This indoor season I have chosen to run the DB01-R. Although it isn't the top of the line 1/10th scale offering from Tamiya, I have always felt it is a very capable car and definately competitive for the style of indoor offroad racing we do in the winter here in Canada. What style is this you may ask? Its carpet offroad, similar to the way the Europeans do it in some places. Fastcats was originally an onroad racetrack but with the growing interest in offroad they felt the need to cater to both groups. The interest is really only from the guys who run 1/8th offroad to have something to do over the winter so building an entirely new track would not be profitable all year round. Well the result was a carpet that got laid overtop of the onroad track with jumps on it and WALLAAA!! we have our track! I added a picture for you to see what it looks like!



Anyway back to the DB01-R; I chose to run it for a number of reasons. The first being the price: most stores here in the Toronto area are selling the car for just over $300 which is very reasonable since it has about $200 worth of option parts included in the kit. Since most of the racers are just running 10th scale offroad to keep busy/sharp over the winter, they have no reason to go out and buy the really high-end Tamiya 511 at twice the price just to have fun when other manufacturers have vehicles that seem to be just as capable as the 511, around the same price point as the DB01-R. The second reason is that the average Joe wants to run what the "pros" are running. I mean this in the least arrogant way possible but at Fastcats, I am looked at as one of the "pros". I feel that it is WAY more likely for racers to go out and buy the AFFORDABLE car that the Factory Driver is using, rather than going out and purchasing a more expensive car and recieving less help/advice. The third and final reason I chose to run the DB01-R is because the balance of the car is more evenly distributed front-rear than the Tamiya 511. This means that for most racers it will drive and jump in a very neutral manner making it very easy to drive.
The only option parts I am using are the titanium screw kit (I don't have the patience to work with phillips head screws), and the aluminum rear uprights. I have run the car at 2 club races, and at Fastcats' first big trophy race of the season yesterday called the Fall Classic. With over 40 entries in the 4wd open class, and many of the top 8th scale drivers in Ontario in attendence, the competition was very intense. I definaetly turned some heads with the car yesterday at the Fall Classic by qualifying 2nd. However, I wasn't about to be denied a victory with this car - I had something to prove to a lot of people who doubted my decision to run this car. After quickly passing the TQ holder in the first corner, I never looked back and led wire-to-wire to claim victory in the first big race with the new DB01-R! Although my setup is likely useless on all dirt tracks, I have submitted it incase anyone finds themselves running on a carpet offroad track as it will definately be a great starting point!



On another note, I will be attending the Snowbirds in January, hopefully I will see some of you there!


Steve Bortolotti