World Final!
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For the BIG picture of the group, click here! (205 KB)
The final race of the HPI Challenge series, and the culmination of the HPI Japan and HPI Europe series, took place this past weekend, November 4th and 5th. The 2000 HPI Challenge World Final was meant to be a big event, with racers from around the world flying in to take part in the biggest HPI race of the year and represent their respective countries. Racers from across the United States were also encouraged to sign up, and nearly all the geographic regions had drivers to represent, including New Jersey, Ohio, Washington state and Northern California.
HPI Racing provided all the winners with huge metal trophy cups, as well as awesome car and truck kits, while American Honda provided gift certificates and Yokohama Tire donated Yokohama racing jackets for all the winners.
Friday, November 3rd
All day Friday (November 3rd) had been devoted to building the track,
setting up the electrical system, building the large tent for the out-of-town
racers to use, and setting up the computer with the race entries. Building
the track started at 8 AM and finished around 12:30, and racers were allowed
to practice for the first time at 1 PM. The track was built of 2 inch
(50mm) PVC pipe, with PVC connectors, elbow pieces and Y connectors. Stepping
stones were used to weigh the track down so crashes wouldn't move it around
too much. There's nothing worse than a track that changes as you drive
around it! HPI employees Dave Potter, Jeff Johns, Steve Baker, Frank McKinney
and Scott Roberts worked on the track and also had to spot problem areas
that would need more stones to hold the track in place. By 3 PM everything
was set up, including the huge 40 by 50 foot tent that would hold many
of the racers and provide shade and rain cover (the early forecast for
the weekend said three days of rain!). About 50 racers were already practicing
on Friday, and the track was closed soon after dark, when the security
guard arrived to start watching the equipment.
Several of the racers had already told us what a challenging track it was, which was our intention. Thad Garner of HPI had set up most of the track, with Frank McKinney tossing in a few things of his own, like tight chicanes, decreasing apex turns and a killer corner that was supposed to be taken slow but gathered many cars during the weekend! The track ended up being 140 by 90 feet (31.7 x 27.4m), a huge track by American standards but an average-size Japanese or European track. The driver stand was just 4 feet (1.3m) off the ground, so for some racers seeing the back straight was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, we had enough rental chairs to go around, so drivers could get a boost up if they needed to.
Saturday, November 4th
With over 210 entries pre-registered and about 170 individual racers,
there was very little time to waste and little margin for error. Unfortunately,
the race weekend got off to a very bumpy start, beginning with the large
rented generator pumping out over 400 volts of power! This is almost four
times the power needed to run a battery charger, and the early bird racers
who had set up their pit areas at 5:30 AM on Saturday were greeted with
smoking chargers and power supplies. (All the racers will be compensated
by the rental company and HPI for their equipment, don't worry!) The generator
problem wasn't fixed until noon, and during this time the computer system
for the race announcer crashed, prompting a further delay. Throughout
the day up to this point, announcements were made on the public address
system as to the status of the generator and the anticipated wait until
the power was online. Meanwhile, racers were allowed to practice, until
the track was closed to practice by 12:30.
By 1 PM the racing had started, with the Nitro classes running first to give the electric classes a chance to charge their batteries. First classes up: Nitro Stock, then Nitro Modified and Super Nitro Modified! Following these, we had Electric Mini, Electric Rally, Electric Sport (17-turn motors) and Electric Pro (12-turn motors).
We also had a few (full-size) show cars on hand, provided by American Honda, Honda Optional Equipment and Yokohama Tire Corporation!
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