2012 BRM Series: Round #2 Results

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The second race in the BRM Challenge had some big changes from the first race in the series held two weeks prior.  For starters, the driver line up was very different for this round.  We saw Kevin withdraw the customer Budweiser Porsche from the series, Ary not in attendance due to a prior engagement and Russell was back but not with his Ford Probe.  He was running his Momo Porsche with the internals from the Ford Probe.  Could anyone take advantage of Ary’s absence and pick up some valuable points in the overall standings?  Would mechanicals play a pivotal role again in this round?  Would we run out of Bourbon?  Would the USTREAM video work?  Lets find out how it went. 


Heat 1 – The heat was contested by Marty, Shawn and Russell although the race was really between Shawn and Marty as Russell had a mechanical after only 36 laps that took him out of the race.  Marty finished with 73 laps and Shawn’s had 72.  


The mechanical issues we watched in the first race in the series were back when on lap 36 Russell’s crown gear started slipping and he was done for the heat.  The other mechanical issue happened to Marty’s Jagermeister Porsche on lap 45 when the rear end skipped and jumped while pushing a little too hard in the carousel.  The bouncing rear end caused the gear mesh to come out of adjustment.  The car began to make the distinctive sound of grinding gears that BRM’s are so famous for.  Marty finished the heat but hoped to have a break so he could work on the gears before he raced again. 


Heat 2 – Marty’s wish of having a break between heats was not granted as he was up again racing against Brian and Russell.  Unfortunately Russell was unable to get his car ready and decided to wait until the next race in the series to compete again.  Without Russell there would be no one in the center blue lane giving Marty and Brian a chance to run five minutes without worrying about interference from any other cars.  At the end of the five minutes Marty had run 73 laps to Brian’s 62.  You can tell by Brian’s lap totals that he did not have his best heat.  Between a lack of mechanical grip at the rear of the car and a less than ideal gear mesh he was doing everything he could to just get the 62 laps.  He did a great job with less than ideal conditions.  


Heat 3 – Heat three saw Marty and Brian, both with gear mesh issues, racing Jim and his Miller Killer with the new factory motor.  Jim’s 1/24 scale driving is some of the best in the club and if he can avoid the mechanical gremlins he will surely finish at the top of the podium.  When it was all over Marty had a total of 75.45 laps while recording the fast lap for the race at 3.934.  Jim was not far behind with 73 laps with a fast lap of 3.959 with that new motor while Brian was still struggling with his car and managed to run 63 laps. 


Heat 4 – Heat 4 had Brian, Jim and for his first heat –Roy. Roywas running some very fast times in warm up and could give anyone a run for their money.  Don’t forget thatRoyset the record for the fastest lap ever on our club track last year. 


In the race Jim was the fastest totaling 73 laps with a fast lap of 3.983. Royhad some difficulty keeping the Momo Porsche in the slot and only managed 66 laps while Brian was just racing to finish the heat and totaled 50.45 laps. 


Heat 5 – Heat 5 had Shawn, Jim and Roy.  This could be the race of the day as three of the fastest drivers were all on the track at the same time.  The race between Shawn and Jim was great with Jim coming out on top with 73.70 laps and a fast lap of 3.953 to Shawn’s 72 laps and a fast lap of 4.051. Royhad some mechanical issues with the Momo car and was only able to run 64 laps with a fast lap of 4.298. 


Heat 6 – The last heat of the day saw Shawn and Roy running alone as Russell already had his Porsche packed up in the trailer.  The difference between this heat and the second heat where Russell was not running is that Shawn and Roy would be running in adjacent lanes and would not benefit as much from Russell’s absence.  This would be Shawn’s chance to drive as fast as possible and make up some time on Jim and maybe take the second podium spot. 


At the end of the heat it was Shawn with 70.9 laps and a fast lap of 4.037 toRoy’s 64.4 laps and a fast lap of 4.214.  A good run by Shawn but not enough to get him past Jim on the podium. 


Summary – At the end of the six heats Marty was on top with 221.45 laps and the fast lap of 3.934.  Jim was second with 218.7 laps and a fast lap of 3.953 and Shawn was third with 214.9 laps and a fast lap of 4.037. 


The overall standing have Marty on top with 22 points, Roy in second with 11 points and 406.46 laps to Shawn’s 11 points and 405.65 laps – a .81 lap difference between them.  Jim is forth with 10 points and coming on strong with his new motor.  Brian has 8 points to Ary’s 8 and Kevin and Russell both have three points.  


We are only two races in and the competition is very close.  Mechanicals have been the biggest issue and have affected everyone but Marty and Ary.  Car preparation is key and will once again play a role in the next round.  


The Next Race – Here are some things I think we can expect out of the third round.


Ary will be back and running strong as ever with his “get the hell out of my way” flashing lights.  Marty will hope to keep the Jagermeister together and continue his win streak.  Brian has done some great work on his car and had it running in the low 4.0’s at last weekends test session and should be running strong come race time.  Jim is very quiet, too quiet.  Whenever Jim is quiet he is fast – very fast.  Expect a strong run from him.Roywill need to do some serious work on the Momo to keep it in second overall.  Second is his to lose at this point.  If he can get the car working he will be a serious threat.  Shawn’s cars are always fast and durable.  If he can put together three good consistent heats he will give anyone a run for their money.  Russell is the mystery. Will we see the Ford Probe that has been in development for so long or will the Momo come back out to run with new gears.  Russell is one of the best at getting a car set up and ready to run.  Sort of like the clubs own little Roger Penske.  I can’t wait for the races to begin!   

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