Race Recap: 2022/2023 UF1 Series – Race 1 – Bahrain GP | UF1 RC

Post Race Analysis
Well, the UF1 is back after a multi-year hiatus due to that wacky Coronavirus. First and foremost, we’re extremely excited to have everyone back out and healthy. Secondly, we’re stoked to be able to launch the Season Opener at Cal Raceway, one of the premiere onroad tracks in Southern California. The layout was fast, the traction was stellar and every driver made the most of the extended morning practice to get a handle on their cars as the day progressed.

As usual, two classes were offered at the event – Formula 1 and Formula 2. For the un-initiated, the Formula 2 class is for beginners learning the ways of driving a RWD F1 car. The class rules aren’t super serious – any chassis, open tire, 2S LiPo and a 25.5T motor. The basis of this class is to get used to the car and have a good time!

The Formula 1 class, however, is a bit more strict – any chassis, open tire, 2S LiPo, a 25.5T OR 21.5T motor and, the most important thing, liveries on the cars to make them look like the real thing!

To be eligible for the F1 class, you need to ‘qualify’ – basically prove you deserve to be driving with the best-of-the-best. We added a LCQ, a Last Chance Qualifier, for the F1 class during the extended morning practice session. During that 15-minute period, any driver wanting to qualify for the class could attempt to, having to post a target time in 3-consequetive laps. Out of the 5 participants, 3 pulled through to graduate to the F1 class – Jimmy Wright, Christian Lopez and Brian Santos. A big congrats to those 3 drivers!

The day was warm (ok, it was quite hot) and the racing – well, just read on to find out just how awesome it was!

Formula 1
Qualifying
The UF1 uses a simple 3-minute qualifying session. Drivers put their cars on the track and start their warm-up session. When the clock starts, all drivers are on their own times, trying to post their best laps during that 3-minute session. Typically, we pull your fastest 5-laps and average them, giving you an overall time and standing within your group (F1 or F2). Because of an issue seeding everyone using this method, we opted to change the results to your Top 3 Consecutive which, as it turns out, ordered everyone in about the same places.

During qualifying, it was obvious drivers missed the UF1 and were here to compete. Fast guys out of the gate were Mike Rydwell, Carlos Duarte and Rajan Monteiro. These 3 were dropping low 11-second laps like crazy until Carlos posted the fastest lap in qualifying – a 10.960 – and the first driver to hit a sub-11 second lap!

Back down the pack a bit, we saw Edgar Fiallos clock in some great laps to post a P4 with Hector Martinez less that a 1/10 behind him! Steven Jackson, Ken Gerberding, Thad Garner, Brian Marion and Christian Lopez would finish out the Top 10.

Here’s how the entire driver lineup finished.

Mains
One of the changes we made this year was to the main event resort. In past years after each main, we would resort the class due to finishing time in the previous race, however you would stay in your particular run group. This year when we did the resort, it resorted EVERYONE in the run group. So, if you were in the ‘A’ run group and had a bad race, you could be pushed down to the ‘B’ group for your next run. This added an interesting element to the mains and required each driver to push to keep in the faster run group which, theoretically, would make for more equal racing.

McLaren ULTRA’s Mike Rydwell didn’t seem to have an issue with this, however, as he put on and absolute clinic all day long. His F1 ULTRA was the best we’ve ever seen it, partly due to Exotek’s newly released F1 tires. All day long his car was amazing, fast in the straights and cornering like it was glued to the track. Mike took the win in all 3 races – R1 was his closest finish, taking it by about 1/2 a second over teammate Rajan Monteiro (which in itself is quite incredible after a 15-minute race). Races 2 and 3 were an absolute blowout with Mike crossing the line with a 2-lap advantage in R2 and a 1-lap advantage in R3. He also set the fastest lap of the event, a 10.756. Mike finished the day with 301 points – 100 for each main and 1 for the fast lap. We’re thinking this won’t be his last Fast Lap Award this season. Rumors were floating that he might not be able to make all the races – I think this absolute stamp of domination might actually change his mind.

Finishing in P2 was Mike’s teammate, Rajan Monteiro. Raj was also running the Exotek F1 ULTRA and, like Mike’s, it looked incredibly competitive all day. Raj posted a P2 in Race 1, a P3 in R2 and a P4 in R3. Ya, he was kind of going backwards, but in all fairness we think everyone else just took some time to catch up. Raj’s runs were very consistent, though, which helped keep him in the hunt for a podium finish. Raj is definitely a UF1 fanatic so we’re excited to see if he can keep that F1 ULTRA competitive at all the other tracks. He brought home 294 points for the day.

The driver that took the final spot on the podium was actually a surprise – sort of. Thad Garner brought his A game, posting a P4, P4 and a P3 to finish 3rd overall. We’ve known Thad for centuries and know this kid can drive, but to come to your first UF1 event, racing F1 for the first time and flaunt your competitiveness – oh boy, this is going to be a good season! Thad accrued 293 points, just 1 point behind Raj. If we had to make a prediction, we’d say Thad has a good chance to place Top 3 overall at the end of the Season. You read that here first. No pressure bud.

Former Silver Arrows driver Carlos Duarte brought home the P4 title, acting as an Independent driver this season (however still flying the Silver Arrows colors). Due to some other obligations, Carlos wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make the entire race season so he gave Raj a Hall Pass to find another team. We’re wondering if he’s regretting that now. Either way, Carlos put in a fantastic run, posting a P6, P6 and P3 as well as the second fastest lap time of the event, a 10.908. He tied with 5th place Ruvalcaba with 288 points but, because he had the better last round, Carlos moved into the number 4 position. Carlos is one of the nicest guys out there – we’re hoping he can find the time to continue racing in the UF1.

Redbull driver Brian Ruvalcaba sits in 5th place. As mentioned above, Brian tied Carlos with 288 points after a P5, P2 and P8. Brian’s car was excellent in the early runs but seemed to fall off in Race 3. Brian is also one of only a few drivers NOT running the Exotek tires! While we thought this might be the reason for his P8 finish in R3, he did manage to post a blistering 10.941 lap time, the 3rd fastest lap of the event. Checking the laps, he had a few bumpy ones deep into the run, most likely causing him to drop down the order. He’s no stranger to that top podium spot so we’re certain he’ll be gunning for P1 in the following races.

Taking the P6 title was Independent driver Jimmy Wright. Jimmy has been a long time friend and, after hearing about the UF1 revival, contacted us about racing in it. Not only did he put in a fantastic run in his first UF1 event (a P9, P8 and P6), he also qualified for the F1 class in the morning LCQ! Jimmy finished the day with a respectable 281 points. He’s also the owner of one of our Series sponsors, TrackStar RC, and offered up some ‘Gold’ Tire Sauce and Dream Clean Tire Cleaner for the raffle. A big thanks to Jimmy and his wonderful wife Carna for coming out. Looking forward to seeing you at the next race!

Finishing closely behind in P8 was Brian Marion with 276 points. Brian is another driver competing in his first UF1 event, qualifying for the F1 class back in August. He teamed up with LCQ contestant Brian Santos in the morning and entered a new team for the Constructor’s Championship, B-Spec Honda. Brian had a P7, a P9 and a P11, a good day considering the level of competition on his first time out. We definitely expect Marion to start his trek upwards on the leaderboards now that he has his first event under his belt.

Independent driver Steven Jackson drove all the way in from Las Vegas for the Season Opener of the UF1. Jackson is no stranger to the format, running in the UF1 quite a bit in the past. He would finish the day with a P3, a P5 and a very unfortunate P19. He definitely had the pace to be in the Top 3 at the end of the day but had to settle with 276 points, tying Marion for 8th place. His P19 came in Race 3 (the tie-breaker) and we’re certain this will be one of his 3 throwouts for the Season. After his successful-ish first event, we’re certain we’ll be seeing him out with us during the rest of the UF1 Season.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Phillip Enriquez. Phillip had a decent day with a P10, P13 and a P12, however not a normal posting for the Independent driver. Phillip usually cements some Top 5 finishes in his Ferrari-liveried car but was a bit off the pace this weekend. One thing about Phillip, though, is that he does make it a point to attend EVERY race which allows him the luxury of choosing which races to throw out. This could be his forward-thinking plan for helping him move up the leaderboard later in the Series.

Rebull teammate Hector Martinez had a bit of a rough weekend, finishing 11th overall with 267 points (another tie with 12th place Brian Santos). Hector had a P12 and a P7, but his Race 1 run of a P17 toppled him down the leaderboards. Ending that run with only 34 laps, we’re going to guess this might be one of his early throwouts. But, as we’ve seen in past Seasons, Hector will come back with a vengeance – he’s another one of those drivers that races at different tracks to get a feel for it. Expect him to be a strong contender as we continue in the Season.

Brian Santos had an interesting day. He showed up as a F2 driver, qualified for the F1 class, was co-founder of the B-Spec Honda team, dove right into qualifying and then finished the day with 276 points and a respectable 12th place finish – all during his first UF1 event! Santos finished the day with a P11, P15 and P10, great positioning considering the amount of talent that showed up. There is some hidden talent on that team (both him and Brian Marion) that could put them in contention at the end of the Season. As it is now, B-Spec Honda sits 3rd in the Constructor’s…

Independent driver (and long time UF1 contestant) Alex M slots into P13 with 266 points. Alex had a decent day as well with a P8 and P11, but his Race 3 status at P18 (with only 17 laps and a stunning motor detonation that created a HUGE plume of smoke) dropped him down the leaderboard. He will probably use that as a throwout and, as he’s another driver that plays the field, we expect him to come back out swinging at future races.

Finishing right behind Alex is the first driver on the newly formed BYM team, Christian Lopez. Christian has been a long time racer of almost anything with wheels, taking a stab at his first UF1 race. He ended the day with 265 points and a P19 (only 8 laps), a P10 and a P9. While this is definitely a good result for his first UF1 appearance (ok, the P19 is a bit rough), what makes his story even better is that him and teammate Timmy Valles are running very old Tamiya F103 (with F104 front ends) T-Bar cars in a field of this-generation side-link super cars! That alone makes shows their potential on track, so much so that they were the only ones practicing AFTER the event to better understand their cars. We expect to see their results improve as the Season progresses.

As mentioned above, BYM teammate Timmy Valles finished 15th, 6 points behind teammate Christian Lopez. Again, both are excellent drivers however the use of the F103 cars can’t really be helping their on-track performance. They did both get respectable finishes, Valles with a P13, a P16 and a P15. Their pace was a bit off but being the only ones running such an old car, it may take a little more time to find the pace needed to be in the Top 10. If anyone can do it, its the BYM team! Good luck guys!

Having a bit of a rough event, Team Alfa driver Ken Gerberding ended the day with 257 points and could only muster a P18 (with only 10 laps) and a pair of P14s. Ken has been known to post some serious Top 3 finishes in the past so there must have been some issues with the car. We’re unsure of why, but we do know he’s not gonna be happy with those results and will want to come back with a plan. Look to see his name much higher on the leaderboard at future race!

Craig “Cuda” Hammon, normally an Independent driver, Cuda was filling in for Mark Goldwater on Team Alfa at this event. We know Cuda can drop some fast runs but, unfortunately, he was plagued with motor issues in 2 of the 3 races. Craig tallied 256 points with his P16 (47 laps), his P18 (49 laps) and a decent P13. Had he not had those issues, we might have been chatting about him much higher up on this list. With the weather cooling down a lot, we don’t expect to see any more overheating issues in the back of Cuda’s F1! Time to throw down some heaters, Craig!

For certain one of the more entertaining drivers on the grid is Independent driver Joe Hawkins III. Joe won the F2 class last Season, graduating to F1. Joe had 255 points with a P15, a P17 and a P16. Nice, consistent runs for sure, but he’ll need to find a little more speed if he wants to push up the leaderboard. Joe likes to attend every race and travel to different tracks, so we’re sure he’ll be taking advantage of the choose-your-throw-out system this Season. Welcome to F1 Joe, and good luck!

There’s always has to be the final driver on the grid and, unfortunately, it was Doug Rebal with 252 points. Doug had a rough start to the Season, posting a P14, a P19 (with 37 laps) and a P17. Doug, rolling as an Independent driver this year, can use this race as a starting point, a baseline, an example of how we can’t win them all, and a good reason to push forward at following races. He may be at the bottom today, but rest assured Doug won’t be down here for long.

Fast Lap Award
The CompetitionX Fast Lap Award is one of our favorite awards of the day. This goal pushes the drivers and their cars to the ultimate limit and, honestly, it’s amazing to see what both are capable of.

This race saw some very fast laps in the low 11-second range during qualifying. As the final races started to run, the laps just got quicker and quicker, with Mike Rydwell setting a blistering 10.756 second run on lap 46 of his race. Following closely behind was Carlos Duarte and his 10.908 second time (on lap 9), almost a full 2 seconds behind (that shows Rydwell’s monster pace). Finally, Redbull driver Brian Ruvalcaba posted a 10.941 second time on lap 48 of his run.

There were a few other drivers with sub-11 second runs, showing that the F1 class is getting faster and more consistent each Season. It’s actually kind of amazing how fast these drivers are getting their cars to go!

Formula 2
Qualifying
The qualifying session for Formula 2 was interesting for 2 reasons – 1) We had a good field of 12 drivers and 2) out of the 12, 10 were NEW drivers to the UF1! The times from 1st to 12th were quite close, about 10 seconds total, with most drivers posting times in the high 11’s to low 12’s. This was actually perfect in terms of ability for the F2 class.

After the short 3-minute qualifier, Patrick Moneda would take home the TQ with Stephen Ruvalcaba in 2nd and Gabriel Gonzales in 3rd.

Here’s the full standings of the Formula 2 qualifying:

Mains
This year saw a slight change in the racing rules for the Formula 2 class. In previous years, the F2 class ran for 10 minutes with 1 pit stop each race. To help smooth out the program make it easier for the race directors, both classes now run 15 minute mains with 2 pit stops. This took a little getting used to for the new UF1 participants, but after Race 1 you could see them figuring it out and how best to utilize each pit.

Len Carson would be man on top in the first race of the 2022/2023 UF1 Season. He would bring home 296 points with a P4, a P2 and a P1. It wasn’t easy, but a Race 3 mishap by then-leader Matt Skipple would allow Len to make a bid for the lead and a spot on the top of the podium to secure his P1 finish overall. It was all about being a smooth driver, and Len showed everyone he has what it takes to top the charts. It’s only Race 1 and anything can happen, but you can’t argue that this was a great way to start the Season! Congrats Len!

We’ve know Matt Skipple for some time as he is the owner and operator of Sharkbait Designworks, a local body painter in SoCal. His work can be seen on almost every vehicle on a Team Associated box (as well as almost every one of my custom paint jobs), and he’s been craving some F1 action since last Season. We got him to come out with his Team Associated F6 and he did quite well, ending the day with 295 points and a P2, P1 and a P5. A bum last run hurt his chances for the W but we’re certain he’ll be back out and challenging for the top of the leaderboards!

Finishing 3rd overall for the day with 292 points was Gabriel Gonzales. Gabriel was super consistent all day, racking up a P3 and a pair of P4s. That kept his points count high enough for a Top 3 finish, heading home with a plaque and a good start to the Season! Great job – keep up the good work!

Patrick Moneda was looking good for a Top 3 finish (maybe even 1st overall) with a P1 and P2 in Races 1 and 3, but a blown bearing at the start of P2 shut down his run on lap 9. Patrick also took TQ in the F2 class as well as being one of only a couple drivers posting sub-12 second lap times. He’s got pace, he’s got consistency – now he just needs to keep his car together and he could very well be the man to beat!

Ending the day in 5th place, only 5 points behind Moneda, was Ed Bohon. Ed has joined us in some of our other Series events (namely the Euro Truck Racing League), however this is his first attempt in the UF1. Ed did well, posting a P5, a P8 and a P6 for a total points tally of 284. He actually tied 6th place driver Steven Strohm, but Ed’s better 3rd Race finish gave him the upper position. We’re hoping to see Ed at the other UF1 races in the Series! Thanks for coming and hope you had a great time!

Steven Strohm and his beautiful Buzzin’ Hornets ride brought home a tying 284 points with a P7, a P3 and a P9. That 3rd place finish in Race 2 was a good one, showing he has pace in the competitive F2 class. A little more consistency to get that P7 and P9 up a bit and you could be looking at a solid Top 3 contender. He’s been pretty pumped about the UF1 over the past couple weeks so we’re excited to see how he does at other tracks. Good luck!

Jerermy “I Race Everything” Dee brought home a respectable 7th place with 279 points. His P9, P5 and P10 were good enough to tie him with 8th place Glen Kratz, but a better Race 3 gave him the position. Jerermy loves all different types of racing and we’re happy to have him back in the UF1. Now, if you can just convince your much older kids now to come back out and race!

As mentioned above, Glen Kratz was tied for 7th place with Jerermy, both drivers accruing 279 points. Glen is also a new face to the UF1 and did well for his first time out, posting a P6, a P7 and a P11. He does show pace with consistency and a decent fast lap, so we’re certain he’ll get the hang of it now that he has the first-race-jitters out of his system.

Posting a 9th place finish was another newcomer, Chuck Clendenen. Chuck comes from other racing divisions but thought he’d try his hand in the UF1. He posted a P11, a P6 and a P8 for a grand total of 278 points for the day. That’s a really great start to the Season – that P6 had to feel good at your first UF1 event! Hope to see you guys at future races!

Cal Raceway local Phong Le came out to run some Formula 2, finishing in the Top 10 at his first race. Phong procured 278 points, tying Chuck for 9th place. Phong’s lower finishing order relegated him to 10th, but he didn’t seem to care – he left with a big smile on his face and the memories of a good time. Gotta give it to Phong – that guy sees the best in everything. Thanks for coming out and hope to see you at future races as well!

Steven Ruvalcaba, brother to F1’s Redbull driver Brian Ruvalcaba, had high hopes coming into this event. He’s been practicing for awhile now, showing his speed and consistency every time he hits the track. However, his first UF1 event was a bit rough, posting a P12 (with 45 laps), a P11 (with 13 laps) and a solid P3 in the final race. Even his lap times were there, just a bit of bad luck. Steven would only rack up 277 points for the day. It’s ok – shake it off – gather yourself back up and hit the track running at the next event – there’s lots of racing left! You got this!

The final racer of the day we yet another newcomer – Tyler Clendenen. Tyler has wheeled a few different vehicles around, but the UF1 was his first attempt at Formula 1. He didn’t have a bad day, posting 272 points with a P10, a P9 and a P12, but he does have a somewhat steep learning curve against a group of guys that live F1. You did well, Tyler, and we were glad to break you in at your first UF1 event! Keep coming out, keep learning the car and you’ll crawl your way up the leaderboards in no time!

Constructor’s Championship
Prior to the event, we had 4 teams vying for the Constructor’s Championship – McLaren ULTRA, Redbull, Team Alfa and Factory Team. What we didn’t know is that 2 more teams were waiting in the wings, all dependent on their drivers actually qualifying for the F1 class. Once qualified, we gained BYM and B-Spec Honda to join in the fun.

McLaren ULTRA took a commanding lead in Race 1 with 595 points thanks to both Rydwell and Monteiro posting top times. We knew this team was going to be strong and it showed with a stellar Race 1.

Redbull drivers Ruvalcaba and Martinez would have to settle for second, however a whopping 40 points behind. They’re going to need to pick it up in the next race or two to close that gap before McLaren ULTRA get too far ahead.

B-Spec Honda, with drivers Marion and Santos, are a manageable 12 points behind Redbull with 543 points. That’s a great start so far for the newly formed team.

Lopez and Valles of BYM would score 524 points, putting them 4th overall after Race 1. Honestly, that’s quite a feat seeing as the cars they are driving are 100 years old. If those two get some current F1 chassis’ under them, we could see some serious points being posted.

Team Alfa, minus their team principal Mark Goldwater (he had a work thing), would post 513 points. Not a great start to the team that finished 3rd last season. A quick pow wow, a new strategy and some luck are going to be needed to regain the lost ground. It’s a long season so they still have time to make things happen.

Finally, Factory Team sits in 6th with 293 points. We had high hopes for this team but, unfortunately, Aaron Lane had something more important to do than back up his hero team driver (we heard someone say something about a Honeymoon…). Either way, we’re not sure how feasible it is to make up this 200+ point deficit unless, of course, other teams miss a race.

Final Thoughts
All in all, the first race in the 2022/2023 UF1 Season went quite well. There were a couple of issues at the start of the event (of course) that were quickly handled to get everything going smoothly. We have to give a big shout-out to Ken Gerberding for letting us bounce rule clarifications on him and Notch Johnson for a SUPREMELY well-run program. A big thanks to all the sponsors (see below) and, of course, those of you that came out to support the UF1. It’s a lot of work but we love taking the Series to the next level and providing everyone a fun and exciting experience.

Thanks for coming out and we’ll see you at Round 2 at The Lap Factory!

Thanks to the following sponsors for this year’s UF1 Series:
• 1up Racing
• CompetitionX
• Exotek Racing
• Hitec
• ProTek RC
• PROTOform
• Reedy
• Tamiya
• TrackStar RC

Photo Gallery: Gallery 69 – Round 1 – UF1 2022/2023 Series