Slot Therapist from here on the boards was the organizer and set up a great event!
He provided all 9 cars (8 with a back-up) for the event. All cars were treated to a quick spin on the track to check function "out of the box" - after which they received a base line prep of having the magnet pulled, the factory rear tires glued with SCC black tire glue (that SCC glue station came in REALLY handy for that!) and then a treatment on the Tire Razor. (rear bushings and motors were also secured with hot glue)
Each of the cars were assigned a number and the team captains drew the numbers from random out of a hat. Each team was given 30 minutes of test and tune time to add lead and get a feel for their new team car!
GT3 cars were chosen for the field as this was going to be a light to dark back to light enduro and headlights were a must.
Racing kicked off at roughly 8pm in "full light" and by the end of the second lane, lights on the east end of the shop were slowly being shut off and by end of the third lane we reached "full darkness" which stayed through the 4th and 5th lanes. From there it was just in reverse - with lights slowly being turned on in the east end of the shop - moving west until we were back in full light for the final lane!
For those that haven't had an opportunity to race in the dark - all I can say is it is something you really need to try! It adds a whoooole new dimension to the action and plus it looks REALLY cool!
We fielded eight teams for the event - unfortunately, due to a couple last minute scheduling conflicts - some teams ended up as single man teams to run "Iron Man" style - running all eight, thirty minute lanes solo!
On to the teams!
Team 1 - #44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - Oman Racing
Team #2 - #9 McLaren 12C GT3 - Pacific Racing Anime
Team #3 - #4 Mercedes AMG GT3 - Anime Japanese GT300
Team #4 - #84 Bentley Continental GT3 - Team HTP Blue
And then due to a spur gear failure that couldn't be repaired - the switch was made to the back up - #9 BMW Z4 GT3 - ROAL MOTORSPORTS
Team #5 - #9 McLaren 12C GT3 - Red bull PlayStation
Team #6 - #88 Mercedes AMG GT3 - ABBA Racing
Team #7 - #30 Mercedes AMG GT3 - Gulf
Team #8 - #7 Aston Martin GT3 - Tony Quinn Clipsal 500
Pictures from the racing action - starting with the starting grid!
Moving into "dusk / dawn" shots (no pics were taken in the "dark" - only video below)
Coming back to full light...
This race was a blast!
The format that Terry (Slot Therapist) laid out, worked VERY well and made for some very competitive racing! The action wasn't without incidents - as we did experience a couple spun wheels that we initiated track calls for - but they were quickly remedied using SCC "Insta-Cure" glue (that 1-3 second cure time is no joke and worked VERY well to limit delays in the action!) - but besides knocking off a couple wings and a freak braid disk failure - the cars soldiered on in nearly stock form for four hours of solid running, with the field of 8 cars racking up over 10,650 laps between them! :o
Some quick observations... :)
- Hot glue WILL remelt at the temps the motors were running after an hour in (necessitating a little super glue assist) :oops:
- Its easy to loose your car in the dark!
- SCC Insta-Cure glue works VERY well - just watch it - it's water like consistency will surprise you (and lead to paper towel stuck to your finger if you aren't careful)
- Did I mention it is easy to loose track of which car is yours in the dark? :)
- A varying light condition enduro is a lot of fun!
- The GT3 cars make for a competitive group of cars - 6 lanes in, the battle for first was separated by roughly 10 feet after 1191 laps!
- Everyone had a great time and is looking forward to doing this again in January!
:banana-dance:
The team totals at the end of the race:
Hats off to the forum members who where part of this and helped make it a great time!
Slot Therapist - the organizer! :clap: (and team mate - Team 7)
APalmer - team captain - Team 3
Hangtime - team mate - Team 8
Z-carfan - team captain - Team 7
Lot of fun and great racing guys!
