The fourth round of the Thunderslot Proxy race was another great event with some of the closest racing we have seen in the series. Having said that, John’s McLaren was definitely the class of the field finishing with 233 laps and a fast time of 3.616. It looked a lot like F1 where these is Lewis Hamilton and then the rest of the field. The other seven cars were all within a couple of laps of each other with the only Lola Coupe from Russell finishing second. Only a half a lap behind Russell’s Coupe was Marty’s Lola Spyder. A little over two laps down was Marc’s beautiful Lola Spyder in fourth place. Fifth was Brian’s McLaren down another two-ish laps from fourth. Sixth was Randy’s Lola Spyder, seventh was Ary’s Lola Spyder and eighth place was Mark’s Lola Spyder.
When asked why his car was so quick in this round John said only one word – magnets. Just kidding, he said he put some new tires on the car that gave it better traction and increased roll out due to the larger diameter tires. Well done John. You can see pictures of the underside of John’s car here to see what things look like for yourself.
Russell’s car had some tire work done before this round and it obviously did the trick. The car was stable and easy for everyone to drive. Not a super-fast one lap record setter but a steady performer that could put in lap after lap with no issues.
Marty’s car was untouched from the last round and although fast in the turns was down on power in the straights. Just about every car would leave the Lola on the front straight. Looks like there is some room for improvement.
Marc’s Lola, the concours winner for sure, was solid but not as easy to control in the turns. There will be some work put in by the team to get the handling back on this gorgeous car.
Brian’s McLaren was lacking a little downforce in the turns that made the car a little more challenging to drive. It was also discovered that John’s controller had the brake setting on during the early heats that I believe that had a big impact on the performance of this great car.
Randy’s car was not as stable as it had been in previous rounds. Randy had worked on the car after the previous round in the hopes he could find a few more tenths and get the jump on John’s McLaren but it appears the work didn’t have the intended effect. I’m betting Randy will have his car running at the top in the next round.
Ary’s Lola was running on rubber bands for tires and they weren’t even good rubber bands. They were more like the ones they use to hold the broccoli together. It made driving the car difficult for just about everyone – including Ary. I know Ary will have some new tires fitted for the next round and it his car will be much more competitive.
Even though Mark’s Lola finished in eighth position it was the best outing for the car. It looked like Mark was getting a handle on the set up and I expect the car to be even better in the next round.
With only two rounds left there is work to be done by all, except John, to get their cars back at the sharp end of the field. Can’t wait to see what the next round is like.
