Category: Speed Circuit

Belgium’s Gendenbien started on pole for the first race at Steve’s Spa circuit. Gendenbien maintained an early lead with team Honda in hot pursuit. Surtees looked strong, but faded. Team Brabham’s drivers worked in concert, slip streaming each other and conserving wear points. Jack Brabham slipped to the front and was the first to complete lap 1.

During the second lap, Brabham, Gendenbien, and Ginther battled for first place staying ahead of the pack. Gendenbien and Ginther ran out of wear points before Brabham. Brabham secured the lead going down the back straight and won the race. Gendenbien was in position for second, but his brakes failed and his car stopped just short of the finish line. Ginther finished second followed by Bucknam.

Race results follow:

1st Den (J. Brabham) 40/40/40/160/6*
2nd Ray G. (R. Ginther) 40/40/40/160/6
3rd Ray G. (R. Bucknum) 40/40/40/160/5
4th Den (D. Hulme) 60/40/40/160/5
5th Terry (P. Hill) 60/40/40/160/5
6th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/160/5
7th Steve (J. Surtees) 60/40/20/160/6
DNFSteve (Gendenbien) 60/40/20/160/6

Ferrari Dominates! Team McLaren Crashes Out!
Team Chamaco, Bondurant and Wilson, secured the first row, but Ferrari driver Bandini, starting from the second row, quickly slipped by them. Chamaco’s manager, Jerry, singled to the team to close the door and they prevented Hulme from making a pass-through on the hill before the virage Massenet. As a result, Hulme spun-out, was overtaken the rest of the field, and never fully recovered. Meanwhile, Bandini never looked back and extended his lead.

Throughout the race, competition in the pack was brutal. Cars spread-out some going through the tunnel, but then clumped back together. Team Winkleman’s drivers steadily made their way through the fray. Rees started in 8th place and finished 4th. Herman started 5th and finished 2nd. While Winkleman was on its way to gained its first podium, McLaren met with double disaster.

McLaren and his partner, Bell, tried to claw their way up from 7th and 9th place on the starting grid. By the middle of lap 2, aggressive driving had left their rides in shambles. Both drivers pressed their luck and spun-out. They tempted fate once more and both crashed!

After the smoke cleared, Bandini finished 1st followed by Hermmann. Eagle driver Hill weaved his way through the debris to finish 3rd.

Race results follow:

1st Steve (L. Bandini) 60/40/40/140/6
2nd Dan (H. Hermmann) 60/40/40/140/6
3rd Terry (P. Hill) 60/40/40/140/6
4th Dan (A. Rees) 60/40/40/140/6
5th Den (J. Brabham) 80/40/40/140/6
6th Jerry (B. Bondurant) 80/20/40/140/6
7th Jerry (V. Wilson) 60/60/20/140/6
8th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/140/6
9th Den (D. Hulme) 60/40/40/140/5
10th Steve (J. Surtees) 60/40/40/140/6
CRS John H. (B. McLaren) 60/40/40/160/5
CRS John H. (Bell) 60/40/40/160/5

Brabham Triumphs While Ferrari Avoids Disaster

Honda and Brabham dominated this years Kyalami race.  Ferrari driver Niki Lauda, frustrated by the slow pace of the race, made a bold move to insert himself into the lead position, but failed a pass through attempt and nearly wrecked his car in turn 7.  Despite falling back and lacking wear and skill points, Lauda managed to finish the race in 3rd place.

Honda driver Richie Ginther and Brabham owner Jack Brabham stayed ahead of the pack and exchanged the number 1 and 2 positions throughout the race.  Brabham secured the lead on the last lap and took the checkered flag.  Ginther finished second followed by Lauda and Phil Hill.

Rookie team manager Dan made his debut heading the Winklemann Racing squad! Welcome to the Tabletop Racing Club.

Race results follow:

1st Den (J. Brabham) 60/40/40/160/5*
2nd Ray G. (R. Ginther) 80/40/40/160/5*
3rd Steve (N. Lauda) 60/40/20/160/6
4th Terry (P. Hill) 60/40/40/160/5
5th Den (D. Hulme) 60/40/40/160/5
6th Steve (L. Bandini) 60/40/20/160/6
7th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/160/5
8th Dan (A. Rees) 80/40/40/160/4
9th Ray G. (R. Bucknum) 40/40/40/160/5
10th Dan (H. Herrmann) 60/40/40/180/4

Follow this link for season standings.

Last Race of the 2018 season – Double Points.

Miki Hakkinen plunged through pack to seize the lead on the first lap, but quickly burned through his wear and skill points.  Miki eventually crashed out of the race crushing any hope of winning the championship.  Phil Hill, Damon Hill, and John Watson fought for the lead.

Team Lotus put up a brilliant fight, but Phil Hill passed the start finish line first on the second and then on the final lap to win the race and secure 1st place in the championship.  Lotus’ Watson finished 2nd in the championship ahead of Mclaren driver James Hunt.  Ferrari driver Villeneuve finished 4th only 2 points behind Hunt.

McLaren won the manufacturer’s trophy followed by Lotus and Ferrari.

Race results:

1st Den (P. Hill)* 60/40/40/160/5
2nd Terry (D. Hill) 80/40/40/160/4
3rd Terry (J. Watson) 60/40/40/140/6
4th Steve (J. Villeneuve) 60/40/20/160/6
6th Steve (C. Regazonni) 60/40/20/160/6
7th Ray R. (J. Stewart) 60/60/40/160/4
8th Ray (K. Raikkonen) 60/40/40/160/4
9th Ray R. (AJ Foyt) 80/40/40/160/4
CRS Ray G. (M. Hakkinen)* 80/40/40/160/4

Season Championship Points Total:

Player Driver	Total Points
Den – Mclaren Phil Hill	161
Terry – Lotus Watson	121
Den – McLaren James Humt	92
Steve – Ferrari J. Villeneuve	90
Ray G.- Honda Miki Hakkinen	87
Terry  – Lotus Damon Hill	66
Steve – Ferrari Clay Regazoni	61
John H. – BMW Dan Gurney	34
Ray G.- Honda Kimi Raikkonen	29
Ray G. – Honda Joe Biden	25
Steve – Ferrari Niki Lauda	24
Ray R. – Stewart Jacky Stewart	21
Bill – Williams Bob Marshman	20
Ray R. – Stewart A.J. Foyt	19
Joe – Eagle Mario Andretti	18
Joe – Eagle Rick Mears	12
Jerry – Red Bull Lewis Hamilton	11
Steve – Ferrari Aalberto Ascari	10
Jerry – Red Bull M. Scumacher	7
Bill – Williams Jim Hurtibise	6
Terry – Lotus Jacques Laffite	1
John H. – BMW Jaun Fangio	1
Bill – Williams Loyd Ruby	0
Jerry – Red Bull Keke Rosberg	0
Den – McLaren Bruce McLaren	0

Manufacturer’s Championship

Team	Total
McLaren	253
Lotus	188
Ferrari	185
Honda	141
Stewart	53
BMW	35
Eagle	30
Williams	20
Red Bull	18

Full house as Monza, but only 2 of 3 Laps Completed.

We had planned on racing on Steve’s Monza track, but he called saying he was stuck in traffic.  We delayed the start, but then he called again saying he would be really late and to start without him.  We setup the old Monza circuit and were about to begin racing when Steve showed up.  Instead of starting  at 1800 we started after 1900.  Monza is usually a quick race so we thought we had enough time to complete the scheduled 3 lap race–we were wrong.

A record 7 teams showed up for the race and 14 cars lined up on the starting grid.    Dan Gurney held the pole position sharing the front row with A.J. Foyt and Watson.  Gurney pushed his car to the limit, even hitting 200mph, and lead the first lap.  A battle was happening behind him with multiple position changes.  Hakkinen and P. Hill dueled for second.  P. Hill held position behind Gurney going down the front, but slowed to conserve wear through the Curva Grande and was passed by Hakkinen.

During the second lap, Gurney continued to push and maintained his lead

while burning though all his wear and skill points.  The pack was gaining on him.  He cleared the last corner and entered the front straight with Hakkinen

right behind him followed by team McLaren and Ferrari.  Both McLaren cars had a full laps worth of wear remaining.  Then we ran out of time and had to end the race at the conclusion of lap 2.  Gurney took the checkered flag in team Eagle’s first race of the season–congratulations John!

Here are the final results:

1st John H. (D. Gurney)* 80/60/20/180/4
2nd Ray G. (M. Hakkinen)** 80/60/40/160/4 (started 6th)
3rd Den (P. Hill) 60/40/20/160/6 (started 5th)
4th Den (J. Hunt) 60/40/20/160/6 (started 12th)
5th Steve (J. Villeneuve) 60/40/20/160/6 (started 9th)
6th Steve (C. Regazonni) 60/40/20/160/6 (started 14th)
7th Terry (J. Watson) 60/40/40/160/5 (started 3rd)
8th Bill (J. Hurtibise) 40/60/40/180/4 (started 4th)
9th Terry (D. Hill) 80/40/40/160/4 (started 11th)
10th Bill (B. Marshman) 60/60/40/160/4 (started 10th)
11th John H. (J. Fangio) 40/40/40/160/5 (started 13)
12th Ray (K. Raikkonen) 60/40/40/140/5 (started 8th)
13th Ray R. (AJ Foyt) 60/40/20/180/5 (started 2nd)
14th Ray R. (J. Stewart) 80/20/20/160/6 (started 9th)

On September 5th we plan to run a racing using the Rallyman game.

The season’s finale at Mexico include several lead changes and daring competitive racing through out the field.

Team BMW’s top driver Hahne started strong and lead the first lap, but then faded.  Owen driver Surtees completed the second lap ahead of the pack, but lost the lead to Matra’s Gavin.  Ferrari driver Amon finished in third place.

Matra driver Beltoise earned the 2017 Championship trophy finishing with 69 points.  Beltoise team mate Gavin took second with 43 points.  BMW’s Hahne finished third with 32 points and was closely followed by Lotus driver Andretti (30 points).

Team Matra received the constructors trophy and was followed by Lotus and Owen.

Race results follow:

1st Den (J. Gavin) 60/40/40/160/5
2nd Terry (J. Surtees) 60/40/40/160/5*
3rd Steve (C. Amon) 60/40/20/160/6
4th Den (J. Beltoise) 40/60/40/160/5
5th Terry (G. Eaton) 60/40/40/160/5
6th Steve (Rodriguez) 60/40/20/160/6
7th Ray (H. Hahne) 80/40/40/160/5
8th John (B. McLaren) 80/40/60/140/5
9th Ray (J. Biden) 60/40/40/160/4
DNF John (D. Bell) 40/40/40/160/5

Team Matra dominated The Glen.  Matra’s Gavin started on pole and lead the race from start to finish.  His teammate, Beltoise, finished second followed by Lotus driver Andretti.

Gavin’s first win of the season catapulted him to second place in the drivers’ championship.  Andretti and Hahne are tied for 3rd place, only 4 points behind Gavin.  Click here for season standings.

A summary of the race results follow:

1st Den (J. Gavin) 60/40/20/160/6
2nd Den (J. Beltoise) 60/40/40/160/5
3rd Steve (M. Andretti) 60/40/20/160/6
4th Terry (G. Eaton) 60/40/40/160/5
5th Steve (J. Rindt) 60/40/20/160/6
6th Terry (J. Surtees) 60/40/40/160/5

The final race of the season is scheduled for 11 Oct 2017 at the Mexico city circuit.

For the first time in the Tabletop Racing Club’s history, 12 Drivers started on the grid at Monza!

Bruce McLaren held pole position ahead of this year’s crowded field.  He lead through two intensive laps.  Once again Beltoise challenged McLaren on the final lap.  This time, Beltiose achieved victory in a photo finish.  Rindt finished close behind in third place.

Two rookie drivers participated in the race.  Eric took charge of the Bonnier racing team and his drivers finished in fifth and sixth place.  Unfortunately, Joshua was not able to finish the race and his drivers were forced to retire.

Race results follow:

1st Den (J. Beltoise) 60/40/20/160/6
2nd John (B. McLaren) 80/40/40/160/5**
3rd Steve (J. Rindt) 60/40/20/160/6
4th Den (J. Gavin) 60/40/20/160/6
5th Eric H. (J. Bonnier) 40/40/40/180/5
6th Eric H. (Tresham) 40/40/60/180/4
7th Terry (J. Surtees) 80/60/40/160/4
8th Terry (G. Eaton) 80/40/40/160/4
9th Steve (M. Andretti) 60/40/20/160/6
DNF John (D. Bell) 60/60/60/200/5*
DNF Joshua (DeKlerk) 60/40/20/180/5
DNF Jashua (Hague) 60/40/40/160/5

With his win at Monza, Beltoise reached 60 points and secured the Championship.   With only two races to go, second and third places are still hotly contested.  Follow this link for the  season’s standings.

Note:  The race was held on the original 3M version of the track.  Due to the glossy vinyl service, the race photos were not usable.