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Tamiya Asia Cup Finals, Day 1
Date: September 5, 2008.
Venue: 1 Utama shopping centre
Classes: Buggy, Tamiya M-chassis, Stock, GT
Organisers: Tamiya Underground
This isn't so much a race report but a sort of blog entry on my first experience at an international race event.
When I got to the venue, I realised there were more countries involved in the TAC than I previously thought. Lebanon, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Phillipines, South Korea and of course Malaysia were represented.
The first thing to check out was the track. It had these two things that were not so much ramps but maybe giant toy blocks. They were 4 foot high and at looked like they climbed 45 degrees straight up.
Azhar was working as a race official collecting transmitters for impound. When he saw me handing him my MX-3, he said it's the first time he's seen this kind of transmitter in a race impound area. He's seen dozens of big races over the years and apparently, every transmitter that's ever graced the shelves up to that point were top-of-the-range units. Well now you've seen it all, buddy.
Before we even started, we were told that we couldn't have any holes on our body shells except the ones for the body mounting posts. All drivers on my team, and very probably on all the other teams as well, had holes on the air-intake part of our shells. At first, we thought we would all have to buy new shells (and the shop downstairs would not have enough) and paint them up. A quick check with the inspector, and the verdict was that we were allowed only 1 hole on each shell for ESC cooling, and that we were allowed to tape up the other holes we'd made.
Free practice 1 -
I'd bent all the 3X18mm screws that came with the TRF buggy shocks and couldn't find any Tamiya screws
in time for the race, so I went back to the DB-01 kit plastic shocks (900 weight oil and 2 hole piston rear, 1000 oil and
1 hole piston front, DF-03 gold springs all round, stiffest 501X stabiliser bars front and rear). As soon as I hit the track, I realised
there was a lot of drag in the drivetrain. The buggy slowed down tremendously everytime I let go of the throttle. The old 23-turn Tamiya TZ
motor in the buggy burnt up almost as soon as I started driving. Found out that I set the belts too tight. I followed the manual settings
when I rebuilt the diffs last night, which a quick check with my teammates quickly confirmed was the wrong thing to do. Tore the buggy apart
to loosen the belts a notch and the problem was solved.
Free practice 2 -
I sat out this one. You're allowed to run any motor and battery during free practice, but I'd left all my other motors at home.
I didn't want to bother buying or borrowing a motor since we would be receiving our control motor and batteries soon.
Our team leader Azman said some of the buggies with loose slipper clutches were not making it up the steep ramps.
They had to turn around and head back into the main straight to get enough of a run up to try again.
Free practice 3 -
What? Nobody told me there'd be a third free practice. I should start paying more attention to the race schedule.
My buddy Ng Lay Keong who was pitting beside me was masking his buggy wing. I asked him what for, and he said the inspectors
didn't approve of the parts that were not painted (the side walls of the wing). We'd heard stories about some really anal
inspectors in this race series so we were very careful about how our cars were put together, and still we get caught out for
the slightest things.
Control practice 1 -
Everyone's already getting used to the track and the jumps. I, on the other hand, thoroughly tested the durability of the DB-01.
The buggy handled fine, but my driving was all over the place. I was misjudging the jump and landing in just about anywhere within 20
feet of the ramp area at all sorts of angles. Apart from the occasional popped camber link, everything stayed in place. Only
managed 8 laps with the time my buggy was spending off its roof. 2 guys did 14 laps.
Control practice 2 -
My driving didn't seem to improve much and I was either under or overshooting the big ramp. Managed to shave off small chunks of plastic
from the front arms somehow, along with a bit of a shock end. Only went round the track 7 laps. 4 guys are up to 14 laps now.
Control practice 3 -
Replaced what needed replacing on the buggy, and although my driving has not improved much, I'm happy to report that I've not managed to
break the buggy beyond repair yet. Did 10 laps, which isn't great but then the organisers were complaining about my personal transponder messing
with their equipment (PT's were not allowed for this race). I said I wish I owned a PT. I don't think I did any more than 10 laps though, so
I think the transponder must have worked fine. 4 guys are up to 15 laps now! Better luck tomorrow.
The word around the track was that there isn't enough grip for all the on-road classes and the handout tire compound (Team Much More Red) doesn't help at all.
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Leonard Pong says, "It's always nice to sit opposite Sim. You're sure to get your picture taken." Here ya go, pal. Leonard had two cars to choose from but his KO EX-1UR went on the fritz, so he shared a transmitter with Leong. |
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| Pit space was so scarce that our teammates from Penang had to make do with a bench. |
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The most disorganised pit table in Asia. Sadly, it was mine. |
| One of few DF-03's at the race. The twitchy little buggers were very fast in the hands of the Korean and Taiwanese drivers. |
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The chipped suspension rod end. About the only lasting damage after a day of reckless driving. |