Da Groj

What an awesome day it was. Weather doesn't get much better than it was today.

A lot of firsts today. First time placing in a points event with a 1st place (second 1st place in a row and third 1st in my rookie year). First time on real tires and I am stunned at the difference they make. First time hitting the rev limiter in 2nd.

Ran a 40.8 in fun runs but coned it away right at the finish. Fastest clean run was 42.02. Going to need some time to figure out what the car can really do with the new rubber.

Many thanks to FAST organizers for putting on another killer event.

Well all it's 6:01 and I've been waiting for someone else to start raving about this event as being awesome. Go Jason - he's amped up.

Definitely needed a couple more runs on this course to continue the enjoyment factor and finesse required.

Les is back!!! FTD Loren outdid himself again and posted all the results before 5pm!!

He did that because he beat me with the Fastiva by .021 seconds and wanted to crow.

The OLD guard in S1 was within .203 seconds from 3,4,5 positions which is crazy close racing, however; Those pesky FOMOCO RS things are racing against each other 1.2 seconds ahead of us with good tires and .7 ahead with crappy tires. I think the AS Z06 can still beat them but I'm too cheap to buy the Z06 rims and cam and find out. It is what it is. Those two guys can really drive and the cars are really super handling according to anyone who has ever driven them. Go Ford. They are staying in B Street for 2017 so we will live with it.

This might have been the nicest day on record? Some of the course workers were trying to become hood ornaments but other than that it was a great event.

All is right in the universe again as the 1,2,3 finishers in S4 ALL beat me soundly!!! Go Jamie!!! 9th OA.

So did Soraya!!! 20th OA.

Thanks to all for a fun event and I asked the newbies who ALL had a great time this afternoon so they'll be back.

Doug

Event didn't suck.. Even tho I did on my first run...

Track layout was original and overall I liked it, getting the timing right with the starter was pretty critical.

Here's my best lap of the day, placed 11th in M2. This was my first time running in that group and with my new Federal RS-RR tires. These tires are leaps and bounds better than my factory set, I have a feeling I'm in the same boat as Jason.. it's gonna take alittle bit to get used to how these grip and corner. I know I was overdriving them and carrying too much speed into a couple sections all day!!

The track layout was awesome and super easy to lure yourself a false sense of speed/rhythm. I definitely had a couple OH Sh** moments today.

https://youtu.be/htlsqy1nak4


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah... about that layout... I was the course worker for the first run group of the morning for station 2, right at the crossover. That group had red flags and reruns while we figured out the flow. It was a rough beginning and it had me worried to run my group! The second group went smoothly through. Once I got on to driving, the course was great. It definitely was not as straight line fast as some people thought it'd be, which I always appreciate

Super fun time today! The course was very challenging for me. I just... couldn't.

Tentative where I needed my foot in it, couldn't find the right spot to grab 3rd, botched my downshifts, took the turnaround too wide, late in the slaloms and too far off the cones (except the ones I clobbered.)

But, fun in the sun, good company- too bad it went so quickly. I could have done two of these today.

Thanks everyone for pitching in to make another successful event!

Kdub085 wrote:Here's my best lap of the day, placed 11th in M2.

https://youtu.be/htlsqy1nak

Thanks for sharing. Wow you sure short short shifted that start. Would have thought you'd been flat out and hard braking on the final approach to the most evil finish.

Well done. Next event 10th. Think about the 17th in the Fastiva.

Man I was feeling really good about my 41.1 when I left this morning! Not so much now.

I told Phillip he had to run a 40.9 and he did it! Kudos to Jamie, to. 40.6 is ridin' out.

It was weird running in a vacuum without the two rabbits I'm usually chasing. Still a fantastic day. Perfect weather once the sun came out.

Definitely put this course in the "KEEP" pile. Super fun, fast, and enough places to make and lose time that it was challenging.

jaball77 wrote:Definitely put this course in the "KEEP" pile. Super fun, fast, and enough places to make and lose time that it was challenging.

I think I heard Joe Vance offer Jamie $10 grand and his car as a trade up to the 200k mile monster to run in M3? Maybe it was the wind whistling in my ears? Maybe not. Mod cars are like pissing up a rope. Eventually the rope gets wet and so do you.

I regret not running a double event today - excellent course - really liked having the crossovers!

twistedwankel wrote:Mod cars are like pissing up a rope. Eventually the rope gets wet and so do you.

Still better than holding the rope...

Wow, you guys are on it this evening!

Not much left for me to say, but "thanks"! I say this after nearly every event, but it's true... these events don't happen by themselves. Sure, Steve and I organize the hell out of things, but without good people pitching in to do their part (and sometimes more), it could never happen.

Lessee... first, I'm inclined to apologize for the awfulness of the first run group. The course itself was GREAT, as many have noted. But, figuring out where to put workers in the vicinity of station 2 where they would be safe, and still able to get to the key cones that goofball drivers kept hitting was a challenge! Getting a new starter up-to-speed on all the places he needed to look before starting another car was another hurdle that we took a little too long to address. Once we got those things under control, things went pretty smoothly.

What else... Oh, we had more than a few really loud cars today. Steve has the details, but, geez! Loud does not equate to fast! And we want to keep our VERY few remaining autocross sites (not to mention our sense of hearing), so we can't allow loud cars.

Not much else to say. Lots of fun was had today.

Oh yeah. Doug, I didn't even realize I'd finished ahead of you. Bonus! No, I was watching my co-drivers (even though they don't run in my class) and trying to beat Steve's 41.7 (even though he coned it), and I was watching Philip (thinking that I had a chance of beating him, which is always good for a giggle, until he pulled out that phenomenal last run), and I was watching the guy that SHOULD be winning my class, Joe Vance. After a couple of 41.8 runs, I really just wanted to get past Steve and hoped I might get past Joe Vance's 41.6. Soraya had also put down a 41.6, and she's still a good benchmark for the FASTiva. And, I somehow managed to bonzai-run my way to a 41.5 on my last run, narrowly averting a spin. BUT... I completely overlooked Tyler Williams. He had quietly run a 41.3 in the morning, and I didn't even notice it until after my last run! Stealthy. Smoked both me and Joe Vance in M3. My radar now includes Tyler.

If there's an award for most conservative first time doing autocross.... I think I nailed it.

Does anyone take photos there on a regular basis or today?

JakeB wrote:If there's an award for most conservative first time doing autocross.... I think I nailed it.

Solid improvement between runs. That's what you want at your first event!

I'm a believer that conservative beginners are easier to teach. It's easier to get someone to learn to push harder than it is to get someone who's throttle control is limited to "all" or "none" to back the hell off.

Ride with lots of people, and take advantage of any instruction you can get!

mattm wrote:Does anyone take photos there on a regular basis or today?

Yes. Philip and Carl try to grab photos. Don't know if anyone was there in the morning tho'?

They ran with me in the PM.

Thanks everyone! Holy cow what a fantastic day it was.
Yeah, I'm either sunburned or windburned. It'll be fine tomorrow.
Yeah, that work station 2 was a little tricky. We figured it out.
Yeah, the start interval was really important. We figured it out.
Yeah, lots of loud cars. More to come on that...
Yeah, I coned away my best time and cost myself one place in class and a top 30 finish. No matter. Still had a ball (and made Loren look).

Kishore - you really pulled it together on your last run. Being less-late makes a difference!
Robert - thanks for letting me flog your car. I was sandbagging to not make you feel bad...or was I? Let's codrive a whole event...
Soroya - wowee. 'Nuff said.

I'm not one to pick favorites, but that course was definitely one of the best! Wonderful variety and skills needed to get through, and nice and smooth flow. Goodness.

So my last run had a cone. I don't care about points, but maybe Carl or old arse Doug does... so you can move me to 4th in S1. I suck, I know.

mattm wrote:g the guy that SHOULD be winning my class, Joe Vance. After a couple of 41.8 runs, I really just wanted to get past Steve and hoped I might get past Joe Vance's 41.6. Soraya had also put down a 41.6, and she's still a good benchmark for the FASTiva. And, I somehow managed to bonzai-run my way to a 41.5 on my last run, narrowly averting a spin. BUT... I compl

I do, the pictures should be up tonight I hope.