since a recent race report, we’ve had a running joke in the club amongst Hugh, Calvin & Myself.  winning means layin’ the pimp slap down on your opponents and i think my win today certainly qualifies high on the ‘dnano pimp slappin’ meter after gettin’ spanked for several weeks in a row by Robby, Ian and a few others in the club.  though its great to get a ‘W’ under my belt, i can’t take the credit as i drove a car hooked and tweaked by Dahm, our most frequent Thai participant in our club races and a highly skilled automotive technician who works in full size car racing and go-karts.  he visits the shop often to practice and work on tweaks for his dNano collection.  one of his best works is a Porsche Carrera GT.  out of the box, its not exactly a competitive car, but after a few weeks in Dahm’s hands, its amazingly fast, owns the lap record on F1R (CW) and is one of the most precise, easy to drive cars i’ve had the pleasure of pimp slappin with.  he’s not a highly skilled driver, so he asked if i’d like to give his creation a run in this week’s club race and i gladly accepted.

we have club racing weekly on Sundays with qualifying starting @ 5pm.  we run a 1-hr session, broken into 15-minute increments with Groups of 2-4 drivers taking turns in 4 sessions to record their fastest lap and earn a place on the final grid.  a 10-minute break precedes the 30-minute final and today’s competition was interesting to say the least.  i grabbed the TQ spot with an 8.98 best lap followed by Ian, Olaf, Hugh, Calvin & Dahm.  Ian started fast as he always does, but the speed and handling of the Porsche was too much and it led the rest of the way.  Dahm and Hugh battled for position for a long while until Hugh broke a servo gear assembly in his 787b, ending his hopes of finishing the race.  in the last 5 minutes, Olaf had taken the 2nd spot away from Ian but his battery gave in, allowing Ian to re-secure the 2nd spot while Dahm gave Calvin a lesson, maintaining his position in 4th.  Ian still holds the points race lead but Olaf won’t relenquish the crown without a fight so we’ll see how this season unfolds. last week, we welcomed Ek as a new member and Julian Campbell visited to race with us from Indonesia (see photos).  we’ve had an unusual number of new visitors, all asking for membership information so check below the race report for the latest info!

Rentals & Access – NanoTrax is a miniature r/c racing club and caters primarily to members but we’re always excited to welcome people want to ‘have a go’ and interested visitors in general. if you’re looking to give 1:43 scale radio control car racing a try, we have five (5) rental cars available for 300THB per hour. all non-members, must pay a facility use & maintenance fee (120THB per day) to race on every visit. if you plan on visiting often, purchase membership for only 7,000THB per year and this fee is waived. occasionally, F2L is closed to all visitors but when available, can be used for group racing. currently, we cannot accept groups larger than 5 participants and reservation must be made in advance for groups of 5 or more. renters must be at least 12 years of age, provide a 500THB deposit and agree to a 150THB per incident damage fee when applicable (our circuits are built to protect models, normally rentals go without any damage). please contact me @ 084.782.9648 (English or Thai) for more information.

Membership Info – members are provided many benefits including 1) complimentary facility use and maintenance, 2) storage for car & tools, 3) hi-speed wi-fi internet for mobile devices & internet work station, 4) full time happy hour (buy 2 get 1 free beer, draft or bottle), 5) championship participation and points collection, 6) 15% discount on all parts and accessories available in the shop, 7) up to 6 months membership suspension for non-local members, 8) member tee-shirt and membership card and more! we’re able to keep the shop open due to the support of our members and we do our best to take care of them to show our appreciation. we do reserve the right to reject applications or cancel active membership for any reason, this right will be used only to preserve the atmosphere of fun and friendly competition amongst all participants.

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every week is a small event for our small r/c racing club here in Pattaya but this weeks event was special as we honored our racing points champion, Olaf and loyalty award winners, Ian & Doug.  Joom whipped up some spring rolls for the occasion and everyone appreciated the excuse to enjoy free draft beer but only after our first race of Season 3.  since Robby is still visiting us, it wasn’t hard to guess who would prevail in this contest.  he was clinical in practice and preparation and it showed as he sailed to victory, the closest competitor being me and i trailed by 15 laps!  the wide lanes and multiple corners present opportunities to reduce lap times and provide passing lanes that kept the 30-minute final interesting despite the major gaps in the final lap totals.  Olaf performed well with his R8 placing 3rd and Daam participated to grab 4th place.  Ian wrecked his DBR9 but was able to best Hugh who placed 6th and Doug drove his Reventon, wrapping up the field in 7th place.  the points race is now underway with six competition-packed months lying ahead of us to decide who will hold the awards at the end of Season 3.  thanks to all members who participate throughout the season, local and abroad.. nanotrax is only special because of you!

Season 3, Round 1 @ F1R – July 4, 2010

Main A Final (30 Minutes, F1R-ZigZag, CCW)
1 -Robby / ENZO Ferrari (183 Laps | 9.87 Avg. Lap | 47/8.91 Fast Lap) +20pts
2 -Qon / Mazda 787b (166 Laps | 10.92 Avg. Lap | 93/8.90 Fast Lap)
3 -Olaf / Audi R8 (159 Laps | 11.4 Avg. Lap | 26/9.58 Fast Lap) +11pts
4 -Daam / Porsche Carrera GT (135 Laps | 13.34 Avg. Lap | 26/11.58 Fast Lap)
5 -Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (129 Laps | 14.01 Avg. Lap | 30/9.93 Fast Lap) +6pts
6 -Hugh / Mazda 787b (124 Laps | 14.61 Avg. Lap | 13/11.31 Fast Lap) +5pts
7 -Doug / Lamborghini Reventon (101 Laps | 18.5 Avg. Lap | 18/11.61 Fast Lap) +5pts

TQ = Robby / ENZO Ferrari – 8.86secs

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we’re now coming to the end of the 6th month of this year, the end of the NanoTrax Drivers’ Championship Points (Season 2) and the beginning of Season 3 so that means, we’re due for a new layout on our main racing circuit, F1R.  yesterday we spent several hours installing ‘Zig Zag’ (named by Joom! ;-)).  Doug, Olaf and Dylan stopped by for their first test run in the evening, each trying to decide which is the best car to handle its new challenges.  this past sunday, we held our final race of Season 2 in the lounge on F2L and it was an intense, 2 main race that ended with a win by ‘yours truly’ in the Ferrari F40.  i finally was able to best Robby DV but it came on a circuit that is difficult to tune for.  F2L’s tiles are hard and vary in texture causing inconsistent car handling which turned out to be an advantage for me and the local members.  Olaf dropped into Main B along with Hugh, Doug & Dylan but was able to grab a spot in Main A by winning the Main B.  Main A was feverish, high speed competition including myself, Robby, Ian, Vincent and Olaf.  i’m sure everyone’s eyes were burning as there’s no time to blink when racing on a quick circuit with no straights.  everyone was in a rush to bounce after the race, so no pics but here’s the report.  be sure to check out pics of Olaf’s custom painted Aston Martin Racing DBR9 on the nanotrax forum.

Club Race Results for June 27, 2010 (Season 2, Week 26)

Main A Final (30 Mins):
1 – Q’on / Ferrari F40 (278 Laps)
2 – Robby / Ferrari F40 (276 Laps) +15pts
3 – Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (256 Laps) +11pts
4 – Olaf / Audi R8 (246 Laps) +8pts
5 – Vincent / Chevrolet Corvette C6-R (224 Laps) +6pts

Main B Final (20 Mins):
1 – Olaf / Audi R8 (175 Laps)
3 – Dylan / ENZO Ferrari (166 Laps) +5pts
2 – Hugh / Lamborghini Reventon (142 Laps) +5pts
4 – Doug / Lamborghini Gallardo (119 Laps) +5pts
— Top Qualifier = Q’on / Ferrari F40 (5.44secs)

NanoTrax DCP Standings
Olaf = 247 pts - Season 2 Champion!
Ian = 196 pts
Marlowe = 174 pts
Vincent = 166 pts
Dylan = 116 pts
Erwin = 50 pts
Marc = 36 pts
Robby = 35 pts
Hugh = 31 pts
Doug = 25 pts
Brian = 15 pts
Calvin = 11 pts
Boris = 5 pts
Tony = 5 pts
Johnny = 5 pts

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on May 30, 2009 NanoTrax officially opened its doors and 1-year and many experiences later, our anniversary fell on the perfect sunday.  Club racing on F2L, F1 Grand Prix coverage and a celebration was on the schedule.  we decided to keep the party small inviting just members who happened to be in town.  Joom made snacks and the draft beer was open but since most drivers’ skills go straight to hell after the 3rd glass of cold Heineken, everyone waited to take down the keg.  Dahm joined us for the race with his newly acquired Porsche Carrera GT and newly painted wheels but unfortunately, practiced on F1R for the past few days and ended up in last place.  Hugh keeps getting faster and found himself in a battle with Olaf for 4th place.  Olaf had troubles with the DBR9, falling short of Marlowe in 3rd place.  Ian found a good rhythm but couldn’t stay on top of my F40.  as far as our anniversary, i feel blessed that we were able to survive in a turbulent economy and this is only one hurdle of many we’ll have to overcome.  thanks to all those that have supported us and helped us make it this far.  until next time, check the results + pics below and if you’re racing in your area, pick up everything you’ll need at our online shop.

Club Race Results for May 30, 2010 (Week 22)

Main A Final (30 Mins):
1– Q’on / Ferrari F40 (252 Laps)
2– Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (245 Laps) +15
3– Marlowe / McLaren F1 GTR (242 Laps) +11
4– Olaf / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (228 Laps) +8
5– Hugh / Mazda 787b (225 Laps) +6
6– Dahm / Porsche Carrera GT (172 Laps)
— Top Qualifier = Q’on / Ferrari F40 (5.53secs)

NanoTrax DCP Standings
Olaf = 213 pts
Marlowe = 174 pts
Ian = 158 pts
Vincent = 134 pts
Dylan = 100 pts
Erwin = 44 pts
Marc = 30 pts
Hugh = 21 pts
Brian = 15 pts
Calvin = 11 pts
Doug = 10 pts
Boris = 5 pts
Tony = 5 pts
Johnny = 5 pts

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just as i was thinking traffic thru our shop was slower than Iceland lava flows, we’re hit on Sunday with a pleasant breeze of new & old members, new & old visitors, F1 racing and a club race with enough participants to complain about the traffic on F1R.  Boris and his Uncle Tony from Holland joined us recently and made their first appearance in a club race.  Olaf, Ian and even the mysterious Marc returned along with Hugh with IPad in hand.  BKK Will stopped by to enjoy some of my wife Joom‘s wonderful cooking and take a short spin in a rental before heading back to Bangkok in his chauffeured limousine (well, its a pathfinder driven by a very patient Thai dude… but, its quite luxurious).  after a few practice laps  and qualifying, the final began at ~6:25pm.  though i was top qualifier, it goes to show the fastest driver isn’t always the winning driver.  for a while, there was a battle brewing for 3rd place but Marc was out of practice and Ian took command to round out the top 3.  this is the first official club race of May and i’m sure it’ll only get more competitive.

Club Race Results for May 9, 2010 (Week 19)

Main A Final (30 Mins):
1– Olaf / Audi R8 (155 Laps) +20
2– Q’on / Ferrari F40 (151 Laps)
3– Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (133 Laps) +11
4– Marc / Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (128 Laps) +8
5– Hugh / Mazda 787b (102 Laps) +6
6– Boris / ENZO Ferrari (96 Laps) +5
7– Tony / Audi R8 (72 Laps) +5
— Top Qualifier = Q’on / Ferrari F40 (9.47secs)

NanoTrax DCP Standings
Olaf = 186 pts
Marlowe = 143 pts
Vincent = 134 pts
Ian = 117 pts
Dylan = 92 pts
Erwin = 44 pts
Marc = 18 pts
Brian = 15 pts
Calvin = 11 pts
Hugh = 10 pts
Doug = 10 pts
Boris = 5 pts
Tony = 5 pts
Johnny = 5 pts

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a consecutive F1 Sunday meant early action for the Malaysian Grand Prix and it all started @ 3pm, followed immediately by our club race. Hugh made his first appearance at a club race and qualified at under 12 seconds but had a previous engagement so he couldn’t stay for the final. Olaf grabbed the TQ spot with his R8 and i picked off 2nd with both of us downgrading to stock motor. Vincent arrived late so started at the back of the grid for the final. after moving up 3 spots, he was in a battle with Ian for 3rd throughout the race. Dylan had tire troubles again and Marlowe’s Corvette just hasn’t been the same since removing it’s spoiler. consistency is improving as everyone finds the line, but we’ll be on a break for the coming holidays and will wait to see who will come back & ultimately master ‘Strata’.

Results for Season 2, Week 14 – April 4, 2010

Main A Final (30 Mins):
1 – Q’on / Nissan Fairlady Z (152 Laps)
2 – Olaf / Audi R8 (148 Laps) +15
3 – Vincent / Corvette C6-R (137 Laps) +11
4 – Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (136 Laps) +8
5 – Marlowe / Corvette C6-R (128 Laps) +6
6 – Dylan / ENZO Ferrari (113 Laps) +5
— Top Qualifier = Olaf / Audi R8

NanoTrax DCP Standings
Olaf = 161 pts
Marlowe = 138 pts
Vincent = 134 pts
Ian = 101 pts
Dylan = 92 pts
Erwin = 44 pts
Brian = 15 pts
Calvin = 11 pts
Doug = 10 pts
Marc = 10 pts
Johnny = 5 pts
Hugh = 5 pts

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