Welcome to the "Race Report" for the LCC Rocket Spot Race Series - Race 2 Autumn Ring.
Track Guide
Qualifying
After the mid week appetiser, there was already an air of excitement about this race. A good turn out was expected, and the drivers did not disappoint.
an Incredible finish to Quali saw Chase and Brandon with exactly the same lap time of 1:22.944. A coin toss in Race Control, saw MC-Chase leading the pack away from pole.
Nemesis just out qualified Robgroove in the last few minutes, taking positions 3 & 4 respectively. The remaining rows consisted of Torzilla & twistedfirework on row 3, Ktrain186 & Brutaka_GT on 4 with Chuthulugoat and Turbotwin01 concluding the grid.
[timings]
Unfortunately come race day, Turbotwin would be once again be plague with electrical problems and would not be able to compete. Rumours around the paddock, suggest an upset in the the team with the finger being pointed to their ISP management. Communication appears to be the route cause! At this stage, it is unclear weather the team will be able to make the long trip to Japan, or even continue the series...
Race Day
Clear skies, warm ambient temperatures, and an eager grid of Racers, all was set for another exciting race of the LCC Rocket Spot Race series. With MC-Chase sitting on pole, the drivers behind would be looking to capitalise on his (of past) poor starts! With quite a drag before the first breaking point into turn 2, a good launch is imperative here!
Revs are up, a flurry of air-horns echo around the grandstand, the lights go out, and there off...
A great start for Chase, sees him hold on to pole going through the kink and into the fast right hander of turn 1. Brutaka does not get away quick enough and drops back two as Chuthulugoat takes his spot. The remaining drivers hold there positions as they all tentatively attack turn 2.
Good position and momentum sees Chuthulugoat and Brutaka move up the grid
The pack is already starting to split as the leaders tear through the banked esse's, Chuthulugoat's momentum now plays against him as a wide exit of turn 3 causes him to over run & become acquainted with the Armco wall... (ouch!)
As the lead group ascend the hill up to the hairpin, we would see some of the closest (non-contact) racing of the day... and the start of a fierce battle for third place. Brandon takes first from Chase as he shifts into first and kills his speed at the hairpin.
Brutaka pressures twistedfirework as he builds momentum for a charge on 6th spot, but this see's both drivers going wide at turn 10 with Brutaka coming of worse as he clips the wall.
Robgroove builds pressure on Nemesis as the pair jostle for position going through the flat Esse's, Nemesis defends well, but his late turn in line for the final hairpin leaves an inch for Rob to makes his move, as the old saying goes "give an inch, they'll take a mile" with different lines into the final hairpin, it was inevitable that the two would run out of space! the bump knocks Nemesis wide, and immediately Torzilla fills the gap alongside him...
Brandon & Chase are closely fighting for 1st ahead, Nemesis manages to out drag Torzilla to hold onto 4th spot behind Robgroove in third, with twistedfire work, Ktrain & chuthulu bringing up the rear.
They cross the line after a frantic 1st lap, with 29 still to go this once again will prove to be an entertaining race.
The Race for First
Chase makes a charge through the kink to try and get 1st back, but Brandon has the better line for turn 3 and closes the door... (later in lap) Lap3 Brandon over cooks it coming out of the flat esse's allowing Chase to sneak (barrel) down the inside to take 1st spot back... he didn't need much of an invite!...Lap5 (even with Chase having the inside line) some strong pressure from Brandon sees him make his way back past Chase in the banked esse's...towards the end of Lap13 a few mistakes from Chase would allow Brandon to gap him and break away. With just a race to the finish Line, Super smooth Brandon was unlikely to make any mistakes, and would also see him taking the fastest lap of the day, a 1:22.064... OMG!!!
A Fight for Third For Nemesis, coming through the banked esse's on lap 2 was one of those "hold your breath and hope" moments. A slightly wider approach in, gave Torzilla all the encouragement needed, however the gap was not open for long and Torzilla t-boned Reaper... manic corrections (nearly turning my rig over!) And nemesis manages to save the drift. Unfortunately Torzilla had a date with the wall...!
Nemesis manages to catch Rob back up and with several position changes, it's a closely fought battle for third.
Twisted was now in on the action too, and the pair double team Reaper as they go into the first hairpin. More shuffling through the flat esses. Lap3 at T3 sees Nemesis with a better line to make a clean pass on twisted.
It would not be until lap 11 for Nemesis to return to third place where an unforced error leaves Robgroove kicking up dust on the outside of T8 before the hairpin!
On Lap26 these two would meet again, this time harder fought and stronger moves would ultimately leave Rob to lose out from a Racing Incident(!) leaving the flat Esse's.
Mid-field Battles
Twisted makes an unforced error at T8 before the hairpin and gets dropped to last place. Lap9 seems him start to make his way past Torzilla, and Brutaka on the following lap through the final corner. Lap10, Brutaka and Twisted looked set to have a good duel, mis-fortune though for Brutaka, as a fast approach through the kink led him to veer of track and spin out. This then allowed Torzilla to pass, which would give Brutaka a new target to hunt down for the mid section of the race.
Soon after Chuthulu falls victim to twisted's attack, who puts up a good fight to get the place back, but just cannot find enough room to make a clean pass. L14 would see Chuthulu take back the place as twisted looses the back end coming into the flat Esse's and is a sitting duck for the pass. It was only a matter of time before Twisted would make his was past again for a 5th place finish.
Mis fortune strikes again, though this time for Torzilla as contact, error or connection issues see him going wide and losing position at T8, Brutaka show his respect by making a tentative pass. The following laps would see each driver repeating the others mistakes, as they would battle back and forth for position. Torzilla would end up winning this battle, as during the pit window he would eventually come out several seconds ahead. The war was not over however, and battle would commence once more in the remaining laps, with Brutaka pushing hard and seizing his moment as Torzilla comes out the flat Esse's too hard, and takes to the gravel. Despite a heroic attempt to Chase Brutaka down in what ends up being his fastest lap of the race, with only 7 tenths between them (3.6 after off) it was all too late.
45 minutes of intense and entertaining Racing, ends With Brandon to take top spot on the Podium. Congratulations Brandon.
One last Parting treat for you to review, and make your own judgment on... The Racing Incident!
Enjoy
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but point taken 
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