New Cars: NSR Gulf Porsche 917K #10 & #9 Brands Hatch 1000k

 I'm starting to realize something. I may never be able to let a sweet Gulf car pass me by. One thing that got me back into the hobby was the thought that I could actually own one of these, even if I couldn't fit into it or drive it. But since I was a kid I have loved this livery more than any other. 

NSR Gulf Porsche 917K #10

Winner of the 1970 1000k at Brands Hatch. Driven by Pedro Rodriguez and and Leo Kinnunen.

I've seen reviews of this car that comment on the lack of orange along the sides like the other Gulf cars, but I like it. The only way you don't see the orange is in a direct profile shot like the one below. And even then there is a nice big Gulf logo on the side. Plus the lack of orange on the side really shows off the flowing curves very nicely.

feeling curvy. might delete later idk

I have expectations for NSR cars right out of the box, as I now have a good collection of them and have seen how they usually are upon arrival. This car was no different. After the setup I let it drone run 1000 laps. Then I ran it against the #19 Gulf car and it was immediately comparable. I'm satisfied this car will set impressive lap times. 

Of course, some things are impossible to resist, one of those being that there was another car released at the same time as this one, from the same race, and now it's here:

#9 Gulf Porsche 917K Brands Hatch 1000k 1970. Driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. It didn't finish, but it looked good not doing it.

I have an absolute LOAD of cars now. It's going to need separate sessions just to be able to take the time to focus on them so they get the attention they deserve. That's SIX cars now that are still in varying levels of tuneup needs. Some haven't had any work done on them at all. It'll be some assembly line stuff for sure. 

All of this has brought me to lean pretty heavily on a piece of accessory that I was pretty sure I wouldn't ever need. Now I'm starting to think I do, for a few reasons. It's a tire truer. While the tried-and-true piece of sandpaper taped to the track can do in a pinch, I think I need to put more work into my tires. I've always thought that, just haven't had the nerve to buy the dang thing. I never thought I would need it, but I'm almost at 30 cars. I have reviews sitting waiting to be finished. I need to race them. I might have to temporarily shelve a large percentage of my cars just to get the new cars a chance for some track time. 

NSR Gulf Brands Hatch 1000k 1970

I also want to come up with a track design that I can keep up for awhile that won't get in my way. That's tricky since that means it has to be square-ish, so I'll need to work on that. I want to have the track down so I can put a car on and race whenever. I'll need something like that if I'm going to try to do any kind of race, which I'm intending to do soon. 

Gulf Team Photo

The Gulf Team has a significant advantage in the Team Championship, coming in with four cars. The best two score for the team each race, so that gives them a considerable edge. All the other teams [Rothmans, Shell, Sunoco] have two cars each, so they'll have to accept the points from both entries, without the benefit of multiple cars fighting for two spots. I expect the Gulf Team to do quite well, as all four cars are competitive and could podium finish at any time. While a Gulf car might not win the overall championship, they're going to be practically unstoppable as a team.

A few days later....

Both cars have been setup and are ready to race.