On Sunday we had our first official race of the new 2009 season, starting with our fastest categories. We ran 3 races actually, one for our GT-Challenge class (GT3 or touring cars with motor restrictions and 1.4mm minimum ground clearence), one for our GT-Super class (GT1 cars, unlimited mods, non mag only) and one for our LMP Racers (14.8V inline unlimited mods).

First race to be ran was the GT challenge. Below you can see the grid of racers:


The car to beat in this class seems to be the Ninco Megane. All Ninco cars are eligible for this class, but only the Megane and the 997 are allowed to use the Spirit XXX motor instead of the NC6 which is the only choice for the others. The 997 is a bit more difficult since it is shorter and narrower. The Spirit 406 coupe (not the silhouette) is another strong contender, being easier and more forgiving than the Nincos. Inline cars like the Fly BMW GTR or the Alfa 156 are not as fast as the AW cars, but are much more enjoyable and easy to drive. Another choice may be the HRS chassis inline, under any Fly or SCX GT class body, but still AW cars are faster.
Back to the race, it was a duel to the finish between Petros and George with the two Renaults. It was Petros with the silver car who edged up to the top, only 12meters ahead of George who drove the blue-yellow one. I ended up third with the 406 that I borrowed from Chris the Creative Hobby owner, for this race only. In fourth place Christine with the white 997, closely followed by Vasilis who drove the only inline car, a Fly Evo3 Alfa 156. Then it was Maria with the other yellow-black 997 (the one with the yellow wing), Neoptolemos with other yellow 997 and finally his father Alexis with the last 997 (the red one). A Porsche parade, but still these cars have not shown the effectiveness of the Meganes.
So on the winners podium:

Petros on top, George second and it was me in third place.

Final laps and additional distance:
1 Petros -------------> 152laps + 23,37m
2 George-------------> 152laps + 11,25m
3 Timos --------------> 145laps + 19,87m
4 Christine -----------> 141laps + 22,03m
5 Vasilis --------------> 140laps + 13,24m
6 Maria ---------------> 132laps + 8,16m
7 Neoptolemos -------> 124laps + 11,29m
8 Alexis ---------------> 120laps + 15,95m

A good race after all, fun and competive. Still I believe some rules must be refined to even up the field a bit, especially for the inline cars.