Wyatt Gooden Dominates at Long Beach

Wyatt Gooden Drives Team RFC car to Victory at Long Beach on 4/10/2016

By Donald Wayne Strout (4/11/2016)

"Tech" Street Circuit--Long Beach Grand Prix Layout

17 drivers took the Green Flag in the only road course scheduled as part ot the 2016 iAdvance Motorsports Indy Elite Series (12 races—11 ovals and one street course in Long Beach) 

The race unfortunately was NOT broadcasted live on RacespotTV  http://racespot.tv/  nor on iRacing Live.  http://www.iracing.com/live/  as usual. However, here is a link to a youtube compilation of the highlights. 

Wyatt Gooden took the pole with an impressive time of 1:07.925, almost 0.5 seconds a lap quicker than Tim Holgate in P2. Bradley Walters and T. J. Massick earned positions in the second row. (Massick had received the benefit of a bit of Wyatt Gooden coaching earlier in the week and was running the same Team RFC setup.) Repeating his legendary green flag launching skills, Holgate pulled ahead of Gooden at the start and led into T1 on the first lap.

Holgate leads the field into T1

Gooden followed close behind and on lap 2, rocketed out of T8 to overtake Holgate on the back straight. Gooden would never again be challenged and would dominate the rest of race.

Gooden passes Holgate on back straight, lap 2.

Back in the field there was a lot of action, as expected.

Massick spins in T8, blocking Joe Flanagan--both would continue.

Paul Jennings spins in front of Toni Helminen at T10 entry.

Canada's Andrew Kinsella definately wins the "Eager Beaver" Award for his duel with Dan Lee Ensch from lap 130 to the end. Kinsella made several mistakes but made impressive recoveries from each and continued to challenge the more conservative Dan Lee. Below one could say "One Man's Divebomb is anothers' Skillfully Executed Late Braking Overtake".

Andrew Kinsella and Dan Lee Ensch in T11, last lap.

Obviously there was room for only one car, but Dan Lee Ensch showed True Grit and masterful car control, holding off the more "eager" and considerably younger Kinsella. (Andrew---Ensch is sponsored by a Hockey Team!)

Classic Body Check

Andrew Kinsella and Dan Lee Ensch exit T11 in a drag race to the Checkered Flag---Ensch won the battle with a P7 finish. 

Chopper view as Wyatt Gooden entering T11 on last lap, having lapped entire field (see P3 Walters just behind) except for Holgate who is only just ahead exiting T11 on his lap 39. 

Bradley Walters, P3; Tim Miller, P4; Joe Branch, P5, Tim Doyle, P6, and Dan Lee Ensch, P7 all performed with distinction. Walters maintained his P3 position thru the entire race. The others moved up, finishing better than their qualifying position. This is a tough track that is not forgiving of mistakes. Congrats. 

Background info:  IAdvance Motorsports IndyCar Elite driver, and article Author, Donald Strout was diagnosed with Colon Cancer in March. Surgery scheduled for 3/30 would keep him from running Phoenix, but he had hoped to run Long Beach. So the week before surgery, Strout worked many hours on the Team RFC set for the Long Beach race. The goal was maximum forward rear tire grip coming out of T8 and T11 onto the straights without having too much understeer at speed exiting T9.  (Strout is the Team Engineer "Crew Chief" for Team RFC: T J Massick, Henrique Ebbo, Tim Miller and Dan Less Ensch. Often Miller and Ensch build their own sets, but use the Strout developed Team RFC set as a base for comparison.) Strout was informed that Long Beach was too soon after such major surgery, but he was anxious to see "his car" compete.  Strout contacted his friend and long term racing coach Wyatt Gooden and asked him to "run his setup" with only minor changes in the Long Beach race. Gooden took the Team RFC set, reduced tire pressures to 19 psi all around, stiffened the rear shocks a bit, and increased the differential clutch preload---and then took the car, and performed as reported above. His performance validated a competitive setup (with very little if any tire "falloff"--Wyatt was turning 1:09.xx the entire fuel stint.) but given that Gooden was able to go 2 seconds a lap faster than Strout with the same setup tells how important "talent" is to performance on the iRacing track. Gooden, with an iRating above 7000 has dominated in SM (2015 Champion) and FR 2.0 but has not had much seat time in the DW12. 

Strout reports very optimistic results from surgery as it appears all of the cancer was removed and he is recovering "on schedule", He hopes to return to competition for the race at Indianapolis. 

#4 at Phoenix (April 3, 2016)

Holgate wins (again) by less than 25 feet with close finish at Phoenix

by Donald Wayne Strout (04/09/2016)

Joe Branch challenges Holgate on last lap, Brad Walters follows behind at a safe distance for P3

The fourth event of the new 2016 iAdvance Motorsports Indy Elite Series (12 races—11 ovals and one street course in Long Beach) ran at the Phoenix tri-oval on Sunday, March 27, at 7PM EDT.  

As usual the race was broadcasted live on RacespotTV  http://racespot.tv/  as well as iRacing Live.  http://www.iracing.com/live/  and can be seen at Phoenix race on youtube

20 iRacing drivers took the green flag at Phoenix International Raceway. Bradley Walters took his first pole position in the 2016 iAdvance Motorsports Indy Elite Series--Walters has started on the first or second row of every race so far. Christopher Demerrit was unable to compete at Phoenix. New Yorker, Nathan Bookbinder found surprising speed, joining Tim Holgate and Joe Branch, along with Walters in the two front rows at the start. 

Tim Holgate, winner of the first two races, demonstrated his normal (dominating) race speed, pretty much leading the entire race.  Close behind were Joe Branch, Bradley Walters, and Tim Doyle. Doyle and Walters battled for P3 for many laps. Doyle was taken out on lap 131 when another car hit the wall and spun down into Doyle. (See below)

Another disappointing late race incident...

Michael Peters, Bradley Walter's teammate spins the tires on the lap 144 restart, giving up his hard earned P4 position. 

Perhaps the most impressive performance of this race was Michael Peters who started 20th (last) and moved throught the field to P4 by lap 144. Michael runs setups that he and Bradley Walters build together and it was clear that they had found many speed secrets to running fast at Phoenix. At the time of a green flag start, the leader usually can jump on the gas because his steering wheel is straight, but starting from 4th, usually your car needs a little steering as you are still in the corner, and going full throttle can be critical--spins like this happen often. 

Team RFC member, Dan Lee Ensch sponsored by Komet Hockey Club takes P4, with Norway's Andreas Eik close behind in P5.  Team RFC driver, Tim Miller finishes P6.

In the end the top three finishers were: Holgate, Branch and Walters. Close behind was Dan Lee Ensch, P4, Anrdreas Eik, P5 and Tim Miller, P6.

Top 10 Standings thru Race 4--Courtesy danlisa.com


One BIG question....If Branch could have run in clean air would he have been able to stay ahead of Holgate?  Branch and Walters are "overdue" for their first win.

The series moves next to Long Beach, at 7PM EST. The Question for Long Beach is: Who is fast on street based road courses?  

Series sponsors: http://www.iadvancemotorsports.com/  and http://www.ricmotech.com/

Demeritt bests Holgate at 3/20/2016 Auto Club

Demeritt bests Holgate at Auto Club

by Donald Wayne Strout (03/21/2016)

Christopher Demeritt runs away from the field at the start on first lap in T2

The third event of the new 2016 iAdvance Motorsports Indy Elite Series (12 races—11 ovals and one street course in Long Beach) ran at the Auto Club oval on Sunday, March 20, at 7PM EDT.  This race was sponsored by Darren Manning’s iAM Simulator.  http://www.iadvancemotorsports.com/iam-simulator/

As usual the race was broadcasted live on RacespotTV  http://racespot.tv/  as well as iRacing Live.  http://www.iracing.com/live/  and can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76S0751EhZg

27 iRacing drivers took the green flag at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. Christopher Demeritt, Champion of the 2015-16 IndyCar Winter Series took his second pole position in the 2016 iAdvance Motorsports Indy Elite Series. Falling out of the first race at Homestead with computer problems and missing the race at Gateway, Christopher returned to assert himself as the “man to beat” in IndyCar iRacing. 

Demeritt is from Manalapan, New Jersey, just 20 miles south of Edison (Menlo Park) where the “Wizard of Menlo Park”, Thomas Edison discovered so many secrets and produced so many inventions. Demeritt can now be dubbed the “Wizard of Manalapan” as everyone is wondering what “speed secret” this young aspiring engineer has discovered.

Demeritt’s “speed secret” in qualifying applied to his race setup as well as he easily pulled out to a lead of 1.8 seconds over 2^nd place by lap 10.

Spin in T4 by Marco Brasil (lap 26) brings out first of only two yellow flags in the race.






Tim Holgate, winner of the first two races, qualified 8^th, but found his normal (superior) race speed and moved up to P3 by lap 9.  In a repeat of his amazing move through the field at Homestead, Tim Doyle, qualifying P13, moved through the field like a hot knife through butter, arriving in P3 by lap 37.  At the end, it would be Demeritt P1, Holgate P2, and Doyle P3.  But from lap 37 to the end, that order was far from appearing certain.

New Englander, Austin Espitee, qualifying in P3 joined the battle with Holgate and Doyle. Also mixing it up in the top 5 was seventh place qualifier Jonathan Goke.

Clearly everyone started thinking about their fuel/pitting strategy around lap 93-94. Coming out of that pit stop sequence, it was Holgate, Demeritt, Espitee, Doyle and Goke for the next few laps. A yellow on lap 114 created an opportunity/dilemma. Could a full tank make it to the end?

Demeritt pitted under green on lap 132. Doyle and Espitee pitted on lap 136. Holgate pitted on lap 138.

On lap 139, T. J Massick, who had started at the back of the field in P26, assumed the lead, followed by Jonathan Goke. Both decided to try to make to the end without a pit stop for fuel.  But, by lap 148, that strategy clearly was not going to produce a win for either. Massick surrendered the lead on lap 149 and coasted to a P10 finish. Goke ran out of fuel on lap 149.

Christopher Demeritt takes lead back on lap 149 from T. J. Massick and Jonathan Goke

So, on lap 149, it was again the Christopher Demeritt, Tim Holgate and Tim Doyle show—finishing 1, 2 and 3 in that order.

Like Tim Doyle, Joe Branch and Joe Flanagan had moved up through the field. Branch had started in P11, and Flanagan in P20.  Both had passed Jonathan Goke when Goke started his ill fated “run to the end” fuel saving strategy around lap 119. Flanagan was the last to pit on lap 139 and put on an impressive run to the finish running the fast times in the last five laps—averaging 32.161 seconds per lap.

iAdvance Motorsports sponsored, Joe Branch challenges Tim Doyle for P3 Podium on last lap

In the end the top five finishers were: Demeritt, Holgate, Doyle, Branch and Flanagan. All five of these guys are among those most people would expect to finish in the top 5.

Rounding out the top 10 was Toni Helminen, Andrew Kinsella, Austin Espitee, Niles Anders, and T. J. Massick.  Fin, Toni Helminen and Canadian Andrew Kinsella, along with Espitee and Anders had been “in the hunt” the entire race. (Espitee reflected after the race that he regretted his overly agressive short fueling strategy on the last pit stop, causing him to surrender several positions near the end.)  Massick had benefitted from his risky “run to the end” fuel saving strategy. He and Jonathan Goke, with just another gallon of fuel may actually have finished P1 and P2. So fuel strategy for the third time has proven to benefit at least one of the top ten finishers each race so far this season in this series.

With two wins in three starts, Holgate leads with 147 Series Points. Rounding out the top ten for the first three races are: (Name/Points)  Tim Doyle/102, Joe Flanagan/96, Joe Branch/90, Jonathan Goke/87, Donald Strout/71, Michael Peters/62, Christopher Demeritt/60, Dan Lee Ensch/57, and Paul Jennings/53.

The series moves next to Phoenix, at 7PM EST. The Question is: Who (besides Demeritt) will be able to finish ahead of Tim Holgate? 

Watch live on RacespotTV  http://racespot.tv/ 

Or, watch later at https://www.youtube.com/user/iRacingTV/videos

Series sponsors: http://www.iadvancemotorsports.com/  and http://www.ricmotech.com/

Auto Club 3/20 Lap Chart

Lap Chart for Auto Club

Holgate Dominates at IndyCar Gateway Contest

by Donald Wayne Strout (03/08/2016)

Tim Holgate Dominates at Gateway—roaring out of T4 for the Win.

Fuel and Pit Stop strategy almost determines the outcome…again

The second event of the new 2016 iAdvance Motorsports Indy Elite Series (12 races—11 ovals and one street course in Long Beach) ran at the Gateway oval on Sunday, March 6, at 7PM EST.  This race was sponsored by Peters Motorsports Designs.   http://petersmotorsports.com/

The race was broadcasted live on RacespotTV  http://racespot.tv/  as well as iRacing Live.  http://www.iracing.com/live/  and can be seen on iRacing.com’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IztVAQS6zGU

26 iRacing drivers took the green flag at Gateway Motorsports Park. Missing was Christopher Demeritt who was busy over the weekend defending his Winter Series title. Niles Anders earned the Pole with a very impressive time of 24.673. Tim Holgate also started on the front row with a qualifying time of 24.744.

The front row proved to be an important advantage as Anders led the first three laps, with Holgate taking the lead on lap 4, and holding that lead all the way until his green flag pit stop on lap 119. Holgate clearly dominated, running in clean air most of the time, except when encountering lapped traffic.

The first yellow flag came out on lap 19 with a spin by Finland’s Toni Helminen who started in 6^th position, moved up to 5^th, passing Joe Flanagan on lap 2, but lost speed after an incident on lap 10 and dropped back before his spin in T2.

On the restart, it was again Tim Holgate leading with Niles Anders close behind. The show really was about the action going on for the positions in P3-P10. It is never surprising to see guys like Holgate, Anders, Doyle, Walters, Jennings and Branch contesting for the top positions.  But one must now add Joe Flanagan and one other to that “list”. Starting in P5, Flanagan moved to P4 and took over P2 on lap 116.

The “one other” name that needs to now be added to the “list” of “expected leaders” is Alabama based oval “ace” Jonathan Goke. Starting the race in P12, Goke moved up steadily thru the field with some expertly executed, if somewhat risky, maneuvers and superb racecraft.

Goke puts move on Strout, passing on outside in T1/2.

After passing Strout for P8 on the lap 23 restart, Goke set his sights on Marco Brasil. Brasil was racing side by side with James McClure for P6. McClure took the outside line in T1/2, forcing Brasil to lift on exit. Knowing he was slowed, Brasil moved to the left in anticipation of the expected pass from Goke, close behind. But instead of moving right to go around, Goke moved left to the bottom of the track-to Brasil’s left. Brasil then moved right to make room, but Goke had to slow enough with his car barely on the inside of the track, that Strout moved back ahead. The three of them: Brasil, Strout and Goke would run close together for much of the race.

A spin in T4 by Nathan Bookbinder brought out the second yellow flag on lap 90. Goke emerged in P5 in front of Brasil and Strout.

Goke attempts to squeeze by Joe Flanagan going into T1

Goke was on a mission, soon challenging Joe Flanagan for P4, but Flanagan, taking the low line in T1/2 was able to defend his position.  As Joe Branch was challenging Niles Anders for P2, Brasil was challenging Goke for P5. Goke answered the challenge with a perfectly executed strategic car positioning “Slide Job” in T4, forcing Brasil to lift and allowing Strout to pass Brasil. (A “Slide Job” is when the car on the inside slides out to the outside to force the car slightly behind on the outside to slow---eliminating the normal speed advantage at exit typical for the high lane on a short track.) Brasil was to soon retake P6 from Strout and the three, seemingly evenly matched, again followed each other like a train for the rest of the race.

Goke uses “strategic car positioning” to maintain advantage over Brasil

Now comes the fuel strategy drama. Anders, Doyle and Branch pitted on laps 116/117, indicating the high probability that they took less than a full fuel load in the lap 90 pitstop. Holgate pitted on 119.  

As Holgate was entering, the third and final yellow flag of the race came out. Luck or extreme competence---whatever,  Holgate emerged at the restart still in P1.  Following Holgate was Flanagan, Goke, Strout, Brasil, Anders, Branch and Doyle.

Holgate dominated the last 16 laps, Flanagan maintained P2, followed by Goke in P3. Brasil moved up to P4, followed by Strout in P5. Behind in P6-8 on the lead lap were Anders, Doyle and Branch, whose early pit stop under the green flag had allowed the train of Goke, Brasil and Strout (who stayed out until the Yellow on lap 120) to finish ahead of them. 

Sometimes a full fuel tank pit stop gives advantage, sometimes not.

Rounding out the top 10 was Paul Jennings in P9 and Tim Miller in P10, both one lap down.

With two wins in two starts, Holgate leads with 106 Series Points. After two 3^rd place podium finishes, Goke is second in Series Points with 70, ahead of Tim Doyle with 66.

The series moves next to Auto Club in California on March 20, at 7PM EST. Race sponsored by Darren Manning’s iAM Simulator.  http://www.iadvancemotorsports.com/iam-simulator/

Darren Manning’s iAM Simulator.

AWESOME!

Series sponsors: http://www.iadvancemotorsports.com/  and http://www.ricmotech.com/