The Fifth Round – The fifth and penultimate round of the Austin Slot Car Clubs Thunderslot Proxy race was more of the same at the sharp end of the field and a strange mix for everyone chasing. John’s McLaren M6A once again showed that it was the class of the field setting not only a new lap total at 234.58 but also the fastest lap in the series to date with a time of 3.601. John’s dominance in the series is not very far off from the real McLaren dominance in CanAm with the M6A. John also mirrored McLarens ability to prepare and set up a car as John’s Thunderslot was very well prepared and easy for everyone to drive.
The cars chasing John’s McLaren were a mixed bag as Ary’s Lola with some band new tires was once again setting great times. His car was three laps down but two laps ahead of Marty’s Lola. The fourth place car, the McLaren of Brian, was only two feet behind Marty and had his best performance to date. The fifth place car was Russell’s Lola five laps down on Brian. The sixth place was Marc’s beautiful Lola less than a half lap behind Russell. Seventh place was Mark’s Lola with one of the best performances his car has seen. His car even managed a fast lap of 3.646 and had the fastest lap of the round until the final heat when Ary set the fastest time of the race. Eighth place was Randy’s Lola coupe. Randy had some issues in the fourth round and spent some time working on his car but it looks like things did not go according to plan.
Setting the Record Straight – Setting a new record was Ary driving John’s McLaren with the fastest lap of the series at 3.601. He tried throughout the heat to get an elusive 3.5 second lap but fell just 0.02 seconds away. He pushed all the way to the end of the heat with his final lap, the final lap of the race being the 3.601 lap. Everyone was on edge watching him go for it.
Overall results – The overall series results after five rounds have John in front of Marty by four points. That is a difficult gap to close especially the way John’s car is running. Having said that, Marty did beat John in the third round by five points. That’s not to say John will win no matter what, after all, that’s why you run the race.
The story of the cars in the 3rd through the 6th places is where it gets interesting. There are four cars are separated by only 2 points! The final round will determine who will take the third step on the podium and who will pack up and wait for next year. I am betting there will be some long hours spent doing everything possible to get those four cars dialed in as best as possible for the final round. Then again there could be some interlopers.
The final two cars in the standings have found some amazing pace and could play a big part in the final race as the middle four cars are working to capture the final podium spot. The McLaren from Brian and the new Lola coupe from Mark both had great pace this past round and I don’t see that stopping in the final round.
The Final Round – The final round on October 3rd should not be missed with almost every position up for grabs. Don’t forget to watch on the clubs YouTube channel starting at 1pm central time. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Both McLarens were a dream to drive; looks like that is the equipment to add to my Thunderslot stable! There was some great head-to-head racing with John and I; truly what racing and great friendship is all about!