Autocross : 2012 SASCA Event #5. Awesome day today. I designed the course with slight tweaks on the beginning section from Andy Hollis. 116 entrants total and I ended up 1st in STR, 8th in raw time, and 5th in PAX. The car felt great and extremely planted through the slaloms but also high a slight push digging out of the slower sweepers.
New CW H2R personal best lap! My previous best was a 1:32.208 and I broke it not once but twice today! In the video the first lap was just above my record, the second breaks it but it’s still in the 32s and then my last lap I finally break into the 31s setting a 1:31.79. Later in the video I’m chasing a friend in his NC Miata with old Hoosiers just starting to cord. =P
SASCA & Spokes Co-Event #4. STR was limited in participants today since Jon and Rob weren’t there in their S2000 but I ended up taking the win over Jason by almost 3 tenths. The latest rear swaybar change-out made a significant difference in keeping the rear end planted on corner exit. There was a slight push in one or two spots but not bad at all. I am very happy with this change.
I changed out the rear stock s2k swaybar this evening with the ‘07 Miata front swaybar that I got from Jason. We’ll see how this works for tomorrows local SASCA/Spokes event. I’m hoping it keeps the tail end planted a bit more.
2012 Mineral Wells Pro Solo. I had a blast at this event despite the car feeling tail-happy. This is my second Pro Solo ever and I love these events along with the National Tours. The drag-tree gives it just that extra umph of fun. ;)
Fun this past Saturday at H2R with Eric, Barry, Harrison, David, Deriann and a few other TrackJunkies. Andy was there as well but he was too fast to get on video. ;D
Spokes Event #3! I entered as a Double-driver meaning I ran in two separate heats to get more seat time. Ricky Crow volunteered to help dial in the Moton Club Sport shocks so I wouldn’t be so damn tail-happy. I had been quite pissed since the last event (Texas National Tour) and especially after the Outlaw Autox they day before because I thought I was screwing the line up or entering a corner incorrectly because I was always having to catch the rear end of the car. We removed 2 clicks in compression and bumped the rear rebound up one click and the car became soooo much more controllable that I was barely catching the rear end at all! It was a glorious day and was relieved to find out that my driving is actually decent and it was mostly the car setup that was causing the previous issues. I can’t wait for the next event to verify all the new settings.
Harris Hill Road’s first time doing an autocross. We’ve set up an autox course there before but it was for a Spokes event. This event ended up being a couple cones on the straightaways and the rest of it being a track event. It was fun, I pushed too hard on my second morning run and went on an off-track excursion. It was all cosmetic damage to the clear bra and the front lip was cracked but she is fine mechanically. Afterwards I ran the open track for about an hour with Andy Hollis. Good times.
2012 Sunbelt National Tour in College Station, TX on March 17-18. I did not drive all that well this weekend. My times were on pace for Day 1 but I coned every run, stupidly. Day 2 I completely fell apart after the first run since I was afraid of hitting the hard-cut limit in 2nd gear. On my 2nd and 3rd runs I had trouble shifting into 3rd gear and lost so much time shifting back and forth since I wasn’t in 3rd gear but for maybe 1-2 seconds. The car felt pretty loose on corner-exit and my steering input was constantly changing to correct the car. I need to set the front sway bar to full stiff and try that setting out.
This weekend went to show me that I have a terrific group of friends. It seems like coning every run on at least one if not both days is a right of passage in this sport as you crawl closer to the upper echelon of the competition. Everyone is saying my aggression is there and that I just need to be more comfortable at the limits rather than always correcting my steering inputs. As for Day 2 I was so pissed off I did not feel like talking with anyone and immediately left after my work assignment was over. It wasn’t until later that I cooled off and was able to chat with people about getting my car’s setup corrected.
Thank you to everyone for the support and I’ll see you at the next event.
