Dirt digest, why don't we do it in the dirt?

[Saito2 6686]

I sure miss loamy, dirt off road tracks in racing, constantly changing conditions and all. I know I'm anachronistic, but what's everybody else think of the sport's move away from old school dirt tracks?

[Effigy3 1267]

I miss 'em too.  We race on carpet "turf" and the traction is sky high.  The surface is perfectly smooth.  It's not off road racing.  It's on road racing with bumps.

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

I race on dirt and its awesome, except when it rains. The website is countiesrc.co.nz which has some pics, red clay track. Nothing beats the rooster tail as you slide round a corner.

I have added indoor cars but went onroad not offroad as indoor offroad is like Effigy says, onroad racing with bumps

[ThunderDragonCy 7878]

I guess consistency. Racers Don't like anything they can't control. For driving fun I totally agree though, proper off-oad is where it's at. I have found somewhere with good grass and gravel which is changeable. It's like rallycross and loads of fun.

[Wooders28 4723]

We still have some outdoor grass tracks here, some astro indoor and outdoor and of course indoor carpet.

I think weather is a big factor here, if it's indoor, you're not dependant on the big yellow thing in the sky, if it's outdoor, and the forecast is rain (364 days a year 🙄) then not many people show up to race! 

[Wooders28 4723]

6 hours ago, Effigy3 said:

The surface is perfectly smooth.  

We are thinking of getting some thin sheets of MDF and sticking on some random small rounded blocks,to then slide under the carpet , to create a more off road feel, still artificial but better!

[Munchbox 100]

I think Thunder Dragon hit it straight on the head: racers don't like unpredictability. That's why they spend hours worrying over shock oil consistency and getting that one turn just right. Sand turns it's nose up at all of that. 

Every off road track, indoor or outdoor, should have at least one sand pit or whoop section and at least one 90 degree turn in sand.

[JatoTheRipper 36]

Because a lot of RC racers are the biggest prima donnas on the face of the planet...

[markbt73 5316]

This is another reason I've been drawn to the scale 4x4 side of things. Getting the truck dirty (and often wet) is a big part of the fun.

[shenlonco 1156]

I hate these clay orange pot like cement surfaced off road tracks...that's not off rod they run almost bald tires!

[ALEXKYRIAK 1046]

11 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

We are thinking of getting some thin sheets of MDF and sticking on some random small rounded blocks,to then slide under the carpet , to create a more off road feel, still artificial but better!

Great idea. Are you going to do it? I do have to side with those who say that indoor carpet tracks with ramps aren’t exactly an off-road track...

I see a lot of clay tracks on YouTube, these appear to be a sort of ‘flat’ but mouldable terrain track. Still not exactly off road? 

Checked out Jonathon’s Racing Club website. Looks like a great surface.

[Effigy3 1267]

47 minutes ago, shenlonco said:

I hate these clay orange pot like cement surfaced off road tracks...that's not off rod they run almost bald tires!

I've raced on both and I have to say I enjoy the hard-packed clay track racing experience over the carpeted turf racing experience. I think many tracks are switching over to carpeted turf because the maintenance on it vs clay or dirt is so much less.  3 dudes and an afternoon were all it took for my local track to completely alter the layout.  When it was hard-packed clay, it was a weekend job with a Bobcat and many dudes with tools.  It was an additional many hours of labor grooming the surface and applying traction compound.

 

[Wooders28 4723]

14 minutes ago, Effigy3 said:

I think many tracks are switching over to carpeted turf because the maintenance on it vs clay or dirt is so much less.  3 dudes and an afternoon were all it took for my local track to completely alter the layout.

This too ⬆⬆

The Glasgow club use a closed off section of an indoor kart track, so carpet is easy to roll up and pack away, another club use a school hall another a village hall etc. 

Yes @ALEXKYRIAK it's going to be made, possibly this weekend (nightshift 🙄) 

[ALEXKYRIAK 1046]

1 hour ago, Wooders28 said:

This too ⬆⬆

The Glasgow club use a closed off section of an indoor kart track, so carpet is easy to roll up and pack away, another club use a school hall another a village hall etc. 

Yes @ALEXKYRIAK it's going to be made, possibly this weekend (nightshift 🙄) 

Nice...! If possible, would love to see some 'in construction' photos.

[Wooders28 4723]

17 minutes ago, ALEXKYRIAK said:

Nice...! If possible, would love to see some 'in construction' photos.

No bother, maybe a few attempts to get it right though 😂

[Wooders28 4723]

Funnily enough, the recent episode of the BBT podcast is with the owner of , Robin wood raceway in England, with the trail and tribulations of owning and running a track (about an hour in).

http://allhailthebbt.com/podcast/episode-32-james-helliwell-robin-hood-raceway/

[Saito2 6686]

In the end, I can see and totally understand the more practical aspects of clay and astro turf. I guess I'm irritated by racers' compulsive need to control all the variables. Dirt is dirt. It changes on the day and throughout the race. I like to think about it as part of the challenge. I know we've strayed from the concept of scale racing for decades. Just as I dislike the current cab-forward 2wd buggies, so too do I find what they race on to be a bit silly being called "off road". Perhaps someday there could be two types. Current, throw scale out the window, all-out racing and a "scaler" type of off road with real dirt and buggies that look like buggies and not moon rovers. Hey, it happened in the crawler world and nostalgia racing sort of on the right path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[qatmix 794]

You will find that any track evolves over the day, even Astro and clay. Buggy racing started on grass and dirt and the only reason other surfaces appeared is because of maintenance. Personally I don’t like these new surfaces as much as they have loads of grip which makes it less interesting.

Most racers have a base setup, and part of the fun is adapting it over the meeting to get more speed. The approach is no different now to when I raced on grass / dirt in the 80’s. 

[ThunderDragonCy 7878]

It has struck me that gravel - proper tiny stone pea shingle type gravel - would potentially be quite good. Bit hard on the buggies with the exposed parts getting shot blasted the whole time, but 5 minutes with a take would put a track right after each heat. Not heard of anyone ever racing on it though. Maybe it would be too harsh on the models?

[qatmix 794]

Gravel is great fun for bashing but Its not practical for racing. It will all get thrown about and there will be not gravel left after a few rounds. It is also very harsh on the cars.

[Andyfish2000 104]

A few years ago I looked into finding a local club. I wanted to go take a look with the kids, and maybe even get into racing for fun.  Thought it would be easy but in the end gave up.  I hadn't appreciated there wouldn't be any local off road out door dirt tracks that clubs raced on.   Had absolutely no interest in carpet, astro or tarmac.  Where is the fun in that? 

[qatmix 794]

Loads of fun in racing. It doesn’t really matter what surface you race on. You should try it.

[Wooders28 4723]

5 hours ago, Andyfish2000 said:

Thought it would be easy but in the end gave up.  I hadn't appreciated there wouldn't be any local off road out door dirt tracks that clubs raced on.

Sounds like you've hit on a fantastic business opportunity ! 🖒

[Baddon 860]

BITD a few mates and I raked about my fathers farm yard, mostly broken up tarmac with a few stone patches. 5 Buggies and 2 batteries each and we spent ages brushing the gravel back to where it started and broke up even more of the tarmac. Pops not impressed so we never really got another use at it..