USA: TC 1/10 Indoor Champs
This past weekend was the US Indoor Championships it is one of the largest, best supported and longest continuously radio control racing events in North America. It was the 33rd running of this event and my first time attending.
The event was held in a Holiday Inn which was amazing in looks and great for an abundance of spectators. The layout was quite large and flowing which made for great competitive racing. We had some of RC’s best including Paul Ciccarello, Andrew Hardman, Kevin Hebert, Paul Lemieux, and Josh Cyrul just to name a few at the event.
I started the weekend out with my S411 feeling a bit loose. It was close to pace but felt as though it was a bit off. My S411 was setup to for high traction and the track was very far from being high grip. I thought that eventually the traction would come up so I made minor adjustments to my setup to compensate. First thing I did was was remove 1mm of shim from the front inner camber link to get the car to hold mid-corner a bit better. I also lowered my rear droop .8 mm to help the rear end stay planted by adding a little more roll from the rear end. I also wanted more corner entry so I tried putting in a gear diff in the front with diff lock inside.
I used my first qualifier to try these settings due to limited practice that was available. I found that the gear diff caused a bit to much exit steering causing the rear end to come around. The grip level was still low. I then decided to go back to my previous setup and change droop all around on the car. On hudy droop blocks I went to 5.4mm up front and 5mm in the rear I finally got the car just how I liked it. It was smooth and very easy to drive. In my second qualifier I improved my pace but traffic was a problem and caused me to fall off pace. In my third qualifier I was ready to reset TQ with the car feeling very neutral and easy to drive but in my second to last lap I encountered a back marker that decided to race me down the straight hitting me and causing me to fall of pace by quite a bit. My third qualifier placed me 9th into the A-main. With my fourth and final qualifier I wanted to do great and felt as thought my tire prep was lacking. Twenty minutes before my race I then begin to allow wd-40 to sit on the tires for 10 minutes to soften the rubber and gain traction. After 10 minutes I cleaned the tires off and then would allow them to air dry for about 4 minutes. I would then apply my traction compound to sit until my race started. So in my fourth qualifier I found my car to have a much better feel, it felt as though it was in the carpet and not sitting on top of the carpet. With just changing my tire prep and less traffic I bettered my previous pace by 13 seconds.
Unfortunately the top drivers bettered there pace as well so I didn’t take TQ but it placed me 4th place into the A-main. Finally happy with my hard work I am ready to face my competitors and sure my car is capable of taking first its just up to the driver at this point. The start of the A-main was wonderful with everyone running very clean and cautious within the first 5 laps I moved from fourth to second the car felt amazing. I was slowly closing the gap on first but wasn’t sure I would catch him. On my 16th lap half way through the race I went to pass lapped traffic and was taken out permanently for the remainder of the race. I was forced to finish in 9th place.
Even with my results I took a lot away from the race weekend I learned that the Serpent S411 is a strong force in on-road racing. The car was consistent, fast, easy to drive, and durable. I have definitely gotten more comfortable with the car and feel I have landed on a setup that will be great on any track with minor adjustments.
My Serpent Team mate John Lee ran the exact setup and found success making it 3rd into the B-main and finishing 3rd. He had to settle for the B-main due to not being able to get a clean qualifier.
I would like to thank Paul Ciccarello as well as Team Serpent America and Smc-Racing. I would also like to thank my mentor James Reilly, Serpent Team mate John Lee and my Detroit Racing Family. Would also like to thank Titan racing.
From Alston Kelso indoor champs.
