Race Recap: 2019/2020 UF1 Series – Race 3 – Spanish GP | UF1 RC

Post Race Analysis
Round 3 of the 2019/2020 UF1 Series took us to RoadRunners RC Club in Camarillo, CA. It’s been quite a few years since the UF1 made its way to this track and it was great to be back – fantastic grip, wide open track with non-forgiving wood barriers and the infamous pumphouse turn – all great memories of long-ago F1 racing.

The turnout was pretty good as well – 13 F1 drivers and 7 F2 drivers. While some of the regulars were a no-show, we did have a few new faces in attendance, locals that were there to support their home track.

It was interesting to see the first couple runs in practice; people struggling to manage the turns and the layout of the track. But by the end of practice, drivers were starting to learn their braking points, where they could drive hard and where they needed to manage the throttle a bit. By qualifying, however, a few guys stood out as being potential favorites.

The racing was close, the program was smooth and everyone was done and ready to head home by 2pm.

On to the racing…

Formula 1
Qualifying
The one thing I love about the 3-minute, 5 non-consecutive lap qualifying system is how close the final results can be. That being said, Mike Rydwell would put in an amazing run to take the top spot in the Formula 1 class. Craig Hammon would slot into second and Chad Rott into third, the 3 being less than a second apart. In fact, the Top 12 drivers would be less than a second apart!!! Super close.

Here’s how it sorted out going into the first main event:

Mains
Because there were only 13 cars in the F1 class, we decided to run all of them in one heat. The RoadRunner’s track is definitely big enough and, really, it was only 3 more cars than normal (we normally run 10 in a main). Not only did this add a bit more excitement to the race, it also let us complete the event an hour earlier. Everyone seemed good with lumping all the cars into one race.

As the mains started, it was pretty obvious from the start who was the man to beat. Mike Rydwell’s car was looking awesome, being both racey in speed and handling. He was driving a prototype at this event, however that does sometimes come at the expense of durability. More on that in a bit.

Taking the top spot at the end of 3 races was Ken Gerberding! This guy has been putting in great runs all season but hasn’t quite found that perfect combo to lead the field to the top of the podium. However, his 5th/1st/4th place finishes netted him that long-awaited 1st place overall – an amazing effort! His second round win was nothing short of a perfect run, clicking off the fastest run of the day (a 49 lap 15:10.109). The only other person to hit a 49 lapper was Rydwell with a 15:10.796. This also vaulted Ken to 4th overall in the Series, putting him well within reach of the Championship leader Monaghan. Great job Ken!

Slotting into the #2 spot for the day was Silver Arrows driver Rajan Monteiro. Raj also had a consistent day, finishing with a 3rd/3rd/5th. He lost out to the top spot to Gerberding by only 1 point – certainly a heartbreaking moment as I’m sure he could smell victory. This run did gave him enough points to tie Hickman for 2nd in the Series – this battle is on!!!

Finishing 3rd for the day was current points leader Michael Monaghan. The AMG Motorsports driver struggled a little in morning practice but recovered well with a 6th/6th/2nd. He certainly had his work cut out for him on this fast layout, but it showed by posting the second fastest lap of the event – a 17.435! He’ll also be happy to know that he keeps his overall Series lead by 8 points.

Fourth for the day was the other half of The Silver Arrows team, Carlos Duarte. Duarte’s season hasn’t started off as strong as he might have hoped, but I think this past race saw a breakthrough with his car. Clocking in a 7th/4th/3rd, it was a good day for him as he tied Monaghan for 3rd place (however he was regulated to 4th due to the tiebreaker). This run also moves him into the Top 10 in the Series. This team collaboration on points also moved The Silver Arrows closer to AMG Motorsport in the Constructor’s Championship – the gap is now only 34 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 was TQ Mike Rydwell. Mike not only got to start in P1 in all 3 races, he pulled off some amazing finishes – 1st/13th/1st. While the 13th was pretty devastating, he was leading and could possibly have pulled off a triple win. Six laps into Race #2, he was T-boned heavily but the second place driver, sending his car flying. We’re not entirely sure what broke, but it might have had to do with the fact that he was running a prototype car with some non-production parts. While this is great for testing, it’s not always great durability-wise. These points did, though, jump him to 6th overall in the Series! Rest assured – as with all of the amazing Exotek products, if this car sees production it will be next level!

Bruce Hickman finished 6th for the day; a 10-second penalty in Race 2 would unfortunately drop him from 3rd to 7th. He finished the day with a 2nd/7th/6th, adding enough points to the AMG Motorsport Constructor’s tally to help keep them in the top spot, but also allowing Raj to catch him in the individual Championship. They are tied for 2nd with 597 points each!

Team Alfa had a decent day with Craig Hammon finishing 7th and Mark Goldwater 11th. Individually, they were both a little off the pace but as a team, they’re probably happy that they scored enough points to keep in front of Team 11 for 3rd in the Constructors. Craig sits 7th in the Series with Goldwater in 11th. Plenty of time to gather things up and get back to it.

Team 11 driver’s Charles Lightfoot and Doug Rebal probably wish this day would have ended alot sooner. It was a day of heartbreak, especially Race 3 where both cars were out by lap 36. While it was quite a few points lost individually (Charles still sits 5th overall, Doug in 15th), they leapt to 4th in the Constructors (thanks to a couple team no-shows). They two doods are resilient, though, so expect to see them back with a vengeance at the next venue.

Posting a 9th place finish for the day was 3-time UF1 Champion Lee Passehl. Lee has been away racing other forms of RC, but it was certainly nice to see him back! Lee finished the day with a 9th/9th/7th, a great Top 10 finish for a VERY competitive racer. I sense a comeback tour for this kid!

Wrapping up the Top 10 was Chad Rott. Oddly enough, Rott finished the day with a 13th/8th/8th – not a great representation of what this guy can do. However, he did post the fastest lap of the day – a 17.401! That blistering lap shows his potential, I just think the track got in his way. Chat sits 10th overall in the Series – keep an eye out for a second-half-of-the-season spurt of speed!

Finishing in 13th was Alex M. I see Alex’s car on track and it looks really good, so I’m not quite sure where the laps are going. The curve from carpet to asphalt can be steep, especially when the asphalt surfaces are all completely different. Good to see him hanging in there though! Keep up the good work, Alex! You’ll get it soon enough!

Fast Lap Award
In the early part of the day, 18-second lap times were extraordinary. As the heat built up the the traction rose, 17-second laps were flowing like water. Come mid-day, it was looking like we might see some really low 17’s. In the end, it was a fight between two guys; Chad Rott and Mike Rydwell. Both were tickling the 17.3 second lap – Rott would walk away with the best – a 17.401. Almost.

While we typically give a single point for fast lap, Mike Rydwell sweetened the pot by throwing in a pair of Exotek Racing G.Lok Gear Lockers for the F1 and F2 driver that set the fastest lap. Looks like Chad has a cool way to keep his pinion gears safe and organized! Thanks Mike!!! Appreciate the support.

Formula 2
Qualifying
The Formula 2 class was a little lighter than normal, but that meant two things; 1) Less cars on the track to deal with and 2) Easy day to make up some valuable points!

I can say that those that have been in the Series since the beginning (ie, John Brown) were able to take advantage of this and pull ever-so-closer to drivers in front of him.

Here’s how the qualifying order panned out:

Mains
Even though there were only 7 cars on the track, the racing was still close most of the time. Also impressive to note; these are less experienced drivers running on hand out tires, however their car control and ability to make clean passes was a joy to see! Hopefully we’ll be able to keep that going throughout the rest of the season.

Newcomer to the Series, Mike Allen, put in 3 amazing runs and scored a perfect 300 points for the day. He was also the only one to post a 47-lap run and consistently stayed in the 18-second lap range. If he continues in the rest of the Series, he could be one that gives current Series points leader Jonah Gallant a run for his money!

We were lucky to have Steve Hickman at this race as well. Hickman is from Virginia and, while I’d like to think he flies in just for our events, actually plans his trips here around the UF1. Steve finished the day with a 2nd/2nd/2nd, a total of 297 points. On top of that, Steve sits 2nd in the Series, only 9 points behind Gallant. Rumor has it he might miss one more round – that would be too bad. Would love to see a showdown near the end of the Series!

Finishing 3rd overall for the day was Dave Hilton. Dave posted a 3rd/7th/3rd – breaking in his 2nd race. This is Dave’s first appearance in the UF1 and, from the sounds of it, he is really enjoying it. He posted the fastest lap in the F2 class with an 18.580, gaining the other Exotek Racing G.Lok Gear Locker! He also asked about the F1 qualifying – we might be seeing Dave running with us in the future as well!

Finishing 4th for the day was John Christensen. Christensen is currently sitting 3rd in the Series, only 14 points out of 1st. That’s not tough to make up, however he’s already used his 3 throwouts so the rest of the Series will have to be pain free. John had some issues with his car in two of the races but was able to ride it out, finishing the day with a 6th/3rd/5th.

This was also Rylee Hilton’s first attempt at the UF1, finishing out the day in the Top 5. Great result; he posted a 7th/4th/4th. Hopefully we’ll see him make a return appearance in the Series as well!

Mike Hinkley made it out to Round 3, finishing the day with a 4th/5th/7th. He wasn’t able to drop into the 18-second lap times, but he was able to post consistent finishes. Mike jumped from 15th to 7th overall in the Series, only 2 points of of 6th. Stick with it Mike!!!

Finishing in 7th and only 1 point behind Mike was John Brown. While the rest of the Vegas guys sat this one out, John made his way out to gather some valuable points. Even though he finished the day with a 5th/6th/6th, those points allowed him to throw out some lower points; he now sits in 5th. He’s only 2 points out of 4th and 12 out of 3rd – there could be a Top 3 podium finish for him yet! Good luck John!

Constructor’s Championship
AMG Motorsport retains their lead in the Constructors, however The Silver Arrows made up 4 points, closing the gap to 34. Not an insurmountable gap, but they’ll surely need some luck in the next couple of races to overtake.

Team Alfa scored enough points to keep their 3rd place spot. Thanks to some of the other teams not showing up, Team 11 bumps to 4th, a mere 45 points behind Alfa. I see a 3rd place fight forming!

Final Thoughts
Thankfully, the weather was great, the track (and traction) was amazing and I can’t say enough about how calm, cool and collected race announcer Giti Gowland was. Guy ran the race like a pro, making the experience back to RoadRunners a true pleasure.

As I’m sure some of you may have heard, TQ is closing it’s doors on November 30th. We’re trying to get one last race in there (UF1 or not), but as for the second half of the season, this is going to change things up quite a bit.

We’ll keep everyone posted, but I just want to thank everyone for coming out to Round 3. I really enjoy doing this for you guys and I hope you enjoy playing in my sandbox.

Thanks to the following sponsors for this year’s UF1 Series:
ActivRC
Fenix Racing Shop
PROTOform
Tamiya
Team Associated
VBC Racing

Photo Gallery: Gallery 64 – Round 3 – UF1 2019/2020 Series