This coming weekend see’s the running of the 2010 EP Victorian TC Champs. It’s being hosted at Melbourne’s TFTR club (Templestowe). It’s my first visit to TFTR’s excellent race track, and I’m excited about the event.
This thread will be used as our live blog for the weekend – with daily updates posted in the comments. We’ll try to bring something of the flavour of the race to those of you not able to be there.
I dropped in to Templestowe last Sunday morning during a break in my work commitments, and was impressed by what I saw. Though a little bigger than a normal clubbie, with lots of visiting drivers getting ready for this weekend, the club handled it with aplomb. Like many well run clubs there is a positive, friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Track is an excellent multi-layout affair, with the layout for Sunday being quite technical. The layout for the Vics will be announced Thursday night but promises to be a more open arrangement.
Stay tuned for all the news as the week unfolds – staring with unofficial practice Thurs, “proper” practice Friday (when I’ll be joined by the Queensland brigade) and racing Sat/Sun.
Bring it on!
Stories from the world of RC car racing
23 responses to “2010 EP Victorian Champs – Live Blog”
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Well I’m ready… First time at a major race meet and I won’t be driving; only wrenching for Scottie G 😎 . I have my cold chisel and 12lb hammer packed 😯 so I’d just like to say that if MrG goes well it was all due to his tireless mechanic, and if he goes badly it’s all due to his driving, wahahahaha
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first day of practice (Thursday) was unofficial, and a quiet affair. i spend a fair chunk of the day trackside, and was often the only one there with just one or two others appearing during the morning. There was a mid-afternoon influx including the crew from SA.
Track conditions were good in the morning, but wind picked up and temperature dropped in the afternoon, with rain closing in as I left at around 3.30 or so.
I managed quite a few runs and had the car working well, and slowly remembering how to drive mod TC. Unfortunately I guessed wrong on the track layout…or more correctly I guessed right on the layout but wrong on the direction.
The track layout chosen for the event runs the main straight at TFTR downhill, with a high speed sweeper at the end of the front straight. I suspect the catch fencing might get quite a workout over the next three days.
The track is a good one, with two very fast sweepers, one big stop, and a very technical chicane section. There is no place to hide, and no place to rest.
Off to the airport first thing in the morning to pick up some of the queensland boys, then trackside for some practice….if the weather cooperates.LikeLike
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Looking forward to the Friday report
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busy day of practice today preparing for this weekend’s Victorian EP Championships.
After early rain, the track dried slowly with first traffic hitting the track at about 11. After a bit of a free-for-all, organised practice started at about 12, with 10 minutes for each class, each hour.
In modified Ryan Maker and Sandy Iavazzo were quickest. The Queenslanders were all going pretty well, and there are a stack of drivers all turning pretty similar lap times. Qualified into the A final will take some consistency and speed – with no room for error in such a tight field.
The highlight of the day was Ben Sterling in 10.5. Ben runs a Schumacher Mi4-LP, but what was remarkable were his lap times – faster than all but Maker and Iavazzo in the mod field, and looking amazing. Kind of makes me ask the question “what is the point of 10.5?”. The cars are only a tiny bit slower than the mod cars, and the drivers in the class can clearly handly the horsepower. Why go to all the trouble of dealing with spec ESC’s and the many program variants, when you can bolt in a 5.5 or 6 turn motor and make exactly the same horsepower? 10.5 seems like a waste of time to me now.
The track is a lot of fun. A very fast downhill straight into a fast sweeper with a catch fence lining the outside of the track, technical chicane, fast uphill kink all add up to about 17 seconds of hard work, with no room for a rest anywhere.
My own car was very good. Compared with my normal setup I went firmer in shock oil, softer in springs to get the car working nicely. My master mechanic is doing a nice job so far….no fights at the pit table yet! I’m driving better each run as I get to grips with mod TC again, and liking it a lot.
Racing is due to start 9am tomorrow, weather dependent. We’ll try and post some news here during the day.LikeLike
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Ill pray for you’s all that the rain stays away. So Scott whats it like having an international super star as your pit bitch, you must feel special
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I think the weather forecast is so dismal I think the programme should be ammended in advance. I’m guessing at 50% +++ rain interuption/wet track over the weekend.
I wish you luck tomorrow for the weather but it looks pretty bleak 🙂LikeLike
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Rain Rain go away and come back another day.Melbourne weather shity one day and the same the next.
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Trackside and we’re slowly getting closer to a start. It’s 11.30 at the moment, the rain stopped about an hour ago, and track is gradually drying out. Personally I think we’ll need traffic to get it dried….time for the Mini’s to do their thing!
I’m also hearing that the racing at Tamworth this weekend (annual Qld vs NSW Interstate Challenge) has been washed out. Racers are on their way home to Brissie having not turned a wheel today.
The pits at TFTR are packed, muddy, slippery. There’s lots of pre-race talk going on, but everybody is itching to get started.
At this point it’s almost certain that qualifying will be shortened by at least one round – and potentially more. Of the four rounds scheduled for today, it’s likely that two, or at most three will be completed. Weather looks ok for the moment, but it could easily rain again later this afternoon.
Hang in their with us…..more news later.LikeLike
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Hope you are having more luck then us 😉
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Last I heard from Scott 2 rounds had been run – stand by for more news.
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The weather closed in just as we drove out of the car park tonight, three rounds of qualifying completed.
The last round was completed in near darkness, with the two modified heats last to run. The cars looked spectacular in the dark, sparks flying, speedie lights glowing through bodyshells. Stunning performance from Ryan Maker to set FTD in the first of two heats, while the second group really struggled with it being all but totally dark by the time they finished. After struggling to see my own car in the second last heat, I could barely keep track of cars to marshall in the last heat. Worst off was Anthony Atack, on track for about 6th in the round before rolling on the last lap to drop to 10th in round…with marshalls not seeing his car he lost a couple of seconds extra.
Fast man in modified has been Maker, with Sandy and Cookie not too far away. There is a big group very close together behind those three, with anything up to 10 guys able to do very similar lap times. With weather still a threat tomorrow, and two more qualifiers scheduled to run, the lineup for the A main is anything but clear.
In superstock Ben Sterling continued his pace form practice to dominate, but the NSW boys are starting to gain ground. Finals in this class will be interesting tomorrow.
Stock had a few different fast guys – including at least Matt Guidotto, Brenton Bull, Jason Morris and Chris Bismire being close to the front.
I’ve not caught too much of the 540 or Mini action, sorry.
Of the Queensland guys, Corey has been fast with two good top ten finishes, but had one dnf. Anthony has had a couple of sketchy runs, but again 2 top ten runs, and Leonard has had a tough day at the office. My Mi4-lp has been really good, with some more changes to shock rebound and shock fluid continuing to improve it (thanks coach). I’m really enjoying driving the car and have a good shot at making it into the final tomorrow.
Tyre wear on the track is negligible, with the tyres still looking (and working) great after three runs.
Once the track was dry we got through the rounds pretty well, with Nigel running a tight ship.
More tommorrow, qualifying due to kick off at 9am, but weather dependent. If it rains overnight and the track is wet we would be a fair chance of dropping at least one of the qualifying rounds. Time will tell.
cheers!
sgLikeLike
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For a closer look at qualifying results go here
http://www.tftr.org.au/results/2010-05-29%20Vic%20State%20Titles%20Qualifying/IndexFile.htmlLikeLike
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Scott how you could see your car in the last round was beyond me as it was totally dark,you needed a guide dog but poor bouncy would not have been able to keep up with the speed of the modified cars.Great to catch up with you and look forward to seeing you in the sun light tomorrow in the finals.
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it was crazy cheese, i couldn’t keep up with the car, but it was fun to be part of. 😯
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Yes, if only the driver would stay outta the pits the Schuie would have been unstopable yesterday!!!
Lets hope today he’s off being busy with taking photo’s for RL’s and leaves the car setup to others…. 😛LikeLike
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10am Saturday and its just been announced that we will go straight to finals. The track is still wet, and with no sunshine this morning, it’s drying very slowly. At this point it seems unlikely that we’ll be on track before 11.30 at the very earliest….more like 12 or 12.30.
Grid sheets have just gone up. The top 10 in mod (from memory) is something like this:
1 Ryan Maker
2. Sandy Iavazzo
3. Andy Cooke
4. Tom Huggan
5. Kirby Masterman
6. KK Tong
7. Chris Yu
8. Corey Broadstock
9. Scott Guyatt
10. Anthony Atack
But warning….that’s my quick calculation, official lists not published yet.
As always the end result is hard luck stories for some people – with quite a few guys having only had one good run so far and had been counting on more chances this morning. That’s particularly true in Stock class where some of the pre-event favourites will possibly miss the A final altogether.
The reality is though, that the club has made the right decision to go straight to finals. Weather is sketchy and with potentially more rain this afternoon, going to finals is definitely the right way.
Should be some super racing this afternoon, in all classes. If you’re in Melbourne, come and watch.LikeLike
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Final qualifying for other classes:
Mini:
1 Bruce Rollins
2 Chris Piaztri
3 Shannon Fitzimmons
540 Pro
1 Colin Oakley
2 Heath Murray
3 Brendan McBain
Stock
1 Brenton Bull
2 Stephen Dabic
3 Jason Morris
Superstock
1 Ben Sterling
2 Chris Piastri
3 Cristian SilvaLikeLike
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For the interest of Queenslanders I can tell you a little bit but you’ll have to wait for Scott for teh full report.
There was no more qualifying this morning and after dropping one round I think it was Corey 8 and Scott 9 and Anthony 10 so 3 in teh A final. Not sure where Leonard ended up – presume the B final.
In A1 Corey 6th Scott 7th and Anthony 9th
In A2 Scott 6th Coey 8th and Anthony 10th.
After A2 Scott was enthusiastic about the Mi4LP “Car is awesome. Best TC I’ve ever driven”.
Waiting for word on A3.
Sorry I don’t have info on the leadersLikeLike
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Well done scotty…hope all hoes well
PeterLikeLike
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After A3 I think it was overall Scott 6th, Corey 7th or 8th and Anthony 10th. leonard 2nd in the B. I’m sure Scott will have more for us but he is on the boat tonight back to the small island and I don’t know if he will have Internet access there.
Mi4 won 540 and Superstock I think so that was good, our ocassional commenter, Jason, won Stock using a LRP SXX SS just to prove that they can be made to work well somehow. Good work Jason.LikeLike
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Sitting at Maccas St Kilda winding down after a busy weekend, before hitting the boat tonight for the trip home. I don’t have full results yet but I’m sure they’ll be posted online in the next day or two.
Here’s what I remember of the top 3 in each class (sketchy memory at best):
Mini
1. Chris Piastri
2. Shannon Fitzimmons
3. Bruce Rollins
540 Pro:
1. David Stevens
2. Heath Murray
3. Brendan McBain
Stock:
1. Jason Morris
2. Chris Bismire
3. Stephen Dabic
Superstock
1. Ben Sterling
2. Cristian Silva
3. Dave Calwell
Modified
1. Ryan Maker
2. Sandy Iavazzo
3. Andy Cooke
Of the queenslanders, I finished 6th, Anthony 8th, Corey 9th, Leonard 12th.
Later I’ll be back with a full wrap and reflections on the weekend based on my own experiences. For now though, know that the right people won each class in terms of speed all weekend, the track is excellent, and TFTR an outstanding club. Feel good all those involved in putting together this weekend’s Victorian Champs.LikeLike
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Full results posted by TFTR already!. Go here:
http://www.tftr.org.au/results/2010-05-29%20Victorian%20State%20Titles/IndexFile.htmlLikeLike
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Hi Guys,
Stock
1. Jason Morris
2. Chris Bismire
3. Stephen Dabic
LRP Rocks… SXX SS Mk3 Settings: 3,10,10,0. Ratio 5.7 As fast as the Tekins but smoother, Race1: First, Race2 : Second. Race 3………. Out (The car took off from the line ok, through the mid section, it hesitated a few times and by the time I was looking down the straight, I know some thing was wrong and pulled over. Let the field through and did another 4 laps but was in last so pulled it in to save the new set of tires I just put on the car. Watched Chris Bismire work through the pack to 4 place but couldn’t quite manage it to 1st place. Back on the bench showed the ESC was cogging. 😥 I think the problem was a loose sensor wire, Fixed!!!.)
So LRP is easy to setup, Smooth, Great breaks and can beat the Tekins… 🙂
Looking forward to racing in SA for their titles in August and possibly the Nationals in Bendigo in November.
Cheers
Jason.LikeLike
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