JBRL Round 1 this weekend!

Round 1 of the 2010 Electric JBRL series is this weekend!

I will be out at the track Friday for practice/racing and saving a pit for myself for the weekend. Unfortunately, I will not be able to save a pit for any of my friends not racing Friday night, since only people racing Friday can save a pit for Sat/Sun. Sorry!

New West Coast Offroad Hours!

West Coast has changed their weekend offroad racing start times! These new hours should make for getting home at a more reasonable hour.

Saturday- open 10am, racing at 6pm!
Sunday- open 10am, racing at 1pm!

:)

West Coast RC Supercross, Round 4- Finals, *LIVE FROM THE TRACK!*

*LIVE FROM THE TRACK!*
-Not as many people here as last Sunday. I was even able to park close!
-Tried driving from the end of the stand farthest from the ramp. Felt too wierd, so I moved back to my normal spot for the 2nd run with my T4.
-Ha! 1/8 controlled practice is running right now and there's only 1 car on the track. What a waste.
-Motor temps are good so far on both the T4 and SC10.
-Finished 3rd run on T4. Felt ok. Motor temp was 163F.
-Nice somebody remembered to water the track this time, so it won't turn into a dust bowl again.
-Missed SC practice session, because I thought only 4wd SC as up, not all SC trucks. At least I already put in 4 runs with my T4 :)
-WTF?! It just got really cold in here all of a sudden...
-Hungry now. Waiting for the free food or lunch truck.
-Got 2 free hot dogs and somes fries from the lunch truck.
-Controlled practice is over for me. I think I'll gear down 1 tooth in each truck for racing since both felt soft on acceleration.
-Thinking of trying 20deg timing again, with P6 on the SPX, just to see if that will cool the motor down. Not today though, next race...
-Wooohoo! Only 15 heats today, so I should be home around midnight, hopefully.
-Just finished 6th in Stock Truck with a 10:05. Lots of fast guys tonight. Motor temped at 173.5F. Going to gear down to a 25.
-Broke a front arm on the SC10 for round 1 of Mod SC. Yay! Fun!
-Broke on 1st lap while in 2nd place in Round 2 of Stock Truck, and just finished 5th in Mod SC after battling with Jeff Kulp. Qualified 8th in both classes. At least I made the A for Mod SC, as Stock Truck only has 1 heat tonite.
-Lost a titanium ball stud out on the track when my T4 broke :( No spare 30deg caster blocks in my pit box or the shop, so I guess I'm switching to 25deg.. Maybe I'll go faster?
-Bill Koch (the truck I hit when I broke because he was parked on the straight) was able to find a 30deg caster block, so I could fix my truck for the main. Thanx Bill!
-Finished 7th in Stock Truck and 4th in Mod SC. Watching big air contest and waiting to see where I will finish in the points....
-Back home now. Ended up 4th in the points for Stock Truck and have no idea how I did in Mod SC... boo!
-Points have been posted. Lost 3rd in Stock Truck by 1pt! :( Finished 9th in Mod SC while only running 2 races...

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!!!

West Coast RC Supercross, Round 2

Last Sunday was round 2 of the West Coast Supercross Series! I came out early to get more practice runs in before controlled practice started, limiting your runs. Thankfully, I was able to put in about 4 runs before controlled practice started at 11:30am.

I used these runs to adjust my gearing for my Murfdogg with its new rotor. I started at a 75:24 ratio, but the motor kept running hot! It always came off at 195-205°F after a 6 min run. I dropped the gear 2 teeth every run until I was at 84:18 and a motor temp of 226°F!! with only 1 practice run to go! I was about to switch back to my Orion motor, having pulled the Murfdogg from the truck, but realized I could just turn the timing back down to 10°. Doh! I reset the timing and reinstalled the Murf just in time for the last controlled practice session of the day. I left the gearing at 84:18, to see if the timing change would make any difference in the motor temp. I temped in at 150°F!!! Wow! That timing change made a huge difference! For round 1 I geared back up to 84:20, aiming for a temp of 170-180°F.

There were some heavy hitters in Stock Truck this week! Kevin Smith and Robert Drew were now running, both are super fast! Along with the fast guys from last week, Bill Koch and Brian Halverson. I didn't have the greatest run but, I did turn a 19.937 lap! Too bad the leaders turned 19.5 :( I was running in 4th, pulling in Bill Koch in 3rd. I caught him, but crashed, just as I got close enough to try a pass :( He pulled away again, and I ended up in 4th.

In round 2, I had to start in the back of the grid. I took it easy on the start, but some yellow truck didn't, nailing the gas and spinning out right in front of me! I had no place to go and ran into him. Then, while trying to get going again, this yellow truck hits me a few more times, since he is all over the place, and can't hold his line!@ WTF! dude! I have a super long 1st lap, and try way too hard to make up the time I lose at the start, crashing at least 3 times, and making a bunch of bobbles, finishing 7th. I couldn't improve on my time from round 1, but at least only 1 guy goes faster than my time, so I end up 5th on the grid for the A main.

When we grid up for the main, I see a new truck at the back of the grid. The black truck with pink wheels of Brandon Feige. Where did he come from? He didn't run any of the qualifiers... I would end up racing him for 3rd though! I get an awesome start again, as the top cars weren't ready for the start, and I was! This has happened to me a few times at West Coast, but I've learned my lesson, and now ignore all commotion going on once I'm gridded up for the start. I move up to 3rd, then 2nd, by the end of the 1st lap! I only stay there for 2 laps though, as while going through the quads, I have to double-double, while the 2 trucks behind me do the quad! A bobble in the next corner and just like that I'm down to 4th! :( I stay close enough to Brandon and trade back 3rd with him a few times, but we tangle up a few times too, losing ground on the leaders. By halfway into the race, I make it back up to 3rd, but a bunch of mistakes in the closing laps, allows 2 trucks to pass me, and I end up in 5th on the last lap! :( Doh! I was over driving again, trying to pull away from 4th and catch Bill, as I had to finish in front of him to take the lead in the points. Bill takes the win and 100 points. Brian finishes in 2nd and was the TQ, so he also gets 100 points. I finish 5th with 96 points (hopefully my throwout score). So after 2 rounds the top 3 in points are Bill-200, Brian-198, and me with 196.

Observations:
-Holy crap everyone was fast this weekend. Last week lap times were 20-21s, this time 19.5-18.9!!! My fastest lap was 19.822.
-A Thunder Power 40c 5000mah lipo blew up in some guys car that was pitting next to me! Pouring out white magic smoke and making a huge cloud. The guy said it was already damaged, but he kept using it, since it was still working.... Tsktsktsk
-Controlled practice was a waste! 1hr between runs, and some sessions had only a few cars out on the track, while others were packed! I still think a que system would work better.
-For round 3, I'm going back to 20° timing! I found a 87 spur in my extra parts at home. So, I will be starting at 87:17, the lowest ratio I have! If that runs over 170°, I guess I'll be going back to 10° timing.
-Theme for me for the night was over driving :( With all the fast guys in the race, I had to do something to cut my laps times. I was sending it ddddeeepppp into the turn at the end of the straight, not letting off until I was entering the short chute. Last week I was slowing down entering this turn. I think everyone figured this out though, as by the mains, almost everyone was turning sub 20 sec laps. While I did cut my lap times, I ended up crashing more, since I was trying so hard, which killed my race times :( Too bad we don't qualify using fastest laps... I need to find a happy medium between turning fast laps and driving conservative enough to not wreck.
-Kevin has rotten luck again! :( He puffed an SMC pack in round 1 then broke his steering servo in round 2 :( He had just bought 2 new Racers Edge 40C 5000mah packs to replace his puffed SMC and didn't feel like spending more money on a new servo, when he had a perfectly good one at home, so he sat out his main. He also got robbed in the big air contest! He almost pulled off a back flip, getting the biggest crowd reaction, until another guy just went really big and long, which the crowd seemed to liked better. My question is, why didn't anyone else try a back flip? It should be easy'ish with a 4wd car. Also, what happened to a whip? It's really easy, as all you do is turn the front wheels. The trick is to flatten the car back out for the landing. Which is key to pulling off a trick anyway, otherwise you're just wrecking :)

So, on to Round 3 of the Supercross Series! And from the looks of the track, it will be "super" with a true supercross layout put in for the last 2 rounds. I can't wait to get to the track on Sunday, and get some practice laps in! And oh ya, this time I will try and save you a pit spot next to the fence Kevin :)