speed circuit [Updated October 2006]  

2006 WBC Report  

 2007 Status: pending 2007 GM commitment

Kevin Keller, MD

2006 Champion

Offsite links:

  

Event History
1991    Scott Goehring      24
1992    Mike Fitzgerald      18
1993    Chris Hancock      16
1994    Andrew House      29
1995    Lane Hess      23
1996    Trevor Bender      26
1997    Robert Kircher      25
1998    John Weber      38
1999    Kevin Keller     27
2000    Gerald Lientz     28
2001    Scott Cornett     29
2002    Lance Ribeiro     35
2003    Douglas Schulz     32
2004    John Welage     30
2005     Dennis Nicholson     37
2006    Kevin Keller     32

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Scott Cornett      FL    06    146
  2.  Kevin Keller       MD    06     94
  3.  Jimmy Fleckenstein VA    06     58
  4.  Dennis Nicholson   NY    06     56
  5.  John Welage        OH    04     52
  6.  Lance Ribeiro      NH    02     52
  7.  Doug Schulz        MD    04     46
  8.  Gerald Lientz      VA    03     43
  9.  Terry Schulz       PA    04     40
 10.  Trevor Bender      CA    02     32
 11.  Chris Hancock      PA    06     28
 12.  Darin Morley       NC    04     26
 13.  Jeff Cornett       FL    01     24
 14.  Lane Hess          PA    00     16
 15.  Jason O'Donnell    OH    01     13
 16.  John Sharp III     FL    06     12
 17.  Lane Newbury       TX    04     12
 18.  Franklin Haskell   NH    03      9
 19.  Dan McGowan        ME    01      8
 20.  Dave Anderson      PA    00      8

2006 Laurelists

Scott Cornett, FL
2nd

Dennis Nicholson, NY
3rd

Jimmy Fleckenstein, VA
4th

Chris Hancock
5th

John Sharp III, FL
6th


Past Winners

Scott Goehring, OH
1991

Mike Fitzgerald, CT
1992

Chris Hancock, NH
1993

Andrew House, MD
1994

Lane Hess, PA
1995

Trevor Bender, CA
1996

Robert Kircher, RI
1997

John Weber, MD
1998

Kevin Keller, MD
1999, 2006

Gerald Lientz, VA
2000

Scott Cornett, FL
2001

Lance Ribeiro, NH
2002

Doug Schulz, MD
2003

John Welage, OH
2004

Dennis Nicholson, NY
2005

 Speed Circuit is among the most stable group of players at WBC with only 20 players claiming 48 laurelist places.

 John Sharp III ponders whether he should make his move at the next corner. He was among the leaders again this year.

 The race games with their scale model cars are among the most photogenic and tactile events at WBC. Boys love toys!

first to win a pair

33 drivers took on three different quaifying tracks seeking entry to the semi-finals. Long Beach, Nurbergring, and Monza challenged players with different track styles and produced a diverse set of semi-finalists. All six qualifying races were won by different drivers -- Kevin Keller, Jim Fleckenstein, Dennis Nicholson, Doug Galaullo, Terry Schulz, and Scott Cornett -- and five more drivers qualified with second place finishes.

Twenty drivers qualified for a run at Montjuich and the ten spots in the Final. Terry and Doug won their respective tracks and dramatic moments in the final corner of both races decided the eight drivers who would provide the competition in the Final.

Six previous Speed Circuit champions toed the line for the start of Vitesse Jean-Behra trying to be the first ever to claim a second title. Terry outbid fellow semi-final winner Doug for the pole and broke out to an early lead. However, Doug would soon regain the advanrtage and hold a one-space lead as the second lap began.

Corner 7 of lap 2 witnessed the most discussed move of the race as Doug slowed going into the corner to block Terry from exiting cleanly. Terry attempted a forced pass to move into the lead but was blocked and stranded in the corner. Terry was immediately passed by three cars and broke his acceleration on the very next turn -- leading to his retirement.

The last lap began with Doug nearly a full turn ahead of the pack. But Kevin Keller spent seven wear in four corners over three consecutive turns to pull along side coming out of corner 7, setting up a side-by-side duel with Doug for the championship.

Kevin's failure to push his top speed and Doug's success pushing his acceleration kept both drivers even going down the back straight. Doug kept pushing his car, exceeding his top speed to gain the initiative over Kevin then used his last wear and a brakes test to stay safely out of corner 8. Running out of options, Kevin made a naked chance in corner 8 followed by a test brakes prior to a second naked chance in the last corner to claim the lead. Doug, seeing his shot at a championship slipping away, attempted a naked chance of his own in the final corner that resulted in a crash.

Kevin walked away as the first holder of two Speed Circuit. titles in a very exclsuive club as he was followed across the finish line by five other returning laurelists. Last year's top six had reclaimed all the laurels again this year - merely reshuffling the top spots ... the first time in memory that had happened for any WBC event.

More details on Speed Circuit racing as practised at WBC at http://www.lucidphoenix.com/sc/wbc/

 GM      Doug Schulz  [10th Year]   NA 
    doug@lucidphoenix.com   NA

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