Race Recap: UF1 Winter Series 2013 – Race 6

Post Race Analysis
It was another warm(er) day at TQ Raceway for Race 6 of the 2013 UF1 Winter Series. We had 38 drivers show up…that’s only 7 less than our lowest attendance…but that also includes top names like Tyree Phillips and Tony Neisinger.

Team Patron-Honda hero driver Lee Passehl pulls in the TQ again as well as the +2 bonus points. Lee has been consistently at the top of his game at every event and today was no different. His TOP Rebel was on fire during qualifying and put him on pole.

Putting in 3 spectacular rounds and pulling in 300 points was independent driver Bill Jeric. This guy was a machine today, taking the 1st and 2nd mains by a substantial margin. He had a little pressure at the end of R3 by Aaron Lane, but was able to hold off the hard charging Lotus driver to take the overall win. Jeric sits 28th overall in the series, missing a couple early rounds, but if he can make it to every race in the Summer Series he’s going to be hard to beat. And he’s an independent…right now.

Finishing 2nd for the day was Lotus driver Aaron Lane. Lane put together another fantastic day, scoring 297 points and pulling within 3 points of 2nd place driver Dave Berger in the overall series. In Round 3 he pulled within 1 second of Jeric but ran out of time before he could make the pass. There’s only one race left; look to see him make a major push to try and overtake Berger for 2nd place.

TQ driver Lee Passehl finished 3rd overall with 295 points. Lee was on point in a few of the races but some very uncharacteristic mistakes dropped him back a few spots in the day’s overall. He shouldn’t have much to worry about; he’s still got a 41 point lead in the Championship. Watch for a very safe drive for him in the final race.

Patron-Honda teammate Ron Schuur pulls off a 4th place overall with 290 points. Ron has been putting in some great finishes in the last couple races to not only boost his Driver Championship status (he sits 6th overall), but also keep team Patron-Honda up top of the Constructor’s Championship. He only sits 12 points behind Cole for 4th in the overall Championship so it’s going to be close next week!

Pulling in a great performance was Team Repsol-Honda’s Fred Medel with 289 points. Everyone knows Fred has skills, but he wowed the crowd by not only qualifying his Respol ride in 4th position but holding off the entire field to finish 5th overall. He’s been moving up the leaderboards since day 1 so expect to see him in the Top 3 in the final race!

Sitting in 6th for the day was Dave Berger. The Repsol-Honda teammate had a bit of a rough day (including me pulling in front after wrecking and crashing him out – sorry Dave), but he’s one to rebound quickly and put in another great showing. He does have his work cut out for him in the final race, being 41 points behind Passehl, but if he can keep it together and not get taken out he should be a shoe-in for 2nd overall in the Series.

Benetton-Ford driver Kevin Cole gets himself back in the Top 10 leaderboard this week with a 7th place finish. He started the Series off strong but a few bad outtings dropped him down the list. It appears he’s got his ride back in order, and still sits 4th overall. He has to have a great final race as he’s only got a 12-point cushion between himself and 5th place Ron Schuur.

Back in the Top 10 is RedBull Racing driver Charles Lightfoot. Although he qualified in the B-Group, his smooth, consistent driving put enough points on the board to finish 8th overall. A great day for him and a great showing for RedBull Racing, Lightfoot sits in 12th overall in the Series, only 28 points out of the Top 10. Go get’em CL!

A newcomer to the Top 10 is independent Torrance Deguzman and his TG2013 F-Ten. While not the first season in the UF1, this is the first season where Torrance is campaigning his one-off F1 car. Custom built using some HPI F-Ten parts, this car is constantly getting better with every race. Torrance qualified 6th in the A-Group but a few mistakes put him down the list in the day’s overall. He sits 33rd in the Series (he missed a few early races), but look to see him laying it down in the in 2013 Summer Series.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Caterham F1 team driver Craig Hammon. Craig has been struggling a bit on the rug with rubber tires but it’s good to see him find the setup and crack the Top 10. The guy can drive, but the recent addition of some top-tier drivers into the Series has made it essential that he (and everyone else) step up their game. Craig has answered and it’s good to see him up there with the big boys. Cuda is the quintessential UF1 participant; it’s great to have him at the show.

Dropping out of the Top 10 this week was Lotus Team driver Tony Phalen. Qualifying 8th in the A-Group, he had a good run going in R1 but a crash ejected his reciever and transponder. After fixing that he was able to salvage the run but not before going quite a few laps down. Phalen sits 8th overall but could potentially put himself in the Top 5 at the end of the Series.

Finishing 12th overall is HotBodies Ferrari driver Vincent Rivera. Vincent scored 265 points to finish 12th overall, just 6 points out of the Top 10. A great showing for Rivera, one that will be sure to impress team driver Chris Cabrales and secure his seat for the 2013 Summer Series.

Constructor’s Championship
Even though the Patron-Honda boys saw a 3rd and 4th place finish individually, they still hold a 46 point lead in the Constructor’s Championship over Team Repsol-Honda. Both Passehl and Schuur have had a great Series so, unless something drastic happens, they’re pretty much a shoe-in for the 2013 Winter Series Championship…

Then again, if the Berger/Medel Repsol-Honda team keep up their recent team onslaught (and a TON of luck) they could potentially pull off a win. Berger is due a win and Medel is slowing inching his way up the leaderboard. However…they’re not necessarily safe in 2nd place…

The Team Lotus boys are sitting in 3rd a whopping 153 points back of Team Repsol-Honda. There’s not much chance of securing a place higher than 3rd, but with Lane’s constant Top 3 finishes, it’s basically up to Phalen to support his teammates high-scoring finishes. Good rounds from both of them will keep them in 3rd.

Team Benetton-Ford have dropped back 21 points to the Lotus crew. With only 1 race left, they’ll need a good outting to reclaim 3rd. The gap to 5th is pretty substantial so it’s really a battle for 3rd overall.

Team Caterham F1 sits 201 points behind the Benetton-Ford team. Unfortunately there’s not much chance of moving up even with a pair of great runs from Cole and Martinez. On the up side, they’re also 97 points ahead of RedBull Racing so, barring any major mishaps, they should finish the season with a strong 5th place.

Final Thoughts
The final race of the 2013 UF1 Winter Series is upon us. It’s been a great season chock full of drama and great racing. While there is still one race left to go, there could still be quite a bit of leaderboard shuffling to come. We’ve posted the results of the Series to this point with the throwouts so you’ll be able to see exactly where you stand in the Series. Take a look, check out the points.

Track Tip
Posting the results with the throwouts is a great thing to see where you are, but could be a bad thing since it will give you a realistic idea of where you stand in the Series. Knowing where you sit will allow you to keep track of your closest rivals on the track, but could also force more mistakes as you ‘try harder’ to keep in front (and beat) your these competitors. Keep a cool head, keep your car off the rails and make this race your best to gain as many points as possible…and don’t let your competitors get in your head!

Let the mind games begin…

Download the 2013 UF1 Winter Series Championship Points with throw-outs.

Final Results