UF1 RC 
Post Race Analysis
Well, what can I say. Round 2 was a tough one for many reasons. First, Montclair (where Revelation Raceway is located) is a bit warm this time of year. Second, while the track has amazing grip, it’s a bit hard on the cars. Finally, computer issues caused a 4-hour delay in the start time of the event.
As the day drew on, the wind picked up and helped with the heat. Shadows formed as the sun started to set, cooling things down as well. That made the latter half of the day bearable.
Rev is rough and bumpy, but Garen (the owner) announced that the lot was going to be re-paved soon, resulting in a much smoother surface. Great news for next season, but I kind of like the challenge of a ratty surface. Easy to say when I’m not racing…
The computer system was finally fixed, sort of, and racing commenced. It was certainly a day for patience and everyone (hopefully) had a good time. We saw some new faces, some new winners and some shake-ups in the points, both in the individual and Constructor’s results.
That being said, a HUGE thanks to everyone for coming out and, more importantly, sticking around when things went south.
On to the racing…
Formula 1
Qualifying
While we were able to get qualifying in without a hitch, the printed results were all wonky and wrong. I do remember qualifing being quite close, however at the end of the day we saw Silver Arrows driver Rajan Monteiro take the top spot. Interestingly enough, Raj and I were chatting a couple days earlier and he brought up the new 3Racing FGX2018. I mentioned that car could play a major roll in winning the event based on its 4-wheel independent suspension – I’ve had some success with that car on rough tracks and absolutely love it. Raj did run that car in qualifying and the first 2 mains, successfully I might add. Could be the go-to car on bumpy tracks.
Mains
Since we couldn’t get the mains to populate properly, we ended up printing what we had – all F1 drivers were in the correct class, it just wouldn’t sort them based on the best 5-lap average. That dropped some top runners in the 2nd race group; some slower drivers up in the 1st race group.
It is what it is, and I made the decision to just run this thing. Let’s get the day done, get the points tallied and on to the next race.
On an up-note, we did have 18 F1 drivers show up for Round 2 – 14 Team drivers and 4 Independents!
The star of the day in the Formula 1 class was definitely Bruce Hickman. Dood was on fire this weekend, taking the win in all 3 races for a maximum 300 points. Rumor has it he’s been at Rev quite a bit practicing before this race – it seems to have paid off. Someone is getting quite serious – I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s camping out at the different tracks for the rest of the season!
Taking 2nd place was Bruce’s teammate, Michael Monaghan. These two guys looked unstoppable, both running standard side-link cars. Michael also posted the 3rd fastest lap of the event, a 15.258. So far they seem to be really working well together to keep both cars near the front. Could be an issue for the rest of the drivers (and teams).
Finishing out the Top 3 was Silver Arrows driver and TQ Rajan Monteiro. Raj’s FGX was looking super competitive, however he did mention that the tires would go away a bit at the end of each stint. Not having as many tire compounds to choose from (FGX wheels require a bit of modification to mount standard rubber), he said he’d be better prepared next time this car comes out of the stable. On a side note, Raj switched to his Tamiya TRF103 in Round 3 to post the day’s fastest lap; a 15.058!
Independent driver Mike Rydwell finished his day in 4th – a fantastic run considering this is the first time his Exotek-converted FGX has seen this track (and first race of the season for him). Mike had a 3rd, 2 5th place finishes and a 15.245 second fast lap, all excellent results. The one thing about his FGX, though, is the way it sings as the motor spools up! That drivetrain is music to my ears on track! Looking forward to seeing how it does the rest of the season.
Coming in 5th was Team 11 driver Charles Lightfoot. Lightfoot had a 9th, 6th and 2nd place finishes for the day – solid runs that would help him sneak up the leaderboards. Not only did this help elevate him in the days event, it also moved him to 5th overall in the Series. Great start so far! According to some rumblings in the pit, Lightfoot is pretty tough to beat at Roadrunners RC, the next race in the Series! Having a ‘throw out’ day was his Team 11 teammate, Doug Rebal. Poor Doug – crash in the first Round left him in last place with 37 laps. Crash in the second Round had him out in 22 laps. The hot day, 4-hour delay and a broken car had him heading home by the 3rd Round. I get it Doug – been there done that. Fix what’s broken, have a Snickers and we’ll see you at Roadrunners!
Slotting into 6th place overall for the day was Chad Rott. Chad had a good 1st round – 6th place – but his 2nd round was pretty amazing. He finished with a time of 54 laps 15:00.669 – only good enough for 2nd in the round to Bruce Hickman’s 54 laps 15:00.114! So close Chad! I think his moment of brilliance was a turning point – you could see the excitement – the drive – he knows he’s got it in him, just needs to put it all together.
In 7th place was the first of the Marlboro 702 drivers, Steven Jackson. Jackson had a good day, all Top 10 finishes, but would be 2 points shy of Rott. Being from the carpet track in Vegas (702 Raceway), Rev was quite the different beast as far as surface condition. He still had an impressive day. Teammate Boris Tsenov, on the other hand, struggled a bit and could only pull of a 15th place finish. Boris is driving the WRC chassis which is a great car, but he’s the only one in the Series with one. Makes it kind of hard to tune with no one to bounce ideas off of. I’m sure once we get to the smoother tracks (which he’s more accustomed to) we’ll see Boris up near the front of the pack.
Finishing in 8th place was the first of the Team Alfa drivers, Mark Goldwater. Mark had 3 Top 10 finishes as well, however his overall runs were more consistent than anything else. Being consistent is tough to do, however it’s one of the many reasons you’ll see Mark’s finishes fluctuate up and down the leaderboards (when everyone else isn’t being consistent). Team driver Craig Hammon had a decent day as well, both scoring valuable points towards the Constructor’s Championship. Team Alfa did, though, drop to 3rd behind The Silver Arrows. They’ll need to pick it up a bit next race to gain that advantage back.
Team Renault drivers Brian Ruvalcaba and Hector Martinez finished 9th and 13th respectively. Not a great day for either of them; they had much better pace in Round 1 of the Series. Oddly enough, their 9th and 13th match their overall standings positions as well. They just need to keep it together for 2 more races – then it’s carpet time – certainly their forte!
Independent driver Ken Gerberding (AKA Gerberman) struggled a bit in Rounds 1 and 2, but came back strong in Round 3 and finished 6th. That gave him enough points to round out the Top 10 for the day. While he’s an independent right now, silly season rumors are already starting to float around for next season – maybe even the 2nd half of this season. We’ll have to wait and see how it shapes up.
Another Independent, Phillip Enriquez, was having some issues tackling the rough tarmac as well. Phillip finished 14th for the day running his prototype chassis – based on the FGX, it does good on track, just needs some more time for fine tuning. Hang in there Phillip and use the season to sort things out! Bring it with a vengeance next season!
Alex M is the final privateer, finishing 16th for the day. Alex didn’t join us for the outdoor portion of the Series last season, so it’s nice to see him come out. I think he’s finding, though, that it can be a bit more hectic (and competitive) than he expected. I’m going to guess this is going to light the fire under him for next season!
Fast Lap Award
In the beginning of the day when drivers were learning the track (and bumps), a 15-second lap was pretty fast. As the day wore on, the lap times kept dropping and dropping. By Round 3, a 15.2 second lap was blistering, however The Silver Arrows driver Rajan Monteiro decided it was time for that hot-flying lap (and 1 additional point), dropping a 15.058 on lap 17 of the final Round. This was HUGE when the announcer called it out, with the chance of a 14-second lap just .05 seconds away. Still an amazing feat and certainly deserving of the Fast Lap Award!
Formula 2
Qualifying
Like the F1 class, the F2 class qualified well but was plagued with computer issues. After running the numbers, Jonah Gallant took the TQ for the second race in a row. It was close, however, with fellow Vegas racer North C and Virginian Steve Hickman close behind. While all the drivers were fast, the computer decided it was going establish its dominance and place the drivers all willy nilly.
That said, let’s get to the mains.
Mains
The F2 drivers had an interesting time on the Revelation Raceway track. While they are running slower 25.5T motors, grip was limited to what they could come up with on the Spec Rush/Volante tires. Lap times were definitely slower but, in all honesty, that’s where I’d like these drivers to be. Speed comes with consistency and once the drivers learn their cars, they’ll progress their way to the F1 group.
Taking the TQ and top spot for the day was Jonah Gallant. Jonah was the TQ and winner at the last race, pretty easily I might add. Today, though, he would be pushed heavily by 2nd place finisher and fellow 702 driver North C. North came out of nowhere and took the win in Rounds 1 and 3 (with Jonah finishing right behind him in both), but a bad Round 2 (5th place) to Jonah’s win would give JG the overall. If North joins us at the remaining races, he might just put in enough good runs to pass Jonah in points! He is only 4 points behind him (at the moment) in the overall Championship!
Steve Hickman, a Virginia resident out visiting (and brother to F1 winner Bruce Hickman), decided to join us for Round 2. Steve put up an impressive 3rd/2nd/4th finishes to place 3rd overall, 2 points behind North. I could see this guy stirring up the action the F2 class, however I think he’ll only be joining us for R3 at Roadrunners before he has to head back home. Too bad – he’s tied right now for 4th place in the overall.
Finishing 4th for the day is Steven Ruvalcaba. Steven had a great day and shows that racing is in the Ruvalcaba family. Not only did he have 3 great runs, he posted the 2nd fastest lap in the F2 class with a 16.339. Kid is gaining some speed, gaining some confidence. Podiums in his future for sure.
Julian Campbell is one of the 9 Las Vegas locals to join us in the F2 class. He pulled consistent runs (4th/4th/5th) to take 5th overall, only 1 point behind Ruvalcaba. Close race for sure – he even told me he can’t wait to get back out to race! Julian sits 7th overall in the Championship but, since he missed Round 1, he’s already used up his 3-throwouts. Gotta keep it clean the rest of the way out, Julian!
Cirilo Garia made an appearance from Las Vegas and had a good, consistent day as well. Another one that notated the massive difference between the racing surface he’s used to running on. Still pulled off a great finish, 6th overall, with 283 points.
Joining us on the track for the first time is Mike Hinkley, and he walks away with a 7th place finish! Mike has been seen on the sidelines alot, pondering his potential drive in the F2 class. Well, it appears he’s seen enough and decided to join. Welcome Mike, and congrats on the finish!
Right behind Mike was Joe Hawkins III. Joe finished the day with 277 points, only 1 point ahead of 9th place finisher Mike Montes. These guys both had one good run and one bad run, the final Round was the decider with Joe coming out on top. Good battle between these two.
Rounding out the Top 10 was Victor Jimenez, two points ahead of 11th place finisher John Brown. These two were also close all day long with Victor’s R3 finish the deciding factor.
Finally, we had a 3-way tie for 12th with 702 Raceway owner Dwayne Battie, Trace Goldstrom and Mark Goldstrom. All 3 finished with 265 points; Dwayne and Mark each having a DNS finish (Dwayne in R3, Mark in R2). The deciding factor was the qualifying order concluding with Dwayne, Trace and Mark as the final positions.
Constructor’s Championship
All of the Constructor’s drivers were in attendance so maximum points were awarded per each driver’s performance. The only real change was The Silver Arrows leap to 2nd over Team Alfa by 9 points. Everyone else is still pretty close but that 38 point gap to AMG Motorsport is considerable. Lots of time left in the season for teams to start getting things together to make their moves.
Unfortunately there’s some pit gossip about one of the teams disbanding already. Might be an opportunity for some restructuring…
Final Thoughts
The day had quite a bit going against it, but all in all once the program got running we cranked it out pretty quick. I’m glad everyone had a good time (you did, right?) and that the racing was fun and the track challenging. It was good to see those that put in some extra time come out on top – that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The next race will be October 13th at Roadrunners RC Club in Camarillo, a track known for it’s fast, swooping layouts, cooler temps and the infamous ‘Pumphouse’ turn. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Thanks to the following sponsors for this year’s UF1 Series:
ActivRC
Fenix Racing Shop
PROTOform
Tamiya
Team Associated
VBC Racing
Photo Gallery: Gallery 63 – Round 2 – UF1 2019/2020 Series
