The January Jam was our first unofficial trophy race on the new carpet track at R/C Madness. This race had about 115 entries and was a good practice for the Snowbirds in Orlando, FL.  I was running 3 classes (17.5 Rubber Tire, 1/12th 17.5, RCGT) so my day was pretty busy.  After about a month of racing and practicing I felt more confident of my 415MSX running quicker times than my 416 so I chose to run the 415 in both touring classes.  I'm still working on my 416 to get more infield speed.

The first qualifier in RCGT I had a pretty clean run.  I was able to set TQ in the RCGT class with a quick 24 lap run.  I had changed my gearing to get the motor to run cooler but it backfired and actually ran hot.  So hot, it had burned up my motor.  Back to the drawing board, I went back to my original motor setup from the previous week before for the 3rd qualifier and it worked beautifully. I then reset TQ with a 25 lap run.  In the main, I got a good hole shot off the start, but 2nd place qualifier, Rob, was faster than me and on my tail.  I kept with my consistent line was was able to win the race with a lap on the field.

In 17.5 rubber tire, competition was pretty tough with many of the fast guys from around New England practicing for the "Birds.  My 1st qualifier was ok, but I had hit too many boards giving me a slow 25 lap run with TQ set at 27 laps by Jeff Cuffs.  The 2nd qualifier was much better but I still didn't drive as consistent as I would have liked.  I ran a quicker 25 laps but still far from the 27 laps I was striving for.  The 3rd qualifier was much more to my liking and I hit a 26 lap run.  I ended up qualifying 5th overall.  The start of the race was a mess.   I checked up off the start and ended up getting the short end of the stick there.  I fell to the back of the pack.  I was able to work my way up through the field with 3rd position in my sights but cut the corner too tight. I cost myself a chance at 3rd.  Finishing the main was was 5th.

Next on schedule is Snowbirds in Orlando, FL Jan. 26-31.