Race Report from Maritime Off Road Wars.

So this weekend it was time for us to head to Maritime for their Off Road Wars 2 day meeting. (2WD on the Saturday and 4WD on the Sunday)

Saturday 2WD:
We arrived at the venue at 7:00am and were greeted by an great looking track. Practice began and we were looking forward to getting on track after watching the first few heats take to the track.
Our heat arrived and it was time to see what the track and car felt like.
The first few minutes of the practice run was just taking time to learn the layout and bed in a brand new set of tyres ahead of Qualifying. The track had great flow and was fun to drive. The Kyosho RB6 feeling good to drive, just suffering a little from weight transferring onto the nose from it being a little too soft. So for Q1 went would go up 2.5wt in the front shock oil.

Onto qualifying and the format was to be FTD. Onto Q1, and the change to the front oil helped with the weight transfer making the car easier to drive. The heat was very close, with Tom taking 1st and us taking 2nd. And good start to the meeting and feeling confident going into Q2. We decided to go up 2 spring rates in the front after Q1 to help a little more with the front end feeling.
Q2 the car felt really good and allowed us to push the car more. A few mistakes however resulted in a slower time that in Q1.
Q3 and we decided to run a new set of tyres to bed them in for Q4 and the finals.
Onto Q4 and with everyone very close on time we needed a good run. Trying to keep it clean and give a good position on the grid worked out well, with an improved time placing us 4th on the grid, right in contention for the 3 leg finals.

A Final Leg 1:
So it was onto the finals and we were feeling positive about taking a good result with the car feeling great in the final qualifier. With Ellis, Tom and Jorn in front on the grid. We set off and The plan was to drive and clean race. The three in front all suffered bobbles and crashes putting us to the front of the race. It was then a case of keeping it clean and bringing it home. Taking the win in Leg 1, and feeling confident of more the same.

A Final Leg 2:
This was a final to forget for most after some poor driving standards and use of a double that had been said to only be single singled during qualifying by one driver. We came out with a 3rd place after having been ‘forced’ while in the lead. Onto Leg 3 to try and get another win.

A Final Leg 3:
Onto the final leg and the overall win was still wide open. We all set off, Tom got out into the lead, with us getting into second position, but unable to catch Tom as he had got away early on. Giving Tom the win for Leg 3. With both us and Tom having a 1st and 2nd, we were unsure who had taken the win, as we did not know if count back or fastest final time would be used. In the end fastest final time was used with Tom taking the Overall win, giving us a great 2nd position.

The Kyosho RB6 was great all day long, and preformed without a fault. The Tekin ESC and motor giving great power and feeling all day, on a track the required both speed but also smooth power. LRP battery power keeping us punched for the whole day.

Sunday 4WD:
It was onto Sunday and 4WD. This is the class we we’re most looking forward to, with the Kyosho ZX6 being amazing everywhere we have ran it.

The track had been changed overnight for today. Giving a fresh new look to the centre section of the track, with some different features.

Practice began and it was clear to see the track was going to be very fast paced and close again. We went out on track with the car the same as we ran it at the CML/Proline meeting to get a feel for the track and see if we needed to change anything. After a few laps it was clear to see that traction was high at the end of the straight, and the transitions between features on the track needed the car to be very settled. After the run we decided that we would change the shock oil from 550 (Kyosho) front to 60WT (Losi), to slow the reaction and weight transfer of the front end and allow the car to be easier in the changes from the features to carpet. We then changed the rear from 350 (Kyosho) to 40WT (Losi) to also give the rear less weight transfer. We also glued the outside edge of the front tyres to take some side wall flex away from the tyre and a little steering.

Onto qualifying:
Q1: We went into Q1 wanting to get a good safe banker run in, taking it easy and trying to keep it clean. A few mistakes from going a little too safe at times ment we ended up 2nd for the Round behind Jorn. The car feeling great now after the small changes we had made.

Q2: Into the next Round and knowing we had a safe run from Round one it was time to push a little harder. We had great pace and the car was feeling great, a few small mistakes and traffic in the wrong sections resulted in a slightly slower time than Q1, but the car was feeling amazing.

Q3: As with the 2WD we chose to run a new set of tyres in this run, ready for the last Round of Qualifying and for finals. The car was a little loose at the start of the run due to the new tyres taking time to bed in, but once they had the car felt perfect. Getting an improved time from Q1, was a good feeling knowing that the tyres would be good from the off for Q4.

Q4: Onto the last Round of qualifying and we were feeling confident of a good result ready for the finals. Keeping the run steady, with the car doing everything we wanted it to resulted in 2nd in Round, and 2nd overall to start behind Jorn for the A Finals.

The Finals:

Leg 1: Going into the first leg and feeling very confident we had the pace to match Jorn, the final began and we set off behind him. Keeping close and piling the pressure onto Jorn to try and force a mistake. Keeping this pressure on did result in the mistake we hoped for from Jorn, placing us into the lead. Driving at 90% now that we had the lead, keeping it clean to get the win for Leg 1. The crowd support was amazing, and upon crossing the line to take the win the room was a sea of noise and support for our win.

Leg 2: Onto the second Leg and the plan was the same as Leg 1. Try and keep pressure on Jorn. As in Leg 1 we managed to force Jorn into a mistake and set off into the lead, pulling a slight gap over Jorn who was pushing hard to try and catch up. We kept the pace up and kept the gap from Jorn all the way to the end. The atmosphere was electric on crossing the line to take the win and the 4WD title. Everyone cheering!

Leg 3: We decided to run Leg 3 to see if we could take all 3 legs. We set off and stayed right behind Jorn pushing to try and get a mistake from him. This time however it would be us with the slight mistake due to the tyres being worn best their best. Still bringing it home second in this leg.

The Kyosho ZX6 was outstanding and amazing all day. Giving the car another win for the second weekend in a row. Tekin ESC and motor we’re once again perfect as they had been in the 2WD, along with to power from the LRP battery packs.

We would like to take the time to say thank you to everyone at Maritime Raceway for all their time and effort that was put into the meeting. A great event that we will be back for again.

Thank you to everyone for the support and cheering and celebrating during both days.

Thanks to all my sponsors Kyosho, Proline, Tekin, Reds, Sanwa, Bitty Design, Maugraphix, Inside Line Racing, LRP, RDRP, Rudebits, Ghea, Racers Design Products.

And lastly, don’t forgot to come and see us anytime trackside should you require and help or assistance. Or if you just fancy a chat pop over.

See you all soon.

Thanks for taking the time to read our report as always.