Low-flying Justin Phillipson holds off Josh Watson for one more lap while Eric Dienst watches from third place in Saturday morning’s Formula 1 heat race.
Taken from pylon four on the Formula 1 circuit, this clip of Saturday morning’s Formula 1 heat race is an excellent example of how the Gold race should run on Sunday. Justin Phillipson in his classic Shoestring racer, No Strings Attached, is running his usual low and tight line, a position he normally obtains with ease due to his rapid starts.
High and on the outside is Josh Watson in Fraed Naught, an all carbon fiber, high-speed design obtained by building a seven-eighths-scale version of the groundbreaking Nemesis of the 1990s. Its high-aspect-ratio wing and high-speed propeller give it a scalding top speed, but it takes a couple of laps for it to get there—a couple of laps that Justin Phillipson puts to excellent use.
In third place in another carbon speedster, Deja Vu, is Eric Dienst. He’s also building up to speed, but he’ll have to wait an extra lap or two before he can do battle with Justin.
This triangle of racers has been running like this for several years now, and it’s always an exhibition of Phillipson’s excellent flying skills coupled with two very good competitors in ultimately faster airplanes.
Exhaust noises differ between the modern carbon fiber airplanes with their exhaust headers collecting all four cylinders into a single tailpipe, and the stubby individual exhaust stacks on Justin’s older design. The stubby exhausts give a harsh, tractor-like exhaust note that doesn’t sound like that O-200 is turning over 4,000 rpm, but it is. The two carbon fiber airplanes sound smoother and faster, but everyone’s turning approximately the same rpm.
