Hot Rod Shootout Tech Inspector Matt Murphy spills his side

 

Since reporting on allegations of illegal motors being run at last weekend's Hot Rod Hobbies Off-Road Shootout, without mentioning names, many of those involved have come forward to share their side of the story. The man who ran the tech inspection process that found nine motors to be outside of ROAR rules, Matt Murphy, sent me the following email that describes the series of events specifically surrounding Gianni Basso's motor, which was unable to be disassembled for inspection (later found to be caused by an adhesive sticker inside the motor used for vibration reduction):

 

 

 

My name is Matt Murphy, owner of MurfDogg Racing. We have been in the RC motor business since way back in the brushed days, and we have won several ROAR National Championships with our motors over the years. 

As the owner of an RC motor business, I have very publicly been concerned about the state of our “SPEC” motor classes, and the lack of rules enforcement at all levels. I have done brushed and brushless motor tech inspections at over 100 race events since 2001. I was taught to properly inspect brushless motors by ROAR’s very own Bob Ingersoll, who is also the person who runs the independent motor lab responsible for ROAR motor approvals. I use the same exact equipment and same techniques during inspection as he taught me.

I volunteered to inspect motors at the Hot Rod Hobbies Off-Road Shootout, in an effort to ensure a level playing field for all racers. It was made known ahead of time that the motor rules for the Shootout were going to be “ROAR Approved Motors ONLY.” In defense of those being critical of the race event/promoter, it is not the responsibility of the race event or race director to ensure that the racers have 100% legal motors; it is the racers responsibility to ensure that their motors are legal.

As far as Gianni and his motor were concerned, I would like to put the facts out there so that people understand the truth of the situation. I tore down the motors of ALL 60 Stock 17.5 class and Super Stock 13.5 class A-Main Finalists. All motors were completely disassembled, and inspected for legality. Rotors were measured for magnet diameter, magnet length, and shaft diameter. Stators were checked for resistance, inductance, and for any signs of modification. All ROAR approved motors are manufactured in a way that they can be completely disassembled for inspection. Gianni’s motor was the only motor of the over 100 motors torn down that would not come apart once the screws were removed. The motor mount end of the aluminum motor can was bonded to the stator for some reason, unknown to me. After several minutes of trying to twist and pull the can off of the stator, I asked Gianni to figure out why his motor would not come apart. I had already spent five minutes trying to disassemble his motor, and I had more than 20 motors on my bench waiting to be inspected. It is not my responsibility to ensure that his motor came apart as it was designed to, and I told him that if I could not inspect the motor, I cannot allow it to pass technical inspection. Let it be known that it was not my idea, and I had nothing to do with his motor being cut open with a Dremel and cutoff wheel. ROAR approved brushless motors may not be modified by any person in any way, except in the form of replacing the stock rotor with an approved tuning rotor. If a motor cannot be taken apart for inspection, it cannot be confirmed that the motor is unaltered.

After removal of the can, the motor passed inspection. The motor was not destroyed. The motor mount portion of the can was as seen in the pictures posted elsewhere. Replacement of the can would make the motor as good as new.

It was stated that I would not talk to his team. This is correct. I had more than 20 motors in front of me to inspect, with drivers anxious to get the motors back into their cars for their next A-Mains. I didn’t have time to stop what I was doing and take a phone call from someone who I could hear yelling at me through the phone. 

Gianni ran very well all weekend, and did so legally. Never was he accused of cheating. The only issue was that the motor would not come apart as it is designed to. It would not have been fair for me to allow his motor to pass inspection, without fully passing the inspection process. Had I let it go, without being fully inspected, the integrity of the entire process of tech inspection would have been compromised. 

I did race in the event, and my motor was torn down twice. It was available for all to see, and I made specific effort to show those standing in tech to take note that my motor was in fact legal in all specifications. I showed the JBRL/HRH Tech Officials how to inspect these motors, and they were present and witnessed my motor being inspected. If anyone had any issue with this, and made it known to me publicly, I would have gladly let anyone in attendance verify my motor as legal. 

Stock or Spec racing is in a very bad place right now. Track owners are not willing to tech people because of fear of losing their racers. The sad truth is that they are probably driving away many more potential racers by not enforcing rules. Manufacturers are selling special motors with no respect to the ROAR Rulebook; they are building motors with illegal wire, illegal rotors, all in the same cans as the legal motors, with no designation of legality. Without tearing apart motors, Stock/Spec racing is destined to really hurt our industry. Racers cannot compete with off-the-shelf ROAR-legal motors anymore. Getting Stock Class racing back to where it needs to be starts at the local level. Once race directors/promoters find their backbones, and start enforcing the rules, then, and only then, can stock racing become “fair” again. If you won’t tech motors or check battery voltage and temperature, you can’t ensure your racers (customers) a good product and fair competition.

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