Scott McIntyre
DSM Wiseman
- 309
- 44
- Mar 15, 2002
-
Halifax,
NS, Canada
Magic Mountain doesn't like me this year. When I attend an event there earlier this season, it was cold / wet with zero grip and I sucked; placing midfield overall. This latest event didn't go much better.
The weather was dry but the temperatures were low at 14ºC (57ºF). As I had found out at the previous SoloSprint event, my race tires no longer offer any grip due to their age & heat-cycles. Throw cold ambient temperatures into the mix, and things just get worse. Not to mention that the Magic Mountain surface is very bumpy, abrasive, and sandy. But I live to race, so I gave it my best shot.
The course at this event was very tight. In fact, pretty much the whole bottom half had to be navigated in 1st gear, with lots of rolling dips in the surface to upset the car. There was also a nice stream of water (from heavy rain the day before) running across the course just prior to a 90º turn. This stream wet the tires and resulted in a pile of understeer.
The upper half of the course was a little better. You could actually get into 2nd gear. But it was still quite choppy with little flow to it. Defiantly not a DSM course. It was the small / nimble / lightweight cars with soft suspensions that ruled here.
So without going into a run-by-run recap, it suffices to say that I did not do well. Like the last event at this venue, I placed midfield overall. Quite disappointing, but given the circumstances it was understandable.
Here's a video clip of my best run of the day. For more videos (and datalogs), see this page.
Next event is this Sunday. It will be held on a road race circuit, so it's going to be fast and long! Unfortunately the weather forecast is calling for even colder temps, so again grip will be nonexistent. But it should be fun nonetheless. 
The weather was dry but the temperatures were low at 14ºC (57ºF). As I had found out at the previous SoloSprint event, my race tires no longer offer any grip due to their age & heat-cycles. Throw cold ambient temperatures into the mix, and things just get worse. Not to mention that the Magic Mountain surface is very bumpy, abrasive, and sandy. But I live to race, so I gave it my best shot.
The course at this event was very tight. In fact, pretty much the whole bottom half had to be navigated in 1st gear, with lots of rolling dips in the surface to upset the car. There was also a nice stream of water (from heavy rain the day before) running across the course just prior to a 90º turn. This stream wet the tires and resulted in a pile of understeer.
The upper half of the course was a little better. You could actually get into 2nd gear. But it was still quite choppy with little flow to it. Defiantly not a DSM course. It was the small / nimble / lightweight cars with soft suspensions that ruled here.
Here's a video clip of my best run of the day. For more videos (and datalogs), see this page.
