STCC - Snetterton (Round 6)

The sun was out (so much for heavy showers eh BBC Weather) and the people were out as well. Over 100 drivers descended on Snetterton Park for the meeting.

Charlie and myself were doing the TC1 Class (6.5 motor with Lipo battery) and Steve was booked in for Brushless Stock.
Charlie had gone to the track on Saturday for some practice and testing, but myself and Steve would make the journey early on Sunday morning (I got up at 04:00).
I got a call from Charlie on Saturday evening saying that we were in trouble because his car was working well. This worried me as we were level on points after 5 rounds of the championship.
Charlie is a much much better driver than me, but he has the WORST luck of anyone I know when it comes to RC, so his results don't reflect his ability to get the car round the track at all.

We arrived at the track at around 07:30 and began setting up. There were already a lot of people on the track practising at this time and the sun was quite hot.

Steve managed to get a few laps in before practise was over, but I didn't get any as I had to sort out a battery fitment issue in my car as Steve had forgotten a battery and I had to lend him the one I was planning on using.

When we checked the heat listings, Charlie had been put as number 1 in the first heat of TC1 and I was number 10 of the TQ heat. My prediction that I would spend most of my time pulling out of people's way was to come true :)

I went out and did 18 laps in the first qualifier, with the top guys on 21. Charlie had problems with his speedo overheating so he didn't manage to finish the heat, while Steve was on 18 as well.

When we checked the temp of the motor it was very hot (180 degrees f), so I geared it down for the next heat. I didn't want a brand new motor going up in smoke after 1 or 2 runs !

2nd heat, Managed to get 20 laps, but the motor came off at 192 !!! This really worried me, so I geared back up, thinking that it may have been undergeared rather than overgeared. Round 3, 19 laps but motor was still hot.

I had qualified 4th in the B final, with Charlie in 5th place.

The finals were a bit of an anti climax as Charlie couldn't stop his speedo from overheating and the thermal protection kicking in and stopping the car at about the 4 minute mark.

I finished all three finals and ended up 3rd overall, with Charlie in tied 4th by default.

Steve finished up in 3rd overall in the B final for Stock.

The track was fantastic and the Sunday market nearby was a great addition to our normal day at the track in the middle of nowhere :)

http://www.spmcc.org.uk/onrtrack.htm is the club website for Snetterton Model Car Club. It's really worth the trip for such a great venue.