Track conditions for the Triathlon were very good as the track had been recently cleaned and sprayed. This week, the three events at the Raceway included LeMans Trials, a mixed race and True Scale GT1.
A few observations are in order.
- A new ProSlot 16D motor has improved lap times for Scott in his True Scale Sports Car (Ford GT) and Trans-Am (68 Firebird). This should propel him upwards in the standings. His GT1 needs to have its guide tongue strengthened to avoid bending in the event of the inevitable wreck. The car has potential
- Kudos to Mike who drove Bobs OSCAR based Challenger in the Trials and his OSCAR based Ferrari 599 in both the mixed and GT1 races. Mike is learning the track and is improving over time.
- Mark was a bit rusty after a long absence at Electron Raceway, yet he put in some respectable performances in the Mixed and GT1 races.
- Joe is challenging others for podium spots in both Mixed and GT1. He just needs to keep it on the rails!
The Trials/KOH saw a mix of OSCAR and True Scale cars compete for the top spot. Several new entries appeared including the following (images below)
- James OSCAR based Firebird
- Marks OSCAR based GT40 (Body by Ron)
- Marks OSCAR based Firebird
- Richs 69 Penske Camaro
- Bobs 67 Camaro
- Bobs Challenger
- Mike's OSCAR based Challenger
In the LeMans Trials, James moved into first place with his 68 Firebird with a fast lap time of 4.869. Although Rich improved his fast lap time over the last event, running 4.901 seconds, he dropped to second place with his OSCAR based GT40. Rons rapid Porsche 906 moved up to third place with a respectable 4.95 second fast lap. See the table below for complete results
Mixed Race
The race was a Ferrari, Ford slugfest. The top six competitors were quite evenly matched with fast laps ranging from 5.043 seconds (James Ford GT) to 5.190 seconds (Rons Ferrari 458).
Bob, driving a black Ferrari 458, won the first heat by over a lap besting Rich (GT40), Joe (Ferrari 458) and Ron (Ferrari 458). Bob expanded his lead in heats #2 - #4 and was first in the barn with a lap total of 91.2. James presented the only real challenge entering the race in heat #5. Entering his final heat, James needed 24 Laps to overtake Bob (a very tall order). James fell short by a lap to finish second with 90.3 laps.
Meanwhile the battle for the bottom step of the podium was between Rich, Joe, Mark and Ron. In the early heats, Rich and Mark had some wicked battles. Mark was first of the aforementioned four to finish his rotation with 86.9 laps. The race for third place came down to the final heat. Entering the final heat Rich had completed 66 laps and was well within striking distance of Mark. Joe had completed 64.4 laps followed closely by Ron with 63.7 laps. Rich ran a good final heat of 22.3 laps which was enough to overtake Mark. Joe and Ron battled hard for fifth place with Joe coming in ahead of Ron by only a single section. See the table below for complete results
GT1
The top five competitors all broke the magic five second barrier. Rich (Porsche 962) was quickest with 4.727 seconds with Mark (Nissan R390) at 4.959 seconds.
Heat #1 was a harbinger. James took the lead with 23.3 laps with Rich second only a couple of sections behind. Bob ran a respectable 22.9 laps to finish third in that first heat.
Rich rotated out in heat #2 and Mark entered the fray with his Nissan R390. Mark ran 21.8 laps in his first heat and was about a lap off of the pace of the leaders. Bob and James battled for supremacy in heat #2. At the end of heat #2 Bob and James were tied at 47.5 laps. Mark was the first of the top 5 competitors to finish his rotation with a respectable 90.1 laps.
Joe (the #4 seed) entered the race in heat #6 and ran 22.9 laps. This certainly put Joe in the hunt for a podium finish with a shot at an overall win. Unfortunately, Joes Enzo was involved in a serious altercation and became airborne. The Enzo landed on the floor with a thud bending the front suspension. The car was unable to continue and Joe switched to his 67 Camaro. This truly put him out of contention for a podium spot.
Going into the final heat, all three podium spots were up for grabs. Bob led the pack with 70.9 laps. Rich was a single section behind Bob while James was about a half lap down from the leader. About midway through the heat, Bob made an unforced error and Rich got by for the lead while James closed on Bob. Wow, what a finish. It was Rich, Bob and James for first through third respectively all finishing with the same lap and section total (see image below for the finish)
