Top Force 2015 Enduro Event

After being away from RC for over a year, I was asked to take part in a 5 hour Vintage Enduro race that my former Club, Castle Hill Off Road, was hosting.

I ran my Evo Spec Top Force in a Team of 3 drivers, called TEAM TAMIYA. The other 2 buggies in the Team were another Top Force and an FAV.

One of my Team Mates was quickest in qualifying with his Top Force, while I had 4th quickest qualifying overall. Net result was our team qualified on Pole.

Our Team was strong, and we were actually leading the race a couple of times over the first 2 hours. As is the nature of endure events though, sometimes it’s the simple things that can undo all your hard work. In my second driving stint, my pinion gear wore loose which left me stranded midway through a lap. Our FAV later shattered a rear wheel (something I’ve not seen before). In the dying stages of the race, I was in the pits ready to swap back in to the race when I noted the buggy shut down during a test spin up. I knew my battery pack had just been fully charged, so I was quickly running through the wiring when it became apparent a solder joint had come loose. I made the decision to rip out the Lipo cut off by hand and re-plug in all electronics into my receiver. In the pressure of the situation, I plugged in my transponder incorrectly. Net result: Zero laps were recorded for my final driving stint, which was the final stint of the race  Post race recalculations based on average lap speeds would have placed our team well into Top 3 places…. Good thing it’s all for fun!

I’m now looking forward to doing the Enduro all over again next year. I also now have the annual Vintage Festival scheduled for September which will see us return to 5 minute sprint races. BRING IT ON!