Rule 2.0.4 on the first page of the rule book.....

It's more to do with saving companies thousands of $/£/€ on testing for a 1 off event to find that "magic" tyre... Just like what happened at the WC in Bangkok.

It's the exact same reason that TC had limited the number of tires allowed as in past events when testing, it was utterly pointless to go on track with 1 run old tires as at the actual event, you were running new tires every round of qualifying.

Assume 1 TC driver (any driver, factory or not) went to test for a WC, assume they did a 2 day test, 8 runs per day, that's 16 sets of rubber needing to be used for 1 test. And at the price they RRP at in the UK £25, that's £400 on rubber alone for 1 driver, for 2 days.
And that's just assuming you know the control rubber tyre.


The cost rises exponentially when you factor in 12th on Tarmac and have no clue which tire will be best, or size....

And that's why 12th will be a control tire if it were to be held on Tarmac.

There is no rule 2.0.4 in either the General Rules (amended January 2011) or the Electric Track Rules (amended April 2012) on the IFMAR website. Do you have a different copy?

Rule 1.0.4 (which I've already quoted) that you might be referring to says: "1.0.4 The track surface for 1/12th Class is recommended to be indoors on standardised needle carpet." It doesn't say anything about tyres.

Naoto Matsukura is an aggressive driver but I would not call him a hack. I have seen the videos and all I see is a guy that gets mad when things are not going his way and then is very impatient and takes chances when overtaking to get back to the front. Fortunately he has the skill and the car to pull off some insane moves on the track. He is the best 1/12th driver in the world.

As far as Yokomo and tires...Every foam tire manufacturer has access to different types of foam but only Yokomo seems to be aggressively putting R&D effort into 1/12 tire compounds. The rest are using the same foam they have used for 20 years. I don't blame them as there is not much $$ in the foam tire business outside of Nitro racing.

I think the Hanger 30 facility in WA could be a great venue. They could run Sedan and 1/12 on a huge carpet track. To eliminate any advantage for 1/12 racers running Sedan later in the week you could run one class clock wise and the other counter clock wise.

Seattle WA, is a awesome city and the facility can house a huge ETS style Carpet Track with pits. Sponsorship dollars could fund rent, new carpet/barriers and minor facility/cosmetic improvements. ROAR would supply the timing and scoring gear and tech team. CRC would certainly sponsor the event and may donate or deeply discount the carpet.

http://youtu.be/HRjHAT45QMc

Hmmm they must have taken it out of the rules then as it used to be there and it's in the copy I have saved on my computer, it's probably been updated without me noticing.

EDIT: just seen my copy is almost 2 updates old, done 2009 after Bangkok lol.

Not to take anything away from him as he IS The fastest 12th driver in the world but....

You ask any "pro" driver that has raced with him and they would all disagree. They all cant stand racing in a race with him. Not because he's fast but because the way he drives and complete disrespect for anyone else on the track. Its what happens when your a 3 time WC and a teenager I guess.

They would all agree he has earned the name "Hacksukura".

EA

For the benefit of the Europeans,Americans dont have a goverment mandated vacation period from their work. So even if you have one or two weeks off, a lot of people are not going to give that time off to staff an rc car race.
There are just not as many volunteers.to be had.

Someone should ask Andy Moore and CRC if Naoto is a hack. Even Scotty was calling for a stop & go while announcing the race.

Couldn't agree more!!Watching him blow the first corner and then try to slam the door shut on Volker was hilarious. His car got blasted into the outside wall, which is what he deserved. Then watching him storm off and throw a little fit was even more entertaining. Hard to believe he has ZERO problem peeling his way to the front of races after he makes a mistake, but gets so bent out of shape when someone else hits him.

Yes, these are the tracks and I am sorry to say that the interest is not there for them to host it.

Last year Naoto wasn't the fastest 1/12th driver in the world, Andy was.
If Naoto hadn't ploughed into the traffic then Andy would be 1/12th WC.

I have spoken to Andy about the whole thing, he was extremely diplomatic about it, not a bad word said. I know if it was me then I would have more to say!

If that's how he wants to win his titles then I guess that's up to him. :(

Hangar 30 is currently going through an overhaul, lighting and heat are the major ones we are excited for.... 20,000 square feet could handle it.

I do feel if the US is going to host, the wheels should start turning. I would think it is a butt load of work to pull something like this off, wherever it is.

Regarding easier on organizers and racers........

I meant in reference to weather mainly. There are other things also like using one venue, which really doesn't matter the surface.

The point was about boosting US entries if ROAR decided to do the event.

Jeff