Anyone going to Wycombe tonight (Saturday)? I can't make it as I promised to do some husband/father stuff. ..... if you'd like to save me a small amount of pitting space for the National tomorrow ........ i'll buy you a burger :D

Two?

Three? (greedy git) :)

Four and a diet coke? (fatty) :D

Stuff you then,............ i'll pit out of my car :mad:

lol! if i was going tonight i'd reserve you one, but it would cost you at least 5 burgers & a portion of chips!

oh, and letting me beat you too!

No need to worry boys. I just got back and there were a lot less people there than expected tonight so as long as you arrive by 8am tomorrow you'll have plenty spaces to choose from. Just make sure you rush the doors 'Easyjet' stylee tomorrow morning when they open :thumbsup:

Alec, i'll get there early and save you a spot if those burgers are still on - lol!!!

really looking forward to tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone at Wycombe who did their part in making the National a success today. Although my day was cacked up by a combination of bad marshalling and a run of bad luck I still enjoyed the day ...... and I won four pairs of tyres/wheels on the raffle LOL. Twelfth was all I could manage in the somewhat manic qualifying then some of the most blatant bad driving from some in the finals was enough to kill the day completely. Best part of the day for me was driving two inches behind 'old school' Jon Dell for about 3 laps in final number 1 and then him doing the same to me for another couple of laps before the inevitable happened and we came across Mr Backmarker, who was incapable of driving behind or in front of anyone and he took us both out !!!! It's nice to know that in all that carnage there are still people who can drive without hitting each other. It seems that at the Micro Nationals a red mist comes down at finals time and it becomes a free for all with all driving standards going right out of the window (including the A final) ...... that's a shame because it's a really enjoyable class. As I said, the marshalling was, on the whole, ok but there was one guy who stood out beyond all others and should definitely take a bow as he was most certainly the worst marshall i'd ever seen (you know who you are). It would actually have been better if he wasn't there as he took more cars out with his feet than he corrected with his hands :thumbdown:
It's difficult at the best of times to marshall well all of the time, and we all get it wrong, but i'm sure it's possible to marshall well SOME of the time if you put a bit of effort in !!!. ....... so the circus rolls on to Macclesfield (where is that?)..... anyone have any set up advice? :D Thanks again to Wycombe for a well run event.

Sounds like I missed a laugh then!
Who was 'the' marshall? PM me, the suspense will kill me otherwise!

Yes, it has been noted in previous Nationals about the driving standards at times.
A combination of a class that attracts 'reletively' new drivers and some good old fashioned red mist.

Ive spoke to many many people about this and the general concensus is to 1/ Lead by example, 2/ Keep telling em off at drivers breifing lol

the tight WRCC track was always going to be a very tight and claustrophobic affair.

I went waaay faster when I went for the safer options doing the jumps in round3 and kept more of a heads up on traffic.

I actually saw same awesome marshalling today, because of the 2 lane bridged cross-over it was going to be hard to marshall under that, but I saw a some very inspired uses of the provided reach poles to get racers back on their way, good effort and thanks for those that did a fine job marshalling! :thumbsup:

Not sure of his name, but i'll find out because I know the heat he was in and his marshalling point and i'll pm you ........... I was drinking red bull all day to try and keep focussed ...... I think he's found an alternative that has the opposite effect :lol:
It's maybe a little unfair of me to judge others as i'm sure i'm no angel sometimes, but I like to think that if I do wrong then I should be the one to suffer and not just blatantly cut the track and rejoin in my original position (or better in some cases). With tracks that are in a confined space and with lanes that run parallel to each other with features there is obviously going to be some 'confusion', but some drivers seem to have total amnesia :lol:

If anyone wants to see pics of the amazing Wycombe track:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30694702@N08/

i take it that refers to my McLaren-worthy pitstop to repair your car and keep you in second place in the final?!! lol

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. Acheived my goal of making the B final, which i was delighted with given the limited track time i've had with 18th.
The 10 cars in the final was a little manic on the small track and a few overzealous overtaking manoeuvres didn't help. Plus the burger van dissapeared just as we got to the lunch break!! What was that all about?!! lol

I agree with Chris that marshalling on the whole was pretty good as it is probably the hardest class i've come across to marshall. Small fast bullets flying past your head while trying to retrieve cars! But i also agree with Alec, that guy deserved an award!!

i'd highly recommend micro's to anyone who hasn't tried them, they have come a hell of a long way since the early mini-t days.

I never saw you snap my car Chris!! Jimmy never gets my cars! Top man! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I presume you are "Hara" then? lol

Thanks very much to everyone who attended and who made it a great day for us at Wycombe. We all hope you enjoyed the track and the day's racing.
It certainly was a site to behold to see nearly 70 micro's sitting on the bridge waiting for the concourse winner to be selected.

Congrats to Doughty, Mark and Chris on taking the honours. It couldn't have been closer with Doughty and Mark on 4 points each in a tie!

http://carlventer.pwp.blueyonder.co....ombe_rd3_1.jpg

http://carlventer.pwp.blueyonder.co....ombe_rd3_2.JPG

http://carlventer.pwp.blueyonder.co....ombe_rd3_3.JPG

http://carlventer.pwp.blueyonder.co....ombe_rd3_4.JPG

http://carlventer.pwp.blueyonder.co....ombe_rd3_5.JPG

looking good guys must say the live feed today was excellent well done on the updates and well done you guys must say im itching to do a national so fingers crossed whens the next one on please and whens tamworth on too :thumbsup:

who won the concourse :drool:

Not sure of the guy's name but the shell was definitely a winning design.

Next micro national is:
Date: 2008-12-07
Track: 4:Macclesfield
Contact: Chris Clark
Tel: 07872 631694
Postcode: SK11 7JL
Email: [email protected]
Notes: The Arsenal, Heapy Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7JL

Dec: Macclesfield
Jan: Tamworth
Feb: Bury St Edmunds
Mar: Hereford

1st Sunday of every month :)

cheers frogger you da man as ALWAYS

Its was Gavin Stephenson I think, the yellow shell in the right of the front row.

I struggled at WRCC, the track was spoilt by those bloody crap blue jumps in the far right corner. Itw as otherwise very good and made great use of a small track area.

Marshalling had a lot to be desired, but I did spare the critism as to be fair the marshalls had a lot to think about with cars flying everywhere. But in the A final, whoever was on point 4 had a lot to do (being after the blue crappy jump) + lacked effort, and was the only time I got angry at the marshalling. So I did ask Gary (the lad who came with Craig Harris) to volunteer to help there for leg 2, and he did, as that did make a massive difference, thanks mate.

Id like to go back again, id like for those blue jumps to be burnt first. :lol:

Chris

James - your quick fix on my car was dialled thanks :thumbsup:

Long - were you trying to tripple? I gave up going big in round3 and went consistantly faster by doing so. it was only after driving a slower car and driving safe I actually realised that my own advise posted on UK-MicroRC website is actually the best way to race :rolleyes:
but I do agree, the blue doubles are a bit awkward

Hi mate,
Well I started round 1 of Qualifying trying to drive them, but this was difficult as I was still crashing more than not, so I thought id blown the round and did the last 1/2 jumping it - which I was doing lap after lap.

Then round 2 and 3 I carried on trying to jump it, and couldn't do it consistently. Turned out my fastest time was round 1.

Not only are they insanely difficult, but the painted stripes make it hard to judge the contours. Then also when I went wide on the corner before, it was a lottery if the marshall was standing on the track there or not. :thumbdown: I did revert to driving them a few times, and I don't recall doing that cleanly very much.

The rest of the track was awesome, loved it. :blush: sorry for the critism of the blue jumps, but they do need critisising. I still enjoyed the event hugely like I always do when I race 18th.

Long - those blue jumps have been around since the Mini-T was first released, maybe its time for a re-fresh :D

I didn't really get to see you run all day, I was marshalling at the other end of the track to where all the jumps were and I was racing you in the finals

I guess the Mini-T would just drive them, but the current generation of 18th (i.e. the LRP Shark) are in a different league to be honest - hence we're trying to ride them so fast. :lol:

So, when is the dirt being trucked in to that venue? Indoor dirt track? :thumbsup::lol:

Chris, are you going to Wycombe tonight?...... if so would it be possible to leave the track the same so anyone that hasn't raced at a national can try the same track? ..... would be good experience :thumbsup:

Chris, I am working on an indoor micro dirt track, but there is some resistance from the flat track guys :P

I will be there tonight, I have just left my stuff on the table from the weekend :thumbsup:

Chris, I was at marshall point 4 all day for your heat and I stood right in the corner of the track looking straight at those blue humps so as to catch them and right the cars as they landed. The marshall who was there in the final stood back behind the recess and was looking straight at the crossover, he couldn't see the cars on the bumps. Also, there was a guy there with a video camera in his way for some reason :thumbdown:

There is nothing wrong with the blue jumps at all and a lot of people love them! :confused:

The first camel hump jump is one of the best high speed and distance jumps that you'll ever do and also makes for a very nice corner feature which is very easy to drive. The blue doubles serve a great purpose in some places on the track as well. What made them difficult yesterday was where they were on the track and the fact that they made a potential triple combination.

Also, if you stood certain places on the rostrum it was difficult to get a good line of site and the fact that when you did triple them and landed you were behind the bridge with limited visibility.

There certainly was a very specific technique to get them right and if you didn't you'd pay the price. Mr Long, you need to get down to Wycombe with us a bit more often so you can try them on different spots on the track before consigning them to BBQ fuel :) Although the idea of a nice blue fillet steak has got me all... :drool:

it might be a few miles for Schlong to travel for weekly racing he Chris? :woot:

Don't tell a South African anything about a little distance :bored: It's all about dedication! :thumbsup:

:lol: Now thats commitment. Private Jet?

Hey if I lived closer I certainly would be there as regular as the doors opened. Its a great venue that the majority of clubs would envy.

I like my steak rare, so would it end up purple? :thumbsup:

Hey Alec, your quite right, your marshalling was great for our heats despite how busy you were there. Putting a cameraman there wasn't great idea for the final, but to be honest id have rather not crashed on them like many people were. It may have been a combination of little run up & gap between jumps which made them tough, granted.

Ok i fancy a blast with these, can i get everything from LRP :confused: and be competitive?

Yes you can Lee. Harris and Doughty's cars are certianly no special editions. They are the same cars that you can buy over the counter :)

Cheers,

I want to keep it simple, brushless/lipo, what do i need?

basic set up
LRP Shark FT - box standard
Novak Mongoose brushless system (or mongoose motor + 10th speedo such as LRP Sphere)
servo (big or small, both fit) hitec HS82MG is popular, about £15
couple of micro lipo packs. (trakpower 1600, or LRP 1800) You can easy get 2 races from a 1600 pack, so two packs and you're day is done! no charging at a club night! lol

And your away. They are ace!

Will the sphere tc spec fit? :confused:

and these mongoose motors, do they come in different winds?

Gotta say Jim nailed it near enough...

LRP Shark ST
Novak Mongoose micro sensored brushless (13.5 or 10.5 motor not the 8.5 for racing)
TrakPower HG-D261HB servo (0.6secs@6V and cheap!)
TrakPower 1600mAh LiPo's
Gecko electric foams

Pick up your trophy on the way out :)