Hey guys, I've been doing quite a bit of 1/10 lately with the new TRF201. Let me tell you, 2 wheel is definately a fun and challenging class to run. Me being a "nitro guy", it took me a while to control my lead finger.
First off, this kit is top notch. The fit and finish is outstanding. The buggy itself is very durable and well thought out. The kit set-up worked very well at my local spot. I ended up just adding a few weights and was ready to roll.  After 14 days strait of either practicing or racing, I finally managed to break my first part when I tumbled in a whoop section and got smashed by a 4x4 corr truck during practice. It snapped off an a-arm. My only suggestion would be to boil your idler gear and switch to high grade silicone shock o-rings. It's also a good idea to put a drop of Shoo-Goo on the rear wheel pins to keep from losing them when you take your wheels off.
Oh yea, I got a nice win this past Wednesday at West Coast RC Garage. The TRF was flawless and was able to hold corner speed better than any of the competition.
If you are looking for a top shelf two wheeler and want to run the best, look no further than the TRF201

Bill

 

This past weekend was the first leg of the Monster Energy summer series at Revelation Raceway. I have to say, it's pretty cool to get some outside sponsors in our hobby. 
I was planning on running buggy and truggy this weekend. The motor in the truck didn't want to run correctly, so I only got to run the buggy. 
Qualifying went ok. We struggled a little with the tune. Even though I had to pit in every heat, I was still able to qualify 7th. When the race started, I quickly put the 801 in the top three and kept it there for a while. Then the motor started to fatten up, making it impossible to clear most of the jumps. I pitted early and my pit man got me fueled and leaned out a couple hours. Back on the track, the motor continued to fatten up.  I kept it out there because I was still in contention. Unfortunately, due to the motor being so fat, I ran out of fuel. This ended any chance at a podium. We got it fired back up, leaned her out, and finished out the race without further incident.  
The buggy continues to perform flawlessly. The progression of the set-ups is coming along nicely. David Jun has been coming down to the track to help us on test/tune days, his input has been invaluable. 

This past weekend was Upgrade RC's  first race promotion. It was held at Funtime Hobbies in Hesperia, CA. The turn out was decent, with over 180 entries. The track was fun, but really rough.
When  I got to the track, it was nice to see a couple of my TRF team mates there, Ricky Racer and Jeff Alessi. I knew my buddy Brian Givens was comming, so we had 4 people under the Tamiya tent. Unfortunatly, Jeff couldnt race due to MX commitments.
Racing went pretty well with very demanding track conditions. Despite non-stop efforts by the track crew, the track was breaking up really bad. I was able to put both the buggy and truggy into thier respective A-mains.
In the main events, I really struggled with the rough track. Not having driven a track that rough before, I missed the set-up. The cars held up flawlessly to the abuse, and I was able to muster a 5th place in both classes. The Tamiya cars are holding up great and its durability and agility are getting noticed at the track.

Well, two weeks ago Revelation Raceway held their annual Airtronics Winternational. The weather was great, the track was in good shape after all the rain, and the turnout was decent.
Saturday was qualifying. I had not practiced in a couple weeks due to poor weather. I was feeling a little concerned that I would be out of sync. I quickly picked up the pace, qualifying 4th in buggy and 5th in truggy.
I my truggy main, I got off to a rough start and was dead last after the first lap. As the race wore on, I made my way to 4th. With about 5 minutes to go, 3rd place lost a wheel nut, moving me up to 3rd. With 2 laps to go, I popped off a steering rod. By the time I came down the driver stand and popped it back on, I missed moving back into 3rd by about 5 seconds. I was a little disappointed, but these things happen.
Next was the buggy main. I got off to a much cleaner start.For the first 15 minutes, I bounced back and forth from 4th-6th. At the 5 minutes to go mark, I knew it was time to make my move. In the next few laps, I moved into third. With 2 laps to go, I moved into 2nd. Then, on the last lap, I got around the leader and took the 801 home for the win! Man, I was pumped.
This was my first win since joining the TRF team. My results have been improving every weekend. I am definitely happy with the support and products big blue has to offer.This year is starting off great and should be a stellar year for Team TRF!

If all goes well, I should be at Silver State next month.

Bill

This Saturday I attended the J-Concepts Open at Revelation Raceway in Montclair, Ca. We had great weather for the middle of January, mid 70's with the sun shining.  
In the buggy, I qualified 2nd and was feeling pretty confident about the main. When the main started, I quickly went to the lead. I was up front for a few laps when I put the 801 on its lid, dropping me back to 2nd. A couple laps later, I regained the lead and started to put some distance on the field. Coming through some lapped traffic, I got tangled up and ended up on my lid again. Unfortunately, the marshal in that corner was not paying attention, after being upside down for 10+ seconds, the motor flamed out. By the time my pit man got me re-fired, I was a couple laps down. I had 8 minutes left to try to catch up. I proceeded to drive like a maniac, causing me to run out of fuel in the last corner. Disappointed, I went out to marshal. After my marshalling duties, I found out to my surprise, I actually had caught up and ended up taking 3rd! I have to say, I was pretty happy. 
The truggy was not nearly as exciting. I qualified 4th. At the start, I moved into 3rd in the first turn. For the rest of the race, 1st, 2nd and myself all ran pretty much the same lap times. No passing, pretty uneventful. I finished 3rd. 
I must say, I am really happy with the results. I have really got these cars dialed in and I am feeling more confident at every event. 
 
 
Next up, the Airtronics Winternationals

Hi all, here is a quick review of the T4T race.
First of all, thank you Rob Jackson for a great day of racing and a great cause. There were over 160 entries and we got in two rounds of qualifying with 15 minute mains and were out before 10....incredible. The Marines left with a heavy load of toys for under priveledged kids. If you havent stopped by a Toys 4 Tots donation site yet, please do.
I had a little bit of a rough time this weekend, still having motor issues. In buggy, I flamed out in both qualifers. I had to start in the C-main. Ryan tried to help get my motor tuned for my main, we thought we had it pretty good. At the start, everybody tried to take the first corner tight, I saw the mess comming and railed the outside. As people piled into each other, I drove around them, going from last to second immediatly. With the motor running strong, I quickly went to the front, winning the C  for the bump. At the start of the B-main, I used the same technique, again going from last to fourth. While battling my way to the front, the motor flamed again, ending my day in the buggy.
In truggy, I quailified a little better. I was sitting eighth in the A-main. I was running fairly well. I started to have power issues and was unable to hit the double correctly, comming up just short enough to case the jump and donkey flip about every third lap. Despite the motor issue, the freezing cold, and my terrible night vision, I managed to get fifth. Not too bad.
It was really cool to see so many TRF teammates out there (Ryan, Jimmy, Brian and Ray, thanks for your help guys). I believe there were four podiums for the blue crew this weekend. Good job guys!

Merry Christmas, Bill

Next up, J-Concept Open @ Revelation Raceway

Well, I had a fun weekend racing at the Fall Classic, we had great weather and a good turnout. It was nice to have a couple teammates out there with me. With Ryan in China, it was up to Ricky, Brian and myself to represent the TRF team. I had ok results and had a good time. The 801's performed flawlessly.
In the truggy class, I qualified 5th after 3 rounds of qualifying on Saturday. On Sunday, I was all ready to go for the main. I got off to a pretty rough start, getting tangled up in the first corner is never good. As I got going, it was painfully obvious that I made a poor tire choice. I was still able to keep charging and ended up finishing 5th after 20 minutes.
In the buggy class, I qualified dead last. In the first qualifier, I had a bottom shock cap loosen up and leak all the oil out (note to self, put thread lock on the shocks next time). The next two qualifiers I ran into motor issues (new motor, still breaking it in). So Sunday I got to the track extra early to get the motor tuned out. When the main started, as usual, I got hung up. As the race went on, I made my charge to the front. With 2 minutes to go, I moved into 3rd. Comming onto the front strait, another buggy took a tumble right in front of me. I had nowhere to go and clipped him, that put me on my lid. This is where the new motor bit me again, the motor had richend up causing the idle to drop and it flamed out. When we got it refired, I had lost a lap to the leaders. I ended up finishing a disappointing 7th.
I did have a great time and continue to enjoy racing the Tamiya cars.

Bill

Up next is Toys for Tots at Thunder Alley.

Well, I have been running both kits hard for about a month now. I must say I am getting real comfortable with the cars. My consistancy has improved dramatically. The durability on these kits is absolutly top notch. I have raced three out of the four weekends I have had the cars and practiced the other weekend. I have over three gallons on both kits already. So far I have only had to replace one tie rod end on the buggy and two a-arms on the truggy, thats it!!!  Getting my bodies from my painter tomorrow, pics will be comming.

Fall Classic at Revelation Raceway this week-end.

Well, I just joined the TRF team a little over a week ago. I must say, I am impressed with the quality of the kits. I received my kits this past Monday and spent 3 nights getting them put together. I was able to get about 30 minutes practice on each one before my first race with them. This was the JBRL at Revelation Raceway this past weekend. The cars were really good, I got pretty comfortable with them quickly. I was able to quailify 3rd in the B main in both classes, not to bad, as both classes went down to a D main. In buggy I got caught up in a early pile up, with the main only being 10 minutes, I was unable to make up the time to get to the A main. Truggy was a different story. After getting tied up in the first corner, I quickly made my way up to 3rd. Knowing I had to get into the top 2 for the bump, I dropped the hammer. This truck is amazing, it was completely strapped to the ground. I got to second and backed it off a bit to make the safe bump to the A main. In the A main I started fairly well, but ran into some issues with the motor. I struggled with it and ended up in the top 10. All in all, I was VERY impressed with both cars. To make an A main with only 30 minutes practice time really impressed me. The results will only improve with some more practice time on the cars. Thanks to Ryan Lutz for the set-up/building tips when I got the kits.

Next up, the Sidewinder Challenge.