Australian Slot Car Racers Association

The Last Retro 4 Hour teams Enduro for 2019 held in Sydney's Outer Western suburbs was Greeted with a Truly Lovely Day, with Clear Blue Skys and Warm weather for what turned out to be Both a Great Race and a very pleasant and Fun day's racing and social interaction.

After it looking like we might Not even be able to get enough Teams to run the last Retro Enduro for 2019 at SSME, we ended up getting a Full compliment of 2 man teams along with 3 Extra Drivers !!!

We even had a couple of New drivers who had the chance to have a run and I must say, (considering their Lack of Experience), acquitted themselves Very well amongst such a group of very Fast and capable drivers.

I think it both fair and arguably true to say that this was one of the most competitive and evenly matched Enduro's we have had.
As can be seen from the Race Sheets and Analysis, the Individual and team lap times and totals were All very close and the members of the teams quite Well matched.

I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised to get the call from Brad regarding his interest to have a run with me in this race, (as we had last year), especially as we haven't seen much of Brad this past year, so was great that he was keen to team up and have a run.

Having had such a close run and finish in the last SSME enduro (as team FASTUFF with Mark Fox), being chased very hard by the Baxters and figuring that Casey & Shalin (Shake & Bake), would also be strong contenders, let alone the eventual 'combo', of Kenny & Darryl, I suggested to Brad as we were driving out that whilst we May manage to get a podium place, I could certainly Not guarantee a Win !!!,..(can one Ever ??) lol

We arrived slightly later than we had initially intended to, but still more than early enough to do some relatively relaxed testing / Practice etc.
I had brought Both of the cars as the last time I ran with Brad, to see which one felt better / quicker 'on the day'.

We had an OK run last time with the somewhat recalcitrant Newer chassis of mine but even though Brad was happy with it, I have not been (and in fact am Still Not), convinced of it's 'Virtues', if indeed it even has Any,.. lol

As has so often been the case, it was My Good Old stand-by (Very Old School) chassis, often referred to by myself and Mark, as "Old Faithful", that once again proved to be the chassis of choice 'for the day', as much like everywhere I have run it, it simply just 'Works', has No inherent Vices and is very forgiving and stable. Simply one of those chassis that just Works straight off the bench,.. without the need for Any 'lead',..lol,.. Plus Brad suggested he felt rather 'confident' with it, so the choice was ultimately an Easy one

Scrutineering was once again capably handled by Darryl and lane Choice made by Draw and quite surprisingly, We drew Starting on Blue to finish on Purple, which Is a pretty good lane choice / rotation.

The Race:

Amazingly, I managed to get a 'Pearler' of a start and grabbed a slight advantage over the rest of the field and was ever so slightly Pleased to hear some general mayhem and crashing happening behind me a few times in the early stages lol, which I rather happily avoided and managed to have quite a good 'run', setting some pleasingly Quick lap times, allowing us to gain a handy Advantage by the time I handed over to Brad.

It was already fairly obvious from the whole field's lap times and totals, that it was (So far), looking Very even and very close, (and as can be seen from the race Sheets), so it proved to be All day.

Considering his recent lack of track time, I was pleased to see Brad settle into a nice race Pace and rhythm, allowing him to increase our initial lead but it was All very close behind us, with very Few laps between 2nd & 3rd, with Gangster starting very strongly a lap Up on The Baxters heading into the 2nd bracket.

Brad and I managed to maintain our lead in the 2nd bracket, with Casey & Shalin moving into 2nd, once again a mere Lap ahead of the very consistent Baxters but with Kenny and Darryl having a very good run, moving up from 5th to be 3rd and on the same lap as the Baxters and Only 1 lap up on Shake & Bake,.. like I suggested,.. it was all Very Close !!

Kenny and Darryl continued their progression in the 3rd bracket, managing to Slowly but surely claw back Our advantage, to eventually finish the 3rd bracket before lunch, with a 2 lap lead over us.

Virtually All the other places had changed with Gangster racing still doing a great job and being Only 1 lap down on Shake & Bake, the Baxters a few extra laps behind and All of the teams being in the 1,400 lap area at the half way point with even Danial & Wazza doing a good job and whilst a few laps down, Still managing to turn some impressively Quick lap times,.. as was everyone !!
At the Lunch Break, there were ONLY 11 Laps separating 1st through 4th !!,.. Talk about Close !!!

It has to be said that it was at times difficult to remain 'Focused' on the racing, heading towards the Lunch break, as the smell of Sausages on the 'barbie' was somewhat of a distraction,..lol

Whilst Red and White Aren't the Quickest lanes around SSME,.. I just had the feeling that Our motor may have slightly 'Lost the Edge' that it had at the start and having had a number of previous runs with Foxy when Our motor has Slowed towards the closing stages, decided that a Motor change during the Lunch break was a Prudent thing to do,.. to be sure, to be sure, as the Irish say,.. lol

Once again,.. a very relaxed and enjoyable Lunch Break, was had by all,.. with the typically Yummy Snag' Sangers capably cooked and prepared by Amanda, providing much needed sustenance for us all

The day was also turning out to be a lovely warm day, with bright Blue skys and light puffy clouds about and was (especially in the latter stages of the day), quite surprising Just How Warm the Wall behind the drivers was, being almost like standing in front of a very large radiator !!,.. lol

So after a pleasant lunch break, we set off for the 2nd half of the race.

Kenny & Darryl drove a strong and settled bracket to slightly extend their lead over Brad & myself by another lap, with Gangster experiencing a few difficulties and the initial signs of a Slowing Motor, allowing the Baxters to move back into 4th, chasing Shake & Bake.

The 5th bracket, saw a Very Strong & impressive Drive by both Kenny and Darryl doing the Highest lap total of the day on Blue, of 501 laps and slightly extending their advantage over us by 2 more laps ending the bracket 5 laps up,... BUT,.. as Kenny suggested after the bracket,.. there was Very 'Little' in it and we were very evenly matched and both had great 'runs', the difference between us perhaps merely being that they were on Blue and we were on Yellow.

The Baxters had a Very strong run on Green allowing them to get a bit closer to Shake & Bake, there being Only 7 laps in it at the end of the bracket.
Gangster seemed to have sorted their earlier 'issues' and put in a good bracket, with Daniel & Wazza still motoring along well if but slightly Off the general Pace of the rest of the field, but doing quite good lap totals and similar lap times to everyone.

By this stage of the race, I think everyone was nicely 'settled' and relaxed and some very fast & clean racing occurred, with many laps spent with NO De-Slots and some great Side by Side racing and close circulating pacing with each other, which was very enjoyable

So heading into the last bracket, we were on Purple, which if you have a good car can be a Very Quick lane and Kenny & Darryl were on White, which allowed me to think that even If we did Not actually catch them, it was Sure going to be damn Close,..lol

As it eventually turned out, Our car was Fantastic to drive on Purple and whilst neither Brad OR myself had Many off's and Unforced errors during the day, we both managed to drive a 'Perfect Bracket', absolutely 'stonkering' around even If I do say so myself,..I Know I did not come off and I am pretty sure neither did Brad

Within a few laps, I realized I was actually catching Kenny, relatively easily and after I had recovered a few laps began to think this Might Not be a Done thing and that there May be a Slim Chance of Stealing a Victory in the closing stages.

By the time I handed the car over to Brad, I had managed to regain the Deficit and even get a slender 3 lap lead, which Brad Most capably maintained until the end.
Sadly Gangster racing had further Motor & I think Body issues during the Bracket and eventually 'called it a day', being Non runners at the end and only turning 92 laps,.. Bad luck guys.

Meanwhile, the Baxters were storming home, having had great runs on Green and now Yellow, with both Andrew & Wayne spending most of the bracket just pounding around within a few feet of us on Purple and with Casey & Shalin running White & Red, allowed them to eventually get ahead and finish 10 laps up.
Daniel & Wazza were still motoring along well at the end and will I am sure benefit from such a good run and be even stronger next time out.

At the close of racing it proves Just How Close the whole days racing was, with a mere 40 laps between 1st and 4th !!
Fantastic stuff and some damn Fine, Fast and Clean racing All day, along with a Lot of friendly Fun & Banter, making for another pleasant race and general Social outing.
Once again,.. thanks Must go out to all those from SSME and to Ron for all the effort and track 'Prep and Amanda for the Food.
All in all a really great days racing, as is So often the case at this venerable venue and track.
Also thanks must also go to Greg Erskine for his Excellent marshalling once again

Sincere thanks to all who turned up to race and a Very Special Thank you to my Occasional team mate Brad, who quite Honestly did a fantastic job of driving all day, turning in some great lap totals and very quick lap times,.. Thanks Brad !!

Hopefully the Long Tradition of Enduro's can and Will continue at SSME moving forward, even if Nowhere else,.. I for one Will be keen and looking forward to any / many more similarly pleasant and competitive events like those we have already had at SSME in the past.

Detailed Race Analysis

For those of us (like Foxy),..lol,.. that are interested in some detailed and further race analysis, I have assembled the usual bracket analysis (by Driver), although sadly, somehow I Didn't manage to get the 4th bracket change-over totals etc,.. so my apologies.

Therefore I can't Show the absolute Driver Race Totals (as per usual) and have therefore Moved them slightly so you can still see a Comparison but Not one that accurately adds up to the overall Totals and have shown the fastest lap times, but could obviously NOT assign a specific Driver to them,..so also Moved to below.
Also, there were a few 'Stupidly' FAST Times, that quite obviously could NOT have been correct, (shown in Red) fastest / Best once again, in Pink and fast / better in Yellow.

Edit: Thinking about it, I might have Daniel & Wazza's Times & Laps reversed on the Above chart, as it would seem that Daniel Drove 2nd, (as can be seen in the Driver Pic above in the race Report 'Post'),.. Sorry Wazza,.. lol

Have also provided a comparison of this years 2 x Enduro's,
as well as an Ongoing overview of All of the Enduro's for comparison.

Hello Gents.It was great to race again.Always a pleasure to race with Stoo.Had a great time racking up my first Enduro win in any class.Hope you dont mind me racing under the famous FASTUFF banner Mark, Ron did this to save time early on.It was already in the computer.
Great racing from everybody there aswell but most of all I enjoyed catching up with some of the gang.Thanks again Stoo.Hope to catch up with you all very shortly.Regards Brad.

Hi all,
got to say what a magic day,,,,with the warmth of the day and the cool breeze coming in through the back roller door,,,,,just fantastic!!!!!
A big thanks to Kenny { and Ron } for the drive,,,,,a real sweet to drive ,,and fast car,,,,,a big thankyou
.
to every who drove,,,,well done,,,,,,,,every one is so fast now,,,,and the polite and fun driving is as good as it gets,,,really enjoyable racing !
thanks to Greg for his support with marshaling! and great company,,,,,,,,and to Ron ,for again having the track in top condition,,,,big thanks
see you all soon ,,,,,Darryl

Hi Guys

What a great race and fantastic report from Stoo and comentary from Brad and Darryl - almost felt I was there.

So pleased to see a full field and such a great bunch of racers having a great time which is what it is all about.

Congratulations to you all as this is exactly the type of participation and good spirit we need to have. A bit of fun and competition to keep us ticking along enjoying our funny little hobby with the fantastic mates - new and old - who happen to share it with us.

So pleased that my mate Stoo of 50 years together with a newish mate Brad of around 10 years
(gee "time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana") got the win but it was real close which was great.

Cheers Mark

Well what can I say ? Thanks Stoo for the stupendous race report and analysis . I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you for taking you out a couple of times in the early brackets by trying too hard to stay close enough to you through the corners to be able to pass on the straights , the pace of the cars was that close . I would also like to apologise to Darryl for costing us so much time on red . Running on red in bracket one meant until people settled down I constantly kept finding people parked on red under the doughnut . That said though my biggest issue was stupidly self inflicted caused by simply overdriving attempting to make up for the losses . What’s the old saying “ To finish first you must first finish “ . That said though do not let this take away from what was a clinical driving display by Stoo and Brad . I can not remember an enduro race ( and I have run literally hundreds of them ) that was this close and driven under such constant intense pressure . Given that pressure it is testament to all that the amount of offs was so low . Commiserations go to Jason and Chris who until their motor laid over were right on the pace and were a genuine threat to Darryl and myself as well as Casey and Shalin , Wayne and Andrew and Stoo and Brad . It was so nice to see Wazza return after a far too long enforced lay off of from racing . Nice to meet Brad for the first time , even if he did beat me . Stoo has made mention of the spirit in which the race was driven and I can do nothing but heartily concur with him . This was made all the more noticeable given how fiercely the race was competed . No one took any prisoners , believe you me . I can say hand on heart I was honoured to be a part of this race and as much as you hate losing it was not so hard to accept under the circumstances of the day . The real surprise packages of the day for me were Daniel and Anthony , neither of these guys had even driven a retro D3 until the day and both acquitted themselves admirably and an both can justifiably hold their heads high . Anthony has raw talent and raw speed and the reflexes of a cat , the like of which I have not seen since Jason arrived on the scene several years ago , there is a changing of the guard coming soon I’m afraid . These two guys are wickedly fast . The hobby needs to find more young guys like these to hand the batton of stewardship onto as us old farts fade away into the sunset . A HUGE thank you to Amanda for cooking us lunch . And finally thanks Ron for selflessly sitting the race out to allow the new guys a chance to run . All in all a fantastic day and one of the best days I have ever spent at a slot car track .

oops , forgot to say , BRING ON THE NEXT RACE !!!

Wow Stoo
Alot of effort in that report great job as always.
great day out and some real close lap totals after 4hrsof racing, I had a ball and so did Shalin, i'm not a fan of the Cheeta 4 motors but on this day the racing was fantastic.
Until Next Time
Casey

Hey Kenny, Thanks Ever so much for your 'Post' and comments

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you for taking you out a couple of times in the early brackets by trying too hard to stay close enough to you through the corners to be able to pass on the straights , the pace of the cars was that close

Hey,.. It's Cool,.. I was just a bit 'Miffed' that you Didn't Say anything, as you very Efficiently 'Despatched' me LOL,.. but, All is good and Yes,.. it Was Very Close !!

I can also 'Feel' your Pain, (regarding Starting on Red),.. it Is and can be a bit of a problem on this track, as it can also be at HSC and Yeah,.. as you also suggest,.. it rarely works out well when you Start Trying too hard to 'make-Up' the laps, it Rarely works out Well,.. (least it Never has for Me in the past,..lol).

I also agree how enjoyable it was to have Such a Real Race, with virtually Everyone 'In with a Chance', instead of it being a literal 'White-Wash'.

The real surprise packages of the day for me were Daniel and Anthony , neither of these guys had even driven a retro D3 until the day and both acquitted themselves admirably and an both can justifiably hold their heads high

Definitely !!, I can Only agree Whole-heartedly !! Very Impressive and as you say Anthony just 'Slipped right in' and proceeded to Motor along Extremely efficiently !!
We really MUST encourage him to do More racing !!
Would be Great if Both Daniel and Anthony could come to HSC some time as well !! They are Both (as you say), Wickedly Fast

The hobby needs to find more young guys like these to hand the batton of stewardship onto as us old farts fade away into the sunset

Yeah for sure, most definitely, but perhaps Sadly,.. there doesn't seem to be too many that are interested, unlike when we were younger

As suggested,.. seemingly by All of us,.. it WAS a Great Day of Fun and Slot Racing

Also,.. Thanks Casey,.. glad you liked the Report & Analysis etc,.. let alone the Great Racing
Odd that you Aren't a Big Fan of the Cheetah 4 motors ??
Personally, I have found them to be Very Even and reliable and a worthy replacement to the earlier Cheetah 2's
Am personally NOT a 'fan' of the Other 'Retro' JK motors, when compared to the Even performance of the Cheetah's.

The Cheetah's are also Very reliable and last a Long time,.. Except at SSME,..lol,.. where I think it is the fact that they are Working SO hard,.. at literally 'Full Tilt' almost all the way around the track, (as compared to HSC where they are far less 'Stressed'), that creates some variable Longevity 'issues'.

Neither Fox or myself have had any issues (when starting with a Fresh Motor), the ones that have 'Faded' in the past had Already had some previous running and races on them,.. as did the Motor I initially had in Our car, (as it had already done quite a few races at HSC), which was Why I decided to Change it,.. Just in Case it may have eventually Cried Enough !!!,..