And they are off!

On Tuesday, as part of the triple play, we held the third race of the Grand Prix League event. We had three new teams come into the frey and three returning teams. The new teams were:

• Smuggler's Paradise Racing (SPR) with Solo and Chewie (Team Owner: Paul)
• Valkyrie with Titania and David Kidder (Team Owner: Susanne)
• Shadow Racing with LaMont and Margo (Team Owner: Leah)

The starting field for this race was as follows:

1. Kalev for Team Zealot
2. LaMont for Shadow Racing
3. BJ Foyt for JP Racing
4. Titania for Valkyrie
5. Solo for SPR
6. Lugi for Team Ariete

The race was held in Zhuai, China and consisted of two laps. The race looked ominous with the first turn producing our first debris field due to a collision. This same turn had five of the six racers in the turn zone and within three of the end of the turn on the same round. However, Solo took a quick and commanding lead and pulled a good 40+ car lengths ahead of all the competitors.

Coming out of the last turn of the first lap, with Solo having a firm lead and a solid car, he opted to skip the pits and head directly into his second lap. Kalev trying to make up ground also passed up on the pits. BJ Foyt, Titania, Lugi all entered the pits next and LaMont by passed, allowing him to pass Lugi who had a hard exit.

In the first turn of the second lap, Solo misjudged his distance and burnt all his tires to spin out just outside the turn. This allowed Kalev to move ahead with the lead. BJ Foyt coming in quickly attempted to pass the slowed Solo, but couldn't maintain his momentum before Solo had his car running again at speed.

Unfortunately for Solo, on the hairpin turn, he lost control of the car and slammed into the wall. Having received major injuries, will be unable to participate in the next race, but he did make the ESPN highlight reels. This left Kalev in a resounding lead and the rest of the pack clumped together in attempt to win second place.

Kalev crossed the finish line with two turns to spare, hitting the last turn perfectly to accelerate to 6th gear to head across the finish line uncontested. The pack hit the final turn in tight formation, with Titania and Lugi neck and neck, but in fourth gear. BJ Foyt timed his gear shift and entered the final turn in fifth, allowing him to accelerate to 6th and zoom pass both Titania and Lugi to steal second. Titania finished third followed by LaMont making a strong showing at the end and Lugi puttering across on the final roll.

Current Grand Prix Points

Driver Standings:

Great game of racing. We only had five debris fields on the board, but it was still alot of bump and grind between the cars. Looking forward to the next race!

jp

The Comish