Sunday 4wd:

Using the X-Factory X-5, I started the day with the Inifinity 10x1 motor and Proline step pins on the rear and Losi Red Studs on the front, front one way diff.  Again the car felt very good right from the start in practice, I was using orange piston read, 35wt oil and pink springs, black piston front and 30wt oil with silver springs.  I had chosen the Losi front tyres over the cut and shut step pins, as I tried the studs last year and they provided slightly more steering and a good balance with the rear, yet saving a lot of time in doing the cut and shuts.  I did try the step pins on the front in practice and they felt good, but they did begin to open up, so this made my mind up to stick with the Losi front tyre.  I was put into heat 3, which was a high heat but not as high as Saturdays heat.  I was more pleased about this as being in an earlier heat meant we got the best of the track.

Round 1:

The car felt very good and I was on for a good time when the car began to slow and I finished the last lap at crawling pace.  I lost a lot of time on the last lap and scored a mid 40’s for the round, which was disappointing when I thought what that could have been.

Round 2:

I switched armatures for another 10x1, changed brushes and checked the car over, also adding some holes over the motor for additional cooling.  I made no other changes to the car, and I started the heat from 9th.  Within lap 3 it was announced I was running in the top 3 on the track and the top 5 were going top 5 in the round (until the higher heats go on) and I was confident of doing well and then the car stopped dead in the track.  Very frustrating.  The cause being a motor wire coming off, I can only put myself to blame for this as the motor was not hot, after kicking myself I maintained confidence.

Round 3:

Again making no changes except for more careful soldering and extra ride height for the already rough track.  I started the heat from the back and was able to gain many positions and set a good time.  For the round I scored 23 points.  The car had felt good but for on power it was too easy to kick the back end out.

Round 4:

I added slightly more ride height to the rear and decided to put a front diff in set quite tightly.  I started the race again from the back based on fastest times, and I was quick to catch many cars and drive very cleanly.  The diff helped keep the car square into and out of the corners and stability over bumps, I finished the heat 3rd with a time I thought good for a sub 20 points in round, but I actually scored 24 points which sat me into the D final on 3rd.

Finals: 

Like yesterday there was another long wait before the finals, gave us chance to make sure the car was as ready as could be and also pack the racing gear away and put the tent down.  At the start of the D final, Matt White on 2nd on the grid suffered slight glitching and so was forced to start at the back, this gave me a clear shot at getting onto the pole man for the first few corners.  As the buzzer went I was able to close the 2 metre gap on acceleration and Matt Osland-Jones on the 2nd corner put two wheels up onto the apex and I took the decision to get past, which I managed to do cleanly, I spent the next few corners defending my line and then the cars behind started to collide and make mistakes.  I went over for my first lap with a large gap the length of the straight, which I set about maintaining, but I put the X5 onto its roof on lap 3 or 4 when I hit a bump slightly sideways costing me the safety margin I had kept.  I was still leading the final though with a large enough gap, and I chose at this point to drive at 80%.  I soon had another large gap and when the last minute was announced, as I knew this meant no more than 2 laps I finished the final driving at 60% knowing this would be enough to win and enough to guarantee no mistake.  I went over the line for the win, with Matt White in 2nd.

Overall I am very happy with the results, I am more so pleased that I managed to win both of my finals driving with my head.  I was more so pleased that all weekend I only needed to be marshalled once!!!

Best regards,