This year was the 5th edition of the Quebec Indoor Nats race, held in Degelis Quebec from April 18 to April 21. The track was built by Jerome Treignier. He also acted as the race director for the event.
I decided to race 4 classes for the weekend, 4wd Short Course, 1/8 E-Buggy, 1/8 E-Truggy and 2wd buggy. I also shared my 1/8 Buggy with a team mate who raced in the 35+ E-buggy with it.
With two full days of practices, I had plenty of time to get used to the track and set my cars. Buggy felt really good but I had problems with short course truck diving and Truggy not turning as it used to.
Q1: I took 2nd overall with my 2wd buggy. Then with my Truggy, I ended up 6th in my heat, giving me 16th overall. I was still having problems with the steering so I went and changed the servo. In E-Buggy, I ended up 9th in my heat giving me 36th overall. My setup was ok on it, but something was missing to get it to my liking. With the 4wd SCT, I was fighting severe nose diving but still managed to get 4th overall after this round.
Q2: After a pinion gear change on the 2wd buggy, I took 1st place overall. I still had to calm my trigger finger, the track was designed for 8th scale. Jumps were feasible but risky. The secret was to roll the jumps and be consistent. I applied the same principle with all my other classes and it paid off.
In E-truggy, I was able to improve to 5th in my heat, giving me 15th overall, but my steering problem was holding me back. I was unable to make quick sharp turns. I tried a lot of things without pinpointing what was doing that. E-Buggy, I improved a lot after making some changes in my transmitter settings. I took first in my heat, giving me 23rd overall. In 4wd SCT, I was able to reduce my diving effects by raising the rear body mounts by one hole and going up with shock oil a little bit. It wasn’t perfect, but at least it was manageable. I took 4th as well.
Q3: In 2wd buggy, I made a costly mistake on 2nd lap and got stuck between 2 jumps, and the marshal didn’t saw me. Lost lots of time, so I pushed really hard and ended up breaking on my final lap. Qual points format gave me 2nd overall, in good position for the double main.
E-Truggy next, still haven’t fixed my steering problem, I was able to finish 5th in my heat, placing me in 17th overall, starting in 6th position in the B main.
E-Buggy, I finished 6th, in my heat, qualifying 30th overall. Starting 8th in the C main.
4wd SCT, I got 4th position again, which confirmed my 4th overall, ready for the double main.
Main day:
My first race was 2wd buggy. TLR 22 2.0, equipped with Pro-Line Transistors M4 in front, and Positrons M4 in rear, all on Pro-Line Wheels. (Also using the Pro-Line Trifecta Wing) I was running good, even got the lead for a few laps then broke a rear hub. I managed to finished my race but falling in 4th place. in A2, i took the lead at the 1st lap but then the buggy started feeling hard to drive straight. I fought to keep it running and was able to finish 3rd, that gave me the 3rd step on the podium.
E-Truggy: (Tekno ET48.3, equipped with Pro-Line Buck Shots M4 and Pro-Line Hole Shots in M4 on Pro-Line wheels). Finally found my steering problem, which was a servo horn issue. Fixed it too little too late. I raced really good and really clean for my B main, starting 6th I quickly moved to 3rd, battling to move up to take the 2nd bump up spot, I had a chance at the final lap, at the last turn. My only chance was to cut inside, as close as possible of the pipe, but I turned a bit too early and flipped, loosing that 2nd place. I finished 3rd in the B main.
E-Buggy, (Tekno EB48, equipped with Pro-Line Buck Shots in M4 on Pro-Line Wheels) C Main, I started in 8th place and got taken out at the start and fell last. I worked really hard to climb back up and was able to finish in 7th place.
4wd SCT, (Tekno SCT410.3 equipped with Pro-Line Hole Shots in M4 and Pro-Line Electrons in M4 on Pro-Line wheels. Pro-Line Pre-cut Flo-Tek Fusion Body) I finished both A1 and A2 main at the same position I started, 4th.
– Stéphane Doucet
