The 6th Round of the 60+ Racing Adventures
League for drivers age 60 and older ran Wednesday, 7/19 at Japan’s Suzuka, running
the Pro Mazda. 26 drivers participated. This
event proved the accuracy of the league’s name--an adventure! So much so, this
report is in two parts-one for the Group 1 Race and another for the “second
chance” Group 2 Race.
Part 1..
Portugal’s Antonio Reis, aka “James Bond” in the 007 car
won the first race. But unlike at
Laguna, he would not start from the from row or set the fastest lap time. Canada’s Bill Lawrence seemed unbeatable as
he was fastest in practice and earned the Pole with a time of 1:56.676, a third
of a second faster than the UK’s Andrew Fidler. Lawrence would hold his lead
for the first five laps. Lawrence pulls away thru the esses on the first lap
below.
With the exception of contact between Reis and Steven
Carkner entering the Hairpin on lap 1, with Reis suffering wing damage, the
first four laps was pretty much a Conga Line of Lawrence, Fidler, Carkner.
Reis, van de Ven, Strout and Unsbee.
In Lap 5, things started to heat up. First, Netherland’s
Jos van de Ven, nearly spins in T1, but recovers by taking a “country drive”
way off track, but remaining in control and returns losing only one spot as he
is passed by Strout who gives chase to Reis. (Note that Reis’s wing damage from
lap1 contact with Carkner is miraculously “healed”.)
As the Conga Line of six approach the Casio Triangle after
flying thru the 130R, Carkner (P3) boots Filder (P2) during braking sending
Fidler thru the corner so fast that he actually passes the leader, Lawrence.
Lawrence ”T bones” Fidler and is launched into the air.
Remarkably, Lawrence lands safely and retains the lead thru
the corner. Reis assumes P2, and Carkner is able to hold off Strout, keeping
P3. Reis is able to pass Lawrence for the lead before the start finish line and
he would lead every lap thereafter.
Carkner, Strout and van de Ven also passed Lawrence who
found himself now in P5. Donald Strout
and Jos van de Ven would overtake Carkner and battle for P2. After passing
Strout, van de Ven spun again in T1 on lap 9, this time going to the inside and
again recovering to rejoin without damage, but loses two positions.
On lap 10, Carkner uses the draft to pass Strout for P2.
Note, like Reis, Carkner’s wing damage from contact with Fidler is now
miraculously “healed”!
But, on lap 12, Carkner loses it exiting the Esses, just in
front of Strout who is chasing him as they both turned in very fast 1:56.xx
laps. Strout was able to avoid getting damage but did show a 4X contact. He
would cruise five seconds behind Reis to finish 2nd.
Just behind, another “drama” was unfolding between five
cars battling to reach the Podium. Bill Lawrence had clawed his way back to P3,
with Canada’s Bruce Poole close behind. Just behind them was Jos van de Ven,
John Morgan, and Remigio di Pasqua.
Cool as a cucumber, with great resolve, Poole passed
Lawrence on the last lap with an astonishingly difficult move around the
outside thru T1/T2 corners.
The Podium: Antonio Reis P1, Donald Strout P2, and Bruce
Poole P3. The first Group 1 Race this season where Team #1 did not have at
least one team member on the Podium. And, the first Podium for Strout and Poole
in a Group 1 Race this season. (Strout has won 3 Races-more than any other
driver this season- but all have been in Group 2 “second chance” races.) Reis
shown below.
Part 2--Group 2 "Second Chance" Race
The Podium from the Group 1 Race is ineligible for the
“second chance” Group 2 Race, but it too proved to be VERY exciting. Again,
Bill Lawrence proved to be the “class of the field” qualifying on the Pole,
again, with another remarkable 1:56.6 second time. This time, his Team # 1
Teammate, Steven Carkner shared the front row.
Team #1 is known for their “team racing” strategy and tactics. Carkner slingshots past Lawrence approaching the Spoon on the first lap.
Clearly the Team #1 tactics are in place as UK’s Andrew
Fidler’s inside pass attempt approaching First Turn on lap 9 is discouraged by
Lawrence.
But, as everyone knows, Fidler races with a symbol of a Fox
on his car for good reason. As Lawrence defends the inside line entering the
Casio chicane, he is surprised by a masterful and clean “outside” pass executed
by Fidler.
Now, Fidler applies pressure on the race leader Carkner by
“lurking” in wait of a mistake. And, sure enough one lap later, Carkner goes
wide exiting the Spoon, allowing Fidler to take over the lead.
But, as mentioned, Bill Lawrence knows how to go
particularly fast at Suzuka, and this time, on the attack on lap 12, he
outbrakes Fidler on the inside entering the same Casio chicane where Fidler had
passed him on lap 9. Payback!
While Lawrence and Fidler battle for the lead, Carkner and
Jos van de Ven are dueling for P3. On lap 14, van de Ven becomes a bit over exuberant
and unintentionally violates Carkner’s corner rights entering the Hairpin. As
expected, they make contact. (The 60PLUS
League has very strict rules defining “Corner Rights” as belonging to the car
that is ahead at the “corner turn in” point.) Being the good sport he is, van
de Ven allowed Carkner to retake his position ahead.
Fidler was able to retake the lead and hold off Lawrence as
they both turned blindingly fast laps. Lawrence turned the fastest lap of the
entire event on the last lap (15)—a 1:56.5 second lap--but still came up 0.126 seconds
short as Fidler took the win.
As Carkner and van de Ven were battling, John Unsbee was
able to catch up and overtake them both to finish P3.
A frustrating day for sure for Bill Lawrence. He sat on the
Pole for both races. He was clearly the fastest car, setting an incredible
1:56.5 second lap. He was the clear leader in the first race until he suffered
damage from an incident he did not cause. He missed wining the second race by
just a few feet.
And, a sweet and sour day for Andrew Fidler, clearly in
contention for the lead in the first race until he too suffered damage from an
incident he did not cause. But, he did achieve victory and vindication at the
end of the day.
Finally, a frustrating day for Steven Carkner, the
winningest driver in the league. Starting P3 in the first race and P2 in the
second race. Leading 9 laps of the second race. Just not “his day”. It is part
of what makes racing fascinating. Outcomes are always uncertain.
An incredibly competitive league!
After six events, the Team #1 of Carkner, Lawrence and
Robertson still holds a substantial lead over the Team #6 of John Unsbee, Jim
Oliver, Michael Key and P J Salley.
Moving into third place in the Team Championship is the Team #7 of Bruce
Poole, Joel Martin and Jay Freels . Team #3 of Jos van de Ven, Rolf Just, Mark
Lison and Gerard Florissen falls back to 4th.
Team #4 of Remigio di Pasqua, Campodonico and Reis remain
in 5th place, only 29 points behind the second place Team #6.
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 2nd
Place Team and $25 to the 3rd Place Team for the Season. In an
effort to insure this continued “fair” chance, three teams that have had
members unable to participate/contribute will be combined for the second half
of the 12 race season.
Despite not placing on the Podium at Suzuka, Jos van de Ven
remains in the top spot. Bill Lawrence
jumped into 2nd, with Steven Carkner falling to 3rd as he
failed to add any Driver Championship points in this event. John Morgan is in 4th with Andrew Fidler very close behind in
5th.
Winning drivers this Season:
Steven Carkner (2) Grp 1
Bill Lawrence (2) (1
in Grp 1, 1 in Grp 2)
Andrew Fidler (2) (1 in Grp 1, 1 in Grp 2)
Antonio Reis (2) (1 in Grp 1, 1 in Grp 2)
Donald Strout (3) (Grp 2)
Jos van de Ven (1) (Grp 1)
The next event for the 60+ guys is at Montreal, aka Circuit
Gilles Villeneuve on July 26.
