Hi all.

Just a quick update on the BR6 first outing at NDOR UK.

I was hoping to run at NRC Bromsgrove but due to the UK weather the event was cancelled so after spending all of Friday and Saturday building the car I needed to find an event to get it on the track!

So I headed to NDOR for round 2 of their winter series. This is a full astro turfed track with lots of tricks sections and a nice double and treble jump section. The weather was very cold and the track had a layer of ice which didnt seem to disappear as the day went on in places.

The BR6 was set up initially for dirt (the same set up as the BR5 dirt setup) but thought I would try it for the first run as the track was slippy and didnt really know what to expect with the BR6. I ran 5-5-3 in the diffs.

The first thing I noticed about the car was the initial pick up. The car seems a lot more responsive than the BR5 and the power was instant. The track was very tricky with the slippery conditions and I made quite a few errors on the first run getting used to the car with the current set up. From 80 entries I found myself in 48th place. Remember the car had never been run, completely out of the box with no option parts!

For round 2 I dropped the shock oil weight all round and the anti Roll (sway) bars to 2.4 all round and went back out. This felt a bit better and came in 38th. My lap times had improved by 1 to 2 seconds.

For round 3 I altered the shock positions inwards on the shock towers and moved the front to the inner hole on the lower and set the ride height to 25 rear 24 front. I also bolted on a louise high downforce wing for good measure. This run was much better and the car felt more stable, I was suffering with a bit of under steer and struggled with off power steering which frustrated me going into the tight corners in some sections but improved again putting me 25th in round.

So the car got quicker each round which is positive.

Onto the final and I found myself 5th in the D final which considering this was the cars first run and some top drivers in attendance not too bad really.

I had a terrible start and found myself dead last but kept my calm and found a rhythm during the 15 minute final and came through the field eventually winning by over 25 seconds. This proves the car has potential! I bumped into the C Final starting in 12th position. After a few laps I had found myself up to 3rd place and in the running for another bump up but the car suddenly felt odd and was struggling to keep hold of it, turns out that steering servo horn screw had worked lose and the horn eventually came off completely forcing me to retire. Very happy that this was the only issue all day though and can report that the new gears were fine, in fact no shimming was needed and the drive train is nice and free.

I just need to find a base astro set up next week and keep tinkering. I always ran 5-5-1 or 5-7-1 in the BR5 so may give this a go. I will also be trying the alloy castor blocks and chassis braces for the next run out.

Thanks for reading and I will keep you posted on the progress, The car is not yet where the BR5 was but I had a seasons racing with that one to get it how I wanted it, The BR6 is only 1 meeting old and can see it being a great car with massive potential.