Our longest and closest race yet!
This was a nice gradual hill in an industrial area with a lot of bush around, 1.2km long, ending with a sharp left into a short dead-end.
A few deadly potholes, but very light traffic, no houses and one very stoked early morning walker.
For the first time we welcomed a lady racer to the trophy race, driving the Death Machine. This may not happen again, because she won...
This race also saw the debut of a new cart, Agent Orange, bringing our regular tally to seven. It came last this time, but shouldn't take long to dial in.
The official results don't do justice to the Blue Bandit or SK3K. You could have thrown a blanket over the whole pack, with positions changing many times.
Perhaps it was the tinsel slowing Superkart 3000 down? Great Christmas spirit though...
Double Trouble has had a lot of modifications since the last race, including go-faster red scallops, wheel strengthening and being completely lowered. A new co-driver may have also made a difference to its highest ever placing.
Quicksilver finished in the middle, like it always does.
Official results:
1. Death Machine (awarded first trophy)
2. Dogbandit
3. Double Trouble
4. Quicksilver
5. Superkart 3000
6. Blue Bandit
7. Agent Orange (awarded last trophy)
A big thank you to our awesome support crew, again ready to make movies, drive vans, cook breakfast and cheer on idiots. And above all, get up really early.
Check out the movie! Hooray to our illustrious editor!
AIGRF Race Four this Sunday 16th December – "Skippy's Revenge". Interested racers, camera crew and spectators please assemble at the end of Nevin Close, Gateshead at 5.45am SHARP for race briefing and track details. We will assign grid positions, advise spectators where to go and travel to the track at 6.00am. After the race, there will be the usual BBQ breakfast and trophy presentation – BYO bacon and eggs.
What could be better than a brand new housing estate with brand new, smooth, twisty roads that go down a nice steep hill and end in a park by the lake?
Nothing.
Race 3 saw a bigger cart turnout, but we were slightly down on spectators with the location a bit further out of town. And the Death Machine was finally defeated by an in-form Dogbandit. Idealy suited to the tecnical course, the laid back style claimed victory in only its second meeting.
The newly formated Blue Bandit experienced some teething problems, but promises to be a real threat in the future with some extra weight and body mods.
It retired after the second run, but not before some exciting duels.
Superkart 3000 continues to defy all expectations and set a blistering pace without self destructing and littering the track with debry.
The Death Machine handed over the trophy for the very first time, but dominated the later races, including the 'Rookie Race', where we finally handed the driving over to the support crew and spectators to have a go.
Quicksilver continues to perform solidly in the middle of the pack, with new bearings only slightly improving performance. Perhaps a new aero-pack and spoiler will help?
Double Trouble continues to be a crowd favourite, but due to disappointing performance it is rumored its days are numbered.
It's a shame they're going to build houses here and we won't be able to race it anymore...
Official results:
1. Dogbandit (awarded first trophy)
2. Death Machine
3. Quicksilver
4. Superkart 3000
5. Blue Bandit
6. Double Trouble (awarded last trophy)
(Ajax made some runs in the later heats)
Then breakfast by the lake! Compliments to the chefs and BBQ bringers as well as our starter, transport logistics managers, camera crew, film editor, and pit crew. You help is greatly appreciated, we hope you have as much fun as we do.
Check out the awesome movie here!
AIGRF Race Three this Sunday 18th November – "Stiffy's Beach". Interested racers, camera crew and spectators please assemble at Swansea McDonalds at 6.30am SHARP for race briefing and track details. We will assign grid positions, advise spectators where to go and travel to the track at 6.45am. After the race, there will be a BBQ breakfast and trophy presentation – BYO bacon and eggs.
Sporting a sleek new design, the Blue Bandit will be a cart to bet on for Race 3. A combination of large radius wheels, 10mm ground clearance and added weight will give the Bandit a truly competitive edge over the AIGRF competition.
Daylight savings is cool. The days are longer, the weather's warmer, you have more time to work on your cart. However, daylight savings suck on the first day when you have to get up really early on a Sunday and you realise it's actually really, really, really early.
This race separated the try-hards from the die-hards, just by being there. This was our first go on a more densely populated suburban hill and it went choice. We had six starters from a possible eight, but the pull outs were legit and they should be racing with us next month.
'Double Trouble' was caught cheating off the start line with a wheel-chair push, but we let them go because they finished last anyway.
The 'Death Machine' once again took top honours, piloted by a crazy madman with colored-in arms and the part of his brain that deals with self-preservation missing.
A big thanks must go to our dedicated support crew whose ranks swelled to 35 even at that ungodly hour. They silently cheered, drove vans, controlled traffic and took some awesome footage that our talented editor cut together so expertly for your enjoyment here.
We were going to hand the carts over to interested parties to have a go after our second run, but traffic (including a police car) started to get heavier, and the big hill took its toll on the carts, with bearing going, brakes failing and hubs coming apart left, right and centre. We'll try to give them a go next time.
Official results:
1. Death Machine (awarded first trophy)
2. Quicksilver/Superkart 3000 (hotly contested, photo finish inconclusive)
4. Dogbandit
5. Blue Bandit
6. Double Trouble (awarded last trophy)
Have you checked out the movie yet?
In anticipation of our next race, a few Federation members journeyed to Gosford to enter a legitimate race and get some match fitness.
There have been quite a few mods done to the carts since the first hit-out, including bodies, bearings and brakes, so this was a good chance to test before our main event next weekend.
We were very disappointed by the wussy hill, especially since there was so much more of it we could have used and others around that would have been so much better. It didn't really suit our more maneuverable machines, but heavy, straight-line beasts did OK. Rope steering carts stacked all over the place, leaving bloody, bawling kids strewn all over the road. Serves 'em right for letting their dads build their rigs.
We discovered racing two-at-a-time is not for us. Waiting sucks. We could have been all down at once, sorted the legends from the try-hards, had at least five more runs and been in the pub comparing scars by the time they finished the first heats. We told them this when they asked us if we had experience organising races.
So, we didn't win, but we did test the carts and and found an awesome track on the way home for next month's race. Stay tuned.
Interested drivers and spectators should meet in the carpark behind Hoyts Cinemas at Charlestown at 6.00am on Sunday 28th October for race briefing before we move to the track location. Afterwards there will be a BBQ breakfast, trophy presentation and bullshit session – BYO bacon and eggs.
This was a nice gradual hill in an industrial area with a lot of bush around, 1.2km long, ending with a sharp left into a short dead-end.
A few deadly potholes, but very light traffic, no houses and one very stoked early morning walker.
For the first time we welcomed a lady racer to the trophy race, driving the Death Machine. This may not happen again, because she won...
This race also saw the debut of a new cart, Agent Orange, bringing our regular tally to seven. It came last this time, but shouldn't take long to dial in.
The official results don't do justice to the Blue Bandit or SK3K. You could have thrown a blanket over the whole pack, with positions changing many times.
Perhaps it was the tinsel slowing Superkart 3000 down? Great Christmas spirit though...
Double Trouble has had a lot of modifications since the last race, including go-faster red scallops, wheel strengthening and being completely lowered. A new co-driver may have also made a difference to its highest ever placing.
Quicksilver finished in the middle, like it always does.
A big thank you to our awesome support crew, again ready to make movies, drive vans, cook breakfast and cheer on idiots. And above all, get up really early.
