Now that the Gryphon has re-opened to the public, we can consider restarting racing on a Friday evening. For this to happen we would need to make some changes as well as trying to abide by as many safety rules as we can. This obviously poses issues which some of you may have reservations about, so we need to discuss it, find solutions and then decide.

The Gryphon has a restriction on the number of people in an area of 6-8 people which would apply to the half of the sports hall we use and we have to be aware that there will also be either the Taekwondo or Badminton in the other half. Because of this we will have to restrict our numbers to 8 on a race night.

To facilitate only having 8 drivers we also propose to limit the classes we run on a race night to 2, therefore we run different classes on alternate weeks, e.g. GT12/GT on one night and Hot Hatch/Cool Hatch on the next. This means that drivers may only be able to race once a fortnight.

To ensure we have more space available to try to maintain some form of social distance we can re-arrange the track layout so that that the carpet runs in the opposite direction and not cover the area from wall to wall. This would give a maximum track size of 12m by 12m, but allow a 2 metre gap all the way around the track. 2 sides will be the pit areas for 4 drivers each and 1 side (where the old pits were) will exclusively be the driver area during qualifying and finals.

With this number of drivers each week there can only be 4 drivers in each heat to allow for marshalls to be available. Because of these restrictions it is our intention to limit the number of heats to 2 qualifying and 1 final providing more time between heats and less rushing around. By starting round 1 at 8pm and the finals at 9pm more time will be available to build a track and clear up at the end.  With limited numbers everyone will therefore have to contribute with set up and clear up.

If these proposals are acceptable and we can get 8 drivers each week we can go back to racing on a Friday, but otherwise we won’t have the numbers to make it worthwhile and we will struggle to pay rent on the venue.

Let me have your feedback and whether you are prepared to go back to racing on this basis and we can then see if we have sufficient number to make this work each week. Please email some thoughts to derek@yeovilrc.org

Thanks

The story of this championship season has to be the GT class, with a new entrant to RC Racing in Callum Lawes winning this class convincingly. Callum certainly has the talent and has proved that he has learnt the techniques required with the driving and keeping his car consistent. Admittedly his pit crew (or Dad, Jon or Nobby as he’s also known) has helped him along. A great team effort and a well deserved win and due to his consistent performances Callum will now be promoted to the GT12 class for next season. Well done Callum, you won’t miss having reverse!

The Hot Hatch class is now very popular with some making the move to it from GT and others proving that the simplicity and even playing field that the chassis provides makes it very competitive. Some drivers of note include Ben Short who has improved in this class immensely and Riley Montague who has put in some great performances, although I’m a little confused by his appearance changing weekly from small boy to big bloke!

In the GT12 class, Shane Sr Montague has taken the trophy with some very fast drives, just the small mistakes to eliminate now. Congratulations Shane. A complete contrast in fortunes for James Lye this season, but I think we’ve established what the problems are now, having steering arms that don’t fall off and remembering to attach the transmitter aerial should see James competing for the trophy next season. I’m also expecting Ben to be in the mix with the rest of us next season once he gets the hang of the Atom CC.

I’m looking forward to the next championship in GT12, with the introduction of Callum to the class and with all cars now running quickly and reliably there will be some close and fun racing to come. I shall have to concentrate more to stay ahead! The new Atom 2 has proved to be excellent straight out of the box, being equal to my Atom CC which originally took months to get set up right for me and our track.  The Atom 2 has loads more potential in it and I think I shall have to exploit its potential as GT12 gets more competitive.

We’ve no idea what the next championship track will have in store for us, but give it a few weeks and we’ll be breaking lap records again hopefully.

The club generally has grown and strengthened over the past year with a committed membership and everyone putting in the effort to make it a great place to be on a Friday night.  I’d also like to mention Gary and the team at the Gryphon for all their hard work and providing us with such a great venue.

Thank you all, let’s make 2020/Q2 even better!

A well done goes to Me for winning our 4th championship! I am putting this win down to the consistency in the handling of the car throughout the 13 weeks and an element of luck when avoiding any trouble on the track. I’ve certainly been racing against better and therefore quicker drivers but I’ve noticed the driving standard and courtesy has improved over the course of the championship.  You may well be faster and the guy in front will be aware of that and move over when it’s less likely to ruin his race too.  There’s never an advantage in ‘bashing’ your way through other cars, all it achieves is yourself losing time or damaging your car.  Bide your time and wait for others to make a mistake, no one (certainly at our level) is perfect, so a mistake will inevitably come, even if you have to induce one with a little pressure applied from the rear!

I think the decision to stick with the use of the control tyre has proved to be the right decision, the racing is closer which adds to the fun. We’re not all worrying about who’s using what and then having to spend money on what others consider to be the best, thinking there’s an advantage in it.  The reverse is true and this allows us to concentrate on improving our driving and car set up, which is definitely going to make you faster on track than throwing money at it.

Once again Shane Sr. Montague has improved his driving standard and the close battle with James Lye has proved to be entertaining if nothing else. Excellent work Shane & James, that competition has been the one to watch over the season. Jason Mogg has quietly crept up the rankings and improved his finishing position and I’m also convinced that once Matt Cochrane’s house is finished, we will see his name on the trophy. Come on Matt, think Car not House, you know it makes sense 🙂

The final standings are here: https://yeovilrc.org/championship-2018-q2/

We start the 2018/Q3 championship next week, so we start all over again with a new track layout.  Let’s see your entries for the next track layout

Well done to Trev Slocombe for winning our 3rd and his 2nd championship. Nice one Trev, we must all try harder!

It had it’s ups and downs across the 13 weeks, with Richard Dabinett unable to complete all 8 rounds due to his new found racing interest which has unfortunately resulted in an injury. Quick recovery Rich.

Some noticeable improvements over the championship, particularly Shane Sr. Montague and some more improvement from James Lye. Good going guys. Matt Cochrane had a varied championship, but his house does look nice 🙂 Jack Brann is getting more consistent, but car reliability needs to improve. Sack the mechanic Jack!

The final standings are here: https://yeovilrc.org/championship-2018-q1/

We start the 2018/Q2 championship next week, so we start all over again with a new track layout.  I wonder what track layout we come up with next time!