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Welcome to the World Grand Prix Offical Announcement.

Since Yoshi is stealing my .gif images I'd better get this announcement in before he finds the rest of them. :P

The series is now set to begin Friday, August 1, 2008. It will be a five race series, set tracks that the A1GP has at one time actually raced at. Here is the scheduled line up:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/netherlands_a-01.gif ROUND ONE: Netherlands - Zandvoort. August 1, 2008

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/Zandvoort.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/australia_a-01.gif ROUND TWO: Australia - Adelaide. August 8, 2008

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/Australia.gif

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/mexico_a-01.gif ROUND THREE: Mexico - Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. August 15, 2008

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/Mexico.gif

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/united_states_of_america_a-01.gif ROUND FOUR: United States - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. August 22, 2008

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/LagunaSeca-1.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/italy_a-01.gif ROUND FIVE: Italy - Imola. August 29, 2008

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As it stands right now there are 9 kids (or developmentally disabled adults) and 5 adults involved. I have until the end of the week to announce who will be racing and start my slot car classes with the kids to get them ready for the first event. This will include more practice on temporary courses, teaching breaking and car control. By the end of the week the set field and what country they will be racing for will be posted in this string.

Thanks to Greg Braun's slot car site for a couple of the layout diagrams.

Here are the drivers for the inaugural World Grand Prix:

Here are the community center kids that will be involved in the series.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/germany_a-01.gif Germany: Kevin Burke, age 12.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/canada_a-01.gif Canada: Simon Smith, age 13.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/united_kingdom_a-01.gif United Kingdom: John Hamilton, age 12.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/china_a-01.gif China: Lee Yang, age 15.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/india_a-01.gif India: Sarrah Singh, age 16 and Sander Singh, age 14, brother and sister.

These kids are related to sponsors or have been involved in another series.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/mexico_a-01.gif Mexico: Mike Hernandez, age 14.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/portugal_a-01.gif Portugal: Adrian Munoz, age 16, stepson of sponsor John Berry.

Here are the World Grand Prix ProSeries drivers:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/japan_a-01.gif Japan: Yoshi Nagura, age 26, sponsor.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/ireland_a-01-1.gif Ireland: John Berry, age 51, sponsor.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/united_states_of_america_a-01.gif United States: Peter McKay, age 48, sponsor and promoter.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/checkered_3a.gif Other Sponsors We'd Like to Recognize:

Paul D., Hobbytalk Forum Member
Scale Auto, Slot Car Supplier/Discounter
Jamba Juice, Refreshment Supplier

Man! Those are going to be some AWESOME layouts and races! I sure wish I could be there for them! Definitely keep us posted on the races as they happen, as you always do.

Not that I'm biased, but....

GO SIMON SMITH! GO MIKE HERNANDEZ! GO PETE MCKAY! ;)

PD2:thumbsup:

Team India and Team China failed to show up this evening for round one of the WGP unfortunately. Calls to parents were also left unreturned but it was reported that Team India would more than likely be withdrawn due to the family relocating to another part of town.

The racing went on as planned using just the outer two lanes of Zandvoort, and as expected John Hamilton won handily over second place Adrian Munoz. The track was then reconfigured for 4 lanes and the young Mr. Hamilton went up against Yoshi, John Berry and myself in a 10 minute lap fest. There were very few crashes, one full course red flag while several track joints were tightened up, and then a hard sprint to the finish. Yoshi posted the best results of the night with 188 laps, I finished a distant second with 171 laps, then John Hamilton with 160 laps and last John berry with just 151 laps.

The issue of the night was tires, and much like the recent Brickyard 400 drivers were having to tape about every 20 laps, or one a minute because of dusty conditions. Unfortunately for Big John he plucked a pick up shoe off while taping and spent more than a minute trying to get it back on, falling way back in the process.

We had about two dozen spectators including family members and potential future racers, and even had a nice display of high dollar Carousel 1 diecast Indy cars from the past on display, courtesy of John Berry, all of the cars costing $125 each and more. My favorite being the 1976 Indy winning McLaren of Lone Star JR in Hy-Gain paint, this car was awesome. I saw this car race at TWS in the late 1970's and have a few pics of me standing next to it.

The next round, Australia, will be run in a week at the same location.

VERY cool stuff Pete! Sounds like a great race and good spectator turn out too! And no other drama! SWEET! Congrats on a greatly run race! And congrats to all the winners!

PD2:thumbsup:

WHat an awsome series Pete! WHat a great thing to put together for the kids. I'm gonna keep watch as this may be the coolest thing going on in the HO country!

Rich

www.myspace.com/northtexasslotcars

Got the word today, Team India has withdrawn because the family moved to Stockton. Team China was "grounded", something you don't hear much happening in F1. Team Germany, who finished last in the first race, will be switching drivers to 15 year old Jason Burke, Kevin's older brother, for the remainder of the series.

Got the word today, Team India has withdrawn because the family moved to Stockton. Team China was "grounded", something you don't hear much happening in F1. Team Germany, who finished last in the first race, will be switching drivers to 15 year old Jason Burke, Kevin's older brother, for the remainder of the series.

Maybe "grounded" = suspended? :p

PD2:thumbsup:

ROFL!! Maybe, he was grounded for missing baseball practice. We might be adding a replacement team for India. I have two brothers interested in participating, Ray Davis will race for Team Portugal and Dan Davis will race for Team Brazil. I'll know tomorrow for sure, and I believe Team China will be back as well.

Vai Brasil!!!!!!!!

Team USA and Pete McKay will miss the next race, I'll be stepping in as promoter. Pete threw his back out this morning, playing volleyball with his kids at the community center of all things, and is in traction at a local hospital. I keep telling him that he can't do stuff like this anymore, well, he can but he winds up looking like the letter "Z" when he does. I'll post the results when the event has been completed.

Team USA and Pete McKay will miss the next race, I'll be stepping in as promoter. Pete threw his back out this morning, playing volleyball with his kids at the community center of all things, and is in traction at a local hospital. I keep telling him that he can't do stuff like this anymore, well, he can but he winds up looking like the letter "Z" when he does. I'll post the results when the event has been completed.

Ah man! Tell him we hope he gets better soon. I go to a chiropractor fairly regularly to insure that those sorts of things don't happen as well as for the health of it.

Good luck Yoshi with running the race! I know it will be a great success!

PD2:thumbsup:

OK, a quick racing update: Australia was the venue, and with Petey absent that meant that two kids went to the 4-lane finals instead of one. But first things first.

In the kids portion newcomers Ray and Dan Davis posted respectible qualifying times, and the elder brother advanced to the kids final to face John Hamilton, who continues to get better in each showing. It was Davis, Hamilton, Jason Burke and Adrian Munoz in a kids 4-lane sprint with two advancing to face John Berry and myself. Hamilton crashed hard on lap 9 and spent the next 41 laps trying to catch Davis and Munoz, passing Adrian at the start of the final lap for second, and then holding him off for a 0.13 second advantage for the transfer position.

Davis and Hamilton were given lane choice (per the rule book) based in their 1-2 finish, then it was myself with John picking last. We ran a 10 minute "shag-your-own-car" race where if you went off you had to marshall your own car. Amazing with kind of incentive that was not to crash, and it worked well. At least for the kids.

On lap 21 John crashed and his car left the table top landing on the floor. He spent what seemed like the entire race making some sort of repair that was later discovered to be a tweeked chassis. With John out of the picture I thought I'd have smooth sailing but three crashes in five laps left the wolves at my heals as Davis and Hamilton were running on the same lap and only a lap plus distance behind me. At 7 minutes I pitted for the 3rd time to tape and they flashed by. It took me another 1:02 seconds to get 2nd place back, then another minute after that to secure the lead. Both of the kids taped with about 30 seconds left leaving me with a comfortable lead. When the bell struck I went by with a lap score of 331 laps 1.13 seconds. Davis had passed Hamilton and scored 313 laps 0.67 seconds, Hamilton has 311 laps 1.96 seconds. John had rejoined the race but scored only 108 laps 2.91 seconds and wasn't up to speed.

After the race Mike Hernandez, Yang Lee and Simon Smith withdrew from the remainder of the event. Their reasons varied but it came down to more disappointment than anything. After giving them the required "it'll get better the more you race" speech they decided video games were more fun. This now leaves us with I believe 5 kids and pending Pete's return 2 adults. We may have a replacement driver for the Team Mexico entry, Pete will handle that when he goes back to work either Sunday or Monday.

Very nice job Yoshi on managing the race and giving your race report! I think you did a great job considering the circumstances with Pete. You're a good man for stepping up to the cause!

As for the race, it sounds like it was definitely a good round! Kind of unfortunate that the two kids thought video games were more fun than this - wish they would have just stuck it out. And who knows, they may show back up - if they like video games so much I'm surprised they are not taking this as a challenge and wanting to keep going until they beat it! Must not be big gamers. HA!

Tell Pete we said Hi and that we hope is BACK 100%! :p

PD2:thumbsup:

I'm back to about 60% right now, but I look more like the letter "S" now than a "Z". My chiropractor is dealing with it now so I should be back up in no time.

It was originally reported that Ray Davis was racing for team Portugal, actually he was racing for Team Austria. Adrian Munoz races for Team Portugal. Here are the point standings after 2 events:

Kids Section:
Team UK: 16 pts.
Team Portugal: 10 pts.
Team Germany: 6 pts.
Team Austria: 6 pts.
Team Brazil: 4 pts.
Team Mexico: 2 pts. (withdrawn)
Team Canada: 2 pts. (withdrawn)
Team China: 0 pts. (withdrawn)
Team India: 0 pts. (withdrawn)

Adult Section:
Team Japan: 22 pts.
Team Ireland: 14 pts.
Team USA: 8 pts.

All races from this point on will take place on 4 lane tracks. The "shag-your-own-car" rule worked really well so we will adopt that for the upcoming event.

Glad to see you posting up Pete! You take care of yourself and give those back muscles plenty of time to relearn how your back is supposed to be - having a chiropractor will speed things up for sure!

PD2:thumbsup:

This Friday's race was postponed until Monday evening because of a staff metting in the auditorium.

This Friday's race was postponed until Monday evening because of a staff metting in the auditorium.

Called on account of rain at the track, eh?

PD2:thumbsup:

Called on account of rain at the track, eh?

PD2:thumbsup:

Something like that. But it was postponed again today for another meeting. Thursday is will be made up without fail, so we will race both Thursday and Friday.

Something like that. But it was postponed again today for another meeting. Thursday is will be made up without fail, so we will race both Thursday and Friday.

Nothing like a double header to make up for lost race time! SWEET! Enjoy my friend!

PD2:thumbsup:

Real quick update:

Both races were actually run tonight on abbreviated programs, everyone even showed up for a change. Pete won back-to-back in the finals of both races, John Hamilton finished second in the first, I finished second in the second one. I don't have the points worked out yet but it's going to be close going into the last race once all the bonus points are tallyed.

Some changes in points, I was able to move up to second place overall with my wins and bonus points, with the bonus points John Hamilton won he has tied Yoshi for the lead overall, and has won the kids section championship outright. The last race will be Friday and the overall championship is still up for grabs. Team Austria, Team Germany and Team Brazil informed me today that they have withdrawn since they have no impact on the final championship standings, and Team Ireland will not make the last race due to a work related meeting in SoCal. The last race will see a short qualifying dash followed by a 30 minute fixed lane enduro.

Kids Section:
Team UK: 26 pts.*
Team Portugal: 18 pts.*
Team Austria: 14 pts.
Team Germany: 12 pts.
Team Brazil: 8 pts.

Adult Section:
Team Japan: 26 pts.*
Team USA: 22 pts.*
Team Ireland: 18 pts.

*Teams participating in the final Grand Prix.

Team Austria, Team Germany and Team Brazil informed me today that they have withdrawn since they have no impact on the final championship standings,

That's too bad - could have been a great time for them to get more practice and setup time in. Could you imagine if all race teams did this when it came down to the final chase or approaching the end of the season? It would be like watching a Cars race - three cars all contending and the rest of the field gone. Every opportunity to put a car on the track is an opportunity to learn more and get more time behind the wheel/trigger.

The final sounds awesome Pete! This ought to be interesting to see how an Enduro separates out the men from the boys. HA!

Have fun!
PD2:thumbsup:

Team Austria, Team Germany and Team Brazil informed me today that they have withdrawn since they have no impact on the final championship standings, .

That sucks.

They would, possibly, of had an impact on the outcome, if they had placed between those fighting for the overall title.

When this championship was planned out a number of fail-safe’s were put in place to overcome any expected advantages, like randomly selecting chassis for each team before beginning that weeks program. This worked well, nobody accused anyone of cheating and it worked well to the advantages of driver’s skill over just having a good handling car. Such was Yoshi’s luck in the first 3 events, coupled with my absence in one event he built up a nice sizable lead.

However also built in were a number of factors that made the point’s situation more even for the kids. Bonus points were paid out for fast qualifier, fastest lap among the kids and leading the most laps. After the second race those bonus points became unnecessary but remained in place as to not change the playing field in the middle of the season, as it were. John Hamilton pretty much ran adult skill races in all but the first event. He learned to brake at the right place, learned to drive out of the corners and came close to perfecting the skill of the bump and run in the corners. At age 13 now, John showed that he didn’t really need bonus points, and in the end proved he didn’t.

Yoshi is a world class racer in any slot car scale. Since I recruited him from the 1/24th ranks he has helped me build tracks, promote events and even contributed to this series. The drawing of chassis favored the young man from South Korea in the first 3 events, but something happened in the final 2, the most crucial events, that made this series closer than it would have been otherwise. Yoshi puts it off to poor driving on his part, brain fade, or maybe just being preoccupied with his moving to Japan in a few days. But Yoshi went from Hero to Zero faster than a Porsche GT3 goes from 60 to 0. Yoshi didn’t have the advantage of John in having those bonus points that made this series close, but in the end having them wouldn’t have mattered.

Adrian Munoz is the step-son of supporter John Berry, who was absent this race. Adrian did well coming into this series against some tough competition he exceeded his own expectations and made a good showing, beating John in half of the contests they raced together. Tomorrow Adrian joins his step dad in San Diego, his new home. He takes home his Team Portugal Super G-Plus car and my appreciation for participating in what will be a one-time only series.

As for me, well even missing one race I managed to make it interesting. The last race I qualified fastest in the heat race and got first lane choice and going into the mains was looking like the spoiler. But when the beep sounded I wasn’t even close, I may as well been sitting in the stands. John and Yoshi were gone, and after 10 minutes I was already 16 laps down to second place, and barely holding my own against Adrian. Tire cleaning and oiling didn’t help and my car, even running on 12 volts, overheated and expired 18 minutes into the event. It seems the commutator had broken a wire, essentially I threw a rod and was done.

After passing me for third Adrian pulled off as well, knowing it wasn’t going to get any better, and we watched the battle. John held the lead past the 22 minute mark but Yoshi passed him while he taped and oiled his car, and then took the lead back 2 minutes later when Yoshi did the same. But one minute later Yoshi’s comedy of errors began; he crashed 5 times in a row in the exact same spot. Then he dropped his controller while marshalling his car and had to fiddle with the plug to get it going again, all the while John was running fast, clean laps. When the time expired John had run the fastest lap, led the most laps, and won the race. John Hamilton, a 13 year old new-comer, had beaten the old men at their own hobby.

John finished 8 points ahead of Yoshi with 38 points. Yoshi picked up 4 points and finished with 30, Adrian has 22 points and I salvaged a 3rd place championship finish with 24 points. John took home his car, his Jamba Juice sponsorship prize of a $50 gift card and a small trophy. One of the first questions after we packed up the track, put away the cars and sat around finishing up our sodas from John was when did the NASCAR series start.

Soon John, real soon. We’ll be in touch.

WOW!! What a fantastic ending to a GREAT series Pete!! Congrats on a great series and congrats to John Hamilton! This kid sounds like he has the stuff to really race - winning his first race series and like you said, beating a bunch of guys that have been around the hobby for a while! Looks like you guys have a new mark to obtain! I love it when a new person comes in and gives you a challenge to obtain! Good luck getting him out of slots - I think he addicted now!

Congrats to all those that stuck out the series! You are much better racers for it!

PD2:thumbsup: