| Watkins Glen Sprints | 30/06/10 |
| This was our first visit to Watkins Glen this season, this time using the slightly saner purpose built track where the drivers were faced with two sprint races. Qualifying for the first race was amazingly close with just three tenths separating the top six. Esben Tipple who was making a welcome return started last, but after such a long break being seven tenths off the pace was a good effort. When the flag drops this track rarely disappoints, and this race was no exception. There were battles throughout the field with Esben and Rich being a highlight until it ended in tears for Esben. Stuart George took the win with Rich in second and Gav in third. Qualifying for race two was a single lap affair and with the times so close everyone would be pushing hard. All the drivers managed to keep it on the island but it was Jethro who pulled out the lap of his life to start on pole. He’d also pull out an equally stunning lap in the race for fastest lap, and also a Vader Trophy lap record. Again, the whole grid was separated by just over seven tenths. When the flag dropped Jethro slid back down the order as Rich but it ‘Jethro’s 4 wheels of death’, Neil fell off and Rich went on to win from Gav and Stu who had his own little moment in the Loop. In the championship standings Rich is slowly extending his lead over Stuart and is now 8.5 points ahead. It doesn’t sound much but these two always tend to finish close together, but on the other side one bad result from Rich can see the whole thing get turned around. It’s a similar story in the teams championship with CAR Racing who now have a healthy 47.5 point lead over BBQ’d Snails. Another point of interest (depending how much you care of course) is this event was BBQ’d Snails and Sacred Kart Racing’s 100th start. For the next race we head to Blue Mountain; a fictional track set in the land of the hilliest, bumpiest place on earth. No, this isn’t the Scottish Grand Prix either – it’s worse than that! |
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Posted by: Glyn |
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| Le Mans 30 Mins | 15/06/10 |
| In a slightly cut down version of the real event, the Vader Trophy drivers embarked on their own Le Mans lasting the grand total of 30 mins - a far cry from the 24 hours of the real thing. Considering the length of the track the qualifying times were very close with pole position being fought between Rich and Gav. They ended up just one tenth apart. When the flag dropped the field got under way with some epic racing between the Brabhams of Rich and Gav, and Jan's Ferrari which was also mixing in with the action. Jan's charge didn't last long though when he spun and dropped to forth behind Neil's Ferrari which he slowly caught and then passed. The field was mainly split into 3 groups with Rich and Gav pushing at the front, Jan and Neil in the middle, and Kev and Stuart George towards the rear, who were catching the battling Ferraris of Jan and Neil towards the end. They both eventually got through when Jan went wide and collected Neil on his return to the track which lined everything up for a drag race to the chequered flag for not finishing last. Neil won it by just 0.007s. In other news from this race we have a couple of milestones to mention. Gav notched up his 100th start and so did Sacred Kart Racing. In the championship Rich is slowly extending his lead over Stuart George who in turn is moving ahead of Jan. In the teams championship CAR Racing have further extended their lead and are now 39 points ahead of BBQ'd Snails. For the next event we head to Watkins Glen for a double header. Being a short Papyrus track most of the drivers know it well so things are very competitive, so expect some close racing throughout the field. |
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Posted by: Glyn |
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| CAR Racing’s Happy Hunting Ground | 12/05/10 |
| A one, two finish is the holy grail of results for a team, so CAR Racing must be pretty happy at claiming these spots in both the Silverstone sprint races. Rich claimed the pole in the first qualifying session by over half a second from Stuart George. Gav wasn’t too far behind meaning the first three spots were occupied by a Brabham. When the flag dropped things were very settled at the front with Rich pulling out a steady lead from Stu of four seconds by the end. Gav’s race was a bit more spectacular as he clipped the grass which sent him to the back of the pack, but he drove well to reclaim most of the positions to finish forth. For the single lap qualifying session everyone was hoping it would be more successful than at Leipzig where a number of drivers crashed. This time it was only Jan who came a cropper. Rich once again pulled out a stunning time to take pole, seven tenths clear of Stuart. All the way down to sixth place the times were very close. The second race at the front was a very similar story to the first race with Rich pulling slowly away from Stu. In a bid to improve Gav’s race craft his team pointed out that the track is colour coded – the grey bit is has grip, the green bit doesn’t. Despite this the lure of the freshly mowed grass was too much, but he recomposed himself and got into a rhythm that would see him drive through the field into forth position. Jan had an impressive race too finishing third despite starting last. The two wins Rich notched up here have extended his championship lead slightly over Stuart George who is just a couple of point ahead of Jan. In the teams championship you can’t argue with a perfect score and CAR Racing are pulling out a healthy lead. For the next round the drivers will be putting bricks in their suitcase for putting on the throttle pedal – the recognised method of driving the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. |
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Posted by: Glyn |
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