BFC Micro Racing Series
Starting Grid:
Pro: Pole – A. Romack, 2 – A. Santamarina, 3 – R. Hester, 4 – K. Morrison
Rookie: Pole – J. Thompson, 2 – T. Dutton, 3 – M. Sanghavi, 4 – TG Marsden, 5 – F. Adams
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
With a new power plant in Gary Stephenson’s yellow GTR Corvette was without question the fastest car on the course. Once again the veteran used his endless talent to setup the car, just further raising the bar. “Unfortunately now the car is an uncontrollable missile.” Said Santamarina, even he couldn’t keep the car straight in full throttle. Along with other steering problems the fact that
On the other hand not all things were doom and gloom for RedLine Racing. Reggie Barnes convinced both team and race organizers that he is worthy of racing with the big dogs. “Reggie’s talent is better utilized in the Pro ranks” said team leader Stephenson. Some amazing hot laps during practice over the past couple of weeks had other Pros wondering how easy it was going to be this season. Even though RedLine Racing opted to put this first season rookie in the top of the line MR02 chassis he still was not able to make it to the main event, vowing to make the necessary changes and practice to insure that his sub par performance wouldn’t happen again.
Other than the arrival of the yellow blur from Barnes new ride, the Pro main event kept the spectators asking for more. Al Romack’s flawless qualifying run and strong heat race placed his NSX on the pole. Unfortunately his performance was overshadowed in the main event by the heated battle between last season’s rivals. Hester, Santamarina and Morrison battled head to head, lap for lap during the entire race. Each driver running a clean race and laying down the rubber on the race line like they were painting curves for the others to follow. In the end it was due to lapse of concentration by Santamarina that landed Hester’s NSX in 1st. “Its one of those times when you just fall out of your groove and Russ is one of those drivers that will make you pay time and time again for those small mistakes.” Santamarina said. Morrison was relentless throughout the whole race and will undoubtedly find his hands on the champagne bottle one of these weeks.
It wouldn’t be fair to leave out the rookie race. The rookies certainly kept things going this week. After a number of full practice sessions the rookie field began to come into their own. The absence of Reggie Barnes from the field made every competitor salivate at the opportunity of becoming king of the hill.
The rumors are true. Tim Dutton defected from the Nissan team and joined his long time friend Ken Morrison to race with Bill Lucas on Team Toyota. Even though Santamarina holds no ill will, the name “Turncoat Tim” has been heard mumbled in the pits. The Rookies were flying this week. While Frank Adams still battled setup problems, Sanghavi’s practice time proved worthwhile putting him just behind newcomer TG Marsden’s Nissan. Tim Dutton’s talent shined as the new
The Mini-Zs are becoming more of a threat. With Romack’s pole position and the fear that Reggie Barnes will eventually taste sweet success the XMOD drivers are beginning to wonder if they will remain fast enough. The ever vocal Aland Santamarina commented, “It’s the driver that makes all the difference. Ken, Russ and I will continue to win until the Mini-Z drivers get better. Whether they will get better in time to threaten the championship is yet to be seen.” It’s true, but Romack’s pole spot was a wake up call and Barnes is only getting faster as the weeks go by. “Morrison is the true threat here so long as he doesn’t psyche himself out. He could have won this week had he not gotten flustered by a broken half shaft during warm-up. We do have to worry about the Mini-Zs but with my teammate Al taking points this week I’m not worried, we’ll get the win either way.” Said Hester, as he commented on R&H Racing vying for the top spot in the manufacturer’s cup.
Results:
Pro: 1 – R. Hester, 2 – A. Santamarina, 3 – K. Morrison, 4 – A. Romack
Rookie: 1 – J. Thompson, 2 – T. Dutton, 3 – TG Marsden, 4 – M. Sanghavi, 5 – F. Adams
Organizer Notes: Winner of the raffle prize was Bill Lucas, who walked away with a cool XMOD gear bag. In the holiday spirit there will be a raffle each week this month.
