It's fair to say I am quite excited! Dan Osbornes Chunk was posted special delivery on Saturday morning and should be therefore with me tomorrow!
All I have to do is fit my receiver as well as find somewhere for the ariel tube to live and away I go!
I'm hoping to debut the car (debut for me that is) at Broughton on Tuesday night, I can not wait!
Many thanks to Dan for letting me run the car while he is not there!!
UPDATE 07:07 - Due to the efficient Royal Mail delivered Chunk this morning, I just need to get home and fit ariel tube then this time tomorrow we're on!
Sunday 30 January 2011
Race Day - Ellesmere Port Club Night 28.01.11
I like running at Ellesmere Port, it's the same hall that I started off racing 20 years ago in 1990 an I'm still here!!
They race every Friday night, mainly running Micros but with a heat of Mardaves. There used to be more Mardaves than Micros but it shows that the Off Road scene is thriving once more, better than the Snoring Touring Cars (my opinion only)
Competitive night tonight with Dan Murphy, Gavin Stephenson and Darren Stephenson all racing, all 4 of us are capable drivers.
After a couple of races I find myself top of the pile on 23 laps, Dan has 22 with Team Stephenson showing at 21 and 20, Gavin quicker than Darren. In all fairness to Dan and Gavin there is absolutely nothing between us at the start of the race. I'd appear to take a couple of tenths of a second per lap from them. It will be closer come the final tonight
There is a side note to my driving so far tonight! After Round 1 I tried to be clever and jump onto the rostrum (stage) from the big jump. I only succeeded in finding a table leg and the results are shown below:
Ellesmere Port improves your driving like no other club in the area. It's a very tight twisty track and the Micros have jumps a plenty to keep us on our toes. Tonights track is shown below:
As with the 1/10th cars this past week at Hereford I've turned all my throttle settings down 0% with the exception of the HiPoint which is set at 130. I've upped the last setting to 140 for Round 3 and I also ran the last race with no front roll bar due to my aforementioned meeting with the table leg!
The nights racing finished off disappointingly for me, Round 3 was another comfortable race for me with no issues, the final however was a different story! After helping myself to a 6 second or so advantage ahead of Dan and Gavin my rear right wheel fell off! This is something I'm going to have to keep an eye on at Broughton this coming Tuesday night. Dan and Gav continued to have a right battle until the end where Dan came out as winner.
They race every Friday night, mainly running Micros but with a heat of Mardaves. There used to be more Mardaves than Micros but it shows that the Off Road scene is thriving once more, better than the Snoring Touring Cars (my opinion only)
Competitive night tonight with Dan Murphy, Gavin Stephenson and Darren Stephenson all racing, all 4 of us are capable drivers.
After a couple of races I find myself top of the pile on 23 laps, Dan has 22 with Team Stephenson showing at 21 and 20, Gavin quicker than Darren. In all fairness to Dan and Gavin there is absolutely nothing between us at the start of the race. I'd appear to take a couple of tenths of a second per lap from them. It will be closer come the final tonight
There is a side note to my driving so far tonight! After Round 1 I tried to be clever and jump onto the rostrum (stage) from the big jump. I only succeeded in finding a table leg and the results are shown below:
Ellesmere Port improves your driving like no other club in the area. It's a very tight twisty track and the Micros have jumps a plenty to keep us on our toes. Tonights track is shown below:
As with the 1/10th cars this past week at Hereford I've turned all my throttle settings down 0% with the exception of the HiPoint which is set at 130. I've upped the last setting to 140 for Round 3 and I also ran the last race with no front roll bar due to my aforementioned meeting with the table leg!
The nights racing finished off disappointingly for me, Round 3 was another comfortable race for me with no issues, the final however was a different story! After helping myself to a 6 second or so advantage ahead of Dan and Gavin my rear right wheel fell off! This is something I'm going to have to keep an eye on at Broughton this coming Tuesday night. Dan and Gav continued to have a right battle until the end where Dan came out as winner.
Thursday 27 January 2011
Ellesmere Port Club Night - 28.01.11
Back at Ellesmere Port tomorrow. There won't be much time to blog about the racing as there is normally only 3 heats but there will be chance to race against Dan and Gavin.
I'll blog tomorrow night with the results!
I'll blog tomorrow night with the results!
2wd at Swansea Micro National
It's been confirmed that I will have a Chunk for Swansea. Dan Osborne is away on holiday so i am stepping in!!
I'm really looking forward to it considering Dan won the last national with it! The return of Craig Harris could be an issue and Gavin Stephenson and Danny Conway will also be up there.
The only question is when will I et the car! It's looking like the day before so no practice with it!! I may see if I can go the wrong way around the Swansea track (jumps pending) to test it out. Anyone who knows me know my views in practice on a national meeting track. It shouldn't happen as it should be the same for all.
I'm really looking forward to it considering Dan won the last national with it! The return of Craig Harris could be an issue and Gavin Stephenson and Danny Conway will also be up there.
The only question is when will I et the car! It's looking like the day before so no practice with it!! I may see if I can go the wrong way around the Swansea track (jumps pending) to test it out. Anyone who knows me know my views in practice on a national meeting track. It shouldn't happen as it should be the same for all.
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Dan Osborne - Raising Money For Leukemia
Dan Osborne - Micro Hero - is raising money for a well known charity due to a personal loss during 2010, if you're able to please donate some money to this worthy cause. The below is taken from Dan's post on UK Micro RC Forum tonight:
"One of my best friends Ty Partridge passed away to leukaemia just 5 months a go at the age of 21, in aid of CLIC and for Ty we are cycling 1,000 miles to Paris and back for August the 21st! We've given ourselves 2 weeks to complete this in so should be a pretty big challenge, we're looking to ride 80 miles a day
There's seven of us doing it and it should be a pretty awesome experience. I've put this up for anyone that would like to follow our progress on Facebook or donate to the cause. We're aiming to raise £2,000! 100% of the money donated will be going straight to charity, we will be arranging where we are staying out of our own pockets
Le Tour de Ty - Facebook Group
Le Tour de Ty - Just Giving
Thank you all for your support and will keep you updated with how I'm struggling"
Good luck to Dan and the others for this gruelling but worthwhile bike ride!
"One of my best friends Ty Partridge passed away to leukaemia just 5 months a go at the age of 21, in aid of CLIC and for Ty we are cycling 1,000 miles to Paris and back for August the 21st! We've given ourselves 2 weeks to complete this in so should be a pretty big challenge, we're looking to ride 80 miles a day
There's seven of us doing it and it should be a pretty awesome experience. I've put this up for anyone that would like to follow our progress on Facebook or donate to the cause. We're aiming to raise £2,000! 100% of the money donated will be going straight to charity, we will be arranging where we are staying out of our own pockets
Le Tour de Ty - Facebook Group
Le Tour de Ty - Just Giving
Thank you all for your support and will keep you updated with how I'm struggling"
Good luck to Dan and the others for this gruelling but worthwhile bike ride!
Tuesday 25 January 2011
BWOC Summary
2WD
I was hopeful of making at least one A Final this weekend and I was more than expecting to make it in 4wd and not 2wd!
My thoughts are justified because if you look at my results from the 2009 Nationals compared to the 2010 Nationals you will see I was getting better results pre-Cougar. I really struggled in 2010 as it was the first time is ran a Mid-Motored 2wd car however 2011 has started off very well and feels me with optimism.
It may be Indoor Racing and don't get me wrong it will be totally different when we get outdoors but a few subtle changes we have made have make a huge difference. I've knocked down the aggression on the speed controller as well as transmitter and Saturday goes to show I am on the up in 2wd.
To qualify 5th, finish 7th and have a couple of top 3 rounds (including the strange last round which in my opinion should have been a 1st in round) was an awesome result for me.
The finals were a bit disappointing but it's not often I find myself in the position I was. I'm hopeful I can be up there in the coming meetings too.
Congrats to my Schumacher team mates Danny McGee and Lloyd Storey on their top 3 finishes.
4wd
To finish 2nd highest Schumacher on the day is a result I look back on with pride, it was a job well done this weekend!
I think the break from 1/10th over the past 2 months really helped me to focus at Hereford and I'm now raring to go in 2011.
As per 2wd I honestly believe making some mi or changes in relation to speed controller settings and aggression have really helped me this weekend. Not only that but to have a car from the off that needed no changes to be made helped a lot. It may be a different story when we go outdoors and results may come down to our reactions in terms if set up on the track, we can't worry about that at the moment though as we're still a few months from the serious outdoor racing!
To be a double A finalist this weekend was very satisfying, bring on 2011!!
I was hopeful of making at least one A Final this weekend and I was more than expecting to make it in 4wd and not 2wd!
My thoughts are justified because if you look at my results from the 2009 Nationals compared to the 2010 Nationals you will see I was getting better results pre-Cougar. I really struggled in 2010 as it was the first time is ran a Mid-Motored 2wd car however 2011 has started off very well and feels me with optimism.
It may be Indoor Racing and don't get me wrong it will be totally different when we get outdoors but a few subtle changes we have made have make a huge difference. I've knocked down the aggression on the speed controller as well as transmitter and Saturday goes to show I am on the up in 2wd.
To qualify 5th, finish 7th and have a couple of top 3 rounds (including the strange last round which in my opinion should have been a 1st in round) was an awesome result for me.
The finals were a bit disappointing but it's not often I find myself in the position I was. I'm hopeful I can be up there in the coming meetings too.
Congrats to my Schumacher team mates Danny McGee and Lloyd Storey on their top 3 finishes.
4wd
To finish 2nd highest Schumacher on the day is a result I look back on with pride, it was a job well done this weekend!
I think the break from 1/10th over the past 2 months really helped me to focus at Hereford and I'm now raring to go in 2011.
As per 2wd I honestly believe making some mi or changes in relation to speed controller settings and aggression have really helped me this weekend. Not only that but to have a car from the off that needed no changes to be made helped a lot. It may be a different story when we go outdoors and results may come down to our reactions in terms if set up on the track, we can't worry about that at the moment though as we're still a few months from the serious outdoor racing!
To be a double A finalist this weekend was very satisfying, bring on 2011!!
Sunday 23 January 2011
4wd Hereford Track
There are a few subtle changes from yesterdays track. It looks as though overtaking may be at a Premium again! The double double section in front the rostrum has been spread slightly, it looks as though this is to stop drivers attempting to do it one!! Marshall 5 be aware!
Race Day - BWOC 4wd - Hereford
Another early start today as we head back down to Hereford for the 4wd version of British Winter Open Championships. Today sees more competition in 7 heats as well as drivers such as Simon Moss, Mat Dodd and Paul Robinson. It will be tougher to be a double A Finalist this weekend but that has to be the aim from my point of view.
As with any typical 1/10th Indoor Meeting I'm hopeful that we won't have to make many changes to the car and I'm confident there will be no tyre choice today, mini pins all the way!
Yesterday we ran an hour a round and there's no reason that we can't do that again with 7 heats so I'm hopeful we will once again see 6 qualifying rounds, more racing for the money!
Practice 1
I've been places in Heat 7 today for practice which once again looks a competitive heat.
Practice was ok, for the first half of the race I was still in 2wd mode and driving really easy. The transition between slippy and carpet is noticeable and is where I struggled most. Although dowager the end I was getting used to it.
Practice 2
For 2nd practice I've dropped to a 6.5 motor from the 5.5 and gone up a tooth to a 24. The idea is to try and calm the at down coming out of corners. Set up wise I think the car is there or there abouts. It was plenty quick enough in practice 1 so we'll see what this does
After that run it's fair to say I'm putting the 5.5 back in! The car was a bit slower down the straight and I didn't think the slower motor affected the car in the infield changed much.
Overall after practice I'm feeling a little less confident however we haven't been timed yet running round so it is difficult to say. It looks like it's going to be a close one again today and a top 10 finish is going to be tough
Drivers Briefing
Due to people having to travel a long distance to get home it's been decided today that there will be 5 rounds of qualifying with your best 2 to count, 10 points from 2 rounds could be needed to make the A Final
Round 1
Round 1 is always about keeping it clean and smooth for me. A lot of the drivers usually push a little too hard so there are valuable points to be had here
A couple of small errors early on were nearly costly but I managed to get into a rhythm and finish 3rd in the race about 6 seconds behind Sleigh and Stafford. It did however see me take 5th in the round
Round 2
We've left the car the same again for round 2. I'm looking for another clean run and hopefully another top 6 which should see me in and around the top 10 overall
Another 5th in round achieved and another clean run, that should see me in the A Final again this weekend. There's nothing to report in terms of car changes as there is nothing that needs doing!
I'm in a unique situation that where a 5th is the best I can achieve without people dropping out. That said the idea will be for me to keep taking points of anyone else that can get near so I need to keep going!
Round 3
Another 5th means I take points from some drivers but not all, Dave Poulter takes a 4th! Moss broke and errors from Yardy allowed Ellis to take the round! It felt as though my car was super aggressive in the early stages of his race and once the edge was off the LiPo. Second half of the race it was awesome! We've had a chat about taking the weight out of the car but I'm going to leave it in
Round 4
New tyres did not work and also there has been a few random scores which has seen me drop to 8th overall on 10 points!
I had an early error and from there I let everyone through and just tried to run the tyres in as best as possible!
Round 5
Breakages and drop outs prior to my heat gave me the opportunity to put an amazing run in and a near clean 19 lapper gave me a 4th in the round. It puts me ahead of Poulter into 7th. As predicted at the start of the day it's been very close today and I have a feeling the 3 legged finals will be no different!
A Final - Leg 1
A slow but steady start from me got me into 5th and a comfortable 5th. One crash later (on a corner I haven't crashed on all weekend) sees me drop into the chasing pack and I ended up 8th after a scrappy race with Helliwell.
A Final - Leg 2
That leg was a lot better from my point of view! It ended up as a 5th, if I'm being honest I'm never going to challenge any higher! Ellis and Truman went, Moss and Sleigh battled, in reality the 5th could be attributed to Yardy failing to finish.
A Final - Leg 3
This was a race of 2 battles. There was a 3 way battle between Ellis, Sleigh and Truman and with Yardy and Moss out it left Poulter, myself, Robertson and Williams to go for 4th. After much chopping and changing it was Keith Robertson who got that 4th, I strengthen my position with a 5th, a result that would see me 5th overall, what a result for me!
As with any typical 1/10th Indoor Meeting I'm hopeful that we won't have to make many changes to the car and I'm confident there will be no tyre choice today, mini pins all the way!
Yesterday we ran an hour a round and there's no reason that we can't do that again with 7 heats so I'm hopeful we will once again see 6 qualifying rounds, more racing for the money!
Practice 1
I've been places in Heat 7 today for practice which once again looks a competitive heat.
Practice was ok, for the first half of the race I was still in 2wd mode and driving really easy. The transition between slippy and carpet is noticeable and is where I struggled most. Although dowager the end I was getting used to it.
Practice 2
For 2nd practice I've dropped to a 6.5 motor from the 5.5 and gone up a tooth to a 24. The idea is to try and calm the at down coming out of corners. Set up wise I think the car is there or there abouts. It was plenty quick enough in practice 1 so we'll see what this does
After that run it's fair to say I'm putting the 5.5 back in! The car was a bit slower down the straight and I didn't think the slower motor affected the car in the infield changed much.
Overall after practice I'm feeling a little less confident however we haven't been timed yet running round so it is difficult to say. It looks like it's going to be a close one again today and a top 10 finish is going to be tough
Drivers Briefing
Due to people having to travel a long distance to get home it's been decided today that there will be 5 rounds of qualifying with your best 2 to count, 10 points from 2 rounds could be needed to make the A Final
Round 1
Round 1 is always about keeping it clean and smooth for me. A lot of the drivers usually push a little too hard so there are valuable points to be had here
A couple of small errors early on were nearly costly but I managed to get into a rhythm and finish 3rd in the race about 6 seconds behind Sleigh and Stafford. It did however see me take 5th in the round
Round 2
We've left the car the same again for round 2. I'm looking for another clean run and hopefully another top 6 which should see me in and around the top 10 overall
Another 5th in round achieved and another clean run, that should see me in the A Final again this weekend. There's nothing to report in terms of car changes as there is nothing that needs doing!
I'm in a unique situation that where a 5th is the best I can achieve without people dropping out. That said the idea will be for me to keep taking points of anyone else that can get near so I need to keep going!
Round 3
Another 5th means I take points from some drivers but not all, Dave Poulter takes a 4th! Moss broke and errors from Yardy allowed Ellis to take the round! It felt as though my car was super aggressive in the early stages of his race and once the edge was off the LiPo. Second half of the race it was awesome! We've had a chat about taking the weight out of the car but I'm going to leave it in
Round 4
New tyres did not work and also there has been a few random scores which has seen me drop to 8th overall on 10 points!
I had an early error and from there I let everyone through and just tried to run the tyres in as best as possible!
Round 5
Breakages and drop outs prior to my heat gave me the opportunity to put an amazing run in and a near clean 19 lapper gave me a 4th in the round. It puts me ahead of Poulter into 7th. As predicted at the start of the day it's been very close today and I have a feeling the 3 legged finals will be no different!
A Final - Leg 1
A slow but steady start from me got me into 5th and a comfortable 5th. One crash later (on a corner I haven't crashed on all weekend) sees me drop into the chasing pack and I ended up 8th after a scrappy race with Helliwell.
A Final - Leg 2
That leg was a lot better from my point of view! It ended up as a 5th, if I'm being honest I'm never going to challenge any higher! Ellis and Truman went, Moss and Sleigh battled, in reality the 5th could be attributed to Yardy failing to finish.
A Final - Leg 3
This was a race of 2 battles. There was a 3 way battle between Ellis, Sleigh and Truman and with Yardy and Moss out it left Poulter, myself, Robertson and Williams to go for 4th. After much chopping and changing it was Keith Robertson who got that 4th, I strengthen my position with a 5th, a result that would see me 5th overall, what a result for me!
Saturday 22 January 2011
Race Day - BWOC 2wd - Hereford
So we're off and running here at Hereford. Disappointing turnout with only 6 heats but competition is tough at the top end with Danny McGee, Ellis Stafford, Tom Yardy and Scott Whyman in attendance. Rumours are rife in the pits with regards to today's format of racing, I believe we are having 6 rounds of qualifying with your best 3 rounds to count, another option is 5 rounds of qualifying with 2 to count and 3 legged finals for all, we will soon know!
Practice 1
The only decision I have to make this morning is the front tyre choice. I've opted for Mini Pins for round 1 and thinking Staggered Ribs for round 2.
The practice itself was ok, I've not had a lot of confidence running a mid motored 2wd before and so far today, albeit 4 minutes in, confidence is high! As always with first practice you can never tell!
Practice 2
Time for staggered ribs! Let's see how this goes!
It's fair to say it was no where near as good in my opinion. I really struggled with under steer on the slippy sections. Back to the mini pins for round 1
Drivers Briefing
Paul Worsley delivered his usual spiel to the drivers and most importantly announced 6 rounds of qualifying with best 3 to count!
Round 1
A surprisingly good run for me sees me take 7th. It possibly should have been better but it's so close overall, one error can see you drop a lot places as I found out on the last lap!
Round 2
No changes on the car for this one
Despite an error on my in lap I was the 4th fastest in that round. Lloyd Storey has taken overall TQ from Tom Yardy, Danny McGee went 3rd. The only difficulty I should face in terms of car set up now is tyre choice. The mini pins are looking worn but not too bad, we'll leave them for this one. The aim is for one more top 5 (minimum) which should see me in the A Final on 16 points. Although saying that with the unknown territory of 3 rounds of qualifying to count who knows what will bottom out the A!
Round 3
Round 3 went according to plan and resulted in being top Cougar in the round and scoring another 4th. The track is an easy one to drive but hard to keep it going for 5 minutes. Once or twice I'm over shooting the double jumps which may only cost a couple of tenths but that could prove crucial. Overall after Round 3:
Round 4
Despite driving with 'Pig Hands' (Quote - Dave Fat Jesus Amish Gibson) I improved by 1 point and achieved 5th in the round. With 2 rounds to go I'm sitting 5th overall on 13 points which is by far a lot better than I thought I'd do!
Round 5 will see me put new mini pins on all round to scrub them in for the A Final, it may be a little bit to much to handle but we'll see!
Round 5
New tyres were not the way forward!!! Still a very creditable 6th as we head into round 6!
Slight speed control setting change for me going into round 6, we're going to drop the initial punch setting down by one just to try and take a little more edge of the car under power.
Round 6 - Final Round
Well it's fair to say that was a random last round! During our practice laps it was very apparent the grip had gone, it was like Bambi on ice. I drove the best I've ever drove the Cougar and won the heat only to find out that one competitor from the previous heat had dropped a shock and oil was everywhere! I was the quickest in the top 2 heats but finished 3rd in the round behind Paul Wragg and Rob West. My best lap was 18.05 compared to Wragg's 16.90, that's how much difference was made! As a result Wragg displaces Helliwell in the A Final. Final positions are:
A Final - Leg 1
So my first 1/10th National A Final (excluding end if season finals) sees me line up smack bang in the middle of the pack in 5th. It's a fairly daunting position which sees me allow Sleigh around the outside drops me to 6th. A small tap from Wragg sees me drop straight to 9th and the hard work begins! I eventually worked my way up to 3rd and was holding the train of Sleigh, Stafford and Yardy comfortably behind until a loose screw popped out and the driveshaft came out of the outdrive with 3 corners to go! I ended up 6th :-(
A final - Leg 2
An amazing start sees regulation order for the first 5 cars for about 2 minutes. When it came to lapping back markers though I managed to find every single car that had crashed on it's roof and this cost me again! A battle with Poulter ensued for the final few laps and it resulted in another 6th finish!
A Final - Leg 3
Another poor start (tapped again) sees me in a 4 way battle for most of the race with Poulter, Stafford and Wragg for 7th to 10th. After much position swapping Stafford and Poulter dropped out and I worked back up to 6th once more after Robertson made a few errors.
Final positions are as follows:
Not a bad result and one I would have taken at the start of today for sure! Now for the journey home and back tomorrow for 4wd!
Practice 1
The only decision I have to make this morning is the front tyre choice. I've opted for Mini Pins for round 1 and thinking Staggered Ribs for round 2.
The practice itself was ok, I've not had a lot of confidence running a mid motored 2wd before and so far today, albeit 4 minutes in, confidence is high! As always with first practice you can never tell!
Practice 2
Time for staggered ribs! Let's see how this goes!
It's fair to say it was no where near as good in my opinion. I really struggled with under steer on the slippy sections. Back to the mini pins for round 1
Drivers Briefing
Paul Worsley delivered his usual spiel to the drivers and most importantly announced 6 rounds of qualifying with best 3 to count!
Round 1
A surprisingly good run for me sees me take 7th. It possibly should have been better but it's so close overall, one error can see you drop a lot places as I found out on the last lap!
Round 2
No changes on the car for this one
Despite an error on my in lap I was the 4th fastest in that round. Lloyd Storey has taken overall TQ from Tom Yardy, Danny McGee went 3rd. The only difficulty I should face in terms of car set up now is tyre choice. The mini pins are looking worn but not too bad, we'll leave them for this one. The aim is for one more top 5 (minimum) which should see me in the A Final on 16 points. Although saying that with the unknown territory of 3 rounds of qualifying to count who knows what will bottom out the A!
Round 3
Round 3 went according to plan and resulted in being top Cougar in the round and scoring another 4th. The track is an easy one to drive but hard to keep it going for 5 minutes. Once or twice I'm over shooting the double jumps which may only cost a couple of tenths but that could prove crucial. Overall after Round 3:
Round 4
Despite driving with 'Pig Hands' (Quote - Dave Fat Jesus Amish Gibson) I improved by 1 point and achieved 5th in the round. With 2 rounds to go I'm sitting 5th overall on 13 points which is by far a lot better than I thought I'd do!
Round 5 will see me put new mini pins on all round to scrub them in for the A Final, it may be a little bit to much to handle but we'll see!
Round 5
New tyres were not the way forward!!! Still a very creditable 6th as we head into round 6!
Slight speed control setting change for me going into round 6, we're going to drop the initial punch setting down by one just to try and take a little more edge of the car under power.
Round 6 - Final Round
Well it's fair to say that was a random last round! During our practice laps it was very apparent the grip had gone, it was like Bambi on ice. I drove the best I've ever drove the Cougar and won the heat only to find out that one competitor from the previous heat had dropped a shock and oil was everywhere! I was the quickest in the top 2 heats but finished 3rd in the round behind Paul Wragg and Rob West. My best lap was 18.05 compared to Wragg's 16.90, that's how much difference was made! As a result Wragg displaces Helliwell in the A Final. Final positions are:
A Final - Leg 1
So my first 1/10th National A Final (excluding end if season finals) sees me line up smack bang in the middle of the pack in 5th. It's a fairly daunting position which sees me allow Sleigh around the outside drops me to 6th. A small tap from Wragg sees me drop straight to 9th and the hard work begins! I eventually worked my way up to 3rd and was holding the train of Sleigh, Stafford and Yardy comfortably behind until a loose screw popped out and the driveshaft came out of the outdrive with 3 corners to go! I ended up 6th :-(
A final - Leg 2
An amazing start sees regulation order for the first 5 cars for about 2 minutes. When it came to lapping back markers though I managed to find every single car that had crashed on it's roof and this cost me again! A battle with Poulter ensued for the final few laps and it resulted in another 6th finish!
A Final - Leg 3
Another poor start (tapped again) sees me in a 4 way battle for most of the race with Poulter, Stafford and Wragg for 7th to 10th. After much position swapping Stafford and Poulter dropped out and I worked back up to 6th once more after Robertson made a few errors.
Final positions are as follows:
Not a bad result and one I would have taken at the start of today for sure! Now for the journey home and back tomorrow for 4wd!
2wd Hereford Track
Despite limited time last night Hereford have put on a decent track for us today
Let's go!
Let's go!
Monday 17 January 2011
British Winter Open Championships - THIS WEEKEND!
So my 2011 1/10th Off Road racing kicks off this coming weekend down in Sunny Hereford! I will be 'reporting' live from the event so feel free to pop along to see how I'm fairing against some of the UK's finest drivers!
Reports that the likes of Tom Yardy, Ellis Stafford, Tony Truman and new Micro Legend Dave Belsten will be competing to become British Indoor Champion, 2wd will be on the Saturday and 4wd is on Sunday.
The event has already had it's issues with reports of low numbers and a venue change at the last minute but I know from experience that the lads in Hereford will put on a great show.
As always I know that the BRCA 1/10th Section will be putting on a great show!
Reports that the likes of Tom Yardy, Ellis Stafford, Tony Truman and new Micro Legend Dave Belsten will be competing to become British Indoor Champion, 2wd will be on the Saturday and 4wd is on Sunday.
The event has already had it's issues with reports of low numbers and a venue change at the last minute but I know from experience that the lads in Hereford will put on a great show.
As always I know that the BRCA 1/10th Section will be putting on a great show!
Thursday 13 January 2011
Refilling My Shark Shocks
The process for filling up your shocks is a simple one BUT if it is something you've never done before or only a handful of timed then it can be daunting! By following my simple procedure below you should be able to get through the process:
Step 1 - Remove the shocks from the car
As obvious as that sounds I have seen people try to do them without taking them off and it doesn't work!!
Step 2 - Do one shock at a time
It's easy to forget which shock spacers / springs go where if you're new to this!
Step 3 - Empty the old oil into a throw away container or a bin
Well there's no point keeping the old oil!!
Step 4 - Filling the shock with the new oil
Fill up the shock leaving a small gap at the top end of the shock body, do not fill to the top
Step 5 - Checking the shock
Place the Shock cap on the Shock body and compress the shaft into the body. You should be able to push the shaft all the way into the body with minimal resistance. If you can't do this or the resistance is great then take some oil out. Once you release the shock you should see a 'rebound' of the shaft and the shaft should move back towards the starting position. If there is little rebound then add a little more oil. Don't add too much though as you may end up taking some out!
Repeat the above process on all shocks and remember to put them back on the car once done!!
I hope the above is of some help!
Step 1 - Remove the shocks from the car
As obvious as that sounds I have seen people try to do them without taking them off and it doesn't work!!
Step 2 - Do one shock at a time
It's easy to forget which shock spacers / springs go where if you're new to this!
Step 3 - Empty the old oil into a throw away container or a bin
Well there's no point keeping the old oil!!
Step 4 - Filling the shock with the new oil
Fill up the shock leaving a small gap at the top end of the shock body, do not fill to the top
Step 5 - Checking the shock
Place the Shock cap on the Shock body and compress the shaft into the body. You should be able to push the shaft all the way into the body with minimal resistance. If you can't do this or the resistance is great then take some oil out. Once you release the shock you should see a 'rebound' of the shaft and the shaft should move back towards the starting position. If there is little rebound then add a little more oil. Don't add too much though as you may end up taking some out!
Repeat the above process on all shocks and remember to put them back on the car once done!!
I hope the above is of some help!
Tuesday 11 January 2011
The LRP LWB Shark Rebuild - Pre Electrics!
Just to show what you can achieve in 25 minutes!!
The car needs a little bit of TLC to be fair so I've decided to rebuild it. The rebuild will really just be a check and not to replace everything. I'll be looking for bent screws, dodgy bearings etc.....
During the 'destruction' it was noted that steering was catching on the Servo Brace Holder causing less steering to the left, it was noticeable on Sunday on the Polished Floor but I attributed to the fact it wasn't carpet! Time to get the dremel on that!
Where To Start
As a precaution I always check all the bearings to make sure they are all working ok. The bearings to check are as follows:
2 x Front Diff
2 x Read Diff
8 x Wheel Hubs (2 for each wheel)
3 x Prop Shaft (1 at each end and 1 on Spur Gear)
All bearings checked and ready to go, time for the rebuild to begin!
Prop Shaft and Diffs in
When putting the diffs in please note that there are groves in the diff housing which shows you which side the diff gear sits
Next comes the diff covers/housings which will ensure the diff will not fall out when you turn the car upside down!! The rear wishbone is added along with the wing mounts to give us the following:
It is important to note that I always make sure the prop shaft is spinning freely through each stage of the build. It's the worst feeling ever when you finish the build to find something wrong and having to start again!!
You do have a choice of what to build next, in this case I'll start with the front end. Don't worry south the driveshafts too much at this stage at you can always get these in easily at a later stage
And now the rear end. It's important to note that you shouldn't over tighten your screws and check that the wishbones move freely up and down while the shocks aren't on. This will show you that your hinge pins are still straight and will ensure the wishbones return to the correct level. Also I'd recommend attaching the rear role-bar on BEFORE fastening the upper links otherwise the job becomes a bit of a fiddle!
Next the driveshafts and shocks are to go on as well as the battery bar post
And the finished (so far) product:
Next time I'll be sorting out the electrics back in the car, you'll have to excuse the wiring!!
The car needs a little bit of TLC to be fair so I've decided to rebuild it. The rebuild will really just be a check and not to replace everything. I'll be looking for bent screws, dodgy bearings etc.....
During the 'destruction' it was noted that steering was catching on the Servo Brace Holder causing less steering to the left, it was noticeable on Sunday on the Polished Floor but I attributed to the fact it wasn't carpet! Time to get the dremel on that!
Where To Start
As a precaution I always check all the bearings to make sure they are all working ok. The bearings to check are as follows:
2 x Front Diff
2 x Read Diff
8 x Wheel Hubs (2 for each wheel)
3 x Prop Shaft (1 at each end and 1 on Spur Gear)
All bearings checked and ready to go, time for the rebuild to begin!
Prop Shaft and Diffs in
When putting the diffs in please note that there are groves in the diff housing which shows you which side the diff gear sits
Next comes the diff covers/housings which will ensure the diff will not fall out when you turn the car upside down!! The rear wishbone is added along with the wing mounts to give us the following:
It is important to note that I always make sure the prop shaft is spinning freely through each stage of the build. It's the worst feeling ever when you finish the build to find something wrong and having to start again!!
You do have a choice of what to build next, in this case I'll start with the front end. Don't worry south the driveshafts too much at this stage at you can always get these in easily at a later stage
And now the rear end. It's important to note that you shouldn't over tighten your screws and check that the wishbones move freely up and down while the shocks aren't on. This will show you that your hinge pins are still straight and will ensure the wishbones return to the correct level. Also I'd recommend attaching the rear role-bar on BEFORE fastening the upper links otherwise the job becomes a bit of a fiddle!
Next the driveshafts and shocks are to go on as well as the battery bar post
And the finished (so far) product:
Next time I'll be sorting out the electrics back in the car, you'll have to excuse the wiring!!
Sunday 9 January 2011
Photo Quality From Caldicot National
Apologies to those who were following today. The photo's have appeared to come across all blurred, I'm not sure why this has happened as last time they were all ok.
If you have any thoughts on the write-up from today or any ideas to improve it please let me know!
Thanks
If you have any thoughts on the write-up from today or any ideas to improve it please let me know!
Thanks
Race Day - Caldicot National
So the first major meeting for me in 2011 is the Micro National at Caldicot. Once again the track is a superb one!
Practise
Practise was a frustrating one for me. I felt somewhat off the pace in my race with Phil Sleigh and Steve Biscoe laying down the law in Heat 7. It's difficult to tell as lap times aren't published but Craig Harris and Tony Bishop are looking good on Heat 8 and all eyes were on the Micro debutant and 1/10th Off Road hero Dave Belsten in Heat 6. Belsten was putting in some consistently quick laps.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 1
With Round 1 over Championship Leader Craig Harris has dominated with the only 21 lapper, Sleigh (driving the Carisma) was just off 21 laps, Danny Conway drove an excellent second half of his race to come in third, I was fourth with Bishop in fifth
I'd set my car up to go on Pins for Round 1 only for the heating to be turned off which meant a quick change back to my less favoured White Rally Blocks. The heating situation has caused a lot of discussion, if the heating stays on or off all day then that is good, if it keeps getting turned off and on then it will effect track conditions. At the start of Round 2 it's been turned back on but there is no sign of Harris will no doubt ensure it is turned off!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 2
For this round I have turned the start mode on the speed controller right down which will hopefully take away some of the aggression. Slow and steady appears to the order of the day. Let's hope we can get close to Harris!!
DID NOT GO TO PLAN!! - I failed to finish after the car stopped, it turns out to be a connection in the battery. I had gone on Pins and it's fair to sat it didn't work! Continued domination from Harris and a great drive from Bish sees him jump to second in the round
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 3
This round has seen me move the shocks around a bit. I've gone to the outer hole on the front wishbones and moved in one hole on the rear shock tower. I'm trying to get the car more stable, I'm also back on White Rally Blocks
BETTER
Well that was a lot better, the felt as if it was a bit skiddy on the back end. I'm going back to my usual 80 weight shock oil on the rear and I'm going to move the shocks in again on the rear wishbone. I'm also going to change motor as I thought there was some cogging.
I'm sitting on 2 4s at the minute in fifth place. With a good clean run I have a chance of getting third or fourth. We'll see!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 4
I was looking great in Round 4 until the unthinkable happened and I stripped the spur gear! So it wasn't meant to be but I did qualify 5th. A top 5 finish is something I'd have taken at the start of the day. Harris poled, Sleigh qualified second, Conway was third and Bishop fourth.
As I was changing the spur gear for the final I tried the car to make sure the meshing was right, this unfortunately blew the new motor so the old one went back in!!
--------------------------------
FINAL
The final was a strange one, an early error from Bish allowed me to gain fourth place for a while until I fell off the table top and dropped to 7th. Harris dominated from start to finish with Conway a clear second. Thanks to a superb last few laps from Sleigh he promoted himself to third. It's been a long hard day but I have learnt more about the car ready for next time it's slippy!
Id like to give a special mention to young Morgan Rham who qualified 9th in the B Final and drove himself to 2nd and congrats to Dave Belsten for making the 'A' Final in his first (and probably only) Micro National
The next National sees is go to Swansea, the one I TQ'd last year and led until a motor blew! Let's hope for a better result this time!
Practise
Practise was a frustrating one for me. I felt somewhat off the pace in my race with Phil Sleigh and Steve Biscoe laying down the law in Heat 7. It's difficult to tell as lap times aren't published but Craig Harris and Tony Bishop are looking good on Heat 8 and all eyes were on the Micro debutant and 1/10th Off Road hero Dave Belsten in Heat 6. Belsten was putting in some consistently quick laps.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 1
With Round 1 over Championship Leader Craig Harris has dominated with the only 21 lapper, Sleigh (driving the Carisma) was just off 21 laps, Danny Conway drove an excellent second half of his race to come in third, I was fourth with Bishop in fifth
I'd set my car up to go on Pins for Round 1 only for the heating to be turned off which meant a quick change back to my less favoured White Rally Blocks. The heating situation has caused a lot of discussion, if the heating stays on or off all day then that is good, if it keeps getting turned off and on then it will effect track conditions. At the start of Round 2 it's been turned back on but there is no sign of Harris will no doubt ensure it is turned off!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 2
For this round I have turned the start mode on the speed controller right down which will hopefully take away some of the aggression. Slow and steady appears to the order of the day. Let's hope we can get close to Harris!!
DID NOT GO TO PLAN!! - I failed to finish after the car stopped, it turns out to be a connection in the battery. I had gone on Pins and it's fair to sat it didn't work! Continued domination from Harris and a great drive from Bish sees him jump to second in the round
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 3
This round has seen me move the shocks around a bit. I've gone to the outer hole on the front wishbones and moved in one hole on the rear shock tower. I'm trying to get the car more stable, I'm also back on White Rally Blocks
BETTER
Well that was a lot better, the felt as if it was a bit skiddy on the back end. I'm going back to my usual 80 weight shock oil on the rear and I'm going to move the shocks in again on the rear wishbone. I'm also going to change motor as I thought there was some cogging.
I'm sitting on 2 4s at the minute in fifth place. With a good clean run I have a chance of getting third or fourth. We'll see!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 4
I was looking great in Round 4 until the unthinkable happened and I stripped the spur gear! So it wasn't meant to be but I did qualify 5th. A top 5 finish is something I'd have taken at the start of the day. Harris poled, Sleigh qualified second, Conway was third and Bishop fourth.
As I was changing the spur gear for the final I tried the car to make sure the meshing was right, this unfortunately blew the new motor so the old one went back in!!
--------------------------------
FINAL
The final was a strange one, an early error from Bish allowed me to gain fourth place for a while until I fell off the table top and dropped to 7th. Harris dominated from start to finish with Conway a clear second. Thanks to a superb last few laps from Sleigh he promoted himself to third. It's been a long hard day but I have learnt more about the car ready for next time it's slippy!
Id like to give a special mention to young Morgan Rham who qualified 9th in the B Final and drove himself to 2nd and congrats to Dave Belsten for making the 'A' Final in his first (and probably only) Micro National
The next National sees is go to Swansea, the one I TQ'd last year and led until a motor blew! Let's hope for a better result this time!
Friday 7 January 2011
Further National Prep!
Well I've ran out of time to completely re-build the car! Therefore Plan B comes in to play which is just the shock top up!
I'm going to set the car up ready for Sunday which will mean me running White Rally Blocks at Ellesmere Port tonight. If we run full carpet then Mini-Pins would usually be the way but as I think I'm going to start on Rally Blocks on Sunday I may as well run then tonight!
So Schumacher 80 Weight Shock Oil all round with the usual combo of Green Springs on front and Blacks on the rear.
I did run the car for 5 minutes at Oswestry last week and the motor had moved, this will need checking tonight
I'm going to set the car up ready for Sunday which will mean me running White Rally Blocks at Ellesmere Port tonight. If we run full carpet then Mini-Pins would usually be the way but as I think I'm going to start on Rally Blocks on Sunday I may as well run then tonight!
So Schumacher 80 Weight Shock Oil all round with the usual combo of Green Springs on front and Blacks on the rear.
I did run the car for 5 minutes at Oswestry last week and the motor had moved, this will need checking tonight
Tuesday 4 January 2011
National Prep - Me!
So by completing my Entries Officer duties so you all can race the focus turns to me and my Shark!
The thing I love about these Micro Cars is how easy it is maintain! I like to be safe not sorry and as always before the National we will have a complete re-build of the car. The question is do I re-build the car before Ellesmere Port on Friday night or do I do it after?
Time permitting it will be done pre-Friday, looks like I'll have to find the time!! Pics to follow!
PS: I just remembered that I need to re-build Mike Elliot's SWB Shark as well due to the issues he was having at Dudley!!
Going to be busy!!
The thing I love about these Micro Cars is how easy it is maintain! I like to be safe not sorry and as always before the National we will have a complete re-build of the car. The question is do I re-build the car before Ellesmere Port on Friday night or do I do it after?
Time permitting it will be done pre-Friday, looks like I'll have to find the time!! Pics to follow!
PS: I just remembered that I need to re-build Mike Elliot's SWB Shark as well due to the issues he was having at Dudley!!
Going to be busy!!
National Prep - Entries Officer
Happy New Year to all my readers!!
The first week of the New Year is a busy one for me! Celebrating my birthday today for one and setting up the National Heat List among other things for Caldicot!
I will let you in to a little secret however, the heat list was complete last night and there will once again be 8 heats! This could easily change to 7 by the end of booking in with a few 'late' payers still to cross our palms with silver!
Setting up the heat list is the easy part of the task to be honest. Coming from a 1/10th Off Road background I follow a similar path in respect of what they do. The top 2 heats are split among the Championship leaders so those who never made the journey to Broughton are not at the top at the moment so end up starting off in a slightly false position. Cars 1-4 in each of the top heats are your current top 8 in the Championship with the remaining drivers made up by current ability rating as per our section rules.
The remainder of the heats are now sorted by a mixture of current Championship position and ability rating. Those drivers who have never competed in a BRCA Micro National are placed based on what I know about them! No 'new' driver will ever be placed in the top 2 heats regardless of whether or not they are world champion in another section.
Its important to remember that all the above only relates to the 1/16th 4wd class as there is only one heat in all other classes!
The heat list is then sent to Cris Oxley who offers his own thoughts
This week we've also got a software update to be downloaded as well sorting out the heats on the computer, that is the time consuming part!
Now my Entry Officer duties are sorted. Time to get myself sorted for the meeting!
The first week of the New Year is a busy one for me! Celebrating my birthday today for one and setting up the National Heat List among other things for Caldicot!
I will let you in to a little secret however, the heat list was complete last night and there will once again be 8 heats! This could easily change to 7 by the end of booking in with a few 'late' payers still to cross our palms with silver!
Setting up the heat list is the easy part of the task to be honest. Coming from a 1/10th Off Road background I follow a similar path in respect of what they do. The top 2 heats are split among the Championship leaders so those who never made the journey to Broughton are not at the top at the moment so end up starting off in a slightly false position. Cars 1-4 in each of the top heats are your current top 8 in the Championship with the remaining drivers made up by current ability rating as per our section rules.
The remainder of the heats are now sorted by a mixture of current Championship position and ability rating. Those drivers who have never competed in a BRCA Micro National are placed based on what I know about them! No 'new' driver will ever be placed in the top 2 heats regardless of whether or not they are world champion in another section.
Its important to remember that all the above only relates to the 1/16th 4wd class as there is only one heat in all other classes!
The heat list is then sent to Cris Oxley who offers his own thoughts
This week we've also got a software update to be downloaded as well sorting out the heats on the computer, that is the time consuming part!
Now my Entry Officer duties are sorted. Time to get myself sorted for the meeting!
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