WOW! That is all I can say after what I watched this past Saturday during the second round of the clubs Scaleauto GT series.
The first round of the series showed just how close the racing could be but no on knew if this would be the way the entire series would run or if it was just a one off. Well after the second round I am here to say that every round of the series will be close and the point’s standings will be even closer.
The first round was close and the racers showed up to round two with more preparation ready to try their hand at finishing at the top of the podium.
PRE-RACE
Randy’s car was perfectly dialed in from the moment he took it out of the box. It was a pure pleasure to drive and showed no signs of ill handling in the corners. It was great for Randy to have a car that was so well mannered to give him a chance to finish at the top of not only the B Group runners but the A Group as well.
Marty had prepared three cars to run after his fourth place in the first round. He had a BMW Z4 with the new chassis, a Porsche 911 with the new chassis and an Audi R8 with the old chassis. Marty was unable to run either of the two cars he brought to the first round due to the front axle holders being too tall which made it outside the rules of 1.3mm ground clearance at the front of the car. After a quick order to Alan at 132 this situation was resolved. At the end of the day, Marty ended up running the Audi R8 with the older chassis.
David was running his Viper with the new chassis he took from his BMW Z4. He was spending time prior to the race trying to get his Viper dialed in. This included a last minute change of braid to something thinner with the hope the car would be more settled in the turns.
Mark was running the Mercedes with the older chassis. He had a challenging first round and was spending time before the second round working on getting his Mercedes dialed in. He was working on car right up to the moment he turned in to pre-race tech. Let’s see if his work will pay off.
John was running a Viper with the new chassis and was like most Vipers a stable car. This was John’s first run with the bigger 1/24 scale cars and he was on a steep learning curve. Even though he was learning he has become such a good racer that it does not take him long to get a handle for the car and how to make it perform.
Shawn was not present after his great result in the first round. Rumor has it he was taking time off after the pressure of the first round to regroup and come back ready to win the next four rounds.
Russell’s BMW Z4 with the older chassis was stunning and was a real work of art car. Not only was Russell’s car beautiful it was one of the fastest on the track. It, like Randy’s looked super stable and planted. There was very little if any jumping out or skidding out of a turn. It looked like you could push it harder in the turns than the other cars. Russell is also one of the clubs best drivers so it’s not like it was just the car that allowed him to set the pace he was on.
Steve’s Viper running the older chassis was setting some super quick times in the first round and this speed continued in the second round. He was doing a great job of driving – throwing the car around without getting it sliding sideway or stuttering through the turns. After the race Steve checked the guide depth on his car and realized that as fast as his car was there was only half of the guide going in the slot. The other half was outside of it with the braid hanging down in the hopes of making contact with the braid.
After all the cars passed the pre-race tech inspection it was time to get them all on the track and see who would be the fastest!
THE RACE
I’m going to be honest. The first six heats were exciting and had some great racing but the final heat was the one to watch.
Marty had already put in 208 laps but that count was beatable if either Steve or Russell had a great trouble free run. This is to say nothing about the battle between those two racers who started the heat with only one lap between them.
If you do one thing today you need to watch the final heat of this race. Go to the clubs YouTube channel and skip forward to the 45:30 mark, sit back and watch two great drivers push each other to the limit – multiple times.
At the eight lap mark the call button is hit and you can easily see Steve’s car cone to a stop while Russell’s went an additional two feet. I will say that Russell was ever the gentleman and did not take advantage of his extra roll out but actually let Steve pass him before he picked up the pace.
This might come into play considering how close these two racers were running. Both racers were pushing and the cars were being driven on a razors edge. There is a fine line with these cars and these tires between the cars running smoothly through a turn and losing their edge and tenths of seconds along with it.
With both cars running so close and on the edge there were a couple of memorable de-slots. It seemed that if one came out the other would follow shortly after. In two cases they were involved in the same wreck. It was difficult for any of them to take advantage.
Russell was able to get his lap back and was pushing hard to catch Steve. With one minute to go Russell was clawing back time to Steve by tenths of seconds. As the clock moved closer to the five minute mark Russell was only a car length or two behind Steve. Now you have to go back and remember what happened at the 8 lap mark where Russell glided past Steve when the call button was hit. Would Russell be close enough to glide by Steve at the end of the race? Would Steve be able to hold off Russell and put in a last second effort to keep his second place in tact?
The finish was epic. Russell set up for the pass as the final seconds were ticking away then as time ran out Russell slid wide and put the car into the guardrail as Steve did an excellent job of keeping it together and finishing 12 inches in front of Russell.
It was fun to see two great drivers with respect for each other running on the edge for a full five minute heat and walk away shaking hands.
I am looking forward to the next round but I have no idea how it could ever get more exciting.
Marty, what a terrific article on an epic race! Excellent photos. This was my first opportunity to race in this series. No sooner had my first heat started when I was unfortunate to be on the outside at the north turn and was punted off the track. After that, I was much more conservative when approaching another car; I would usually back off so as to avoid contact.
At the start of the last heat, Steve and I were close at the south end, with Steve one lap ahead of me, both of us chasing Marty, who had already finished. It was a great battle and I was pushing as hard as I could. I had 19 laps in the 4.1 seconds but they were offset by slower laps when I backed off. At the end, Steve and I were neck and neck until I lost it in the final turn!
It was great fun and I am very much looking forward to the next race.