Jim Rose’s Winning Group C Car
It was a pretty hot day in Rocklin, California as the Norcal 32 boys geared up for a day of racing on Fast Track Hobbies Yellow Dragon road course. Open practice began at 10am, and after some 3 minute rotations, everyone was ready to go. The track is a very tricky technical course that has a pretty recessed braid and very high bite. Most people were struggling with some turtling and traction issues (too much) and the 14v meant that the cars were peppier on throttle than usual. We had our work cut out today!
We had 13 Slot.it Group C cars, and 11 NSR F1s.
Qualifying began for Group C at about 11:30 with Jim Rose clicking off the fast lap of 8.31. Due to some computer glitches, the A & B mains were combined into one round robin. After the dust settled, Jim had beaten out Mike “Kiwi” Andrews and local Mario Alvarado. Jim and Mike ran the more compact spritely Nissans, while Mario went with the tried and true Porsche 962C. Jim also ran a unique tire – the stock Slot.it tires out of the kit, which helped him reduce bogging and maintain a good slide while many of us suffered from too much traction.
By F1 quali, the computer glitches were out of the picture and the TQ was Jim Rose again, with a 7.56. The B main was quiet and fairly smooth, won by Ian Douglass with 121 laps, which was good enough for P2 in the A. The A main was a masterclass in heads-down keeping-your-nose-clean by Ted Essy. While Jim, Mike Andrews, Larry Stevens, and Shaun Lee went wheel to wheel, Ted drove away, finishing with P1 and 125 Laps. Jim had some challenges and finished up with P3 and 116 laps.
Next up will be MoTown Hobbies in Modesto on September 10, 2022. This will be the first of three NSR F1 Championship races held by the Norcal 32 Racing Series.
