Rule Changes

As per the vote taken at the WLRC Annual General Meeting, held on 6th December 2000, WLRC have adopted the BRCA rules for the Scale Saloon "super touring" class. In general this does not mean a large change, since the club already operates to most of the BRCA rules anyway, but this does give the opportunity to clarify some areas which have been the cause for some confusion in the past, particularly with regard to batteries.

The general rules for the WLRC Summer Series are outlined below. If you require any further clarification please come and see us at race control where we will be pleased to help.

 

WLRC Summer Series Rules

The effects of the proposal approved at the AGM (See above) of the adoption of BRCA rules are detailed as follows:

(Applicable from the start of the Summer Series):

·         All cars will comply with weight and dimensions as per BRCA 1/10 scale electric rules for "super touring". (No change)

·         The club will adopt a 12 turn motor limit as per BRCA. In order to control this the club has purchased a motor tester of the same type used by the BRCA. This motor limit is in line with the majority of other UK model car clubs.

·         In the Stock Motor class, motors will conform to those on the BRCA approved list for rebuildable stock motors.

In both classes motors must have the original motor builders label(s) substantially intact and legible.

·         Batteries at the start of the season will be as approved by the BRCA for that series. Any new types of cell introduced during the season will not be eligible for competition until a new season commences. (See later homologation notes)

The manufacturers heat-shrink wrapping on each cell must be substantially intact and legible.

The Following rules differ from the BRCA and apply to WLRC club competition only:

·         Any commercially available tyre may be used.

    This includes foams and "caps"

·         Cars may use any commercially available, one-tenth scale saloon or GT body shell, subject to the height, width and wing dimensions as set out in the BRCA touring car rules.

Whilst recognising the need to control costs by introducing stability to the rules, the club also accepts there should be the opportunity to test and evaluate new products as they are introduced. To provide this opportunity, competitors may use non-BRCA approved items on the understanding that they will not be allowed to score championship points using them.

 

BRCA Rule changes

At the BRCA Annual General Meeting a number of rule changes were introduced, some of which will affect WLRC racers.

The following changes will apply for the Summer Series:

Start Procedure: During qualifying, the "staggered start" system will be used. Each car will start separately within 5 seconds after its number is called. Starting before its number is called will be referred to as "jump start". If for any reason a car did not start, the time counting for this car will begin automatically the moment one of the other cars has completed its first lap.

Heat starts: During the 10 second countdown, no cars will be allowed entrance to the racing surface until after the start of the heat, at which time the mechanic may place the car on the starting line after all the other cars have left.

(The WLRC race computer has been programmed with "beeps" to indicate 30 seconds, 20 seconds and 10 seconds countdown periods.)

Practice Laps: No practice laps are allowed prior to the start of a heat or race.

Restarts: Any race or heat stopped due to race equipment malfunction or official's error will be re-run after a suitable delay.

Marshalling: After each heat the participants in that heat will have their cars paced into impound and will assume assigned marshalling positions for the following heat. No other person is allowed on the track (except officials) while the race is in progress.

 

Price revisions

The BRCA electric board have issued revised price limits for motors and battery packs as follows.

1.       All 6 cell rechargeable battery packs must be available for purchase at a maximum retail price not exceeding £60.00.

2.       Modified Motors must be available for purchase at a maximum retail price not exceeding £56.00

3.       Stock Motors, including Re-Buildable types, must be available for purchase at a maximum retail price not exceeding £27.50 (incl. tweaks).

The BRCA took into consideration various suggestions from the trade, but felt that it was inappropriate to increase prices too much at this time. These prices should allow the distributors to give the consumer a better quality and wider range of products. It would have been possible for batteries to be still be supplied at £52.50 but these would have been from the bottom of the range and the better quality ones would have been over the price limit, as happened to a certain extent last year.

Shops need to make a decent margin and a living if they to continue to keep a reasonable stock on the shelves. We all need to ensure the shops survival if we want to see the sport continue to thrive and grow.

 

Got mail?

In order to improve communication with club members, we are currently compiling a list of members who have email addresses.

If you have an email address please let us know by sending a message to the WLRC membership enquiry email address, which is: joinwlrc@hotmail.com

We must emphasise this will only be used to keep members up to date with club news and any emergency messages. The information will be kept confidential and not passed on, so don't worry about receiving "spam" or loads of irrelevant messages.

 

Lap Lengths

When the Pole Hill track was originally laid out, some measurements were taken of the length of the lap for each of the main layouts. These were for the full ("Grand Prix") circuit, both with and without the "chicane" or 'D' at the start of the straight.

Recent checks using an odometer  (courtesy of committee member Tony Mayes) have revealed that the lap lengths may be slightly shorter than were thought.

We understand that full-sized tracks are measured along the centre line, but doing this on the Pole Hill track and then comparing it with a lap on a notional "racing line" revealed a startling 30 metre difference in the two figures. That's almost the length of the straight!

With a difference like that it's easy to see how it's possible to pick up a lot of time by driving a "tight" line.

It is intended to take some more measurements, both of the existing lap lengths and also of the new alternative layouts, so the lap speed charts can be updated. The question is, do we stick to a "centre line" measurement, or use an approximate  "racing line" which will produce a shorter lap distance?

Either way the average speed figures which we have been using will need to be somewhat reduced.

 

West London "On the Road" (1)

With the first round of this years national championship being held at Aldershot, it was almost like a "home" event, with many drivers holding membership of both clubs. There were one or two new faces in the pits giving the nationals a go this year. Amongst them, club "chippy" Jeff Wheeler.

In the "stock" class it was good to see Steve Woodhams taking FTD, especially as it was Steve who proposed the class at last years BRCA AGM. Jason Butterfield just pipped him for the win in the 'A' final stopping Steve from doing the double.

In the super touring class the talk was all about the new ProLine control tyre for 2001. With some coming to terms with the new set ups  required whilst others were clearly struggling. I am sure that by the next round to be held at West London everyone will have the situation sussed. In the 'A' final from West London were Westley Payne, Kevin Brunsden and Glenn Doman

In the 'B' final Stuart Cann raced to a strong finish in third. Plus there were many other good results for WLRC all the way down the field in both classes.

Well Done to All!                                                     [SC]

 

West London "On the Road" (2)

The Reedy International this year came to England and was run at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk. The format was a little different from normal in that it was round by round qualifying with the best three runs from five to count then three leg finals for everyone. West London was well represented with many good results. I will let the individual drivers bore you with the tales of their own endeavours, but worthy of note were club regulars Westley Payne, Marcus Epstein and Adam Rogers, who finished in 6th, 7th and 8th in the B Final, whilst Glenn Doman was 6th in the 'C'

Once again, Well done to everyone who took part.   [SC]

 

BRCA Homologation lists

The BRCA has published lists of all motors and batteries which have been approved for National series competition.

These have been posted on the door of the Race Control cabin and are also available on the BRCA internet web site (www.brca.org) Any updates and revisions will also be posted on the website.

It is worth noting that the BRCA will not be approving any more new batteries this year, so if you have been putting off a purchase until a radical new type comes along, then stop waiting and buy now.

The published list includes all of the "Re-buildable" stock motors and also all of the currently approved battery types, including identification details (colour of sleeving & labels etc.) Remember - if it doesn't appear on this list it's not eligible for competition.

 

Technical Tip

Have you ever taken a modified motor apart and forgotten to note the timing position? Have you bought a second hand motor and are unsure if it's set up correctly? Maybe you have replaced an armature and need to reset the timing. Whatever the situation, here's a method of setting the timing on any motor with an adjustable end-bell.

Here's what you need:

1.         A 2-cell battery pack (fully charged of course)

2.         A pair of wires with alligator clips to connect the cells to the motor.

3.         A 0.1 Ohm, 20 watt (minimum) resistor with an alligator clip attached to one lead.

You will also need a voltmeter (about 0 - 3V, digital or analogue) also with alligator clips on its leads.

Connect one lead from the battery pack to the motor (making sure you have the correct polarity)

Connect the resistor to the other side of the motor with the alligator clip.

If you touch the other clip from the battery pack to the other end of the resistor, the motor should run. Make sure it's rotating in the correct direction. (Should be clockwise when looking at the endbell).

Next connect the voltmeter across the resistor, taking care to observe the correct polarity.

Connect the lead from the battery to the free end of the resistor. The motor will now run and you should see a reading on the volt meter. This is the free running current draw of the motor on test. If you multiply the reading by 10, this will give you the actual current draw in amps.

Now comes the tricky bit. We need to be able to rotate the endbell whilst the motor is running, so loosen the endbell retaining screws just enough to allow it to move. Rotate the endbell  back and forth a little and watch the reading on the voltmeter. The reading should change up and down as you move the endbell. Find the point in the rotation that produces the lowest reading. This is the zero timing point.

Next start advancing the timing by turning the endbell anti-clockwise. Watch the meter as you turn the endbell. As you rotate the endbell the voltage will rise pretty much proportionally, until you reach a point where the meter reading will suddenly start to rise more rapidly for the amount of endbell rotation. Turn the endbell back a little and try to find the transition point where the current starts to take off. You will have to move the endbell back and forth several times to get this just right. Once you have found this point, disconnect the battery and tighten the endbell retaining screws.

You have now successfully re-timed your motor.

 

Adrian Jacob Memorial Meeting

Thank you everyone who supported our charity race on May 28th and special thanks to everyone who donated raffle prizes.

You will be pleased to know that your support has raised the sum of £830, which has been donated to the Hillingdon Hospital Coronary Care Unit fund in the memory of Adrian Jacob.

The total was increased by over £80 thanks to the efforts of Jeff Wheeler, who managed to prise a further donation from you all to sponsor a "committee race". Thank you to everyone who bravely risked loaning cars for this, and in particular to Tim Hamm, who was racing the same car in the very next final - I was probably as relieved as he was when he got it back in one piece!

Final results for this type of event are not really important, but hopefully everyone had an enjoyable, fun meeting and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

 

Do You Know Your Name (and phone number)?

A pretty silly question? Of course you do, but remem  ber, when leaving a message on the club answering machine, the person receiving the message does not.

If you are leaving a message on the answering machine, please speak slowly and clearly, and spell out any important words. Imagine you are on the receiving end and are writing the information down as you go along. Don't forget the information we also need is: Meeting date, the class you are entering, your crystals (very important) and your (honest) ability rating. Remember Novice =1 to Expert =10, and there are a lot more novices than there are experts.