the McLaren Racing Shell came and went recently… a testament to how rare items for dNano get snatched up quickly by dedicated fans. if there’s anyone who knows about dedicated, its the nanotrax crew and we’ve pushed for important replacement parts (main frame -plastics only with ic tag- set) that you can find now available @ our dnano and mini z online shop. there are also new dnano optional parts on their way into stock + the latest optional parts for Mini Z AWD. currently, we’re weathering the storm of the current economic atmosphere and we expect to be here for years to come, providing a special little something in an infamous city called Pattaya.
on sunday, we held the last race on the disastrous ‘WTF’ layout which i believe drove everyone away from play at the shop. it was difficult and certainly, that word and ‘fun’ just don’t seem to fit together for most people. as a matter of fact, we held only 2 races and ran in only one direction before removing and installing a new one. Hugh was rather direct, frank, honest…. even rude with his vocal melee on the layout but… he was right. it had to go and now, i’m sure he and everyone else will find fun again with ‘Blur’ on F1R. i call it that because the lanes are wide and action will be ridiculously fast. Gary surprised us with a rare visit and Calvin re-joined us on sunday so i suspect we’ll have some interesting racing to say the least during the next 5+ weeks before he leaves us again. i’ll get around to posting the race report over @dnanoclub soon so visit there to check that out and share your thoughts and experiences with dnano and club racing in your area.
Andy arrived at 10:30am and woke me with a friendly reminder that he’d agreed to come in and help with constructing the layout on F1R. i’d drawn up what was in my head for the new look, but i knew it would hardly come out as expected… it never does. that’s actually a good thing as its normally something similar but better in real life. during the 3 hour process, Joom fueled our efforts with coffee, sandwiches, eggs and bacon. by opening time, our work was complete and upon inspection, my latest creation looked like a dancing figure, celebrating our success in giving it life. on testing, the layout was fast but has many obstacles and challenges, which could lead to breakage – hence the name ‘Breakdance’. i’ve set my fast lap time at 7.74 seconds, but i’m sure someone will shave a bit more off that. its faster but infinitely more precarious than the previous layout so expect fast & furious racing ahead for the next 4 months.
there’s been very little interest in racing in the lounge for a long while… it took a while to figure it out, but as i pulled apart the layout and prepared to install the next, i finally saw it: with the same flooring as F1R, F2L was too similar in look and feel. it was like F1R’s little brother who just couldn’t live up to the feats of the elder. what it needed was its’ own ‘personality’. with this in mind, i decided to go ‘retro’ and installed the black tiles, giving it a unique surface. the black tiles have been in warm storage, and therefore have become very hard and smooth. this of course forces one to tune differently for optimal handling. at first, i couldn’t figure out what was happening when driving on the new layout but after installing a soft suspension setup on my F40, i could see that the sweeping curves forced it to ‘power slide’ its way around the circuit. i could hear the diff working hard and feel the ‘slide’ as it hit the tighter corners. this is exactly what F2L needed! Hugh, Tony, Boris & Dahm stopped by for a few practice races and were instantly excited about the new look and feel. 3 days of creating my latest masterpiece for the moment it could bring joy to those who appreciate it – that makes every drop of sweat & every second spent worth it = life is good.
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
originally, we planned to close the shop today since the last time we changed the layout, it took 8 hours. this was obviously because there were only 2 people (myself & Calvin) who worked to do it and we did it all at once. this time, we had F1R cleared to a bare floor before closing the shop, so the only thing left was to lay down the lining, rocks and clean the floor. Vincent came thru at our normal opening time to help out so we wrapped up everything by 3pm. we opened the shop with a new layout in place and invited members in for ‘practice & beer’ to celebrate. i’m proud of all the work we do here as its more than a ‘normal’ mini-r/c circuit; its a work of art and there’s nothing else like this in the world. i believe our members take pride in that as well and appreciate the opportunity to enjoy this hobby in such a unique place. in the midst of turmoil throughout the world, at least at nanotrax, they can find ‘joy’.
we all took our test runs on ‘Strata’ until closing time, discovering that we’ll have to prepare ourselves for high speed and chaotic collisions that will make our club races very interesting for the next 3 months. i figured it was time for an upgrade to the Mazda 787b, so i threw on some PN Racing ‘Double Star’ Aluminum Wheels and an X-Power ‘Hot’ Motor, just so i can be ready for Olaf in the next club race… he’s outta control! i’ll post pics of the new look soon on the nanotrax micro r/c forum, join us there for more ‘dNaNo discussion’ and more. see ya next time! ;)
welcome to the new year which to me is just another day but we marked its arrival with the installation of a new layout on NanoTrax F1R Showroom Circuit. Calvin arrived @ 8:40am to help with the project and it took just over 8 hrs to complete. by 5pm Ian stopped by and we all took our first runs on “Patchwork“. its a complete turnaround from “Art Deco“ with more narrow lanes, tight curves and long straights. this week’s club race should be interesting since the layout is ‘fresh’ and no one has any advantage outside of racing experience.
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at the end of year and beginning of another is always a good time for reflection: the 1st quarter of 2009 saw the birth of nanotrax and my move into a new line of ‘work’. previously, i was in web development and nanotrax became a new passion that i shared with Joom (my wifey!). the 2nd quarter saw the grand opening of the shop and an unfortunate and tragic accident that put everything on hold temporarily. during that time, my son (Nalani) was also stolen from me by his mother who vowed to never let me see him again. very trying times, but life is as such and we continued to move on. 3rd quarter saw the opening of our online shop and a burst of interest from around the world that has allowed us to maintain and prosper. customers from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Holland, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Finland, Spain, Italy and the USA have all caught ‘dNaNo fever’ and we’re happy to be first place they look to find what they need to enjoy their hobby. also, it saw my son (Paris) and my mom visit and get to see what i do on the daily – in person. the final quarter of 2009 confirmed that NanoTrax had finally built a place that would attract excellent racing with our “Special Race” Tuesday. that was an exciting event and i look forward to having many like it in the near future.
i expect this year should bring unexpected but hopefully pleasant events that help us to enjoy our hobby and life in general. i’ve come to appreciate the little things and i’m thankful for every breath i take. i’m not perfect and i’m not always good but i’m brutally honest, fair and i put 100% into what i do daily. i’ve built this business with my customers and everyone who loves this hobby in mind. i’ve invested all i have including time, money, blood, sweat & tears. i won’t get financially rich doing this, but that’s no matter, as no amount of money can buy the happiness i get every day when i open the front door – the entrance to NanoTrax.
today was completely full from the time i opened my eyes to the moment i switched off the lights in the pit station. our first order of business was to ship orders, then visit Pattaya R/C Powerboat for the 1/8th Off Road Buggy Party Final. we witnessed the world champion Atsushi Hara dominate the field, winning by 3 laps in a grand final including some impressive drivers on an absolutely massive race course. the weather cooled off a lot for the final and it was obvious from the many drivers who had engine problems. we then returned to the shop to prepare for our sunday club race but there was immediate action in the form of practice races. we had a few guests who rented cars and mixed it up with members for a few heats and by qualifying time, we only had 4 drivers remaining – 3 of which were pushing for championship points. RobbyDV, Olaf, Marlowe and myself ran 2 qualifiers and a final that provided compelling evidence that all dNaNo are not created equal. the Nissan Fairlady Z GT500 Class with Robby at the helm is a dominant force and while i expected the Porsche 911 GT3 to come back with a bang, it was more like a ‘poot’ in the race today. Olaf has pretty much solidified his position as the 2009 NanoTrax Driver’s Champion and Marlowe has shown marked improvement with his McLaren. here are the results, check the pics in the gallery for highlights.
NanoTrax Club Race Results for 12/13/2009
Top Qualifier = Robby DV / Nissan Fairlady Z GT500
Final Results:
1 – RobbyDV / Nissan Fairlady Z GT500 (97 Laps) +20
2 – Olaf / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (86 Laps) +15
3 – Marlowe / McLaren F1 GTR (83 Laps) +10
4 – Qon / Porsche 911 GT3 (81 Laps)
2009 NanoTrax Drivers Championship Points
Olaf = 100 Pts
Dylan = 70 Pts
Daw = 70 Pts
Erwin = 55 Pts
RobbyDV = 40 Pts
Gary = 25 Pts
Marlowe = 15 Pts
Slim = 15 Pts
Vincent = 10 Pts
First = 10 Pts
Darren = 5 Pts
Marc = 5 Pts
the 2nd floor circuit hasn’t been getting much attention since the installation of ‘Art Deco’ on F1R so i took a few days to update the layout on F2L to increase interest and brighten the room. its a bit more technical than previous layouts but once you find the racing line, its a pretty quick run as well. if we have less than 5 drivers, we’ll hold the club race on F2L from now on. otherwise, there’s not much to report on at the moment, but you can jump in on our discussions @ the NanoTrax dNaNo & Mini-Z forum and help make our community the #1 place to meet and greet others who are discovering 1/43rd scale indoor racing. i post race reports, new products and tech updates you won’t find on the blog so visit and register to participate! i’m now waiting for the next dNaNo release… what will be next??
i really don’t know if it’s considered art deco but it’s a new layout with a more curvaceous, smooth, flowing feel that takes advantage of our large space and brightens the room. it took all day to transform from one look to the new because the flooring was replaced with a thicker, softer foam. this has presented some problems with cars carrying the “old” IC Tag. the new, darker version of the tag is easier to pick up than the old version which means we’ll have to find a way to raise the position of the timing strip. eventually, we’ll resolve this issue and continue racing as usual. check the gallery for pics of the new layout, recent visitors and recently added items from Atomic, now available in the shop.
i couldn’t wait any longer… this morning, i installed the new “Long Wind” layout on F1R. Erwin & Slim visited today and were both delighted with the fresh circuit. it uses all 32 tiles so its a huge track for dNaNo with lots of long straights and sweeping turns. i thought the column would obstruct vision but its not an issue now that this layout is a reality (as opposed to a drawing). Long Wind is not quite as technical as the previous layout so even beginners should enjoy a run on it. average laps will probably hover around 10-12 seconds with fastest lap coming close to 8. we got a new visitor from Romania on the forum and he says that what i’ve created will be the standard for anyone following in NanoTrax footsteps. feel good feedback… join us in the micro R/C revolution! ;-)
