Tamiya Asia Cup - Race Report

[rasha]

Thanks Stargek for organising the 2nd round.I know the hard work that you guys have been putting through. Don't worry about the few -ve comment especially on small track. Just that the carpet bulu soooo long lah......I'm sure my car collected enough bulu to hold a small pillow... heh heh heh...  

Ok, let's get to the race report.

M. Chasis.  

Due to poor response from the M-Chasis owner, it was downgraded to demo race   Come you guys, bagilah support sikit. Though there were only 4 of us, we had loads of fun. Probably the fastest car on track was bulldog's alfa romeo. We also had Azman's pink mazda, L.Pong's red long chasis mini cooper and my own blue box stock Mr. Bean's Cooper. Bull Dog's alfa was really dialled and fast like rocket. Can't say about the rest. Especially my cooper which was rather twitchy n will traction roll if thrown around. A peculiar short wheel base characteristic I suppose. Bull dogs car has three drivers - L. Ong, David n Micheal Loh.  Heard there was a betting of who will win the race and heat. Actually a two horse race.....Between yours truly and Bull Dog. More money on David I think. Surprising, the Cooper though quite a handful to drive, was quick. I think I lost only to L. Ong when my car was stuck for half a lap after leading with L. Kee lengang kangkung tolong ambil kereta. Anyway, thanks Kee. And to David one when my battery flew out of the car whild leading handsomely.  

In the final it was practicaly a two horse race. Don't know what happend to Pong and Azman. This time they fielded Micheal to have a go at me.... Wrong move guys. Micheal was thoroughly humiliated......  I lost count how many times I lapped him. 3-4 I think.  

I really hope this class will take off. Apart from the fun factor, it's really cheap to maintain and tough. Not much hop-up needed to be competitive. Just imagine, after the 3 hour endurance race and competition, the only part changed was the spur gear.

Buggy Class.

Not much to report except it was actually another two horse race between Norazam and Azman. In the end Azam ended being on top of the podium. I think Ng ended third.

TT-01 Class

This much anticipated class was more or less topsy turvy. All the big names faltered in the end. Hm..... Muppet, looks like your prediction was way off tangent, so to speak.

I did not get the birthday present that I wished..... Not even two packs of battery... How Suey can you get. I think (not sure) during the heats our group had the most cars. It was really cramp at the control stand and a few blind spots did not help either.....

Since the top drivers from the last final were in the same, it was very competitive. And no one giving way.....My car was dialled and I was brimming with confidence. I started off strongly, Daniel was close behind and we swapped position several times. In the end, Daniel took 1st with 33 laps, and I came second with same lap. He actually posted the fastest lap of 8.037 and me 8.051. Later I found out Daniel was using tyre warmer.  Then, suddenly out of the blue, L.Ong did a 35 lapper.  Where did that come from. Talent and lot's of practice actually pays off. Okay, being a Towkeh Besar also plays important role too. Sour grape? Noooo lah.... just facts. But I think his lap time was not close to both of us and probably his group was more forgiving. So, no worries.

Second heat, I borrowed Dukun Azhar's tyre warmer. But, due to my signiture lateness of coming to the control stand, I had the worst position with many blind spots especially the most important and tricky part, chicanes just b4 the hair pin. This time the car was really planted right from the start. I think my car was clearly one of the fastest of the lot. But because of the blind spots, my car flew several times when it hit the barrier and corner markers. Looked as if I drove like a novice. Finished third behind Micheal Loh and Daniel, all doing 33 laps.

B4 the final heat, I was not feeling well, stress, migraine, high blood, cramp legs. (Sudah tua lah...... Turned 45 yesterday. ). Moral of story - Do not sleep at 5 am two days in a row b4 the race.......  

I took a couple of Ponstan to ease the pain. Though pain subsided, cramp still persist and hands trembled due to side effect of the drug. Frankie from Melaka was kind enough to help me fix the car. Zul Big Guy lend me his tyre warmer. Thanks guys.  Know what? I actually I over cooked my tyres and I never actually got back my grip. The car was actually skating around the track. After the heat, I almost fainted approached Chee Yong and told him I am not running the final. He adviced me to rest and drink hot tea. I suppose being a former "drug dealer". (not that kind of drug lah....) he knows his stuffs. Thanks Chee Yong. Feeling a bit better, but hands still shaking and feeling grogy.  

Just b4 the 1st final I fell on the escalator and dropped my controller.  What rotten luck..... Orang kata tak ada rezeki. Horror! The steering on my controller apart from no more self centering, was jammed tight. So, this time I was driving worst than novice.  So decided turn withdraw b4 I ruin other racers car. I think L. Pong took the first final.

Second final, I had to change to my old Blazer radio and stock servo. So, now apart from no grip, now different feeling. That's it. I was reserve to the fact that my race was gone.  Finished 8th. In the end I was placed 10th with a valuable 1 point in the pocket. Hm.... in the end Murphy's law prevails - What goes wrong will go wrong.....

So, where are the big names?  In the end all seems to falter. Dukun Azhar, Big Guy and Quek tercampak in B Main. Suddenly three new names but old timers are sitting on the podium.  Every one can see the body language of Taukeh Besar when he took the trophy not among the top 6. Heads down and shoulder drooping.....

What I can say now is the the Championship is now wide open.  

GT Class

The biggest upset of the day! Two good buddies out of no where finally sitting on the podium. Nazir, driving Chee Yong's car was clearly in his element. Consistently posting very fast lap. Eric, the one lap wonder also was competive. Hm... spooing has it's advantage huh Eric. okay, okay, talent and setting also lah.... Just wish you were more consistent.

So, in the end, it was another two horse race with pole sitter, Nazir and Hafiz swapping position. In the end, Hafiz got what he deserve. The top place in the podium. Sorry, I can't recall the third place guy. Azam and Big Guy, where were you? For information, Hafiz was virtually camping at U/ground track, may be a bit more than Tokeh Besar and his friends, so he deserve to win.  I really envy these guys, got talent, got time and got money.....

My hats off to Nazir, with little track time and borrowed car he managed pole and 2nd position. So, I rekon both this guys will be a force to watch. Just imagine, a few years back both these guys were comfortably behing me in most races. So, congrat guys.

So there you are. My usual comprehensive race report. I hope Mrs Sim can post some pics to add a little more jazz to the report.  

C ya in next round, and you bet I will bounce back.  

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http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/9212/

[rasha]

[Just want to confirm that after viewing the tape several times, and doing a time check, Chua only overtook my car well after the 5 minute mark was up. The DJ was actually a lil bit late in announcing all cars to complete the last lap. Hence, my conscience in clear that I won fair and square.Chee Yong, it would be nice to post the actual time sheet on this site, just like what some overseas site do. And also the current point standing. I believe TQ deserve 2 extra points right?About the endurance race, why not open up to all model and make of Tamiya Cars. Mini, Buggy, Touring, GT, F1. Let's see which model and last longer and faster. Put the stake higher lah..... RM ke...... or in Kind. Sure there are shops that would gladly clear theri old stock and gain some publicity...Adios Guys.]

Minor correction on the race report. After viewing the tape of the final several times, Chua actually did not hit Pong. It was another dark colored car, an NSX I think that made Pong stuck at the corner. Sorry for the confusion. During the second final, Pong made a mistake trying to overtake me before the back straight and his car was lauched outside the track.

Just want to confirm that after viewing the tape several times, and doing a time check, Chua only overtook my car well after the 5 minute mark was up. The DJ was actually a lil bit late in announcing all cars to complete the last lap. Hence, my conscience in clear that I won fair and square.

Chee Yong, it would be nice to post the actual time sheet on this site, just like what some overseas site do. And also the current point standing. I believe TQ deserve 2 extra points right?

About the endurance race, why not open up to all model and make of Tamiya Cars. Mini, Buggy, Touring, GT, F1. Let's see which model and last longer and faster. Put the stake higher lah..... RM ke...... or in Kind. Sure there are shops that would gladly clear theri old stock and gain some publicity...

Adios Guys.

Chee Yong,

You can count me in should you need assistance to assemble the track, etc...God willing, i should be able from 7 pm onwards...my new office will be in Plaza Damas, effective Monday 3 April 2006.

Although finished last and the unfortunate esc problems, my hands are still itching for more buggy action...running buggy on carpet is really really fun! Hopefully next race, i will give the big boys a run on their money.....

Regards,

[Chee Yong]

Sim,

You've been a great help. Thanks again. Will let you know on the things which i may require assistance by then. Thanks

Cheers.

[sim600]

Chee Yong,

What kind of work needs to be done? I'll be in the buggy class again (fingers crossed), so can only volunteer the in-between track/marshalling/pit time. But I will be doing another race report and hopefully my wife can help take little video clips again.

[Chee Yong]

TAMIYA ASIA CUP QUALIFYING SERIES ROUND 1 results

Buggy Class Results:

A-main

Champion: Norazam
2nd Zahari
3rd Azman Azam
4th Leonard Ong
5th Lee Kuan Kuan
6th Sim
7th Ezme

Stock Touring Class Results:

A-main

Champion: Shariff
2nd Daniel
3rd Michael Quek
4th Leonard Pong
5th Foong Kam Loy
6th Ken Yap
7th Terrence Chow
8th Simon Yew
9th Kamarul
10th Sani

B-main

Champion: Loh Kah Yan
2nd Elwyn Lee
3rd Ammar
4th Leong Kwok Hong
5th JL Suah

4WD GT Class Results:

A-main

Champion: Leonard Ong
2nd Michael Low
3rd Norazam
4th Eric Chow
5th Thomas Teo
6th Lee Kuan Yam
7th Zahari
8th Gerald Low
9th Leonard Kee
10th Ong Chee Yong

B-main

Champion: Simon Yew
2nd Ramesh
3rd Michael Quek
4th Hafiz
5th Big Guy Zul
6th Vincent Tan
7th Nadzri
8th Ng Lay Keong
9th Edwin Lee

[Chee Yong]

Hi Guys,

          Thanks for your support. The TAC round 1 was a huge success. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm still half asleep till today, need lots of recharging myself but it was well worth it as I saw many happy faces during and after the race.
          Any volunteers out there for the next race? With more manpower, I can make it an even better event.

Thanks

Cheers.

[sim600]

Ezme,
Thanks for the praise. Both me and my wife had a lot of fun and we will certainly try and cover more races

Sharif,
Congratulations again. You are too humble. You should see the video I put up of the buggies. I was driving in the wrong direction at times! Haha. Oh ya, happy belated birthday

Edit: Oops sorry I thought your birthday one day after the race in 1U. Not yet, can still celebrate  

Thanks so much Mr. Sim for the sazzy pictures that come with great commentaries. At the very least, it gives some good exposure to others on what TAC is all about... ...keep up the good work! Hopefully team bigplanet could provide a wider coverage in the next round...your wife has done a good job, no doubt.

Certainly, the inaugural TAC race will be remembered dearly in our hearts....

Long live TAMIYA....

p/s: in the process of assembling my TT-01R kit  

[sim600]

Tamiya Asia Cup Qualifying Round 1
1 Utama Shopping Centre
26 March 2006

The pics are mostly focused on the buggy class. The video is of the buggy class and you have to get it from my web site  bigbigplanet.com/rccars/races/20060326 since it's a whopping 15.1Mb.

Most of the pics are taken by my wife and the video footage is entirely shot by her.

[rasha]

Jangan puji lebih-lebih.... My racing line still bersepah.... I tengok dan analise balik video, and quite embarass with my driving....teruk nya....berapa kali tercocok tut kereta orang dan a lil bit aggressive.

Agree  brother Ezme, It's scary that these guys are throwing money investing on some silly hops up just to get that slight advantage or non at all..... shall I say more towards bragging rights and showing off who got the best looking car - lots of those blue colored thingy ......

After the race, a guy name Sim asked me what was my secret. My only answer is that I have no secret to hide. My answer to him was practice, practice and practice. I know some racers are very secretive. Tanya ratio, tak mau reveal....Kereta sorok, setting tak mau cakap....

Let me share. For that track I used standard spring at the back and my box stock drift spring (oren)  at the front with 45 wt silicon oil for damper fitted with 3 hole piston. Pinion to spur Ratio 25-58. Radial tyres front and back. The Imprenza body is neutral just like the Stratus and probably the right body for a tight track like Atria.

If there is any program to introduce RC to school, be it plane, heli or car, let me know. I'd like to volunteer.

Talking about mabuchi motor races, I've had the opportunity to race in Melbourne while studying there a couple of years ago. The organisation were very smooth and super efficient. Just imagine, 5-6 categories in one day. Of cause, help by their home grown amb alley cat system where even calling the driver was computerised. Tak ada nak tunggu-tunggu. Siapa lewat, nasib lah.....

Electric modified, Electric Super Stock (27 turn), Electric stock (Mabuchi motor), Mini Cooper Class and 1/10 Gas for novice and expert. Start at 9 am and finishes at 5pm. Run by club and not LHS. I did made friends with some of their top drivers including Andy Cooke (Corally Sponsored). Another top driver, forgot the name, used a box stock Taiwan Car and he won the Super Stock Class. That was where I got the inspiration to proof that a box stock car can be competitive.

You baru 30s. I'll be 45 one day after the race at Atria nanti. So, doakanlah saya menang lagi supaya dapat birthday present.... heh heh heh.

C U then,

Cheers and Hidup TAMIYA....

Congrats to brother Shariff for the win! U have demonstrated the most often forgotten (perhaps overlooked) principle: that the driving skills matter the most...one should not be overly too obsessed with state of the art equipments to succeed. Hope that others could emulate your basic principle and hopefully more newcomers could be enticed into racing!

i suppose your many years of experience in racing (back in the old days when you were competing against the current top drivers) really helped.

i believe the current price of the kit and the widely available second hand items are quite reasonable for one to start into RC. One could share the costs with other friends as always.

perhaps you could be the impetus for such growth! u have set a good example. i only wish this rc thingy could be introduced at our school...perhaps a strategic alliance with selected schools, obviously with some sponsorship from TAMIYA rather than let these kids waste their time "lepaking" at wherever it is, it is best that we could expose these kids to new things like rc...a lot to be learned from rc and i believe rc is a healthy sport....and a middle 30s man like me is still learning the trade...

once the tamiya series is done, i sincerely hope we could still have the stock category (the mabuichi motor of course) to be held in our local race tracks...(the technicalities whether to use all tamiya parts etc i leave it to the discretion of the organisers) with the support from the local hobby shops and track owners...

brother shariff, hope to see you in the next race, God willing.

Regards,
Ezme

[rasha]

more pics. Pinjam dari fattini

[rasha]

Some pics during the race day

[rasha]

[THIS IS A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE RACE REPORT FROM A RACER POINT OF VIEW]

THIS IS A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE RACE REPORT FROM A RACER POINT OF VIEW

Before the Race

A few days prior to the race I told Chee Yong the my mission was to be in the top ten using the cheapest car available. Wanted to get the RM 499 TT01 but in the end Sani convinced me to take the TT01 drift. Thanks for the tip bro....  

I actually wanted to proof that you do not have to spend loads of cash to be competitive. Anyway to be honest, I could not afford the ball diff, one way, high speed servo, high end spectrum digital Radio, tyre warmer, State of the art charger and discharger etc. etc. Could have bought the cheap centre alloy drive shaft but my principle kept me from getting the advantage of having a slightly less wobble from the stock plastic shaft.  

With a box stock car = RM 600+, a cheap second
hand = RM 37 3003 servo from Nam Lee, a second hand Blazer = RM 100, a couple of battery packs = RM 150 each and a Tahmazo T15 Charger = RM 380, surprisingly my car was dialled straight away. No major setting involved, just eyeballing the camber and toe.Race

Stock Class Race Report Heats

1st heat, I knew the major contender was Chua, Quek, Leornard Pong, Loy and Kamarul, Sani and Simon. I geared conservatively or shall I say I do not have a 25 pinion......with a 58 - 24 ratio  I barely managed to drive home 1st with a 27 lapper unfortunately Chua was lapping slightly faster than me. He geared his car with a 55 - 25 ratio.

2nd heat. Sani loaned me his 25's. Thank you bro. Hm.... I was doing a very fast lap of 10.223 sec. Unfortunately traffic was bad, I was rather unlucky that cars toppling here and there everytime I arrived. Backmarkers cars were not giving way. Only managed 5th behind Simon, Chua, Quek and Kamarul. Zahri criticize that though my car was fast on the straight, I was a bit untidy at the corner. I actually flew off a couple of time due to my own mistake. Apa nak buat bro.... dah tiga tahun tak usik kereta....Mata tak terang, tangan dah gigil....  

Final heat, Sani wanted his 25's back so with Frankie's help a Melaka guy loaned me his worn out 25's. This time I kept my cool and fortunately most cars were more or less well behave, hence I topped the time with a 28 lapper at about 5 min 4 sec. One funny moment was that my car touched the corner marker and flew just before the tranponder line on the final lap. Luckily, it was counted....  

That was my second TQ in the Tamiya series race. 1st was in Tampin Micky Mouse track as Chee Yong aptly puts it way back in '97 or '98. Ahem.... Our then Mr. Ong and several big names was effectively behind me...... jangan marah Ong....home ground advantage lah....Unfortunate I did no win that race though I was leading for a few laps due to busted motor  . You knowlah.... TA03 motor kat depan....

Stock Class Race Report Finals

1st Final - I escape the 1st corner pile with Pong close behind. Chua was not far away too. As usual backmarkers were not very generous. Sorry lah Ken for touching your car twice.... and also Sani kerana tercocok tut kereta.....My mistake actually, tangan tak steady macam dulu. The race was uneventful after that I ran away a winner with a one lap lead If I heard correctly what the commentator said.  

2nd Final - This time I was driving more conservatively as I wanted to maintain my lead. I knew I will win the 1st round even if I was position second. Pong nearly overtook me at the second corner, but I managed to outrun him then Chua crashed into Pong who was then stuck at the third corner. Chua was pushing me all the way. Due to pressure may be, few laps later I ran wide and Chua gladfully took the lead. I follow closely behind. A few laps later he then overturned near the third corner. Thank you very much Chua.  After a couple of laps, Chua and Pong was no where to be seen behind me, then I heard from DJ that I was leading by 8-10 sec margin. Probably they ran into some back markers. Well time to relax and enjoy the race. A few laps later I was lapping Pong who then follow closely behind. When I got behind Quek, he did not let me lap him.   Lost a few sec there..... I only overtook him when he made a mistake. By that time the gap between me and Chua was down to 3 sec. During the final minute, I was held up by a few back markers, (probably need to polish my overtaking and anticipation skills......) Chua closed the gap even further. Then, some one push me into the barrier  and Chua overtook me just before we were told to finish our lap. I was eventually announced the winner.  

After the race Chua spoke to me that he thought he overtook me twice. And the claimed that the transponder did not register his lap correctly. (Implying he should have won the 2nd final) Yes, he was right in a sense that he did overtook me twice. He actually overtook me once during the 1st part of the race which I then retook the lead when he tumbled. We also did overtook each other midway afterwhich I ran away with a healthy lead. After the race I thought I had lapped him but after viewing the tape a couple of time I realised I had lapped almost everyone but Chua. My apologies for making that statement  , I mean me lapping Chua. The question is did Chua retook the lead after or before the race effectively ended on the computer time sheet. The fact remain the he did overtook my car before the the DJ announce to finish the last lap. How did I know? Because I know lah..... heh heh heh. Seriously... I actually viewed back the video that a Melaka Friend shoot for me. So please Mr. Ong, revisit the timesheet and confirm. In all honesty, I do not want to get the credit that is not due to me

Final Though

I thorougly enjoyed the race. I think the stock race should be promoted and more participants joining in. It's fun, it's a close race ala A1GP where skills, setting and luck is a determining factor. I would love to go to Thailand with all expense paid but I would very much prefer to go on merit. Nanti orang kata buaya cari makan pulak.  Seriously, that was not my idea. I have always supported stock or cost controlled races because I believe in keeping the cost down. Please guys, support this class. It's much more enjoyable and relaxing than the GT Class and cheaper too. Let the new guys gain some experience racing with more expert racers.  

The trophy was nice but I prefer goodies lah.....  Chee Yong, instead of lucky draw, why not part some of the goodies to 1st, 2nd and 3rd position. Some of us oredi had tons of trophies that collected dust which is of no use. May be gift vouchers would do fine or other in kind....

All in all, a very well organised race with some forgiveble mistakes here and there. Well, everything can be improve hence I can't wait for the next round at Atria.

Now that my mission of top ten has been accomplished, my next mission is maintaining the lead. Hmmm..... now the 25 pinnion, the alloy centre shaft, the front one way, the ball diff, the Digital Radio, the fast FET servo, the alloy damper and multiple tension spring and also Aero bodyshell looks tempting..... But alas, if I only have a very deep pocket, it's all but a dream.....With 6 mouth to feed it's all but a Bridge Too Far......Till next race, Adios brother. Hidup TAMIYA........