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TOPIC: Your First Race |
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| Eric G
May 31, 2005
3:39:54 PM
Entry #: 873602
| Found these articles. I posted them before but they're burried around the forum, So I'll repost.
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| Eric G
May 31, 2005
3:42:33 PM
Entry #: 873606
| *Some of this is for electric, so don't freak out if it doesn't make sense.*
Your First Club Race (Preparation)
The first race is almost always a mix of excitement but also a little bit of fear and confusion for a lot of new racers. R/C racing can definitely be a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, and the best part is aside from enjoying racing your R/C car, it is also a great opportunity to meet a lot of new friends.
The first step before you start thinking about joining a club race at a local track is to first make sure you are fully comfortable and capable of controlling your r/c car. Since there will be faster cars on the track, you want to make sure that you can move out of the racing line slightly to let them by when the come up behind you. Practice in a large empty parking lot with some markers (cones, Coke can filled with sand…etc.) Do some simple figure “8” patterns, try some chicanes, and practice your timing of going full speed into a first turn. Do all these in one direction and then the opposite direction. Once you feel comfortable and confident about controlling your car is when you’re ready for your first race.
You might want to consider checking out a couple of races before actually attending one. Just to get an idea of how the races are ran, and to get a feel of the rhythm of a race day. Take a moment to check out the cars on the track, if possible, get on the driverstand during practice and check out the view from the driverstand as well. Also, feel free to ask fellow racers questions on tire setup, which body to run…etc. Let them know that you’re new and you want to start racing, most of the time racers are a friendly bunch and always will to share and help out new comers. Make sure you pick the right time to ask the question, don’t approach a racer who seems to be very busy working on his car, he could be getting ready for his race that’s coming up soon.
Before you head out to the track, first thing you want to do is to get organized and prepared. There are a lot of good hauler bags on the market (like the Racer’s Edge carrying cases) You want to get at least a carrying case for all your racing gears, and a transmitter case to protect your transmitter. If you can’t afford it, a large Rubbermaid case will do as well (these are available just about anywhere: Wal-Mart, Target…etc.) For your batteries, you definitely want to get a battery carrying case (Available from Fukuyama and Pro-Match) these will prevent the batteries from touching each other during transport and possibly starting a fire.
Aside from your regular r/c gears, you might want to consider adding the following to your pit box as well:
* A large white towel or a pitmat for the pit table. You can work on your car on this towel and any hardware or parts will be easy to see on the white towel
* A light for the pit table in case there is not enough lighting (Ott-Lite and Tensor makes these great flip up light that is easy to carry)
* Roll of paper towels (or blue Shoptowels) for any spills that might happen, or to wipe down tires that is treated with traction compound
* A powerstrip, in case there isn’t enough electrical sockets available
* A small bottle of hand sanitizer or hand cleaner
* If you’re going to a parking lot race, you might want to consider folding tables and chairs, possibly a tent, and an extension cord to get power.
* You might want to also consider bringing some spare parts that are commonly broken at the track (suspension components, drivetrain components, extra sets of tires, and extra body)
Last preparation before you head out to the track is to keep in mind you’re out there to have FUN! I’ve seen a lot of racers take things a bit too seriously at the track, and although competition does involve a bit of seriousness especially as you move up to higher and faster classes, but keep in mind, you’re still out there to have fun. Don’t get caught up in how well you finish, or if somebody hits you on the track. I can assure you 90% of the time that people don’t go out there hacking people on purpose. They too have a lot of money invested in their equipment and I don’t think they would purposely go out there to destroy it. Keep in mind that even racer’s that’s been doing it for a long time will still sometime get out of shape or make a mistake on the track, so try not to take anything that happens on the track personally.
Steve Wang
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| Eric G
May 31, 2005
3:43:39 PM
Entry #: 873611
| Your First Club Race (Arriving at the track)
Now that you’re prepared, and you checked out the local racing scene and decided that you want to go racing, here are a couple more things to keep in mind once you arrived at the track.
When you first arrive, try and find a pit space. If you find a spot, be courteous and ask the racers on each side of you if that spot is taken (sometimes racers are saving spots for their racing buddies). Once you found your spot, setup your pit so everything is organized. First put the white towel on the table and layout your equipment and tools in orderly fashion. Setup your flip light so it provides good lighting for you to work on your car. Be conscious of how much space you take up, some track set limits on how much space you can have especially on a crowded race day.
Once you get setup, start charging your battery packs for practice. Nothing beats track time, the more you can get out there and learn the track, the easier time you will have when qualifying comes around. When you’re ready to go out there, make sure everything is wired correctly (no motor soldered on backwards…etc.) and grab the frequency clip. There should be a frequency board that has all the channels listed. If you see the one you have in your car on the frequency board, it means the channel is available. If you don’t see it on the board, it means a driver is currently using it. DO NOT turn on your car or your radio, you will cause a severe radio glitch to the racer currently on the channel and possibly even cause heavy damage to his or her car. Once you got your frequency clip, try and find a good spot on the driverstand. Try and locate the section that you might have the most difficult time with and get a position on the driverstand to get a good view of that section. Also, try and get some rhythm going while you drive your car around the track. Your first time out, try and just go half throttle around the track for a few laps before you gradually starts going faster.
Since it is your first race, sign up in the novice class. Usually the race director will tell you when you’re ready to “graduate” to the next class up. There is nothing wrong with signing up in novice, everyone starts there, so don’t force yourself into the next class which you’re not ready for just yet. Ask the race director when does the Novice class come up in the racing schedule, usually novice is the first class. So make sure you know when racing starts and give yourself about 35 minutes before hand to start charging your batteries (assuming you’re using 3300mah cells). Also, at the time of sign up, you’ll be providing your personal transponder number (7 digit number on your transponder unit) or you can rent one from the track. Transponder is what count your laps as you go around the track. You’ll also be providing your frequency, and it is also a good idea to have a back up frequency (an extra set of transmitter and receiver crystal) in case you have a frequency conflict with another racer. Before racing starts, the race director will post the heat sheet. This is where you double check the class you sign up for (make sure you’re in the right class) and you have the right frequency as well. Get your car number, which will determine your starting grid position. Put one on the windshield, and one on each side of the car.
Steve Wang
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| Eric G
May 31, 2005
3:44:53 PM
Entry #: 873612
| Your First Club Race (Race Time!)
Try to get everything ready about 5 minutes before your qualifier is up, this will give you sometime to double check things (motor screw, pinion gear screw…etc.) and mentally get ready for the qualifier. As you get on the driverstand, be courteous and make sure you give other racers enough room as well. When you’re ready to set your car down, make sure you turn on the transmitter first and then the car. Most racers will do a couple of laps to check trim and get the tires warmed up. It’s a good idea to do so, but go easy on the car (I’ve seen quite a few incident where racers break their cars on warm up laps). For the first qualifier, you usually will line up according to the assigned number, and the 2nd qualifier is usually the reverse order. Most track do the heads up start, where all cars go at once, just take it easy in the first couple of turns and get used to the car and find your rhythm. If the track does the IFMAR start, then wait for your number to be called. You will be on your individual clock and not racing for position against other drivers on the track. Check with your race director if you have more questions on the type of starts they use.
After your race, you are responsible for turn marshalling. So quickly turn off your equipment (car first, then transmitter) and come out and turn marshal. Turn marshal is basically to pick a corner, and make sure that if any car flips over at your corner, make sure you turn the car back on its wheels. Be sure to check out our article on proper turn marshaling. Once you’re done turn marshalling, you can go back to the pits to work on your car. Be sure to keep your eye on the time and start charging before your next qualifier. Usually a track will run 2 qualifiers and a main event. Your best time out of the 2 qualifier will determine your position in the main. The top 10 fastest guy will be grouped in the A-main, next 10 fast in the B, and so on. Regardless of the start your track used during qualifying, main event will be always heads-up start, and you will be competing for position. If a faster car comes around to lap you (putting you one lap down) give him room and let him by, even if you’re in a battle yourself with another car, still try to find a way to give him room and let him by.
You just finished your first race, and you’re walking off the driverstand. If you had a couple of good clean racing battles on the track, offer the guy you were racing with a handshake, and say “good race” or “that was fun”. It let the other guy know that you really enjoy the clean racing so it promotes the friendly atmosphere at the track, and also gives you a great opportunity to make a new friend at the race track.
As you’re packing up your stuff, try and have the same routine and pack your equipment the same way each time. This way you train yourself to easily recognize when you forget to pack something away. Once you’re all packed up, take a look around your pit area and make sure you clean up your own trash and put away the chair you were using. Lastly, before you leave, go check out the lap times from your main. See if they are consistent, and write down your final finishing time (ex: 26 laps, 5 minute and 10 second…etc.) and what your fastest lap was. Although a single fast lap is not what your focus is, but it gives you an idea what is the fastest your car was capable of. Now, you can do some math and figure by how much of your final finishing time you can improve based on your individual lap times and your fastest lap. Strive for consistency!
Congratulations, you just finish your first race. I hope you had a great first impression and you are looking forward to more. I’ve been racing for 15 years, and I still look forward to every race I attend. Now that you finished your first race, there are a couple things you want to do before the next race that we will go over in future articles on car rebuilds.
Finally, just another reminder to have fun out there, and appreciate the opportunity you have to be at the track and enjoy the wonderful hobby. Many of my good friends in my personal life are also guys that I’ve been racing with for many years, so take this opportunity to make new friends as well.
Steve Wang
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| Eric G
June 1, 2005
6:55:39 PM
Entry #: 876286
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| Eric G
June 9, 2005
12:23:45 PM
Entry #: 889784
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