Kevin CBR

iTrader: (11)

Hey Mini - Tigress decided she is done with spec as the cars are just too slow and boring for her since she ran GT-2 with black can at Nats. She will run GT-3 in '08. So, if Joshua is going to run Spec in '08, let me know as I have a loaded to the legal max TT-01 he can run next year and also some of the radila tires. If you don't need, I will rebuild and shelf queen over the winter.

Oh yeah, I almost forget...... Dear World, Mini did NOT finish last at the Nats this year ! Mini, next year, C-main for you baby !!

A-Ko

iTrader: (2)

I am not a fan of that menatlity either although it seems a plague that is very rampant, not just in schools.

Oh by the way it was nice meeting you, it is always cool to be able to put a name to a face.

It is also good to have a Tigress in the bunch

Hebiki

iTrader: (26)

salmon? halibut? freshwater eel? tilapia? whats your preference doc? oh yah.. how many more days until the SIR regional?

minicooper

iTrader: (5)

Too expensive, I'll stick to d or e main

f1larry

iTrader: (22)

"People like Hawk6 or f1larry and their sons, need to feel like they have a chance and want to keep coming back because they had fun and felt they had a chance at being competitive."

Jeff,

If the above statement was true I would not run GT1 and GT2. I have fun in what ever class I run. My concern is getting the newbies in and keeping them in. My biggest concern is the spec class. Yes I would like to think that my son would have a chance to win the spec class. He races Sportsman at the club level and in the Hurricane Series (when He gets a chance to race). He races Spec because that is the equivlent to the Novice level. My beef is that anyone who runs in spec should not be allowed to run any other GT class. The past 2 years the Spec class winner ran GT2 as well and I think was in the A or B main. If a spec driver wants to run a second class it should be a non GT class. All I have ever said was that I believe that the GT3 class was originally meant to be the step up from Spec and that over the years it has become one of the most competitive classes because of the spec nature making it a drivers class.

When and if Matthew ever wins the spec class or he feels that spec is just to slow for him he will move to GT2 or GT3 and know that he will be in the lower mains until he improves, but that will not change the fact that he will have a blast racing in the TCS race.

I think the TCS series is great family fun.

Some of my earlier statements about making GT3 more of the original intent and creating another expert spec class was just some thoughts. I honestly don't think that more classes are needed because that would reduce the entries in each class. Whats great about having more mains for each class is that there still is a winner in each main and winning a main whether its the A, B, or Lower is still exciting especially for a kid.

I think I rambled on to long and stop making any sense.

Difuser

iTrader: (2)

Larry come on out to the SIR Regional. We grade the drivers pretty strict. We have had a few try to get into Spec and if we know their ability is suited for the GT classes they get bumped. Sometimes we have had some come from out of town with unknown abilities and they have also been asked to move up. If they cannot or do not I am pretty vocal about them being a sportsman and giving up their kit to the proper person.......

f1larry

iTrader: (22)

Diffuser,

SIR is on my wish list as a Regional TCS track to get to when I am able to fit it into my budget. One of the Red Flags that someone doesn't belong in spec is when they are signed up in a GT class. As much as it bothered me the last 2 years the bottom line my son had fun and always looks forward to the next one.

Greg Sharpe

iTrader: (15)

Anyone looking to sell an F201? I missed out on racing them in TCS when they were still popular, but I'd still like to have one for fun. (fun = the reason we do this)

minicooper

iTrader: (5)

f1larry, same here. My kid had fun and wants to do it again and that's a okay with me

BP SHADOW

iTrader: (24)

Greg YGM

A-Ko

iTrader: (2)

That has been a big problem. Well where I have raced at TCS. Usually it is NOT something that a track checks or Tamiya seems to check.
Unless you goto SIR.

I wish there was an easy way to create a ruling for this class. Perhaps not running any GT classes is a start. One thing we have done in another form of racings "spec" class was to only allow 2 wins in the class. If you had won twice you are done. You also could not run mod and spec only stock. It seemed to work well allowing the person to come back and defend their title. I probably would write if for TCS no running GT classes, no other wins outside spec and max 2 spec wins pushes you on.

It would also be nice to open the rules so you can run TA05s, TA04s but maybe set the ratio to a certain spur/pinion combination per chassis. That way people are not stuck with a car used for 1 race.

MD

iTrader: (136)

I would like to see anyhting to allow young drivers and sportsman level drivers to participate. I think more partiicpation would grow the TCS in all classes. You have drivers that currently run spec for more than a year and run other classes besides GT classe.

BP SHADOW

iTrader: (24)

To answer your question, first of all I think you should only be able to run 1 GT class at a given event. I think if someone runs GT1 A-main times in GT3, they should be bumped up on the spot, or teched into the next county. I don't see GT3 as a beginner class, but I don't think that just anyone should be able to run it. I jumped from GT1 to GT3 because I hate ROAR stock motors. I never lacked horsepower in GT1, but I could never get a handle on the chassis where the car was comfortable. If I do more TCS events next year than just Trackside, I may run GT1 again, but at Trackside I will just be in the way. To me drivers capable of winning a national championship or those that have should be placed in GT1. If they used the scenarios I outlined above in respect to bodies and tires then similar lap times would probably not be possible.

Kevin CBR

iTrader: (11)

Dear Santa,

For Christmas, I would like to have Fred. M. add the following rule to TCS "Spec" class.

- Drivers who enter spec are not allowed to run any other class that weekend.

Now, for the rest of us, we can do a little policing on our own. If there is someone who is out running spec class lapping the field (and I'm talking about 2nd place on down) and the person is a local that people know runs higher then Novice / rookie class at thier local club races, embarass the &*$% out of them for cherry picking in the spec class. If that doesn't work, then bring it to the track promoters attention. Remember, they have a few extra things to do other than watch who is runiing spec. It's like voting. If you don't vote, then don't complain about who is elected.

Sportsman drivers in Spec ? Whose kidding who ? A Sportsman driver is not a Novice. They belong in the GT or mini classes. That's where GT-3 comes in. A class where drivers graduate from Spec to a "higher performance class". How many drivers (kids AND adults) move from novice to winning thier local Sportsman class in one weekend ? (my, it sure got quiet. ). Just as the Novice who moves to Sportsman finishes near the back, the Spec class driver who moves "up" to GT-3 will be at the back until they can improve thier driving, set-up skills and equipment.

A-KO - good meeting you at Nat's this year also. It's good to put real names and face with screen names. I just went through what you mentioned about spec. I built a TT-01 for Tigress just so she could run spec at Fremont and Tamiya N/A regionals (Editors note, she had raced about 4 races total before TCS and ran in the local track's Novice class). She ran black can at Nats, thinks spec is too slow now and will run the TA05 I originally built for her in GT-3 in '08. I can see where TCS wants Spec to be the entry level kits (TT-01 and TL-01). After all, the series is to help promote sales also so that is a tough one to answer. Could the TA-04's, '05's or TB-02's be so regulated down that TT-01's and TL-01's are still competitive ?

It is fun getting the "family" out to race. Now that the G/F is hooked, the next victim is her 8 year old daughter. However, until she learns that there is more than two speeds (stopped and full throttle) and you are supposed to turn the car before you run into a wall or another car at full speed, I am keeping her off the track....... for the safety ( and repair costs) of my fellow racers.

MD

iTrader: (136)

Kevin CBR - You're correct about Spec Class/Novice. If it's a local racer that should not be there, the local race director has to take some action. Tamiya has step in also. There are guys who have run Spec for at least two series, you can see the pictures and race results. I think grassroots racers are the key to growing the series. The kids, the young adults and old guys like myself who have always bought Tamiya cars and would like to race. I usually race in GT3 because I think that's where I belong as a sportsman I am usually in the "C" or "B" Main depending on the number of entries. I have also raced Mini and F103gt. I have a TA05 with several hop ups and we have an very competitve GT3 class at my local parking lot series. The problem I see is that GT3 has become something other than a sportsman class. Drivers spend hours, lots of money, and have secret break in methods. In talking to sportsman drivers who run Tamiya cars that would like to run GT3, but it's well known in the general R/C community that GT3 in the TCS is not a good class to run. Their perception is that there is a lot of cheating in that class. If you talk to veteran drivers who race at a high level, their perception is the same. Their information comes from talking to TCS drivers that they know. Is there a solution to change this perception and promote more GT3 racers to particpate? I don't think just saying that's the way it is in a competitve situation is satisfactory.