2008 Hostile Hobby’s BajaFest
By: Scott G.

The largest gathering of HPI Baja 5B’s to date happened on September 19th to the 21st, 2008 at Hostile Hobby’s BajaFest. 71 Baja 5B’s and one of two Baja 5T’s in the world were on hand for a weekend of racing and bashing fun. Hostile Hobby is located in beautiful upstate New York in the very green rolling hills of a small community called Springwater. Hostile Hobby is a manufacturer of aftermarket products for the HPI Baja 5B, and is a business dedicated solely to the Baja 5B market. The facility boasts 40 acres of natural mountain terrain embedded with 80’ tall trees. In the middle of the property is a very large slightly inclined opening where the Baja fun transpires. Smack dab in the middle of the clearing is a huge oval track with a very smooth flowing off-road track in the infield. A purpose built driver’s stand sits at the bottom of the incline allowing ample viewing of the entire track. Surrounding the Baja venue is a track dedicated to quads, which made for great spectating for the weekends many events. One of the quad track jumps served as the lip for the infamous jumping contest. Above the track and to the left was a perfectly flat grassy area which served as the Drag race area, where everyone could race heads up with their friends and discuss the finer points of engine tuning.

HPI’s new Baja 5T was the talk of the entire group. Everyone in attendance had seen the videos of the truck in action on line, but looked forward to seeing it perform in person. During a small break in the action John Schultz opened the trunk of the rental car, and out came the 5T. The Truck was fired up and dropped on the track for a few laps so people could see it in action with their own eyes. Tons of speculation about this new beast had been heavily circulating throughout the forum communities, and it was time for HPI to let the truck out of the trunk. The Truck was awesome to watch. The handling of the truck in RTR form far exceeded the expectations of the crowd which quickly gathered video and still cameras to start taking home their own little piece of the truck’s first public debut. The buzz from the crowd after the first time the truck was run was very positive. There will definitely be a need for a truck class at next years Fall BajaFest to accommodate all the new HPI Baja 5T’s that will be in attendance!

Friday, September 19th:
Many people made the trip to the Hostile Hobby BajaFest from all over the East coast of North America. All day Friday saw many people rolling in and setting up their camp spots. Some chose to stay in nearby hotels, others brought motor homes, and a few more simply brought tents and worked out of the back of their cars. Friday was all about talking with Rob (the owner of Hostile Hobby), picking up the last minute modifications and getting them installed on their  5B’s for the coming weekend fun. Many guys hit the track and started getting their set-ups dialed in for the coming days events. Rob had secured two huge generator light combos and had them illuminating both ends of the track providing plenty of light for those who chose to do some running at night. The last Baja running came to a halt at about 2:00 am Saturday morning. These guys came to run, and they intended to squeeze every last moment out of the available track time.

Saturday, September 20th
7:00 AM Saturday morning marked the official start of the Hostile Hobby BajaFest. The first engine was fired and the festival of the Baja 5B began. A full schedule of activities were on the horizon, but the primary purpose of the event was to have some fun. The 1st event on the list was a day of off-road racing. 48 people decided to sign up and give it a shot. Six qualifier races would be run twice to determine the main listings. The atmosphere in the pits was more than friendly, with everyone helping anyone they could to get their driving style and Baja 5B up to speed. It was amazing to watch the community at work. It seemed that no matter what concern, issue, or advice was needed, there was always someone there who had the answers and the willingness and desire to help. HPI was on hand for any technical questions, John Schultz was more than willing to help out the community in any capacity, and was spotted tuning no fewer than 6 Baja 5B’s. The off-road racing lasted into the evening with the mains getting underway at dusk.

Just Prior to the off-road mains Rob  had the entire crowd gather around the driver stand with all Baja 5B’s in attendance. The phrase “Hundred Thousand Dollar Straight Away” started floating around the crowd as all the Bajas were laid out for a photo opportunity. After the photos were taken there was a product give away. Rob from Hostile Hobby lugged a huge box of goodies up on the drivers stand and randomly drew names from a hat to divvy up the goodies. It seemed as though every name had been called twice before the box of goods had dwindled to nothing. Rob then announced that the same thing would happen on Sunday with the other half of the prizes!!

The mains got underway offering each main an opportunity for the top 2 finishers to transfer up to the next main. One extraordinary individual must be pointed out. Mark Breer had suffered technical issues in the qualifiers, and started his conquest for success in the E-Main. His winning combination had him claw his way all the way to the A main where he finally had to retire due to an issue with his transponder. Well done Mark… well done! The competitive spirit of the entrants was definitely there, but the primary focus for all attendees was purely fun. This fact alone separated this event from any other RC based event attended by most people. The A main got underway with 8 competitors all with sights of being crowned the fastest off-road Baja racer on the East coast. The competition was fierce from the start tone to the final laps of the half hour A Main event. When the dust settled the results were as follows:

Off-Road A-Main:
Tuan Lee
Chris Walter
John Schultz
Scott G.
Hostile Rob
Mark Breer
Chris Bower
Rick Jimgras

Shortly after the off-road mains were out of the way, the oval racing began. Five qualifiers would be run twice to determining the qualifying positions for the mains. This was probably the most fun you could have with a Baja 5B. There were 8 cars all running at top speed entering and driving through corners sideways. It was quite an event to both participate in and watch. Some of the competitors had fashioned outlaw type wings to assist in the handling of the oval track. The scale realism of the winged cars was impressive, and had everyone’s attention. I can see Baja 5B dirt oval racing taking off in the very near future! With about an hour left of available run time it was called out that the track was open for practice, and that the Oval mains would be ran at 10 AM Sunday morning.

Sunday September 21st
10 AM…. Oval Racing got underway. The Mains brought everyone to the spectating locations. The entertainment value of the HPI Baja 5B’s ripping around the oval track was second to none. There was so much good racing for all the positions that a spectator was feeling the rush as much as the drivers themselves. There were so many different available lines around the oval that positions were being gained at the entrance of the corner and lost back by the exit of the corner. The same system was used offering the top two finishers from lower mains an opportunity to race immediately following in the next main event. The highly anticipated A-Main event would last 15 minutes. Hostile Rob decided to sit this one out, and look after his guests, everyone figured he was just being nice and didn’t want to annihilate the competition on his home track ☺ The drivers were all anxious to get out in front. The carnage was evidence of this fact as several cars were immediately tangled up while vying for position costing a few drivers an opportunity at the top spot.

Fast laps were just over 10 seconds, so any rollover or mistake was very costly. At the end there was a good battle for the top spot, and some good old fashioned “dirty” racing to keep the crowds entertained. It was all in good fun and everyone laughed for hours after the final laps. The results for the oval A-Main are as follows:

Oval Racing A-Main:
Scott G.
John Schultz
Dennis Citrano
Todd Newman
Chris Dipretoro
Donald Mortell
Justin Matthews
Chris Dilmonte

Shortly after the Oval A Main was an off-road event commonly run on the east coast called a “Dash for Cash”. Every competitor was offered an option to buy in for 10 dollars. The first guy to reach 20 laps was the winner. The race would be run with no turn marshals, and no one was allowed to enter the track. If your buggy flipped over or broke, it would have to sit there for the duration of the event becoming an obstacle for the rest of the competitors to race around. The laughs and smiles this event created will last in the minds of Baja owners for a long time to come. Several of the guys were driving around the track flipping guys over with their buggies to try and keep everyone going. When it was all said and done John Schultz came out on top, and elected to pass off his winnings to second place driver Mark Breer. The results are as follows:

Off-Road “Dash for Cash”
John Schultz
Mark Breer
Jack Holister
Scott G.
Dan Goldsmith
Tim Lotke
David Bowman
Tuan Lee
Ryan Lamarsh
Justin Matthews
Dean Colbers
Mark Sangillo
Greg Snieff

After the racing had been completed the track was open for general practice and running. A short break in the action gave Rob another opportunity to thank the crowd for their attendance by handing out another supply of prizes to the entire group. This time everyone in attendance walked away with no less than three items. There were rumors that Hostile Hobby and all supporting sponsors donated parts totaling close to $10,000 retail value. Everyone was a winner, and wandered the premises with an ear to ear grin.

In the early afternoon the sunlight was replaced with a layer of fog, limiting visibility to about 200 feet. The fog would not damper the spirits of any attendees as the next 2 events were taking entries and getting organized. First up was the Jumping contest. A nice 5’ high by 10’ wide table top from Hostile’s quad track was used for the jumping lip. The contest would be for distance. There is a fine art to jumping, as many of the entrants discovered, and hitting it just wrong can result in major carnage. Hitting it just right however, can be the most awesome spectacle imaginable! About 15 entrants lined up to take their three back to back attempts at the jump. When it was all said and done, Mark Breer came out on top edging John Schultz out by about 6 inches.

Next on the list was the grass drag racing. The distance was about 50 yards from start to finish. The event was run in single elimination brackets, and the facing competitors were randomly drawn and matched up. Getting the cars to hook up on the damp grass was a hard task, and throttle control off the line was everything. With many very close races the field was narrowed down to HPI’s John Schultz and Hostile Drag’s reigning champion Greg Glassman. Greg appeared to have the fastest ET, yet was plagued with traction problems off the line in the final which gave the slight advantage and the win to John.

As Sunday evening approached, many in attendance had to pack it in, and head home to prepare for work on Monday. A group of guys/gals stayed around for the Sunday night bon fire, and shared their weekend stories until the wee hours of Monday morning. There is one thing for sure, if you missed this event, you missed out on the greatest hospitality and laid back fun to be had with the 5B on the East coast. If you made it to this event, the action and fun you had will surely resonate for months to come. When Hostile Hobby puts on an event, you can be certain that you will have the most fun humanly possible. Perhaps its time for a name change Rob…. Happy Hobby?

Rob at Hostile Hobby would like to thank all of the sponsors and those that came out to enjoy the event.

Event Sponsors:
Hostile Racing Products - www.HostileHobby.com
Hpiracing - www.hpiracing.com
Phatdad RC
GBE - www.gabebrownengineering.com
Turtle Racing - http://www.turtleracingproducts.com/
DDM - www.davesmotors.com
Pb's Kill Switches - http://www.RcKillSwitch.com
Scorpion Unlimited - http://scorpionunlimited.com/index.htm
TGN - www.teamgonads.com
CD Grafix
Team FastEddy - www.teamfasteddy.com/ 
Protecta
Large Scale RC - http://www.largescalerc.com/
Darksoul - www.darksoulracing.com
HPIBajaForum and Ramtech RC - www.hpibajaforum.com
SUH Racing - http://www.suhracing.com/Scripts/default.asp
HBZ - http://www.hbzusa.com/

For more information. Event stories, photo galleries, and event videos go to:
http://www.hpibajaforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=128

Authors Notes:
Hostile Rob.. You are the man!! Your Baja Dedication is amazing, your wings and pizza are the best…still salivating over those! Your hospitality was greatly appreciated, and will be remembered for years to come.
Justin and other volunteers… your help was priceless throughout the weekend, Thanks!!
Fast Eddy… you had me laughing till my sides hurt, your tutorials and your demeanor are truly an asset to the community.
Dave and Shelly… You two are awesome, Shelly, your cooking was wonderful, and your brownies, oh my god, your brownies were good!
Mark Breer…. Keep racing man…You have some Skills!!
John Schultz… I admire the way you helped everyone at the event, so much that I will forgive you for trying to help me to the wall during the oval Main :). Good times!
Everyone in the Baja community from the East Coast….. It was a pleasure to meet and spend time with all of you, I look forward to coming back.

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