Guys,
I thank you all for your support. Also a big thanks goes to MRC & JD Modelraceways for holding and arranging the Nationals in the US and also supplying Team USA. You guys are the best!
To sum it all up, we had a great time! We practiced our best, we ran our best, and we were our best. We couldn't ask for anything better at this point. We highly expected to place mid pack, but a 5th place finish behind very tough competitors really made us happy. This race is really one of a kind and it's something dedicated racers would love to experience! It really opened my eyes when I watched those guys across the pond run their cars. Those guys can build them as well as they can drive them, and that's what it takes! I couldn't have asked for more being around so many dedicated slot racers from all over the country this past weekend.
We qualified 5th with a time of 10.23seconds behind Italia 2's 10.22, Belgium's 10.16, Spain's 10.07, & Italia 1's 9.99. This gave us 5th lane choice, which our captain, George Bagley used to choose very wisely the starting lane, 14. The rotation was 1-3-5-7-9-11-13-15-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2. This gave us the running order of 14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-3-5-7-9-11-13-15-16. Jon grizzle started us off on lane 14 and also followed by running lane 12. We decided to each do "back to back" heats as much as possible so we can gain a rhythm. With that said, here are the lane assignments:
14 - Jon
12 - Jon
10 - Mark
8 - Mark
6 - Jon
4 - George
2 - Mark
1 - Mark
3 - George
5 - George
7 - Jon
9 - Jon
11 - George
13 - George
15 - Mark
16 - Mark
Based on my feeling during the qualifying run I made on Saturday, I felt the car was good and competitive, and it was. Jon was the man of the hour during checks. Jon prepped the car very well with George along his side to make sure he did not miss a beat. I, on the other hand, was running around watching the RC buggies across the hall while all of this was happening, I think...sorry
. Speaking of checks, it was extremely thorough. Big time detailed. Every dimension of the car was measured from overall front axle width with wheels, rear axle width, rear axle diameter, wheel dimensions!!!, front axle height in relation to ground, body post height, etc. If it could have been tampered with to gain an advantage, it was looked at. I commend the Ninco staff for doing a great job.
On with the race....
Jon started off the race strongly and finished the 1st heat in 3rd place. We were confident. As the race progressed, it was hard to tell who will end up in front because of how the track is structured. The inside lanes, lane 1 & 16 were the shortest with the outer lanes, lane 8 & 9 were the longest. This means as you go outwards, the longer the track got, which equals to higher lap times and lower lap counts. With this in play, it was hard to tell who will end up catching up to who because of the different rotations teams had. By the end of the 8th heat which is half way through the race, we were 3 laps behind 4th place Portugal and 6laps in front of 6th place Sweden. We decided to play it by ear when it came to the time to pit.
We ended up pitting at the beginning of the 9th heat as we noticed some teams pitted at the end of the 8th heat. After the pit, we were behind Portugal by 7laps. 4 laps were lost thanks to my slow self and my shaking hands. I also noticed during the pit that one of our braids was halfway folded. Half was flat where it's supposed to be and the other half was on the guide fork. This was why we were noticing a slight sluggish acceleration and some sluggish turns, the right side
braid 
was not making full contact with the rails! Once the car was back on the track, George noticed an immediate difference. Portugal then pitted and we re-gained 3 of the 4laps lost. During the 2nd half of the race, Portugal picked up the pace and had a 20lap lead on us at one point I think with Sweden also right on our tail which at one point decreased the distance between us by 3laps! It was a close race between 5th-8th with USA in 5th, Sweden, Italia 2, and Holland right behind us with a lap difference between one another! The battle was heated between Italia 2 and Sweden all the way to the end and no one was letting off.
The results show that we picked up the pace on Portugal and cut their lead on us down to 12laps. Sweden fell behind letting Italia 2 pass on the last heat by half a lap!!!! We were ahead of Italia 2 by 21 laps with Sweden 1lap behind Italia 2 in the end.
Italia 1 and Spain traded places the entire 2nd half of the race. It was exciting to watch as a marshal. In the end, Italia 1 pulled through and pulled away from Spain. Belgium was in comfortable 3rd the entire time with plenty of gap between 2nd place Spain and 4th place Portugal. I was just as excited watching the battle between 1st and 2nd while marshaling as I was racing, lol. The accuracy of the top 2 drivers are amazing, and I learned a lot just by watching them.
Overall, the experience was amazing. From the hobby show, the race, and the Mercedes Museum, it was a great weekend. While I did miss my iced water and sweet tea, I survived with sparkling water and coke.
Well Done!!
. George and Jon have more pics.
Hybrid Mode
