The first on road racing day of 2017 without us having to dry the track before the race could start!  Well, in SA where there is a shortage of rain, I should rather not complain.  Anyway, the day was beautiful and with a good turnout, we as organizers were quite satisfied. 36 entries.

We’ve also met two new drivers. We are always happy to see new faces that share our love for the RC hobby. You are SO welcome!  Thanks Herman, for introducing your buddies to the RC game.  The Massyn family has also brought some relatives to come and watch the race. We hope that you have enjoyed the day at the track.

When someone, especially one of our regulars,falls ill, it is always sad for us … and seeing them back at the track is always a genuine blessing. Piet du Toit, welcome back after your serious illness. Glad that you are feeling better now.

 

The Race:

Beginner class:

Newcomer Tjaart Venter won the 1^st  and 2^nd round, as well as the 2^nd leg of the Final.

 Apparently him and his brother in law, Frikkie Venter, had cars that did not meet the specs of any of the other six classes that we cater for. So, because they were indeed novices, we allowed them to enter into this class.

Frikkie won the 1^st leg of the Final.

They however confirmed our suspicions that they would soon work themselves out into the more structured classes, by completing most of their laps throughout the day in less than 25 seconds.

We do not really expect to see them back in the beginner class in future; providing they can enter into another class with the correct specs…otherwise we will have to accept them back in this class…

Nevertheless, we welcome them into RC racing and we hope that they enjoyed the day with us.

Tjaart’s quickest lap – 22.17s

Frikkie’s fastest lap – 23.69s

NB: Despite their fast lap times, these two guys did NOT won the race, because of mechanical failures on their cars.

Mardre Massyn, the VERY young boy that started racing last month, was back for his 2^nd race. He performed better in the qualifiers than in the Final legs. I can just assume that his dad was still trying out different set-up’s or tyres or something for him.. We will keep an eye on him in future race meetings.

Richard Botes, grandson of the well known Wright couple, Tiny and Charmaine, did well for a boy that only shows up once or twice per annum. He might develop into a good driver under the supervision and encouragement of his enthusiastic mom and grandparents.

Lauen Winiecki is also a novice that only competed in one or two competitions this year, with a no-show in February. With more o practice, she is sure to join hubby Artur in the 540 class in a couple of months.

Overall Results:

1. Richard Botes
2. Tjaart Venter
3. Frikkie Venter

 

TTO1:

Charmaine Wright, our very capable 60- something lady driver, did not have much difficulty in beating her rivals in every race she competed in, in this class. Charmaine’s quickest lap – 21.88s

Charmaine’s main opponent today was Henry Ogden, whom we recently see taking part in Electric races, although he considers himself a nitro guy.  Henry’s quickest lap – 21.83s

Nathan Steyn, whom we regularly saw in the Beginner class last year, decided to take on the grown-up’s in this class. He stood his ground excellently and the majority of his laps were in the low twenties. Good job!  Best lap – 23.15s

Herman Wepener unfortunately suffered more car trouble than he would have cared for. But the times that his car co-operated, he boasted some pretty fast lap times. Best lap – 22.34s

TTO1 Overall Results:

1. Charmaine Wright
2. Henry Ogden
3. Nathan Steyn

 

Electric Mini:

As usual, our Mini-Man, Jakkie Landsberg, dominated this class. Jakkie won all the qualies and the final legs. Best lap – 20.37s

Jakkie’s son, Jason was the runner up in each race. His quickest lap – 21.27s

Ewald van der Neut ended in 3^rd place three times out of the four races. His best lap – 22.06 s

Piet du Toit ended 4^th overall with a quickest lap of 21.49s. Great job!! 

Every month Henry says that he is going to chuck his Mini, but on the next race meeting he is back again. This month he even tried to race his Mini without a transponder; as you may have guessed, this did not work well.. haha.  Jokes aside, Henry’s Mini lasted through all the races. His best lap – 23.81s

 Mini Overall Results:

1. Jakkie Landsbeerg
2. Jason Landsberg
3. Ewald van der Neut

 

540 Touring:

A nice group of 10 competitors. Anette, that’s me, decided to refrain from taking part in the 1^st race, in order to take photos of the group. I am the one who is responsible for taking pictures during races, and when I am racing, the whole 540 Touring group always gets neglected. …every month..!  So I sacrificed one race to take photos, isn’t that noble of me..?? haha.  Seriously… I did not really mind that much..

All four races in this class – two qualies and two final legs – had totally different results, so I am going to take one driver at a time:

Giovanni Toldo – It was his second time racing at our track. He has won the 1^st race and ended 2^nd in the last final leg. His best lap – 19.89s

Tiny Wright – We often saw him in the top 3 today. Best lap – 19.97s.

Dana Cato – Her average lap time for the day had been 23 seconds and her best lap – 20.73s

Artur Winiecki – He managed to end 2^nd in the 2^nd qualifier and 3^rd in the last final leg.  Quickest lap – 20.16s

Anzea Pretorius – She drove steadily and got 16 laps in all her races, apart from when she was involved in an accident and lost some time in the last leg of the day. Her fastest lap – 20.70s

Charmaine Wright – As the day progressed, she got faster and faster. Her best lap in the final was 19.63s.

Jason Landsberg  - Jason picked up trouble when his car’s battery fell out in the 1^st qualifier, but he more than made up for that by winning the 1^st leg of the finals. Unfortunately he retired too early again in the last leg of the day, when his battery fell out - AGAIN! - after being bumped by another driver’s car. His best lap – 18.40s. Wow!!

Herman Wepener -  Herman did not race much in this class today. He however did manage to complete 14 laps in the 1^st leg of the finals. His best lap – 23.87s

Anette Ogden – DNS in 1^st qualie and broken belt in 1^st leg of final. Best lap – 21.51s

Jakkie Landsberg – As usual he drove circles around some of his more average rivals..hehe.

His best lap – 18.48s. Well done!

540 Touring Overall Results:

1. Jakkie Landsberg
2. Giovanni Toldo
3. Charmaine Wright

 

21.5 Touring:

Not many contestants this month, though this can be quite a ‘busy’ class. Anyway, let us look at what happened here:

Ewald van der Neut – best lap 18.55s

Henry Ogden – new at this class, best lap 19.91s

Kevin Gates – normally excels in this class – best lap today – 19.61s

Piet du Toit –  on this day having to endure a fair share of car trouble - best lap 20.13s

Overall 21.5 results:

1. Ewald vd Neut
2. Kevin Gates
3. Henry Ogden

 

17.5  Touring:

Franco Greselle is a guy that loves his fast cars…unfortunately we didn’t have any competitors for him to take part in the Open Class, so we had him race with/against the 17.5 drivers.  His quickest lap – 15.97s. Do I need to say anything more..?

Jason Landsberg  - as always displaying his good driving skills, boasts a fastest lap of 16.54s. Nice!!

JP Sweeck is a guy that likes to pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat; he did so again and entertained us with a best lap of just 16.45s. Impressive!!!

Kevin Gates – Not afraid of the big, bad wolves… his best lap – 18.02 s.

André Steenekamp – often one of the top three in this class. Today’s best lap – 17.58s

Herman Wepener  - Today we saw him taking part in three classes..! Best lap in this class -17.43s. Well done!!!!

Jakkie Landsberg – having trouble at first, but recovered and raced some brilliant laps. Best lap – 17.49s  Good for you!

17.5 Touring Overall results: 

1. JP Sweeck
2. Jason Landsberg
3. Kevin Gates

 

 Best presented RC car of the Day award:

Tiny Wright  - Congratulations!