Cheating Death
Electron Raceway hosted a Triathlon on Thursday 11/19/15. The event featured GT1, Trans-Am and a mixed race of Can-Am and Sports Cars. Ron was the first to arrive eager to do some testing. Others began to filter in around 9 A.M. We were hoping to see Mark from Grants Pass, however, a Doctors appointment got in the way. Instead, it was the usual suspects which included six locals. Track conditions were good and many racers turned lap times close to class records. Racing began at about 10 A.M. A few wrecks punctuated the Triathlon, but in general, races were pretty clean. In the mixed race, however, Terrys Ferrari collided with Bobs XJ220 (see image below). The accident occurred exiting the bank when Bobs Jaguar de-slotted and came to rest in Terrys lane. Fortunately Terry reacted quickly. No plastic was shredded and no lives were lost.
Highlights
Triathlon highlights are as follows.
- Richs Repsol 962 notched a win in GT1. Jack drove a very consistent race with his baby blue Enzo, besting a quicker James (driving a Jaguar XJR12) by a scant two sections for second place.
- The Repsol 962 set a new track record of 92.9 laps in GT1
- Bobs Pink Panther OSCAR spec (custom brass and wire chassis) Firebird Trans-Am edged out Richs Scholer based 69 Penske Camaro for the win. James OSCAR spec Trans-Am was third.
- In the mixed race, Richs green Lola T-70 bested James Ferrari 458 by about a lap for the win. Jacks blue Audi was third
Porsche Cruises to a Win
Each and every participant brought their A game to the GT1 race. James ran his record holding Jaguar XJR12. Rich ran a revamped and upgraded Porsche 962. Jack brought his quickest Enzo. Ron unveiled a brand new immaculate silver Enzo body mounted on one of his many existing chassis. Bob and Terry also ran Enzos.
Richs 962 was very quick turning a fast lap of 4.871 in the first heat on the red lane. His strategy was to run a clean race not pushing the car to its very limit. Jack and James chased the Porsche relentlessly throughout the race challenging in every single heat. In the end, the 962 was just too much. Rich set a new class record of 92.9 laps to win the GT1 race besting the next competitor by 1.7 laps. Jack put in a very consistent performance (95.23%) finishing second with 91.2 laps. James battled it out with Jack but in the end fell short by a mere 2 sections. Details of the finishing order and images of the grid are shown below.
Pink Panther Devours the Field
The grid included two OSCAR spec, 1/24 Firebird Trans-Ams driven by Bob (pink) and James (red). The OSCAR cars are custom brass and wire machines with in-line motors. OSCAR rules allow the Trans-Am bodies to be slammed making them even more formidable. The balance of the grid was made up of Scholer based rides including a 69 Camaro (Rich), 70 Dodge Challenger (Jack), Camaro (Terry), and a 67 Mustang (Ron).
From the outset, James had tire problems putting him out of contention for the top spot. The race for the top step came down to Bob and Rich. Bob ran a very consistent race (94.89%). Richs suffered a few unfortunate offs, self-inflicted I might add. In the end, Bob bested Rich by nearly a lap. James finished a distant third.
A few comments are in order before proceeding to the detailed results and images. Jack decided to run a brand new 70 Dodge Challenger. This car is not currently his best Trans-Am ride (although with a bit of sorting it could be a top tier ride). His 68 Pontiac Trans-Am holds both ends of the record for the class turning a 5.062 second fast lap and 90 total laps. An image of the 68 Firebird as part of the 8/13/15 Trans-Am grid is shown below.
Details of the finishing order and images of the 11/19/15 grid are shown below.
Whatever Lola Wants...
The grid for the mixed race included two Scholer based Lola T-70s (Rich and Ron), a Scholer based Ferrari 458 (James), a Scholer based Audi (Jack), an OSCAR spec 1/25 Jaguar XJ220 (Bob), and an OSCAR spec Ferrari Modena coupe (Terry).
Very early on, it was clear that the cars to beat were Richs green Lola T-70 and James Ferrari 458. Both broke the magic 5 second barrier and were nearly .3 seconds per lap faster than the balance of the field. Both drivers ran consistent races, but in the end Richs slightly quicker Lola finished first with 92.5 laps besting James by nearly a lap. Jacks Audi was a distant third.
A few comments are in order before proceeding. Bobs 1/25 XJ220 was set up to run at All American Raceway. The OSCAR spec chassis is a custom brass and wire creation. The motor is a ProSlot sealed Super 16D. In order to slow the car down and make it easier to handle Bob added a resistor to the power wire of the controller. I believe that the car would be hard to beat with a ProSlot sealed 16D and no added resistor. Rons Lola ran an older Deathstar. I believe that running a ProSlot sealed 16D would have his Lola running in the low 5.0 second range.
Winter Projects
After a mild and sunny summer, Oregon has entered the dreaded rainy season. There will be only a handful of days between now and the end of March without precipitation. Indoor hobbies are essential in maintaining sanity and fending off boredom. Slot heads welcome this time of year to concentrate on their hobby. It has been over a month since the last Triathlon at Electron Raceway and several rabid true scale enthusiasts used the time wisely building and/or modifying their rides in an attempt to improve performance.
Bob unveiled a great looking 70 Dodge Challenger for our True Scale Trans-Am class. Unfortunately this car was powered by a ProSlot PS2002FK motor. These motors do not work well on short tracks with tight corners. They simply have too much torque and are very hard to control at low speed. After running a few practice laps, the motor quit so the ride went back into the box until next time.
Another Trans-Am car in the works but not quite ready as yet is a Cuda by James. He says that the car needs another layer of clear coat. The Cuda looks awesome. The flairs really look like they are part of the kit! Great job James!
Jack unveiled a great looking 70 Camaro in addition to his Challenger. See images below.
Ron showed up a bit early to try out his brand new stainless chassis made by Sloting Plus. The design is quite similar to the Scholer or Plafit chassis that we currently use but are soon to disappear from the United States. We have been told that Scholer has been bought out and production plans have been in limbo for quite some time. We are also told that Plafit will no longer be importing its product to the U.S. Ron came across the Sloting Plus chassis on the internet and decided to give it a try. The quality and fit of the chassis are quite good and it sells for $49.99 (about the same price as the Scholer and Plafit chassis we currently use). A Ferrari Enzo body was mounted on the Sloting Plus chassis and testing began prior to the Triathlon. As you might expect, the stainless steel chassis is lighter than the brass Scholer or Plafit models. In initial testing the car was very loose. More extensive testing is order. Perhaps a smaller front pan or moving lead weight to the side pans or center section would tighten up the handling. In any case, the chassis holds some promise. Below are a few images of the chassis.
Rich decided to use some of his spare time to revamp a tired and uncompetitive Enzo.
- New side pans were fabricated from 1 inch wide, .062 inch thick brass. These replace the old .75 inch wide pans
- A new Hawk 7 motor replaced the less efficient Falcon 7 power plant. Hawk motors have better brakes
- A Porsche 962 body replaced the Enzo.
