RC Bike Wold Champiosnip Warm Up
The first two days were for us to know the new track. So, for the time being, we are lapping, lapping, lapping!
The track is very technical, quite narrow, for me at least, having been used to the large Lostallo-type local track!It has a nice flow, if you manage to get the chicanes (or chickens, as we came to name them, during the race!) correctly, or else, you start counting how far your bike can.. fly!
I flew to Berlin, rented a car, met with Peter Chang from New Zealand, and we drove on Tuesday night towards the track.
So, early in the morning of Wednesday, we set up pits near the RG family and started doing laps, battery after battery.
I had seen the video of the August 2015 practice too many times to count, and I thought I knew my way around the track. But… the damn track always found its way to tighten especially at the end of the corners!
The fast guys, with the Superbikes, are doing 23.5’s. Stock bikes are doing 24’s. I do easy 29-30’s, and not so many 28’s. Sometimes, I can do a 27! In the Q’s I managed to do a few 26’s!
Two new bikes are present:
One is the new RG BK1R, an electric superbike (also ran in Stock, of course), which has a completely redesigned chassis, for better CoG, a movable battery (4 positions), new front forks and a horizontal servo placement.
Another new feature is the placement of the drive belt on the right side of the bike, right inside the spur gear. The steering system can be adjusted in many ways, suitable to new rc bike drivers or experts.
There was also a new lower fairing presented, which is more aerodynamic and narrower.
The other new bike present, still in prototype form, was the JJ One, or JABBER Junior one, which is addressed to everyone: Racers and parking lot drivers.
Its price is expected to be around the 400 euros mark (NOT confirmed), and it will be sold as a kit, complete with fairing, driver figure, wheels and tires. It will feature two new things: The new steering damper system (SDS 2.0) and a new type of rims and tires, which according to Clark will be vulcanized on the rims, so they will be pretty much perfectly round and balanced. Of course, it can be upgraded with a front brake (new metal disc). Its chassis, as we saw it at the Warm Up was made of 3D printed SLS, but the production model will be made with injection molded plastic.
The main chassis and swing arm will be made of this material. Of course, there are expensive aluminum parts, like the front forks and hubs, not to mention a few carbon parts, as well.
Clark was testing the bike for a couple of days and set some pretty impressive laps!
Back to the usual stuff… the weather was a bit cold and we found some rain when driving on Tuesday evening on the way to Leipzig. On Wednesday morning it was sunny, still cold. On Thursday, and every day since, it was sunny and getting warmer every day!
As for me, I changed my broken chassis plates with used, but like new, provided by Clark (actually the plates and the new SDS 2.0 were waiting for me at the hotel reception!).
I mounted the SDS 2.0 of course on the bike, and started to get a feeling for it.
On
Friday, we did the Timed Free Practice. These consisted of two 10-minute heats for all drivers, in which the three best consecutive laps count.
While doing my first one, I got caught by some nervousness and I managed to ruin it!
I lost one of my scratchbars and while looking for it, I managed two 1.5 minute laps!!!
During the second TFP I did a bit better. Practically, with the new steering damper system I’m still trying to figure things out. I feel the bike is quite nice, and it’s up to me to take advantage of it.
Asking around, I decide to make my final drive ratio longer. Last year, at Valencia, I was running 7 to 7.1 FDR. This time, I am up to 6.5 and the wheelies are eliminated almost completely, while the motor feels mellower. However, with the bigger speeds, a front brake would be nice to have! I actually have to start my full braking around the middle of the long straight. That’s the only place I can… lose from a superbike. In all other places in the track, I can accelerate and/or turn almost as well as them!
My lap times have improved a bit, doing easy 27,5’s…
Saturday Qualifying heats.
The weather keeps improving and so does our spirit!
We run 5 Q’s, out of which the three best will count.
In the first two Q’s, I did a few stupid things, which kept me in the B-final. We are quite few in stock class. Actually, only 18.
In the next two Q’s, however I somehow upped my pace and did 21 laps, which at first took me up to 7th overall! I managed to ruin my last Q, so I ended down to 12th overall.
I see that the track is incredibly technical, and you need to be courageous, steady and consistent, have the best possible self-control and try to do no mistakes. (Easier said than done!).
Any hesitation takes tenths away from a good lap, while a mistaken corner means seconds are torn.
For example, on my 4th Q. I managed to do one of my best heats, doing a few 26’s while until now, I was lapping at 28-29 and sometimes at 27’s.
On Saturday afternoon the track offered the drivers an aperitif (Champagne, really!) and lovely and tasteful canape’s.
Sunday. Finals.
Sunday morning, I am in the first heat, racing at 9am! The grass is wet and there’s that snow-like tree pollen flying around! Fortunately, it doesn’t affect the traction of the track, which, by the way, seemed to me as great!
In fact, I found two pairs of Roadies Pro tires, which I had bought some time last year, so I unglued two pairs of very used wheels and made myself new tires. I ran these for the entire weekend.
So, B-final, first heat: I start from 2nd place, I somehow manage to get ahead of the pack after 2-3 corners and manage to drive steadily but not so fast, and build a good distance from 2nd. Up until the 5th minute I am doing fine, slowly advancing, until when passing under the rostrum I put the bike on the pebbles that are next to the track and do one of my spectacular crashes: The bike flying all the way to the fence! The marshal –I think it was Clark at that position- puts the bike back on the track, I am still in the 1st position! But… something feels weird! The bike is completely unwilling to turn. I manage to drive this way, slowing very much before each turn, since it will take ages to accept my order to turn. By the 8th minute the 2nd and 3rd drivers catch me and pass me. So, I finish 3rd.
Back at the pits, I see that one of the two rods which act as springs on the new SDS 2.0 has broken. In fact, the 2nd one also breaks while I remove the driver figure from the bike.
In the next 20 minutes I work frantically to change back to the old “voodoo” steering damper. I am ready before the next final.
I was told by other racers that sometimes these rods break, but if it happens in a final, well… then it’s disaster. So, the new system is good, yes, it is, but you have to be careful not to crash (not me! Haha!) and be prepared for some bad fortune if you do crash!
Second heat of the B-final, I almost did the same: Not the almost-DNF, but I was leading from lap 1 to the end! It was a good race, I did a few 26’s again and I managed 21 laps. To put it in context, though, the A-final stock bikes did 24 laps and were lapping at 24-25 sec!
At the 3rd B-final, I somehow managed to be 1st until the 6-7th minute. I started doing my spectacular show for the spectators, again, (!!!) and I managed to finish 2nd to Bierbach Lutz who was watching me do my stunts and of coursed passed me! Well… stunts don’t win races!!! I learned that the hard way!
So, I finished 2nd in B-final, or 12th overall, which left me with mixed feelings. I certainly could do better, if only I had kept my concentration intact and was more careful when driving that darn “chicken” right under our feet!
In the other finals there were some fantastic fights.
In Stock class, Italian Fabio Tosti gave some very good fights with both Steve Olanier from France and Voijn Pantovic from Serbia, who, eventually made the podium in that order.
In the Superbikes, Simone Nascosti won convincingly, while we saw some great racing fights between the other drivers too. Special mention to the Repetati-Wohlert fight (see video, below), who kept the spectators on their toes for an achingly long time!
I can’t even imagine how these racers felt while driving on or over the limit, with their bikes being a couple centimeters from each other!
In the 30-minute nitro final, Marco Giovannini won a great race, with RG bikes filling the podium. Unfortunately, out of the 8 bikes that started, only 5 finished.
And now… back home, I am preparing for the First Annual MotoGP of Greece which will run next weekend.
I guess I am well prepared, having practiced quite a bit during the last few days!!!
See here THE Superbike fight!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSc26662BDw