K-CLASS THUNDER ENDURO ROUND 5 MAPLE VALLEY – 31st JULY 2018
RICK DOESN’T FIND MAPLE THE PITS
RangersRick scores first win and doesn’t realise ~ FKart5’s last corner heartache ~ CelticFox finishes third ~ Major Raver robbed of podium due to debris on track ~ Mixed fortunes for KRR drivers ~ Nikemike extends his championship lead again ~ 53 pit stops made in total
FKart5 had the race won until final corner heartache saw him finish second
The summer break for many was always going to lower the numbers, but 17 cars still made their way to Canada around the fast and picturesque Maple Valley circuit. The rain had threatened to make its first visit through the week, but race day was sunny and dry and Kenty had his Hyundai sat on pole position, the DMR lead driver not confident of staying there at a circuit he doesn’t enjoy. Row 2 saw Mad in the green focus, eager to get over his heartbreak of last week, and also joined by a second version of the car form NorlinRacer. Both RML and Team Cheetah were down to one car each, which gave KRR’s two car entry a good chance to gain some valuable points in the team’s chase.
Atomstew lined up on the front row, one of the few wishing for rain, his pace in the Honda NSX 02 better in the wet than the dry. Row 3 saw CelticFox and CarcrazyCal, the top 2 of Road Atlanta both highly fancied by many on another fast circuit.
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Kenty made a fantastic start from pole position, and he was surprised to be unchallenged into the first corner, Mad not making his usual banzai start, and in fact he slotted in behind Atom Stew in to third. Behind and some were delayed, BMR Sutton being caught as CelticFox got a sight spin on, Major Raver getting a slight nudge that sent him on to the grass. Kenty’s lead lasted half a lap before going wide, and Stew was through in a flash, leading the first lap and looking comfortable, second was the Alfa of Carcrazycal who had a fabulous first lap and was looking to close down the Marlboro Honda. Behind many were having lively first laps, BMR Sutton, Penfold and CelticFox all delayed. One driver picking his way through slowly was FKart5, the Team Cheetah driver had started well down and was looking to safely get the car to the front knowing he had a chance of a good result. Following him was RangersRick, Rick also making up for a lowly grid slot and looking strong on pace. Out front and Stew was now under pressure from Cal, and on lap 4 that pressure got to the pair of them, Stew making an error on the long back straight, but before he could take advantage, Cal got on the marbles, leaving his braking late and thumping into the tyre wall. This put FKart into first and Rick into second, the pair’s gentle approach paying dividends, and giving the Honda a 5 second lead over the Lancia, as they started lap 5. Behind them, and another on the move was Major Raver, and on lap 6 the Ferrari moved up to third and was giving chase to the top 2. Fkart was driving well out front and holding the gap constant to Rick, Raver an equal distance behind though was slightly catching by the odd tenth a lap, and he was moving away from CelticFox who had done well to get up to 4th after some early mishaps. Behind them came championship leader Nikemike, Mike was again suffering for power but the Mazda was dancing through the twisty stuff and mike was in the hunt for a strong result. Behind Mike, Mad and Wambogini were keeping him honest, the second DART Ferrari running strongly whilst Mad was not showing the same pace of last week, and a desire to eat his tyres, but was still running strongly.
FKart was still out front, but now starting to laps those that had visited the pits to repair damage early, and slightly contact with BMR Sutton allowed RangersRick to bring the gap down slightly, behind them Raver had dropped back a bit after a couple of slight errors losing him a few seconds, but his pace enough to keep him well out of reach of CelticFox. Lap 16 saw FKart pit for his one and only planned stop, Rick then followed him in a lap later, and Raver 2 laps later, so as lap 20 started the status quo between the top 4 was resumed, but the earlier stops this week seemed to favour those drivers, as both FKart and RangersRick found their lead extended further, that unless they made an error left the race between the pair.
RangersRick chasing FKart, his pursuit was rewarded with a win
Big battle was back in fifth, Mike and Wambogini fighting it out with Mad keeping them honest and Cal now making up for his early error and travelling fast, his fight back establishing a new lap record and the bonus points for fastest lap. Rick was again chipping away out front, but he knew that any chance of victory would come down to a mistake from FKart or an errand backmarker and as we entered the last lap the Honda looked safe. Coming down the hill for the last time and Freddy found the second KRR Lancia in the last corner, and the two hit each other hard, the smoke and Wambogini running behind a lap down innocently caught up in the accident, left Rick desperately looking for a gap through the mess so as to cross the finishing line. Rick drove around for half a lap believing he had finished second, until the team radio started notifying the shocked driver that he had won. Rick had been unaware that FKart had been caught up in the crash due to the smoke and carnage, so he was shocked that he had grabbed the win in literally the final yards. For FKart it was total heartbreak and after the race Team Cheetah and KRR team members had to be separated, the young Honda charger convinced he was robbed of victory.
Another feeling robbed at the end, was Major Raver, the Ferrari was comfortable in third but coming around the final corner with 5 laps to go, the Ferrari found a metal banner in the middle of the track that the Ferrari couldn’t avoid, hitting it hard and wrecking the front of the Italian car. The only bit of luck was the banner spat him in to the pitlane, but it cost him the podium and dropped him to 4th. CelticFox found some luck for a change which moved him on to the final step. It was a hairy opening couple of laps for the Viper, but Celtic drove well afterwards and it was nice to see him benefit with some good luck for a change. 5th went to birthday boy Mike, who withstood the challenge from Wambogini well and stayed out of trouble to extend his championship lead. Mike’s Mazda is really suffering for power, but the handling and gentleness of the tyres helped to get him a strong result. Hardness of the tyres left Mad down in 9th, a head of his team mate NorlinRacer. The MaD Focus’s were not expected to be as strong here as last week at Long Beach, but it was a good double team points finish for the pair, Norlin also receiving praise from other drivers for his awareness when being lapped. These two will be looking forward to Laguna Seca next week where they could be up for another podium challenging performance. Chasing Mike home in 6th was Devil Lord in the sole Cerberus Escort. It was a quiet race for the Ford driver, the circuit not the best for the car, but he was glad to pick up a strong result, especially in his chase for Class A honours, after the failure of the car to fire up a week earlier. Devil stole 6th at the end due to the last corner accident that wiped FKart out, this also damaged Wambogini and dropped him to 7th. It was a very strong performance from the second DART car and again his one lap pace not far from his teammate. The team though looked a little disappointed after the race, feeling that they could of scored more points than they had.
CelticFox had a bit of good luck for a change, Carcrazycal fast over a lap.
Last of those to finish within the top 10, was CarcrazyCal. Cal found the Alfa a bit of a handful with the extra weight it has ran since Road Atlanta, but his pace at times was a match for the leaders. Pole position next week will be a bonus and he will be hopeful of turning that into a strong result. 11th, 12th and 13th we found three drivers who could have been higher and will be no doubt in 7 days times that they will. It was a torrid race for A Big Pie Key, the Nissan handling fantastically again, on a circuit he doesn’t enjoy, but being caught up in other people’s accidents early on. He dropped out the top 5 on lap 2 when contact was made by FKart and Nikemike, a racing accident, but the wrong place at the wrong time for Pie Key.
His fight back then slowed by contact on lap 11 between FkArt and BMR Sutton that ended up with the Lancia running in to him. He won’t be walking under any ladders in the next 7 days. Behind him was Kenty, the pole man massively disliking the Canadian circuit, and it showed, but with the dramas he was having, 12th wasn’t too bad a result. 13th fall to AtomStew, again for the second race one of the fastest drivers in the field, but again finding the Honda a real handful over a few laps which left a couple of stops and the driver well down the order. Next up was BMR Sutton, whose tales of woe have already been mentioned, his championship challenge taking a downward plunge. Next up was Devilsbogeyman in the quickly improving Mercedes. Devil’s drove a good race, again caught out by others early on, in the wrong place at the wrong time also, but the car is improving. He finished a head of the ever cheerful Hoppers and the DARE Lotus. The Lotus looks a strong car and Hoppers is looking forward to circuits he knows well. Paddock rumours are that he will be helped as early as next week with a second car joining the grid. And finally, our only non-finisher in the second DMR Hyundai, was Penfold. It was a real struggle for the team, a circuit not suited to the car and Penfold whose car ended up so damaged that he retired on safety grounds. He is believed to have already started testing FWD for next season.
So the fourth different winner from five rounds, Rick still shocked once the champagne had been drunk and the cars packed away that he had won. As Mad found out last week, and FKart this week, the Thunder Enduro can be a cruel championship, who will win next week is anyones guess, but Mike is charging away with the Overall title.
Result After 32 Laps
1. RangersRick82 - Lancia 037 - 52minutes 26.826seconds
2. FKart5 - Honda NSX 05 - +1 sec
3. CelticFox - Dodge Viper - +42secs
4. Major Raver - Ferrari 355 - +57secs
5. Nikmikerules - Mazda RX7 - +1min 9secs
6. Devil Lord 13 - Ford Escort Cosworth - +1 Lap
7. Wambogini - Ferrari 355 - +1 Lap
8. CarcrazyCal - Alfa Romeo Giulia - +1 Lap
9. Mad2210 - Ford Focus - +1 Lap
10. Norlinracer17 - Ford Focus - +2 Laps
11. A Big Pie Key - Nissan GTR - +2 Laps
12. Kenty76 - Hyundai Veloster - +3 Laps
13. Atom Stew - Honda NSX 02 - +3 Laps
14. Devilsbogeyman - Mercedes A45 - +4 Laps
15. Hopperswwfc - Lotus Evora - +5Laps
16. Penfold2903 - Hyundai Veloster - DNF
Disq BMR Sutton - Lancia 037 - +3Laps
DART top scoried in the teams, but it was nearly so much more
FASTEST LAP: CARCRAZYCAL 1minute 35.941 seconds (NEW LAP RECORD)
Devilsbogeyman worked hard for 14th place beating Hoppers
Kenty led off pole, but it was a bad day for DMR