Comments prior to race:

When I built my XR I took the existing set up from my 201 +6 and added it so I had an idea what changes the 201XR kit would bring us. I found out very quickly that the high roll center shim and my front arms forward were making the car loose and had too long of a wheelbase for the tight track that I was on and after removing the shim (which allowed the car to have more anti-squat) had much better side bite but I gladly traded that for a little less forward bite as the track was a bit slick.

Also when I built my XR I did so with using a shorty pack in mind and I opted for the aluminum posts for the rear shock tower/ camberlink mount. I mounted my ESC at the back of the chassis behind the battery which was exactly like I had done with my previous 201. With this set up and having a longer wheelbase it is my belief that what I felt on the track was having too much forward weight bias as the XR had tons of very linear steering but lacked still the grip I was accustomed to with the +6 buggy as well as wanting to lighten up not only the rear shock fluid but the spring as well.

All in all only having 20 minutes on the XR I do believe we have made a leap better than the standard 201. I'll leave you with my set up.

Front: Shocks, 1.7x2 pistons, 375cst white springs no droop spacers #3 hole on tower, outside on the arm. 0* weighted bulkhead, arms in standard position and hubs in the center. Camber link inside on tower with 1mm shim, inside on hub 1/2* neg camber, 1/2* toe out. Handlebar SS tires.

Rear: Shocks, 1.6x2 pistons, 300cst, Yellow springs no droop spacers, eyelets 2 turns out, #2 hole on tower, middle on the arm. 3.0 blocks with XR shim under the front LRC for the rear, .5* hubs forward. Camber link middle on hub with 3mm shim and inside on bulkhead with 1mm shim. 2* neg camber, 3.5* toe in. Handlebar SS tires.

Race comments:

All mains were run on Sunday for the Golden State Championships and the new Tamiya/ TRF 201XR would come out victorious in the Expert 2wd Mod Buggy class.

A main number one was called out right around 10:15 AM and the sun still had not made its way out from the overcast skies in Camarillo. This meant that the track still had some moisture in the top surface and would be cold. For this reason I chose to go to AKA's Super Soft Vektor tire for the rear of the XR and remained on the Medium compound AKA Handlebar for the front. As we were called out to warm up I noticed that my tire choice would be a good one! We lined up for the start and as the tone sounded I headed straight for the dreaded "Octagon" 8 pack section of whoop-dee-doos and hit them double-double-double double near perfectly (whew!) and pulled out a commanding lead! I would end up going wire to wire to win A1.

A2 would be called up a few hours later and the sun had broke through the over cast and heated everything up. The track temp climbed up to right around 90* so I made the decision to put a set of Soft compound AKA Vektors for the rear and remain on the AKA Handlebar medium compound fronts. We went out for our warm up and the car had pretty good bite but wasn't near what A1 was. The track was dusty and we were on the end of the sweeping schedule. As the tone sounded I made my way through the 8 pack section and could not get forward bite. I struggled a bit on the second lap and had 2nd and 3rd pass me. I quickly recovered and battled back to second a 1/2 lap later. I would push the car a little too hard here and there and stay even with the leader. The 8 pack slowed the leader just slightly and I caught up but ran out of time and ended up second.

A3 was coming up a few more hours later and I mounted up 2 sets of fresh AKAs after giveing the XR a once over. One pair of Super Soft Impacts and one pair of Soft Handlebars. If the track was clean I would run the Handlebars if it was dusty I would run the Impacts. They swept the heat before ours and the surface stayed clean! Handlebars it is. We lined up for the start and the tone sounded. I was way too conservative through the 8 pack and was passed immediately and fell to second. I thought there is no way I'm going to be out driven in the last main and lose this race! I pushed Hard! In some spots too hard and lost some time to the leader. I pushed again and made up ground and then the back markers were coming. I got by a couple and then was held up by a couple then I heard a gasp from the crowd..... the leader bobbled and had to be marshaled. I drove by not knowing who was being marshaled and kept pushing hard. Once I came by the line the announcer exclaimed that I had taken over the lead and had put myself 8 seconds ahead. I drove as smooth and tight lined as possible I made some slight errors in the 8 pack and over the following Triple-Double by flat landing the car too close to the double. But I collected and learned from those mistakes and with only a minute to go I stayed at a pretty good distance from second and when the tone sounded to end the race I was on my own final lap and on my way to the over all win!

PDF File