Club racing class

[HarlowS]

Following on from earlier post regarding tyre wear, just thought it would be interesting to see what drivers would choose given the choice.

Lets exclude nationals and regional events and think about club meetings, summer series and winter series etc. Also, without worrying about how to police this, i'm just curious on what people would opt for.



Class 1 would be Open modified, so any motor or tyre, pretty much the same as we are racing now.

Class 2 would be 'Control' modified where you could run any motor but limited to a harder wearing tyre, like a Pinpoint or Blue Dart tyre for example.

Class 3 would be 'Control' stock where you would run a 10.5 or 13.5 motor along with a harder wearing tyre as above.

[J_WOODY]

Southport already run a 10.5 class using schumacher block tyres, tyres last much longer than in the modified class that is run on the same days.
I've run the stock class myself but prefer to run mod using tyres that have previously been used for a regional

[chrispattinson]

Open, it means I dont need to change motor or tyres to go and have fun at the club. I wouldn't bother with club racing if it was so controlled requiring specific gear. It also means little Johnny can turn up with his 'whatever' car and tyres and join in. Club racing needn't be so serious and controlled.

[HarlowS]

This isnt about changing the hobby, just giving choice. Little Johnny will still be able to race in the open class and have fun if he wishes, but if there were both classes available, what would people book in for ??? :)


Open, it means I dont need to change motor or tyres to go and have fun at the club. It also means little Johnny can turn up with his 'whatever' car and tyres and join in. Club racing needn't be so serious and controlled.

[JohnM]

The problem with having a “stock” style lower powered control motor, is that people will just spend the money they used to spend on tyres, on lightweight bits, or puck drives, or any other the other things that the Americans seems to throw money at in 13.5 racing.

It just becomes a different style or arms race, charging at mega amps as well.

[HarlowS]

Agreed, which is why i threw Control modified into the mix.
;)

The problem with having a “stock” style lower powered control motor, is that people will just spend the money they used to spend on tyres, on lightweight bits, or puck drives, or any other the other things that the Americans seems to throw money at in 13.5 racing.

It just becomes a different style or arms race, charging at mega amps as well.

[RobW]

I would suggest going down the controlled motor route will just lead to a huge increase in power costs dwafting any savings on tyres.

At the moment I can run year old £40 lipos and £30 secondhand motors and still have too much power for my ability.

Start restricting the motor turn and we will start getting people buying fresh lipos every 6 months and buying the new "motor of the month" as we all try and get that last bit of power. Just look at GT12 where we have a surplus of grip over available power.

[RobW]

Doh - spent too long writing my comment and John got in before me:blush:

[Danosborne6661]

Class 3 for me as the second option is too close to the class that already exists except firmer tyres.

13.5t motors and Schumacher Mini-spikes would make a great stock class

[cjm_2008]

In my experience a control motor needs to be exactly that - a bulk discount deal with a supplier for a number of identical motors. Over in the states the blinky classes have become an arms race. Even here in GT12 it's gotten a bit stupid with £90 motors!

[BuggyRacer]

In my experience a control motor needs to be exactly that - a bulk discount deal with a supplier for a number of identical motors. Over in the states the blinky classes have become an arms race. Even here in GT12 it's gotten a bit stupid with £90 motors!

You wouldn't need to buy the latest 10.5/13.5 to be competitive in offroad that you may need in GT12, the grip levels and track difficulties are a large limiting factor.

It would be good to offer the two options to club racers. Interesting to hear Southport are already doing this!

[Tom3012]

Once you’ve bought your lightweight stuff your done though surely?

Southports 10.5 class is as busy if not busier than the open mod class! When you look at lap times etc it’s so close, there are multiple drivers all challenging for the top spot rather than 1 or 2 and it’s the slow throughout the whole field!

I like running both mod and 10.5, this year they’re on the same day so I’ve opted to run 10.5. Closer racing and much more fun IMO because of it!

[xfactor]

Interesting Poll HarlowS.

Class 3 for me. !!

More about your driving and set up, than the money. Be like the Radio Race Car series back in the day. (Standard and Modified).

:thumbsup:

[Yorkiebar]

People will always find a way to get an unfair advantage though.

I recall the Tamiya Challenge champs in 1986 - silver can Mabuchi only, yet some supposed "untouched" sealed ones were almost twice as fast down the straight. Wasn't down to gearing either.

[claymoreman]

at manor we have run a limited motor class of 10.5t and yeah the 6.5t guys hammer us down the main straight when we do mix up the classes but in the infield the 10.5t cars have the advantage so the lap times are comparable between the club racers. yes if we get the fast guys in there they are faster but the majority are just club racers so having 10.5t motors in every car makes for good racing more fun as you make a mistake and you can lose your spot and then have to drive more smoothly to make it up and none of our cars have light weight options on them they mainly pure kit built cars with the odd upgrade.

[Ashlandchris]

I’ve only ever run a 10.5 anyway. With 3yr old lipos
More power than I can handle

[RogerM]

Control tire with modified as it would mean none of the expensive items change just the (all too) disposable tires.

[jamie5974]

my local club run a stock class on club nights,
being 10.5 blinky motors and what ever tyre you want.
brings the speed down and brings the fun up!
when i attend i run in that class and normally the racing is super close and super fun.
claiming that people would then go and buy top end motors to gain speed dose not seem to happen at the club for the stock class.
as i run a 5 year old gm 10.5!

just to add, a few people run cactus rear and some run mini pin.

[daz75]

It's fun watching my lads run 17.5t Motors against much faster cars one of my.lads won his final by just out driving the overly fast cars on the in field

Id stick to modified tho

[Dave Dodd]

id say op3 but with open tyre.

weve had mixed motors at our track and its only down the straight that you actually notice.

to keep costs down clubs could list allowed motors

[Wacker 3]

Definitely Option 3 for me as like Xfactor says its about driving and setup not how fast the car goes. Reminds me of the the Old Radio Race Car 27 Turn Stock Class which had close racing and was great fun

[Danosborne6661]

Looks like there's a lot of call for clubs to a stock class, with both options having more than double the votes the open class has. Good to hear some clubs already are too

[cjm_2008]

10.5t blinky at Caldicot has delivered some of the best racing I've ever experienced.

There are normally at least 4 people in contention, with lap times separated by hundredths. Often we're running within a couple of tenths of the modified classes. It's improved my driving immensely, because mistakes are punished hard :thumbsup:

[Groomi]

Option 2 - Control Modified sounds good.

Using harder tyres reduces consumable costs and means you don't need loads of sets of wheels just for club racing. You can then choose to still run your crazy 5.5T if you want to but it won't necessarily give you an advantage over somebody running a sensible 10.5T.

The obvious downside is that if the same venue is being used as a regional/national at a later date, then there is little value in people going to earlier club meetings just to gain some set-up knowledge - so in some circumstances it may reduce the number of racers at some meetings compared to what you currently have.

[HarlowS]

As mentioned previously, this isnt about replacing a class or changing racing. Open class would always be available for locals or visitors to race in, but it would encourage other drivers by having a cheaper option.

Offer both classes and let people choose :)

[dodgydiy]

would have to say totally open. not for cost control or anything though. we get a good few kids, newcomers and visitors at our club, with all sorts of different car/ tyre/ motor combinations. newcomers need to be encouraged to come to clubs not be turned away by restrictive classes. stock classes were never cheap to run in either, it was the one class you could guarantee that all the top drivers used new tyres every race, a different motor every race and the most expensive batteries available.

[cjm_2008]

open but with a hardwearing tyre seems to make a lot of sense.

People will naturally end up running softer motors to compensate, and it would be possible to make tyres last a lot longer.