The Sport/motorsport of remote control auto racing

Post Reply New Topic

Hello Folks!

Coming up in two weeks is the Tamiya North American Finals, In Orange County, California, August 23-24. Stay tuned for the race report!

Again I welcome comments, so feel free to respond!

Hello Folks.

Here is my race report for the 14th annual Tamiya North American Finals. This race was held in Aliso Viejo. A town located in Orange County California. There are racers that come from all over north america including Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington, California, and even Canada to compete for a trip to Japan to represent their Continent in the Tamiya World Championship. Just like in the Olympic trials, you win, you go on to the big dance.

The class I competed in is called the GT2 class. This is the second fastest class, however the cars are mostly made out of lightweight ABS plastic material with just a little Carbon and aluminum parts just to keep costs down, but the class is still very competitive. This class used a handout motor what we like to call a black can mabuchi, these motors are very sensitive to being geared high, driven very hard, and are very sensitive to heat. You are restricted to very little maintenance on these motors, all you can do is apply lubricant to these motors, only supplied by the track, you cannot use your own. This is to prevent cheating and tampering which has happened many times in the past. You are to install the motor along with your own gear in front of the tech inspection crew so they know that your doing all the right things. Also, racers were given a handout battery pack, a maximum of two, and a voltage limit to keep anyone from having an unfair advantage in acceleration and power. Before the race you are to install your motor in front of tech inspection (guys who look at your car to see if you’re cheating) then they check the voltage of your battery with a volt meter, then they check the weight of your car to make sure your car is not below the minimum weight. Then your off to race in your heat. My dad is my pit man and he does all the work installing the motor and so on to make sure I’m ok to go race.

In the Tamiya North American Finals. First, there are four qualifiers, how this type of timing format works is you there are 8 cars in one heat, the race begins using something called a Staggered start, one car rolls off the starting line then a second later the next car rolls off , then the next and so on. The races are 5 minutes long, the car that complete the most amount of laps in five minutes in the fastest time get the overall Pole Position (Top Qualifier as we call it) you are also given points for where you finish in a heat. You get 0 points for finishing first 2 points for second, 3 points for third and so on. Your best two races count, so if you have two bad races, they will throw out the two races that you made mistakes in and count the two races that you did the most successful. The Driver with the fastest time and the lowest amount of points is declared top qualifier.

First Round. August 23

I start in 3rd. As my name is called, I roar off the starting grid, with two laps into the race, I’m running 3rd, as I’m weaving my way through traffic, there is a bright red and white Porsche who is zig zagging through the turns and down the straightway. I almost run into him, while he zigs right, I turn left to avoid him. through the entire race
I have to constantly look out for him and drive around him. With about a minute an 30 seconds left I’m being tailed by someone and he is much faster than I am. In qualifying in RC racing, if someone is faster than you even though you are running a faster time then you have to let him by or else you will cause an accident. So I yield for him to go by and as time expires I end up sitting 4th overall with me getting a minimum of four points

Second round

Now I start out 4th on the grid this time. With two laps in I’m having a terrific run which is good enough to put me second on the grid, however on the forth lap with 45 seconds into the race, The pinion (gear that is attached to the electric motor that powers the car) falls off and I have a DNF (Did Not Finish) for the second round, which gives me a minimum of 8 points. It seemed like my dad rushed through tech to get my car out onto the track and didn’t tighten the screw on the gear enough for me to get through the entire race.

Third round

Even thought I had a bad second round, I still had a fast time good enough to keep me in the heat with the top drivers. But now I’m starting in 7th, with four laps into the race I am sitting first, the racer who is top qualifier, rolls his car over a few times and I’m able to launch up to the lead for about a minute and a half, me and the TQ are dukeing it out for the lead, 15 seconds later his pace is now faster than mine and now I’m sitting second. With only 25 seconds left in the qualifier, I start coming up on traffic that is blocking my way, time expires and I’m able to get past the drivers but the held me up for too long and I end up fourth in the race. And forth in the overall standings


Fourth Round. August 24

The day starts out by me sitting in 4th. I had a good come back yesterday in the 3rd round and I was very anxious to see how well I would do in the fourth and final round of qualifying. The race starts out with me in 2nd place, with five laps into the race, the TQ racer rolls over and now I’m on the leading pace, my racing friends are cheering me on, rooting for me not to make any mistakes. I am continually weaving my way through traffic trying to keep my pace up, with just 15 seconds to go their is a faster car on my tail, I decide to let him by even thought I am the leader and I am able to stay with him. The race ends, the race announcer declares that I am the winner of the forth round of qualifying which gives me a minimum of 0 points giving my overall points to 4 and now I’m siting 3rd on the gird with the inside line coming into the Finals.

After when qualifiers are over. Racing goes to something called. "Triple A mains" If you make the Top 10 in your class (I came in 3rd) you are in the A final. These races are heads up, on the horn. How points are awarded goes like this.
If you win one A main you get 100 points, if you come in second you get 99, third 98, forth 97 and so on. Your two best races count (if you come second in your first A main, and first in your third you get 199. There is a situation where if you win your first two A mains you automatically win, you do not have to race in the third.

First A main

Right now I’m sitting 3rd on the grid, I have the inside line, which means that First starts on inside on the straightway, second starts on the outside, third starts on the inside and so on. The horn sounds and I charge hard on the inside sweeper as we get onto the hairpin, there’s a huge wreak at the back of the pack and the front gets through cleanly, my cars id loose and a little hard to handle, coming into the chicane I lightly bump one of the metal disks while driving through it, as I come into the S corners 4th place pushes my tail end loose and I’m knocked down to fifth, with 2:30 into the race my car is still loose, I’m able to pass 4th, and then 3rd place in front of me clips the kink and rolls over. I end up coming 3rd in the first A main with a total of 98 points.

Second A main

As the race begins, I’m able to get up onto second place on the second lap. Second place goes wide coming into the Infield and I get by him for second, now I set my sights on first place. For the first two minutes we are neck and neck, however at the half way mark he begins to pull away while he tries to keep his hopes of a North American championship alive. While he pulls away, 3rd place is on my tail challenging me for Second, with a minute to go, third still can’t get past me, Time expires and First place takes the Overall win due to the fact he won A main 1 and 2, however I’m able to get second place, with 197 points coming into the Third A final.

Third A Main.

This time, the person who won race overall event gets to sit out this race, however for the rest of the 9 remaining drivers, they still have to race, since the leader is not in this race, everyone move up a spot, so 3rd starts in 2nd and 2nd starts in first. Now I’m in outside lane so I have to get off to good start or else I’ll get taken out on the inside. The horn sounds off and I get on the inside and I accidentally take out the leader while coming into the infield, however I am not called for a penalty and I continue on, 3rd is able to get by me and I am in hot pursuit of the guy out in front. As the race progresses on. My car is very good in the chicane and the S corners coming into the straightway, the leader however is just a tad bit faster in the hairpin coming into the infield and the kink, but that’s it. It’s a constant tug of war for distance and position, when I get close to the leader, he is able to pull away a few inches. Halfway through the race I get really close to the leader, coming into the carousel, I take him out. I then let him by and racing resumes, (for those who are reading for the first time, if you take out the leader or the person in front of you, you have to let him by or you will be penalized for offensive driving.) 30 seconds later when I’m on the leaders tail again, he clips the corner and accidentally bumps into me and gets taken out. (if you’re in the lead and you make a mistake and you get taken out by the guy behind you it is your fault and you lose the position.) Now I have good lead with 1:50 seconds remaining in the race, however my car starts to slow down just a bit and 2nd , lap by lap, slowly continues to reel me in. With 30 seconds left, 2nd is only more than a half a car length behind me, then he clips a plow disk (A big metal disk that is like a cone but lower) and I get some breathing room, with 9 seconds to go 2nd now is only inches behind me, time expires and coming into the chicane and S corners he tries to make up ground on me and pass me but he bobbles on the last corners and I go on to win A main 3, and end the day with 199 points, which I later found out I came in second. Since my first race is a throw out and my best two races, A main 2 (2nd place), and A main 3 (1st place) count.

This is my first Tamiya North American Finals podium since 2001 so it’s been a long time coming, and I was very very happy and excited to make it to the top three in a long time, hopefully next year I will be able to win and go to Japan for the worlds. Thank you very much for reading this race report, and once again I welcome comments and I will be willing to answer any questions.

Here is are some videos of the races, and here are some shots of me on the podium. I'm the Purple and Green Car.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wTu1K_NLN4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buAuB1kbk60[/youtube]

Dang thats pretty hard core stuff!! ! Have you ever tried RC plane dog-fight? I used to do it on occasion but rarely have the time anymore .

No I have not.

I don't care too much for planes. I'm a car/truck type of guy. I'm not that very good at flying planes, but i could be very good at it if i practice, but i would rather not cause i like car racing better. Thanks for asking though.

Wow. more than 700 views, thank you so much for reading, i really appreciate you dropping by and taking a look at this thread, thank you and please keep reading and stay tuned for more race reports. Again i welcome comments, thank you.

Hello Folks.

My next big race is going to be this Saturday 9-20-08 at Bending Corners Raceway trophy race in Orange County CA.

And on 9-27-08, will be the Mazda Cup at the Mazda North American Headquarters

Stay tuned! Race report(s) will come after the following races.

Just for a Heads up. Tomorrow is the bending corners trophy race. Stay tuned for the race report after the race!

Hello Folks! This weekend was the Bending Corners Trophy race in Orange, CA at Bending Corners Raceway. This was my first real race on asphalt.

I am normally a carpet racer, and most of my racing career I have raced indoors, this was my very first race on asphalt with really competitive racers. Carpet racing used a special type of grainy gray carpet called ozite, which is very easy to drive on when very grippy and you car drive very tight into and not need to decelerate as often. Asphalt requires a smooth trigger finger and you are required to brake and is not as easy to drive on as carpet.


The track is located in a sports complex, which has Astroturf soccer fields, a golf driving range and probably also has tennis as well (but I don’t know for sure), drivers are told not to swear on the drivers due to the fact that there are little children that walk by and are watching the races and they could hear the profanity, if someone is caught swearing on the drivers stand and someone hears it, they must pay the person one dollar to the person that swears in his presence. It’s also used to encourage sportsmanship.


There are three five minute qualifiers which are staggered starts, which means when the race starts one driver goes first then 2 seconds later another, then another and so on, and a five minute final, which is a on the tone heads up start. I am competing in the Expert 13.5 motor class. This is the best class for drivers who are racing a 13.5 electric motor (a motor that is very fast and requires little maintenance).


Here is a picture of what the body shells on the car look like



1st Qualifier.

As the race begins, I begin to get a feel of the track and try to get into a rhythm, as I go around corners I am constantly braking late and getting on the throttle early, which is making my car push (not want to turn sharply) around the corners, I am sitting third so far and I am doing very well, I am trying everything to keep my pace up and stay on the podium. Time expires and I end up qualified third.

2nd Qualifier.

Me and my dad went to get some lunch before we got ready for our race. As the qualifier starts, I am still using my driving technique that I would use on carpet and braking way too late (braking late means that you enter a turn and you use the brakes at the very last second) Which is still causing my car to push. At the end of the qualifier I end up third again, with only a two second improvement. First and second are way ahead.

3rd qualifier


I told my dad who is the mechanic that my car was pushing one power, which means that your car will want to not turn sharply and wander to the outside when you apply the throttle, so he did and adjustment which he thought that would help make the car turn harder. Also I also tried not using the brake as much, to see if it would give me more roll speed through the corners. As the horn sound and my name is called up, I am trying this new driving technique, as I go around the corners, With 1:30 into the race second place breaks down and now I’m sitting second, one lap later I turn into the corners too hard and I roll the car over, after that costly mistake I am siting forth now and I have to use the brakes and can’t do much experimenting and have to catch up to the rest of the field. As the qualifier comes to a close, I end up qualifying 4th overall, This is good proof that one mistake can screw up bad and put you down a position.














A final


During practice which is between races I had a local pro racer try my car and he told me to do just one little adjustment on the car, But he told me to drive a smoother and brake early coming into the corner, (which means you apply the brakes before you get to the turn) I decided that I had to take his advice for the last qualifier. In this race, I am sitting forth on the grid. The horn sounds and as all the racers bunch up and head into the infield, the last two racers get into a tangle and get taken out, now, I focus my attention on 3rd place. With 40 seconds into the race I’m able to get onto his rear bumper, I’m driving smoothly and braking earlier, as been told during practice. Two laps later I’m able to get on the inside of third, I bang doors a little with him and I get by, a lap later I roll the car over in the same spot as I did in the third qualifier but I’m able to get back on all fours, 5th and last are right behind me as I scramble to fend them off into the corners as the try to get under me, I eventually am able to shake them off and then I focus my attention on 3rd which is in front of me by a lot. As the race progresses, I start to hear some complaints from the 3rd place racer which is right next to me on the driving stand saying his car is "glitching", a type of interference that happens in the car’s electronics which make your car go haywire or jerk all over the place all by itself which make the car very hard to control, with a minute and 30 seconds to go on the clock, I am able to get under him on the entrance to the sweeper, and now I have third place, a lap later, First place breaks down and now I move to second, but third behind me has lost his glitching problem and now he is right on my tail, for the last one minute and fifteen seconds of the race we are dukeing it out for second, he is trying everything he can to throw me off guard even when I am still trying to drive smooth! He even drives over burms (A round corner that is very smooth that you can ride on without rolling over if driven correctly) and clips the kink a few times but still is right there with me, on the last lap, he rolls the car and as time expires I go on to place second! Which was a very good first day for me in my very first real big race on asphalt.

The guy I battled for second went up to shake my hand and said he had a real good time racing with me,and so did I! It was real fun racing for the first time on a Asphalt track that I had no real experience on a had a wonderful time and cannot wait for the next race. The owner of the track told me that the next time I show up to the bending corners raceway track he will give me my trophy I earned. Which is two weeks from now due to the fact that the track will be close next week.

Stay tuned for the next race report which is the Mazda Cup this September 27 2008! Again please feel free to respond and I welcome comments and I will be able to answer all questions.

Well Folks. In 48 Hours is the Mazda Cup. Stay tuned for the race report!

Hey folks i'm almost done with my race report for the Mazda Cup. The report will posted later tonight. Stay tuned!

Hello Folks! This is my race report for the 2008 Mazda Cup in Orange, CA hosted by the OC racing Circuit.

The race was held in a parking lot during the Mazda car festival, there were a lot of juiced up Mazda Cars that were in attendance during this event and a lot of old vintage Mazda cars and trucks from the 70’s and 80’s. People who attended this event could watch the Mazda Cup racing event while they were at the show while on the bleachers and enjoy the race.

This race I decided to run in two class, One was called the “Pro Stock” class, which was the best of the best who raced 13.5 motors, and raced with sticky slick tires. The next class I decided to compete in was the “RCGT” class, which uses a slower motor and radial tires. Each of these classes has to run a Mazda RX-7 or RX-8 body shell because this would be appropriate to the Mazda car community.










The race format was two five minute qualifiers and a final five minute heads up race. There were many classes here that had faster motors and better handling bodies, There were at least 14 heats per round.

First Round: Pro Stock
The race was held up for awhile due to the fact that two of the competing racers Transponders where not working. A transponder is a device that when you cross the start/finish line, it records your Laps and overall time. After when that problem was fixed, the race began, my name was called and off I sped. For the first few laps I was sitting 4th-5th, I had to drive a little smoother in the turns in order to increase my corner speed. With 3 minutes left I am now sitting second, now I’m starting to get into the groove. Time expires and I end up qualified second almost being lapped by first.

First Round: RCGT

This heat was right next to my pro stock race, my dad had to scramble the put in the motor, the tires and set the ride height (the distance from the bottom of the car and the ground) that would be suitable for the class or the car wouldn’t be eligible for the class and would not work right. Due to this we missed our heat and was not able to get a good time in, however, the race director said that there was four other racers that missed the heat that I was in so he decided to create a heat for RCGT at the end of the first qualifying round. After that was established, my dad had enough time to put the motor into the car for the class, put the tires on the car, and adjust the ride height. Then I was ready to race when my heat came up. After when my name was called, and the race began I got off to a great start. On the first lap was leading the entire race, I never looked back, I did however had to drive around lapped racers who wouldn’t get out of my way, in RC racing you have to yield to someone who is faster than you or else you will hold them up and it’s considered bad sportsmanship if you do hold up the faster racer. I win the qualifier and set TQ (top qualifier) pace for the round by four seconds, which is a good leading distance.

Second Round: Pro Stock

This race ran a lot better than the first qualifier. For the first few laps I was actually leading the qualifier, with 40 seconds into the race the person behind me takes the lead back however I’m still hanging in there with him. With only 40 seconds left, I gain up a little ground on him, but now I’m coming up on traffic and they aren’t yielding to me, I find a way around them but I lose a little ground on the leader. I end up qualifying second for the main final.

Second Round: RCGT

This race was just as successful as the first qualifier, and I was able to improve my overall time. The race started out very well, with me on a better overall pace, during this race I feel a burning sensation in my eyes and it’s affecting my concentration but I’m able to keep it off the boards. It gets to be so bad that it starts to make my eyes water. The race ends and I end up with the pole position for the RCGT final. I was a little nervous thinking how I’m going to fight and concentrate with this mystery stinging sensation in my eyes while I’m on the drivers stand.

Pro Stock final:

I’m sitting second on the grid, first place is right in front of me, I plan to stay right behind second to see if I can hand right there with him and maybe force him to make a mistake. The race start off and I’m right behind first, however 3rd place is right behind me and challenging me for second which allows first place to get away from me. As I’m racing the burning sensation in my eyes returns and is even more painful while I have to fight off third. For the first 2:30 me and third place are dicing back and forth, He is trying everything to get under me and find an opening. With only 1:20 seconds left in the race third tried to get under me coming into the infield, he touches my bumper and gets me loose but he gets the worse end of the deal runs into the boards and I’m able to get some real estate in front of him, He manages to get closer to me but time expires and I’m able to clinch second as the race ends.


RCGT final:

Once again my dad had to scramble to get the car ready for the race since it was only 3 heats away, we almost didn’t make it on time but we were able to get into the race. This time I’m sitting on the pole, in front of the pack. The tone sounds, I get off to a good lead but the race director calls the race back due to a false start from the back of the pack. As the racers regroup, and the tone sounds again, I hug the sweeper coming into the infield, and I get off to a great start, I’m able to get some good distance on my competitors, as I come up on lapped traffic the drivers are more polite in getting out of the way but there are still a few stingy drivers that won’t move. With 1:10 into the race, as I’m coming down the straightaway the car in front of me, rams the wall and flies off the track into the pit area which was a close call for me, about a minute later, the burning in my eyes return but still have a good lead on second. With 2 minutes left into the race, I’m coming up on traffic and it’s taking me a while to get by them, second has gained some good ground on me and is making a charge to catch up to me. With 40 seconds left, he rolls over while hitting a corner. I now have some breathing room. As the race ends, I come in first place. I have officially earned my first victory on the west coast.
At the end of the day me and my dad drove home with a smile on our faces due to the fact that we had a fun time racing, no to mention we won one class, but my dad vowed that next time we run two classes, we use two cars instead of just fixing up just one, due to the fact that it takes too much time to swap the motor between back to back heats. Again I welcome comments and I will be able to ask any questions about this sport.

Good Afternoon Folks.

My last big race of 2008 is coming up in two weeks. The 10th Annual Toys for tots OC circuit charity race will be held On December 14 2008. This race requires that with your entry fee, you are to bring a toy that is worth 10 dollars, the reason why is because these toys will be given children who are less fortunate. So this is race for a good cause. Stay tuned for the race report!

Good Morning Folks!
Today is my race report of the Tenth Annual Toys for Tots OC Circuit charity race held in La Mirada California, a small city located between Los Angeles and Anaheim.

This was a special charity race that with your entry fee you donate a toy a that is worth $10 which is 12.36 in Canadian Dollars and 14.88 in Australian Dollars in case you are reading outside the USA.
A 101 racers showed up for the race early at 6:00AM the temperature was 41 degrees when everyone arrived at dawn, the track was set up in a college parking lot with special made barriers that keep your car inside the track so it doesn’t jump out onto the straightaway or infield. However these barriers weren’t as strong and kind of flimsy and there were quite a few racers that went through them though out the day, there were a good number of inexperienced racers that a limited racing experience that were having this problem.

The race track was prepped with a special type of spray that is used in real auto racing called “VHT” this stuff is used to keep the track sticky and keep the cars from sliding, the track maintenance crew was up last night to lay down the spray on this track to keep a good fresh coat, they also sprayed the track with a few more coats early this morning before practice opened up. However the cold weather made the VHT spray very stiff and glassy where mostly every car was having trouble with traction. So there were a good number of people who had trouble with grip and were sliding all over the place.

The class I was competing in was called RCGT. This class required you to run a special type of radial tire that you ran on your car and you had to run a sports car type body shell, this class was also the first of six legs of a Southern California racing series called the “RCGT showdown” how this racing series works is if you qualify first you get 100 points, second you get 99, third 98 and so on. There are also points awards for the main finals, 100 points for first, 99 for second, 98 for third, you get the deal. At the end of the day your best result from your qualifier and your final main add up. If you qualify 3rd and get 98 points and finish first and get 100 points, your points total is 198. You get two throw outs if you miss a race or miss a race due to certain circumstances. Your best four races count and at the end of the series the racer with the highest point is the winner of the showdown.


Practice for me was a little interesting. The drivers stand was quite full with racers and there was not much room for me to squeeze in a spot to get a good view of the track. There were a least 1 racers on the track where was a variety of racers of different abilities and different speeds, so I had to be careful of how I drove around people.

My first practice session didn’t work out as well. On my second lap I broke an essential part on my steering device called a servo horn which is connected to the servo which controls the steering of the car. The servo horn is a crucial part in aiding the steering of the car. We didn’t have a replacement part which meant if we didn’t have a replacement, and my dad who is the mechanic, were done for the day. Fortunately there was a fellow racer who had a spare part and we were able to fix up the steering on our car and we were able to get back out for a second practice run. This time I stayed out much long and I was able to drive much smarter. My practice run really was to get a feel of the track, however moving my way through racers who weren’t the best of drivers were being a little of a hazard to me and after more than more minutes, I had to pull it off due to the fact I didn’t want to get into a wreck and break the car again. I did however find out the car was handling the way I was pleased with and I got a feel for the track.

First Qualifier.

Most RC On road qualifiers are 5 minutes long, RCGT Qualifiers are 7 minutes, so basically you have to tune your motor differently so it doesn’t over heat and slow down during the end of the run. The basic rule of a qualifier is to get the most laps in the RCGT class in 7 minutes in the fastest amount of time.
There are two classes of RCGT, One is RCGT sportsman which is the amateur division, and RCGT pro which is the cream of the crop of the division.
The racers I am going up against in this class are very skilled racers who represent their RC racing company well, not to mention I am going up against former Tamiya Championship Series North American Finals Champions, I am also going up against Robert Itoh, who won the very first Tamiya World Championship for North America back in 1997.
As the horn sounds and as the announcer calls each of the racers name, then my name is called, I drive fast but I’m also being smooth on the throttle and still trying to get a feel of the track, however I am leading my qualifier on a pace that would place me second. I was not satisfied I was gunning for Top Qualifier, there were drivers however that were not very skilled at getting out of my way, in qualifying you have to yield to drivers who are lapping you or else you will hold up your competitors and could possibly cause an accident. I constantly have to be patient and drive around stubborn drivers. Time expires and I end up qualifying second behind the racer who beat me for first at this year’s Tamiya North American Finals. I did however out qualify Robert Itoh. I also had the fastest lap of the Qualifier.

Second Qualifier.

The Sun was starting to come down and the lower temperature was going to make the track have less traction than the previous qualifier
This run was faster than the first however my lap times were not as fast. When my race started and everyone started on their own clock I am on a pace behind Robert Itoh, It is taking awhile for my tires to warm up, after 4 laps my tires are warmed up and now I’m leading my heat, I am pushing myself to get top qualifier, Every lap I seem be on TQ Pace one lap, then off the next, then on again, I am zigging and zagging my way through traffic, which is making fall off pace, at the end of the race, I finish a second behind TQ. The good news is that I qualified in front of former world champion Robert Itoh.

A main final

The wait for the A main was long, it was now night time, the OC Circuit had its own lighting system that came in handy that illuminated the track in a good way but still it was a little hard to see and your vision was tested. Before the A final, there was a brief practice session that was going on and traction was starting to come up, however when the heats were being posted on the drivers stand on a sheet of paper, in front of the track people started walking on it and were making footprints. A week before the race the OC Circuit director strongly advised people not to walk onto the track, however people did not listen, and now traction was now not as good or even worse.
When I took a practice lap, my car looked pretty good, as I was going into the straightaway and into the sweeper (a long flowing turn that goes left or right) there was a little kid about 3 years old that ran out onto the track and I lightly clipped his shoe I noticed that my car was not as fast or handling as well as the first few turn of my practice lap. The boys’ dad, probably should have been watching his son and should have not let him play on the track. These cars that I’m running can go up to 30mph and could hurt a small child.
I am sitting second on the grid behind a racer named Tony Tam, the racer that beat me for first at the Tamiya nationals in 2008; it looked to be a good rematch. Third behind me is the former world champion Robert Itoh. Most of the A main racers had left due to the fact that it was now 10PM at night and racers had to get ready to go to work, however my dad the mechanic was retired and there was no reason to get up for work. There is however racers in this event that have been bumped up to the top ten final and are not as skilled of a racer and could be a potential hazard.
The cars line up in single file order, my heart is pounding and I’m anxious to get ready to challenge Tony Tam for the win. The horn sounds off and First place and I get off to a good start. Tony’s car turns sharper and springs out of the corners faster, my car is a little loose (loose means your car’s rear end slides around) on the other hand it flows through the corners better and has more speed down the straightaway. With two laps into the race we are now coming up on traffic Tony is gets by the first two cars, as I come up upon the first lap car he doesn’t give me very much room which is what I feared and I turn in to sharp to the markers and roll over and I have to be marshaled ( a marshal is a person who stand at a certain point on the track and if you get stuck or roll over they run over and place you back on the track) and Robert Itoh. My dad is now furious and yelling at the racer who did not let me by, as the race progresses I come up on another racer coming into the first corner, he doesn’t give me much room and stops in the middle of the corner and then I have to cut under him then I hit another marker and have to be marshaled again. More than halfway into the race, there is car that what I believe happens to be lapped traffic I yell for him to back off, but he passes me, I then learn that he is on the same lap as I am and he has passed me for third, Now I have to play catch up, he has very good top speed and acceleration down the straightaway. Four laps later he runs into a lapped car and I get by and begin to chase down Robert, my car nevertheless is not handling as well due to the fact the track is cold and a little slick, I really push hard to try to catch the former world champion but time runs out and I finish 3rd overall, not bad but I believe I could of been be a little more patient and got a little greedy.

The next race of the series is January 4 2009 at Speedtech Raceway in San Gabriel CA, I welcome comments and I am willing to ask questions about the sport.

Thanks for informing me about your RC thread, Leester. Those videos are amazing -- I don't think I could ever control cars quite that well. The closest I get right now is playing Gran Turismo 4 on my PS2.

Good afternoon everyone.


This January 4 2009 is round two of the Speedtech RCGT challenge At Speedtech raceway in San Gabriel CA. Stay tuned for the race report!

Happy New Year everyone! I have an announcement to make.

I am involved with Special Olympics Southern California and I compete in Floor Hockey, On January 4 2009 Is the day of Round 2 of the Speedtech RCGT Racing series, however January 4 is the same day of the scrimmage game of My team which is the Laguna Hill's Hawks, and The Tustin Eagles. Round 3 Of the RCGT series is on January 18 09 and The Southern California Floor Hockey Tournament which I have qualified for, is on January 17-18 09, the same day as the round 3 race. Another conflict is Round 4 of the series is on February 8 09, The first race of the Tamiya Championship Series in Orange County, CA is on Feb 7-8. Finally round 5 is February 22, on that date I will be traveling up to Seattle WA for the Tamiya Championship Series regional race that will be held up there.

Unfortunately, due to conflicts I will not be racing this January 4 2009, and will not be racing in the Speedtech RCGT showdown. The RCGT series allows you to miss two races but i will be missing four which means i cannot complete the series.

I do have other races that are coming up soon, so keep tuned, I will let you know when my next big race is coming up so i can do my next race report! Thank you!