Winter Carpet Champs 2008/09 Rules

General

School gates open at 08.00 but (normally) close again at 09.00 for security reasons. You may need to drive up to them for them to open.

If you have a problem ring the club phone on 07790 625278. Do not ring home phone numbers. There will be a notice on the gate with this number on.

You can drive down into the main playground to unload and load but cars must be parked back up towards the entrance beyond the fold-down barrier.

Please note that the entire school site is no-smoking.

The Venue

The school only allows trainers to be worn in the hall itself because of the surface. This means that anyone (drivers, pit crew or visitors that you bring) wearing outdoor shoes will have to remove them and leave them in the entrance hall. Trainers with rollers in the heels are not allowed.

No food or drink is allowed in the hall
but is permitted in the rest of the building.

Some pitting is available in the hall itself and there is plenty of space in the entrance halls at both ends plus the two changing rooms. There are limited mains sockets so it is advisable to bring a 12 volt battery. If you bring a mains lead you must bring tape to fix it to the wall/floor to prevent it being a trip hazard. This tape must be removed and put in the rubbish bin after use. If you bring a car battery it must be in a plastic container that will retain fluid in case of a leak. If you do any soldering or motor skimming you must make sure that you do it in a location that will not cause damage to the hall floor. Please ensure all sharp corners are removed from the body shell and that no screws are protruding from the chassis.

Foul or abusive language will not be tolerated.

Booking in

Pre-booked drivers need to come and register when told booking in is open. If you have pre-booked you must book in before 9.00 or your place will be given to a driver on the reserve list. Visitors who haven’t pre-booked can sign in on the visitors’ sheet (by 09.00) to take advantage of any spare places that are left after everyone else has booked in. All drivers will be required to show their BRCA card within the first 3 meetings.

Cancellations

If you find after having booked a particular meeting that you won’t be able to make it, then you need to let me know at the latest by 9.00am on the Friday immediately before race day. If you do this then there is more chance of your place being given to a driver on the reserve list.

If you do have to cancel then half the fee you have paid (assuming you are paying “as you go”) will be moved to your next unpaid booked meeting. If you haven’t got any other meetings booked then you will receive a refund (of half the fee) at the end of the season. If I don’t receive any notice of cancellation by 9.00am on the Friday before racing then you will forfeit the whole race fee.

For those who have paid in advance for the whole series, a refund (of half the race fee) will be made, but only when you have attended less than 9 meetings. Refunds will only be given at the end of the season.

Practice

The Race Director will announce when the track is open. It will remain open until a short time before racing starts at 09.30. This is to allow those who have built the track to have some practice time themselves. You must have a frequency peg before you practice unless you are using 2.4GHz. Please remember that other drivers will also want to practice so return the peg as soon as you have finished a run. You may only practice when standing on the rostrum as this will limit the number of drivers out at any one time.

Racing

Racing will consist of 3 rounds of heats and 1 leg finals. We use “RC-Timing” to time our meetings with staggered starts for the heats and grid starts for the finals.

A gauge and scales are available at race control for you to check your car ride height and weight. Repeated ride height/weight infringements will result in loss of points or ultimately disqualification. The decision of the scrutineer is final.

When coming out to race please remember that you are not permitted to do a warm up lap. You may place your car on the track at the rostrum and drive in the direction of racing only as far as the start. During racing please allow faster drivers through when being lapped to make things less expensive and more enjoyable for everyone.

Wait on the rostrum until all cars have finished racing. When your heat is over please put your car and transmitter on the scrutineers table, hand back your transponder and go out to marshal straight away as there is only a very short gap.

You may use a personal transponder.

Marshalling

Drivers should not be going back to the pits between racing and marshalling. Marshals must wear a yellow tabard so we can see instantly that they are in place. Please be in position before the start tones begin to avoid any penalties. First failure to be in place will result in loss of FTD, second failure will result in loss of points for that day.

• Watch only your section of track – not the race
• Straight out to marshall after your heat
• Only one person on each marshal point
• Concentrate on marshalling – not on holding a discussion with another marshal

Cars

There is a 5mm minimum ride height and a minimum weight limit of 1500g.

Motors

There are three classes to choose from – all can use either NiCad, NiMH or LiPo:

• Stock - 27 turn brushed motor (bearings permitted)
• Stock – 13.5 (or slower) brushless (bonded or sintered)
• Open – for anything other than the above two classes

Stock 27 turn will run with 13.5 brushless, whilst cars in the open class will run on their own, although all three classes will be allocated separate points.

Batteries

These can be either:

• Packs of 6 cell, 7.2v NiCad or NiMH (unless you are running 5 cell mod in the open class) or
• LiPo’s – 7.4v

However, if you choose to use LiPo’s you must:

• Use a type that is enclosed in a hard case.
• Use them with a suitable cut off device and charger.
• Charge them in either a LiPo sack or a metal container.

Tyres

Sorex are the control tyre for the Winter 2008/09 Carpet Champs.
Any Sorex tyre is acceptable, although the club will have 28’s and 32’s available at the meetings for the discount price of £20 per set of four pre-glued to rims for any member who wants to buy them. You DO NOT have to buy your tyres from the club in order to race. If you wish to use a tyre other than Sorex that is perfectly acceptable (any slick or tread), however you will not be allocated championship points.

Additive is permitted providing:

• It is totally odourless
• It is in a SPILLPROOF container with an applicator

Products containing Wintergreen are specifically prohibited.

Penalties

The Race Director will award penalties as described above. The penalty for other rule infringements will be at his/her discretion.