West Coast RC Supercross, Round 3, 22 heats!?!?

Round 3 of the West Coast Supercross Series was EPIC! 22 heats on a Sunday night, with a start time of 3pm! That's more heats than some JBRL races, which start at 9am! It would be a long night...

I brought out the SC10 for some Mod SC racing along with my T4, to fight some of the boredom. With limited practice time and a new track to learn, I wanted to get some runs in on the "super" layout :) Up first was the T4. I was experimenting with timing and gearing again, running the lowest ratio I had, 87:16, and went out for a 6 minute run. The track wasn't as difficult as the last layout, and the jumps were easy to clear, just needed to get the timing down. When the practice timer went off, I pulled off the track and temped the Murfdogg... 206°F!! I guess I should go back to 10° timing and change the gearing again...

Next was the SC10 with it's LRP 8.5, that I was using at OCRC. Whoaa!! Too much motor! I was over-jumping everything and blew over a few times :( I ended up popping a camber link after a bad landing and pulled it off to change motors. I went to my 10.5, which is the motor limit for the JBRL races anyway... It was way easier to drive :) I was way more consistent too. Not much motor would be needed, since the straight was on the short side... I was also trying a new camber link location on the rear of the SC10, using 1-A with 1 washer. This would give me more camber gain, so that the rear tire wouldn't roll under the wheel so much, breaking the rear loose in medium to high speed corners. It's also supposed to lessen the chassis roll, which is good for this high CG truck. I guess it worked since I felt like I was pushing in the lower speed turns now. I changed over from red front springs to golds, hoping to get a tick more steering.

I spent the controlled practice runs learning the track and dialing in my gearing on both trucks. I think I ended up with a 75:24 ratio for the T4 and 81:21 for the SC10 for round 1 of qualifying. Which took 3hrs!! Lots of time to clean tires...

Round 1 in Stock Truck was a gift! :) I started on the pole due to random number assignments and heads up start qualifying. I ran away from the field, taking the win and setting the TQ (which only lasted 7 minutes, lol). I dropped down to 3rd qualifier when Bisbee and Koch went faster than my time in heat 2 of Stock Truck. Mod SC was also a gift, as I started on the pole again :) I only lead for a lap though, giving up the lead when I landed short in the rhythm jump section and ended up on my roof. A quick marshal job almost saved me, except for the fact that he flipped me over facing the wrong way! :( I had to spin around and jump some pipes to get going again, now in the back of the field.. I was able to catch back up though, eventually finishing in 4th. I would be qualified in 7th, after all 3 heats of Mod SC were run.

Round 2 (3hrs later) would be tough. After the gift of starting up front in round 1, it was time to pay up, by starting last in both classes this time around. In Stock Truck, I would be stuck in the back of the pack. I did get to race Ran for a few laps, which was fun, but got hacked in the back of the pack and couldn't break away. I end up finishing 6th, and dropping to 5th in the A Main. I had a much better run in Mod SC though :) I hung back on the start, and slowly picked off a truck or 2 at a time, eventually working my way up to 3rd :) I even caught the 2nd place truck in the closing laps and passed him! Even though, I still dropped to 9th in the A Main. Not too bad I guess, since this class would be going up to a C main!

The Stock Truck Main was a mess! (for me anyway) Starting 5th and on the inside, due to the Supercross staggered starting grid, I crossed my fingers, hoping I could make it out without getting tangled up. I did anyway, and came out of the the mess in last place. I should have committed to going to the outside of the turn on the start, to miss the pile up. At least I wouldn't have turned right into the pile up, if I was already thinking of going to the outside. After getting stuck on a pipe a lap later, the field disappeared off in the distance :( and I cruised around in the back, hoping somebody would crash or break, allowing me to catch back up. I end up in 9th. My Murfdogg 17.5 still felt fast though :) Throwout score again... My Mod SC Main went better, as I was able to get a cleaner start. I didn't get hit, but I did get stuck on a pipe :( I battled in the back of the pack, not being able to move up very much. I think I ended up in 8th, but didn't check the race results, as I wanted to go home, as it was almost 1am, and I still had an hour 20 minute drive back to San Diego :(

NOTES:
-22 heats = 3hrs per round = home at 2:30am :( Bring on Saturday night offroad racing!
-No water between rounds + late races since I made both A Mains for my classes = slick dry track for the mains! Should have changed to a pin tire instead of bar tire in Stock Truck for the main...
-Going to move the SC10's front upper shock mount to the inner hole to get more steering. If need more steering, add 1 washer under rear ball studs.
-They need to put chairs out on the track in the marshal spots which block the view of the turns on the onroad side of the track.
-Ran was a good sport willing to come out and race and hang out with me till the end, since I made both A mains. He had tough time in qualifying, finishing in the back of the pack each round. He qualified 2nd in the B main and didn't even realize he finished 3rd! lol!
-Ran was also so bored from running 1 class and not needing to do much work on his truck that he shot vids of my SC races and Stock Truck A Main :) using the video mode on his digital still camera. I also shot his main for him. See the vids below:











Round 4 of the Supercross Finals, is up this Sunday. Will I be able to move past Brian Halverson for 2nd in Stock Truck? Can I at least hold on to 3rd? Will I get any Race Bucks? Stay tuned!!!