OESS Round 2: Classic RC Raceway

• Event: Ohio Electric Off-road Summer Series – Round 2
• Date: June 19, 2010
• Location: Akron, Ohio
• Race Reporter: Paul Sinclair

 

 

Classic RC Raceway is one of the best all-around facilities in Ohio, with a small hobby store/pro shop, an indoor clay track, and a fairly large, super-smooth outdoor track. They’re actually working on adding a separate 1:8 scale track this year so that the big machines don’t tear up the surface for the 10th scales. Racing at Classic last year was a blast; even though the surface was smooth without a lot of dust, the JConcepts Goosebumps was the fast tyre. However, it always seemed like a bigger pin than you really wanted to run. For this race I was armed with some new JConcepts Flip Outs for both buggy and truck.

Open Buggy

Akron Ohio is about a two hour drive from my apartment, so we packed up and left around 6 am to get there when the track opened. I got three or four practice runs in with my 2wd. I was running the same set-up I ended last round on, and the car felt really balanced. Through practice I really just messed with tyres. I had the Goosebumps and Flip Outs in the rear, and on a whim the week before I’d made some Goosebumps front tyres to try. I quickly settled on ribbed front tyres though – ran Groovy’s for the rest of the day – but in the rear it was a harder decision. The Flip Outs were very locked in and safe to drive; the Goosebumps were a bit freer. They would pivot better going into the corner – I’m sure because the taller pins were folding over – which led to great corner speed but a harder-to-drive car.

R1: There were just shy of 30 2wd buggies in attendance; I was in the third heat, which had the overall fastest drivers, but the least water (track was watered between rounds, and by about half-way through the round was very dry). I went out on the Goosebumps and put in a nice consistent run. No hero laps, but no wrecks, good for a 10/5:00.9 and fourth in the round. Brandon Marsh set TQ in the first heat at 11/5:20. Fast lap for the round was around a 28.7; I ran consistent mid 29’s so pretty happy there. With a good run in the books I changed to the Flip Outs for round 2. I also changed from a 6.5 motor (22/81 gearing) to a 8.5 (25/81) for more “drivability”.

R2: The Flip Outs felt pretty good, more locked in as they had in practice, and I was able to run a few low 29’s. I ran the whole race back and forth with Brian Handwork (blast from the past! Glad to have him back racing, he’s always been quick.) But it kind of slowed us both down a bit. A 33 second lap slowed down my run to a 10/5:03.9, and my time from round one slipped to 5th fastest overall. Nobody went faster than Brandon’s first round TQ.  They resorted for round 3, and opened the track for a few minutes between rounds for practice. Fellow JConcepts driver Dan Griffin and I got a hair-brained idea to try out some blue barcodes, and on the super-dry track at the end of the round they felt amazing. Since I was still sitting pretty decent, I decided I’d give them a go in round 3.

R3: Well, that had a chance to be great, but wasn’t. The sun is starting to go down (we had a late start due to some computer issues) and the water is staying in the track better. That plus the resort meant a lot of the top guys were on really good runs, myself included. 5 laps in I was on a 11/5:18 pace, leading the heat, but I wrecked out and finished terribly. Looking back, the barcode rear tyres (pretty used when I put them on to start) kinda gave out on me and the lack of forward traction made my car hard to drive for the 2nd half of the race. Two of my first three laps were 28.5’s, so I knew I could run with anybody, even though my first round time slipped down to 8th fastest overall. I’m really glad the OEOSS series runs 9 minute mains, ’cause I’d need the time to work up to the front!

Main: It was getting pretty late by the time the mains came around; we were running under the lights. At night moisture builds up from the ground and it’s like the track is permanently watered. I decided to go out on the Flip Outs as the most consistent and conservative rear tyre. They were awesome – I felt like I had tons of traction while everyone else was skating. Indeed, I was able to pick my way through the pack and by the 4-minute mark I was in second place, chasing down the other driver running the JConcepts Flip Outs – Dan Griffin. Dan drove a consistent race, while I gave it everything I had and caught up to him, only to get loose on the straight with 2 minute to go. I caught back up by the end of the race but couldn’t make a move, finishing just .09 seconds behind in the end. Brandon Marsh got TQ points but finished terribly, so I think I’m sitting alone atop the series standings for 2wd after two rounds.

JConcepts products are available in the UK through Spire Model Distribution. Check out their website for more details at www.s-m-d.co.uk

 

Source: JConcepts