2011 Great Lakes Challenge - Toledo Ohio
08-26-2011, 06:14 PM
#226
2011 Great Lakes Challenge – Thursday
Lots more racers arrived in Toledo, as the parking lot at the GLC grew substantially more crowded. The race is limited to a maximum of 16 mains – if additional racers continue to show up, the race may “fill up”.
Friday’s weather was absolutely perfect for R/C racing. Clear, sunny, with a Kodak Blue sky, not too hot, and a nice breeze to keep all of us comfortable. The morning started out with practice, which continued until around noon. That’s when the drivers meeting was held, along with everyone gathering for a group photo. Shortly afterwards, the first of Friday’s two rounds of qualifying started. It turned out to be a pleasant, relaxing afternoon of car racing, with no “urgency” in the schedule. Events went on in order, but with no pushing to maintain any kind of schedule. As always, there were racers who were quite pleased with how they did, and others who left the track thinking “if only…”.
Qualifying standings, first three in each class at the end of two rounds of qualifying:
1/8 Open
1 – Scott Kimbrow
2 – Paolo Morganti
3 – Paul Lemieux
1/10 Touring Open
1 – Paul Lemieux
2 – Vincent Jackson
3 – Andy Power
1/8 Masters
1 – Eli Ezrow
2 – Bob Block
3 – Mark Sweeney
1/8 GT
1 – Rick Vessel
2 – Scott McNish
3 – Bill Sydor
Lots more racers arrived in Toledo, as the parking lot at the GLC grew substantially more crowded. The race is limited to a maximum of 16 mains – if additional racers continue to show up, the race may “fill up”.
Friday’s weather was absolutely perfect for R/C racing. Clear, sunny, with a Kodak Blue sky, not too hot, and a nice breeze to keep all of us comfortable. The morning started out with practice, which continued until around noon. That’s when the drivers meeting was held, along with everyone gathering for a group photo. Shortly afterwards, the first of Friday’s two rounds of qualifying started. It turned out to be a pleasant, relaxing afternoon of car racing, with no “urgency” in the schedule. Events went on in order, but with no pushing to maintain any kind of schedule. As always, there were racers who were quite pleased with how they did, and others who left the track thinking “if only…”.
Qualifying standings, first three in each class at the end of two rounds of qualifying:
1/8 Open
1 – Scott Kimbrow
2 – Paolo Morganti
3 – Paul Lemieux
1/10 Touring Open
1 – Paul Lemieux
2 – Vincent Jackson
3 – Andy Power
1/8 Masters
1 – Eli Ezrow
2 – Bob Block
3 – Mark Sweeney
1/8 GT
1 – Rick Vessel
2 – Scott McNish
3 – Bill Sydor
08-26-2011, 06:17 PM
#227
I walked around the track today trying to get photos of everyone participating at this event. They're all posted now. Feel free to use them for avatars, facebook or google+ pages, or whatever...
Here's a link to the thread with all the images - it will probably take a while to load, as there are 129 photos there...
RACER GALLERY - 2011 GLC
http://www.sgrid.com/forum/showthrea...akes-Challenge
Here's a link to the thread with all the images - it will probably take a while to load, as there are 129 photos there...
RACER GALLERY - 2011 GLC
http://www.sgrid.com/forum/showthrea...akes-Challenge
08-26-2011, 06:47 PM
#228
08-27-2011, 07:18 AM
#230
Current results for 2 rounds @ the GLC
[ATTACH]
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[ATTACH]
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08-27-2011, 02:16 PM
#231
Any updates?
08-27-2011, 06:49 PM
#232
Story, photos, and results now posted on SGRID; I'm trying to upload a video. When that's done, I will copy things here.
If you're in a hurry, here's the link:
http://www.sgrid.com/forum/showthrea...itro-Race-2011
If you're in a hurry, here's the link:
http://www.sgrid.com/forum/showthrea...itro-Race-2011
08-27-2011, 09:33 PM
#233
It took two hours to upload the video, but it's there. It's a 5-minute qualifier, with the camera following Mike Saputo. You can play the video from the link on SGRID.
Here's the information I copied from SGRID:
2011 Great Lakes Challenge – Saturday
Saturday was the final day of qualifying. The first round was held early in the morning, after which the heats were re-seeded based on qualifying order. Qualifying continued through the day. Everything went smoothly. With the racers pit areas sort of wrapped around the race track, and a good sound system, everyone was aware of what was going on, so no time was lost waiting for people who “didn’t get the word”. The weather remained warm and sunny for most of the day, eventually getting a bit cloudy towards the end. There was always a constant breeze, keeping everyone comfortable.
Despite Toledo's “moveable boards”, which move around when hit, some racers managed to break some car parts anyway, but for the most part, the damage was mostly to the racer’s pride. The “flagless start” (invented by the Toledo club!) certainly did its part. There is a countdown for several minutes, and when it reaches "zerro" the individual racer's clocks are able to start. Cars start out whenever they want, spacing themselves out around the track, and each racer’s “clock” starts when his car passed over the line. This means dreaded “turn-one-pileups” are now a thing of the past. Another change over the years is almost complete – hardly any racers used crystal-based radios. The radio impound boxes still exist up on the driver’s stand, but thanks to the new DSM technology, radio impound is rapidly becoming as extinct as 8-track audio tapes.
(A rumor going around the track is that next year there will once again be a pan car class. A lot of people are looking forward to that – the price of competition will drop dramatically. Nobody has said anything officially yet, but with the Toledo club being so open to new ideas, if enough racers get involved, this is sure to happen. Check next year's race report to see if this actually happens......)
As I walked around the track and watched the races, I found that in many ways, nothing ever changes in R/C racing. I saw Paolo Morganti helping out another driver earlier in the week by checking the setup on a car. Paolo took the car out for a test, and the car appeared flawless. Without pushing the car, and looking as smooth as Art Carbonell, Paolo just went around the track as if there was a hidden guide-track buried in the asphalt. The car was “planted”, and looked very smooth as it went around. Paolo is quite good, and watching him, he appeared to be just out for a relaxing drive, enjoying himself. Then, after a tank of fuel, Paolo stopped and the car’s owner took over. Paolo walked away, then turned to watch…. I was watching too, and the car suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own. It was erratic, darting here and there, and while it “looked” faster, the lap times would have shown just the opposite. Paolo’s next words were “What are you doing???”. He probably needn’t have bothered. That ancient line “slower is faster” is just as true today as ever, but so few racers seem to accept it. The harder they try to go faster, the slower they get. If they would take a deep breath, and concentrate on being smooth, not fast, their lap times would improve, not to mention tires lasting longer, fewer broken parts, and less wear and tear on all the parts. I guess when a car has lots of horsepower, the tendency is to use it all the time. A better choice would be to back off, and concentrate on driving on the right line. One example was Mike Saputo, in the last qualifier in the event. Until then, Mike’s car was all over the track, overdriving the turns, and causing the boards to jump out in front of the car. For the last run, Mike just took it easy, followed a smooth, flowing line, and did much, much better. OK, end of soapbox speech… :-)
Qualifying is completed, and the mains are set to run Sunday. Photos and a video will be posted to this thread in an hour or so....
Here’s the qualifying order for the top ten cars in each class:
1/8 Open
Scott Kimbrow
Paolo Morganti
Terry Rott
Jeff Zuccarell
Paul Lemieux
Lon Burling II
Richard Siriano
Jari Taskila
Andrew Nicholas
Michael Palazzola
1/10 Touring Open
Paul Lemieux
Vincent Jackson
DJ Apolaro
Andy Power
Craig Xavier
Melvin Austin
Scott Fisher
Troy Woodson
Brad Toffelmire
Louis Vanderway
1/8 Masters
Joaquin DeSoto Sr.
Eli Ezrow
David Lee
Mark Sweeney
Skip Starkey
Don Jones
Rick Davis
Bob Block
Dan Louis
Jeff Whiting
1/8 GT
Rick Vessel
Scott McNish
Mike Cooper
Bill Sydor
Marty Waldhelm
Mark Rodney
Gene Greer
Dave Strausbaugh
Gary Waldhelm
James Palensky
Pat Kayser Memorial Top Speed Awards, 2011
As is done every year, the Pat Kayser Memorial Top Speed Awards were given out at the 2011 Great Lakes Challenge. The Toledo club continues to memorialize Pat, who passed away in 2000. Pat was a club member who put a lot of extra time and effort into the club. Among the many things he has done for the club, the most outstanding was as the designer and webmaster for the club website. Pat was always bragging about how fast his car was on the straightaway.
So the club decided to present a "Pat Kayser Memorial Top Speed Run Award". The premise was that a radar gun would be used during the warm-ups for one of the qualifiers. To do something just a little bit different (Pat would have loved this!) the club awarded towels with the Great Lakes outline, printed with the name of the award, location and date. This year, all the top speeds increased over last year's speeds:
1/8 GT – Scott McNish, 52.6 mph
1/10 TC - D.J. Apolaro, 63.1 mph
1/8 Masters - Mike Richey, 64.5 mph
1/8 4WD - Jeff Zuccarell, 66.6 mph
Left to right: Jeff Zuccarrell, Mike Richey, Scott McNish, DJ Apolaro
Here's the information I copied from SGRID:
2011 Great Lakes Challenge – Saturday
Saturday was the final day of qualifying. The first round was held early in the morning, after which the heats were re-seeded based on qualifying order. Qualifying continued through the day. Everything went smoothly. With the racers pit areas sort of wrapped around the race track, and a good sound system, everyone was aware of what was going on, so no time was lost waiting for people who “didn’t get the word”. The weather remained warm and sunny for most of the day, eventually getting a bit cloudy towards the end. There was always a constant breeze, keeping everyone comfortable.
Despite Toledo's “moveable boards”, which move around when hit, some racers managed to break some car parts anyway, but for the most part, the damage was mostly to the racer’s pride. The “flagless start” (invented by the Toledo club!) certainly did its part. There is a countdown for several minutes, and when it reaches "zerro" the individual racer's clocks are able to start. Cars start out whenever they want, spacing themselves out around the track, and each racer’s “clock” starts when his car passed over the line. This means dreaded “turn-one-pileups” are now a thing of the past. Another change over the years is almost complete – hardly any racers used crystal-based radios. The radio impound boxes still exist up on the driver’s stand, but thanks to the new DSM technology, radio impound is rapidly becoming as extinct as 8-track audio tapes.
(A rumor going around the track is that next year there will once again be a pan car class. A lot of people are looking forward to that – the price of competition will drop dramatically. Nobody has said anything officially yet, but with the Toledo club being so open to new ideas, if enough racers get involved, this is sure to happen. Check next year's race report to see if this actually happens......)
As I walked around the track and watched the races, I found that in many ways, nothing ever changes in R/C racing. I saw Paolo Morganti helping out another driver earlier in the week by checking the setup on a car. Paolo took the car out for a test, and the car appeared flawless. Without pushing the car, and looking as smooth as Art Carbonell, Paolo just went around the track as if there was a hidden guide-track buried in the asphalt. The car was “planted”, and looked very smooth as it went around. Paolo is quite good, and watching him, he appeared to be just out for a relaxing drive, enjoying himself. Then, after a tank of fuel, Paolo stopped and the car’s owner took over. Paolo walked away, then turned to watch…. I was watching too, and the car suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own. It was erratic, darting here and there, and while it “looked” faster, the lap times would have shown just the opposite. Paolo’s next words were “What are you doing???”. He probably needn’t have bothered. That ancient line “slower is faster” is just as true today as ever, but so few racers seem to accept it. The harder they try to go faster, the slower they get. If they would take a deep breath, and concentrate on being smooth, not fast, their lap times would improve, not to mention tires lasting longer, fewer broken parts, and less wear and tear on all the parts. I guess when a car has lots of horsepower, the tendency is to use it all the time. A better choice would be to back off, and concentrate on driving on the right line. One example was Mike Saputo, in the last qualifier in the event. Until then, Mike’s car was all over the track, overdriving the turns, and causing the boards to jump out in front of the car. For the last run, Mike just took it easy, followed a smooth, flowing line, and did much, much better. OK, end of soapbox speech… :-)
Qualifying is completed, and the mains are set to run Sunday. Photos and a video will be posted to this thread in an hour or so....
Here’s the qualifying order for the top ten cars in each class:
1/8 Open
Scott Kimbrow
Paolo Morganti
Terry Rott
Jeff Zuccarell
Paul Lemieux
Lon Burling II
Richard Siriano
Jari Taskila
Andrew Nicholas
Michael Palazzola
1/10 Touring Open
Paul Lemieux
Vincent Jackson
DJ Apolaro
Andy Power
Craig Xavier
Melvin Austin
Scott Fisher
Troy Woodson
Brad Toffelmire
Louis Vanderway
1/8 Masters
Joaquin DeSoto Sr.
Eli Ezrow
David Lee
Mark Sweeney
Skip Starkey
Don Jones
Rick Davis
Bob Block
Dan Louis
Jeff Whiting
1/8 GT
Rick Vessel
Scott McNish
Mike Cooper
Bill Sydor
Marty Waldhelm
Mark Rodney
Gene Greer
Dave Strausbaugh
Gary Waldhelm
James Palensky
Pat Kayser Memorial Top Speed Awards, 2011
As is done every year, the Pat Kayser Memorial Top Speed Awards were given out at the 2011 Great Lakes Challenge. The Toledo club continues to memorialize Pat, who passed away in 2000. Pat was a club member who put a lot of extra time and effort into the club. Among the many things he has done for the club, the most outstanding was as the designer and webmaster for the club website. Pat was always bragging about how fast his car was on the straightaway.
So the club decided to present a "Pat Kayser Memorial Top Speed Run Award". The premise was that a radar gun would be used during the warm-ups for one of the qualifiers. To do something just a little bit different (Pat would have loved this!) the club awarded towels with the Great Lakes outline, printed with the name of the award, location and date. This year, all the top speeds increased over last year's speeds:
1/8 GT – Scott McNish, 52.6 mph
1/10 TC - D.J. Apolaro, 63.1 mph
1/8 Masters - Mike Richey, 64.5 mph
1/8 4WD - Jeff Zuccarell, 66.6 mph
Left to right: Jeff Zuccarrell, Mike Richey, Scott McNish, DJ Apolaro
08-27-2011, 09:44 PM
#236
GLC Youtube Video
The video took two hours to upload six minutes of racing, about 800 megs. It's on SGRID, but I haven't played the whole thing to make sure it works properly. I'd watch it now, but I'm too tired to do much more. I'll check it tomorrow, and if it plays properly, I'll post the link here. If you watch it before then, it ought to work best at 720P, but I think Youtube will allow other display resolutions once the behind-the-scenes work by the Youtube program finishes.
08-28-2011, 08:31 AM
#237
Thanks for the updates Mike: tough without coverage trying to keep track of our three NW boys back east..... don't see any of them in the top 10 so not the best weekend so far for them....
08-28-2011, 08:53 AM
#238
Who's out there Mark? I seen heat sheet for mains sent to me from Andrew Nicholas last night had Richard in 14th
08-28-2011, 10:01 AM
#239
Rick, Richard, and Dana are back there..... I'm not rich, or fast enough to hang with the TZ crew anymore
heard from them mid day yesterday, but not sure how they all finished up quals
heard from them mid day yesterday, but not sure how they all finished up quals
Last edited by MAD916; 08-28-2011 at 01:08 PM.