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CanAm 66 Trophy Round 7 at Riverside International Raceway 1966

Celebrating the new 1966 CanAm mod and its 50th year anniversary at Riverside 66.
The road course opened on September 21st, 1957, and operated until 1988. The dragstrip operated from 1959 through 1970, and from 1983 through 1986.
All time statistics tracks fatal casualties all  over the world shows  Riverside road course on the podium, just after Nürburgring and Brands Hatch.

Check the Season 30 details (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=540&theme=6) regarding rules and the Can Am (66) Trophy pages (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=554&theme=6) in particular.
Please restrict chat to emergency messages only, including at the end of the race until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.

Race list	iGOR
Server	UKGPL_8
IP address	look at IGOR
Date	16-09-2016
Track	riside66 (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=11142)
Mod	CANM66 with 60fpsV2newmod
Damage	INT long
Race time	Race starts at 21:30 UK time
Qualifying	~45 minutes, starting ~ 20:45 UK time
Race length	26 laps
Replay	get here (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/replays/Archive/Season30/CA66/)

Handicapping

Pro/Works/light drivers:
- must use a different car for each race.
- One Reset is allowed per race, followed by a stop and go.

Ams/Privateers/heavy drivers:
- have no limit in resets and car choice.

GLA and have FUN

My destiny is to make no point with the CA.At the start,to avoid Cendejias,i hit the wall-Shift-r.then the first engine-shit-r and finally PC mute.
Without hear the engine is difficult to drive,better to gain the bed. >:(

Congrats Axel and Doni! It's nice to see more drivers during this round.

Good ole Riverside! My favorite US track. I was sad to see it's demise. It was part of what I'd call the racing Mecca of the US in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, plus I'd call it Dan Gurney's home track. Riverside, Ontario Motor Speedway (a copy of Indianapolis), and Ascot Park (0.5 mile dirt oval) were all located near each other. If you were a fan or a driver there was a lot to see in the area in the 60s and 70s.


I didn't know that Axel. I'm not surprised a great deal though, considering so much racing was done there.

I think I'm better on the 71 version. Even on sections that appear identical, I think there are subtle differences. I enter the esses differently. And T7 feels a little different. I like the final turn in 1971 better too. It gives me all the oval type action I need.

I didn't expect to win. I thought I might do well. I seem to be good at Riverside in a closed body car. My hopes were to stay close to Axel, hoping the tow on the long straight would make up any differences on the rest of the course.

The start had me worried. I thought I might destroy my engine trying to slip the clutch, and I thought I might lose a position or two too. It helped that Mark was handicapped with a 2 speed transmission too. Thanks for giving me some room Mark. The first several laps were very tricky.

Axel, Mark, and Doni all had me a little worried, Axel especially so. Doni had a good car. I needed to limit my mistakes or he'd have a chance to beat me. I thought Mark might improve as the race progressed meaning he'd be faster than me. Axel was close enough until the very end, meaning any significant mistake would let him by.

The first 10 laps were tense. I struggled with the car but I managed to keep the car pointed in the right direction. I clipped a polo once that gave me a much larger spike in FF than I expected. I thought that might have damaged the car. I also ran over 3 or 4 them once in the early laps. Axel was never far enough away for me to relax some.

After 10 laps, I started doing well. Laps 11,12,13, and 14 were the laps that won it. I didn't know it at the time but I knew they were good laps and they came just when I needed them most. That opened a 10 second lead that allowed me to relax a bit. I thought Axel could still catch me but it I finished consistently it would be difficult for him.

The last half to 1/3 of the race went well too. I made few mistakes and I had the gap I needed. I did have one more polo to hit though. Bastian spun coming out of T2. I wasn't sure where to go other than straight over a polo to ensure I wouldn't hit him.

I apologize Dave. It looks like I played a part in Dave losing 4th place. I should have slowed down near the end but I had lost track of where Axel was. I had a 8 second gap with 8 laps to go. Once I got close to lapping other cars, I never looked at anything but the track, tach, and other cars. I ran Dave wide entering the esses. I tried to leave him some room but I didn't. I was going too fast. I also didn't know we were so close to the finish.

The 427 requires 100% concentration and a very smooth touch. As difficult as the first ten laps were I'm surprised the car did so well over many of the remaining laps. The only thing I can say good about it is, you don't have to do much shifting, one upshift and one downshift on the back straight.

Thanks guys. That was fun. Axel and Mark tried to hand me a win last week at Spa67. I tried very hard this week when they appeared to be giving me the opportunity again.

I hope you're feeling better soon, Axel.

Another thing, my last lap was 1:43.05. I never managed to do a 42 without some tow.

Greg, no reason to apologize.
I even can't remember when you lapped me.

I had a battle with Bastian and Carlos during almost all of the race.
It's a pity Bastian overtook me on the last lap on the Esses on a place where it is almost impossible to overtake without contact.
...And there was contact between our cars so I ran out of the track.

By the way, Bastian was quicker than me on asingle lap and he deserves the 4th place.   

sorry, it was a ambitious move by me so I let you repass but you were ot of rhythm and hit the tires in the next esses.

Nice to see a couple more cars than usual come under starter's orders.  Let's hope that it's a trend.  Perhaps for S31, the '66 CanAms need a Sunday or Tuesday slot.  If more would give it a fair try, I'm sure that we'd have some confirmed converts.

Great run by Greg!  Grats on a fully-deserved victory.  You really now how to make that monster Ford click along.

Nice recovery by Axel from several offs to score P2.  I mean, I think Axel may have actually wanted me to place ahead of him as he gave me so many chances.  :)  In the end, I could just not capitalize on the opportunities.

I chose the AAR Lola for reasons that Greg has already mentioned.  Riverside is most certainly Dan Gurney's home track and I have little doubt that he would have loved to have earned the top prize for a CanAm win there.  He scored USAC Champ Car wins and dominated the NASCAR race for years at a stretch.  As my favourite driver of the period, I would have been honoured to have made it possible if only in a virtual sense.  Next time.

My first lap was rather scruffy.  Not unlike but not as bad as at the Laguna Seca round.  This had me drop back somewhat but I held a solid P4.  Lap02 and I saw Greg off in the sandbox in the esses and I thought for a moment that I'd get by but decided to lift and play it safe.  A bit too much, really, as GT got back on it hard and fast.  On the same lap, Mark looped the Chaparral off at the top of the back straight to promote me to P3.  The very next lap, I bungled the esses section by drilling some polos and spun away the place to Mark.  A little give 'n take there.  :)  Axel spun off in a curious way in the T8 complex to give me a chance to tag along with he and Mark.  Greg was smoking off into the distance and Axel was staging a strong comeback by immediately gunning down MJ's Chaparral.  I could do but watch and wait.  On Lap05, Mark had a nasty off in the esses and lost much time.  Promoted to P3 now and some handful of seconds behind Axel, I just determined to put in some good, solid laps and await developments.  I was managing to hold the gap in the 3s area.  Lap06 and Axel has lost the Surtees Lola again in the treacherous T8 section.  I managed to just skirt by to claim P2 but only a few seconds.  Poor Mark was only just a similar distance behind me when this went down but he had troubles of his own by sliding off and drilling the guardrail in T8 just as he was getting a sniff of the podium slots again.

My run in P2 was short-lived.  On Lap08, Axel was close enough to let the the Chevy in his TS Lola stretch its legs and he sifted by on the back straight to take over the slot as we lined up for T9.  Not much hope of holding him off so I tucked in behind hoping to cop a tow.  That was a faint hope that evaporated quickly as Axel simply motored off into the distance.  Laps reeled off without much drama til #24 when Axel got wrong-footed heading into T6 and climbed the bank.  He had a solid advantage on me at the time and recovered to maintain P2.  I was a little scruffy in my pass through T6 as well doubtless excited at the prospect of bouncing Axel in the late going.  Never happened.  Axel took the flag some 5s ahead of me with Greg already sipping the champers.

A reasonable round from me but not outstanding by any means.  More than anything, it's a great ride in the 1966 CanAms.