"Nail That Track" Training Race Series moves to Monaco

The weekly "Nail That Track" Training Race Series moves to Monaco beginning today. Saturday Race and Sunday Race: Practice: 4:00pm EST (2100 GMT) Race: 5:00pm EST (2200 GMT) Event: Int Long Field Limit: 15 Monday - Friday Races: Practice: 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) Race: 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT) Event: Int Long Field Limit: 15 URL: http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc/room1.htm Turnouts have been outstanding, with quite a few really talented drivers participating. For example, amazing Pat Dotson took the pole and won the Zandy series race Thursday night with qualifying and fast lap times of 1:24.88 and 1:24.94, respectively. Hot! Race reports and results are posted to RAS daily, so come join the fun. Perfect your GPL skills a track at a time with the "Nail That Track" Training Race Series. Hope to see all of you there!

I'd like to know a little bit about this series. The Subject line suggests that this is some kind of a drivers school(?) is that what this is? If so then I'd like to learn more about what you do. Is there a web page available? It sure would be a great big help to allot of us if there was some kind of an Online drivers school available.

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> The weekly "Nail That Track" Training Race Series moves to Monaco beginning > today. > Saturday Race and Sunday Race: > Practice: 4:00pm EST (2100 GMT) > Race: 5:00pm EST (2200 GMT) > Event: Int Long > Field Limit: 15 > Monday - Friday Races: > Practice: 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) > Race: 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT) > Event: Int Long > Field Limit: 15 > URL: http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc/room1.htm > Turnouts have been outstanding, with quite a few really talented drivers > participating. For example, amazing Pat Dotson took the pole and won the > Zandy series race Thursday night with qualifying and fast lap times of > 1:24.88 and 1:24.94, respectively. Hot! > Race reports and results are posted to RAS daily, so come join the fun. > Perfect your GPL skills a track at a time with the "Nail That Track" > Training Race Series. > Hope to see all of you there!

-- ========================================= Mike Barlow of Barlow Racing? MikeBa on the TEN network. Member of R.O.R. 1999 http://w3.ime.net/~marknjess/noflame.html ========================================= Racing online with the help of...... Race Communications Association http://members.xoom.com/RCA/toc.html Holodyne Engineering Mystic Music

> I'd like to know a little bit about this series. The Subject line suggests > that this is some kind of a drivers school(?) is that what this is? If so > then I'd like to learn more about what you do. Is there a web page available? It's not a school of any sort, just a long practice and long race session. What kind of program would you like to see? -- ------------------------------------------------------ IMPACT Motorsports http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html ------------------------------------------------------

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Circuit de Monaco 02/27/99 Race Report Ferrari driver Christer Andersson threw down the gauntlet in qualifying with a time of 1:29.26. Yet no drivers were able to come within a half second of Andersson's time. The two front rows were rounded out by Coventry driver Rene Beitz (1:29.80), Lotus driver Stephan Beck (1:29.99), and Andersson's Ferrari teammate Pierre Robitaille (1:31.24) in spots two through four. The race saw the streets of the tiny principality take its normal toll on man and machine. After the normal attrition, the race settled into an exciting battle for the top spot between Ferrari drivers Jonathan Blake, Brett Reschke, and Andersson. Blake and Reschke had skillfully picked their way through the carnage after starting from the ninth and eleventh spots on the grid, respectively. Blake escaped with the hard-fought victory, edging Andersson by a narrow 0.92 secs. at the line, with Reschke only 13.27 secs. back. Official Standings 1 3 J. Blake FER 73.1 mph 2 14 C. Andersson FER 0.92 3 12 B. Reschke FER 13.27 4 4 J. Rambo FER -3L 5 19 A. Kroeger LOT -17L 6 8 B. Webb LOT -17L 7 0 D. Karr FER -22L 8 5 P. Tysowski MUR -25L 9 6 S. Beck LOT -26L 10 16 P. Robitaille FER -27L 11 0 R. Beitz COV -27L 12 7 P. Eklund COV -27L 13 9 S. ax LOT -30L Practice 1 14 C. Andersson FER 1:29.26 2 0 R. Beitz COV 1:29.80 3 6 S. Beck LOT 1:29.99 4 16 P. Robitaille FER 1:31.24 5 19 A. Kroeger LOT 1:31.33 6 18 J. Celer COV 1:32.05 7 9 S. ax LOT 1:32.17 8 8 B. Webb LOT 1:32.76 9 3 J. Blake FER 1:33.38 10 15 J. Plourde FER 1:33.75 11 12 B. Reschke FER 1:33.80 12 17 Z. Busch COV 1:35.12 13 4 J. Rambo FER 1:36.83 14 0 D. Karr FER 1:45.00 15 5 P. Tysowski MUR 1:50.41 Shouldn't you come join the e***ment today at 4:00pm EST (2100 GMT) on VROC?

Jack, this stuff IS serious fun! I really like the informal way of setting it up and such. And it's a blast. I am TERRIBLE at Monaco, but, in the "Nail that Track" tradition, I will turn out many times in effort to "Nail" it! -_Dave

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> The weekly "Nail That Track" Training Race Series moves to Monaco beginning > today. > Saturday Race and Sunday Race: > Practice: 4:00pm EST (2100 GMT) > Race: 5:00pm EST (2200 GMT) > Event: Int Long > Field Limit: 15 > Monday - Friday Races: > Practice: 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) > Race: 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT) > Event: Int Long > Field Limit: 15 > URL: http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc/room1.htm > Turnouts have been outstanding, with quite a few really talented drivers > participating. For example, amazing Pat Dotson took the pole and won the > Zandy series race Thursday night with qualifying and fast lap times of > 1:24.88 and 1:24.94, respectively. Hot! > Race reports and results are posted to RAS daily, so come join the fun. > Perfect your GPL skills a track at a time with the "Nail That Track" > Training Race Series. > Hope to see all of you there!

-- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

Dave... That's awfully nice! It's positive feedback like yours that let's me know that people are enjoying the series and keeps me motivated while I pound out race reports and labor at the back of the field! I'm anxious to get more feedback (both good and bad) and suggestions from others so that I can make this series, and other series to follow, as enjoyable as possible. "Nail That Track" practice starts tonight at 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) with the Monaco race at 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT). Hope to see the Toad there! Thanks to you too, Dave, for all the nice contributions you make to this newsgroup and for your excellent site! ( http://users.wi.net/~schwabe ) Jack

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>Jack, this stuff IS serious fun! I really like the informal way of >setting it up and such. And it's a blast. I am TERRIBLE at Monaco, but, >in the "Nail that Track" tradition, I will turn out many times in effort >to "Nail" it! >Dave Schwabe >The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site >http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

Thanks Jack... I've got to spend a bit more time my site soon. Probably this week to add some things to it. What I do REALLY like about your informal series is that I can pretty much always know where I can find a good race... having the set time and track makes things really consistent. Which is nice, considering that you never know what you'll usually find in the open room at a given time. --Dave

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> Dave... > That's awfully nice! It's positive feedback like yours that let's me know > that people are enjoying the series and keeps me motivated while I pound out > race reports and labor at the back of the field! I'm anxious to get more > feedback (both good and bad) and suggestions from others so that I can make > this series, and other series to follow, as enjoyable as possible. > "Nail That Track" practice starts tonight at 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) with the > Monaco race at 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT). Hope to see the Toad there! > Thanks to you too, Dave, for all the nice contributions you make to this > newsgroup and for your excellent site! ( http://users.wi.net/~schwabe ) > Jack > >Jack, this stuff IS serious fun! I really like the informal way of > >setting it up and such. And it's a blast. I am TERRIBLE at Monaco, but, > >in the "Nail that Track" tradition, I will turn out many times in effort > >to "Nail" it! > >Dave Schwabe > >The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site > >http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

-- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

others so that I can make this series, and other series to follow, as enjoyable as possible.<< A second to D.S.'s comments, Jack. Your races are BIG fun; the long distance is great for chasing back after the inevitable indiscretion(s). :-) I hadn't turned a LAP in anger at Monaco before, but I've been trying to get it figured so I can join this week's races. So far I've managed to jump nearly halfway down the hill to the chicane, and even made it through once or twice without lifting. The other times, though......... You think a ten-inch ride height's off-base? Keep it up! Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

Steve is sandbagging here folks. If you don't believe me, check out his results in the Zandvoort "Nail That Track" series posted here under the thread "GPL Zandy Race Tonight on VROC." indiscretion(s). Right! As the name of the series indicates, the distance and the concentration of races really give drivers an opportunity to polish their skills. Well that's one approach, but I've chosen to *lower* my center of gravity by attaching a 300 lb. skid plate to the bottom of my Ferrari. In addition to the handling benefits of the lower CG, it really enhances the durability of the machine in the face of all the curb straddling I do at Monaco. But, I wonder, do you think it might have anything to do with my lousy times? Thanks for your nice comments, Steve. Hope to see you tonight!

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>Dave... >That's awfully nice! It's positive feedback like yours that let's me know >that people are enjoying the series and keeps me motivated while I pound out >race reports and labor at the back of the field! I'm anxious to get more >feedback (both good and bad) and suggestions from others so that I can make >this series, and other series to follow, as enjoyable as possible.

Jack I haven't raced in your series - combination of not being quick enough and poor ping times (due to my ISP I think) and bad timing (for me; -8 hours GMT) - but nevertheless I am really enjoying your race descriptions. Any chance of downloadable replays? Keep up the good work. Alan.

Moi? Just wait and you'll see. Just can't figure how to get 'round the darned place or find a setup that doesn't stink. Heaven help Shumacher, et al in the modern cars. It's like trying to drive an F50 on a kart track. Speaking of karts, maybe I'll try the Brabham. Sorry D.S. :-) I'll bring my airbag, Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Circuit de Monaco 02/28/99 Race Report Ferrari driver Mark Seery held the early pole with a time of 1:32.81. Delight turned to dismay, however, when Greger Huttu displaced Seery on the pole with an amazing *first* lap time of 1:31.78 in his nimble Coventry. With still nearly 39 minutes remaining in practice, Huttu continued to amaze the crowd as he thrashed the Coventry about the streets of the principality. His second practice lap saw his time drop to 1:29.01, which alone would have been sufficient to keep him on the pole. Unsatisfied, Huttu continued to whittle away at his pole time until it dropped to 1:27.36 on lap 13. Lotus driver Ken Eisler settled for second on the grid (1:29.77) with a comfortable 1.27 sec. cushion separating him from Alan Coates, who sat third in his Ferrari with a time of 1:31.04. Qualifying times aside, when the green flag dropped, Eisler edged out Huttu at the first turn at St. Dvote. As the field screamed up the narrow city street to ***, the order was Eisler, Huttu, Coates, Lotus driver Viman Eiland, and Seery. With Eisler at the front, Huttu harassed the Lotus driver relentlessly, unable to find an opportunity to pass on the narrow, twisting street circuit. Finally on the third lap, Huttu got his chance when, under heaving braking and with his mirrors filled, Eisler got a little sideways, smacked the Armco leading into the Gasworks Hairpin, and ricocheted into the hay bales on the outside of the turn. Huttu and then Coates slipped by on the inside, while Eisler recovered. It became clear that Huttu had been held up when he lowered the race's fast lap time from 1:31.40 to 1:28.53 in his first lap in the lead. Positions 1-3 remained Huttu, Coates, and Eisler until lap 7 when Eisler overcooked it, slid sideways into the barrier outside of Mirabeau, and elected to retire. BRM-driver Karppa inherited the third spot, and the three drivers at the front cruised to the podium in that order: Huttu, Coates, Karppa. In capturing the win, Huttu set a fast lap of 1:27.24, and lapped the entire field. In the pits following the event, some discussion was overheard about compensating Huttu for *not* appearing at the next race in the series. Official Standings 1 13 G. Huttu COV 78.6 mph 2 19 A. Coates FER -1L 3 6 Karppa BRM -1L 4 10 Z. Busch COV -2L 5 18 B. Bruce FER -3L 6 4 J. Rambo FER Retired 7 17 K. Eisler LOT -24L 8 8 M. Seery FER -26L 9 2 V. Eiland LOT -27L 10 1 I. Parker EAG -29L Fastest Lap 13 G. Huttu COV 1:27.24 Practice 1 13 G. Huttu COV 1:27.36 2 17 K. Eisler LOT 1:29.77 3 19 A. Coates FER 1:31.04 4 8 M. Seery FER 1:31.24 5 2 V. Eiland LOT 1:32.32 6 10 Z. Busch COV 1:33.58 7 6 Karppa BRM 1:35.00 8 4 J. Rambo FER 1:36.16 9 15 B. Reschke FER 1:36.44 10 9 J. Bierman COV 1:39.62 11 11 B. Simpson COV 1:52.32 12 12 T. Wheeler EAG 2:00.72

Heehe. I wish I had a smart ass reply to that one Steve :-) But if beating the "real" F1 cars in a kart is what it takes, then I'll keep trying! ;-) --Dave

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> >>Steve is sandbagging here folks.<< > Moi? Just wait and you'll see. Just can't figure how to get 'round the darned > place or find a setup that doesn't stink. Heaven help Shumacher, et al in the > modern cars. It's like trying to drive an F50 on a kart track. Speaking of > karts, maybe I'll try the Brabham. Sorry D.S. :-) > I'll bring my airbag, > Steve B. > remove "edy" from address for email

-- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

>In capturing the win, Huttu set a fast lap of 1:27.24, and lapped the >entire field. In the pits following the event, some discussion was >overheard >about compensating Huttu for *not* appearing at the next race in >the >series. (snip) Really nice race report again. I would join the other races during the week but unfortunately they're ran too late (early?) for me (GMT +2). Anyway, I can join during the weekends. It's really nice that you run 1h practise session + a long race. I prefer these over the sprint races. Keep it up! :) -- Greger Huttu

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Circuit de Monaco Monday, March 1, 1999 Race Report The drivers' respect for the streets of Monte Carlo was summed up in the pits before the race when Lotus driver Steve Blankenship joked, "Good thing I can swim...This place hates me." But, nonetheless, the action got off to a furious start with Steve Eymann laying down a 1:28.25 in his Lotus on his second lap, with still over 50 minutes remaining in practice. With that time, Eymann grabbed the pole and never let go as he continued to slice away at his time until, on his 21st lap, he recorded the time that put him in front of the entire field by no less than 1.57 seconds. Eyman's Lotus teammates, Steve Ryan (1:28.04) and Viman Eiland (1:28.18) battled for the second spot on the grid, with Ryan edging Eiland by a scant 0.14 seconds. At the green flag, Eymann bolted to the front and was chased through Sainte Dvote by Eiland, Ferrari driver Jake Myers, Lotus driver Tom Greig, Blankenship, and the balance of a surprisingly quick but orderly field. While Eymann summoned up his street circuit talents to begin to pull away, Eiland and Myers diced for the second spot. Coming off of Portier in the second position, Eiland lost traction, allowing Myers to slip his Ferrari past. But Eiland would have none of it. He recovered quickly and by the Gasworks Hairpin at the end of the first lap, he was once again in contact with Myers. And *contact* it was! The two came together briefly as Eiland managed to snake through on the inside as they rounded the hairpin side by side. But his advantage over Myers was for but moments as the two came together a second time coming off the turn and Myers regained the advantage again by the start/finish line. Myers and Eiland would continue to battle savagely nose-to-tail for seven laps, until the unlucky Eiland tangled with an ill-advised backmarker who was struggling to find a gear while perpendicular to the line on the blind side of Gasworks. The delay allowed Myers, who had just managed to squeeze past the obstacle split seconds before, to pull away and Eiland was never again able to make contact. Meanwhile pole-sitter Eymann cruised home to a 19.45 second margin of victory without incident, except for a tenth-lap breathtaking spin coming off the chicane headed toward Tabac. In the pits after the race, an exhausted Eymann graciously returned the many compliments of his fellow drivers by commenting, "One of the most polite group of drivers I have ever seen." In his spectacular effort, Eymann set the fastest lap of the day (1:27.82) and set the fastest qualifying time of the Monaco series with his 1:26.47. Official Standings 1 16 S. Eymann LOT 77.4 mph 2 7 J. Myers FER 19.45 3 12 V. Eiland LOT -1L 4 11 S. Blankenship LOT -1L 5 2 T. Greig LOT -2L 6 4 J. Rambo FER -3L 7 8 B. Reschke REP -19L 8 9 V. Sorry LOT -27L Fastest Lap 16 S. Eymann LOT 1:27.82 Practice 1 16 S. Eymann LOT 1:26.47 2 19 S. Ryan LOT 1:28.04 3 12 V. Eiland LOT 1:28.18 4 7 J. Myers FER 1:29.00 5 20 C. Bouchard LOT 1:29.76 6 11 S. Blankenship LOT 1:30.01 7 2 T. Greig LOT 1:31.00 8 8 B. Reschke REP 1:33.31 9 13 Z. Busch COV 1:34.09 10 4 J. Rambo FER 1:36.01 11 15 C. Brinson REP 1:42.06 12 9 V. Sorry LOT 1:44.96 13 17 O. Jacquet LOT 2:15.83

Thanks for your compliments, Greger! But, come on, level with us...How much did it cost the other drivers to get you to agree to sleep through the night? <G> We'll see you this weekend! Incidentally, watch RAS, The APEX ( [link lost in import] , and our soon to be announced series-supporting web site for an expanding series schedule that will keep you from being tempted to wake up and race in the wee hours of the night! Regards, Jack

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>>In capturing the win, Huttu set a fast lap of 1:27.24, and lapped the >>entire field. In the pits following the event, some discussion was >>overheard >>about compensating Huttu for *not* appearing at the next race in >the >>series. >(snip) >Really nice race report again. I would join the other races during the >week but unfortunately they're ran too late (early?) for me (GMT +2). >Anyway, I can join during the weekends. It's really nice that you run >1h practise session + a long race. I prefer these over the sprint >races. >Keep it up! :) >-- >Greger Huttu

Interested in participating in the "Nail That Track" series? Responsible, "in-control" drivers of varying skill levels are encouraged to participate. A precautionary note for mid-fielders and backmarkers: Don't try to race with the big boys!...I can't and none of the rest of us that fill out the field can. They're at the front for a reason! So when you're blue flagged, think ahead for the next spot where you can yield a little track and let the bullet fly! You'll have a much better race and so will the leaders! "Nail That Track" Training Race Series Schedule Monaco Series: Mon-Thu (March 1 - March 4) Course: Monaco Race: Int Long Practice: 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) Race: 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT) Fri (March 5) Course: Monaco Race: Int Long Practice: 10:30pm EST (0330 GMT) Race: 11:30pm EST (0430 GMT) Rouen Series: Sat-Sun (March 6 - March 7) Course: Rouen Race: Int Long Practice: 4:00pm EST (2100 GMT) Race: 5:00pm EST (2200 GMT) Mon-Thu (March 8 - March 11) Course: Rouen Race: Int Long Practice: 10:00pm EST (0300 GMT) Race: 11:00pm EST (0400 GMT) Fri (March 12) Course: Rouen Race: Int Long Practice: 10:30pm EST (0330 GMT) Race: 11:30pm EST (0430 GMT)

I as well Jack. Living near London precludes me from any racing with you guys during the week at 0330 local time. Monaco was fun till I got booted by an incoming phone call :-( See ya guys friday night....Looking forward to it :-) Mark

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>>In capturing the win, Huttu set a fast lap of 1:27.24, and lapped the >>entire field. In the pits following the event, some discussion was >>overheard >>about compensating Huttu for *not* appearing at the next race in >the >>series. >(snip) >Really nice race report again. I would join the other races during the >week but unfortunately they're ran too late (early?) for me (GMT +2). >Anyway, I can join during the weekends. It's really nice that you run >1h practise session + a long race. I prefer these over the sprint >races. >Keep it up! :) >-- >Greger Huttu

>Thanks for your compliments, Greger! But, come on, level with >us...How much >did it cost the other drivers to get you to agree to sleep through the >night? <G> No comments. <G> For sure. The race will be at Rouen then, right? I might even try the BRM aka The Cow. :) Sounds really great. -- Greger Huttu

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Circuit de Monaco Monaco Series Race No. 4 Tuesday, March 2, 1999 Race Report With still better than 36 minutes remaining in practice Lotus driver Steve Blankenship sat comfortably in the pits satisfied with his personal series best Monaco qualifying time of 1:28.65, a time which, for the moment had him atop the leader board. Blankenship had shaved a healthy 1.36 secs. off of his previous fast time. But when his always threatening teammate Viman Eiland took to the track, Blankenship could relax no longer and slipped back into the***pit to protect his pole position. Lap after lap both drivers labored to find the perfect combination of the rhythm and clear track. When the track closed for practice, Blankenship had been unable to improve upon his earlier time, but had succeeded in holding Eiland (1:29.92) at bay. Dave Schwabe (1:32.08) snared the third spot on the grid with his beloved Brabham. The green flag saw the three leaders escape cleanly, while mayhem unfolded in the field just behind. Two drivers in different rows and on opposite sides of the grid experienced temporary clutch failures, creating an instant start line chicane, of sorts, for the balance of the anxious field. As expected, with the field sprinting through eager to gain that critical Monaco first lap advantage, contact ensued and the grid erupted. When things settled down, the order up the hill to *** was as follows: Blankenship, Eiland, and Schwabe followed, after a sizable gap, by Lotus drivers Rick Vanamelsfort and Bill Witunsky, and Ferrari's Jack Rambo. But cold tires played havoc with polesitter Blankenship at top of the hill at Massenet as he drifted wide in the turn, placing two wheels on the sidewalk, allowing Eiland to slip by on the inside for the lead with Schwabe in hot pursuit. Blankenship then slipped back in, falling to third. But the first lap drama was not complete. Rounding the Gasworks hairpin, Schwabe found himself staring at the nose of race leader Eiland's Lotus. Eiland too had now fallen victim to tires that were not quite up to temperature, having applied too much throttle coming off the hairpin and suddenly finding himself up against the barrier pointing at the competition! In his rush to recover, Eiland again slapped on the throttle, only to stuff his Lotus' nose into the barrier on the opposite side of the track. After Blankenship, Vanamelsfort, and Rambo s*** past in pursuit of Schwabe, the frustrated Eiland retired. On the second run through Massenet, new leader Schwabe returned Blankenship's favor of the previous lap, by inducing a spin by making contact with the curbing on the right hand edge of the narrow city street. Blankenship blew by the hapless Schwabe and into the lead. With Blankenship in the lead and the recovered Schwabe chasing, finally the race settled in. But on lap 4, the mix was stirred once again as third place Vanamelsfort spun coming off of Tabac, gathering up the pursuing Rambo. Hard charging Honda driver Remco Moedt capitalized on the opportunity to jump past the pair and leap from fifth to third. Moedt's relentless pursuit had paid off. Undaunted by the start line debacle, Moedt had charged back from the eighth position he held going into the race's first turn. While Blankenship continued his run for the chequer, Moedt's determination once again paid off when he slipped past the spinning Schwabe, who had clipped the always ominous hay bales on the right side of the chicane. But Moedt's fabulous chase would end shortly with a tenth lap shunt with his careening Honda teammate Piotr Tysowski just past the chicane. Following the race there was some amazement expressed by drivers who couldn't make sense of the Honda team manager's failure to instruct the rookie Tysowski, who was in 8th place and a lap down, to give way to the hard charging veteran Moedt. Three times on the lap of the shunt, the noticeably slower Tysowski had slammed the door on his teammate in sections where he could clearly have yielded. With the shunt, an understandably irritated Moedt had had enough. But the drama of this race was far from over. On lap 26 of the 30 lap event, race leader Blankenship suddenly pulled to the trackside! There he sat for a full 12 seconds, as he cleared a solid black coat of oil from his goggles. The oil was compliments of a backmarker whose engine expired just as Blankenship was beginning to pass. [Editor's note: Well not exactly...Steve's monitor cable was loosening!] But the delay was too costly and Schwabe flew by for the lead. But Schwabe's lead was short lived as Blankenship retook the lead after Schwabe again failed to cleanly negotiate the chicane. But dramatically, as the luckless Blankenship rounded Gasworks for the penultimate time, he again pulled trackside, victim of a total ignition failure [Editor's note: the cable now fell out!]. Schwabe cruised home for the dramatic victory followed by Rambo, and Vanamelsfort. In the pits following the race, a delighted Schwabe kissed his Brabham, nicknamed "The Toad", and graciously accepted the accolades of his competitors. Always jovial Blankenship laughed, "Never pay your mechanic minimum wage." Official Standings 1 13 D. Schwabe REP 71.3 mph 2 4 J. Rambo FER 45.26 3 10 R. Vanamelsfort LOT -1L 4 17 V. Wood FER -1L 5 3 D. Swoboda FER -1L 6 16 S. Blankenship LOT -2L 7 2 P. Tysowski MUR -14L 8 19 R. Moedt MUR -21L 9 12 B. Witunsky LOT -27L 10 11 V. Eiland LOT -30L Fastest Lap 16 S. Blankenship LOT 1:29.84 Practice 1 16 S. Blankenship LOT 1:28.65 2 11 V. Eiland LOT 1:29.34 3 13 D. Schwabe REP 1:32.08 4 14 M. Alatorre LOT 1:34.95 5 17 V. Wood FER 1:35.51 6 19 R. Moedt MUR 1:36.08 7 4 J. Rambo FER 1:36.27 8 18 B. Tillman BRM 1:36.85 9 10 R. Vanamelsfort LOT 1:37.22 10 20 B. Tillman REP 1:38.04 11 3 D. Swoboda FER 1:39.68 12 2 P. Tysowski MUR 1:45.28 13 7 C. Von Hausen FER 1:46.00 14 12 B. Witunsky LOT 1:47.36

Thanks for a great read Jack! G. Patricks

Luck had nothing to do with it! I was sabotaged by some fanatical Aussie Toad-lovers!(toadfosi?) I'm posting a pit guard from here out. Ask for Guido. Actually, it's just that I've learned to be comfortably jovial about my lucklessness........ Another Beaut, Jack! Really looking forward to packing for Rouen. :-) Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

Hehe! Well said Steve... I guess next time you'll do a "post practice" maintenence check huh? Get out the torque wrench and***those cables in!! :-) As for "Toadies," we try... ;-) See you at Rouen!! :-) -_Dave

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> >>Lotus driver Steve Blankenship sat comfortably in the pits<< > >>the luckless Blankenship<< > Luck had nothing to do with it! I was sabotaged by some fanatical Aussie > Toad-lovers!(toadfosi?) I'm posting a pit guard from here out. Ask for Guido. > >Always jovial Blankenship laughed, "Never pay your mechanic > >minimum wage." > Actually, it's just that I've learned to be comfortably jovial about my > lucklessness........ > Another Beaut, Jack! Really looking forward to packing for Rouen. :-) > Steve B. > remove "edy" from address for email

-- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

Thanks! I hope it induced you (and maybe a few others) to come join the fun! :-) Jack

Oh, good! The desired effect! A little entertainment and a desire to strap on the helmet! *Tonight* would be good, Kurt! Not good for you? Well, that leaves tomorrow as your last shot at Monaco for a bit. Come join us! And thanks for the nice compliments, but it's really nothing...the guys we race with provide such great material!

>"Nail That Track" Training Race Series >Circuit de Monaco >But the drama of this race was far from over. On lap 26 of the 30 lap event, >race leader Blankenship suddenly pulled to the trackside! There he sat for a >full 12 seconds, as he cleared a solid black coat of oil from his goggles. >The oil was compliments of a backmarker whose engine expired just as >Blankenship was beginning to pass. [Editor's note: Well not >exactly...Steve's monitor cable was loosening!] But the delay was too costly >and Schwabe flew by for the lead. Jack, Your race reports are priceless! All the more so since many of the driver's names are familiar. Great stuff! Hope to join y'all some night. Thanks! Kurt Steinbock

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Circuit de Monaco Monaco Series Race No. 5 Wednesday, March 3, 1999 Race Report Three laps into his qualifying effort, Lotus driver James Feinberg recorded a time of 1:30.20 to temporarily take the pole with more than fifty minutes remaining in qualifying. But the time stood for a scant ten minutes until Feinberg's teammate Steve Blankenship recorded a 1:29.56 on his sixth timed sprint around the tiny principality. Yet Feinberg was far from conceding and continued to hammer away at the streets in hopes of putting *his* Lotus into the number one spot. Thir*** laps into his qualifying effort, Feinberg caught sight of his teammate Blankenship just seconds up the road. Driven by the opportunity to catch the other Lotus, Feinberg laid down his fastest lap and was convinced that his 1:29.16 would grab the pole. What he had not counted on was Blankenship's corresponding motivation to escape from the fast approaching Lotus. In his haste to escape, Blankenship recorded a much improved 1:28.45, surging across the start/finish line just three seconds ahead of Feinberg. With a new pole time in hand, Blankenship kept the throttle down and improved his time to 1:28.44 on the next lap, recording what would stand as the fastest lap of the hour-long qualifying session. But while the two Lotus drivers waged their own war for the pole, Ferrari driver Todd Galvin neatly and cleanly slipped in and reeled off a time of 1:29.01 to steal the second spot on the grid away from Feinberg. Galvin's surgical effort would go for naught however, as electrical problems would prevent him from making it to the starting grid. At the green flag, the entire field got away without incident with the order up the hill to Massenet being: Blankenship, Feinberg, Lotus drivers Viman Eiland and Brian Bowles, and Ferrari's Jack Rambo. But the late-braking Rambo blemished an otherwise flawless first lap by the entire field when he made contact with Bowles' gearbox in the Station hairpin, sending both cars sliding. And to the surprise of horrified onlookers, both cars suddenly burst into flames. Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief when the corner workers were able to quickly extinguish the flames and, miraculously, both cars were able to continue. Unfortunately, the unlucky Bowles was forced to retire before the completion of his first lap, suffering from a minor head injury that impaired his vision [Editor's note: meaning,...I think he was ready to kill me and was so angry that he couldn't see straight. Sorry, Brian!]. The confusion at the hairpin allowed Lotus driver Paul Alesi to slither through and move from sixth to fourth and Ferrari driver Francois Dubuc followed, moving from eighth to fifth. On the first turn of the second lap, race leader Blankenship was startled to find a crippled backmarker on the line at the exit from Sainte Dvote. The leader struggled to reel his Lotus in, but failed, and the ensuing impact allowed both Feinberg and Eiland to slip past. At this point the race settled in for a bit with the top five being: Feinberg, Eiland, Blankenship, Alesi, and Dubuc. But once again, the mix was stirred when Eiland spun on lap 5 coming off the chicane and Blankenship tip-toed past his spinning Lotus teammate into second. When Eiland spun once more in Massenet on lap 7, he retired, leaving the top five as: Feinberg, Blankenship, Alesi, Dubuc, and Rambo. These five, save an unlucky Alesi, would finish in that order. On lap 18 of the 30-lap event, contact with the curbing sent Alesi into a 180-degree spin. Unblemished, he sat looking up the track and saw race leader Feinberg charging toward him. After Feinberg had safely passed, Alesi executed a flawless power-induced pursuit turn and set off, chasing a spot on the podium. But as soon as he had completed his maneuver, another car filled his mirrors. Thinking that the car must be Blankenship in hot pursuit of the leader, the sporting Alesi yielded by pulling wide into the runoff area on the outside of ***. And for a split second, the hard-charging trailing car followed! Imagine Alesi's surprise when he realized the fourth place car of Dubuc had just motored past into third, compliments of a mistaken identity. Alesi's surprise quickly turned to determination as he started an inspired run back up to Dubuc. By the Gasworks hairpin at the end of the lap, he had caught the Lotus and the two made contact as Alesi tried to slip by on the inside. With Dubuc holding the advantage off the turn, the two sprinted toward Saint Dvote, but as they powered through the turn, nose to gearbox, Alesi, suddenly slid helplessly up against the outside barrier, victim of a sudden and massive ignition failure [Editor's note: more commonly referred to as a "disconnect". Tough break, Paul!]. Feinberg's margin of victory over Blankenship was 54.18 secs. Dubuc and Rambo finished third and fourth, respectively. A determined Dave Swoboda brought his Ferrari home in the fifth spot. ------------------------------------- A disappointing note: Every reference in this race report to a "backmarker" was, in reality, a reference to a driver, Zak Actarus, who elected to cheat his way onto the grid and to the front of the field during the race. The standard review of the replay of both practice and the race revealed that Mr. Actarus had discovered that by "riding the rail" on the outside of Sainte Dvote, he could gain an advantage over his honest and sporting competitors. Review of the replay revealed that Mr. Actarus was otherwise unable to successful negotiate the Monaco course without making frequent *inadvertent* contact with the barriers. On those practice laps when he chose not to take advantage of the barriers, seemingly because of the presence of competitors, his lap times never dropped below 1:40. Mr. Actarus selfishly chose to put his interests ahead of honesty and sportsmanship. He and others who conduct themselves in such a fashion are not welcomed at future "Nail That Track" events. ------------------------------------- Official Standings 1 8 J. Feinberg LOT 76.8 mph 2 16 S. Blankenship LOT 54.18 3 18 V. Sorry FER -1L 4 4 J. Rambo FER -2L 5 19 D. Swoboda FER -3L 6 13 P. Alesi LOT -12L 7 3 V. Eiland LOT -24L 8 7 B. Bowles LOT -30L Fastest Lap 16 S. Blankenship LOT 1:28.70 Practice 1 10 B. Fox LOT 15.33 2 16 S. Blankenship LOT 1:28.44 3 12 T. Galvin FER 1:29.01 4 8 J. Feinberg LOT 1:29.16 5 3 V. Eiland LOT 1:30.90 6 13 P. Alesi LOT 1:32.36 7 7 B. Bowles LOT 1:33.25 8 4 J. Rambo FER 1:33.32 9 17 D. Chicane BRM 1:36.15 10 19 D. Swoboda FER 1:36.94 11 15 J. Diocee MUR 1:42.58 12 11 C. Von Hausen FER 1:45.32

welcomed at future "Nail That Track" events. Hear, hear! A racer........cheating? Scandalous! Where's the commissaire? And all this time I thought this was the era of the "gentleman" driver! You, sir........... I probably wouldn't mind so much if these rail-rider sorts could at least remain upright and forward-facing in their dubious efforts. But I guess that's the point, eh? And anyway; it proves beyond a doubt that there IS a target market for Nascar Revolution! As for the rest of the race, yet another splendid report, JR! Congrats to J. Feinberg for puttin' the hurt on us, and many thanks to my ride-along mechanic, Lefty "Shift-R" Lembowski, without who's services I'd be truly lost. Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

*We* would truly be lost without your splendid sense of humor. You are sure to get my vote as the fastest comedian in show business! Thanks for making a fun series even more enjoyable, Steve! Readers: If you haven't made it to the "Nail That Track" series yet, it's worth it just to enjoy Steve's one-liners in the pits after the race! I'm hereby officially dubbing him the "Pit Wit".

Hi JR I read your reports with genuine interest. They are well thought out, and I really want to thank you for all the work that goes into this. I really hope you will continue this "Nail That Track" series for a long time, it's very interesting, entertaining and most of all very refreshing. One of the best things that happenned to online racing. Congrats! A. Renault

Jeeeez, and I thought it was "Nit Wit". Uhhhh, about that *** email.......... Sorry; couldn't help myself, Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

Antoine... Wow! Couldn't ask for a nicer compliment than that! That sort of feedback certainly keeps *me* motivated, and, yes, there's a *lot* more to follow. We'll be making some announcements shortly that I'm confident will get you and quite a few other online racing enthusiasts e***d. Stay tuned, and come join us in the "Nail That Tracking" Training Race Series! Thanks for your kind words! Jack P.S. If anyone would like to be added to our race notification mailing list, just drop me an e-mail with "Subscribe Race List" as the subject. I'll make sure that you know in advance about our upcoming series, races, etc.

Excuse me. That's "Nail That Track" Training Race Series.

In the interest of accuracy: While he did drive his heart out, Brian Fox was NOT able to record a Monaco lap time of 15.33 secs., despite driving a Lotus. This, of course, was a warped qualifying time that GPL recorded and I forgot to edit it out. But let's just keep that little secret to ourselves. You see Brian has convinced his family and friends that he's in a class all his own when it comes to this GPL stuff. Well, maybe next time Brian!

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Circuit de Monaco Monaco Series Race No. 6 Thursday, March 4, 1999 Race Report Lotus driver James Feinberg announced that he had plans for a back-to-back win at Monaco by grabbing the early pole with a 1:29.28, but it was still early with more than 40 minutes remaining in qualifying. On his thir***th lap, Feinberg shaved off almost another quarter second, strengthening his bid for the pole with a 1:29.05. But Feinberg's Lotus teammate Steve Blankenship was determined to win the pole for himself, as he had in race 4 of the Monaco series. And it appeared that he might do just that, when he bettered Feinberg's best by just 0.02 secs., recording a 1:29.03 on his ninth lap. This would prove to be Blankenship's best time of the practice session. Blankenship's reign at the top would last for but moments, as 58 seconds later, Feinberg would flash across the start/finish line, recording a hot 1:28.25 on lap 15. By lap 17, Feinberg had found more time and posted a 1:28.09, his best time of the session. So it appeared that the starting grid was set. But with only 12 minutes remaining, Lotus driver Pat Dotson surprisingly appeared in the pits, helmet in hand and ready to make a run at qualifying. Dotson had been delayed in getting to the track by the birth on Monday of his new baby boy, Blaise Dotson. [ Editor's Note: Blaise tipped the scales at a healthy 8 lbs. 15 oz. Careful Pat! This boy's going to be too big to comfortably fit in a formula car.] Dotson's late arrival forced him onto the track as all the teams were testing with full fuel loads. For six laps, Dotson frustratingly stormed about the streets of the principality unable to find clear track and recording no better than 1:29.33 as a result. Finally on his seventh lap, Dotson saw nothing but clear track ahead. Knowing that he may have only time enough for one final lap, Dotson made it count and snatched the pole with a blistering 1:27.83. It appeared that his time away from the track, during his paternity leave, had done him no harm. With the drop of the green flag, the three leaders got away in qualifying order. But behind them, there was absolute mayhem! Lotus driver Viman Eiland, who started fourth on the grid, experienced a catastrophic suspension failure as he began his sprint for the first turn, sending him wildly across the track from left to right and striking the right barrier at nearly a right angle. When Eiland's seemingly possessed Lotus slammed into a helpless Chris Cavin, virtually the entire field surged forward with little hope of survival. When the smoke finally cleared on the grid, the three escaping Loti were chased by Ferrari drivers Jack Rambo and Scott Hoffner, Eagle driver Mark Schneider, and the balance of the surviving field. With Dotson pulling away from his teammates, and all three Lotus cars pulling away from the rest of the field, it promised to be a 1-2-3 sweep for Colin Chapman's team. But their luck would not hold as both second-place Feinberg and third-place Blankenship would retire with electrical problems on laps 11 and 7, respectively. Driving a flawless race, Dotson simply outclassed the balance of the remaining field and cruised home to a 3-lap margin of victory. Rambo took the second spot on the podium, while Schneider brought his Eagle home in third position. Official Standings 1 15 P. Dotson LOT 78.2 mph 2 4 J. Rambo FER -3L 3 2 M. Schneider EAG -4L 4 8 J. Feinberg LOT -12L 5 5 S. Hoffner EAG -15L 6 0 F. Dubuc LOT -20L 7 7 E. White EAG -22L 8 11 S. Blankenship LOT -24L 9 14 D. Swoboda FER -25L 10 6 C. Cavin EAG -28L 11 13 A. Marx MUR -28L 12 16 V. Eiland LOT -30L 13 0 R. Gerriet COV -30L Fastest Lap 15 P. Dotson LOT 1:27.79 Practice 1 15 P. Dotson LOT 1:27.83 2 8 J. Feinberg LOT 1:28.09 3 11 S. Blankenship LOT 1:29.03 4 16 V. Eiland LOT 1:29.10 5 6 C. Cavin EAG 1:30.48 6 3 T. Galvin FER 1:30.92 7 0 R. Gerriet COV 1:31.27 8 13 A. Marx MUR 1:33.88 9 4 J. Rambo FER 1:37.10 10 2 M. Schneider EAG 1:37.59 11 14 D. Swoboda FER 1:41.42 12 9 S. Holmes LOT 1:41.64 13 5 S. Hoffner EAG 1:48.97 14 7 E. White EAG 1:49.49 15 19 S. Hoffner FER 1:53.03 16 0 F. Dubuc LOT 1:56.70

Thought it was "Nail That Train" Tracking Series? <G> A. Renault

Antoine... Chuckle. From my perspective at the back of the pack, it might aptly be referred to as the "Don't Get Nailed By The Train" Training Race Series! Jack

darn, you mean I didnt really drive that fast? =-P Brian [link lost in import: /***world/]

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> In the interest of accuracy: > While he did drive his heart out, Brian Fox was NOT able to record a Monaco > lap time of 15.33 secs., despite driving a Lotus. This, of course, was a > warped qualifying time that GPL recorded and I forgot to edit it out. But > let's just keep that little secret to ourselves. You see Brian has convinced > his family and friends that he's in a class all his own when it comes to > this GPL stuff. Well, maybe next time Brian!