Da Groj

Pretty interesting day! I think it was every bit as much fun as we hoped it would be. Thanks for coming out and trying something new, maybe we'll do it again sometime.

The day wasn't without minor issues. Mostly timing problems. I've already placed an order for the ailing timer interface cable. And just to be sure, we'll also be replacing our 7-year-old laptop soon, as well. That should take care of that!

While things went pretty smoothly throughout the day, one little decision we made in the morning made communication with drivers difficult all day. We simply decided to not load the PA into the back of the "Mobile Command Center". Thought we could get by without it. And we did... but, it would have been nice to have.

Results are up.
http://drivefast.org/results/results-archive/

If you looked at them earlier, there were some errors that have been fixed, and I cleaned up the formatting.

Errors were:
- My first segment time was keyed in wrong. It was 3.6xx, NOT 2.6xx. (no, I didn't launch a stock Miata quicker than an AWD 911 with traction control)
- I mistakenly reclassed Casey Steege to M3. His original S4 classing was correct.

These changes move my finish position up to 2nd in M3, and put Casey in 2nd in S4.

Keep your eye on Casey, he's going places.

I would go for this format again for sure. It was a great opportunity to practice on specific course features. Sometimes, for me it's difficult to identify errors at the end of a full run and breaking it up into parts helped highlight areas needing improvement.

I tweaked the car for this event: 1/8" toe out up front and 15mm spacers added up front. Made for a much looser car than I expected and it took some getting used to. Good overall: front end didn't wash out as quickly and the turnaround was easier. Did okay in the Chicago box for once.

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Formating with a nice shade of green and highlights really helps... I had fun (not just cause I got a sticker!) - although, I am absolutely pouring over the treasure trove of segment data now... interesting comparos to be had as I ponder hardware investments.

I really enjoyed today, shame about the finicky cable as most everything went really well. Little warm, but I'd do it again in a year - need to benchmark those competitor skills!

p.s. Matt got his slalom on; not even german engineering could best him! Kudos...

That was cool! I was confused and irritable at first but once I figured out how work duties went it was loads of fun.

I am bummed I had to miss this because I really would have liked to see how I did on the different segments and where I can improve (all segments!!!). Please consider doing this again in the future.

an excellent event, which solidified my suspicion that my launches are costing me a lot of time. think I saw the Volkswagen wagon launch faster than me.

next time we should have the starts much further behind the segments without modifying the course. that would show more realistic theoretical times.

The heat was just a bit too much for me at the end but other than that it was a very fun change of pace. Big thanks to Ben for letting me drive is car. It was a blast to drive once the rear started following the front. I took a few pictures, not very interesting ones and very few but it was the best I could do in that heat.
http://imgur.com/a/CoazX

Yeah, this is another event we should do in the "winter". Unfortunately, ALL of our Special Event formats tend to run long, and winter is too short!

Loren wrote:Yeah, this is another event we should do in the "winter". Unfortunately, ALL of our Special Event formats tend to run long, and winter is too short!

What? Future FAST Winter Weekly you say?

If the Dunnellon airport pans out, and we get some folks interested in that area, it is possible that we could do 3 events per month.

Dunnellon ftw!

Phillip, maybe guys like me can make a cooperative arrangement with you open cockpit folks on hot days: we trade our a/c spaces during waiting times in exchange for you guys.....ummm...idk....slow down some??

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Loren wrote:Keep your eye on Casey, he's going places.

Thank you for the kind words Loren. Couldn't have done it without a great teacher...

I had a great time, it was fun separating the elements to hone in on your weak spots, which looking at the numbers, my car is HORRIBLE off the line, or I just need to learn how to launch a miata.

Well that was interesting. Some impressive cars, and impressive driving.
I enjoyed it. Many thanks to everyone who helped out, especially those of you who were just out to watch. Greatly appreciated!

I think I did pretty well, except for the 3-cone 50-ft slalom before the finish. Couldn't get the feel of it. Neither the element alone, or in the full course. Bleh. The rest was fun.

Bill - the changes you made worked really well. Good calls! I'm quite surprised the "low" pressure in back was so effective. I'd've argued to go with higher rear pressure, and in fact, it might be worth a try next time to see if there's a difference.

OH, and, welcome to summer at the airport everyone.

ctsteege wrote:my car is HORRIBLE off the line, or I just need to learn how to launch a miata.

Prob'ly a bit of both. You'll figure it out...

What are you guys talking about? Winter? That's a yankee thing.
In Florida, we only have early Summer, Summer, late Summer and Spring-ish.

I deleted the results. Felt guilty seeing all your weaknesses graphically displayed against the course map. Interesting how you all appeared slower doing the whole event. I assume "perfect" meant your fastest total of the segments. I promise not to look anymore. VERY interesting.

Yes, the "pefect" time was the sum of the best time of each segment. In theory, this should be faster than your run of the full course. But, on average, it was closer than I thought it would be. And a lot of people were REALLY close to the same. I guess that just means we're consistent!

Loren wrote:Yes, the "pefect" time was the sum of the best time of each segment. In theory, this should be faster than your run of the full course.

The really interesting thing about mine is that if you look at my "perfect" time, I ran 4th of 5 in S4...but the full course time topped the class. Something about stringing the course together...or really crappy starts for each segment.

Jamie wrote:The really interesting thing about mine is that if you look at my "perfect" time, I ran 4th of 5 in S4...but the full course time topped the class. Something about stringing the course together...or really crappy starts for each segment.

It looks like your main segment deficits were in the slalom and the dig out of the turn-around. Both off by maybe 2-3 tenths. If you did a better job of stringing those elements together as a full course, that would do it.

I'll say it. Not a super fan of the format. I think the heat of the day hit me harder then I could deal with (only saving grace was my work assignment) But segment sections in hindsight should have just been 3 each. Then maybe we could have gotten 3 cracks at whole layout. By the time the full track happened the brain heat soak had hit me / just proved how awesome the split format open events are.


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