Race Recap: 2022/2023 UF1 Series – Race 2 – Australian GP | UF1 RC

Post Race Analysis
Round 2 of the 2022/2023 UF1 Series is in the books and boy was it a doozy!

First, the threat of rain. That subsided, but the overnight downpour left the track cold and wet, leaving The Lap Factory crew a challenging morning to get things ready! They did a great job of drying off the track and laying down a light coat of liquid traction, but because it was cold with no sun to be seen, things were a bit slippy for the first couple drivers to go out.

After a couple rounds of practice, the track started to finally come in but qualifying and the first mains proved to be a bit tricky with less-than-optimum track conditions! We saw some very unusual crashes and slow lap times from some of the top drivers which opened the door to those that could get a handle on their cars early on!

There’s so much more to talk about, but let’s dive right in and chat about qualifying!

Formula 1
Qualifying
The track layout was semi-simple in design, but with track temps quite low, major car changes were in order to get the best possible performance. Factory Team’s Thad Garner was the first to lock it in and took full advantage of his findings to post the fastest time in qualifying with a 3-lap average of 33.802. This would give him an advantageous front row start in Main 1.

Slotting into P2 was Carlos Duarte, subbing for missing B-Spec Honda driver Brian Santos. Carlos set a great time of 34.577 and also gave himself a good starting position going into Main 1.

Right behind Carlos to wrap up the Top 3 was Ken Gerberding. This was a great showing for the Team Alfa driver after last race’s troubled performance. I’m sure it was a good confidence booster as well to be competitive right from the get go on such a tricky track.

The big surprise was the McLaren ULTRA duo with both cars qualifying 10th and 11th. The Championship (and Constructor’s points) leader fell way off the pace, so they had their work cut out for them to get out of the mid pack and back up to the front.

Here’s how they lined up after the qualifying.

Mains

Factory Team’s Aaron Lane took the top spot in the day’s racing thanks to some very consistent driving. Aaron took a 2nd, 2nd, 1st to bring home enough points to beat out his teammate Garner by ONE POINT! Lane’s mish-mash Team Associated F6 (which, really isn’t an F6 at all anymore) worked flawlessly all day in both the cold, slippery track to the warm-ish, higher bite afternoon conditions. Lane also had the 2nd fastest lap of the day, showing his consistent driving is also quite fast! He now sits 3rd overall in the Championship, just 3 points behind the leader. However, missing the entire first day means he needs to keep his nose clean the rest of the season if he’s got a shot at winning this thing…

Finishing in 2nd was Thad Garner, who certainly had the field covered from the sound of the tone in Main 1. His Exotek F1 ULTRA was absolutely DIALED in the early stages of the day, pulling away from the pack and putting in some crazy-fast laps. He won Race 1 by over a lap (with a 76-lap run) and Race 2 by over a lap (with a blistering 81-lap run), but had some major issues in Race 3 that landed him 4th. That 4th place finished would decide his fate and drop him to 2nd overall for the day. That didn’t really matter, though, as Lane grabbed the win (in Race 3) for a Factory Team 1-2 finish. I’m sure it stung a little, but it showed that Garner is here to stay and a serious threat on any surface!

Grabbing the final podium spot was Redbull driver Brian Ruvalcaba. Brian was a bit under the weather but still showed great pace, pulling off a 3rd, 3rd and 2nd. Another driver that was super consistent, his run keeps him in the Top 5 overall in the Championship and pulls him within 1 point of 4th. In previous seasons, Ruvalcaba has always gained momentum in the later stage of the Series so, as long as he can keep in touch with the Top 5, he could become a pretty major threat!

Picking up the number 4 position overall was Phillip Enriquez. Phillip had an amazing day all around with a 4th, 5th and 3rd place finish. The Independent driver also posted the 3rd fastest lap of the day in his Ferrari-liveried ride – a 10.535! To finish off the kudos, his result also pushed him up the Championship ladder – from 10th overall in the Championship to 6th! Great drive Phillip – keep it up man! You’re going in the right direction!

Wrapping up the Top 5 was Independent driver Steven Jackson. Jackson hails from Las Vegas, a long drive for the UF1 but we’re so glad to have him. His long drive also paid off, finishing the day with a 6th, 4th and a 7th. This is a much better result than his Bahrain race (with his unfortunate P19), but it seems he’s found his consistent groove. He could be a game-spoiler for a couple drivers in the Top 5 if they should experience any issues…

Team Alfa driver Ken Gerberding, who had a somewhat abysmal Bahrain race (16th overall), came out swinging and settled nicely into P6 for the day. He had a little trouble in Race 1 with a 7th place finish, but came back with a 6th and 5th and consistent 77-lap runs (just shy of 78). Ken likes to try things (whether he should or not) and uses this knowledge in the latter part of the Season when he makes his move. He’s 9th overall in the Championship at the moment but still well within striking distance.

Carlos Duarte finished 7th overall, filling in for the missing B-Spec Honda driver Brian Santos. While he qualified great (and put in some good hot laps), he struggled a bit in the mains, pulling in a 5th, an 11th and a 6th. This also put a dent in his Championship standings, dropping him from 4th to 7th overall. It’s still early and we know this guy can wheel an F1 car, so we’re not to worried about him losing any more spots. If it’s any consolation, he did beat his former teammate by 6 points (/pot stirring).

McLaren ULTRA driver Raj Monteiro struggled a bit all day, fighting traction problems in qualifying followed by an 8th and a pair of 10th place finishing runs in the Mains. This was quite unusual for him after his incredible pace at the Bahrain GP but, again, it’s still early in the Season. I’m sure it turned into a great test session for any upcoming races with less-than-favorable track conditions. Unfortunately Raj has dropped from 2nd to 4th in the overall Championship.

Tim Valles was the first of the BYM team to crack the Top 10, landing himself 9th overall with a 14th and a pair of 9th place finishes for a total of 271 points. This put him in a 3-way tie with teammate Lopez and the 2nd McLaren ULTRA driver Mike Rydwell. Since the tie-breaker is your finishing order in the final race, Tim would come out on top. Both the BYM cars had moments of greatness but, because they are older, less-tuneable rides, they were again at a little bit of a disadvantage. He did climb the Championship ladder one place, now sitting in 14th.

As mentioned above, BYM driver Christian Lopez racked up enough points to tie Valles and Rydwell, grabbing 10th place overall after the tie breaker was tallied. It was a great run for the BYM teammates, with Christian jumping 3 places in the Championship to 11th overall! With both drivers wheeling cars older than they are, it was great to see them being competitive on the tricky track surface. Now, boys, to talk about that livery…

Whew, a rough weekend for Championship leader Mike Rydwell. Struggling right from the get go, Mike qualified 10th and would bring home a 9th, 7th and a painful 16th place finish. After the tie breaker with the BYM teammates, he was relegated to 11th for the day. I’m sure it wasn’t a very fun day for him, however I hope it was a productive day for testing. Mike still leads the Championship, but that lead is now down to only 1 point. Plenty of time to gather it back up and get that F1 ULTRA back on the podium!

After missing the first race, Team Alfa driver Mark Goldwater was really looking forward to his comeback run. Having his car SUPER dialed at the high-traction Cal track certainly threw him for a loop and, unfortunately, didn’t help his overall race day. Mark ended up 12th overall with 270 points. I’m guessing a combination of first-race-back-jitters, an unfamiliar track and an extremely early morning were not good contributors to his performance. Brush it off, Mark. Still a lot of races to go.

Finishing 13th overall for the day was Independent driver Craig Hammon, starting a bit off the pace but then slowly gathering it up as the day progressed. Hammon tallied up a 16th, 10th and 8th place finishes for a total of 269 points. Not the best showing for him but it was enough for him to jump the Championship leaderboard from 17th to 15th.

Right behind Hammon was F1 rookie Brian Marion. Marion, who’s usually dialed at most tracks, was another driver caught off guard by conditions, leaving him with only 267 points on the day and a 14th place overall finish. The B-Spec Honda driver did state that he hadn’t run on tracks with this low of traction before but that he did enjoy the challenge. Even though the results weren’t where he wanted them to be, it was probably a good test session for future races. We expect to see him back in the Top 10 soon.

When you watched his car, it appeared Alex M had moments of brilliance but just couldn’t put an entire run together. Another driver caught out, Alex made a few changes prior to showing up, most notably his bright pink livery. He brought home 261 points on the day with a tie breaker elevating him above Doug Rebal. We’re certain he’ll group it all together soon to post an amazing race finish!

Tying Alex with 261 points was 16th place finisher Doug “Rebel” Rebal. Like alot of the other high-traction racers, Rebal’s car was a handful all day. I think he’s really missing his former teammate Charles Lightfoot, as the two of them would bounce ideas and setup off each other at all the UF1 events. Come on Doug, you got this man!

Fast Lap Award
Due to the unusually tricky track conditions, hitting a fast lap required smooth driving, some skill and, honestly, a bit of luck. However, if you were Thad Garner, you’d just go out and not only set a fast lap, you’d set a blisteringly fast lap! Thad dropped a 10.351 second lap time in Main 3, a full second faster than his teammate Aaron Lane (who also dropped a hot lap of 10.471. Right behind Lane, with the 3rd fastest fast lap, was Phillip Enriquez with a 10.535 second lap.

We should also mention again that Garner was the only driver to post an 81-lap run (done in Main 2). In that run he also hit a 10.368 second lap which would have given him the 2nd fastest lap of the event (sorry, you only get ONE fastest fast lap).

For his 10.351, Garner picks up the CompetitionX Fast Lap Award and another point in the Championship.

Formula 2
Qualifying
Track conditions also played a part in F2 qualifying, with the local drivers filling most of the Top 5 spots. It was current F1 Championship points leader Pat Moneda taking the TQ with a 3-lap average of 36.882. Ed Bohon would edge out local Len Carson by 1/100 of a second for P2 with Gabriel Gonzales and Matt Skipple rounding out the Top 5 (Gonzales, Skipple and P6 Kratz were all within 1 second of each other).

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

Mains
Pat Moneda would use his P1 position in Main 1 to pull away from the field and never look back. He took 1st place in all 3 mains, giving himself a perfect 300 points for the day. Smooth driving and a home court advantage gave him the edge, and he stays atop the F2 Championship leaderboard by 3 points.

Local hero Joey Abicca came out of nowhere and posted a 4th, a 3rd and a 2nd place finish to take 2nd overall with 294 points (tying Len Carson)! Not only did his car look fantastic (both in appearance and performance), but this kid can drive! His fast lap was decent as well, but it was his consistency that paid off. Why we’re not seeing more of him in the Series is questionable – he could prove to be wrinkle in Moneda’s quest for the Championship!

Championship runner up Len Carson also finished the day with 294 points but, having finished behind Abbica in Main 3, ended up having to settle for 3rd overall for the day. Len was on a mission, posting a 2nd, 4th and 3rd but also scoring an additional 1 point for his fast lap (an 11.129). Len’s finish drops him to 3rd overall in the Championship – he’s tied with Matt Skipple for 2nd but only 3 points out of first. It’s still a tight race up top…

Glen Kratz had three strong runs – a 3rd, a 6th and a 7th – to net him 287 points and a 4th place overall for the day. Consistency was key, which also helped him move up the leaderboards one place (from 8th to 7th). Glen is definitely an enthusiast (you should see his car!) so we expect to see him progressing at every race. A Top 5 finish isn’t out of the question! Keep at it Glen!

Matt Skipple had an unfortunate up-and-down day. His Main 1 12th place hurt his overall points, but he came back strong with a 2nd and 4th to finish 5th. He also posted a good 11.505 fast lap, backing up my statement from the Bahrain GP that he could be gunning for the top spot on the Championship podium. He currently has 298 points, in a tie with Carson for 2nd and only 3 points out of first!

Another driver with a consistent day was Steven Strohm. Strohm wrapped up his day with a 7th, a 7th and a 5th for a grand total of 284 points. Another driver that was caught out by conditions, he showed great control to get through the day with good, mid-pack points. Steven sits 6th overall in the Championship with 288 points.

Behind Strohm in 7th place was Ed Bohon. Ed also had some struggles throughout the day but was able to bring home 282 points. He almost duplicated his Bahrain finishing order with a 5th/8th/8th, showing he’s a consistent driver no matter what the conditions. Ed’s a passionate RC’er, racing everything from Euro Truck to TC, but it’s good to see him trying out the challenging F2 class. Once he picks up a bit more speed, this guy could be dangerous!

The first new driver since Bahrain was Paul Hogue. Having never met Paul before and not sure of his RC background, I can say he did a great job at his first UF1 event. Paul posted a 8th/9th/6th for a total of 280 points and sits comfortably 10th in the F2 Driver’s Championship. Great drive Paul – hope to see you at future UF1 events!

Bringing home 9th overall was Jerermy Dee. Dee finished the day with 277 points and looked good doing it in his Star Wars-themed F2 livery. Ironically, Dee also sits 9th overall in the Driver’s Championship with 283 points. He’s a staple to the UF1 Series and will most likely be at every race, a strategy that has helped him climb the leaderboards late in the game. We expect to see that happen again this Season…

With is 3rd place finish at the Bahrain GP, I was a bit shocked to see Gabriel Gonzales down in 10th at this event. Two rough runs (10th/5th/10th) dropped him out of contention, but he still showed some great pace throughout the day – notably his 11.572 fast lap. Gabriel was 3rd but is now 5th overall in the Championship, but we expect that to change after he puts this race behind him and looks forward to future events. He’s only 9 points out of first place and it’s early – anything can happen.

Finishing just outside the Top 10 was another UF1 first timer, Paul Self. I used to race 1/5 scale cars with Paul a LONG time ago so it was great to see him back out! As with alot of drivers, Paul had some control issues on the challenging track that netted him a 9th, a 10th and a 12th. Hopefully he had a good time and will be back – the UF1 rewards those that continue the pursuit. Good to see you again bud!

Wrapping up the F2 class was Anthony Hamilton. Anthony missed both practice and qualifying so was at a disadvantage from the sound of the tone in Main 1. He did post a 10th, 12th, 10th which, for not having ANY practice or knowing ANYTHING about track conditions, is a good run to say the least. He was even able to post a 12.363 second fast lap which would have put him 7th overall in that category, so he did have good pace. AND, to top it off, he’s got TWO cool names – Anthony is my real name and Hamilton, well we all know who that guy is! Get that car on the track earlier, Anthony. Would love to see what you can do with some prep!

Constructor’s Championship
After 2 rounds, it’s still McLaren ULTRA on top with 1141 points. Even though both drivers had a bit of a bad outing, both scored and are now 53 points ahead of B-Spec Honda. BSH did use the recruit rule with Duarte gathering points for the team and successfully leapfrogging themselves into 2nd. The RB team were only 1 strong at the event (Hector Martinez was MIA) which bounced them all the way down to 6th.

Both BYM drivers and Team Alfa drivers were in attendance to score points, with BYM having a 1 point advantage for 3rd place.

Factory Team had a full team and scored a ton of points, but are still 177 points adrift of 4th. We’ve never had a team miss a round of points and come back but, seeing as how strong Garner and Lane are, this will be a great look at what is possible!

Spec LMP
We’re not going to get into the ins-and-outs of the Spec LMP class here – all I can say is we had 7 drivers show up for the inaugural race – 3 GT and 4 LMP. Even though they were drastically different in handling and speed, we ran all 7 cars together and, actually, it was quite cool and the feedback was, for the most part, positive. We still need to do some tweaking to the class and we have some ideas, we’re just not sure how to proceed just yet. I promise I AM WORKING ON IT so please be patient.

Anyway, let’s get on to qualifying!

Qualifying
As you can about imagine, the 3 GT cars were the fastest on the track simply because of their performance advantage (even though, in real life, the LMP cars would smoke the GT cars).

Steven Jackson would pull of the TQ by two-tenths over P2 driver Ken Gerberding. Pat Moneda would finish 3rd for the GT cars.

In the LMP cars, Phillip Enriquez took top honors by just under a second over Glen Kratz and Steven Strohm. Ed Bohon was out looking for the correct Spec tire and completely missed his qualifier (sorry about that Ed).

Here’s the full standings of the Spec LMP qualifying:

Mains
The Spec LMP (or Spec GT or Spec LMP/GT or the New Class) followed the same basic format as the UF1 – 3 minute qualifier and triple mains. However, instead of 15 minute mains, the Spec LMP guys ran 10 minute mains AND, as we mentioned above, all the cars ran together.

Steven Jackson would take the overall win with 299 points over 2nd place Ken Gerberding with Pat Moneda finishing 3rd. Both Jackson and Moneda were running USGT bodies and posted the fastest laps of the class – a 10.578 for Jackson and 10.709 for Moneda. The ‘Gerb’ was running a prototype body that we’re thinking of re-Spec’ing for the class, the Mon-Tech RS GT3 Porsche body. It’s a cool looking lid, fits almost every 1/10 scale TC and, as you can see by Ken’s 10.976 fast lap, slows the car down enough to not make it over-performanced to the LMP cars (that’s a whole different story).

In the ‘true’ LMP class, it was Phillip Enriquez who took the top spot with 291 points, all the while posting a hot lap of 11.051. Glen Kratz would finish behind him (288 points) ahead of Ed Bohon (285 points) and Steven Strohm (282 points). All 4 of these guys were running the Tamiya TC-01 which may be the basis for the LMP class (seeing as the LMP body is designed for this car). Because it would be a Spec chassis, it would greatly equalize the field in this class.

Final Thoughts
Being our first visit to The Lap Factory, ever, we were surprised by how well the program is executed. When we arrived, the TLF crew was already on site ‘burning’ the water off the ground, setting up the track, assembling the driver’s stand and getting everything organized. Throughout the day everything was on point – the program, track maintenance, etc – and Dennis (the announcer) was doing a fantastic job calling the ball. He even went so far as to monitor the pits and began actively calling out the driver’s that needed to pit – it was amazing.

As far as the racing, the challenging track conditions certainly posed a problem for some, but a minor inconvenience for others. This was great to see and one of the reasons the UF1 is so set on traveling to different tracks – there’s no advantage to anyone but the home track crowd. If you want to be king, you have to rule all the other drivers.

A big thanks to The Lap Factory crew, Troy from AMain for coming out with a car-load of extra goodies for the drivers and, of course, those that attended the race. It’s because of your love of this somewhat microscopic part of our hobby that we do what we do. Let’s keep this ball rollin’, let’s keep the fun goin’ and let’s keep UF1 growin’. I appreciate every single one of you.

Thanks for coming out and we’ll see you at Round 3, November 13th at the United States GP (and BWS Raceway)!

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 70 – Round 2 – UF1 2022/2023 Series