TORCH 2wd Regional Rnd5 . . . The decider!

Last weekend I made the familiar trip to TORCH for the final round of the BRCA Mid South Regional Series.

(Click on any image for gallery view)

As we have come to expect from TORCH the track was in great order.
Dan and the lads had come up with yet another layout, more technical than the one it replaces and sure to be a test for even the best drivers. 

I have to admit I didn't take to it, I found the jump difficult and  had to be careful not to get caught out by a couple of track joints. 

As they say though, it was the same for everybody.

TORCH Mid South 4wd Regional

If you thought TORCH was already a good place to go 1/10 buggy racing then you would be correct. Not a club to rest on its laurels however the Hampshire massive have been busy over the last few weeks moving things on to another level.

Plenty of good work has gone into improving the parking and pitting areas and money has been spent upgrading the timing system. This all adds to the professional feeling of the venue but, not to do things by halves, there has also been a complete revamp of the track.

(Click on any pic for gallery view) 

BRCA 8th scale National Round 5 Adur MCC

The great and the good of 1/8 scale gathered at AMCC on the sunny (yeah right!) south coast at the weekend for round 5 of the BRCA national champs.

Given the weather forecast it was unsurprising that the entry was a little down but, with one notable exception, all the top guys were there. There was no reason to expect anything other than some top quality on track action.

Fast local men (l) Dan Ghibaldan and (r) Nick Gilbert

BRCA 1/8 Circuit National at AMCC Image Gallery

It was a changeable and testing weekend for the F1 of RC racing.
Take a look at the pics if you don't believe me!

Slideshow not loading?
'You Tube' version can be viewed here:
Adur 1/8 National Image Gallery

Well done boys.
Report to follow.

BRCA 1/8 Circuit National at Adur MCC

I paid a visit to Adur MCC this weekend where they were hosting Rnd 5 of the 1/8 circuit National series.

I took a few good pics and will be posting a write up in the next few days.

BRCA Electric Nats . . . West London

Well my not so illustrious RC career continued last weekend with a vist to West London for the 1st round of the BRCA touring car nationals.

I haven't been to an electric national before so wasn't sure what to expect. These meetings are where the top drivers in the UK test themselves against each other so I knew it would be a tough weekend.

Lipos ... A cautionary tale.

Touring cars have been using lipo battery packs for around 3 years now, mostly without incident.

In fact the BRCA electric board have published some basic principles governing the use of lipo packs. These principles have been incorporated into the regulations and can be seen here.

The US governing body for RC racing is ROAR who also have a conservative attitude towards the use of lipo batteries. The US rules govering the use of lipos are even stricter than those of the BRCA and go as far as excluding the use of warmers. The rules for lipo use under ROAR can be found here. (Rule 8.3.2.1) 

These regulations have been rigorously enforced at most circuit events I have attended over the last couple of seasons. Most people understand why and are, for safety's sake, happy to oblige. 

OK if you are still awake you are no doubt thinking . . . "What is he banging on about?"

I'm getting to it!

In the US 1/8 electric buggy racing is becoming increasingly popular and what happens over there eventually happens over here, albeit more expensively!

I have been attending a few 1/8 rally-x events over the last few months and electric buggies are definitely growing in popularity, which is great. I think it's a brilliant way to get people interested in the off road scene without the added complication of those noisy, smelly gas engines that I love so much. 

Here's the thing. I don't think I have seen one electric buggy using a hard case lipo. 99% of the time this is no problem but as for the other 1% ?!

I don't know who this was but I'd guess it ruined his day.

(Get in touch if this is your car)