Speed Circuit Race – Monaco
Speed Circuit Race – Kyalami
Race Report – Speed Circuit Buenos Aires 2022
Thrilling Season Opener!
During the 2022 season we will be racing with the teams that participated in the 1972 formula season. Steve returns to manage the 2021 constructor’s championship team, Ferrari. Den once again leads Elf Tyrell, Terry spearheads MRD Brabham, and John steers the helm of JP Lotus. Travis moves to STP March. Yardly McLaren filled the void left by Travis by hiring Ray G.
The season opener took place in Argentina at the Buenos Aires circuit. Steve built the track board and it is the first time the club raced on the circuit. The narrow fast circuit proved to be a challenge to both drivers and vehicles.
Lotus driver Fittipaldi took pole position on the 12 driver starting grid. Elf’s Stewart, last years champion started in 10th. Ferrari drivers also started near the back of the pack. McLaren was the only team not using a strong down force setup and Hulme started in the front row next to Fittipaldi.
During the first lap Fittipaldi stayed in the lead and positioned himself coming out of the Cajon turn to pull far ahead of the pack. Stewart and Peterson began moving up while Luada moved into 3rd place.
Fittipaldi continue to beat the pack out of the corners and built a commanding lead going into lap 2. Hulme faltered as his car chewed through wear points. Ickx remained in 3rd while Lauda moved up to 2nd.
Fittipaldi dominated the second lap. The remaining positions were highly contested.
Once again Fittapaldi was first to cross the finish line to begin the last lap earning his second bonus point in the race, but his wear points were running low. Soon, Stewart and Peterson made a run against the slowing leader.
Stewart backed off, but Peterson pressed forward catching Fittipaldi and passing him in the last corner garnering victory!
Peterson was followed by Fittipaldi and Stewart. Congratulations Travis.
Race details follow:
1st Travis (R. Peterson) 40/60/20/180/5 S
2nd John H. (E. Fittapaldi) 80/60/40/160/4 **S
3rd Den (J. Stewart) 40/60/20/180/5 S
4th Travis (N. Lauda) 60/60/20/180/4 S
5th Steve (J. Ickx) 60/60/20/180/4 S
6th Terry (G. Hill) 60/60/40/160/4 S
7th Den (F. Cevert) 40/60/20/180/5 S
8th Terry (C. Reutemann) 60/60/40/160/4 S
9th Steve (C. Regazzoni) 60/60/20/180/4 S
10th Ray G. (D. Hulme) 60/40/40/160/6
11th John (J. Walker) 60/40/40/160/4 S
12th Ray G. (P. Revson) 40/40/40/160/5
Next event is at Kyalami. See you at the races.
Race Report – Speed Circuit 2017 Nurburgring
Strategy and luck pay off at Nurburgring.
Hahne, Andretti, and Rindt bolted off the starting line taking an incredible early lead. During the first two laps, BMW and Lotus battled. Hahne crossed the finish line ahead of Rindt and Andretti on both laps, but started the last lap with one wear point.
During the early stages of the race, the Matra drivers worked as a team and drove conservatively saving their tires. Near the end of the second lap Beltoise began to make his run against the leaders. He began the last lap with relatively fresh tires.
On the last lap, because of their deteriorating tires, Hahne, Andretti and Rindt slowed and were unable to exceed corner speed limits. Meanwhile Beltoise exceeded most corners by at least 40mph (spending one wear and rolling on the chance table) and exceeded his top speed on the straights. As a result he caught and passed the leaders on the back stretch, getting ahead of Hahne before the last corner. Beltoise won the race followed by Hahne. Andretti and Gavin raced side by side. Andretti made it through the last corner first, but left the inside lane open. As a result of Andretti mistake, Gavin crossed the finish line ahead of him securing 3rd place.
Race Results:
1st Den (J. Beltoise) 80/40/40/140/6
2nd Ray G. (H. Hauhne) 80/40/40/140/6**
3rd Den (J. Gavin) 40/40/40/140/6
4th Steve (M. Andretti) 80/40/20/140/6
5th Steve (J. Rindt) 80/40/20/160/6
6th Ray G. (J. Biden) 60/40/40/140/5
The win puts Beltoise in a commanding lead in the driver’s championship followed by Hahne and Andretti. Matra holds onto the lead in the constructors championship while BMW threaten to take second place from Lotus.
Race Report – Speed Circuit 2017 Sarthe Lemans
Team manager John guided McLaren to its first win of the season. Matra driver Gavin started on pole, but started slow and quickly fell back. Lotus driver Jochem Rindt shot to the front and lead the first lap. Bruce McLaren charged forward during lap 2 and held the lead. McLaren and Matra Driver J. Beltoise finished side-by-side with McLaren securing the win. Rindt finished 3rd in his first race since recovering from injuries.
Race results:
1st John (B. McLaren) 60/40/40/160/6
2nd Den (J. Beltoise) 80/40/40/160/5
3rd Steve (J. Rindt) 80/40/20/160/5
4th Den (J. Gavin) 40/60/40/160/4
5th Steve (M. Andretti) 80/40/20/160/5
6th John (D. Bell) 40/40/40/140/6
Follow this link for season details.
Next race is on the Big oval in May!
Race Report – Speed Circuit Season 2016 Finale at Mexico City
S. Moser started on pole ahead of 11 other drivers during the Mexican Grand Prix, but was unable to finish the race due to a suspension failure. Hahne bolted into lead on the first lap. Graham Hill battle his way to front and led the second and third laps winning the race and securing the championship. Denny Hulme finished one space behind Hill and was followed by Hahne. Hulme and Hahne also finished 2nd and 3rd in the championship.
Despite finishing second in the individual championship, Hulme’s team, McLaren, won the constructor’s title 4 points ahead of Lotus.
Click here for season details.
Speed Circuit Season 2017 starts in January.
Race Report – Speed Circuit 2016 Watkins Glen
10 drivers lined up 3 wide at the start of this year’s race a Watkins Glen. Brian Redman held pole position in his Cooper T86B. He attempted to hold off Mclaren, Attwood, and Hahne, but Hahne gained the upper-hand and passed the finish line in the lead on the first lap.
Hulme worked his way through the pack from 8th place and linked-up with his team-mate. The Mclaren’s worked together using slip streaming to minimize wear use and maximize speed. Hulme completed the second lap ahead of Hahne taking the lead.
The fierce battles for position occurring throughout the race began to take its toll on the final lap. In an attempt to take the lead, Scarfiotti made a daring move, but his rear axle gave way and he crashed leaving one Cooper in the race. Unser pushed his car too hard and his transmission failed in the last corner.
Hulme held the lead during final lap winning the race. Graham Hill started in 7th position and finished in 3rd place retaining his lead in the championship. Securing 1st and 2nd place allowed McLaren to move to the top of the constructor’s competition for the first time this season. Race results follow:
1st (8) Den (D. Hulme) 80/40/40/160/5*
2nd (3) Den (B. McLaren) 40/40/40/160/5
3rd (7) Steve (G. Hill) 80/40/20/160/5
4th (5) Ray (H. Hahne) 80/40/40/160/5*
5th (2) Terry (Attwood) 60/40/40/160/5
6th (1) John H. (Redman) 80/40/20/180/5
7th (10) Steve (J. Clark) 60/40/20/160/6
8th (4) Ray (J. Biden) 40/40/40/160/5
DNF Terry (B. Unser) 60/40/40/160/5
CR1 (6) John H. (Scarfiotti) 40/40/20/160/6
Click here for SEASON STANDINGS.
3M Speed Circuit vs Avalon Hill Speed Circuit
Just got hold of the 1971 3M version of Speed Circuit. Like the Avalon Hill version, the 3M game comes with three tracks (Monza, Monaco, and Watkins Glen) and six metal cars. Unlike Avalon Hill’s version of the game, the tracks are not printed on map boards, instead they are integrated into the plastic/vinyl box cover. The cover is wrapped around an internal box that holds the other game components. Monza and Monaco are on one side of the map and Watkins Glen is on the other. The map looks fantastic.
The game also includes thin cardboard dials to track speed, cards with per-generated cars, a laminated sheet to track cars and a grease pencil. Although the dials are a bit flimsy, the game has an over all deluxe feel.
The basic rules use pre-generated cars printed on the cards. Players pick cards randomly. It is a good way to get new players into the game. The rest of the rules are similar to Avalon Hill’s version except for one key factor.
3M’s Speed Circuit does not use dice. That’s right! Surpass a corner’s speed limit you pay wear (no option to roll on the chance table). Exceeding a car’s top speed or start speed is not possible. Nothing is left to chance. The game focuses on skill.
Which is a better game? The 3M game’s production value is better than Avalon Hill’s. The addition of chance in the Avalon Hill rules adds an element excitement to the game while maintaining a fine balance between luck and skill. Highly recommend both versions of the game, they are classics.
Welcome to The Tabletop Racing Club
We play racing board games and miniatures like Speed Circuit, Formula D, and Race Formula 90. But we are not limited to terrestrial racing and sometimes play a variant of Tri-Planetary for conducting a “Space Race”.
We meet at least once a month on Wednesday at the Fantasy Books and Games store in Fairview Heights Illinois. Please join us!