Post by truk41 on Apr 21, 2008 21:34:06 GMT -5
Last weekend (April 12-13) I went down to Talladega Gran Prix for the Time Trials event and school. This was really my first venture away from the cones(except VIR¡¦s Patriot course once) so this is from a complete rookie to track events. With the force from Chris Barrett and Mark Seiler, over the past few months I have been prepping my car for TT rules/saftey.
For me in a Miata basically meant, roll bar, seat(and seat back brace), harness(driver side only), fire bottle and mount, tow hooks(not sure if it is mandatory), steering wheel(or disable airbag), and the driver gear I didn¡¦t have. Driver gear consisted of: Suit, gloves, shoes, socks, balaclava, and arm restraints. As for the rest of the car prep, I did an oil change, checked brake pads/rotors, checked all fluids, double checked all suspension bolts, etc. One week before leaving for the Talladega while changing tires, I broke a wheel stud, so I decided to change all 16. I basically didn¡¦t want to worry about anything within my control, especially at the increased speeds. I went to this event primarily to get my full TT license in one shot and get seat time, so I decided to take along plenty of tools and parts in case something went wrong I could still have a chance to continue.
I rolled out on Friday morning and made great time, about 6 hours. Checked in at the hotel and on to the track. Friday night was for registration and tech. I was nervous about the tech part, I really didn¡¦t want to drive 6 hours to be told, no, you cant drive¡K..Well, after waiting in tech line for 3 hours and listening to the tornado sirens for 10 minutes I got my Log Book, no problems except I needed to put my stock seat belt around my stock passenger seat(as a restraint for the seat back), and a piece of tape on my fire bottle latch. Oh, and you need $10 for the log book. So I was nervous for nothing. I also walked the track.
On Saturday morning everyone but the students(me) went out for practice. I had to listen to an instructor tell a dozen of us to not make an a$$ of ourselves. And then we went out for a lead/follow at a good pace session. We did this twice, and it was nice to see the track at some sort of speed. Then it was practice for the students. This practice was about 15 minutes with limited passing(point by in designated areas only). Wow, finally getting to run at speed on an open track and chasing other cars. This alone was better than any other events I was part of. And this was when I knew I had an oil pressure problem. In the past I had much better oil pressure. After practice we waited around, talking, not working, for the next practice. Went back out for a short practice and took it easy for oil pressure, I just needed to get through the weekend to get my license. They even posted times for each practice group. Then after lunch it was time for timed runs. While sitting on grid with 2 other cars(corvairs) the nerves were obvious, kind of like the first ever autoX run. But once released from grid, no nerves anymore, just time to have fun, oh, and about that oil pressure, it was time to go, not hold back. My first warm-up lap, I just tried to push it to get heat in the tires. Got back to the front straight and there it was, green flag just for me. Pretty cool feeling. I made 3 solid clean laps, and got the checkered. I was officially done with my first run. I was happy, in practice I had a pair of 1:17.
¡¦s, and in my first run I had a 1:15.663. That was it for day one, a great, safe and fun day. And the motor is still running.
And this is where Time Trials is much different than what you would think. I went with the Seiler¡¦s out to eat, drink, whatever¡K.Well, it turned out about 15 people showed up and car talk/story telling etc. was on. I met many new people and had a blast. This alone makes time trials not just a track event but a weekend gathering of friends. The closest thing I can think of this would be when I was 17-18-19 years old hanging out with my friends getting in trouble and not a thing to worry about, payments, responsibilities, etc. Just about a carefree weekend, I almost forgot I had a job.
Anyway, Sunday was a new day. Should be the day I get signed off. Show up and got dressed in gear, get the car started up and do a quick check over the car. I was ready to go¡KFinally I get to go again. One my first lap I drove into turn 3 hotter that before, and it stuck¡K.14¡¨ V710¡¦s stick much better than my STS2 tires. So I learned I can drive harder. It paid off cause I shaved another second off, 1:14.712. On my third timed run(Sunday afternoon) I ran a pair of 14.5¡¦s back up by a 14.0. I told Mark Seiler all I wanted was a 13. Well I went out for my 4th and final run and got a 1:13.8 and a 1:13.5. I was pretty happy. I am glad they don¡¦t count cones in TT otherwise that 1:13.5 would have had a ¡¥plus 2¡¦ with it. I know Mark has the picture ƒº I had the most fun at this event and I was 3+ seconds off the pace, cant wait to go back to TGP with lighter weight and 13¡¨ tires. Now I am excited about Nashville, I was going to try to swap in a new motor, but I looked into my options and each option involved doing 2 swaps. Each of which would be a used/unknown motor going in for Nashville and Kershaw, then back out for a built motor. I have decided to go ¡¥as is¡¦ to both of these events, and in the next few weeks I am trying a few things to increase oil pressure, and put in a double check sender and gauge.
All in all, I ran 35-40 laps, got my Full TT License, pending physical and paperwork, and realized my new home, I just cant figure out why I didn¡¦t do this years ago. Oh wait, because the publicity, marketing, advertising, rules, confusion, etc of SCCA Time Trials suck, and there isn¡¦t anything beyond the Southeast TT series.
Oh, and 13 CSP cars¡K.that¡¦s competition.
and thanks to all who helped me get there
For me in a Miata basically meant, roll bar, seat(and seat back brace), harness(driver side only), fire bottle and mount, tow hooks(not sure if it is mandatory), steering wheel(or disable airbag), and the driver gear I didn¡¦t have. Driver gear consisted of: Suit, gloves, shoes, socks, balaclava, and arm restraints. As for the rest of the car prep, I did an oil change, checked brake pads/rotors, checked all fluids, double checked all suspension bolts, etc. One week before leaving for the Talladega while changing tires, I broke a wheel stud, so I decided to change all 16. I basically didn¡¦t want to worry about anything within my control, especially at the increased speeds. I went to this event primarily to get my full TT license in one shot and get seat time, so I decided to take along plenty of tools and parts in case something went wrong I could still have a chance to continue.
I rolled out on Friday morning and made great time, about 6 hours. Checked in at the hotel and on to the track. Friday night was for registration and tech. I was nervous about the tech part, I really didn¡¦t want to drive 6 hours to be told, no, you cant drive¡K..Well, after waiting in tech line for 3 hours and listening to the tornado sirens for 10 minutes I got my Log Book, no problems except I needed to put my stock seat belt around my stock passenger seat(as a restraint for the seat back), and a piece of tape on my fire bottle latch. Oh, and you need $10 for the log book. So I was nervous for nothing. I also walked the track.
On Saturday morning everyone but the students(me) went out for practice. I had to listen to an instructor tell a dozen of us to not make an a$$ of ourselves. And then we went out for a lead/follow at a good pace session. We did this twice, and it was nice to see the track at some sort of speed. Then it was practice for the students. This practice was about 15 minutes with limited passing(point by in designated areas only). Wow, finally getting to run at speed on an open track and chasing other cars. This alone was better than any other events I was part of. And this was when I knew I had an oil pressure problem. In the past I had much better oil pressure. After practice we waited around, talking, not working, for the next practice. Went back out for a short practice and took it easy for oil pressure, I just needed to get through the weekend to get my license. They even posted times for each practice group. Then after lunch it was time for timed runs. While sitting on grid with 2 other cars(corvairs) the nerves were obvious, kind of like the first ever autoX run. But once released from grid, no nerves anymore, just time to have fun, oh, and about that oil pressure, it was time to go, not hold back. My first warm-up lap, I just tried to push it to get heat in the tires. Got back to the front straight and there it was, green flag just for me. Pretty cool feeling. I made 3 solid clean laps, and got the checkered. I was officially done with my first run. I was happy, in practice I had a pair of 1:17.
¡¦s, and in my first run I had a 1:15.663. That was it for day one, a great, safe and fun day. And the motor is still running.And this is where Time Trials is much different than what you would think. I went with the Seiler¡¦s out to eat, drink, whatever¡K.Well, it turned out about 15 people showed up and car talk/story telling etc. was on. I met many new people and had a blast. This alone makes time trials not just a track event but a weekend gathering of friends. The closest thing I can think of this would be when I was 17-18-19 years old hanging out with my friends getting in trouble and not a thing to worry about, payments, responsibilities, etc. Just about a carefree weekend, I almost forgot I had a job.
Anyway, Sunday was a new day. Should be the day I get signed off. Show up and got dressed in gear, get the car started up and do a quick check over the car. I was ready to go¡KFinally I get to go again. One my first lap I drove into turn 3 hotter that before, and it stuck¡K.14¡¨ V710¡¦s stick much better than my STS2 tires. So I learned I can drive harder. It paid off cause I shaved another second off, 1:14.712. On my third timed run(Sunday afternoon) I ran a pair of 14.5¡¦s back up by a 14.0. I told Mark Seiler all I wanted was a 13. Well I went out for my 4th and final run and got a 1:13.8 and a 1:13.5. I was pretty happy. I am glad they don¡¦t count cones in TT otherwise that 1:13.5 would have had a ¡¥plus 2¡¦ with it. I know Mark has the picture ƒº I had the most fun at this event and I was 3+ seconds off the pace, cant wait to go back to TGP with lighter weight and 13¡¨ tires. Now I am excited about Nashville, I was going to try to swap in a new motor, but I looked into my options and each option involved doing 2 swaps. Each of which would be a used/unknown motor going in for Nashville and Kershaw, then back out for a built motor. I have decided to go ¡¥as is¡¦ to both of these events, and in the next few weeks I am trying a few things to increase oil pressure, and put in a double check sender and gauge.
All in all, I ran 35-40 laps, got my Full TT License, pending physical and paperwork, and realized my new home, I just cant figure out why I didn¡¦t do this years ago. Oh wait, because the publicity, marketing, advertising, rules, confusion, etc of SCCA Time Trials suck, and there isn¡¦t anything beyond the Southeast TT series.
Oh, and 13 CSP cars¡K.that¡¦s competition.
and thanks to all who helped me get there
