Rd. 4 RESULTS
Chapter 10: Racing results
1977
After a hiatus of a few years racing was back at the Lerance Raceway! The track was much changed compared to its earlier iterations: it was much shorter, eliminating the long and fast middle sector along the highway, and instead it now had a shorter and twisty dirt middle sector. The first and last sector were also changed to make them more challenging with tighter turns, more twists. The track is also safer with longer run-off areas and barriers. The race format is also changed to a longer ‘mini-endurance’ event with 100 laps. It is anticipated that each race will take about eight hours, and at least one driver swap is required. Spectators flocked to the track to see the new cars and new teams, and how they will tackle the new challenge.
Raceday saw some mildly damp conditions, so at times the muddy parts could be a little slick, but overall grip was good. The race was off to a fantastic start for Benetsch as it took the early lead, followed by the TIO-Mocabey (OOC: from now on only TIO to save me some letters) and Vizzuri. But on lap five the TIO took the lap, only to relinquish it to Vizzuri on the following lap. Meanwhile the Benetsch fell further back into the midfield as it battled away with its rivals. The TIO maintained its lead until lap 24, when the Swanson managed to overtake it monentarily after slowly catching up over many laps. However, the glory only lasted a short while, and the TIO was quickly back in the lead. The Swanson held onto second place with the Vizzuri in pursuit. At about a third of the race distance, the TIO was firmly in the lead, followed by the battling Vizzuri and Swanson, in turn followed by the battling Benetsch and Wolfe who managed to break free from the midfield. Behind them came the Mara and Levante in clean air. The main chase pack was lead by the Minerva with the Torshalla, Saeta and Van Zandt jockeying for position.
On lap 36 the TIO fell back, and the Vizzuri managed to take the lead as it dropped the Swanson. Slowly the Benetsch was also catching the front, and nearly took the lead on lap 41. A three-way fight ensued, which was won by the TIO on lap 42, the Benetsch second and the Vizzuri back in third. The Swanson was falling behind during this time, and the Wolfe team fell back to a spread-out mid-pack and battled with the Levante, Raceteam Malmo and Mara for a few laps before breaking away again.
In the second half of the race the TIO was building a quite considerable lead as all of its rivals fell well behind, but around lap 66 the car seemed to slow down and the lead shrunk again. The chasing team was battling amongst themselves too, but it was the Wolfe that first caught the TIO and took the lead on lap 82, later followed through by the Swanson and Benetsch. The Swanson caught the Wolfeon lap 85 and a battle for the lead ensued that would last until the end of the race. Meanwhile, the Benetsch was also catching the leading duo and methodically reeled them in, perfectly timing an attack on the last lap. After an intense last-round battle, the Wolfe did come out victorious, followed closely by the Benetsch and Swanson cars, less than a second separating the latter two.
1978
The race in 1978 started under blistering sunshine, and it promised to remain completely dry for the whole race, favouring the more track-oriented set-ups. The start was uneventful for most, but Benetsch, one of the favourites for this race, completely bogged down and was left to fight an uphill battle. The Vizzuri took an early but precarious lead followed by a heavily fighting field. On lap 8 the Knightwick managed to take the lead, but couldn’t hang on, and was overtaken by the Mara who had Wolfe hot on its heels. On lap 11 the lead changed again, and the TIO once again took a lead, but the Mara held on and fought hard, until on lap 15 it suddenly fell behind the Vizzuri, and found itself battling for third with the Torshalla and Levante. The TIO again managed to pull out a lead on the rest of the field fought their own battles. Eventually on lap 4 a clear separation existed between the Vizzuri, Wolfe, and Martinet trio fighting for second place, and the rest of the pack behind. The Vizzuri fell behind on lap 44, however, leaving the Wolfe and Martinet duking it out. Eventually the Martinet broke free, and even caught the TIO.
On lap 56 and laps 61-63 the Martinet even took the lead, but the TIO managed to take it back. Meanwhile, the Wolfe fought back again, and passed both on lap 68 for the lead. At this point the Martinet started showing some issues and fell well back, and the TIO was also slowing. This gave Mara an opportunity, and it slowly reeled in the Wolfe to pass it on lap 77. The two cars swapped the lead a few times in the next 8 laps or so. Meanwhile the TIO was barely hanging on to third place as it found itself in a battle with Kamaka. But then the Kamaka fell off the pace, and as the TIO also slowed down, it was next caught by the Swanson with which it had a brief battle. In the end, the Mara managed to drop the Wolfe, and the TIO came home in third.
1979
This year started off damp again, but overall the conditions were quite dry. This year the Benetsch team came with a point to prove: they took the lead on lap 1, and never looked back. They build a very sizable lead on the rest of the field by the midpoint of the race. Up till that point several teams were in a fighting position for second and third places: first Levante, then Swanson, Wolfe, then Vizzuri seemed to pull away from the midfield, but then Swanson put it all in high gear, pulled away from the rest and started catching Benetsch. Behind the field stretched out quite a bit. There was a fight for several laps between the Wolfe and Vizzuri for third place, but eventually the Vizzuri managed to pull away. On lap 86 the Swanson looked to be threatening the Benetsch, but the Benetsch seemed to have the race under control, and managed the gap thereafter to take an easy-looking victory. Swanson and Vizzuri rounded out the podium.
This year, with the dominant performance by Benetsch and the field so stretched out, the most exciting battle was perhaps in the midfield in the second half of the race, as the TIO found itself battling with the Mara, Kamaka, and Durendal, resulting in some tight passes and tense moments.
1980
The race in 1980 was the first full wet race with continuous drizzle around the race track. This would put the offroad skills and capabilities of the drivers and cars to a real harsh test for the first time. Despite the weather, the entire field got away well. After some jostling and pushing, the Wolfe took the lead on lap 5, and managed to drop the field behind on lap 8. The Benetsch was embroiled in battles in the midfield with the Mons and Mara, but eventually managed to drop them as it broke free and started to reel in the Wolfe. All the way to lap 36 there was a very tight battle in the midfield between several cars: the Durendal, Saeta, Kamaka, Raceteam Malmo**, Levante Mons, Mara, Vizzuri, and Swanson all in the mix.
On lap 36 the Benetsch briefly overtook the Wolfe, but had to relinquish the lead again on lap 38, after which the Wolfe held on and extended its lead till the finish. The Benetsch fell back a little and had a brief battle with Vizzuri around lap 50, but then the Vizzuri fell behind again and was also overtaken by the Durendal. At this point in the race the midfield slowly started to separate. The Vizzuri-Durendal fight for third place went down to the wire, eventually going to Durendal. Much excitement was had further back in the field, as the Saeta, Mara, and Swanson fought for sixth place for the last thirty or so laps of the race, and the Mons who was in a fight first with Rhania and then the TIO for the same period.
1981
Slightly damp conditions greeted the race teams and spectators in 1981. Many teams bogged down on lap 1, no team more so than Kamaka, and they never recovered. The lead was taken by Benetsch right from the start, first followed by Vizzuri, then Durendal, with Levante in hot pursuit. On lap 19 the Levante managed to overtake the Durendal, and then caught and passed the Benetsch on lap 22. It then quickly build a considerable lead as the Benetsch slowed down and was caught by the Durendal on lap 16. But then the Benetsch quickened its pace and dropped the Durendal, which then got gobbled up by the midfield and had a messy race thereafter. The Levante really started to slow, and was passed by the Benetsch on lap 32, but the Mons was hot on its heels. On fire this year, the Mons took the lead on lap 35, but immediately was overtaken by a charging Vizzuri and Benetsch, who was hungry to take the lead again, which they did on lap 41. The Mons didn’t give up the fight though, and swapped the lead position with the Benetsch several times until on lap 50 it finally managed to solidify its position in the lead, and even pulled a small gap to the chase cars.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the chaos up front, the Torshalla slowly snuck up on the leaders and even briefly fought for the lead on lap 49, but then started falling back into the midfield again. In the early part of the second half the Benetsch struggled, as the Vizzuri took up the chase position behind the leading Mons, followed by Swanson. It was hard to determine what was going on in this chase pack, as the Durendal, TIO, and Torshalla were also briefly involved in fights, but overall had quite erratic pace. Further back the Mara and Wolfe teams fought a cat-and-mouse battle, giving spectators some excitement too.
On lap 73 the Vizzuri finally caught the Mons and overtook it for a few laps, before falling off the pace again only to be overtaken by the Benetsch and Swanson, who in turn started to turn up the pace and catch the Mons up front. First the Benetsch caught the Mons on lap 89, but then a three-way battle ensued, which the Benetsch won on lap 93. After a brief battle with the Swanson, the Mons finally had to give up the fight, and on the last lap limped home in fourth place as the Vizzuri recovered and passed it on the last lap for the last podium spot.
1982
This year there were once again no clouds in the sky and the race was ran on a completely dry circuit. The early lead was taken by Vizzuri and Benetsch, closely followed by Swanson. Lap four some saw some drama, as the Benetsch fell well back into the main midfield pack, and Wolfe and TIO both very quickly fell well behind the main pack, and was left to fight the entire race. On lap 7 the Swanson fought its way to the front to take the lead, closely chased by the Vizzuri, but the Benetsch very quickly fought its way out of the midfield, and by lap 10 overtook the Vizzuri to give chase to the Swanson. On lap 14 the Benetsch managed to cathc and pass for first place, and at the same time the Vizzuri suddenly fell back and was passed briefly by the Van Zandt who was doing well leading the main pack.
From here out the Benetsch started to pull away slowly and the Swanson started to fall behind, and even got passed by the Mons and Mara cars on lap 20, who had just cleared the Vizzuri that seemed to have another issue. As the Benetsch extended its lead, second position was swapped several times: Mons, Mara, Vizzuri, Swanson, and Levante each taking a turn, until on lap 36 the Vizzuri finally made a statement and pulled away from the chase pack. Right behind the Levante and Swanson kept fighting for several laps, while the Mara and Mons fought amongst themselves in the midfield. Both battles were resolved around lap 45, with Swanson letting the Levante go, and the Mara falling behind as well. On lap 53 the Mons overtook the Levante too, as the latter slowly faded backward in the race. Meanwhile, the Wolfe has made a tremendous comeback through the field.
Between laps 52 and 67 there was a calm period in the race, with Benetsch managing the gap to behind, the Vizzuri, Mons, and Wolfe pacing at a distance. Benetsch does have a moment around lap 68, which allows the Vizzuri to close up a little, and at the same time the Mons slows too, allowing the Wolfe to go through, but their fight resumes on lap 73. It is short-lived though, as the Mons drops significant pace, and falls into the clutches of first the Swanson, then the following pack of Durendal and Mara. At the front the Benetsch managed its pace and took home another relatively easy-looking victory, followed by the Vizzuri in second. Third place was fought over for the last 10 laps by the Swanson and Wolfe, but in the end the Wolfe managed a pass and hold on till the end for third.
1983
Some mild moisture was on patches of the track in 1983, but nothing too serious that would seriously bother cars or drivers. The pack was off well, with the Wolfe taking an early lead that was then quickly snatched away by the Swanson, although the Mons was also right there nibbling at Swanson’s heels. After a small wobble and fight with the TIO, the Mons manages to jump ahead on lap 12 and take the lead from Swanson, but it is a close battle for a few laps, with Swanson re-taking the lead for a few laps before falling off the pace on lap 21. Mons managed to hold on to the lead until lap 27, but then the Saeta overtook it, and the Vizzuri engaged the Mons for a fight for third. Eventually the Vizzuri won that fight, and after dropping the Mons it went after and overtook the Saeta for the lead. On lap 37 the Saeta found itself in a fight with the Benetsch, who fought their way back from second-to-last place on lap 10, and the Mons was still in the picture too. The Benetsch encountered another problem on lap 42 and fell back in to the midfield again, releasing the Mons again into second place. There was a brief fight between several cars around lap 47: Saeta, Benetsch, TIO, Swanson, Raceteam Malmo**, and Wolfe all in the mix. The Saeta managed to break free and overtake the Mons on lap 52, and the ate into the lead of the Vizzuri. After a few laps of battling, it managed to overtake on lap 60. Now the group behind started to get stretched a little, with Swanson and Benetsch bringing the fight to the Mons, while the TIO, Wolfe, and Raceteam Malmo fell behind.
At lap 66 the Benetsch made a bold move, caught the Saeta within two laps, and then passed on lap 69 for the lead. The Swanson also started pushing at this time, overtaking the Vizzuri for third; the Mons had a few abysmal laps, and fell behind both the TIO and Wolfe, almost to be caught by the Raceteam Malmo car. But in the end, the Mons manages to hold pace, and no further battes were had.
Around lap 77 interesting events occurred both at the front and in the midfield. At the front, the Saeta regained its lead for five laps, displacing the Benetsch, but the charging Swanson took it away on lap 83, not to give it up again. The Saeta lost pace at this point, and allowed the Benetsch to go through on lap 86. After a hard-fought battle with the Vizzuri, it barely managed to hold onto third place. Near the end the TIO and Wolfe also put on a show in the battle for fifth. But back to lap 77 or so - there was an intense battle between the slowing Torshalla as the Mara and Kamaka fought their way through the Levante, Martinet, and Durendal group; this 6-7 long battle certainly kept the spectators entertained too.
1984
The race in 1984 was a quite damp affair, suiting the cars on more treaded tires. At the start the Minerva bogged down quite significantly; the rest were away OK. Swanson and Levante took an early lead, with not much separating the following pack. On lap 6 the Swanson all of a sudden slowed significantly, and fell to the back of the pack. Behind the Levante, then, were the Mons and Primus cars, closely followed by TIO and Benetsch who fell behind earlier in the race. The Wolfe also seemed quite out of place near the back of the main pack. Up front the Primus made quick work of the Mons, and also passed the Levante for the lead on lap 10. Glory was short-lived though, as on the following lap the TIO swooped by, but on lap 12 the Levante took the lead back, only to be re-passed by TIO on lap 14. The next 15 laps or so were pretty exciting (or messy, depending on your view point) up and down the field. From lap 17 the lead changed hands no less than nine times before Vizzuri finally managed to pull away, but before that the lead was in the hands of TIO, Levante, Durendal, and Benetsch at least once. In the chase pack, too, positions were swapped lab by lap, too many changes to keep track of.
So from lap 31 things settled down, at least at the very front where Vizzuri pulled out a considerable lead over the next 20 laps. Second place swapped hands a few times between first the Torshalla after it emerged from the chase pack on lap 31, then on lap 37 the Benetsch took over, only to fall behind again and let the Wolfe take it for a few laps. It was not a done deal though, as Wolfe couldn’t pull a large gap, and was briefly overtaken by the Mons on lap 51, but then finally managed to gap the midfield and reel in the leading Vizzuri. The positions behind were just as messy as before, with cars sliding and giving up positions, or nailing a few laps in a row and gaining on others. Only the Swanson managed to put in more-or-less consistent laps, and gained on the leader in tandem with the Wolfe.
Finally, on lap 77 the Wolfe caught the Vizzuri, and after a brief battle managed to confidently overtake on lap 80. But the Swanson was also in hot pursuit; after passing the Vizzuri on lap 81, it set its sights on the leader. Five laps later it managed to overtake and gap the Wolfe, and then the Swanson cruised to victory. Meanwhile behind the midfield battles resulted in the Durendal and Mara escaping the Mons, while the Vizzuri didn’t manage to put in consistent laps, and the Benetsch also suffering near the end. It looked like the Durendal would coast to a third place, but on the last two laps it was forced to slow down, and the Vizzuri managed to redeem a third place.
Letarans were once again treated to an exhilarating racing series. Tight battles were had up and down the field, results proved to be unpredictable, especially when the weather hit. Speaking of hit, the new track layout turned out to be one with the drivers, teams, and spectators alike. The dirt (and occasional) mud made for a great spectacle, so nobody minded some rain - it was quite warm anyway, and it kept the dust down!
New for this series was a cumulative “championship score” with points awarded for the top 10 finishers of each race. It is an experimental system put in place by the organizers to gauge if this would garner more interest from fans. Of course, this just gave everyone another reason and item to gamble on, and now some started to talk about building a casino on site! Well… that is all in the future. First it still remains to be seen what format racing will take in the next decade!
For now, contratulations to all racing teams, you all provided a great spectacle. Well done to all winners and point scorers too; your engineering efforts will surely move automotive technology forward in the future.
Cumulative championship results
@AMuteCrypt @AndiD @Aruna @Ch_Flash @DrDoomD1scord @GassTiresandOil @happyfireballman @Happyhungryhippo @karhgath @LS_Swapped_Rx-7 @Ludvig @Madrias @mart1n2005 @Maverick74 @Petakabras @TanksAreTryhards @Texaslav @VanZandt_Breda
…to be continued…