West Coast D3 Racing
TSRF24, Retro F1 and Retro Pro races, April 28, 2007
Buena Park, CA

Mike Steube 3 for 3.
Mike Steube came, saw and conquered, leaving the crumbs for his team mates.
By "Gene Husting", photos by "Al Hall"...

Pre Race Activity

Smaller fields today as many were not aware that there was a race going on, while others were either busy or were facing other issues that barred them from competing. A total of 21 entries for 3 classes, a bit weak after the good numbers previously recorded.

TSRF 1/24 Scale GTP/GT1/ Race

The GTP and LMP cars ready for battle.

Roger Uusitalo led the first segment on green, with Mike Steube 2 laps down on orange after a bit of trouble. In the second segment, Mike just drove away with Roger in second, now two laps in arrears. Roger held second place in the third heat, with Philippe now coming back from earlier off-track excursions, having passed Paul Sterrett himself visiting off-track sites. Paul eventually caught up with Roger for second, and the final podium position was decided only in the very last heat when Roger lost by a lap to Philippe. Ray Gonzales and Lee Hines were driving prudently and had their own private fun.

The Concours winner was the beautiful Lancia-Martini built by Ray Gonzales.

* Fastest lap

Retro-F1/Indy Race

The F1's ready to pounce.

Lee Hines is already sponging his face as Mike Steube straightens his racing visor. Paul Sterret and Terry de los Santos find this very funny while Jeff Easterly wonders if he forgot to check tire pressures on his rocketship. What to do, what to do...

A weak field for the F1 race, but lots of stiff competition. Philippe led with his Steube rocket car, putting one lap over Mike Steube in the first segment. Paul Sterrett was another lap behind, while Jeff Easterly had his own battle with Lee Hines and Terry de los Santos. Philippe kept the lead through the third segment but had some trouble passing other cars that resulted in collisions and time lost, so both Paul Sterrett and Mike Steube led the fourth segment. The battle was now between Paul and Mike, the two switching position back and forth until Mike put himself out of reach by 4 laps at the end. Philippe could never recover but set a sizzling fast lap for the race.
Jeff Easterly bettered terry de los Santos for fourth, with Lee Hines in all kinds of trouble on this difficult track.

* Fastest lap

Retro Pro Race

Paul Sterrett led the first segment on white with 46 laps over Philippe Terry de los Santos and Jeff Easterly with 44. Kyle Matthes, returning to racing after his horrid accident, was doing well to keep up with 43 laps. Allen Low found his lightweight frame hard to handle and put 43 laps on blue, with both Lee Hines and Doug Matthes into mechanical trouble with gear problems. In the second heat, Mike Steube found his gear a bit loose and despite a rapid repair, turned only 39 laps. Terry de los Santos now had the temporary lead over Jeff Easterly and Philippe now on black, followed by Kyle and Allen. Philippe led the next segment with 2 over Jeff, but the timer told the story as Mike Steube's average was neraly the same. Paul Sterrett was "first in class" with his inline fitted with the Pro-Slot motor, driving his usual near-perfection. Philippe built a 2-lap cushion (per average) over Mike Steube, while the rotation continued. To complicate matters, Philippe forgot about the rotation and ran the white lane now deserted by Lee Hines who had given up the fight with various problems. After adding the laps, Mike won by a single lap over Philippe. Paul was third and "first in class" with his Retro Can-Am chassis. Kyle drove very well to finish in fourth spot, two laps ahead of jeff easterly who had his usual fun. Allen Low would have been better off to listen to Philippe's advice, "add lead". His car was fast but way too light for this track, and it was mostly out of control. Once lead was added, it behaved a lot better after the race. Doug Matthes recovered some but was too far behind, and Lee Hines had insurmountable wrench-to-gear problems, that were fixed in seconds for him after the race. A new learning experience from the elder of D3 racing.

The Concours winners with the Sterrett MAC Porsche 917-30, Jeff Easterly MAC Gulf-Mirage and Terry de los Santos MAC McLaren M20. They were all so well turned out that the win is shared between all three.

Ready to go! The race was very intense and Mike Steube emerged the winner, his third win of the day in 3 races.

* Fastest lap

Little Kyle Matthes (at right) raced as good as ever, and we are all so pleased to see how quickly he recovered from awful injuries. Allen Low prepares for his low-flying event, while Lee Hines ponders.

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