Battman takes 2 Classes at the TN State On-Road Carpet Championships
This past weekend, Team Associated and Reedy Power were on hand at the event hosted by Apex, Darkside, and Cry Baby Racing. This is a mid-summer carpet event run every two years. Classes like VTA, USGT, 21.5 TC, Jr. VTA, Euro Truck, and GT12, among others, were on hand with talent from several brands and states. All-day practice for Friday allowed racers to get dialed in and make changes to their rides before Saturday's first round of qualifiers.
Saturday was set for three rounds of qualifying. I ran my trusty Reedy Power Team Associated TC7.2 in VTA, and my Reedy Power, Tamiya Euro Truck, and my 12R6 in GT12. In VTA I was able to get an early TQ in round 1 against some of the latest and greatest TC platforms on the market. But I was able to hold my own and secure a very nice 99% to make sure TQ stayed with the Team. In Euro Truck we had a very solid run, with the Reedy Reedy WolfPack LiPo 4000mAh 35C 7.4V battery and RT1705A Digital HV Aluminum servo getting us again secured in TQ.
I was out of my element with the GT12 class, as I'm not a traditional 1:12 scale racer--or for any pan car for that matter. But after the first qualifier, I was able to get in the third spot, being only a lap off pace to the 4x National Champion. After 3 rounds, I was able to secure #2 on the grid, and on the same lap.
Sunday we were set to let any latecomers or racers to get an LCQ, a last chance qualifier, in. My Reedy Power vehicles did not let me down. I averaged 97 to 99% on all 3 classes and kept my positions with two TQs and runner-up spots to start the triple A mains. In VTA, the TC7.2 was a pleasure to drive, it did everything I needed to secure the championship with it, taking A1 and A2.
My Reedy Power Euro Truck had been dominant for the whole weekend, but on A1, we ran into issues that put us third. In A2 we made some corrections and we got back in the hunt. We took A2 and then A3 to secure the second championship of the weekend.
In the very contested GT12 class, John Barron set the bar for everyone to try and dethrone the 4X National Champion. In A1, an on-track wreck at the start had me sitting fourth on lap 1, but after some steady driving and a little luck, my Reedy Powered, Team Associated 12R6 was able to get back to second. In A2, we made the most of the grid and dropped in right behind first, and even set fast lap. But it wasn't enough to get around the winner of the class. So with A1 and A2 in the books, I was left to defend my second place with an A3 run. I started out front and was chased for a solid six minutes to go wire-to-wire, and got my overall second-place finish.
This was a really good event for my return to carpet on-road racing. The Reedy Powered, Team Associated cars got the job done. Thanks to all the racers, sponsors, and Apex Raceway for a great event.
Products used, GT12
#27009 Blackbox 510R 1S Competition ESC
#27387 Zappers SG5 6600mAh 130C 3.8V 1:12
#27428 Reedy S-Plus 21.5, torque
Products used, VTA
#27005 Blackbox 510R Sensored Competition ESC w/PROgrammer 2
#27381 Zappers SG5 6000mAh 130C 7.6V ULP Stick
#27400 Reedy S-Plus 25.5T
#27119 Reedy RT1705A Digital HV Aluminum Brushless Low-profile Servo
Products used, Euro Truck
#752 WolfPack LiPo 4000mAh 35C 7.4V
#27119 Reedy RT1705A Digital HV Aluminum
Photos courtesy of Myron Battman Kinnard.
Thanks to Myron Battman Kinnard for this report.
Associated Electrics - Champions By Design
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