quick VIR race recap and video

[fasthonda]

hi guys!

i just got back from a long weekend at VIR racetrack.... it was SOOOOO hot down there! the Probenstien ran great all weekend, with no breakdowns other than changing brake pads and rotors (first time i have changed rotors in three years!). that is NOT to say i was fast; the old Probenstien is handling fairly poorly these days; i was about 3-1/2 seconds slower than my laptime at the beginning of this year, before my wreck.....

saturday, i finished 5th, out of 6, in PTE;  just couldn't get the car to turn, or handle. sunday, i had a terrible qualifying; i got to the grid pretty late, and was in a swarm of miatas, one of which blew up right in front of me on the 3rd lap, oiling down oaktree. i qualified last for PTE, and was next to last in our group to start the race!

luckily for me, it rained for 3 minutes, about 10 minutes before the race started. everyone was on dry tires (i was on my last year's hankook 214s; this is there 11th, and hopefully last, weekend!). the track was wet, as we went out for the pace lap. i was upbeat, and hopeful, because the handling deficit is not nearly as important in slick conditions as is bravery, and car handling prowess..... it sure was slick! i had to really control my right foot, as the tires would spin at will (no limited slip, and bald, toasted tires). i got a pretty good start and began moving up (see clip below):

http://www.vimeo.com/1423607

the red 240sx and the green 240sx are in PTD. i think the BMW was PTD, or PTC, also, as was the blue turbo miata. the black legends was PTA.

the ride up the esses was white knuckle, every time. not 'fun, white knuckle'. more like 'holy crap, i hope i don't crash at the top and get a closeup view of those new condos!'.

i was really trying to feel out the #2 white SE-R at the end of the race (which was really a short race; barely 15 mins, due to miata crashes!); if it had gone on a bit longer, i think i might have gotten around him; i sure was planning on giving it a good shot!

Bob T ran well in his 993 in the big bore race (at least, on sunday he did.  he had some 'power issues' on sat!  ha ha!).  Darren ran a very good race both days;  on sunday i was really impressed with his car control and smart thinking!  Jason ran strong in his first weekend of Spec E30 racing;  i think he finished in the top 10 both days, which is a huge accomplishment!!!!!

enjoy the clip.

todd
ReidSpeed

PS that black legends car almost wrecked me and darren on saturday's race. i just missed punting him twice; he is very lucky that i had an extra 2"!!!!

[Darren]

Nice race Todd!  I don't think I could have held you off in those conditions indefinitely.  It's interesting watching my wet/defensive line -- during the race it was more of a tactical decision than a strategy, every turn was different every lap, and every lap was faster.

What may not be obvious by watching it was that the braking zone, and really the whole T1, which is slippery anyway, was super wet.  How you managed to out-brake me (8:25) and stay on the track I'm not quite sure   You get real close to the edge and actually hydroplane on a puddle it looks like at the edge of the track.  The outside of the turn was very wet and honestly I was hoping you'd slide right off.  I think that's one case where the (heavy) weight of the car actually helps you.

My car ran very well all weekend -- I'm having a tough time in the class though because I'm down on power.  The front runner is making 178 fwhp or so and I'm at 141 fwhp.  So every straight I lose ground -- some of it I can compensate with exit speed, but that only lasts so long.  The big straights at VIR are a problem.  I'll have a similar problem at the Glen

Great race weekend!  Congrats to Jason for completing his first race weekend without incident and with great finishes both days!