bang22nd

I guess I missed the small print saying this was the only prizes being given out, even if you do place in the races, I'm sure you were a little disappointed as well being how you placed. Either way it was a good time.

EMU

iTrader: (3)

I prefer not having prizes tied to finishing positions at events. It creates a more hostile environment, nobody helps anyone else, looks for every edge they can, and can bring out some real dirty driving.

There were some nice prizes, I didnt have any luck with the prizes, but preferred saving my luck for race day!!! I had a great time at the event, and while prizes might attract some, I dont really let it sway me one way or another. I race for the fun of the race, and enjoyment of helping others improve. Seeing racers improve is probably the most enjoyment that I get out of the hobby.

bang22nd

I didn't race for prizes, I let you guys pass every time you came up on me, all I'm saying is that I can't help but feel I came in 2nd in north America ss and all I got was this lousy t shirt, lol and yes I'd do it again, it was fun and I had a good time.

Tonkatrucker

EMU

iTrader: (3)

Ahhh, I know who this is now... We had a good battle in that A3 race, after I plugged it early on letting you by. I couldnt really make much ground on you, for most of the early laps. When I caught up, I couldnt find any room to pass. I got lucky when you tapped out in the chicane, but you drove well. You definitely deserved your spot on the podium, I think you only let me by once maybe twice Other than that, we were mostly on the same lap. Were you running a AAA/5500kv car or a 2S/3500kv?

I got a t-shirt, some medals... but most important, I have new friendships and experiences to remember. Pictures and video do go a long way in helping with those memories, and sharing them with others though.

bang22nd

5500kv aaa, way way under powered compared to you guys running lipo, and yes it was a tight track but lots of fun.

EMU

iTrader: (3)

I had noticed the Lithium cars had more power. I added a bunch of weight under my cells to calm the car down. I weighed in at 184g. I also used 21mm rear wheels to try to get enough top end to catch Paul. He still had some legs on me, since he was using a smaller rotor, but I did not want to change the rotor at the time.

I had not planned to race this class, but since the other classes had been cancelled due to low registration, I moved into it. I am not really a fan of "restrictor plate" racing in this scale, especially because I feel that LiPo and AAA are not really balanced with the difference in motors. I would have preferred if there were a slight advantage to AAA in speed compared to Lithium.

bang22nd

I completely agree on all of that, I was not looking to run pan car but they canceled modified and was forced to try, I couldn't get a car to work consistently in pan and just decided to complete races while pulling over for grant every lap or getting yelled at for not moving for the leader, like it was a one car race, granted he was by far the fastest.
You would enjoy a day of racing up at mc3, several really fast guys with loads of advice, Tim and I try to make it up there 1 time a month, loads if fun. Let us know if you decide to make the trip and we'll meet you up there if we can.

EMU

iTrader: (3)

I would definitely like to come check out MC3. Its been about 12 years since I last raced with Shawn and some of the guys when they came down to an Atomic race down around me... I know they are plenty quick up there, and loads of setup info and tips. I chat with some of the guys from there pretty regularly when I can. I am pretty busy for the next month or two, probably wont get any track time until our next regional event June 1st in Delaware (East Coast Championships).

In Pan car, I made some bad setup changes for A2 after a DNF in A1. Reverted back to the original setup for A3 which worked out well for me.

I am generally very patient when lapping people, I usually do not expect them to pull over and park it, but show some courtesy if they see that I am making a move. I know that there may be multiple battles on track, and unless I am in a battle, or trying to extend/close a gap, I have concern about impeding other racers by overtaking at inopportune times. The best place is pulling on to the straight, because a slight lift while being passed on the straight is often safer than trying to pass in a corner. It allows the person being passed to continue to take their own line through the corner or complex, which keeps both parties safe. There is an art to passing, and also one for being passed. I stress this a lot with the newer racers that we race with. I tell them that in practice, stay on the race line, the faster guys should work their way around you. If you see them make an inside move, give space, but to focus on the line and keep speed up. There is nothing worse than the feeling of parking it every few corners to let people by. This is a race, not a charity, and despite the fact that you are not battling for position, both parties should work together to reduce time lost for both of them. Often, for the one being passed, it is to let the faster guy by at a point that is convenient for both of them, waiting too long, could result in the faster guy just driving through the slower car... but too early and it is costing too much time.

I am typically pretty strong in traffic, and is usually where I can gain a lot of ground. Riding a bike in NYC really helps out in that regard We typically race on a very tight track locally, which means a lot of close door to door racing, and I often value car placement in setup over having the outright fastest car because it allows me to make more daring passes which I wouldnt feel comfortable doing with an aggressive setup. It is funny how years ago, I was always pushing for the fastest laps, but would often make errors, and now I am the guy that mostly chugs along at a more comfortable pace focusing more on being error free than outright fastest. I know that on a large track such as the one for this event, one mistake can eat up 5-10s, and make the difference between a strong finishing position or being well down the order.

I am one of those racers that cannot speak while racing... Standing next to Tim in stock, we are polar opposites, where he is very communicative and lets you know he is coming with pace if looking to make a move. I appreciate it, and would love to be the same way... but I have quite a disconnect between my brain and mouth when I race. If I talk while I race, I often crash or lose time. My buddy loves to tell stories on the drivers stand, and it cracks me up each time he does it... I just think, how can he do that while driving!!!

In stock, I didnt think that I would have much pace to catch Thiago, and actually let Tim and Tommy by early on so I could just follow and get my bearings. I had planned to focus most on consistency, and pressure from behind. In the end, this strategy paid off for me. I made no unforced errors in A1, and only one in A2. Thiago had bad luck with a wheel after I had collided with a backmarker taking me out of the lead. I had setup to take the backmarker around the outside around the first horseshoe, so I could have the inside line into the tight left hander into the chicane. He had seen me coming at the last second, and moved outside to give me the inside, which resulted in the collision and let Thiago through. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for him, he lost a wheel a lap later. You could say that he was really driving his wheels off to go for the win!!! The next race, he had issues in traffic, I didnt see the incident, but got by him and just stayed clean while underdriving the car to keep it clean. He had much more pace than I had, but also had some inconsistency in the setup because of it. I know that if I come race him again, I need to step up my game because he will be out for vengeance!

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

bang22nd

Yeah Thiago is a machine, he doesn't make many
mistakes and his setups allow him to carry allot of
speed through the infield, he spends allot of time
tuning and testing and is well deserving of his
success, he was tying to help me with my pan car
setup but it just wasn't my race.
I appreciate the advice of lifting on the straight to allow someone to pass, I'll try that, I was next to Paul every race and I would tell him when I was pulling over for him and inevitably I'd mess myself up in the process, but whatever I was j just there to have fun.

yasuji

I I must be getting old I don't recall having a 4-Hour of unused track time at any point throughout the weekend.if we had four hours of unused track time there is no way that the event would have stayed on schedule even with the mishap that happened on Friday evening that caused a slight delay on Saturday.... They were still able to stay on schedule
I I do however recall seeing open control practice sessions between the mains with barely any cars on track.... Can I even recall seeing control practice groups with no cars on track as well
​​​​​​ come to think of it I don't think there was a lack of practice at all .....

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

EMU

iTrader: (3)

The track was pretty well utilized, and stayed on schedule pretty well through the event. There were some wrenches thrown into the gears on Saturday with the break in, but that only set the start of practice back 5 minutes at most.

While controlled practice may be unpleasant for some, especially those only running one class, it is an absolute necessity for an event of this magnitude.

There are considerable pace differences within in a single class, let alone combining multiple classes. If you combine modified practice with stock practice, it is a disaster waiting to happen. If there were not controlled practice, I would have stayed off track during any open practice to prevent damage to the cars. Some racers forget that it is practice and drive 100% the entire time. In controlled practice, you can comfortably drive 90% to feel out the changes in conditions and setup, open practice it could be closer to 50-60% for modified cars to avoid collecting a stock class car. The closing speeds from modified to stock are very different, and should be separated in practice.

In a club setting, most racers know eachother, their fellow racers paint schemes and therefore the car and class of car that is being run. They will often be moe willing to pull off line and let others buy. Front running stock cars will not want to pull aside every lap for modified cars because that nullifies the data collected in the practice session for them.

When I race 1/10 scale, and we have 150+ entries, I almost never put my F1 on track for open practice unless the track is quiet. The data is not very useful, and the risk of doing so outweighs the reward considerably. I spend most of the practice session off line, where traction is considerably different than on the racing line, so I can't even really feel whether the setup adjustment is positive or not because my tires never fully come up to temperature. I spend 8+ hours at the track with 20 minutes of track time (which is why I love mini-z so much in comparison). It would be the same at an event such as this if there were no controlled practice.

There were quiet times in practice where I was able to stay on track for 3 to 4 rotations (3 minute rotations). There were definitely times that the practice sessions went under utilized.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)