Hello~Ari
I wish you don't mind I post your race report here
M1B 2007 Australian Nationals Race
When: February 7th to 11th
Where: Shepparton Radio controlled car club
Melbourne Australia
Why: Australian National titles
Stats and Facts:
2 practice heats (no open practice)
Six, 10 minute qualifying rounds.
30 Min Semi Finals
60 minute main final
102 buggies entered.
30 Degree Celcius average temp.
Rained hard just before our final.
As you all would already know the M1 was recently released by Team Magic, this buggy being the most innovative to date. As expected there has been plenty “arm-chair engineers” that have given their imput. The results below should put all the critics to rest.
Prior to going down to Shepparton we had 2 practice days and one club race. The car ran well throughout the practice days and with my new found engine I have had zero motor issues, which in the past has been my personal major flaw. During the first few practice sessions we found the car to have plenty of steering (too much for the bumpy track), and not enough traction on power out of most corners. Dialing the steering out was not much of an issue with heavier front diff oils, and slightly heavier shock oil. The rear grip was found by using 3degree toe blocks and zero anti squat. I personally think the 3 degree plate is a “must” on almost all tracks. We now have a reasonably setup car that was pulling some decent lap times on a rough track, which is usually the norm come finals time.
Down to Shepparton we went, new car a basic setup and a whole lot of hope. I personally had never been down to Shepparton before and this was going to be another hurdle.
Day One: Controlled practice of 2 ten minute sessions (cut down from 3) were run and one qualifier in the afternoon. After the first practice round I was quite happy with how everything went. For the second practice session I made a couple of changes and was faster again. Time for the first qualifier and this is where the nerves kick in, its time to produce the goods. Overall I finished third in the first qualifier, which I was pleased about.
Day two and more qualifying rounds, four to be exact. Finishing in the top 5 in all qualification heats including one round win has placed me in second position with one round remaining. No real changes were made to the car today besides shortening the rear link which seemed to lock the rear end of the car in more on the Blue Groove surface. Bumps had started to form but nit too many.
Day three and the last qualifying round, just had to put another solid run in to secure second on the grid and once again produced the goods, second was mine. Time to go home and fully rebuild the car as the top 3 placings go straight into the Main final. Rebuilding the car is essential not because the car needs it, but to make sure nothing goes wrong in the Main final.
After good nights sleep I feel a million dollars and you need to be. After all lower and Truggy finals were run it was time for the buggy main. RAIN RAIN RAIN just before our final, drenching the track. Back to our pit areas to make some changes. Inside Job tyres were glued up, as these do not hold as much dirt, a smaller clutch bell (13T) and raised the ride height. I was a bit behind the 8 ball here as we had not raced or run the car in these conditions, but you take what you can get.
Final: The first 10 minutes of the race I was cruising around in third position, the track was still very tacky and there was plenty of grip. 15 minute mark second place dropped out with a issue, I now found myself in second 11 seconds behind 1st place, the problem was the guy in third was catching. I started to push and made a couple of errors dropping back to third. 40 minute mark I droped back to 4th due to a couple more errors, I found that I was unable to push the car due to the amount of rear grip. 60 minutes and the race was over, the M1 finished and finished a strong 4th place. No breakages no problems just a strong run race.
I wish to thank Team Magic for producing the M1 Buggy I am confident with some more track time and development the car is more than capable of placing at the top of the table. Also wish to thank my Pit crew Ben Darley and Michael Zlotkowski for their ultra fast pit stops.
Here are the qualification round placings and finals times:
http://www.mdn.net.au/results.htm
Thanks to my Sponsors:
Team Magic
Proline
Boost Fuel
Race Paint
HEI International
Regards
Ari Bakla
Below are Ari Bakle' Setup Sheet in 2007 Australian Nationals Race
M1B 2007 Australian Nationals Dry Setup
M1B 2007 Australian Nationals Finals Setup