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Llihrednuht Race Report
Thunderhill run clockwise is
called Llihrednuht. As six of us proved this weekend that means wheel
to wheel action and drivers leaving nothing on the table! Karen, Rick,
and Robert showed up Friday afternoon to nearly 100 deg weather with
newcomers Tom Coon and Ron Stebles in for the fun. Dave would show up
Saturday morning in time for the warm up. Also out for track time in
HPDE were Jeff Awender and Sern working towards their race licenses.
After a quick warm up (with
about 80 cars!!), all prepared for qualifying. When the qualifying
session was over, it was Dave (2:07.4), Robert (2:09.3), Karen (2:09.6),
Rick (2:10.7), and Tom (2:33.4). Ron was out successfully getting his
race license test. Yea, another new member to our growing family!!!
At the rolling green, all took
off after Dave, with Karen taking P1 by the second turn (no one is quite
sure how she does it!!) and the rest falling in behind. After a great
battle, Dave finally overtook Karen with Robert in pursuit of Karen. On
the last lap, Robert got wide in turn 6 and spun off allowing Rick to
sneak by. In the end, it was Dave for the win, followed by Karen, Rick,
Robert, Ron, and Tom.
For Sunday’s qualifying race,
the Saturday finishing order set the grid. At the start, Karen once
again jumped to the front (Yes, this is getting old!!)
with the “Iceman” Dave lurking behind patiently waiting to make his
move. Dave did manage to get by, but it wasn’t a walk in the park as
Karen was driving the wheels off her little red and white spec car. At
the checker it was Dave with a 2:07.434 for pole, Karen (2:07.654), Rick
(2:08.597), Robert (2:10.2), Ron (2:16.1), and Tom (2:29).
For the Feature Race, all were
determined to put everything on the line and go for it!! At the start
Karen and Dave battled so close it was difficult to tell who had the
upped hand. But…on the second turn of the second lap, Dave tried an
inside move on Karen but some debris might have convinced his car
otherwise as Dave tank slapped and drove up the bank slightly to leave
Rick and Robert to chase Karen. Dave got back on track only to have a
heavy vibration and had to pit to clean the debris from his wheels.
Meanwhile, Rick and Robert were chasing Karen with everything they
could. About three laps to go, Rick stepped off track with two wheels
at the “Kink” and then snapped back across to the infield with a BIG
off. After returning to the track (I needed a GPS; I was so far off!)
Rick took off after Robert who was cruising to an easy second place
finish. But wait; Robert was not content with a second, he wanted to
catch Karen!! Unfortunately, he too suffered an off track excursion
and had to retire! At the checker it was Karen for the win, followed by
Rick, Ron, Dave, Tom, and Robert. No one left feeling they could have
given a “little more” to the effort on this one!
Once again, a good time with a
great bunch of competitors and friends making for a top notch weekend!
Next up: Buttonwillow for the final race of the California Cup Series!!
Should be great!!
Rick Anderson
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