|
Post by Bryan King on Nov 3, 2014 14:53:38 GMT -5
Thanks for posting the results Pete - that's made my day! Congratulations to David and Stewart. And congratulations to Taffy for the track record. How that Matra didn't win I just don't know.
Thank you to Pete and David for all the effort it has taken to run this round, it's very much appreciated.
Things are looking very close at the top of the overall standings now - I can't wait for the concours results to come in.
Bryan
|
|
ted
Boy Racer Hasn't Got Licence Yet
Posts: 1
|
Post by ted on Nov 3, 2014 17:55:09 GMT -5
Very interesting, but a little bit strange, too, this last race. On lane one the overall leader lost three ( ! ) laps to the first on this lane, on lane two he was 1,1 laps better than the best from lane one. And he broke the track record... The car snapped out of line at ANY speed - how that ? I' ve been doing slotracing for 45 years now but never saw such an interesting run of a race - unless the driver made mistakes. Sorry but I hope it is not forbidden to express an honest opinion.
Regards,
Ted
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Nov 3, 2014 19:00:18 GMT -5
Very interesting, but a little bit strange, too, this last race. On lane one the overall leader lost three ( ! ) laps to the first on this lane, on lane two he was 1,1 laps better than the best from lane one. And he broke the track record... The car snapped out of line at ANY speed - how that ? I' ve been doing slotracing for 45 years now but never saw such an interesting run of a race - unless the driver made mistakes. Sorry but I hope it is not forbidden to express an honest opinion. Regards, Ted Ted, This is your first post and you critique a race about which you know nothing of the track, the cars, or the skill of the drivers? The drivers did not make mistakes, David and Pete are extremely skilled racers at the club level and they ran well over 2,000 laps on Pete's track with only 3 or 4 de-slots in all the heats. Track conditions can change over the hours. Carrera tracks can be twitchy. But if you have been racing for 45 years you should already know that. I'm going to be be blunt. Direkt. if this is the way you post, there won't be a second post.
|
|
|
Post by slo on Nov 3, 2014 19:18:26 GMT -5
Good to see a couple new faces on the podium in David and Stew, looks like it was a close battle for 3rd with our mate and rival from other proxies. Congratulations to Bryan on 1st. Thanks and well done too, to Pete and David for hosting, driving and great pictures. Very dissapointing final race for the Shannon especially getting pipped for a podium overall by Stubbo and Stu! Congratulations to the guys on the podium and thanks very much to the drivers and marshalls. Looking forward to see the concourse results, maybe! Looks like there was a couple of unexpected results which might throw the cat in amongst the pigeons once concourse results are in. Well done Taffy for holding onto the drivers championship honors thus far. It would be interesting to tally up the points for a manufacturers championship too.....
|
|
|
Post by Stubbo on Nov 3, 2014 19:19:58 GMT -5
A big thanks to Pete and David for running this round.
Congratulations Bryan, David and Stewart for the podium.
I am glad the little Brabham was consistent and reliable.
Taffy's and Bryan's car were clearly the class of the field. Well done guys.
Now hang on a minute while I put on a crash helmet!!!!
Ted, Proxy racing is all about variables. Different cars, different drivers, different tracks and different lanes. Some drivers handle some cars better than others. Some cars handle different tracks better than others, some cars handle different lanes better than others. I/we/most of us have been there and done that so we know from experience what can happen. I know Pete and David have done a great job. I've been in their shoes. It is a big task and we are grateful to these guys for providing their tracks and their time so that we can participate in such an event.
I dont know if you have had any involvement in proxy racing or not? If not then next time there is a proxy event nearby you go along and have a look and see first hand how things go.
|
|
|
Post by slo on Nov 3, 2014 19:59:03 GMT -5
I agree Stubbo. Having first hand witnessed driving proxies and seeing others drive proxies, any driver I have seen that has exceeded the limits of any car cringes at doing so, they're always trying to get the best from every car. There are 20 different cars in this proxy, each one would have different traits to the next. Drivers have to learn to adapt what they can pretty quickly. We did not send a car that was our quickest effort but one that was easier to drive knowing drivers have to adapt pretty quickly, an off in this close racing is going to hurt on the points table. Whether we made the right choice remains to be seen, however we are pretty chuffed finishing where we did. I take my hat off to Mark, all the hosts and drivers and helpers in this very entertaining and well run proxy. Again well done to Taffy and Bryan for building the most consistently fastest cars of an incredible lot. Well done all round I say...
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Nov 3, 2014 20:34:37 GMT -5
It would be interesting to tally up the points for a manufacturers championship too..... Ah Stu, now you ask me to calculate a Constructors' championship. Okay, challenge accepted. Only the top score for any constructor counts per race. If memory serves me correctly, that is how points were tallied n those days. Even if they weren't that is what I'm doing given the different team sizes. Gold French Racing Blue Silver Dark Lust. Green with a splash of Dayglo Orange. Bronze Green and Gold And hang on to your hats everyone, the Concurs scores will be completed and tabulated shortly. Let's just say that this is going to be a nail biter on AND off the podium. Stay tuned.
|
|
|
Post by slo on Nov 3, 2014 22:17:34 GMT -5
That was quick ! Didn't realize that's how they calculated it, thanks.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Wisdom on Nov 4, 2014 2:57:51 GMT -5
What a fascinating finale to what has been an exceptional proxy series in every sense and many congratulations to Bryan. From round 1 I've expected Graham Hills P83 to win at least one round of the championship and what better way to complete the series by finishing first in the US Grand Prix.
David, your photos of the cars and Pete's track are excellent and really do capture the atmosphere. I know just how tight the space is around Pete's track, which makes these pictures all the more special.
Well done to everybody involved and now we can all look forward to the final results!
Mark; the constructors championship results are fascinating and pretty much how they might really have been back in the day.
Dave
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Nov 4, 2014 5:59:08 GMT -5
Thanks Pete for hosting a competitive race at your wonderful venue. Congratulations Bryan on your second victory. Someone had to keep rapid Taffy from running away with the title. The #14 Honda appears to have some uneven tire wear on the right rear corner. My tire-trueing obviously needs some improvement. Looking forward to the full report and some more photos of this beautiful track.
|
|
|
Post by Pete Shepherd on Nov 4, 2014 12:03:47 GMT -5
Race report from my point of view (I'll leave David to write his own), written straight of the hip so forgive me if I ramble and spell badly.
The day started dry and both drivers arrived at Cuckoo Pines around 09:30 for what was to be a very long day of racing. The track conditions were good and got better as the day went on.
The day started with David and I looking over the cars and given as many of them a test as possible. David hadn't ran on my track since last years proxy race so needed a bit more practice than myself. Once we were happy with the cars and track we moved onto concours. As already mentioned the standard of car was very high with at least 5 cars being of real top top quality.
Racing eventually got underway around 11AM and so did the rain and the cooler air. All cars would complete a gruelling 6 minutes on each lane. All of the cars were driveable (unlike last year) but some were clearly better than others. Some could be permantly driven at nine tenths but others had to be held back slightly otherwise they could become unpredictable.
The first half dozen heats weren't much of a contest with the car on lane 2 running away with it. At this point I should say lane 2 does have an advantage but when I race with friends I use a pair of crossovers which even things up considerabley. But then after a drinks break things really evened up and we were able to have some very very close heats. In fact some cars were so well matched we pretty much ran within one foot of each other for the hole heat without touching, not bad for 6 minutes! What became a feature of of the afternoon session was that cars would start to pull away and then get dragged back and even passed. I think this was down to the heats being so long and each of us eventually getting the best out of the cars. One session that comes to mind was when I was driving Mel #17 Brabham against Stewart #20 Ferrari, David had pulled the best part of half a lap on me but then I really got into the groove and the the lapcounter kept beeping and beeping signifying that I was getting faster and faster and putting in better and better lap times. By the end of the heat we finished both on 60.4 laps!
The racing continued and I eventually had my first off (one of two), it was the the #6 Ferrari of Count Huber, sorry Mark, the front just broke away for no reason! Still better than last years car :-). I think at this point I heard from David "he's human after all", I took it as a compliment. The hardest heat where I had to concentrate the most was with Nigel Honda, the model is very light and near to the edge at all times. I managed to make the whole 6 minutes without coming off and was knackered at the end of it.
By the end of the heats I was right in the groove and kept on banging in fast laps, this was probably a mixture of good cars and the best track conditions. For one period of heats I didn't do anything under 64 laps, the lucky cars were #1, #26, #20 and #12. Eventually we finished and David was able to take some pictures which I know he found gard and frustrating due to the track being bigger than the room than houses it (Work than one out), sorry David.
I didn't take any notes during the day but will give some driver impressions
#1, Taffy, amazingly fast on lane 2, it was planted and predictable but did take some getting used to but once you got it, you got it! It had some of the free-ist (is that a word?) gears I've ever felt. It was like spinning a front axle not a rear!
#26 Bryan, this car didn't pack any surprises but was just so stable and precitable. It didn't seem that fast at first but was just such a good all rounder and it really worked well. Nice wheels too, I'm big on wheels and these were very well finished.
#20 Stewart, As previously mentioned, well geared, good grip and a powerful motor. The back maybe kicked out a little out of the corners which lost a few tenths, that was the difference.
#12 Alan/Stu, a splendid little car, really looked the part going round. I used this early on and new it was good. Great grip, great handling. Along with David M's car this had great scale appearance, congratulations on a fine slot car.
#23 Phil, a stable car but just didn't have the power or punch like the fornt runners. I think it could of handled it too.
#2 Dave W, sorry my old friend, it just didn't like Cuckoo Pines, the front end seemed a bit loose, maybe the guide? The grip wasn't the best either. A very nice model though and was marked well in concours (am I allowed to say that Mark?)
#8 Thomas, another fabulous Brabham, can't remember too much in detail about this car but it was the fifth fastest in lane 2 so it was pretty good, well finished body too.
#91 Tony, bit of an all rounder this one, was stable, but not much zip out of the corners, maybe geared better for longer tracks.
#21 Ric, A bit like Tony's car, nothing worng with it just not quite as good as the top runners. I could lap this car over and over and not come off, which is good right?
#15 Chris, apart from being incredibly well built this car is also a decent performer. I think either the motor or gearing would suit a longer track, had it been different this car would have been top 4.
#3 John, this car was the noisiest of the lot, I think the gears are on the way out. A bit more grip and the gears sorted this would have been mid pack.
#31 David W, improved since last year mainly down to having much more grip. A well balanced and good looking car, could handle a hotter motor I think.
#19 David M, apart from having the most popular name in this series (David) he also had my favourite car. On track this car looked superb, performance wise it wasn't geared correctly for this track but it handled well and has potential at Cuckoo Pines if he want s to come back (and stay).
#17 Mel, another Brabham, they did look good together! This one was geared well for CP and as previously said it was a fun to drive and I really got into the groove with it. Going through the last corner down hill the back end was very twitchy but easily controlled = fun
#5 Nigel, well this car made me concentrate, could do with a little weight in the nose but it's close top being very good.
#6 Mark, big improvement on last year, this car had a quick motor but msybe didn't handle as well as the front runners. I actually expected this car to be top 12 but not sure what happened (apart form the one off I had).
#9 Ross, well this car got better and better, although not the quickest it was very consistent and put in a very respectable 61.4 on lane 2. The front body work could do with being stableized as it is not secured to the chassis, this would improve it further.
#14 Matt, great looking car but was maybe too rigid, would sometimes snatch out of corners but not de slot which cost it time.
#7 Charles, this one was easy to drive but was never on the edge, could have done with more power.
#16 Marc, this car had a huge lead weight planted at the rear which made the front very light and the rear to swing wildy which lost valuable time.
Thanks,
Pete
|
|
JohnP
Masten Gregory
Posts: 14
|
Post by JohnP on Nov 4, 2014 14:55:12 GMT -5
Thanks very much for all the hard work Pete and David; the report and terrific photos are greatly appreciated. I'm just hoping one of Mark's special prizes is for noisiest car of the series
|
|
|
Post by David Lawson on Nov 4, 2014 15:59:46 GMT -5
Now Pete has done the official race report this is my personal view of the Cuckoo Pines round of the Proxy.
The day started awkwardly as Pete's track is in the middle of nowhere in wildest rural Essex and I had lost the postcode for the Navigation, I phoned Pete to get this but his phone was switched off so I had to do without but managed to find the remote property in the end.
I arrived at 9.30am and saw the cars for the very first time, I was extremely impressed by the line up, what a step forward in build quality since last year. It took a long time to mark the concours as obviously there are so many criteria to properly consider such as the level of scratchbuilding, the detailing, the finish, the historical accuracy and that Holy Grail of all model-makers, "The Look" which means the car is just spot on in every aspect and has a level of realism very few models achieve.
I practised for about ten minutes and then we got down to the heats. We decided that we would stay in the same lanes throughout and I took the slower outside lane which doesn't have track borders and requires a neat and tidy driving style to avoid the slippery scenic grass around the track. The track grip was good although it varied a little during the day but towards the end it really came in and performances noticeably increased.
My views of each car, I won't go into the detail as Pete has already done so above;
26 Bryan's BRM A beautifully built chassis and extremely nicely reworked "Classic" bodyshell which looked superb in a realistic and understated style. The car drove very well with no vices at all.
31 David L's Cooper-BRM I won't comment about my own car other than to say it seemed to suit Pete's track and surprised me with its result. I covered a greater distance in the outer lane and set a faster lap than the car did on the inner lane.
20 Stewart's Ferrari A very nice looking slot car with good suspension detailing and a nice stance, one of those cars that looks fast even when sitting still it performed very well, slightly tail happy but in a controllable way.
12 Alan/Stu's Brabham A lovely looking car beautifully constructed and very realistic looking, drove as well as it looked with no vices at all.
1 Taffy's Matra A nice looking car and well detailed which drove beautifully with no vices other than the previously reported curious problem it had coping with the turn in to the two right hand corners that had a change of gradient. This is a track/lane specific situation as it was perfect everywhere else.
8 Thomas's Brabham A gorgeous looking and meticulously finished car. Performed extremely well.
15 Chris's Eagle A very nicely built, detailed and finished car which drove extremely well with no vices but its set up didn't quite suit the Cuckoo Pines track. I covered a greater distance in the outer lane and set a faster lap than the car did on the inner lane. It has survived the series without a single mark on it.
21 Ric's Eagle A Scalextric bodyshell neatly mounted on a Penelope Pitlane chassis. The car drove very well and scored a solid result.
19 David M's Cooper A great slot car with impressive levels of very intricate detailing and very realistic appearance, extremely hard to fault at all. An easy car to drive as well.
91 Tony's Lotus A "Classic" shell on a Penelope Pitlane chassis which drove well with no vices.
23 Phil's Shannon A very accurate representation of the 1:1 car with lots of delicate detailing. An easy car to drive.
17 Mel's Brabham A very well built, finished and detailed car. An easy car to drive.
9 Ross's Lotus A "Classic" shell on a Penelope Pitlane chassis which performed well.
14 Matt's Honda A great slot car with fastidious attention to detail, many intricate suspension and engine components and very well painted and finished. An easy car to drive.
6 Mark's Ferrari A very nice John Bacon shelled car with may improvements and refinements, it was easy and fun to drive and it survived the whole series without losing any parts....
5 Nigel's Honda The only balsa bodied car in the event and therefore one of my favourites, very well carved and detailed, this car looks much nicer in the flesh than in photos, it performed well on track as well.
2 Dave W's McLaren A lovely looking reworked "Classic" shelled car, very realistic and beautifully finished, it didn't seem to suit the Cuckoo Pines track. I covered a greater distance in the outer lane and set a faster lap than the car did on the inner lane.
3 John's BRM A very well constructed and finished slot car that drove very well but just lacked pace around this track. I covered a greater distance in the outer lane and set a faster lap than the car did on the inner lane.
7 Charles's Cooper A very nice looking slot car, an easy car to drive.
16 Marc's Lotus A Scalextric bodyshell neatly mated to a chassis but a lot of rear end lead weight which upset the front end on the left/right at the end of the main straight costing it quite a bit of time.
The race took most of the day to complete with over 2,300 laps covered and just a few minor offs and we both left at about 6pm with aching backs and in my case sore knees as well. I drove home in a monsoon on a dark, poorly lit and busy A12 thinking "I hope it doesn't rain again next year" as this weekend and last year have seen poor weather, it can't be like that three years in a row can it.
It was a great pleasure and a privilege to have the opportunity to race these cars and I hope everyone has enjoyed the event and is encouraged to return next year.
David
|
|
|
Post by Taffy on Nov 4, 2014 16:01:01 GMT -5
Pete and David, let me say thank you again for - this more than impressive race report and - the atmospheric pictures! This transports the spirit of the Cuckoo pines racetrack and of this special race very, very well!! For me, its a strong inspiration to continue building my own track (maybe, once in the future there will be a round of this proxy in Germany.... on Jersey Circuit? ...Who knows?... ) ( And David, I had sent you PM....)
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Nov 4, 2014 16:49:26 GMT -5
A thrilling finish as Bryan’s BRM edges out Taffy’s Matra by 2 points for the GPd2014 Championship. Alan and Stu’s Brabham takes the other podium spot with a 2 point margin over David Lawson’s Cooper BRM.In a grid of superb cars, Bryan’s BRM P83 and the defending champion, Taffy in a Matra MS9 proved to be the class of the field throughout the series. Together they accounted for 6 of the 12 podium spots with 4 wins, (2 apiece) a second place for Taffy and a third place for Bryan. The difference turned out to be the Concours score with Bryan garnering 30 points to Taffy’s 24. Alan and Stu and David Lawson each earned a second place in the races, and importantly 40 points in Concours for David and 26 for the Brabham BT19. The BT19 and Cooper BRM T86B were consistent strong performers across the four races. Chris Wright’s Eagle Climax edged out Phil Kalbfell’s Shannon for fifth spot with 142 points to 140. The momentum swung to the Eagle Climax with a Concours Championship worth 50 points and a ten point advantage in the final race at Cuckoo Pines. The Eagle had three good races and Phil’s Shannon was strong through the first three but tailed off a bit in the final race. Tony Condon garnered two podiums (a second and third) in the first two races of the season, while Stewart Harding’s Ferrari came in sixth overall with strong performances except for an atypical run at the Pendles’ Slotfire track. Stewart also made the podium at Cuckoo Pines with an impressive third place finish. Congratulations to our new Champion and cheers for all the participants whether they made or did not make an appearance on the podium over the season. I will do a more thorough acknowledgement post later, but right now, join me in giving a cheer to Bryan, Taffy, Alan & Stu. Thanks to all of you for your participation. The collective skills and passion of this group amaze me, and I’m grateful that you were part of this event.
|
|