Race Recap: 2022/2023 UF1 Series – Race 7 – Abu Dhabi GP

Post Race Analysis
Cal Raceway was the host of our final race – the Abu Dhabi GP – where we would finally crown a winner of the 2022/2023 UF1 Season.

The weather was clear and the track was tacky – there could be no excuses when it came to the final standings – each driver was in control of their final finishing positions.

There were multiple drivers in contention for the overall Championship win in both the F1 and F2 classes as well as the Constructor’s. The racing was great, the battles were intense and, in the end, new UF1 F1 and F2 Champions would emerge.

So, without further ado, let’s get right to the racing action.

Formula 1
Qualifying
With the 3-consecutive laps recorded in the single 3-minute qualifier, we saw all the top drivers hustling for the TQ position. Championship leader Brian Ruvalcaba put in a 3-set of heaters, posting a top time of 33.348 to take the TQ spot. Every-now-and-then F1 driver Edgar Fiallos came out to play and took the P2 position with a blistering 33.590 time. Right behind him was Championship contender Aaron Lane, finishing up the Top 3 with a time of 33.858.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Craig Hammon in 4th (33.955) and Phillip Enriquez in 5th (34.165).

Yes, there is some talk about the 3-minute qualifier but, in all honesty, it keeps everyone on their toes. You HAVE to make it happen if you want a top time – EVERYONE has to make it happen. If you have an unlucky run, well, you had an unlucky run. EVERYONE has that possibility.

Here’s how it panned out for all 16 F1 drivers.

Mains
Edgar Fiallos would drive like a mad-man in the mains, putting in consistent runs all day with this Tamiya ride. He would claim a P2/P2/P3 on his way to 296 points, taking the overall daily win by 1 point. Fiallos had a smile on his face all day and was hinting a return to the UF1 next year for a full Season. If so, he might be a hot commodity for the Constructor’s Championship! Great job Edgar, and thanks for coming out!

Championship leader (and eventual Championship winner) Brian Ruvalcaba had an amazing day! Even though he finished 2nd overall, Brian posted a pair of P1s and a P6 to score 295 points. To say Brian’s XRAY was on point all day is an understatement – it had steering, grip and some serious speed. He was also one of the only ones to be running the beloved Kit/72 tire combo which could of contributed to his ridiculous pace. Either way, he drove like a true champion and took the overall win in the Championship by 10 points. Congrats Brian, a well deserved Season victory!

Finishing up in the final podium spot was McLaren ULTRA driver Rajan Monteiro. Raj does well at this track and his P6, P3 and P2 netted him 292 points and a P3 overall for the day. It wasn’t without some drama – in Race 3 he saw himself sliding down the order when, in reality, he knew he was much higher up. A check of the score sheets did in fact show him missing a couple laps and, after the re-tally, bumped him to 2nd place. That also gave him enough points to tie his teammate and, fortunately, the tie-breaker was on his side. Raj had a good Season, finishing 7th overall and securing his place in the Top 10 F1 Resort for next Season!

Also finishing the day with 292 points was the other half of the McLaren ULTRA team, Mike Rydwell. Rydwell was very consistent all day as well, posting a P3, P4 and P4 for a total of 292 points. Mike is the owner of Exotek Racing and is certainly one of those passionate F1 drivers, designing and producing the famous F1ULTRA F1 car as well as a whole new line of F1 tires. We’re happy he’s in the Series and glad he partakes, his skill on the track is sometimes next level! Mike finished 3rd overall in the Championship with 1471 point. On an incredible note, after 7 rounds, Mike had tied the 4th place driver in points – a pretty amazing feat! Thanks Mike for all the great F1 support!

Wrapping up the Top 5 was another Championship contender, Thad Garner. The Factory Team driver was looking red hot early on in the Season but had a couple of bad races that negated some much needed points. It was back-and-forth all Season with Ruvalcaba, coming down to the last race to decide it. Thad did an amazing job, however, and is sure to come back next season with a fire under him. He finished the Season with 1480 points, 10 shy of 1st. Either way, it was a well-deserved 2nd place overall finish!

Team Alfa driver Ken Gerberding came out of nowhere to put in a great P6 finish! Ken had a bit of a rough start to the Season but his P7/P5/P7 was consistent enough for a good day’s points grab. His car looked smooth and easy to drive, so hopefully he found the gremlins that set him back. Ken also finished 10th overall in the Season and has guaranteed himself a spot in the Top 10 F1 Resort next Season. Congrats!

Phillip Enriquez was another driver that had an outside chance at the overall win, but a rough day with a P8, P7 and P5 would end his chances and relegate him to 7th overall. Phillip’s car looked oddly inconsistent and a bit off the pace all day, but the Independent driver did his best to claim as many points as possible. That’s all he could do but, by the end of the day, his performance put in him a tie in the Driver Championship with Rydwell – both having 1471 points. The tie breaker would decide his fate and he would have to settle for 4th overall. Still not a bad showing at all – and we’ll see him next year in his guaranteed Top 10 F1 position!

Bringing home the P8 bacon was Independent driver Carlos Duarte. Carlos had a potentially great day with a P4 and P8, but his Race 3 P16 (Coachella was calling him) pretty much killed that dream. A 8th place finish isn’t anything to squawk about, though, as the competition at Cal in the F1 class is quite intense. The ‘preferred-driver-fill-in’ had a great Season overall as well, finishing up in P6. Nice job Carlos, great Top 10 finish overall bud!

Finishing 1 point behind Duarte was Alex M. Alex posted a P11 and a pair of P9s to bring home 274 points. The Independent driver has unfortunately dropped out of the Top 10 to finish 12th overall, still not bad for missing an entire race day (those being his throwouts). Alex is a F1 fanatic as well, so we’ll be seeing him next Season ready to rock and roll! Good job Alex!

Rounding out the Top 10 for the day was Mark Goldwater. MG had an unusually low P12, P10 and P10 finish at his home track, a place he usually does very well at. Gremlins, chasing tires, technical layout – who knows – but we know he’s never happy when he’s not at his best (really, who is?). Mark was looking good for a Top 10 finish in the Driver Championship as well, but can thank his Team Alfa teammate Gerb for bumping him out – by 4 points. That’s going to cause some tension next Season 🙂

Another Championship contender that had a REALLY rough day was 11th place finisher Aaron Lane. Prior to this race, Aaron was in the multi-way battle for the top spot in the Driver’s Championship but a horrible P9, P16 and P8 dashed any hopes of even taking a Top 5 finish. Unfortunately, he missed Race 1 here (using those as his throwouts) and really needed good no-drama runs the rest of the Season. The guy is fast, though and we’re sure he’ll be clearing his schedule next Season to make all the races (apparently something about a Honeymoon during Race 1 this year???). Aaron did wrap up the Series with a P5 finish. Nice save of the Season.

Brian Santos was the first of the Rookie drivers to place at the event. Santos finished with a P13, P12 and P11, showing a little bit of progression each run. It’s been a long Season for Santos, missing a complete race and having some issues at other events, but that’s what the first Season is all about – learning. Santos also finished a respectable 15th overall in the Driver’s Championship – we know he’ll be gunning for a Top 10 finish next year. Good luck!

Right behind Santos in 13th was Independent driver Craig Hammon. Craig showed some real promise in qualifying and, honestly, we thought he’d be the dark horse that would steal some points away from the top guys in the Championship. His P 10, P15 and P13 didn’t reflect that though, so he must have been fighting some issues with the car. That’s unfortunate because he really is one of those guys that, if he’s on, HE’S ON! A missed race and the lack of Bonus Points hurt him in the Championship, only mustering enough points for a 14th place finish. Still not bad, but we know he’s got alot more in him. Bring it next Season dude!

Finishing 14th overall with 262 points (and another daily tie) was Independent driver Joe Hawkins. The Hawk had a pretty decent day, posting a P16, P13 and P12, another driver that showed progression throughout the day. This is his Rookie year also and he did a great job considering the amount of talent that’s in this class. Joe took home 15th overall in the Driver’s Championship, a job well done! Hawkins is one of our favorite drivers – the guy has an amazingly positive attitude and is funny as all get out – glad to have him in the Series for comedic support!

Tying Joe for 14th was Independent driver Doug Rebal. Doug posted a P15, P11 and P15 to claim 262 points, however his final race wasn’t as good as Joe’s, so he ended up being bumped down to P15. Doug had a good Season with 1331 points, enough to put him 13th overall in the Driver’s Championship. Unfortunately that puts him outside the Top 10 F1 Resort, but we’re sure he’ll be able to bump himself back up into that when the time comes. Good luck Doug!

The final position of the day, P16, when to Rookie driver Brian Marion. This is unusually odd for Marion, a triple P14. This guy is the leading Rookie in the F1 class and did well his first time out. He even scored enough points to place P9 in the Driver’s Championship so, to see him at the bottom of the list – yeah, gremlins. It’s ok though, he did well overall and made the Top 10, a job well deserved! Congrats Brian – you’ve earned a spot in the Top 10 F1 Resort!.

Fast Lap Award
At the start of the day, we were seeing drivers posting mid-11 second lap times. By Race 1, Garner had ticked off a quick 10.951 – a great lap. By Race 2 however, there were a handful of drivers in the 10s but it wasn’t until Race 3 where Ruvalcaba blasted an amazing 10.829 fast lap! Thad would also go quicker with a 10.837 and eventual Abu Dhabi winner Edgar Fiallos dropping a 10.863. There is some serious speed in the F1 class this year, but that might all change next year…

Stay tuned…

Formula 2
Qualifying
Qualifying was pretty straightforward for the F2 class as well, except for a newcomer to the Series – Billy Hayden. Billy is a Team Associated designer and a very fast driver, taking control of the F2 qualifying right from the get-go and posting a Top 3 Consecutive lap of 34.947. Championship leader Gabriel Gonzalez was 2nd with a 36.006 followed by Ed Bohon with a 36.110. Championship contender Matt Skipple was 4th and Steven Strohm rounding out the Top 5.

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

Mains
From the sound of the tone in Race 1, Billy Hayden was ‘checked out – goooooooone’. He led from start to finish in all 3 races, scoring a maximum 301 points on the day. It was literally a Sunday drive for him as he cruised to a easy win. Being his one and only race, he scored enough points to finish 12th overall in the F2 Driver’s Championship. When asked, Billy said he was super pumped about the Series and will definitely be back – in the F1 class. Great job and we hope to see you again next year.

Finishing P2 on the day was Gabriel Gonzalez. Gabriel wrapped up his race day with a P2, P2 and P4, scoring 295 points. His Season has been exceptionally good, plenty of Top 3 finishes sprinkled with some TQs as well. A total score of 1475 points puts him firmly on top of the leaderboard and earns him the F2 Driver Championship. Great job Gabriel! Congrats on a job well done all Season!

Rounding out the Top 3 podium was Ed Bohon. Ed drove a great race as well, posting 3 P3 finishes on his way to 294 points. It was a great Season for Ed, only missing one complete race (too bad those had to be your throwouts), but scoring enough to place him 4th overall in the F2 Driver Championship. Ed’s a racer, a competitive one at that, so we’re sure he’ll be out again next year fighting to make a Top 3 finish! Good luck Ed!

After a tie breaker (yes, another tie in points), P4 would be awarded to Matt Skipple. His P8/P4/P2 finishes were an excellent end to both his day and his quest for the F2 Driver Championship which, unfortunately, he’d lose out by 15 points. Skipple had a good Season overall with a handful of wins and Top 3 finishes, but missing Race 4 had him rely on ‘decent’ finishes as throw outs. Had he been at that race this Championship could have ended differently but, it’s all good. Hopefully we’ll see him back next year to vie for the top spot on the podium!

Glen Kratz would put up quite a fight on the day, also scoring 289 points to tie Skipple for 4th. His final race finish (as the tie breaker) would drop him to 5th, but it was still a great day for him. His Championship bid was well earned, finishing 3rd overall with 1441 points. He didn’t have any wins but quite a few very consistent runs which is what you need to score points and climb the leaderboard. Congrat Glen! Great job!

Joining us after a long departure was TQ Racing owner Sean Park. Sean used to race with us back in the TQ track days but has since removed himself to focus on his shop. It was great to see him back out and putting in some decent lap times despite his time away. Sean finished 6th overall on the day with 284 points. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of Mr. Park next Season!

Slotting into P7 was Steven Strohm. Steven had a semi-consistent day (even though it was going backwards) with a P5, P7 and P8, but it was enough points to take him to 5th overall in the F2 Driver Championship! Steven races everything all over the place, so we’re happy to see him out here running the UF1 with us. Looking forward to seeing you next year sir! Good luck!

Finally, Jerermy Dee brings home 8th place with a P6, P8 and P7 place finishes. Jerermy isn’t so much about the short game but knows that to win, you have to be in attendance. He accumulated enough points to place him P6 in the Driver’s Championship, a great showing for the F2 driver. Looking forward to seeing you again next Season!

Constructor’s Championship
We were looking at a runaway Constructor’s Championship early on with either Factory Team or McLaren ULTRA, but both team’s failed to use the driver stand-in rule and lost some valuable points. That opened the door for Team Alfa (who DID use the rule) and, even though they were bleeding points in the second half of the Series, held it together enough (with a nice final race result) and some luck to claim the Constructor’s Championship by 43 points!

Congrats to the drivers Ken Gerberding and Mark Goldwater for a job well done!

Spec LMP

Qualifying
As a last minute support class, the Spec LMP cars only had 5 drivers in attendance. While it’s not a huge class (yet), it does give drivers a bit more track time as well as time between runs to prep their cars.

Honestly, the cars look really cool on track but we need to figure out a more stable setup if we want to keep the LMP class going. More on that soon.

In the meantime, what we DIDN’T see was Phillip Enriquez driving today. He has already wrapped up the Spec LMP Championship and was focusing his time on his F1 entry.

Here are the qualifying results for the Spec LMP class!

Mains
Mark Brown came to work and scored maximum points on his way to the day’s overall win. His LMP car looked super hooked up, as it usually does, and ran away from P2 finisher Ed Bohon (who’s car also looked really good). Ed does get to boast a bit though, posting the fastest lap in the class with an 11.704.

Finishing behind Bohon for the P3 position was Glen Kratz followed by Steven Strohm and Jerermy Dee.

Final Thoughts
Wow, what a Season. As a racer, it’s always fun to push yourself at every Series race to do the best you can, to remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint and to make sure you’re prepared at every event.

As a race ‘director’, you also get to see all the behind-the-scenes drama unfold, talk to everyone to get an idea on how they’re approaching things and, in the end, see how it all pans out.

That’s the beauty of this Series. It’s not easy. It’s does require some skill management, some focus and a sh*tload of luck. It’s challenging and, as racers, we all love the feeling of conquering that challenge at the end of the day.

I really do appreciate everyone that comes out to these events. I know sometimes there are issues, but I’m really trying to rectify that so it’s a smooth, fun program for everyone.

The UF1 has got some changes coming, hopefully for the better, but at the bare minimum to mix things up a bit to make it more fun. We hope to see each and every one of you next year.

Many thanks. You’re all appreciated.

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 74 – Round 7 – UF1 2022/2023 Series