A pleasent September evening saw 7 racers gather in Yelling for round 5 of the Tyco F1 and Modified Championships.
The Track
Al had put together a track based on the current Monza layout. The modern chicanes proved tricky particularly the first and second ones that had to be negotiated with care due to their tight 6 inch bends.
F1
Qualifying
In a surprise move Al took pole with a new Tyco he had just purchased from Jim. Paul Rose was just a single tenth behind Al but over 6 laps clear of Jim in third. Jim was making a welcome return to the grid while selling off many of his cars so he used the club Tycos which were once again proving to be right on the pace when driven well. John Chell looked to be enjoying the circuit with a car well suited to the long straights and he lined up fourth less than a lap behind Jim. Nick took the fifth slot ahead of Tony and Steve. Tony put in the fastest F1 lap of the night on the blue lane that was more or less universal agreed to be the lane of choice.
B Final
Tony took the early lead of the B final from the red lane, before an off handed the lead to Nick in white who was being closely pursued by John in blue. After a tense battle it was John who took the B final win by just under two laps from Nick. Tony finished third and Steve retired from the much unloved yellow lane after 23 laps.
A Final
Paul Rose took the early inititive from the white lane leaving pole sitter Al in second in the blue lane. An early off for Paul left Jim in the red lane in second place and Al in first. Paul then put the hammer down, passed Jim for second and set about chasing Al down. Up front Al found himself with a narrow lead and Paul Rose steaming up behind him. Al didn’t seem to be taking any risks and was driving well within himself. This meant Paul kept catching him relatively easily but every time Paul caught him, he managed to come off. After 3 tense minutes Al breathed a sigh of relief taking his first F1 win of the season by less than half a lap from Paul. Jim took a tidy third place ahead of John Chell who rolled in fourth in yellow.
Mod
Qualifying
After an intense qualifying session with the Mods thundering around the Temple of Speed, Al again found himself on pole. After loosing a fair bit of time in the white lane with a popped rear axle after misjudging (or rather forgetting) his braking point heading into the Parabolica, he was glad to have banked a decent score early on in the yellow lane. Behind him Tony’s 917 bodied Marchon was looking formidable and Tony was pleased to find himself only just over half a lap behind Al. Paul Rose didn’t quite hook up his cars usual performance in the red lane and ended up just over nine laps back in third. Jim lined up fourth driving the battered green F40 infamously named “Christine” that he had borrowed from Nick. Steve took the 5th spot just ahead of John and Nick completed the order.
B Final
Nick surprised everyone by taking the early lead of the B final from the hardest lane, yellow. Jim and Christine in blue were right behind him though and John in white was also in the mix. An early off for Steve in red left him a bit further back but never too far from the action. A big off for Nick on lap 7 handed the lead to Jim but an off for Jim on lap 13 left Nick right behind him again. For the next 14 laps there was very little between them until Jim came off again and Nick briefly took the lead before coming off again giving Jim the lead and a bit of breathing space. With Nick just over a lap down “Gentleman” Jim seemed to back off just a shade in the closing stages of the race to allow Nick back onto the lead lap. Meanwhile John in white had caught and passed Nick and was actually in second and closing in on Jim. As the race ended John’s car finished less than an inch behind Jim’s in what may have been the closest finish in SCHORC history.
A Final
After a close threeway battle in the opening 4 laps, Al was left out in front in the blue lane with Tony in red battling for second with Paul in white. A few offs for Paul left Tony with second but out front Al was gradually pulling away from him. Jim and Christine seemed less comfortable in the yellow lane and he dropped back to finish fourth. Al went on to take a fairly straight forward victory and his second win of the evening. Tony’s second place marked his season’s best finish in Mod so far and Paul Rose finished third ahead of Jim.
Thanks to all who attended.
With just one round of these Championships remaining, it looks like Paul Rose just needs to turn up to secure his first Tyco F1 title and after easing ahead in the Mod Championship Al just needs a good finish relative to Paul Rose to secure that trophy for the fourth consecutive season.