The fifth round of the BRM Series witnessed a new competitor – Robin our clubs treasure. With the addition of Robin the BRM series has become one of the most popular and well accepted race series the club has run. The series continues to be one of the member’s favorites and it looks like the series will be continuing in 2012. Great news for those that love racing BRM cars.
I believe one of the biggest attractions to the BRM races is how close they are in performance. One of the key reasons for this could also be how stable they are. With all that weight, 180gr, they mostly stay put. Not to say you can’t wreck one but they are more stable than most every 1/32 scale car we run. This should make this series appealing to any new club members.
This round of the series was no different than the others – the racing was very close. The difference between first and last place was only eleven laps. That is eleven laps after fifteen minutes of racing. With an average lap time of 4.4 seconds that would be a difference of only 48 seconds. 48 second gap in a fifteen minute race, very close racing.
This round had Ary and his custom painted Porsche lead the pack with the most laps and the fastest lap times. Ary has been able to work magic when it comes to setting up his car. There is not a car out there that runs as quite and as smooth as his. Just to prove his motor was not at the root of his success he swapped motors withRoyon Thursday night before the race. The motor was not the difference – car set up and driving was the difference.
The second overall finisher was Marty with the Jagermeister Porsche 962C. He was not very far ahead of Jim and his Miller Killer who was only ten feet. Lets put that in perspective – The lap length is 54 feet and the average lap time is 4.4 seconds which means the cars are traveling 12.3 feet per second. Using that math you could say that Jim was behind Marty by less than one second after racing for 15 minutes. Great racing!
The fourth placed car was Brian and his very reliable Porsche in custom Dauer livery. Brian’s consistent lap times are great and with just a little more speed could put him on the podium.
In fifth place was Roy and his Momo Porsche 962. Unfortunately this was not one ofRoy’s best races. He has shown great form in the past but ran into a few problems with his car that moved him down the leader board. Royhas a knack for driving his Momo car as fast as anyone and if he can get the mechanical gremlins sorted out he will be battling at the front again. Keep your eyes onRoyfor the upcoming final round of the series.
In sixth place was Shawn and his Budweiser IMSA Porsche 962. Shawn is very consistent but is working on finding more speed from his car. The folks that run BRM’s local parts distribution center told us that he has purchased a new motor and is hoping it will help him find that little more speed he is looking for. No one can argue with his ability to drive or set up a car. Don’t forget, he was part of the winning team at the BRM Endurance race so we know he has the skill to make a BRM go fast on the track.
Seventh place was Robin and his Minolta Toyota. Yes, I saidToyota. Robin was the first one to run aToyotain the series. He did a great job for his first ever BRM race and his first ever race with the club. His performance is even more stunning when you learn that his car was completely box stock. No wood guide, no tire truing and no pink motor. This was a great performance by a good driver with an undeveloped car. We could be witnessing a new top line contender. Who know what theToyotais capable of with a little more tweaking?
Looking to the next and final race there are many story lines. The biggest is with Ary and Jim. Ary’s consistent form has assured him of one of the top two spots on the podium. The only person that can catch him now is Jim and his Miller Killer. It won’t be easy for Ary to take the title as Jim has proven super fast and consistent. Like they say, Ary will have to “Earn It”.
Jim will have to have everything going his way to beat Ary and take the top spot. If there is anyone that can beat Ary in a winner take all BRM race it would have to be Jim. Be sure you are watching on Ustream on the clubs website if you can’t be there in person.
The final podium place is also up for grabs and there are five competitors that have a mathematical chance to take it. That is five different racers going for one spot! The big question here will be: who has their car in the best possible shape and who is mentally prepared for the battle and I do mean battle. With the points being so close it will be interesting to see how much room the drivers give each other on Saturday. After all, there just plastic cars, right?
