Ardent Raceway and HPI 24hr Le Mans RC challenge!!

[Dez82]

Great to see Team Doris and Team Dudley have the right attitude, looking forward to it all the more now.

Rolling start? So no sprint to the rostrum and classic chevron pattern grid Le Mans style then? Shame.

[Swalls]

Originally Posted by Dez82

Great to see Team Doris and Team Dudley have the right attitude, looking forward to it all the more now.

Loaded comment? I think maybe what I've said before has been taken out proportion or maybe came across as a bit hot headed, clearly if someone is a billion miles quicker than me it would be foolish to get tangled up. I'm not there to get up in anyones grill and ruin what will be a massively fun weekend. I just want to make sure there are plenty of 'ding-dongs' thats all. You know, a good laugh but lots of competitive racing as well. Anyway, I plan on not being slower than anyone so hopefully letting peeps past won't be an issue

[Andysan]

Originally Posted by Dez82

Great to see Team Doris and Team Dudley have the right attitude, looking forward to it all the more now.

Rolling start? So no sprint to the rostrum and classic chevron pattern grid Le Mans style then? Shame.

Nope, very much modern day Le Mans - we will be running a bio-ethanol HPI Sprint!

[Dez82]

Originally Posted by Swalls

Loaded comment?

Not at all chap, just nice to see teams with the same plan, to get to the end as cheap as possible with the least hassle.
Have you driven a HPI Sprint2 on a Saturn 20T motor yet? I have and I can tell you it's not going to set the carpet alight and as every car will be geared the same I doubt there wil be much passing at all. But 15 cars on track will be like the worst pre-race free practice session you've ever seen without a little common courtesy.

[Swalls]

Yea 'back in the day' I used to race a lot of 27t stock, I'm still trying to shrug off the one-way style of driving even now after being back in the sport for bout 8 months. So hopefully I can have the patience and experience with a car like this, with this kind of power. Most cars in any class have the same speed, so I can''t see equal power as a reason for there not being any overtaking.

I don't think anyone is going out there to not be a courteous and disciplined driver , it is going to be a little mad like you say with 15 cars. But I can be courteous and still plenty racy, there is no reason why we can't all have some close, clean racing Like I said, I just don't want it to end up being a 24hr bore.

I mean, I have no idea who the slowest team will be, but with 14 other cars on track, they are going to struggle to have one lap where they aren't moving over for someone. Thats no fun for them, so as long as we can race close and clean I don't see why they shouldn't make it a bit of a fight, at least with some of the cars that are only slightly faster. I hope you can sort of see where I'm coming from.

Can't wait for the banter as well, this should be a massively fun weekend.

[Browny_37]

Deposit is paid up via paypal Mr Dawson

Donny Racing Team (D.R.T) is going to be bringing up the competition and a whole lot of banter.
Better get your contact solution ready Swalls, its going to be one hell of a drunkfest

[Swalls]

Originally Posted by Browny_37

'contact solution'

I've heard Jean Paul Gautier is the best. Failing that a bit of Gillette

Hehe, seriously though I think I'm gonna have to scare some of you with my specs. I'll have to wear them a some point to give the eyes a bit of a breather, and my eyes will look HUGE cos I have milk bottom specs

[SlowOne]

Dez, if we're sprinting to the rostrum, then Team Doris will be a lap down before we start!! Trust there will be no such bunfight!!

Passing is going to be a chore, so I hope John's track design includes either a big wide straight so we can operate the usual 'crowded track; etiquette (pass on the left, be passed on the left) and/or a couple of wide(r) corners that we can use to pull over without losing loads of time.

If the cars are slow, then hopefully there will be a tight infield section too, so the best drivers can make up time with good lines. In there, we can battle and give each other respect, always a challenge to get your lines right so you have the speed on the straight to make the pass.

Whatever, greatly looking forward to it.

[jasonb]

So just caught up with this thread looking forward to this, hope to catch up with John and Dez at the weekend to chew the fat. Like the idea of drivers being able to double or tripple stint and only marshalling your own teams car.
To finish first first you must finish, a lesson Peugot learnt the hard way las year!

Jason

[Dez82]

Here are some numbers for you to chew on.
24 Hrs = 1440 minutes = 86400 seconds, so at approx 15 seconds per lap that = 5760 laps total, divided by 6 drivers = 960 each.

That doesn't sound so bad now does it.

But imagine you are 1 second faster than anothers team at pit stops, working on 48 pit stops that gives you a 48 second advantage, now imagine you are just 0.25 seconds per lap faster than another car, that's a whopping 24 minutes advantage.

I timed some battery changes, got it down to 15 seconds, so that's 48 laps lost in battery changes working on half hour run times.
So max laps = 5712 laps max estimated.
Let's see who gets closest to that.

Who is up for a wager?

First team to break something and need to stop for repairs.
First car to emit smoke.
First team to plug a flat battery in and have to stop again immediatly.
First team to shred a drive belt.
First team to blow a tyre.
First car to physically leave the track without human input (!)
First team to change wheels and miss a drive pin under the hex.

[Swalls]

I bet on Donny for the lot there haha

[MRD]

Is the control tyre defo Sorex 32r, and can we get them anywere we like?

[lukehobson]

"IF" the control tyre was the sorex 32, it will be the loose tyres, as they will be used with the std kit wheels...

hth
luke

[lotussmart]

Originally Posted by MRD

Is the control tyre defo Sorex 32r, and can we get them anywere we like?

No please don't go ahead and buy them until we know for sure. Info on how to obtain them will be provided shortly. if we are supplying them please note they will be at a very favourable price and we thing you might get away with just 2 sets for the entire 24hrs. More testing will show us if this is possible.

Some more info/rules posted at http://www.ardentracing.com/raceway/24hr.php

[lotussmart]

Note Some more info/rules posted at http://www.ardentracing.com/raceway/24hr.php

[Andysan]

Originally Posted by lotussmart

Note Some more info/rules posted at http://www.ardentracing.com/raceway/24hr.php

Thanks for this - I just read "forced ‘Wet Weather’ simulation stint" and got slightly over-excited.

The only thing that I would query is regarding when we actually receive the car. We plan on replacing the radio gear with our own familiar set and possibly applying our own setup & improvements as far as the rules allow. How long will the test session be please? If its all day then this isnt much of a problem, if its only two hours then we wouldnt be able to get the car out on track in time with these changes made. Could we have the car any earlier in order to prep it please?

Is the test session across both days or just the one please:

Originally Posted by Ardent

The motor will be a Saturn 20, so will have to be installed at test day on Sunday May 29th.

But also:

Originally Posted by Ardent

Shells can be collected shortly so you have plenty of time to get it painted before the official test and shakedown day on Saturday 28th May

????????






Also, our team name 'Dudley Radio Car Club' will almost definitely change - is there a deadline or anything for this please?

Thanks to everyone at Ardent for organizing such a great event - you guys rock! (Can we have ten extra laps now please?)

[Dez82]

Some good rules there John

Question - do we have to run the black rims, can HPI supply the chrome or white version too please? Black will look rubbish on my car ;-)

I'd like three sets of
white 3mm offset fronts http://www.hpiracing.co.uk/piw.php?partNo=3840
and
white 6mm offset rears . http://www.hpiracing.co.uk/piw.php?partNo=3845
please.

The offsets are same as kit, I checked ;-)
But these same rims are available in 0mm, 3mm and 6mm offsets, and White, Black or Chrome, just in case anyone was wondering,

[V1nce]

forced ‘Wet Weather’ simulation stint

Was Bernie Ecclestone at Ardent and not as widely reported New York last weekend?

[jasonb]

Originally Posted by Dez82

Some good rules there John

Question - do we have to run the black rims, can HPI supply the chrome or white version too please? Black will look rubbish on my car ;-)

I'd like three sets of
white 3mm offset fronts http://www.hpiracing.co.uk/piw.php?partNo=3840
and
white 6mm offset rears . http://www.hpiracing.co.uk/piw.php?partNo=3845
please.

The offsets are same as kit, I checked ;-)
But these same rims are available in 0mm, 3mm and 6mm offsets, and White, Black or Chrome, just in case anyone was wondering,

So are we going to be running 24mm tyres on 26mm wheels??????

Jason

[Dez82]

If so, and seeing as how slow the car is on a 20T Saturn, maybe we won't have to glue the tyres on, bliss ;-)