Art Carbonell has been involved in R/C racing since the very beginning, and knows a lot about engine design and tuning. Jason Bell has also been involved for many years, and started selling his own blend of fuel, Jatech. Warning: racers who read the write-up and who try to follow these ideas without understanding what is going on, are likely to end up with damaged engines. Jason, J-Tech racing.

During the Pre-Worlds race at Homestead RC Raceway many of the racers thought there was a problem with the hand-out fuel. Apparently by applying what they thought they knew about engine tuning, it did not seem possible to tune engines properly, which resulted in many damaged or blown motors. Some of the very fast guys lost engines because of the fuel. There may have been an issue with some of the gallons of the handout fuel, but a more important issue came up when the Europeans tried to tune their engines the way they’re used to doing.

Information received from one of the racers after posting this article:

The straight away was so long you needed to run the engines very lean on the top end to get the car to go down the straight (and that would mean you would have to run the bottom end RICH to get the proper air fuel ratio ) but with the fuel having so much oil you had to run the bottom end also lean to get it to burn the oil out of the fuel to get a good crisp bottom. This info is from Robet Peich and his mechanic.

The Homestead IFMAR track has a different layout design than most other tracks. Homestead Miami Speedway gave the racers a plot of land to use for the race track, and the track layout was developed to fit the available space. The track was enlarged for the World Championships, and has a very long straightaway with a tight twisty technical section connecting each end of the straightaway. Many tuners found that when an engine is adjusted correctly for the engine to "clean out" for the infield section, the engine was too lean at the end of the straightaway.

To make mileage on US tracks with a five-minute qualifier, many racers lean the engine as much as necessary so they can complete the qualifier without running out of fuel. The European racers are used to longer qualifiers, where a fuel stop is required, so there is no need to lean out engines too much just to allow the car to complete a five-minute qualifier with no stops. Instead, they can tune the engines slightly richer for optimum performance. Racers might run for four minutes, then come in for a fuel stop. At the pre-worlds, where qualifiers were ten minutes long, tuning engines this way means making two fuel stops.

The newest engines that racers are likely to run at a World Championships are designed for maximum performance. The engines use a high compression ratio to get it, meaning the head clearance is decreased. Tuned this way, the engines can develop more torque. To get this maximum power, they tune the engines a little richer. This means they can reduce the oil content in the fuel blend, resulting in more nitro and alcohol (which helps cool the engine), as well as increased performance. All these factors work together. Changing any one factor without considering the others is a recipe for disaster.

Detonation:
Typically, US racers try to make five minutes on a tank of fuel, and hope to run a ten-minute qualifier with only one fuel stop. This means the engine needs to be leaned out to make time. These factors all work together and the result is "detonation". Detonation means the fuel "explodes" instead of burning. The detonation will first damage or destroy the glow plugs. Eventually it will destroy the engine. (See the attached photo that shows a hole that was punched in the top of the piston by detonation.) The combination of a very long straightaway (maximum RPM for a long time), low head clearance, and an engine that is tuned on the lean side, puts the engine and glow plug under more stress, and can cause detonation.

The end result of detonation on one of the engines at the pre-worlds (click for larger view)

The Racers before the Final

Marco Vanni and Scott Kimbrow Trading Paint

Keisuke Fukuda ahead of Paolo Morganti

Rick Vrielijnck

Sunday was Finals day at the IFMAR Pre-Worlds at Homestead RC Raceway. By then, we were up to 50 competitors, who, after qualifying had completed, were evenly divided (based on performance) into two equal groups named "odd" and "even". Racers in each group would advance through the Finals, with the best from each group meeting once they got to the main Final.

The races were run in the following order: 1/16 Even, 1/16 Odd, 1/8 Even, 1/8 Odd, ¼ Even, ¼ Odd, Even Semi-Final, and finally the Odd Semi-Final. The lower Finals were to be 20 minutes long, the Semi-Finals half an hour, and the Final was to be a full hour. The top three finishers in each lower Final would advance to the next higher Final, until they made it to the Semi-Finals.

The fastest four qualifiers had already been given a place in the Final. The two fastest racers from each Semi-Final (Odd and Even) would advance into the Final. Additionally, the next four fastest racers from either of the Semi-Finals would advance, bringing the total up to 10 racers in the Final.

=====RACE RESULTS: CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS.

=====VIDEO of FINAL : CLICK HERE .

=====VIDEO of SEMI-FINALS: (coming soon)

=====VIDEO of LOWER FINALS: (coming soon)

=====VIDEO of the Close Up Detail of Cars: (coming soon)

Qualifying is finished; see final qualifying results below. Finals will be run tomorrow (Sunday) starting at 9 AM. This will be IFMAR Format (odd and even Finals, with 3 bump-ups from each Final. Standard IFMAR rules will be followed. All races up to the Semi-Finals will be 20 minutes long. Semi's will be half an hour. The Final will be an hour.

The Racers

QUALIFYING STANDINGS AFTER ONE ROUND OF QUALIFYING: CLICK HERE

QUALIFYING STANDINGS AFTER TWO ROUNDS OF QUALIFYING: CLICK HERE

QUALIFYING STANDINGS AFTER THREE ROUNDS OF QUALIFYING: CLICK HERE

QUALIFYING STANDINGS AFTER FOUR ROUNDS OF QUALIFYING: CLICK HERE

FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS AFTER FIVE ROUNDS OF QUALIFYING: CLICK HERE

Several videos of the each qualifier in the first round of qualifying can now be found on my Youtube page (http://www.youtube.com/startinggridmagazine) or on my facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/sgrid).

The Track during a Practice Session

IFMAR World Championship events are preceded by a Pre-Worlds event. This allows the IFMAR officials to iron out any "kinks" on how the race is run, and allows racers to check out the course so they can better prefer for the main event. Car designers, tire manufacturers, engine builders, and everyone else can use the information gained at the Pre-Worlds to make changes as needed to get their products to perform at an optimum level.

The 1/8 I.C. Fuel IFMAR World Championships will be held in April, 2011. The Pre-Worlds event was scheduled for December 8-12, 2010. The event is being held at Homestead RC Raceway, alongside the huge Homestead Miami Speedway, a professional racing facility for full size cars and motorcycles.

VIDEOS

While 150 competitors are expected at the Worlds, only a small percentage of that number had shown up by Wednesday. Actually, racers started practicing as early as Monday, December 6, with the first official day being Wednesday. The race schedule was for practice Wednesday and Thursday, Qualifying on Friday and Saturday, with all the Finals held on Sunday. We’re not sure yet how many total racers will be coming for the pre-worlds; some may come to check out the track at other times between now and next April.

Click "READ MORE" (below) to see the rest of this report.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaXqS1XmMdw

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There were no "setup gages", or special tuning aids. All the cars were electric, and not all that fast. Chargers were wind-up fifteen minute chargers, and back then the biggest thing to worry about was frequency control.

Racing was simple - no transponders, just manual counting of the cars, but at the speeds those cars went, it wasn’t difficult to keep track of them.

As is obvious from this video, there was lots of "track action", and while things didn’t break all that often, it was nice racing at a hobby shop where you could get advice and parts if needed.

Since most everyone didn’t know what a qualifier was, the general opinion was that you got two or three early races, and then got to race for a ribbon (or on rare occasions, a small plastic trophy!)

The Novarossi Challenge was held October 22 through 24 at Homestead RC Raceway, close to Miami, Florida. There were 35 entries in the 1/10 sedan class, and 30 entries in the 1/8 scale class.

There are photo galleries posted on the Starting Grid Facebook account, http://www.facebook.com/sgrid.

You will need to create a facebook account in order to see them, but those accounts are free. Once you select your photos, you can download them as high resolution images.

If you find yourself in one of the photos, please do "tag" it with your name, so everyone who sees it will know who you are.

More information will be posted here shortly.

The two videos have also been uploaded to youtube:

Qualifying:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaDQo_T8p9c

Start of Finals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhFhwQ0qyIM

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Johnny Wong, with help, took apart some of the track being set up for the upcoming IFMAR World Championships (the Speedway needed the parking space), and set up a fairly small track directly in front of the stands. It was big enough for the spectators to get an idea of what R/C racing is like, but it was limited in size by the available space. It wasn’t very complex - a straightaway directly in front of the driver’s stand, and a course that wandered back and forth as the cars went the other way to complete a wiggly oval. Weather was Florida perfect, meaning HOT and SUNNY. With lots of cold drinks, and plenty of shade, it was actually pretty comfortable despite the heat.

Behind the R/C track was the huge banked oval speedway. Alongside the R/C track on the left was a row of classic and high-tech cars, competing in their own competition for best in show, etc. On the right side were lots of food concession stands and the tunnel that goes under the Speedway track, allowing spectators to get to the infield and pitting area. Across from the R/C track were lots of trailers set up to show off (and sell) various racing related goodies. The pit area was set up underneath the stands (see photos).

The race was held over two days. Friday was a practice day, as well as giving the track crew time for finishing up the track setup, hooking up the loudspeakers, and so on. For many of the racers it was free time to just hang out and enjoy themselves. Several more racers showed up on Saturday for the competition. Doug McNeely scheduled the racing for the times we expected the most spectators to be walking around, which meant running the r/c cars between racing events on the Speedway’s oval track.

The fourth round of the National Championship took place in the track of CAPA in Parla, Madrid. On Friday, like always, drivers had free practice. Despite having run a race the previous weekend, the track had very low grip, so we had to make lots of changes to the set-up of the car. Additionally we had to challenge the high temperatures that we were having.

On Saturday qualifiers started early in the morning. Temperature continued to be very high so presumably the first round would be the ideal one to score a time, since the track had the best conditions. As the day went on surface warmed up making it very difficult for the engines to perform at the same rate. Fortunately for me I managed to TQ the round one second ahead of Rodrigo Pahissa. As predicted, from here onwards nobody could improve the heat times so my direct place for the final was secured. I only had to fight to keep TQ. Also with Serpent Hugo Santos qualified on third position with Iñaki Pahissa on fourth.

Victor Peláez

Speedworld Raceway, Roseville, California
September 10-12, 2010

This year was the 4th Annual Mugen Challenge Cup at Speedworld Raceway, and even though the track is less than 30 minutes from home, it’s the first time I have had the chance to participate in the race since I didn’t run nitro touring car in the past. With the 1/10 Worlds now completed, I am really happy about our performance there and am looking to race the Serpent 733 even more!

Scott's Car (click for larger view)

While I was covering the FORGAS (Florida On-Road Gas State Series) race at Homestead Miami Speedway, I had a chance to discuss many things with David Larry. David has been very involved in the racing scene in Florida for many years, and several people had asked him to run for President of ROAR in the upcoming elections.

David Larry with Doug McNeely at the Homestead Miami Speedway track,
home of the 2011 IFMAR World Championships.
(click image for larger view)

David Larry (left) at the FORGASS Race #1 September 12, 2010

After a good long practice session, the final round of qualifying was held. Scotty Gray took TQ honors in the 1/10 Sedan class, and DJ Apolaro took TQ in 1/8 Open, qualifying just slightly ahead of Sean Lue. We were given a while off for lunch (and to cool down) after which the Mains started.

The Main events went smoothly, with the top two finishers in each Main bumping up to the next higher Main. Lots of stories, lots of excited racers, some of whom finished with huge smiles, while others wore the look of frustration.

The race results for all classes can be found by clicking on the following link:

The following 150 photos are a summary of the day's events. There should be several photos from every Final. If you were participating in the Florida State Series Race, I hope you enjoy them!!

A separate news item will be posted on Monday, September 14, with an evaluation of this track for hosting the World Championships, together with some video coverage showing better than any photos can show, how the track "works" during racing conditions.

September 11th, 2001, was the Grand Opening for the new World Championship Track being built at Homestead Miami Speedway in Florida. After many months of hard work, especially in the endless hours put in by Johnny Wong, the track has been completely redone from the ground up. The Grand Opening was combined with the first race of the 2010/2011 season of the Florida On-Road Gas State Series, which is now in its 35th year.

This report is partly a race report on the FORGAS event, but is more so an update on the track that will be used for the 2011 IFMAR IC Fuel World Championships. There are several races scheduled for the track in the upcoming months, including the Pre-Worlds. These races will help the Miami group fine tune the track to ensure the best possible World Championship next year. Today's and tomorrow's reports will include lots of photos of the facility, two-time World Champion Art Carbonell's evaluation and explanation of the track, and as a new policy recently tested out by Starting Grid, a photo gallery that will attempt to include photographs of every racer participating at the event. There will also be videos that try to show as much as possible what it's like to drive this track, taken from both the timing and scoring booth, and more importantly, from the driver's stand, so racers planning on coming to the Worlds can "see" the track from their viewpoint.

Some of these photos will also be posted on the Starting Grid Backtalk forums, and others are free to copy those to other forums. The majority will be posted here in SGrid Online - sign up for an account and you will have full access to all the material posted here (in whichever language you wish to use to see it).

Mike Swauger was racing the new Mugen MRX5 at the Great Lakes Challenge. To say he was fast would be an under-statement, but then again, Mikey is always fast. I had a chance to take many photos of Mike’s car (right off the track!), as well as to talk to Robbie Collins about what the new features do for the racer.

Servicing the MRX5 is faster and easier than before. With the new design, changing the front belt takes no more than ten minutes. Changing the rear belt can be done in half that time. An added benefit for racers is that bodies that fit on the MRX4 also fit onto the MRX5 with no changes. This means if you already have a collection of bodies and upgrade to the new car, your existing bodies will fit perfectly.

Here is a list of what has been changed on the MRX5, along with photos. Click on any photo to see the enlarged view.

Radio Tray
The radio tray is now mounted on bearings that allow the tray to move around; it now has the ability to move side to side which provides more steering. The radio tray can now be removed from the car more quickly - only three easily accessible screws hold it in place. This simplifies cleaning the car.

Two-Speed Shaft and Standoffs
The MRX5 has a larger diameter two speed shaft. This allows larger bearings to be used, increasing bearing life. The MRX5 two-speed shaft is now mounted in separate standoffs. This change not only cuts the time needed to get to the rear belt in half, it also adds "flex" to the chassis in a way that improves the handling of the car.