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Old 16-07-2013
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HOTSHOT III HOTSHOT III is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Wimborne, Dorset
Posts: 710
Default Race Report R3 Summer Series 14th July 2013

If this weather goes on much longer the English Channel will become the new Mediterranean!! Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures of 32C and wall-to-wall sunshine, no complaints from me! Some of our cars were slightly less tolerant though, with a glut of thermal ESC overloads and other problems throughout the day.

The 1/10th class was a bit thin this time with the absence of Stumpy, Mark R and one or two others but was interesting as ever nonetheless. Adrian debuted an all-new MIP chassis on his Losi Short Course which looked to reduce the weight and improve the layout of the car considerably, but as can be expected with any major modification it needed a couple of heats to get dialled in meaning Mark D (Losi Ten T) won heat one convincingly with Nick S (Durango DEX410) second. Nick then chose to start using his new car (a 2WD Schumacher Cougar SVR buggy) and went on to take heat 2 with Adrian climbing the leaderboard to come home second whilst Mark D set 1/10th FTD with a 37.552. Nick's new car is designed for use on dirt with the motor hanging out the back a la AE B4, Losi XXX etc. so if it looks like a winner now it should be even better in winter when the track stays damp and slippery all day. In the third and final (1/10th) heat Adrian grabbed the win with Nick S taking another second and Mark D third after problems with overheating.

1/8th group one looked to have the makings of a showdown between winter champ Alex (HPI Vorza) and lap record holder Dave "Block" R (Losi 8Be 2.0 EU) but it didn't quite work out like that. In heat one Alex led for the first half of the race and set FTD of 33.614 only to start crashing and eventually come in last place. This was later traced to the shocks losing their damping mid-race due to the heat and allowed Mark D (Losi 8Te 2.0) to take the win with Dave R second and Simon (Tamiya TRF 801X) to cross the line less than 2 seconds behind Dave in third. Heat two saw Alex take the win after a change to thicker shock oil made the damping more consistent, with Nick S in second after a heat-related DNS in heat one. Simon looked consistent to get another third after a good battle with former employer Nick and Mark D wasn't far behind coming home fourth with Dave R fifth, struggling to get to grips with some Schumacher yellow mini pins which seem to be the best summer tyre around here but generate a lot of grip roll meaning all acceleration, braking and jumping MUST be done in a straight line to get the best from them. Dave did exactly that to improve hugely and garner a well-deserved second place in heat three with Mark D also getting better to come in third, a nail-biting finish where he and Simon crossed the line 57/1000 of a second apart after a race-long duel. Nick S was only two seconds behind these two in fifth place. The final qualifier is always nerve-wracking in any class, it effectively dictates where you'll be on the grid in the final and heat four was no exception. Another win for Alex was followed by Nick S getting his first 9-lapper of the day to finish second, Mark D third, Dave R fourth and Simon pulling out after four laps due to a screw coming out of a steering knuckle allowing a drive shaft to pop out.

Group two saw the newly converted-to-electric Losi 8B 2.0 of Adrian (wonder where he got the ESC and motors?) chasing after the virtually identical car of Nick C in heat one, with Nick C taking first place and Adrian second. Race controller Stu (Associated RC8Te) is still improving (thanks again to partner Hayley for sharing the race control duties so Stu can get more from racing) and came a convincing third with Marty T (Losi 8B 2.0 RTR) fourth and son Steve (Losi 8B 2.0) coming fifth. Heat two was a great race-long four-way battle between Nick, Marty, Adrian and Stu who finished in that order after all completing 8 laps and was nicely rounded off by Steve demonstrating an absolutely perfect 3 + 1 combination over the quad section in only his second race, landing perfectly on the landing ramp so the car didn't even know it had been in the air. Some of our top drivers would've been happy with that! In heat three Marty improved further, getting his first race win after another thrilling duel with Stu (second) and Adrian (third), just over 7 seconds separating these three after which Nick C crossed the line fourth and another good drive from Steve in fifth. By this time anyone not racing in this group was giving these guys a round of applause at the end of every heat due to the entertainment they were providing. Marty continued to dominate in heat four, yet another close race with Nick C second, Adrian third and Stu fourth, all crossing the line in short order.

The 1/10th final was won by Adrian, proving it's possible to turn up with two cars you're unfamiliar with, race two classes and still do well. The MIP chassis looks to have transformed the SC truck and it will be interesting to see the comparison with the stock version, soon to be campaigned by Nick C who did a few practice laps with his newly-built example after the finals. Nick S came home second and Mark D DNF'd after suffering further heat-related problems following a promising start.

As usual it was all to play for in the 1/8th B Final, Nick S led the first part of the race but ultimately wasn't able to hold off a determined challenge from Simon who went on to win and post his first ever 9-lapper, proving once again that a lightweight nitro buggy can put itself right up there with the more powerful but heavier brushless opposition. Dave R suffered a DNS due to stripped servo gears, Nick C came home third with another solid 8-lapper and Steve managed a creditable fourth, a great drive by all considering the by now energy-sapping afternoon heat.

In the A Final pole man Alex got it all wrong over the table top losing three places, but fought back through the chicane only to crash at the next corner and end up in last place on the first lap. Simon capitalised on this and got out in front, leading for most of the race closely followed by Adrian and Mark D. Further down the field Stu had a great battle with Marty. Considering their closeness during the heats it's shaping up into a bit of a grudge match between these two, perhaps if Marty finds he can't beat Stu by fair means he could just tamper with the race control equipment all day to distract him. Alex fought his way back up to second after about three minutes and was challenging Simon for the lead but unfortunately the two cars collided, both ending up crashing as a result. The Vorza was the first back on its wheels and went on to win, Simon coming second after an outstanding drive, starting from last on the grid after winning the bump up. Mark D crossed the line next to come home third, followed by Adrian in fourth, another excellent drive getting to grips with the great gobs of power produced by the 2650KV motor fitted to the new brushless propulsion system (which effectively makes it a new car). As stated Stu and Marty both had a great race finishing fifth and sixth respectively and crossing the line less than four seconds apart.

Man Of The Meeting this time goes to Marty who has only raced 3 times but nonetheless took two wins and made the A Final, it looks like we haven't seen the last of him. It would also appear racing is in the blood if Steve's surgically precise jumping in heat 2 is anything to go by!

As always thanks to everyone involved (including the man upstairs for the weather) for another great day's racing at SCRCCC, Chairman Matt R, Ian R and Stumpy were missed but hopefully we'll see you all next time on the 21st. As always the track will be open on Wednesday evening so come down then for a practice, or see you this Sunday!!

BTW Chas, if you're reading this I noticed you were filming at various points through the day, if you have any pics/footage can you post them up? Thanks!!
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