Fairways Racing Complex Forum

RACE REPORT #288 - Feb 27th 2021 (CM, KB)

Just three adults attended yesterday's FRC event, but it turned out to be a lot of fun, especially for Luke, who, like several others, hasn't raced with us since early march last year before the lockdown. It was great having him join us for his first taste of no-magnet racing, so we took a few group pics and were joined by an enthusiastic young lady, my eldest granddaughter Madison:









Luke also brought along a beautiful black modern Ford GT as well as one of his Fernando Alonso Renault F1 cars, both of which he spent a little time setting up then driving:

---

Practice

Steve's brand new BMW BTCC contender is urged on by my BTCC Civic while Luke driving my Clubman Mustang GT350 gets hard on the brakes to avoid us:



More BTCC practice action as both my MG and Steve's BMW have a coming together that leaves us both off the track:



The sleek black Ford GT that Luke brought along to test:



Another shot of Steve's new BMW on the FRC infield section:



Steve and I doing practice and testing laps. In the second pic you can see me driving near the top of the hill instead of at the driving stations. This is the result of Ray in Florida kindly donating and shipping to me a remote driving system for SSD tracks to help with COVID distancing:





Thanks again Ray!

Luke also recorded these three videos. The first shows the three of us practising our cars and he points out that he's driving remotely while recording the action:



This one has Maddie (her nickname) cheering me on:



In this last one she's driving with Steve and I and not doing a bad job:



The results





Clubman Race 1 grid: Steve's Ford Falcon on pole, followed by my Mini and Luke driving my NSU TT:



Clubman Race 2 grid: Luke driving my Mustang GT350 on pole, followed by my Lotus Cortina and Steve's similar car:







Kitbash Race 1 grid: Steve's Nissan Skyline on pole, followed by my Triumph TR4A and Luke driving Steve's Chevy Lumina:










(How this is computed: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=393)

Congratulations to the winners.

After the races, seven-year-old Madison was joined by her four-year-old sister Ally to do some IROC Porsche Cup driving together. Check out the concentration on their faces:









Here's a video of part of their little session (note the ongoing live commentary by Madison):



Their times at the end of the session:



Ally did a better fastest lap than her older sister!

Next event's classes: The usual non-magnet cars across all eligible classes.

Don't forget to see the updated overall fastest times and the fastest times by driver and class for 2020-2021 to know what the benchmarks are for your cars, the updated class average qualifying times and the updated fastest times for 2020-2021. Older stats can be found in the Archive area of the forum.

See you on the circuit...
Gordon

Great day of racing as usual at FRC despite the small driver turnout. It was really good to have Luke show up and even do some non-magnet racing. Although only three actual races were run, it was a lot of fun driving and testing cars. Luke brought a brand new Ford GTE to which he fitted a DPR chip while at FRC and proceeded to do some laps with. Lovely looking car and seemingly a good runner. My new BTCC contender, a BMW 330i, made its FRC debut and got a quite a few laps in. Nice looking car but nowhere near as quick as it needs to be ! Gordon's granddaughter 'Maddie' proved to be quite a good driver with one of FRC's IROC class Porsche 911s but even better than her driving skills were her commentating skills, even while driving ! Definitely looking forward to the next event.
Steve

Knowing the 27th Feb. (RD288) was one-week to 5th March 2021 ... and in checking back with earlier Racing Reports - it's just short of a year, my last visit (5th March 2020) at FRC's RD285 - KB, RC, BTCC & SC classes ..!

Now although it's only three (3) official racing events in 12 months, unfortunately lots of procedures had to be changed all because of Covid-19 ... so, in keeping with pandemic protocols / gatherings & being my first (invited) visit since then, it was a pleasure all over again to
Have Ah Go at Digital Racing ..!

It was a difference not racing with a full grid of drivers but the thrill of keeping cars in the slot - against Gordon and Steve was still very enjoyable. Especially with those NEW (my first time use of) Cordless Controllers, racing Non-magnetic cars and being able to stand anywhere around the circuit.

All in all, the evening was very cheerful and thanks to Gordon, his family and longtime friend Steve making it possible.

Without a doubt - FRC / SSD Racing is an unforgettable part of my Life

Post No. 2104

Luke

I have to mention that Luke adapted to driving the no-magnet cars very well, his times dropping as he familiarized himself with driving the cars. In fact he took pole in the second Clubman race despite both Steve and I having a lot more no-magnet driving experience. He also mentioned that he understood what I had previously written about how much more one has to focus to get quick times without the artificial help of magnets.

Look forward to seeing you again soon Luke and thanks for the wontons.