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FF 50th celebration at Thunderhill October 25-27
I know that the midwest, south, and east coast have had their share of 50th celebrations and now the west coast crew can get in on the action. San Francisco region is having a three day triple regional October 25th through 27th. The crew in the region have enjoyed having Formula F The Series running with them as well as CalClub and as such, decided that this was the opportunity to continue encouraging FF in the west. The schedule is attached but the highlight is, we are group 4 and 4a. That means nine on track sessions including two FF only races.
I know that a good number of the Formula F The Series drivers are planning to make the trip (who could pass on that much track time). The note we got from San Francisco Region says, "any FF with a log book is eligible". So, bring out your car and have fun. It is on my calendar so if you come out, be sure to stop by and say hi.
Ready to register? Go here now!
https://www.motorsportreg.com/events...cca-san-868729
If you want to get some track time before then, Formula F The Series has our final points paying round with CalClub September 21st and 22nd at Buttonwillow.
Ready to register? Go here now!
https://www.motorsportreg.com/events...ay-scca-115186
Follow Formula F The Series at Facebook.com/formulaftheseries
Eric Little
What race weekend would be complete without a race report
With our hosts at the San Francisco region either being very kind or very cruel (depending on the drivers level of fitness), the group prepared for five total races and two qualifying sessions over three days. Weather was a mixed bag for the weekend with heavy winds on the test day followed by a lull and then coming back with a vengeance Saturday night to wreak havoc on the Sunday festivities.
Pole position in qualifying would be little surprise when Chuck Horn set a blistering lap in the low 1:53 in his Honda powered DB-6. Stewart Paterson would follow having learned much about the track in May but still needing to find a bit over a second to get his Ford powered Crossle up to Chuck. Denny Renfrow in his Honda powered Piper would come in just over a tenth off of Stewart and new to the track Eric Little would put in a respectable pace in his DB-1 Ford to take fourth with not much time back to Scott Vreeland rounding out the top five in a Ford powered Crossle. For the first four races, the grid would be set by a drivers best lap time in the qualifying session or any prior race. Given that the track steadily degraded over the weekend, this qualifying order would hold until the Sunday round when a new qualifying session would be available to reset the order.
Later on Friday, the group headed out for the first of two Formula F only races on the weekend to celebrate fifty years of Formula F racing in the United States. The top of the field would settle out in qualifying order for the top four and the group would run nose to gearbox for much of the race. On lap 10, Stewart would sneak by Chuck to take the point but would only be able to hold the spot for a lap when Chuck made the re-pass. The top three ran mostly mistake free making a pass all but impossible. Still, a good show with tight racing saw the top three (Chuck, Stewart, and Denny) cross the line with only 1.4 seconds covering them and Eric a few seconds behind them. Doug Learned Jr., Piper Honda, made his way by Scott to take over fifth and following him was Paul Wilson, DB-1 Ford, taking sixth with Scott holding on for seventh. Usual Formula Continental racer Nic Coe took to a Formula F car in a DB-1 Ford and brought the car home eighth. Nic would state that the Continental is easier to drive than the Formula F but ultimately Nic would take a number of lessons with him when he goes back to a winged car. Hard luck befell the remainder of the field with Kinnon Marshall finishing four laps down with engine problems, Michael Bernstein seven laps down with unknown troubles, first lap contact taking out both Dave Jalen and Manual Leonardo, and the discovery of a crack in the frame never allowing Norm Marshall off the trailer. Unfortunately the contact would do enough damage to Manual’s car that he would not be able to return for the remainder of the weekend.
Saturday saw nice weather and Formula F taking to the track with Formula Continental and Formula Vee for the first race of the morning. The front four would once again run in close contact with a slight gap between the duo of Chuck and Denny and the duo of Stewart and Eric. Stewart and Eric had a good battle with Eric getting a run off the kink to get along side and by Stewart. The cagey veteran however took advantage of Eric’s compromised line in turn 9 to take the advantage back into turn 10. A mid race caution would bunch up the top four and under green a four way battle would resume. Not wanting a repeat pass, Stewart set the track record for FFT and would not be challenged for his position. A mistake out of the last corner would see Denny run wide letting Stewart, Eric, and Scott through where they would finish behind the winning car of Chuck Horn.
The afternoon would see the second Formula Continental, Formula F, Formula Vee race take to the track. The consistent runs from the top would continue with the exception of Eric who made a number of mistakes that would eventually see him fall from fourth to ninth. Eric would finally settle into a rhythm and make his way back up the field to get up to fifth having a few good battles in the process. Up front, pole sitter Chuck would lead from green to checker while Denny would get the better of Stewart on the start to take over second. Stewart would hound Denny for the remainder of the race eventually making the pass to take second with Denny solidly in third. Scott Vreeland with a consistent run benefitted from the early mistakes of Eric to take fourth.
To finish the Saturday triathlon, the second of the Formula F fiftieth celebration would see the all FF race take to the track late in the afternoon. Chuck Horn would get a good start but Denny would do him one better and take the early lead. Chuck battled back and by mid-race distance would re-take the lead and slip away to the tune of ten seconds at the checker. Stewart Paterson would have a starter issue that saw him receive a push start after the grid had left relegating him to last on the start. This set Stewart up for the hard charger award as he blitzed through the field taking second place by lap five. Eric Little being inspired by the long haul through the farming center of California decided to turn his DB-1 into a combine on lap two mowing down several acres of grass out of turn nine. In the typical racer mindset, Eric would complete one more lap hoping that the several bushels of grass caught up in the front rockers and a-arms would be just fine. Unfortunately after a lap, the air flow restriction not only made Eric realize what it was like to drive a Crossle but it also took its toll on the engine cooling. Seeing that Penske scouts were not at the race, Eric chose to shut the motor down and bow out early. This would promote Scott to fourth and in fifth and sixth a battle between Dave Jalen and Kinnon Marshall would ensue with the two swapping positions twice with Kinnon ultimately taking fifth.
Saturday night would see wind speeds upwards of 75 MPH. The result was a reduction in track working crew as some could not make it through the night in a tent under those conditions, and no one could blame them. The result was the need to run the three mile loop instead of the planned five mile loop. Unfortunately, there were those that planned to leave as they did not want to run the five mile loop followed by others leaving after finding out we would not run the five mile loop. This was followed by more starter problems for Stewart that saw him miss the event. The result was that only four Formula F cars would take the start. At the drop of the green, Eric Little got a good start and when Chuck appeared to miss a shift, Eric split Chuck and a Formula Continental beating both into turn one and taking an early lead. Denny would also get by Chuck to take second while Eric built a small gap. Eric would hold the lead for three laps with Denny filling his mirrors. Ultimately track experience for Denny got the best of Eric with Denny making a move on the outside of the final corners and making it stick. Eric held station with Denny for five more laps but Denny would not make an error and Eric could not get by. Chuck on the other hand had now recovered from his start and was pressuring Eric where another run out of 11 would see Chuck dart to the inside of the final corner to take the spot. Chuck would put Denny under pressure for the remainder of the race and attempted a draft past as the checker flew beating Denny by a mere 0.01 seconds. Eric had a great view of the battle just over 1.5 seconds behind. Nic Coe finished his first experience in a Formula F car in fourth.
Once again, all drivers appear to truly enjoy the experience and the tight racing. Formula F The Series was thrilled with the opportunity to run this non-series event and looks forward to the eight weekend season in 2020 with its partners in the San Francisco Region, Cal Club, and Hoosier.
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