The chilham Grand prix 6/13/26

Back Home Again Grand Prix

It was pleasurable to be back home again on Velocity Speedway only the track has a new home at Ron’s place in Potomac. Added to a beautiful venue was beautiful weather. Eight racers provided the entertainment to what amounted to a gold main and silver main. The race was reduced to 15 min due to schedule concerns, each main had 4 racers and 2 ghosts and used the Smart Race fuel program. The B main featured a race between Joe and Richard for the silver ranked drivers. Joe won by 4 laps with Richard earning his first podium finish. Everett and Aiden staged their own kids race with Everett prevailing by 3 laps. The A main was a fun battle between Ron, Craig, Tom and Dave. Both Tom and Dave had an early bite of the lead but fell back in a private battle with less than a lap gap. Ron and Craig pulled away, Ron winning by just over a lap. The all Carrera Velocity Speedway is a tough challenge and fun track to drive, many thanks to Ron for hosting this pleasent event.

DROT

The DROT race was a 10 min. Porsche 917 sprint. Craig drove an excellent race although Ron managed to lead a few laps. Tom held the front spot once when Craig and Ron were both “ghosted” at the drop leading to the squeeze, but Ron and Craig tracked him down. All three drove well and the early laps were clean and close. Poor Dave, his beautifully painted “PIG” Le Mans car handled like one and he retired to marshal. The new feature in this race was that it was self-marshaled, with the better drivers standing near the harder corners. It was frustrating but could be the future if there were 8 drivers around the table.

Future DROT

Scale Auto and Slot It Le Mans prototypes with the yellow can Flat 6 motors. Very fast and difficult to drive. Could be a cool “Open” class for those who love tuning.   

Winner - Ron (G) - Center

 Second Place - Craig (G) - Left

Third Place - Tom (G) - Right

Winner - Joe (S) - Left

 Second Place - Richard (S) - Right

Third Place - Everett (S) - 2nd from Right

Forth Place - Eli (S) - 2nd from Left

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:  April No Foolin’ Dash

A thin field of seven racers participated in MMMR’s April race. This small group provided plenty of spectacle, not all positive. The B main pitted new digital racer Rob (but no beginner) vs Eric and Joe and of course the three ghost cars. This race was red flagged and restarted due to the fuel program not working. All three drivers showed great improvement and they tossed the lead back and forth like a basketball. The lap chart looked like a cross hatch for the first half race. Rob eventually pulled out a 3 lap lead to win his first digital heat. Joe came second but Eric kept him honest only 1 lap back.

This was a good race but the Fuel program for both heats was bad and needs improving. Now the ugly A main. With only three marshals and a driver-marshal (Tom), remaining in the slot was going to be prime. The first 20 laps were intense as Dave, Tom and Craig traded the lead with Damone driving a steady race but falling back. Craig snatched the lead but crashed in the woods, his car hidden on its side. He kept shouting “right in front of you” over and over to poor Rob, ugly, penalty? Tom then began a splendid drive, completing his first fuel stop, gapping Dave by a lap, marshaling his competitors, and leading laps 23 to 59. Then his car lost its power setting and needed flashing (happened to him last race and he was not up to thrashing around the table, so he started shouting instructions at Rob (who had never flashed a car). This was an extreme baptism under fire for Rob’s first digital race and reinforces the amusing saying that racing slots is “finger yoga with a side order of marshal abuse”. Another penalty. Ugly. When his car still wouldn’t work the red mist descended on Tom who destroyed his favorite car on the concrete floor (very- very ugly) and went out in the rain to wash away the mist and tears. Not gold driver behavior for sure. He eventually returned to marshal in stony silence. Dave lead the rest of the race, the fuel program proving entertainment as it was realized it was not really working at all. Craig ran second with Damone Third. Never a dull moment in digital racing. Rob came 4th from the B main and fully deserved his “Rookie of the Race” award. 

Winner - David (G) - Center

 Second Place - Craig (G) - Left

Third Place - Damone (S) - Right

Rob (R) - Rookie Award Winner

                    April No Foolin Porsche 917 DROT 10 min Sprint

With only six drivers running in two mains and no ghost cars, this race was a bit like an analog race. The B main featured Tom sprinting away from an improving Rob and Eric. The goal was Ron’s 36.77 laps from the March race. He ran 36.146. The A main had Dave vs Craig and Damone. Craig lead the fist two laps and then dropped out for unexplained reasons, leaving Dave to chase Tom’s score. This was much like the old road races where drivers wait for their competitors to finish. At the 5 min mark Dave was just ahead but his pace was slowed by one too many offs and he wound up second by 10 sections. Rob outscored Damone to finish an excellent third. A nice recovery by Tom to become only the third driver to win an MMMR race from the B main. Rob is the real digital deal. In a matter of weeks he has built his own cars, tuned them, won Rookie of the Race in his first and Podiumed in his second race, and survived some marshal abuse. We look forward to racing with him again.

Winner - Tom (G) - Center

 Second Place - Dave (G) - Left

Third Place - Rob (R) -  Right