Round 2 - S1

ROUND 2 – MAPLE VALLEY – 15th NOVEMBER 2009 LET THE WOOKIE WIN Wookie Pete takes first win – Warring Ferrari’s dominate race – Strong showing by Maverick - Vanquish & Gixerben in support Championship leads – Lancer in support success – Nightmare for last season’s top two – Scrutinisers kept busy.

PETER PERFECT – Wookie made up for a bad start with a dominate win.

ENTRY Gixerben – Mini Cooper, BMW M3 E36, Porsche 997 Turbo – Meeting Rating 7 No change from the support championship leader bar a drop in success PI for both his BMW (420) and his Porsche (680).

JC Meister – Fiat Abrath, VW Corrado, Subaru S22 – Meeting Rating 5.5 JC wasn’t having much fun with the rulebook, his FTCC car falling foul of the scruntiners on its drive train and a change from his Subaru to a rumoured deal with Dodge failing to come off at the last minute. His Subaru to make matters worse was running at 690PI

Major Raver – Alfa Romeo MiTo, BMW 135i, Ford RS200 – Meeting Rating 5 No change and no work at Mart Engineering due to financial and contractual issues left the team on the back foot. Raver was running 430PI on his FTCC car due to his second place in the championship.

Maverick – Renault Twingo, Mugen Integra, Ferrari 360 CS – Meeting Rating 7.5 New sponsorship showed on all three of the Rzyak racing cars, and although the Renault was still short of straight-line speed the team was confident of a strong meeting due to upgrades to its other cars and a 710PI for the Ferrari.

ScoLancer – Toyota Yaris, Mugen Integra, BMW M3 GTR – Meeting Rating 8 Lancer was another who had, had a peaceful week, a bit of testing hoping to unlock some speed from all three cars.

Vanquish BHP – Scion XD, Mugen Integra, Lamborghini Muira 06 – Meeting Rating 7 Enduro leader Vanquish was missing 30PI on his Muira but was sporting a 4wd system on his Scion that left protests flying in. The Scrutinisers passed the car legal for the meeting but it later fall foul of the governing body and is banned from now on.

Wiseoldduck – Mini Cooper, BMW M3 E36, Alfa Romeo 8C – Meeting Rating 7 New Alfa deal for Wise in its early days, car lack of development meant the car looked a handful in the bends but quick in a straight-line, especially with the extra 20PI allowed. No major updates or work had been seen on the other two cars although rumours of both being binned before the next round circled the paddock.

Wookie Pete – Renault Twingo, Mugen Civic, Ferrari 360 CS Meeting Rating 8 Wookie surprised the paddock by replacing his Autumn Cup winning Mazda with a Mugen, although this not being the popular Integra but a Civic version. Pre race testing saw his Ferrari lapping in the 1.28s, leaving him as many people’s favourite for race day.

FX ENDURO – MAPLE VALLEY FULL 28 LAPS JC lined up on pole, with championship leader Vanquish alongside him and then on row 2 was Raver who was expected to use the superior traction to good use, but it wasn’t as straight forward as that as the front two made great starts and JC led in to the first corner from the championship leader. Raver got alongside Vanquish coming out the corner, but as these two started to under steer wide Wookie took advantage to slide through, Gixerben trying to do the same thing but making contact with the back of the Martini sponsored car sending it off damaged. JC held on for half the lap, but it was obvious to Pete behind them that the Subaru was struggling badly and the Grey Ferrari bided its time around the first lap finally sneaking through two thirds of the way around the lap. For Pete this was his chance to make up for last week and he set about making a lead, helped by those behind falling over themselves for fun. Maverick made it a Ferrari 1-2 by the end of the lap, the yellow subway version followed by Vanquish and JC over the line, with ScoLancer 5th, Wise 6th and Raver 7th, but as for Gixer it was a trip to the pits. The Redbull Porsche was trailing smoke after going off half way around the lap and took his pitstop early to repair the car.

Fast in a straight line – Wise drove a great race in the new alfa

Lap 2 and reigning Champion JC was really in the wars, as his car was struggling to go around corners dropping him to 7th which became retirement on the 4th lap, with a tumble on to his roof. Such was the damage that Subaru refused to re-fire up and it left JC with an early flight out the circuit and the Subaru heading to the nearest scrap yard never to be seen again. Major Raver was another with an early, bath, having already had two rolls early on now the very battered and unpretty Ford rolled for a third time at the same place as JC on lap 21 and this time it cried enough as he was left with a destroyed suspension, dead engine and no brakes and a retirement. It was a total nightmare for the pair and left them wondering if their championship challenge is already over after two rounds! Out front and Wookie had been setting lap after lap of fastest laps looking comfortable, where as the second Ferrari was going well behind him but seemed more of an handful and was having a few offs. Pete stopped on lap 15 and the quick stop left him rejoining at the same time as Maverick came down the pit straight, the two Ferrari’s making contact, the Subway version hitting the back of the Blockbuster one as it under steered wide on the entry in to the corner. Both blamed the other, the stewards though seeing it as a racing accident, both spinning but Maverick rejoining the quicker set off in the lead, whilst Wookie set off with a bit of body work damage and knowing that he had a pitstop in hand over his only rival. Maverick stopped on lap 22 and rejoined 15 seconds behind the Blockbuster example, but he found the car on heavy tanks not as quick as

earlier in the race resulting in him settling for second place. The Ferrari that had looked so poor in round 1 was transformed and has surely left Maverick thinking of a championship challenge. Gixerben was running strongly in third after his earlier problems and bar lap 19 when he got the car on two wheels in a big way it was a very easy run to the flag and a good recovery drive. Championship leader Vanquish took fourth after a couple of offs, he knew that although he had the pace to challenge Gixer’s Porsche, the two Ferrari’s were in a different league here and he can’t wait for the long straights at Road Atlanta next week. Now that left Wise as the last car still running at the end, but that would be harsh on the new Mallard Alfa. Wise steadily got on with the job with a car not suited to the corners, and he grew in confidence as the race went on, taking the 4th fastest race lap in the process, a lack of mistakes a bit more development and a circuit more suited to the car next week means the old man of the series must be going to America with a bit of a smile on his face. For Wookie it was a sweet run to the finish, minus his only scare coming out of the pits it was a near perfect drive back in to the championship hunt. So it was a Ferrari demonstration and winner predicted by many, but although it was a pretty easy win, Wookie knows that next week will be a lot harder. RESULT AFTER 28LAPS 1.

Wookie Pete Ferrari 360CS (S700)

43minutes and 01secs

2.

Maverick Ferrari 360CS (S710)

3.

Gixerben Porsche 997T (A680)

4.

Vanquish Lamborghini Muira (A670)

5.

Wiseoldduck Alfa Romeo 8C (S720)

6.

Major Raver Ford RS200 (S700)

7.

ScoLancer BMW M3 GTR (S700)

8.

JC Meister Subaru S22B (A690)

+18seconds +1min 12secs +1 Lap + 1 Lap +7 Laps +20 Laps +24 Laps

Fastest Lap: Wookie Pete 1:28:345 (NEW LAP RECORD)

Its the pits, up yours – Maverick and Wookie get mixed up after Wookie left the pits FX SUPERMINIS – MAPLE VALLEY SHORT - 6 LAPS Vanquish lined up on pole with Raver alongside, but any hopes of the coca cola car taking the lead were quickly forgotten as Vanquish unleashed his 4 wheel drive to great effect and stormed into the lead, a lead he was never to lose or even be challenged for. He had nearly two seconds in hand by the end of the first lap and he shot away to a win that not even the stewards could rob him off. Behind him Raver remained in second, the little Alfa proving to be a real handle, but he managed to keep back first championship leader Gixerben, and then on the last lap Lancer who had driven brilliantly from the back for third, rueing that the flag came out one lap early for him. Gixerben kept fourth, but in truth everyone from 3rd back were having a right out battle, with Maverick well and truly in the mix in most it, swapping paint with half of the grid especially round 1 rival JC Meister, leaving Wookie with 5th in the Renault. For Wise it was a disappointing run to 8th, complaing of poor handling in the Mini Cooper and leaving him looking forward to the fast sweeps of Road Atlanta.

Result after 6 Laps 1.

Vanquish

2.

Major Raver

3.

ScoLancer

4.

Gixerben

5.

Wookie Pete

6.

Maverick

7.

JC Meister

8.

Wiseoldduck Fastest Lap: Vanquish 45:277 (NEW LAP RECORD)

Sir Lanceralot – Lancer dominated the FTCC in style FTCC – MAPLE VALLEY FULL – 6 LAPS Rear wheel drive was expected to be the thing to have off the line here, but the Mugen hordes superior corning made for an interesting start to round 2 of the FTCC. Raver managed to put one up for Munich in his pink BMW leading Lancer and Vanquish in the Japanese cars, but Major was struggling to get heat in to his tyres and it wasn't long before Lancer was through, followed by Vanquish. Maverick was also flying in his Integra and looking to make it 1-2-3 for Honda, doing so on lap 2 when he and Pete made it past Gixer. Maverick was now flying and catching the front two but on the run down the hill to the last corner he got it all wrong landing it on his roof and out of the race, for the Autumn Cup winner the curse of winning that trophy continued (No autumn Cup winner has ever won a championship round) as he hit the Integra badly damaging his car, Gixer maged just to avoid the chaos as did the rest of the pack. Gix was up to second, Vanquish having his own mishap a lap earlier, but that became third as JC was on the charge, the reigning champ and his faithful old Corrado finally showing some promise. Promise it had but Lancer was

long gone and reeled off the laps for his first victory, JC overjoyed with second. Gixer was safe in second, Raver closing over the last lap as his tyres finally warmed up, but admitting afterwards that the BMW 135i needs serious setup work and testing. Wise was 5th, the car not handling well and having a few offs, but showing good straight line speed, whilst Vanquish led home the 3 drivers who fought for the lead early on but ended up very much in the wars. Result after 6 Laps 1.

ScoLancer

2.

JC Meister

3.

Gixerben

4.

Major Raver

5.

Wiseoldduck

6.

Vanquish

7.

Wookie Pete

8.

Maverick Fastest Lap: ScoLancer 1:39:354 (New Lap Record)

Rock and rollers – Wookie failed to avoid Mavericks rolling Mugen ROUND-UP The Enduro looks intriguing for Road Atlanta, with Wookie, Vanquish and Gixerben all on 670PI and last year’s top two Major Raver and JC Meister possibly in new cars with a PI of 710. Will Maverick take his positive form in to solid results in the support races, and expect the power of the Mini and BMW engines to put Gixerben to the fore in the support races. Round 3 promise plenty of action and spills and another round of different winners.