Posts Tagged ‘Lotus’

CFR-Detroit 2018 Race #1: Italian Grand Prix

Tuesday, June 5th, 2018

The CFR-Detroit 2018 racing season began on Friday, May 11, 2018, at the Guild of Blades game store in Clawson, Michigan. Eleven drivers participated, and when the race was over, Garry Kaluzny emerged victorious after overtaking Jim Robinson in the final corner of the race. Jim Robinson did finish 2nd, and the final podium position, 3rd place, went to Mike Cook. Last season’s champ, Gary Sturgeon, finished in 5th place after starting from pole position.

There had been some talk before the race of using the optional “knock-out” qualifying bidding (as detailed on page 16 of the Championship Formula Racing rulebook), but in the end it was decided to go with the normal Pole Bid rules (as detailed on page 11 of the CFR rulebook).

The drivers who participated all arrived at Guild of Blades in plenty of time to set up their car’s specifications before bidding for qualifying began promptly at 6:45 pm. 2017’s CFR-Detroit champion, Gary Sturgeon, took the pole position with a bid of 4.0 (1 wear + 6  skill). (Reminder: Each wear is worth 1.0 point in bidding, while each skill is worth 0.5 point in bidding.) Starting in 2nd was Jim Robinson, also with a bid of 4.0 (2 wear + 4 skill). Sturgeon rolled better on a percentage dice roll, 52 to 43, and thus managed to start on the pole. Third and 4th places also came down to a percentage dice roll as both Mike Cook (2 wear + 3 skill) and Richard White (3 wear + 1 skill) each bid 3.5. Cook rolled 51, and White rolled 16, thus Cook started 3rd and White began in 4th. Garry Kaluzny (3 wear + 0 skill) and Mike St. Peter (3 wear + 0 skill) each bid 3.0, with Kaluzny winning the dice roll for 5th with a roll of only 16. St. Peter rolled an even lower 12 and so started in 6th. Brian Robinson started 7th with a bid of 2.5 (0 wear + 5 skill), and Greg Lim started 8th with a bid of 1.5 (0 wear + 3 skill). Jack Beckman, winner of the 2017 Italian Grand Prix, started in 9th with a bid of only 1.0 (0 wear + 2 skill). Tenth and 11th places were contested by CFR newcomers Bill Worrel and Aric Parr, as each of those two drivers bid nothing. Worrel then won the dice-off by 77 to 03, thus Worrel was 10th and Parr 11th on the starting grid. Although both Worrel and Parr are new to CFR, they both had raced in the old Advanced Speed Circuit series in the Detroit, Michigan, area in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

The starting grid with their car specs:

 # Driver (Car)                    Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
22 Gary Sturgeon (McLaren)           60   60    40   160  5x   2x   hard
 2 Jim Robinson (Williams)           60   40    40   180  4x   3x   soft
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)           60   60    40   160  5x   2x   hard
 1 Richard White (Brabham)           60   40    40   160  5x   3x   soft
 8 Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  60   60    40   160  5x   2x   soft
44 Mike St. Peter (Mercedes)         60   40    40   160  4x   4x   soft
 5 Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)    20   60    60   180  3x   3x   soft
 7 Greg Lim (Marlboro McLaren)       60   60    40   180  3x   3x   hard
12 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)            20   80    60   160  4x   2x   hard
 4 Bill Worrel (Tyrrell)             60   60    40   180  4x   2x   hard
14 Aric Parr (Motul BRM)             60   60    60   160  4x   2x   soft

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers; Skill = # of Skill markers; Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race.

Jim Robinson, Mike Cook, Richard White, Mike St. Peter, and Brian Robinson were all racing in the same cars they used in the 2017 CFR-Detroit season. Gary Sturgeon moved from the John Player Lotus to a newer McLaren in black, gold and red livery. Garry Kaluzny’s McLaren now sported Marlboro sponsorship and its dayglo orange and white colors. Greg Lim was also in an orange and white Marlboro McLaren. Jack Beckman stayed with Ferrari, but was now in a model 312 T instead of the former model 312 B2. Bill Worrel raced in a 6-wheeled Tyrrell P34 from 1976, and Aric Parr was in a Motul sponsored BRM P201 from 1974.

2018 Monza starting grid

2018 Monza starting grid: 1st row: Gary Sturgeon (black/gold); Jim Robinson (white/blue/yellow). 2nd row: Mike Cook (yellow); Richard White (white/blue). 3rd row: Garry Kaluzny (orange/white); Mike St. Peter (silver/teal). 4th row: Brian Robinson (white/blue); Greg Lim (orange/white). 5th row: Jack Beckman (red/white); Bill Worrel (blue). 6th row: Aric Parr (gray). Note that the Monza track has separate start and finish lines.

As the field was lined up on the grid, waiting for the green flag to drop, it was noted that most cars had a 60 mph start speed. Two cars, those of Brian Robinson and Jack Beckman, had 20 mph start speeds, but they were starting on the inside of the 4th and 5th rows, and so would not interfere with any faster cars at the start.

At the start, Jim Robinson roared into the lead, boosting his start speed to 80 mph by virtue of using a wear as his car was shod with soft tires. Pole-sitter Gary Sturgeon played it safe, moving at his regular start speed of 60 mph. As Sturgeon’s car was on hard tires, he would have had to have rolled dice to try to increase his start speed, and, as most drivers in CFR races can attest, sometimes bad things happen to your car when you roll dice; therefore, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Both 2nd-row starters, Mike Cook and Richard White, boosted their start speed to 80 mph and so pulled even with Sturgeon. White, on soft tires, spent a wear, but Cook, on hard tires, had to roll dice (and successfully made the dice roll). From the 3rd row on the grid, Garry Kaluzny, on soft tires, spent a wear to start at 80 mph, moving right behind Sturgeon; Mike St. Peter, although also on soft tires, started at only 60 mph and pulled in behind Kaluzny. In the 4th row, Greg Lim started at 60 mph, and Brian Robinson used a wear to start at 40 mph, moving behind Lim. From the 5th row, Bill Worrell rolled dice on the start speed table to increase to 80 mph, and that allowed him to pass B. Robinson and pull alongside Lim. Beckman started at his 20 mph start speed, figuring he would be able to catch up to the pack with his car’s 80 mph acceleration. 11th place starter Aric Parr spent a wear to move 80 mph, thus passing Beckman and pulling up next to B. Robinson.

The pack is away!

The pack is away! Jim Robinson takes the lead from the green flag at the start of the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.

The pack roared down the straightaway, with J. Robinson being the first to enter the first corner, the Variante del Rettifilo. J. Robinson entered the corner at 120 mph, using 3 wears (since he was on soft tires) to pay for being 60 mph over the corner’s speed limit on the racing line. Eight cars were bunched up right behind J. Robinson, with only the cars of B. Robinson and Beckman running behind the pack. White took the inside for 2nd place from Sturgeon, and Kaluzny moved to inside of Cook to take 4th place.

Into the 1st corner

Into the 1st corner, J. Robinson leads the pack. Then came White, Sturgeon, Kaluzny, Cook, St. Peter, Worrel, Lim, Parr, B. Robinson, and Beckman.

Jim Robinson continued on at 120 mph on the next turn, not needing to pay any more for the corner as he had already paid for exceeding the speed limit on his previous turn. Richard White slowed his car from 120 mph to 100 mph to negotiate the Rettifilo corner, paying 3 wears to move through the 40 mph space. White did not get the benefit of using the racing line (the red arrow), so he was 60 mph over the corner’s speed limit and had to pay 3 “units” for the corner. A “unit” is either a wear or a dice roll, with the limitation in that no driver can use more than one dice (chance) roll in a corner. Gary Sturgeon slowed from 120 mph to only 80 mph, using the racing line through the corner, and only had to pay 1 wear.

Kaluzny, Cook, and St. Peter were all adjacent to one another going into the Rettifilo corner. Kaluzny plotted a speed of 120 mph, while Cook and St. Peter only plotted 100 mph. Kaluzny thus moved first and used 3 wears (soft tires) to move through the 60 mph spaces all along the outside of the Rettifilo turn. He then took the inside of the track instead of hogging the arrow on the far side of the corner. Kaluzny could not use the cornering arrow, and moved the way he did to keep his speed up to 120 mph, to make it easier to accelerate on the following move. Although Kaluzny moved first, Cook moved at 100 mph and was able to re-pass Kaluzny as Cook was able to use the racing line and only had to spend 2 wears. St. Peter also could not use the racing line, and since he wanted to keep his speed at 100 mph he had to move around the outside of the corner on the 60 mph spaces. Although he could have moved through the 40 mph spaces without benefit of the arrow, he would have to slow to 80 mph as he would have had the cars of Sturgeon and Cook blocking his path.

Then it was the turn of the next trio of Worrel, Lim, and Parr to move. Worrel moved first at 100 mph, taking the cornering arrow and spending 2 wears, thus pulling alongside Kaluzny into 6th place (after starting 10th). Both Lim and Parr plotted 80 mph, so Lim moved first (since he was to the inside of Parr), taking the arrow and putting himself in position to accelerate off the corner in his next move. Parr then moved 80 mph, and had to move around the 60 mph spaces on the outside of the corner, thereby being stuck at 80 mph for his next move. B. Robinson was content to move at only 80 mph and ended his move just short of the corner. Beckman moved at 140 mph and took the inside and 10th place from B. Robinson.

Through the Variante del Rettifilo

Through the Variante del Rettifilo for the 1st time. J. Robinson leads from White, Sturgeon, Cook, Kaluzny, Worrel, Lim, St. Peter, Parr, Beckman, and B. Robinson.

The pack continued running in much the same order through the Curva Grande, with the exception of B. Robinson passing Parr on the far side of the Rettifilo corner. Then, moving into the Variante della Roggia, Kaluzny was side-by-side with Cook and Sturgeon, but Kaluzny was on the outside. Kaluzny plotted 140 mph to the other drivers only plotting 100 mph. Kaluzny thus moved first, then used late-braking (and 1 wear) to slow to 120 mph for the corner, and then spent 2 wears for the corner. Cook and Sturgeon ended their move just short of the corner, with Cook on the racing line and Sturgeon to the inside. St. Peter then moved up alongside Cook and Sturgeon.

Through the Variante della Roggia

Through the Variante della Roggia, J. Robinson still leads from White, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, Cook, St. Peter, Lim, Worrel, B. Robinson, Parr, and Beckman.

J. Robinson continued to lead through the two Lesmo corners. As White exited the 2nd Lesmo corner, he attempted to push his top speed to 180 mph, but failed the dice roll with a “12,” in spite of using two -1 skill markers. White’s top speed was thus reduced to 140 mph for the balance of the race. Shortly after, Worrel tried to force-pass the cars of Sturgeon and Cook, but failed with a roll of “9.” Worrel did use two -1 skill markers, but even with the skill modifiers, the “9” became a “7” which was still an unsuccessful pass. Worrel then had to slow from 140 mph to 100 mph. He used a wear and also tried an unmodified deceleration dice roll, but failed that dice roll by rolling a  “10.” So Worrel’s deceleration was only 20 mph for the rest of the race. Mike Cook had contested the forced pass, and he had to use a wear due to Worrel’s original forced-pass dice roll.

White and Worrel have damaged their cars

White (top speed) and Worrel (deceleration) have damaged their cars. White’s car is 2nd from the bottom of the picture (the blue and white Brabham), and Worrel’s car is the solid-blue 6-wheeled car behind the yellow Lotus of Cook.

As the top three cars (J. Robinson, White, and Kaluzny) came through the final corner of the 1st lap, they pulled into the pits.

First pit stops

First pit stops at the end of the 1st lap. J. Robinson, White, and Kaluzny have pitted. The running order for the other cars is St. Peter, Worrel, Cook, Sturgeon, Lim, B. Robinson, Parr, and Beckman.

As St. Peter came through Parabolica, he pulled into the pits, Worrel stayed out on the track and became the race leader, with Sturgeon, Cook, and Lim right behind him. Brian Robinson availed himself of the services of his pit crew. Parr spun on the inside lane of the Parabolica, and forced Beckman to take the outside lane to avoid the spun car.

Worrel takes the lead

Worrel takes the lead while Parr (gray car) has spun in the Parabolica curve. J. Robinson, St. Peter, White, Kaluzny, and B. Robinson are in the pits.

When Parr restarted after his spin, he drove his car into the pits. During the pit stops, J. Robinson, Kaluzny, White, St. Peter, B. Robinson, and Parr all switched from soft to hard tires, thus fulfulling their obligation to use both different tire compounds during the race. The drivers who did not pit, Worrel, Sturgeon, Lim, Cook, and Beckman, were all on hard tires and so regained some wear as they crossed the finish line at the end of the 1st lap. The official order after the 1st lap was complete was: Worrel (+9); Sturgeon (-1); Lim (+5); Cook (-1); Beckman (+4); J. Robinson (-4); Kaluzny (-2); White (-4); St. Peter (-3); B. Robinson (-3); and Parr (0). The numbers in parentheses indicate how many places a driver either gained (+) or lost (-) from their starting position.

Running order on the track after the 1st lap

Running order on the track after the 1st lap: Sturgeon leads the race (his car is way up near the S-curve at the top of the picture) with Cook (yellow car) beside Sturgeon. Worrel and Lim and right behind the leaders. Four spaces back are Beckman and J. Robinson, then another four spaces back is Kaluzny, followed by White. Near the bottom of the picture, St. Peter and B. Robinson have just exited the pits and their cars have been placed back on the track. Parr’s car is still in the pits.

During the 2nd lap, Sturgeon continued to lead, with Cook and Lim staying right with Sturgeon. Worrel fell back somewhat, as he had to slow sooner than normal for the corners due to his damaged deceleration.

Sturgeon and White observe the race

Sturgeon (gray pullover with the 2017 trophy in front of him) and White (green shirt with an alarmed look) observe the race as Sturgeon leads into the 1st Lesmo curve. Mike Cook (green and yellow hat) is also looking on. Standing is Brian Robinson.

As the trio of leaders, Sturgeon, Cook, and Lim went through the Variante Ascari chicane, they had a 5 space lead over the four cars of Beckman, Worrel, Kaluzny, and J. Robinson. White was then another 4 spaces back, and 6 spaces behind White were St. Peter and B. Robinson. Parr was running 11 spaces behind St. Peter and B. Robinson.

Sturgeon, Cook, and Lim lead

Sturgeon, Cook, and Lim lead through the Variante Ascari.

As the leading cars of Sturgeon, Cook, and Lim came through the Parabolica, they had to pull into the pits to swap their hard tires for soft.

The leaders have pitted

The leaders (Sturgeon, Cook, and Lim) have pitted. The running order on the track is: J. Robinson, Kaluzny, Beckman, Worrel, White, St. Peter, B. Robinson, and Parr.

Also pitting at the end of the 2nd lap were the cars of Beckman and Worrel, and St. Peter made a 2nd stop to switch back to soft tires for the final lap. All of the other pittees switched from hard to soft tires. The cars that eschewed pitting, those of J. Robinson, Kaluzny, White, B. Robinson, and Parr, were all on hard tires, and so each car picked up some wear as they crossed the finish line to begin the race’s final lap.

Jim Robinson and Kaluzny have the lead

Jim Robinson and Kaluzny have the lead by 7 spaces over the rest of the field, with one lap left to race.

The official order at the end of the 2nd lap was: Sturgeon (0); Cook (+1); J. Robinson (-1); Kaluzny (+1); Beckman (+4); White (-2); St. Peter (-1); Lim (0); B. Robinson (-2); Worrel (0); and Parr (0). But due to pit stops, the running order on the track after the pits stops were resolved was: J. Robinson; Kaluzny; White; Sturgeon; Cook; B. Robinson; Lim; Beckman; Worrel; Parr; and St. Peter.

The final lap turned into a two-car race between Jim Robinson and Kaluzny. J. Robinson had a 2-space lead most of the way around the track. White, although his car had only a 140 mph top speed, was trying to stay ahead of Sturgeon and Cook. Then when Sturgeon was about to go into the 1st Lesmo corner, he failed an unmodified top speed roll, moving only 160 mph instead of 180 mph, and lowering his car’s top speed to 140 mph for the rest of the race. But Cook was able to pass White between the two Lesmo corners, thus taking over 3rd place.

Kaluzny is directly behind Jim Robinson

Kaluzny is directly behind Jim Robinson. Cook, White, and Sturgeon are 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Having a dogfight for 6th place are B. Robinson, Lim, Beckman, Worrel, St. Peter, and Parr.

As the leaders approached the Variante Ascari chicane for the final time, Kaluzny pulled alongside Jim Robinson, although Robinson still had the inside lane to that corner. Robinson went 140 mph through the 120 mph spaces of that corner, using his last wear. Kaluzny went only 120 mph through the 120 mph space, saving his last wear for the final corner of the race. Jim Robinson then went 160 mph down the back straightaway, while Kaluzny went 160 mph but used the slipstream to pull alongside Robinson just before the Parabolica corner.

Kaluzny has pulled alongside Jim Robinson

Kaluzny has pulled alongside Jim Robinson just before the final corner, the Parabolica.

A the Parabolica, Kaluzny was able to move faster than Jim Robinson, 140 mph to 120 mph because Kaluzny had a single wear remaining to J. Robinson being out of wear, so Kaluzny moved first and also moved one extra space, so he was then one space in front of J. Robinson. At this stage in the race, neither racer felt the need to roll dice and take a chance, as a sure 2nd place is better than possibly crashing and then getting no points at all! Kaluzny then moved only 160 mph, while J. Robinson pushed his accleration to 60 mph to get to his top speed of 180 mph. That allowed J. Robinson to pull alongside Kaluzny, but Kaluzny was able to take the checkered flag in 1st place as he was to the inside of the track due to his having moved before J. Robinson. Robinson had hoped that Kaluzny would have also pushed his top speed to 180 mph, which would have allowed Mr. Robinson to “slingshot” past Kaluzny with a 2-space slipstream bonus (and that 2-space slingshot would have given Robinson the victory).

As Cook came out of Parabolica, he attempted to also drive at 180 mph, but failed his top speed dice roll. But he still easily finished 3rd over White, who easily finished 4th over Sturgeon (who was 5th).

Kaluzny nips Jim Robinson

Kaluzny nips Jim Robinson to take the checkered flag and the victory.

Then came the dogfight roaring around the Parabolica. Six cars were fighting to see which one of them would take the single point for 6th place. Mike St. Peter out-dragged the competition down the back straight, going into the outside lane of the Parabolica at 180 mph. He had to make two unmodified dice rolls (for acceleration and top speed) to get to 180 mph. But once into that corner at that speed, he could continue at 180 mph the next turn, and that allowed his car to touch the finish line before any of his competitors.

Brian Robinson only went 160 mph, but used a -3 skill marker to make his chance roll around the outside of the corner. Jack Beckman made an unmodified top speed roll to go 180 mph, then used a wear and a -1 chance roll to make it through the corner. Bill Worrel pushed his car to 200 mph around the outside of Parabolica, making an unmodified top speed roll and using his last 3 wears get through that corner.

Mike St. Peter takes 6th

Mike St. Peter (silver car nearest the checkered flag man) takes 6th place in a wild battle for the final points-paying position.

The pack of cars still contended fiercely for 7th place. Worrel pushed his car to 200 mph again, while Parr went 180 mph and got two slipstream spaces from Worrel, so Worrel was 7th, Parr 8th, Lim 9th, Beckman 10th, and J. Robinson 11th.

The final finishing order was: Kaluzny (+4); J. Robinson (0); Cook (0); White (0); Sturgeon (-4); St. Peter (0); Worrel (+3); Parr (+3); Lim (-1); Beckman (-1); and B. Robinson (-4).

Points awarded at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix: Kaluzny 10; J. Robinson 6; Cook 4; White 3; Sturgeon 2; St. Peter 1.

The points standings of the 2018 CFR-Detroit season after the first of eight races:

Place Driver (Car)                    Points
  1   Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  10
  2   Jim Robinson (Williams)            6
  3   Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)            4
  4   Richard White (Brabham)            3  
  5   Gary Sturgeon (McLaren)            2
  6   Mike St. Peter (Mercedes)          1
  7T  Bill Worrel (Tyrrell)              0
  7T  Aric Parr (Motul BRM)              0
  7T  Greg Lim (Marlboro McLaren)        0
  7T  Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             0
  7T  Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)     0

The next race of the 2018 CFR-Detroit racing campaign will be on Friday, June 8, at RIW Hobbies & Games in Livonia, Michigan. The British Grand Prix will be contested on the modern Silverstone track. Bidding for qualifying begins at 6:45 pm sharp, so drivers are asked to try to arrive by 6:15 pm to set up their car’s specifications for the race.

CFR 2017 Championship Race: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Pandemonium Games

Thursday, May 10th, 2018

On Friday, April 13, 2018, Gary Sturgeon clinched the championship of the 2017 CFR-Detroit racing series by finishing 4th out of a field of 13 drivers at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held on the Yas Marina track. Garry Kaluzny won the race, his 2nd victory of the season, thus clinching 2nd place in the season standings for Kaluzny. Richard White (2nd place) and Jack Beckman (3rd) were the other podium finishers. The race was held at Pandemonium Games in Garden City, Michigan.

Yas Marina track

Yas Marina 2017 track diagram.

Yas Marina CFR track

Yas Marina CFR track.

The qualifying bidding was once again using the standard Championship Formula Racing procedure where all drivers secretly bid a number of their wear and/or skill markers. Each wear marker counted as 1.0 for bidding, while each  -1 skill marker counted as 0.5 towards qualifying. Chad Marlett outbid the competition to get pole position with a bid of 8.5 (6 wear + 5 skill). Starting beside Marlett on the front row was Mike Cook with a bid of 6.5 (0 wear + 13 skill). Cook used his single -3 skill marker and 10 of his -1 skill markers, leaving him with only two -1 skill markers for the actual race. Starting in 3rd place was Jack Beckman with a bid of 5.0 (2 wear + 6 skill). Richard White started 4th with a bid of 4.5 (3 wear + 3 skill). Garry Kaluzny was 5th with a bid of 4.0 (2 wear + 4 skill). Three drivers were tied with bids of 3.0, so they rolled percentage dice for starting positions. Gary Sturgeon (0 wear + 6 skill) rolled 89 to start 6th, Jim Landis (1 wear + 4 skill) rolled 75 to start 7th, and Mike St. Peter (2 wear + 2 skill) rolled 61 to start 8th. Ninth and 10th positions were also diced for, with Brian Robinson (2 wear + 1 skill, rolled 92) getting 9th and newcomer Mike Hernandez (2 wear + 1 skill, rolled 02) starting 10th. Jim Magnanti (0 wear + 4 skill), a Speed Circuit racer from the 1980s who was racing in his first CFR race, started 11th. Greg Lim bid 1.5 (0 wear + 3 skill) to start 12th, and Gary Kempen started 13th with a bid of 1.0 (0 wear + 2 skill).

The starting grid and their car specs:

# Driver (Car)                     Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
71 Chad Marlett (Red Bull)            60   60    40   160  4x   3x   soft
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)            60   40    40   140  5x   4x   hard 
 3 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             60   40    40   160  5x   3x   hard 
 1 Richard White (Brabham)            60   40    40   160  5x   3x   soft 
 9 Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)            60   40    40   160  5x   3x   soft
12 Gary Sturgeon (John Player Lotus)  60   60    40   180  4x   2x   hard 
20 Jim Landis (Benetton)              60   40    40   160  5x   3x   soft
44 Mike St. Peter (Mercedes)          60   40    40   160  4x   4x   hard 
 5 Brian Robinson (Williams)          20   60    60   160  4x   3x   soft
 8 Mike Hernandez (McLaren)           60   40    40   160  5x   3x   hard
 6 Jim Magnanti (Benetton)            60   40    40   160  5x   3x   soft
 7 Greg Lim (McLaren)                 60   40    40   160  5x   3x   hard
 4 Gary Kempen (Ferrari)              20   60    60   180  4x   2x   hard

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers per lap raced; Skill = # of Skill markers per lap raced; Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race. (Since the race was 3 laps, a car with 5x of Wear would receive 15 Wear markers to start the race (as an example).)

Starting grid at Yas Marina

Starting grid at Yas Marina: 1st row:Chad Marlett (Red Bull) & Mike Cook (yellow Lotus); 2nd row: Jack Beckman (red Ferrari) & Richard White (Brabham); 3rd row: Garry Kaluzny (orange McLaren) & Gary Sturgeon (black Lotus); 4th row: Jim Landis (Benetton) & Mike St. Peter (silver Mercedes); 5th row: Brian Robinson (Walker Racing) & Mike Hernandez (orange & white “driverless” McLaren); 6th row: Jim Magnanti (yellow & green Benetton) & Greg Lim (orange & white McLaren with a driver); 7th row: Gary Kempen (red Ferrari). Yay for the Grid Girls!

When the green flag dropped, Chad Marlett, since he was on soft tires, used a wear to increase his start speed from 60 to 80 mph. Mike Cook, on hard tires, rolled dice to increase his start speed to 80 mph, so both Marlett and Cook made it into the first corner before all of the trailing cars. Richard White took advantage of his soft tires to also use a wear to go 80 mph, thus taking 3rd place from Jack Beckman. Beckman, on hard tires, only went 60 mph, while Garry Kaluzny, who started directly behind Beckman but on soft tires, used a wear to go 80 mph and thus pulled alongside Beckman. Gary Sturgeon (hard tires) only went 60 mph, while Mike St. Peter, even though he was on hard tires, rolled dice to get to 80 mph, passing Jim Landis and pulling alongside Sturgeon. Landis, although on soft tires, only went 60 mph for his start speed. Brian Robinson used a wear to boost his start speed to 40 mph, but nonetheless, Mike Hernandez went 60 mph and got in front of B. Robinson. Jim Magnanti and Greg Lim both went 60 mph to pull alongside B. Robinson, and Gary Kempen merely started at his 20 mph start speed.

The pack races away

The pack races away from the start line! The running order: Marlett; Cook; White; Beckman; Kaluzny; Sturgeon; St. Peter; Landis; Hernandez; B. Robinson; Magnanti; Lim; and Kempen.

On the next move, Marlett accelerated off the corner to 140 mph, thus opening a gap of 3 spaces over Cook as Cook was only able to accelerate to 100 mph as he was stuck on a posted speed space in the middle of the 1st corner. Both White and Kaluzny pulled alongside Cook coming out of that 1st corner. The other drivers stayed in their same positions.

Through the first corner

Through the first corner, Marlett opens a lead of three spaces over Cook, White, and Kaluzny.

Marlett held his lead going into the hairpin just before the longest straightaway, although Kaluzny managed to get to the inside of the track from Cook and White. Mike St. Peter also pulled alongside Beckman, and Landis pulled alongside Sturgeon. Lim got into the 2nd corner in front of both B. Robinson and Magnanti.

Marlett continues to lead

Marlett continues to lead heading into the hairpin.

Marlett slowed to 60 mph for the hairpin curve, taking the inside lane. But White put on a burst of speed, driving 120 mph through the 60 mph corner just before the hairpin, and then taking the outside of the hairpin at 120 mph, thus pulling up alongside Marlett. Kaluzny went 100 mph and got stuck in the outside lane of the hairpin. Cook also went 100 mph, but ended up behind Kaluzny in the hairpin.

White then accelerated to 160 mph coming out of the hairpin, with Marlett (who only accelerated to 140 mph) slotting in behind White. Kaluzny was 3 spaces behind Marlett, with Cook right on Kaluzny’s tailpipe. St. Peter took over 5th place from Beckman.

White takes the lead

White takes the lead down the long straightaway. The running order is White, Marlett, Kaluzny, Cook, St. Peter, Beckman, Sturgeon, Landis, Hernandez, Magnanti, Lim, Kempen, and B. Robinson.

By the time the pack reached the left-right S-curves at the end of the 3-wide section, Marlett’s car was starved of wear, seeing as he had bid 6 of his precious wear markers in his bid to obtain the pole position. Kaluzny passed Marlett for 2nd, and was only two spaces behind White. Cook pulled alongside Marlett just before those S-curves.

Kaluzny moves into 2nd place

Kaluzny moves into 2nd place over Marlett. The running order: White, Kaluzny, Marlett, Cook, Beckman, St. Peter, Sturgeon, Landis, Hernandez, Magnanti, B. Robinson, Kempen, and Lim.

Through the next few curvy sections of the track (although those curvy sections did not have speed limits), White and Kaluzny manufactured a lead of several spaces over the rest of the pack.

White and Kaluzny stretch out a lead

White and Kaluzny stretch out a lead over the rest of the pack.

Coming into the 2nd-to-last corner of the 1st lap, Mike Hernandez was behind a glut of cars that included Marlett, Beckman, Cook, and St. Peter.

Most of the pack is bunched up

Most of the pack is bunched up coming into the second to last corner on the 1st lap. Mike Hernandez is in the orange and white McLaren, directly behind Mike Cook’s yellow Lotus.

Marlett and Beckman continued on at only 80 mph coming out of that corner, and Cook went 100 mph while St. Peter went 80 mph. Hernandez, the rookie driver, plotted 140 mph! After paying 2 wears and successfully making a chance roll to go 60 mph over the posted speed limit of the corner, he then attempted to force pass two rows of cars. In the first row of Beckman and St. Peter, Hernandez elected to force pass Beckman, who tried to block the pass. Hernandez made the pass safely, but had to lose 1 wear in the attempt. Hernandez then decided to force pass Marlett, but Marlett did not try to block, so Hernandez easily made the forced pass dice roll and so he gained four positions with a single move (and only using 3 wear to do so)!

Mike Hernandez has just force passed four cars

Mike Hernandez (orange and white McLaren just in front of Chad Marlett’s Red Bull) has just force-passed four cars to move into 3rd place! White and Kaluzny have just pulled into the pits so they are off to the side of the track.

White and Kaluzny built enough of a lead so that they could both pull into the pits a turn before anyone else on the track. It should be noted that they both expended all of their wear in their gaining the lead over the rest of the pack. But of course, drivers should use all of their wear before deciding to pit, n’est-ce pas?

As the pack came around the final corner before the start/finish line, Hernandez spun out, thereby negating all of the positions he had gained with his magnificent forced-pass of a moment ago. But Hernandez decided to pull into the pits after the spin, so did not affect any other cars that were still trying to negotiate that corner. Also pitting were the cars of Marlett, St. Peter, and Magnanti.

More cars in the pits

Hernandez, Marlett, St. Peter, and Magnanti join White and Kaluzny in the pits.

Mike Cook now became the leader on the track, as he did not pit. As he crossed the start/finish line, he gained 2 wear, as he was on hard tires, to add to his remaining 6 wear, thus giving him 8 wear for the next lap. Beckman also stayed on the track, gaining 2 wear, plus his remaining 6 wear. Sturgeon stayed on the track, gaining 2 wear to add to his 4 wear, and Kempen also stayed out, adding 2 wear to his remaining 3 wear for the 2nd lap. Jim Landis and Brian Robinson now pulled into the pits just as White and Kaluzny were leaving the pits. White and Kaluzny were now both on hard tires.

Cook takes the lead

Mike Cook takes the lead as he forgoes pitting. Beckman moves into 2nd place.

The official classification order after the 1st lap was: Cook (+1); Beckman (+1); Landis (+4); White (0); Sturgeon (+1); Kaluzny (-1); Kempen (+6); Lim (+4); Magnanti (+2); Marlett (-9); St. Peter (-3); B. Robinson (-3); and Hernandez (-3). It was a pity that Hernandez spun immediately after pulling off his brilliant forced pass. That spin dropped him from 3rd to 13th. The numbers in parentheses indicate how many positions a driver either gained (+) or lost (-) from their starting position. However, after the pit stops were all resolved, the running order on the track was: Cook; Beckman; White; Kaluzny; Sturgeon; Kempen; Lim; Magnanti; Marlett; St. Peter; Landis; B. Robinson; and Hernandez.

Running order after the 1st pit stops

Running order after the 1st pit stops: Cook; Beckman; White; Kaluzny; Sturgeon; Kempen; Lim; Magnanti; Marlett; St. Peter; Landis; B. Robinson; and Hernandez.

After the 1st pit stops, White quickly caught up to front-runners Cook and Beckman, while Kaluzny caught that trio by the hairpin leading onto the long straightaway.

White battles Cook for the lead

White (blue and white Brabham) battles Cook (yellow Lotus) for the lead as Kaluzny (orange McLaren) fights Beckman (red Ferrari) for 3rd place down the long straightaway. Meanwhile, Magnanti’s green and yellow Benetton has spun in the hairpin. A turn later, Landis’s Benetton would spin in that same hairpin.

Down the long straightaway, White passed Cook to take the lead, then Kaluzny also caught and passed Cook to take 2nd place.

Richard White's car takes the lead

Richard White’s car takes the lead. Pictured, from left: Richard White (black shirt); Mike St. Peter (can only see half his face); Mike Cook (dark green shirt); Gary Kempen (red shirt); Chad Marlett (pointing to Richard White’s leading car on the track); Greg Lim (USA shirt); Gary Sturgeon (gray shirt); Jim Landis (light green shirt); Jack Beckman (black shirt & red Ferrari hat). Also pictured is the back of Jim Magnanti’s head in the foreground.

As the cars came to the S-curve at the end of the 2nd straightaway, the first six cars were all bunched up. They were running in the order: White; Kaluzny; Kempen; Sturgeon; Cook; and Beckman. Kempen was doing very well, indeed, to be in 3rd place after starting in 13th place.

Top 6 places are bunched up

The top six positions are bunched up in the S-curve in the left side of the picture. Gary Sturgeon, at far right, anticipates winning the championship as he will clinch the title by taking at least a single point, and he is currently in 4th place, good enough for 3 points.

White and Kaluzny now battled for the lead, also while gaining a few spaces over the rest of the pack. Into the hairpin corner just before the last corner before the start/finish line, Kaluzny pulled even with White.

Kaluzny pulls even with White

Kaluzny pulls even with White at the 2nd hairpin corner. The rest of the running order: Beckman; Kempen; Sturgeon; Cook; Marlett; Lim; St. Peter; Magnanti; B. Robinson; Landis and Hernandez.

Kaluzny now made a move to take the lead as he drove at 140 mph coming out of the hairpin, which put him into the final corner at 60 mph over the speed limit for that corner. He used his last two wears and used two -1 skill markers, and successfully made the chance table roll. He then pulled into the pits for the 2nd time. White, meanwhile, played it safe by only going 120 mph, thus ending his move just short of that last corner. Kaluzny had been talking with White just before this last turn, where Kaluzny mentioned how he had been leading a demo race on this same Yas Marina track, but how he didn’t pit at the end of the 2nd lap, but Jack Beckman did pit, and then Beckman was able to catch Kaluzny for the victory in that demo race.

Kaluzny takes the lead and takes to the pits

Kaluzny takes the lead and takes to the pits while White pulls up short of the corner. Notice the special orange and black McLaren “support” vehicle next to Kaluzny’s orange McLaren race car in the pits. Also notice Kempen’s red #4 Ferrari has spun on the outside of the hairpin.

White cruised into the lead, and the closest cars on the track, Beckman, Sturgeon, and Cook, all had to pit as they had not pitted at the end of the 1st lap. Just as those cars came into the pits, Kaluzny exited the pits, switching back to soft tires, exactly 10 spaces behind White’s Brabham, with Kaluzny having his full 15 wear and White having a total of 5 wear for the last lap after gaining 2 wear when he crossed the start/finish line due to his being on hard tires. White, though, used one of his precious wears in negotiating the 1st corner past the start/finish line at 120 mph, so he only had 4 wear left for the rest of the lap.

White now leads while Kaluzny leaves the pits

White (blue and white Brabham in the near-left corner) now leads while Kaluzny (orange McLaren) leaves the pits. Beckman, Sturgeon, and Cook have just entered the pits. Gary Sturgeon looks on, still anticipating winning the CFR-Detroit 2017 Championship.

As they came around the last corner before the start/finish line, the cars of Lim and Kempen pulled into the pits. Staying on the track were Marlett, Magnanti, B. Robinson, St. Peter, Landis, and Hernandez.

The official order at the end of the 2nd lap was: White (+3); Kaluzny (+3); Marlett (-2); Magnanti (+7); Beckman (-2); B. Robinson (+3); Sturgeon (-1); Cook (-6); St. Peter (-1); Landis (-3); Hernandez (-1); Lim (0); and Kempen (0). Kempen was back in 13th place, where he had qualified, although he had been as high as 3rd place. Sturgeon was now in 7th place, out of the points, but he still stood to win the championship if Mike Cook did not win the race, and Cook’s odds of winning the race were very slim at the moment as White had a 20-space lead over Cook after Cook’s pit stop.

After the 2nd round of pit stops were resolved, the running order on the track was: White; Kaluzny; Marlett; Beckman; Magnanti; Sturgeon; Cook; B. Robinson; St. Peter; Landis; Hernandez; Lim; and Kempen.

White leads by 6 spaces over Kaluzny

After the 2nd round of pit stops are complete, White leads by 6 spaces over Kaluzny as they speed down the straightaway.

Kaluzny slowly crept up on White, then in the S-curve at the end of the 2nd straightaway, Kaluzny finally passed to take the lead. Beckman had managed to pass Marlett for 3rd, and Sturgeon was now in what looked like a safe 5th position, which would give him 2 points and the title.

Kaluzny takes the lead just past the S-curve

Kaluzny takes the lead from White just past the S-curve. Beckman, Marlett, and Sturgeon are approaching the S-curve. Farther back are Cook, Magnanti, B. Robinson, Lim, Landis (spun in the farther S-curve), Kempen, St. Peter, and Hernandez.

Then on the next turn, Kaluzny drove 100 mph and took the inside, eschewing the cornering arrow. White drove 120 mph and pulled up next to Kaluzny’s McLaren, on the cornering arrow.

Kaluzny and White are side-by-side

Kaluzny and White are side-by-side with only a few corners left to race through. Landis, meanwhile, has recovered from his spin in the S-curves at the right of the picture, and now has St. Peter breathing down his tailpipe.

But now Kaluzny took advantage of his having more wear remaining than White. Kaluzny plotted 100 mph, while White could only go 80 mph without resorting to taking chance dice rolls through the next two corners. Kaluzny moved first by virtue of plotting a higher speed, taking the outside of the first corner (through the 80 mph spaces) for a 1-wear expenditure, then moving into the hairpin corner (spending another wear) so as to hog the last space of the corner, forcing White to pull in behind. Far back on the track, Hernandez rolled an unmodified chance at the S-curves in the middle of the two long straightaways and crashed his shiny new McLaren, thereby becoming the only DNF of the race and ending up in 13th place.

Kaluzny regains the lead

Kaluzny regains the lead over White. Hernandez has just crashed in the S-curves at the right of the picture (note the safety car, flatbed truck, and yellow flag).

Back at the 2nd of the S-curves at the end of the long straightaways, Kempen forced a pass through Lim and B. Robinson. Sturgeon and Marlett were having a spirited duel for 4th place.

Kempen has just forced a pass

At the far left of the picture, Kempen (red Ferrari roadster) has just force-passed Lim (orange and white McLaren) and B. Robinson (white and blue car) and is alongside Magnanti (yellow and green Benetton). Kaluzny (orange McLaren) prepares to take the final corner before the checkered flag.

Garry Kaluzny (+4) then cruised to the victory, his second of the eight-race 2017 CFR-Detroit racing season. Richard White (+2) took 2nd place, then Jack Beckman (0) finished in 3rd. Gary Sturgeon (+2) did take 4th place and 3 points, thereby earning him the championship of the 2017 season.

Sturgeon clinches the championship

Sturgeon clinches the championship with a 4th place finish! Cook (yellow car), Marlett (Red Bull), Kempen (red car), and B. Robinson (white and blue car) are all about to cross the finish line. Lim and Magnanti have both spun in the final corner right in front of St. Peter.

There were now four cars, Cook, Marlett, Kempen, and B. Robinson, vying for the final two points-paying positions of 5th and 6th place. In CFR, if cars enter a corner past the finish line, they must pay for that corner using wear or rolling on the chance table the same as if they were still racing. Any car that spins in the corner past the finish line is considered to have finished the race behind other cars that touched or crossed the finish line on that same turn. If a car crashes in that corner past the finish line, it is considered to have not finished the race at all and becomes a DNF.

Cook moved first, at 100 mph. Not wanting to take a chance dice roll, Cook moved into the middle 100 mph space. Next, Marlett moved at 120 mph, taking the outside 140 mph space, also not spending any wear nor rolling on the chance table. Kempen moved next, at 160 mph, and attempted a forced pass on Marlett in the outside lane. Naturally, Marlett attempted to block the forced pass. During the forced pass dice roll, Kempen rolled a “4” on one of the dice, meaning he had to spend a wear; however, he did not have any wear remaining, so his car spun in the same space as was occupied by Marlett’s car. Brian Robinson then moved at 160 mph. He made his forced pass over Marlett by using two -1 skill markers for his dice roll; he then used his -3 skill marker for a chance table roll, successfully making both rolls, and so effectively passed Cook, Marlett, and Kempen!

Brian Robinson (+4) thus was classified in 5th place, and Mike Cook (-4) got the single point for 6th place. Finishing out of the points in 7th and 8th places, respectively, were Chad Marlett (-6) and Gary Kempen (+5).

Brian Robinson forces a pass

Brian Robinson forces a pass over Marlett to take 5th place.

After the excitement of B. Robinson’s forced pass, the rest of the finishers were: Mike St. Peter (-1) in 9th; Jim Landis (-3) in 10th; Greg Lim (+1) in 11th; and Jim Magnanti (-1) in 12th. Mike Hernandez (-3), a DNF, was classified 13th.

Points awarded at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Kaluzny 10; White 6; Beckman 4; Sturgeon 3; B. Robinson 2; Cook 1.

The final points standings of the 2017 CFR-Detroit season after the eighth and final race:

Place Driver (Car)                     Points
  1   Gary Sturgeon (John Player Lotus)  44
  2   Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)            37
  3   Richard White (Brabham)            34  
  4   Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)            32
  5   Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             29
  6   Gary Kempen (Ferrari)               8
  7T  Jim Landis (Benetton)               6
  7T  Greg Lim (Motorola)                 6
  7T  Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)      6
 10   Jim Robinson (Williams)             3
 11   Mike Manderachia (Ligier)           2
 12T  Russ Herschler (Minardi)            0
 12T  Chad Marlett (Red Bull)             0
 12T  Tim Gould (McLaren)                 0
 12T  Mike St. Peter (Mercedes)           0
 12T  Jim Magnanti (Benetton)             0
 12T  Mike Hernandez (McLaren)            0

Immediately after the race was concluded, the Championship trophy of the 2017 CFR-Detroit racing season was presented to Gary Sturgeon. Sturgeon won two races during the season, and also finished 2nd three times, as well as finishing 4th twice. He only failed to score points in his first race, at Monza, where he finished 7th.

Gary Sturgeon receives the championship trophy

Gary Sturgeon (left, in gray shirt) receives the 2017 Championship trophy from race steward Garry Kaluzny (right, orange shirt). (Greg Lim photo)

After the championship trophy was awarded, it was time to vote for the recipient of the Tom Kane Memorial Award to be given to the most sportsmanlike driver of the 2017 season. Greg Lim was awarded the honor by the vote of his peers, earning 8 of the 13 votes cast. Tom Kane raced in our first Detroit area Speed Circuit campaign in 1984. He was an extremely polite racer, and would shrug off adversity, like bad dice rolls. Unfortunately, Tom passed away near the end of that first Speed Circuit campaign. So we then decided to annually give the Tom Kane Memorial Award to the most sportsmanlike driver, as a way of keeping Tom’s memory alive.

Greg Lim receives the Tom Kane trophy

Greg Lim (USA shirt, right) receives the Tom Kane Memorial Award trophy from race steward Garry Kaluzny (orange shirt, left).

The new 2018 season of CFR-Detroit will begin on Friday, May 11, 2018, at Guild of Blades game store in Clawson, Michigan. Race time is 6:45 pm, although drivers are asked to arrive by 6:15pm to setup their race car’s specifications. The new schedule is posted on the CFR-Detroit home page at http://michigumbo.com/cfr/.

Also, check out the records from the 2017 CFR-Detroit season at http://michigumbo.com/cfr/2017/index.html.

CFR Race #3: Monaco Grand Prix at Imperium Games

Sunday, November 12th, 2017

Eight drivers raced in the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday, November 10, 2017, at Imperium Games in Wixom, Michigan, using the board game rules for Championship Formula Racing (CFR). When the race was over, Mike Cook won the race, after he started in pole position. Gary Sturgeon finished 2nd, and Garry Kaluzny managed to hold onto 3rd place from Greg Lim.

The real track diagram of the Monte Carlo track.

The real track diagram of the Monte Carlo track.

Although the new CFR game comes with a game track of the Monte Carlo course, it is not accurate at all, so we used (as a basis) the version of that track that was published with one of the old Avalon Hill Accessory Pack tracks, although we modified the Avalon Hill track by adding the nouvelle chicane.

The Monte Carlo track we used to race on.

The Monte Carlo track we used to race on.

Surprisingly, the bidding for pole position was fairly sane, with the winning bid by Mike Cook being of 3 Wear and 1 Skill markers, for a total bid of 3.5. Two drivers (Jack Beckman and Gary Sturgeon) bid 3.0, three drivers (Jim Robinson, Brian Robinson, and Garry Kaluzny) bid 2.5, Then Greg Lim bid 2.0, and Richard White bid only 0.5. The starting grid and their car stats:

The starting grid and car specs:
 # Driver (Car)                    Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)          100   40    60   140  5x   2x   hard
 3 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)            60   60    60   160  4x   2x   hard
12 Gary Sturgeon (John Player Lotus) 20   60    60   160  5x   2x   soft
 2 Jim Robinson (Williams)           60   60    60   160  4x   2x   hard
 5 Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)    60   60    40   140  5x   3x   soft
 9 Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)           60   60    40   140  5x   3x   soft
 7 Greg Lim (Motorola)               20   40    60   140  5x   4x   hard
 1 Richard White (Brabham)           60   40    40   140  5x   4x   hard

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers per lap raced; Skill = # of Skill markers per lap raced; Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race. (Since the race was 3 laps, a car with 4x of Wear would receive 12 Wear markers to start the race (as an example).)

The starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix. Mike Cook is on the pole (yellow car); Jack Beckman is next to him (red car). 2nd row is Garry Sturgeon (black car) and Jim Robinson (white/blue/yellow car). Brian Robinson is the 3rd row, Garry Kaluzny is the 4th row, Greg Lim is the 5th row, and Richard White is the 6th row.

From the start, Mike Cook zoomed into the lead with his 100 mph start speed, followed closely by Jack Beckman’s Ferrari after Jack rolled dice to boost his start speed to 80 mph. Jim Robinson held 3rd, Brian Robinson pulled alongside Gary Sturgeon, then Garry Kaluzny had to slow down to 60 mph after boosting his start speed to 80 mph. Kaluzny rolled an unmodified start speed roll instead of using a wear (since he was on soft tires at the start, Kaluzny could have used a wear to boost his start speed), but rolled that unmodified start speed roll in hopes that he wouldn’t get the increased start speed. But, Kaluzny did get the increased start speed, then had to spend a wear to slow to 60 mph. Richard White passed Greg Lim at the start, due to Lim starting at only 20 mph, plus White boosted his start speed to 80 mph.

After the first move of the game.

After the first move of the game, Cook and Beckman jump into the lead.

After everyone got through the first corner at Ste. Devote, Jim Robinson passed Beckman for 2nd place going into the Massenet corner. Kaluzny also passed Brian Robinson for 5th place.

Heading into Massenet for the 1st time.

Heading into Massenet for the 1st time, Jim Robinson passes Beckman’s Ferrari to take 2nd place. Jim Robinson and Richard White look at the action on the track.

Then, heading into the sharp right-hand Mirabeau Haute corner, Sturgeon passed Beckman and took over 3rd place. Then Beckman fought back and passed both Sturgeon and J. Robinson to reclaim 2nd place going into the “Hairpin” (I still call it the Loews Hairpin, even though it has had many names over the years).

Into the "Hairpin" for the 1st time.

Into the “Hairpin” for the 1st time, Beckman reclaims 2nd place.

But then again, J. Robinson, Sturgeon, Kaluzny, and White all passed Beckman by the time the pack got through the Portier corner which led into the tunnel straightaway. J. Robinson pulled along Cook just before the Nouvelle Chicane, but then had to back off. Then Kaluzny made a pass of J. Robinson coming out of that chicane, and pulled alongside Cook as they were headed into the Tabac corner.

Through the Nouvelle Chicane.

Through the Nouvelle Chicane for the first time. Kaluzny (orange car) is alongside Cook (yellow car), then are Sturgeon (black car) and J. Robinson (white car), then the pack of Beckman (red), White (white/blue), B. Robinson (white/blue) and Lim (black/blue).

Through Tabac and the swimming pool series of corners, the pack pretty much stayed in the same order, except that White spun at Tabac.

Richard White spins at Tabac.

Richard White spins at Tabac.

White’s spin at Tabac didn’t hurt him too much, as only B. Robinson got past him there, but then Beckman’s Ferrari was able to force a pass on both B. Robinson and White just after exiting Tabac. Lim tried to force a pass on White after Tabac, but White slammed the door on Lim. Then at Rascasse, Cook and Kaluzny, got through a wee bit before J. Robinson and Sturgeon, and Cook and Kaluzny pulled into the pits for fresh tires. Meanwhile, White spun again, this time at Rascasse.

White spins at Rascasse

As the 1st lap is almost complete, White spins a 2nd time, this time at Rascasse, while Cook and Kaluzny pull off the track into the pits.

While Cook and Kaluzny were in the pits, the other six cars on the track all also pulled into the pits, making the first time in the CFR-Detroit racing series when all cars were in the pits at the same time.

All eight cars are in the pits

At the end of the 1st lap, all eight cars are in the pits at the same time.

While in the pits at the end of the 1st lap, Cook, J. Robinson, Beckman, Lim,  and White all switched from hard to soft tires, while Kaluzny, Sturgeon, and B. Robinson all changed from soft to hard tires. This meant that all drivers had fulfilled their obligation to drive on both different tire compounds during the race. After the pit stops, the official order after the 1st lap was Cook, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, J. Robinson, B. Robinson, Lim, Beckman, and White.

Coming out of Ste. Devote on the 2nd lap, Beckman tried to force a pass on Lim, but was balked and had to slow by 40 mph. Beckman had just had to spend three wear chits in going through the Ste. Devote corner, and then spent 2 more wear to slow, meaning he used up 5 wear in failing that forced-pass manuever, of which he only came out of the pits with 12 wear, so he used 42% of his wear allotment on that one corner. That huge wear expenditure was to haunt the Ferrari driver for the balance of the race. Beckman was able to get by Lim and before they reached the Massenet corner, though.

Kaluzny plots how to catch Cook

Garry Kaluzny (orange shirt and car) plots how to catch Cook’s yellow Lotus heading into the Mirabeau Haute corner. Jack Beckman looks on in his red Ferrari shirt.

 

The drivers at the Monaco Grand Prix

The drivers at the Monaco Grand Prix (clockwise, from left): Mike Cook, Jim Robinson, Richard White, Greg Lim, Gary Sturgeon, Brian Robinson, Jack Beckman.

As the lead cars of Cook and Kaluzny rolled through Portier and into the tunnel straight, Kaluzny tried to over-rev his engine, losing top gear and thus limiting his top speed to 120 mph for the rest of the race (about 1.5 laps remaining of the 3-lap race). Kaluzny opted to only use a single -1 Skill chit, then rolled an 11. If he had used two -1 Skill markers, he would have passed that dice roll. However, you must declare your use of Skill markers before you roll the dice. (Also, in hindsight, when you roll dice in CFR, if you pass the roll, you are driving brilliantly, but if you fail the roll, you simply screwed up!)

Heading towards the chicane on the 2nd lap

Heading towards the chicane on the 2nd lap, Kaluzny’s orange McLaren-Honda fails a top speed dice roll, thus limiting his top speed to 120 mph for the rest of the race. At the moment, Kaluzny leads J. Robinson by 4 spaces and Sturgeon by 6 spaces. (Gary Sturgeon photo)

Farther back in the pack, Beckman passed an unmodified Chance roll through Portier to take 7th place from B. Robinson, but then when Beckman took another unmodified Chance roll at the Nouvelle Chicane, he spun, thus allowing B. Robinson to regain 7th place.

Past the swimming pool corners the 2nd time, Cook stretched out his lead over Kaluzny to 5 spaces after Rascasse. Sturgeon, J. Robinson, and Lim were closing in on Kaluzny, and White, Beckman, and B. Robinson had fallen further behind.

Through Rascasse on the 2nd lap

Through Rascasse on the 2nd lap, Cook’s yellow Lotus leads by an increasing margin.

As the 2nd lap was nearly complete, most of the cars pitted again, all of the pittees switching back to or else installing a new set of soft tires. The sole exception was Brian Robinson, who opted to stay out on the track on his hard tires (thus regaining two wear). The official order after two complete laps was Cook, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, Lim (driving his best race so far), J. Robinson, B. Robinson, White, and Beckman.

Early in the 3rd lap, Cook stretches his lead

Early in the 3rd lap, Cook stretches his lead to 8 spaces over Kaluzny. Sturgeon is right behind Kaluzny’s tailpipe, then other cars are strung out behind.

After the 2nd lap pit stops got sorted out, Cook was enjoying a comfortable lead, and looked to have an easy victory ahead of him. Kaluzny was trying to keep Sturgeon’s John Player Lotus behind him, and Lim and J. Robinson were battling for 4th place. Sturgeon finally got his Lotus past Kaluzny’s McLaren at Massenet, although Kaluzny stayed right with Sturgeon until they got around Portier, when Sturgeon’s superior top speed enabled him to motor away towards a sure 2nd place. Also, Lim had got by J. Robinson at Massenet, thus taking 4th place.

Cook leads through the chicane on the last lap

Cook leads through the chicane on the last lap as Sturgeon, Kaluzny, and Lim battle just before the chicane.

Through the last few corners, Cook (0) won the race going away, enjoying an 11-space margin over 2nd-place Sturgeon (+1) at the finish line. Kaluzny (+3) managed to just nip Lim at the line for 3rd place, as Lim (+3) finished in the points, in 4th place, for the first time in his young driving career. Then Richard White (+3) came in 5th, having passed J. Robinson at the Rascasse corner. J. Robinson (-2) got the final points-paying position in 6th place. B. Robinson (-2) crossed the line in 7th, but Beckman (-6) crashed at the Anthony Noghes corner, the last corner on the track. Beckman’s crash was the first time a car failed to complete a race in the CFR-Detroit 2017-2018 season. The + or – numbers indicate how many positions that driver gained (+) or lost (-) from where their car qualified for the race.

Cook's Lotus crosses the finish line in victory

Cook’s yellow Lotus crosses the finish line in victory with a healthy margin over Sturgeon’s black Lotus.

The points awarded at the Monaco Grand Prix: Cook 10; Sturgeon 6; Kaluzny 4; Lim 3; White 2, J. Robinson 1.

Top finishers lined up in the pits

Top finishers lined up in the pits: Cook, Sturgeon, Kaluzny, Lim, White, and J. Robinson. B. Robinson’s car is still on the track, and the wrecker and ambulance attend to Beckman and his wrecked Ferrari. (Greg Lim photo)

The updated points standings after three (of eight) races:

Place Driver (Car)                     Points
  1   Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)            17
  2   Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)            16
  3T  Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             12
  3T  Gary Sturgeon (John Player Lotus)  12
  5   Richard White (Brabham)             8
  6   Jim Landis (Benetton)               5
  7   Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)      4
  8   Greg Lim (Motorola)                 3
  9   Jim Robinson (Williams)             1
 10   Russ Herschler (Minardi)            0

The next race, The Belgian Grand Prix (at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit) of the 2017-2018 CFR-Detroit racing season will be on Friday, December 8th, at Pandemonium Games & Hobbies at 6033 Middlebelt Road in Garden City, Michigan. Race time is 7:00 pm.

CFR Race #2: British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Saturday, October 14th, 2017

The second race of the 2017-2018 season of Championship Formula Racing (CFR) in Detroit, the British Grand Prix, was held on Friday, October 13, at RIW Hobbies & Games in Livonia, Michigan. Nine drivers participated. When all was said and done, Garry Kaluzny won the race after starting 6th. Other podium finishers were Gary Sturgeon and Mike Cook. Garry Kaluzny now leads the points standings, 13 to 12 over Jack Beckman. The race was on the current version of the Silverstone track, where the start/finish line had been moved from near the Woodcote corner to just past the Club corner, and with more corners added to try to slow the track some from its previous high speed configuration.

The real Silverstone track diagram.

The real Silverstone track diagram. This is the version of the track used since 2011.

 

The modern Silverstone track.

The modern Silverstone track as rendered in 1:64 scale for use with Championship Formula Racing.

Pole position was determined by drivers secretly bidding a number of their Wear and/or Skill markers. Jack Beckman won the pole position with a high bid of 7. Gary Sturgeon started on the outside of row 1 with his bid of 3. Sturgeon bid 6 Skill markers (each of which counts as 1/2 of a Wear for pole bid purposes), which used all of his Skill markers he had available for the race. The second row had Mike Cook and Jim Robinson. Although each of those drivers bid 2.5, Cook won the dice roll and so started on the inside. Brian Robinson, Garry Kaluzny, and Jim Landis all bid 2, with B. Robinson winning the dice roll to start 5th, then came Kaluzny in 6th and Landis in 7th. Greg Lim bid 0.5 (a single Skill marker) to start 8th, and Richard White started 9th as he did not bid anything.

The starting grid and car specs:

 # Driver (Car)                     Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
 3 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)            100    40    40  160  5x    2x   hard
12 Gary Sturgeon (John Player Lotus)  20    60    60  180  4x    2x   hard
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)            60    60    40  180  3x    3x   hard
 2 Jim Robinson (Williams)            60    40    40  160  5x    3x   soft
 5 Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)     20    60    60  180  3x    3x   soft
 9 Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)            20    60    40  180  5x    2x   soft
20 Jim Landis (Benetton)              60    40    40  180  5x    2x   soft
 7 Greg Lim (Motorola)                20    60    60  180  3x    3x   hard
 1 Richard White (Brabham)            60    40    40  180  4x    3x   soft

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers per lap raced; Skill = # of Skill markers per lap raced; Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race. (Since the race was 3 laps, a car with 4x of Wear would receive 12 Wear markers to start the race (as an example).)

Once again, we were using the optional CFR rules for pit stops and tire compounds. Four drivers started on hard tires, and five started on soft tires. Soft tires give some driving advantages, such as being able to use a Wear to increase your start speed or your acceleration without having to roll dice, plus with soft tires you could use 3 Wear to go 60 mph over the speed limit in a corner without having to roll dice, instead of having to use only 2 Wear and roll on the Chance table if you were 60 mph in a corner while using hard tires. If a car was on hard tires, it could regain a few wear when passing the finish line each lap it did not pit for new tires. All drivers had to make at least one pit stop as they needed to use both hard and soft tires at some time during the race.

At the start, pole sitter Jack Beckman jumped into the lead with his 100 mph start speed. Jim Robinson moved up to 2nd from 4th. Mike Cook kept his 3rd position, while Gary Sturgeon dropped from 2nd to 4th. Then Brian Robinson, Garry Kaluzny, and Jim Landis were all side-by-side as they crossed the start line, followed by Richard White and Greg Lim.

The start at Silverstone.

The start at Silverstone. Jack Beckman leads from Jim Robinson, then came Mike Cook, Gary Sturgeon, Brian Robinson, Garry Kaluzny, Jim Landis, Richard White, and Greg Lim. Note the temporary extension used to extend the starting grid, as the start/finish line is just past the Club corner in the 1:64 scale track.

As the pack roared through the Brooklands and Luffield corners, Beckman was still in the lead, followed by Cook and Kaluzny (who had made a daring pass of J. Robinson and Sturgeon at Brooklands to pull alongside Cook). Richard White spun his Brabham in Luffield, and Jim Robinson and Sturgeon went around on the outside of that corner. Then Landis, B. Robinson, and Lim brought up the rear of the pack.

Through the Luffield corner for the first time.

Through the Luffield corner for the first time.

Continuing around through the Maggots/Becketts/Chapel curves, Beckman continued leading Cook and Kaluzny by a slim margin, then a few spaces back in a bunch were J. Robinson, Sturgeon, Landis, and B. Robinson, and then Lim was a few spaces behind them.

Through Maggots/Becketts/Chapel curves for the first time.

Through Maggots/Becketts/Chapel curves for the first time.

Heading through the Stowe corner, Cook’s Camel Lotus was breathing down Beckman’s Ferrari’s tailpipe. Sturgeon’s John Player Lotus passed Kaluzny at Stowe, then the others followed behind.

Through Stowe for the first time.

Through Stowe for the first time–Beckman, Cook, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, J. Robinson, Landis, and B. Robinson’s cars are pictured.

As the cars were coming around to complete the first lap, Beckman, Kaluzny, Landis, B. Robinson, White, and Lim all pitted. Beckman and Lim switched from hard to soft tires, while Kaluzny, Landis, B. Robinson, and White switched from soft to hard tires. Sturgeon, J. Robinson, and Cook all stayed out on the track and did not pit.

End of 1st lap, first pit stops.

End of 1st lap, first pit stops. Beckman’s Ferrari (red car), Kaluzny’s McLaren (orange car) and Landis (green/red/blue car) are already in the pits.

In CFR, pit stops are accomplished by simply moving your car off to the side of the track when you end a turn within the pit stop zone. In the above picture, you can see pieces of tape with “Pit” and an arrow on them to indicate the “pit stop zone” (also a pair of orange barrels mark the beginning of the pit stop zone). Then cars are marked with an “Exit -2” marker the turn they enter the pits. The following turn (while the car continues to sit in the pits), the Exit -2 marker is flipped to its “Exit -1” side, and then the next turn after that, the car can re-enter the track and resume its former speed.

The official order at the end of Lap 1, and before the pit stops were resolved, was Beckman, Sturgeon, J. Robinson, Cook, B. Robinson, Landis, Kaluzny, White, and Lim. However, after the stops were resolved, the actual running order on the track was Sturgeon, J. Robinson, Cook (none of whom had pitted), Beckman, Landis, Kaluzny, B. Robinson, White, and Lim.

During the 2nd lap, the cars that did not pit enjoyed a bit of a lead over the rest of the pack, and the field became spread out somewhat. Through the Luffield corner the second time around, Sturgeon, Cook and J. Robinson led by 5 spaces over Beckman, then Kaluzny and B. Robinson were another 3 spaces behind Beckman. Landis was 2 spaces behind Kaluzny and B. Robinson, then Lim was 6 spaces behind Landis, and White had fallen farther behind, after spinning at Village corner (his 2nd spinout of the race).

Through Luffield corner on the 2nd lap

Through Luffield corner on the 2nd lap. Actual drivers pictured (left-to-right) are Mike Cook, Jim Landis, and Jim Robinson.

Going through the Maggots/Becketts/Chapel corners on the 2nd lap, the field was even more spread out. Sturgeon led from Cook, then came J. Robinson, Beckman, Kaluzny, B. Robinson, Landis, Lim, and White.

Through Maggots/Becketts/Chapel on the 2nd lap.

Through Maggots/Becketts/Chapel on the 2nd lap.

Sturgeon managed to hold his 3-space lead over Cook through the Stowe corner, and the rest of the field remained strung out in the same order behind him.

Through Stowe corner for the 2nd time.

Through Stowe corner for the 2nd time. Gary Sturgeon’s John Player Lotus (the black car near the large “12” marker) leads the pack. Drivers pictured (l-to-r): Mike Cook, Jim Landis, Jim Robinson, Richard White, and Brian Robinson.

As the leaders came up to the start/finish line to complete the 2nd lap, the three leaders, Sturgeon, Cook, and J. Robinson, all had to pit to change tires. Sturgeon and Cook changed from hard to soft tires, while J. Robinson changed from soft to hard tires. All of the other drivers stayed out on the track this time around except for Lim, who pitted to put a new set of soft tires on his car to replace the worn out soft tires.

Completing the 2nd lap.

Completing the 2nd lap. Gary Sturgeon (black car) and Mike Cook (yellow car) have already pulled into the pits.

It should be noted in the above picture of cars in the pits, that there is a “pit road” (with the 40 mph speed limit) in the infield of the track. While we are not using that pit road with the CFR simplified pit stop rules, it was painted onto the track just in case we ever revert to our old “Advanced Speed Circuit” pit stop rules.

The official order after the 2nd lap was completed by all cars was: Gary Sturgeon; Jim Robinson; Garry Kaluzny; Jack Beckman; Brian Robinson; Mike Cook; Jim Landis; Richard White; and Greg Lim. By the time the lead cars were in the Luffield corner, the order was Kaluzny, Beckman, Sturgeon, Cook, B. Robinson, Landis, J. Robinson, White, and Lim. Lim was quite a ways behind White after making a 2nd pit stop.

Kaluzny takes the lead at Luffield on the last lap.

Kaluzny takes the lead at Luffield on the last lap. Pictured (l-to-r): Richard White (foreground); Gary Sturgeon (background); Garry Kaluzny (orange shirt); Jack Beckman (black shirt).

Kaluzny had taken the lead from Beckman going through the Brooklands/Luffield corners, as Beckman’s Ferrari was about out of Wear. Kaluzny stayed on the track after lap 2, and had 8 Wear remaining, then added another 2 Wear due to his being on hard tires, so he had 10 Wear left to use on the final lap. When Sturgeon and Cook came out of the pits after lap 2, they had 12 and 9 Wears, respectively, after replenishing their Wear. Going through Copse corner the last time, Kaluzny’s McLaren led from Beckman’s Ferrari by 3 spaces, and then Sturgeon, Cook, Brian Robinson, and Jim Landis were all nose-to-tail right behind Beckman.

Kaluzny leads through Copse corner on the last lap.

Kaluzny leads through Copse corner on the last lap.

Kaluzny held his lead through the Maggots/Becketts/Chapel set of curves, but when he got to the Stowe corner, the rest of the pack had suddenly caught up to him. As they all approached the Vale and Club corners the last time, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, and Cook were running 1-2-3, all in follow-the-leader order.

Approaching the Vale corner for the last time.

Approaching the Vale corner for the last time.

As they went through Vale and Club corners, Kaluzny moved at 120 mph, burning 2 Wear, but Sturgeon, in 2nd place, went 140 mph while using 3 Wear due to being on soft tires, and that allowed Sturgeon to pull alongside Kaluzny as each driver was only one space from the finish line. But Kaluzny had 1 Wear and 2 Skill chips left, while Sturgeon had no Wear or Skill chips remaining, so on their next turn, Kaluzny plotted to move at 200 mph, and Sturgeon only plotted 160 mph. So Kaluzny’s car moved first, and he had to make both of acceleration and top speed dice rolls, using a -1 Skill marker for each roll. Then, after moving a space, Kaluzny made an unmodified deceleration dice roll to reduce his speed to 180 mph, and he was then able to go through the corner past the finish line at only 20 mph over the speed limit, for which he used his final Wear (that had been hoarded for such a use).

It should be noted that the CFR rules say that if a car crashes in the corner past the finish line, that it is considered to have NOT finished the race at all! Also, if a car spins in that corner after the finish line, the spun car is considered to have crossed the finish line behind all other cars that also crossed the finish line that turn.

So, after Kaluzny (+5) took the checkered flag, followed very closely by Sturgeon (0), the rest of the field finished in this order: Cook (0); B. Robinson (+1), Beckman (-4), Landis (+1), J. Robinson (-3), White (+1), and Lim (-1). The + or – numbers indicate how many positions that driver gained (+) or lost (-) from where their car qualified for the race.

Finishing order, right-to-left.

Finishing order, right-to-left.

The points awarded at this race: Kaluzny 10; Sturgeon 6; Cook 4; B. Robinson 3; Beckman 2; and Landis 1.

The updated points standings through two (of eight) races:

Place Driver (Car)                    Points
  1   Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)           13
  2   Jack Beckman (Ferrari)            12
  3T  Richard White (Brabham)            6
  3T  Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)            6
  3T  Gary Sturgeon (John Player Lotus)  6
  6   Jim Landis (Benetton)              5
  7   Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)     4
  8T  Russ Herschler (Minardi)           0
  8T  Greg Lim (Motorola)                0
  8T  Jim Robinson (Williams)            0
   

This was the 2nd race in a row where all of the starters also finished the race. Quelle surprise! This has set a new record for the most consecutive races in the Detroit area Speed Circuit/CFR races for all starters finishing the race.

The next race will be the Monaco Grand Prix. We will race that on Friday, November 10, 2017, at Imperium Games in Wixom, Michigan. Race time is 7:00 pm, although we would like drivers to try to get there (through bad rush hour traffic on I-96!) by 6:30 pm so they can get their car set up. Most drivers were early at the British Grand Prix race, and that allowed us to start just about on time.

Starting the Racing Season using the Championship Formula Racing Game

Sunday, September 10th, 2017

After several months of running demo races in various locations to try to attract as many potential drivers as possible, the Championship Formula Racing-Detroit group started off their 2017-2018 series of races with the Italian Grand Prix on Friday, September 9, 2017. Ten drivers competed in the race, and when all was said and done, Jack Beckman won the race, followed by other podium finishers Richard White and Jim Landis. The race was at the Guild of Blades game store in Clawson, Michigan.

Drivers set up their cars preparatory to racing on the Monza, Italy track with 1:64 scale race cars.

Drivers set up their cars preparatory to racing on the Monza, Italy track with 1:64 scale race cars. Pictured are (left-to-right): Richard White; Brian Robinson; Mike Cook; Jim Robinson; Jim Landis; Russ Herschler; and Garry Kaluzny.

In our former racing game campaign using Advanced Speed Circuit rules, we used to actually run our cars on qualifying laps; however, in the new CFR rules, starting positions are determined by “bidding” some of your car’s Wear and/or Skill markers. Mike Cook took the pole position with a bid of 8 Skill, which is equal to 4 Wear (for a bid total of 4). Jim Landis started in the other front row position with a bid of 3. The 2nd row starters were Garry Kaluzny and Brian Robinson with bids of 2.5 and 2, respectively. Gary Sturgeon bid 1 to start 5th, and Jack Beckman bid 0.5 to start 6th. The final four starters each bid nothing, so they rolled dice for their starting positions, with the highest dice rolls starting in front of the lower dice rolls. Greg Lim started 7th; Russ Herschler started 8th; Richard White started 9th; and Jim Robinson started 10th.

The starting grid with their car specs:

 # Driver                        Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
11 Mike Cook (Lotus)               20    60   60   180  3x   3x    hard
20 Jim Landis (Benetton)          100    40   40   160  5x   2x    soft
 9 Garry Kaluzny (McLaren)         20    60   60   180  3x   3x    soft
 5 Brian Robinson (Walker Racing)  20    60   60   180  3x   3x    soft
12 Gary Sturgeon (John Player)     60    60   60   160  4x   2x    hard
 3 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)          20    80   60   160  4x   2x    hard
 7 Greg Lim (Motorola)             20    80   60   160  4x   2x    hard
23 Russ Herschler (Minardi)        60    60   40   160  4x   3x    hard
 1 Richard White (Brabham)         60    40   40   160  4x   4x    hard
 2 Jim Robinson (Williams)         60    40   40   180  4x   3x    hard

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers; Skill = # of Skill markers.

We raced using the CFR rules for pit stops and different tire compounds. That meant that cars started with less Wear than if we were not using the pit stop rules. Since we raced three laps around the Monza track, cars with 3x Wear started with 3 x 3 = 9 Wear; cars with 4x Wear started with 4 x 3 = 12 Wear, and cars with 5x Wear started with 5 x 3 = 15 Wear. Cars would also have to make at least one pit stop during the race, as each car had to use both the hard and the soft tires. The CFR rules handle the different tires pretty eloquently; if your car is on hard tires, if you pass the finish line without stopping in the pits, you regain some Wear. This simulates that the hard tires don’t wear out as fast as the soft tires. A car on hard tires with 3x Wear would regain 4 Wear when crossing the finish line (except at the start or the finish of the race); a car with 4x Wear would regain 3 Wear when crossing the line, and a car with 5x Wear would regain 2 Wear when crossing the line.

Soft tires don’t allow cars to regain Wear, but they do allow drivers to spend Wear in extra ways. For example, drivers could spend 3 Wear if they were going 60 mph over the Speed Limit in a corner. Cars on hard tires (or using the basic rules without pit stops) would have to use 2 Wear and roll dice to take a chance of spinning out or crashing when 60 mph over the speed limit in a corner. Soft tires also allow drivers to increase their starting speed without chancing a stall, and they also allow using a Wear to increase Acceleration by 20 mph in a turn.

Diagram of the real Monza track.

Diagram of the real Monza track.

Drivers starting on soft tires were Jim Landis, Garry Kaluzny, and Brian Robinson. Everyone else started on hard tires. All of the soft tire cars increased their start speed by 20 mph, so that allowed Jim Landis to start at 120 mph, and he quickly jumped in front of the field at the start.

At the first turn of the first lap, Jim Landis leads the pack in the Benetton.

At the first turn of the first lap, Jim Landis leads the pack in the Benetton.

At the first turn (the Variante del Rettifilo), Jim Landis led, followed by Garry Kaluzny, Richard White (rocketing from 9th on the grid to 3rd on the start), Russ Herschler, Brian Robinson, Mike Cook (the pole-sitter), Gary Sturgeon, Jack Beckman, Jim Robinson, and Greg Lim. Going through the del Rettifilo turn, Brian Robinson managed to get by Russ Herschler. At the Variante Ascari (the series of corners leading onto the back straightaway), Jim Landis was leading Garry Kaluzny by 4 spaces on the track, followed by Jack Beckman and Brian Robinson (each 5 spaces behind Landis), then came White and Herschler (each 7 spaces behind Landis), then Cook (8 spaces back), Sturgeon (12 spaces back), Jim Robinson (16 spaces back), and Lim (22 spaces back). But then going through Ascari, both Herschler and Jim Robinson spun, so they dropped back in the field.

As the cars came around the final turn of the first lap, the Curva Parabolica, the three cars on soft tires, Landis, Kaluzny, and B. Robinson, all pitted as they had all burned through all of their starting wear. A bit of a surprise was when Sturgeon also pitted to switch from hard to soft tires. Herschler also pitted to switch from hard to soft tires.

The official order after the 1st lap was complete was: Beckman (+5); White (+7); Cook (-2); Sturgeon (+1, pitted); Landis (-3, pitted); Herschler (+2, pitted); Lim (0); Kaluzny (-5, pitted); B. Robinson (-5, pitted); and J. Robinson (0). The + or – symbols tell how many spaces the driver improved (+) their lap 1 position from their starting position, or how many spaces they lost (-) from their starting position.

On the 2nd lap, just past the del Rettifilo corner, Gary Sturgeon in the John Player car forced a pass on Garry Kaluzny’s McLaren in the Curva Grande, although Sturgeon had to burn a Wear when the cars bumped together. Jim Robinson spun a second time, this time at del Rettifilo, the sharp right-hand corner at the end of the main straightaway. He also had failed his deceleration dice roll just before spinning, so his brakes were just not up to snuff on this day. Russ Herschler, who had just come out of the pits, was able to pass J. Robinson before Robinson’s car got up to speed again.

As the cars passed through the Ascari corners on the 2nd lap, it was Beckman, White and Cook with quite a lead over the other drivers. Landis was in 4th place, 12 spaces behind the top three cars. Although, Landis had pitted on the 1st lap, and the three leaders had not yet ventured into the pits.

As the leaders passed through the final turn, the Curva Parabolica, on lap 2, the cars which had not stopped in the pits on after 1st lap did now pull into the pits. Cars that pitted on this lap were Beckman, White, Cook, Lim, and Jim Robinson, and they all switched from hard to soft tires. The other cars stayed out on the track.

The official order after lap 2 was: Landis (+4), Beckman (-1, pitted), White (-1, pitted), Lim (+3, pitted), Cook (-2, pitted), Kaluzny (+2), Sturgeon (-3), B. Robinson (+1), Herschler (-3), J. Robinson (0, pitted). The + or – symbols indicate how many positions the driver gained or lost from their position at the end of lap 1.

Early in the 3rd lap, three drivers, Beckman, Landis, and White, were side-by-side going into the Variante del Rettifilo. Landis and White blinked first, and Beckman’s Ferrari surged into the lead and got through that corner first. Beckman continued to lead through the first of the two Lesmo corners, building a 4-space lead.

Last lap through the Lesmo curves.

Beckman’s Ferrari leads the last lap through the Lesmo curves, followed by Landis, White, Cook, Kaluzny, and Sturgeon.

Richard White made a valiant effort to catch Beckman, but the engine in White’s Brabham started going sour as he approached the Ascari corners for the last time, and so could not catch up. Soon after that, Herschler’s Minardi spun in the 2nd Lesmo corner, although that didn’t affect his 9th place at the time.

Beckman's Ferrari about to cross the finish line. White and Landis trail, and Cook (yellow car) and Kaluzny (orange car) are side-by-side going into the Parabolica.

Beckman’s Ferrari about to cross the finish line. White and Landis trail, and Cook (yellow car) and Kaluzny (orange car) are side-by-side going into the Parabolica.

Going through the Curva Parabolica for the last time, Jack Beckman had no trouble motoring across the finish line first, thusly winning the inaugural race of the CFR-Detroit race series. Richard White was able to hold off Jim Landis for 2nd. The duel for 4th place was decided with Garry Kaluzny barely holding off Mike Cook. Exiting the Parabolica, Cook was right behind Kaluzny, ready to use two bonus spaces for drafting Kaluzny, which would have allowed Cook to pass Kaluzny for 4th. However, Kaluzny’s engine didn’t like being pushed to 200 mph, and spurted some oil onto the track. Cook had to swerve to avoid the oil, thus missing the slingshot move, and so finished 5th. Brian Robinson grabbed the last points-paying position in 6th place, and then 7th through 10th places went to Gary Sturgeon, Greg Lim, Russ Herschler, and Jim Robinson.

The finishing order at Monza.

The finishing order at Monza.

 Place Driver                                Points
    1  Jack Beckman (Ferrari) (+5)         - 10 points
    2  Richard White (Brabham) (+7)        -  6 points
    3  Jim Landis (Benetton) (-1)          -  4 points
    4  Garry Kaluzny (McLaren) (-1)        -  3 points
    5  Mike Cook (Lotus) (-4)              -  2 points
    6  Brian Robinson (Walker Racing) (-2) -  1 point
    7  Gary Sturgeon (John Player) (-2)
    8  Greg Lim (Motorola) (-1)
    9  Russ Herschler (Minardi) (-1)
   10  Jim Robinson (Williams) (0)

The + and – indicates how many places the driver gained or lost from their qualifying position. Jack Beckman gained 5 places from his starting position, although Richard White gained 7 places. Both drivers drove very fine races. They were the only two drivers who improved upon their starting position.

Very surprisingly, all 10 drivers who started the race also finished the race. This may be the only time this has occurred in the history of the Detroit area Speed Circuit/CFR races! Richard White stated that he thought that this was the only time when every starter also finished the race.

The next race will be on the 2010/2011 version of the Silverstone, England track. Race day is Friday, October 13, starting at 7:00 pm. The race venue has yet to be determined.