World GT at 2011 IIC in Las Vegas

So it all went very well over the weekend

Two wedding parties attended. Our second wedding anniversary well and truely celebrated. Day out in the Norfolk countryside. And my GT kit sorted and packed for Vegas

The Rx pack is sorted, kit thinned down and packed and shells sorted. Foam bumper will need work when I get to Vegas...not a big deal. Spare Jaco tyres found (I'll want to run the control tyre as early as possible as I hear is handles "differently" with a big yellow foam band in it).

Entry levels for World GT Pro are still around the 11 mark...as ever I'll race the competition put in front of me. And have a ball doing it.

Away from home for a couple of days now. Back Thursday and a slighly mad trip to London and back for a meeting Friday.

Racing kit fully packed in a hardcase so ready to go. Clothes for the rest sorted and ready...for the first time I'm packed before Fran is

We leave for the airport 5am Saturday morning, so just over 3 days to go

Early start for Gatwick this morning. Racing kit was packed last weekend as I've been away in two offices for work this week.

Fran and I are chilling in the Virgin lounge

We're staying in a new hotel to me when we get there, so looking foward to a weekend there. We more to the IIC venue at the Riviera on Monday.

Tradition dictates that I don't take a pit towel, and buy the cheeiest Vegas towel that I can when I get there

I see Marc Rheinard and Victor Wilke are entered in the F1 class. Suspect they will be racing an F104 with Tamiya sponsorship. Maybe they'll need some set up help *cough*

Next stop Vegas

hope you take lots of pictures

So it's been a long couple of days of IIC practice. Last minute entries have taken the total up to over 400 (most enter more than on class). So 52 heats and 2 runs a day = 7am starts for 1 hour of practice, and the racing finishing well after 8pm.

I had a result with the World GT class control tyres. Expected them to be Jacos with a yellow stripe that caused all sorts of handling issues last year. Wasn't looking forward to sorting that out. However there have been issues and we're running the CRC/BSR lilac tyres. This is good news as I ran these at the Snowbirds and in the UK this year

Also had a trued set in my kit, so put those on for the first practice run yesterday. The tyres had arrived late so our Expert class was at the end of the round. That then gave me time to sort out a truer and get a feel for the tyre size the track needed. Small was the answer....53mm as it turns out, which means a bit of care to pass the 4mm minimum height.

Yesterday was a long day as the additional entries were added, and some incorrect transponders sorted. My first run on UK tyres was lively and ripped the sidewalls off the rim. New tyres for the second run were an improvement, but did see the car lift a wheel in the fastest tightest corner entry.

A late finish meant straight off to a very good banquet and drivers briefing last night. And with the WGT Expert class moved earlier in the order I was up at 7am pit opening to sort my car.

Car and ride height were sorted. It is now pretty safe and easy to drive for 5 minute runs.. Less additive time helped a lot, and I stiffened the centre shock spring to get more turn in. Ended up 0.2s faster for the last run of the day, and thinking about what if anything to change for first qually tomorrow.

Tech inspection is before your heat, so need to be there on time. Checks are: battery voltages, speedo (for blinky classes), weight (930g for WGT), ride height, roof height and rear bumper height.

There is a reseed tonight...based on quickest 3 consecutive laps from either run today. Think I'll be about 15 out of 20 in the class which is ok as I know my car is better over a full heat. The top half of the entry for WGT Expert is top class - Hupo Honigal, Josh Cyrul, Brian "Dumper" Wynn, Frank Calandra Jr, Mike Blackstock, Brett Bodine. So I'm cool with that and know the car needs minor tweaks only.

F1 class looked fun at first practice. Marc Rheinard and Victor Wilk are both running Tamiya F104 and looked as good as you expect for racers of their class. Hiro is one of the UF1 hotshots and I thought his car looked better yesterday. There are some cool scale schemes...will post pictures.

Two days of two rounds of qually each Thursday and Friday. Then a one leg final for all on Sunday. First 9 qualifiers get to the A-main, then the B-main runs for the 10th spot. Actually the fastest final winner gets that spot...so everyone could make it.

Awesome goody bag was handed out - speed controller, X-Acto knife, stickers, body protecters, Jack control additive. Plus one set of WGT tyres and an excellent design on a free t-shirt.

Good nights sleep tonight, then up early to sort the car for qually one. More tomorrow

Blimey Mark you gonna well tired out come the end of the week

But good luck and keep us posted

F1 replicas look amazing there, good luck for the week

Thanks guys.

Now we've got a timetable the days may be long, but you get hours to see the sights around Vegas between race

The F1 cars are in the middle of the schedule and I'm at the front, so haven't seen them run for a while. There are some excellent shells out there.

Qually run one and I'd made a change to get more steering. Stiffer side spring brought wheel lifting back, so we'll be taking that off again!

Also need to work on ride height as I'm on the money for 4mm.

We get back middle of next week, then the Sunday is Ardent pan car round 1. I got the F1 car ready before I left, so it will be a very quick turnaroud!

Dodgy internet connection at the hotel, so struggling to post updates.

The additive from 52 heats has really built up now. The grip levels are well beyond what we see in the UK...the end of a 2-day 12th National gets close.

Qualifying has been a two part battle. Firstly dialling steering in, then dialling it back out again as the grip came up. Over the four runs I've not managed the balance I wanted, and have found the car lifting wheels which means taking corners more gently that I'm used to.

Need a rethink on high grip US tracks as I've never been 100% happy on them. My car is 0.3 slower than in the lower grip practice runs. A wee bit frustrating

Qualified 16th or 17th which puts me in the B-main with a couple still behind me. New tyres fitted for tomorrow, as the second set have started peeling off the rims despite glue on the outside edges. Seriously high traction levels as I said.

Early start tomorrow...pits open at 6am and mains at 7am. I expect to be pretty early on, and could be done by 8am or shorly after. Unless I win the B-main and bump up to 10th place in the A

Did see a very nice Speed Merchant conversion for the HPI F1 kit. Bruce tells me he's nearly ready to sell it and expects it to be around $120 when in production.

Also surprised at how cheap F1 kit is in the US. Found a Protoform F1 shell in the on-site shop (not seen one for sale for ages). And an F104 shell with wings and stickers for $29. Need to re-think my racing kit packing to fit in one or two purchases.

More after the mains.

Photos if the connection stays up later...

B final . . . . . come on mark go harder fronts or no additive on fronts you can make the "A" we are all routing for ya

Gazza wrote:B final . . . . . come on mark go harder fronts or no additive on fronts you can make the "A" we are all routing for ya

He can't do the first as its control tyres, and the 2nd will make his life worse! With pan cars most of the time grip roll happens when the front stops scrubbing and grips suddenly strange as it might sound the most effective cure is a softer tyre and more grip.

Mark try cutting 1mm off the top ofthe front hub to soften off the turn in and give you a bit more mid corner

Jason

So the tyres they have to use are all the same ?

Gazza wrote:So the tyres they have to use are all the same ?

Generally the idea of a "control" tyre gazza

I mean as in shore wise lets say the tyres are called Jaco's could you not use 35 or 40 shore

Gazza wrote:I mean as in shore wise lets say the tyres are called Jaco's could you not use 35 or 40 shore

No it's a control tyre meeting. All cars have to run CRC lilacs, the same tyre most of us run at the BRCA nationals it is a 37 shore Jap rubber tyre

Jason

Nope,
I think most of the control tyres are about 37 shore.
Can be defined by a feature, such as the carbon fiber effect rims for jaco, The purple/pink stripe in the tyres for bsr and crc.

so you cant swop from a 35 to a 40 then

Gazza wrote:so you cant swop from a 35 to a 40 then

No you have to run the 37 shore control tyre it has a purple stripe in it so it is easy to identify it in scrutineering

Jason

What a Bummer

Yep it's a control tyre - thankfull the CRC/BSR Lilac tyre we run in the UK with the lilac foam stripe in the middle. So no changing compound.

Whilst a control tyre does limit tuning options it is the reason I race this class in the US. I don't have to make room for dozens of tyres, and know everyone else has the same tyres I have. What's a struggle is the massive amounts of grip that multi-day US races build up, which we simply don't get to with GR's in the UK.

So tried some stuff in practice and it helped. New tyres fresh from the truer give even more grip, so bedded those in with an additive cycle. Both of the other sets have seen there best - the fronts are pretty good but the sidewalls on the rears are breaking up.

We're on as main/final number 22. The BQ runner is Bryan Wynn who won the class last time I was in Vegas...so no pressure then

Thanks for the best wishes...I'll got out and give it my best shot. See many of you at Ardent next weekend.

good luck mark and pics video's welcome LOL

All of my IIC photos here:

Link to IIC photo album

There are pictures of most of the F1 entries, including a Speed Merchant HPI conversion which will be available soon.

Also photos Troy McKune's car with his own chassis on the CRC World GT car.

B-main for WGT expert was a lot of fun. Got to race with Bryan Wynn who won this class when I last raced in Vegas. Set up changes cured the wheel lifting problem, and I was happy with the handelling and speed. A body tuck cost me, but ended up 7th.

For me the IIC has never been about the result, but is all about having fun. And that I most definately did

The F1 final was awesome...search for Nick's RC Racing TV video of finals day for a good taste of how it worked out.

Really pleased for Josh Cyrul who TQ'd and won the WGT Expert class. I've run Josh's cars in the past, and heard first hand how hard he worked at this year's meeting. To see a manufacturer race their own car and win is special (respect to Frank Calandra Jr for also racing and making the sharp end of WGT Expert too).

A couple of bargain F1 shells are coming back with me as well.

Fran and I are chilling at the Mandalay Bay for three nights. We celebrated a great IIC meeting at the Hard Rock cafe last night

Wicked well done Mark I think you and the Mrs can take a break now see you trackside Next week end

Fran and I are back home now. We got in yesterday, and this is the first time we've had direct flights to and from Las Vegas. It really helps by cutting at least 3 hours off the travelling time

We enjoyed our post-IIC few days in Vegas. Stayed at Mandalay Bay which has one of the best pools on the Strip...it is more like a beach then a pool. We got to do the CSI experience in the MGM for the first time, and a pub crawl which ended in a cracking bar.

Pleased to report my racing gear got back safe and sound. Including the two new F1 shells I bought from the on site shop, plus a new supply of very small CRC WGT tyres

Early days for the jet lag: we're used to being 8 hours behind the UK!

A quick sort out of racing kit is needed tomorrow before Ardent on Sunday. I'm only racing F1 retro class, but will have my WGT car with me. And a tyre truer. And my 12th car which needs some TLC before the first National the week after at Ardent.