It was a balmy Thursday, Cinco de Mayo evening. The Pilotos eagerly awaited the 4th round of competition, but due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, Round 4 would be run with only 3 Pilotos, Roy, Russell, and Jim. Ary was present to run the race, but that meant only 4 people in total. It was decided we would run all heats with 2 drivers and 2 corner marshals with the exception of the grand finale, which would be run with only 1 marshal. This would be a modified “crash and burn” heat, as either the driver had to put his own car back on the track, or hope you de-slot where Ary could re-slot your car.
Heat #1 opened with Roy in the Green lane and Russell in the Blue lane (his favorite). After 5 minutes of intense racing, Russell was in 1st place with 71 completed laps, and Roy 3 laps down with 68. I don’t really think Roy is a big fan of the Green lane. Russell had a fast lap of 4.113 on lap 67 and Roy’s best time was 4.219 on lap 49.
Heat #2 featured Jim in the Yellow lane and Russell in Green. After 5 short minutes, both Jim and Russell finished with 70 laps, but Jim was awarded 1st place due to finishing
further down the track than Russell. Jim’s quick lap was 4.155 on lap 60, but Russell was even faster with a 4.141 on lap 56.
Heat #3 featured Jim in Blue and Roy in Yellow. After the tire dust had settled, both Roy and Jim had turned 70 laps. Jim’s hot lap was a 4.118 on lap 56 and Roy tossed in a 4.174 on lap 47 if you need it. Once again, Jim was awarded 1st place as he finished further down the track than Roy. Both Pilots had DE-slots, but Roy’s slowest lap of 6.702 spelled the difference between 1st and 2nd place.
Heat #4 called all drivers to the line for the all out grand finale. Russell was in yellow, Jim in Green, and Roy in Blue. Five, four, three , two, one, GO!…..Ary chose to marshal the esses, so anyone who crashed on the left side sweeper was on their own to re-slot their cars. The racing was extremely tight, no one wanting to crash and possibly throw out a good finish. Jim was holding on to 1st place by a thread, and Roy and Russell were in hot pursuit. Suddenly, we all knew sooner or later, it would happen. Roy and Russell had tangled in the left hand sweeper, and both cars were off the track. No corner marshal was there. Both Pilots dropped their Difalcos and ran to their car. Jim had picked up close to a lap on each of them by the time they were underway again. Jim managed to de-slot in the esses, but Airy was Johnny on the spot, and Jim was underway in a very short time.
Heat #4 finished with Jim in 1st with 70 laps, Russell in 2nd with 66 laps, followed by Roy in 3rd with 63 laps. The one marshal grand finale heat proved to be the deciding factor in the outcome of Round #4. Jim had a fast 4.213 on lap 52, Roy turned a 4.182 on lap 38, and Russell’s fast lap of the event was a 4.096 on lap 39. De-slots marred the finale as Russell had a slow lap of 13.315 and Roy had a 17.04.
So ended Round #4 of the El Piloto Challenge. Jim was 1st with 210 total laps, Russell second with 207 laps and Roy finished 3rd with 201 total laps.
The Leader Board shows Russell holding on to 1st place with 36 points, 837 total laps followed by Jim with 29 points and 833 laps. Marty is in 3rd place with 21 points, 426 laps, and 2 fewer rounds run. One point behind in 4th place is Roy with 20 points and 817 laps, and Brian is in 5th place with 13 points, 426 laps, and 1 fewer round run.
On to Round #5……
| Driver | Laps |
Position |
Points |
Fastest Lap |
| Jim J. | 210 | 1 | 10 | 4.118 |
| Russell M. (+1 Fastest Lap) | 207 | 2 | 9 | 4.096 |
| Roy M. | 201 | 3 | 6 | 4.174 |
Leader Board
| Three rounds run, seven remaining. | ||||
| Position | Driver | Total Laps | Points | Change |
| 1 | Russell M. | 837 | 35 | – |
| 2 | Jim J. | 833 | 32 | +1 |
| 3 | Roy M. | 817 | 21 | +1 |
| 4 | Marty M. | 426 | 21 | -2 |
| 5 | Brian H. | 614 | 13 | – |
| Shawn G. | 421 | – | – | |
| Rick C. | 201 | – | – | |
There was a minor technical difficulty with the first version of this post.
Everything is fixed up now and the leader board above is the correct one.