tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11245273541163723362024-02-06T18:31:25.940-08:00Junk Racingdoor2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-42178210921178311252013-09-22T17:26:00.002-07:002013-09-22T17:50:00.765-07:00A Classic MiniSurrounded by tires and a light smell of fuel with a Gatorade in one hand... discussing the recent radiator leak we found, a flag station crew casually walked over to our pits and half jokingly asked "a couple teams complained about an aggressive mini... is it you guys? first time I heard somebody complain about a mini on track"...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZUQHVRoOPhyyvukZnjT5DdFpqWkf5svuRjjTMJ6_QA_uC81q-KbPCLQvfZY9DVtHx2ARgFXpelO8kOPRakSCJDNUhW8q4PV_fFy0K-hr_0MlRgiQAHxGOn9-9TFMgl6SU5MCsYSOvvs/s1600/team_spank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZUQHVRoOPhyyvukZnjT5DdFpqWkf5svuRjjTMJ6_QA_uC81q-KbPCLQvfZY9DVtHx2ARgFXpelO8kOPRakSCJDNUhW8q4PV_fFy0K-hr_0MlRgiQAHxGOn9-9TFMgl6SU5MCsYSOvvs/s320/team_spank.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
I smiled, we looked at each other, we knew who it was... but we kept it quiet, and laughed it off.<br />
It was a 60's Austin mini... a right hand drive, a first for me... on my local track, the <a href="http://www.ridgemotorsportspark.com/">famous ridge motorsports park.</a> A dream come true...<br />
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I would be racing with the famous Mr.Spank who brought a two British car team for the Pacific Northwest Lemons race. While the team won #1st in class C with an Austin America, the mini came in class 3rd, due to some radiator problems. More coverage here on <a href="http://blog.caranddriver.com/24-hours-of-lemons-pacific-northworst-the-winners/">Car and Driver lemons blog</a>. <br />
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More of mini racing action later in the video.. which probably will give some hints on how my 2 hour stint really was, but racing with Spank was a unique experience in its own that deserves some attention. <br />
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Lemons is widely known as a place where old and shitty cars retire in the hands of teams, drivers who have poor judgment... that's for sure, I would know as I'm one of them.... Costumes, great bbq's, odd penalties...and personalities, cars and creations that make no sense what so ever are raced for hours at a time... worked on days if not weeks prior...<br />
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Why do we spend this much energy, $$$ and time in crap can racing... I will never know, I'm only here for the race.. for the drive, that's what I'm good at. But there are quite a few personalities, talented individuals.. who otherwise could have spent their talent inventing, curing diseases or even improving other peoples lives...<br />
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Spank is one of them, a talented.. an interesting, a deep, humble fellow... who is well known in the mini cult, but more known in the lemons quarters, for his crazy creations... During Saturday, a Top Gear spin off conducted some interviews by the pits, and I captured some of that with my go-pro... lets hear it from Spank himself on his latest creations... then we'll top it off with me "spanking" some faster cars in a classic mini, enjoy :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tHJUzIpny6c" width="560"></iframe><br />door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-39893207762018422432013-07-18T21:13:00.001-07:002013-07-18T21:18:53.540-07:00The "36"It was 2:30am, when somebody knocked on my window... <br />
That was a first, being woken up in a parking lot, wearing a full racing suit, in a rental car.<br />
For a moment I had no idea where I was... then quickly realized, it was finally my turn...turn to race.<br />
<br />
I would be racing with Team Paul Newman's Revenge at the infamous "36 hours of Spokane" Chump Car race :) This was a well run machine and quite the contrary to a junk car...it had great attention to detail all around.<br />
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The madness would start in the dark, Friday at 10pm... span across 2 nights... and end Sunday 10am under a bright sun. But I arrived Friday early and met Jonathan and Joe, an analytical and in tune father son duo. They had a great operation, years of experience and great amount of know how. <br />
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I also wasn't the only new driver, met some really cool and passionate people on our team and also got to see Beach Dudes Racing captain who I had raced with last year!<br />
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But walking to the pits, putting on my helmet, none of this was on my mind... I only had one thought .... "its dark". I would be driving a Nissan 240SX for the first time on a track that I never raced before and at night, yet again another first... and I was more worried about night than the car or track. All cars had huge spotlights... but trying to learn a track blinded by 50 other cars was one experience that I will never forget.<br />
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I had a scary but clean stint that night... really scared the shit out of me. But the next day, under the bright sun, really felt the car and experienced a 90 minute long blitz.. this car can out-brake and corner consistently like nothing else... Was a pleasure to drive.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePlMqMbyPV_vSS5KE4wQ4CV8OO6Pj_XC6SmvWUJfKI1ByiYmTMDme8QrEwpKvsjP1bEjWNxxvOEDbmg4zk5bjpqVc-SW3RwKTu3L2RzUA7YjIjfv-uweSi0bPzjC9VOjHQxXJaSPh2h4/s1600/flipped_33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePlMqMbyPV_vSS5KE4wQ4CV8OO6Pj_XC6SmvWUJfKI1ByiYmTMDme8QrEwpKvsjP1bEjWNxxvOEDbmg4zk5bjpqVc-SW3RwKTu3L2RzUA7YjIjfv-uweSi0bPzjC9VOjHQxXJaSPh2h4/s320/flipped_33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Our car flipped, we blew the transmission, I believe twice... ripped 2 tires on track, a few contacts. Not to mention all the mayhem and wrecked cars from the 50 that started... I think a bit less than half were running at the end... an amazing race, thank you Jonathan and Joe for the seat!<br />
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Btw, its a shame, half asleep I forgot my GoPro, and have absolutely no footage...what so ever. As my wife likes to say ... Idiot!door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-11912047347256327932013-06-23T15:59:00.002-07:002013-06-24T19:15:26.728-07:00One YearWhat can I say, has been quite a busy start to summer. Only a few days ago, I realized .. one year. One year since we moved to Seattle. I came to this year "fully committed"...but yet uncertain. Now only a reflection of it in my mirror I'm already too busy aiming for the next one. Like I said its been quite busy.. can't complain :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcgOEom2jxUKrQ2YM138z1KZdpZ6WDDzGughlHd5neXql0eazCxoEGUDBq5HXnWqqwYTusaFdTUXG7vgJPbM38fJtIhWE_OlB_ic49L0AVh1A9UPsffkPfBrS-YKYE3cFZGju8A0UHi8/s1600/lemons_fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcgOEom2jxUKrQ2YM138z1KZdpZ6WDDzGughlHd5neXql0eazCxoEGUDBq5HXnWqqwYTusaFdTUXG7vgJPbM38fJtIhWE_OlB_ic49L0AVh1A9UPsffkPfBrS-YKYE3cFZGju8A0UHi8/s200/lemons_fix.jpg" width="150" /></a>It all started with a race I couldn't make, the great 24 Hours of Lemons - New Hampshire , later to learn our car was kaput anyway, well until the last hour of the race. Which got Tom the well deserved and prestigious "heroic fix" award. <br />
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Tom believes this track has cursed us all along. 3 races and 3 mechanical failures, how can he forget that? But I still remember the first one, the one we witnessed the arrival of Andre Gomes, at his first wheel-to-wheel race, destroying our lap times for his first ever outing and as-well as the engine later on that day :) <br />
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Now Andre, as I had covered <a href="http://junkracing.blogspot.com/2013/03/some-unfinished-business.html">earlier</a> has already started winning races in his first Skip Barber championship. He is either or 2nd or 1st in the points and IMHO will win this! I'll continue to cover his journey here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ExmncwfK9_-AUVQEUi6y4XhszudHLe0bYY6lVXPL2rR77CTwtZxlXb_8M1JAkDyenQl1euTFVbxh_ttQKpBeW60wINMkuEmGXCzh8Jen7Gk_3hnEcMISCUQGV0KDT7BUg5Z-svu1T9g/s1600/karting2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ExmncwfK9_-AUVQEUi6y4XhszudHLe0bYY6lVXPL2rR77CTwtZxlXb_8M1JAkDyenQl1euTFVbxh_ttQKpBeW60wINMkuEmGXCzh8Jen7Gk_3hnEcMISCUQGV0KDT7BUg5Z-svu1T9g/s320/karting2.jpg" width="320" /></a>Recently, one of my childhood friends Tamer and I decided to dive right into 4-stroke karting. The cheapest form of karting (besides rental leagues ). We both got used karts, engine packages and finally put together our karts and started getting our hands dirty with a few local races, test/tune days and playing with setup. First race came 3rd, but have to be honest...still a lot more work to do on setup and tuning. I have a feeling this will be a great way for me to learn this part of racing...which I have no knowledge today.<br />
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Here is a fast lap from a recent test day:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RiaviLOogQ4?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
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Tamer also recently got a yellow Lotus Elise.. so I have a feeling both our hands will be busy this summer with karting and track days! :)door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-20204290295098460802013-05-01T12:35:00.002-07:002013-06-25T13:13:52.425-07:0024 Hours of Lemons - Sears Pointless Race Report 2013<br />
Its quite ironic that my last post was at a airport getting ready for the first race of 2013 and now i'm yet again listening to crying babies at another airport blabbing about that very same race... the circle of life they say, perhaps... :)<br />
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But, what a race that was...! I was very happy to see Jerry and Colin, the mighty RX7, Ozer and his family as-well! Here is a pic from Sat pre-race meeting with the one and only Mr Lemons Jay, figure out who is who :)<br />
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As I had mentioned in my earlier post this would be Ozer's first race... and i have a feeling it will not be his last! :) He did a great job by staying out of major trouble... had a few moments but we all did when we started racing, those were baked and expected in the plan. I look forward to him joining us for more races in the future in different tracks, in different cars...<br />
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Also last December the RX7 had losts its racing virginity with some glitches but Jerry really pulled everything together this time and the car ran very strong the whole weekend. Out of 175 cars maybe 20-25 cars had an edge, rest was fair game! :)<br />
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We did have some minor brake issues on Sunday which we sorted out afterwards.... losing brake pressure was an interesting experience, it had warnings.. i had to pump the brakes a few laps, then a few more pumps... but I kept on going, was having so much fun...why stop?! :)<br />
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As always, here is some racing footage, first 5 minutes of Sunday morning race start, unplugged. The RX7 was a blast to drive, very rewarding closer to the limit... a true mid-engine experience...<br />
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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1s4TWwH1I0I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-9021522024422743142013-03-22T18:29:00.003-07:002013-03-22T18:29:21.552-07:00Some Unfinished Business :)
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Yet again, here I am, at a another airport waiting for my next adventure.
This time I will be heading to 24 Hours of Lemons – Sears Pointless.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
This will be my 2<sup>nd</sup> race on that track, same team, but different car…we
will be driving the mighty RX7 with Team <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Wankle Grumpy Nerds!. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The team made
their debut race at Lemons Chuckwalla last December, and let’s just say we ran
into some technical glitches and couldn’t complete much laps, but we had a
great time at the track and I sampled some racing with the mighty spitfire
which was the teams 2<sup>nd</sup> car that weekend.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">But this weekend will be special,
we have some unfinished business! Also it will be special because my childhood
friend Ozer, which I had mentioned in my earlier post will be joining us for
his first ever lemons race! A quick flashback to my first race almost 3 years
ago, I remember the butterflies in my stomach, and I almost couldn’t get out of
the pits…as the race cars were not slowing down for me! </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> I’m really happy for him to taste this.. I’m sure
he will be hooked! And I hope he doesn’t blame for me it in the future!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">On other news, as I have been gone
for quite a while, a great update! one of my fellow racer friends, who raced
with us at lemons races back in the east coast, Andre Gomes has made huge news
by winning the 2012 Skip Barber INDYCAR Academy Shootout! You can find more
information here : <a href="http://www.indycar.com/News/2013/01/1-29-Andre-Gomes-wins-inaugural-Skip-Barber-Racing-School-INDYCAR-Academy"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.indycar.com/News/2013/01/1-29-Andre-Gomes-wins-inaugural-Skip-Barber-Racing-School-INDYCAR-Academy</span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">I’m really happy for him, as I always
knew that one day, he will get the opportunity to show his true, raw talent. I
suspect this will be the beginning of his new career, and I also suspect he
will be very successful, I have no doubt that we are witnessing the birth of a
new star! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">This wasn’t easy for Andre
however, he almost made it to the VW TDI Cup Iracing had sponsored (which
kick-started Wyatt Gooden’s career), but got a DQ for a qualifying incident at
the last race. He later on made it from millions of users to the top tier in GT
Academy shootout, went to Silverstone, kicked everybody else’s asses (including
the instructors) but got eliminated because he was seen as a devil in disguise </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> But like they say… 3<sup>rd</sup> is the charm,
and he nailed this one! I am happy to be see him get the opputunity he
deserves, and hoping one day when he gets to big leagues sends me a paddock
pass ;)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Anyways, that’s it for now.. I
have some more interesting bits of news, but that shall come next round!</span><o:p></o:p><br />
door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-47041853636864859472012-12-04T12:55:00.001-08:002012-12-04T13:00:46.142-08:00Childhood Memories and a License<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I finally made the move to Seattle from Boston, almost
~5 months ago, I wasn’t entirely coming to a new town without knowing anybody. As they say, the world is really small sometimes. My
childhood friends Ozer and his brother Tamer apparently had been living in this rainy town for quite some time, and that was
something to look forward to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although I haven’t seen them since I was 14-ish, a
re-introduction was not necessary. We were in some sense the same people but a bit larger, a bit fatter perhaps but also wiser, and we had larger and
faster toys now </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
It was also great to see them as huge petrol heads and track bugs… carrying the Corvette flag. Bikes, cars… and
now also a cute little baby girl </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since all of us had smelled racing fuel one way or the
other, it was time to get the racing license out of the way. Although I had been racing wheel-2-wheel for quite some time, that crap can racing did
not require SCCA licenses. I definitely plan to race something more in the future,, not sure what,, but I know the license was the
natural next step for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All three of us signed up to <a href="http://www.proformanceracingschool.com/">ProFormance racing school</a>, operating
from a local “old time” track, Pacific Raceways. The school owner <a href="http://www.proformanceracingschool.com/about">Don Kitch</a> was great, he covered all fundamentals and on/off track
exercises with his team in the condensed 2 day school, compared to other school’s which require 3 + 2 days + $$$ to qualify for SCCA licenses.<br />
<br />
While walking in the pits, I also met his cute dog ‘GT’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A great name, for a racing family dog… but as I
looked at him closely, I noticed quickly that he was the dog, whose picture is on the best seller book “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Racing_in_the_Rain">The Art ofRacing in the Rain</a>”. A bit of digging and talking to Don reviled that the book author Garth had used Don’s racing school content “Art of racing
in the rain” as inspiration for his nove and the picture of his dog on the
book. This is an amazing and emotional book(especially if you are into pets) and highly
recommended… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>trust me you will not be disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyways, sitting in the class room, and petting GT, and
feeding him my sandwich… I was thinking of the mock-race we had planned for the
end of the school. I had already qualified with a ~2.5 second margin on pole… and my heart beat
was elevated,, GT definitely was keeping me calm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey this was a proper race with equal cars,, and I would be racing with my 2 childhood friends,,, it
doesn’t get any better than that… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘nough
said, here is that video, enjoy </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LavEK9gCdlo" width="640"></iframe>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p> </div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-81821181035236042972012-10-18T20:43:00.001-07:002012-12-04T09:29:41.126-08:00Racing a 1971 Datsun with Beach Dudes Racing<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was still dark when we arrived at Ridge Motorsports Park…
foggy.. and a bit cold. Driving around the pits looking for my team I wanted to
be as quite as possible and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">not wake anybody up in their tents….hey it was only 5:30am,
only 3 hours to green flag. I was already ready to race…! How could people
still sleep…? Still baffles me…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyways, I would be racing a 1971 Datsun station wagon with
team Beach Dudes Racing. The car deserved that name with a surf board on top,
although none of the drivers were surfers. Perhaps a contradiction… but so was the car. Under
the hood it had a Nissan Pathfinder V6 engine delivering a healthy 210 HP to the rear wheels. Weighing only ~2500 pounds I knew this was a going to be a great
combo… but little did I know about the track, the Ridge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the years racing with different teams, different cars on
tracks I had never been on.. I came to expect challenges. But Ridge was different,
it was a maze of technical high speed, low speed and off camber turns with massive
elevation changes. Youtube videos do not do justice for elevation changes(nor
iracing).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example the most dramatic is the last turn in Road
Atlanta of course.. a true roller coaster ride, but on the videos it always looks
like a small hill top.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would be starting the race, a 2 hour stint to be exact. I
literally had to learn the track the first few warm up laps before green flag dropped…
and to be honest it took me at least 20 minutes to figure the damn track out. I took it nice and easy at
first as I discovered the car had massive but predictable over steer. I think
it was ~30 minute mark when I radioed-in that I would be opening her up… and off she went.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t remember much after that to be honest… I remember
being radioed in to pit in which felt like 20 minutes but was actually 2 hours,
getting out of the car and asking where the mechanic of the team was,, and I remember congratulating
him for that engine. The brakes and handling struggled but the engine made it up for anything…I mean anything on the track. I don’t think I got passed the last 90
mins of the stint, and surely could have gone even faster if I had bigger
balls. Regardless I set the fastest time for the car with a ~5 second margin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks to Beach Dudes Racing for giving me the opportunity to
race with them and I hope I get to join them for future races… They really have
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a great operation, a first in junk car racing, a fully dedicated pit crew, mechanics and the best
food on the track!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh.. and of course Coco… the team mascot </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-30563633829967985322012-09-20T09:44:00.005-07:002012-09-20T09:44:52.423-07:00The HelmetIt was about 8pm or so when we parked in front of a unfamiliar house in the suburbs. Felt a bit odd and awkard place to pick up a piece of art, a helmet to be precise,,,it was also getting a bit dark too. <br />I was super excited to see my new helmet for the first time... I did not know what to expect, but had been thinking about this moment all day at work.<br />
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It was a few months ago when I met Jerrett @ the local kart track during one of the league races. We briefly talked about his helmet designs and some of his earlier work... a racer designing racer helmets! I knew i had found the right person for the task!<br />
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We exchanged contact info that day and a few weeks later i received the first sketches of the design. I was super excited to see this in my inbox, as i knew he was onto something...something special, special for me.<br />
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<img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPYyfPIDF2-2YfhDLGTAiLw4RsUlCJS74l76OGSMPv6cQtMTB0FDNljUT4TU-hP2tOGzK2QO6d_kppbv5aQdmTWcc-_MP30NQrxGIbndKed_YubBFq8JcUVLi6FysadfXQ_8uX_ExbR4/s400/helmet1.PNG" width="400" /><br />
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The design had all the characteristics of an era of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Lotus">Lotus Racing</a> which i had been a HUGE fan off since i was a kid. The black & gold JPS Lotus livery had been used extensively in the 70's and 80's, a golden era for Lotus F1... The cars between 1972 - 1986 ran these colors and won multiple championships and races, driven by the racing gods of those era's. This was a special time for the Lotus team...and the car looked beautiful from every angle.</div>
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So as a big Lotus fan boy, i knew exactly what type of helmet design i wanted. It had to be dedicated to that time, that era, to Chapman's team and their success! and with such a great color combo i knew this helmet would pop...and stand out, and most importantly give me a warm feeling every time I looked at it.</div>
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But a vision is nothing if you don't have the right hands, the right tools and the right eyes to craft it.</div>
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I knew I didn't, but Jerrett did. Just check out his <a href="http://www.2tenths.com/">website</a>, his previous work... you'll get a sense that he is not just painting helmets for racers as a racer himself, but painting pieces of art that you wear during the most intense experiences and moments of a drivers life.</div>
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Strong and intense experiences allow people to connect and bond with the things they are attached to in those moments, and a helmet is no different. Each race, each "oh shit" moment, or the few, the rare victories... all help strengthen the bond of a driver and his helmet. These helmets don't just protect your head but can inspire you as a driver, be a visual trigger to endless racing memories...moments you can look back and remember. For others they are just pretty objects, but for us its much more then that...and Jerrett, the racer, knew this.</div>
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Long story, long story... I was happy like a kid when i saw the helmet that night, in his garage, on the desk he painted numerous other helmets. It was beautiful, crisp and to the point... and it had every single detail and the great lines that capture the essence of a JPS Lotus F1 car from that era... I'm a very happy customer, and look forward to working with Jerrett in the future again...and also racing against him! :)<br /><br />Here are some pictures I took last night, enjoy:</div>
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door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-38889224105031220032012-08-30T17:50:00.000-07:002012-09-20T09:54:43.062-07:00End of SummerHow can something end, if it hasn't even started..?<br />
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Looking at my friends Facebook summer vacation pictures in a office with no windows... i tried to remember last time sand was stuck in my shoes. :)<br />
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It has surely been a interesting summer so far, a lot of challenges, a lot of learning... and learning that i need to learn more. But looking back at the early days of summer, i had no idea what was in store for me. If i had to describe my summer in a few words, probably would be "A bit of a discovery...".<br />
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It was also a bit of a discovery, when i finally took the drive 2 hours up North to the Canadian border last weekend to a new karting facility, <a href="http://www.simaracing.com/">Sima Raceway</a>. I would be driving a 30HP 125cc Parilla non-shifter kart for the first time on ~1 mile track. (With top speeds ~80mph)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLEH1oiFf6pzY2RgZG1KTR_t2loNNNkw-5f3HyE2UuTZP3e7-F4KDATiCmLtDBl2A5SNALTDMX59WEWeJuit82GMbzBT-C7sVKY8UvyiJBwDqfRrUsrrtPl_4nJqKC2sU-4OX0rWsS-s/s1600/kart.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLEH1oiFf6pzY2RgZG1KTR_t2loNNNkw-5f3HyE2UuTZP3e7-F4KDATiCmLtDBl2A5SNALTDMX59WEWeJuit82GMbzBT-C7sVKY8UvyiJBwDqfRrUsrrtPl_4nJqKC2sU-4OX0rWsS-s/s320/kart.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Compared to the rental karts I have raced in F1 Outdoors/Indoors(Boston) and PGP(Seattle) which come with ~9HP... 30 HP was a true "discovery" for me. <br />
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I still remember, the first time getting out of the pits, on the front straight... the sheer force of the acceleration, just felt endless... as i approached the first turn, i noticed the brute force of the brakes, discs all around and the amount of grip those tires had. The G forces were absurd... i felt like i was about to fly off the kart as i picked up speed.<br />
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The sensitive pedals, required respect... A skidding, bouncing kart, would cause my feet to modulate the pedals even more, and cause even more bounce.... in the process destroying ones rib bones. Luckily I had my new rib protector, which saved my life.... well until my neck,couldn't take it anymore :)<br />
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My instructor, who is a sponsored pro racer from Italkarts, <a href="http://www.davidjurca.com/">David Jurca</a> was great. We walked the track, went over different approaches one takes for driving a kart at speed, and he showed great patience,,, with my in-patience :)<br />
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I think he was a bit concerned at first, with my lack of cautious approach, he had to call me in a few times and ask me to take it easy :) But i have to say, not one spin, not one wheel off... we both figured out i could handle it at the end of the day... but the weakest link was my neck.<br />
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Watching kids 1/2 my age take on 20 minute stints, while having to pit after 5-6 laps was embarrassing to say the least. But apparently a common expected outcome for average joe stepping in a kart my instructor said :) So i guess, i need to get in shape.... this winter for next season :) Not sure how to improve my neck muscles though...<br />
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Here is some on board action from my last session:<br />
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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0C1Jia_QDFA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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On other news, i will be racing at 14 Hours of Chump Car @ Ridge Motorsports Park with Team <br />
Beach Dudes Racing :) A 1972 Datsun 510, with a V6 swap!!! :) More to come on this later... But here is the sketch of the car from the team:<br />
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<br />door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-87522617360721608282012-07-29T20:37:00.001-07:002012-07-29T20:37:59.662-07:00Getting my hands Dirty :)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, finally I can sit down and put my thoughts, and words
together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been a bit more than a month since I completed the
move from Boston to Seattle.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been completely crazy in so many different levels…
moving to a new town, finding a new place, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">getting used to a new job… a whole new job, which is both
exciting and demanding. It is no exaggeration </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">when I admit that I have been working probably 60 hour weeks
since I got here…from day #1. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I joined the new job at a time when a lot had to be done, a
lot was expected,,, and I knew I had to get </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">my hands dirty, and dirty fast…and break all mental and
emotional barriers that will slow me down, and focused </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">on getting up-to speed right away…. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I there? No…but my hands are dirty…and each
day I am learning, improving, and </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">understanding my new purpose in life </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thoughts of leaving so many things behind also adds a
bit of spice on top…but life is a bit like racing, you have </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">to stop looking back, the things you have passed… and look
forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just like I dived head first into the new challenge, the new
job… I decided to jump right into to some racing action… to help </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">with stress </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
I found a great outdoor karting track(Pacific Grand Prix), which either run’s bi-weekly league’s or
90 minute enduro’s every other </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">week. So I signed up to both events … the first weekend I arrived
here </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J </span></span></div>
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Seattle it rains… and they are using made in china, cheap hard </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">slick tires </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
So expect some great rain action from me.,, when it starts to rain of course, I’ve
been honestly waiting for it to rain…where </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">is the $@$@$ rain in Seattle?!?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have already started winning races in the league’s which
consists of a 15 minute x (practice + qualifier + heat #1 + final race).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I have found myself attracted to a greater challenge, the
90 Minute Enduro…in the Ironman class, which means while most people race in 2-3 people teams and switch drivers during a 90 minute race,,,
I race with a select few crazy, hard core karters who </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">go 90 minutes solo…rain or shine </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We all know each other by name…
</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My first enduro,,, and I was leading 80 minutes of the race,
until when I was re-lapping somebody, who took both of us out and also fractured my rib in the process… I continued the remaining 10 minutes
of the race with tears in my eyes… while losing -5 seconds a lap because I couldn’t turn left anymore,, and came in second. Right now,, I’m
waiting for a new <a href="http://www.k1racegear.com/kart-racing/rib-vests/k1-racegear-rib-vest-carbon-fiber-rib-protector.html">rib protector</a> in the mail, and also waiting patiently(!) for my ribs to heal…so I can go out, and kick some ass!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But in the meantime, here are some pictures from the events
& podiums from the league race which I came first, and a video of the final race. (I will be recording more videos from enduro events in rain, when i can heal & and can race again :) )</span></div>
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Here is some racing action, i had qualified 5th, and finished 1st :)<br />
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</div>door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-33118312097187080632012-05-31T10:03:00.003-07:002012-05-31T10:03:23.654-07:00Coast 2 CoastSo I've got some big news! I'm moving to Seattle. The land of umbrella's,rain boots and of course rain tires... here we come :) <br />
<br />
I look forward to this new challenge and adventure..but also feel sad that i'll be leaving so much<br />behind. Instead of racing with Team FarFrumWinnin mid June @ Summit for the<br />3rd race of the season as initially planned, i'll be packing and moving boxes! This also means i'll be missing out on rest of the season. I'll be updating the team's races on this blog going forward regardless. <br />
<br />
I already have a few plans when i hit the ground on the rainy hills of Seattle. A childhood friend and his brother (which we united years later) lives here, and they happen to be major petrol heads as-well. So expect some planning,building and racing from us very soon :) More to come on this later...<br />
<br />
So lets get back to the main story, last Saturday, under a sunny ~80F degree weather I met up<br />with Andre Gomes and Ryan Field @ Devens airfield for my last autox in Boston. It was good<br />to see Andre, i had last seen him kicking ass @ Summit last year during the 24 Hours of Lemons race where the car he drove won in Class C. <br />
This was Andre's first autox, and he would drive his stock miata on old and useless tires. As expected<br />he set the fastest time in Novice class. The most impressive part was majority of his runs were clean, no cones, no off courses...all clean.Which is a challenge for many people when they start as it is very difficult to read the course and stay out of trouble at speed.<br />
<br />
On the other hand Ryan was much more aggresive but still smooth as expected, and he was able to<br />set some really fast times. He had a 78.x with 1 cone, compared to my 76 clean on a Lotus! That is <br />a respectful time from a miata. He also looked like he dialed in the car much better with his recent suspension upgrade.<br />
<br />
Although i'm leaving town for good, i'm really happy Ryan and Andre finally met,and i look<br />forward to both of them kicking ass in the autox scene in New England... perhaps even in SCCA one day!<br />
<br />
Time to catch my next flight!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-35541463541845062842012-05-21T16:41:00.001-07:002012-05-21T17:01:12.369-07:0024 Hours of Lemons - NHMS - Race ReportAs I was driving the Fox slowly in the pits Friday afternoon i said to myself "Noo not....again!!".<br />
It had just started to rain.<br />
<br />
Rain and NHMS, we had some unfinished business.. a moment stuck in time, a moment stuck with me. The moment when i tried to overtake another car last year at the same exact event on turn 12, under heavy rain, under braking. To be more precise I lost, and found myself in the grass... Yes that was my first rain experience, and I had a lot to learn, and I still do...<br />
<br />
Since then I had a bit more seat time in the wet, including <a href="http://junkracing.blogspot.com/2011/10/updates-to-car-and-few-fall-events.html">karts</a> on slicks, and most notably the recent <a href="http://junkracing.blogspot.com/2012/03/back-from-infineon-24-hours-of-lemons.html">race</a> in Infineon with Team Sex Pistons and the mighty Spitfire with no windshield wipers driving blind with 172 cars on the same track :)<br />
<br />
Lets be honest, the car also had some recent upgrades, a stiffer rear suspension to be exact. If it did not feel like a gokart before, now it did. In the rain the car was nervous, a bit twicthy at the rear.<br />
I was suprised by how easy it was to save. As i was sideways on turn 7 with full opposite lock i was bummed to not have my camera with me :) . But personally maybe it was meant to be an experience just between NHMS, rain and me this time.<br />
<br />
<br />
As I pulled back into the pits after my brief 20 min practice stint, I had really good feelings for the car, and the track... The track which had <a href="http://junkracing.blogspot.com/2011/05/24-hours-of-lemons-new-hampshire.html">cursed us last time</a>, when last year we blew the engine a few hours before taking our first victory... felt like it was on our side this time.<br />
<br />
WRONG!... Saturday green flag followed 4 black flags for us. Our craptain Tom got rear ended, then got a pass on yellow. I then got taken out on Turn 1 by a blind driver, and last but not least our<br />
family dentist Steve had a pass on yellow. So we had to park the car the rest of Saturday.<br />
<br />
However i did capture some videos of those incidents, enjoy :)<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0POMy4vXxcg" width="640"></iframe>
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<br />
And as usual here are some race highlights from my perspective:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VUX0aXwLGt4" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
So not a really good weekend for us, however now its time to lick the wounds and prepare for Summit next month!door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-35066840095793872722012-05-12T18:39:00.002-07:002012-05-12T18:54:19.840-07:0024 Hours of Lemons - NJMP Race Summary<br />
One either needs the time to come up with an excuse or a story... There are no lazy options available for a blog owner. Maybe a bit of an excuse, a bit of a painful fact.. I have been on the road almost everyday last month. It is only now I have a bit of free time, which means I have plenty of catching up to do...<br />
<br />
3am Thursday departure meant we would arrive for Friday practice at NJ by10am.<br />
I was also quite excited to see the team in our first race for the season. However the first practice session turned out to be a complete disaster. We blew the head gasket!<br />
<br />
Usually starting Friday practice with a blown and warped head can mean its time to pack and go. Instead of throwing in the towel, the team came together. We found a place to shave the head, got the parts, put it all together before midnight just before Saturday's green flag.<br />
<br />
The heroic fix during those 24 hours is forever captured in this:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5O7g6AVzqd0" width="640"></iframe>
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<br />
<br />
We focused on optimizing our pit strategy, which paid off with the average 4 minute pit stops compared to last year's 7 minute stop. Also all the drivers drove exceptionally well and we quickly found ourselves in 2nd place. Chasing a first place car which is far more quicker than us, working in the pits, checking the time was a nail biting experience.<br />
<br />
At the end, although we couldn't take first place, we came 8th overall out 102 cars ( in a VW FOX!) and 2nd in class B. We also won a honorary 24 hours of Lemons "Lemons Lifetime Achievement Award"! :)<br />
<br />
Here are some action shots from my point of view:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BWGAygOc23k" width="640"></iframe>
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Next up is 24 Hours of Lemons - New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which turned out to be far from perfect...stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-39390930119037759732012-04-12T12:18:00.000-07:002012-04-12T12:18:43.740-07:00First Autox of 2012Last weekend I had the <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">opportunity </span>to do a proper shake down of the recent changes on the Elise <br />
at Devens Airfield. As in my previous <a href="http://junkracing.blogspot.com/2012/03/black-art-of-suspension-tuning.html">post</a> the car had undergone significant suspension changes <br />
during the winter, not to mention a new race seat + harness to keep me connected with the car<br />
and road.<br />
<br />
Ofcourse as one of the disadvantages of New England i woke up to a light snowy day, a bit of a late<br />
april fools joke! The <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">situation </span>did not get any better as we were forced to autox in almost freezing<br />
temperatures, but atleast the light snow had stopped by early morning.<br />
<br />
But luckly i had some good company with me. Ryan and Ian (fellow iracers) were also at the<br />
event, and this time Ryan had brought his new miata he had recently purchased this winter to its<br />
first event. I quickly found out that Ian also had replaced his miata with a much better one as-well.<br />
So it was a bit of a shakedown for them as-well...with their new cars.<br />
<br />
Both of them did a great job. Ryan was getting comfortable with his left foot braking and his new car, while a few ride alongs with Ian showed the "smoother" side of Ian... with a bit of aggresion he was<br />
easly able to do 108.x on his last run but he took out a few cones. It sucks because i had mounted<br />
my camera on his car during that run but later we found out the battery had diea.<br />
<br />
Anyways getting back to suspension changes, what i wanted to do the first test day was to keep the suspension at baseline as suggested by Nitron, but through out the day i really could not get a good feel for the new setup as the cold temperatures made it almost impossible to generate any tire temps to allow for any grib. My tires are barely street legal and quite soft which makes them like a brick in the cold... <br />
<br />
With the cold tire temps, the car had significant understeer...compared to before.Also i think next time i will try softening up the front sway bar a little bit, as with the new stiff suspension the car is completely flat on any corner! :) Which means i really can't do proper weight transfer...<br />
<br />
Not to mention, because the suspension is soo stiff now, i also struggled putting enough weight<br />
on the front tires under braking, which did not help with the understeer.<br />
<br />
My plan is to perhaps soften the sway bar, and do another test day when the temperature is not<br />
freezing, this will allow me to see the true potential of the baseline setup. Then from there i should<br />
be able to fine tune further.<br />
<br />
Here is the 102.8 run from that day:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KlYi0puo0Fw" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
Tomorrow, i'll be heading to 24 Hours of Lemons @ New Jersey Motorsports Park and will be<br />racing the mighy 95hp Fox...! Looking forward to seeing my team mates,which i have not seen since last year! More to come on that after i get back...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-12372893792318803502012-03-30T17:58:00.000-07:002012-03-30T17:58:00.120-07:00Back from Infineon - 24 Hours of LemonsHad a great time with Team Sex Pistons and the nimble 1978 Triump Spitfire last weekend.<br />
The Spitfire comes with only 65 hp but sticky handling allows it to keep up with the big boys <br />
on the technical parts of Infineon.<br />
<br />
I have to thank the team captain Colin for the seat and oppurtunity, they have a very solid operation<br />
and a great bunch of people! Not to mention the team had extra parts for almost everything, engine, <br />
transmission, you name it.. But the car was well kept and ran like a clock the whole 14 hours<br />
considering old British cars are known for being a pain in the <a href="mailto:$@#$">$@#$</a>#@!<br />
<br />
Also the most crowded race in Lemon's history was to take in heavy rain on Saturday.I was <br />
really looking forward to experiecing 172 other cars on the track racing in the rain with me.. :)<br />
But as it turns out our car had no wipers. Having a plastic windshield also meant RainX would<br />
not work, and we were left racing on Saturday under heavy rain almost blind. I got some footage of <br />
that at begining of my video to give a idea...it was quite scary as we could not see where we were going<br />
and i actually had to count between turns in my head, memorize and turn-in blindly..! :)<br />
<br />
But after a penalty free wet Saturday, Sunday the clouds cleared...and we had dry tarmac ahead.<br />
The Spitfire came to itself in the dry and we were dicing with some of the Class A and B cars all day.<br />
I have to say the team kept it clean and the momentum going...which ultimately led to a 4th in Class<br />
position at the end of the weekend. I hope to be able to race with Team Sex Pistons again in <br />
the future...!<br />
<br />
Some video, mostly Sunday from my perspective dicing with traffic: :)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YOxH6QGQxUY" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Tomorrow I'll be taking the Lotus for its first shakedown autocross after the recent suspension ugrades.<br />
Since i live in New England, i just found out freezing rain and snow is expected...so it's going to<br />
be a interesting day for sure with my cold tires :) More to come on that in the following days...door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-14133657041685153132012-03-18T18:36:00.000-07:002012-03-18T18:36:23.088-07:00The Black Art of Suspension TuningRecently i had the pleasure to work with the Services Director Steve from <a href="http://www.astonmartin-lotus.com/">Aston Martin of New England & Lotus Motorsports </a>dealer which happens to be only 3 miles away from my house. Considering that there aren't many Lotus dealers in the country, i can say i am quite lucky...and more lucky to have these guys in reach for not just the quality & timely work they do on the cars, but because they are also very reachable and responsive to any sorts of questions.<br />
<br />
And plenty of questions did i have :) My plan for 2012 season was more local autox and track days. The biggest item (both from budget and proabbly bang for the buck) on my todo list was to get a <a href="http://www.sector111.com/products/performance/suspension/nitron-46mm-gt3-race-shocks.cfm">Nitron 46mm Race Pro 3-way </a>adjustable racing suspension upgrade.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Although the Elise comes with a proper "sport" suspension, it still is not up to par with it's brothers (Exige and newer Sport pack Elise). Furthermore i know from my friends who regurarly track their Lotus's that a proper adjustable suspension is needed to take full advantage of the chasis.<br />
<br />
Ofcourse adjustability is a double edged sword... You have to know what you are doing. That's why some call it the "Black Art of Suspension Tuning". There is no magical recipe, one needs to adjust and fine-tune the suspension not just for the track, but also for the conditions and even the driving style. Having 3-way adjustable settings per each wheel + ability to adjust the height of the car means only one thing = i'm proabbly way over my head :) But that is fine..this is a great way to learn.<br />
<br />
Steve was kind enough to send me pictures of the upgrade process. We also reached out to Nitron folks in UK, and got base-line settings. I was suprised how responsive Nitron was to. Working with Steve & his team has it perks,, they spent a good hour explaining and demosntrating the tuning mechanisms, diffrent knobs, etc as-well...<br />
<br />
(top: stock, bottom: nitrons)<br />
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I also replaced my current seats with Tillett B5 racing seats from UK(carbon + handmade). But they only had one in stock, the passenger seat is on its way. Steve also went the extra mile getting the seat fit in the Elise, as there was some design flaws from Tillett factory which made it impossible to install... So they had to manchine a few parts for this! But now i think i'll be more connected with the car for the first autox of the season which is coming on March 31st :)<br />
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There was a few more upgrades to the car...but this is the time i have for now. Next weekend i'll be racing in 24 hours of Lemons with Team Sex Pistons @ Infineon, CA...so need to focus on that :)door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-50293840606856087602012-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:002012-02-16T08:47:39.316-08:00Back from Road Atlanta - Chump Car SeriesIt all started last Friday when i woke up dead early in the morning to catch a flight to Atlanta at 6:00am. <br />
A million thoughts were going through my head... "like did i pack everything i need?", "will my <br />
luggage and all my gear get lost if i check-in?", "did i charge all my gopro camera's batteries?"..etc..<br />
<br />
I was also excited to meet the new team,, Car #33 Team "GrabYerJunk" to be exact :)<br />
The team chief, Chris works at Iracing...his son Dusty is also one of the drivers and he also<br />
uses Iracing... Car owner and chief mechanic Keith he is iracer as-well.. So i knew I was in great company.. <br />
surrounded by people who understand that sim racing is not just a great learning tool but also a <br />
great way to bring people together...<br />
<br />
We also had a 4th driver John, a SCCA club racer and a track day instructor,, who was not very familiar with <br />
iracing,, nor Road Atlanta. It was during that weekend that we realized the effectiveness of prepping<br />
for a track on the sim actually pays off.. John struggled through out the weekend in trying to learn the track and the car...<br />
while we only had to focus on learning the car,, as after 100's of virtual laps i already knew the braking zones, the different lines,, (preferred, defensive, etc), sections of the track which is tricky to pass, or easy to pass...and where to carry the most momentum to shave off lap times.<br />
<br />
It was a surreal experience, a bit of dejavu...as I had never been on this track, but in a sense i had.<br />
The laser scanned version of Road Atlanta was right on accurate,, every bump, every curb, every turn-in was already in my muscle memory...all i had to was get used to the elevation changes (which were quite scary) and the car...and just go out and have a great time.<br />
<br />
And that is what exactly I did... During the stint on Sunday (which was only a 4 hour race, Saturday was 10 hours) i diced with a Miata for a good 20 laps.. We had a great battle that felt like it lasted forever,, we kept changing positions, but respected each other and made sure to give enough space... After my stint, i had to meet that driver,, shake hands/hugs ...love it..that was a proper battle :)<br />
<br />
Here is some racing porn...the battle intensifies towards the end of the video...<br />
<br />
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ELS-xl9ShLY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
I have a ton more video's to edit for all the team members, stay tuned for more action...door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-72685812936983159162012-01-04T15:42:00.000-08:002012-01-04T15:49:00.452-08:002012 - Tzolk’in Race CalendarAccording to the Mayan’s, “end of time” is scheduled to happen sometime in December 2012 but like most people I disagree. However what I do like about the Mayan’s is their famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzolk%27in#The_Twenty_Day_Names">Tzolk’in calendar</a> which is actually 260 days compared to 365.<br />
<br />
260 days, or roughly ~ 8 months…surprisingly is identical to my race calendar for 2012. Usually for the people who live in the northeast ~4 months out of a year is wasted under snow/ice and salt… a bit of winter hibernation, and a bit of being stuck indoors… So who knew … if I use the Mayan’s calendar, I’ll be racing all year instead of 2/3’s of it.. :P<br />
<br />
Mayan's aside… for the 2012 calendar there has been some exciting new developments…<br />
Although I want to cover every single detail of each news like a kid…I think I’ll keep it at a high level for now…with more details to follow in later posts.<br />
<br />
<b>Team Farfrumwinnin - Introducing the P1800 v2.0 </b><br />
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I had mentioned <a href="http://junkracing.blogspot.com/2011/07/phil-1800-aka-stockholm-saint.html">earlier </a>about Team Farfrumwinnin's 2nd car that Phil had acquired recently. I even had posted pictures of giant rust holes on the body where you can see asphalt down below... lets just say the car was exposed too the elements to much over the years... :)<br />
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I don't know how Phil pulled this one off...but he actually got rid of the rusted P1800 with minimum loss and found a great, structurally sound P1800 which even has a built-in roll cage.. Shipped from the west coast...Just look at this beauty<br />
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Considering that Phil has built plenty of "racing machines" in the past.. i think this car as-is... is a perfect "white canvas" for him. We are hoping to plan a few working weekends to help out sanding and prepping the car...More updates to follow soon...<br />
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<b>Team Farfrumwinnin - FOX Test & Shakedown NJMP Track Day</b><br />
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While Phil is sharpening his tools...and making extra space in his garage, we just got word from Craptain Tom that the test day for the FOX on the Lemons friendly Track day at NJMS has been postponed to Feb 24, 25.<br />
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For the test day currently the driver line up is : Craptain, me, Steve, Chris and Phil. I am really looking forward to this event not just because i am excited to freeze my ass off on February in Jersey, but also to see most of the team members..it's been quite too long since i got to hang out with 'em.<br />
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The FOX still has some head gasket and cooling problems, luckily cooling won't be a big problem in February with the avg temp ~43 F...but time will tell. Chris has some connections to help out with the engine...more to follow...<br />
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<b>Intro - Team Sex Pistons (24 Hours of Lemons)</b><br />
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I was fortunate enough to get in touch with Team Sex Pistons captain Colin who operates out off the west coast.. Colin and his chief mechanic father code name "Magpie mini" have been in the lemons & chumpcar scene for quite some time.<br />
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Their theme is inspired by the famous English punk rock band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Pistols">Sex Pistols</a> which i think fits the character of car perfectly. Magpie also has many years with working with old Brit cars including triumph, classic mini's etc..check out his <a href="http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/magpiemini/vehicles">previous toys</a><br />
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For the ones who don't know me, I'm a big British car fan being a proud lotus owner my self...and the moment i learned that they were racing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Spitfire#Spitfire_1500">1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500</a> i had to some how get involved :) I know its going to be slow... but whats the hurry??..when you can enjoy lap after lap close racing on a British legend :) I think it is very cool how old cars like these somehow still manage to inspire and get us excited like little kids :)<br />
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Just look at this beauty:<br />
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Currently the team is prepping the car for the 2012 season, with 1 confirmed race which will be in March 24-25 @ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infineon_Raceway">Infineon Raceway</a>. I will be joining them, and i am really excited for my first west coast race...on a spitfire, @ infineon(which i will be using Iracing to practice) with a really cool bunch of people who like to wear pink mo-hawks on their racing helmet! :)<br />
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I've got 1 more important piece of news...but that will have to wait until next time... :)door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-37612059855798513452011-11-14T13:28:00.000-08:002011-11-14T13:28:46.430-08:00Team Farfrumwinnin -- Preps for 2012I’ll have to admit, I’m really not looking forward to another brutal northeast winter... it’s not just being surrounded by mountains of snow, ice and salt but also the fact that it’ll be months of winter hibernation not just for us but also for machines that we love and look forward to racing.. in 2012.<br />
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But before the snow comes in to stay, the team was busy with installing Phil’s new custom fabricated front suspension on the Fox.<br />
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The initial test at a local autox event turned out to be great, as it was reported that the car has now more confidence, lesser under-steer and is more predictable. I really cannot wait to try it for myself… as there are plans for a shake-down at a test & tune lemons track day in February at NJMP that we plan to attend (weather permitting of course). Here is an action shot from Rich on 3 wheels despite the mods to the car. Which is great as we are known as the “3 legged fox” and it would have been a shame to lose that.. !<br />
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On the other hand, despite Phil’s crazy work/travel schedule last weekend Rich & Tom met up with him to check how bad of a state the Volvo was in.. let’s just say for a car that last run in 1992, and left alone to rust for ~20 years, it sure did show it’s age. The rust is so bad that you can literally see the pavement below:<br />
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It’s no question that it will surely almost an impossible task to make this car race ready for 2012… but when the time comes, and if it comes.. I am sure the team will do justice to this car… have it go out with a bang! <br />
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Ohh… before I forget…although a bit late, Lemons HQ finally announced the 2012 race calendar, and looks like they killed Stafford(which we did not race last year, and did not want to race any more) and added NHMS twice… The 2nd NHMS race is actually on the same day as Halloween, and I have a feeling this will surely be a day to remember as “gasoline meets Halloween” <br />
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Here is our team’s calendar events we have signed up for as of right now:<br />
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14-15 April NJMP <br />
5-6 May NHMS<br />
16-17 June Summit Point<br />
27-27 October NHMS again on Halloween!!! :)door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-8882924785176254682011-10-19T19:48:00.000-07:002011-10-19T20:55:50.967-07:00Updates to the car and a few fall events...Stuck at a hotel in Orlando for a conference with a bruised rib or maybe cracked (I’ll find out after a xray tomorrow) i said to myself "well...what better thing to do then to catch up with my blog...!" :)<br />
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Oh.. how did i hurt my ribs...? well i had presentation at 3:30pm and after that i found myself with a bunch of co-workers deciding to hit a <a href="http://orlandokartcenter.com/">local karting track</a> close to the convention center.<br />
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And...what a great track that was! Especially the fact that they let us race even when it started down pouring... may i remind you it was dark, lights on the track and a crazy rain fall...! we got completely wet as we hit giant puddles of water...no rain tires of course either. As the rain intensified the puddles got bigger and bigger... at one point one of the hairpin turns was completely under water, and hitting those turns drifting was a great experience... the fact that it was dark, and we had to wipe water off our helmets visor almost every 5 seconds to see where we were going...was an intense experience...definitely a day to remember! :)<br />
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But lets get to mods/updates i have done to the car since my last autox event in July... well the first thing i tackled was to actually get rid of the skinny 175 front tires (which meant understeer) and replaced them with 195s. Doing so i also changed the rubber on all 4...and went with <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=ADVAN+A048&partnum=245WR7048">A048</a> which is the tires that come with the sport-pack Elise and all the diffrent flavours of Exiges out there.<br />
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I have to say, the tire changes alone...almost gave a me a totally new car. Overnight the understeer was a thing of the past... the car became very balanced and predictiable. "These tires are amazing....!" i said to my self when i hit the last autox of the season with Track Club USA at the end of September.<br />
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Since i had more grip now on the front, i stiffened up the sway bar to make sure the new grip did not bring snap-oversteer (Blackwatch autox sway bar 2/5 to 3/5 stiffness setting )<br />
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During the autox, i tried diffrent tire pressures, and actually found that 26f/29r (hot) seemed to provide the most predictiable grip... and the higher rear pressure allowed me to rotate the car with throttle easier. During the event we had 2 more Lotus's (a 2007 Exige S, and 2011 Evora)... <br />
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Now keep in mind the Exige S has the same tires, better suspension, and ofcourse a supercharger (240hp compared to my 190hp)... and i was ~3.5 seconds faster at the end of the day :) Ohh... the Evora was slow as expected with 6 seconds diffrence.<br />
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Here is the helmet-cam fastest run for the day:<br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SxLk3X1knoQ?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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<b>Prepping for first track day<br />
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After the autox...i decided to prep the car for its first track day :)<br />
The stock Elise out of the factory, has know issues that absolutely needs to be addressed before a track day.. So i focused on the most known issues (thanks to LotusTalk.com forums)<br />
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Oil starvation issues : <a href="http://www.sector111.com/track/highly-recommended/gpan.cfm">gPAN</a> - Baffled Oil Pan <br />
Toe link failure : <a href="http://www.sector111.com/track/highly-recommended/rtd2brace.cfm">RTD2brace</a><br />
Broken gear shift cables : <a href="http://www.sector111.com/products/performance/transmission/ssc-shifter-cables.cfm">SSC Cable</a><br />
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Once i got the car a bit more prepped for track use, i signed up to a HPDE event at NHMS (the event was for South Oval - Road course) via <a href="http://www.comscc.org/">COMSCC</a> which i had heard great things about from my autox buddies. Not only are they cost effective, but they provide a instructor for rookies(like me) for the full day for a very low price for 225$.<br />
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Also if this is your first event, you get a $100 discount...!<br />
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They also have time trials the second day, but i did not sign up for that because first you need to get a license(signed by the chief instructor) and i was told that usually takes a couple instructor sessions/days.<br />
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The day is very nicely planned... you arrive at 7am, if rookie get a student log book, get assigned a instructor (they specifically picked a instructor who also drives a mid-engine car for me)...and switched between 20 minute class-room sessions and 20 minute-track sessions (with instructor riding along with you).<br />
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I found the class room sessions pretty useless at first as all i needed was more seat time. But the class room sessions in the afternoon had a interesting nice suprise. While we were out on track, another instructor (without letting us know) actually followed us in his car, and recorded our line and our actions from his dash...which we went over during the class room... definetly helped with lines/and pointers! Great stuff!<br />
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Anyways, because i was in run group 4... i found my self stuck %80 of the time behind traffic, and had to wait for "point-bys"...lets just say not everybody checks out their mirror!... but i was able to get a few clean laps in, here is a video of that (this time not helmet-cam, but mounted to the car)<br />
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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XBcD_0F-Iag?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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At the end of the day the instructor fills out the student logbook, and makes recommendations for further improvements... in my case i got all flying stars and was recommended for a license pending demonstration on improving my heel-n-toe next time... which was spot on,, as that is one area i need more practice! :) Well atleast i got promoted to a higher run group for next time... now time to go to bed and hopefully my ribs feel better tomorrow!door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-28498794773118373732011-09-03T11:38:00.000-07:002011-09-03T11:55:59.118-07:00End of Summer, and end of F1 Outdoor Karting League 2011After 6 x Fridays of intense racing despite many re-schedules due to hurricanes, rains, heat waves, random cancellations we finally had our final race last night with tons of smiles on our faces.<br />
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The first time i hit the track on June for practice, with 16 other race hungry locals who had signed up to the league, with some veterans who have done this for multiple seasons and some being first timers just like me... i had a feeling i was going to have a great time..with intense battles and a lot of learning...and i was right.<br />
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I have to add, this was proabbly the best bang for the buck... ~$500 gets you 6 Fridays of racing. Each night you get 1 practice session, and 3 heat races. Total seat time per night ~30-40 minutes... 1.5 mile track, with many configurations, lots of room for passing... they even spice it up by running the track in reverse...<br />
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However as always there are some drawbacks... $500 gets you access and plenty of seat time in proabbly one of the best go-kart tracks in New England, but with some shitty rental karts... But don't be alarmed everybody gets the same shitty karts! :)<br />
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Karts are 9hp, weights are added based on driver to equalize kart performace... but its always a hit or miss,, you can either get a shitty kart that turns well, or you get a pocket rocket with no brakes.., when i say no brakes.. i mean "OMG im going 55 mph and i need to take the hairpin turn...right NOW !! OH SHIT!!" no brakes..! You live and learn..plenty of grass and run-off...and no walls or trees to hit :)<br />
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Oh, also these guys run Hard compound tires..in meaning it is very easy to overdrive the kart.. which is actually a great learning tool for me..as i am naturally genetically engineered to overdrive! :)<br />
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The racing,, i guess this is standard for karting, involes a bit more contact then i would like. Most common strategy is to bump-pass... you use the guy infront for brakes, as he slides out...you pass on the inside. This usually should be penalty according to the rules, but only if the flag station guy has finished texting and is watching the race. (You can check out my previous post with a video of this happening). BTW to set the record straight i never passed like that,, i had plenty of tools in my arsenal thanks to thousands of hours of working traffic on Iracing :)<br />
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BTW after that video, they banned my GoPRO camera on the track... i guess it made'em look bad...oh well...its their track and not mine..too bad or i would have some really awesome 3-wide battles, crazy passing racing porn to share :/<br />
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"<b>Measurement is Key to Progression</b>"... when i first started, the first night... i noticed i was ~1.3 seconds of pace from the #1 driver, who also happens to be a veteran of this league.<br />
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At that point, i decided i should try to learn as much as possible, and try to improve my self in each night of racing. To reach that goal i started to measure my % of diffrence in lap times (of best lap per race night) and overall points per night.<br />
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Each night i would try diffrent driving styles... braking early, braking late, altering lines, controllong how much I let the kart drift. This was a challenge as each heat i would get a random kart, and each race nights karts would behave diffrently... But the principals were always the same.<br />
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So when i had first started, i was %2.2 slower then #1 guy, at night #6 i had closed that gap %0.4 (from 1.3 seconds to 0.2 seconds diffrence). Here is a simple graph of night/percantage as i work on my driving:<br />
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As i improved my overall speed, this got reflected on the points i would collect each night. To put thinhs in perspective, first night i had 22 points... 6th night i was up to 36 points:<br />
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Which is exactly what i wanted...although i started off slow and mid-pack i finally started to find my rythem and winning races, which allowed me to catch up in the points to be tied 3rd place and be up there in points with the veterans:<br />
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Now that i am able to get average 30+ points per night... the next summer i am hoping to continue improving my style and finishing even higher!.... does anybody have a time machine to take me there? NOW! :)<br />
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The only frusturation i would have is,, if one day the progression stalls despite all my efforts, but i will worry about that when i get to that bridge.. for now the work must go on! :)door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-25158083199580229722011-07-31T07:30:00.000-07:002011-07-31T07:31:32.474-07:00The Left FootSo yesterday after a long stall I had the oppurtunity to hit Devens airfiled again for a autocross. This time i got invited by fellow iracer Ian Cook to join him with another fellow iracer Ryan Field at a Renegade Miata club event...<br />
<br />
It was definetly packed, compared to the other clubs i go with usually (Track Club USA, Bay State Corvette Club, etc..) and ofcourse the # of runs got a hit at 7. Maybe I am spoiled with 10+ runs from the other clubs :) However they did lay down a very nice track, with a lot of technical and high-speed sections... so that was a nice change from the slalom heavy configurations i have got custom to over the years...<br />
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Ian had brought his project 90's miata, and he would co-drive it with Ryan. Keep in mind this was Ryan's first time autocrossing, however do not be fooled as Ryan is proabbly up in the top %1 drivers on Iracing.. some of you might say "so whats, thats just a sim" however...he is known for his extremely smooth style...After his 4th run, he was able to lay down solid times with a completely stock 90's project car, his smooth style from iracing had resignated well here.. i look forward to watch him in the future...<br />
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Ian's style was very similar to mine, especially my style from last year when i first started, fast and good car controll or controlled madness, and crowd cheering stunt driver abilities.. Since this is Ian's first year autocrossing, he will soon come to the same realization that i have come to and try to adapt and evolve his style to be right between the old aggresive and fun Ian and the smooth and boring Ian... it is a though balance to get to, and i've been working for a while for my self as-well, and i look forward to watch Ian unleash his true potential next year...<br />
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So watching these guys on the track, complete opposite styles gave me the clear picture, "the happy place", the style to adapt was actually a bit of both...or meet them right in the middle. Ian and i had a lot already in common, and i know i had to smooth out my transitions.. keep in mind my car, bone stock, with front skinny tires understeer's alot,, it is specifically designed to come out of the factory with understeer in mind (to decrease the # of clueless driver wrecks).<br />
<br />
I had been left foot braking on Iracing for almost more then a year now, and finally had the courage to try it in real on my last race on Summit @ 24 hours of lemons with medicore success ( locked a couple times). <br />
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So what i decided was the first half of the day drive normal, and the last couple runs i would try left foot braking to ease the transitions and settle the car... <br />
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Here is a simple graph of my laptimes, comparing the diffrence in both methods (Blue : right foot, Orange : left foot)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0Px0A9y0iviYRrr5FOdJGXH2-4BdvTgx4bKWGJ2qsHCjmL_7qedjq_2RagMbEhBrRt8lKA7Cf4OhcUr0RjqhI1DB0w5WKop1E9K_UFrMHrchJLvKBnrKdU7E6qsu9VOarpdvqHZNBTA/s1600/autocross_7_30.PNG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="400" width="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0Px0A9y0iviYRrr5FOdJGXH2-4BdvTgx4bKWGJ2qsHCjmL_7qedjq_2RagMbEhBrRt8lKA7Cf4OhcUr0RjqhI1DB0w5WKop1E9K_UFrMHrchJLvKBnrKdU7E6qsu9VOarpdvqHZNBTA/s400/autocross_7_30.PNG" /></a></div><br />
You can ignore the first 2 runs, as thats when i try to learn the track, but after that, the amount of progress starts do decrease in each run, and i almost hit a wall (4th, 5th)... but once i switch to left foot braking, i get a great reduction on my lap times...<br />
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I can say as advertised left foot braking did not only help with the transitions, cut down the amount of time lost between changing from brake + gas, but it actually improved (in my car) the amount of understeer i used to get...which was exactly what i needed.<br />
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I still think the car has more potential with smoother hands(looking at the graph you can see if we had run #8 or even #9 there was room for improvement), but this was proabbly one of the fastest runs on street tires on the event, here is my last run where i finally break the 113 second mark:<br />
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TVDfN3uWZ3U?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-8754011883722898722011-07-25T15:59:00.000-07:002011-07-25T15:59:22.245-07:00Phil-1800 a.k.a "Stockholm Saint"Yes kids it official, there is a high possibility that next year the team might have a 2nd car as a contender...<br />
<br />
This one is a true "piece of shit", but comes with a history and class... I have a feeling once Phil gets done with this, it will be one of the better looking cars on the northeast lemons tracks<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoUluyK7hkZ_40zLUidyLBwAuv9vRMrUdzw84eH8PHpFTvnsRnj_pa7H8ySErFj2XUNjaUP0rJ1hEXWsPEbhXkJKMWP3uQ6qhEluJfAQ8TuZD_7o5O5HDNaZYl2OEaTBRCchyphenhyphenu1zOkEU/s1600/phil-1800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoUluyK7hkZ_40zLUidyLBwAuv9vRMrUdzw84eH8PHpFTvnsRnj_pa7H8ySErFj2XUNjaUP0rJ1hEXWsPEbhXkJKMWP3uQ6qhEluJfAQ8TuZD_7o5O5HDNaZYl2OEaTBRCchyphenhyphenu1zOkEU/s400/phil-1800.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Early reports indicate that the car will be named "Stockholm Saint" and will include a swedish theme,, lets hope nothing to do with ABBA :)<br />
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Saying that, Phil...(who's apperently dad still owns a restored version of this car ) has some scary plans for this baby. One thing about Phil is he is a true jack of all trades, a perfect engineering genius..once done with this car, it will be pumping a good hp/weight ratio i am sure!! :)<br />
<br />
Nothing Phil does is "under-whelming", and i truelly cannot wait to get more updates of the car through out the winter as it morphs into a race car by spring...and shit in my pants on the track while drivin it!<br />
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The other cool aspect would be running a 2 car team, although logistically speaking towing 2 cars to each race will definetly become a costly nightmare... However running the fox and the saint side-by-side drafting on the straights, while taking in team orders on intercom will definetly add a nice twist to the equation... a equation that keeps getting bigger and larger each year, just like the team :)door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-59447345663630101672011-06-21T10:17:00.000-07:002011-06-21T10:17:47.360-07:0024 Hours of Lemons Capitol OffenseWow...what a great track that was, i don't think i have ever droven on anything quite like it...very technical and physically demanding (especially with 85-90F degree weather).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEXMkfG_4OaY9jn-LmpFCYHy84QqQxlHkhIxMtippzHRx60MbscQ62Zx0rBJT_6t1If0Z0lP1iqla78IMgSWaESmp9nZfzOAJAOQAVVdZM6v-S2XRl3gYsmjEnbS1NhALa_6okUfJ6eQ/s1600/shenandoah_circuit.gif" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="216" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEXMkfG_4OaY9jn-LmpFCYHy84QqQxlHkhIxMtippzHRx60MbscQ62Zx0rBJT_6t1If0Z0lP1iqla78IMgSWaESmp9nZfzOAJAOQAVVdZM6v-S2XRl3gYsmjEnbS1NhALa_6okUfJ6eQ/s320/shenandoah_circuit.gif" /></a></div><br />
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Lots of elevation changes, banked turns, crazy S's, off-camber turns, double and even triple apex turns,, you name it they have it :) And when you put 102 x $500 worth cars on the track... you know you will have a good times :)<br />
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"Good times" i think is the correct phrase to describe the whole weekend...although we where thrown off when we found out that we got promoted to class B from C because of our previous domination in the C class we knew we had nothing against some of the faster class B cars...<br />
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But we where not going to give up without a fight... while some Class B cars where turning in 1:53 lap times, ours fastest time (GJ) was ~2:00 and we were pretty happy to come 10th in our class and 20th overall (may i remind you that it was out of 102 cars)<br />
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Its also good to point out that if we where still in Class C we would have won that by a 30 lap margin(!)... but fellow team member and iracer and gt academy finalist Andre contributed for the Class C win in the Sputnik piece of shit car..(because we had no open seats for him on this race he took a arrive&drive seat with Team Sputnik) so atleast that victory did not go too far away from the family ;)<br />
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We had a few hickups during the weekend... Chris missed a few yellow flags, Steve got a hit & run (again but this time on the track :) ) but luckly no major flags..<br />
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Mechanically the new engine did wonders,, we had to swap out the ECU that was acting funny...which I have to say its great to be part of a team who does not mind carrying around extra parts for easy swaps like this to save the day! :)<br />
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I also captured quite a amount of racing footage from Tom, GJ and Chris's sessions, i still have hours of video to edit, but in the mean time here is a quick POV one from me on Sunday morning working traffic and battling out with some of the class A and B cars... enjoy :)<br />
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<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/01-mgOCaw8k?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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This might very well be the last race for the season for us... but who knows maybe we'll find enough time & budget for another race weekend, but either way i'll have more too post soon...door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124527354116372336.post-89563738915944220952011-06-12T08:26:00.000-07:002011-06-12T08:26:02.446-07:00The next race is coming up :)Yes...its been quite some time since i had the oppurtunity to update<br />
the blog, but actually there has been a lot of developments since the last<br />
race in NHMS.<br />
<br />
Since we fried the engine only a few hours away from capturing our<br />
first victory as a team last race, the majority of the team spent <br />
most of their weekends getting in a new engine from the parts car<br />
that was bought some time ago incase we ever needed it...smart move<br />
on buying that other crap-can fox guys :)<br />
<br />
Here is our Craptain working on setting up the install for<br />
the new engine :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEo3n6OlQClA4ncvvj5psF92jKpepwygFIpm8gfuvBCRlqjfu7mtyAGP9VzrTU2rQlgJSUpOVuS8z6x90xcNTJS3Z3dv-xg4jGhnOuIKcdj6QPXueWuiyhLjyDOadQfwh4B2bGRGk2mAE/s1600/tom_engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEo3n6OlQClA4ncvvj5psF92jKpepwygFIpm8gfuvBCRlqjfu7mtyAGP9VzrTU2rQlgJSUpOVuS8z6x90xcNTJS3Z3dv-xg4jGhnOuIKcdj6QPXueWuiyhLjyDOadQfwh4B2bGRGk2mAE/s320/tom_engine.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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It sucked i couldn't be there with the guys to help out during the <br />
engine swap but a 8 hour round trip drive and the fact that I lack<br />
in mechanical skills, i had nothing to offer then just moral support...<br />
<br />
Initial tests of the new engine (on closed course, closed to traffic :P)<br />
hinted that we had more horsepower! This can be explained by the fact that<br />
the old engine proabbly had 150k miles + 4 races under its belt, while i <br />
think this engine is under <60k miles (although not sure)
<br><br />
So new engine = more horsepower, but it can also bring some negative<br />
suprises during the race weekend, as it has not been tested under<br />
stresfull conditions. But i think we will try to do the practice session<br />
on friday to see how the engine behaves..<br />
<br />
Practice i think will be important as-well for the team, as the race<br />
will be on Shenandoah Circuit @ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Point_Motorsports_Park">Summit Point Motorsports Park</a> which we have <br />
never raced on. It is supposed to be one of the popular lemons tracks <br />
( in meaning a lot of traffic) and a very technical track... <br />
<br />
It also sucks that although we have the other tracks scanned from Summit in Iracing <br />
we seem to have this one missing... I had used NHMS Iracing version<br />
effectively in the previous race, but looks like all I have is a few<br />
youtube videos to learn the track this time..<br />
<br />
I'll have more updates after the race next week and hopefully some great<br />
news!door2doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09421512521763600386noreply@blogger.com0