PDA Dirt Challenge Report

March 1, 2010 · Posted in Off Road, Racing · by simon

I’ve already written this report twice, the first time on Saturday night I got writer’s block. Then on Sunday I wrote it and managed to lose it in the tinterweb somewhere…

Day 1 – 2wd (& SC)

An early start, 5am ish for me, pick up the boys on the way and get the campenwagen to Bicester. Traffic was light, and cheese power helped us reach Mach 8.8.

Rob revealed his breakfast choice as a gourmet romantic picnic. His girlfriend Steph had bought fancy cheeses, tiny fish, olives, meats, crackers and other delights, so Rob stole them and brought them racing, nice (but smelly)! It’s okay, they’ve gone on holiday today (Monday) so she hopefully wont read this until they get back.

PDA was full and buzzing at 7:30, we squeezed in opposite some Welsh chaps and went to order bacon.

9 heats were booked in, 2 short course trucks and 7 2wd heats. I was in the first 2wd heat: this is because I’m shit at off-road.

The track was cool as always, nice dirt, a big jump over the table top and the double double under the rostrum.

Practice was in heats, and my car was slow, and hard to drive. I fiddled with it a bit and run the first round and decided to pull the nice and safe 10.5 out and put in an 8.5

The next run I discovered my speedo wasn’t set up correctly (that Novak always seems to forget it’s settings…) and reset it.

Third round was a decent run, and I was going okay in the last run until a ball joint popped off.

So I ended up 40th out of 42. That’s not very good at all is it!

The rest of the ‘Lazy tem faired better, Staples was up in 9th (!), Townsend in the 20s, Haskell and Howett in the 30s.

Finals were unusual for electric, running a double-sided Christmas tree bump-up format. So I won my first find (16ths), bumped up and ended up 4th, so that wasn’t too bad in the end really.

Up at the top the boys were flying, Lee Martin lapped pretty much everyone in the A main with his Atomic Carbon Losi XXX-CR2 Red Speed Passion Yadda Yadda machine. It was dialed, great racing.

We trucked up to the Travelodge, and I got very bored and grumpy whilst Mark built a Tamiya and tested it in the corridor. Finally we were allowed to go for dinner, and the Fox & Hounds provided amazing pies, and those Welsh boys provided far too much hilarity! Great crack!

All tucked up in bed before midnight, ready for sleepies for Sunday’s 4wd.

And what do you mean no-one wears sleeping hats anymore?

Day 2 – 4wd

I woke up an hour too early, so got up and showered and dressed, then realised I was knackered so got back into bed. Another couple of hours whilst Mark faffed around and Bob watched children’s telly then to the track.

Tamiya was out in force, with about a dozen 511s, all looking nice and shiny. And practice showed them all performing well.

I was trying my shocks at the rear-rear, and it didn’t really cut it, so I put it back to the conventional position and the car was ace.

I couldn’t drive it very well, I could do a decent single lap (quicker than Mark or Bob, thankyouverymuch), I just need to figure out how to do it for 5 minutes… Lots of mistakes…

Round 3 I thought my diff was knackered, and I popped in a fresh one and the final round was nice.

All three of us ended up at the top of the same 8th final with Nick Wilson joining us. The first handful of laps I was flying, catching Nick nicely and then I put it into the rostrum with a nice crack of plasticky parts… So my bump up chances were shot.

Bob bumped up and his dugga-dugga, I mean Cat, was looking great. All credit to Nick though, he bumped up, and I think he might even have bumped up again?

Up at the top the usual suspects were getting it done, the main started with Lee Martin dominating with his 511, and the other 511s of Newton and Griffiths looking good.

Kifo Newton did very well in qualifying, his car totally kit settings apart from slightly harder rear springs and some front toe out. He even ran Tamiya shock oil, whatever that is!

Lee Martin somehow managed to lose a rear driveshaft, popping out of the diff drive cup so it was left to Truman to take the win.

Brilliant weekend, the PDA guys and girls doing an excellent job, and everyone providing lots of entertainment.

[ Just like Jimmy says: photos and videos to follow. ]

I’ve already written this report twice, the first time on Saturday night I got writer’s block. Then on Sunday I wrote it and managed to lose it in the tinterweb somewhere…