flameoutgarrett

iTrader: (10)

Website says it's a raceday! Woohoo!!

JayBee

iTrader: (31)

Can it Garrett!!!!!

glweek

iTrader: (4)

Ill take the two thunderpowers! im Garrett Weekly btw and will be there tonight and Sat.

PutAwayWet

iTrader: (1)

Team Mason is racing tonight. 1/12th and WGT both of us. Let's get it on!

metalnut

iTrader: (36)

I'm about to subject my office mate to the soothing sound of a Lipo charger cooling fan.

flameoutgarrett

iTrader: (10)

Wes is bringing loaner wgt.. Who wants it? I'm pretty sure he is but he may forget

Blue Sky

iTrader: (5)

You got it Garret. Will bring them on Sat.

Buurin

Hey all.

Brand new to electric cars and rc racing. Just picked up a used TC6.1.

Given my complete lack of experience (I do have a Nitro car but I never ran it on a track) my priority is to get some track time.

What is a typical race day like? I got the summary from the site (build track, practice, qualifiers, tear down) but I am looking for a bit more detail around what to expect.

How long is practice? Do all classes and experience levels practice at the same time?

How do the races work? I see mention of a qualifier, how long is the race? What happens after?

For someone planning to participate in the Novice class, how much track time can I expect in a given night?

Any tips on places to practice on non-race days? Will asphalt destroy my chasis?

metalnut

iTrader: (36)

I'll attempt to answer your questions, others can correct me if I'm wrong. Still learning myself

As soon as we get the doors open, people bring their stuff in and start setting up. That involves helping with laying down the carpet for the tables, the tables themselves, as well as chairs and power strips. The race carpet is then pulled out of storage, as are the plastic pipes that define the track. I should mention that we have to bring all this stuff down some stairs, but it's not bad. The process is pretty well organized by now, usually it's done in 30-40 minutes I'd say, maybe even less.

As soon as the track is built and ready to go, open practice starts. Regular club race nights (so all in the list unless you see a special event mentioned) allow for all classes to practice together. Practice lasts until the first qualifier.

All classes except 1/12th scale get two 6 minute qualifiers and a 6 minute race. 1/12th scale qualifiers and race last 8 minutes each. Each round contains all classes, so every class will have their 1st qualifier, then every class will have their 2nd qualifier, then every class will have the race. After we break down the track, clean up and go home. Expect this to be anywhere from midnight to 2am.

About 1 to 1.5 hours of open practice before the first qualifier (depending on how quickly we get the track built), your two qualifiers and race, and usually a little time between rounds of open track (a few minutes while things are resorted).

Most people do not run their race cars in random parking lots or on the street. There are asphalt tracks around here specifically designed for racing, but I believe most (all?) are shut down for the winter. There are other carpet tracks around here too, though, if you don't mind a bit of a drive. You can also practice offroad as most of these skills are transferable.

Hope this helps, come join us

Slapmaster6000

iTrader: (16)

Buurin,
Practice time is highly sought after. It only exists after track build till the 1st qual. That is roughly 1 hour. I like to call it open chaos, but yes, all levels are on the track at the same. All are welcome. Everyone knows we are out there at our own risk and it's up to each driver to be courteous, be patient, and while at the same time if your car is a disaster-to pull it and fix it. Time is tight once qualifying starts. Only the Hangar may get 5 minutes in between rounds and the main. No practice after mains. Since we rent these venues, there is no other additional open practice time even though everyone wants it.

The format for a race day goes like this. Most arrive at 5p to set the track up, that takes about a 1/2 hour.

Practice and sign up goes from 5:30 to 6:45, all names are entered, heat sheets are posted and there is a quick drivers meeting.

1st qualifier starts at 7, usually with the Scale Spec class. Your qualifier time varies depending on your class enter: novice 5 min, SS, Stock & Mod TC & WGT & F-1 6 minutes, 12th scale 8 minutes. After you run your qualifier, you immediately go to the side of the track and perform what is called "corner marshaling" where you right any car that crashes. Everyone does this. There could be anywhere from 6 heats of cars to as many as 14 that would make up "a round". We run 2 rounds. Your best time/laps are taken to seat you in your proper main. The goal is to first: have fun, next is to top qualify. If there are say 15 cars in your class, you qualify 12th, you would be in the B Main. B Mains are run first when the mains begin. Should you win the B Main, you are eligible to bump up to the last position in the A Main which is run later.

At the conclusion of the mains, we tear the track down and put it in storage. The Hangar has been wrapping up about 10:45p and the Gym wraps up about 1:30a.

Our racing surface is a special blend of carpet that provides more traction then asphalt. You can set up your car to work on both surfaces. Most kits have a default setting that should be a great place to start. If you have access to a semi smooth piece of asphalt, that would be a great place to practice. If you have a leaf blower, tidy it up to get the little pebbles and dust off to the side. Gather up things like a garden hose, a broom, garbage can lid, things like that and layout some things to drive around. It will teach you some throttle control, left-right coming at you, and just get you used to driving around a confined course. Yeah, you might scratch your chassis on the asphalt, just make sure you're not jumping, smacking into curbs, parked cars, man-hole covers.

Hope that helps a little!
Brian

flameoutgarrett

iTrader: (10)

Holy cow 1/12 scale last night was fun... And close, really really close!

metalnut

iTrader: (36)

The more I watch you guys the more I think I'd like to try one of these foam rockets sometime. But that will have to wait until I can keep an RC car off of the pipes moreso than I do now. One day

Slapmaster6000

iTrader: (16)

12th was close! Garrett, you had an impressive evening! Now we just need that slacker Todd to pick up that 2-3 seconds and we'll have a legitimate wad of tq cars. It's funny, 17.5 feels pretty zippy at the Hangar. And 13.5 wgt requires far more throttle control then 10.5 did in Victoria.

OVA

iTrader: (86)

So what's 12th scale chassis is Garrett is driving?

PutAwayWet

iTrader: (1)

Trying a new car in 1/12th at the Hangar. A Generation Xi, and I think I like it! But, I did learn/confirm a couple things about my program.

1. Never Practice! Seriously, 2 laps, turned in at the end of the straight and bent the front end brace. "Practice" for me invariably means practice fixing my car in a rush before the race starts. Never again!

2. My son, my loving boy, does a pretty good job of moving over for the rest of you, which is good. I heard a couple "Coming Stuart...thank you's" during the runs. But, for dear old dad, nada. And by nada, I mean a door shot with conviction as I try to slip past. I'll remember that, son!

3. 8 minutes feels like an hour! The second qual was my hat hook for the night, holding off a quick Briscoe for an eternity. After just a slight bobble in the very early going I found my footing and a decent grasp of what the car can do. But, having gridded fourth for the qual, with Wes on point, he had come around on my tail. I was determined to stay on the same lap, and Wes was determined to crush my ego. Game on! I couldn't dump him, and he couldn't close. The ridges of my radio grip were indented in my palm by the end. I need to relax! But, that was a great heat. And, ego intact! Clean up that opening lap and there's my 3 seconds.

1/12th scale racing on a Wednesday night at Hangar 30. How long have we been doing this now? It never gets old