SCCA Solo Nationals
Heartland Park
Topeka, KS
Formula Junior B
September 16th and 17th
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After a very rainy Pro Solo Finale, the weather cleared out for a perfect two days of the Solo National Championships. Julian had been waiting for this opportunity to compete with drivers from all over the country. His biggest competitor, Michael Montelo, would be present for a rematch of the 2007 SCCA National Tour in Peru, IN. The Formula Junior classes would be the first heat of each day, giving them the least grip and coldest temperatures of Nationals, but the kids were just thrilled to be there.
Day 1 (West Course)
The West Course had one very fast section that was downhill so we needed to make sure we had enough gear to run out, however, there were some tight sections that would need speed carried through to run this tall gear. Julian decided that running our tallest gear that the motor can pull should work well. Having a wet Pro Solo Finale, Julian was unable to scrub in his new tires, so we were a little concerned on how they'd work on the completely new course. We're not sure if Julian was being safe or the tires had little grip, but his first run was just over a full second slower than Michael's. He didn't have any complaints about the motor, so we left it as it was.
After the second runs, Julian was starting to shine as he took a six tenth lead over Montelo. After Michael took his third run, he was still behind Julian by .04 so Julian had some room to throw down his best. He did just that as he crossed the line with a 45.634, a full second faster than anything else in Formula Junior B on this first day. There was still another course, but a one second lead was very comforting for Julian.
Day 2 (East Course)
The East Course had a few more transition sections but was probably the faster of the two and we saw no reason to lower the gearing. On first runs, Michael spun, and Julian got a solid first run with a 41.7. The driver came back saying that the motor had more and needed to be leaned out on the top end, so we did just that. On second runs, Montelo got a solid run under his belt with a 41.6, not leaving any room for Julian to be safe. With a little more top end in the motor, he was able to knock a second off his first run and gain a nine tenth lead. Still not satisfied with the motor, we leaned it out some more for his final run. As Michael Montelo crossed the line on his third run with no improvement, Julian had the victory before his last run. He continued to bring down the time on his last run to finish with a overall gap of 2.3 seconds for the combined courses, and win the first Formula Junior B Solo Nationals competition.
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