Saturday 11-20

[cemeb4dk]

Its hard to keep guys around when ther eis no payoff. At our races we give out ribbons after the last race, so basically everyone sticks around. I think LH should do something like this, it kinda sucks to pay $12 and win and get nothing, its just like organized timed practice. Also in our club we race on a points system, and if you don't marshal or find a sub after you are done racing you lose those last race points if it happens twic ein a day, your entire days points is gone.

This is hard to do when ther eis no organization, there needs to be drivers meeting explaining this before the races. We raced 13 times this year and we had a drivers meeting at everyone. I know there are alot of newbies out there on Sat nights, and thats great more racers equal more fun, but they have no idea on marshalling, race ethics etc.

I know the first Sat, alot of people where asking me ???'s, they had no idea what a marshal was or a transponder etc. There needs to be some structure from LH.

[tonybr_74]

Just my 2 cents. I think it was a good night. (Thanks Gabe for Pitting for Us). One thing to remember is that when there is an open invitation to anyone with a MT to come out and race this will happen. You will get people that are super serious and are out there to win, and have a fit if they are bumped inappropriately. Then you have guys (like us) that are semi serious but are just out to have fun and enjoy the friendships made. Then you have guys that just bought their Revo/ Savage/Tmaxx Etc and want to come out and race. They have no idea as far as Marshalling, Transponders, racing ethics. This is just something we all have to live with.

Comming from a racing club, I have a bit of experience with this, and we penalize bashing during racing. (kinda like a black flag in Nascar). If someone is faster than you let them pass you, if you tie up with tthem all it does is slow you both up. Also try to look ahead in a turn to see whats in front of you. Remember Rubbing is racing as Robert Duvall said. When I accidently hit someone that I feel was not right on my part, I willusually stop and let that person re-pass me.

I totally agree with you DirtDawg's I know I wasn't there to race but a good race driver will pay attention to there own car but also most important is to also look ahead. Looking ahead may be the difference between winning a race or losing one.

[ATA_Thrash]

Wow looks like i missed alot...I was a little pissed at first but ive done the same thing we all have...however i think TEX kinda called mich on it in this thread because hes a very agressive driver and doesnt make a effort to negotiate passes which i think is common with less skilled drivers, but in michs case he is at the level where he should be looking ahead and negotiating clean passes. It really to his benefit to do so. Also I think Dirt Dawg is right about leisure 100% we should post our opinions in there forum.

[Mr. Tune]

I wish I could have made it. I had so much stuff to do, plus the truck is still in pieces...

I made an assumption that the o-rings for the shock shafts were pretty much interchangeable. I had picked up some Team Assoc. ones because the lsh didn't have the hpi ones in stock. Turns out they are a touch bigger in inner diameter and a little more narrower then the hpi ones. So back to ebay for me to order the hpi ones and make the wait to fix the truck longer yet again.

[thenewguy821]

He won the a-main with his revo making 20 second laps. its not really his fault cuz most people were gone by the end of the c and b main.

No.... The guy I was talking about was pitting for ChitownRC's purple truck. there were more than enough people there to ask to pit, or the pit guy ask to sub marshalling (Thrash and I were there, as well as quite a few other spectators)... The problem wasn't so much that he was marshalling and pitting, it's that when It was time to fuel the truck, he shoud have pulled it off the track, in the marshall area he was in, then fueled. What he did, was step out onto the track, blocking half the turn before the crossover, and fueled him in the middle of the track. It could have been a danger to him, and an obstruction to other drivers.

[Michowski]

well whats done is done. i think we should just move on and learn from this. I sure have

[Smokey]

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have a "sticky" or even a link with an explenation of the things DirtDawg was talking about (Marshaling howto, racing howto in general, racing courtesy and so on) so guys like me who have never raced RC cars can at least get an idea of what is and is not acceptable. Just my perspective as a noobie...

[rocco79]

Leisure hours track isnt set up for 1/8th and 1/10 scale monster trucks. Its set up for electric stadiums. So you have to expect that our with overpowered mt's and truggys there will be accidents on a tight, traction limited track like LH. I think Dirtdawg made some really good points in his posts. I think everyone just needs more experince (myself included!) down there and i think that alot of the problems would disapper.

I too think that more needs to be said by whoever is running the track that night. I think that a drivers meeting would have cleared up alot of the marshalling problems. It would of helped by also letting some of the new guys that you cant use reverse during a race, i saw that a few times sat.

For $12 bucks a class i think that LH could spring for a ribbon or somthing just so you had somthin too show you won. All just my opinion.......

[Tex]

traction limited track......WHAT?

Well if all of us from this board step it up a notch (which would consist of about half the people there) I bet everyone else would follow suit. They would see us and how we do things and learn from it.

I still have tons of learning to do myself..... I just got started really.

[rocco79]

Tex.... Buddy, you cant possibly say there was traction there on saturday night. I agree that normaly that track is like velcro but it was sooooooooooo dry on sat, having off road tires was like having ice skates on your truck. I think it was Michowski that was running street tires and he was hooking up way better that guys with bow ties, zombies or those lil panther tires that all the truggies were running. Before my truggy broke in the main i couldnt even go more than half throttle down the straight without doing a 360. ( i know i sucked driving it but im used to the savage) The zombies were hookin like crazy on weds. when the track was wet and tacky. Thats what i set my trucks up for but conditions were totally changed after those few days that the track dryed out and from all the practice laps and open racing.


I agree with trying to step it up... Next time ill have a better suspention set up and hopefully that will help me not look so bad.

[cemeb4dk]

I know i am relatively new here, but if I can second smokey's suggestion on a racers forum possibly to be added.

This would be a place, where race talk can happen, share race results, set ups for diferent tracks and etc. Then there can be an information thread regarding racing ie transponders, marshalling etc. I would be willing to help set any of this up

Once again just a suggestion, I don't want to offend or step on anyones toes just a thought.

[thenewguy821]

If it helps to show some organization, I say we break out the orange shirts for Saturday's at the track. I will have mine clean and ready to go this weekend....

Also, I like the idea of a "Track Rules" sticky... I know that most of us know them, but it never hurts to have the info available...

[cemeb4dk]

I really think the track needs to have drivers meeting, every race I have been to has had them. There are just alot of guys that are not in the know. It is not there fault we where all there at one time. We need to step up and talk to Bernie and help out our fellow RC'ers this way we all can enjoy it.

[thenewguy821]

They called for a drivers meeting to go over the rules, but noone stepped up, so he assumed that everyone understood the rules...

[cemeb4dk]

no he asked if anyone wanted to have a drivers meeting (meaning someone to get up and speak and go over the rules) Most new people will not step up they will just go with the flow.

By assuming, this leads to the probs that where there.

[thenewguy821]

Agreed... Here's just a quick summary that I started. I know I probably missed a few points, but it's a start.... Feel free to add any other ideas

A few tips to make race day more enjoyable.

1. Know your Frequency and transponder number in advance. Occasionally, your frequency may change before a race, because of conflicts. Always check to see if you need to change channels before race time, and be sure to have your frequency clip.

2. Be prepared to Marshall. It’s not the best job at the track, but it has to be done. If you wreck and are out for the night, stick around for the next race, and Marshall. It’s only 5 more minutes.


3. On the Drivers stand, DO NOT LEAN OVER THE RAIL! There are other racers up there trying to see their cars too.

4. When pitting, pull the car/truck from the track. Blocking pit row can cause other people to lose their momentum. You wouldn’t want it to happen to you. In the event that your pit man is also marshalling, make sure he knows to pull your vehicle from the track to refuel, for his safety, and respect for other drivers.


5. Let the faster vehicle pass. Trying to block them from passing is not only rude, but usually results in both of you getting tied up, and crashing.

6. Remember, we are all here to have fun. Accidents do happen, hopefully they aren’t too serious.

[cemeb4dk]

Sounds good! Its a start I would add a few things as i am sure others will.

Marshalling- Each racer is required to marshal after their race. Once you have completed your race. Remove your vehicle from the track, shut it and its radio off. Return your transponder, and report to a marshalling corner. There is only 3 minutes between each race and people will be out there right away warming up their vehicles and require marshalling.

Duties of a Marshal- To watch their particular area, do not watch the race going on at the other side of the track, this is for your safety. Correct the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. Let other vehicle pass by before correcting vehicle. Do not flip a vehicle over if driver is reving engine, Put your arms up in the air this signals to the driver to stop reving it. This again is for your safety.


Transponders (personal or tracks)

A transponder is the timing device that tracks your lap time and counts your number of laps raced. This needs to me mounted flat and as low as possible so that it will read when you cross the loop.

IFMAR Starts

This is how the qualifiers are ran. You are racing the clock, not the other drivers. Once you get your transponder mounting and vehicle on the track it is important that you cross the loop to register your vehicle (do this before race starts) Once the tone goes off, you are not on the clock, you are on the clock once you cross the loop (start finish line) after this then you have 5 minutes of racing. This is why on the result sheet you will see your time over 5 minutes. One thing to note, Once the first car crosses the loop you have until that car completes one lap to start your time. If he crosses it before you do your time starts after he completes his first lap.

TQ

Top qualifier yjis is the fastest lap time. This is how the mains are seperated by the top drivers in the A main so so forth down.

[Tex]

When marshalling, there are certain places you can grab vehicals to aid safety.

Grab Monster trucks by their front or rear bumper
(or look at the RC's you are marshaling and pick out a solid, safe spot to grab it, BEFORE you actually have to marshal it.)

Grab 1/8 buggies by the rear wing.

Never grab any Rc by the sides as it could burn you severly.

I grab tires (that's bad) and if I clearly see the exhaust is on the opposite side I'll flip RC's over from the side too. Be carefull though, and start off with grabbing the bumpers/wings first so you can get used to marshalling.

I grabbed an a-arm on a buggy once and the guy blipped the throttle. I had grabbed it where my fingers were touching the diff output cups. I might as well of stuffed my finger in a blender for a second. Cut me a little and mainly just bruised and battered my finger.

Always try to point the Rc forward when placing it back on the track (I even had a few probs with this last time) And if you feel your marshalling skills are tight you can even give the RC a little "toss" forward to give the racer momentum. keep the "toss" to a minimum until you get real comfortable with it.

[thenewguy821]

I'll copy and paste these into a new thread.... It'll be easier to follow...