60PLUS Racing Adventures-3rd Round at Lucas Oil (IRP) Oval

60+ Racing Adventures-3^rd Round at Lucas Oil (IRP) Oval

The 3^rd Round of the 60+ Racing Adventures League for drivers age 60 and older ran Wednesday, 6/28 at Lucas Oil Raceway, aka Indianapolis Raceway Park., running the Pro Mazda.  19 drivers qualified for the first session with most breaking below the 19.0 second lap mark. All cars ran an “assymetrical” oval setup built by the Series Organizer, Donald Wayne Strout.

Unlike in previous events, starting on the Pole really mattered here as in both race sessions, the polesitter led all 70 laps. Jos van de Ven set a fast lap of 18.792 in the first session and won the race handily. According to Jos, “I determined in practice that it was very hard to overtake here—there is one “best” racing line. So, I practiced diligently to be able to earn the pole position and get really good starts at the beginning and on each restart.”

The 72 year old League Steward Joel Martin provided a bit of excitement on lap 2 of the first session, spinning in mid corner.  (Tires did not reach maximum grip here until the lap 3.) Joel managed to perform a nearly perfect 180 degree turn coming to rest directly facing an oncoming Richard Coulombe bearing down on Martin at 120 mph. (Yikes!)

From the resulting violent collision, Martin would get launched over the wall in a spectacular aerial ride, with several cars passing under.

Both sessions ran with only 3 cautions over the 70 lap race. Several drivers drove carefully and consistently and were rewarded for their caution. Newcomer, Joe Renn from Ohio in his first event with the League moved from P14 to P9 in the first session. He is shown here avoiding a spinning Kenneth Dummer on Lap 7.

Jos van de Ven dominated the first session, winning with the rest of the field barely in sight.

Like Jos van de Ven stated, “very hard to overtake here”,  Below: Team #1’s Bill Lawrence battles with Team #5’s Kenneth Baldwin, with Lawrence going to the inside line to attempt an overtake on Baldwin for P3.  The inside line is a shorter distance, but the outside line’s more gradual arc and better grip allows Baldwin to run at a speed almost 8 mph faster.

The result was Baldwin catapulted ahead of Lawrence on exit.

The Group 2 “second chance” race was a little less exciting then the first session. Team #5 dominated the race with positions P1-P3 for the entire race. Donald Wayne Strout earned the Pole with a 18.785 time, and like Jos van de Ven in the first session, led all 70 laps. His teammates Wayne Galloway and Kenneth Baldwin followed in P2 and P3. 

Strout missed the first race session due to computer issues. He and Jos van de Ven have been League Champions in previous seasons. Their qualifying laps were only 0.007 seconds apart and a contest here between them would have probably been “entertaining”. “Jos is fast---of course HE IS 6 years younger than me…” commented the 66 year old Strout with a smile.

After three events, the Team #1 of Carkner, Lawrence and Robertson still have a substantial lead over the Team #6 of John Unsbee, Jim Oliver, Michael Key and P J Salley.  Not far behind in third place in the Team Championship is the Team #7 of Bruce Poole, Joel Martin and Jay Freels. These are the same positions each of the three teams held after the 2^nd event.

Team #5 of Strout, Galloway and Baldwin moved up from 7^th with their P1-3 finish in the Group 2 race and now are 5^th in the Team Championship. Clearly, these three drivers from the American “Rural Heartland” are pretty comfortable on ovals. Strout is from Central Pennsylvania. Baldwin from Missouri, and Galloway from Tennessee.

Team #3 of van de Ven, Just, Lison, and Florissen continue to be 4^th in Team Standings.

Only 7 points separate the 5^th place Team#5 from 3^rd place Team#7.

The series maintains a Driver Championship and a Team Championship.  Team assignments are determined by the League Organizer to pair up 3 or four drivers that together have a “fair” chance compared to other teams.  In other words, less experienced or accomplished drivers are paired with the more experienced so each team is deemed to have a “fair” chance to win the Team Championship that pays $100 to the Winning Team, $50 to the 2^nd Place Team and $25 to the 3^rd Place Team for the Season.

Jos van de Ven has taken over the lead from Steven Carkner in the Driver’s Championship, but they are only separated by 2 points. (43 vs 41) 3^rd is Carkner’s teammate, Bill Lawrence.

The next event for the 60+ guys is at Brands Hatch.  It is highly likely that Team #1 will hold on to their substantial lead. Carkner, Lawrence and Robertson are working closely together—more cohesive than any of the other teams.  They are constantly in touch over TeamSpeak.  The standings for P2-5 are close and a particularly good result by one team could change the order,

60+ Racing Adventures-2nd Round at Monza

60+ Racing Adventures-2^nd Round at Monza

The 2^nd Round of the 60+ Racing Adventures League for drivers age 60 and older ran Wednesday, 6/21 at Monza, running the Grand Prix layout, running the Pro Mazda.  29 drivers qualified for the first session with several drivers breaking below the 1:50 lap mark.

Turns out that starting on the Pole at Watkins Glen and Monza may not translate into an advantage. The long straights at both tracks make drafting a major factor.  In fact, Pennsylvanian Donald Strout having earned the Pole Position in both events failed to even earn a podium in either.

  

One distinctive aspect of the 60+ Racing Adventures League is rules regarding safe passing and “corner rights”. Close racing into T1 at the start at Monza often leads to incidents—here the drivers showed respect and restraint with a “clean start” in both sessions.

It was not long however until the close and fiercely competitive racing began.  John Unsbee lost control in Ascari on Lap 1 and was launched by unavoidable contact from John Morgan. Richard Coulombe looks on.

Antonio Reis, starting in P3, was able to follow polesitter Strout on the inside line into T1, moving ahead of Jos van de Ven. Strout held him off for Lap 1 but on Lap 2 failed to do his best in Ascari, enabling Antonio Reis to draft him on the following straight. Strout pulled behind Reis entering Parabolica and committed an error, running into Reis, taking both cars out of contention.

Canadian Steve Carkner, starting from P8 in the first session took the Checkered Flag, beating out Jos van de Ven by inches—0.04 seconds. Jos, from the Netherlands had started the race on the front row in P2. Carkner’s teammate, Floridian Mark Robertson joined Carkner and van de Ven on the Podium. Robertson had started in P6.

After Strout and Reis were taken out of contention, the race turned out to be a battle between Jos van de Ven and Steven Carkner. Carkner played it cool and let his teammate Bill Lawrence duke it out with van de Ven for much of the race, but on lap 14, Carkner asserted himself and took the lead. Jos van de Ven retook the lead on lap 15, and Carkner passed again into T1 on the last lap and was able to hold off Jos for a near photo finish.

In the second session, or “second chance” race that includes all the drivers from the first session except the top 3 finishers, Strout again set the pace and earned Pole with a margin of 0.44 seconds over Bill Lawrence. Lawrence, from Canada and a teammate of Carkner, however gave their team the second win of the day, beating out Antonio Reis from Portugal by only 0.9 seconds. Strout, Lawrence and Reis had been in a three-car battle for most of the race, but Strout lost control in the Curve di Lesmo, allowing Nevada’s John Unsbee to take 3^rd place at the finish. According to Strout, “Lawrence and Reis were relentless and I could not shake them. Filling my mirrors constantly, I got rattled and just decided to let them go, and follow them until the last lap. I had figured I had a bit of an edge over them going thru Lesmo, Ascari, and Parabolica and while following them, I kind of sized them up.  My intent was to execute a pass on one exiting Lesmo, and passing the second one going into Curva Parabolica, but I made an error in judgment and lost control. An old man’s mistake! These tracks where the draft is strong makes strategy very important, but I did not have the skill or temperament to pull off what needed to be done. Definitely not my best day!”

Lots of close racing at Monza and lots of battles for position behind the four cars mentioned in P1-4. Remigio di Pasqua and John Morgan raced wheel to wheel for much of the race until Morgan spun in Ascari.  Close behind (in the photo) was Jay Freels and Jim Oliver.

After two events, the Team of Carkner, Lawrence and Robertson have a substantial lead over the Team of John Unsbee, Jim Oliver, Michael Key and P J Salley.  Not far behind in third place in the Team Championship is the Team of Bruce Poole, Joel Martin and Jay Freels.

The series maintains a Driver Championship and a Team Championship.  Team assignments are determined by the League Organizer to pair up 3 or four drivers that together have a “fair” chance compared to other teams.  In other words, less experienced or accomplished drivers are paired with the more experienced so each team is deemed to have a “fair” chance to win the Team Championship that pays $100 to the Winning Team, $50 to the 2^nd Place Team and $25 to the 3^rd Place Team for the Season.

Steven Carkner is leading in the Driver’s Championship, followed by his teammate Bill Lawrence. Third in the Driver’s Championship is Andrew Fidler, winner of the Watkins Glen event who suffered computer/internet issues at the Monza event.

The next event for the 60+ guys is at Lucas Oil (IRP)—a short track oval with little banking and a regular venue for the real life Pro Mazda series.

60+ Racing Adventures Debuts at Watkins Glen

The 60+ Racing Adventures League kicked off it’s 12 race Season 3 at Watkins Glen (Classic Boot) with live broadcast and Youtube video by RaceSpot TV on Wednesday, June 14. (760 YouTube views as of 06/15/17)

The winner in the first “Group 1” race was UK’s 61 year old Andrew Fidler from Sheffield.  Starting from P3, Fidler stayed in the lead pack for the entire race and managed to hold off Canada’s Bill Lawrence for the win. He dodged a bullet early in the race tangling with Italy’s Remigio Di Pasqua on the first lap. The contact spun Di Pasqua who collected Scott Dick, ending Dick’s race.

Racing was super close and competitive. On lap 10, with Bruce Poole (57) leading the 4 car pack of leaders into T4, Polesitter Donald Strout (8) went off into the grass and hit the wall, ending his race.  Fidler (20) and Lawrence (6) would pass Poole to take the lead soon after.

The 60+ Racing Adventures League is limited to drivers 60 years old or older. The terms “Geezer” or “Grandpa” is taken a badge of honor and many have a great deal of real life and sim racing experience.  These guys can be quick, even though their reaction time cannot match that of a 25 year old.  (The lone qualifier pole time set by Strout for the race at 1:42.03 compares favorably with the 2016 iRacing Time Trial World Record of 1:42.63.)

The format for the series is during each event there is a 30 minute Group 1 Race, followed by a “second chance” 30 minute Group 2 Race open to all except the Top 3 Finishers (Podium) in the Group 1 Race.

Racing in the Group 2 race was also full of close, exciting racing as seen here as the lead pack of Donald Strout (yellow/white), John Unsbee (yellow) and Mark Robertson (red/white) fly thru T5. Strout and Unsbee were wheel to wheel—inches apart at 100+ mph. Strout would go on to win the Group 2 Race.

The series maintains a Driver Championship and a Team Championship.  Team assignments are determined by the League Organizer to pair up 3 or four drivers that together have a “fair” chance compared to other teams.  In other words, less experienced or accomplished drivers are paired with the more experienced so each team is deemed to have a “fair” chance to win the Team Championship that pays $100 to the Winning Team with $50 to 2nd, and $25 to 3rd for the Season.

Team #9 is known as the Turtle Italian Team—shown below with Gianni Raspaldo and Paolo Bonasera in team colors.

The leading team after the first race of the season at Watkins Glen, with 49 points is Team #1 comprised of Bill Lawrence (Canada), who finished 2^nd in the Group 1 race, along with Steven Carkner (Canada- P4 in Group 1 Race) and Mark Robertson (Florida-P11 in Group 2 Race) Close behind with 44 points is Team #7 comprised of Bruce Poole (Canada), Joel Martin and Jay Freels (both from Texas)

Mark Robertson (43) and Stevcn Carkner (75) of Team #1 aka SBM Sim Racing , also with Bill Lawrence (6) above.

     

The next race for the league is Monza on 6/21. The next RaceSpot TV Broadcast for the series is Wed, July 12, 19:00 GMT at Laguna Seca.