Tevenor
20+ Year Contributor
- 1,785
- 14
- Mar 18, 2002
-
Rochester,
New York
First off an apology to the DSMTuners community. A lot of stuff has happened this summer and fall and I am just now getting caught up. Look forward to all my race reports being posted soon.
Now on to race report 1.
Race 1 - Valeo
Into the Breach
Welcome to race report number 1. This is the first local regional race that I have made and the only race I have before I leave for the National Tour stop in Toledo, OH. There was another race scheduled earlier in the season but due to weather conditions, the decision was made to skip it. Now the weather was much better and the car was more sorted out although it still had some quirks to figure out like the slightly erratic idle. However the tune was pretty well sorted out at everything over 80% throttle. With the fairly cool air, the car pulled hard and handled as good as ever.
The Finger Lakes region 1st event of the season was the first race held at Valeo. Let me describe it for you. Its a huge parking lot of the local ITT/Valeo automotive parts manufacturing plant. . The lot is a large open section of asphalt with a series of light poles staged evenly across the lot. The surface is a combination of marbles and cracks with some semi-even patches of straights. The other quirky piece is what is affectionately called the rumbles. As in all older parking lots, the spots where the cars actually park has sunk over the years and as such, if running directly up a line of spots, you will get the rumbles which is another feature you need to be aware of both as a racer and as a course designer.
Course design
Click here for a course map
The course was a fun design. Started off pretty much a straight hole shot from the starting line, into a moderately fast slight left into a long 7 cone non-optional slalom. The exit was fast into an offset gate and into the first real turn. The two turns at the west end of the course, although displayed on the map (see link above) as 2 individual turns, if you nailed the entry point were 1 big 180-degree turn. If you nailed it perfect, you could care the speed through the 180-degree mark to the 200-degree mark and set you up perfect for the fast sweeper back the right. Most of the more experienced people saw the line, but hitting it was another story.
After the right hand sweeper, we entered a left turn into an interesting 4-pin slalom. This turned out to be the controversial maneuver of the day as it was optional and offset. If you look at the map you will see that after the slalom is a very tight and slow right-hander. So you have 2 options:
1. Let the car swing wide to enter to the right of the first pin, which allows you a wider entry into the tight right-hander at the end, and possibly carry some speed through the corner.
2. Cut the entry corner short, duck to the left of the entry cone and carry more speed early, but then be on the inside exit path towards the tight right hander.
There was a lot of discussion amongst the drivers and you could sort of see the dividing line being drawn by car and hp. I personally chose the left entry and tight right exit mainly because the extra speed that I could maintain through the right corner wasnt enough to offset the distance difference at the beginning of the slalom nor the speed difference at the top. However all the discussion doesnt matter once you start driving it as conditions change each run.
Coming out of the tight right hand was a big S maneuver that was more about speed control than anything else. There was enough line to hang yourself if you were too aggressive but you still had some space to give it a run. The end was gnarly. Strong right hand decreasing radius turn. It was a grin and bear it finish. Tough after a pretty open course. In fact most of the front was wide open while the back half was a bit more technical in reality. Unfortunately a course map only shows so many nuances.
So let the race begin.
Every first race of the year is a relearning experience. You spend as much time during the season living on the edge of traction that after being away from it over the winter, it takes a couple of runs to realize that yes, it will really grip, and yes, it will turn, and yes, you can add more power. But it takes a bit to get back in the feel. This race was no different.
Now generally speaking there are 3 types of autocross mentalities. The first is the attack mentality. This is go-go-go, attack-attack-attack mentality. They will be fast out of the gate and will get a bit faster but they pretty much come out of the whole 110% for each run. They also usually hit the most cones as per their aggressive style. The second type tends to be the Analytical approach. Almost 100% of the time, their first run is a feeler run to confirm their analysis of the course and line during the walk through, and they will always get progressively faster as the day goes on. The third type is the type I like to call the passive aggressive. They start off the day calm cool collected and smooth. By the end they are trying to out muscle the aggressive guys. Sometimes this works, usually it doesnt. They tend to overcook tires towards the end of the day and rarely get significantly faster. For better or worse, I am the analytical type.
So my first run is always the slowest as I feel out the course. I make my run and come across the timing lights with a 56.254. Not bad starting out. The fastest Emod guys who are traditionally the fastest in the region come in at 56.22x times. So I am fast in comparison. Normally I am about a second behind, course dependent of course. My main competition at this race is my friend and racing comrade George Little in his 95 GSX. He comes in 58.156 with a cone. Every cone is a 2 second penalty so in truth is faster out of the gate than I am with a 56.156. The cone penalty puts me in first place after the first run and George in 2nd out of 6 in the class. The course was pretty slippery which it always is on the first run but gets stickier as the rubber gets laid down and the pavement warms up.
Second run George has a bad run as he is still tweaking his setup and trying to get his suspension worked out. I improve on my first run with a 55.771, cutting a ½ second of my first time. Pretty much leaves the standings the same in the 1 2 spots.
The third run George comes back with a vengeance as he altered the rear toe a bit to settle the rear end. Runs a 56.680. Not as fast as his first raw time but definitely back in the hunt. Unfortunately he blows a freeze plug and drops coolant over a portion of the course and it looks like he is out of it. I run a 55.894 as I tried to run the controversial optional slalom the opposite way. Definitely slower. My first instincts were right. As I watched more and more people run, I think the prevailing thought was also to go with my first instinct. I run a 55.868 which is a tenth slower.
Picture of George's 95 GSX
By now its early afternoon and the pavement is nice and hot and the marbles have been cleared. Times should be dropping more and more. I tweak some tire pressures to settle the rear end a bit on the sweepers hoping that I can carry more speed through those sections as I am nailing my line. I also go first before George as I end up in grid as he tries to fix his car and get it running again. I run a disappointing 55.867. I still havent improved at all while the other drivers I usually mark myself against have dropped significant times. George ends up driving my car for the rest of the event as his is still down. In an unfamiliar car he almost spins and runs a 62.xxx time frame.
George is a very good driver. He has been hampered with power, suspension and tire issues in the past. However is very good. And as such, we both have a tendency to pull runs out of our ass to win. He has done it to me in the past, and I have done it to him plenty. So there is no safe lead between the two of us. One may be on fire and the other cold as ice but it only takes 1 run to switch places. Which leads me to the 5th and final run of the day.
I let George go first to warm up the tires for me (the benefits of co-driving and owning the car). I am more that just an interested bystander as I dont ever really get a chance to see how my car handles outside of the car. It was very educational and I took some mental notes as I watched George run. I also watched as he came in with a 55.972, just missing me by 2 tenths of a second. I knew it was a fast run as I watched it unfold. J
So I go out and with some new inspiration, even though I had 1st place locked, ran a 55.028, cutting .7 seconds of my fastest time and putting a full second lead on George for the win.
Exiting times for sure. The combination of being the first real event and being at Valeo didnt really give me the performance I was expecting but the result was good. I also took away some good lessons and tweaks for the next event. After all, the racer who stays looking at what he has accomplished, will soon get passed.
Next report, on to the National Tour stop!
Now on to race report 1.
Race 1 - Valeo
Into the Breach
Welcome to race report number 1. This is the first local regional race that I have made and the only race I have before I leave for the National Tour stop in Toledo, OH. There was another race scheduled earlier in the season but due to weather conditions, the decision was made to skip it. Now the weather was much better and the car was more sorted out although it still had some quirks to figure out like the slightly erratic idle. However the tune was pretty well sorted out at everything over 80% throttle. With the fairly cool air, the car pulled hard and handled as good as ever.
The Finger Lakes region 1st event of the season was the first race held at Valeo. Let me describe it for you. Its a huge parking lot of the local ITT/Valeo automotive parts manufacturing plant. . The lot is a large open section of asphalt with a series of light poles staged evenly across the lot. The surface is a combination of marbles and cracks with some semi-even patches of straights. The other quirky piece is what is affectionately called the rumbles. As in all older parking lots, the spots where the cars actually park has sunk over the years and as such, if running directly up a line of spots, you will get the rumbles which is another feature you need to be aware of both as a racer and as a course designer.
Course design
Click here for a course map
The course was a fun design. Started off pretty much a straight hole shot from the starting line, into a moderately fast slight left into a long 7 cone non-optional slalom. The exit was fast into an offset gate and into the first real turn. The two turns at the west end of the course, although displayed on the map (see link above) as 2 individual turns, if you nailed the entry point were 1 big 180-degree turn. If you nailed it perfect, you could care the speed through the 180-degree mark to the 200-degree mark and set you up perfect for the fast sweeper back the right. Most of the more experienced people saw the line, but hitting it was another story.
After the right hand sweeper, we entered a left turn into an interesting 4-pin slalom. This turned out to be the controversial maneuver of the day as it was optional and offset. If you look at the map you will see that after the slalom is a very tight and slow right-hander. So you have 2 options:
1. Let the car swing wide to enter to the right of the first pin, which allows you a wider entry into the tight right-hander at the end, and possibly carry some speed through the corner.
2. Cut the entry corner short, duck to the left of the entry cone and carry more speed early, but then be on the inside exit path towards the tight right hander.
There was a lot of discussion amongst the drivers and you could sort of see the dividing line being drawn by car and hp. I personally chose the left entry and tight right exit mainly because the extra speed that I could maintain through the right corner wasnt enough to offset the distance difference at the beginning of the slalom nor the speed difference at the top. However all the discussion doesnt matter once you start driving it as conditions change each run.
Coming out of the tight right hand was a big S maneuver that was more about speed control than anything else. There was enough line to hang yourself if you were too aggressive but you still had some space to give it a run. The end was gnarly. Strong right hand decreasing radius turn. It was a grin and bear it finish. Tough after a pretty open course. In fact most of the front was wide open while the back half was a bit more technical in reality. Unfortunately a course map only shows so many nuances.
So let the race begin.
Every first race of the year is a relearning experience. You spend as much time during the season living on the edge of traction that after being away from it over the winter, it takes a couple of runs to realize that yes, it will really grip, and yes, it will turn, and yes, you can add more power. But it takes a bit to get back in the feel. This race was no different.
Now generally speaking there are 3 types of autocross mentalities. The first is the attack mentality. This is go-go-go, attack-attack-attack mentality. They will be fast out of the gate and will get a bit faster but they pretty much come out of the whole 110% for each run. They also usually hit the most cones as per their aggressive style. The second type tends to be the Analytical approach. Almost 100% of the time, their first run is a feeler run to confirm their analysis of the course and line during the walk through, and they will always get progressively faster as the day goes on. The third type is the type I like to call the passive aggressive. They start off the day calm cool collected and smooth. By the end they are trying to out muscle the aggressive guys. Sometimes this works, usually it doesnt. They tend to overcook tires towards the end of the day and rarely get significantly faster. For better or worse, I am the analytical type.
So my first run is always the slowest as I feel out the course. I make my run and come across the timing lights with a 56.254. Not bad starting out. The fastest Emod guys who are traditionally the fastest in the region come in at 56.22x times. So I am fast in comparison. Normally I am about a second behind, course dependent of course. My main competition at this race is my friend and racing comrade George Little in his 95 GSX. He comes in 58.156 with a cone. Every cone is a 2 second penalty so in truth is faster out of the gate than I am with a 56.156. The cone penalty puts me in first place after the first run and George in 2nd out of 6 in the class. The course was pretty slippery which it always is on the first run but gets stickier as the rubber gets laid down and the pavement warms up.
Second run George has a bad run as he is still tweaking his setup and trying to get his suspension worked out. I improve on my first run with a 55.771, cutting a ½ second of my first time. Pretty much leaves the standings the same in the 1 2 spots.
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The third run George comes back with a vengeance as he altered the rear toe a bit to settle the rear end. Runs a 56.680. Not as fast as his first raw time but definitely back in the hunt. Unfortunately he blows a freeze plug and drops coolant over a portion of the course and it looks like he is out of it. I run a 55.894 as I tried to run the controversial optional slalom the opposite way. Definitely slower. My first instincts were right. As I watched more and more people run, I think the prevailing thought was also to go with my first instinct. I run a 55.868 which is a tenth slower.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Picture of George's 95 GSX
By now its early afternoon and the pavement is nice and hot and the marbles have been cleared. Times should be dropping more and more. I tweak some tire pressures to settle the rear end a bit on the sweepers hoping that I can carry more speed through those sections as I am nailing my line. I also go first before George as I end up in grid as he tries to fix his car and get it running again. I run a disappointing 55.867. I still havent improved at all while the other drivers I usually mark myself against have dropped significant times. George ends up driving my car for the rest of the event as his is still down. In an unfamiliar car he almost spins and runs a 62.xxx time frame.
George is a very good driver. He has been hampered with power, suspension and tire issues in the past. However is very good. And as such, we both have a tendency to pull runs out of our ass to win. He has done it to me in the past, and I have done it to him plenty. So there is no safe lead between the two of us. One may be on fire and the other cold as ice but it only takes 1 run to switch places. Which leads me to the 5th and final run of the day.
I let George go first to warm up the tires for me (the benefits of co-driving and owning the car). I am more that just an interested bystander as I dont ever really get a chance to see how my car handles outside of the car. It was very educational and I took some mental notes as I watched George run. I also watched as he came in with a 55.972, just missing me by 2 tenths of a second. I knew it was a fast run as I watched it unfold. J
So I go out and with some new inspiration, even though I had 1st place locked, ran a 55.028, cutting .7 seconds of my fastest time and putting a full second lead on George for the win.
Exiting times for sure. The combination of being the first real event and being at Valeo didnt really give me the performance I was expecting but the result was good. I also took away some good lessons and tweaks for the next event. After all, the racer who stays looking at what he has accomplished, will soon get passed.
Next report, on to the National Tour stop!
Real shame too since the lot is huge and all ours.
