At the moment in SEQ the F1 class is having a resurgance after having all but disapeared from the mid 90’s when it was very strong.
Originally brought back for something different to race mid week as a break from the serious business of Touring Cars the F1 fever is spreading. Regular race meets now include Logan every second Wednesday night, Logan every 3rd Saturday night meet, Gold Coast meets and Sunny Coast meets – that’s a serious amount of racing.
The class is a combined one but there are 2 engine classes within that – more later.
The cars. Any commercially available F1 or Indy chassis kit with F1 body and wing is eligible and there are plenty to choose from.
Corally – the original one and the new one.
AGR – Available in 3 models Clubman, Racer and Championship.
Tamiya – various F103 and the new 104.
Cross, Tech, and numerous other Tamiya derivitaves and the 3 Racing F109.
Like any other form of Motor Sport – you get what you pay for. The best cars are more expensive.
The Motors. At the moment the rule set we are using allows for 2 groups although also at the moment the cars are all run in one group.
Basically same motors as is allowed in TC racing in Brisbane
Stock – 27t brushed or 17.5 bl
540 – Johnson grey can or 21.5 bl.
In fact we find that if the track is a bit dusty or slick the 21.5 is good enough to run in the stock class but if the grip is up the 17.5 is the motor to have. Lots of people running the brushed alternatives with just a old brushed speedo they had lying around from the old days.
The tyres. The Corally and the AGR use 1/10th Pan car tyres and wheels and Jaco is the popular brand – purple fronts and green, pink or white rears depending on the track usually available from ActionRC. Most will use traction compound on the rear tyres as well. The other cars – Tamiya, HPI Tech, 3 racing etc use a different size wheel/tyre and there are lots of compounds available for them as well but not as universal as teh pan car tyres – Actionrc usually has a limited range of those sizes as well.
The cost. Whatever you want from a cheap F109 or 103 with a 540 and a $30 speedie and a cheap 3500 LIPO to a full house Corally or AGR, brushless equipped with good LIPO’s etc etc.
The driving. Coming from 4wd TC there is a little learning curve basically around the trigger finger and a large learning curve around the setup, the tyre choice, the tyre treatment. Once these are mastered you can be guaranteed a whole lot of fun. Why don’t you come on down to Logan on Feb 10th and have a look and a chat.