Race: 2018 Northern California Belt Championships
Track: Nor-Cal Hobbies

July 8th: For the 10th consecutive year Nor-Cal Hobbies has been home of the Northern California Belt Championships. Having the privilege of calling Nor-Cal Hobbies my home track, I’ve seen first hand all the hard work and dedication Eric Vasutin and crew puts into this facility. As expected, Nor-Cal Hobbies provided a fresh prepared technical track layout for drivers all over Northern California to race on. For this event, I ran the Yokomo US YZ2-DTM2 in modified and the YZ4-SF in Expert Stock.

In preparation for JConcepts Inc Indoor Nationals round three, I focused on running modified for both cars. With minimal amount of entries in modified 4wd buggy, I made a last minute call to run stock. With my car being setup for modified, It did not feel like I had the fine tuned car needed to compete with the top runners efficiently. Despite showing good pace. Half way through the run. I bowed out of the main. Congrats to Julian Jimenez RC (1st), Ryan Brignani (2nd), and Patrick Zhao (3rd) on their podium finishes.

Coming into the event. I felt very comfortable with my 2wd buggy. I took the TQ in round one and round two. Making a small change for the main, I knew I had the best car and was prepared to close the day with the overall win. The changes provided the results that I was looking for and I was able to drive at a comfortable pace. With this setup, the car was very easy to drive, rotated effortlessly in the corners, squared up on exit, and had plenty of forward bite.

As for equipment. When running modified, I opt to use Hobbywing North America Xerun V10 G3 motors. In combination with the Hobbywing Xerun XR10 Pro esc and Wifi express module, I have the ability to tune the throttle input to any desired power setting with ease. The WiFi express module and iOS application provides an intuitive tool for programing the esc. Plus the software and algorithms used for program settings is the best that I’ve used.

With hotter temperatures, Nor-Cal goes from normally being a slick tire track to a medium tread tire track. JConcepts Gold Dirt Webs have been the winners choice for multiple classes. When preparing the tires, I hole punch a 3-4mm hole on the center of the ribs of the inserts (rear only). And clean them with simple green before mounting. Using a drill and scotch pad, I take the edge off the tread and then apply liquid wrench (yellow penetration). The tires are ready to rip.

Closing the event out, I took home the win in 2wd modified buggy. Thank you to all of the Nor-Cal Hobbies crew for everything that you do for our local racing scene. For anyone that has not visited this facility, I highly recommend you do so asap. And make sure to hit up the Belt Championship event next year. Much like the track, the awards do not disappoint.

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