Mother Nature allowed us another great day on the track for the long weekend. The car count was down a bit to 35 entries, probably due to the holiday, but the racing was as good as always.

Jeff Corsault brought his M Class slayer and once again took TQ and the main win followed by Mario Biscaro, Jay Devots, Derek Marker and Bart Garner. The top 5 finished in the same order as they qualified. In round one, Jeff turned a lap of 20.618, nearly a full second faster than any other M Class car ran on the day.

Ben Smith had a rough day, dropping out of both qualifiers and missing the main with a broken car. Nevertheless, Ben is the highest ranked Novice in the points, followed by Mario Comito and Sean Mayman.

In SS Touring Ed Lacika snuck in for TQ with a great second run at 23 laps in 6:15. After a slow start in the main, Ed capitalized on an error by Bart Garner on lap 14 to take the lead and drive away for his first A Main win of the season. Bart was 2'nd for the 2'nd week in a row. Etienne Marcoux, who has won 3 A mains this season suffered through a couple of 20+ second laps mid race and wound up 3'rd. The top 3 cars were separated by less than 5 seconds. Dan Engelbreth, Dan Wheeler and Kevin Hill each suffered from some sort of bad luck or breakdown throughout the race but would have also been on 22 lap runs had their luck held out. This is a VERY close and competitive class.

Dan Engelbreth took the Nitro B Main win with a 35 lap run in 10.07 and a fast lap of 16:059. Grant Galloway made his first RROL appearance of the year and took second in the B followed by Chad McGregor and Derek Marker.

Lou Vanderwey was TQ and followed that up by taking the Nitro A Main by a full lap over Ty Grant. Wayne Vince was 3'rd and Gervais Grant was 4'th. Lou and Wayne are now tied at the top of the points with 695.

Five cars were entered in 1/12'th scale. Etienne Marcoux was the TQ and won the main with a 29 lap run in 8:02. Jay Devost followed in second, 10 seconds back. Jeff Corsault was third edging Bart Garner out by just a couple of seconds. Tod Lancaster was 5'th.

There were just 4 Pro 10 pan cars out. John Elliott was smooth as always and took TQ as well as the main win with 23 laps in 6:02. John's performance was good enough to win the SSTC main. Ed Lacika was 2'nd, 6 seconds faster than his SSTC winning performance. Dan Engelbreth was 3'rd and Jamie Barrett was 4'th.

Opening up the rules to allow lipo batteries has generated new interest in this class. There should be 2 or 3 more Pro 10 cars out for the next race day. Wayne Vince, Lou Vanderwey and Bart Garner each have cars ready to go or on the way. Wayne and Lou will likely run Nimh 4 cell - bet on them to still be plenty quick. It's hard to beat their superior car maintenance and driving skill.

Finally, fabulous weather - and it showed in the car count as 46 cars were entered for Points Race #9.

In the M-Class, Mario Biscaro took his customary TAQ position and followed up with a win in the A main. Kevin Hill had a great run from the 4'th starting spot to take 2'nd over newcomer Jason Gravel and Derek Marker. Richard Garner was 3'rd.

Bart Garner missed the first round of qualifying when a nasty glitch on a warm up lap resulted in two broken steering arms, then missed the A with a motor that just wasn't up to the task. It was enough to take the B though and score 5'th place points on the day. Bart was followed by Tod Lancaster & Sean Mayman. Mario Comito and Dan Douglas rounded out the top 5.

SS Touring had 11 cars taking qualifying runs. Etienne Marcoux took the TQ position by 5 seconds over Bart Garner on a 22 lap run. Dan Engelbreth qualified 3'rd with 21 laps. In the main, Etienne finished again with 22 laps, 11 seconds up on Bart who edged Ed Lacika at the line by a little less than 1.5 seconds. Bart and Ed had a great battle throughout the main and were never more than 15 or 20 feet apart. Kevin Hill capitalized on an early error by Dan Engelbreth to take 4'th. Dan was 5'th, followed by Jan Devost.

In the B Main, Ryan Fox of Brantford ran 21 laps to top Jamie Barrett by a lap. Richard Garner was third.

Wayne Vince was TQ in Nitro but Ty Grant took the main followed by Lou Vanderwey. Wayne had to settle for third, but all three cars were on the same lap at the end and separated by just over 6 seconds. These guys are putting on a great show week after week. Derek Marker edged Dan Engelbreth out for 4'th.

The Pro 10 Pan Car class took to the track again this week. Dan and Ed had a good battle, both turning laps that would be more than respectable in SS Touring. They finished with 22 laps, Dan edging Ed by just 7.5 seconds. Jamie Barrett was third after being off track for just over 1 minute. Chad McGregor had the coolest racer on the track today with a very unique pickup body on his Pan Car but the new car gremlins appear to have gotten a hold of him after only 3 laps.

Next race day is Saturday August 30.

Another rainout after just one full round of qualifying and the 2'nd round mini heats.

401 TC Report

Jul 26, 2008

Yet another rain plagued weekend, but this time we got our full race day in on Sunday. When Saturday rained out just as we were to start the first Mini qualifier the race day was postponed to Sunday. Several guys stuck around to get some practice on Saturday when the weather cleared and the decision was made to leave the track setup and get a head start on the racing on Sunday.

Good call! It was raining as I unloaded at home Sunday afternoon.

12 Mini's took to the track on Sunday. Mario Biscaro snagged his customary TQ but failed to finish the main with a stripped gear in his ball diff. The author learned about this problem last year! They're fast, but they just don't hold up, and to finish first, first you must finish!

Jay Devost edged Derek Marker by 1 second on a 21 lap run. Bart Garner, also on 21 laps finished 3'rd, followed by Kevin Hill and Ed Lacika who is stubbornly sticking to his pokey rear wheel drive. Mario had his first DNF of the season.

In the M Class B Main, Jamie Barrett cruised to a half lap win over Bob Gillier. Mark Cosford was third.

Ten cars made up the field in Super Stock Touring. Dan Wheeler was TQ, but dumped in the main, losing 3 spots in the final lap to finish 4'th. Ed Lacika turned in a fine 22 lap run for his first A Main win of the year, followed by Jay Devost (21 laps) in his first SSTC appearance. Bart Garner was third, also on 21 laps. Con Vangalen rounded out the field in 5'th with 20 laps.

Jamie Barrett tooks his second B Main win of the day in Touring, followed by 'Lucky' Dan Engelbreth and Dylan Christo. Dan's already bad day got worse when his car shut off twice in the closing laps of the main. The second time, it also got dropped and pulled a loose left left rear upper link off. (oops, sorry!)

Only 4 cars entered 1/12'th scale. Mark Graham swept the day with TQ and the Main win, followed by Jay Devost, just 5/100'ths behind and Bart Garner who was down 3 laps at the end. Con Vangalen's car broke after only 4 laps.

The Nitro field was also reduced, likely due to all the bad weather and uncertainty. Ty Grant took TQ over Wayne Vince and they finished the main in the same order. Dan Engelbreth finally had a good run on the day taking 3'rd, followed by Mark Graham and Derek Marker.

Jul 19 / 20, 2008 - Jun 28 Makeup Race

When it rains, it rains every weekend!

We can't seem to catch a break this year with the weather. Thankfully the rain held off for the TC Challenge but it returned with a vengeance on Saturday, wiping out our race day after only one main.

A much smaller than normal field returned Sunday, where we got through two rounds of qualifying and the M Class main before the skies opened up again. We held off for about an hour hoping it would clear but it became evident that the race day was over.

Qualifying in Mini set the stage for the main with Mario taking TQ, followed by Derek Marker and Bart Garner. Derek and Bart were having a great race for second until some incidental contact left Bart's car with a steering rod popped of. Repairs were quick enough to hold third, but the battle for second was over. Mark Desylva managed to improve his qualifying run by one, edging Richard Garner in the main.

The balance of the main results were set by the qualifying order due to the rain. Results are at JLap. We may yet run these mains at a later date.

Jul 13 /14, 2008 - 401 Touring Car Challenge

RROL introduced the new sealed and professionally detailed track layout at the Home Depot lot in East London during the weekend of July 12-13. The track turned out to be a great success. Although a thunderstorm dampened the activities half way through Saturday, the racers were extremely pleased with the new circuit. The layout flowed well especially for the fast Touring cars, but was also challenging for the Mini and 1/12 classes, as well as adding a “pro track” look to the parking lot track. The traction was terrific as well. This track layout was a major milestone for RROL and has ignited new interest in on-road RC in Southern Ontario.

Sunday: - Raceday:
The weather had been unsettled for the past several race weekends and even the Saturday’s Points race the day before the big one had to be scrubbed half way through because of a sudden downpour. Early Sunday brought a light sprinkle of rain along with a dose of apprehension, but it was a great relief when the sun broke through around 8:00am as the racers were arriving from all points along the 401. A number of racers hailed from Toronto and area, Brantford was represented, as well as Windsor, Chatham and points in between, and of course many racers from London, the home track city.

The track barriers had been set up for the Saturday race and left overnight, so all that was needed to open practice was to spray the track with the special traction recipe. Controlled practice was divided between Mini, 1/12 & SSTC, and Nitro TC. As the racers took their turns prepping and tuning their cars, the qualifiers were approaching….

The traditional group photo was followed by the Concours award. Gervais Grant from Toronto took the best appearing car honours with a cleanly detailed orange and white Dodge Stratus on a nitro Kyosho chassis.

Qualifiers - First Round
Mini – There was a strong field of 18 Mini’s split into 2 groups. As expected the cream rises and Jeff Corsault wheeled his green Suzuki Swift bodied Mo3M into the lead after the first round followed by Ed Lacika, and Jay Devost. The next several cars were very close in time and any small mistake in the next round could turn their fate around.

SSTC – This was one of the fast classes – again 2 full groups. Lou Vanderwey dusted off his Losi JRXS-R for the first time in months and posted a 20 lap run – one lap clear of the field. Etienne Marcoux, Dan Wheeler and Ed Lacika followed.

SS1/12 – One heat of 1/12 scale – a new class for RROL this year, saw a competitive field making some very fast laps on the smooth, high traction surface. Brandon Showler had the measure of the rest of the field coming in with a 31 lap run ahead of Jeff Corsault, Mark Graham and Jay Devost.

Nitro TC – Wayne Vince held the fast time in the first round followed by Ty Grant, Gervais Grant and Mark Graham. Local favorite and 2008 Canadian 1/10 Nitro Sedan Champion Lou Vanderwey, couldn’t get his Xray NT-1 to behave, but would have another chance at redemption.

Qualifiers – Second Round

Mini – Jeff Cousaul bettered his first run by 2 seconds to secure the TQ position. Jay Devost, Derek Marker, Mario Biscaro, and Bart Garner followed within seconds, and could be a threat in the main.

SSTC – Again Lou led the field around for 5 minutes, bettering his time to 21 in 5:12.7. Followed by Etienne, Dan Wheeler & Con Vangalen.

SS1/12 – Brandon bettered his time by 6 seconds in the 2nd round to capture the TQ position. Etienne Marcoux, Mark Graham, Jeff Corsault rounded out the top 4.

Nitro TC – Wayne again was the car to beat but Lou had found his mojo and followed by only 3 seconds. Ty, Gervais, Art Trinos, and Mark Graham rounded out the top 5.

Mains:
Mini B:
The competitive field of Minis was split in 2 with the dubious honour of BQ going to Henry Tan. After all the fender rubbing was done it was Henry out front followed closely by Kevin Parsons, Mark DeSylva, Sean Mayman, Ben Smith, Akira Campbell, and Mario Comitio.

Mini A:
After the dust settled and all the silver cans had been milked for every last revolution, Jeff Corsault brought the green machine home for the victory. Jay Devost managed to stay on the same lap, 11 seconds adrift. Art Trinos followed in 3rd, towing Ed Lacika, Mario Biscaro, Bart Garner, Derek Marker, (all on a 21 laps) followed by Jamie Barrett, Kevin Hill, and Ennio Carbone. Very close racing!!

SSTC – B Main
Kevin Hill had the measure of this race with a clear 2 lap lead over the rest of the field. Steve Vangalen and Jamie Barrett battled to a VERY close finish. Steve had a 0.078 second edge on Jamie at the finish line. Dylan Christo, Ryan Parsons and Jason Regier followed.

SSTC – A Main
Could anyone beat Lou? Would he make a mistake allowing someone to challenge?
Well no… although Etienne made a hard charge to take 2nd. Dan Wheeler, Ed Lacika, and Dan Engelbreth were within 14 seconds, followed by Bart Garner, Con Vangalen, and Ryan Fox.

SS1/12 A Main
Brandon looked like the car to beat, taking the 2 rounds of qualifying with apparent ease, however in an 8 minute race things can happen…Brandon led for 4 laps but then Jeff Beaule who qualified 6th took over on lap 5 and never looked back, Brandon having handling issues. At the end it was Jeff Beaule followed by Jeff Corsault, Jay Devost, Mark Graham, Brandon Showler, Kevin Hill, Bart Garner, Etienne Marcoux and Justin Blythe.

Nitro TC B Main:
The 20 minute B Main Nitro turned out to be a battle of endurance. Derek Marker took the early lead but by lap 11 Dan Engelbreth powered into the lead and held it easily to the finish. Henry Tan followed 5 laps down for 2nd followed by Derek Marker another 11 laps down taking 3rd. Nick DeGuzman and Chad McGregor rounded out the top 5

Nitro TC A Main
Wayne Vince TQ’d but had trouble firing up and joined the field in 3rd for the start of the grueling 30 minute A Main. Contenders Lou Vanderwey, Ty Grant and brother Gervais Grant, and Art Trinos got a clean start. Mark Graham had flame out problems at the start and lost a lot of time. At the half way point it was
Lou, ahead of Wayne by only 4 seconds, followed by Art Trinos. Mark Graham had his car running but was 28 laps down from the lead lap. Gervais dropped out early with mechanical issues and brother Ty had a big wreck on lap 45 ending his run.
At the 70 lap mark Lou, who was maintaining a 4 second lead over Wayne, stuffed his car under the scoring bridge barrier, allowing Wayne who had been dogging him for several laps, to take over first. Now it was Wayne ahead of Lou by 4 seconds. The final pit stop came up with Wayne leading Lou by only 2 seconds. It was a pit lane showdown as both cars came in on the same lap. Disaster struck for Wayne’s pit crew as the fuel cap loop snagged on the body and stayed open, spilling fuel on his tires and losing nearly the whole tank full on the next lap. The car was undriveable and spun several times, crashing and jamming the suspension. Lou, gamely, waited in vain for a lap, then just cruised to the victory. After an exciting 30 minutes it was Lou Vanderwey claiming 1st, followed by a consistent Art Trinos, the unfortunate Wayne Vince, Mark Graham, Ty Grant, and Gervais Grant .

It was a terrifically successful event and many thanks goes out to our supporters:

AVF Hobbies – Door prizes - Thanks Jeff & Derek
ByronRC – Door Prizes - Thanks Ennio, and for helping race direct a bit too
Great Canadian Hobbies – Door Prizes – Thanks Jim and Jason
Subway – Free Sub Coupons – Thanks Morris
CanWest RC – Door Prizes – Thanks Korgae

Congratulations to the Tamiya Suzuki Swift raffle winner – Mark DeSylva
Thanks to Mario Biscaro for helping race direct.

Thanks to Sean Mayman for use of his generator

Special thanks to Karen, Rebecca, & Beth for ticket sales and photo enhancements!

A cheque for $200.00 was donated to the Women’s Community House next door to our track, for being such a worthy cause and good neighbours!

Special thanks to the RROL club members for setup & teardown and making this a very successful event.

Dan Engelbreth

401 TCC Gallery | Top of Page

Jul 6 /7 - Track is being sealed this weekend! Next up is a double header weekend with regular points racing on Saturday and the 401 TC Challenge on Sunday Jul 13.

Jun 28, 2008 - Points Race #5 - Rained out

Jun 14, 2008 - Points Race #4

Another huge turnout today had a total of M class cars taking to the track. Jay Devost took TQ with an 18 lap run in 6:09 but dumped in the main, falling to 8'th place at the end. Ed Lacika capitalized on a wreck by Mario Biscaro, who was leading at the time, that collected 1'nd place Bart Garner to take the win. Mario and Bart took 2'nd and 3'rd followed by Kevin Hill and Jamie Barrett. Ennio Carbone took the B Main over Brian Mills and Alec Dequantel.

13 cars contested the SSTC class with Etienne Marcoux sweeping both the TQ and A Main win. Etienne beat out Dan Wheeler and Dan Engelbreth by just under a lap. Con Vangalen was 4'th and Bart Garner was 5'th. This is turning out to be a very competitive class, with the top 5 cars running much of the 6 minute main on the same lap.

Richard Garner took the SSTC B Main by 5 laps over Mario Comito and 7 laps over Ennio Carbone. Richard's run was good enough to run 5'th in the A Main.

In the tightest race all day, Jay Devost edged Dan Wheeler by just over 1/2 a second to take the 12'th SS Main. Etienne Marcoux ran third. TQ Mark Graham was fourth followed by Dan Engelbreth.

Lou Vanderwey took TQ in Nitro and followed up with the A Main win. Wayne Vince fell victim to a poor choice of pit man (that would be the author) and did well to finish 2'nd, 2 laps back. Frank Munzer turned in a great run to take 3'rd over Dan Engelbreth. Eight Nitro's ran qualifying but only 6 started the main

Jun 1, 2008 - Points Race #3

Bad weather seems to be the trend for us this year, but that's not stopping the crowds! 46 cars were entered for Sunday's racing. After Saturday rained out, that is a great number. RROL is as strong as ever.

Wayne Vince TQ'd in Nitro and took the A Main win with a 63 lap run. His fast lap of 13.466 was by far and away the fastest lap of the day in any class. Wayne's AVERAGE lap time of 14.377 eclipsed the fastest lap anyone else turned all day, with the exception of a couple of 1/12'th scale carsTy Grant who qualified 2'nd but had troubles in the main, missing many laps. Dan Engelbreth was second in Nitro, followed by former Dirt Ace Mark Graham. There were two heats of qualifying in Nitro but a few cars dropped out over the course of the day and we only ran one main.

Etienne Marcoux was TQ in 1/12'th, but Mark Graham and Dan Engelbreth stepped it up for the main taking the top two spots. Chad McGregor and Crazy Jay Devost rounded out the top 5 in a field of 8 cars. (I say Crazy, 'cuz he is).

In Super Stock Touring, Dan Wheeler was TQ, but Dan Engelbreth stalked him for 21 laps in the main before slipping by and taking the win with a 24 lap run in 6:14. Dan Wheeler was 2'nd followed by Ed Lacika. Etienne Marcoux lasted only 8 laps but earns 4'th place points. Richard Garner managed only 1 very fast lap before slapping the wall and falling out of the race with a loose signal wire. Kevin Hill was a DNS.

In the SSTC B Main, Bart Garner carefully took an ill handling car with a snapped chassis to the win over Con Vangalen and Jamie Barrett. It wasn't a particularly fast or smooth run but with 3 cars running into trouble in the A Main it was good enough for 4'th place points on the day. (For sale, one slightly used FK05!)

There were 15 M Class cars out. Crazy Jay and Derek Marker took the top two spots over TQ Mario Biscaro. Derek has really stepped it up this year. His car is as quick as any on the track and he is driving well. Bart Garner was 4'th and Ed Lacika ran 5'th. Ed was much faster this week with the front wheel drive car than he was last race day with the Alfa Romeo. Ed will be a threat to win very soon. This is a very competitive class, with 1'st through 4'th on the same lap at the horn.

In the Mini B Main Kevin Hill, who struggled in qualifying turned in a very respectable 22 lap run to take the win, followed by Kevin Parsons and Brian Mills. Tori Garner, the lone female in the field today took 4'th.

There were not enough pan cars to make a heat so they did not run.

Next race day is Jun 14. Long range forecast looks like we might again be battling rain on Saturday so keep your Sunday open!

Reminder, we also race on Jun 21. Our bi-weekly schedule is occasionally interrupted by special events at other tracks.

Mother Nature tried her best but with a late start (and an even later finish!) we did manage to get the race day in on Saturday.

A 13 car field contested the M Class. In Jeff Corsault's absence, Mario Biscaro turned the competition up a notch with a flawless 15 lap run in 5:10, breaking the 20 second lap time barrier in the process. Mario was followed by Derek Marker, Jay Devost, Kevin Hill and Bart Garner, all on 14 lap runs. The cars are so close in performance on the big track that this is going to be a very competitive class, where mistakes will be costly.

Tod Lancaster just missed the A main, but led the B from start to finish, with Brian Mills 2'nd and Tori Garner 3'rd. Ed Lacika had his rear wheel drive Alfa Romeo out and ran well but had problems in the main, finishing down a couple of laps. Ed - bring the front wheel drive next time!

There were 10 Nitro cars, again divided into 2 mains. Lou Vanderwey and Wayne Vince put on their usual driving clinic, with Lou taking TQ but Wayne prevailing in the main. Gervais Grant edged out Ty Grant for 3'rd, with Dan Engelbreth bringing up the rear in the Nitro A Main. It will be entertaining watching Lou and Wayne battle it out all summer. We are lucky to have such top notch talent in our club.

Mark Graham won the Nitro B, followed by Chad McGregor and Derek Marker. Frank Munzer, who had a very respectable 50 lap run in last weeks A Main struggled today and did not finish. Frank has improved greatly over last year though, as has Derek. Nitro should be competitive from the top to the bottom this year.

1/12'th scale had 8 cars this week, with several more still on the bench and due out soon. John Elliot made his return to RROL a success by edging out TQ Etienne Marcoux in the main. Mark Graham was third. The rest of the field struggled with some early season demons. Jay Devost was much quicker this week than last with his 19T motor. Look for Jay to be a contender when he gets everything sorted out.

The Pro 10 class hit the track this week with 3 cars. There are still a few more on order or on the bench that should be out over the next few weeks. John Elliot was the class of this field turning fast consistent laps and running away with the main. John's fast lap of 14.6 would be competitive in the A Main SS TC class. Dan Engelbreth was 2'nd, followed by Jamie Alexander with his Tamiya F103.

The SS Touring field was down this week, with only 9 cars showing and by the end of the day we were down to 6. Etienne Marcoux was TQ but Dan Wheeler put in another great performance to take the Main. Kevin Hill, who got a lucky break when the B Main was rolled into the A due to some drivers leaving early, drove through the field and took second over Etienne Marcoux. There was a fair bit of contact throughout the field in the early laps but once things settled down it was a very smooth race. In a sign of how competitive this class is going to be, 1'st through 5'th were all on the same lap throughout the main.

Points Race #1 for 2008 finally got underway Sunday morning. Nearly everyone who had been out on Saturday made it back on Sunday with a few additions so we again had a field of 30 some drivers. It's going to be a GREAT year.

Jeff Corsault started out where he left off last year by taking TQ and the main win in the M Class, finishing on a lap by himself. Newcomer Mario Biscaro showed he may be new to the London scene but he's no rookie, taking second place with a 13 lap run. Derek Marker was third, leading three more cars across the line on a 13 lap pace. The M Class should see some very tight racing this year.

The Nitro class had a healthy turnout with 9 cars split into 2 mains. Lou Vanderwey TQ'd and won the A main with a 61 lap run, followed by Mark Graham, who has returned from the dark dirty side for 2008. Dan Engelbreth was 3'rd. Derek Marker took the B main.

The first 12'th scale points race had 6 cars turning laps although only 4 managed to start the main. Mark Graham set the pace with a 31 lap run and a fast lap of 14.819, about 9/10's off of Lou's nitro pace. Jeff Corsault took second one lap back, followed by Etienne Marcoux.

There were 13 Super Stock Touring Cars which likely equalled out best day last year and there were some notable exceptions. There was only one Team Vangalen car and neither Kevin Parsons nor Kevin Hill were able to make the rain out. Dan Wheeler made a pretty solid entrance to pavement racing with a TQ and A main win in his very first Touring Car race. Dan Engelbreth was second, followed by Richard Garner only about 7 or 8 seconds back. SSTC should be a very competitive class this year as the difference between TQ and BQ was less than 1 lap

Congrats to all the main winners!

May 3, 2008 - Saturday's schedule rained out but the sun came back for Sunday. It was a classic case of Good news / Bad news though as we had about 30 people out for a rain out! That's a better crowd than we've had for the past couple of years. Thanks to everyone for coming out and trying to get a race day in.

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