Team Durango - UK Winter Series

[jimmy]

http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/misc/news/rangowinter.jpg
(http://www.team-durango.com/)

(http://www.team-durango.com/)
Team Durango (http://www.team-durango.com/) are pleased to announce that we will be hosting our inaugural indoor, off-road winter race series at the Ardent Raceway (http://www.ardentracing.com/raceway/index.php), Donington, England.
(http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/td-winter-series-2010/ardent-racewaylogo.jpg)http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/cache/302__320x240_ardent-racewaylogo.jpg (http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/td-winter-series-2010/ardent-racewaylogo.jpg)
Ardent Raceway are already one of the UKs premier indoor on-road racing venues. The facilities and professionalism of the staff are excellent, which is why Team Durango have chosen the venue for our first ever off-road series. Ardent Raceway have also been chosen as the hosts for next year’s prestigious PetitRC (http://race.petitrc.com/) race on the 15^th and 16^th January, which will see many World-class drivers competing in an always well attended, high-class, event.


The dates for the Team Durango Winter series:

Round 1 – October 31^st 2010

Round 2 – November 28^th 2010

Round 3 – December 19^th 2010

Round 4 – February 27^th 2011

Round 5 – March 20^th 2011




(The best three rounds will count towards the Title. Each round will consist of three qualifying rounds and three finals, with the best two finals added together to determine overall positions.)
For each of the five rounds the Ardent Raceway team will be converting the Raceway into a 480sq.mtr off-road multi-surface buggy track. They will paint a track layout on the wooden floor and mix-in grit to give a bit of grip in areas, then lay a combination of astroturf and carpet with smooth wooden jumps to simulate jumps seen on outdoor tracks, which means four different types of surface on one track. This will be a real test of drivers’ skill.
The track will be available from 14:00 on the Saturday before each round for practice and will cost £5 for four hours, and the track will remain open until 22:00.


Who is racing?
Adam Skelding (http://www.team-durango.com/blog/?p=1569) (UK Team Manager for Team Durango), Nathan Waters (Winner of the 4WD 2010 oOple Invernational (http://www.oople.com/forums/../rc/photos/ooplerace2010/)) and other Team Durango UK drivers will be racing at this series. They will all be available to help and answer any set-up questions you may have about your Team Durango DEX410 or DEX410R.

(http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/td-winter-series-2010/dex410-logo.jpg) Controlled Tyres:
The controlled Tyres for the event will be dBoots (http://www.dboots.com/) Terrabyte and Schumacher Mini Pin. Both types of tyre will be available to buy from the on-site Ardent Raceway shop.

(http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/td-winter-series-2010/db-pl-logo-01.jpg) Single class entry (2WD, 4WD or Sort Course):Click Here (http://www.ardentracing.com/shop/eventsandservices/team-durango-indoor-winter-series/team-durango-winter-series-booking-1-formula.html)

(http://www.ardentracing.com/shop/eventsandservices/team-durango-indoor-winter-series/team-durango-winter-series-booking-1-formula.html)
Multiple class entry (2WD / 4WD / Short Course):Click Here (http://www.ardentracing.com/shop/eventsandservices/team-durango-indoor-winter-series/team-durango-winter-series-booking-2-formula.html)

(http://www.ardentracing.com/shop/eventsandservices/team-durango-indoor-winter-series/team-durango-winter-series-booking-2-formula.html)
End of series raffle:
For each round you enter you will be given a raffle ticket for an end-of-series grand prize draw.
Prizes include: High speed passenger rides in the Kick Energy (http://www.youtube.com/kickenergy) Rally Cars, free drinks, VIP access to the Kick Energy Rally Show at Chatsworth 2011, Hot air balloon rides (Weather Permitting), dBoots (http://www.dboots.com/) tyres and a Team Durango DEX410R (http://www.team-durango.com/race-cars/dex410r/) kit!

(http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/td-winter-series-2010/dex410r-logo.jpg) Winners of all formulas get VIP tickets to the Kick Energy Rally Show at Chatsworth 2011.

(http://www.team-durango.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/td-winter-series-2010/kick-energy.jpg) There will also be extra raffle tickets for Fastest Laps, Winners, Best Marshals. Concourse Prizes and more!!
It’s going to be an awesome event, so book early to avoid disappointment.

[Danny McGee]

Eh,

All i want to do is book in.......... I dont want to order anything :cry:

I'm tired and want it to be made simple. Is it saying that its fully booked for the first one or something.

[lotussmart]

This is easier :-)

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/booking.php

[GRIFF55]

sounds good!! wil there be track pics beforehand please?

[lotussmart]

Hi Griff55,

The track is in constant use until the Friday before so we won't have picks of the track in it's completed form as it will be constructed Friday from 22:00 until 13:00 on Saturday (Hopefully earlier), but we should have a drawing and some pics of the ramps as they are being constructed beforehand. We are using the previous Petit RC events such as the last Paris event as inspiration. 15% big jumps, 45% touring car sections 40% small bumps and multi surface ranging from Carpet, OSB boards, Fibre board slippy side up and rough side up. 30m carpet straight in front of rostrum and a wall of death. Ramps will be smooth gradients and we will have a good size crossover. You will be able to practice from 13:00 on Saturday but feel free to turn up earlier in case we have done it a bit quicker than we expected or if you want to give us a hand in return for free practice.

Hope that helps :-)

[RogerM]

I must say I'm really looking forward to this (and as a rule I don't like carpet racing!).

What time will it be possible to practice till on the Saturday, I work till at least 13:00 then it's a good 2 hour+ drive to get there.

Can you recomend any cheap b&bs / hotels if I were to come and practice on the Saturday?

[GRIFF55]

thanks lotus:thumbsup:

[lotussmart]

Go to www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries and click on Hotels. some of the Travel Lodges are as low as £15 at weekends, the closest to the track is at the bottom of the list, the Hardinge Arms. It's a 2 minute walk from the front door and the rooms are lovely. Say Ardent Racing and you'll get a discount.

[lotussmart]

Went to the track this morning and the bumps are starting to grow from the seeds we planted, should be fully grown by the 31st!! We also planted table tops, crossovers and multi surface seeds.

Can't wait, on-road drivers don't like them though :-) :thumbsup:

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/small%20bumps.jpg


http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/small%20bumps2.jpg

[James]

Hi There,

Coming on nicely..
Does the first round count for points for the series?

[lotussmart]

Team Durango have requested that it is a series round and that it does count, and as it is their show and we are the hosts we have to support it, contractual reasons. It's up to individuals to make the decision on whether they attend round 1 or not. best 3 to count so you can afford to miss two. Plenty of options.

[dbizzle5]

Looking good!:thumbsup:

[GRIFF55]

that does look a nice jump. i'd like to see the surface changes!:thumbsup:

[lotussmart]

That will be on the day, but they are mainly Hardboard, grippy side up and slippy side up, positioned to make the track technical in places :-)

[carlin]

Can anyone come on the Saturday to practice or have we got to be attending the Sunday?

[lotussmart]

Our policy at Ardent is every one can enjoy it and that we never turn away business. You can come and practice on the Saturday before the Durango series even if you are not racing in the series. Cost is £5 for 4 hours. As much time on or off as you like. All we ask is there's no nitros and on this particular weekend, no on-road cars. ;-)

You can also get a sneaky practice in Monday Morning too until lunchtime, but please let me know if this is of interest to you, otherwise we will stay in bed :-).

[/tobys]

Is the cafe open during the Saturday practice? :woot:

[/tobys]

..and the shop (for buying race day tyres and emergency spares!)?

[carlin]

Sounds good to me will have to try get down on the Saturday then.

But one questions wat are these tires - dBoots (http://www.dboots.com/) Terrabyte???

[/tobys]

good question! where, when, how much and how do they go?!

Yellow mini-pins are still the other control tyre though, right?

[lotussmart]

Ok the answer some questions :-)

1) Cafe will it be open on the Saturday? Yes
2) Shop will that be open on the Saturday? Yes
3) DBoot Terrabytes are a new tyre being launched by Team Durango. Haven't run them yet but have seen the prototype. No info yet but they will be similar to the cost of mini pins I believe.
4) Schumacher mini pins will still be a control tyre too? yes, so you have the choice of two :-) But which will be the better tyre? There's only one way to find out..........

[reg]

FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:woot:

[wes j.]

Can't wait for this :thumbsup:.

[Rob_B]

Can only durangos race at this meeting?

[/tobys]

nahh, you can run anything mate :)

[reg]

except snouring cars:p

[lotussmart]

Spoiler for Sunday. Remember Saturday Practice from 12:00 (maybe earlier if you are happy to take the risk, you may have to stay in the pits until track is completely ready). saying that I am confident we will have completed in the early hours of Saturday morning.

More ramp pictures will go up during the week as they are completed :-) Hope you like them.

John.

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/tabletophairpin.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/tabletophairpin1.jpg

[/tobys]

Top job there John!!!

Roll on Sunday :thumbsup:

[spenner]

Is practice still available till 10pm???

[lotussmart]

Yep, 17:30 until 22:00 would cost another £5.

[lotussmart]

How do you delete an old post? just answered an old question by accident and now i'm stuck with this pointless post that I can edit but can't delete :-)

[Smartalec]

Not 100 per cent sure but I think if you delete everything from it using edit then it wipes itself (think that's right but not sure) :confused:

[lotussmart]

Not 100 per cent sure but I think if you delete everything from it using edit then it wipes itself (think that's right but not sure) :confused:

it wants a minimum of 4 characters, that's just enough for just one swear word ;-)

[GRIFF55]

how about some of these ........! lol

track is looking very good, what are the non carpeted surfaces like?

[lotussmart]

how about some of these ........! lol

track is looking very good, what are the non carpeted surfaces like?

We have sheets of hardboard and will most likely have them slippy side up on a couple of corners. We also have some plastic sheeting (with direction arrows on which we thought was really funny :-) and we are thinking of doing a couple of double bumps, with the slippy stuff in-between, so you have the choice of steady over the two, or gun the first one to clear the second but you land on slippy :-).

The slippy stuff will be stuck down this Friday night :-) Had a quick run with my Durango and I now can not wait until Sunday, even thinking of running a regular weekly club race for buggies on foams.

John.

[PaulUpton]

Really gutted i cant make the first round, track looking like it will be ace :thumbsup:

[hazeandfizz]

Looking good.

[lotussmart]

Another Spoiler, Wall of Death. 4.8m x 2.4m 1.3m of vert. :-)

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/wallofdeath.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/wallofdeath1.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/wallofdeath2.jpg

[lotussmart]

Look who's racing:

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/bookedin.php

[dbizzle5]

Looks freakin ace! What are the grip levels like on the carpet?

[simoncrabb]

AWESOME work John! The more I see of Ardent the more I want a big shed of my own!

I can't wait to give it a try on Saturday, it's gonna be a brilliant weekend.

[mikeyscott]

Christ that looks steep on the wall of death!

[RogerM]

Another Spoiler, Wall of Death. 4.8m x 2.4m 1.3m of vert. :-)



http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/wallofdeath1.jpg




All I want to know is do you have the catchers mitts, safety helmets and ladder that is going to be required to marshal "Big Air" if he's racing? :D

[lotussmart]

Quote: dbizzle5 - Looks freakin ace! What are the grip levels like on the carpet?

Grip levels are extremely high, however we will have slippy sections. the grip on the wall of death if you keep the car low is brilliant due to the gravity pushing down on the car, go a bit too high and you are JUST touching cloth in more than one way :-)

[dbizzle5]

Thought it might be! I bet new tyres will be handfull. Cant wait for Saturday. Well done John and Mr P.:thumbsup:

[lotussmart]

Guys,

Here's the heat list for this Sunday - Anything missing? Wrong Heat? in when you shouldn't be, missing off the list? let me know!!

[email protected]

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/heatlist.php

[Spencer Mulcahy]

Just booked in for the second and last round this looks like a very well run place and the video is well handy looking foreward to it.:thumbsup:

[lotussmart]

OK Updated Heatlist taking in all feedback :-) Let me know if there is anything else, and if you have ?????? against your name in the frequency column then please email me your frequency.

[email protected]

New Heatlists at

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/heatlist.php

[DaveG28]

All I want to know is do you have the catchers mitts, safety helmets and ladder that is going to be required to marshal "Big Air" if he's racing? :D

Indeed, Louis would be serious about going through the roof!:thumbsup:

[Smartalec]

OK Updated Heatlist taking in all feedback :-) Let me know if there is anything else, and if you have ?????? against your name in the frequency column then please email me your frequency.

[email protected]

New Heatlists at

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/heatlist.php
Still in the wrong class John :confused:

[lotussmart]

Sorry, did all the emails, forgot to do Oople messages. Hang on.

[lotussmart]

How's that? Updated.

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/heatlist.php

[PaulUpton]

I can't make it now, am in for 2wf

[Smartalec]

PM'd John :)

[Smartalec]

I can't make it now, am in for 2wf
What's 2wf? ........... is that something new on the Cougar? :p

[reg]

What's 2wf? ........... is that something new on the Cougar? :p

2wf**K its broken again:p

[IceMike]

ok this may have been asked already, but is there tables and chairs and power supplied??

[carlin]

ok this may have been asked already, but is there tables and chairs and power supplied??

Doh read & watch video on the link http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/heatlist.php

[IceMike]

to my defence i have only ever looked at the site at work where i dont have sound to watch that viedo. looks good though :P

[DaveG28]

Am I right in thinking it's doors open 7.30, first race 9am? Would turning up around 8.15 be ok in that case??

Also, anyone going who uses Moore SpeedLipo's, if so I wouldn't mind checking the sizes of them etc??

[MattW]

Spoke to Andy M the other day and he was going, so you should be ok for finding some! Some of the Ardent lads run them as well - think John and Ian do.

[mikeyscott]

How many practiced today? How was the track? Hope to make it up north before the end of 2010!

[QuackingPlums]

Lots of people there today. Some evil ramps (especially the tabletop/crossover!) but once you get used to them it is awesome fun. Lots of different surfaces and textures to test your suspension setups!

[dbizzle5]

Ive heard the table top crossover has been removed aswell as the mats.:thumbsup:

[sime46]

Table top came out before I left. Track was not good with it in. Loads of people were crashing. Should be better without it tho.

[mikeyscott]

Any pics or videos?

Glad killer features come out as wrecking cars isn't racing.

[QuackingPlums]

Really? So the layout must have changed then? In a way I'm glad it wasn't just me having trouble with it - it would have been fine if there wasn't a hard left immediately after! Stripped three servo horns and a saver today and I was only there for an hour!

What was wrong with the mats?

[mikeyscott]

Really? So the layout must have changed then? In a way I'm glad it wasn't just me having trouble with it - it would have been fine if there wasn't a hard left immediately after! Stripped three servo horns and a saver today and I was only there for an hour!

What was wrong with the mats?

Ouch! Lots of spares required then.

Shop doing good trade!

What car was it?

[LRP]

the mats have not been moved but the tabletop/crossover has ,
much better without :thumbsup: never seen a tabletop with the down/upramp so steep :blush:

[QuackingPlums]

Ouch! Lots of spares required then.

Shop doing good trade!

What car was it?

I think there's something up with my servo tbh - putting new servo arms on it just to prolong the inevitable! :p
Mine's a Cat SX, so no servo saver (by design?) and not really room to fit one...

[mikeyscott]

How was it, who won? Pics and video?

[IceMike]

Umm robo came third in 4wd! thats all i really remember of the A :P i won the D, go me! Great days racing, cant wait to go to the next one. Dont know where the raffle tickets were that we were all told about though, did i miss something??

[lotussmart]

Umm robo came third in 4wd! thats all i really remember of the A :P i won the D, go me! Great days racing, cant wait to go to the next one. Dont know where the raffle tickets were that we were all told about though, did i miss something??

oh bugger! What a day!! Computer packed up and I forgot to hand out the raffle tickets! Nobody mentioned it, not once, otherwise it would have made me realise. Draw is at the end of the series, so will give those today at round 2 or the next round you come to the raceway.

Sorry peeps. Results are going up now at www.ardentracing.com/raceway/results.php

[LRP]

had a great day's racing and my son enjoyed it to , i did wounder about raffle
lol
:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[simoncrabb]

How was it, who won? Pics and video?

Patience Mikey, it was still going when you posted!

Ace weekend, thanks to the Ardent crew for the great venue. And thanks to the Durango boys for putting up with me :-)

My report and photos are here:

http://rclazy.com/2010/10/31/team-durango-winter-series-at-ardent-raceway-race-day/

[DaveG28]

Patience Mikey, it was still going when you posted!

Ace weekend, thanks to the Ardent crew for the great venue. And thanks to the Durango boys for putting up with me :-)

My report and photos are here:

http://rclazy.com/2010/10/31/team-durango-winter-series-at-ardent-raceway-race-day/

Good stuff mate :thumbsup:

[quarter throttle]

Good weekend at first wasnt to kean on the track but it kinda grew on me ... well done to the ardent lot for organisings a good days racing :)

Ash

[RogerM]

What can I say, fantastic weekend for me and can't wait to get back for the next one........ Yes, you read that right ... Mr "carpet racing is rubbish compared with ‘proper’ off-road" Mills saying he really enjoyed the track! Actually not just the track but the venue, Sarah even said she enjoyed being there ... on our anniversary as well!

So glad that table top / crossover monster was removed as I could only see it resulting in lots of marshalling problems as there was no "safe option" if you arrived there to find a marshal's head in the way of the landing!

A Perspex top or similar would have sorted that out, make the landing (and take off??) ramp shallower and thus longer and I am sure it would be good to drive.

Well done to all those involved though, track worked well in my opinion with a few "risk-n-reward" sections and the rest flowing quite well.
For a first attempt at a buggy track I think they deserve a lot of praise, better than many established indoor buggy clubs put on in my opinion.

If I may make a small observation of an opportunity for improvement it is the corner markings on some sections. There was a lot of tape on the carpet and some of it meant it was hard to judge where the track markings finished and the tape began, especially as the light dimmed late on. A bit of red marking tape on the apexes would have prevented that. Just a standard on-going personal gripe for indoor tracks as my eyes get older ;)


Not sure they will want us back though after the amount of carpet fluff we created.... is there any thread left on that carpet?

[hazeandfizz]

Well done Team Ardent, top weekend.

Thanks,
James.

[HarlowS]

Yep, had a good days racing and really enjoyed it. But as Roger said, painting the corner of ther track markings a brighter colour would be great :)

[DaveG28]

Yep, had a good days racing and really enjoyed it. But as Roger said, painting the corner of ther track markings a brighter colour would be great :)

Yep, again reflect Stu and Rog's comments, really enjoyed it but my eyes struggled late on to spot the track markings!

Looking forward to the next one!

[Stefan C]

Thanks for everyones input guys to the track! =D

I had great fun racing off road for my first ever time from Touring car.

We'l take onboard all the comments for the next round and make it even better :D

Dont worry about the carpet, we laid that stuff down on top of the on road carpet so we could destroy to our hearts content haha.

Big air next time, cant wait.......until I break it lol

P.s. sorry for the slow marshalling Rc lazy (Simon) =P I was getting bombed lol

See you all at the next round =)

Stefan C

[telboy]

Top work from the whole club. shame about the PC problems in the middle, but it gave me chance to have a go with Blitz's 2wd :)

My day was a bit scrappy, and it resulted in being lower than I wanted to be. Times in the final showed what the car was capable of...just needed to get a clean run.

Venue is awesome, and once the track building has been perfected, it will be a winter series to beat!.

Talking to one of the club dudes, and they're looking to extend into the opposite unit and build a propper off road track. If this happens, Ardent will be the place to be.

Top work!:)

[mark christopher]

or robinhood @ blyth dirt track indoors ;-)

[James]

The facilities at ardent are fantastic, you can see how much effort has gone into it, i thought it was a superb first event.

Constructive comments from what i've learnt form RHR and Worksop are:

>Marshalls need a kick :lol: , I saw some appauling marshalling on sunday in numerous heats.
>Conventional (off-road) qualifying/finals - 4 rounds round by round, best 2 to count and one final.
>More flowing track layout with downslopes at least twice as long as upslopes, and no 'rumble' areas



In response to Mark, we are having planning difficulties at RHR for the dirt track building (hence the petition on the other thread), also we would only have a covered track (maybe more in the future) unlike Ardents superb building where everything is under one roof.

[mark christopher]

as its on farm land can you not put it as a farm building? tho im sure you have tried that

ps i have been to ardent and rate it highley and the guys who run it

[lotussmart]

Cheers Guys, we are just doing it for fun and fun is what we are having :-) just glad others are using it too. Makes the back breaking work worthwhile :-)

[lotussmart]

or robinhood @ blyth dirt track indoors ;-)

RobinHood Raceway, what a track and what a website!! Brilliant work. Haven't seen Blyth yet.

[lotussmart]

A Final from Round1 Video clip.

xQiKKnmLQhg

[LRP]

Great vid , will ad my footage as soon as my laptop gets fixed
was a great day

[QuackingPlums]

A Final from Round1 Video clip.

xQiKKnmLQhg

I think that was heat 1 round 3 qualifier John - because it's the only round I completed with my servo horn intact! :woot:

[RogerM]

Constructive comments from what i've learnt form RHR and Worksop are:

>Marshalls need a kick :lol: , I saw some appauling marshalling on sunday in numerous heats.
>Conventional (off-road) qualifying/finals - 4 rounds round by round, best 2 to count and one final.
>More flowing track layout with downslopes at least twice as long as upslopes, and no 'rumble' areas



I have to agree with the first one, I don't think it was helped by the track layout meaning there was a large 'central zone' that you couldn't station a marshal in. Changes to the marshal points later in the day made a huge difference, lesson learned for the future I think.

I would always rather do more qualifying than 'racing', that is a personal preference though. I also like to run FTD where ever is practical and round by round where not. Judging by the first event a lot of people set there fastest times in either round 1 or round 3 so I think FTD is fine at Ardent.

Certainly agree with the comment about down ramps, less so on rumble strips as I think they add a good challange to an indoor venue as you need to balance your ride height to cope with them and the faster high grip corners.

I liked the final layout to be honest, if it was me I would have put the apex to the corner after doubles another 2 feet away from the bottom of the down ramp just so the marshal wouldn't have been so busy in that area but otherwise the only time in recent years I've enjoyed an indoor event that much was the MK GP a few years ago.

[/tobys]

.

I liked the final layout to be honest, if it was me I would have put the apex to the corner after doubles another 2 feet away from the bottom of the down ramp just so the marshal wouldn't have been so busy in that area but otherwise the only time in recent years I've enjoyed an indoor event that much was the MK GP a few years ago.

Or have a slippy surface to land on? Deffo agree with having larger run-off/landing areas though.

Perhaps not having the 2 most difficult/random sections of the track (the moguls and the double jump) next to each other would have reduced some of the marshalling issues?

I too would prefer round-by-round qualifying and a single final; it what we are all used to and rewards consistent finishers more than FTD.

[Smartalec]

Round by round is my preference, 2 out of 4 rounds of qualifying to count and one final .......... although at Ardent i'd have qualified even lower if it was round by round, if that was possible LOL

Everyone seemed to be racing and going like a bull in a china shop rather than qualifying and as there was an obvious marshalling problem in the middle of the track you could get caught out in someone else's mistakes.

Just my 2p worth :)

[lotussmart]

Format will change for Round 2 on the 28th November and will be a more conventional 4 RBR qualifiers and 1 final each. :-). I personally have never done round by round before so am really looking forward to this. I will publish a heat list this week for Round2, so people check/can book in.

Big air this time over the table top that was used for the hairpin and the carpet is coming off so more wooden surface sections. :-)

Hope we see you there,

John.

[sime46]

Do we book in for this one the same way as the last one dude? I'm thinking of 4wd and shortcourse truck this time.:lol::lol:

[lotussmart]

Do we book in for this one the same way as the last one dude? I'm thinking of 4wd and shortcourse truck this time.:lol::lol:

If you attended Round1 just email your name and the formulas you want to enter to [email protected]

If you are entering for the first time then also send your PT, BRCA, frequencies and ability 1-100.

Then pay on the day.

It's easier that way. :-)

[sime46]

Thanks mate. I booked into R1 but couldnt make it on the day. :blush:

[OldTimer]

FTD is fine (but i am old school) and made a nice change, and with the amount of breakages did not hurt those people to much, as they had time for a banzi run :)

Already booked in for R2 :woot:

[jamiew]

Has to be said that looks awsum well done to all involved.

might attend next year after i get some practice in.

many newbies there???

[lotussmart]

Has to be said that looks awsum well done to all involved.

might attend next year after i get some practice in.

many newbies there???

Myself and the entire heat1 were completely new to buggy racing, so you would be in good company :-)

[jamiew]

Thats goodto hear might come down for the 3rd round but you will all be flyin by then lol:lol:

[lotussmart]

ATTENTION THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!

Round 2 - 28th November 2010

Due to a Mini-Z event on the Saturday morning/afternoon, practice will only be available from approximately 18:00 until around 22:30 - 23:00 on the Saturday.

So you can spend your time getting there if you are stopping the night. Remember caravans and campers are welcome. :-)

[Danny McGee]

Glad to hear about the Qualifying format and finals have been changed. Maybe you could give FTD a go at one of the meetings. After all the track doesnt change that much and FTD means you usually get the fastest drivers on the finals as you have 4 runs to do it :) (old skool)

I'd have to agree with James on the track front, please no more rumble strip areas :)

Now i heard things are chaning and for the better, im looking forward to coming back. p.s can we have some heat this time please. Was a bit chilly last time even with hoody/jacket on throughout the day :)

[lotussmart]

Chilly? Buggy drivers complaining about the cold? I never thought I would hear that :-), we are working on it, as you can imagine heating a building that size will cost more than the fees we charge for racing so we have to be clever, so when you come next you will see the pits are now enclosed and insulated and we have a gas space warmer that we will stick on before hand. While racing and marshalling it will still be cold so please make sure you wrap up warm, 2 pairs of socks etc..

Please remember practice is from Saturday 18:00 till 23:00, not the entire day due to Mini-Z comp during the Saturday daytime. I will include this on every post I do so that people won't miss it.

See you on the 28th!

[Danny McGee]

Chilly? Buggy drivers complaining about the cold? I never thought I would hear that :-), we are working on it, as you can imagine heating a building that size will cost more than the fees we charge for racing so we have to be clever, so when you come next you will see the pits are now enclosed and insulated and we have a gas space warmer that we will stick on before hand. While racing and marshalling it will still be cold so please make sure you wrap up warm, 2 pairs of socks etc..

Please remember practice is from Saturday 18:00 till 23:00, not the entire day due to Mini-Z comp during the Saturday daytime. I will include this on every post I do so that people won't miss it.

See you on the 28th!

Probably not buggy drivers. Just me :). Never like being cold.

Really good to hear you guys taking in comments and acting on them so quickly, very impressive.

[simoncrabb]

Enclosed pitting! Awesome work John!

Maybe enclose the rostrum too ;-)

Or, sell some furry muffs!!

I'll not be up again until Petit, can't wait though!

[Gareth Jones]

I have emailed my booking for round 2 on the 28th November, however I have not heard anything back.....

Is there a confirmed drivers list yet or do i need to ring up and check my email has been received?

Gareth

[lotussmart]

Got it Gareth, don't panic :-) See you on the 28th.

[lotussmart]

I will be doing another heat list Tuesday next week, so you can all check your details before the weekend. Looking forward to it.

[DaveG28]

I'm in for 4wd already, are there any 2wd places left if I enter that too?

[lotussmart]

Sure have, want me to put you down? I mean for 2wd, I wasn't threatening you :-)

[dbizzle5]

Can you book me in for 2wd and 4 wd aswell please John?

Daniel Austin. 2.4g.

[GRIFF55]

Did you get both mine too? Hope so, the rooms booked!!

[DaveG28]

Sure have, want me to put you down? I mean for 2wd, I wasn't threatening you :-)

Yes please, David Gibson, so now doing both 4wd and 2wd please!

[lotussmart]

Did you get both mine too? Hope so, the rooms booked!!

Yep :-) I'd best get this Heat list done sooner to put everyone's mind at ease. It's going to be a stonker again :-) Can't wait!

[lotussmart]

Can you book me in for 2wd and 4 wd aswell please John?

Daniel Austin. 2.4g.

Done.

[James]

Same for me, 2 and 4 please :)

[lotussmart]

Same for me, 2 and 4 please :)

No worries, signed the petition btw :-) Good luck!

[RogerM]

So many people doing both 2 and 4wd ... you all must be mad .. lol

Danny, as for keeping warm the answer is simple, eat the jacket spuds .. great!
(If you eat enough of them you'll reach a pyshical peak for staying warm ... ;) )

[Liamprice25]

Hi! I've not raced before and just bought a tiger thunder buggy bx2 2wd. It's pretty much standard at the minute but I was wondering if I could possibly start racing at Worksop club. Not sure how I put my name down to race, whether I turn up on the day or pre-book. If it's pre-bookings then could I do this for the next race?

[James]

Hi! I've not raced before and just bought a tiger thunder buggy bx2 2wd. It's pretty much standard at the minute but I was wondering if I could possibly start racing at Worksop club. Not sure how I put my name down to race, whether I turn up on the day or pre-book. If it's pre-bookings then could I do this for the next race?


PM'd so as not to hijack thread :)

[lotussmart]

Hi Guys,

WE'D LOVE YOU TO CHECK THIS

PLEASE check you are on this list if you are expecting to race this Sunday. If you are missing it is because I was unsure if you wanted to book in for the entire series or just Round1. PLEASE DO NOT PANIC if you are not on this list, we have space for you.

ANY issues email [email protected], or PM me. Thanks.

Also please check we have your PT number, frequencies and BRCA numbers. It will make the day smoother and run quicker :-).

Remember Practice is only from 18:00 - 23:00 on Saturday due to the Kyosho Mini-Z Championship during the daytime.

Thank you all and can't wait to race against you all again this weekend. BIG AIR theme will be interesting :-) Rumble strips?? you will have to wait and see ;-)

Race Order is: 2wd/ShortCourse/4WD
Race Format is: 4 Round by Round Qualifyers followed by 1 Final
Note on Trophies: Due to lack of trophy collection at previous round, end of series trophies will be given instead. This enables people to leave after their Final. :-)

For More Information on the Series visit the main series website http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/index.php

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist1.png

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist2.png

[Gareth Jones]

Quick Question!

I beleive Schumacher Micro Spikes in yellow are the control tyre. Can anyone tell me what inserts are best to use? I have purchased Schumachers hard insert, however before I stick the tyres on it would be best to check they are the right ones!

Gareth

[lotussmart]

Quick Question!

I beleive Schumacher Micro Spikes in yellow are the control tyre. Can anyone tell me what inserts are best to use? I have purchased Schumachers hard insert, however before I stick the tyres on it would be best to check they are the right ones!

Gareth

I think I will let a seasoned buggy racer answer that one :-) Don't think 1 round of our series classes me as 'someone in the know'.

[lotussmart]

We only have 5 x 4wd spaces, 4 x 2wd spaces and 1 x Shortcourse spaces left for this Sunday. I will amend this post as they fill up.

[Spencer Mulcahy]

Sent an e mail I am not on the list and some freinds arnt as well cheers John.

[Spencer Mulcahy]

Seen them now cheers.:thumbsup:

[lotussmart]

Hi Guys,

REMEMBER TO CHECK THIS :-)

PLEASE check you are on this list if you are expecting to race this Sunday. If you are missing it is because I was unsure if you wanted to book in for the entire series or just Round1. PLEASE DO NOT PANIC if you are not on this list, we have space for you.

ANY issues email [email protected], or PM me. Thanks.

Also please check we have your PT number, frequencies and BRCA numbers. It will make the day smoother and run quicker :-).

Remember Practice is only from 18:00 - 23:00 on Saturday due to the Kyosho Mini-Z Championship during the daytime.

Thank you all and can't wait to race against you all again this weekend. BIG AIR theme will be interesting :-) Rumble strips?? you will have to wait and see ;-)

Race Order is: 2wd/ShortCourse/4WD
Race Format is: 4 Round by Round Qualifyers followed by 1 Final
Note on Trophies: Due to lack of trophy collection at previous round, end of series trophies will be given instead. This enables people to leave after their Final. :-)

For More Information on the Series visit the main series website http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/index.php

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist1.png

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist2.png

[hazeandfizz]

Gaz,

PM sent.

Cheers,
James.

Quick Question!

I beleive Schumacher Micro Spikes in yellow are the control tyre. Can anyone tell me what inserts are best to use? I have purchased Schumachers hard insert, however before I stick the tyres on it would be best to check they are the right ones!

Gareth

[lotussmart]

Hi Guys,

WE'D LOVE YOU TO CHECK THIS

PLEASE check you are on this list if you are expecting to race this Sunday. If you are missing it is because I was unsure if you wanted to book in for the entire series or just Round1. PLEASE DO NOT PANIC if you are not on this list, we have space for you.

ANY issues email [email protected], or PM me. Thanks.

Also please check we have your PT number, frequencies and BRCA numbers. It will make the day smoother and run quicker :-).

Remember Practice is only from 18:00 - 23:00 on Saturday due to the Kyosho Mini-Z Championship during the daytime. There is also the possibility that this event could run over, we will have the track pretty much ready to go but will have to take down the Mini-Z tracks and complete the track before practice can commence, free Tea and Coffee to anyone that helps complete the track ;-)

Thank you all and can't wait to race against you all again this weekend. BIG AIR theme will be interesting :-) Rumble strips?? you will have to wait and see ;-)

Race Order is: 2wd/ShortCourse/4WD
Race Format is: 4 Round by Round Qualifyers followed by 1 Final
Note on Trophies: Due to lack of trophy collection at previous round, end of series trophies will be given instead. This enables people to leave after their Final. :-)

For More Information on the Series visit the main series website http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/index.php

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist1.png

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist2.png

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/heatlist3.png

[lotussmart]

If the Mini-Z over runs on Saturday then please note you may have to twiddle your thumbs or help us put the finishing touches to the Buggy track before we can open it up for practice. Free cuppa if you help ;-) we'll soon have it done. 60% will be completed before the Mini-Z finished, so just 40% to do.

[samd]

Do we need to book in for practice , or just turn up?

[lotussmart]

Practice is Saturday from approximately 18:00-19:00 to 23:00. No need to pre-book just turn up. Cost will be £5.

[reg]

Do we need to book in for practice , or just turn up?


practice!...you should be racing,hope the very nice man can fit you in:thumbsup:

[samd]

Are you coming to practice ?

[reg]

no mate,im hard core and dont need any:p:lol:.......

[Mossy]

Sorry guys, I cant make this so please remove me. 4wd heat 15.

Ta

Si

[Spencer Mulcahy]

Where is the heat list I cant see it. If there is one.

[LRP]

Where is the heat list I cant see it. If there is one.

ure heat number is the first 1 before ure name on the list :thumbsup:

[Spencer Mulcahy]

Cheers Bud I am a bit numb sometimes LOL.:thumbsup:

[lotussmart]

Hi Peeps, status on the weather, we have had snow but even the small roads are totally clear, so getting to us should be no trouble at all. No more snow forecast for this area until Tuesday.

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/photo.jpg

[GRIFF55]

It's the bit between me and you i'm concerned about, they have had bad snow up from here. Still going to try and make it for a great weekend away!!:thumbsup:

[DaveG28]

Just checking guys, if I turn up at 8.30 that's ok isn't it? Not too late to book in??

Can't be bothered turning up early to practice, as I am the b*****ks I don't need it :o

[lotussmart]

Just checking guys, if I turn up at 8.30 that's ok isn't it? Not too late to book in??

Can't be bothered turning up early to practice, as I am the b*****ks I don't need it :o

Like the confidence :-) Booking in closes at 09:10 sharp, so plenty of time to get there. Others please note (Not Dave as he's awesome), if you are in Heat one you will be racing at 09:30 so bear that in mind in your preparation.

Also dress warm, you can always take layers off if you get too hot. ;-)

[lotussmart]

IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE: The Mini-Z championship is running late therefore practice is available free of charge to those willing to hang on, wait and help with the track. We aim to close at 23:00 this evening so if we finish the track at 21:00 you would still be able to get 2 hrs practice. Very sorry about this, the date clash was due to a change of calendar with the BRCA 12th section, all other rounds the track will be available all day Saturday with no other interruptions.

[AndrewCaunt]

Ashley Caunt will not be able to make tomorow due to being ill,Race 7 & 15
see you at round 3 :thumbsup: thanks Andrew

[Gareth Jones]

Hello,

What time is the track available for practise from tomorrow AM? not sure if its worth coming tonight for some practise, or if there is enough time tomorrow....

Gareth

[Charlie Ware]

Hi John, I can't make it aswell, I have the lurgies! LOL
My dad has e-mailed you aswell.
Charlie Ware

[Danny McGee]

What time the doors open?

[Gareth Jones]

Danny,

I believe doors open at 7.30am from what the website says. Thats when i shall arrive anyway, need to get some practise in!

Gareth

[njc11]

Thanks for an ace day yesterday.. :thumbsup: really enjoyed the track..

Only point i'd like to make, is if at all possible more heaters/blowers are defo required.

If we have temperatures like we did yesterday at the petit race in janurary its going to be hard work..

Are you planning on sorting something?

Cheers

Nick

:thumbsup:

[Smartalec]

Personally, i'd like to know what the surface is going to be for the forthcoming rounds in advance. I travelled up expecting high(ish) grip carpet to test some things on the car but high grip was obviously not what was on offer. I, for one, would have made plans to go elsewhere if i'd known that the surface was going to be all wooden flooring. Would have been fine to have a couple of sections of that, i'm all for mixed surfaces, but not all of it. Not very interesting in my opinion but i'm sure there were people who loved it, just not for me i'm afraid. :(

[Smartalec]

Thanks for an ace day yesterday.. :thumbsup: really enjoyed the track..

Only point i'd like to make, is if at all possible more heaters/blowers are defo required.

If we have temperatures like we did yesterday at the petit race in janurary its going to be hard work..

Are you planning on sorting something?

Cheers

Nick

:thumbsup:Carpeting the floor would have warmed it up a bit Nic :D

[blitzboy]

top day yesterday guys really enjoyed the track and surface too ,, as nick said about the heaters totally agree would be good if ya could warm things up a bit ,, thanks for moving me in the qualifers,,, car was fine and loved my final too see ya soon with thermals for the next round :thumbsup:

[wes j.]

Another top event. Had a good day even though i managed to snap my X6 in half :cry:. Loving the table top and the change in surface. Short Course final was hilairious :thumbsup:.

[Freakypen]

LOL!! I marshalled the wall of death for that final.....I'm still knackered now!!!!! :woot:

[OldTimer]

I thought the heating did pretty well considering my car showed -10C :o in the village, just before i got to the track in the morning. So pretty extreme weather, if it was 5 or 10 degs warmer it would of been toastie inside :)

Did not like the wooden floor at all, so i hope we return to some carpet for the next one, but did like the big jump in front of the rostrum lol.

[paulsmith]

Much preferred the track surface this time around.

Slippy surface indoor events are few and far between now, so it made a real good change to the carpet.

Would be an idea to advise what surface is being used before the event though.

Any idea what surface will be next? Maybe ship a load of dirt it? Lol

Was pretty chilly!

[wes j.]

I think someone said for the next event they might be painting the floor with high grip stuff, paint with grit/sand in it i think. Don't know if this is for defo though hopefully someone will confirm.

[lotussmart]

Hi guys, glad the majority enjoyed it, we like to give racers a challenge and looking at these posts we achieved that. We like to do things differently :-) and with everyone on control tyres it was an even playing field with everyone caught by surprise and having to change setups. We haven't decided what the surface will be next time round, we had planned on a painted surface but as it's only 3 weeks off and we won't have time to test it before we commit with a paint brush it will, most likely be 60% wood 40% carpet, so there's a bit of an insight for you. (last one was 90% wood, 10% carpet).

Now to address the comments on the heating, we reached a peak temperature at the far end of the pits of 13C, at that point the outside temperature was -6C, that's a 19C difference. Still cold but the insulated roof over the pits made a big difference. We use profits to improve the facility (just look at our opening pictures on the website) so bear with us, we'll get there eventually. We are just a bunch of racers with day jobs having fun and covering our costs :-).

[RogerM]

I must say that I really enjoyed the first event but much less so this one.

For me the biggest problem was the car killing main jump ... I can't remember the last time I saw so many broken cars in a single event. I spoke to lots of people who had shock tower failures just from landing flat past the jump and I personally got taken out so many times by people jumping through me as I tried to land on the top to save the car it wasn't funny. I think a bit of "give" under the landing zone would have sold those problems.

The wooden surface, well that is a matter of taste I guess. What did I think personally? Have to say I liked it but thought it would be good to have a blend with more carpet, maybe 50/50 of 60/40 in favour of the carpet as the slippy stuff seemed to eat tires on some cars (luckily not mine!).

I have to say a big thumbs up though for the crew at Ardent learning from each event and being brave enough to try new things ... much better than the "we know best and will do the same as we have for the last 20 years" mind set of some places.
Stick at it guys, your definitely getting there!

See you again for the next one.

[telboy]

I liked the surface, much better than silly high grip of carpet. If we wanted high grip racing we'd all be racing touring cars.

The only gripe I had with the track was that some parts were a little narrow and that the jumps seemed to blend in with the rest of the track, so a different colour wooden surface would be ok possibly green or grey, just so that everything is a bit easier to see.

Other than that, well run. :)

For some reason I had bad glitching from the middle of round one, but then as soon as the kitchen closed, it vanished and it was fine. Is there anything in the kitchen that could mess with 2.4gh frequencies?
Just strange that as soon as the kitchen closed I didn't have the glitching anymore. Blitz had the same problem too and his vanished as soon as the kitchen closed...wierd.:eh?:

[jamiew]

Any vids from the 2nd round:)

[Smartalec]

I liked the surface, much better than silly high grip of carpet. If we wanted high grip racing we'd all be racing touring cars.

As I saqid, i'm sure some would love it and others wouldn't, bit like Marmite :)
Nothing wrong with a bit of slippy here and there, just not the whole track.

From speaking to a lot of people on the day the opinion seemed to be that the carpet was removed to stop the touring car guys moaning, not sure if that's true or not but from my experience the most "damage" to a carpet comes from screws in the chassis of touring cars that are run too low, hence why most indoor tracks throughout the country have bits of tape stuck all over the rips ............ definitely not caused by buggies. :thumbdown:

Aylesbury club ran the same carpet for about 10 years when all we had were buggies, they've had 2 lots of carpet in the last four or five years since they've been only running touring cars :)

[lotussmart]

No, I can assure you it's not because the TC drivers moaned about the grip as it wasn't affected last time and we only had 1 hole created at round 1 and that was our fault as we didn't have the carpet covered at that point. We just wanted to do something different and push some boundaries. :-) Hope you come back for Round 3 on the 19th. Those already raced here and wanting to book in just need to supply name and car type, we have your other details. Might even have some Halogen heaters on the rostrum and in the pits. Dead posh eh! :-)

No idea how the kitchen could be affecting radios, but will investigate. we have wifi in the building might disable that next time just in case.

[DaveG28]

Do you have CCTV, I think that's 2.4ghz if it's a wireless system?

For what it's worth, I love slippy, in fact even slippier if possible (canvas!), but it would be good to know before we go what the surface is, for example I sometimes don't take any spare/new tyres if I'm expecting a surface where they won't work!

Only other thing, any chance of colouring the track markers at the corner apex's, might be my eyes but I have struggled to see them at both rounds so far?

Keep up the good work though, I've enjoyed both meetings so far and 13/14 heats in your first year of buggies is a great turn out!! :thumbsup:

[RogerM]

Dave, good call on the corner apexes ... I think both Alex and I raised that last time along with yourself ... no need to go to town, a bit of coloured tape would do fine!

Count me in for the 19th, all details the same as for the first 2.

[estebandonde]

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p>
Microwave frequencies work between 300Mhz and 300Ghz and some mainly work between 1Ghz-----2.4-------300Ghz<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
It’s definitely possible that the use of the microwave will cause some glitching---Futabas should be ok though<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Just make sure you don’t order a meat pie before it’s your turn to race!<o:p></o:p>

[DaveG28]

Dave, good call on the corner apexes ... I think both Alex and I raised that last time along with yourself ... no need to go to town, a bit of coloured tape would do fine!

Count me in for the 19th, all details the same as for the first 2.

Is the next round 19th Dec?

[lotussmart]

Sure is, see:

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/when.php

Bet it's the microwaves!!, if we put alu foil top and bottom of the counter and at the back of the counter where they sit would that help does anyone know? My knowledge of Microwaves is limited :-)

[lotussmart]

Results available online, see http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/ and click on results.

Combined results shall be done shortly to show current series standings.

Here's a couple of track pics of what we are now referring to the "Slippy Desert Track".

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/pic5.jpg


http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/images/pic6.jpg

[Dudders]

Sure is, see:

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/when.php

Bet it's the microwaves!!, if we put alu foil top and bottom of the counter and at the back of the counter where they sit would that help does anyone know? My knowledge of Microwaves is limited :-)

Put the foil inside, more fun!

[simoncrabb]

Wowah! That's not carpet! You crazy Ardent kids!

What's the surface going to be for Petit?

[mikeyscott]

Wowah! That's not carpet! You crazy Ardent kids!

What's the surface going to be for Petit?

My thoughts too, would like it to be carpet and control tyres :)

[super__dan]

Hi,

Could I also ask if we could know well in advance that the next round will be asimilair surface to the Petit race as that's why I'm coming. I don't mind whatever it is, but broadly similair to Petit surface.

Many thanks,

Dan

[lotussmart]

I believe, but check the rules do not take my word for it, that providing you have Schumacher tyres you are ok. Surface will be 60% slippy, 40% carpet, or 50/50.

Also those causing panic in France over the temperature on Sunday, please note highs of -6 is pretty extreme for the UK and judging by the number of frozen and burst coke and pepsi bottles on the car park it caught you out too. We managed to get the pits up to 13C. If it's looking like it will still be VERY cold for the Petit then we will simply hire some heaters!!! It's not a big issue, job done, we are intelligent people (kind of :-).

[GRIFF55]

I quite enjoyed the surface, it was different and the grip level wasn't bad at all. My only gripe would be as the light was fading the track markings were blending into the wood:lol:, brighter marking corner markers would work.
One thing that i also think would be an improvement is to add another lot of steps on the other side of the rostrum to exit after the race/practice.

Sorry i had to leave before the finals but it was getting colder outside and thought the journey would be safer earlier. Thanks for a good day

[njc11]

I really enjoyed the surface.. but as others have said i think track markings especially the corners need to stand out!!

Im happy with any mix of surface for the next one and petit..you best get those heaters booked for the petit 'cos it aint getting any warmer lol!

:thumbsup:

[mikeyscott]

For the amount being charged for the Petit entries and the numbers that have booked in I would expect their to be heating :)

[richardj]

Cold but fun day, hope the short course final kept you entertained. May be some of you other drivers will come and join us for some light hearted racing. Role on next time for more fun of Team Hong Nor against Super Smith and the SC10. Not that we picked on him :thumbsup: LOL.

Jono

[Kopite]

Not trying to disagree with anyone who's already commented, but my opinion is and always will be that I won't ever be critical of the effort any clubs put in to the organisation of a race for us guys.

As far as i'm concerned, i'm just totally grateful that people out there are happy to voluntarily do all the work in preparation for a meeting, as it must be massively time consuming. The fact that all those heaters were put on, and the work to insulate the pit area, was very well recieved from my point of view, and absolutely not expected at all. The track was good fun, and the facilities your club have are very impressive (as was the local pub (the mixed grill was the bollocks)!).

Remember, if it wasn't for the people that help run these clubs, none of us would be racing at all.

Keep up the good work guys,

Mark

[Spencer Mulcahy]

I totally agree with that. I loved it surface was a surprise but not bad to race on and the jump was spot on I could do it 95% of the race clean on the jump and I realy cant jump(unless I am getting better at it LOL). Fantastic event and facility.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Barry Williams]

Well done to the Ardent guys, great venue & well run event, never seen racing on ply boards before, unusual but enjoyable especially since both Gregs cars went well on the surface
Top job lads, might have to have another trip there in the future

[steelie600]

I must say that I really enjoyed the first event but much less so this one.

For me the biggest problem was the car killing main jump ... I can't remember the last time I saw so many broken cars in a single event. I spoke to lots of people who had shock tower failures just from landing flat past the jump and I personally got taken out so many times by people jumping through me as I tried to land on the top to save the car it wasn't funny. I think a bit of "give" under the landing zone would have sold those problems.

The wooden surface, well that is a matter of taste I guess. What did I think personally? Have to say I liked it but thought it would be good to have a blend with more carpet, maybe 50/50 of 60/40 in favour of the carpet as the slippy stuff seemed to eat tires on some cars (luckily not mine!).

I have to say a big thumbs up though for the crew at Ardent learning from each event and being brave enough to try new things ... much better than the "we know best and will do the same as we have for the last 20 years" mind set of some places.
Stick at it guys, your definitely getting there!

See you again for the next one.

Gotta disagree with the main jump Roger! My car even being a 25 year old design had NO problems with it at all!! The only time I couldnt land it was when I got the take off wrong!!

I tell ya drive like a hero with a Boomerang and no one gives you a mention PFFFT!!

Some one else mentioned about radios glitching, my spekky did this in the final! Ive run Spektrum for 2 years or more now and NEVER had a single issue, and it was glitching like mad but only in the final. Which upset me somewhat as I should have won that final! I could lap faster than the top 3 cars when they came round on me but only for about 2 laps untill I glitched out again! Maybe the cold had a bearing on it?? Must admit ive never run my gear in temps that low before:confused::confused:

[RogerM]

All I meant by "killer jump" was that I saw a LOT of broken cars, quite a few with compression failures of the shock towers from 'normal' landings not crashes. If there had been a little more give in the landing zone that wouldn't have been an issue.
The table top itself wasn't a bad design, the cars stayed low over it and the landing ramp was fine, another few feet of length in the landing ramp wouldn't have hurt but it wasn't a bad build at all.

Meant to be totally constructive to help them move forward, not bitchy complaints. If I had any real complaints I would make sure they knew about it, but in private.

As I said, guys are learning from every event and I am sure that it will get better every meeting. I'll keep supporting them by going there to race and I am sure that John and the crew don't mind constructive comments .... if nobody mentions anything how would they know what they could do to improve? It is only their 2nd ever off-road event at the venue after all.

[Fabs]

From what I can see on the picture, the table top would gain by being a tad higher, with an up-ramp a little steeper. Basically you want the down ramp to be about 1.5/2 times the length of the up-ramp.

A steep up-ramp isn't a problem as it makes it easier to land on the up ramp, the leaner the up ramp, the more precise you'll have to be in your take off to be able to hit the down-ramp.

Just my £0.02, sorry my 0.024€ :p

[c0sie]

Ripping up all the carpet and running chipboard as a racing surface?

You Ardent guys have some balls, I like the way you think :)

[lotussmart]

Please have faith in us to host a brilliant PetitRC! We have only done 2 buggy meetings so far and haven't done too bad. For the PetitRC in January we would have more time to prepare the track (last two have been done in under 4 hours), we would have spent more on heaters (we invest as we go along), and we will have Nicolas guiding us on the track design and ramps.

It's going to be fun, challenging and technical with a few Ardent surprises if we can get them past Nicolas :-)

The PetitRC track will be available to play on from Thursday 13th January (but will not be exactly the same as race day as this would be unfair to others that are not able to practice).

[Fabs]

FYI as per Nicolas's request the track must be 90% carpet with a slippy section only (1 or 2 corners) like at maritime last year and Nicolas will for sure review and approve the track before hand so don't you guys worry...

[carlin]

FYI as per Nicolas's request the track must be 90% carpet with a slippy section only (1 or 2 corners) like at maritime last year and Nicolas will for sure review and approve the track before hand so don't you guys worry...

Sounds even better didnt fancy racing on wood :p

[RogerM]

Rob, the wood wasn't bad grip wise to be honest so long as you stayed off the completely fresh tires. I actually enjoyed it but as I said, multi surface is more fun, although there were a few slippery bits about that made the normal wood seem like velcro :D

Anything similar to last years Petit would be fantastic for this year, having the big jump feature a little closer to the rostrum would help us old men with tired eyes though ;)

[telboy]

The tyres seemed to last better on the wood too. Carpet was tearing them up before.

Interference wise, I run a futaba 3cvs with a spectrum module. Possibly microwave possibly cctv depepnding on frquency. but I would have thought that the cctv would be on all the time, if it was on. whereas the the kitchen closed and the interference went.

[telboy]

Wiki quote-
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves (http://www.oople.com/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation) with wavelengths (http://www.oople.com/wiki/Wavelength) ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies (http://www.oople.com/wiki/Frequency) between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz (http://www.oople.com/wiki/Hertz)) and 300 GHz

So quite possible that it was a microwave.

Hmmm. how is that one resovled? 40mhz? 27mhz?

[shark]

Im running the same set up Tel with no glitch issues , so its a bit of a strange one :(

[telboy]

Hmmm, odd.:confused:

Maybe its time to completely revamp all the elecs in the car.

[lotussmart]

Team Durango Winter Series Round3 and Pre-Petit RC warm up Sunday 19th December.

Your last chance to run on the track before the 2011 PetitRC. Track will be more like what we will run for the PetitRC 2011. So book in and get some air time.

Either PM or email me at [email protected] with your name and formula you wish to run (and PT, BRCA, ability 1-100 and frequencies if you have not yet raced in the series).

John.

[reg]

Team Durango Winter Series Round3 and Pre-Petit RC warm up Sunday 19th December.

Your last chance to run on the track before the 2011 PetitRC. Track will be more like what we will run for the PetitRC 2011. So book in and get some air time.

Either PM or email me at [email protected] with your name and formula you wish to run (and PT, BRCA, ability 1-100 and frequencies if you have not yet raced in the series).

John.


Hi John,if we booked in for the first round,does that put us in for every round?
thanks

[wes j.]

Hmmm, odd.:confused:

Maybe its time to completely revamp all the elecs in the car.


Just use the Microwave to control the car instead of the TX :p:thumbsup:.

[reg]

Hmmm, odd.:confused:

Maybe its time to completely revamp all the elecs in the car.

i found that the steering servo was the problem with mine,when it buzzed when you turned it it was the right noise to mess with the speedo,

[lotussmart]

Hi John,if we booked in for the first round,does that put us in for every round?
thanks

No, but it means I have your details :-) You want in on every round?

[telboy]

Just use the Microwave to control the car instead of the TX :p:thumbsup:.

If only were that easy lol.

Can't think of a way of avoiding it really, as thats the frequency my 2.4 is on and thats that. Without buying a new module. May have to try 40mhz if it does it again.

[reg]

No, but it means I have your details :-) You want in on every round?

iv sent you an email:thumbsup:

[wes j.]

If only were that easy lol.

Can't think of a way of avoiding it really, as thats the frequency my 2.4 is on and thats that. Without buying a new module. May have to try 40mhz if it does it again.

Could you try fitting a power cap ( i think that's what they're called ) to the Receiver.

[QuackingPlums]

If only were that easy lol.

Can't think of a way of avoiding it really, as thats the frequency my 2.4 is on and thats that. Without buying a new module. May have to try 40mhz if it does it again.

I know it's of no use when you're half-way through a heat, but have you tried reinitialising the link when it happens?

Both Futaba FASST and Spektrum DSM systems use spread spectrum technology, although arguably the Spektrum system has a less forgiving frequency selection algorithm. aNeither is completely immune from interference but with both, they *should* find their respective number of free channels required if you re-initialise the link whilst the interference is present. With Spektrum, I believe you need to leave the transmitter on for a little bit before powering up the receiver - I can't remember how long, but it gives the radio time to find two free channels.

Incidentally, two other sources of 2.4GHz interference would be FPV downlinks and cheap chinese radios that come with those $20 helicopters and stuff. I think these are more damaging to both systems than microwaves.

[Mad-Wolfie]

To be fair, (he says not wishing to upset anyone, but instead intending to point out some facts & idea's) a bit of radio glitch on 2.4 at Ardent is probably to be expected, but then the same can be said about 27/40 as well.. racing in the Summer series some people complained then about radio glitch, however when you had 80 or so people booked in running RC cars (with probably 60 of those on 2.4), laptops all over the pit area streaming F1 coverage over the club wi-fi (again 2.4) which was working overtime, along with live timing being streamed from race-control over the wi-fi system there isn't much space left in the 2.4 band for radio's to cling onto.

Also remember of course there is a great whacking radio transmitter tower on the roof of the building for the farmer's 2 metre radio's & a huge international airport a couple of miles down the road sending out radar & what-not to track incoming planes, not to mention the microwave pinging out Sausage roll's & ready-meal curry all day when it's brass monkey's on a cold day, plus if the CCTV/security installed in the building is running wireless this is more 2.4 band being used up. Not forgetting of course there probably are a fair few people in the pit area with PSU's & chargers constantly working on full chat, not to mention extension leads & mains cables coiled up all over the place creating induction loops.. that is a lot of radio waves & electrical radiation being bounced around the site.

I guess this is just one of the things we have to live with.

[steelie600]

well ive sussed the issue with my radio, its cos the esc didnt have a power cap. I now have a huge one so happy days!!

Basically every now and again under certain full lock full acceleration circumstances the rx would just dip below the threshold and have to re bind itself. I managed to re create it on the bench. New esc with monster power cap (original was borrowed) and all gravy baby!

[telboy]

Right, I know the meeting I did today wasn't the durango series, but I raced in the same place with the same radio. I was running a different car (F1) with a different receiver, different speedo (with power cap), different motor, different sensor cable, different servo and different battery. Still having the same problem. I re-bound the 2.4, tried different sensor cables and nothing can get rid of it.

I'm going to go again with the same gear in my buggy to the next durango round next week, but this time I'm taking a different radio set. Hopefully this will stop it and prove that its my 2.4 module. Can't think of anything else it could be now.:cry:

[wes j.]

Right, I know the meeting I did today wasn't the durango series, but I raced in the same place with the same radio. I was running a different car (F1) with a different receiver, different speedo (with power cap), different motor, different sensor cable, different servo and different battery. Still having the same problem. I re-bound the 2.4, tried different sensor cables and nothing can get rid of it.

I'm going to go again with the same gear in my buggy to the next durango round next week, but this time I'm taking a different radio set. Hopefully this will stop it and prove that its my 2.4 module. Can't think of anything else it could be now.:cry:

You must have the paitence of a saint. If i were in your shoes i think i would have chucked everything in the bin by now :lol:.

[telboy]

I'm getting close, beleive me. :cry:

[RogerM]

Tel, are you using Spektrum stuff?

If so I have spare Rx's and a 3VC with Spektrum module in your more than welcome to try at the Durango meeting to see if you can route cause the issue.

[telboy]

Yeah, using futaba 3vcs with spectrum module.

Its got to be that, as its the only common thing other than the tranny itself. I wondered if a pot had gone, but was told that they get 'grainy' when they go, and mine is still as smooth as anything.

[Mossy]

Will the track be open for practice this Saturday before the winter series? If so what time?

Ta

Si

[RogerM]

Tel,

pop over and try my module then, never had a problem at Ardent even though there is a little damage to the ariel (have a new one I could fit if you got nervious).

I have just moved to a KO as my stumpy little thumbs were complaining about the Futabas chunkiness.

[steelie600]

Will the track be open for practice this Saturday before the winter series? If so what time?

Ta

Si

Simon I beleive it will be open from Lunchtime Saturday. Ill be there roughly that time anyway!!

[lotussmart]

Will the track be open for practice this Saturday before the winter series? If so what time?

Ta

Si

Yep it will be open from 13:00 until 22:00 on Saturday for practice. £10 for the entire day.

John.

[telboy]

Tel,

pop over and try my module then, never had a problem at Ardent even though there is a little damage to the ariel (have a new one I could fit if you got nervious).

I have just moved to a KO as my stumpy little thumbs were complaining about the Futabas chunkiness.

If I don't come and find you, come and find me, as I do have a crap memory, and may forget. lol

Thanks for the offer matey. :)

[lotussmart]

Leader Board just been published on the site.

Spaces are available for this weekend so come and join the fun. Practice from 13:00 on Saturday until 22:00.

On Sunday doors open 07:30, racing starts around 09:00 - 09:30, so book in closes at 08:45 so we can start the racing :-)

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/results.php

[DaveG28]

Hi John,

Have you got me down for both classes on Sunday now, David Gibson? Website only shows me in 4wd?

[RogerM]

Can you guys who are close / travelled there already keep us up to date on the state of the roads please .... had issues getting into work this morning and it's made me a little unsure of travelling over!

Cheers

[lotussmart]

I will keep this thread updated throughout the day. So far, no snow, no nothing, just cold.

[lotussmart]

Hi John,

Have you got me down for both classes on Sunday now, David Gibson? Website only shows me in 4wd?

Sure have David :-) ignore the website, i'll remove that list.

[Adam F]

Any pics of the track as yet?

[Slimboyfat]

If we cant make it tomorrow, whats the best way of letting someone know?

I have a rediculous amount of snow and its possible I wont get there even with the best will in the world.

Not going to cancel unless its impossible though, just want to know what to do in case...

[lotussmart]

If you can't make it then email [email protected].

So far as of 19:22 no snow in this area and non forecast now until Monday!!

Good luck getting here everyone, track is done, it's 75% carpet and 25% slippy, more like the track at Round 1. It's going to be good fun and well worth a try at getting out of your estates.

[lotussmart]

Thank you all who made it today despite the weather where you lived. Bet you were surprised to see no snow at the Raceway, don't know what all the fuss is about :-).

We love having the buggy drivers there, great bunch of guys, great banter and great racing.

Once again thanks to all those who made it. I will do the combined results soon and a brief race report but until then today's results can be found at www.ardentracing.com/raceway/results.php

[c0sie]

Are there any galleries from each of the offroad rounds at all John?

[mikeyscott]

Indeed any pics of the surface and layout. Next stop Petit and will there be practice?

Just need a SV setup as I haven't raced indoors with it yet

[lotussmart]

Indeed any pics of the surface and layout. Next stop Petit and will there be practice?

Just need a SV setup as I haven't raced indoors with it yet

You will be able to practice Thursday and Friday before the Petit for just£10. It won't be the exact same layout but the surfaces will be the same.

[lotussmart]

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/gallery/Durango%20Winter%20Series%20Round%203/track.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/gallery/Durango%20Winter%20Series%20Round%203/track1.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/gallery/Durango%20Winter%20Series%20Round%203/track2.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/gallery/Durango%20Winter%20Series%20Round%203/2wd.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/gallery/Durango%20Winter%20Series%20Round%203/shortcourse.jpg

http://www.ardentracing.com/teamdurangowinterseries/gallery/Durango%20Winter%20Series%20Round%203/moss.png

[Gareth Jones]

Probably a dumb question, but whats the Petit race all about then?

Is it something anyone can enter?

Regards
Gareth

[lotussmart]

Indeed any pics of the surface and layout. Next stop Petit and will there be practice?

Just need a SV setup as I haven't raced indoors with it yet

Probably a dumb question, but whats the Petit race all about then?

Is it something anyone can enter?

Regards
Gareth

Yep, check out PetitRC.com

[mikeyscott]

What time will practice be open till before petit?

[carlin]

Shame i didnt get run on the track (apart from first tihing), paid my entry to race but spent my time in QMC :cry::cry::cry:

I did like the track the only downfall i didnt like was the wall of death cause it was so unpredictable i just didnt find it very helpful tbh not my cup of tea

But i def be there for the Thursday & Friday need the practice lol

[4_cell_racer]

How ya doin now Rob? No lasting damage done I hope?? Was quiet shocked a seeing the glue shoot into your eyes (but not as shocked as u) hope your back racing soon

Shame i didnt get run on the track (apart from first tihing), paid my entry to race but spent my time in QMC :cry::cry::cry:

I did like the track the only downfall i didnt like was the wall of death cause it was so unpredictable i just didnt find it very helpful tbh not my cup of tea

But i def be there for the Thursday & Friday need the practice lol

[carlin]

How ya doin now Rob? No lasting damage done I hope?? Was quiet shocked a seeing the glue shoot into your eyes (but not as shocked as u) hope your back racing soon

They spent about 2hrs scraping my eyes it was very bad it glued my eyes it's self so i couldnt see anything. I had to go back yesterday to get checked & they had to scrape them again as there was still alot there. At the moment I'm sort of ok but my eyes feel very bruised & painful in any bright light. I can see roughly about 3ft infront of me at the moment. They say once the swelling & everything has gone down should be fine so they reckon few weeks. So my racing is done for little while hopefully not to long
Did you see it shot straight in ? cause it was such shock for me just didnt know what to do i would hate to see it to happen to anyone else.

Was told by the nurse very lucky it didnt burn or would of been blind for good?? :woot: So was lucky i reckon touch wood

[RogerM]

Damn Rob, sounds nasty. Hope you make a full recovery and get back in action for Petit.

To the organisers, sorry I didn't make it but roads were impossible around here. I would have mailed but no net access at home, was going to phone then realised I didn't have the number and no net access to get it.

Hope the event went well and not too many people dropped out. See you all at Petit.

[4_cell_racer]

Did you see it shot straight in ? cause it was such shock for me just didnt know what to do i would hate to see it to happen to anyone else.

Oh yes mate....I saw it shoot into your eyes :o it looked like a snake spitting venom out.

[telboy]

There were still 10 heats, although not full heats, but it stretched the day a bit more.

I only had a couple of 'glitching' incidents worse round was R3 and then had 3 glitches in R4. Wether it was because there were less people there or what I dont know. But the only thing I changed for this round was the servo. Changed from KO to Savox. Strange if that was the problem after all.

[MHeadling]

Out of interest what car was Andy Moore running? Hb Cyber or D4??

[shark]

Durango.

[MHeadling]

What a good choice I may add! :thumbsup:

I would love to see him at a 10th National and see how he gets on.

[RudeTony]

You will be able to practice Thursday and Friday before the Petit for just£10. It won't be the exact same layout but the surfaces will be the same.

Hi John
Can you confirm the practice times please.
Is is till late on the Friday evening?
Thanks

[chris68nufc]

There were still 10 heats, although not full heats, but it stretched the day a bit more.

I only had a couple of 'glitching' incidents worse round was R3 and then had 3 glitches in R4. Wether it was because there were less people there or what I dont know. But the only thing I changed for this round was the servo. Changed from KO to Savox. Strange if that was the problem after all.

Right then!

Dont know if this will help but i had glitching problems aswell. Tried changing all sorts but in the end i put my KO 40 Mhz module back in my KO universe and not a problem for the rest of my running at Ardent. I thought it was a problem with the Spektrum module but now im thinking it was just Ardent??

Strange!!

[Fabs]

Hi John
Can you confirm the practice times please.
Is is till late on the Friday evening?
Thanks

Hey up Tony,

Like I said in the Kyosho section, I'd hold my horses on practice thursday and friday. Nicolas is not keen on that idea.

[RogerM]

If it's not the same track, or even using the same combination of features then I don't see the harm in it personally.

I can understand why he wouldn't want people to be running the same corners or even the tricky features especially any combination jumps though.

Ardent is a slightly strange surface. The carpet seems to vary in grip around the lap so a chance for people to get used to the grip level, especially those who have travelled from far away, might just help them enjoy the event.

For example the main reason I intend to never walk through the doors of Worksop again is that there is a MASSIVE 'home advantage' there, it's like nowhere else grip wise so unless you can go there regularly enough to experiment your at such a huge disadvantage you might as well not go at all. Although Ardent isn't as bad as that it's certainly not your typical monster grip traction roll fest carpet track .... and all the better for it in my opinion!

Might be a few frowny faces from people who have booked extra nights in hotels and days off work on the promise of track time if it doesn't happen too.

Just my 2ps worth

[Fabs]

What the heck are you talking about? There can't be a "home advantage" when there aren't any club races! The biggest home advantage I've ever seen were at tracks like RHR, EPR or Stottfold, are you saying you're never going there again?

As for practice at Ardent, I'd love to get as much as possible, but Nicolas is concerned about damaging the carpet so it might or might not happen. In any case do not expect any running friday afternoon as that's probably when the track will be built.

[RogerM]

Maybe 'home advantage' is the wrong wording, perhaps 'familarity adavantage' is better ... maybe.

Is it Nicolas's carpet thats used then?

[super__dan]

Never any practice at maritime and look how good that was.

[Northy]

For example the main reason I intend to never walk through the doors of Worksop again is that there is a MASSIVE 'home advantage' there, it's like nowhere else grip wise....

Batley at Chadderton? :confused:

G