What a night of racing it was at our 277th event, this one for our fastest classes, Modified Production (MP), Restricted GT (RGT), Restricted LMP (RLMP) and Formula 1 (F1)! We had full grids for all of these 50-lap races which provided lots of action.We also had the first ever BMW races for the guys from the new RAS Raceway, the first based on qualifying and the second being a reverse-grid affair, each over 20 laps.
We started with MP and it was close at the front, with the first leader losing two positions after becoming part of someone else's accident and never being able to make it up because the cars were so closely matched. We ran the RAS BMWs next and these guys got their first experience of racing the 74-foot FRC track with their own cars, seeming to enjoy it. The RGT race was something of a record at FRC in that the six cars ran in close bunches for 49 of the 50 laps without a de-slot! This was followed by the F1 race which was dominated by the top four qualifiers who were running 3D chassis and big long-can motors. We closed the night with another action-filled RLMP fully-subscribed race.
Thanks to Devi and Warren for providing some of the pics and the four videos below.
The results
Modified Production starting grid - My Zakspeed Capri on pole, followed by Luke B's Peugeot 208, Ramesh's Opel Calibra, Arden driving Ramesh's Alfa 156, Steve's BMW 320i and O'Brie's Subaru Impreza:
Luke B leaves his braking too late entering the hairpin and ends up in the barrier. Ramesh's Calibra goes by in the background:
Another angle of Luke's late-braking manoeuvre:
Steve's BMW has nowhere to pass after a coming-together with O'Brie's Subaru and Luke B's Peugeot in the esses creates a roadblock:
The BMW Z4 drivers from RAS Raceway get ready to race their Z4s for the first time at FRC:
BMW Z4 starting grid - Devi, Warren, Crix and Uttam:
Warren and Crix tangle in the final turn:
Warren and Uttam try a bit of synchronised drifting on the infield left-hander:
Restricted GT starting grid - Luke B's's Honda HSV, followed by Remesh's similar car, Steve's Porsche 911 GT1, my Porsche 911R, O'Brie's 911R and Arden's BMW Z4:
Luke B and Ramesh are just a couple car lenghts apart with one lap to go in the 50-lap race:
The RGT race was probably the closest-fought race of the night with not a single de-slot until the 49th of 50 laps:
RGT race video taken from entry of last corner:
Slo-mo clip:
Looking up the downhill back straight from Fosters corner:
First fourteen laps of the race:
F1 starting grid - Luke B's Ferrari on pole, Ramesh's Mercedes, my McLaren, O'Brie's Lotus, Steve's McLaren and Ramesh's McLaren driven by Arden:
All six F1 cars visible as O'Brie's black Lotus enters the hairpin, Luke B's Ferrari and Arden's McLaren go by on the downhill loop to the back of the pits, my McLaren and Ramesh's Mercedes are side by side in turn one as Steve's McLaren approaches it:
Another view of my McLaren and Ramesh's Mercedes alongside in turn one with Arden, Luke B and O'Brie in the background:
Luke's Ferrari brakes hard alongside Caiman Pond to avoid an accident with my McLaren and O'Brie's Lotus:
Another view of the accident (the white rooster couldn't care less!):
Restricted LMP starting grid - Arden driving one of Ramesh's Mazdas on pole, followed by Luke B's and Ramesh's similar cars, Steve's Lancia, my Toyota 88C and O'Brie's Toyota GT One:
Steve's Lancia spins in the esses, blocking the road for Ramesh's Mazda, my Toyota and Luke B's Mazda:
Action at Fosters as O'Brie's Toyota spins and causes a traffic jam:
One more pile up, this time in the Carousel as we see O'Brie's Toyota off the track alongside Arden's Mazda, with most of the rest of the field held up behind:
Another angle:
(How this is computed: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=393)
Congratulations to the winners.
Next event's classes: Class grouping A: Kitbash (KB - formerly called "Scratch Built") Historic Saloon (HS), American Pony Car (APC), Vintage Sports '60-'75 (VS6075).
Don't forget to see the updated overall fastest times and the fastest times by driver and class for 2019 to know what the benchmarks are for your cars, the updated class average qualifying times and the updated fastest times for 2019. Older stats can be found in the Archive area of the forum.
See you on the circuit...
Gordon