TORCH for the 5th round of the 1/10th BRCA Nationals (Written by Mechanic - Liam Galvin)

So this past weekend it was off to TORCH for the 5th round of the 1/10th BRCA Nationals. As always the format would be 2wd on the Saturday and 4wd on the Sunday.

We arrived at the track Friday evening (after lots of traffic!), and a great looking track laid ahead for the next day. We setup our pit space then headed to the hotel for a quick change then headed out for a quick bite to eat before an early night.

Saturday - 2WD

We woke at 6:15, got ready and headed to the track. The track was dry and looked like it would be a good day of weather ahead!

Practice was up first, with two rounds.

Round 1 and it was a case of getting to know the track and which bits would allow you to push or not. We tried our Kyosho RB6 and our forward motor Chassis to find best set up.

Round 2, we made a small change to the brake feeling with the Tekin Hotwire so that they would come in a little harder. Other than that we kept the car the same.

Qualifying:

Round 1: We hit the track, but we're told we hadn't been seen by the computer. We had made a smaller oversight and the PT was in the wrong car! The heat just used to get some track time.

Round 2: We hit the track, and got a nice clean steady run in, placing 8th in round, but felt we could improve the car slightly as it need a little more forward drive.

Round 3: We decided that we would try the Ballistic Buggy Mini-spike in white compound. This tyre change made the difference we had been looking for with the car now working great. A small error would lose us a big amount of time with the Marshall not seeing the car, and we would end up with a 9th for the round.

Round 4: Knowing the car was now as we wanted it would be time to show our true pace. Putting in a nice clean run, with the car working perfectly. We would end up taking TQ for the round and the second fastest run of the whole day, proving we had the car where we needed.

This would put us in 5th place for the 3 leg A Mains.

Finals:

Leg 1: The final set off and it was clear from the start that the traction level had changed a little, more dust coming through the astro. A mistake due to this traction level change would drop us pack in the pack, and with passing opportunities we would end up finishing 9th. Not the place we wanted to be.

Leg 2: With everyone making a clean start the pack followed each other round for the first few laps. Coming into the corner table Tom Yardy left a small gap, slipping it by and taking the position. It was then a case of putting pressure on Tom Cockerill trying to force a mistake but it wouldn't come and we would end up taking 4th place for the leg.

Leg 3: Still feeling we needed the car to generate a little more forward drive we decided to try drilling another hole inside on the wishbone. We hit the track and straight of the difference was noticeable. Passing however would prove very hard and we would up coming home where we started in 5th place.

This would give us 5th overall for the meeting. A good result on a track that proved very hard to race on with others and create any passing chances.

We headed back to the hotel, popped for dinner then headed back for an early night. The long day having worn us out!

Sunday - 4WD

We woke up at 6:15 and took a look out the window of the hotel. It had rained overnight, but we were unsure how the track would be till we got there. We got dressed and headed to the track to see what would greet us.

On arriving at the track it seemed that the surface was only a little damp. We watched the first few heats of practice and knew that the track had already dried out.

Practice:

Round one: The track was now completely dry other than one corner which had the shade on it. We used the run to get a feeling for the track and what our Kyosho Lazer ZX6 was doing. The car seemed a little nervous and we decided we would try some changes for the second practice.

Round 2: We decided to go up in the diff oils to make the car calmed and easier to drive, and give some more drive. The change made the difference that we had hoped and the car was now looking great. We had also changed the timing of the speedo via the Tekin Hotwire to give a little more top speed.

Qualifying:

Round 1: With the car working well, a couple of small errors while in traffic would cost us a little time. We would get a good overall result however and end 7th for the round.

Round 2: Managing to get a nice clean run, with only a little traffic that would cost a small amount of time. The result would be 2nd overall for the round. Starting to show our true pace.

Round 3: We made a small change to the shock oils and the rear spring for this run, with the car seeming a little soft in the previous run. Setting off the car was working perfectly, we went clean for the whole run. We would take TQ for the round and post the fastest time of the day, which wouldn't be beaten by anyone else all day!

Round 4: We headed into the round with a chance of taking overall TQ if we would take this round. Getting off to a steady start, and on a new fastest time, a small bobble on a bump would cost us a heap of time and would put us off the fastest time. We still took our heat but would have to see what the last few heats would do. We would end up 3rd for the round after all the heats had ran.

With our results, we would be lining up second on the grid for the mains.

Finals:

Leg 1: The main got underway, and a small bobble by Lee we seized the chance and made a move to the front! We would stay out front from then until, starting the last lap still in the lead. Lee was now putting pressure on. Coming into the corner table, he gave us a small tap, but being a true sporting competitor waited. Our car still a little unsettled going down the back straight, it would catch a bump entering the corner and roll us over putting Lee back to the front. We would still bring it home in second place however, so a good result for the first leg.

Leg 2: Everyone set off, and followed each other round for the first few laps. Lee would make and error right in front of us on the double, and we would end up getting caught in his crash. The Marshall got Lee's car but made a mess of getting ours and lost us a lot of time and drop off from the pack. We decided to pull over and save the tyres for the final leg.

Leg 3: Still in with a chance of winning the meeting we headed in feeling confident. The final got underway and from the start we put pressure on Lee. Sitting right behind waiting for a mistake. We started the 4th lap and were separated by only inches, going onto the main straight the car would lose drive. Unsure what had happened, we got the car and on inspection the slipper shaft had snapped. Luck wasn't with us unfortunately, but everyone commented how good the car had looked, and how good our pace was. We would end up 7th overall for the meeting, not showing truly how good our car had been.

Thanks to all our sponsors as always:
Kyosho, Proline, Tekin, Reds, Byron, Sanwa, Bittydesign, Maugraphix, LRP Batteries, SMD, Inside Line Racing, Ghea, Radio Race Car International, RDRP, JC Racing, Racers Design Products, CML Distibution, Muc-Off.

Next up for us is the 4th round of the BRCA Rallycross Nationals at Herts.

Thanks for reading as always.

Team Boots

(Written by Mechanic - Liam Galvin)