Merry Christmas!!

From all of us, to all of you:

Have a very, Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings! Hopefully Santa brought you some fun new R/C toys!

Happy Hanukkah!!

To All of Our Friends,

As you celebrate the Festival of Lights may your home be bright with happiness and love. Best Wishes at Hanukkah, from the Bay Area Peninsula RC Club!

NorCal Hobbies to have indoor offroad course starting soon...

So those of you with RC18B/T that we used in Spec Racing or others who don't have one yet but want to see what is coming soon, check out the following thread over at RCRacing.com: http://www.rcracing.com/msgthread.cfm?t ... essages=58

It will be an indoor carpet track with jumps and obstacles for Slashes and the 1/18th scale offroad vehicles like RC18s and Vendettas. Looking like a couple of us might be trying this out. I still need to get some parts to convert my RC18R but should be fun!

Got something to say? Join the discussion!

Farewell Send Off for Club Member Armand Utan

Hi Everyone,

It is with much regret that I pass along news of one of our Member's leaving the country for an extended amount of time. In his short time with us, Armand has become a valued member of the local RC community, and a great guy to share this awesome hobby of our's with. He has been a stand up member of the BAPRC Club, and his presence will be missed.

But hey, it's not like he'll be that far away - with today's technology, it'll be easy to keep in contact with him and trade stories about what's going on here, as well as Indonesia (where he is headed).

With all this said, please join us at the "Toys 4 Tot's Race" at NorCal Dec. 20 as it will be his final RC event for quite awhile with the Northern California Crew. He'll even be donating a brand spankin' new RC vehicle to be raffled off to help cover the cost of a track tarp.

If you haven't had a chance to meet him in person, you'll get one more shot at it. Hope to see you all there, and let's all wish Armand the best of luck in the next chapter of his life!

Got something to say? Join the discussion!

New Track developing in Brisbane..?

There aren't many details yet, but "Kodyh" has recently reported that a new, privately owned off-road RC track is being developed in Brisbane (near HWY 101 at Candlestick Park). We're hoping to get pictures and more information about this soon. In the mean time, we are told you can contact Daniel At 415-756-3491 for location and more information.

Brisbane, CA

View Larger Map

Check out this thread for more information.

Sneek Peak: 2nd Off-Road Track, NorCal Hobbies

Hey All, NorCal Hobbies is constructing a second off-road track to compliment their current one and BAPRC club member FabolousRC has provided us with a sneek peak of it!



A few of us were there last Sunday and watched it being built (and even contributed a little bit to the effort). The current plan is to have this track be a little more "wild" than the current version (which is tailored for the Traxxas Slash). It even has a slick "over/under" feature which the Slash clears easily. Whether races will be held on it or not, is still to be determined - however, when asked about this, a NorCal "official" stated that he "definitely wants to hold races on it". Stay tuned for more details!

Got something to add? Join the discussion!

NorCal Hobbies Toys-4-Tots Race - Dec. 20-21

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share an exciting bit of news with you about an upcoming event that will benefit many kids this Holiday Season. Our good friend, John Hicks, at NorCal Hobbies had the following to say regarding this event:

Its that time of year again,and Norcal Hobbies will be throwing another Toys-4-Tots race this month. Norcal had a really nice participation last year for these races, and is hoping to have even better participation this year - all for a great cause. NorCal will have 2 seperate race dates for Onroad and Offroad.

The 1st date is Saturday Dec. 20th for the offroad portion of these races. Due to race conflicts with other venues,we wanted to make sure we have a greater chance of participation by all for this worthy cause.

The 2nd date will be Sunday Dec 21st for the Carpet portion of the Toys-4-Tots race.

Race fees are 15.00 plus a Toy for your 1st entry. 2nd entry is $5 and anything after is free! This will be a fun race that helps alot of children in need locally.Please mark these dates down and Norcal Hobbies hopes to see you all there.

Got something to add? Join the discussion!

Team Associated e-Conversion kit

For those of you who have been drooling over Associated's line of 1/8 scale cars and trucks and wished they made electric counterparts, your wish has been granted! (sort of).

From Team Associated:

"The new Team Associated e-Conversion Kit has been designed for the RC8, RC8T, and SC8 to be easily and neatly converted from nitro to electric power. The e-Conversion is a well thought-out, practical design that has been engineered to work as an integral part of the chassis. Enjoying the awesome power and convenience of LiPos in your SC8, RC8 or RC8T has never been easier!

AE e-Conversion kit features:

* Rigid one-piece motor mount utilizes standard motor screw mounting pattern
* Large speed control mounting area raised off of chassis to allow for easy screw mounting of common speed controllers
* Speed control mounting area includes convenient switch-mounting boss
* Utilizes 3 hook-and-loop straps to secure LiPo batteries into battery tray
* Molded Battery tray supports 7.4-14.8V battery packs with room for foam pads
* Accepts two ROAR-approved 1:10 scale size 7.4v LiPo battery packs (#703 Reedy LiPo 5000 PRO (2), #704 Reedy LiPo 5000 w/connector (2), #705 Reedy LiPo 3200 w/connector (2), #709 Reedy LiPo 5000 35C (2))
* New sealed receiver box for proper electronics placement
* Receiver, Servo, and battery tray remove from car in one piece for easy maintenance and cleaning
* Easy bolt-in chassis installation requires no modifications!
* Convenient wire routing keeps critical electronic wires out of drivetrain components and simplifies disassembly
* Includes two pinion gears (15T, 16T) and two spur gears (46T & 50T)
* Comes with all needed hardware to mount components onto chassis
* Motor, ESC, and batteries are not included
* RC8 conversion requires RC8e body #89523

$129.99 MSRP"
Have a comment? Join the discussion!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

From all of us at the Bay Area Peninsula RC Club, Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! Be sure to save room for pumpkin pie, too!

Recap: NorCal Hobbies, Nov 26 - Indoor Carpet Racing

The indoor carpet racing at Norcal Hobbies ROCKED! It was sooo fun! b-dog crossed the line a hair in front of me at the end! if it was an RC18-only class we would have had a fun battle ;)

The night was awesome, b-dog and pigiron - it was awesome hanging and racing with you. fabulous, it was awesome just seeing your crazy collection of rc's - that optima is the stuff! great racing guys, i am totally hooked on carpet racing, i hate to say it, but it is way fun! you had me saucin' up tires and worrying about my line - man, i might just turn into an on-road junkie yet... 18th scale first though!



we had a really good turn out and lots of racers recognize the baprc t-shirts (we need a banner for our pit area!). there were 4 rc18s (mine, pigiron's, and b-dog's with one exotek r18 that was sweet) and then 3 tamiya minis that easily had 3 laps on us all and were sort of tanks on the track. no matter though, we let them finish 1,2,3 and we all fought over the rest of the spots. hopefully more minis show up so they can move them to there own class as they have a little more heft to them and really do take you out in their desire to pass you. near the end we were finally getting a little more aggressive and the minis were laying off a little, but it was getting brutal for a while - like slash class without the slash's! over the course of the night i think each of the baprcc RC18s took fourth place once and all 4 of the rc18s had 22 laps at the finish, so it was really close racing (see the race results).

the coolest cars of the night were the world gt cars - man, these things FLEW. i mean they really flew! they were easily faster than the TCs (13.5 tcs were getting 35 laps, world GTs around 44, 12th scales were getting in the 50s). man, they were riding on rails, definitely a sight to see.



we started racing a little after 7pm and i didnt get home until about 12:30am... nice long night of racing! but we were all pooped at the end.

it was great finally dusting off that rc18 and i am so happy i converted to 18r from 18t. it was fast and stuck on the track and just felt awesome. thanks b-dog for letting me borrow your nightline body, when i get back from my trip, i'll have to spend the rainy days dialing in that little car ;)

Got something to add? Join the discussion!

NorCal Hobbies, Nov 26 - Wed Night Indoor Carpet Racing

Hey All,

A few guys are talking about heading down to NorCal Hobbies this Wednesday evening for some indoor carpet racing. Most guys from our club will be running RC18R's, but any on road car can be driven there. What better way to kick off the Holiday Season?!

It looks like we'll have about 3-4 guys there for sure. If anyone else would like to come, you should definitely do so! We need some other club members faces to make some appearances!

I've got plenty of room in my car, so if anyone wants a ride, feel free to ask! You can check out the latest information about this in our message boards.


Hope to see you all there!
-Bryan

NorCal Hobbies - Sat, Nov 22 - "Turkey Shoot Out"

Looks like NorCal is doing their 3rd annual "Turkey Shootout" this coming Saturday, with Turkey and Pies for the top 3 in their classes. A handful of BAP-RC Club members will be attending. Whether you plan on racing or not, you should definitely come out to witness the action! Racing usually begins aroun 9:30-10AM. Club Members will be there earlier than that to set up their pit tables and get some warm up laps in.

You can check this thread in our message boards for more information.

New Product: Protoform LTC-R Sedan Body

Proline releases new 1/10 TC body. This Global Body Spec ready race body is designed specifically for rubber tire racing whether it’s on a carpet or a paved surface racetrack. It was designed with slightly more steering ability than the Mazda 6 and Mazda Speed 6 body styles, yet a bit less aggressive than the Protoform R9-R body. To further aid balance and rear grip the wing mounting location that’s slightly more rearward. The LTC-R features two trim lines, one for IFMAR, EFRA, ROAR, JMCRA racing at the 115mm height as well as the BRCA’s 120mm height rule. The oversize rear wing helps performance on a poor-grip surface that’s commonly experienced in club racing but also incorporates trim lines for sanctioned style racing. Available in 2 different weights of genuine lexan and comes with protective film, decals and wing mounting hardware.

Courtesy of www.redrc.net

Member's Rides - Featured Car: Tamiya Durga (Owner: Armand Utan)

Hello All!

I'm excited to announce a new feature of this blog that will provide more insight into our Club Members, and their R/C Vehicles. As with real cars, you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their RC car. What kind of style do they have? Are they laid back, aggressive, fuctional, maticulous, etc. From time to time, we'll take a closer look at some of our Member's rides, and get all the details from: specs of the car, how long that Member has owned it, what it has meant to it's owner, how much damage it's taken, races it's participated in, etc.

In our first ever "Member's Rides - Featured Car", we'll be taking a look at Club Member Armand Utan's (aka: FabolousRC) Tamiya Durga.

When asked to give us a summary of his experience with his Durga, Armand had this to say:

"I decided to get back to my off-road roots after unsuccessfully trying to live up to my own expectations in touring. I had looked at several cars before I decided to purchase a Tamiya Durga. Prior to purchasing, I had narrowed my choices down to either Tamiya or Kyosho but the Lazer ZX-5 was too cost prohibitive at the time and the Dark Impact was hampered by the knightmares of a short wheelbase chassis and limited (stock build) gear adjustment - Not to mention the standard gearbox wouldn't withstand brushless motor use (which was new to me at the time) . After reading a lot of positive reviews regarding the Durga, I purchased one from TowerHobbies. It was pricey, but I felt it showed a lot of promise. After I received my new vehicle, I brought the body to Lex Tyler and had it painted."


"While the body was being painted, I began work on building my new ride. It took me three weekends to complete the car, which included replacing some of the kit screws with stainless steel screws I had leftover from my touring car (which would make the car much easier to work on)."


Parts that have been broken on the car:

- Rear shock tower; twice. Handling related.
- Rear gearbox cover. "When I broke the shock tower the first time, I had to replace my shock tower with the carbon reinforced one. Well, the carbon reinforced one was so strong, it tore the shock tower mount on the soft plastic on the gear cover
So now, the gear cover is once again carbon reinforced and it was so strong, the shock tower broke again. This time from the bottom up instead of from the top."

"Generally, the Durga is a pretty durable car. If you tuen the car right, it is pretty nimble and fast. If you tune it wrong like my car, it is a NIGHTMARE! (no pun intended)."

Future Durga Projects:

"I am planning to build a Durga with all the carbon parts I have. I am currently saving up for the carbon chassis and the TRF501X original shocks. Why TRF501X original shocks instead of the DB01 optional shocks or the Aeration Shocks? The plastic shocks shaft on the Durga is shorter than all of them. It was actually perfect for the car because it kept the car level when the shocks sagged when fully equipped with the battery."

"DB01 Optional shocks and Aeration Shocks are much longer which puts the car higher off the ground, effectively raising the center of gravity. The original 501X shocks are similar to the plastic shocks in shaft length which mimicked the handling of the Durga. This car is intended to be a TCS only car, which gives me a lot of freedom in experimenting with the current car that I drive."



Now for the details and specs:

"Currently, I have the following Tamiya Options on this car":

- 54015 Tamiya Assembly Universal Shaft Front DB01
- 54016 Tamiya Assembly Universal Shaft Rear DB01
- 54018 Tamiya Slipper Clutch Set DB01
- 54035 Tamiya Carbon Reinforced L Parts Steering Arm DB01 (Center Cover Only)
- 54037 Tamiya DB01 Aluminum Suspension Mount Front
- 54038 Tamiya DB01 Aluminum Suspension Mount Rear
- TRF501X Steel Outdrives

"I'm in the process of installing these after-market parts":
- 3Racing DB01-01/LB Aluminium Front and Rear Damper Set For DB-01
- Avid RC Rubber Shielded Revolutions bearings

Electronics:

- Futaba S9402 HS HT MG Servo (non-Digital). "It is about as fast and as powerful non digital servo you can get and I have been using it since my touring days. It never disappoints me. It is a single most effective investment I ever made".
- LRP Sphere TC Brushed/Brushless Lipo ready ESC. "The hobby shop 'made me' by this. I still have not quite tinkered with it yet to the point that the setting is exactly how I want to run. I kinda screwed up while setting it up from the default setting."
- Novak 10.5 R Sensored Brushless motor (sintered rotor). "Awesome motor and highly recommended".
- Spektrum 3000 2.4Ghz Receiver with KO EX-1/EX-10 module. "I originally ran the car with a DX3.0 and it was a tad slow in reaction time. Then I was able to acquire a module for my EX-1 Mars which makes my car 10x faster in reaction. I had to readjust (still readjusting) on how I drive the car because the car is so much more sensitive to slight changes now."

Future Electronics equipment:

- Ko Propo 2123FET. "Fastest Digital Brushed Servo in the world. The part that worries me is that, the car is already super twitchy with the S9402 and how much XXXX times does the 2123FET is going to make it worse or is it going to be actually better (because I might be able to countersteer better)".
- Fantom Racing 10.5R motor. "Fantom was famous for churning modified Trinity stock and modified brushed motor in the past so their brushless effort remained to be seen. Honestly, I like it because the motor can is green which matches with the car".
- Venom Brushless ESC - " - See the reason of Fantom Racing 10.5R motor. Yes, it is green".

Battery: Team Orion Rocket Pack 5000mah Nimh Stick pack; Radio Shack GP3300 Stick Packs.

Shoes: Tamiya DB01 Fr/Rr Black Wheels or JConcepts Rulux B44 Fr/Rr with Team Losi Taper Pins Fr/BK Bars Rr or Panther Racing Bobcat 4WD Fr/Switch 2.0 Rr

Charger: Team Integy 16x7Pro; Duratrax ICE

Power Supply: Rivergate 15A

Great stuff, Armand! Thanks for sharing so many details about your ride!
To check out other Member's Rides, check out our Message Boards.

Drift Basics

Just thought I'd share this video describing RC Drifting basics - courtesy of HPI. Man, these look like so much fun!

REMINDER: Club Trip Nov 14-15, LakePort Hobbies - Clear Lake

Hey Everyone,

A few BAP-RC Members are planning a weekend get-away trip to Lakeport Hobbies in Clear Lake for this coming weekend!! If you haven't already indicated whether you would like to come, now is the time to do so!! To find out more about this trip, and let us know if you plan on coming, check out our message boards. Again, if you are interested in coming, the more the merrier! This invite is open to everyone - even those of you who check out this site, but for some reason haven't "officially joined The Club"! :)

Check out this thread in the 'boards for additional information about Lakeport Hobbies.

You can see more pictures and video of their facility and events by going to http://www.lakeporthobbies.com/

New Product: Reedy Micro Brusless System

As mentioned on our message boards, Reedy & Team Associated have joined in on the Micro/Mini Brushless Motor and Electronic Speed Control bandwagon.
ESC Specifications:

Cells: 2‐3 LiPo, 6‐8 NiMH
On Resistance: 0.1Ω
Brakes: Proportional
Reversible: Yes, w/Brakes Only Option
Low Voltage Cutoff: Adjustable
Dimensions: 35mm x 26mm x 21mm
Weight w/Wires: 31g (1.1oz)
Power Wires: 16AWG Silicone
Connector Type: Motor/3.5mm socket, Battery/none
Motor Specifications:

Cells: 2‐3 LiPo, 6‐8 NiMH
Diameter: 22.5mm
Length: 33.6mm
Shaft Diameter: 2.0mm
Weight: 57g

Available in these motor variations:
5000kV
5500kV
6100kV
7000kV
8000kV
9500kV

Want to learn more? Join the discussion!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

From all of us at BAP-RC, Have a fun, happy, and safe Halloween!

Off-Road Track Review: Norcal Hobbies' New Layout

Hey everyone,

I headed out to Norcal Hobbies last Sunday for a few hours of practice. I focused on improving my driving with the B44 and was excited to see the new track layout. IT IS AWESOME!



The track has amazing flow! By the end of the day I was able to push it hard and get in the rhythm and it felt great! The front of the track features a nice big table top jump that wont break (as many) cars. just after that there are a series of corners and a hairpin that leads into a corner table with a single mini jump just after it. Kevin Jelich (the track's designer) apparently hits that table wide and clears it and the mini jump, I tried it and its a pretty tricky thing to pull off cleanly.

After another tight turn there is a double and then a turn into a long step-up leading into another high speed double, then a hair pin into the back straight. This progression is super fun once you get the flow!

The back straight is very fast with an elevation change about half way through and a slow climb after into a chicane area. Hitting full throttle on the back straight is awesome and super fun to watch as the cars bump over the elevation changes and slow hard for the end turn into the chicane.

Another fast, tight turn takes you into a set of doubles then a wide turn back to the front table jump.

The track is now being run wet so I ran my M3 holeshots. they worked great! Tire wear is good but only as the track stays wet. When it starts to dry, it gets slippery and the tires start to wear faster. I will try the harder R3 compound next time around to see if the wearing is better. During races they lightly water before every heat so hopefully I can make it a couple of race days with one set of tires (right now I am about one race day and maybe one heat on a single set of tires).

There are a lot of jumps, but no car breakers like we've been used to. I love the crazy air from the other layouts, but there is enough action on this track that I didnt miss it at all. Also, they took a lot of the infield piping and cut it in half so Slash trucks and biggues wont get stuck on them. Even my B44 had no trouble getting out of a jam if I miss-jumped and ended up off the track.

Awesome track, Kevin Jelich and crew have done it again!

Any thoughts? Join the discussion!

-Hopbot

ROAR Region 12 Race @ Ripon 10/25 - 26

For those of you who don't know, there is a BIG race coming up this weekend for on-road RC enthusiasts. Ripon will be holding a ROAR Region 12 Race on October 25-26. A few of our Club Members will be out there participating in this awesome 2-day event.

Good Luck, gentlemen!!

For more information about this event, check out this thread in our message boards.

New RC World Record: 161.78mph!

The world speed record has been broken yet again. Nic Case has done it again! From Schumacker Racing ...

"Nic Case drove his stretched Schumacher Mi3 “streamliner” straight and true down the Rockingham drag strip to set a brand new world record for top speed achieved with an RC car this Saturday. He posted 155mph on his first run to shatter his previous record, and his second run extended the new record to an incredible 161.78mph!

The International Speed Challenge event hosted by the Rockingham drag strip and race directed by Billy Weeks was a well attended entire day of high speed running on a world class surface. Using ROSSA rules and speed record standards, the event attracted many top names in RC drag racing and speed running to try their hand in a controlled and official atmosphere. David Akers even “crossed the pond” with a great showing from the UK to make it a truly international event.

Schumacher USA Sales Manager Shawn Palmer narrowly missed wins in three classes, and took second place by less than 1mph with his Fusion 28 RTR nitro sedan and his CORE lipo and Speed Passion powered Mi3.5 Race touring sedan."

To check out pictures of this incredible vehicle, GO HERE.

MeetUp: NorCal Hobbies - OffRoad, Saturday 10/11

Hey All,

Looks like we have a decent number of club members headed out to NorCal Hobbies this Saturday for some off-road action. To see whose coming and let everyone know if we should expect to see you there, check the 'boards.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Weekend Trip: Lakeport Hobbies Raceway; Nov 15-16

Hey Everyone,

The Club is currently planning a weekend get-away trip to Lakeport Hobbies in Clear Lake!! They recently completed construction on their slick looking indoor offroad track, and have invited us up to participate in one of their Sunday race programs. This facility runs every Sunday - Rain or Shine!Needless to say, we are all excited to check out their facility! To find out more about this trip, check out our message boards.

If you are interested in coming, the more the merrier! This invite is open to everyone - even those of you who check out this site, but for some reason haven't "officially joined The Club"! :)

Check out this thread in the 'boards for additional information about Lakeport Hobbies.

You can see more pictures and video of their facility and events by going to http://www.lakeporthobbies.com/

Recap: Mini-Z Shopping Mall Race - Inside Line Racing

Our friends over at Inside Line Racing have provided us with a re-cap of their recent Mini-Z Shopping Mall Enduro Race that took place on Sept. 20, 2008. Here is what Binh from ILR had to say:

"Second time back to the mall was an experience. All aspects of the set-up went pretty well. I even had time to get the lap timing system going early to test and see if it was working properly. And the timing worked perfect during practice. Twelve o’clock rolled around and time for racing. All the cars were on grid, horn went off and we were racing. Only one small problem, one of the teams was not counting. I had to then re-boot the system and try again. I tired everything I could think of to get the system back up. I finally figured out that somehow the tile floor was interfering with the RF loop. I then placed the loop on the track and we were back racing. The only problem now was that there was a little bump before the timing system, which made is more exciting for the fans. As the cars went by they jumped a little. It was fun to watch. We ran five one hour mains to determine the winner.

The first main went down to the wire with Team 2 (Perez, Jaime, Fraz) winning by just four laps. Hernandez kept his team in the hunt with consistent fast laps. He was running a mod AWD and was certainly the fastest car on the track all day. The first race came down to who was more consistent on the track. At this point most teams did not really have a strategy yet. Teams 1 through 7 were separated by 101 laps. Winning team had 376 laps.

First main results.

In the second main, Team 2 had problems early on and was fighting from the back of the pack most of the race. Team 3 (Tony, Stephen, Randy) knew that if they did not win the second main it would be very hard to win the last three to finish on top. With that in mind they took over lead from Team 4 (Hernandez, Art B, Hello Moto) once Hernandez had to go in for a battery change. The AWD was faster but it required more battery stops. From lap 85 to the end of the main, Team 3 did not look back and easily won by 14 laps. Team 4 once again came in third. Team 5 (Steven, Oscar, Art M) showed improvement in the second main but could not run down Team 4. Winning team had 383 laps.

Second main results

Team 2 restored the order in the third main. It was not easy though. There was a very close race between Teams 2, 3, and 4 with many lead changes. Hernandez put down the fastest lap so far in the day, 7.80. This was the closes race so far with Team 2 winning by just 9.70 seconds. Team 2 at this point put up the most number of laps, 388. Every team by now has stepped up their lap count and the racing was getting very close. Teams 1 though 7 were now only separated by 64 laps.

Third main results

In the fourth main Team 3 evened things up at two a piece with Team 2. They were now knotted and the final main would decide the champion. Early on in this main, Team 4 looked to be the clear winner. Hernandez put them out in front early and his team put up consistent laps to keep the lead late into the race. Team 4 had the lead until lap 346. The modified AWD needed a battery change and a new driver. At this point they had a 7 lap lead and it was going to be up to his team to hold on for the victory. However with Steve Perez and Stephen chasing you down, it would be a hard task for anyone. Perez and Stephen eventually ran down Team 4 and Team 3 won by 13.98 seconds. Team 3 now had the highest lap count with 389 laps.

Forth main results

In the last main, Hernandez was determined to get his team a main victory and he left it all on the track. He put down some the fastest lap of the day in the last main. Team 3 came out fast and lead every lap except for 20 laps. The last main was the best main of the day. Every team got faster on the track in faster with their pit/driver changes. At lap 269 Stephen came in for Team 3’s last driver change. That driver change put him into second place with 18 minutes to race. Perez was on the track for Team 2 and his team decided to let him just come in for a battery change and do a back to back driving stint to finish the race. Now imagine 15 minutes left and you, in this case Stephen, have a small two lap lead over Perez with an eternity to drive (15 minutes). We had a good sized crowd gathered now and the pressure was on. Which ever team won this last main was going to be the mall champion. The gap was bouncing around at 1 or 2 laps the whole time. There was complete concentration and the crowd was getting into it. In the end Stephen’s youth might have played a role in the victory. Team 3 now put up the most laps of the day with 395 laps.

Fifth main results

Thank you to all the racers that came out and raced. You all deserved to win. I would also like to thank Joel Johnson won sent a great raffle prize, and ASF car. The winner was a seven year old boy. I would like to thank PN for send raffle prizes. Iron man of the race was Mike aka GoFast. He teamed up with his 7 year old son and his son’s 7 year old friend. This meant that Mike did most of the driving. Good job Mike, rest your arm. I will get the lap times up soon."

Official Results:

1^st Place: Team 3 Stephen Bui, Randy Luu, Tony Truong 48 pts

2^nd Place: Team 2 Steve Perez, John Frazier, Jaime M 47 pts

3^rd Place: Team 4 Jonanthan Hernandez, Art B, Hello Moto 40 pts

4^th Place: Team 5 Steven Huynh, Oscar Y, Art M 32 pts

5^th Place: Team 7 Binh Do, Alan A, Layman Reid 26 pts

5^th Place: Team 6 Mike Ma, Adrian, Matthew 26 pts

5^th Place: Team 1 Eric Vasutin, Ken Brumblay, Hung Nguyen 26 pts

For more information about Mini-Z's and Inside Line Racing, check out their site:

http://www.insidelineracing.com/

Recap: West Coast Touring Car King's Race @ Marin R/C 9/27-28

The Marin R/C West Coast Touring Car King's Race turned out to be an awesome 2-day event and thanks go out to all who set it up, and a big congratulations to those who placed in all classes!!

Recap provided by club member Justin "Catalyst" Bowden (Who placed 2nd in a stacked 17.5 class!! Congrats!):

"Thanks again to Jesse and crew who put on a really unique race format that was the most fun and best competition for any race I've personally been involved with! Those that missed the race really missed out. Competition was thick in all classes and even with money on the line, and talent in the entire field - there were no problems whatsoever. It was well organized, and everyone in attendance appeared to be having a great time!

Time Trials were a great idea and hopefully this becomes something done on the club level more often. It raised the bar for events to come and despite the competitive spirit of the racers, it actually seemed to build some comraderie between racers as we all stood and cheered each driver on.

Cash prizes were thought by some to possibly bring out the worst in racers but this wasn't even an issue. All those in attendance were serious but there were no issues in tech, no problems with attitudes on the track, clean racing, and even with a couple early computer glitches - people just rolled with it and kept in the spirit of having a good time!

Track records were shattered - and for me personally, I broke into laptimes I've never ran. Track conditions were excellent on Sunday and Jesse is a master of knowing how to get the right balance for fast lap times. Even in practice - seeing some of California's best put in insanely fast laps was quite the spectacle!

The apple crisp changed lives! It was great to see the racers being shown appreciation for supporting the local venue.

Congratulations to all those who made the podium! Jeremy was the man to beat all weekend in 17.5 and never fell of his pace. Lex had a seriously hooked up car and his line amazes me. He showed up with the crown and is a local King! EJ - wow what a main in 10.5...seeing you KJ and Jesse start with inches between you all for a few laps blew my mind! MiniMod ran strong all weekend and gave everyone serious competition and placed in both 10.5 and 13.5 to back up his TQ from the Time Trials.

Thanks again for offering such a great event with Special thanks to Jesse Stark, Christian and Marin R/C, Joe Nolasco with live webcam, sound, organization and all, Blake and 707paint.net for donating the awesome bodies, ABR for hooking up the baker to serve us up apple crisp, and a quick shout to Mendoza for being cool and watching his significant other fill in for the no show trophy girl!"

Videos of the A-Mains (courtesy of "ZoomZoomer" - www.rcracing.com boards):

10.5 Qualifier featuring KevinJ, EJ Evan and Lex Tyler

10.5 A-Main

17.5 A-Main

For more photos, check out this thread on the RCRacing message boards.

New Product: Traxxas Slash Todd LeDuc (Rockstar) "wrap".

Upgrade RC (the makers of our BAP-RC Club decals) recently released a new Todd LeDuc (Rockstar) replica "wrap" for the Traxxas Slash. This is yet another option for Slash owners looking to give their ride a custom look, and something that will set them apart from all the other's running the stock red/blue bodies.

West Coast Touring Car King's Race @ Marin R/C 9/27-28

Marin R/C in San Rafael California is hosting their 2 day event the weekend of September 27th and 28th. This is a Touring Car only onroad racing event that is really going to be the premier race for this facility this year. Track Director Jesse Stark has been cooking up some new, never seen format options and fellow R/C enthusiast Joe Nolasco is working on entertainment with music and a earth shaking sound system.

What's new in this format? Well here's a statement from Jesse regarding how this race will be run over the two day weekend:

"When I starting thinking about the idea of putting this race together, my first thought was we need a 2 day race at Marin at some point this year because we need some sort of signature race. For the most part, the Marin track has really established itself and has had a steady amount of entries through out the whole year and I'm very thankful for all the racers who have been so supportive and I know I'm speaking for the guys at the shop also who appreciate the good racing we've been having too. I just wanted to do something different than the same old format I've been seeing for the past 15 years. I kicked around some ideas about having quarterfinals, semi-finals and mains like BMX or Motocross does and taking the top 4 of each heat instead of the usual "race against the 5 minute clock" we all use in RC now. Probably a little to much for me to handle something like that right now, but maybe down the road I will develop that idea into something. So until then I came up with this. We all have raced for trophies before, so I wanted to step it up to a money race. We all have done 3 quals and a main before, so I wanted to step it up to individual time trails."

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Here is the format:

Classes:
Stock 17.5 Sedan (Sportsman)
Super Stock 13.5 Sedan (Expert)
Spec Mod 10.5 Sedan

Saturday:
Open practice from 9:00am-11:30am

Individual Time Trials 12:00pm

First round of individual time trials will start at noon beginning with 17.5. Each driver will hit the track solo for 8-10 laps. We will take your single best lap time out of those laps. There will be a total of 2 rounds of Individual Time Trials for the 3 classes followed by 1 Round of Qualifying on Saturday

(i.e. - Let's say you are racing 13.5 and your single best lap time in the trials is a 12.7. That 12.7 might be 3rd fastest overall out of let's say 20 drivers on Saturday. You earned yourself a "3 seed". You will start 3rd on the grid in the first 2 rounds of qualifying. There will be 2 rounds of individual time trials. If you don't improve your lap time in the 2nd round, your single best lap time is what is seeded regardless of which round of trials it's from)

Whoever TQ's the Saturday Time Trials in each class will win a free painted sedan body donated by a premier painter on the West Coast - Blake Cannon from 707paint.net!!!

Sunday:
Open practice 8:30-9:50

3 total Rounds of Qualfying 10:00

The racers who show up on Sunday only will be seeded to the back for that 1st Round of Qualifying on Sunday mourning. There will be a re-sort after that round to update the Qualifying Heats.

After Qualifying is completed the Mains will be run based on those results.

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This will truly be a do not miss event in the bay area for 1:10 scale onroad Touring Car racing. Not only is the format unique but there is an added bonus...Ca$h Prizes to be paid to top 3 places in each class. Yes that's correct - Cash Prizes!!!

In addition there are some Sponsors for this race including the host Marin R/C, Schumacher U.S.A, 707Paint.net and NorCalRC.com.

For more information you can follow the thread on RCRacing.com or call the Marin R/C shop at (415) 454-0122‎.

Hope to see everyone out there!

-Catalyst

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Slash 2 Hour Enduro Race: Sat. Sep. 20, 3:00PM @NorCal Hobbies

If you haven't heard by now, this Saturday afternoon, there will be an event like none other in the Bay Area taking place at NorCal Hobbies in Union City. The event will be a 2 hour Traxxas Slash Enduro Race that will consist of (at least) 3 man teams. You can check out the rules in the flier below. Be sure to come down and be a part of the fun - whether you wish to join in, or just check out the non-stop action - it's sure to be a blast!! Team BAPRC will be fielding a team for this race, so root us on!! There will also be a raffle for a brand new Traxxas Slash that anyone can purchase tickets for.


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Off-Road Racing Report: NorCal Hobbies 09/13/08

Hey there all, we had a great time at norcal Saturday! I pitted with Pigiron (thanks for letting me have a table PI!) and Fabrc brought his air compressor by (totally useful, thanks man!) Darksoul was also there (great chatting with you and frank!). There were A LOT of people there yesterday, I left a little after 5pm and they still had mains to run!



The new addition to the track, called the "rythm section", is a series of 6 mini jumps right after the hairpin that leads into the step down jump. This was pretty painful in every class. Things got really shaken up and we saw what usually are the fastest cars on the track (4wd mods) lose out to the 2wd 13.5 drivers - I think those bumps really changed everyone's game.

The slashes actually handled it well since they had some good ground clearance. The 4wd mod class had it pretty bad since you could get stuck on the apex of the mini jump and be stuck there spinning your wheels! The jumps were hard to master but at some point everyone KNEW what to do, doing it consistently was the difficult part.

Double-double-double was the easiest way to tackle it, but if you missed that first double, you were either on your lid or singling the next 4 or 5 little jumps. It was pretty brutal. some of the pros were triple-tripling it, but even they could not do it every lap so a lot of time was lost there.

Slash
Darksoul, Pigiron and I all raced slash. This was fun as usual! They combined the mains into one big 10-car main, which I think is still too many slashes on the track at once. With a handful of really good pro-level drivers and so much traffic to contend with, it's just a lot of big trucks to have to deal with. I am not sure how the other guys placed, but I managed to come from dead last and finish 5th.

The guy to beat in slash was James Arluck. He's definitely a seasoned expert on the track, but his slash was really fast! he was running the 23t pinion, but the power was there to really take him over the jumps, and far! I actually had a 19t pinion (from the 23t) for the added torque and Arluck's looked like it had even more! This seems to substantiate the claims I have read in other forums that the quality of the titan motors can vary greatly. This was only my 4th outing with the slash and my motor is feeling way sluggish.

Work had me super slammed all week so I didn't get to do the overhaul I wanted on my cars (again!) but i burned the midnight oil to completely clean out out the slash, re-lube the transmission and rebuild all the shocks with new o-rings. I made some minor tweaks to the front suspension (heavier oil) and I loved the way it handled. I just need more speed out of that titan motor!

My suggestion for the slash: break in a few motors (use the water break in) and test which is faster. I'm going to break in my spare motor and maybe get another, break that in and test before I race slash again - I dont have a lot of runs on my current motor, I broke it in and i clean and lube it before every race, but it's feeling slow - hopefully the other motor works better.

Rookie
PigIron rocked it in rookie with his Losi XXX-CR - he did great! He didn't get much practice time because he broke a caster block. Super prepared with some spares, he made the fix and did fairly well in the qualifiers. He really turned up the heat in the main with some solid and steady driving that sealed him a 2nd place finish! Congrats PigIron!

We had been discussing earlier in the day about how rookie is actually pretty difficult as there are some seasoned rookies in there as well as the really novice drivers. some on road folks start out in rookie even though they have excellent driving skills and some rookies have been in there for a while. The difficult thing is there isn't an easy graduation point from rookie. For example, any rookie with a 4wd automatically goes to 4wd mod, one of the more competitive classes at the track (hence me being thrown into the fray ) - it would be great if there was a middle stage, some sort of sportsman level for 2wd and 4wd, where you are better than rookie, but not having to battle it out with the pro level drivers right from the start.

PigIron also took a few laps with the Golden Fox (his TC4) on the on-road course in preparation for the Sunday Marin event, his setup looked solid!

4WD Mod
4WD Mod was fun, but hard! I hadn't had any practice time from my rookie race a few weekends ago and I was anticipating being pretty slow - and I was! I started to feel a bit battered by the time the mains came as I just couldn't break out of rookie driving habits. slow-n-steady doesn't win races in 4wd mod

I ended up in the C-Main and had decided that I would just drive as aggressively as possible (for me) - not try and fly off the track or anything, but really push harder than I have in past races. this mental shift really paid off! I was clearing the front triples consistently and I was finally going full throttle on the back straight. I ended up in a battle for first with Brice Arnold- lot's of lead changes and really aggressive driving by both of us. It was really fun and totally exhilarating. I actually felt some freedom to push it once I started to clear the triples and not worry about breaking. I managed to hang on to the lead and it really made my day - I had thoughts in qualifying that I didnt belong in 4wd mod but this race really was fun! I wish I had driven as hard during qualifying, and certainly will push it harder now that I've broken through that mental barrier.

Another great day at the track. Thanks again Pigiron for the awesome pit area, we had a few guys out there representing the club (Fabrc, Darksoul, Pigiron)! I cant wait for the next one!
-Michelangelo "Hopbot"

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Recap: Slash Bash @ Mother's Raceway - 9/10/08

Thanks to everyone for coming out! It was nice to see some newer faces and other Club members (Marco "PigIron", Jessie "Wharthog", Steve "Badboy", & Armand "faboulousRC") Turnout was a little low due to a few regulars being busy - in addition to a few others having to cancel last minute -We missed you guys!! It was still a great time out.
If we continue to see a strong Slash presence, we'll have to try and incorporate some new jumps designed for that size vehicle - the tabletop we were using was from our 1/18 scale Spec Class - so it got a little more abuse than it was designed for.
We'll also need to bring out an additional set of lights since the days are definitely getting shorter now.

Hope to see you all at the next one! You can find more pictures here.