This is Part 2, a continuation of the 2020 Summer Salami. If you need to get caught up, start there.
The racing so far has been hot and fast, and the field is starting to take shape. Let's look at where we are as of this morning:
Car Make Time Lap Crash Championship
#66 Chap 5:41.68 6.82 1
#11 962C 5:42.55 6.84 1
#11 GT40 5:54.37 7.08 1
#10 Matra 5:31.53 6.62 0
#8 GT40 5:32.71 6.64 0
orange denotes leader
It looks like the smart money has so far paid off, with the Matra doing what was expected of him, which was to take the lead. The #8 GT40 almost caught him, and was literally only a few track pieces behind.
After that the rest of the field starting turning over more conservative lap times, with exception of the #11 GT40, which was well off the pace. Really what we're talking about is a lap time of about a half second difference from first to last. That's pretty dang close.
So let's get caught up on what the track looks like:
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The entire left side of this track, from where the straightaways are on the right side, is extremely fast and fun. Just about every car rips through there.
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First up today is the #5 GT40. He's thrown down wicked lap times and has been a solid competitor since he showed up on the scene. As solid of a slot car as they come. Does he have what it takes to pull it off? Can I add any more cliches in here? Let's find out!
The Race
Car Make Time Lap Crash Championship
#66 Chap 5:41.68 6.82 1
#11 962C 5:42.55 6.84 1
#11 GT40 5:54.37 7.08 1
#10 Matra 5:31.53 6.62 0
#8 GT40 5:32.71 6.64 0
#5 GT40 5:41.86 6.82 0
Nice racing! At first I thought he might have had it in him to pull out that little bit extra, but whenever I tried it he started to get twitchy in the corners. The tires were clean, but it just kept happening. I got it into a more steady groove, but it was off the pace by then. Fell into the middle of the pack, running an almost identical time to the #66 Chaparral.
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Next up, the other new guy, #65 Chaparral. He came out of the box in much better shape than his twin, and has put up good numbers in tests. The driver is still getting used to the car, so mistakes might be made. He has had a significant number of laps in it, however.
The Race
Car Make Time Lap Crash Championship
#66 Chap 5:41.68 6.82 1
#11 962C 5:42.55 6.84 1
#11 GT40 5:54.37 7.08 1
#10 Matra 5:31.53 6.62 0
#8 GT40 5:32.71 6.64 0
#5 GT40 5:41.86 6.82 0
#65 Chap 5:34.22 6.68 1
Whoa, that was close! Off the lead by 3 seconds. Very nicely done and puts it into a solid third so far in it's debut. Very nice feeling race car. I can definitely tell the difference between the two Chaparrals. This one just has a much better planted feel. I could probably push it a little harder.
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So that leaves us with our last entry, the #2 Alfa Romeo 33/3. The Champion of the first 20 race season, and always a threat. It has seemed to me that it prefers shorter, more complex tracks than the big flowy ones, but it still likes to go fast too. This car, like all the cars before this race, got thorough going-overs to make sure it was in tip-top shape. So here we go:
The Race
Car Make Time Lap Crash Championship
#66 Chap 5:41.68 6.82 1 4
#11 962C 5:42.55 6.84 1 2
#11 GT40 5:54.37 7.08 1 1
#10 Matra 5:31.53 6.62 0 7
#8 GT40 5:32.71 6.64 0 6
#5 GT40 5:41.86 6.82 0 3
#65 Chap 5:34.22 6.68 1 5
#2 Alfa 5:25.27 6.5 0 9
Holy Cow! Out of nowhere, and I mean nowhere! Dude, when I said this car prefers short twisty tracks, I meant it. I've seen this car get beat way too many times on longer tracks. But this? Holy crap. That's a 6 and 1/2 second lap! Okay then. And that means the Matra can actually be beat. I think it's still too early to call the Alfa the fastest of them all, but dang. Nice work, Alfa.
So there it is. I think it's a pretty good format. I think crashes are indicative of more than they look. Every car that ran well didn't crash. Every other car that crashed suffered from it.
Alfa, Matra, Shell GT40 are one, two, three. Nice work everyone.
Disappointment: Porsche 962C. Was hoping for more.
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