Last weekend Robinhood Raceway (RHR) held their Spring Cup event and this was the first meeting out with the new Flux Pro ESC. I had been for a test day with the ESC the week previous where Ben Cosgrove came along to give some valuable help in fine tuning the settings. On the test day the only thing new in my car was the ESC. I couldnt beleive what a difference there was in the speed of my car, it really was insane!!
I had my doubts that an ESC could make such a difference in speed, but on the opening lap my doubts couldnt have been more wrong! Instantly i had more bottom end, more feel, more brakes, more top speed, more everything!! On the first practice run the car was actually way too quick for the track and i thought I would have to switch to a slower motor. This wasn't necessary, though, as this new ESC has so many tuning options that I was able to tone everything down just by making a few small changes to the ESC settings. Unlike with many other ESC's I've tried over the years, you can really tell the difference when you make changes and by the end of the day the brakes, feel, punch and top speed were exactly to my liking. The fact i was able to change settings in a way that suits my driving style proves how versatile this ESC really is. Race day I went into the Spring Cup feeling confident in both my car and my electrics. The track was a little more technical than on the test day and due to the sun being out, the sand in the astro really came to the surface throughout the day. Because there was quite a bit of sand on the track the grip levels were much lower than on the test day and my car was struggling slightly with wheel spin when trying to get on the power coming out of corners. The versatility of the ESC really helped in this situation as I was able to tone down the initial punch which really helped stop the car spinning under acceleration. Throughout qualifying , I was racing against two of the best in the world, Neil Cragg and Paul Bradby. This was a really good test of not only my driving but my car and electrics. When you're trying to keep up with the best, fine adjustments can make all the difference. Out of the 4 rounds of qualifying my best two round scores were 1 and 3, which put me 2nd in the A-main, behind Neil and in front of Paul. Final In the final, I got off to a good start with Neil in front and Paul chasing hard in 3rd. After a couple of laps Paul made a costly mistake which allowed me some breathing room. Half way through the race Neil made an unusual mistake and i was right on his back door. I pushed hard to keep up and apply the pressure but Neil was starting to edge away slightly but then again made another mistake. I was able to capitalise on his mistake and take up the lead. I held my nerve for the last few laps and crossed the line in 1st, giving me the win on my debut with the new ESC! I'm looking forward to the National series now and hopefully achieving some great results running HPI's electrics.
