Week D

Results Updated

It’s been quite some time since we’ve  got close to the 50 mark with the number of drivers. Last night was 48 and it wasn’t even truck week. Next week is truck week so please make sure you book in early so we can all get home at a reasonable time… It is also the start of the new championships next week and I will be reviving the Junior championship(s) once I’ve identified the juniors and their age groups.

Club Guidelines

A massive thank you to Dave Andrews who has taken the time to refresh the club rulesguidelines. They are in the post below. I would encourage you all to take the time to read through them for the benefit of yourselves and your fellow racers.

Club Owned (Handout) Transponders

The club handout transponders are intended for use on a temporary basis and not week in week out by the same people. Their primary use is intended for new racers getting into the hobby and to help existing racers on a temporay basis for example when they have forgotten their own transponder etc. Next week will be a prime example since it is truck week and not everybody will own a second transponder for their truck.

If you have been with the club long enough to consider yourself a regular then it is time to get your own transponder.  Why?

  1. Every transponder we have to allocate adds an overhead to the start of the evening. We have to find out which transponders have not been returned from previous weeks and assign the remainder accordingly. With attendance numbers increasing at the moment, this is time we can ill-afford to waste.
  2. Many clubs do not own any transponders. It is expected that racers will provide their own.
  3. There is an assumption of ownership of a particular transponder because it has been used before. This assumption is incorrect.
  4. We only have a limited supply of transponders…

If enough drivers are interested, we will bulk buy some MRT transponders at a slightly discounted rate for sale at the club.

FORCC Club Guidelines

Faversham Off Road Car Club – Guidelines

With a membership that boasts both the quantity and quality that many clubs could only dream of, there is as you would expect a turnover of membership which means that not everyone is aware of the “guidelines” that the club is run to. As you know, there is no appointed committee – just a dedicated band of senior members that give their time and effort to promote the club and the hobby in general for the good of the sport. As such there have never been any hard and fast “rules” as this tends to go against the fun nature of the club – but having said this, time has come to perhaps remind our members of the “guidelines” that the club is steered by……

  1. Please be considerate when arriving at the club – the approach road has speed bumps for a reason and is not a race track!
  2. When parking at the club, please make sure that the 2 disabled parking bays nearest the hall doors are left clear – unless of course you have a blue badge and are entitled to park there.
  3. Most drivers have their own preferred pit space, but please bear in mind we don’t have a massive area so please share tables where possible along with extension leads. If you’re new to the club and worry about where to pit – just ask!
  4. If you need to route an extension lead across a walkway, please ensure it’s taped down so it doesn’t present a trip hazard.
  5. The first task for every race meeting is to get the Astroturf and track components out from the stage area and back storage room. Unfortunately, this is a thankless but necessary task and one that’s not fair if it’s left to a few individuals. There’s nothing worse having 4 or 5 members hauling everything out to build the track when there’s double that number in the pits sat watching! You’ll have plenty of time to get set up once the track components are out and the track itself is being built.
  6. Whilst the track is being built, booking in will open. Please book in before you go and practice – it’s your responsibility to make sure you’re booked in, nobody else’s – and waiting for drivers to book in costs a lot of time at the beginning of any meeting.
  7. No cars are to be on the track until the track is complete. Again – feel free to help with the track building – the more that help the faster it gets done!
  8. Practice gets very busy very quickly. There are all mixed abilities trying to get some track time at once so please be considerate of other drivers. It’s only practice – not a race – so no prizes for breaking your or anyone else’s car before the meeting has even started. Also, we know that with modern lipo batteries you could practice for 15 minutes straight but we ask that again consider others that are waiting their turn. Have 5 minutes – let your car cool down and someone else have a go – then if you need to have another 5 minutes.
  9. When practice is called to stop it means just that – no more cars on track to allow time for the track to be re-fettled if needs be. The heat listings will be published and the race meeting itself can begin. Please double check you have the right transponder number, and that if you have one of the club handout transponders on loan for the night that it’s plugged in and ready to count.
  10. All heats in Round 1 will begin in the order 1,2,3,4,5,6…. Rounds 2 and 3 starting orders are based on the previous finishing positions – so please make sure you know your car number and where to start in each round. The grid is staggered with odd numbers on the inside, evens on the outside, spaced evenly using the white lines on the AstroTurf.
  11. We have a small hall – we know that – and contact is inevitable. If you’re racing for position and cause someone to crash – wait for them to get back on track and resume racing. If you’re being lapped, pull to the outside of a corner as soon as possible and let them past as it’s the quickest means for both parties to carry on racing. Likewise, if you are lapping someone, give them chance to get out the way – they are racing as well and trying to enjoy their evening without being shouted at for not reacting like a scalded cat.
  12. If you crash or lose control and jump a section of the track, you must make the effort to re-join where you left. If that’s not possible you must wait and only re-join the race without gaining an advantage – it’s your fault you crashed and you should not benefit as such.
  13. Each race is only over when the final buzzer sounds. Until this time the track is still live and you should only pull off where safe to do so once you’ve heard your number called. Don’t leave the stage and start wandering across the track – additionally the marshals must stay at their posts until the final buzzer sounds.
  14. Please be aware of people on the track during the swap over between heats. Keep hot-laps to a minimum and be on the grid in the correct position, ready to race when the countdown begins.
  15. You are required to marshal the heat after you race. There’s plenty of time to put your car back on your table and make your way to your marshal position on the track. If you cannot marshal, please make sure you have someone to take your place. You wouldn’t appreciate it if your race was spoilt due to a marshal not being present – so don’t do be that marshal!
  16. Marshal cars as you’d wish to be marshalled yourself – quickly and efficiently – but overall safely. Only go to a car when safe to do so – put it back down in the correct direction of travel when it’s clear to do so and not right in front of another car. Then make your way back to your post again when safe to do so as quickly as possible.
  17. At the end of racing, everything needs to be put away. As with getting the track out, it’s not fair to leave it to “the few”. It’s always been an unwritten rule that the last 2 heats put the track away but that seldom happens. If everyone mucks in it takes 10 minutes to put everything away and everyone gets to go home at a decent time. Please do your bit and help – it’s not much to ask for a little help for your evening’s entertainment that costs less than a pint of beer!!

As stated these are not rules – these are guidelines that we hope will be adhered to for the benefit of everyone at FORCC. Construction rules are available at www.brca.org. Rules specific to FORCC relating to motors or tyres are on the club website www.forcc.co.uk but in brief the basic club rules are:

  1. We run a rear control tyre (Schumacher U6786 Block tyre in the Yellow compound). Front tyres and and Short Course Truck tyres are free choice.
  2. We run a 7.5 turn brushless motor limit.
  3. We run an 8.4 volt battery voltage limit regardless of battery chemistry. This includes current and future generations of LiHv batteries. Batteries should be charged either strapped into your car or inside a lipo sack.
  4. If you have borrowed a tranponder from the club, it is your responsibility to ensure you have returned it before you leave the venue.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the club, just ask! We’re a friendly bunch.

Enjoy your racing!

Regards,

Faversham Off Road Car Club.

Winter Series Round 5

Winter Series Results Updated

FORCC 2016-17 Winter Series Round 5
Supporting the FORCC Winter Series

Another great turnout for the FORCC Winter Series  with 39 entires across the 3 classes 😍.  Today was Round 5 of 6. The track was quite technical in places and people are still getting to grips with the new ramps and their slippery surface. As usual there were battles throughout the field and although I might be a little biased, I’m going to say that the cream of the crop was the 4WD A Final which saw nose to tail racing between Matthew, Dave, Mark and myself in all 3 legs. Ultimately Mark came out on top after the 3 legs so congratulations to him but I don’t begrudge him the victory since… Oh who am I kidding…

Congratulations Mark…

Thanks to Nes and the girls for excellent bacon rolls and Jacket potatoes once again. They were awesome 😊.

I took delivery of the brand new Schumacher Cougar KD on Friday and thought it would be rude not to give it a little track time today.

Schumacher Cougar KD

Given that it is not really intended for dry high grip tracks I wasn’t really sure what to expect but boy does it generate rear end grip… I only used it in practice today but with a little fettling of the weight distribution the car felt really good so it will be back on Wednesday to stretch its legs in race conditions… 😀

Winners photos

(Apologies to Elliott (1st) and Evie (2nd) for forgetting to take their photo after their C final 😳)

4WD B Final (Hattie 2nd, John 1st, Michael 3rd)
4WD A Final (Jon 2nd, Mark 1st, Dave 3rd)
2WD B Final (Phil 3rd, Richard 1st, Alan 2nd)
2WD A Final (Kyle 2nd, George 1st, Neil 3rd)
SCT A Final (Verner 3rd, Spangly 1st, Hog 2nd)

Week C

Results Updated

Busy night last night with 1 person shy of 8 heats and it wasn’t even truck week 😎. Great to see some old faces pop in for the evening. Obviously the evening was a little subdued by the absence of Les however last we heard he was taking small steps on the long road to recovery and of course we are still routing for him 🙏. We will have a card available on Sunday at round 5 of the Winter Series for anyone that would like to sign it.

Get well soon Les Kerry

From Ed Kerry’s Facebook post:

Hello just to let you no my dad was rushed to kings in London he had a brain hemorrhage/stroke the next 24h is the most important he pulls though 🙏🏻 he is staying strong if racing people need stuff can contact me i will try an sort things out

Our thoughts are obviously with Les, Deb, Ed and the rest of the Kerry family and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Jon.

Week B

Results Updated

Awesome track photo… NOT!

So the Tooth Fairy paid me a visit but instead of taking teeth and leaving money, she took all my money and left me teeth! Shiney Metal Expensive Teeth… 😎 Roll on truck week! 🙃

Losi 22SCT 4 Gear – Full Metal Jacket 😍 🐻

Winter Series Round 5…

…is a week on Sunday (19/2/17).

 

Truck Week

Results Updated

A reminder that February is Non-championship for the buggies but for the Trucks it was Round 2 of the 2017 championship. After a promising start, one truck’s idler gear would prove unable to cope with its driver’s talent… 😝

Note to self, order metal idler gear 🙂

Because he said I wouldn’t mention it, you should all know that Alan was very pleased to get 2nd overall in the Trucks 🏁