2014 Adelaide Grand Prix

[ForestRaceway]

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Just a reminder that the 19th Annual Adelaide Grand Prix will be run on the 31st Oct to the 2nd Nov, at Adelaide Model Raceway.

Should be a great event this year as numbers should be strong with many people coming over from Victoria.

No other states represented this year however.

 

This year we've reduce the number of classes slightly, in order to get that balance between competitive racing and just enjoying the scene/socialising/trying to get one's car up to speed. Last year it was just a little too busy at times.

 

Here is this year's program:

30/10 7pm - Practice

31/10 5pm - Practice

- Pan-Americana

- 55 to 60 Vintage Stockers

- 61 to 66 Vintage Stockers

1/11 1pm - Swapmeet

- Practice

- Aus Touring Cars (6 brackets) + Mini (2 brackets)

- Tamiya Sports Cars

- Dinner Break

- Cox Sports Cars

- Vintage Can-am

2/11 10am - Practice

- FX/FJ

- Tasman Cup 60's F1

- Adelaide GP 50's F1

- Pizza/Beer

 

Message me if you want the official program/class rules. Spectators welcome. It is a special event for anyone into 1/24th scale and vintage slot cars.

[jphanna]

those cars look sensational. with those skinny (authentic) rear tyres, do you would have to watch the throttle application very carefully on those big corners? you would just flick the guys off either side of you, without even trying!

[ForestRaceway]

Hi John,

 

Yep they are quite a challenge. Definitely have to be careful passing other cars. I do find there is a lot of satisfaction in driving them fast, as long as you manage to keep out of trouble. Interestingly they are quite quick cars. Lap times are similar to the big stockers. However with a big stocker, you can drive them very aggressively. With the 50's GP cars, throttle control is very important, especially given they have plafit cheetahs in them. They kind of dance on the track when hooked up.

 

Wade

[jphanna]

Wade??

 

the same Wade that was teammate in an enduro with me several months ago at Smedley?

 

would love to see this track soon. see what can do.

[ForestRaceway]

Yep that's me. I've been going to AMR for nearly 12 years. On the one hand it's a fairly straight forward track but there are nuances and there's enough variation across the lanes to make it interesting. Being a little shorter than other 8 lane tracks, it's a great track for racing.

[ForestRaceway]

1 week to go. Been building a few new cars for this year but with very little tuning time available most probably won't be as quick as the regular stable.

 

Small update - there'll be a band playing on the Saturday just after the swapmeet, so this may delay Saturday's first race a little bit.

 

Wade

[jphanna]

Wade, got practice for 8 hour race on that Friday, and the actual race on sat night, so I if I am not too tired (or beat up by someone), I will come to this on sunday.

 

I will do my best

[ForestRaceway]

Yep, 2 big race events in Adelaide on the same weekend. Vintage and modern are a little mutually exclusive but not completely - it would be nice to check out the other race one day. Our race is always held on the first weekend in November. Looks like the other race is now having that tradition as well.

I'll understand if you don't make it - I cash in the year's brownie points for the grand prix weekend. Otherwise I'll see you on Sunday with my race face on (well at least for the big race).

 

Wade

[ForestRaceway]

Friday night racing has finished. Results and photos here:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/108763121651542889768/AdelaideGrandPrix2014

 

Unfortunately we had a power cut just before starting the 2nd race (Charlie saw the street transformer blow up) so that ended the night early. We hope to get the remaining stocker races done this morning (starting at 11am), possibly with a generator.

 

Last night we raced the Pan-Americanas. They are a great class to start the racing, being a lot slower than the other cars. Kym took the win, pipping me by less than 1/2 a lap. Very close racing down the field.

 

Wade

[ForestRaceway]

Finally got round to writing a short race report. Note it is from my own perspective as it is difficult to take notice of all of what happens when participating.

 

Racing started with the Pan-Americana cars. It is agreed that it is best to start the weekend with the slowest cars and this year it worked well. Very clean and tight racing. My last year's winner did not dominate and it was very close between it and Kym's car, with Kym taking the win by only 1 lap in the end. The remaining spot was fought over from Jim, Michael and Lew, all on the same lap.

Beyond those cars, there were 6 cars on the same lap, so very close racing.

We just started to get ready for the next race when the transformer blew on the street, killing the power and the rest of the racing for the night.

 

Pan-Americana

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Kym 152 6.008 6.269 4.347 2

2 Wade 151 6.065 6.299 3.86 0

3 Jim 148 6.084 6.404 5.267 1

4 Michael 148 6.031 6.425 6.527 5

5 Lew 148 6.178 6.419 3.896 0

6 Kevin 146 6.053 6.534 7.94 3

7 BillD 146 6.191 6.474 4.578 0

8 Rob 146 6.186 6.524 5.471 1

9 JohnC 146 6.139 6.534 6.43 1

10 Charlie 146 6.197 6.535 5.449 2

11 Alby 146 6.046 6.547 7.652 4

12 Ged 145 6.096 6.548 7.419 3

13 BillH 143 6.236 6.703 7.488 3

14 Steve 121 6.268 6.942 10.76 4

 

It was decided to start early on the Saturday (around 11am) in order to squeeze in the missing races. 55 to 60 stockers were up. Last year my car was a rocket and easily took the win. Kym admitted his car was off the pace. So I decided to take it somewhat easily but still fast. Unfortunately my car got tagged from 2 lanes away on the final corner, resulting in a missed lap due to riding on a different lane (something we don't correct at the end of the race). Jim drove very well to just take the win. Ged was not too far behind, taking out third. Lesson learnt, next year I'll be pushing a lot harder than I did.

 

55 to 60 stockers

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Jim 242 5.499 5.916 7.588 6

2 Wade 241 5.532 5.948 7.517 3

3 Ged 238 5.626 5.999 6.63 4

4 Alby 233 5.354 6.145 14.771 6

5 Kevin 230 5.576 6.193 11.064 4

6 Rob 230 5.88 6.222 7.176 6

7 Lew 229 5.817 6.248 7.403 2

8 John 227 5.817 6.291 8.152 2

9 Kym 227 5.694 6.311 10.839 2

10 Harry 222 5.859 6.403 9.286 11

11 Michael 216 5.814 6.657 14.506 15

12 BillD 215 6.203 6.618 6.693 2

13 Charlie 215 5.698 6.741 18.304 9

14 BillH 204 5.999 6.97 16.18 12

15 Steve 168 5.828 6.436 10.432 7

 

We decided to run the swapmeet as advertised. The whole track was covered with cars and parts, primarily thanks to Steve, although Alan had plenty to sell as well.

 

Given I took it too easy on the previous stocker race I pushed very hard with the 61 to 66 stockers. This was fortunate as both Kym and Rob were very quick with their cars. Rob and myself with AMT chassis, Kym with a Tamiya. Kym had trouble with lane 8 and then dropped back but Rob was right up there. In the end, I took the win with Rob 2nd and Kym 3rd.

 

61 to 66 stockers

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Wade 253 5.39 5.653 4.873 0

2 Rob 250 5.381 5.717 6.235 3

3 Kym 244 5.469 5.857 7.096 3

4 Kevin 239 5.597 5.981 6.857 3

5 Lew 238 5.524 6.007 8.742 2

6 Steve 236 5.629 6.041 7.311 3

7 Jim 235 5.625 6.086 8.203 5

8 Ged 232 5.82 6.151 5.69 1

9 John 227 5.814 6.248 7.473 0

10 Harry 223 5.996 6.416 6.998 1

11 Charlie 219 5.854 6.52 11.385 10

12 BillD 159 5.879 6.713 14.193 8

 

The band didn't really happen (we weren't too interested given we were squeezing in extra races), so it was onto more racing soon after with the Aus touring cars. This year Mini's were combined into the same race, a minimum of 2 brackets with the Mini. I decided to go with the slow lanes 1 and 8 as my mini wasn't as quick as the others. Unfortunately the car didn't like lane 8 so it wasn't a good move. Kym on the other hand had a very quick mini and picked the fast lanes with it, making up time on the slow lanes with his main car.

 

Unfortunately my Porsche was getting progressively slower as the race went on. In the end I was full throttle round the donut. I should have checked but it was the pinion hitting the rear tyre - damn those Plafit plastic pinions (I now score the motor shaft and use superglue as well so they hold on better).

I didn't think I was in it but Kym had a bad last bracket on lane 7 which made the result very close with Kym taking the win, I was 1 lap down and Lew took 3rd, another 5 laps down.

 

Australian Touring Cars

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Kym 248 5.309 5.773 8.739 3

2 Wade 247 5.402 5.801 7.385 2

3 Lew 242 5.397 5.902 9.364 2

4 Jim 241 5.298 5.925 11.837 8

5 Michael 241 5.494 5.915 7.668 7

6 Rob 237 5.566 6.001 7.824 6

7 Alby 234 5.606 6.133 9.399 8

8 Steve 232 5.76 6.147 6.722 3

9 Kevin 231 5.435 6.253 15.059 6

10 Liam 229 5.504 6.206 12.755 10

11 JohnS 226 5.768 6.331 9.765 3

12 JohnC 226 5.801 6.323 8.997 6

13 Charlie 223 5.641 6.425 13.89 15

14 Ged 223 5.643 6.393 13.298 8

15 BillH 221 5.79 6.552 13.16 10

16 Alan 218 5.876 6.559 11.627 9

 

We decided to run the Cox cars before the Tamiyas, as Alan had to leave early. I decided to go with my quicker in practise Lotus 40 (after giving a long overdue cleanout). Problem was, with the slight change in track surface (made smoother), the tyres started to ball up and I couldn't get the power down. I eventually changed cars and my Cheetah was definitely a much better car but it was too late, I was definitely out of it. Kym, who has a knack for building fast Cox cars (well, all of the sports cars actually) easily took the win. The race for 2nd was much tighter with Rob just pipping Kevin and Lew.

 

Cox Sports Cars

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Kym 253 5.267 5.647 7.207 3

2 Rob 246 5.315 5.823 9.551 7

3 Kevin 245 5.316 5.848 10.002 3

4 Lew 245 5.438 5.847 7.513 3

5 Alby 244 5.311 5.831 9.798 8

6 Wade 244 5.389 5.888 9.263 5

7 BillD 242 5.659 5.906 4.364 1

8 Michael 240 5.572 5.962 7.006 5

9 JohnC 239 5.575 5.978 7.225 2

10 BillH 235 5.373 6.001 11.697 11

11 Alan 221 5.758 6.471 12.39 11

12 Charlie 217 5.438 6.389 17.486 19

13 Ged 214 5.624 6.684 18.847 15

14 Steve 211 5.546 7.016 26.507 8

15 JohnS 208 5.659 6.9 21.929 22

16 Jim 137 5.487 6.904 25.83 14

 

Onto the Tamiyas and it was getting late so we decided to shorten the race to 2 minute brackets. Kym withdrew citing a bad back but this didn't mean it was going to be an easy race. The Victorian's brought over some very quick Tamiyas and it was Steve and Rob who were on the pace. Rob's effort was all the more remarkable given he was running an inline Tamiya (an inline has never won the Tamiya race). In the end, my freshly built Red Lotus (sporting a NOS 26D with arcos) took the win but only by 2 laps. Second to fourth were all on the same lap with the order being Steve, Rob and Jim.

 

Tamiya Sports Cars

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Wade 168 5.319 5.665 6.513 1

2 Steve 166 5.399 5.713 5.808 0

3 Rob 166 5.374 5.719 6.413 2

4 Jim 166 5.424 5.733 5.699 0

5 Lew 165 5.378 5.76 7.099 2

6 BillD 164 5.471 5.763 5.343 0

7 Michael 158 5.543 6.039 8.949 7

8 Kevin 153 5.62 6.216 10.601 4

9 Ged 152 5.722 6.258 9.368 8

10 Charlie 138 5.616 6.919 23.195 12

11 JohnS 133 5.621 6.277 11.663 3

 

At this stage it was 11 something and we were all exhaustive, so it was decided

to race the Vintage can-ams in the morning (Sunday). This year I wanted to build a faster can-am - something that has elluded me. However it just didn't happen as I started building way too late. I built one Russkit but it wasn't any better than my current one. Note the can-ams (Russkit and others) need to have vintage motors so it takes some effort to get a quick one. Since we were squeezing another race in on the day, the brackets were reduced to 2 mins. Onto the race and as expected Kym just blew everyone away as Russkits have always been a favourite of his. The fight for 2nd was extremely close though with Lew just pipping Kevin.

 

Vintage Can-Am

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Kym 175 5.081 5.428 6.829 1

2 Lew 169 5.293 5.616 6.102 3

3 Kevin 169 5.261 5.634 7.090 2

4 Alby 165 5.293 5.764 8.902 3

5 Rob 165 5.197 5.756 10.748 5

6 Wade 164 5.479 5.843 6.664 4

7 Michael 163 5.438 5.827 7.149 6

8 Ged 161 5.286 5.923 12.052 6

9 Jim 157 5.725 6.045 5.582 1

10 Steve 153 5.415 6.242 15.269 8

11 JohnC 144 5.411 6.231 15.155 2

12 Charlie 137 5.623 6.837 21.583 12

 

The FJs were next and we decided to keep the brackets to 2 minutes. I had tweaked my car in the lead up. New tyres meant it was difficult to keep within the 103 gram limit but it got there in the end by removing weight where ever I could. In the end, it was performing better than I expected but I thought it still wasn't quick enough to take on Kym's rocket. The race ended up being a very close one, surprisingly Kym winning only by 1 lap ahead of myself and Steve. Next year I'll build a PCB chassis car I think.

 

FJ/FX Challenge

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Kym 160 5.509 5.958 8.143 2

2 Wade 159 5.558 5.993 7.826 4

3 Steve 159 5.587 5.987 7.164 1

4 Ged 157 5.504 6.068 10.246 6

5 BillH 155 5.704 6.1 6.945 2

6 Rob 153 5.719 6.2 8.409 4

7 Lew 150 5.886 6.291 6.88 1

8 Jim 149 5.792 6.417 10.789 4

9 JohnC 148 5.827 6.432 10.381 6

10 Kevin 141 5.935 6.738 13.524 7

11 GH 139 5.791 6.809 17.571 11

12 Charlie 134 6.034 6.935 14.934 7

13 Alby 111 5.652 6.204 9.767 6

14 Michael 74 5.722 7.371 28.819 7

 

The 60's GP race was a surprising one. I had built a couple new cars and found one to be a good handler, albeit a little down on power. Kym had a car that had a very fast motor in it and which pulled very quick lap times in practise. What was surprising was that on the day Lew blew us all away with a Ferrari using a simple dynamic chassis and 26D. Alby was also quick but had one too many offs and just missed out on the podium.

 

Tasman Cup (60's GP)

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Lew 256 5.113 5.587 9.263 2

2 Wade 253 5.216 5.669 8.679 3

3 Kym 247 5.354 5.776 7.884 2

4 Alby 247 5.261 5.786 9.972 7

5 Charlie 244 5.33 5.855 9.843 8

6 Steve 241 5.445 5.805 6.613 3

7 JohnC 238 5.475 6.05 10.505 4

8 Michael 237 5.567 6.039 8.481 9

9 Ged 232 5.367 6.16 14.766 11

10 Rob 232 5.416 6.141 13.392 13

11 Bert 228 5.722 6.272 9.613 7

12 Jim 221 5.407 6.973 28.962 10

13 Kevin 219 5.767 6.535 13.309 7

 

Onto the Adelaide Grand Prix and since I'm hoping a race report will be published in a magazine, I'm only going to provide the results of the heat and final. Sorry.

 

Adelaide Grand Prix Heat (50's GP)

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Kevin 81 5.437 5.864 7.858 1

2 Lew 80 5.455 5.884 7.864 0

3 Wade 79 5.362 5.902 10.075 3

4 Alby 78 5.436 6.054 11.365 2

5 Kym 78 5.488 6.019 9.675 4

6 Jim 77 5.725 6.098 6.507 0

7 Steve 75 5.731 6.309 10.089 1

8 Rob 74 5.823 6.364 9.282 2

9 BillD 73 5.786 6.433 11.189 3

10 JohnC 72 5.711 6.547 14.635 4

11 Ged 67 5.576 7.033 26.127 4

12 Bert 67 6.215 6.971 12.162 3

13 Charlie 65 5.869 7.272 23.905 4

14 Michael 21 5.799 7.352 26.778 7

 

Adelaide Grand Prix Final (50's GP)

POS RACER LAPS FASTEST AVE EFFICIENCY OFFS

1 Wade 248 5.309 5.774 8.765 6

2 Kym 246 5.262 5.787 9.981 10

3 Alby 241 5.248 5.967 13.703 10

4 Kevin 240 5.364 5.982 11.525 10

5 Lew 239 5.586 5.966 6.807 2

6 Jim 224 5.504 6.355 15.467 12

7 Rob 223 5.772 6.398 10.838 10

8 Steve 219 5.78 6.598 14.16 8

 

So that was it. A number of people of excited about next year's race (the 20th event), so the rules will be written up soon so people can start building...

 

Wade