ASERS: June 2007

Entry update III

Two more teams are signed up:

1. Craig Ward / Brad Johnson / ? Third driver ?
2. Rod Borget / Matt Lund / ? Corey

Here's the running total:

LMP2
Hatfield/Sagers
Parker/McCrea

GT1
Ward/Johnson
Hoffman/Turner
Kendall/Kendall
Pester/Frampton
Wilcox/Thompson
Ryther/Ryther/Ryther
Fulkerson/Fulkerson
Eaton/Eaton
Borget/Lund/Cochran

Haven't heard from the GT2 crowd. You would think the extra 10 minutes of run time would be attractive? Sorry for any misspells or missing 3rd drivers.

Power's International - Cutting Edge new tire

Powers International of Japan have released information about the soon to be available touring car rubber tire from Edge, called Cutting Edge. Designed to provide high levels of grip for long durations, this competition rubber have been race tested and has proved to be great over uneven track surfaces while the strong side walls provide your car with great stablility even when on the limit. Available in 28 and 32 compounds, it goes on sale in late July.

Perhaps this could be the perfect rubber tire for endurance racing.

Sign up information:

FYI to all teams, Please copy and send the following information to asers07 at gmail dot com:

Class: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, GT2
Driver #1 -
Driver #2 -
Driver #3 -
Chassis:
Motor:
Speedo:
Body:
AMB #:
Radio: Spektrum/Freq.(2 choices min.)
Team Name:
Battery:
Tire:
Car number: (will take 2 digit suggestions but can't guarantee)

Application from Paul Hatfield...

Team:
Team Professor (possible name change pending)

Drivers:
Paul "The Professor" Hatfield
Ryan "?" Sagers

Possible guest appearance drivers:
Dave Lindsay
Steve Pirro

Class:
LMP2

Car:
Lola/Mazda

Chassis:
Tamiya F103GT

Entry update II

Team Crash Dummy Racing has made their intention to race in the GT1 category. Kent Ryther and sons raced in last years 4 Hours of Salt Lake and also the Petit Le Mans event as a father and sons. This continuance of Team Crash Dummy in the ASERS event shows the popularity and challenge to improve upon last year's results as unavoidable.

Trip to Tamiya Japan

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Sorry about the uncut video but it's all there. I should have been more thoughtful but in the end we barely made the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. I shot the whole museum minus every plastic model. I included the Senna tribute section, and amazing diorama of the battleship Yamato, and some of the current r/c cars Tamiya produces.

I later received the Open House tour from Mr. Sano (excellent english by the way) that most people attending the Shizuoka Hobby show got to see. This took us downstairs to the mold making department, upstairs to the Art, Design, and Concept departments. All very cool. We also interviewed Mr. Yamamoto from the marketing/promotion department and hopefully there will be an opportunity there for my profession. I spent the whole time thinking of how much Anthony would love to see the process of how Tamiya makes their stuff.

The coolest part was seeing the milled aluminum mold for the creation of their lexan bodies. The craftsmanship is amazing. The center section of the mold pulls out which allows them to have real bumpers, wrap arounds, and details that no one else in the industry can or will take the time to produce.

I also included some video I shot of the new TA05-IFS. The inboard laydown shocks are very sexy and I asked why they didn't put them on both ends. Mr. Sano said they thought of that and a lot of other things but this is what the designers wanted to do. He also mentioned that he would love to see a blazing fast F1 pan car from Tamiya. I said I had 10 guys that would pre-order just to get the ball rolling.

The original Tamiya circuit is included and a small section of Rainbow Ten. The circuit is awesome for being 30+ years old. Rainbow Ten is clean, well organized, and had just about every decal sheet you would ever want to make your ride perfect. I met the man in charge of mail order. Very nice guy and hopefully that will make for even better online service from this renowned company.

I feel I have a real grasp on what Tamiya is, how they work, and what to expect from the company's philosophy. All in all a very worthwhile trip.

2006 4 Hours of Salt Lake Photos

2006 Photos from the inaugural event.

Entry updates.

Team Professor entry changes to LMP2.

The Speed Mazda F103GT brushed 23T entry has abandoned their prototype LMP1 entry and moved to LMP2. This puts Team Professor head to head with Team Parker in the other LMP2 entry. This should be a Titanic battle as Parker has enlisted Jim Fred McCrea as his co-driver in the absence of Aquila, Landefeld, and Bowcut. This is a major move for both Parker and Professor as they gear up for the 4 Hour race. "I just thought our prototype project wasn't quite where we wanted it to be. Plus to go door to door with Team Parker is where I want to take the fight", said Hatfield in an interview earlier today.

Also joining the entry list is Team Fulkerson in the GT1 category. This will be the Fulkerson's first endurance event and chassis and body selection are yet to be determined but brushless is definitely in the cards. It looks like a 13.5 brushless but a strong motor choice for the GT1 category.

Updated information on classes.

4 HOUR ASERS RACE July 14th, 2007
"The 4 Hours of Salt Lake"

LMP1 or P1
190mm maximum width
no minimum weight
Any tire on spoked or BBS rim only.
Any motor
Any battery
Must use Tamiya Courage body set built to instructions with no ventilation holes except for the natural inlet below the roll-hoop on the opposite side of the driver. Holes may not be bigger than the printed decal. Driver helmet/figure must be used and painted.
Tamiya Courage LC70 (TAM51264)

LMP2 or P2
190mm maximum width
No minimum weight.
2WD solid axle only.
Any foam or rubber TC tire on spoked or BBS rim only.
Any 23T brushed motor or brushless equivalent.
Any 6-cell or Lipo hobby battery.
Must use Tamiya Courage body set built to instructions with no ventilation holes except for the natural inlet below the roll-hoop on the opposite side of the driver. Holes may not be bigger than the printed decal. Driver helmet/figure must be used and painted.
Tamiya Courage LC70 (TAM51264)

GT1
190mm maximum width
Any 4WD chassis.
No minimum weight.
Any rubber or foam TC tire on spoked or BBS rim only.
Any 19T electric motor brushed or brushless equivalent.
Any 6-cell or Lipo hobby battery.
7 190mm bodies approved in honor of making this a true GT class:
Only Driver side window may be removed for ventilation.
Saleen S7R (HPI #7369)
Lamborghini Murcielago (HPI #7377)
Nissan 350Z Nismo GT (HPI#7385)
Aston Martin DB-7 (Proline #PL3155) – Non stock wing may be added
Corvette C5-R or C6-R if available.
Ferrari 430 or 360 Modena - Tamiya, Protoform, or HPI
Acura NSX either HPI or Tamiya.
195mm maximum width optional Touring Car wing can be used in GT1. This must look and be mounted in a scale appearance.
Only Driver side window may be removed for ventilation.

GT2 Porsche Cup
190mm maximum width
No minimum weight.
2WD rear-wheel drive solid axle only.
Any rubber or foam TC tire on spoked or BBS rim only.
Any 540 silver can only.
Any 6-cell or Lipo hobby battery.
HPI Porsche 911 Turbo 190mm body set (HPI #7335).
Only Driver side window may be removed for ventilation.

New power from Venom... 5000mah!

First up we have the massive capacity 5000MAh 7.2v stick pack which is built using the latest Quad Welding technology for superior strength and optimum power and comes pre-fitted with a standard Tamiya type connector.

Venom also announced that all their SC battery packs will soon be available with Traxxas new High Current Connector for use with their Velineon Brushless Power System.

4 Hours of Salt Lake Announcement

The 2nd 4 Hours of Salt Lake will be held July 14th at Fastkart. Details coming soon.

Racing Live.com adds endurance section

Just in time for Le Mans this weekend...

Racing Live - Endurance Website

Very cool to see a major player in online racing news add a critical section of motor racing. Live timing section will hopefully be an improvement from other websites.