Results Raceseries 2005

Race 5, 18.12.2005

Our first season is in the books and everyone is already preparing for the next one. The final racing weekend included 2 bracket races to make up for the postponed races at he start of the season and one Parma Stock race, with the championship still up for grabs in each category. Bracket Race 4: Kescha, Alex and Jürg were separated by 2 points, all three still with the chance to take the title on their own. The first race of the day was to set the tone for the championship fight, as Alex and Kescha met in the clash of the titans. Both were under immense pressure and Alex chose to use a slower car to keep himself from redlighting because of the big ET-difference especially against Jürg. Kescha on the other hand chose consistency over experiments and brought out his 0.9-Second Bantam Altered. The first run was a rather cautious affair, as both racers had conservative high 0.5-lights, obviously trying to avoid a foul. Kescha´s 0.578 was less worse as his opponent´s 0.597 resulting in a 1:0 lead for the Russian. Run 2 saw both drivers in a much more agressive mood, Kescha being too aggressive with a 0.473 red light. The Bantam driver acted more cautiously in the decider, his 0.543 beating Alex´ sleepy 0.573, with both racers running fairly close to their respective index. The loss put even more pressure on Alex, especially after the other driver in the title chase, Jürg, won his first race over Dominik with a well run 2:0. Kescha also prevailed over Dominik (albeit with a close 2:1 score), so Alex had to beat Dominik and Jürg to stay in the championship race. Dominik decided to help his countryman Jürg with a 2:1 win over Alex, though, and Jürg helped himself by officially ending Alex´title aspirations with a consistant 2:0. Kescha beat Jürg 2:0 as well, lifting himself into the final round against the racer from Switzerland and delaying the championship decision until the second race of the day. Jürg tightened the points race further with an easy 2:0, reducing the difference to a single point. Bracket Race 5: Race 2 of the day again began with Alex and Kescha duking it out, this time ending in a 2:0 for the latter, Alex abandoning his slow-car-experiment for his Gp20-powered but much more consistent Studebaker. Dominik stayed out of the title decision, losing to each, Alex, Jürg and Kescha with a 2:0. Alex took revenge on Jürg putting the pressure on him with a 2:0, while Kescha was closing in on his first title. Jürg hat to win with a 2:0, and then beat Kescha again in the final, to force a decider and keep his championship hopes alive. But strangely, it seemed to be the Russian, who felt the heat, as he fouled away the first run with a 0.490 while Jürg sped away with a fine 0.524 and another close-to-the-index run. A perfect 1.435 on a 1.435 dial in was Jürg´s next strike, but it was too little too late to make up for a uncharacteristically late 0.588 light against Kescha´s neither good nor bad 0.543. Run 3 was highlighted by Jürg´s first but losing 0.500 RT, as Kescha ´s 0.510 was enough to win by 7/1000s. The newly crowned champion met Alex in the final round, both obviously motivated to win the last bracket race of 2005. Alex left too soon in the first run, but won the second, leading to a decider that saw Alex leaving to much time on the line and on the track resulting in a 2:1 win for Kescha and his Bantam. For the championship that meant that Alex stays in third place, one point behind Jürg, who narrowly missed winning the title in the last race of the year. Parma Stock 6: 6 racers showed up for the last PS-race of the season, Alex still with a mathematical chance to overtake Kescha in the standings. But the 4-points difference meant that at least 3 other racers had to finish between the two (and ahead of Kescha) in this race - a rather unlikely scenario for the record-setting Skoda and its usually consistent driver. Manuels return to competition was the good news of the race, the racer from Appenzell also announcing his participation in 2006. Carolin also was back on track, her good RTs again hampered by inadequate material. The race once again began with the traditional Alex vs. Kescha duel, the latter further demoralizing his peers with a record 0.985 in the pre-race warmup. Alex responded with a foul, wasting an unexpectedly quicker 1.035 to Kescha´s overglued 1.050. Realizing his chance, Alex won run 2 with a great 0.511 RT and an again quicker 1.045 over a 1.056, but the decider again went Kescha´s way as Alex fouled for the second time and the Skoda sped away to a back-to-form 1.019. The rest of the field was unable to keep the pace of the two favourites and Jürg vowed to come back with a new and better car in 2006. Kescha and Alex had no problems to proceed to the finals, the only close call being Kescha´s race against Dominik, when the Skoda slowed to a 2-Second ET due to a bent chassis on the first run, but finally prevailed after a last-second repair. The two dominating racers of the season once more met in the final round, Kescha using his horsepower advantage for a 2:0 win, both cars fighting for traction on a freshly wiped track. The championship was already decided, Kescha winning his second title, followed by Alex, and then Jürg and Dominik sharing the 3rd position. Jürg, Manuel, Dominik, Ivo, Caro and a few other racers are already building new cars or upgrading their old ones for the start of the new season in January, so Kescha and Alex will have to fight even harder. A third category will also be added to the championship, making things even more interesting and giving the speed freaks an opportunity to show their stuff on the track.

Race 4, 19.11.2005

The race took place at the Friedrichshafen model expo, one day before the big Winterants event. Fred Barthelemy from France joined the regulars to get used to the conditions and hone his reaction times. Bracket Race 3: Fred tried his luck against points leaders Alex, Kescha and Jürg, and soon found his reaction times needed some major fine-tuning. Alex was (almost) flawless and had obviously improved his s driving since the last race. After 3 fouls in a row, he found his rhythm and layed down several RTs in the .50-range, amng them a (once again) perfect 0.500 against (once again) Kescha. The Russian battled Jürg for the other final round spot and finally prevailed by a slim margin, as the Swiss racer ran right on his dial-in, but acted to cautiously at the tree. 2 foul starts in 30 runs might look good on paper but are a clear sign of not trying hard enough. This led to another Alex vs. Kescha final, the latter winning after trailing 0:1, when his opponent left too early in the decider. Jürg and Fred finished 3rd and 4th. With just one race to go, Jürg and Alex both have the chance to catch Kescha at the top of the standings, but need the help from other racers to win the title. Parma Stock 5: Dominik arrived too late for the bracket race, but joined the aforementioned racers for the Parma Stock race. Fred again challenged the locals, but hadn´t had enough time (yet) to break in his new motor and thus was missing a few 1/100s, compared to front-runners Alex and Kescha. Jürg´s Fiat also struggled as well as Dominik´s Ford, both unable to break the 1.100-barrier. Kescha raced his new Maggi Mercedes, leading to some unusually tight races, and making Alex the favourite to win this race. Alex ran true to form and lost just one run on his way to the final round, on a holeshot (.600 to .513) to Kescha. The Mercedes driver had the sole .500 of the day, beating Dominik and securing the other final-round berth. But this time, the performance advantage was not on his side and he had to push the tree too hard, resulting in an anticlimatic 0:2 loss and the first ever win for Alex. This also keeps Alex´championship hopes alive, but with Kescha´s on-track record this season, the title is his to lose. Here my quotes for the final race: Parma Stock: Kescha(Skoda): 2:1 - Against the Skoda, the others will probably have to settle for second place, Alex being the only possible obstacle. The new record of 0.994 is a big confidence-booster and demoralises the opponents even further. Alex: 3:1 - Is only a few thousands behind the leader and could run his first 0.9 soon. Kescha (Mercedes): 4:1 - The yellow Mercedes is slowly closing in on the top cars, but still needs 0.05 to be able to challenge Alex or even the Skoda. Good RTs won´t be enough to win with this car. Dominik: 5:1 - Had better RTs this time and has both cars (VW and Ford) running under 1.10. If he can find another couple of 1/100s, could be more of a factor. Caro: 5:1 - Had business/school commitments on the Friedrichshafen date, but depending on the car she chooses to drive, capable to surprise the top dogs in the class. H.R.: 6:1 - Showed improved form at the big race and could challenge Dom and Caro, but probably won´t have enough for the two front-runners. Ivo: 7:1 - Just out of the military, he could find the discipline to concentrate on one motor. Will have to fight to keep up with the improved knowledge and technology of the others. Manu: 8:1 - If his hunger for slot-race wins ever remotely reaches his hunger for Subway-food, all others can retire on the spot. Bracket: Jürg: 2:1 - Missed the final round at the last points race, but won the Winternats one day later. Is very consistent with his dial-in and has still room for improvement at the starting line. Alex: 2:1 - Lost to Dominik at the Winternats, but will probably strike back soon. Has a slight chance to replace Kescha as the leader, adding further motivation. Kescha: 3:1 - Always improving but still not as consistant as Alex and Jürg. Still finds a way to win and could win both championships, but the desastrous result at the Winternats makes him only 3rd seed. Dominik: 4:1 - Was runner-up at the Winternats and could be a deciding factor in the championship race, depending on his results against the top three. All others: 10:1 - same as the last races.

Race 2, 25.09.2005

Our second race of the season was finally staged after the summer break and we also found the time to finish the postponed race from Aug. 14th as well as (finally) our first bracket race. Bracket Race 1: Only three racers were willing to test their skills against the dial-your-own-index, and were allowed to bring two cars to the line each, to compensate for the small field. The better car was then awarded the points for the championship. Alex managed to lay down the first ever PERFECT BRACKET RUN, a .500 RT coupled with a 1.070 ET on a 1.070 index. My hat off to this tremendous accomplishment. My Bantam Altered and me were on the receiving end, but I feel honored being a part of this historic run. But enough of the worshipping and back to the action on the track: A .499 red light against Dominik could not keep Kescha (= me)from reaching the finals for another shot at the seemingly overwhelming Alex. To make this short, he was not as overwhelming, this time, and slipped to a 0:2 loss against the Russian Mafia with the American car (´41 Plymouth powered by a Pro Slot G12). Dominik finished third with the Alex-owned Bud Studebaker, after losing too many runs on somewhat lazy RTs. Parma Stock 2: Probably because of the good weather, The field was rather small (4 racers/cars), but nevertheless ready for a classic battle. Alex shocked everybody (especially Carolin in the other lane) with a perfect .500 RT winning the race and keeping his form to end up in the finals. Dominik was still somewhat sleepy at the tree and lost to Carolin on a giant holeshot (1,134 to Doms 1,095 and 0,543 rt to a 0,603). Kescha wanted too much against Dominik and gave away a very good run with an oh-so-close .499 red light. With all 4 racers having lost and won once, the battle for the final round berths was decided in the last round of racing. Kescha and Alex kept their nerve and prevailed over Carolin and Dominik, both with a 2:0. In the finals, the tension was too much for both racers as Kescha had one (still winning) and Alex two foul starts, resulting in a 2:0 for Kescha. Parma Stock 3 (postponed from Aug. 14th): The racers were the same, the results almost: No one stayed loss-free but Kescha (once again) ended up in the finals. His Skoda was at his best and showed the others the worth of a good preparation and the right set-up for the track conditions. For the first time ever in this class, the 40mph barrier was broken (40.07mph) and a 1.065 ET was also a new best, at least in an official race. Alex was not far behind with a 1.071 and remains a hot favorite for the next races. Alex and Dominik had the main roles in one of the stranger races so far, when Alex was brought back to reality (after his .500 lights) with a .499 foul and Dominik then doing the same (also a .499) to tie the race at 1 apiece. Alex then ended the clash with another foul, this time a not so close .466. Dominik´s winning ways were ended by (another) loss to Carolin which sealed the surprising final round match Kescha vs. Carolin. The historic first win by a female driver was postponed to a latter date, though, when Kescha´s Skoda made two more clean runs backed by some consistent lights against the somewhat overweight (148g) Challenger (the car, not the driver), on loan from Alex. To sum up this weekend: Thanks to our points system, the championship race remains tight, even though Kescha keeps winning the races, sometimes with luck and against different opponents, but so far with the same end result. So based on that the odds for the next race are: Parma Stock: Kescha: 1:1 - When he isn´t good, he is lucky. Showed no nerves so far, and had fewer fouls, especially when it counted. This is bad news for his rivals, but the title is still up for grabs. Alex: 2:1 - Finally got the reward for always trying with two perfect .500 lights (one in the bracket race) and had another .500 in a match race win against Kescha (who also had a .500 in the same run!). Still risking too much sometimes, but has the most test runs besides Kescha resulting in a consistently quick set up for each of his cars. Jürg: 3:1 - Took a weekend off this time and was passed by Alex in the points standings. So far, he has one of the quickest cars and is also very quick at the tree, but might have lost some of his consistency over the summer. Carolin: 4:1 - After her first final-round, has to be considered a serious contender for the coming races. A better car wouldn´t hurt her chances. Her RTs were among the best, so far. Dominik: 5:1 - Whether it´s the night-shift or something else, but he sure could use some of Carolin´s concentration at the tree. Whenever he gets his killer-instinct back, he´ll return to the top of the list of the championship-contenders. Ivo: 6:1 - Showed good form before the summer break, but it remains to be seen, whether that has changed. Manuel: 7:1 - Was only spectating this time, lack of motivation was obvious. If he´s awake and motivated next time, still a possible threat to win. Bracket: Alex: 2:1 - Was runner-up at the first race, but dominated the round-robin stages. Has several very consistent cars to choose from and is always one of the favorites to win. Kescha: 3:1 - Also has at least 2 good cars and (so far) usually finds a way to win the race. Seems to struggle a little bit with the staggered bracket tree, but keeps getting better with each race. Jürg: 4:1 - Potentially inconsistant after the break, but still dangerous and a threat to win it all. Dominik: 5:1 - When awake, he can rival the others for a win, this time his lights kept him away from the finals for three consecutive races. Others: 10:1 - Carolin has a chance, if she decides to race, the others will be held back by the inconsistency of their cars and their lights.

Race 1, 31.07.2005

The results of our first race of the season are now available - at least for the Parma driven species. The bracket race had to be postponed because of time concerns and as a favor to some very hungry racers. 8 racers brought their cars to the line but at the end it was - not really unexpectedly - the East-Block combination Kescha-Skoda winning a very close final over Jürg Broder´s little Fiat. The two smallest cars in the field were the consistantly quickest on this day and coupled with the good r.t.´s of their drivers this greatly reduced the chances for their competition. Jürg was unbeatable in the round robin stages of the race, marching through the field with a no-loss record, while Kescha worked hard to tighten the race for the second final round spot, redlighting 5 (!) times and still scraping by. Two racers had a perfect .500 r.t., with only one (Dominik) winning this run, while the other (Ivo)somehow managed to lose the run to Kescha´s quicker car. It remains unknown, whether it was luck or mastery in the finals, and both racers deserved to win. With both cars running e.t.s within thousands of each other, Kescha´s .501 r.t. in the first run left little on the table for Jürg, who had a very competitive .526 r.t.. In the seciónd run, Jürg´s consistant .524 was enough to give him a slight lead against Kescha´s .528, but not enough to win, as the Skoda zoomed by the Fiat on the last inch or so, winning by 1/1000 of a second. An unlucky loss for the Swiss, who will get a chance for revenge at the postponed bracket race. At the recent warm-up bracket races Kescha was anything but dominating with Alex, Jürg and Dominik taking over as the pre-season favorites and making things interesting. Other racers like Carolin, Ivo and Manuel have also improved their consistency with every race and are becoming a force to be reckoned. Here are my absolutely independent quotes for the first bracket race of the season: Alex: 2:1 - His black Camaro is the most consistant car so far, so he can only beat himself (usually with a foul start). Jürg: 4:1 - Prefers slow but consistant cars, which sometimes suprise him with unexpected outbursts of power leading to a break-out loss. Come around finals time, Jürg is usually there. He is also one of the most consistent at the tree and thus very dangerous. Dominik: 5:1 - Has two pretty consistent cars to choose from, but recently has somewhat lacked the consistancy as a driver. With good r.t.s always a threat. Kescha: 6:1 - If he could decide on a car and stick with it, would be back among the favourites in no time. At the warm-up races, seemed not to concentrate enough on his car´s consistency resulting in a series of losses. It is to be feared though, that this will change soon. Not at his best at the tree, yet, but rarely really bad - well, maybe except for the redlights. Carolin: 8:1 - As a driver, getting better all the time and has also a rather consistent car with Dominik´s Bug; always ready and willing to surprise anyone and could very well become the Shirley Muldowney of Slot Drag Racing. Manuel: 8:1 - Surprised everyone when he won our first bracket race ever, but was unable to repeat the heroics so far. His form seems to be getting better, though. His biggest handicap is that he has no car of his ownand always has to borrow cars he is not familiar with. His reaction times are getting better but are still plagued by occasional fits of deep sleep. Ivo: 8:1 - Is becoming more and more of a threat, but still lacking some consistency, probably because of concentrating too much on setting new personal bests. Would have much better chances with a more consistant (and maybe slower) race car. Everybody else: Good for an occasional surprise, but: practice, practice, practice...

Public Race:	Parma Stock:
winner: Kescha, 41 Plymouth runner-up: Alex, Jr. Dragster 3.: Dominik, 36 Ford 4.: Kescha, Bantam Altered 5.: Alex, Pennzoil FC 6.: Dominik, Studebaker 7.: 8.:	winner: Kescha, Skoda (0.501)1.088/38.09mph; (0.528)1.096/38.38mph runner-up: Jürg, Fiat 500 (0.526)1.091/37.39mph; (0.524)1.101/36.13mph) 3.: Alex, Studebaker 4.: Dominik, ´36 Ford 5.: Ivo, Parma Escort 6.: Manuel, Parma Stratus 7.: Zani, ´50 Ford 8.: Carolin, VW Bug
winner: Jürg, 40 Ford Pickup runner-up: Alex, Pennzoil Funny Car 3.: Kescha, New Cougar 4.: Jürg, 38 Chevy 5.: Alex, Compact Racer 6.: Kescha, Bantam Fuel Altered 7.: 8.:	winner: Kescha, Skoda runner-up: Carolin, Dodge Challenger 3.: Alex, Bud Studebaker 4.: Dominik, ´36 Ford
winner: Kescha, Bantam Fuel Altered runner-up: Alex, 32 Ford 3.: Jürg, Competition Coupe 4.: Fred, GTO 5.: Alex, Willys Wagon 6.: Kescha, 34 Ford 7.: Jürg, 40 Ford Pickup 8.: Fred, Locomotion Dragster	winner: Kescha, Skoda runner-up: Alex, Bud Studebaker 3.: Dominik, 36 Ford 4.: Carolin, Dodge Challenger
winner: Jürg, 40 Ford Pickup runner-up: Kescha, Bantam Fuel Altered 3.: Dominik, VW Beetle 4.: Alex, Ford Mustang 5.: 6.: 7.: 8.:	winner: Kescha, Skoda runner-up: Alex, Bud Studebaker 3.: Jürg, Fiat 500 4.: Alex, Jr.Dragster 5.: Kescha, Mercedes 170 6.: Jürg, 50 Ford
winner: Kescha, Bantam Fuel Altered runner-up: Alex, Studebaker 3.: Jürg, 40 Ford Pickup 4.: Dominik, VW Beetle 5.: 6.: 7.: 8.:	winner: Alex, Bud Studebaker runner-up: Kescha, Maggi Mercedes 3.: Jürg, Fiat 500 4.: Fred, 38 Chevy 5.: Dominik, 36 Ford
	winner: Kescha, Skoda runner-up: Alex, Bud Studebaker 3.: Dominik, 36 Ford 4.: Manuel, Mercedes 170 5.: Jürg, Fiat 500 6.: Carolin, VW
Final Championship Standings:
1.: Kescha, 14 2.: Jürg, 11 2.: Alex, 10 4.: Dominik, 4 5.: Fred, 1 6.: 7.: 8.:	1.: Kescha, 26 2.: Alex, 21 3.: Jürg, 13 3.: Dominik, 13 5.: Carolin, 6 5.: Manuel, 6 7.: Ivo, 4 8.: Zani, 2 8.: Fred, 2