Thanks to Fordsters for making VRG’s NJMP-Thunderbolt mid-summer event a great success. Vintage Racer Group wasn’t confident an event in late July would be a real attraction, but Royale Formula Ford Challenge Series support with 26 Ford entries – 9 more than last year’s event – helped make it so. It demonstrates we’re a very important part of the club and the VRG Board decision making process. And they appreciate our clean racing, too!
The weekend after Labor Day is the inaugural VRG at PittRace with the Royale Formula Ford Feature Race gathering, from September 7-9. This is the event Fordsters asked for at our Watkins Glen meeting last fall. After that, the RFFCS team lobbied the VRG board hard to get this event at a good date, with the understanding we’d give them a strong field.
The board delivered! Now it is time for us to do our share, step up and enter this event – one very important to the health of VRG and the influence of RFFCS. We are looking to you now for the support offered last fall at Watkins Glen.
Pittsburgh International Race Complex is arguably the most exciting track we run on. It may not yet have the “historic bucket list” appeal of VIR or The Glen, but the Alan Wilson-designed track is a masterpiece anyway. Using the natural rolling-to-hilly terrain, he’s given us climbing and descending turns ranging from slow to fast, hard braking, one blind-brow apex, and multiple passing opportunities each lap. Smoothness and precision on the billiard-table-smooth surface are key, but concentration is critical as you are “on it” for the whole lap. As we saw last year, it makes for close racing.
Our barbecue is moved to Saturday night this event for a special treat that takes on a mountain flair. The Crayfish Boil (or Crawfish boil, depending on your origin – some of you may even prefer the term “freshwater lobster”) is being professionally catered. Event Chair Keith Lawrence, who uses superlatives as often as a gorilla uses a toothbrush, has tried it and described the food as “amazing”. It will be accompanied by plentiful beer from a local brewery, as well as our usual appetizers, wine and soft drinks.
Appropriating the words of the late Steve Jobs at Apple annual meetings – But wait! There’s more! We have a car clinic on the skid pad (details to follow) and Momentum Motorsports LLC will bring a set of scales to corner weight your car and expertise to talk about options.
This all promises to add up to a memorable opening meeting for us at Pitt-Race. So no excuses, get your entry in and lets have a bumper weekend.