That's right, sportsfans, it's time to get back to some real racing! No more thinking about it. No more table fixes. No more waiting until the end of the month! 50 laps around the largest layout yet!
A couple of important notes regarding today's race: this is the first official race of 2020, but since only one was run in 2019, I'm going to add this one to that one and start from there. It's also the Matra's 2nd only race, the first of which was an inaugural victory almost a year ago. This is also the first race since both expansions have been completed. The table now sits at a handy 20'x10'x4'.
Let's take a look at the layout:
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| I used up almost every track piece I had, trying to get as far down either side of the table as I could. Overall, it's a fast track, which favors the longer cars, but there are a few tricky bits thrown in. Not sure why it doesn't line up on the software like it does in real life. Oh well. It's working for me. Software - Softybahnplaner |
Note: all cars were put on track with only a cleaning of the tires. None of the cars were given any special treatment beforehand.
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RESULTS:
Car Time Crashes Lap Points Total
Matra 5:24.81 0 6.48 11 22
Porsche 5:36.17 1 6.72 8 10
Alfa 5:37.65 1 6.74 6 12
Shell 5:43.57 0 6.86 4 8
Gulf 5:54.37 0 7.08 2 2
Gold 6.08.96 2 7.36 0 8
Note: I give points this way in the hopes of avoiding a tie for 1st place at the end of the season, which was looking very likely last time I had a series. Making first place 11 points will give the winners a bit of an edge. This is also very much an experiment. But since it's my racing association...
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| We have a winner, racing fans. The Matra has stepped into the ring and slaughtered its opponents. 6.48 lap time. |
I have everything good to say about the Matra. I think it's probably the best performing car I have, and would make a terrific race car on practically any track. I think it has just the right wheelbase and structure to make it fast, low and nimble, while still resembling a longer car when it needs to. It's one of the more exciting cars to drive as well. You can really put it on the edge and it'll perform. I was expecting somewhere around a 6.7 time, but I'll certainly take a 6.4. It'll be up to the other cars to answer the call to meet or beat it.
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| 2nd Place: Well would you look who showed up and brought the anger! With a solid lap time of 6.7, you can count on this guy to be a contender on all the longer tracks. |
I was mildly surprised that the 962 showed up and put down such impressive lap times. In the last race, he clumsily posted an unimpressive fifth place finish, and I was starting to worry if he would be able to keep up with all the other cars. He proved me wrong today, that's for sure. I would expect my cars to break a 7 second lap here, and most are doing it without much trouble. A 6.7 is a very good solid lap. The driver should be proud of himself.
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| 3rd Place: Of course it wouldn't be a party without the Alfa showing up and stealing your girl. |
There's something about the Alfa that makes me just know that it's going to put up a fight every time. While it doesn't have the straightaway speed the other cars have, it has so much muscle through the turns that it makes up for it. It crashed once today and was still a contender.
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| 4th Place: Such a fun, well rounded race car. |
If you look at the results of this race, and only this race, you'd almost think that I needed two separate classes. But that's not the situation here. I think there was a bit of unluck today. Not so with the #8 GT40. It ran as smooth as butter. In fact, I think that's why I ran a slower time with it; it's just too smooth and easy. If it wasn't so mellow I'd probably push it harder. I should just do it anyway. I think it could go a little faster.
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| 5th Place: Still running. Not winning. Running. |
So I went through this car the other day, cleaned it up, lubed it and oiled it, and it runs okay. It just feels uninspired. Like it needs something. I don't know what. When you're doing 50 laps, you tend to get into a groove, and I felt like we were getting a bit of a groove going, but the lap times weren't as good as I thought they'd be.
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| Last Place: The surprise of the day. I wouldn't have expected a 6th place finish out of this car. |
This car came in 2nd place in the last race, comfortably ahead of the rest of the field. This race it was all over the place. It crashed in two separate places and never really got going. Maybe because this was the first car I ran today. Who knows. But a lap time of 7.3 can only be attributed to crashes. All the cars should be well under 7 seconds...
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And there it is. Overall a pretty fun race, a bit of a surprise and a display of the force is going to be needed to shake the Matra off of its newly-discovered perch. Will anybody be able to shave the tenths needed to get ahead? We'll have to find out. I'll keep running laps and report on any significant speed breakthroughs.
I have more track coming at the end of the month, so this track will be redesigned, faster and longer. I'm very satisfied with how the extensions are working, and the 7 second lap times are a good lap. Not too long or too short.
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