Hobby Hobby PLRC Racing 2nd Annual World's Race (Streetsville)

July 31-August 1st, 2004

presented by: Hobby Hobby & PLRC Racing
reported by: The R/C Guy

Intro:

Wow...Now thats an R/C Trophy!!
Tom Bakonyi of Hobby Hobby had this awesome trophy made specifically for A-Main finalists of the Annual PLRC Trophy Race..Or PLRC Worlds
All A-Main Racers at every PLRC Worlds event are listed on the trophy..

I would like to start by congradulating
Todd Hodge(Team Losi)-2004 Electric PLRC Worlds Champion
&
Mark Frechette(Team Tamiya)-2004 Nitro PLRC Worlds Champion
on great races and for becoming the best by beating the best..Check out the names in the A-Mains..Wow!!

As one of the founding members of PLRC Racing, this event has special meaning to me
I know that PLRC has come a long way since the original club in Hamilton and Tom Bakonyi and Jeff Eveleigh are largely responsible for that..I know its not really even the same club anymore, but I have to tell you that, as an original member of PLRC Hamilton, I never dreamed this type of an event/weekend would happen ever....
I have been hesitant to do a review of this race because, for the first time ever, I feel that a few words on a website won't do it justice..Not just the Matt Francis and Todd Hodge factor, but where we/you/PLRC are now..
Imagine telling five guys in Hamilton, Ontario that one day their club would become a major force in the Canadian R/C scene..Sponsored by one of Canada's premiere Hobby Shops and ran and attended on a regular bi-weekly basis by the best of the best..
It could happen??
It has happened..Maybe its not really that little club in Hamilton anymore..Maybe I'm not the Vice President anymore..But I am pretty proud none the less..
A huge fanx from me to Tom Bakonyi(Hobby Hobby) and Jeff Eveleigh(XXX Main Racing)

Here is the final shot of my latest paint job..I made it specifically for the PLRC Worlds..The colors are based upon the Player's Racing Team in Cart(and blue for Team Associated)
This is one of the most difficult jobs I've ever done and I will be doing a step by step how to: in my reviews section very soon..Stay tuned!!

A-Main Results:

A Main - 1/10th Nitro Sedan

Pos.	Car	Driver's Name	Total Laps	Total Time	Fastest Lap	On Lap	Avg. Speed	Status
1	1	Mark Frechette	93	00:30:18.997	00:18.313	44	17.081	Done!
2	2	Jeff Eveleigh	91	00:30:07.556	00:18.677	75	16.820	Done!
3	4	Santino Nemi	91	00:30:15.032	00:18.614	48	16.750	Done!
4	3	Dave Lyons	90	00:30:11.820	00:18.905	6	16.596	Done!
5	6	Louis Vanderway	84	00:30:13.531	00:19.206	55	15.475	Done!
6	5	A.J. Jewell	84	00:30:16.588	00:19.014	74	15.449	Done!
7	7	Kris Jessome	77	00:30:08.101	00:19.417	13	14.228	Done!
8	9	Carlos Triffiletti	75	00:30:07.291	00:19.230	52	13.864	Done!
9	8	Park Liu	21	00:07:30.855	00:19.898	16	15.561	DNF

A Main - 1/10th Electric Sedan

Pos.	Car	Driver's Name	Total Laps	Total Time	Fastest Lap	On Lap	Avg. Speed	Status
1	1	Todd Hodge	18	00:05:16.319	00:16.879	7	19.011	Done!
2	4	Martin Crisp	17	00:05:08.733	00:17.572	13	18.396	Done!
3	8	Francis Lee	16	00:05:03.554	00:17.490	13	17.610	Done!
4	6	Mark Frechette	16	00:05:07.165	00:18.044	11	17.403	Done!
5	5	Corey Whiteman	16	00:05:12.127	00:17.524	12	17.126	Done!
6	7	Wayne Vince	11	00:03:27.759	00:17.959	7	17.689	DNF
7	2	Matt Francis	8	00:02:22.359	00:16.830	7	18.775	DNF
8	3	Mike Mcmahon	4	00:01:12.755	00:17.241	3	18.368	DNF
9	9	Keith Billanti	3	00:01:04.993	00:20.255	2	15.421	DNF

Full Results - 1/10th Nitro Sedan

B-Main
1 William Morgan 
2 Glenn Siso
3 James Denis 
4 Alex Mota
5 Ron Viggiani 
6 Nick Imineo
7 Chiu Mok
8 Wally Edmonds
9 James Mak

C Main 
1 Steven Bortolotti 
2 Dave Cullen
3 Derek Siciliano
4 Adam Hutchison 
5 Tim Howell
6 Jean Paul Paraiso 
7 David Ribeiro
8 Ricky Bambao
9 Dave Chak

D-Main 
1 Val Barone
2 Matthew Kubinski
3 John Rabbito 
4 Mitch Medeiros
5 Dan Engelbreth 
6 Vince Colucci
7 David Poole
8 Rod Lentino 
9 Steve Dawe

E-Main
1 Tom Bakonyi  
2 Neill Turner  
3 Anthony Giannace 
4 Robert Hill
5 Kevin Blacklock
6 Lee Glick 
7 Alessio Dibattista 
8 Wade Kressler 
9 Neezam Haniff 
10 Ken Lee

F-Main
1 Adam Jacob
2 Leonard Fissore 
3 Stefano Pucciano 
4 Sandro Zanca 
5 Jorge Triffiletti 
6 Stefan Zanca 
7 Spiros Barlas 
8 Matthew Kovalchuk

Full Results - 1/10th Electric Sedan

B-Main
1 Jeff Eveleigh 
2 Dave Lyons 
3 Robert Woloschuck 
4 Steven Bortolotti 
5 Louis Vanderway 
6 Nick Imineo
7 James Denis 
8 Al Bella 
9 Justin Johnson

C Main 
1 Andrew Marangoni 
2 Chris Reilly 
3 Mike Moore 
4 Jordan Bennett
5 Martin Pillmajer
6 Ricky Bambao
7 Tim Howell
8 Park Liu
9 Matthew Kubinski

D-Main 
1 Ken Lee
2 Glen Garbutt 
3 Lee Glick
4 Neill Turner 
5 Mike Dawe 
6 Tom Bakonyi 
7 Alex Howell
8 Vince Colucci 
9 Jimmy Crawford

E-Main
1 Steve Fowler 
2 Steve Dawe
3 Stefano Pucciano 
4 Valerie Szymanski 
5 David Hill 
6 Mike Oliviera 
7 Karen Bailey 
8 Dalton Ingham 
9 Charles Levac

F-Main
1 Spiros Barlas
2 Kalvin Triffiletti
3 Larry Moore
4 Lucas Manou
5 Carthik Krishnakumaran
6 Kevin Blacklock
7 Kim Suphankomut
8 Ryan Williams

Overview:

So you think finishing 2nd in the E-Main will get you some lousy momento?? Think again..Thats exactly what this trophy is for..Not a great weekend for R/C Ontario Racing
My Nitro TC3 was awesome on Saturday and a complete flop on Sunday..Not Team Associated's fault..Just some engine tuning probs that I hope will be dealt with very soon..Man, This learning curve is wicked!!
My HPI RS4 Pro(no, its not made of wood!!) was a complete flop on Saturday and awesome on Sunday...More learning curves..Novak ESC..Apparently you can actually get instructions for these things...Which I found out Saurday night..Had 1/2 - 3/4 throttle on Saturday and full juice on Sunday..What a difference..Then my car wouldn't hook up..Apparently, when you get full power out of your gear you actually need a set-up..
Got the set-up, but a little too late..Hence the E-Main... I was only running Electric for fun and it turned out I had better success in the luck department than my Nitro..Oh well..There's always next year!!
(heard that before??)
Not griping though..Had an awesome weekend and will remember it for a lifetime..
You'll notice in the pic above that my Green/gold Stratus body has some names on it..
Thats compliments of autographs from Matt Francis and Todd Hodge
I'm very happy about that and that body is now retired..Its not even in my 'puter/rc room..Its in the TV Room...Place of honour above the big screen where I watch my XXX Main DVD's(gratuitice plug)..
Speaking of the XXX Main Guy..He travels the world(well..In the U.S. at least) and meets these Pro Racers on a regular basis and its largely because of him that we get this kind of talent at out races..Last year it was Chris Tosolini and this year we were very privileged to be visited by Matt Francis and Todd Hodge of Team Losi..
I had some people concerned about racing with "The Big Guys" before this race..I told them that they would be amazed how nice and helpful these guys are and Matt Francis and Todd Hodge did nothing but prove me right..It was a pleasure having them race with us and Team Losi can be very proud of the two ambassadors they sent up here..
One thing I told them was that these guys (Matt and Todd) are professional...If they want to pass you they will..You don't hear them griping 'cause they didn't make the A-Main because of some slow guy..They are winning racers..They didn't get there by being with the right sponsor or having the best equipment..They got there by being very talented racers..
And besides(knowing that Matt and Todd have a sense of humour), Take Them Out!!..They know this is a club race and there are all levels of racers..Imagine being able to boast to your kids when they become R/C racers too, that back in '04 you took out Matt Francis or Todd Hodge??
It didn't happen..Everyone had an awesome time..Unfortunately, a loud groan was heard when Matt actually took out himself..Although I hear it was a pretty awesome railslide he did down the straight..
It was a great race up until then and Matt and Todd were fighting eachother for the lead....Then Todd (whom I believe was leading at the time of Matt's incident) went on to claim the win..Well deserved for sure..

"I would just like to thank Tom and Kathy from Hobby Hobby for bringing us out to the PLRC Worlds Event.
I would also like to thank XXX-Main and Jeff Eveleigh for putting up with us for 4 days....we had a great time.
I also can say I am now a big fan of Canadian Molson Beer. Keith's is OK too....lol. I hope to eventually make it back up to Toronto to race with all of you again!!
p.s. Please send some ketchup chips to Team Losi....my wife was really upset with me that I did not bring any back to her...lol. Some Canadian Beer would be good too. "...

Thanks again, 
TODD HODGE 
Team Losi/Team Trinity

"Thanks to all the PLRC track crew and especially Tom and Kathy from Hobby Hobby and Jeff Eveleigh from XXX Main.
You guys have an amazing racing program with a great group of racers.
As Todd said, I have become a fan of Molson Canadian Beer....Pretty tasty stuff!
Hopefully I and other Team Losi and Trinity drivers can get back up to Canada for some more racing soon.
Thanks...MF"

MATT FRANCIS 
Team Losi/Team Trinity

[pic: Tom Bakonyi(Hobby Hobby) & Matt Francis(Team Losi)]

Here's a look at all the Trophys...They covered 1st, 2nd & 3rd right down to the bottom mains

Back to the race stuff..
We started out Saturday morning with rain and it pretty much stayed until the track started to dry up around 11-noon..At this point Jeff Eveleigh took over the show and guided us through two full organized practice rounds and two full qualifiers..
It went of without a hitch..Well..One hitch, but our 'puter guy, A.J. Jewell was all over it and racing continued soon thereafter
We actually were able to sort the first two rounds of qualifiers by the results of the practice rounds, which worked very well..I can't speak for other qualifiers, but the one I was in ran like a train..Not much passing and very little change in the order.. Turned out to be a great day and we saw some awesome racing with the best racers in the world in attendance..
Day two...Sunday...Two rounds of qualifiers and the mains..
Great day for racing..In fact, a little too hot in comparison to Sunday and the biggest gripe I heard was getting your motor tuned properly..
Drastically warmer temps meant for some drastically leaner engines and some of us were way off..Or at least not on enough..

	Here's Matt Francis working on a greatful PLRC racers Team Associated TC3... You might think this as "working for the bad guys", but I just see it as the opposite.. First off..You could say that Matt's car is so good that he can put it aside and work on all the broken cars of the other manufacturers.. And secondly, to me, this just shows what good sports these guys are.. This PLRC racer came to the main tent and asked for some help..Matt offered up right away that the "steering upright sleeve" that she was looking for was the same as the Losi one(or similiar)..Then he proceeded to not only find the part but go to work on rebuilding this racers ride..Turns out the sleeves were in backwards so not only did he replace the missing one, he also tore apart the whole front end and reinstalled them all properly.. I was impressed...I joked with Matt about "how much this pic was worth to him"....(Matt Francis working on a TC3 car)..Not much if you think about it, eh?
	Oh..And imagine that..Here is that very same racer working on her own car..I offered to help, but her boyfriend Rod said she was ok.. Rod, (other guy without hat) had his own share of problems this weekend..Radio probs in his main to name one We'll get 'em next time Rod
	Heres the crew from SOAR (Sudbury) who made the trek down for some great racing..Talked to these guys 'on the net' and it was a pleasure to finally meet them all..Their 235mm nitro buddies were in Ottawa and we've raced with them in the past but this was the first time we've met.. Great having you guys down and I know from recent posts that you had fun.. Left to right: Charles(get your elbow outta my head)..Jordan(dumped his TC3 for a Tamiya??)..Karen(not an E-main racer...HONEST!!)..Devyn(they brought their own club 'puter guy!!??) A few of us PLRC members are off to Sudbury in September for their Main Event.. Should be a blast and if you'd like to join us let us know Visit their SOAR website for more info: SOAR Website SOAR Forum
	Santino Nemi gets up and personal with his left rear tire..."Be the tire Santino...Be the tire"...Santino is another one of PLRC's resident fast guys.. He proved that on the track this weekend with an impressive 3rd place finish behind Mark Frechette and Jeff Eveleigh.. Speaking of Mark Frechette..Huge congrats to him for taking the win in a very talented Nitro A-Main..Mark is now a Team Tamiya member and showed everyone what Tamiya nitro is all about..Great job Mark..I hear a new nitro chassis is on the horizon for Tamiya...Look for that in mags and stores soon
	Jordan Bennett, from Sudbury, Ontario was lucky enough to win a Tamiya TB-01 in the lucky draw at the PLRC Worlds..The other chassis that was in the draw was a Team Losi XXX-T Matt Francis 2 personally autographed by Matt Francis for the winner.. Very nice.. The winner of the Losi probably hasn't even taken it home yet and Jordan almost has this thing built on the road home to Sudbury in the back of a Subaru Baja..Now thats the kind of enthusiasm we like to see in this hobby..
	Our newly crowned 2004 PLRC Electric Champion is Todd Hodge He was awesome all weekend and like Matt was a great sport..Signing autographs and helping out racers all weekend..And a great guy to talk to One of our PLRC regulars was having meltdown probs all weekend with his electric TC3....He's done eveything to his car..Replaced everything..But when the motor gets hot enough to melt the solder in places it shouldn't be there is definitely something amiss.. In the end it was Todd Hodge who helped him out..Actually, a lot of people tried and Jeff Eveleigh for one gave him an ESC .. My point here though is that Todd Hodge built a motor for Glen(not his real name...yeah right!!) and said, "Hey..Try this"..And it worked great...Still some bugs but everything was great by the end of Sunday's event.. HHMM...Wonder if Todd ever got that motor back?? J/K Glen..I know you tried to give it back after your first run with it.. Again..Great support from Todd and Matt regardless who's chassis you were running..Truely a treat for us club racers who don't usually get a chance to meet these guys, let alone race with them
	Matt Francis's pit area..Red anyone?? Everything this guy has is red..Pretty cool stuff too.. All his tools are red..Even the exacto knife..And I get him to sign my green car..hehe..