It was the day of the big race. All the Formula BMW hotshots were out at Monza, BigDaddy, Slash (the Texan), SUR6E, HBomb, and other big names around the Open Wheel racing league.
It was a warm, sultry day; the kind of day you just wanted to sit back on the veranda with an Old-Fashioned glass filled with single-malt Scotch and watch the clouds drift by. But Monza is, well, Monza! Not the kind of place that makes you feel like sitting still. So under the hot sun the pit crews worked feverishly to squeeze every 100th of a second out of their machines; drivers pushed their cars to the limit in order to get a good starting position.
During warmup Slash came by with a 2:12, then a 2:04, and finally, with a 2:02 that topped the session.
On to qualifying!
BigDaddy and Surge fought for Pole as they challenged each other down to a blistering 2:01 and change. Marc Connell (I think, something like that . . .), also placed a 2:01, eventually pushing Slash down to a 5th place starting position with a 2:03 qualifying run, right in the middle of all the hoopla sure to occur at the first corner, the dreaded first turn Variante!
Now, it’s race time. The men climbed into their machines and went to position themselves at their respective starting positions. The tension felt like 240 volts of electricity, the sun beating down! The red lights came on, the revs went up, all hearts beating like John Bonham’s big bass drum!
The crowd held their breath. Then the starting lights went out and the race was on! The crowd and the engines roared as one. Down to the Variante! Sure enough, there was mayhem; cars and carbon fiber flying as thick as shrapnel. Slash got bumped from behind, but made it through, but all the way down to 11th.
He soldiered on.
On through the Curva Grande, a sweeping right-hander full of G-forces, and down to the Roggia Variante and on through the Lesmos. Then a long straight, under the bridge, and into the Ascari Chicane, down the long back straight and into the Parabolica, another long sweeping right-hander packed with enough G-forces to literally pull you out of the car. I don’t recommend this turn at full speed to anyone wearing dentures! Finally, back onto the front straight and the first lap was complete.
Lap after lap, Slash worked his way through the field (OK, people started to drop out), eventually working his way up to fifth, then fourth, and . . THIRD! Three laps to go, Slash followed a racer through the Parabolica, close on his heels, onto the front straight, drafting his opponent. Then, he pulled out of the slipstream and went for it. Diving inside, Slash grew parallel with his opponent, both cars racing for the Variante del Rettifilo! Slash inched past him, who gave up the corner rather than overshoot. A good, clean racing pass (Slash’s first, and boy howdy, did he have a sudden urge to go to the bathroom)!
But Slash’s race wasn’t done! On the last lap, trying to keep his car on the road and finish a good, clean race, his nemesis returned, looking for revenge. Heading for the Parabolica, Slash is passed! Again, into the sweeping turn the two opponents raced, locked in a grim struggle for a podium finish. Out of the Parabolica, onto the front straight, Slash drafted and, just before the finish line, passed his opponent for third place and a podium finish!
Slash crawled out of his car, shaking like a leaf, knelt down and kissed and hugged the ground until the medics came by and took him off to the ICU ward.It was the day of the big race. All the Formula BMW hotshots were out at Monza, BigDaddy, Slash (the Texan), SUR6E, HBomb, and other big names around the Open Wheel racing league. It was a warm, sultry day; the kind of day you just wanted to sit back on the veranda with an Old-Fashioned glass filled with single-malt Scotch and watch the clouds drift by. But Monza is, well, Monza! Not the kind of place that makes you feel like sitting still. So under the hot sun the pit crews worked feverishly to squeeze every 100th of a second out of their machines; drivers pushed their cars to the limit in order to get a good starting position.
It was the day of the big race. All the Formula BMW hotshots were out at Monza, BigDaddy, Slash (the Texan), SUR6E, HBomb, and other big names around the Open Wheel racing league.
It was a warm, sultry day; the kind of day you just wanted to sit back on the veranda with an Old-Fashioned glass filled with single-malt Scotch and watch the clouds drift by. But Monza is, well, Monza! Not the kind of place that makes you feel like sitting still. So under the hot sun the pit crews worked feverishly to squeeze every 100th of a second out of their machines; drivers pushed their cars to the limit in order to get a good starting position.
During warmup Slash came by with a 2:12, then a 2:04, and finally, with a 2:02 that topped the session.
On to qualifying!
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