It's been far too quiet in here......
 

Well chaps it's time for an update!

The astro has been down for a few weeks now. There's no denying it's changed the racing at FORCC - some prefer it, some may feel it's proven detrimental to the racing - but whatever your thoughts there's a couple of points I'd like to remind you of:

1 - The choice to change surface was not ours. We were left with 2 alternatives - either close the club :thumbdown:, or find an alternative surface to use.

2 - An awful lot of work went into securing the surface so we could carry on racing. Even if you're not so keen on the astro you have to respect the effort that went in so that option 1 above didn't become a reality.

Yes it's taken a while to get used to, and one area which isn't quite working as it should are the track markings. But trust me, watch this space, you'll be pleasantly surprised what the coming weeks hold in that respect.

As for other changes in the pipeline, and after much discussion, the following changes will be coming into effect:

Tyres - a control tyre will be introduced as soon as possible. Schumacher yellow blocks on the rear axle of 2wd and 4wd will become mandatory IF you wish to score points in FORCC championships. Tyre choice for front axles is free, as are both axles for Stadium and Short Course trucks.

Motors - a 7.5 motor limit will be enforced shortly as the lowest turn you can run at FORCC at any meeting, and this applies to all classes. That doesn't mean you've got to dash out and buy a 7.5 motor. 7.5 is the lowest you can run. So if you have a 8.5, 10.5 or 13.5 (and we've all got those) then you're fine to run that. With the introduction of the astro, speeds have increased and some drivers are running beyond their means with little more than Excocet missiles on 4 wheels which is not safe. We hope with the introduction of a motor limit it will introduce a more level playing field - it will do away with the attitude of "how can I compete with a 5.5 when I've only got a 7.5"

Onto the FORCC 2014/15 Winter Series now - round one is only just over a week away on the 26 October. There will be an amnesty on the motor limit for Round 1 so don't panic! Tyres however will be available on the day from both Ralls Racing and Xtreme so there's no reason why the tyre ruling cannot be adhered to for Round 1.

You can enter 2 classes maximum - booking can be done ahead or just arrive and drive it's up to you.

Just a word of warning for those not aware of the A2 roadworks in place at weekends currently - the A2 coastbound is closed from J7 of the M2 - Brenley Corner roundabout - so if you're coming from any direction other than Thanet you'll need to leave the Thanet Way at the Northbound exit immediately after J7 - it's only a few hundred yards.
50 yards up this road take a left (at the crossroads) and follow the flyover back over the Thanet Way. Turn right at the end and follow this road (with caution) till you reach a small crossroads and turn right into Bull Lane. This will bring you to the Village Hall entrance from the other end :thumbsup:

If you are coming from the Thanet end then leave the Thanet Way just before Brenley Corner and follow the road until you reach the Bull Lane crossroads.

I hope to be doing more updates both on here and Facebook as we've been too quiet of late. It's time to shout a bit louder about what we do :woot:

So keep an eye out, and of course there are always regular updates on the club site www.forcc.co.uk - this is FORCC V2 don't forget!

forcc
 

After spending a lot of time listening and giving my thoughts as to the problems with tyres and motors at FORCC since we changed to the astro surface I feel that I should comment on the changes for the up and winter series.
On Wednesday I understood that the tyre changes would not effect the series so I sold BALLISTIC WHITE tyres to various racers for the meeting in a weeks time, whilst I stock them they are not the tyre of choice in our opinion and our sponsors so I we think it is too soon to enforce the change.
I know they last longer, but what is the problem, are we here to race or is it a endurance race to make the tyres last the longest.
On the motor front, will a 7.5 T motor slow the cars down enough, on talking with Ed earlier, he see`s no change in speed of his car because the motor (6.5) is not boosted so all he has to do is add boost and there you go. The motor limit should be at least 8.5 to make a difference.
just our thoughts!!

I agree with the above, even my 8.5 boosted is as fast at my 6.5 running blinky. Main issue insee with enforcing a tyre rule like that with such an uncommon as well is you may end up putting people off coming as they wont want to buy more tyres when they most likely have spikes from the outdoor season left over

Just thought I would try and clarify the reasoning behind the decisions that had been made etc. Firstly the motor rule actually has little to do with speed and more to do with cost. The idea being that if someone new does come along we can give them a definate idea of what to buy. Also with a 7.5 you will also be able to race quite competatively at the other clubs you may want to go to and eliminate having to have lots of different motors. As for the boost etc dont forget next years 8.5 will probably be quicker than this years 7.5 with the best cells etc so trying to make a rule based on that just wouldnt work. We would have to keep changing the rules etc and cost would go up.

The tyre rule in our opinion is just sensible for the club members. How can we dismiss a tyre that will last and work for about 3 months for a tyre that will last one night at best. Dont forget you can still come along and race with other tyres you just wont score points.

Now we appreciate that it is not a perfect solution for all but neither are the alternatives. We have been listening to all at the club who have expressed opinions etc and this is the best compromise we have come up with to balance things out for the majority.

I hope this goes someway to explain the reasoning behind it all etc

Crewie

forcc
 

the problem we have is the speed at which this has come in,i understand the reason`s but i was told that the the tyres for the winter championship(sunday meeting) were open and the club championship would be in january, this give¬s every body a time to change, yes we have tyres in but i sold tyres for others to run next sunday

I agree with les the 7.5 motor is still way too fast I run as less puts it a boosted 8.5 and it is by far the quickest there the venue just isn't big enough the motor cap IMO needs to be 13.5 as it was at least it's safe 95% of locals will have them so no cost

As for tyres again tyre gate starts again the tyres do not last 3 months try 4-5 weeks before performance drops of the block tyres also can be glued in a certain way to give a performance advantage.

I quite like the surface for me it's just too fast to make racing close And it's a little too hard on the drive train of the cars especially the 4wd which is probably due to the excessive speeds.

This is just my opinion so please read and take in and I will see you at round one with you guessed it new tyres glued in a certain way and a well boosted 7.5 probably strapped into my slightly over powered b5m.

Stu

is the tyre rule going to be enforced for this weekend? Motors I'm not bothered by, just not buying block tyres when iv got stacks of spike tyres from the summer that have plenty of life left in them

Apparently so.

Its good we going to run a slower tyre that last a long time.

I think the race winner will be who can make there tryes last the longest!!!