I ran this weekend at an SCCA D.C. Region autocross on the Jefferson Circuit (the same track as the '01 SE-R National Convention -- only this time, there were cones on the course). This was supposed to be a two-day event where you could run Saturday and Sunday.
I ran in the afternoon session on Saturday. Which turned into the late-afternoon session after a few incidents. One lady put her Boxster in the woods coming out of the slalom on the back straight. Then somebody in a Type R did something very bad to his engine. He came across the finish line in a cloud of white smoke and oil. It looked like he threw a rod or something.
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So around 4 or 5, they got around to the last heat of the day. I was on street tires (long story), but it looked like most of the other DSP cars were on street tires, too. Including Mike Neary in an Integra GSR, who would be my main competition.
First run (after the familiarization lap), I got a 73.8. I heard the top STS cars were in the 76s, so I felt the 73 wasn't too shabby. The course was pretty fast -- mostly high 2nd gear with a couple shifts into 3rd.
The street tires (Dunlop something-or-others that are castoffs from George Perinis) felt pretty good. Once I adjusted the rear tire
pressures and softened the rear shocks, the car was more predictable and didn't skate around as much.
Next run, I went a little squirrelry in the opening slalom and DNF'ed the run. But raw time was a 73.6. [More tire/shock adjusting]
On my third run, I ran a 73.0, but I hit a couple cones. Mike wasn't doing much better at this point. He had hit cones on all his runs His best raw time was 73.4, but with two cones it came out to 77.4. [Car felt good with pressures at 43 front, 33 rear.]
My final run, I ran a CLEAN 73.0. Mike DNF'ed his last run, so I ended up winning DSP by something like 4 seconds (thanks to Mike's cone-happiness).
Sunday, I only got one competition run. In the morning session, somebody in a Saturn got t-boned by a tree. The course was then redesigned. When I was getting ready for my 2nd timed run, somebody in a Corvette lightly brushed one of the cement walls. After that, they canceled the rest of the days activities.
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The course was pretty similar to Saturday's (just two minor changes), and I had already picked up 2.5 seconds thanks to a change to Kumho V700s. I was hoping to get into nip at the heels of some of the Corvettes.
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'93 Sentra SE-R, daily driver and track/autox toy
'91 Sentra SE-R, future racecar
I ran in the afternoon session on Saturday. Which turned into the late-afternoon session after a few incidents. One lady put her Boxster in the woods coming out of the slalom on the back straight. Then somebody in a Type R did something very bad to his engine. He came across the finish line in a cloud of white smoke and oil. It looked like he threw a rod or something.
So around 4 or 5, they got around to the last heat of the day. I was on street tires (long story), but it looked like most of the other DSP cars were on street tires, too. Including Mike Neary in an Integra GSR, who would be my main competition.
First run (after the familiarization lap), I got a 73.8. I heard the top STS cars were in the 76s, so I felt the 73 wasn't too shabby. The course was pretty fast -- mostly high 2nd gear with a couple shifts into 3rd.
The street tires (Dunlop something-or-others that are castoffs from George Perinis) felt pretty good. Once I adjusted the rear tire
pressures and softened the rear shocks, the car was more predictable and didn't skate around as much.
Next run, I went a little squirrelry in the opening slalom and DNF'ed the run. But raw time was a 73.6. [More tire/shock adjusting]
On my third run, I ran a 73.0, but I hit a couple cones. Mike wasn't doing much better at this point. He had hit cones on all his runs His best raw time was 73.4, but with two cones it came out to 77.4. [Car felt good with pressures at 43 front, 33 rear.]
My final run, I ran a CLEAN 73.0. Mike DNF'ed his last run, so I ended up winning DSP by something like 4 seconds (thanks to Mike's cone-happiness).
Sunday, I only got one competition run. In the morning session, somebody in a Saturn got t-boned by a tree. The course was then redesigned. When I was getting ready for my 2nd timed run, somebody in a Corvette lightly brushed one of the cement walls. After that, they canceled the rest of the days activities.
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'93 Sentra SE-R, daily driver and track/autox toy
'91 Sentra SE-R, future racecar
