Well Its going to be what its going to be at the nats. But I'll give you guys a little insight to whats happening on the other side of the pond over the last 5 years in Ebuggy. Most big races or series are doing 10min AA or AAA mains with 7 min quals. Why? more run time and consistency on packs. If they are cramped on time they only do 2 quals and you only lose 1min of run time (2x7min quals=14min vs. 3x5min quals=15min)
We started out doing 5 min quals with 15-20min mains, But people kept dying or running out of juice. Some would use smaller 2650mah packs to be light and quick in the quals and big 6000+mah packs for the mains but then there set ups were not consistent as you gained so much weight and you ended up with tones of expensive packs. Now that all races are either 7 or 10min you can get one medium light pack and finish any race (4000mah is becoming popular) and they are cheaper. Since they are lighter too your tires wear less and the force of a crash is less so arms brake less often. (yes we have actually noticed this in extreme examples where someone uses 2650mah all the time and another same car and driver skill uses 6000mah)
I'm really loving our bigger races that do AAAmins 10min each cuz now we get longer main run-time like the nitros and since they count your best 2 out of 3 you can actually bust a part come in last once and still make podium if your other 2 runs are good. Sweet!
Even nitros like the new 7min quals because since the goal is to pit less in the mains, having 7min nitro quals (with no pit) forces you to have at least 8 to 8.5min of run time (warm up laps and finishing your last lap) which makes you tune better and be more competitive in the mains compared to other clubs or regions of the country that are used to 5min quals and pit every 5min during a 30 or 60min main. Many of our Nitro races regularly get 10min to as much as 14min of run time per tank. When our guys pit at 10min vs. a club thats is used to 5min pits in a 60min race that can be a whole lap worth of advantage. Not to mention a cheaper nitro bill.
Well good luck to those going!
|