Monday 28 November 2016

Back to track

Well, I've kept THE name change, I quite like it.  I can imagine there's a Mr Quagraine somewhere either feeling flattered or uttering "prick" under his breath, no matter, I shall continue.

After a brief hiatus from racing due to real life, I had to get back to it so popped up to round 2 of Clanfields winter series.  Now, my last time out was the Dirtmasters at the same circuit, and where I cooked my servos and put my back out, leaving me confined to the lounge floor for 3 days.  So I was hoping my day would be less painful than last time, both physically and financially.  

The Sworkz s350 T US edition was stripped and cleaned after the dirtmasters and was festooned with a pair of XPert HV Sefvos courtesy of Pete and Karl at Answer RC, so it was ready to rock, or so I thought.

I pull into the track and realize I've forgotten my spares cache.  I usually pack them first so I know it's done, only this time I was rejigging the packing of the car to fit the 80L really useful box which is full of sets of truggy wheels, thanks to Mr P S Taylor.  Anyway, what could go wrong?  Not broken anything before. So should be top banana all day.  Ha.

Massive truggy turnout at Clanfield but I was still the only Sworkz guy there, challenge accepted.  Unfortunately, when I forgot my spares I set in motion a series of events that would put me up against it for the rest of the day, like in one of those films that contain time travel and some bollocks about destiny and other tripe like that.




Throttle servo arm came off during Q1, but that's clearly down to ppp, I rejoined and finished.  In Q2, I had a massive get off and broke the rear toe block.  This wouldn't have been a problem had I remembered my spares.  It looked like my day was over, until I remembered the T-Pro chassis guard I run, it's labeled as sworkz/mugen, so maybe a Mugen toe in block.would fit.  Thanks to Steve Hamilton and his box of Mugen bits, I shoehorn the block on and if fits, just.





Out for Q4 as I missed Q3 due to spannering up my Mugen bodge, and this time, a rear shock shaft pulls free of its ball joint, sending the spring and its retaining cup in to yonder, thankfully this happens only half a lap from the end so I limp across the line to get 3rd.  Looks like I'm going home though as I can't find my spring or cup anywhere.

Matt Perry finds my spring at the other end of the track from where I was looking, no cup though, time to utilize bear grylls style skillz (but without the camera/lighting/sound/H&S/makeup/nutrition/diplomatic people)  I find a 6 armed servo horn and use that as a spring cup, looks well crap but needs must.  Minutes  before the final though another fellow finds the cup.  A mad rush ensues to swap it for my lash up.





I'm 4th on the grid despite destinys best attempts at doing me over and after a messy start and calming myself down over the first 2 laps,  I settle to a rhythm, then, myself and the car seem to click, almost on a zen like level, with soft focus and doves flying out from my transmitter in slo mo, and I'm banging in consistent laps.  Graham "Sloppy" Alsop is the only one in front of me but he clears off to another dimension, a bit like Doctor Strange.  Unfortunately, it wasn't to continue, something fails 10 laps in leaving the 350T to drag its arse back to pit lane, that something turns out to be the Mugen bodge.  Where the Sworkz inner hinge pins screw into the front block but are captured by the toe in block inserts, the Mugen pins just screw in, with open inserts and the heads outside of the block, meaning if they unscrew, they come out, which they did, which meant a dnf, but also a 6th place.  In hindsight, I could've run back to the paddock, grabbed an allen driver and screwed them back in, but I was chuffed I had got that far and how the car was going, so I let it be, letting destiny have it's way so it could fuck off and leave me alone.







Many thanks to Pete at Answer RC, with whom a quick phone call earlier today yielded an ali toe in block and latest spec shock ends.  Steve Hamilton for his Mugen bits, Tony Bolwell for making the track good once again (I still have anodizing on the bottom after 2 visits) and obviously the rest of the racers who turned up to make the day.

Stay safe kids, and remember, cyanoacrylate does not make a good eye cream.

Laterz