Mini 4WD Social, Practice & Race Events

Introduction

In early August 2023, we picked up our Tamiya Mini 4WD 3 Lanes Junior Race Circuit, so we can finally look into hosting regular social practice sessions and race competitions in the coming months. One suggestion is to have a mix of social and race events every two months with alternate social and race events.

Where & When

2^nd Mini 4WD Social & Practice Event

Date/Time: Sunday 30^th June 2024 from 11am till 6pm

Venue: Ipswich Makerspace: 11 Dove St, Ipswich IP4 1NG

Price: £15 per person for the whole day (pay on arrival). To contribute to the costs of running the event i.e. mainly venue hire.

Space: There is currently enough desk and chair space for 15 people. The Makerspace should be able arrange some more if needed.

Booking form: please fill in this booking form to reserve your place to avoid disappointment

Agenda: Any Mini 4WD class practice and social. Please be considerate to fellow racers. We might do an impromptu, casual racing per class (stock, tuned and open) after lunch based on attendees feedback.

Track layout

The circuit is a 3 lanes track based on Tamiya Mini 4WD 3 Lanes Junior Race Circuit extended with Tamiya Mini 4WD 2 Lanes Oval Circuit to create a rainbow bridge lane changer. The direction of travel is clockwise. The total length is around 42 metres (longer than last event). There is a slope jump after the 270 degree turn with a landing space of 2 straights (108 cm) before going to a double wave section, so stable landing is key to a good run.

Previous event(s)

1^st Mini 4WD Social & Practice Event

Date/Time: Sunday 8^th October 2023 from 11am till 6pm

Venue: Ipswich Makerspace: 11 Dove St, Ipswich IP4 1NG

Track layout

Based on the feedback from fellow racers, here is the circuit for this event. The circuit is a 3 lanes track. It is based on Tamiya Mini 4WD 3 Lanes Junior Race Circuit extended with Tamiya Mini 4WD 2 Lanes Oval Circuit. We have a rainbow bridge lane changer in the middle. The direction of travel is anti-clockwise. It is a mix of technical (on the left) and high speed (on the right). Since this is our first event, the design is inspired by early Tamiya Mini 4WD official races. The total length is around 41 metres.

What happend on the day?

The Track

We have a Tamiya Mini 4WD 3 Lanes Junior Race Circuit and some standard track parts such as a slope section and wave sections to build a track like the one below. We also have a Tamiya Mini 4WD 2 Lanes Oval Circuit and some custom made track parts that we can use to extend the track. Some fellow Mini 4WD racers proposed that they would like to bring their tracks along so we can make a bigger track. The final track layout for each event will be published a week before the event.

How to get here

By car

Ipswich is located next to the A12. ~80 miles from Central London. The Makerspace is located on the east side of Ipswich.

By public transport

The nearest train station is Ipswich Station. There are frequent trains to Ipswich from major stations e.g. London Liverpool Street, Cambridge and Peterborough etc… It takes about 1 hour 10 minutes from London Liverpool Street to Ipswich. Then from the train station, you can:

• take a 5 minutes taxi ride
• take a bus e.g. 13, 15A and number 66. The closest stop is with number 66, it stops at Lacey Street and you can walk down from there (5 minutes).
• do some walking: if the weather is nice and you enjoy walking, walk along the river and the water front (it’s a ~1.2 miles walk, takes around ~25 minutes).

Local Taxi companies

Hawk Express 01473 222 222

Avenue Taxis 01473 888 888

Nearby Car Parks

Around the Makerspace

There are some street parking opposite the Makerspace on the left (blue VW Polo). There are some single yellow line street parking available on Rope Walk and Dove Street near the construction sites. Park at your own risk. Please keep the entrance to the Makerspace clear.

Suffolk New College Car Park (right next to the Ipswich Makerspace)

Address: Rope Walk, Ipswich IP4 1NG

Weekend opening hours:

• Saturday: Open 24 hours
• Sunday: Open 24 hours

Pricing: Saturday or Sunday £3 per day (Pay with RingGo app: 39950). Note: payment machine is broken.

Please check the signs for the latest opening hours and fees.

Map:

College Car Park (very near to the Ipswich Makerspace)

Address: Rope Walk, Ipswich IP4 2LE

Weekend opening hours:

• Saturday: Open 24 hours
• Sunday: Open 24 hours

Pricing: Saturday or Sunday £3 per day (Pay with RingGo app: 39951 or pay machine by the entrance)

Please check the signs for the latest opening hours and fees.

Map:

Crown Car Park

Address: Charles St, Ipswich IP1 3HS

Weekend opening hours:

• Saturday: 8 am – 11:30 pm
• Sunday: 8:30 am – 6 pm

Pricing: (see website for the latest)

Map:

NCP (Cox Lane)

Address: Cox Ln, Ipswich IP4 1HT

Weekend opening hours:

• Saturday: Open 24 hours
• Sunday: Open 24 hours

Pricing: 2 to 24 hours £5.95 (see website for the latest)

Map:

Nearby Food and drinks

Pubs, restaurants and takeaways:

Pubs & Bars

The Dove Street Inn (opposite Ipswich Makerspace): 76 St. Helen’s St, Ipswich IP4 2LH

Isaacs On The Quay: 7 Wherry Quay, Ipswich IP4 1AS

Restaurants

Bangkok Heightz (Thai): 4A Orwell Pl, Ipswich IP4 1BB

Bella Napoli Express (Italian): 2 Pownall Rd, Ipswich IP3 0DS

92 Noodle Bar (Chinese): 92 Fore St, Ipswich IP4 1LB

Fastfood

Papa Johns Pizza: Unit 10, Modus Retail, Duke St, Ipswich IP3 0BF

McDonald’s: 31A Tavern St, Ipswich IP1 3AG

Supermarkets and convenience stores

Emeny News: St Helen’s St, Ipswich IP4 2LA

Helenka Mini Market: St Helen’s St, Ipswich IP4 2JL

Uni Shop: Grimwade St, Ipswich IP4 1LP

New Little Hut: 13 Eagle St, Ipswich IP4 1JA

Sainsbury’s: 38-40 Upper Brook St, Ipswich IP4 1DR

Tesco Express: 52-56 Tavern St, Ipswich IP1 3AJ and 283 Duke St, Ipswich IP3 0BF

Nearby accommodation

TravelLodge Ipswich: 15 Duke St, Ipswich IP3 0AE

Premier Inn Ipswich Town Centre (Quayside) hotel: 33 Key St, Ipswich IP4 1BZ

Salthouse Harbour Hotel: Neptune Quay, Ipswich IP4 1AX

Places to visit

The Ipswich Waterfront

Christchurch Park and Christchurch Mansion

Ipswich Museum

The Town Centre, The Cornhill and Buttermarket

Nearby towns and cities

Felixstowe – beach and promenade

Woodbridge – charming river side market town.

Flatford Mills (East Bergholt, Suffolk, CO7 6UL) – Constable County. See the place through the eyes of the famous painter John Constable.

Lavenham – historic textile trading town

Aldeburgh – pretty seaside town

Southwold – pretty seaside town with famous brewery – Adnams

Watch this space.

Looking forward to meeting fellow racers at the events.