TCC Vintage Racing inaugural event at LeMans.

[DC_McGregor]

TCC stands for TrophyCup Club. It is a Yahoo group/club created by the_trophycup_club or TC for short.

We don't have any prizes, but I wish we did. The first trophy would go to TC for making a success of our inaugural event. Thanks again, TC! We all owe you one.

We had 4 racers for this event. Two others were in the chat, but were unable to race One - ronin_swe from Sweden - simply didn't have the cars yet. In spite of the late hour for him (3:00 AM), I feel sure he will join us as he can. The other was TC himself, who had other commitments. Bummer TC! You made it possible, then cannot race.

We had a new member in the race as well. Welcome to nkac_street from Kansas USA. NK acquitted himself well in a new series with a new, untried car and no practice. He placed 3rd in both events. He drove the Mirage in the first race and the Ferrari P4 in the second. Both can be treacherous cars if not handled properly. Especially the P4. I campaigned it for a couple of months. Well done, NK.

In a night of surprises, the first race (5 laps) was an even bigger surprise. McG (also known as Sir CrashALot) didn't crash. Worse yet, he won. He was treated for shock in the medical facility immediately after the race and recovered enough to be thoroughly trounced in the second race. In all fairness, Doug slowed up at a couple of points to allow McG to close up after mistakes and get some close racing in. Something he is known to do with great regularity. Only this time McG surprised him by giving him a close battle and even engineering some good passes. The best was after Doug executed a beautiful drafting pass and blocked the inside line. McG tucked into Doug's draft and re-passed on the inside anyway! The quietus came when Doug made an uncharacteristic mistake, going off at the last corner before the Mulsanne straight. McG should have slowed up to give Doug a fighting chance, but he pressed on to the end. Only slowing on the last lap to keep from making a silly mistake. Like he usually does. When asked about that, McG said, "I wanted the win! I wanted the win!" You got it Mac! By a scant 2 seconds. Congrats!

1. DC_McGregor #00 Ferrari GTO 5 Laps 18:38.71
2. DC_RaceCar #65 Shelby Coupe 5 Laps 18:40.85
3. NKAcStreet #15 Mirage 5 Laps 19:44.89
4. Burmcat #56 Shelby Coupe 5 Laps 21:07.17

In race 2, Doug took the lead early in the lap in spite of starting from the 4th position again. In spite of McG's best efforts, Doug pulled steadily away. Lest you think it was a walkover (which it was), McG posted a PB of 3:38.11 while trying to catch Doug. A very respectable time for the GTO. Unfortunately for McG, Doug also posted a PB during that chase: 3:34.69. An astonishing time. (I checked during the pit stop.) Sez Doug, "It was a hairy ride. I had some smooth 3:36's as well." Another "Job well done!" for the master. McG said that he had to back off in the last 3 laps because he was getting tired and starting to make mistakes. Yeah! Right! If that OldGeezR can't keep up with the kids, he oughta' retire. (OldGeezR was one of McG's joke personas at the Porsche Unleashed online servers. If you see "wisi", ask about it. And tell him to write!)

1. DC_RaceCar #65 Shelby Coupe 10 Laps 37:29.01
2. DC_McGregor #00 Ferrari GTO 10 Laps 37:52.76
3. NKAcStreet #23 Ferrari P4 10 Laps 40:58.97
4. Burmcat #56 Shelby Couple 9 Laps 38:49.21

While dicing with Doug, I noticed some close racing between NK and BC on the position map. Perhaps you can give us a blow-by-blow.

Another note. I missed getting fast laps for BC and NK. I'll probably forget to ask in the pit, but would everyone note their fast laps for inclusion in the report?

On Saturday, the TCC GTQ race will be held at its usual time: 6:00 PM Pacific time (GMT -8). Come to the TrophyCup Club and join in:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_trophycup_club/

I finally ran some tests this week in the BMW. Early indications are that it may not have enough fuel for 5 laps. I'll check more closely tomorrow morning. If so, the race will be 4 and 8 laps. I'll post if I find that to be the case. (I love beating Bimmers, but not that way.)

I also tested my "new" stiff suspension on it and it seemed to work. That means springs, shocks and roll bars are all at max stiffness. At tracks like Montreal and LeMans, the car is more stable in the bumpy sections and in the right/left or left/right transitions. I'll continue testing that in the next couple of races before I come to any final decision.

I also checked out the BMW's power band. The Porsche's power band is from about 6100-6200 to 7000 rpm. The BMW's gears are wider. The critical rpm is the one you drop down to in the next higher gear. 6200 is the rock bottom. Below that, the engine feels logy. That translates to a shift point of about 7300-7500 rpm in the lower gears, 7200-7300 in 3rd and 4th and exactly 7000 rpm in 5th. With just a brief gear setup, it seems that the Bimmer's gears are more widely spaced than the Porsche's. I haven't done enough testing to be sure. As with the Porsche, use weight distribution to balance over/under steer.

[DC_McGregor]

We had a nice turnout tonight - 7 racers in 2 pits.

Welcome to ronin_swe, who joined us tonight. Ronin did not yet have AOE properly installed. He bought a new car and only installed a couple of the upgrade parts to compensate for this. In the first heat, he picked the wrong car and gave McG a hell of a battle. Ronin insisted that he not be placed in the results since it wouldn't be fair. Good man, Ronin! You've come to the right place! In the second heat, his car simply lacked the power to be competitive. He, TC and McG stopped after lap 1 and exited the race. Unfortunately, Burmcat (the host) did not notice and continued on for the remainder of the race. He scored a nice win. Congrats, BC! The others' cars were taken over by their "co-drivers", who gave a creditable performance. (That's the ai drivers, in case it isn't clear.) In one case, negotiations are under way to replace the #1 driver of the team. (That's you, McG. Take a pay cut or you get the boot!) I take full responsibility for this fiasco and apologize to all.

Heat one featured a tremendous struggle between ronin and McG. There were many mistakes and frequent changes of the lead. There was also some nice driving. The race was not decided until the last corner of the last lap. McG had eked out a slim lead going into the final esses, when he went into the gravel. McG said, "Oh no! I'm going to lose! I looked into the mirror and there was ronin, following me into the gravel. I gathered it together, beat ronin back onto the track and just barely squeezed out the win. Whew! Close one!" Ronin's fine second place showing was spoiled by a protest (he filed it against himself) and so he is listed as "not placed". Ronin said that he would practice and get used to AOE. Then come back and clean McG's clock!

In the other pit, Doug (roush1d/DC_Racecar) continued his long string of victories (only briefly interrupted in the previous Vintage race). T2 scored a fine time to take second in the overall standings. (Watch out, McG. There's a terminator after your butt. And a Samurai.) Casey also turned in a fine performance, just being beaten out by McG for third overall.

1. DC_Racecar #03 GTQ Porsche 5 Laps 19:02.91
2. T2 (Turbo2USA) #03 GTQ Porsche 5 Laps 20:16.56
3. DC_McGregor #11 GTQ Porsche 5 Laps 20:41.37
4. CaseyE21 #38 GTQ BMW M3 5 Laps 20:55.29
5. 13ewitched (TC) #56 GTQ Porsche 5 Laps 21:42.36
6. Burmcat #38 GTQ BMW M3 5 Laps 22:07.42

Not placed: gfd (ronin_swe) #56 GTQ Porsche 5 Laps 20:43.13

For the second heat, one pit did 10 laps (as scheduled). The other did 5 laps. I'll list those results separately. Given the errors, the management will just have to get organized. Tomorrow. Or as my dear, departed pappy used to say, "Never, ever, ever put off to tomorrow what you can put off to next week." Both pits featured upsets. In pit one, T2 further honed his cybernetic organism by squeezing out a win over Doug, who chose the BMW for this race. (Well done!) In pit 2, BC scored a runaway win over his opponents. (They all stopped after lap 1 to talk to a gorgeous babe in the stands. They didn't score with her, either. <grin> Ok, it was the ai drivers, but I'll list them in finishing order anyway.)

Pit one:

1. T2 (Turbo2USA) #03 GTQ Porsche 5 Laps 19:55.98
2. DC_RaceCar #15 GTQ BMW M3 5 Laps 19:56.28
3. CaseyE21 #38 GTQ BMW M3 5 Laps 21:30.79

Pit two:

1. Burmcat #38 GTQ BMW M3 10 Laps 42:28.02
2. gfd (ronin) #11 GTQ Porsche 10 Laps 43:01.43
3. 13ewitched (TC) #56 GTQ Porsche 10 Laps 43:03.69
4. DC_McGregot #11 GTQ Porsche 10 Laps 43:07.27

I only recieved two fast laps to post. Get 'em in here guys. After all, we are just racing for bragging rights. <g>

1. DC_McGregor 3:51.xx
2. Burmcat 4:00.23

After viewing these results, I'd say, "Hang in there McG. Your co-driver is even worse than you are. You may be able to keep your #1 driver position, but you'd still better take that pay cut!"

A couple of final notes. Events of the last week have left me rather tired. I had to get rested up before I had the energy (and enthusiasm) to post these results. Apologies for being late (again).

We have also had occasional lapses of applying AOE for these races. It has never been intentional, but it does happen. I don't mind losing. After racing as long as I have against Doug, I've gotten rather used to it. But it isn't fair to the other racers. I think we have a better way to handle it. If you have failed to apply AOE properly, let me know (file a protest against yourself) and I'll handle it as I did today. Full acknowledgement of your efforts, but no placement. If you make your protest juicy enough, I'll quote you.

Next week, Nurburgring. Laps to be posted.

Robert