For 1:10 Electric off road races sanctioned by RCRA (Formerly AARCMCC) events in the last couple of years, it has been a requirement that you run a control motor for 2wd and 4wd stock buggy.

There is a lot of sense in this because it means that there is a level playing field in terms of power so that the contest within a race comes down to driver skill, not equipment and who can spend the most on a fancy 17.5 turn motor.

On the flip side it means people have to cough up for just one specific motor if they only have a motor that was previously allowed under the ROAR / BRCA regulations.  Both cheaper and more expensive motors are not allowed and if the motor changes, it is not only useless in sanctioned races, but valueless second hand within Australia too.

So as they should, RCRA  is asking the opinion or racers via their clubs.  Now only clubs can vote on the matter, but you need to tell your club which of the 4 proposed models below you think will work best.  At my local club a voting form was put online, with the results surprisingly in favour of on particular option.

Personally I am a little split which way to go, I like the control motor situation in terms of equality, but not that they appear to be wanting to chance what the stock motor is so soon.

Leave a comment with what you think!

The EP Offroad section has been running control motors in 17.5 Stock class since 2018. Following the EP Offroad drivers survey split results, the section committee feels it worthwhile to reach out to clubs to determine the type of stock motors to be used for the 2019 racing season and beyond.

The current control motor has created negatives and positives depending on your preferences even to the extent the drivers survey results were approx 50/50 split between those who like and those who don’t.

Implementation of the control motor has seen some of the closest racing in stock in a long time and a performance parity between cars on track. From all accounts 2WD Stock with the current control motor has an acceptable performance but 4WD Stock needs more performance. Negatives could include the performance of the motor is lacking for 4WD stock and the actual driving in 4WD stock is not as much fun with the current motor and lack of tuning available to the individual racer.

Now we’ve had two years running a control motor, it’s best to go back to clubs to decide if we continue this path or change direction for 2019 racing season.

Some racers and clubs wish to move to 13.5 ROAR approved motors of their choice in 4WD stock, some racers and clubs want to go back to using 17.5 ROAR approved motor of choice and some racers and clubs like and want to use control motors.

Option to Add a 13.5 4WD Class
One option we would like to propose in this vote is adding a 13.5 4WD “Super Stock” ROAR/BRCA approved open motor class and continue with 17.5 control motors for 4WD and 2WD Stock. We feel this is worth consideration by clubs and racers as the survey results show racers in different states and clubs have different preferences. This may be a way to have an option for those in either camp.

If clubs choose to continue with one of the below options that has control motor the committee will approach market for a high performance next gen control motor with adjustable timing. We feel this would provide the performance boost people are looking for.

The EP Offroad committee want to clubs to choose the direction of stock motors for 2019 and beyond

The options we would like your club to consider a vote on are:

A: Control Motor for 2WD and 4WD stock – 17.5 adjustable timing next gen control motor

Continue with a 17.5 control motor for 2019 and beyond in 2WD and 4WD Stock – if this option is voted in, a new approach to market for a 17.5 open timing motor will be conducted in a tender style process and the motor with the best performance v price will be chosen for use for 2019 and 2020.

2WD and 4WD Stock 17.5 Control Motor – adjustable timing motor

 

B: Add 13.5 4WD Super Stock open ROAR approved motor class and Control Motor 2WD / 4WD Stock – 17.5 adjustable timing next gen control motor classes

This option adds a 13.5 4WD class to the racing schedule and provides for those who want 13.5 4WD class with motors of choice and those who want the 17.5 control motor concept to remain.

2WD and 4WD Stock 17.5 Control Motor – adjustable timing next gen control motor as per A

4WD Super stock – 13.5 ROAR/BRCA approved motor of drivers choice

 

C: 17.5 ROAR/BRCA approved motors for 2WD and 4WD Stock

Bring the rules back to the way they were before the control motor was implemented in 2017.

17.5 ROAR/BRCA approved motors open for drivers choice

 

D: 13.5 4WD ROAR/BRCA and 17.5 2WD ROAR/BRCA approved motors

Change the 4WD stock class from 17.5 to 13.5 ROAR/BRCA approved motors of drivers choice

17.5 2WD ROAR/BRCA approved motors

13.5 4WD ROAR/BRCA approved motors