WORLDS: Leino improves time, Green biggest mover in third round

0 Nov. 10, 2014, 11:41 p.m.

11/11/2014

By Aaron Waldron

LiveRC.com

The changing conditions of the Huge R/C Project racing surface calmed down a bit in the third round of controlled practice on Tuesday afternoon, with drivers better able to focus on improving their cars rather than wonder how much the differing grip levels played a part. Now it seems the drivers have turned their attention toward horsepower, trying to take advantage of the incredible grip by putting down every last rpm they can find.

The fastest driver from the first round of controlled practice, HB’s Teemu Leino improved his seed time by just .004 seconds - but proved he can run the same pace from his first heat and that it wasn’t a fluke. The Finn tried his third different engine of the week, finding more power overall. “The power makes a big difference,” said Leino, who added, “when there’s so much traction, you want all the power you can get.” The concern now, of course, is fuel mileage - and having crashed during the round, he wasn’t able to determine how long he can go on a tank. The 2012 TQ said it’s very important to make the qualifier on just one fuel stop, thinking he’ll need about 5:25 to make it.

British driver Mark Green leapt from 19th to fourth, improving by .534 seconds, saying that his Serpent was “really, really good. Really nice and safe and stable, and I’m very happy with it.” Making changes each time he hits the track, Green said his car has been getting better - and that the focus has been on keeping the car on all four wheels while trying to find better lap times. A change to thicker shock oil for the third round helped, and he’ll leave the car alone for the final practice while trying a new Novarossi glow plug that he was told should be more reliable, while also installing a harder clutch spring to make it engage later so that it doesn’t upset the car in the middle of the corner. Mark says he can go about 5:25 on fuel, but would feel safer if he could achieve 5:35 in the final round.

Defending champ Meen Vejrak again improved, this time by by .015 seconds despite slipping from sixth to seventh on the charts. Saying that his Meen Version H-K1 felt pretty good, he crashed on the first right hairpin after the sweeper and chunked a tire early in the run. “Lap times are still okay,” said Vejrak, whose experiment with less diff oil felt nearly the same as before, not really softer action but smoother. Needing more bottom end power, the Thai driver will adjust the clutch to engage later and said he’s not worried about how that may affect mileage - he says he can go 5:00 plus one lap.

Fastest seeding times (three consecutive laps) after Round Three: