40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS OF RAIN ---
BUT NOT ON SCCAs APRIL FOOLS REGIONAL RACE
By Ed Kemper
After endless rain on Oahu seemingly forever, the April fools SCCA
regional race turned out to be rainless and dry. Even with this
near miracle, since this is the last wheel-to-wheel clash until the
track closing issue is resolved, the event was a mixed plate.
Turnout was reasonable given the bad weather for the last month and
that fact it was a Saturday. Six Formula Ford drivers appeared with
Scott Waracka bringing out his new Ford. Reappearing after a fairly
long absence was Todd MacNaughton in his old number 21 he had sold
to Doug Fitch. Regulars Steve Timpson, Anders Nervell, Alan Zane
and Richie Miao filled the rest of the field.
Closed wheel drivers totaled seven with one driver abandoning long
track racing to try out wheel to wheel----Osamu Manabe in his Mustang
Cobra. The two top contenders in the form of Scott Schulte (Porsche
911) and Egmar Klemmer (240Z) were ready to do battle again. Michael
Truolla (Z06), Ed Kemper (S-2000), and Osamu made up the next group.
Sy Kodama in his Acura and Carl Debo in the RX-7 rounded out this
group.
Practice had its usual spins and only one damaging event. Kemper, in
the last lap of practice, lost much of his braking power in the chicane
and became slightly airborne over the rumble strips and spun backwards
into the tires and guardrail by the front gate. Other than some
fiberglass bashing, both the car and driver were unhurt.
As has been the practice of the Formula drivers, they decided on 2, 10
lap races, but the closed wheel guys chose to do a 25-lap race.
After qualifying, the open wheel line up was MacNaughton (57.6), Timpson
(58.7), Waracka (58.9), Miao (59.3), Nervell (60.1), and Zane (60.2).
Race one saw a big spin in the second lap in the chicane with then third
place driver Waracka getting sideways and dropping him to end of the
field. Up front MacNaughton was pulling away from the field, as was
Timpson from the other players. As a result of the big spin, Zane leap
to third and likewise Nervell jumped into fourth. Eventually Nervell
passed Zane in lap 8 and Waracka regained one spot to finish fifth.
Round two had MacNaughton move to the end of field to try his passing
skills, and by lap two he was in third place behind Timpson and Waracka.
But by lap 6, MacNaughton was back in the driver’s seat to
finish first again. Again Nervell finished third with Miao in fourth.
Both Zane and Waracka dropped out early with mechanical problems.
The closed wheel cars were nowhere near as tightly bunched as the
Formula drivers.
As usual, Schulte and Klemmer leap ahead of the pack staying very close
to each other until lap 19 when Klemmer had tire problems, which ended
his day.
A broken valve stem on his right front wheel resulted in the tire going
flat without warning midways through turn one. In the process, Klemmer
almost nailed Kodoma.
Turolla in the Vette held a comfortable lead over Kemper and Manabe. The
latter two, however, were tied together from the beginning of the race
to the end with not much space between them at any given moment. Kodama
and Debo diced to finish five and six.
A full field of 14 drivers appeared for the short track session. Other
than some used up brakes and some spinning all had a good and safe time.
Thus, ended the April fools race. But the real question is whether there
going to be any track for racing on Oahu. One group wants a new track
and others want to keep the old one open. In any case, the most populous
island in the chain certainly needs a racetrack no matter what.
Closed Wheel
1 SCOTT SCHULTE PORSCHE 911 56.42
2 MICHAEL TRUOLLA CORVETTE Z06 62.65
3 ED KEMPER ROYALE S 2000 61.08
4 OSAMU MANABE MUSTANG 61.60
5 SY KODAMA ACURA 68.98
6 CARL DEBO MAZDA RX-7 70.59
7 EGMAR KLEMMER DATSUN 240Z 56.28
| Sports Car Club Of America | Hawaii Region |
| Results from Regional Race and SOLO 1 Race | Hawaii Raceway Park |
| 1.320 Miles Road Course | Saturday, April 1, 2006 |
| OPEN WHEEL RACE #1 | 10 LAPS |
| Finish | Driver | Car | Best Lap |
| 1 | Todd MacNaughton | Formula Hawaii | 57.58 | |
| 2 | Steve Timpson | Formula Ford | 59.05 |
| 3 | Anders Nervell | Formula Mirage | 59.80 |
| 4 | Alan Zane | Formula Ford | No Time |
| 5 | Scott Waracka | Formula Ford | 62.38 ime |
| 6 | Richie Miao | Formula Ford 2000 | 60.89 |
| | | | |
| OPEN WHEEL RACE #2 | 10 LAPS |
| Finish | Driver | Car | Best Time |
| 1 | Todd MacNaughton | Formula Hawaii | No Time |
| 2 | Steve Timpson | Formula Ford | No Time | |
| 3 | Anders Nervell | Formula Mirage | No Time |
| 4 | Rickie Miao | Formula Ford | No Time |
| 5 | Scott Waracka | Formula Ford 2000 | No Time |
| 6 | Alan Zane | Formula Ford | No Time |
|
| Closed Wheel Race | 25 Laps |
| Finish | Driver | Car | Best Time |
| 1 | Scott Schulte | Porsche 911 | 56.42 |
| 2 | Michael Truolla | Corvette Z06 | 62.65 |
| 3 | Ed Kemper | Sports 2000 | 61.08 |
| 4 | Osamu Manabe | Mustang | 61.60 |
| 5 | Sy Kodama | Acura Integra | 68.98 |
| 6 | Carl Debo | Mazda RX-7 | 70.59 |
| 7 | Egmar Klemmer | Datsun 240Z | 56.28 |
|
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