Race Recap: 2019/2020 UF1 Series – Race 5 – GP de France | UF1 RC

Post Race Analysis
Ah, the Winter Break is over – welcome back everyone! It’s time to get back to some Formula 1 racing!

We decided to mix things up a bit for Rounds 5 and 6, moving the UF1 to this small town in the middle of the Nevada desert – Las Vegas! 702 RC Raceway was the destination and, since it was a travel track, we elected to throw a pair of races their way. Since all of our races (so far) have been outdoors, this gave the drivers that favored carpet a chance to bulk up on some points – and boy did they capitalize! It was actually crazy to see mid-field runners completely dominate the event, reinforcing the idea that we do need both carpet and asphalt tracks in the Series.

Friday was open practice with a fresh layout so no one had the advantage come race day. Those that wanted the upper hand showed up and put the time in, giving them a good feel for how Saturday was going to go.

It was a bit chilly on Saturday morning (actually, it was damn cold the whole time there!), but drivers made their way in for a short-ish morning practice before qualifying. Oddly enough, we didn’t get the turnout we were hoping for – 9 F1 and 7 F2 drivers. Since we were going to be running two rounds over the weekend (Rounds 5 and 6), those that didn’t show would be receiving 0 points for BOTH rounds – this could really change the standings!

With the turn out low, we took a poll early on and the drivers agreed – we’d run both Rounds 5 and 6 in the same day! It would make for a pretty long program, especially since we were running Round 5 counter-clockwise and Round 6 in a clockwise direction (with a short practice session in between). However, this would allow anyone needing to travel the chance to get up early on Sunday and head home. We’ll chat about Round 5 now – Round 6 will be in another post.

Formula 1
Qualifying
Qualifying started off with all 9 drivers hitting the track. Well, actually 8. Mark Goldwater had an issue right out of the gate and failed to put a time on the boards. SoCal local asphalt heroes Monteiro, Duarte, Rebal and Rott (as well as Vegas’ Bruce Hickman) were all looking racey, however it was the two carpet kids that stole the show. Phillip Enriquez and Brian Ruvalcaba were setting a blistering pace, both dropping lap times almost 1/2 second a lap faster than anyone else. The only other person that had any game for them was Monaghan, posting similar lap times as well.

After the 3-minute qualifying session was over, Monaghan would have to settle for 3rd place right behind Ruvalcaba. Phillip would post an amazing final 2 laps to squeak past Brian for the TQ – a 14.279 5-lap average to Ruvalcaba’s 14.280. It doesn’t get any closer than that!

Here’s how it sorted out going into Round 5 of the event.

Mains
As with most carpet tracks, the grip level is much higher than outdoor tracks. However, with the track being a little green, this caused quite a few handling issues that resulted in minor crashes, leaving drivers scrambling between rounds to replace spur gears, axles and even suspension parts.

Brian Ruvalcaba was not one of those people. He finished slightly off the pace in Race 1, completing the race behind Enriquez by a small margin. In Races 2 and 3, though, he showed complete control. Ruvalcaba finished Race 2 by over a lap, Race 3 by 3 laps (with an amazing 62-lap run). He just kept getting faster and faster each race. This show of domination also sent him flying up the overall leaderboard, placing him in the Top 5. The unfortunate thing is that the final 2 races are outdoors but, if he puts in some good races, he might find himself in a battle for 2nd overall! Come on, Brian, let’s see what you got!

Also not suffering from the carpet drama was independent driver Phillip Enriquez. The Ferrari driver was on a mission – his car carried so much corner speed it was ridiculous. He could pass you on the inside, the outside, the underside – wherever he wanted to go, his car would be there – then around you. Race 1 for him was awesome, taking the lead and putting a tick in the W column after the 15 minute race. Race 2 would prove to be a challenge, falling off Ruvalcaba’s pace, but it was Race 3 that pretty much killed his chances at an overall win. A false-charge on his battery saw the Ferrari’s speed fall WAY off mid-race, forcing him into the pits for a battery replacement. He lost quite a few laps, but did put in enough pace to finish 2nd overall. Good points for the young driver.

Championship leader Michael Monaghan found himself in an odd position in Round 5 – his car looked good but was trailing each race behind Ruvalcaba and Enriquez. His best bet was to keep it between the boards – no mistakes. Michael finished P3 in the first two races, grabbing a P2 in race 3 (thanks to Enriquez’ misfortune). This actually put him in a tie for 2nd, however the tiebreaker relegated him to 3rd. Still, a good day for Michael as he retains the lead in the Championship by 42 points – a healthy margin with 3 races left. Fellow teammate Bruce Hickman finished in 8th place overall. His day started off a little rocky, missing Race 1 entirely, then posting a 7th place finish in Race 2 and a 6th place in Race 3. This would only give him 281 points on the board and, unfortunately, dropping him down the Championship leaderboard a spot. The combined points were good for AMG Motorsport in the Constructor’s Championship, however Hickman’s unfortunate pre-race condition was costly. More on that later.

Slotting into 4th position was none other than Team Alfa driver Mark Goldwater! Mark’s super consistent pace all through Round 5 netted him a 5th, 5th and 3rd, collecting enough points to top most of the field. Early on, we spoke a bit about how his car was working and he was trying to make it ‘better’, but we concluded that an easy-to-drive car is the best thing for the tight, slightly unpredictable 702 track. Mark kept his cool, kept it between the boards and pocketed 290 points for his individual Championship fight. The unfortunate thing was the loss of his teammate, Craig Hammon. Rumor has it that Craig may be out of the Series. Guess we’ll see at the next 3 races.

Team Silver Arrows driver Carlos Duarte racked up 288 points, good enough for a 5th place finish. He had a 7th and two 4th place finishes, but was constantly trying new things to better the car. He and teammate Rajan Monteiro (281 points, 7th place overall finish) were working with rear wings, wheelbase, some tire testing and a myriad of other things, but in the end just didn’t have the pace. Today. We know for a fact these two can put together some stellar runs outside! Thankfully, Round 5 did push Carlos up the leaderboard; Raj still retains his 2nd place standing. On another note – due to AMG Motorsports issue, the Silver Arrows team took the lead in the Constructor’s. Again, more on that later.

Independent Chad Rott had a decent day as well. He picked up a pair of 6th place finishes and a 5th. This gave him 286 points, good enough for 6th overall. He struggled a bit for pace, but was able to keep it consistent enough to gain ground on drivers above him in the Championship. His main goal in Round 5 – if you asked him … even if you didn’t – was to beat Duarte! This would help keep Carlos behind him in the Championship and raise his value for next season. Guy is funny but also a pretty serious racer. Ready to see how he’ll do in a team situation next year.

Team 11 driver Doug Rebal was flying solo this weekend as well. He did his best to manage track conditions, but gremlins kept him (and his car) in the pits time after time. Doug posted three 8th place finishes, however finishing 9th overall. Even though the day was rough, Doug did gain a couple places in the Championship over those that didn’t show. That’s the silver lining.

Fast Lap Award
On Friday, we saw some pretty stellar laps getting posted – down into the low 13’s. Come race day morning, though, the track was quite cold and traction just wasn’t there. That didn’t keep drivers from showing their speed – Brian Ruvalcaba posted a very fast single lap of 13.796! Mark Goldwater flexed his F1 muscle, throwing down a 13.894 in race conditions! Finally, Michael Monaghan squeaked into 3rd with a 13.989. Fast lap gets and extra point for the Round – good job Brian. 1 more point towards your potential Top 5 finish!

Formula 2
Qualifying
As you might suspect, qualifying for the F2 class was all about the 702 drivers. North C was on a mission, not only posting a 15.138 5-lap average, but he also was the only one to drop in the 14-second lap time (during qualifying). This kid is just plain fast – but didn’t quite get there without a little shove. Julian Campbell was close behind with a 15.245 5-lap average, letting North know he was there and going to be giving him a run in the mains. Dropping into 3rd was Virginian Steve Hickman with a 15.701 5-lap average. Yes, you read that right – Steve Hickman came all the way from Virginia to race at 702! He’s been attending quite a few races with us and it was good to see him in Vegas.

Here’s the full qualifying order for Round 5:

Mains
North has been to a couple UF1 events in SoCal and proven to be a fantastic driver. Working our way to his home track, it was not surprising to see him atop the podium for Round 5. Not only did he TQ, he posted a pair of 1st place finishes and a 2nd (in Race 3). North’s car looked super smooth, super fast and rock solid all day. He finished Round 5 with 299 points and moved himself up into the Top 10 in the overall. His scores are impressive, just too bad he hasn’t attended more races this season. Maybe next year.

Coming in 2nd was 702 fellow driver Julian Campbell. Julian’s car was also super quick and, at one point, was pressing pretty hard for the lead. A win in Race 3 solidified his 2nd place finish, but you could tell he wasn’t satisfied – he wanted the overall win. I love seeing that passion in this Series – reminds me of, well, me. Julian’s time also bumped him up into the Top 10. Good days work.

Steve Hickman put in some solid runs, posting a 6th and two 3rd place finishes. He scored 291 points, good enough for a 3rd place overall for Round 5. I think his first run was riddled with some pit issues – we were using a new pit system where you (the driver) needed to stop your car in the pits – no pit boss to grab your car. If you missed the pit ‘window’, you’d have to exit and travel around again. Most drivers liked it; I think Steve was over it LOL. He now sits in the Top 5 – a great showing for the Virginian!

702 local Mike Montes was in attendance, posting 289 points for Round 5 (a 3rd, 6th and 5th). His car looked really good and his finishing points put bumped him into the Top 5! Great showing! Also have to give a shout out for the pizza – he brought in a couple monster pies for the drivers (since we were running both Rounds 5 and 6 that day). So yummy! RC and pizza – perfect combo!

Mr. Joe Hawkins III made the trek out from SoCal and pulled a 5th place finish with 288 points – great day for The Hawk! I was talking to him about the event and he said he knew if he showed up he could make up alot of spots in the Championship! Well, you’re right – you’re now in a solid Top 10 position! Great job sir!

Dwayne Battie, owner and operator of 702 RC Raceway, also brought his car out for some F2 action. Dwayne posted 286 points for the day, finishing with a 7th, 4th and 6th. He was doing quadruple duty – driver, announcer, cashier and even running out to get additional propane for the portable heaters (we certainly needed those!). Hats off to this guy – he had alot going on and still finished off Round 5 in 6th place!

Behind Dwayne was Mark Hinkley. Mark has recently joined the UF1 and, amazingly enough, has found himself in P1 in the F2 class! He’s been very consistent throughout, but moreover has only missed one complete Round (all the other drivers have missed 2). That gives him a huge advantage come points tally, almost enough that he could take the Championship by Round 7! I think it took him by surprise when I mentioned that if he won the F2 Championship he would be advanced to the F1 class, so we’ll see where his head is the race or two.

Finally, 702 resident Mark Goldstrom came home in 8th place. Mark has joined us at a few SoCal events so it was good to see him come out to a local race. Mark did well in Race 1 – 5th place – but two 8th place finished in Races 2 and 3 held back his points a bit. Still good to see him out there; hopefully he’ll attend the last two races in SoCal.

Constructor’s Championship
Alrighty – the Constructor’s Championship. So, I’ve mentioned a couple times above that there was a major points rally between two teams – AMG Motorsport and the Silver Arrows. Prior to this event, the Silver Arrows team of Monteiro and Duarte were about 45 points behind AMG Motorsport. As we finished qualifying for Round 5, we typically go into the Bonus Points part of the event (see the post here about the Bonus Points). After assessing everyone’s cars and doling out the points, I noticed that Bruce Hickman was rocking a non-AMG Motorsport livery on his car. When questioned, it seems he left his race body at home and was using this one instead. After taking a short time to think about it, I concluded that it would be unfair to the other teams if AMG Motorsport entered their cars into the race with non-matching bodies; it is part of the rules to have near-identical bodies.

After talking to them, it was decided that if the AMG team wanted to receive Championship points for the day, Bruce would have to run home to get his race body (he lives in Boulder City, about 40 minutes away). He headed home but, in the meantime, missed Race 1 of Round 5. Since he was in attendance and paid to race, he would receive last place points for that Race (92 points) but, because he was a DNS, those 92 points would not apply to the Constructor’s Championship. Since the Silver Arrows were roughly 45 points back, they basically GAINED 45 points with the points split (92-45ish = 45ish). Unfortunately, this dropped the AMG Motorsports team to P2 in the Championship.

While I know this sucks, it was only fair to the rest of the teams. There are still 3 races left so anything can happen – we’ll just have to see how it plays out.

Final Thoughts
Personally, I thought it was really fun visiting a new track in the Series. It might even be something we do on a single-case basis in the future. Because it was carpet (and basically a double-points weekend) I thought we’d see more drivers, but it is what it is. Those that showed up had a great time and got a pretty decent points advantage, changing up the Championship standings quite a bit.

As always, a huge thanks to those that made it out. I really appreciate the support.

One more race to go this weekend – stay tuned for Round 6 shortly.

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

Photo Gallery: Gallery 66 – Round 5 & 6 – UF1 2019/2020 Series