So Joe, David, Derrick, John Malptesa (sp?), and myself were at Limerock
yesterday. For the most part, everyone had a pretty good time. Not quite
as many exotics as the last event up at Pocono in August but still plenty
of cars to rag on! Joe was asked to instruct so he got to run in the
black group with all the instructors (and the jerks driving the 700+ HP
Nascar Craftsmen Trucks) I stayed in the blue group as it's much more fun
to stay in that group and harass the 'faster' cars as I learned later in
the day. It was an extremely long day for both of us as we both got up at
3AM and we both booked back down from the track to go to a bachelor party
in Hoboken. I don't know what time Joe got home and to sleep but I was
*DEAD* when I went to sleep somewhere around 3AM. The track is tiring
enough as it is.
My first session out, I noticed a *LOT* of cars in my group. There were
probably 40 cars in my group (maybe more) For Limerock, that's a good bit
as the track's not all that big and not *TOO* many opportunities for
passing. We went through our usual two yellow laps and then proceeded to
hot lapping.... well, sorta. It sucked because there was a huge train and
no one was pointing anyone else by. After the first lap, I pulled into
the hot pits to get some space. I also noticed a 3000GT VR4 that I had
ran with for an entire session at Pocono was pulling out. They let me out
onto the track but not before he had a good head-start. I tore through
Big Ben, the esses, no name straight, and was gradually catching him. If
I could get a good run on him in the downhill, I'd have him by the end of
Big Bend (I was taking it incredibly different from most people and
catching them easily) I was probably going about 90 or so in the downhill
and started to turn in and the car got a bit squirrely. Oops. Around I
went and it scared the crap out of me. I nearly lost it there two years
ago in the rain and know several people who have had bad experiences going
off there. Luckily the car didn't flip and I just put on a good show for
those watching (oh, and I accumulated some sand in and on the car)
Everything checked out and I was back out and playing again.
Unfortunately, I didn't bother to put the video camera on for the first
session since 'nothing every happens in the first session because you're
always taking it easy' Needless to say, I never caught up to the 3000GT.
My second session out, I lined up two cars behind a Porsche Slantnose with
some crazy turbo. Well, he was a pansy. We both worked out way through a
bit of traffic including an Integra that *HAD* to have had some sort of
crazy motor swap as I had very little for him on the straights and just about enough in the twisties to give him the idea to let me by. Probably
a damned good driver as well. I finally had about 3 or 4 clean laps glued
to this Porsche's butt (well, except on the straights where you can hear
his turbo spool, see him take off, see my hands go up in the air, me
cursing him out, and see him shoot flames out his exhaust as he backs off
way to early for every turn. After each turn, the same process would
happen. As much as I tried getting a run on him, it was usually just
about enough to get up alongside him to give him the idea when he punched
the gas and took off. That session I pushed the car *REAL* hard.
Eventually a newer (not this generation but previous?) modified M3 with a
really fast driver came up and I pointed him by. The Porsche pointed both
of us by. I got a nice, clean lap behind that M3 and pulled off a 1:09
After that lap, I looked down to see my temperature climbing rapidly! I
fired up the heat (it was already hot and in the 80s outside
backed it
off for a lap, and took it easy. I got back on it for another lap and the
temperature instantly rose. So I took the remaining 3-4 laps slowly and
short-shifting to cool off the car. Luckily when I came in, there was no
evidence of overheating. That session I also faded my pads pretty bad.
My third session was a blast as well. As everyone who watched that
session noticed, everyone was pointing me by. I turned the heat on at the
start so my temperature didn't rise and we bled the brakes (in the crappy
gravel that they call a paddock at Limerock) between sessions. I also
short-shifted a lot more and tried to carry more speed through turns than
relying on the power to pull me out of the turns. It worked well and I
was one of the faster cars out there. I caught an M3 as he seemed to have
some aweful lines. He pointed me by and then proceeded to follow my line
and catch on. I could only pull about 2-3 carlengths on him per lap.
This was the guy that, unfortunately, hit the tire wall at the end of the
day when he bumped himself up to the red run group (I had discussed myself
going up to the red run group with him) I also have some pretty cool
video of catching a Gran Sport coming down the downhill and getting a
pointby by him as well as a Cobra Mustang. I split them down the middle.
I'll get it (as crappy as it may be) and post it somewhere for all to see.
There was also that same slantnose but he let me by this time (as I had
talked to him after the second session) At the end of the session,
pulling back into the pits, I saw John's NX two cars ahead of me. I had
been catching him all session... I saw him go out like 3rd or 4th and I went out like in the high teens. So I was happy about that... I was even
more happy when I found out it was Rick Lepore (a really experienced
driver... he actually instructed me when I first started this stuff)!
My fourth session I wanted to run with the red group as they're earlier
and it'd give me more of a chance to pack up and get out of there and back
down for the bachelor party. Plus, I'm just about ready for the red run
group. I obliterate just about anything out there in the blue run group.
I started off in front of some replicar cobra. Once we got the green, I
pointed him by. Every straightaway it seemed I was pointing by anywhere
from 1-5 cars! I felt like I needed to learn to drive again! The
difference in driver experience was night and day. So I got a big check
on my ego. Anyway, a few laps in, I was pushing the exit of Big Bend
wider and wider and catching the curbing on that side. Till, one lap,
with a Miata behind me (he was just about even with me in the twisties and
the straight - talked to him later on and he said he wasn't backing off of
me in the twisties and had a supercharger (hence being able to keep up on
the straights)) I went a little too wide and dropped a wheel. Around the
car went! This time I had it on video! But, it was pretty scary as the
car went off into the grass totall sideways and there was not much I could
do to correct that. I just let go of the steering wheel (I think) and put
the brake to the floor. The ABS pulsating... and then the pedal went to
the floor, dead! The ABS light came on and I finally came to a complete
stop. As I started back onto the track, there was an aweful scream from
under the hood. I pulled into the pits and checked everything out and it
all seemed ok. The ABS, I took the fuses out later, put them back in, and
the light went off... nothing since? The rest of that session, I think I
only caught and passed two other cars. Aside from that, everyone was
passing me! I still need to check some of my lap times on that session as
I'd suspect they dropped slightly being with faster cars.
David also had issues with overheating. He had to pull his car off
smoking after one of his sessions. They thought the car was on fire. He
put some water wetter in, we opened his thermostat a bit with the bleeder
screw, and I told him to run with his heat on. His next session he
managed to get through it. Looking at my video, I was leaving the car at
the top of third letting the tranny brake the car when I should've been
upshifting and using my brakes a lot more. Oh well... live and learn. I don't think Derrick had any real issues yesterday (aside from telling me
how sunburnt I was). Joe thought he fouled a plug. He pulled in as I was
getting ready to go out and his car was missing horribly. I came back
after my session and they had found that it was just a loose spark plug
wire.
Oh, and another thing... I drank water from their taps in the bathroom.
Only after drinking a full bottle of it did I see the sign that read
"Caution: Water is unsafe to drink" Oops. So if I drop dead and die in
the next week, I had it coming to me
So far, so good... my hair's not
falling out and my body's just sore from the driving yesterday.
Bottom line: we all continued the dominance of the SE-R within PDA!
That 65-70mph sure looks fast on video, guess it's because on road courses that's the speed at which you take turns, while on the street anytime you're going faster than 60mph it's usually in a relatively straight path. Can't wait to get out there on the track once I can afford it
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