Table Top Racing Club

A Race To Remember — Photo Finish!

The drivers championship hinged on the final race of the season.  Bandini held a 5 point lead over Brabham for first.  Ginther held a 2 point lead over Hill for 3rd.  Only 7 points separated the next 7 contenders.  As a result of the close standings, drivers battled for every position.

Although the winner of the last race, Tyrrell driver Hahne, started on pole, he fell back to third half way through the first lap.  Hahne had been leap frogged by Brabham and Bell.  Hill and Ginther were right behind him.  The Ferrari drivers were side by side in hot pursuit.

But Hahne did not back off and slipped by Bell and Brabham to take the first lap bonus point.

Most of the drivers are burning through wear and skill points at an alarming rate.  Bell attempted to take the lead back from Hahne while Brabham positions himself for a series of bold moves.  Ginther pulled ahead of Hill. Bandini moved up to fourth (he only needed to finish third to win the championship).

Brabham pushed his car to the limit and made what some might call foolhardy maneuvers, but his luck paid off.  Brabham started the third lap with a formidable lead and a depleted car.  Farrari fell back.  Honda stayed ahead of Eagle.  The second Tyrrell driver moved up to fourth.

During the third and final lap, Bandini passed Ginther and Ickx, but was stymied by Hill.  Hahne dashed away from Bell and caught Brabham on the back straight.  Hahne and Brabham were side by side.  Hahne won the shootout, late braked, and then spun on the inside of the last corner.

Hahne recovered from the spin and managed to cross the finish line ahead of Brabham to take the win!

It was Hahne’s second win in a row and team Tyrrell’s third win in 5 races.  Congratulations Travis!

Several position changes occurred as the rest of the racers finished.  Race results follow:

1st Travis (H. Hahne) 80/20/20/160/6*
2nd Den (J. Brabham) 80/40/20/160/6*
3rd John H. (Bell) 80/40/40/160/5
4th Ray G. (R. Ginther) 60/60/60/140/5
5th Terry (P. Hill) 80/40/40/140/5
6th Steve (L. Bandini) 80/40/20/160/6
7th Travis (Jacky Ickx) 60/40/20/160/6
8th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/140/6
9th Steve (M. Parkes) 60/40/20/160/5
10th Den (D. Hulme) 40/40/40/160/5
11th Ray G. (R. Bucknum) 60/40/40/140/5
12th John H. (B. McLaren) 40/40/40/160/5

Brabham 2 points ahead of Bandini to take the Driver’s Championship.  Ginther finished the season 3 points ahead of Hill to finish third in the Driver’s Championship.

Ferrari finished 21 points ahead of Brabham to secure the Constructor’s Championship.  Eagle took third place.

Special thanks goes out to Steve for creating 5 superb tacks for us to race on this season.

Also thank you all for participating this year, even if you only had a chance to race a couple of times.  I hope you had as much fun as I did and I look forward seeing you all compete next year for our 10th season!

Note:  Season 10 is planned to start in Jan 2020.  We will be using teams from the 1970s season.  The first race is at Kyalami South Africa.

Tyrell Triumps, Brabham Falls, and Ferrari Takes Championship

This year’s Italian Grand Prix took place at Monza.  The first lap was run on Monza’s 10K course and the remaining two laps were raced on the standard course.  Ten drivers lined up on the starting grid, but only 7 finished the race. 

Throughout the race, Honda, Tyrell, Ferrari and Brabham battled for the top positions. The race was fantastic.  The audience witnessed Jack Brabham make a daring pass-thru on the Curva Nord.  Tyrell engineers built the fastest car in the race and its driver, H. Hahne, put the cars power to good use. 

Tyrell lead the first lap closely followed Honda, Brabham and Ferrari.  The rest of the pack was in close pursuit.  Brabham got past Honda and Tyrell to take the second lap. 

During the first two laps drivers pushed their vehicles to the braking point nearly expending all wear and skill points. 

On the final lap, Honda took the lead going into the Parabolica.  Jack Brabham attempted to late brake and take the inside lane, a position that would have won him the race, but his brakes failed and he slid off the track ending his hopes for victory.  Tryell was dead even with Honda coming out of the Parabolica.  Hahne accelerated the Tyrell to 200mph and finished a car length ahead of Honda’s Ginther.  Tyrell’s J. Ickx and Ferrari’s Bandini crossed the finish line on the next turn.

Note:  Team Winkleman was withdrawn from the race due to illness.

Bandini takes a 5 point lead in the driver’s championship.  Ferrari expands its lead in the constructor’s to 25 points.

Race results follow:

1st Travis (H. Hahne) 60/40/20/180/5*
2nd Ray G. (R. Ginther) 60/40/40/160/6
3rd Travis (Jacky Ickx) 60/40/20/160/6
4th Steve (L. Bandini) 80/40/20/160/6
5th Den (D. Hulme) 60/40/20/160/5
6th Steve (M. Parkes) 60/40/20/160/5
7th Ray G. (R. Bucknum) 40/40/40/160/5
DNF Brakes Den (J. Brabham) 80/40/20/160/6*
DNF Dan (A. Rees) 60/40/20/160/6*
DNF Dan (H. Hermmann) 60/40/20/160/6

Close Racing at the German Grand Prix

Tyrell’s H. Hahne started on pole and was immediately challenged by Ferrari’s L. Bandini.  Jack Brabham started in 8th place, but bolted into 5th.  During the first two laps Hahne and Bandini battled fiercely trading positions several times.

Meanwhile Ickx, Gurney, and Brabham fought for third place.  The rest of the field exchanged blows, losing and gaining positions.  All paid a high price for setting such a searing pace, burning most of their wear points.

During lap 3, Brabham made a series of bold moves, relying more on luck than skill, that paid off.  He passed the quickly fading leaders and won the race.  Bandini finished second followed by Hahne and Eagle’s Phil Hill.

 

Race results follow:

1st Den (J. Brabham) 80/40/40/140/6
2nd Steve (L. Bandini) 80/40/40/140/6*
3rd Travis (H. Hahne) 60/40/40/140/6*
4th Terry (P. Hill) 80/40/40/140/5
5th Travis (Jacky Ickx) 80/40/40/140/5
6th Ray G. (R. Ginther) 60/40/40/140/6
7th Ray R. (G. Hill) 60/40/40/140/6
8th Dan (H. Hermmann) 60/40/40/140/6
9th Ray G. (R. Bucknum) 60/40/40/140/6
10th Steve (M. Parkes) 60/40/20/140/6
11th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/140/6
12th Dan (A. Rees) 60/40/40/140/6
13th Den (D. Hulme) 40/40/40/140/6
14th Ray R. (J. Stewart) 40/40/40/140/6

 

Ferrari Wins Two Races In a Row and Maintains Lead In Constructors Championship

Ferrari driver Parkes started on the front row and quickly assumed the lead, a position he did not relinquish.

Jacky Icks charged from 5th position to challenge Jack Brabham , but his brakes failed on the last lap and Brabham finished behind Parkes.  Eagle’s Phil Hill started in 8th and steadily maneuvered through the pack to finish 3rd followed by Ferrari’s Bandini.  

Bandini and Brabham are now tie for first in the drivers championship.  Ferrari continued to extend its lead in the manufactures championship.

Race Results

1st Steve (M. Parkes) 60/40/20/160/6**
2nd Den (J. Brabham) 80/40/40/160/5
3rd Terry (P. Hill) 40/40/40/160/6
4th Steve (L. Bandini) 60/40/40/140/6
5th Dan (H. Hermmann) 60/40/20/160/6
6th Dan (A. Rees) 80/40/40/160/4
7th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/140/6
8th Travis (H. Hahne) 40/60/40/180/4
9th Den (D. Hulme) 60/40/40/140/5
10th Ray R. (G. Hill) 40/40/40/160/6
11th Ray R. (J. Stewart) 40/40/40/160/6
DNF Travis (Jacky Ickx) 60/60/20/160/5

Travis Returns and Dominates with Team Tyrrell

Series 9’s French grand prix was held at Reims, another fantastic circuit recreated for Speed Circuit by Steve. 

Fourteen drivers started the race.  Team Winkleman’s A. Rees held the pole position and shared the front row with Tyrell’s J. Ickx.  Rees charged right from the start and held the lead for the first two laps, closely followed by Ickx.  The rest of the pack exchanged positions throughout the race.   Ickx passed Rees on the last lap to take the checkered flag.  Farrari’s Bandini battled his way from 8th place on the starting grid to finish 3rd.  Lotus’s P. Arundel placed 4th.

Due to a brake failure Tyrell’s H. Hahne was not able to complete the race.  Brabham driver D. Hulme finished the race in 3rd place, but was disqualified after the post race car inspection.

Race results follow:

1st Travis (Jacky Ickx) 40/40/60/180/4**
2nd Dan (A. Rees) 80/40/40/160/4
3rd Steve (L. Bandini) 60/40/20/160/6
4th Mike (P. Arundel) 80/40/60/160/4
5th Ray G. (R. Ginther) 60/40/40/160/5
6th Steve (M. Parkes) 60/40/20/160/6
7th Den (J. Brabham) 60/40/40/160/5
8th Terry (D. Gurney) 60/40/40/160/5
9th Ray G. (R. Bucknum) 60/40/40/160/5
10th Terry (P. Hill) 60/40/40/160/5
11th Mike (J. Clark) 40/40/60/160/4
12th Dan (H. Hermmann) 60/40/40/160/5
DNF (Brakes) Travis (H. Hahne) 60/60/20/160/5
DQ Den (D. Hulme) 80/40/20/160/5

 

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.