TSRF 1

TSRF 1/24 Scale races, October 1st, 2005

Buena Park, CA

Sterrett again by one technical lap. No less than six racers into 5 laps!

The race for 1/24 scale TSRF cars was again, run on the "Hillclimb" track. Los Angeles Channel 9's "On The Town" TV crew was on hand to film the action. And action, there was, this being one of the closest TSRF races so far...

Ron Kiyomura's Ford was a heavy lump built from an AMT kit. Including a full interior and machined wheel inserts, it weighted at over 8oz, but did quite well on track. Ron managed 165 laps or nearly 75% of the distance covered by the winning Sterrett Porsche 956 weighing under 5oz.

Mounting the chassis was a simple affair using the plastic side body mounts provided in the home-racing kit. The two body-mounting screws are covered with clear tape to avoid any unwanted incident. Note the position of the guide pin, reflecting what the stock production cars will look like soon. Also note the rear tires cut down to allow sliding from such a top-heavy car.

Race

The track conditions were not the best with the track very slippery, having not received any spray glue since long before the August Wing-Car Nationals. The race was very tight, with Philippe always in contention with his heavy "handicap-special" hard-shell Tamiya-bodied Porsche GT. In the technical lead until the last segment, Philippe lost it just once in the 20 seconds inside the one-minute segment, and that was enough for Paul to retain his lead. Sterrett could never relax and at the end a mere one (corrected) lap made the difference. Cars with injected bodies and at least 50 grams heavier than cars fitted with TSRF clear plastic bodies benefit of a 20-lap handicap, and another 5 laps for each extra 25 grams. So far, no one has been able to win with an injected body, but this was the closest so far. Philippe is trying to encourage others to run with injected bodies to help improve the looks of the cars and get them closer to the European and Japanese standard. A tough going in a country mostly bound on "speed uber-alles"...

Former national champion Greg Gilbert made his return in the series this time with his own Porsche 956 car and proved a serious threat to Paul's domination of the series, finishing only 3 laps down with no tune up on a dead-stock car acquired the same day.

Jim Watterson kept his fast over-the-counter SKIL-sponsored TSRF Lancia in the groove to secure a well-deserved 4th place, hotly pursued by Sam Brown who drove his usual consistent race. Sam's Marlboro-Porsche 956 car has now covered 120 real miles without a motor change or any other maintenance than a brief clean up between races proving the worth of the product as a low-cost and highly competitive racing formula.

Mike Steube has bad luck today, over-driving his car in the first heat and losing 6 laps on the fast yellow lane. He recovered to win the second heat but the damage was done.

Tore Anderson's car was a bit shy of "punch" power off the line and got off a couple of times, costing him at least 8 of his 12 laps in arrears.

Former G15 star Mickey Johnston had a brand new car that he carefully prepared and was rewarded with the fastest lap in the race, but ran into cross traffic, losing enough laps to fall out of contention after having won several heats. But watch out for Mickey in future races...

Scott Jarrett had his usual and beautifully painted BMW but had a tough time at the beginning of his race, which could not be overcome by a much better driving towards the end. Scott is always a solid contender but needs to discipline his driving to return to top form.

Greg Carter and Scott Corwin battled all the way to the end, finishing in the same lap.

Wing car racer Gil Gundersen had the best handling car in the race and a very fast motor to boot, but is still trying to come to terms with the trigger range on his controller, so far remote from the manner in which open-class cars are being piloted around. Nonetheless, his 6.759" was the third fastest lap in the race, mere thousands from Mickey Johnston's flyer.

Drag racer Paul Wilde is still trying to come to terms with the over-driving of his pretty Lancia and has still not gathered the "3-step" driving technique characteristic of the TSRF cars, closer to that of a full-size car than of a regular slot car.

Ray Gonzales motored around but just can't keep the car on track for too long, while Tyler Watterson has to learn driving discipline altogether, and at 9 years of age has plenty of time to do so.

Jim Watterson's Lancia has been one of the most consistent cars in the 2005 series. Full cockpits with drivers as well as proper wheel inserts will be required in 2006.

The generation gap: Mike Steube and Mickey Johnston work on their Courage-Peugeot machines. Mickey never had a chance to fit the TSRF miniature driver as he received the car shortly before the race.

Philippe's Porsche 961 is based on a Tamiya model kit. While heavier, the car could be a winner when considering the handicap formula.

"Who came up with that !@#$% little

wrench???"

Greg Gilbert contemplates the starting field while Gil Gundersen applies the finishing touches to his BMW.

Action packed race with (L to R) Mickey Johnston, Ray Gonzales, Mike Steube, Paul Sterrett, Jim Watterson, Greg Carter, Paul Wilde and Tyler Watterson fighting it out tooth and nail to Turn One. Mickey's car is winning the drag race on the black lane.

In the background, Jason Phipps of the "On The Town" TV series is filming the scene, while Scott Jarrett anxiously awaits his turn to the grinder.

Race director Lenore Gallegos does a great job on calling the races, since the round-robin format is not so easy to keep track of. But no mistakes are made here...

A well-earned smile from the winners: Paul Sterrett adds yet another win to his impressive series, while Philippe wins the "GT Class". Greg Gilbert is seriously knocking at the door with his new Porsche painted in Leyton-House colors.

Race director Lenore Gallegos is checking on things in the background.

Main event results:

Pos

Driver

Body type

Laps

Fastest lap

1	Paul Sterrett	Porsche 956	205	6.808"
2	Philippe de Lespinay	Porsche 961 **	184 (204)	7.410"
3	Greg Gilbert	BMW V12	202	6.859"
4	Jim Watterson	Lancia LC2	200	6.919"
5	Sam Brown	Porsche 956	200	7.027"
6	Mike Steube	Courage-Peugeot	200	6.749"
7	"John" Tore Anderson	BMW V12	193	7.031"
8	Ron Kiyomura	NASCAR Ford ***	165 (190)	8.180"
9	Robert "Mickey" Johnston	Courage-Peugeot C 60	189	6.749" *
10	Scott Jarrett	BMW V12	187	7.027"
11	Greg Carter	Porsche 956	186	7.191"
12	Scott Corwin	Porsche 956	186	7.359"
13	Gil Gundersen	BMW V12	173	6.757"
14	Paul Wilde	Lancia LC2	154	7.249"
15	Ray Gonzales	Lancia LC2	132	8.349"
16	Tyler Watterson	Porsche 956	104	7.518"

* Fastest lap

** Injected body car + 50-gram (+20 laps)

*** Injected body car + 75-gram (+25 laps)

Please note: will have a display booth at the iHobby Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 22-23, 2005. The public is invited to attend and we will have a demonstration track and many cars to play with! We welcome all slot car enthusiasts to attend this show that features slot cars, racio controlled cars, boats and airplanes as well as die-cast cars, plastic model kits and model trains. Don't miss it!

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