29July2017 Race Report
The Seattle RC Racers closed out July with an excellent outing at the Seatac RC Raceway; we were 48 entries strong and had full heats in Stock and Modified TC, Scale Spec, and Formula 1. The layout was a variation on one of last year's Sizzler circuits, in reverse. With dual straights, it seemed like it might be one of our faster options, but it turned out to be a technical trial, albeit one with a nice flow. Dual straights meant two big braking zones, and the pass through the chicane required a soft touch.
I will note it was nice to see Wiley Chow, an old racer from SIR. It has been years since I had seen him. Coming along were a duo from TRCR, Dave and John, taking a break from the clay to have a crack at the outdoor onroad thing. I remember Dave running a few times at SIR, and he is fast still, while John was a new face who promises to bring some nice speed to our track in the park. While he has raced with us from time to time, it has been awhile, so when I saw Patrick roll up, I was happy. He had not brought a car, and was only there to check out the scene, but Scott Heywood had a hookup, and before he knew it, Patrick was entered into Scale Spec and getting his race on. Our lone Novice, Marco, put in four clean runs, and provided he shows with the right set up, this will be the last time he runs the class, as he is clearly a capable driver who belongs in Scale Spec.
A few words are in order about our rules and racing etiquette. We all work hard for our race days, and it's a fair expectation that we follow the rules, both the letter and spirit, when we put a car on track in an organized event. It's also fair to expect that we take our drubbings standing up, without accusing our fellow racers of employing unfair means without evidence to back it up. On the last point, it's true we've been working to lift the venue and program off the ground, and putting together a tech station with scale and meter has been hanging out there, yet to check off. With a little help, I have a scheme to build a durable tech station on the east side of the stand. I'm aiming to have it in place for the Sizzler. That will make it convenient to tech in before races, so if there is a question, a racer has the opportunity to validate his or her equipment with the same tools available to everyone else.
We will all have occasion to feel abused on track, and if we're decent people, we will admit to those times when we've gone for the gap that does not exist and brought another racer's day to an untimely end. As between the two, I've found the second is the more mortifying and harder to forget. There are no particular wise policies to deploy that will ensure everyone gets in a clean race on a given day. Competitive moments have a way of revealing people's tendencies, and those tendencies are seldom perfectly consistent or pretty, even in the best of us. I will say that I admire those who demonstrate patience and restraint, even when they have the superior turn of speed. Perhaps especially when they have it.
The Summer Sizzler is in two weeks: back-to-back race days, each day a complete event on a unique layout, with trophies for the combined results of both days. It will reward racers who can quickly and confidently adapt to conditions and get on with it.
Results attached.