Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Let's go racing!
I haven't filed my last two reports because I've been busy with my new project! Who wants to go racing?! Many, many thanks to my Son for the donated seat!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Season 3 Week 2 results (cont.)
Circuit TT Assen is next on our schedule and with a quick jaunt north, all the teams were ready to do battle on the track.
Qualifying saw Tex take point with Zoomy 2/100ths off the mark. HiWind followed in third place, once second back from Zoomy.
The start saw everyone get away cleanly, braking early to make sure they all got thru turn 1.
HiWind dropped a couple of wheels at turn 8, sending him off track. He steered his car to return back onto the track but couldn't slow down because of being on the grass and he ran right into Tex at the apex to turn 9, just barely missing Zoomy.
And that was it, the gaps were too big for anyone to make up any positions. Tex put in a good effort to catch Zoomy and was rewarded with the fastest lap bonus point. The finishing order was Zoomy in 1st, Tex in 2nd and HiWind in 3rd.
Assen race results
Qualifying saw Tex take point with Zoomy 2/100ths off the mark. HiWind followed in third place, once second back from Zoomy.
The start saw everyone get away cleanly, braking early to make sure they all got thru turn 1.
HiWind dropped a couple of wheels at turn 8, sending him off track. He steered his car to return back onto the track but couldn't slow down because of being on the grass and he ran right into Tex at the apex to turn 9, just barely missing Zoomy.
And that was it, the gaps were too big for anyone to make up any positions. Tex put in a good effort to catch Zoomy and was rewarded with the fastest lap bonus point. The finishing order was Zoomy in 1st, Tex in 2nd and HiWind in 3rd.
Assen race results
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Season 3 Week 2 results (cont.)
A quick run thru the 'chunnel' had us arriving in the Netherlands for our back to back races at Zandvoort and Assen.
First up is Zandvoort and it's long sweeping corners and tight hairpins. Zoomy was, once again, on his mark and at the front of the pack. He qualified more than a second ahead of HiWind, who was also a second ahead of Tex, who wound up third in qualifying.
Everyone got off the line well with HiWind getting the best start of the three cars. He had a look down the inside of Zoomy heading into turn 1 but there wasn't anything there so he fell back into line behind him.
Perhaps cold tires played a part, as the hairpin at turn 4 caught HiWind off guard at the exit, spinning his tires and getting a bit sideways. He recovered quick enough but not quick enough to prevent Tex from getting by, taking second place.
That set up the battle that ensued for second place. The same as at Silverstone, HiWind was quick enough to put massive pressure on Tex for second place but just not quick enough to make a pass. HiWind had a look to get by Tex at turn 12 but Tex slammed the door causing HiWind to lock up his tires.
Zoomy was fast in the first half of the race, pulling out a 3 second gap back to Tex, who had his mirrors full of HiWind's red Marlboro car! The last couple of laps would prove eventful for both Zoomy and HiWind, each having their share of problems late in the race.
HiWind's cost him the most as he went off in the turn 2/3 chicane, and into the barrier, twice. Effectively taking himself out of contention for the race win or a second place finish. Too bad really because he did have a fast car but wasn't able to take advantage of it.
Zoomy's mistakes weren't quite as costly as he was able to recover from a quick off-track excursion to maintain his first place position. He was also able to record the fastest lap of the race, earning the bonus championship point for this round.
Zandvoort race results
First up is Zandvoort and it's long sweeping corners and tight hairpins. Zoomy was, once again, on his mark and at the front of the pack. He qualified more than a second ahead of HiWind, who was also a second ahead of Tex, who wound up third in qualifying.
Everyone got off the line well with HiWind getting the best start of the three cars. He had a look down the inside of Zoomy heading into turn 1 but there wasn't anything there so he fell back into line behind him.
Perhaps cold tires played a part, as the hairpin at turn 4 caught HiWind off guard at the exit, spinning his tires and getting a bit sideways. He recovered quick enough but not quick enough to prevent Tex from getting by, taking second place.
That set up the battle that ensued for second place. The same as at Silverstone, HiWind was quick enough to put massive pressure on Tex for second place but just not quick enough to make a pass. HiWind had a look to get by Tex at turn 12 but Tex slammed the door causing HiWind to lock up his tires.
Zoomy was fast in the first half of the race, pulling out a 3 second gap back to Tex, who had his mirrors full of HiWind's red Marlboro car! The last couple of laps would prove eventful for both Zoomy and HiWind, each having their share of problems late in the race.
HiWind's cost him the most as he went off in the turn 2/3 chicane, and into the barrier, twice. Effectively taking himself out of contention for the race win or a second place finish. Too bad really because he did have a fast car but wasn't able to take advantage of it.
Zoomy's mistakes weren't quite as costly as he was able to recover from a quick off-track excursion to maintain his first place position. He was also able to record the fastest lap of the race, earning the bonus championship point for this round.
Zandvoort race results
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Season 3 Week 2 results
The second leg of our season saw us heading to Europe. It's always a challenge to try and tame the twisty tracks in the 'old world'. but it certainly seemed as if all of the teams and drivers were up for the challenge.
Legendary Silverstone is our first race and everyone was attacking right from the start. The drivers are becoming more familiar with all of the tracks on our schedule and it was apparent during qualifying where all three cars were within 2/10's of each other. HiWind took his first career pole at Silverstone with a lap of 1:15.307. Tex was a 1/10th of a second back with Zoomy another 1/10th from him.
The start of the race was exciting! Zoomy launched perfectly off of the start and was quickly alongside HiWind, pulling ahead going into turn 1. There was some bumping and banging going on but not enough to knock each other off the track.
The turn 2/3 chicane leading up to turn 4 was troublesome to both HiWind and Tex, both of them experiencing problems on cold tires. HiWind pushed wide out onto the grass while Tex dropped a tire off the track and spun out, facing the opposite direction on the track. HiWind was able to hang onto the car and drove back onto the track, followed shortly by Tex.
HiWind had a fast car and was able to catch up to Zoomy after a couple of laps. He had a look down the inside of Zoomy at turn 8 but couldn't make it stick. Zoomy wasn't challenged again and went on to record the race win. HiWind came in second and had the fastest lap of the race which incidentely was faster than his pole time by 1/10th of a second. Tex came in third, some 10 seconds off the pace.
Silverstone race results
Legendary Silverstone is our first race and everyone was attacking right from the start. The drivers are becoming more familiar with all of the tracks on our schedule and it was apparent during qualifying where all three cars were within 2/10's of each other. HiWind took his first career pole at Silverstone with a lap of 1:15.307. Tex was a 1/10th of a second back with Zoomy another 1/10th from him.
The start of the race was exciting! Zoomy launched perfectly off of the start and was quickly alongside HiWind, pulling ahead going into turn 1. There was some bumping and banging going on but not enough to knock each other off the track.
The turn 2/3 chicane leading up to turn 4 was troublesome to both HiWind and Tex, both of them experiencing problems on cold tires. HiWind pushed wide out onto the grass while Tex dropped a tire off the track and spun out, facing the opposite direction on the track. HiWind was able to hang onto the car and drove back onto the track, followed shortly by Tex.
HiWind had a fast car and was able to catch up to Zoomy after a couple of laps. He had a look down the inside of Zoomy at turn 8 but couldn't make it stick. Zoomy wasn't challenged again and went on to record the race win. HiWind came in second and had the fastest lap of the race which incidentely was faster than his pole time by 1/10th of a second. Tex came in third, some 10 seconds off the pace.
Silverstone race results
Friday, October 9, 2009
Season 3 Week 1 results (cont.)
Moving south, the teams head to Watkins Glen International Raceway, an historic track in upstate New York. All the teams were unfamiliar with the setups needed, as no one had done any testing at the track prior to the race weekend.
Tex's car was dialed-in, right off the trailer. Easily taking qualifying, a full two seconds over his competitors. The cars weren't that far off though, as the finishing order would prove. HiWind started 2nd, slotting in ahead of Zoomy on his last, timed lap.
The race start should've probably been redone as HiWind got off to a bad start and veered over into Zoomy's lane forcing him off the track. He spun trying to get back onto the track and ended up facing the wrong way. He got turned around okay, but it still cost him time that was gonna be hard to make up.
Nevertheless, everyone continued racing with HiWind recovering to lead Tex going into turn one. HiWind got a good jump and pulled away a bit but Tex caught up at the bus stop chicane and was on his bumper thru the horseshoe. HiWind must've been driving in his mirrors because he braked way too late for the next corner and drove off into the sand trap allowing Tex to drive by and take the lead.
Fortunately for HiWind, he didn't get stuck in the sand. He drove thru and rejoined the race in second place.
Zoomy had closed up but was still in third place, a few seconds behind HiWind. His car was still giving him problems with the kerbing and it came back to bite him at the end of the 2nd lap. His rear tires hit the kerb at the exit to the last corner, spinning him out, nose first, into the guardrail at the pit entrance. He actually landed up in the pit lane, backwards, nose busted off and laying on the track.
Unaware of the drama taking place behind them, Tex and HiWind were locked in their own battle. HiWind was pushing hard to make up the gap between them. Tex was able pull out to a bit of a gap but HiWind was right there to take advantage of any mistakes Tex might make. And that's exactly what happened! Tex did the exact same thing that Zoomy did and spun out at the exit to the last corner, on the last lap!
Tex wasn't quite so lucky tho' and hit the end of the pit lane wall, smashing the side of the car and destroying the rear suspension. Unable to continue, he was forced to retire. Zoomy was able to finish but because he was 2 laps down, he wasn't able to pass Tex for position.
The finishing order was HiWind in 1st, Tex in 2nd and Zoomy in 3rd. HiWind was credited with the fast lap of the race awarding him the bonus championship point for this round.
Watkins Glen race results
Our last stop before we head to Europe is Lime Rock Park. For this race, Zoomy had his race on. He took pole, won the race and had the fastest lap during the race. That gave him the extra bonus point.
That left it to Tex and HiWind to battle for the remains. It looked like HiWind was probably faster than Tex but Tex was just fast enough to hold him off. The two held station for the first four laps. HiWind lost traction at the exit of turn 1 and had his car veer off track. It cost him whatever shot he may have had of moving up that one position.
Lime Rock race results
Season 3 Week 1 standings
Tex - 42 + 3 bp = 45 pts
HiWind - 42 + 1 bp = 43 pts
Zoomy - 36 + 1 bp = 37 pts
Tex's car was dialed-in, right off the trailer. Easily taking qualifying, a full two seconds over his competitors. The cars weren't that far off though, as the finishing order would prove. HiWind started 2nd, slotting in ahead of Zoomy on his last, timed lap.
The race start should've probably been redone as HiWind got off to a bad start and veered over into Zoomy's lane forcing him off the track. He spun trying to get back onto the track and ended up facing the wrong way. He got turned around okay, but it still cost him time that was gonna be hard to make up.
Nevertheless, everyone continued racing with HiWind recovering to lead Tex going into turn one. HiWind got a good jump and pulled away a bit but Tex caught up at the bus stop chicane and was on his bumper thru the horseshoe. HiWind must've been driving in his mirrors because he braked way too late for the next corner and drove off into the sand trap allowing Tex to drive by and take the lead.
Fortunately for HiWind, he didn't get stuck in the sand. He drove thru and rejoined the race in second place.
Zoomy had closed up but was still in third place, a few seconds behind HiWind. His car was still giving him problems with the kerbing and it came back to bite him at the end of the 2nd lap. His rear tires hit the kerb at the exit to the last corner, spinning him out, nose first, into the guardrail at the pit entrance. He actually landed up in the pit lane, backwards, nose busted off and laying on the track.
Unaware of the drama taking place behind them, Tex and HiWind were locked in their own battle. HiWind was pushing hard to make up the gap between them. Tex was able pull out to a bit of a gap but HiWind was right there to take advantage of any mistakes Tex might make. And that's exactly what happened! Tex did the exact same thing that Zoomy did and spun out at the exit to the last corner, on the last lap!
Tex wasn't quite so lucky tho' and hit the end of the pit lane wall, smashing the side of the car and destroying the rear suspension. Unable to continue, he was forced to retire. Zoomy was able to finish but because he was 2 laps down, he wasn't able to pass Tex for position.
The finishing order was HiWind in 1st, Tex in 2nd and Zoomy in 3rd. HiWind was credited with the fast lap of the race awarding him the bonus championship point for this round.
Watkins Glen race results
Our last stop before we head to Europe is Lime Rock Park. For this race, Zoomy had his race on. He took pole, won the race and had the fastest lap during the race. That gave him the extra bonus point.
That left it to Tex and HiWind to battle for the remains. It looked like HiWind was probably faster than Tex but Tex was just fast enough to hold him off. The two held station for the first four laps. HiWind lost traction at the exit of turn 1 and had his car veer off track. It cost him whatever shot he may have had of moving up that one position.
Lime Rock race results
Season 3 Week 1 standings
Tex - 42 + 3 bp = 45 pts
HiWind - 42 + 1 bp = 43 pts
Zoomy - 36 + 1 bp = 37 pts
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