SoCal U4RC Summer Series 2018 – Round 6 – Apple Valley Raceway

Tony Phalen June 13, 2018 New RC Cars and Parts 93 Views

The final round, Round 6, of the SoCal U4RC 2018 Summer Series was held at Apple Valley Raceway in Apple Valley, California. In addition to the temps being up near the mid 90s, the race was also shaping up to be a pretty intense battle with multiple classes still up for grabs!!

Before heading out to Round 6, I tallied up the points to see where I needed to finish to take the overall win. Even though the Apple Valley track is certainly tricky, I just needed to finish in 2.2 Unlimited and finish 1 place behind my extremely competitive rival, Jesse Villa, to walk home with the overall. No pressure…

Axial RR10 Bomber

The RR10 Bomber has been getting better and better with each outing and, even though my setup seems odd, the rig is working well for me. I’m still not 100% comfortable behind the wheel with it, so there is still some tuning that needs to be done. Since it felt really good during Round 5, I decided not to make any changes were prior to this race. I knew if I just kept it on it’s feet I would have a good chance of winning. Even though I was feeling competitive against Jesse, alot of what Rock Racing is about is sheer luck! I was hoping my luck would pull me through the day today!

The points between Jesse and I were close; at the moment, I had a 1 point lead, meaning I would have to finish either in front of him or 1 place behind him. 1 place behind him would tie us on points, using the throwout as the decider. My throwout was 97 points, his was a 0 (he missed one of the series races). This would mean I would take the overall.

2.2 Solid Axle – Qualifying
Q1 was good – a few to many mistakes, though, and Jesse ended up taking the TQ. This wasn’t good for my chances – you see, TQ gets an additional 1 point for the day, something I forgot to factor in! So, if Jesse takes the TQ, I would have to beat him straight up to take the overall series win.

Q2 was actually much better. I slowed my pace down a bit and tried to make a clean run with no mistakes. It actually worked, and allowed me to put in a 7-lap run, securing TQ for the Main event. That 1 extra point meant I could actually finish 1 OR 2 spots behind Jesse to tie in points. That certainly took a little pressure off for the Main.

2.2 Solid Axle Main Event
I got a nice, quick start to the first rock section, only to flip right in the middle. I was able to recover, but crashed again, then again – 3 times on lap one (always seems to work that way at this track). The grip from watering all day made traction tricky and I was already struggling with it. I lost 2nd place to Anthony Vasquez during this time, then did some wacky flip in the rock section – things were not looking great.

Then I told myself – you can finish here (in 3rd) and still take the overall win. Slow down, take your time. That little pep talk worked, and I started reeling in the top 2. Unfortunately, Jesse had an issue with his steering, breaking out and having to exit the race. No one ever wants to win like that (especially me), but that meant the overall win was mine, so there was no need to race anymore; just drive around the track. I was able to get around Anthony after he made a mistake and cruise to the win.

This was an amazing series that I’m so happy I had a chance to participate in it. From day 1 I was certain I had made a bad decision racing the Bomber, especially from what a complete handful it is to drive, but I was dedicated to seeing if I could make this thing work. I have some ideas on future mods prior to the Nationals (2 weeks away), so I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m sure Jesse will have his rig sorted out too. It’s going to be a great race!

Thanks to everyone who supported Project Bomber throughout the series. I can’t say enough about how great these companies are. Pay them a visit and check out all the cool gear they have.
Car: Axial Racing RR10 Bomber
Servo: Hitec D-951TW High Torque Titanium Gear Servo
ESC: Castle Creations Mamba X Sensored ESC
Motor: Castle Creations 1406 Sensored 4600kV Brushless Motor
Battery: MaxAmps 6500mAh 2S 7.4v LiPo Battery
Wheels: Axial Racing 2.2 Walker Evans Wheels
Tires: Pro-Line Racing Hyrax 2.2″ G8 Rock Terrain Tires
Radio System: Futaba 4PX Computerized Radio System
Paint: Sharkbait Designworks

Here’s the Main event video. Enjoy all the lap 1 crashes.

Tekno RC DB48

The Tekno RC DB48 is a beast – simple as that. It’s been super consistent throughout the entire series, strong as an ox and blisteringly fast when the driver (me) isn’t driving like dumb-dumb. Out of the 6 races, I’ve TQed 4 and won 5 (I missed the first race with this rig), so the overall in this class was pretty much a done deal. That doesn’t mean, though, that I don’t like to race. I was shooting for another TQ and win.

It’s been handling really well so, like the Bomber, I didn’t make any changes – the goal was to just get through the day with a good, clean, consistent run.

2.2 Unlimited – Qualifying
In Q1, I set a fast 8-lap pace, good enough for TQ. DB48 felt solid, but lacked a little steering. I really would like more steering but I think this helped slow me down a tick and kept me from over-driving the car (something very easy to do with these 2.2 Unlimited monsters).

In Q2 I did the dreaded off-track excursion, hitting the back jump and flying off the track (yes, I did this last time I was here as well). By the time the marshal got to me I was pretty far behind, so I took this opportunity to really push the DB48 out and see what she could do. Most of my lap times were hovering near the mid-low 39 seconds, but one hero lap popped off a 37.7! This was a bit surprising, but also good to know that the DB48 has ALOT more in it! My over-zealous driving, though, caught me out and I landed on the nose hard after one of the jumps, unplugging my battery. Fellow Tekno buddy Shawn Rusin (ShumzzR) took the Q2 win, but thankfully my Q1 run was fast enough to still hold on to TQ.

2.2 Unlimited Main Event
Going into the main, I knew I had the 2.2 Unlimited class locked up. With Nationals coming up, my goal was to see how the Tekno would fare in the hotter climate – electronics don’t always like heat and I would like to figure that out now, not then.

At the horn, I got a good jump and made my way through the rock section and into the lead. In the back corner, I ALMOST jumped right off the track again, landing with two tires over the edge of the track but, thankfully, able to pull it back. I completed lap 1 with a bit more controlled driving, then set the Tekno in cruise mode for the rest of the race.

Still struggling a little bit for steering, but overall the DB48 is awesome! She’s going to get a full rebuild before Nationals!

A successful first season with the Tekno DB48. Here’s the list of equipment used; please take a moment and check it out!

Car: Tekno DB48
Servo: Futaba BLS1755SV S.Bus2 HT Programmable Servo
ESC: Tekin RX8 Gen2 Brushless ESC
Motor: Castle Creations 1515 Y Sensored 2200kV Brushless Motor
Battery: MaxAmps 5450mAh 3S 11.1v LiPo Battery
Wheels: Vanquish KMC 2.2 XD229 Machete Aluminum Wheels
Tires: Pro-Line Racing Hyrax 2.2″ G8 Rock Terrain Tires
Radio System: Futaba 4PX Computerized Radio System
Paint: Sharkbait Designworks

Here’s the A Main video; enjoy!