2WD looks set to be THE class of the 2009/10 season !

So why is that I hear you ask, well with an influx of converted 4WD FTX Blaze and Vendetta/Shark STs at the Hereford BRCA Micro National Series season finale back in March ’09 it became apparent that a regular 2WD micro was going to struggle against these much larger converted 4WD vehicles if the loop hole to allow them to run in the 2WD class remained for the forthcoming season.

Well the rules haven't changed to stop them, the only construction based rule change being the banning of foam tyres and the much needed return to micro sized wheels and tyres to give the proper 2WDs a fighting chance. This change in the rules looks to have swayed the racers back to the Losi Mini-T's and Thunder Tiger ZT-2s, and with the tracks becoming much faster plus more extreme many have chosen to use these micros as the basis for there very own prototype extended chassis conversions.

Exotek Racing and Team Bluegroove both currently make fine looking extended wheelbase chassis conversions for the Losi Mini-T, and the Exotek MXB PRO is one of the nicest pieces of micro related hardware I've seen for a very long time. However these 190mm wheelbase conversions are 5mm longer than the current 185mm BRCA rules allow and anyone who’s raced a standard 142mm wheelbase Mini-T will know just how lively this little truck can be on the high traction carpet tracks we race upon.

This leaves racers in search of a longer more stable chassis with three choices, either to fit the longer 177.8mm Losi Mini-Desert Truck plastic tub chassis to there rides, the similar length imported Exotek MXT plastic tub chassis, or to make there very own. Ashley Williams was indeed the first to do this with his fantastic looking carbon fibre chassis Mini-B achieving 4th overall in the 2008/09 national championship. A worthy accomplishment but still behind two standard wheelbase Mini-T's in the championship; John Timberlake’s championship winning plastic tub kit chassis Mini-T Pro and Ricky Macgough's Mini-T featuring a snazzy blue anodised K-Factory aluminium tub chassis.

The car which really made everyone take notice was Allan Davies' R3verse Mini-B. This prototype again used the Losi Mini-T as a donor car but in an X-Factory X-6 style turned the whole transmission around bringing the motor inside the vehicle for optimum weight distribution and improved handling. I have to confess that I was slightly sceptical until I saw the car in action and wow it was awesome, Allan really knows his stuff !

Top micro driver and engineer Steve Davies (no relation to Allan) has taken the concept one step further and actually managed to fit a fourth gear inside the Mini-T transmission to optimise traction and drive, along with a host of suspension tweaks thrown in for good measure. Steve's R3verse Mini-B is so good from test sessions at his local Hereford club that even the top 4WDs can't match it on track, amazing performance I'm sure you'll agree!

Ashley Williams has a Mk.2 in-board motor version of his Mini-B finished, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more 2WD prototypes hidden away out there ready for the new season ahead. The upcoming Hereford Open will be interesting to see how this new generation of 2WDs fairs on track against each other and the more conventional 2WDs, and I'll be there to race and add any spy shots to the prototype photo gallery below :)

Prototypes

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