[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

DHORC will celebrate the 20th running of its 24 Hour Le Mans Race in 2012, this thread will provide updates on the event running up to the green light at 1pm on Saturday 10Nov12.

The following pictures give a flavour of what can be expected from this year's race.

The current team line up is as follows, which I am sure will alter between now and the start of Qualifying on the Saturday morning of the event.

Allsorts

Alan Bullock brings Allsorts back to Le Mans for the eighth time and fingers crossed Roy Masters will be fit enough to be joint Captain again after missing last year's race. John Chell and current Junior DHORC Champion return again while Phil Rees moves across from VDT. Andy Holliday will make his annual pilgrimage to his only DHORC event of the year

DHORC

DHORC has strengthened its main team to try and challenge for a top placing with Shloke Anand and Ryan Blake (Captain) taking deserved places in DHORC's top team for the first time. Ryan along with Lee Pateman will be the car's main mechanics while Tom Measham and Jamie Sismey will be expected to lead the driving. Nick Sismey just feels pleased to be invited to join the team.

Ecurie Anglaise

Andy Player's Ecurie Anglaise team return for their second event after learning a great deal in 2011. Currently they have the same driver line up as last year. Their goal will be to improve on their 2011 result which is certainly a reality.

MARC

Rob Hayes' Miniature Auto Racing Team should see the same line up as 2010 as they approach their third event with Dan DeCosmo hopefully making it back to Derby. Having a USA based team at the 24 Hour event always makes the race feel very special. Fifth in 2010, third in 2011, improvements at this rate should see them near the top of the pile this year.

Race Control

Adrian Owen will again be managing Race Control with Cliff Roythorne joining him. Paul Levers and Liam Smith move across from VDT while Lee Henderson is our first Rookie of the year. With the other four drivers all being former winners their progress will be watched closely

Sport Crazing

Following their second place in 2011 Gary Skipps' Sports Crazing team will be unchanged in 2012. Gary ran his own Le Mans 24-Hour race in March for Slot.it oXigen 1/32nd cars on a four lane digital circuit based on the same layout as ours which was very successful. They will also be challenging for that elusive top spot

Thirty Second

Thirty Second are a new team to Le Mans from the North Staffs Scalextric Racing Club (Hence the Team name) who had their first taste of HO Endurance racing during the NASCAR 4-Hour race in February on our eight lane Rockingham infield circuit. Dave Phillipson captains the team while John Lamb with Rob and James Lyons return to the team following the 4-Hour race with new team members Kate Alcock and James Lymer strengthening their team. I am sure all will ensure Thirty Second have a great Le Mans race, welcome to them all.

Wrun Wragged

What can be said about Dean Wragg's World Record breaking team that has not been said before? Having won the event for the last three years and broken the record each year, taking it from 267 to 280 miles they are again firm favourites to retain their title with the same driver line up as 2011.

The Rules and Regs for this year's event can be found at www.dhorc.co.uk where the following changes have been made to those posted for 2011:-
• Revised Referee names to fall in line with those racing this year
• A maximum two hour rule if a competitor drives for a second team,
• A 34mm max axle width
• The addition of the Tomy BMW M1 to the list of cars.

We are very much committed to celebrating the 20th running of the Le Mans event by raising the track up onto tables. If everything goes to plan we will be placing the order for the tables in early July. This will totally transform the Le Mans experience and therefore we will have to work with all of the teams to develop any new rules that may raise their heads during the event.

This year's event is for charity as it is an even year again the main charity is the Derby Kids Club.

Cheers
Nick Sismey

 

[montoya1]

Good luck to all.

I hope the tables thing works, the upside is obvious, literally, but there is scope for cars being damaged. Trips to the floor and bounce-backs will have far bigger consequences than for a club night.

 

[LMP]

The entry list this year is the most interesting one yet, in my opinion. A bit of a re-shuffle for the std. DHORC teams might go a long way to regaining some of the performance that seems to have slipped a little in the last couple of years. I am extremely pleased to see North Staffs have a crack at this event, it is very hard work convincing people within the hobby to have a go and this has always bean something I've never understood. So best of luck to them!

I'm sure MARC will return with a strong effort again, and I very much doubt Wrun Wragged will take their foot off the gas. I think that this years race will be really tough, and that even a few small mistakes could turn out to be costly come Sunday lunchtime.

 

[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

Thanks Gary, with you all the way, believe it will be a very close race this year with many teams having learnt so much over the last couple of years. They will bring that knowledge to this year's event and push Wrun Wragged all the way!

With the track being on tables this year it will also be the team who copes with this change the best that will come through, we will endeavour to ensure no car's hit the floor or bounce back into the track but driving will certainly be different and the Champions will be the team that manages these changes the best. I can't wait.....

Cheers
Nick

 

[neorules]

Nick-- what have the other teams learned that will cut into the almost 20 mile lead that the Wrun Wragged team has enjoyed?

 

[montoya1]

20 miles? Blimey.

I guess if that is the gap then what he have learnt is the others need to incapacitate Messrs Shearman, Heaton and Baldock

Maybe WW will face plant off one of the new tables on lap one, and be out of it....

 

[montoya1]

QUOTE (DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB @ 8 Aug 2012, 10:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>we will endeavour to ensure no car's hit the floor or bounce back into the track
Cheers
Nick

It is very difficult eliminating both of those problems, the more you try and contain the cars the more the bouncing-back is likely to happen. Have you thought about some way to allow the cars to drop over the edge of the tables, and then be 'caught'? Or Perhaps diagonal netting at just the right tension?

You won't find a solution unless you do ample testing, and even then the teams and marshals will need to step up in how they act.

I really hope it works out, with elevation changes to follow.

 

[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

Hi neorules,
We have certainly learnt a lot from watching and talking to Wrun Wragged, they have nothing to hide and are just doing things as right and perfect as possible, hopefully the other teams will have done the same as us. Whether we can match them only time will tell but we have to be equal to them on their brilliant car preparation at least as they have two of the most formidable HO racers to ever race at the Le Mans event, and the rest of their team are not too shabby either. We have also strengthened our driver line up to try and give then a run for their money.

It was actually over 21 miles that they won by last year, we have an uphill task but are up for the contest

Cheers
Nick

 

[neorules]

Nick-- good attitude on attempting to close the gap. My conversation with Dan D after his return 2 yrs ago revolved around how the winning team was able to drive 15 or so ft deeper before having to brake, let up or whatever term you want to use. The only way I'm aware of that would make that possible would be either more downforce or more brake. What have they shared that would help your or other teams achieve more downforce or brakes?

 

[montoya1]

It was retrospectively written into the rules that one could shim the magnets, after it emerged the home team, and others, had been doing so for years, but that is not going to be it.

I think we have to face that WW are like the Team GB track cycling team, looking for small gains in every area, including some that at first glance don't appear relevant. Data acquisition is certainly one area the other teams are behind, making sure you always have the best driver for a given lane and given amount of tiredness etc on the right tyres, and that they are keeping their laptimes and crash-to-clean ratio at the absolute bottom of their personal zone.

Some teams have started to play around with that at the last two 6hr races, but for a 24hr where you need every trick in the book the gains have to be worth it.

Another 'answer' would be for the UK teams to be club-based rather than forming how they like, but that would be a major shift.

 

[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

Thanks Neorules, we can't let them run scott free

They can't have anymore downforce as everything is provided by us so everyone has the same magnets etc, also with the speed they run on the 100 foot straightaway their car is clearly running very freely which many of the other teams have now sussed how to do. If that is the case the car can't be running where you lift off and it stops any quicker than any other car. We run without brakes at DHORC and Le Mans, it is a feature that will remain as it makes the event different. However you can still get a car that through some type of friction, be it motor, axles, wheels slightly rubbing on chassis etc etc where you can get a car to stop much more quickly than if it is running free. I personally prefer to run a car that runs on, these Tomy Turbos should always take the tighter corners power off so technique is all important.

The only corner where you could see a difference in driver braking distances would be at the end of the 100 foot Mulsanne into the Mulsanne Corner. After running the event for 19 years now I can categorically say that the difference in braking for that corner between the top drivers is no more than a couple of feet and difference between the best and the worst no more than five feet. If someone was breaking 15 feet early it would be before the kink and then they would have to power on again to reach the corner! The tyres are aso provided and can't be ground so the magnets must be the same distance to the track for every team.

The one thing you have to keep in mind is just how good Aaron and Tony are at driving these cars lap after lap hour after hour, they are so fast and so consistent. You could say boring but that is the way to win a long distance race and unless we can emulate them we are not going to beat them.

Cheers
Nick

 

[neorules]

Nick-- I think Dan was saying that they were able to lift 15 ft later. If the difference is truly in driving and mangement skills--- then the expert builder should do a clinic for all other teams going over exactly what he does to the car --- it should still make no difference then and they will still win by 20 miles. See if that flies!!

 

[montoya1]

There is no doubt that the team are maxing out everything, including tweaks to the Turbo that others have not found.

 

[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

Hi neorules,
Lifting is the same as braking, I can assure you they weren't lifting 15 feet later, as covered above that would mean others were "lifting" before the Le Mans kink which no-one would, the max difference between the best and worst is no more than 5 feet. If it was 15 feet they would be 100 miles ahead.

What is done with the car is purely making sure everything is blue printed to perfection without going outside the rules, they have spent hours working out the best way to do this, we have stripped the chassis each year to piece parts and found nothing untoward. That has to be the aim for all, but Wrun Wragged shouldn't have to advise what they are doing, we all need to catch up.

Cheers
Nick

 

[neorules]

Nick--- is tech done before and after the race only? Are there spot techs or tech after car goes in the pits?

 

[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

Hi neorules,
Every three hours when the cars are moved from lane to lane they are checked with ad hoc checks now and then throughout the race to make sure that at any time cars are conforming.

We have excluded teams when all believe they have run outside the rules and I even withdrew the DHORC team one year when it was found that one of our guys had stripped a couple of so-so can motors to make a single good can motor. The event is not run to the level seen at a NASCAR or Indy Car races where someone is watching every team and every car all the time, it has to be run under a gentlemen's (or ladies) agreement. If it ever gets that serious I will go and do something else.

Cheers
Nick

 

[LeeH]

great statement nick. people who break the rules are only cheating themselves

 

[DERBY (UK) HO RACING CLUB]

Thanks Lee, pleased you agree. It is the only way to run such an event otherwise you spend more time either writing the rule book or reading it, we want to spend more time racing than discussing it

Cheers
Nick

 

[LeeH]

And tbh if there is unfair gaming going on its noticable

 

[neorules]

Lee--- what would be a sign of unfair gaming???