The penultimate round of the Slot It GT series took place Saturday the 1st of December and it was a crazy round that unfortunately was not recorded. Then again maybe it was best it wasn’t.
After the last race Shawn’s pit crew was planning a gear in an effort to catch the fast Porsche GT1 while Roy was going for a new motor in hopes of bringing his McLaren back up to speed.
Everyone knew that club favorites Ary and Brian out there were lots of points available to drivers that have been finishing behind them. All those available points could really shake up the overall standings.
With Ary and Brian out it was thought the race field would be significantly smaller but that was not the case. There were seven club members and one prospective club member all ready to see who was the fastest. What a great turn out. Let’s see how it turned out.
Porsche GT1 Evo 98 – Marty’s Porsche was again the fastest of the weekend with a lap count of 225.25 and the official fastest lap of 3.810 although a lap of 3.585 was recorded at the timing tower. The Porsche locked up first place for the race as well as the series. I would bet next year’s Slot It Modern GT series will have a few more Porsche’s in it.
Ferrari F40 Pilot – Shawn’s Ferrari was very fast and it was obvious the gear change had worked. The car was still very stable and yet had straight line speed that kept it right there with the Porsche. The Ferrari was a little harder to control in the tight turns and was on two wheels for most of the time on the back straight. It looked like a Joey Chitwood performance all the way down the back straight. Does that comment age me? Shawn did a great job of driving and came up just a few laps short and .039 seconds off of fast lap. A great run that all but locked up second place for the Ferrari. Nice work Shawn
McLaren F1 GTR – Russell’s McLaren F1 GTR was back after missing the last round. This car is from the garage of ARW (Ary Racing Werks) and was the winner of last year’s El Piloto series. Easily one of the best cars to drive and in its custom paint make this one of the best looking cars in the field. The McLaren had a good run but got caught up with some accidents that put it down a couple of laps to the leaders. The McLaren still managed the third podium spot and had a fast lap of 3.846 or only .036 of a second off the fastest lap. Not bad for a car that won the El Piloto series last year.
McLaren F1 GTR – Roy’s McLaren F1 GTR was back and he was ready to race for the points with the hopes of moving up in the overall standings. Roy had some good runs and got caught up in some of the accidents but still managed to make a good run of it and finish in fourth place with a fast lap of 3.955. His lap times were not super-fast but what he lacked in pace he made up for in consistency, as long as he stayed away from trouble.
Nissan 390 GT1 – Stephen’s custom painted Nissan was very fast but appeared difficult to drive. The car was still fast enough for a fifth place and keeps its drive in the hunt for a podium spot. The car was very fast on the straights but was a little hard to control under breaking and in the turns. The Nissan was less than two laps behind the McLaren and had a great fast lap time of 3.854. The car showed lots of potential and with a little more tuning could give the McLaren F1 GTR a run for the podium.
Porsche GT1 Evo 98 – Brandon’s Porsche GT1 Evo 98 was performing much better than his McLaren and had shown well in testing but that is just testing and racing can be a completely different game. The Porsche had a fast lap time of 3.884 and was very well balanced but did have a couple of de-slots in the turns that took it out of the running. The car is a proven winner and with some additional development it could be one of the fastest cars in the field.
Ferrari F40 – Bob’s Ferrari F40 was one of the best looking cars in the field and was very well prepared. The car was fast but was experiencing some bicycling in the tighter turns when pushed and Bob was pushing it. The Ferrari was playing catch up after a few de-slots and as is the case most of the time it had more de-slots trying to gain back some of the time lost in earlier heats. The Ferrari’s are great cars but are known for some bicycling. I hope the team can fix the issue to make the drivers job a little easier. Let’s see what the next round brings.
McLaren F1 GTR – First time racer Steven was using a rented McLaren F1 GTR from Brandon and put in a great performance for his first race in a rented car with some of the fastest cars the series has seen. The cars fast lap was a 4.229 and is one of the better fast laps for someone doing their first race in a rented car. I hope Steven continues to race with us and prepares some of his own cars to run. His fast lap and first race were a success even if he didn’t finish on the podium.
Looking at the final round – With first and second place already locked up the battle will be for third. That may not sound like much but there are four people with a mathematical possibility of taking the third spot and the final race should be a great one to watch. Rumor has it that Marty and the Porsche GT1 Evo will not compete in the final round which will give more people an opportunity to place higher and take more points and possibly third place. I can’t wait to see how this final race of the 2012 racing season plays out.