2020 Florida FE SunshineNationals Marrch 7-8, 2020 Brandon FL (classes & info)

New name more glory. This is a drivers event. Fee's and awards minimal 1-3rd with B&C winners. All sponsorship goes back to a contestant only random drawing. Everyone will take home something. I will start a separate thread listing prizes and sponsors.
Pit setup and open water Friday (6th) with 2 rounds Saturday and 3rd round Sunday with a Championship 4th round for classes over 7 entries. 1-6th place (8 or more boats) 7th-12th place B-main (15 or more boats) 13-18th-C main classes over 30 boats.
200 boat limit, 4 boat minimum to make a class. (bear in mind not all classes will fill out) Registration should be open 12/3/19 on RCRacingEvents https://www.rcracingevents.com/cgi-bin/browseraces.pl

Classes:
P/limited (36X60 motors)
P/L Mono
P/L Catamaran
P/L Hydro
P/L Sport Hydro
P/L OB Tunnel
P/L Offshore (long Course TBD)
P Mono
P Catamaran (Cat & Mono combined if either is short entries)
P Hydro
P Sport Hydro (combined with P Hydro if less than 4 boats)
Q Mono
Q Catamaran (Cat & Mono combined if either is short entries)
1/10th Scale Hydro
Open Hydro
Open NON Hydro (Cat-Mono-Tunnel)
Local Classes;
P Jersey Skiff (40.99 X 75.99mmotor limit)
Q/limited (non hydro) 4-6s Single motor, no length limit. (40.99 X 75.99mm motor limit)
3S-29 Hydro: 3 cell 29mm single motor. No length limit boat or motor

A lot of heats and classes for everyone, we will see what shows up.
Mic Halbrehder: race chairman

Can?t wait. I?m hoping to have a few new boats built for this race

Attachment 167204

40 racers in a day!

Had a glitch and last years entries transferred. Will be fixed and up in a couple hours.

40 racers from last year? That's pretty respectable in my opinion. For a sparky only race. We're seriously talking this one through to see what we can do. There simply aren't many electric races to attend. We need to stick together when we can.

Are you running this schedule across the two days or do the classes close out and a new set on day two?

I would not be surprised to see us make the 200 boat limit. Last year on a one day we made 100.
The race is all classes running over 2 days. Two heats Saturday with the 3rd and 4th Championship rounds on Sunday as posted. If we were running 3 or more days finishing certain classes each day could be easier. A case can be made either way. I reached out to several people in initial planning and crickets. Hard to please everyone. Hope you all can come on down. We tried to offer a large variety of classes we don't normally run, and attendance will affect future plans. This is one of the best race sites in Florida and rarely gets rough. (March is prime weather) Brandon is a predominantly nitro club and to host a "Sparky" event is a positive for FE in general.
Mic

The carry over thing wouldn't be THE determining factor on us coming or not. If you're already committed to it don't worry about us. Just something worth talking about for the future.

There are advantages to splitting them up. A limited mono makes a nice limited offshore with a single set of batteries and a prop change. You could even run limited sport in P sport with a quick motor swap. It's an advantage for people looking to fly in. A racer could ship just 2 boats and land in 4 classes. With them all in a day to cover 4 classes I need to ship, own batteries, and boats for 4 separate classes. Not a game changer or anything. Depends who your usual suspects are. You guys would know better than I.

Just thought of this too........
Say you actually own 6 boats you want to race. If they all run in a day you have to chase 6 sets of batteries. For my son and I we could race 12 classes. 12 sets of cells to keep cycling. In theory of course. If 3 of the 6 classes ran Saturday and 3 on Sunday it would cut my battery load in half.

Haha If we drag a couple guys with us we would likely be covering batteries for 20 boats out of one tent. All 2P setups. So 80 packs to charge for the 2 rounds. Gonna......git.......weird.

Again, do what yer do'n. Just food for thought in the future.

Don't take this the wrong way, but you could also choose to not run so many classes. I get wanting to run as much as possible, especially if you are going to travel a long damn way to race, but only bring 3 or 4 boats each instead of 6.

With 3 or more days you need to run and finish classes daily. (I hope we get there in the future) The hard part of a 2 day split is what classes run each day when you don't know the final numbers entering each class. Also 10 guys will have 10 opinions on what classes they want run each day.
As for charging, running a max of 2 heats in a day you would only need one charge per boat. With two sets of batteries you have overnight to recharge. There is power and a charge table under the drivers stand. Also several people run generators in the pits and will allow you to tap in. I do appreciate input on making a race easier for all.
If anyone traveling wants to ship equipment I have a business and office address you can use plus a 5X10 enclosed trailer to transport boats I can get to the race site.
Mic

Quote:

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Originally Posted by obrien

Don't take this the wrong way, but you could also choose to not run so many classes. I get wanting to run as much as possible, especially if you are going to travel a long damn way to race, but only bring 3 or 4 boats each instead of 6.

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haha NOT offended. Yeah, I'm not sure why FE guys are like that. Rarely do gas or nitro guy try that. Well, not that I've seen. Maybe because there aren't many FE races to attend so they try to get in as much as possible. Like a feral dog that finds a big bowel of food. OM NOM NOM NOM Eat it allllll!

But hey, why be good at 3 classes when you can totally suck at 6? I once signed up for 17 classes at a nats. Sucked at all of em. Absolute train wreck.

6 is tough for me and I'm pretty focused on being on time. I prefer to be early. We actually thought about enacting a max entries for guys just because we've seen some completely unable to do it. Then they're all ornery all day when things go wonky for them. When you run that many classes in a day you become an anchor to everyone pitting around you. You always need a pit.......they're always right there. Then you flip yer boat but you also need to get ready for your next heat so someone else has to go grab yer boat and.....well..... they're right there. They had the sense to run 3 classes but you've burned them up running 6 yourself. You end up crabby all day and yer a pain in the a$$. Good family fun for everyone! haha

That's why I prefer to split the classes. 6 classes but only 3 in a day. Mics right though. 10 guys will have 10 ways to look at it. Just sharing my $1.98 worth.

Your 1.98 is better than my .02 lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by obrien

Your 1.98 is better than my .02 lol

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Nah, it's all good.

A few of us have been talking logistics. Too many boats to ship. Trying to do at least 4 racer trip. So maybe 10 or 12 boats plus gear......ish.

I hope you guys can make it. IT looks like this race could be a good one
Now if I can just find the time and money to build a few more boats I can be one of the guys with too much to run lol

We have 4 guys from MI signed up so far. Working on a 5th. Working like mad to be ready.

Please tell me there's a risk of a gator attacking my boat. Lie to me if you have to.

There are some gator sightings in the lake at Brandon but I have never seen one close to a boat. Seen one maybe 3 times in the 10 years I have run there.We have a small pond in Ft Myers where I have seen a small gator go after a boat during mating season but we were running really close to him. Soon as we put a retrieve boat in he disappears. They are very size conscious and fear anything larger than them.
We welcome all the guys you can bring. I think signups will take off after the Orlando race. I am surprised at the hydro classes already. The spec cat and mono's will be big also.
Mic

Sparkies!!! Woooooooo! haha

Talked to the 5th guy last night over a couple adult beverages. Nothing to do with the beverages but he's coming too. Traveling to races is a hoot. Meet some new peeps. Have some laughs. Oh and race. We'll race too.

For any thinking about this race.........if we (any of us) want FE races to go to we have to support FE races when they are made available. There just aren't that many of us. So consider it. By no stretch am I disparaging mixed events. They're great too. People who are willing to host and do the work required for an event are in my experience some of the finest people on earth and attending any race is in my opinion........well.....just about the most fun I can have with my toys.

So where's the smart places to stay? I'm sure it's like everywhere we race. There are areas to avoid.

Thanks for the opinion and I agree in the years I have been in FE there are not many large annual events. The "Nationals" MAMBA & IMPBA move around and not every year offer a stand alone format. We are hoping to build this event and the Brandon nitro members have been on board and very supportive. This is logistically one of the best sites in the country. The only equal or better site I have been to is Charleston. Ample pit area & parking plus self contained RV's on site. That and we have a March date in Florida which is prime. One hour drive to Disney on I-4 for the family you have to appease and some of the best Florida beaches less than an hour drive. It could become the best FE event annually for cold weather people to attend.
If your search Seffner Fl on Hotels.com your will find many rooms within 10 miles. The I-75 & Brandon Blvd (Adamo hwy 60) intersection has several motels and 8 miles from the site. Top shelf is Carlson Country Inn on I-4 and an older but clean no frills is the Brandon Motor Lodge, probably the best rate. There also is a large RV park, Tampa East RV park that has cottages. I think I usually pay about $100 at Brandon Motor and the Carlson could run $250 plus that time of year. As a group you might look at renting an RV as several large RV dealers close also. You won't put on many miles and can stay on site.

Mic

RV rentals
https://rvshare.com/rvs/details/1018606
some of these RV's offer pickup and delivery

We'll look into all of those. So no hookups for RV's? Just genies and self contained units? One year we had some guys rent a house in Leonard for our annual race. Worked well I guess.

We have some guys driving and some flying. We even have a guy coming in just to pit. Lunatics. Gonna be fun. Could really use some warm weather too.

Mic, what size course are you guys running? Is it all official and such?

Very happy to hear about your Group coming down to
Join us. I’m looking forward to it. I will get signed up just as soon as I know
What boats I’ll be running

Quote:

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Originally Posted by T.S.Davis

Mic, what size course are you guys running? Is it all official and such?

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Terry,

It is a six lap, one mile course. 310 foot straights and 40 foot radius turns, a bit of a hybrid between IMPBA and NAMBA. I am unsure if it is legal for records.

That looks fantastic!

Not everybody cares about records and such but my lunatic son has one particular boat that is a full second per lap faster than the current record. If he can keep it together he's got a shot. Down side is........he's not racing boats right now. Just cars so who knows if he can pin it.

So, will RV's be allowed right on the grounds around the pits? Does anyone else stay? Actually looking into that. We have so much fun at our annual race staying on site.

Mic and a few others always stay on site. So, yes, bring a RV and have a blast!

Thanks Ray for posting photos.
If you go on Google maps and search Dover District Park Dover Florida and go to Satellite view you can enlarge the site. You can actually see the buoys and seawall launch area. There is a sidewalk that runs north south along the pond. We drive on that and park and pit diagonally between the sidewalk and the soccer fields. We have a 60ft ribbon without driving on the fields to pit. A trailer under 30 ft fits, and larger can park at south end where the buildings are. In the January nitro race with 300 boats there may be 20 trailers and a few 5th wheels and coaches. I don't think we will have more than a half dozen on site for the FE race. Vehicles are allowed to load and unload equipment and canopies along the sidewalk and unless you have a handicap sticker you need to park at the south end parking area along where the building are. The site will be open Friday - Sunday. Maybe we can get some drone footage at the Nitro race to show the site better.
The course is 5 pin turns with an entrance or guide buoy maybe 90ft before the turn. Drivers stand is about 8ft above the water with judges stand above that so vision is very good.
Mic

No hook ups for Rv's correct? Need our own power?

Correct no hookups. Self Contained but no tents. It is a county park and allowing self contained is a big deal. There are so many RV's that time of year even the Walmarts don't want you overnight in their lots. You are welcome to use the portalets and water temp in the pond will be around 70 degrees so use Gater Repelant soap and have at it. Hasn't been a piranha sighting in decades. There are RV facilities within 5 miles. Temps that that time of year are 80's daytime and 60's overnight so for "Northerners" you won't need air conditioning.
Mic

Sounds like a scream in truth. I'll quiz my traveling com padres this weekend and see what they want to do.

80's!!! So sweet.

Mic it will be like summertime for those boys