BLACKTOP BEATDOWN: THE 2014 TAMIYA TCS NORTHWEST REGIONALS.
While this post may be over a month late (waiting for official results to be posted), The great racing and fun times are still plenty fresh. As I've stated before, this race is known as much for the social RC reunion it creates, as it is for the racing itself. It's great to hang out with old friends in a parking lot again!
2014 marked the 20th year for the Tamiya TCS series here in the States. I've been racing Tamiya branded cars for at least 15 of those years, while being part of some great Regional events throughout that time. You'd think that after 15+ years of competing at these races, I would've been on the podium at some point. TCS events are well-known for the free swag handed out to those in the top 3 of each class. Medals, car kits, bodies..... quite the plethora of hobby goods to make a day's sunburn worth while. Either through bad luck or bad driving though, I'd never had a chance to have my name up on the website (or printed in RC Car Action... those were the days), would I finally get off the schnide and make some magic happen with the ol' M03?
The day started with a quick driver's meeting, followed by concourse judging, which Jeff Kuney promptly cleaned up on, winning best in show for both Mini and GT. Ty Follis would win F1.
Here's a closer look at Kuney's Suzuki Swift
Mini had a great showing, with 16+ cars, making it by far the biggest class of the day. I must say that the talent in this class has grown along with the interest. The names were a who's who of the local scene:
Mark Brown
Jeff Kuney
Mark Tveten
Ron Lui
Jacob Reyes
Franko Roberts
The list really goes on and on, it was a great field of cars this year, and with the new rules allowing 21.5BL motors, there was great variety as well. M03's M05's, and M06's mixing it up together. No longer is the M03 alone at the top.
Mini was a full class again this year, with talent to boot.
F1:
Mark Tveten made quick work of F1 this year, taking an easy TQ and lapping the field twice in the Main, despite struggling with setup for most of the day. Grip was a bit tricky, and it showed, but experience paid off and Mark cruised to another Regionals win.
SPEC:
Braedan Swan took a page from Mark Tveten's book, and proceeded to clean up in Spec, taking the TQ and race win. With proud father Rob watching, Braedan lapped the field twice in the A Main, assuring himself some podium swag and a bump up to the GT3 class for next year. Way to go!
GT3:
GT3 was a great field this year, but the jewel of the class was Jacob Reyes, taking TQ and the A Main win. It wasn't without a fight however, as Chris Perry put the pressure on for most of the race, but couldn't quite get close enough to force a pass. It was ultimately to no avail, as Jacob would claim his well-deserved overall win, with Chris taking second, and Franko Roberts taking third.
GT2:
The official scoring for GT2 would show Jon McLean taking TQ and the A Main win, but for those there to watch, the Main was one for the ages. A race-long battle between Jon and Mark Brown ensued from the start, with Jon making the final pass for the lead with nearly a lap to go. Definitely the race of the day, Well done, Jon!
GT1:
GT1 was the Jeff Kuney show, or the Gun Show, depending on who you ask. Just as everyone else before him, he took TQ and the A Main win. Troy Crabtree would take second, with what looked to be the fast car of the class, and Chris Lim would round out the podium, great racing guys.
MINI:
This class is just fun, no way around it, and with all the talent that signed up to compete, it just made the day that much better. Ron Lui seemed to be on another level at Regionals, taking the TQ and holding off a swarm of angy bees to take a seemingly easy win. Behind him however, can only be described as a hurricane of carnage and door-to-door racing. I'll describe this as best as I can, being that I was in the middle of all this.....
The A Main grid was Ron Lui on pole, followed by Mark Brown, Jeff Kuney, myself, and Jacob Reyes rounding out the top 5. The start was clean and for the first lap, everything was situation normal... Then came lap 2. All of a sudden, Brown and Kuney disappear, and myself and Jacob are thrust into second and third. Mark recovers and passes us both to retake second, and then he disappeared again, and that was the last I saw of him for the next 5 minutes. the order is now Ron Lui (with a comfy gap), myself and Jacob. I could tell Jacob was picking up the pace so I did the same. We literally pushed each other for 5 minutes, nearly two corners apart, the entire time. I started thinking to myself, "I'm in a podium spot!" and started backing off, which prompted the little mistakes one makes when he/she throttles back. End of that, I started pushing again, not willing to give up this spot, all the while catching Ron, while the others behind us were catching up. Mark and Jeff, seemingly done with their scrap, were making up ground.... and then the race was over. Ron first, Jesse second, Jacob third. What seemed like an eternity was over in no time. I finally broke my personal curse and got me some silver hardware, what a race.
"Voodoo-Shakes" bringing in the hardware.
After not racing for 8+ months, to throw "Voodoo-Shakes" together again, with a "educated guess" setup, and podium, was pretty damn awesome. Thanks to Jacob and Troy, I had just enough motor to mix it up and compete for a medal. With a consistent car, and some good driving, I clinched my first ever TCS podium, in what has turned in to my favorite class by far. What a rad day.
As always huge thanks go to Tamiya for putting on this series across the country, as well as Galaxy hobby for hosting it. each year has had great racing and a kick-ass atmosphere. parking lot racing is always a good time, but add in your favorite fun classes and good friends, and it becomes an event you circle on your calendar each year.
Race Results
| Race Class | Racer Name | Finishing Position |
|---|---|---|
| F-1 | Mark Tveten Albert Rosales Chris Lim Mark Tveten | First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier |
| GT-1 | Jeff Kuney Troy Crabtree Chris Lim Jeff Kuney | First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier |
| GT-2 | Jon McLean Mark Brown Ron Lui Jon McLean | First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier |
| GT-3 | Jacob Reyes Chris Perry Franko Roberts Jacob Reyes Mark Sells | First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier B-Main First Place |
| Novice Spec | Braedan Swan Russell Rogers Savion Voorhees Braedan Swan | First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier |
| MINI | Ron Lui Jesse Anderson Jacob Reyes Ron Lui Mike Boyle | First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier B-Main First Place |
-JROY
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