presented by: Sudbury Organized Auto Racing (S.O.A.R.)
reported by: The R/C Guy

I must first congradulate Ken Moore of SOAR for claiming top spot and TQ in the 2wd Nitro class...He dominated all weekend and from what I hear he usually does..Great job Ken..Hoping to see you guys start to run 4wd nitro next year...
And also James Denis..What a great weekend for James(although it wasn't without probs..get to that later)..James won and TQ'd both the 4wd nitro class and the Electric Touring Class..Great job James..Looking forward to that rematch next year..James didn't just win Electric, he also dominated and no one could touch his times..

Road Trip:

In no particular order: Tim Howell, Sandra Howell, James Denis, Katie Teeter. "Mrs. R/C Guy", The R/C Kid and myself were the crew who represented PLRC Racing and R/C Ontario Racing up north

We had been discussing this race on the Sudbury R/C forum in the weeks leading up to the event and we were all very excited about it..Too many discussions to list here, but let's just say a few challenges were made..

The Howells and James and Katie had been to a Sudbury Main Event in the past(James and Katie are from Sudbury), but this was going to be Team R/C Ontario's first trip north for R/Cing..We do, however, have a long history of racing with SOAR club members at other Ontario tracks and I was really looking forward to running with them on their home track..

We left Burlington at 6am Saturday morning..4 1/2 hours later we arrive at our campsite 1 hour south of Sudbury and the track..Grundy Lake
Practice and round 1 of qualifying is to start at around noon so we quickly check in..Only to have Miss Ranger tell us that they are trying to move some bears out of a neighbouring campsite and that we should be careful..We're like, Bears??..Cool!!!
Guess she thought we were real city slickers and gave us all kinds of warnings and stuff about hugging the bears..Hug 'em??...Well, we are city slickers and were very excited about maybe seeing some bears...Never did..Dang!!
We get set-up without incident and take off to the track..Still buzzing about the bear thing, but also getting excited about reaching the SOAR track..
89 kilomotres later we pull into the parking lot of SOARS Home Turf..

Wow..What a great looking track..Meet up with all the locals and get the grand tour..Track is awesome..Sugar water has just been applied and they are just about ready to go.. After a few runs of practice in which my NTC3 was flying, I'm ready and raring to go..I was a little concerned 'cause I bought a new motor and did break it in properly the previous week, but hadn't had much chance to run it on a track..No worries..This thing was a rocket..I decided that traction would be awesome with the sugar water layed down and decided to run with my brand new 40 compound foam tires..Great choice..Never looked back.. Here's a familiar face...Charles Lavec was part of the Team Sudbury Crew that recently attended the PLRC Worlds..Here Charles gets in some hot laps..I'll have to quote Charles later on..Stay tuned..

Here's a look at "Da Pits"..Thats Mrs. R/C Guy walking away in the background..I do believe that guy in the foreground right is checking her out..Just kidding.. Speaking of the pits..My car was awesome..I had some trouble with my starter box the previous weekend and had to run it off my car battery but other than that I think I was ready to go..Warm-ups were great..The car started and ran fine..Then The R/C Kid decided he needed to charge his batteries for his upcoming electric touring qualifier..Which is great..Its his job..

I get back to the pits..My car is awesome as mentioned..Its on the box all fueled up..Glow plugs ignitors are fully charged..I have all the gear there and ready to roll..My qualifier is being called up..Wahoo..Looking forward to this..My car won't start..I keep trying..It won't start..Great..Gonna be another one of those weekends..I miss my first qualifier..Then I check everything out and realize The R/C Kid has hooked my starter box up backwards..Not his fault..Long story..GGRR!!
Get it all sorted and my 2nd qualifier was great..22 laps puts both James Denis and I at the front and sets the pace for the weekend..I was very pleased..James is one of PLRC's resident fast guys and the 2004 Canadian TCS TG10R Champion..Wahoo...!!! This is gonna be great..

James and I both had very good qualifying on Saturday..Tim Howell was suffering though..His Saturday qualifiers put him in last place with runs of 4-8 laps..OUCH..We knew that all he needed was a decent run though and were pretty confident of a Team R/C Ontario sweep of the top three 4wd nitro spots.. We were keeping an eye on Charles though 'cause he only managed to run one qualifier with his very new NTC3 and was closing in with an 18 lap run..

Meanwhile, James was also smoking everyone in Electric..22 laps in qualifying on Saturday and jumped it ahead a notch to 23 laps on Sunday..Karen Courvoisier was within .06 seconds of James on Saturday and was hoping to bump James out of the TQ spot..Great effort, but James squeaked out another lap on both qulifiers on Sunday and never looked back..
The R/C Kid had an awesome weekend..Consistently running 18 lappers and even a couple of 19's...He was very clean and the only thing keeping him from doing better was his lack of proper gearing for stock racing(everybody was begging everybody for pinions at this race) and maybe a little less knowledge in the technical side of electric car tuning..

This is Dan St Jean's pit area..Dan runs in the 2wd nitro class, but luckilly for me he also has pinions for electric rides..They were a hot commodity this weekend I don't think Dan had a very good weekend..18 amd 19 lap qualifiers were enough to get him into the A-Main but unfortunatelt he found himself off the track too much during his main to be a contender. Ken Moore was TQ as mentioned with a blistering qualifieing pace of 24 laps..He ran a very consistent main and ended up doing 271 laps in his 1 hour long A-Main..Wow...

Back to electric, Karen Courvoisier had a poor first qualifier and I was hoping it wasn't gonna be one of those weekends for her again..She had a terrible time at the PLRC Worlds and was looking for a little payback at her home track..
Next run she was up to pace though and by Sunday when the qualifiers were sorted by ability the A-Main was pretty much set..
Tim Howell never really got his nitro act together but he was qualified 3rd for the A-Main Electric Touring class
And thats how we went into the Electric A-Main..

James Denis
Karen Courvoisier
Tim Howell
Jordan Bennett
Mike Dawe
Steve Dawe

Ends up that I was the guy to take up the last A-Main start behind Mike..That's right..He "beat his Dad"...I believe he may have even told some people about it too(wink)..He out qualified me fair and square..We ran the same way in the mains and Mike came home with a very decent 5th place A-Main finish to my 6th..I know this because I heard about it for 5 1/2 hours on the trip home.."Oh Dad..Have I mentioned that I beat you??" (roll eyes)..Well deserved Mike..You ran well all weekend and it was nice to see it pay off for you(makes an R/C Dad proud when he gets whooped by his kids)..The plan is identical equipment for next year and then we'll see who is the best racer..Once and for all..I just hope he doesn't get better in the meantime..(roll eyes again)

Tim Howell cranks on his car while Sandra Howell has a little break Sandra doesn't usually race but she really enjoys the atmospere and compettion at the SOAR Main Event in Sudbury She did pretty good too..A 3rd place finish in the Electric Touring C-Main.. We always managed to leave the campsite before Tim, Sandra, Katey and James but they always made it to the track before us..Still trying to figure that one out..And Tim even drove slow enough to see a bear on some train tracks on one of his journeys "into town"..We never did see a bear..Dang!!

James Denis cranking on his car while Katie Teeter also manages to find time for a break.. Katie is now the defending 2004 SOAR Main Event C-Main Champion after a very consistent run..Her C-Main run was her best of the weekend and she pretty much smoked the competition...Putting three laps on her nearest competitor. James and I had a mini rivalry going all weekend We both qualified with 22 laps and I was trying to take TQ on Sunday..Or at least threatening to..AS it happened, I had to push my car to beat my best time and although the NTC3 is very fast it also doesn't like being pushed Hit a wall in my 1st qualifier on Sunday and broke a rear knuckle..Luckilly someone had one and I was good to go..Skipped my last qualifier though..James wasn't running if I wasn't and I didn't want to push my car and possibly break again, so I saved it for the main..So we both had a nap..

Electric Racers

Nitro Racers

Here are the racers and there cars..Not a bad showing for a small club up north and by the sounds of it, it is only going to get better..SOAR is putting a lot of time and effort into promoting their track this year and hopefully they'll get the interest they are looking for I have to say that it was a pleasure racing in Sudbury..There are many reasons for that..Smaller club means tons of track time..Great people..Large fairly open track made for some hide speed runs and that was nice after racing at our local club's tight tracks for so long..I really think that PLRC could benifit from opening up their courses a little bit as well..It really does make things a lot more fun for everyone.. The sugar water was nice too..

Let's move on to the A-Main Nitro..It was a eventful race.. By this time Tim has got his Serpent running fairly consistent. I was keeping an eye on him..James and I were duking it out for top spot, but I knew that Tim was fast too and with a good running car he would be on our heels.. 45 minute main..Yahoo...My longest race for sure..It was supposed to be an hour but I was a little worried that my 600 mah receiver batteries would last and as a group we decided to shorten it..Fanx to Devyn for taking care of that for us..

Lap 1...Dang..My car isn't braking..I rip down the straight at the start and realize my brakes are really lacking..It gets worse on every turn..By the time I'm into my third lap I realize that I have no brakes at all..Don't want to mess with my radio 'cause my car is dialed and running awesome..I've moved into 1st place and James is pushing me every lap, but I really have to slow down in the infield..After running in 1st for about 5 minutes as my brakes quickly fade away I tag the wall one too many times and crunch..There goes my front right wheel..NO!!!
Off to the pits I go..Dejected..It was an awesome weekend, but I've broken a pivot ball and can't repair or replace it..Then I hear I'm still in 2nd spot..
James is having his own share of problems..Seems he has a wheel binding up on him and has to fight the car for most of the race...
He did manage to run the entire race but he should have been a lot faster
Tim...Well..Tim was having all kinds of problems..Broken A-Arms..Broken pipe..He spent more time in the pits than he did on the track.I know how you feel Tim..Team R/C Ontario(I'm including Tim & James here) dominated the 4wd nitro all weekend and it was starting to look pretty bad for the main.. Tim's cranking away on his car in the pits..James is ushing his car as fast as it will go..I'm looking at a broken car and wondering what to do...THen I decide I can fix it..Take some zip ties and secore the front upright to the front a-arm..Looks crappy but I think it'll work..By this time I've slipped down to 3rd..I can make that up..Get on the track and I'm flying again..Half a lap and the ties go..Dang..I drive it for a lap or two but its no good...Put on more ties and try it again..Same results..Pretty much as soon as I turn the ties break..
The front wheel was getting all twisted and I couldn't run like that..I remember my first ever (little R/C flashback here) Molson Indy R/C Challenge..Mike Burr blew a wheel right off..He managed an amazing 2nd place finish as well....
I called my pit guy(The R/C Kid) and told him to take off my front right wheel..
Crazy??..Maybe, but I didn't come all this way to watch the 45 minute main in the pits..Replacing a few parts when I got home was worth it

The car was back on track and without that wheel there was no binding..Turning left was a bit of a challenge but on the straight and turning right my car was a rocket.. By the way..Cudos to my brand new OS TR .12 motor..That thing was great..Maybe a little less power than the Novas but I think that kinda suited my driving style a little anyways..Give it full throttle out of the corners and it was planted..My only beef with my new car which I haven't really had the chance to test because of motor problems all year is the fact that it does seem a little fragile and with no brakes by this point it didn't take a very hard brush off a wall to cripple it..Thats ok..Don't hit anything, right?.. Here's a peek at my car before I ripped off the front wheel..Looked really nice running in first for a while...Attrition played a huge role in this main..Everyone had problems..The field was up and down..6 cars on the track, to two, then four, and then...,blah blah blah..

Here's my car running on three wheels..I got back on the track in 4th..My car is still very fast but without brakes and no left steering to speak of, the infield once again slowed me down considerably..
Here's a lap..Turn right after the start/fiinsh line..turn right onto the straight..Full throttle down the straight and right around the sweeper..Slow Down!!..Left twice..But very slow...Then its back right onto the short start/finish straight and up to speed again..

It was enough to move me up...After awhile I'm back into 3rd..James is still running steady consistent laps this entire time and at this point in the race is unreachable for me..Tim is back in the pits and third place is listed as car #4..As I'm ripping around the track I'm looking for car #4..Don't see it..Another guy back in the pits, I'm guessing..Keep at it and eventually move up to my final A-Main position of 2nd place..Ran most of my race on three wheels..What a hoot..And it was really a lot of fun once I got over the frustration and mayhem of being broken..One of the benifits of long main is the ability to do some stuff and still stay in the hunt..
This brings me to the quote of the weekend by Charles Lavec
"I can't believe you beat me on three wheels"
Charles ended up in a very respectable third and I'm looking forward to running with him and everyone else next year.. Tim, James and I have a score to settle as well..No broken parts or suffering cars and may the best man win..We'll be back..

Here's your 2004 SOAR Main Event 4wd Nitro Champion on the track..Fanx to my assistant photographer for this one and many of the other pics here..The R/C Wife did an awesome job with the camera and its nice to actually see pics of my car on the track for a change..

James was the only guy who didn't have off track excursions in this main..Although he did have an ill handling car as mentioned..Showed me his winning Tamiya TG10R after the race and there was definitely some probs with a front wheel..It wasn't spinning properly and he had to use a little pressure to turn it by hand..Guess he's got some repairs to do at home too..

Here is your 2004 Nitro 2wd A-Main...Ken Moore, James Denis, Dean Sokoloski and Brad Peacock...Missing from this pic is Danny St Jean who is on the lower drivers stand in front of these guys..But that is Dan's car on the track.. As mentioned this was pretty much Ken's race from start to finish...He was obviously the fastest on the track and his lead only increased more as the other A-Main racers kept having off track excursions..Broken parts mainly.. Although he was a few laps down and still being lapped by Ken it was exciting to see Brad and Ken ripping down the straight and through the sweeper side by side.. Ken would eventually pass but it was great to watch as it happened..

This is Brad's son, Alex...Alex was Brad's pit guy for the Nitro 2wd final...I have to say that Alex did an amazing job of pitting..His Dad would cruise in and Alex would quickly spot the car..Fuel him up and send him on his way..I had thought that maybe being a young guy, Alex wasn't getting the tank filled up completely, but although Brad had some mechanical probs he never once ran out of fuel..Great job Alex.. And he was so cool about it too..Very smooth and efficient.

The above two pics are actually from a great article in the Sudbury Star..
A great read for sure..You can check it out at the SOAR website..Kind of interesting to get a point of view from someone who isn't in the hobby..
I would like to include some quotes though..
Dean Sokoloski: Once your in, theres no turning back..It's the speed of course, the noise, the challenge of setting up a car before the race
Alex Sokoloski:(when asked what he liked about the hobby)..Everything!!
Danny St. Jean:(who met his wife "on the circuit" 15 years ago) Its a family affair..I'm a complete fanatic myself, I race the little ones 'cause I can't afford the big ones..
Tim Howell:The combination of comraderie and competition are what makes it so special..Everybody knows everybody..The competitions are mostly about bragging rights

SOAR did a really nice job on their trophies...The top three in each A-Main got the hardware to prove it and everyone else got one of these nice looking medalions to take home The trophy presentation went well and everyone was happy to get some gear.. WE ewnded up going to "The Peacock's" house down the street a few miles for an excellent backyard BBQ...Fanx very much for that guys.. It was really nice to hang out with you all for awhile.

Wow...Look at all that Sponsor stuff... XXX Main racing and Hobby Hobby helped sponsor this race by offering up some great gifts for the racers.. Although XXX Main kinda dominted this portion of the table those Hobby Cards(gift certificates) from Hobby Hobby went over ver well Really great of these guys to help support a northern club like this and I know that the SOAR members really appreciated it.. Fanx again guys

Boytoys is based in Mississauga and they too were kind enough to offer up some great die cast cars as prizes SOAR also managed to get some local merchants to chip in.. C & M Computers & OK Tire donated some really cool stuff and of course none of this would even be happening if it wasn't for the host parking lot provided by The Brick... THe Brick parking lot is SOAR's home track so they have been supporting SOAR for sometime now.. Huge Fanx to all you guys as well..

Little known factoid R/C Ontario's website is actually hosted by Boytoys Inc.
Gratuatis plug here..I'm really happy with the service that Boytoys provides me at a reasonable cost..Sign up today!!

Here is Team R/C Ontario celebrating a great weekend with a Monday morning breakfast prepared by James and Tim..Great job guys..Bacon and sausages and french toast..Yum Yum!! In the first pic Sandra looks on as James and Tim get to cookin' and Katie stands at the ready to assist.. Here is Team R/C Ontario around the table..Left to right.. James Denis, Katie Teeter, Tim Howell, Sandra Howell, Rita Dawe, Mike Dawe and of course The R/C Guy taking the pics as usual..

Here is a look at my broken pivot ball set-up...It was sheered off right at the edge of the lower a-arm so there was no way I could get it out and no way I could temporarilly screw in the thread of the remaining part in the upright.. It became a case of adapt or go home..I adapted.. Considering that I ran about 20 minutes plus of this race on three wheels, I didn't end up with very much damage at all..That chassis is barely worn down..More cosmetic damage that anything..I'd say 1mm of wear at most.. I've since rebuilt it and the chassis is pretty much as solid as stock..Obviously I did think that replacing the chassis may be necessary.. The third pic is the cause of my brake failure..I thought I had just worn them out or something, but it turns out that my cam lever had come out..That is held in place with a set screw..So, I had no brakes at all and no amount of radio adjustments would have fixed that..One minute the brakes worked and the next they were completely gone..Wow.. I check it out and repaired it..The set screw is still there..I did use lock-tite but somehow it came loose..Worked fine at a recent event I race at and I'll be sure to rebuild everything again before the next event..

In closing I'd like to say that Team R/C Ontario had an awesome weekend and tons "O" fun racing with the Sudbury crew..Its the most fun I've had at an R/C event in awhile..Tons "O" track time and a very relaxed atmosphere..
We will be going to their 2005 Main Event for sure..Hope you can come too...
R/C Ontario Approved...
Keep On R/Cing Up North..
The R/C Guy..