Thursday, May 29, 2008

Spec Class Races BEGIN!!

At about 6:30 PM last night, we began setup on the Spec Racing Class track at Mother's Raceway - shortly after, practice began. As guys made their way around the track and began to get a feel for it and how to take the jumps, the anticipation and excitement began to grow.

In our previous meeting, the track felt a tad tight, so this time around we added a bit of width to each lane, and it felt pretty much spot on. There was just enough room to past, while still feeling snug and technical.

Please excuse the poor video quality (below), as my digital camera doesn't do that well at night. The visibility for the drivers is MUCH better than the camera makes it look (We also added a second set of lights this week, so the entire track is flooded with light)





It didn't take long for everyone to decide we were ready to get the competition going, and our first Spec Class races began!! The competition was awesome, and the laughs were constant as club members made their way around the track, battling for position (and to stay upright!).












In my opinion, this is by far the most fun I've had at an outing with the club thus far. As anyone can tell you, it's one thing to drive around in practice and bashing, but it's entirely different when you feel the "heat" of competition breathing down your neck and are concentrating intensly to drive your best and not make mistakes - all while trying to pass or keep pace with the guy in front of you! It's also important to note that the competition is strcictly about fun, with no pressure at all; whether you have the fastest or slowest time for the night.Before packing up for the night, we were able to get three racing heats in, each at 5 minute durations. While we have yet to purchase a transponder setup for lap counting/timing, Amir (aka: Digitalflyer) brought out his laptop and lap timing software and has all the results saved. Special thanks to Tasia (aka: Lady Vengeance) for helping keep track of the cars amongst the chaos!! We will be uploading all that information ASAP, so check back soon for more details.

You can check out more pics from last night here.

Thanks for all who came out, and see you all at the next one!

B-Dog

Footgage of practice before the racing began:

Announcement: Spec Class Meets Occur Every Other Wednesday, beginning May 28, 2008.

Hey All,

It has been voted on by the club, and beginning (last night) May 28, 2008 - we will be holding our Official Spec Racing Class meets every other Wednesday evening. For more details on exactly when and where these will be held, be sure to check this site and the message boards for more information.

Our next Spec Racing Class evening meet will be held on Wednesday, June 11.

Thanks!

-Bay Area Peninsula RC Club

Monday, May 26, 2008

Reminder: Official Spec Class Meeting this Wednesday, May 28 - 6:30PM

Hey All,

We are holding an Official Spec Racing Class Practice this Wednesday evening, May 28 at 6:30PM. Meet up with the club at Mother's Raceway in South San Francisco for practice, laughs, and some friendly competition.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone there and hope our newest members can make it out too!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Meet Up at 3rd and Detroit - Saturday, May 24 1:00PM

Hey All,

A few of us will be heading down to San Mateo for some bashing at 3rd and Detroit (BMX off-road park) Saturday, May 24 at 1:00 PM.

For more information, check out
this thread.


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Club Meets this Saturday and/or next Wed. Night? YOU Vote!

Hey All,

There is talk of meeting at Mother's Raceway this coming Saturday and/or next Wednesday evening. Please let us know if you plan on attending by casting a "yes" or "no" vote here and here.

These are great opportunities to come out, meet some of the guys, and get some fun and exciting practice.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Spec Class Practice Sessions



Last night I got home at nearly midnight from our second Spec Class meet. I had an awesome time - good food (thanks to RCRookie), great people, fun conversations about RC, and a really challenging track!



When the RC18 Spec Class was proposed, i was happy to go along with it, but truth be told, i've only ever raced 1/10 scale off-road and was not expecting much action from the smaller 1/18 scale buggies. The Spec Racing Class is designed to keep the playing field even and competition high by requiring everyone participating to have pretty much the same vehicle (an RC18T, RC18B) in a nearly stock, out of the box, condition, identical drive train, and the addition of on-road tires (the club meets are on pavement). I thought it would be fun to bash around now and again but not much else. Now it's turned into something of an addiction!



First, these smaller scales of today rival the bigger 1/10 scale RC cars of 20 years ago (the last time i was racing RC) - especially the RC18 series of vehicles. These are shaft-driven 4-wheel drive, have full ball bearings all around, ball differentials front and rear, oil-filled shocks and all the other advances you would expect in a race-class machine. in fact, when i started to do a little homework on these, i found that there are very active racing communities for these scales. my initial prejudices against these smaller cars went away almost immediately once i took it out of the box (did i mention they are RTR?) and took it for a spin.

WOW!

This thing, even with the stock out-of-the-box motor, really moves! i've had this fantasy of getting a 1/8th scale truggy (4wd truck) and this little RC18 might just keep me from needing to get one! These really are Mini Truggies!



So now i'm in love with this thing, but will the pavement really be that fun? well, the group has done an amazing job fashioning a track that combines all the technical pieces of a good on-road track, with some of the challenging elements of off-road tracks - all in all, a good curvy track with jumps! i was astonished at how much driving on this track feels like an authentic race experience - an off-road one to boot! I walk away from the night with that same giddy feeling i do after i get back from the off-road track!

Mother's Raceway Track

I love the fact that this does really feel like a real race machine, on a real track, and that what i learn at these events will help me with my 1/10 scale racing. all the things i would learn from the couple of times a month i can get down to the off-road track with my B44 (roughly an hour away for me) are here in the Spec Racing Class: keeping focus, looking for the right line through the track, anticipating speed for jumps and learning to be consistent. what's more, these little vehicles are so durable and inexpensive to maintain, that i'm way more confident pushing the truck to its limits (and my own). This makes me less afraid to make mistakes, and through these mistakes, i'm learning a lot if things i can use on any track.



One of the most enjoyable aspects of these events are just hanging out with fellow hobbyists and talking RC. In my area and in my line of work, very few people i know, if any, even know that this hobby/sport actually exists (I think that's a trend these days for a lot of hobbies), so it's really great to have members show up with their latest builds, talk about their last race meet, compare paint jobs, ask questions, and share experiences we've had in this hobby of ours. There's nothing like good, solid camaraderie to finish a fun night of racing!See you at the next Club Meet!

- Michelangelo

For more photos, click here and here.
(thanks to B-Dog and Knytemare for the great photos)

Monday, May 12, 2008

Reminder: Official Meet Up This Wed. May 14 - 7:00PM


Just a reminder to everyone that we are holding an Official Spec Racing Class Practice this Wednesday evening!! Meet up with the club at Mother's Raceway in South San Francisco for practice, laughs, and some friendly competition.

Also, please note that we will be BBQ'in burgers for us all. :mrgreen: If anyone doesn't want burgers, please feel free to bring anything you want to throw on the grill.We are looking forward to seeing everyone there and hope to see some new faces as well!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Official Spec Class Practice: Next Wed. Evening, May 14 - 7:00PM

Hey All,

It's time for another Spec Racing Class Practice!! Meet up with the club at Mother's Raceway in South San Francisco for practice, laughs, and some friendly competition.

Also, for anyone who doesn't have a "Spec" vehicle, we would still love for you to come out and bring whatever you have! Any meet we have is open to everyone and any vehicles you might have.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

-BAPRCC

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Update: Spec Racing Class

Hello All,

The Spec Racing Class is in it's infancy, and there has been a lot of debate on how to regulate the vehicles being used. By creating the Spec Class, the club is trying to create a low-pressure racing class for the casual RC Enthusiast that provides/encourages as much fun and laughs as it does competitiveness. To accomplish that, the club must ensure that everyone's car/truck is exactly the same in every IMPORTANT way.

To keep things both fair and competitive for all who want to participate, all major components of the vehicle that make, deliver, and handle the power - as well as those that affect the overall handling of the vehicle must be the same.

With that said, we don't want to make it impossible for people to customize their vehicle at all. So, as a compromise, we will allow members to vote hop-ups into the approved list on a case by case basis.

We encourage anyone who is interested to get involved! The more the merrier. To join the conversation and help the club decide what hop-ups should be allowed, join the discussion on the message boards.

Regards,
B-Dog

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Spec Racing Class Practice: A Blast!!!

Mother's Raceway --South SF. While a few guys had to cancel last minute, those of us who braved the extreme wind and cold had a total blast! We all set up in about 15-20 min, and then began last minute preparations on our cars. We tweaked the layout of the track a bit, including some of the obstacles. One section we were going to use for a "bumpy" area (by laying down flat top cones and covering with a heavy rubber backed floormat) proved to be way to unpredictable (the trucks were flyin' all over), so we turned that section into a set of "doubles" jumps that worked out fantastic! We also used some pieces of carpet to hold down corners, which turned out much better than expected. They not only held down the corners, but provided a nice surface to cut across for those who wanted to take the turns sharply.
We attempted a few rounds of mini races, but with no turn marshals, it was a little tough (We need YOU at the next practice!). In the end, we had a great night out and learned a lot about how we want to layout the track. We all got a lot of good practice in, and it was obvious that we all could not wait to do it again. This class is proving to be super fun, and will provide everyone with a really great, low pressure, yet competitive place to drive - with plenty of laughs to go around.To keep track of the latest information regarding the Spec Class, click here. If you would like to know when we will be meeting next, check out the Club Meets section of the message boards.

More pictures: Here