Gary`s Corner year 2001

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My cars for this session:

Tamiya Cup:

SARDA classes:

Well, the first Tamiya regional  race is over. It was run at Raceway on the 14th. Great track but had a few problems with grip in the GT class. But started off with a good result. I entered in the M-chassis, FWD open( to play) and the 4WD GT. I ended up 1st in M-Chassis, 3rd in FWD and 1st in GT. The M-chassis had 7 cars in the lineup which was great. I still ran my tyres I used last year but they have seen their last. Canvas does not grip. Time to see the Bank Manager again. Somehow this guy does not like me, I wonder why?

February 2001

The second Tamiya cup was run at Fourways and it went very well for me. I entered the same 3 classes namely M-chassis, FWD Superstock and 4WD GT. I came 1st in all three classes, so could not do better than that. I have started to prepare for the Nationals just round the corner. I have now decided to just use the sprint tyres. Before I used what ever I could afford but that clearly does not work. I have my tyres all graded and in sets ready for practice to see what works on what car. From there I can get exactly what is required for the rest of the Nats. I have never been able to afford to do this before but the bank manager was good to me last month. A record 85 entries just in open superstock class makes for serious competition in this first nationals.  227 entries so far. See you at the nats. 3/4 March 2001

March 2001

The 1st Nationals has just been completed with great success. I must congratulate the guys out there at raceway for really putting on a great Nationals. A record number of 86 entrants in Superstock. I Only made B mains 5th place but managed to win that mains race in true stile. 7 seconds ahead of the 2nd place. I just changed the body on my car for te final and could not believe the difference . I know now what bodies I am using in future that is for sure. I came 2nd in the A Mains FWD Tamiya nd that was also a great race. I threw it away on the last lap when trying too hard to overtake the number 1. It was tight the entire race between the 2 of us. In touring MOD  GT I also only made B mains. The mains was great getting into 1st place after the second round and slowly started pulling away from the rest until my car just stopped on me. After the race I found that one of my motor brushes got so hot that it melted itself off. I have now invested in double braded brushes so that will never happen again.

Tamiya Races

March has been quite a busy time as we have now just completed 2 more rounds of Tamiya cup racing and it sure was a great time for me bringing in 1st place in both my classes now for both events. I now have quite a nice collection of tyres thanks to Jeffery Stein Sales sponsorship of prizes to the winners. This is great stuff. The last GT class was also very close and I am not dominating this class anymore. It was touch and go between FP and myself in the final race which made it very exciting for all of us. The M chassis is also gaining much more popularity and the racing is really great with a lineup of 9 Mini`s it really becomes exciting. We also created a stagard start which was also quite nice.

April 2001

Port Elizabeth Nats has also come and gone at it was once again quite a great Nats. I have eventually reached A mains in the touring Mod class. It was my first time I had the experience of running 3 mains in the final and it was great. My car was clearly still not on pace but there was at least only a half a second difference between the number 1 and me in the final average time which makes me happy that I am improving. But let me tell you that a half a second is still far from the number one. I used the new 3000mah power cells with the 9 double motor. I turned my timing to maximum but still could not get to the speeds of the top drivers. I could also see that I was starting to go soft on the last lap and that was not good news for me as it gives me no room for improvement with that current setup. So its back to the drawing board once again. I made 4th place in A mains for FWD and then last in B mains final after I was knocked out the race. The car was clearly on form making the fastest lap in the race. But as we know it is all about sustainability and not only the fastest. 

The Tamiya races are still going well and I made first place in the FWD and M-chassis and then 3rd in the GT mod. Had some bad luck but am not too worried as it was my own poor driving at the end of the day that let me down.

May 2001

Just completed the May Tamiya cup race at Montana and must say that this track was really great. First time I have raced there but must congratulate Deon on a Job well done in getting this track together. For those that have never been there it has been built just for the drivers. It does not wear down your tyres and the track does not break your car if you make a mistake. Well I raced my M-Chassis, FWD open and my GT mod again and came 1st, 1st ,2nd respectively. I was surprised to see that 3000 batteries were allowed in the GT as I have been battling the hole time to stay within run time. We should not allow 3000 batteries as this will not be allowed in the Nats or  in international competition and it is defeating the object. But besides that I think it was great and we really had a great days racing. What was also fun was that we had the 1/8th scale Gas cars there and during Lunch we had the opportunity to race against them. It was the 2.5cc clas and not the 21`s. I put my FWD open  superstock against them and I am afraid to say that I drove circles around them. They were a little faster but the electric was far more superior in the infield and they just could not beat it. The mods would really drive them into the ground.  

June 2001

The June Nats at Bloem have come and gone and we are already preparing for the Nats at K90. What an event. Bloem had some real good racing and for the first time in my RC car racing career I won my first nationals race. It was only the FWD class but still, I actually won. I did not do too well in the Mod  and superstock only making B mains in those two. I must say just when you think you are better and faster the rest of the pack are too. There is still plenty of competition out there and will still have to try harder. I must say that the superstock class is getting out of hand as they are doing times like the Mod class. That does not make sense to me and needs a bit more regulation as I cannot see how a superstock motor can perform like that. I managed to get hold of one of those VERY expensive batteries that Taki drives with (R 1200). Must say my car really had some good punch out the corners and I still had power at the end. I will definitely be able to perform better with that battery. Now I can say that it IS the batteries that do the trick. But then I cannot afford buying 6 of those batteries so I will have to do with driving in the background for a while. I was pleased to see that I am now ranked in South Africa as 3rd in FWD 9th in MOD and 10th in Superstock which is not too bad considering its only my second season now.

August 2001

Well well, things are looking a lot better now that I have had a chance to set my Mod car correctly with this new battery I purchased at the Bloem nats. Unfortunately I have half worn this battery out in the process. Give me some time to save up and get a set and things will definitely happen. I have also had a chance to find out what was wrong with my superstock car as it has really not been shaping with the rest of the field. It has been my speed control all along. G9 Teken nog all ! Here I have been changing batteries, motors, gearing you name it and nothing worked. Well, you live and learn. I am hopefully now ready for the K90 Nats in 2 weeks time. Would like to have another one of those expensive batteries but we will see what I can do for now.

K90 Nats

The nationals at K90 was great but I think I received more than my fair share of accidents. Some how I just could not free myself of all the back makers. I did not have a single clean race the entire nationals and this really made me very frustrated. One thing that I think really needs attention is the marshals on the stand. They are not calling the cars when we are lapping the back markers. I can understand when we are racing for position then all is fair in love and war but when you are lapping people they should be informed by the marshals and leave you alone to pass them and get on with the race ahead.

I also heard a lot of comment about why we have the real novice racing in the same heats as the top guys and then spoiling the top guys races due to no fault of their own but pure nerves. It is tuff stuff and we expect the novice to move over slightly when he is battling to just stay on the track. I think that is unfair to expect that of a novice and we should not put them in that position in the first place.

Besides that I came second in the A mains FWD. I could have won that race if it was not for a back maker but I suppose that is how it goes. I do not feel that bad as I saw that even our SA champ Taki was taken out by a back maker making him too loose the Nats to Gary. My mod is going well but now its just to keep it on the track. Now that the car is going I found I have lost its handling and need plenty of work on that. Every race I started with I lost it on the first lap and then had to make my way back. That's just not good enough. My superstock still needs speed. I just do not know where they are getting these horses from? My car is going much better but still far off pace from the leaders at this moment. You can take a look at the pictures of the day on the GPModels site.

September 2001

The Tamiya nationals has just been completed and it was really great for me as I was picked as sponsor driver all expenses paid trip to Tailand having won my M-chassis and came second in my GT mod class. I also came first in the regional championships in all three classes I raced during the year namely FWD open, M-chassis and GT mod. So on the Tamiya front things are going very well.

All in all the event was great and I must congratulate Shane and Robin on a job well done.

October 2001

Just come back from the racing in Bangkok as a Team of 10 took part in the Asia Tamiya Cup Qualifiers to the Japan Worlds. This event was really great even although I did very bad. I really enjoyed the event and I am sure so did all the rest. Two of the guys won cars as prizes and this obviously went down well. My racing however did not I took the TB01 and I think that was my mistake. The track was very technical and the TB01 just aint meant for a Technical track. It is very fast and all but just does not make the "Bens". The TAO4 was the car of the day being the only car in the Finals besides a TB01 Evolution. The only Evolution at the event. In South Africa however I believe the TB01 will still give the TAO4 a drive for its money as our tracks are bigger and faster. well, now I need to get ready for the last nationals of the year. It is very close in the open FWD as Michael and I are tie on points at this moment and it is all up to the last event.

October Nats at PMR 

October was quite a busy month and we had the last nationals of the 2001 session in Pretoria. Again I had my fair share of bad luck and I am sure so did many. The rain came down and did not allow us to complete the event. We only had 2 qualifiers out of the 3 and no final so they used the 2 qualifiers to decide the race. I came second in my Front wheel drive and really needed that first place to take the trophy for the year. In open super stock I achieved 15th place and in GT Modified I came 16th. Not as good as I wanted but I think I need to go and do some driving training over the holiday period. My cars are fine but I think I just through it away with poor driving. Super stock is still a bit of a concern with speed as there are still some cars that are clearly just flying and I do not know how they are getting it right? Even with my Dyno I get my best possible motor and its not nearly as good as the top drivers. So on that side it is back to the drawing board? There must be something that I am not doing right. I thought it could be on the drive chain friction but after all the work I did on reducing that friction it still did not help. Do admit though that it did improve. I need a step change not just a little improvement. At the AGM I was voted in onto the SARDA committee. So I hope I can make a difference and improve this sport in some or other way. This will be difficult as there are so many different views.

Well it is now time to plan for next years racing and cars to be used.

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