Welcome to the final part of the League racing reports, coming to you from Grand Valley East Reverse. In this report we will hear from Division 5 and 6. So we will hear now from VARDZ31 with the report for Division 5: Round 2 of Div 5 @ Grand Valley East Reverse over 39 laps saw 12 set out on the chase for championship points, not only for themselves but for their respective teams. From the very outset it was clear that Oblisc was the man that had the speed and would set a time of 1'08.403 to see him secure his maiden pole position of his ROOZ career. Joining him on the front row of the grid was Kart No.1- Row 2 had Copperj32 and VARDZ31- Row 3 JAKO155 and mmm_homebrew- Row 4 T_Vue and sooby_scott- Row 5 Castrosfriendche and Ostey- and the final row Z7-Stoner1 and Imfamous-ozzi. Red lights out and the field was away into turn 1 lead by pole sitter Oblisc. Kart and Copper were fighting for P2, but it was to be Jako from P5 start of lap 2 gaining 3 spots into 2nd place, relegating Copper, Kart & Vardz back 1 spot from their starting position. Homebrew had settled into 6th spot in the opening laps ahead of the trio of Castro, T_Vue & Stoner who were nose to tail and side by side in a hammer and tong battle for P7, 8 & 9. Ostey was still in touch with the battle in front of him in 10th and sooby and ozzi where starting to trail off after errors caused them to spin. With the requirement of 2 compulsory pit stops as a part of the regulations for the season, a variety of strategies saw the first of the stops start at lap 10 and the running order was as follows OBLISC 1'08"765 JAKO +9.4 KART +11.6 VARDZ +14.6 BREW +16.3 COPPER 1ST TO PIT CASTRO +17.3 STONER +21.3 T_Vue +22 OSTEY +27 SOOBY +36 OZZI +59 Lap 16 saw the last of the drivers take the first of the two compulsory stops, and Oblisc was continuing to show his dominance around the 2.998 km 11 turn layout. T_Vue had made a move during and after the stops, moving from 9th to 5th in his return to racing with ROOZ after a lengthy absence. He will be one to watch in future rounds. Lap 19 at the halfway stage of the race and Oblisc continued to reduce his fastest lap time and his lead over the chasing pack. OBLISC 1'08"580 JAKO +12.8 KART +22.1 VARDZ +29.1 T_Vue +33 COPPER +34 CASTRO +36.3 BREW +36.8 OSTEY +43 SOOBY +62 OZZI +LAPS STONER DSC on lap 13 On lap 26, as the 2nd of the compulsory stops were commencing, nothing had changed amongst the front 4 only the distance between them had increased. Oblisc still leading, but now by 22 secs over Jako. Kart had reduced the gap to Jako by 3 secs but had maintained his gap over Vardz of 7 secs. Castro and homebrew had moved up into 5th and 6th but were trading passes over a number of laps. Sooby (pictured above) had moved up to 7th place in front of T_Vue who had lost his earlier made-up ground, and copper in 8th who - by his own admission - was having one of the worst races of his ROOZ career. The normally very consistent driver of the #71 was unable to find any real pace and compounded this by having to stop for a 3rd time when he required a splash of fuel to get him to full race distance. With the 2nd of the compulsory stops completed by the field at lap 33, it was Jako who was last to stop. He rejoined in 4th spot and the battle over the remaining laps for the podium was on. Lap 37 and in a move that would later result in Jako relegating himself from the 3rd step of podium back to 4th, Jako used a little too much of the green stuff on the approach to the left hander at the tunnel, and when coming back on track, Jako made contact with Vardz and as a result sent him up the kerb, enabling Jako to make a pass. Out in front of that battle, Kart was consolidating his P2 in what would be his maiden podium finish in his 2nd season with ROOZ. But the first to greet the chequered flag was Oblisc in a truly dominant performance. Finishing almost 40 seconds in front Kart, Oblisc rounded out his dominant day by stealing the FL off Jako on lap 39. Jako thought he had pinched it off Oblisc with his lap 38 time of 1'08"544, but it was a 1'08"413 by Oblisc that gave him the maximum haul of 27 points. So with Jako's showing of sportsmanship and relegating himself to 4th, Vardz took the final podium place. Castro came home in 5th, followed by T_Vue in 6th, homebrew 7th, copperj32 8th, sooby 9th and ostey 10th. Ozzi pulled over after 15 laps with a lack of pace and stoner the last to gain points with his lap 13 DSC. Round 3 sees the drivers move to a sprint format of 2 races of 14 laps, with the 2nd race being a reverse grid start from the race 1 results. The top 3 in the title race are within 4 points so there is everything to race for... VARDZ signing out till next time. Race Quotes: Oblisc (1st): Thanks again for the race last night guys, was unreal to get my first win of the season. The race went somewhat as planned for me. Although qualifying first I didnt really have the pace I wanted and came in far too late for a new set of treads to set a quick lap. Ended up half way through my first flying lap with lower fuel as the race countdown started. Got away pretty well when the lights went green and concentrated on setting solid pace in the first stint to build a bit of a buffer. Got the lead out to around 11 seconds and then went into cruise mode to try and minimise mistakes. Stuck to my pit strategy of coming in on lap 12 and grabbing an extra 10L of fuel. This got me out into clean air which was perfect and within a few laps Jacko and others had come in for their first stop and I regained the lead. My middle stint was my worst of the race as I had practiced a reasonable amount with a fuel load of 3/4 - 1/2 a tank and was pushing for good pace. I seemed to push a little too hard and harm my times more than improve them. Consequently the gap back to second never really improved much until my last stop. I kept my tyres in good condition so I held out and pitted on lap 29. This is where I really found my pace. Starting with around a 1/2 tank I lapped consistently in the region of 1.08.7s and a number of laps around 1.08.5**. The last stint I lapped a few cars and pushed the advantage out to 46 seconds. I was a little worried about fuel on the last couple of laps but after seeing I had enough in the tank I pushed hard on the final lap. Managed a 1.08.40 which I was fairly happy with. I wanted to crack a 1.07 late race but it wasnt to be. All in all very happy with the first win and looking forward to the sprints next week. Kart_no_1 (2nd): Well qualifing second was a bit of a surprise as there were several drivers faster than me in practice. Don't know what my qualy time was but it was not my best time, low 9's from memory. From the green light we all headed for turn 1 and I was lucky enough to hold position 2 through till Jako made short work of me at the hairpin. Now in 3rd I was falling into the clutches of Copperj and Vardz. An ordinary entry into the tunnel by Jako had myself, Copper and Vardz crawling over each other to grab a position, Copper was the only one who succeeded as he and I swapped paint from the tunnel exit till the hairpin. After getting by Copper again briefly I decided that it was probably better to consolidate and make ground on the cars behind instead of battling for position and costing both of us time. All this by lap 3. It didn't take long for Vardz to catch and pass me on lap 5, again in to the hairpin. I must be slow there. Then I had Homebrew and Castro right on my tail. Suddenly on lap 6 Vardz completely stuffed his approach into the tunnel slamming into the wall as I drove past back into 4th. Over the next few laps I pulled a gap on Vardz, must have improved my hairpin, then strangely Copper pitted and I noticed I was gaining on Jako. On lap 11 Vardz had a spin that gave me some extra breathing room and on lap 13 Oblisc and Vardz pitted and exited in 6th and 9th. I now had a Huge lead over those behind and only Jako in front. I pitted on lap 14 followed soon after by the rest of the field emerging back in 3rd. From here was a bit lonely with only me on the map, Jako way ahead Oblisc so far ahead I never saw him again and Vardz a distant 4th. It stayed this way till I pitted again on 28. By lap 30 I could see Vardz closing so I concentrated on clean consistent laps to manage the gap as best I could. Then I noticed for some reason Jako had pitted again on lap 34 and he re-entered not far behind Vardz. I hoped they would hold each other up as Vardz was gaining fast but it was only 5 laps to go. Concentrate. Next lap the margin was bigger and I relaxed a little. I was going to make it. In the closing stages I lapped scooby, thanks mate for moving off line to allow me to pass, you showed very good pace keeping with me no worries. On the second last lap I noticed Jako had got by Vardz and closed considerably leaving Vardz way behind. It was only after the race I learned of the passing incident, and on review probably should have been redressed on track, but I believe Jako did the right thing post race promoting Vardz to third. Well done mate. With a good couple of seconds over Jako it would take either a super lap from him or a stuff up from me to give up second. Fortunately I held on for my maiden main ROOZ series podium. My lap times weren't great but I had no spins and I think some drivers made pit stop errors. Very well done to Oblisc, you were a class above the rest of us all race, and congrats Vardz. Well done everyone else was a great race. VARDZ31 (3rd): What a great race that was. Had no pace all week and was thinking 7th or 8th might be where I am going to end up. Happy with the Qualifying in starting fourth and got away well but there was a little argie bargie through the first few corners and settled in 5th and chased kart until lap 11 lap when I made an error coming out of the last turn and was passed by 2 or 3 down the straight. Pitted on lap 12. Took just enough fuel so that I only need to put enough in on my 2nd stop once my tyres were changed. In the 2nd stint moved up to 4th and was settling in for a long stint so that I had fresh tyres for a final dash to the flag. Found my best pace of the week as the fuel load started to drop getting consistent 9'4s to 9'6 for a few laps and was happy to roll around trying to consolidate to try and get a good finish considering thoughts pre-race. Stopped with 11 to go and came out only 2 or 3 seconds behind kart so I thought what the hay lets have a crack at it. Seemed to be gaining for a few laps but again binned it and lost 3 secs and took the foot out of it and settled down again. With 6 left to run I saw jako had entered the pit and thought that I would be close to passing him which i did as he was just getting up to speed going through turn 1 and 2 on his outside moving into 3rd spot. Not sure what to make of the rest of the race... Yes Jako did have fresher tyres and was probably quicker than me through turns 1 , 2 & 3 but I ran a little wide at 2 and was back on the racing line on entering the tunnel and ended up over the kerb and into the wall through no fault of my own. The race is run and done and had anyone said I would finish 4th pre race I would have laughed and said HA! Congratz to the podium....AWESOME pace Oblisc 8"4s Looking forward to the sprint round. Going to be fun!!!! CastrosfriendChe (5th): Really enjoyed that race. Am I the only one who loved that track? Well picked, me thinks. QF was a let down...turned up too late to have a good crack at it so started at the back end of the pack, 9th on the grid. By the first corner two things became more than obvious, one - with such a large grid, you can be sure you'll catch 98% of the pack by the first corner as they run 4-5 cars wide. Two - whoever grabs pole or close to it gets a good shot at a breather after the rest of us get caught up in that first corner or two. Sigh, going by the pace of some of you, nabbing pole is probably out of my league atm... I went into the race with no pit strategy ended up with 14/13/12. Highlight for me was sticking with Homebrew for a fair few laps Sometimes ppl can slow each other down but I felt like we were in a great rhythm and actually felt slightly put off when the first pit stop came along on lap 14 I believe. Heading back out saw some time spent with VARDZ, Homebrew, Copper, and Vue. Vardz, good pace man. At some point I (and a few others) went by you on the last corner of lap twenty something, as you were in all kinds of trouble. I actually had the chance to create a decent gap with you but despite your error, you came back strong. Copper, what the hell was your pit strategy? Something seemed off. 3 pit stop strat. or just low petrol? T_Vue, watching the replay, you clipping the sand on the second corner when I was a couple of seconds behind was a gift. It gave me a chance to have a decent gap there. I mean for a while i thought you and Copper were going to chase me down, but at a certain point, not far from the end, keeping a solid 5th place was in sight and that's how it ended for me. Enjoyed the drafting on the straight and heading into and through a corner, door to door. T_Vue (6th): It's good to be back racing with Div 5. Am thoroughly enjoying this nifty car. Was happy to start mid-pack and just wanted ta solid finish to my first race since R5 of S1. In practice, I had trouble navigating the turn into the tunnel..and what do you know—smacked the right hand guard rail during the first lap, losing 3 or 4 spots. During the early-to-middle part of the race, I had a good battle with Stoners1 until he got disconnected, which was a shame as I was alone until I pitted. Due to some good luck and clean, tight racing, I managed to move up to 5th until disaster hit on lap 23: my right rear wheel dipped into the sand at turn one, flinging me across the grass—just glad these cars can't turn into balls of fire! The final stint saw a great encounter with Copper until he pitted most likely due to low fuel) with a few laps remaining. I was also running low on fuel and with 2 laps remaining, I was quite far ahead of 7th position (Homebrew) so I was short shifting and coasting. Managed to scrape through for 6th with Homebrew breathing down my neck as we crossed the line. Congrats to the top 3. mmm_homebrew (7th): Well done Obiisc and rest of podium, I enjoyed most of my race tonight, started on 6th but finished in 7th. Had a lot of fun trying to keep clean with Castro throughout many laps. I made a few silly mistakes as usual and crashed on lap 27. Really enjoy how this car goes door handle to door handle through a lot of corners (thanks Castro, sorry if i gave you a rub here and there) my best lap was 1.09.014 but I was fairly consistent with .10 -.11's. Looking forward to the sprint at Trial Mt. copperj32 (8th): That was a race I would rather forget. It just goes to show that you can practice all you want but come race day it all goes out the window. I qualified 3rd so was happy with that. Got a reasonable start and it was jam packed through the first few turns. I think I ended up 4th on the run down the back straight. Oblisc had blistering pace from the start so the chase was on to catch Jako in 2nd and Kart in 3rd. With Jako and Kart fighting for P2 I was able to latch onto them and managed to take P3 from Kart. We had a bit of a battle for a few laps until I pitted on Lap 9 from 3rd, came back on track in 10th and my plan was to go hard and pick up the positions as the others pitted later on. That didn't work as I binned it on my out lap at turn 1 and from there it was all downhill. Pitted again on Lap 29 and worked my way back up to 6th. Had some good battles with T_Vue and homebrew and then with 3 laps to go fuel light comes on (stupid, stupid, stupid). Pitted for splash and dash and held 8th to the finish line. One positive for me was that I did manage to get a lap time in the high 1.08's . Looking forward to the sprint race at trail mountain. Nice report VARDZ31. Well done to Oblisc for taking pole, fastest lap and victory. Well done also to Kart_no_1 and VARDZ31 for the final podium positions. Now we will move on to Division 6, with our report brought to you by PurpleDog: August 17 saw the Division 6 drivers from ROOZ assemble at the Grand Valley East circuit for a race using the circuit in reverse. Initially there were 10 drivers prepared to take the field, but some issues in transport saw only 8 take the grid for the start. dr_twist took Pole from Pat with a 1:09.970, Nomad and Dog made up row 2, Alfa and Feenix on row 3, and SOC with A-SENNA-17 rounding out the starting grid. As the lights went to green, Pat got away well to take the holeshot, and Dog also got through to take a position off Nomad coming into turn 1. By the tunnel, Twist had taken back the lead, and Nomad had dropped back a further spot to fifth. By Lap 3, dr_twist had started to build a comfortable lead over the battle for second to fourth places, being fought by Pat, Dog, and Nomad. As lap 4 started, the race had started to settle, with gaps opening between the top four runners. Leading up to turn 1 on Lap 5, one of Dog’s pit crew caused a distraction in the cockpit, which saw the beginning of the end of his race. Timing Lap 13: dr_twist Lead patg65 +2.638 webnomad +14.855 feenix77 +29.085 ALFA_00QGT +40.364 PurpleDog +45.742 (A-SENNA-17) unknown time Lap 14 saw Pat start the pit stop dance, allowing Nomad into 2nd, and taking the pressure off Twist, with Alfa also coming in on this lap. Twist followed in on 15, rejoining the race behind Pat, as Feenix entered for his first stop. Dog pitted on 16, exiting pit just ahead of Alfa. Nomad finished the first round of stops on Lap 17, rejoining the race in third, and the field had settled back for another stint. Lap 26 saw pat and twist both stop for fresh boots and drink. Nomad once again assumed the lead for a lap until he came in on Lap 27. Lap 30-33 saw some intense battling from feenix and Dog as they both tried to avoid the final classification for the race. With Dog cracking at turn one, running wide to the barrier and leaving feenix to drive off to the end of the race. The race ran to it’s full 39 laps with Pat leading Senna home by 2 seconds, and Twist taking the last podium spot another second adrift. Congratulations to Pat on a second win for the season, Twist for Pole Position, and Senna taking the Fastest Lap honours with a 1:09.114 lap during the race. Onward to Trial Mountain for the sprint round, which should provide some interesting racing with it’s 2 race split with reversed grid for race 2. Well done on the report PurpleDog. Congratulations to patg65 for taking the win, and also to A_SENNA_17 with dr_twist on the final podium positions. Another round over. See you next time at Trial Mountain for the sprint round Division 5 Reporter/Photographer: VARDZ31 Division 6 Reporter/Photographer: PurpleDog Editor: Jamie(Ad2mny)
