This year the Neo buggy was back, as expected to bring you some of the best racing you can try to wrap your mind around.
The layout this year was a little more technical than the last couple years that I have attended. Although it looked pretty straight forward, you add the slippery track conditions to the equation and you have a very technical, precise layout that will take some serious skill to master.
The Neo, being a race that only allows you to see the track 3 times before qualifying, definitely rewards those who have the right setup that matches the condition. This race typically attracts the best drivers around the world and acts as a precursor as to what you might see at the Worlds later in the year. The power ranking of drivers is like the waves of an ocean. Some drivers move up, and some drivers move down the ranks depending who is hot and who is not, each race is the determining factor. Sometimes you’re hot, cold and well maybe some people haven’t got out of the freezer yet.
This race has always been a little difficult to get a handle on for me, mostly due to the limited experience I have in looser track conditions. The trick for the S811 is managing the wheel spin and finding a balance between stability and speed. It is not often I mess with the gearing and differentials of the car, but the Neo for whatever reason seems to be the perfect place to utilize these adjustments. With the hard acceleration of our 4 shoe clutch and efficient drive train, it puts a lot of emphasis on how to manage your power. Using the Nova Rossi Bonito, and its amazing power band to propel any vehicle is a challenge, add that to the S811 and you have a lethal accelerating machine.
In this case, I found that the 4 shoe carbon clutch was a help in limiting wheel spin. Another great thing I found to help me cope with the looser condition was to go up to a 17 tooth clutch bell. I rarely do this and in most cases the typical 16-46/48 gearing is just fine, but the Neo, is a special place and special dirt.
Aside from trying to put all the power to the ground, you have to find good balance between, steering, and rear side traction.
This year, I found that the differentials were a huge help in keeping the car under control. Typically I had been running 5 5 3, which seems almost standard in the Racing industry amongst top level pros. I heard a lot of chatter around the pits about running lighter fluid, and in many cases in the past when running other cars I too had success from lighter fluid. I admit I tested 4 4 2, but found on the S811 and the Neo Track conditions it actually impaired my performance. I think 5 5 3 was actually better, but also though going heavier to say 6 6 4 was also good. So for me 4 4 2… I don’t think so, at least not this time..
The suspension itself had moments of brilliance, and also terror. Being one of the only top level drivers in our off-road program, it’s tough to move quickly to a great setup. With limited runs, and limited personnel you are bound to throw away a few qualifiers in order to try and find that dialed setup. I pretty much would throw away every other run in order to find a better setting to help enhance my performance. Needless to say, I had a few yard sales…LOL…
With the weather being colder, you have to run lighter oil than you say want to. Typically I run 550cst fr/300cst rr, but in the colder weather dropped down to 500cst fr/275cst rr.. This seemed to help in the 50-60F degree or so weather. I ran a pretty typical front end, really did not find much magic there, going back and forth between inside and outside hole on the arm, shocks stood up or down on the tower. I would say… 3 b and also 4 a on the front end was working good either way. In the rear, I was toggling between #5 and #6 on the tower and B on the arm. I thought the car was more stable in #6 and went through the bumps better, #5 felt faster in the corners, but I was prone to more mistakes. Other than that, you only saw the track about 10 times for the entire event, so either you have something that takes you to the top, or you don’t. I only was able to test limited things, but hopefully they help future Neo buggy goers with our car.
Some drivers were pretty fortunate this year, especially teams that were able to use the previous year’s setup. That is a huge help, especially if you had success in prior years with the same settings.
As our car is evolving so is the setup, so from last year, we have changed a few things and it was like starting over for the most part. If only the setups I find here in Florida were as fast in the rest of the world, I would be totally set. It is racing though and there is a right setup for every condition, it’s just a matter of finding it in time to utilize it at the event.
If racing were easy, we would have less video gamers and more RC car racers, unfortunately it takes a lot more time, patience, knowledge and experience to win one of these events. Until next time………
Billy Easton
Team Serpent
Truth be told, he has not yet been crowned. But with a win at Round #3 of the Short Course Kings series, Paul has extended his points lead in the series and is one step closer to the monarchy.
This past weekend I journeyed across the border to Ontario, Canada for the 6th Annual Canadian Off-Road Shootout. The three-day event gathered racers from across Canada and the United States. The 259 entries consisted of 90 nitro buggies, 48 nitro trucks, 77 E-Scales, and 44 short course trucks. I ran all three of my 1/8 vehicles and competed in the Nitro Buggy, Nitro Truck, and E-Scale classes.
Last weekend at the Canadian Indoor Shootout there were over 200 total entries, 60 in e-buggy alone. Team Tekin driver Jim Kvidera would Tq the first two rounds of qualifying and put in two of the fastest laps in the second round of qualifying for the weekend.
Preparing all of my equipment to board the jet plane tomorrow to head to Las Vegas for the Annual Silver State Challenge. This year the event is a little later in the year and the forecast for the weather shows! The upcoming weekend temps are going to close in on triple digits and it’s going to be a rude awakening to summer after spending last week in the cold and damp of England. I’m really hoping that the winds are subdued this week and outside of the monster farmers tan i’m due to receive I hope the weather cooperates and keeps the natural exfoliation to a minimum. (This race is known for it’s Category 1 hurricane force winds whipping the desert sand around!) I’m pulling another Nitro Challenge in that i’m going to attempt to run 4 classes again. It will be a bit more of a challenge at this event because all the classes are run each day I believe. Anyway though i’m really feeling good about my chances coming off the solid result at Neo. I’m very confident going into this week and I hope it can translate on the track. Will find out soon enough.
Jarred King reports on the Australian Electric Offroad National Titles – where Team Durango took wins in 2WD Modified and 4WD Stock, along with good showings in all classes.
Max Mört is a promising 10 year old RC racer from Finland. We have been supporting Max and his family with advice and help for the few years they have been involved in the hobby. However, now Max has been able to secure a full Factory Team ride with JQ Products. Here is how it went down, in JQ’s own words:
Last weekend we saw Round 2 of the Cyprus Championship for 1:8 Nitro Buggy. This event was organized by RCO team, held at NAVOUNITA track in mountainous Paphos.
