The innaugural 2010 Keilor Stock Shootout was held over the weekend of 23rd and 24th January 2010. The event was the brainhild of Shane McKay and Leigh Cheeseman, both Keilor Offroad RC Car Club committee members and long time racers, and aimed to bring the best stock class drivers head to head with the more experienced modified class drivers - but on an even playing field. Motos were limited to 27T brushed or 17.5T brushless and had to be on the current ROAR approved lists. AARCMCC technical rules were used for scutineering.

66 entries were received across the four classes on offer. Racers from country Victoria (Mildura and Wodonga) as well as several insterstate visitors from New South Wales and even Western Australia were in attendance. The entries were spread across the four classes as follows:

• 2wd - 24 entries
• 4wd - 19 entries
• Truck - 16 entries
• SC Truck - 7 entries

Weather conditions were near perfect for offroad racing with temperatures in the low 20's C on Saturday and in the mid 20's C on the Sunday. The format for the event was three qualifying rounds on Saturday, followed by a fourth qualifying round and then three finals on Sunday. Grid positions for the finals were determined from the best three of the four qualifiers. Finals were decided by the best two of the three final rounds.

Unfortunately due to the hot conditions in Victoria over the summer period coupled with persistent use of the 1/10th scale Keilor track by 1/8th and 1/5th scale gas buggies, the track was extremely dry and the rutted, despite the best efforts of the Keilor club to get the surface up to scratch prior to the event. With the punnishment that an event such as this gives to the surface, it deteriorated further throughout the weekend to the point where carpet was placed over several jump faces to prevent them crumbling completely and to prevent car breakages. The club worked hard between rounds to perform patches and keep the surface as consistent as possible and should be congratulated on their efforts.

Leigh Cheeseman briefing drivers (very casually)		Tent city - a section of the pit area

Concours

Prior to the start of qualifying on Saturday, drivers presented their cars for concours judging. Following a process of elimination, five cars were selected as the standouts. The eventual winner was Han Tuong and his custom painted X-Factory X6 body rumoured to have been prepared by master body painter "Johnny G".

Concours winner Han Tuong		A closeup of the winning car

A quality field assembled to contest the 2wd stock title, headlined by local modified driver Leigh Cheeseman, 2008 National 4wd stock champion Andrew Giddings, 2008 National 2wd stock champion Scott Cameron, and local stock ace Michael "the doctor" Salis.

The 24 entrants were divided into three races of eight with a regrade undertaken following the second qualifier.

Qualifier 1
Salis came out firing to take round one from the more fancied Cheeseman by 0.4s, with Giddings a further 4s back.

Qualifier 2
Proving that lightning can strike twice in the same place, Salis again put away Cheeseman with a faultless demonstration of consistent driving, this time by only 0.2s. In a repeat of Q1, Gidding's was third a further 5s adrift.

Qualifier 3
After the regrade, Cheeseman chased down Salis who had a bad round which included several roll-overs to post the fastest time of day and take the round from Glenn Wilson by 12s. Third place was again taken by Gidding's a further 2s behind.

Qualifier 4
With TQ still up for grabs, Cheeseman drove another smooth (but slightly slower) round to take the win from Salis by 2s with Wilson in third, a further 10s behind. With Salis and Cheeseman tied on points, Cheeseman's fastest time of day helped him into the TQ position.

Cheeseman's Losi XXX-CR		2nd qualifier Michael Salis's X-Factory X6
3rd qualifier Andrew Gidding's Kyosho RB5		4th qualifier Glenn Wilson's Kyosho RB5

The top ten qualifiers were as follows:

Final 1
Cheeseman and Salis both had clean starts and held their positions for the first six laps. Chesseman then had a roll over which handed the lead to Salis, however Salis relinquished position on the following lap and once back in front, Cheeseman held on to take the win less than 0.1s from Salis in a thriller. Third place was Logan Symes who just held off a fast finishing Wilson.

Final 2
Cheeseman made no mistakes this time to lead from start to finish and take the 2wd title in track record time. Salis had a brilliant drive but was simply not quick enough, finishing 0.7s behind. Scott Cameron came from position 7 on the grid to take third place with a personal best time, some 4s behind Salis.

Final 3
With the title wrapped up, Cheeseman elected to sit out race three. Salis had a strong start and led Gidding's around for the first lap with Wilson in third. Salis rolled over letting Gidding and Wilson through on lap two with Wilson then passing Gidding through the top section of the track to take the lead. Salis and Gidding's fought for position as emerging talent Andre Morton drove a sensational race to challenge them from position 8 on the grid to come through the field. Wilson held on to take the round from Salis and Morton in third.

Salis heads up the grid for Final 3		6th qualifier Logan Symes in action
Scott Cameron's car was a missile		Simon Ryan in his Fantom powered B4

The final results were as follows:

Cheeseman's Losi XXX-CR		What's your name?
The 2wd podium (L to R - Salis, Cheesman, Wilson)

Equipment being used by the A finalists was as follows:

Again a quality field assembled to contest the 4wd stock title including young gun Logan Symes from Mildura (the recent Coleman Cup 4wd stock champion) and 2008 National 2wd stock champion Scott Cameron.

The 19 entrants were divided into two races with a regrade undertaken following the second qualifier.

Qualifier 1
The early pace-setter was Shaun Thiel from Mildura with a very fast opening round, 1s ahead of local driver Glenn Wilson. Thiel and Wilson were the only drivers to record 10 lap runs with Logan Symes third.

Qualifier 2
Wilson improved on his Q1 result to set the fastest time of day but was only 0.1s ahead of Scott Cameron. Logan Symes also improved to be a further 0.9s behind Cameron in third.

Qualifier 3
After the regrade, Wilson again improved on his Q2 time to set another fastest time of day to take out the round. Cameron was second some 14s adrift with Symes in third.

Qualifier 4
With Thiel the only matematical chance of stealing TQ from Wilson, Symes came out with a personal best to take the round. Wilson was second 3s further back which was enough to clinch the TQ position. Thiel was third a further 6s behind Wilson.

Scott Cameron in action		Shaun Thiel's Hotboddies D4 WCE
Nathan Burge's blue B44		Edwin Ip's Tamiya 501X

The top ten qualifiers were as follows:

Final 1
Wilson lead the field off for the first three laps before rolling and handing the lead to Cameron and letting Symes past. Cameron drove a great race to a near fastest time of day result and the win from Symes in second and Wilson in third.

Final 2
Wilson rolled just after the start and dropped back to third, allowing Symes and Thiel through. Symes had a near faultless run, posting an incredible time to snare the track record and take the win from Thiel by 12s with Cameron a further 4s back.

Final 3
With the title still up for grabs, Wilson started cleanly and led the field through the first 6 laps. Symes made a clean pass on Wilson during lap seven to take the lead and never looked back, taking the win by 2s and the overall title. Thiel maintained third throughout the race, finishing a further 6s behind Wilson.

Han Tuong's Durango passes in a blur		Logan Symes's Team Associated B44
Cars gridded up ready for race start		Simon Ryan's Fantom powered B44

The final results were as follows:

Following the third final, the top three place getters were asked to remove the motors from their cars and present the rotor for measurement under the watchful eye of the race referee. The AARCMCC technical rules state that the rotor diameter must be between 12.0mm and 12.51mm.

During this process, it was discovered that Symes and Thiel had used an illegal 13mm tuning rotor in their motors, thus disqualifying them from the race. Although the use of this rotor was intenional by both racers, neither were aware that there was a rotor diameter limit. As the rules were clearly stated prior to the event, the race referee had no choice but to disqualify both races. Scott Cameron later forfeited his result.

When the dust settled, the podium was readjusted with Wilson promoted to first, MacDonald promoted to second, and Tuong promoted to third.

Scott Cameron's Hotboddies D4 WCE		Logan Symes's Team Assoicated B44
Han Tuong's Durango DEX410		Glenn WIlson's Kyosho ZX5 FS
The 4wd podium (L to R - MacDonald, Wilson, Tuong)

Equipment being used by the A finalists was as follows:

New In The Pits Mildura RC Centre owner Scott Cameron was spotted with a new charger capable of charging and balancing (or discharging) four batteries simultaneously. The 12V DC powered IMAX Quattro B6 eliminates the need for having multiple chargers and means you always have a battery pack ready when you need it. The new charger is priced at around $280. Check out the Mildura RC Centre website for more information.

The number of entrants running stock truck has been growing in recent times and a strong field gathered to contest this event. Entrants included Mick "the doctor" Salis who was second at the 2009 Victorian Titles and Wodonga ace Matt Thurling. Jovis Cardente also came out of semi-retirement to enter (and I'm not just talking about the raffle).

The 16 entrants were divided into two races of eight with a regrade undertaken following the second qualifier.

Qualifier 1
After his blistering form in the first 2wd qualifier, Salis continued his form to take the Round 1 win by a full lap over Han Tuong in his X-Factory X60. Matt Thurling came home in third a further 4s behind Tuong.

Qualifier 2
Salis bettered his Q1 time be 5s to take the round win from Tuong, again by a full lap. Third place went to Andre Morton and his custom made Truck constructed using parts from a Losi XX-NT. Andre's truck was extremely quick and showed signs of better things to come.

Qualifier 3
After the regrade, Salis continued his domination, still the only driver to complete a 10 lap round. Second was Jovis Cardente with Morton in third with a 29s personal best.

Qualifier 4
With TQ wrapped up, Salis sat out Q4 allowing Morton to raise his hand as a serious contender. Morton became only the second driver to record a 10 lap round with Matt Thurling registering a 3s personal best in second and Jovis Cardente in third.

The field starts cleanly		Nigel Spokes and Gerry Maya
Han Tuong's X60		Lucas Smith's T4

The top ten qualifiers were as follows:

Final 1
With Salis putting on such a dominating display in qualifying, the feeling was that he would take the title in his sleep however that was not to be. Salis got off to the early start however Morton drove like a maniac from position 5 on the grid to snatch second place by the end of lap 1. Morton and Salis duelled for the remainder of the race with Morton catching up to the rear bumper of Salis's truck on more than one occasion, only to make a mistake and fall back. In the end, Salis's consistency paid off and he took the win from Morton by 4s and Tuong a further 11s adrift.

Final 2
Fresh from his personal best run in the first final, all eyes were on Morton however he was unable to weave his way through the field and ended up finishing fifth. Salis has a nervous start with Matt Thurling sneaking past him on the first lap. He regaining his composure to pass Thurling on lap two and never looked back, taking a convincing 7s win and the title. Thurling was second with the ever improving Cardente in third.

Final 3
With the title wrapped up, Salis elected to sit out race three. Cardente was the early leader from position three on the grid but was chased down and passed by Morton on lap three. Morton put in an impressive drive with his frankenstein creation to take the win over Cardente by 2s. Robert Russell was third with a personal best time for the day.

Morton's custom made frankenstein creation		Gerry Maya's Losi
Trucks gridded up		Matt Thurling's T4

The final results were as follows:

Morton chases Cardente		Cardente's T4 on the grid
The truck podium (L to R - Morton, Salis, Cardente)

Equipment being used by the A finalists was as follows:

This was the first large race meet in which SC Truck was run as its own class (albeit as a demonstration class on this occasion).

The 7 entrants included a mix of Team Associated SC10's and Traxxas Slash's.

Qualifier 1
The early pace setter was Matt Thurling in his Team Associated SC10, closely follwed by Lucas Smith. 2s separated first and second with Bruce Shoemark a further 17s behind in third.

Qualifier 2
In Q2, Glenn Hamilton set the early pace, leading for the first three laps before a roll over handed the lead to Thurling. Thurling drove a consistent race from there on in to take the win with Lucas Smith just behind him. Hamilton recovered to finish third.

Qualifier 3
Q3 was littered with roll overs and some questionable driving. In the end, Smith emerged victorious (with the least number of roll overs), 11s ahead of Hamiton with Thurling a further 3s back.

Qualifier 4
With TQ still up for grabs, Thurling regained his earlier form to work his way through the field and take the lead by lap four. He had a tight battle with Smith but ended up sneaking home 1s ahead. Hamilton was third.

Trucks gridded up and ready to go		Hamilton stuggles to ground his Slash
Thurling chases down Hamilton		Neil Russel's SC10

Final 1
Thurling had a good start but on lap three, Smith made a pass and took the lead. Smith held off Thurling until lap seven when until he rolled and handed him the lead. Thurling was never headed and managed to steer his SC10 home 2s ahead of Smith with Hamilton in third.

Final 2
Thurling again got off to a good start but Smith made a pass on lap two to take the lead. The pair swapped the lead several times until Smith edged in front on the final lap and held on for the win. Again Hamilton was third.

Final 3
With the title undecided, Thurling got away cleanly. Again Smith passed him on lap two but when he rolled, Hamilton momentarily took the lead. Thurling composed himself to wheel his SC10 to the win with a beautiful display of consistent driving, holding off the fast finishing Smith. Rodney Bateman was third.

The final results were as follows:

Rodney Bateman's Slash		Bruce Shoemark's SC10
Matt Thurling's SC10		Willy Chang's Slash
The SC truck podium (L to R - Smith, Thurling, Hamilton)

Equipment being used by the A finalists was as follows:

Event Sponsors

The Keilor Offroad RC Car Club would like to thank our generous sponsors for providing items for the raffle. Special thanks to Himoto Australia for donating a complete car which was won by Carl Kallenback.

Other event sponsors included Central RC, Glow Trading/Himoto, Cobra RC/Hobbywing and O’Reilly Model Products.

Special thanks to Master Cut Food Industries who donated the meat for the weekends BBQ and Tip Top Bakeries for providing the bread.

Carl Kallenback with his new Himoto		The other prize winners

Event Video

Keri MacDonald prepared the following video footage of the event. Brilliant job Keri (aka "Eichkay").

• Slow motion footage of all classes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsIZrWEwc4A
• Real time fottage of the 2wd class - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeojHh_Phds
• Real time fottage of the 4wd class - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASP-TJ5LTvs