Maritime Raceway . . A permanent new off-road venue.

We are now in the icy grip of a UK winter.

It's dark and gloomy outside and even if by some miracle it's dry then you can bet it's bloomin' cold.

What's a southern RC buggy racer to do?

Get yourself along to Maritime on a Tuesday evening that's what!

For the past couple of months the new permanent indoor facility in the historic dockyard at Chatham has been open and attracting drivers from across the South East.

Maritime is a well known touring car club, run by Ian Knight and an enthusiastic crew, that have hosted the Off Road World Cup for the past couple of years attracting top drivers not just from the UK but from Europe as well.

Ian has bought his experience to bear and, with the help of his merry band, has worked hard over the last year or so to produce this great venue.

TORCH Winter Series Rd1

So beginith my adventure into the world of 2wd.

A couple of weeks back I was at TORCH for the first round of their winter series.

I have written about TORCH before so anyone who visits regularly will know about this great club in the south of England.

For those that don't know TORCH is a club that boasts a national level facility based around a high grip astro track with a lap of around 25-30 secs depending on the layout.

The committee put on some great events and regularly change the track in order to keep things fresh and interesting. Whatever the layout racers are guaranteed a fun but challenging circuit on which to test their mettle.

Being a bit of a slow learner this doesn't particularly suit me and usually just as I am getting the hang of one layout the buggers go and change it!

Cougar SV2 vs Cougar SVR

 I have decided to dedicate my average efforts on 2wd next season and to this end have put together 'Team Cougar'.

What you see here is my mid motor SV2 and my rear motor SVR.

Associated TC6 . . . I feel the need for speed!

Over the summer my Mi4 has been set up for 17.5 blinky racing at my local club Adur.

This has been fun and makes for some great close racing. It certainly forces one to be clean and tidy as the smallest mistake can be the difference between winning and coming nowhere.

Despite enjoying this I have found myself hankering after the thrill of extra speed.

The quickest class that is run regularly at Adur is 13.5 boosted. I have run in this class in the past and enjoyed it so have decided to put together a new ride and once again mix it in the tyre munching boosted class.

As the class seems to be gaining popularity around the clubs I didn't want to sacrifice my 17.5 blinky car, which is top fun.  The only option was to add yet another chassis to the Pipski man cave!

Much as I love my Mi4 funds would not allow the extravagance of a brand new Mi4CXL so I had to settle for a pre-loved car. I held out for a Schuie but nothing came up, eventually I spotted a tidy looking TC6 on Oople available at a reasonable price so I raided the RC fund and made it mine.   



Eden Park Raceway . . . Winter Series Rnd1

I am really just a big kid at heart.

That being so it is not unusual for me to get excited before a race day, especially if I am visiting a track I haven't raced at before.

So you can imagine how I felt when last Sunday dawned and the sun was shining, I couldn't wait to load the car, jump in and head for Eden Park Raceway.

I set off into sunrise like a child on his way to the seaside.

Eden Park Raceway has had its ups and downs.

In 1999, having once been the premier race track in the South, it was forced, due to various problems, to close its doors. In 2007 a dedicated group of racers decided to resurrect this once revered venue and after much hard work on the track and facilities refurbished it to the high standard you see here.

Well done guys.

Schumacher Cougar SVR build . . . Part 2

Sufficiently rested and refreshed I ventured back to the man cave to finish building the little gem that is the SVR.
Time for some of the less glamorous but nonthelesss important jobs.

First up is the gearbox. A steel geared layshaft and sacrificial nylon intermediate gear both run on more of the smooth red seal bearings. These slot together nicely and mount to the nicely machined motor plate, black again instead of traditional Schumacher purple. A small pouch of grease is supplied be sure to use it to guarantee a silky smooth transmission.

(Click on pics for full size gallery)

Schumacher Cougar SVR build . . . Part 1

OK Summer, such that it was, has come and gone and an RC racer has two choices:
Go racing indoors where it is dry and warm (Area 51 excluded where it was brass monkeys!)
or man up, don a scarf and a bobble hat and stay outside.

I will probably do a bit of both but have decided that the Cougar SVR might be a good choice for those slippery outdoor tracks over winter, at least that is my justification for another new kit.
Come on though, in these days of £500 plus 2wd super cars the SVR is a bargain at under £200.

Does the Schumacher SVR shell fit the SV2?

I'm not really sure if the SV2 needs a cab forward bodyshell but it certainly doesn't hurt to have one in the armoury as an option should the need arise.
The SVR shell is available from Schumacher at a reasonable price so I decided to get myself one and try it for size on my SV2.
If nothing else it would give me a bit of painting practice!

(Click on pics for full size version)