Next Almost Live Race Coverage: 2008 Ontario Off Road Electric Provincial Championships!

Ontario Provincial Championships
July 11th to 13th
Sid's Raceway
Mississauga, Ontario

Well it is coming..... johnnyboy.ca will be "Almost Live" again with his coverage of the 2008 Ontario Provincial Championships hosted by Sid's Raceway (http://www.sidsraceway.com/). Looks like we have pulled in racers from all over Ontario, Quebec, New York and maybe even some from Pennsylvania and Ohio! Should be a great event and hopefully Mother Nature co-operates so that we can have a great weekend of racing action. Lots of people have really upped their game and will be gunning to become the Provincial Champion. There have been some great prizes donated from Team Orion (motors and batteries etc) and XXX Main. On-line registration is open at Sid's Raceway website. So rebuild you cars and bring your A game next weekend. See you all there.

Some New Kyosho RB5 Parts

I forgot to post these up a couple of weeks ago:

LAW39 - Steel suspension bushings

UMW513 - Idle gear made from a new material

UMW512 - Alloy rear suspension mount (rear)

UMW511 - Alloy rear suspension mount (front)

UM112H - New harder ball cups

ROAR Region 1 Championships - Day 2

So Day two brought more track chaos. It rained overnight and the track was quite damp and the forecast was for more thunderstorms around 4pm. We had a little bit of practice at the start of the day and the track was AWESOME for traction. The 2wd cars were easily quadding the 4 pack and you could just pin the throttle. The sun was out though in full force though and started drying the track out pretty quick. Made for an interesting day.

2wd
I ran the IFMAR pin rear tires as they hooked up really well when the traction was up. The tone went off and we were into A1.

A1
The track was actually pretty dry and my RB5 was having problems hooking up. I couldn't keep up the pace and could only hold off a hard charging Mike Barret for so long. He got by and we duked it out for the remainder of the race. Mike took the A1 win by 4 tenths of a second, myself in second and Chet ran a great race to slot into 3rd.

A2
Still struggling to find rear bite, I switched to Double Dee's in the rear. I had a pretty crappy race for the most part. Mike got by me after a fish tail session and this time he stretched it out while the rest of us battled it out for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th (we were all pretty close to each other). I will appologize once again to Mike Ameno for T Boning him on the back straight as I just couldn't stop in time and I felt pretty bad. Justin Williams drove a great race and came from last to second. I managed to hold on for 3rd. So Mike Barret wraps up the overall and his driving and car were just great out there.

A3
Well, I didn't do the math, but Justin i think needed to win and I needed to be up in the top 3 I think. I switched tires once again to Holeshots in a last ditch effort to gain some bite. Right off the bat I was loose as a goose again. Mike Ameno was even making fun of me on the stand as I fish tailed in front of him down the straight (it was a funny sight). Everyone was pretty close for the whole race. Sid's local Gino managed to weave his way into the lead for quite a few laps with Paul Nam in second and Justin Williams in third. I fell off pace and just couldn't lay any power down and fell back to 6th. It was quite frustrating. I was hoping Gino would pull out the win as that would keep me in second overall, but Justin got by Paul and then Gino and cruised it in for the win and relegate me to third overall :(




4wd A1
At the tone we all rocketed off and TQ Brian Bellinger and Goff Ryan kind of exchanged a little paint and I managed to sneak by Bellinger into second. We were all hauling and Goff and I had a small lead over the pack. The Lazer was dialed....until an awkward landing snapped a front hub (It surprised me as I didn't think is was that bad a landing)3 laps into it. I was pretty mad as the car was running great and I was in good position.

A2
Same kind of start for Brian and Goff. as they swapped paint and let everyone get close. Brian had a bobble and I managed to sneak by. Goff was hauling booty out there and it was hard to make up ground. I was faster on the first half but he was faster on the second half. Near the end though Goff had a BIG bobble and I managed to get into the lead and take the win. Side note: On one lap over the floater bumps Goff lost some speed and I actually jumped over him into the lead he got back past me, but it was a pretty cool thing to see.

A3
DRAMA! Again I didn't look at the math but I know Me, Brian and Goff and I think Scott were all still in the hunt for the win. The pressure was on! Off the tone Brian and Goff once again were tight with me in tow but I got tapped just before the 6 pack and there was a big pile up. I got the short end of that stick and I think I was down to last place. I could see what was going on in the lead as I was pushing it really hard trying to bridge back to the leaders (I needed a first or second to win the overall). I drove my ass off and was only a second off 3rd and two seconds out of 2nd when the time expired. Crazy close racing in the 4wd class. Bellinger ended up with the overall (after the tie breaker), Goff in second and me again in the third spot. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like a fast action packed race!




Random Thoughts:

- Thanks to the Glenwood crew for putting on a great race with great atmosphere. We always have a good time racing with these guys.
- Lots of great racing with all the different area's "Hometown Hero's" coming out and bringing some fierce competition. The racing action really was awesome.
- Thanks to "Pop's" Bar in Springville for stocking Rolling Rock beer (We don't have it in Canada...probably because we only have "real" beer..haha..I still love Rolling Rock though)
- "F" Canada Customs for the grilling at the border and finally getting pulled over and checked out (first time in about 6 years). The Customs "chicks" were power tripping and telling me that Radar Detectors are illegal in Ontario (Duh...but only to use, not to own) and that the Police have "detectors" for them (Duh part deux...that is why I have a undetectable one). The Customs "Dudes" were more relaxed and just doing their job (and asking if the detector really works..haha). Lastly, good thing they didn't dissect the car as it was PACKED to the roof. We were actually in and out of there pretty quick.
-"F" UPS for being late with my new Orion motors. I could have used the 10.5 in 2wd!
- If anyone finds a 4600 saddle pack on the side of the highway in the Niagara area, that would be Chet's...He left one under the car seat and I guess it shifted and in turn shorted out, spewing smoke and that awful electronics burning smell into the car. He quickly ejected it out the window...HAHAHA...too funny.
- Sid's Steve Newstead is a hardcore R/C'er. He drove all the way there just for Saturday as he had another commitment on Sunday.
- Lots of new faces from all the other tracks in the area. Hopefully you guys can make it up to our July 13th Provincial Championships race. Check out: http://www.sidsraceway.com/ for info on out track (schedule, pic's, videos, directions)
- 1/8th scale electric cars are getting so much better and are pretty damn cool. I think I am going to get set up with one for next year.
- It rained about 10 minutes after the last main was run.....




Mikeism's:
- Mike would NOT be happy with "Pop's" Bar for forgetting to bring out our salads..haha
- Mike's "diet" Novak motor might have been the ticket here too.

Pics:



Mike Barret's rides






Rick's J82. It was pretty cool.






Thanks for getting out of bed this weekend Drew!


"Trophy Maintenance Engineer" Milkman


Milkman's BK2 "Museum Piece "



Justin Williams's Car



Truck Results. Sorry but I didn't get to see too much of the Truck racing. Triple A Mains take up a lot of time for prep.

Videos:




A Lap with Steve's eRC8. The RC Product Designs kit is really nice! Looks factory. Steve finished building it about...oh...5 seconds before the first race. It looked pretty good for literally being out of the box!




Another lap with Steve and his B44. It was such a fun track.

I have a bit of race footage, but I need to compress it a bit first.

ROAR Region 1 Championships Day One

Well it started early. about 2am for Chet and 4 am for me. Forecast was 30% chance of scattered showers later on in the day. We got on the road around 5am and cruised through the border crossing and after about 2 hours (including a stop at the Duty Free) we arrived at Glenwood. Nice sunny day, not a cloud in the sky! We set up shop and started to practice and get caught up. The track layout is really sweet! Super flow with perfectly timed jumps. Traction was decent in the morning but we were still trying all sorts of tire combos. First round in 2wd was a learning curve. Tire choice is a bit of a crap shoot. I chose Double Dee's and they were a little slick. I think I was about 4th after the first round. 4wd...well we didn't make it to 4wd as part way through Steve's heat, the thunder, lightning, hail and rain hit. Took shelter for a while but it was a rather large cloud and it was lightning right on top of us! The rain cleared after a bit but the track was soaked. We headed back to the hotel while they cleaned it up. We called the track from the hotel and they said they would be running again in about a 1/2 hour. We rolled in after about 15 minutes and they had already started and we all missed our 1st round in 4wd. Great. A little mis-communication I suppose. The rain left the track nice and tacky and for Round 2 in 2wd, I laid down a scorcher! A good 11 seconds up on the field. 4wd was good too, I took TQ in both classes. Round 3 was fierce! I couldn't better my round in 2wd and broke an arm in 4wd. Brian Bellinger put it together and stole the TQ from me by about 3 seconds. Hot Bodies Goff Ryan also snuck in ahead of me by about 2 seconds. So TQ in 2wd Mod and 3rd in 4wd Mod. It's triple A Mains tomorrow though so anything can happen still. The tracks conditions change quite a bit throughout the day so finding the right tire for that time of day will be crucial. Gotta get some sleep...will fix the cars tomorrow morning.

Random Thoughts:
- The Sid's crew all made the A Main in 2wd. Gino and myself made it in 4wd, Steve in 2nd in the B and Chet is CQ after not really getting a good run in.
- The Glenwood guys did a fantastic job in this track layout. It is really fun and has so much variety to it.
- The dirt here is weird. Kind of like a talcum power.
- Being his close to Buffalo, we had some wings at dinner along with some fine Rolling Rock beer!
- The 8th scale electric cars are waaaay cool out there
- I am doing the Filipino Rain Dance hoping the track remains wet as the traction was perfect in Round 2.


Mikeism's:

- Mike would rule here as IFMAR Pins (his favorite tire) seems to be the tire of choice
- There was plenty of hot water at the bar we ate at (none of us had fish and well they forgot to give us our salads)
- Many beers beer consumed (not one Club Soda was seen in the bar)


Some pics:

Quick little drive!



My new Orion motors...missed the delivery *crap* Oh well they will be here on Monday I guess.



Steve staked out a sweet little spot, sheltered from the wind (and rain later on)


Gluing up lots of tires to try.

Steve getting the RC Products Designs eRC8 ready to go! This thing is bad ass!


A little Crawling Course set up as well

Action Shots:





Brian Bellinger workin hard out there

Drew getting everyone sorted in the PC

Steve doing his best to imitate Mike "The Encroacher" HAHA


Things got bad quick..The cracks of lightning right over us!



Steve trying to blend in with the locals with his Bills "Power Towel"

The A Main Line Ups:





Some Vids:



A Lap with Steve


Biblical rain, hail, and crazy thunder and lightning part way through the first round.

Biggest R/C Secret in the GTA????

I have been meaning to get this on here but I have been so freakin busy. I don't know why this has not gotten more press in the local R/C community/forums as it is HUGE news. Maybe I am breaking some kind of non-disclosure rule???LOL. Anyways, there is a new Off Road track being built and people must know about it (there must be some talk about this somewhere right?). Anyone want to guess where this is? It will be a killer track and the people running it know what they are doing! I'll leave the name out for now just in case...haha.




Side Note: HP Photosmart Premier does a pretty good automatic stitch job on photo's.

Next Almost Live Race Coverage: ROAR Region 1 Championships @ Glenwood RC Park

A last minute out of town trip for the wife now means I am once again free to play with toy cars! This time it is the ROAR Region 1 Championships held at Glenwood R/C Park in New York. we have never raced at their outdoor track so we are all excited to check it out as the Glenwood guys know how to make fun and technical tracks! Steve and Gino are heading down on Friday, but myself and Chet will be going down on Saturday morning. Mike is sipping Club Soda's overseas somewhere on vacation or something. I don't know where to go set up wise but there are a few fast Kyosho's down there so hopefully they can help me get up to speed quickly. So the camera is charged and the cars are...well still dirty (I'll have to get to those at some point!). I think the hotel has internet so hopefully I can update on Saturday night with some pics and video.




Random Info:

- The RB5 is now running the new Worlds rear end kit, but with the stock rear arms. I feel it gives the car more overall traction on looser tracks. So far my car is fastest with this set up.

- The Lazer ZX5SP was dialed and now is not so dialed. Don't know why, but I have a couple of tweaks to try out still.

- Hopefully my new 2008 Orion Race brushless motors come in this week as well as my Pro-Line tire order.

- Been soooo busy between Work, Kid, R/C, Bike Racing, Bike Race Officiating and other business crap that I am a little stretched thin. Hard to get everything done (the cars have been sitting in the corner of my basement for a couple of weeks now)

Well, the Dirt Storm was more of a Dust Devil. With the forecast showing rain, a lot of guys stayed in so we called it a club race. Well of course with the weather man calling for rain it was sunny and hot all day (well it did rain at about 7pm). I also forgot my camera and no one wanted to really take pictures cause it was hot as hell! So I apologize for the lack of coverage. Race results are here: www.sidsraceway.com. Short story: I TQ'd in 2wd and was well into the lead in the main until a lower rear shock screw came out. Gino (who broke earlier in the main) made a quick 1 minute pit fix taking the screw off his car and putting it on mine and I came back out to finish off the 10 minute main. I lost 2-3 laps though and couldn't make up the ground. I think I still finished 5th though. In 4wd I had some ball cup problems and didn't get a good run in. I was 7th on the grid for the main. I managed to reel in cars up to the second slot and started to catch Steve out in the lead when his car broke with a couple of laps left to take the 4wd win. The 20 minute Truck main was crazy. After all that time on the track Sean and Richard were still battling for the lead and 3rd place Jay was still within striking distance! It came down to the last few corners with Richard pulling out the win followed by Sean and Jay.

Again, sorry for the quick update, but work has been crazy busy in the day and the kid keeps me jumping when I get home...haha

Next Almost Live Race Coverage: Sid's Raceway Dirt Storm 2008!

Back at you this weekend with another cutting edge race! Sid's Raceway will be running a 20 minute Truck A Main (15 minute "B" and 10 minute "C"mains) at this years "Dirt Storm" race! It really is going to be a dirt storm with all that running! The level of competition really has risen quite a bit and with 10 Minute Buggy mains as well, racers have been getting more bang for their buck at the track! It only makes sense though as back in the day we used to run on 1200mAH and could still last 4 minutes. I don't know why it has only been upped to 5 minutes seeing as though battery capacity has almost quadrupled! You would be surprised at how little capacity you actually use in a 5 minute race. The weather also looks good (for a change) and the Track Crew will be working this week getting the track into shape. I think they bought a gas powered tamper to hammer out some of the rough spots and keep the jumps nicely packed down. I have not had any chance to get out there and practice as work has been crazy, but I am super stoked to get out there and swap some paint again. As usual results and race videos (or for track info) you can go to: www.sidsraceway.com


This event will also hold one of the new Tamiya TCS Off Road Series. Hopefully they get some good action in there as well with people battling out for that free trip to California for the finals.

For more info on the TCS Series go here: Tamiya Canada

Random thoughts:

- While I like my current RB5 set up with the new Worlds kit, I am going to try going back to the stock rear arms with the new shorter towers just to see how it feels (I am expecting a little increase in rear traction).
- The Lazer SP will remain the same as the last race I think with the rear shocks mounted on the front side of the arms.
- Big thanks to XXX Main for stepping up and sponsoring (and/or co-sponsoring) the whole season. Really cool that they are helping out the electric scene again!
- Same with The Hobby Room. These guys are not even in this Province (I think they are in Alberta) and they step up an sponsor events and give out great deals to racers. Check them out at: www.hobbyroom.ca . Makes you wonder why more local stores don't get involved to get their name out there with the local racing community. I mean sponsor an event and set up a mobile shop in a small tent with some consumables like tires, spare parts and maybe a race day special? etc.


Mike'isms:

- It is supposed to be hot this weekend. Maybe I will surprise Mike with some ice cold Club Soda for his drinking pleasure at the track!