpin. I either case, or land long hitting the pipe :( The big double was giving me fits, because I didn't have the punch needed to clear it consistently :( Back in the pits, I decided to gear down my car and tighten my slipper a bit. As it turns out, my slipper was really loose! No wonder I didn't have the punch!
For round 1 I ran the X-3000's, which hooked up really well when sauced, but I still didn't have the punch I wanted. I led the heat for haf the race, but made a mistake and stuffed it into the pipes a few times and caught a rut at the end of the straight and flipped, falling back to 3rd :( In round 2, I went back to my normal gearing, and tightened up my slipper even more! I also switched to my Square Fuzzies, as I wanted to see how they compared to the X-3000's. They felt ok, but my lap times were slower, allowing the leaders to pull away :(
For the main, I went back to my X-3000's as I was able to turn a few fast 29's with these compared to the Squares. I also decided to drop my gear by 1 tooth, and turn my speedo up to profile 8. I had nothing to lose as I had qualified 8th in our 13 car main! I got a good start, moving up to 6th on the 1st lap :) I battled it out for 5th mid race, but made a mistake on the big double that has been giving me problems the whole night, and dropped back to 9th. I was able to catch back up though, and make some passes and finished in 7th.
Andrew did really well, qualifying 2nd and finishing 3rd. He also gave me a few tips on how to drive bumpy tracks, as that was all he raced when he lived in the US during college.
I had no idea what tires to start on, so I just ran what I had on my car at the time, Gold Barcodes. I ran these for 3 runs, while learning the layout. The Barcodes weren't hooking up very well, so for my next battery, I tried the following rear tires- M3 Square Fuzzies, Green Double Dees, and Red X-3000's, all paired with M3 wide ribbed fronts. The Square Fuzzies and X-3000's seemed to hook up the most. I was able to get on the gas really hard as long as my car stayed pointed straight! The track was more bumpy/wavy than the tracks I usually race on. Which is good I think, as I get more experience running on this type of surface, but I'm slow compared to the rest of the field :( The dirt at WCRC is 100% clay, and still a little soft I guess, causing it to get a little rutted and bumpy.
Two jumps were giving me issues on the layout. A fast kicker jump that went down hill into a hairpin, and a large double with short takeoff. I was having trouble getting the right speed to hit the kicker, downside the lander, and make the hairpin. I either case, or land long hitting the pipe :( The big double was giving me fits, because I didn't have the punch needed to clear it consistently :( Back in the pits, I decided to gear down my car and tighten my slipper a bit. As it turns out, my slipper was really loose! No wonder I didn't have the punch!
For round 1 I ran the X-3000's, which hooked up really well when sauced, but I still didn't have the punch I wanted. I led the heat for haf the race, but made a mistake and stuffed it into the pipes a few times and caught a rut at the end of the straight and flipped, falling back to 3rd :( In round 2, I went back to my normal gearing, and tightened up my slipper even more! I also switched to my Square Fuzzies, as I wanted to see how they compared to the X-3000's. They felt ok, but my lap times were slower, allowing the leaders to pull away :(
For the main, I went back to my X-3000's as I was able to turn a few fast 29's with these compared to the Squares. I also decided to drop my gear by 1 tooth, and turn my speedo up to profile 8. I had nothing to lose as I had qualified 8th in our 13 car main! I got a good start, moving up to 6th on the 1st lap :) I battled it out for 5th mid race, but made a mistake on the big double that has been giving me problems the whole night, and dropped back to 9th. I was able to catch back up though, and make some passes and finished in 7th.
Andrew did really well, qualifying 2nd and finishing 3rd. He also gave me a few tips on how to drive bumpy tracks, as that was all he raced when he lived in the US during college.
Randomness:
-I need more experience running on bumpy tracks!
-I need to bring a hat to use indoors here, as the glare from the overhead lights made me squint, making it harder to see my car on the backside of the track.
-Need to bring a fan for my pit, as it was freaking hot in there!
-Need to bring a fan for my pit, as it was freaking hot in there!
Andrew gluing up some Panther Raptors
My pit space looking toward the offroad track
View of the offroad track from the onroad track driver's stand
View of the pit area from the onroad driver's stand
Right side of the onroad track
Left side of the onroad track
Left corner of the offroad track
Right corner of the offroad track 
1 comment:
I'm gonna be spending some time at this track...I really like it. I think Danny's a class act and I'm sure they're going to get the off-road track more hooked-up as time goes on. It's super soft clay and I think they had said their plan was to run it dry, but we'll see what happens. I'm definitely considering getting into RCGT because of this track, too...that onroad track is awesome.
Post a Comment