The first official event of 2023 is complete.
Report from
Southern Indoor Championship 2023
The first official event of 2023 is complete. Overall, I was pleased with 2nd in 1/8th Nitro buggy and 2nd and TQ in 1/8th E-buggy. I felt I had a shot at the win in the 1/8th truck class but after after battling with Dakotah and Jared, I got a little wild on the 2nd pit stop, crashed and then after sitting, flamed out and lost a ton of time. I tried to make something out of it and got back to 5th and then 4th but I broke a rear wheel after some bad landings and had to retire from the race.
________
A whole new layout was installed once again and it felt fast with a long front straight-away. I loved the ability to open up the ProTek engine and really let it rip on the straight. E-Buggy was absolutely a blast to drive on this track, the extra power and acceleration felt good and allowed us to push the limit with all the double jumps where you needed some of the extra Hobbywing punch to rocket down the back straight-away.
________
We had a great pit spot in Red’s trailer and it allowed Mike Truhe and I to focus on what we could test on the Tekno vehicles. After having the US Open just a few weeks ago at Adobe Raceway, we had some solid setups on the NB48 2.1 and EB48 2.1 already. Most of the practice time was spent with the buggies and deciding if the track would change at all and what compound tire to run.
________
Saturday was a packed scheduled with 3 rounds of qualifying with 3 different vehicles. We started with green compound Reflex tires in the truggy class to see where the track conditions were at. I got a TQ with the NT48 2.0 and we felt we had a great combination to start the day. Toward the afternoon, I switched to blue compound tires and had some success in Nitro Buggy and E-buggy where I was able to get several 2nd place finishes for the round keeping me in contention for overall TQ’s. The last round, I grabbed the round 3 TQ in the E-buggy class which was enough for the overall. I went with the new Relapse tire in green compound for the night run and it felt perfect for the conditions.
________
For Sundays main events, 8pm was our first main was up in the 1/8th truck class. I was part of the lead group and led several times as Dakotah, Tebo, and I took turns in the lead. During the 2nd round of fuel stops, I got too excited coming off pit lane, crashed and needed to be marshaled, plus I had a flame out after the long wait. I got back out and climbed up to the 4th position and then had a rear wheel fall off. Not a great start to the mains, but, the truck had speed and we were confident in our settings for the next event.
________
E-Buggy A1, I started from the lead but ended up making a few mistakes and Dakotah was gone and checked out. I re-grouped and came back to 3rd but I feel we had a lot more to prove.
________
The big feature main was up next and we warmed up the 1/8th buggy and we were off. Dakotah got a good start from TQ and I did my best to hang in there and give myself a chance. My best laps were in the beginning where I kept pace and I felt there were a few opportunities for me. Small bobbles on my end kept me from decreasing the gap or keeping the fight closer. The middle of the race, traffic was insane and I took my time with other cars and crashes but left about 10 seconds out on the track in mistakes or incidents. The last part of the race, I was able to get my rhythm back and drop my lap times back to where I was staying even with the leader or slightly making up ground. Ultimately, I had to settle for 2nd but was pleased how the car felt and came alive during the last part of the main.
________
The last race of the night went off at approximately 12am and I was very happy with the run. I battled with Dakotah and was able go come away with the A2 victory with the Tekno EB48 2.1. I made a few changes to the Hobbywing Speed control to be a little easier to drive and allow me to take advantage of the ProTek battery power and longevity. Although, Dakotah and I both had 1st place finishes, he would win the tie-break with a slightly faster time in A1.
________
Thanks to Matt Wolters from Tekno for the team manager support. Thanks to Tyler for the JConcepts on-site team support and Hannah for all the content making things look so good. Mike Truhe was great in the pits as usual and I really appreciate him making the trip with me. Of course, Adam Drake was always there with any engine help or #drakein service.
________
Pitting in Reds trailer is always nice and allows us a place to relax, wrench, and stay out of the cold weather. Finally, thanks to Racetime Entertainment on making these events possible with Lance MacDonald behind the microphone.
________
Next event, TNR at Thunder Alley in Beaumont, California.
________
Tekno RC
JConcepts
Hobbywing
ProTek RC
VP Fuels
Flash Point
RM2
Hobby Action
A-Main Hobbies
Drakein
Stick-It 1
________
A whole new layout was installed once again and it felt fast with a long front straight-away. I loved the ability to open up the ProTek engine and really let it rip on the straight. E-Buggy was absolutely a blast to drive on this track, the extra power and acceleration felt good and allowed us to push the limit with all the double jumps where you needed some of the extra Hobbywing punch to rocket down the back straight-away.
________
We had a great pit spot in Red’s trailer and it allowed Mike Truhe and I to focus on what we could test on the Tekno vehicles. After having the US Open just a few weeks ago at Adobe Raceway, we had some solid setups on the NB48 2.1 and EB48 2.1 already. Most of the practice time was spent with the buggies and deciding if the track would change at all and what compound tire to run.
________
Saturday was a packed scheduled with 3 rounds of qualifying with 3 different vehicles. We started with green compound Reflex tires in the truggy class to see where the track conditions were at. I got a TQ with the NT48 2.0 and we felt we had a great combination to start the day. Toward the afternoon, I switched to blue compound tires and had some success in Nitro Buggy and E-buggy where I was able to get several 2nd place finishes for the round keeping me in contention for overall TQ’s. The last round, I grabbed the round 3 TQ in the E-buggy class which was enough for the overall. I went with the new Relapse tire in green compound for the night run and it felt perfect for the conditions.
________
For Sundays main events, 8pm was our first main was up in the 1/8th truck class. I was part of the lead group and led several times as Dakotah, Tebo, and I took turns in the lead. During the 2nd round of fuel stops, I got too excited coming off pit lane, crashed and needed to be marshaled, plus I had a flame out after the long wait. I got back out and climbed up to the 4th position and then had a rear wheel fall off. Not a great start to the mains, but, the truck had speed and we were confident in our settings for the next event.
________
E-Buggy A1, I started from the lead but ended up making a few mistakes and Dakotah was gone and checked out. I re-grouped and came back to 3rd but I feel we had a lot more to prove.
________
The big feature main was up next and we warmed up the 1/8th buggy and we were off. Dakotah got a good start from TQ and I did my best to hang in there and give myself a chance. My best laps were in the beginning where I kept pace and I felt there were a few opportunities for me. Small bobbles on my end kept me from decreasing the gap or keeping the fight closer. The middle of the race, traffic was insane and I took my time with other cars and crashes but left about 10 seconds out on the track in mistakes or incidents. The last part of the race, I was able to get my rhythm back and drop my lap times back to where I was staying even with the leader or slightly making up ground. Ultimately, I had to settle for 2nd but was pleased how the car felt and came alive during the last part of the main.
________
The last race of the night went off at approximately 12am and I was very happy with the run. I battled with Dakotah and was able go come away with the A2 victory with the Tekno EB48 2.1. I made a few changes to the Hobbywing Speed control to be a little easier to drive and allow me to take advantage of the ProTek battery power and longevity. Although, Dakotah and I both had 1st place finishes, he would win the tie-break with a slightly faster time in A1.
________
Thanks to Matt Wolters from Tekno for the team manager support. Thanks to Tyler for the JConcepts on-site team support and Hannah for all the content making things look so good. Mike Truhe was great in the pits as usual and I really appreciate him making the trip with me. Of course, Adam Drake was always there with any engine help or #drakein service.
________
Pitting in Reds trailer is always nice and allows us a place to relax, wrench, and stay out of the cold weather. Finally, thanks to Racetime Entertainment on making these events possible with Lance MacDonald behind the microphone.
________
Next event, TNR at Thunder Alley in Beaumont, California.
________
Tekno RC
JConcepts
Hobbywing
ProTek RC
VP Fuels
Flash Point
RM2
Hobby Action
A-Main Hobbies
Drakein
Stick-It 1
#Tekno #TeknoTakeover #NB482point1 #EB482point1 #NT4820 #gojconcepts #reflextires #relapsetires #monowheels #dirttechinserts #fintitaniumturnbuckles #radialbearings #tophattitaniumscrews #F2Iwing #razorwing #S15body #F2body #protekrc #hobbywing #hobbywingnorthamerica #amainhobbies #vpfuels