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Jim Adkins reports from NovaRossi Challenge, Cali (26/01/2010)

By:: Reporter
Linked to:: Serpent 966 1/8 scale 4WD EVO, Serpent 966 -TE 1/8 scale 4WD, Serpent 966 -TE v2 1/8 scale 4WD

Novarossi Challenge Race #1

Crystal Park Raceway
January 22-23rd 2010

For the past few weeks I have been building the new cars in preparation for the Novarossi Challenge hosted at Crystal Park Raceway, the first big race of the year.

I must say the task of building the both cars and working 16 hours a day seemed a little over whelming but once I opened the box of the 733 and began to thumb through the instructions the excitement took over and the build became my escape from the daily grind. To top it off the cars went together better than any other kit I have ever built. The instructions for both the 733 and the 966 were easy to follow and the fit and finish of the parts is very impressive. Obviously the builds went well.

I have been more excited to start this race season than I have been in while. So once the week of the race came I could hardly sleep. Friday morning started at 4:15 am and Scott Kimbrow, Rich Browne, and I loaded up and headed out. We were hoping to get some track time that day but mother nature had other ideas. So we checked into the room and decided to go through the cars one last time. Paolo Morganti and Joaquin De Soto stopped by the room to make sure we were ready and look over the cars. Paolo was nice enough to point out all the things I did wrong and help to correct them. Of course every body had a good laugh at my expense, thanks guys!

Saturday morning the track was still wet and we did not get on track until about 10. They decided to run practice heats first and then controlled practice for each class. Scott was on track first with the 733 and the car was good right out of the box thanks to Paolo’s help the day before. It was my turn next and the 966 did not disappoint.

After 3 round of qualifying Scott ended up second and I ended up 6th. We made small improvements in each heat and made a few final adjustments before the mains improving the cars each time we were on track thanks to the help from Paolo, Rich, and Joaquin.

The mains were 30 min long and in the 1/10 main Scott took an early lead but flamed out on his 3rd stop and lost close to a lap. After that Scott put on a driving exhibition and reeled in the leader but fell short by less than a second. What a show!

In the 1/8th scale main, I got a good start and worked my way up to 3rd by the 10 minute mark and held the position until the finish. The car stayed consistent throughout the run and was easy to maintain a competitive pace.

The best part of the weekend was the support we received from Paolo, Joaquin from Serpent America, and Sam Sim of Kamikaze Racing. All together we were on track only 6 times each and without their support we would not have had the results we did.

We will be posting our set ups soon and will continue to give updates as we prepare for the 1/10th scale Pre Worlds in Houston. Stay tuned for updates from the event.

Jim Adkins