Race Recap: 2019/2020 UF1 Series – Race 7 – United States GP | UF1 RC

Post Race Analysis
The UF1 was back to business after a LONG hiatus from Rounds 5 and 6 in Vegas. Both F1 and F2 drivers converged at Revelation Raceway for Round 7 of the 2019/2020 Series where we had an absolutely beautiful (and a bit challenging) day on the asphalt. The weather teased a bit of rain earlier in the week, but thankfully held off on race day. There were, however, stages of hot and cold track temperatures (thanks to the clouds), making tire selection extremely critical. Drivers that had the sun definitely had the advantage; those with the clouds had to struggle to keep the pace. Heats that had both sun and clouds, well, it made for some very tricky conditions. A great equalizer for sure!

The F1 group was amazing – 15 total cars duking it out for the top spot. F2, however, is on a constant decline – only 4 drivers. I’m reworking the rules for next season to keep this class growing. These are the drivers we need to grow the UF1.

Formula 1
Qualifying
The confused weather wasn’t the only thing that took drivers by surprise. It appears certain carpet drivers were finally getting the hang of this asphalt stuff! TQ for the day went to carpet-champion Hector Martinez, who came out of nowhere and threw down an amazing time! Hector has been struggling all year outdoors, but finally found his groove and put the hurt on the local asphalt heroes.

Carlos Duarte put in an impressive time as well, finishing 2/10ths behind Hectors 5-lap average. Filling P3 was Chad Rott – an interesting story seeing as Carlos and Rott were tied in the Championship going into this race. Both being up near the front meant both had game, so it was going to be a great battle for today’s points.

Rajan Monteiro just missed the sub-16 second 5-lap average, but still a time good enough to capture P4 on the grid. He needed a good start position if he wants to catch points-leader Monaghan (who qual’ed 8th). Rounding out the Top 5 was Mike Rydwell. Mike was out testing his new F1Ultra, a bad ass new F1 car that looks absolutely amazing on track.

Ok then, let’s look at the final qualifying order for F1. Note: this certainly doesn’t dictate each driver’s speed – the daily finishing order might surprise you!

Mains
The track surface at Revelation Raceway is a bit bumpy, a bit rough and is lined by heavy-ish wood planks. While this isn’t your typical raceway, it does offer amazing traction and some absolutely awesome racing! Talk about not judging a book by it’s cover – Rev definitely falls in that category.

Team Renault driver Hector Martinez not only took the TQ, he simply dropped the hurt on all the other F1 drivers out there. Dood must have eaten his Wheaties, pulling in 3 2nd place finishes for the day. His 297 points were well earned – even he was surprised when I told him he took the overall win for the day. Martinez is a absolute beast on the carpet – this finish shows he’s got some chops on the asphalt as well. Hector sits 15th in the overall right now even after missing a couple races. This should be the spark that drives him full steam into next season! Great job Hector!

Slotting into P2 for the day was UF1 Originator (and Team 11 driver) Charles Lightfoot. It’s been awhile since CL has seen a podium so it’s great to see him up there. His car on track looked almost perfect – smooth in, fast out and very stable – all the things you need to post a Top 3 and certainly an accomplishment on Rev’s bumpy surface. Lightfoot grabbed 3rd in R1 and a 4th in R3, but it was his P1 in Race 2 that was simply amazing. Charles moves into the Top 10 with this finish, he too missing a couple races. Excellent job sir!

Silver Arrows driver Rajan Monteiro finished 3rd for the day, 1 point behind Lightfoot. It was a good day for Raj, posting a 1st/3rd/5th. Consistently finishing near the front, Raj has figured out that constant tuning isn’t necessarily the best way to go – get the car good and just drive it. His results in the latter half of the season have shown that, and Raj is slowly inching his way towards Monaghan (who leads the Championship). He’s now only 26 points out of 1st (that could vary slightly with the throwouts).

Silver Arrows teammate, Carlos Duarte, finished with a 6th/6th/3rd, enough points to wrap up 4th place. Both him and Monteiro are running Tamiya TRF103s, showing that car does have great pace on the bumpy Revelation track. It’s another great showing for Carlos and the Silver Arrows, but unfortunately the way the throwouts work, he dropped to 4th behind Chad Rott. Crazy how that works, so Carlos will have to step it up quite a bit in the final race if he wants to take 3rd overall in the Championship.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Ken Gerberding. Ken finished the day with 285 points (5th/4th/9th). That’s another great showing for the independent driver, securing enough points to move him to 11th place in the overall (20 points behind Lightfoot). He, like quite a few other drivers, missed the double-race in Vegas which really hurt his overall points, but he continues to place well each race. Who knows where he would be if he had shown at Vegas. Still, a great day for him.

Chad Rott, another Independent, finished 6th overall with a 4th/7th/10. Not a stellar day for him (he IS just coming off a Top 10 finish at the Snowbirds), but still a good enough day to creep ahead of Duarte for 3rd place in the overall Championship (by 2 points). He tied Mike Rydwell in final points (both with 282), but since Rott did better than Rydwell in Race 1, he gets to step ahead in the finishing order. He’ll also need a good showing at the final round to keep his 3rd place position, or hope for Duarte to have an off day. He better be careful, though – there are a few other drivers lurking closely behind in points…

Exotek owner Mike Rydwell had a mixed day, switching back and forth between his EFX2 FGX conversion and his new upcoming F1Ultra. Both cars were looking pretty racey all day, but a failed drive gear in the EFX2 (stock FGX part) saw him only hit 8 laps in Race 1. Switching over to his new F1Ultra, Mike posted a P5 in Race 2 and a P1 in Race 3 (and the only 55-lap run of the day). A great recovery drive for points, Mike sits 14th in the overall Championship (missing 3 complete rounds). Not to worry, though – that new car could post some significant race results next season!

Finishing 8th for the day was another independent – Alex M. Alex posted an 8th/9th/7th, excellent results considering he’s an indoor carpet guy. I had a short talk with him and he was telling me how he was finally getting the hang of outdoor racing. His season hasn’t been that great but he kept at it and is starting to creep up the leaderboards. I know the struggle of the switch (between both surfaces), so I totally get where he’s coming from. Good to see him still hammering away! Alex sits 13th in the Championship.

Privateer Phillip Enriquez finished 9th overall for the day with a 7th/11th/8th. Phillip is still doing a little tuning on his custom FGX-based ride, working the bugs out at every event. The car does have potential (seeing his 15.8 fast lap compared to the fastest at 15.3), it’s now just a matter of consistency. This is where things get scary (for other drivers) – once Phillip gets this thing figured out, it’s hammer time. Look for him to finish the season out mid-pack (currently sitting 8th), but then explode out of the gate next season.

Championship leader Michael Monaghan had a bit of a rough day. His 9th/8th/6th only nabbed him 276 points, good enough for 10th place. However, that drops 18 points to 2nd place runner Monteiro who is trying everything he can to catch up. With a current gap of only 26 points, Monaghan needs to be extra careful (and extra fast) at the final race to take the Championship. The fact that there are 15 drivers showing up in the F1 class means more points could be lost in the event of a breakdown. Monaghan, though, races full size karts, so I’m sure he’s not a stranger to pressure. While this seems pretty exciting to everyone else, he just has to do what he does … come out and drive.

Team Renault driver Brian Ruvalcaba gathered up 271 points for an 11th place finish. To me (and probably him), this was quite a surprise since he was blisteringly fast in practice, posting sub-16 second laps before anyone was even in the mid-16’s. Brian had an 11th/10th/13th, definitely not great seeing as his car was pretty amazing early on. He sits in 5th place right now in the Series, just 22 points out of 4th (however only 8 points ahead of 6th). Definitely not a bad finishing order for his first year in the F1 class!

Team Alfa driver Mark Goldwater looked fast all day, but his consistency just wasn’t there. Mark had a 10th/12th/11th, enough to post 269 points on the board. He sits 7th overall in the Championship, however that might change as the two drivers above him are close on points. A good day for Mark (and possibly a bad day for Ruvalcaba and Hickman) could sway the points enough (with the throwouts) to move Mark up. Keep at it Goldwater – you still have a chance for a Top 5!

Independent driver Matt Siu joined us for the first time this season, finishing 13th overall for the day. Matt attended a couple races last season, all on the carpet. At his first attempt outdoors, the posted a 12th/13th/15th for a total of 265 points – pretty good for a driver with no outdoor experience. He said he had a good time, so hopefully we’ll see him running at the final race.

Also have a rough day was Team Alfa teammate Craig Hammon. Cuda is usually the master of the outdoors, but the last couple races have seen him be a bit off the pace. Not sure what the deal is, but I think he’ll be finishing off the season with some more testing to come back stronger than ever next season. Craig had a 13th/14th/12th, good for 262 total points. Hammon is 12th overall in the Championship.

Rounding out the F1 group was Team 11 driver Doug Rebal. Doug had a 14th/15th/14th, good for 259 points. While not one of his best days, he was still out there pounding away, testing, trying and learning. His mantra “you can’t win if you don’t show up” plays perfectly to his current Championship position – he sits 9th overall right now, 191 points ahead of 10th place. He could, depending on the throwouts, even move up to 8th place if Enriquez isn’t careful!

Fast Lap Award
I created the Fast Lap Award as kind of an extra funsie thing, but it (and the additional 1 point for posting it) has become quite popular. Drivers seem to love the extra recognition, even if they don’t place so well during the race.

Round 7 saw Chad Rott hit a blindingly fast lap – a 15.391 – on lap 9 of his 52 lap run. That’s a FAST lap, considering the runner-up lap was a 15.405 by Brian Ruvalcaba. Ken Gerberding hit a 15.557 to slot into the 3rd spot for fast laps.

Good job Chad. You’re on the top spot of the Fast Lap Award and gain an extra 1 point for your efforts. Keep it up!

Formula 2
Qualifying
Unfortunately we only saw 4 drivers in the F2 class with 3 of them sitting 1-2-3 in the Series. However, it was a first-timer to hit the track to post the TQ for the round – Chris Condon. Chris has run in the ETRL (Euro Truck Racing League, another Series I run) so I’m quite familiar with his driving, however F1s are quite a different animal. Good to see him come out here and lay it down!

Here’s how they qualified in Round 7:

Mains
The mains went off with the same concerns the F1 guys had – hot and cold temps in both qualifying and racing. The only setback for the F2 guys is the fact that they are on a control tire, so switching to something that works ‘better’ was a little more difficult. In the end, though, all 4 drivers had fun and posted some fantastic times.

Taking P1 for the day was Steve Hickman. Brother to F1 pilot Bruce Hickman, Steve pulled off 3 1st place wins for a maximum score of 300 points. Steve sits in P2 in the overall, however a pretty substantial 249 points out of 1st. His only hope, going into the final round, is that Hinkley doesn’t race. That could potentially give him 300 points and the overall win. If Hinkley does race, Hickman would most likely finish 2nd. Curious to see how this is going to play out.

Finishing 2nd for the day was Chris Condon. Since this was Chris’ first attempt at the UF1, he showed up a little unprepared – he didn’t have a set of the control tires. I didn’t have a problem with him running, he just wouldn’t be counted as far as points were concerned. He was fine with that – however Hickman wasn’t. Steve let Chris borrow a set of tires for the day so that he could race – within the rules – and enjoy the F2 class to its fullest. Talk about sportsmanship! Chris seemed to take to the tires well, finishing all 3 races in 2nd place. Hopefully we’ll see Chris back at the final race at Cal!

Joe Hawkins III wrapped up his day with 3 3rd place finishes. He’s also on the “you can’t win if you don’t show up” plan and has successfully captured at least 3rd place in the Championship (currently 292 points ahead of 4th). There is an outside chance he could take 2nd, but only if Hickman doesn’t show up. Always a great guy to have around, Hawk is there to show you what FUN is in RC. Glad to have this guy roaming the pits.

Finally with 3 4th place finishes was Mark Hinkley. Hinkley is currently leading the Championship and has a healthy lead over Hickman. Mark has stated on numerous occasions he isn’t interested in moving up to the F1 class – that his Championship lead is based on other drivers attrition. He is the only driver with 1 triple-0 throwout – everyone else has at least 2. We’ll have to chat with the committee on this and see, but at the moment Mark, you’re on your way to the F1 class! 🙂

Constructor’s Championship
It appears that the Silver Arrows team of Monteiro and Duarte have taken the inaugural Constructor’s Championship win. With a 353 point lead, there’s no possible way that AMG Motorsport can come back from that. Congrats to them on the win – teamwork makes the dream work.

I do think, though, that AMG Motorsport missed out on one of the rules. It states “If a team driver cannot make it to an event, the UF1 will allow a substitute driver for ONE race during the season. It can be someone within the UF1 or someone out, but the driver change must be cleared prior to the event. This will allow teams that have a possible no-show still eligible for points (since ALL points count towards the Constructor’s Championship).” Since Bruce Hickman missed this race, AMG Motorsport missed out on points as a team. That was the nail in the coffin for them, however next year I’ll make it a point to make this rule more clear (it is on the Rules page).

Final Thoughts
It’s always fun for me to see drivers attack a tricky track. Hot and cold conditions, new layout, tire choices – they all play a key role in how you finish a race. Round 7 was no different.

A big thanks to everyone who came out and, of course, to Revelation Raceway for putting up with us. Sorry for any delays that came up guys – not much I can do about it other than sit there and try and figure them out. One day we’ll get it sorted out – I promise.

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

Photo Gallery: Gallery 67 – Round 7 – UF1 2019/2020 Series