It’s that time of year again – everyone is getting ready for
another exciting Reno Air Race week. There is a lot of new happenings, some
returning racers who were missed and other news to share. So let’s get started.
Sport Class
As we have said in the past, the Sport Class is the place to
be. The Class is coming off an amazingly successful PRS week with 54 pilots and
instructors, 48 planes flying a total of 500 sorties between the FAST Formation
event and PRS. That was 8 days of flying – and makes herding cats look easy.
They originally had 49 entries and are expecting a group of
44. This will allow them Gold, Silver, Bronze and Medallion Races. The guess is
you’d have to be over 400mph to win the gold. Over 300 to win the Silver and
270 would be a good time in Bronze and the Medallion race will be faster than
anything in the past as well.
The Gold group will see John Parker attempting to repeat in
his beautiful Thunder Mustang, Blue Thunder II. Jeff Lavelle is back with the
world’s fastest Glasair and we know he’s ready. Dave Sterling, Andrew Findlay
and Lynn Farnsworth are all in the hunt for the crown. Gary Mead and Vince
Walker may be there as well – and who knows what Kevin Eldredge in Relentless has
up his sleeve.
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Jeff Lavell is BACK! And he’s FAST! Credit: Rob “Phred” Miller |
Two fan favorites should be back this year, Elliot Seguin is
signed up to bring back Darryl Greenamyer’s old ride, #33 with the help of Andy
Chiavetta. And Colleen Keller is slated to bring back Dennis Stutes old Super
Legacy. This will be a very exciting group to watch.
The other big news in the Sport Class is the inaugural
Slalom or Match Race. The concept will be one on one competition between two
Sport aircraft. Both aircraft will be on the course doing a side by side slalom
race. They will utilize the Formula/Biplane course. They practiced and trained for it during PRS
and it looked pretty fun! Currently they are looking for a bracket of 8 pilots with
single elimination. I’m pretty excited about seeing this and also interested in
the crowd’s interest in events like this for the future.
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| And Race 33 should be there Credit: Tim Adams |
Jets
The Jet Class is also a growing group and they seem to be
working on a very competitive event this year. Rick Vandam in American Spirit
will be taking on last year’s winner Pete Zaccagnino in his Vampire. Sean
Cushing in Fast Company will also make it interesting. Zach McNeill is also
bringing a Vampire. This all sounds good to me. The Jets will again offer close
racing and a lot of fun!
Formula 1
This Class has been reinvigorated over the last few years. With
years of pilot and aircraft decline – we were concerned about the future of the
F1 Class -- but, not anymore! This year, they have a full field of 24 racers. To
put it in perspective, the last time they had a full field of 24 was in 2002.
The record was 29 in 1991.
Three things have happened to bring life back to the Class.
- Air Race 1 – while they did not have any contests this year, the excitement of a World Wide Air Race for Formula 1 sent several people scrambling to dig through the barn and get their airplanes flying again.
- GripLockTies and Creighton King put together the Slab Wing Dash for Cash. $1000 Cash Money (as Creighton likes to say) will go to the fastest Slab Wing Cassutt (or other Slab Wing racer) He is putting up the money for Fastest Speed (determined by Qualifying time and Race Speed – there is a formula, of course.) I think it’s a great idea – money talks, as we know!
- And the final element is a sense of camaraderie this group has developed. Between Justin Phillipson and his West Coast operation and Phil Goforth and his Midland, TX based Fly Boyz Race Camp and the IF1 Doctor, Steve Tumlin – there is just renewed interest and support for those just starting out in IF1 Air Racing.
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| Grip Lock Ties is sponsoring the Slab Wing Dash for Cash Credit: Tim Adams |
This Class will be very exciting to watch this year. And –
all you need to do is wake up early enough to be there at the start. You
shouldn’t miss it!
Biplanes
Biplanes are having an interesting time this year also. With
Tom Aberle announcing that he and Phantom are taking the year off – there is an
open spot at the top. I know several of the Gold Racers have been putting in
the extra effort to get the win. Jeff Rose is probably the favorite in his bright
yellow Mong, Reno Rabbit. Of all the racers on the roster this year, he has the
fastest time in the past. But – that doesn’t account for what others have done
in the off-season. The Gold should be very exciting this year. And a New Champion will be crowned!
T6
It seems the T6 Class has the same three guys at the top
each year. Nick Macy in his gorgeous Six Cat, John Lohmar in his Radial
Velocity and Dennis Buehne in Midnight Miss III. Last year had Chris Rushing
coming out of the Silver to give Dennis a run for his money at the end – but Dennis
still won.
This year, I have an idea things may be a bit different.
See, Eric Woelbing is not bringing his Bare Essentials this year. Nope, he’s
bringing Eddie Von Fossen’s old Miss TNT. I have a feeling he will be in the
mix for the Gold! T6 Racing is always close – and always fun to watch.
Unlimited
The Unlimited Class is having a difficult year. It seems
Rare Bear decided to take a year off at the same time that Strega decided to
take the year off. That brings a completely new view at the top of the
leaderboard.
Jay Consalvi was to fly Strega this year, but he will be
flying Czech Mate instead. So, I have a feeling most of the Strega fans will be
pulling for the little Yak this year.
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| Shafter Power Czech Mate will be taking Strega’s place this year Credit Rob “Phred” Miller |
Voodoo with Stevo Hinton will be there trying to win back the
title. They have been making subtle changes and testing during the off-season.
I know they will be ready to go.
And there is always everyone’s favorite Sunday Ride – Dreadnaught.
Dread has won before and if anyone else has a hiccup, this could be the Sanders’
year. They are always poised and ready to rock and roll.
The rest of the roster is light – yes, we know. But we need
to support the races during the lean years, so there will be better years. Just
be there! Wear your favorite team’s colors and let them know you are still
cheering them on!
The Show
THE BLUE ANGELS WILL BE THERE! They put on a heck of a
display and I cannot wait to see them back at Reno. We’ll see you there –
September 14-18! But, if you’re a REAL FAN – you’ll be there by the 11th
to watch all the Qualifying Action!
Fly Low, Fly Fast and Turn Left!
See in at Stead.
Marilyn Dash
Ruby Red Racing
Pylon Place
Ruby Red Racing
Pylon Place
