2024 SIDNEY STATE TITLE
JOHN GRANT RACEWAY NSW
20-21 April, 2024

Hello to all,

Last weekend, together with my father, I went to Sydney to compete for the state title. The track is beautiful and quite technical, although it had a medium-low grip. The temperature was between 20 and 25 degrees, enough to make the atmosphere pleasant for an RC race. The number of participants wasn't very high; about thirty drivers divided into two categories.

Since Thursday afternoon, things have been going well for me, and I immediately found a good feeling with the track. First, I preferred to properly tune the engines to make sure I wouldn't have any surprises over the long distance.

From Friday, I focused on trying various solutions on my IF18-3, such as carbon stiffeners on the rear end to optimize the car's grip under the track conditions. I was very happy to immediately go below the 15-second barrier in fast laps; I even managed to set a 14.5, which is not a given result considering the poor grip.

On Saturday, the qualifiers took place with five heats of 7 minutes each; I won the first three, securing the TQ (Top Qualifier) position; during these phases, I kept my standard setup and preferred to focus on the driving sensations that the model conveyed to me. The other guys using the IF18-3 performed well in qualifying, setting good lap times.

Unfortunately, on Sunday, only one of them, Richard Allsop, managed to enter the final by passing through the semifinals. I prepared for the Amain by cutting a slightly higher set of tires than usual to allow me to complete the 30 minutes without having to make a change. Already at the start, my closest competitors had problems with several contacts, so I was able to create a good margin from the beginning over the rest of the group and win this title.

In the 1/10 category, Brayden obtained the TQ, outpacing the other "guys" racing with our IF15-2. In the final, Brayden came second followed by Nathan on the third step of the podium and Colin finishing fifth.

A great start to the season!!! See you in just over a month for the title in Queensland!

Jesse Davis