Scott McIntyre
DSM Wiseman
- 309
- 44
- Mar 15, 2002
-
Halifax,
NS, Canada
This was double 2-day event held at an airfield. A huge long course.
I had finally got my DSMLink stutter box and anti-lag systems setup and was anxious to try them out on the course. I couldn’t wait to see the looks on the other competitors faces when the car makes the god-awful stutter noise and rockets off the line with flames shooting out the tail pipe!
Day 1
Well, my dramatic launch hopes were crushed. The course started with a 90º turn that prevented any type of launch. D’oh! And the course was relatively tight considering the amount of space we had available to us. Definitely more “Miata-frendly†than the previous Digby courses.
I started out in the first run group and set some good times. Myself and another competitor in a 240SX (the one who edged me out at the Digby events) were swapping best times, but after we had completed our four runs, he was ahead of me and I was runner up.
Then it was time for the second run group which was full of Miatas and other small nimble cars. It was looking like the 240SX & I were going to hold our 1-2 positions when on the very last run, one of the Miata guys pulled out smoking run and snatched up the FTD, bumping me down to third overall.
Day 2
This time the runs groups were switch, which meant that I would be running later in the day. This is usually advantageous because it means that the track is already swept with rubber laid down by the previous cars, giving you more traction. Plus it gives you a chance to watch the other cars run and see what lines they’re taking. And it gives you a run time to shoot for instead of you setting the fast time first.
The quickest time of the first run group was set by the same Miata who captured FTD the day before, so that was the time to beat. My first run was excellent. I was a couple seconds quicker than the Miata’s first run, and a second quicker than the 240SX’s first run. FTD wasn’t far off. Things were looking very promising.
On the second run I improved my time, but so did the 240SX by a fair margin and he jumped ahead of me. Third run wasn’t so great. I enter a section too hot and lost some time as a result.
Going into my fourth and final run, the Miata still had FTD, the 240SX was in 2nd with no runs left, and I was 3rd. This was my last chance to pull it off. Everyone was say, “Come on Scott, you can do it!â€. So I gave it my all… ran a clean fast run with only one little minor mistake. As I came flying into stop box, triggering the timing beam I heard crowd yelling and cheering!! Woo hoo! I pumped my celebratory fist out the window and proceeded to park the car in the paddock.
Then someone came over and told me that I had not actually captured FTD… They were just cheering as a joke to mess with the fast Miata driver who was out working the course. Bastards! They got both of us with that one. Although it was quite funny.
So when it was all said and done I ended up with 3rd overall both days. A good result but not what I was striving for.
All is not lost though... I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. During these past five events I’ve noticed tire wear, tire temperatures, and an understeering tendency which indicate a lack of front negative camber. Essentially, my lack of negative camber is preventing me for getting the full benefit of these monstrous tires. I need another -1 º to -1.5º in order to get the most out of them. So I plan to chop another 3/8†out of my front upper control arms prior to the next event. This should provide me with the slight edge I need to take these two guys and put a DSM back at the top.
Below are some event pictures. More can be found here: http://spoon.org/pics/Motorsports/ASCC-Solo2-20070701-02/
I had finally got my DSMLink stutter box and anti-lag systems setup and was anxious to try them out on the course. I couldn’t wait to see the looks on the other competitors faces when the car makes the god-awful stutter noise and rockets off the line with flames shooting out the tail pipe!
Day 1
Well, my dramatic launch hopes were crushed. The course started with a 90º turn that prevented any type of launch. D’oh! And the course was relatively tight considering the amount of space we had available to us. Definitely more “Miata-frendly†than the previous Digby courses.
I started out in the first run group and set some good times. Myself and another competitor in a 240SX (the one who edged me out at the Digby events) were swapping best times, but after we had completed our four runs, he was ahead of me and I was runner up.
Then it was time for the second run group which was full of Miatas and other small nimble cars. It was looking like the 240SX & I were going to hold our 1-2 positions when on the very last run, one of the Miata guys pulled out smoking run and snatched up the FTD, bumping me down to third overall.
Day 2
This time the runs groups were switch, which meant that I would be running later in the day. This is usually advantageous because it means that the track is already swept with rubber laid down by the previous cars, giving you more traction. Plus it gives you a chance to watch the other cars run and see what lines they’re taking. And it gives you a run time to shoot for instead of you setting the fast time first.
The quickest time of the first run group was set by the same Miata who captured FTD the day before, so that was the time to beat. My first run was excellent. I was a couple seconds quicker than the Miata’s first run, and a second quicker than the 240SX’s first run. FTD wasn’t far off. Things were looking very promising.
On the second run I improved my time, but so did the 240SX by a fair margin and he jumped ahead of me. Third run wasn’t so great. I enter a section too hot and lost some time as a result.
Going into my fourth and final run, the Miata still had FTD, the 240SX was in 2nd with no runs left, and I was 3rd. This was my last chance to pull it off. Everyone was say, “Come on Scott, you can do it!â€. So I gave it my all… ran a clean fast run with only one little minor mistake. As I came flying into stop box, triggering the timing beam I heard crowd yelling and cheering!! Woo hoo! I pumped my celebratory fist out the window and proceeded to park the car in the paddock.
Then someone came over and told me that I had not actually captured FTD… They were just cheering as a joke to mess with the fast Miata driver who was out working the course. Bastards! They got both of us with that one. Although it was quite funny.
So when it was all said and done I ended up with 3rd overall both days. A good result but not what I was striving for.
All is not lost though... I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. During these past five events I’ve noticed tire wear, tire temperatures, and an understeering tendency which indicate a lack of front negative camber. Essentially, my lack of negative camber is preventing me for getting the full benefit of these monstrous tires. I need another -1 º to -1.5º in order to get the most out of them. So I plan to chop another 3/8†out of my front upper control arms prior to the next event. This should provide me with the slight edge I need to take these two guys and put a DSM back at the top.
Below are some event pictures. More can be found here: http://spoon.org/pics/Motorsports/ASCC-Solo2-20070701-02/
