Time for a shift in direction

Apologies for the lack of posting recently, I was away on holiday over the summer then didn't get back into racing for a few weeks. Then when I did go back I just wasn't feeling it anymore with the Tamiya. So, when the new XRAY T3 2012 was announced for the release at the end of the month my mind was made up.

I gave racing a continued break for another few weeks and then on the Friday just gone I picked up my new XRAY. I owned XRAYs for many years before the Tamiya and although I'm sad to see the Tamiya go, as I still think it is one of the best cars in terms of design out there and it looks stunning sat on your pit table, I feel like I have returned home to the XRAY camp!

So, I will be building the XRAY during the coming week to make a return to Morecambe on the following Monday. I plan to post a build guide in due course so keep your eyes peeled.

In the meantime, check out my eBay account...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/theresamaydawood/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686

Morecambe visits Blackpool

Morecambe visited Blackpool this Monday and I was apprehensive as to how my evening was going to pan out, given my result race results and general misery at race meetings.

First run out didn't get off to a great start. After a couple of laps I broke a front c-hub and had to retire to fix it. However, second run the car felt much better... perhaps even half decent... I have to wonder how long that c-hub had been cracked!

Final qualifier car felt ok, but not as good as the round before some reason and consequently I was unable to improve. This left me sat on pole position for the B final.

However, after a promising start to the final where for the first few laps I pulled out a small lead I soon found myself struggling and being rapidly caught by those behind me. All told I think I ended up third or lower and the car had gone back to being nothing short of a pile of crap to be honest.

But, I've decided that I just need to accept whatever speed I can get the car round in for the moment and wherever possible just keep it clean. Just looking forward to the new Xray coming out towards the end of the year now... ;)

Racing Misery Act 2, Scene 1

Racing at Morecambe on Monday, and Blackpool on Friday this week was only a continuation of the 'Morecambe Misery' I experienced in my last blog post. So, I won't bore you with the grisly details, mainly because I don't want to drag up the bad memories again - I only just stopped sobbing. Suffice to say, the car is so much of handful to drive I push harder and make more mistakes and do worse and worse. It has that feeling that a lot of work might be required to make it like new again unfortunately.

I think the Tamiya's run has come to an end to be honest, it's time for a change. So, I'm planning to switch my electronics over the Xray T2R Pro (my current wet car) as soon as possible - due to little use the Xray is in pretty good condition. I think my plan longer term, and finances permitting, will be to get the new Xray when it comes out at the end of the year as usual.

My extensive experience with Xray cars in the past has always been a positive one - they have to be the ultimate club car as they just keep going and going, and they are simply a joy to build. I had a go with Danny's T3 '11 on Friday - it has all the important hop-ups: Xray gear diff, Exotech chassis, up right roll centre mounts, aluminum steering rack, etc. and I suspect it's a pretty good representation of what the new Xray will have as standard when it comes out. It was delightful to drive and I'm excited at the meer thought of having a new toy - it feels like it has been forever since I got some new gear!

Will keep you posted on the next few weeks as I make the change to the T2R Pro and hopefully to something even better in the coming months.

Morecambe Misery

I was at Morecambe on the Monday immediately following the Halifax national, but to be honest I wished I hadn't gone by the end of the night. It had started out okay, but numerous mistakes in multiple qualifiers had meant my final qualifying position left a little to be desired.

I then drove like a complete and utter wally in the final and at one point I seriously considered drilling the car into the brick wall at the end of the straight - I was that frustrated with it that the possibility of seeing it obliterated into a million bits felt strangely satisfying at the time. Needless to say I managed to resist the 'temptation' and opted for continuing to drive like a tool for the remainder of the five minutes.

Hands down, worst night of racing for a long time in my eyes. I'll leave it there. Hopefully something a bit more up beat can follow this post when I'm back racing in a week's time!

Halifax National 2011

Apologies that this post is a little late arriving, but sometimes life takes over and I can't be bothered to write it of an evening after work. Last weekend I was at the Halifax National, despite seriously considering giving it a miss given the miserable-looking weather forecast for the weekend on the Friday night.

My wet car has a very first generation brushless system in from SpeedPassion, so fixed timing advance and minimal other settings. I thought the lack of speed would be a problem because Halifax is so big, although it's usually a good thing at other tracks as it stops me trying to put down more power than grip available in the wet conditions. As it was supposed to be wet all weekend I was worried about having to race the entire weekend with my under-powered wet car. However as it turned out, it was fine. Although the weather forecast wasn't as torrential as it looked at one point, it was constant on/off showers all weekend keeping the grip levels extremely low for everyone (unless you happened to be in one of the lucky heats who had a nearly dried out track before it started raining again).

The constantly changing conditions actually mixed up some of the qualifying positions quite a bit, I had something like a top 13 run in one round (I'd normally hope to be high 30's) whereas Andy had a couple of 80-somethings and usually he'd be shooting for top ten all the time. The rain even meant Andy Cottom was officially 'fast' for one run at least!

We all started Saturday with both wet and dry cars out on the bench in the hope of some sunshine poking through at some point, but by the time Sunday rolled around I think everyone pretty much just had their wet cars left on pit tables - it was almost certain that even if it wasn't raining when you left your car to get on the rostrum, it was probably raining by the time you'd climbed the steps to look out at the track again.

Actually, unlike Cotswolds, the Halifax track tends to seem to absorb any water rather quickly so there's never any standing water. It's always just at that greasy stage. As a result, slicks and wets worked with equal uselessness to be honest.

I think I had something like a 29, a 13 and a 54 at the end of Saturday qualifying - a fair old spread, but I called it a good and headed off to settle in at the Premier Inn and get an Indian at some random place in Halifax town centre - we found it by following our noses a couple of years ago if I recall. When Sunday came around we traipsed back to the track to endure more of the same in both the weather and qualifying department.

By the time the dust, or should I say the rain, had settled I found myself with a somewhat underwhelming qualifying position of third in the E final. The first two rounds of finals were nothing short of dismal to be honest. 'Naughty' and I had to start at the back of our first final after some confusion nearly meant we missed the race altogether! I'm pretty sure I finished dead last in that race - my car felt awful - much worse than it had all weekend and the complete lack of rear end grip made it almost undriveable. I had to keep turning around to face the right way at each corner!

Although we made the start of the next round, my race was equally bad and I finished 9th out 10 I think. After we came off 'naughty' aka Mark Cruddas suggested I tighten my read diff. I checked and it was slipping a little so a quarter turn sorted that out. I had completely forgotten you have to do such things with ball diffs, so used to the convenience of gear diffs I have become.

My final final saw me on the track with a completely transformed car, I actually at least held my 3rd place qualifying position in that round. However, the damage had already been done and an 8th place finish overall in the E was my 'prize'. At least the weekend hadn't been the complete washout I had feared on Friday night. It's a shame I didn't end my 2011 national campaign on a slightly higher note though. Next year maybe.

MMCC @ Blackpool on 28s (well for a handful of laps at least)

I was racing at Morecambe's monthly Blackpool excursion last night. I say racing, I was there but minimal racing was completed unfortunately. I shall explain...

I arrive and unpack all my stuff and then decide in my ultimate wisdom that now was a good time to examine my rear diff which hasn't felt as good ever since it broke and had multiple parts replaced. So I take it apart and think I find a culprit gear, with that replaced I reassemble the diff only to find it feels worse than before! To boot, the diff is still in my hand when the 30 second countdown starts for my first qualifier (as we were running on auto) so that's the first race down...

Figuring I've missed the first race I decide that now it's out I might as well do a proper job and actually fix it. So, apart the diff comes again and I think I find another culprit gear. Put it back together and of course it feels even worse now. Getting a bit pissed off at the stupid thing I stand firm and refuse to race until I have at least got it back to the marginally broken feeling I started with, rather than something worse. My decision to stand firm is probably just as well considering round two of my qualfying has now started anyway.

All the old gears go back in, broken looking or otherwise and it once again only feels a little broken, so I say sod it and bolt it all together in time for the my first, but really third and final qualifier. About 3 minutes and 15 laps in a wheel falls off.

So, several hours after I arrived and with maybe 3 minutes of racing under my belt I find myself at the bottom of the bottom heat with the only thing behind me being a mardave. The shame. Not a high point in my racing career. After another 3 minutes of surprisingly hard fought racing I'm leading my final for maybe a lap before my wheel falls off again. FFS. I wonder why I bother sometimes...

Blackpool on 32's

This was my second week on 32s at Blackpool and what looks like the final week it for this layout before we have a change. The 32s are quite a bit slower at Blackpool Andy and I have decided. Perfectly possible to get them round but 1-2 laps slower than the 28s. On the plus side they stay stuck to their rims and don't seem to wear at all - that's why I'll be using them from henceforth (plus I have loads leftover from Nationals). At Morecambe there doesn't appear to be any significant disadvantage to using them.

I had problems with interference in the first two races, I isolated to being someone's 40Mhz transmitter and the problems remained after they changed crystal. I know 2.4Ghz should even be able to interact with 40Mhz, but my steering was being inconsistent; sometimes it wouldn't turn at all, or it was very delayed, or it would go halfway then jerk across to full lock of its own accord. It made the car impossible to drive and Damien very kindly moved me into the 'A final' qualifier for rounds 2 and 3 of the evening. It wasn't until round three that I was able to get a good run in and secure a place in the A final proper though.

Messing about with Whur Jr. and Whur Sr.'s pit tables to mirror each other. I decided this was a better use of my time than making my car quicker.

In the final a series of rolls both down the straight (don't ask) and round the sweeper ensured I finished where I started. Dead last.