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**t-dub** · 03-23-2008, 08:12 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

OK, here's some oldies but goodies: The first one is 1988 and features Bob Yancey in #101 "Perestroika" dueling with Marvin "Lefty" Gardner in #25 "Thunderbird". The second shot is 1992 and features the debut of Bob Pond's #21 "Pond Racer" with Rick Brickert at the controls, doing the arrival fly-by with Brian Sanders in #8 "Dreadnought". Although not really a duelling shot because their not racing, it's still a cool photo. Obviously my camera equipment was pretty crappy but what the hay!

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**Victor Archer** · 03-23-2008, 09:52 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

**Jan** · 03-24-2008, 01:05 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Who will dare to post pics here after Tim and Victor ...

O.k. someone has to do it. Here are some of mine:

Hey - I miss Formula One (they always give us really good racin')

OK and some jets...

Heading for scatter pylon

Backside of the course, I love (not only) first laps of T-6-races

One like that one which should have been on the cover of Air and Space Mag
(but they ignored our more than 70% victory over an refueling military pic)

3 2/3 fixed gear planes racing (without being IF1 or bipes)

**SCEPTER** · 03-24-2008, 02:27 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

some more....

**Wilnit** · 03-24-2008, 05:03 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

These are from the middle of reserved seating (06 & 07)

WRL

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**sierra fox** · 03-24-2008, 05:35 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Check out the coarse pitch on 232 in Wilnits shot

**BuckyD** · 03-24-2008, 07:03 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

'Mighty-Mouse-Merlin-Mustangs' !!!

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**BuckyD** · 03-24-2008, 07:40 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Re: 'Mighty-Mouse-Merlin-Mustangs' !!! -

For me - The Reno '99 Unlimited Gold Championship final (9-19-99) was one of the all-time barn-burner Gold races EVER! My B&W shot showing pilot- Bruce Lockwood in #4 DAGO RED- 'locked-onto' the tail of Bill 'Tiger' Destefani's #7 STREGA, while approaching Outer 4 Pylon during Lap 5, captures the close proximity of The World's Two Fastest P-51D Mustangs to each other during most of the race. Strega's Mouse Motor torched a piston during the final half of Lap 8- forcing Tiger to effect a Mayday exit out of the Gold & giving Bruce Lockwood his 2nd-consecutive Reno Gold win in DAGO RED, at 472.332-av/mph.

These two Super Stangs were also the Top Two Reno '99 Unlimited qualifiers: #7 @ 479.620-mph & #4 @ 479.237-mph, which gave air race fans a hint of the thrilling Gold Duel that transpired on Sunday. I'll sure never forget that one, lemme tell ya! Here's a BIG THANKS to the two great pilots-Tiger & Bruce, (& their respective teams + engine builder- Dwight Thorn & his crew) for making this incredible historic air racing duel possible! WOW!!!

DBD

**mayday51** · 03-25-2008, 01:18 AM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Originally posted by BuckyD

Re: 'Mighty-Mouse-Merlin-Mustangs' !!! -

For me - The Reno '99 Unlimited Gold Championship final (9-19-99) was one of the all-time barn-burner Gold races EVER! My B&W shot showing pilot- Bruce Lockwood in #4 DAGO RED- 'locked-onto' the tail of Bill 'Tiger' Destefani's #7 STREGA, ..................................
I'll sure never forget that one, lemme tell ya! \! WOW!!! \ DBD

Bucky,
I was just reliving that race. We were on the flat in front of section three.....(our "Zoo crew")......wonderful sounds....could have covered both planes with a blanket !

.......time to put on a sweater...I can't shake the chills again.

**jarrodeu** · 03-25-2008, 09:51 AM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Here are some from this year that are not from the pylons.
Jarrod

**SpinB** · 03-25-2008, 01:53 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

"Buick and the Bear"!!! Now that's an adventure show I'd tune into!! Way to bring it, Jarrod!!!

**MustangFan** · 03-25-2008, 04:56 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Originally posted by BuckyD

For me - The Reno '99 Unlimited Gold Championship final (9-19-99) was one of the all-time barn-burner Gold races EVER!

Gotta add my vote too for this one as the BEST Gold Final I've seen so far. Thanks very much for posting that B&W pic Bucky. Brought back good memories for me as well.

Here's hoping for a rematch in 2008. My money's on Tiger (of course).

**Propellerhead** · 03-25-2008, 06:04 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Here's Marilyn Dash in the process of passing a couple of the boys on Thursday of Reno 2007...

Attached Files

**t-dub** · 03-25-2008, 09:18 PM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Originally posted by BuckyD

Re: 'Mighty-Mouse-Merlin-Mustangs' !!! -

For me - The Reno '99 Unlimited Gold Championship final (9-19-99) was one of the all-time barn-burner Gold races EVER! My B&W shot showing pilot- Bruce Lockwood in #4 DAGO RED- 'locked-onto' the tail of Bill 'Tiger' Destefani's #7 STREGA, while approaching Outer 4 Pylon during Lap 5, captures the close proximity of The World's Two Fastest P-51D Mustangs to each other during most of the race. Strega's Mouse Motor torched a piston during the final half of Lap 8- forcing Tiger to effect a Mayday exit out of the Gold & giving Bruce Lockwood his 2nd-consecutive Reno Gold win in DAGO RED, at 472.332-av/mph.

These two Super Stangs were also the Top Two Reno '99 Unlimited qualifiers: #7 @ 479.620-mph & #4 @ 479.237-mph, which gave air race fans a hint of the thrilling Gold Duel that transpired on Sunday. I'll sure never forget that one, lemme tell ya! Here's a BIG THANKS to the two great pilots-Tiger & Bruce, (& their respective teams + engine builder- Dwight Thorn & his crew) for making this incredible historic air racing duel possible! WOW!!!

DBD

Although I agree that it was one of the best ever, It wasn't the BEST. The '91 version with Bear, Strega, and Tsunami going head to head for 8 laps, with any one of them being able to win it, and at the finish line being able to throw a blanket over all three, plus the fact that all three broke the race record at over 478 mph, was unbelievable! Throw in the fact of the diversity of the aircraft (Bearcat, P-51D, and Homebuilt) and that makes it just that much better. Rare Bear had an average speed of 481.618 with a fast lap of 487 mph. This was in 1991! With all of these things in mind, that, Gentlemen, makes it the BEST race ever! After 17 years, I can still feel the excitement of that day.......

**BuckyD** · 03-26-2008, 02:59 AM

Re: DUELS IN THE SUN!!!

Hi t-dub -

You're absolutely right on all points & most air racing afficionados would agree that the Reno '91 Unlimited Gold (Sun. 9/15/91) stands as the- 'Race of Races' in Unlimited Class Championship competitions to date.

Again, the primary focus of this thread is on two-plane-'duels', as noted, and the 1999 Unlimited Gold certainly fits the bill - ranking as ONE of the top 'duels' ever, and one of the best Gold races

And- the Reno '91 Gold displayed some truly amazing 'duels' going on at the head of the race, as you mentioned, between the leader- Lyle Shelton in #77 Rare Bear & challenger- Bill 'Tiger' Destefani, in #7 Strega throughout the race, and between Tiger & Skip Holm in #18 Tsunami. The top three finishing racers were all running at peak performance - putting out all the power they had available without any mechanical handicap! It was indeed a 'dream race' for the fans of air racing who were lucky to be on hand to witness this unforgettable show of speed.

I was shooting the '91 Gold from the West Chute (aka- 'Valley of Speed') off the W. Guide Pylon on the 'legal side' of the fence. It was definately one damn hard race to photograph for two reasons- the planes were going by so damn FAST, and it was incredibly tempting to want to just watch & enjoy the great racing going on, instead of 'looking thru the hole' of the camera viewfinder.

Anyway, here's a series of shots I took in sequence of this race for you, t-dub, and others to check out. (Sorry they're not top quality photos, but they do offer some perspective on position refs. of the front runners during the course of the race.) Hope they stoke the embers of your fond recollections of Reno's 'ULTIMATE Barn-Burner' Gold!

Photos (L-R), top-

1. Pace Lap - Cross-field view of #77, #7 & #18 running close together along the E. Chute towards Outer 4 Pylon to make their first turn of the course.

2. Pace Lap - The three leaders seen turning Outer 4 Pylon, w/Rare Bear putting some more lead on her hot pursuers.

3. Pace Lap - The leaders starting their turn around Outer 6 Pylon.

4. Pace Lap - The leaders turning Outer 6, starting their dive down onto the West Chute ('V-O-S') - that's Dreadnought in 4th-place.

5. Pace Lap - Bear shows the way down the W. Chute, leaving Pylon 6 back in the distance.

Bottom row (L-R) -

1. Lap 2 - Rare Bear & Strega continue their duel - again turning Outer 6 - now some distance ahead of Skip Holm in Tsunami.

2. Lap 4 - #77 & #7's battle even tighter this time around Outer 6 Pylon for the chute (note their somewhat higher altitude now).

3. Lap 4 - #77 regains more lead over #7, banking by Outer 7 Pylon to turn Pylon 8 & enter the main straightaway.

4. Lap 6 - Bear & Strega again lock horns off the W. Guide Pylon in their wild dueling contest, w/Lyle Shelton tenaciously holding onto his lead. (Note the fenceline power lines hanging above in the LH upper corner of the photo.)

5. Lap 8 - (Final lap) Shelton & Rare Bear burn past Outer 6 & dive for the VOS w/the lead in hand, as Holm in #18 Tsunami rapidly closes with Destefani & Strega in second.

If I ever wished I could be in two places at the same time, it was then - watching the finish in the stands in front of Reno/Stead Home Pylon! Heard it was really something to see (& hear!) these three Unlimited Titans getting their checkered flags!!! 'Duels In The Sun' - OH YEAH!