It is officially on the books :)
http://www.nasaracing.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/NASA-LAP-RECORDS.xls
Next year we will explore a little NASA PTD wheel to wheel racing. Looks very promising based on the TTD test.
Spec Boxster
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Summit Point NASA Time Trials: new lap record for TTD
This past weekend Nov 5-6, I ventured out to Summit Point with NASA for one last day of fun this season with my Spec Boxster.
Since there was no wheel to wheel racing and I wanted to capture some lap times to refine my driving I signed up in the TT division in TTD where the Spec Boxster fit perfectly.
On Sat, not being 100% sure on how the TT points worked I erred on the side of caution and ballasted my car to 2850 lbs (min was 2822 lbs) and gave myself about 10 + points of wiggle room in case there were questions about my classification in TTD.
Ran the day without issues, went to the scales and checked my weight (2850+), managed to turn a 1:25.0 in the very first session out but that time didn't count because on my last lap of that session I spun in T10 and beached the car in the gravel. For those that didn't know if you go off in TT your entire session is DQ'ed.
No biggie, went back out and backed it down a notch and posted a string of tidy laps, the best one recorded at 1:25.4s. The existing lap record for TTD was a 1:27.2 set back in 2008. The lap record was mine !
Overall, I had an excellent day. Hit my marks consistently and moved up my game considerably in T3, 9 and 10 running about 10mph higher than normal. Thank you Mr. Hoosier. My only challenge was a Hoosier that was leaking about 10psi in an hour and since I had 2 students and my session was wedged in between them, I had to stage the car on the hot pit and overinflate my left rear tire and "hope" that when it came time to do my timed session I could just bleed out a little and hit the track.
Now understanding the rules a whole lot better, I reduced my running weight for Sun using up some of the points to take a weigh reduction down from 2822 lbs but still being conservative to leave myself some wiggle room.
Again on my first session out for the day I set my best laps for the day and posted a 1:24.5 with a string if 1.24.x laps around it. Hopefully that lap record will stand for a while or not either way I had a blast
Here is a video for some entertainment from Sun's fast run. (Thanks to Mark Francis/OG racing for setting up a nifty roof mounted camera for another perspective.)
The 3rd lap out is the fast one but the 5th isn't too shabby either.
I highly recommend the NASA Time Trials for anyone that wants to step it up from DE. The requirements work very nicely for a street car and you get 5 timed sessions per day and open passing.
Since there was no wheel to wheel racing and I wanted to capture some lap times to refine my driving I signed up in the TT division in TTD where the Spec Boxster fit perfectly.
On Sat, not being 100% sure on how the TT points worked I erred on the side of caution and ballasted my car to 2850 lbs (min was 2822 lbs) and gave myself about 10 + points of wiggle room in case there were questions about my classification in TTD.
Ran the day without issues, went to the scales and checked my weight (2850+), managed to turn a 1:25.0 in the very first session out but that time didn't count because on my last lap of that session I spun in T10 and beached the car in the gravel. For those that didn't know if you go off in TT your entire session is DQ'ed.
No biggie, went back out and backed it down a notch and posted a string of tidy laps, the best one recorded at 1:25.4s. The existing lap record for TTD was a 1:27.2 set back in 2008. The lap record was mine !
Overall, I had an excellent day. Hit my marks consistently and moved up my game considerably in T3, 9 and 10 running about 10mph higher than normal. Thank you Mr. Hoosier. My only challenge was a Hoosier that was leaking about 10psi in an hour and since I had 2 students and my session was wedged in between them, I had to stage the car on the hot pit and overinflate my left rear tire and "hope" that when it came time to do my timed session I could just bleed out a little and hit the track.
Now understanding the rules a whole lot better, I reduced my running weight for Sun using up some of the points to take a weigh reduction down from 2822 lbs but still being conservative to leave myself some wiggle room.
Again on my first session out for the day I set my best laps for the day and posted a 1:24.5 with a string if 1.24.x laps around it. Hopefully that lap record will stand for a while or not either way I had a blast
Here is a video for some entertainment from Sun's fast run. (Thanks to Mark Francis/OG racing for setting up a nifty roof mounted camera for another perspective.)
The 3rd lap out is the fast one but the 5th isn't too shabby either.
I highly recommend the NASA Time Trials for anyone that wants to step it up from DE. The requirements work very nicely for a street car and you get 5 timed sessions per day and open passing.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
NJMP Thunderbolt w/ chicane new track record
During race 2 on Sunday I set a new track record during the race for the Spec Boxster class.
Set a new track record of 1:38.709 besting the prior record by 2.05 seconds.
Set a new track record of 1:38.709 besting the prior record by 2.05 seconds.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
NJMP Rolex/Grand AM support race with Porsche Club
Attended the Rolex and Grand AM support races with PCA Club Racing.
The theme for the weekend was that it was HOT HOT HOT, saw 106 F on the thermometer a few times. The track was very greasy likely due to the extreme heat.
Friday Practice 1:
Never saw the track before prior to Friday's morning practice session. Went out to do recon for a few laps and latched onto someone with a decent pace. Started exploring T1, T2 and the chicane. By the 3rd lap I was taking the entry to T2 with just a lift and go, unfortunately the course was greasy and misjudged the entry of the chicane and usefullness of the curbing to rotate the car and ended up with a big slide that took me off into the tire wall with a glancing impact. Damage to car-none. Quickly checked my front and rear toe with some toe plates borrowed from the racer parked next to me. Set a lap of 1:42.480.
Friday Practice 2:
Had to make this practice count! Went out determined to learn the course and take my time getting up to speed. I never listen to myself :). After a few laps I latched onto a Porsche 993 in H Class and chased him around most of the session and got a really good foundation for the course. Set a lap of 1:40.294.
Sat Qualifying 1:
Now that I new which turn was coming and which way it headed it was time to find a little speed. The rear end of the car was still very loose in several of the turns so I had to be careful as I found myself counter steering the car mid corner. Found an F Class 911 to chase driven by Paolo Incampo. Began to close in on him and was trying to tighten up the gap behind him into T7 to allow me to stay close to him for a passing attempt in the braking zone of T1 and lost the rear and slid in the grass. One of the bumps unseated my drivers door from the hinges and I had to hold the front side of the door from dragging. Went right to the pits and called it for the session. Set a lap of 1:38.680 only 0.08 seconds behind Paolo.
Sat Race 1:
Pretty clean start of the race although cars did bunch up quite a bit into T2. I took advantage of the situation and choose a line in the center of the track with Paolo Incampo to my right and Hugh McNenly just ahead of him. Later I learned that Hunt McMahon #611 and fellow Spec Boxster driver was also on my left. Paolo was trying to get out from behind Hugh and moving my way at the last second all the other cars went for the brake pedal and I stayed on the gas and shot into the chicane ahead of all 3 cars. Whew.
I ended up following Joe Mansfield in a blue 968 Firehawk car for a good portion of the race until he passed an orange/red 964 which held me up for several laps and let Joe run away from me. I finally got around the 964 and finished 1st in class and 30th overall out of 48 cars. Set a lap of 1:39.385.
Sun Qualifying 2:
Uneventful session where I chased Joe Mansfield around. The rear of the car was still loose but I had a better handle on where it was happening. On my flyer lap I ended up catching traffic going into T6 and lost time behind them for the next few turns. Kind of unfortunate. Set a lap of 1:38.490.
Sun Race 2:
This one was pretty exciting. The grand stands were filling up with spectators as the Rolex race started right after us. The start of this race was chaotic. When the green flag dropped and I came across the start/finish line there was a bunch of smoke and a lot of dust everywhere hurting visibility. I saw Joe Mansfield in the blue 968 dart to the right as I saw a black 911 come into view moving slowing as we closed in at over 115mph. I followed his lead. As we approached T1 cars were diving left and right, apparently 3 of them jumped over the curbing onto the pit exit road. As we approached T2 into the chicane the cars bunched up even more. I again was taking the middle line and certain that I was about to get squeezed in from both sides. Somehow I managed to sneak through the chicane and was in the middle of a 4 car drag race to T4 right hander from the left edge. I was certain that I would be the odd man out but somehow the 3 alongside me overcompensated for one another vying for the apex and I snuck through on the outside ahead of everyone.
I tried to settle into a comfortable pace but was fighting the car more than I wanted to in T6 and T7, the rear end was really dancing around on me and I was sure I was hearing weird rubbing sounds from the left rear suspension. I ran a pretty good race keeping some higher hp cars behind me by opening up a generous gap from T1 to T5. I was following Harry Kintzi in the black 993 for a good portion of the race and was starting to catch up to him. On the last three or four laps my tires were really losing their grip and my advantage in T1-5 was gone. By the last lap I had a GTB2 997S on my rear bumper and he was looking for a way around me. I did my best to keep him there charging through the turns as fast I could muster. I took the apex to T4 at 90mph and lost the rear end and spun the car into the grass. This allowed the 997S car past as well as Joe Mansfield in the 968 and one more. I finished behind them in 31st position overall out of 42 cars and first in my class. Set a lap time of 1:38.709
And now for some pictures from the race...
The theme for the weekend was that it was HOT HOT HOT, saw 106 F on the thermometer a few times. The track was very greasy likely due to the extreme heat.
Friday Practice 1:
Never saw the track before prior to Friday's morning practice session. Went out to do recon for a few laps and latched onto someone with a decent pace. Started exploring T1, T2 and the chicane. By the 3rd lap I was taking the entry to T2 with just a lift and go, unfortunately the course was greasy and misjudged the entry of the chicane and usefullness of the curbing to rotate the car and ended up with a big slide that took me off into the tire wall with a glancing impact. Damage to car-none. Quickly checked my front and rear toe with some toe plates borrowed from the racer parked next to me. Set a lap of 1:42.480.
Friday Practice 2:
Had to make this practice count! Went out determined to learn the course and take my time getting up to speed. I never listen to myself :). After a few laps I latched onto a Porsche 993 in H Class and chased him around most of the session and got a really good foundation for the course. Set a lap of 1:40.294.
Sat Qualifying 1:
Now that I new which turn was coming and which way it headed it was time to find a little speed. The rear end of the car was still very loose in several of the turns so I had to be careful as I found myself counter steering the car mid corner. Found an F Class 911 to chase driven by Paolo Incampo. Began to close in on him and was trying to tighten up the gap behind him into T7 to allow me to stay close to him for a passing attempt in the braking zone of T1 and lost the rear and slid in the grass. One of the bumps unseated my drivers door from the hinges and I had to hold the front side of the door from dragging. Went right to the pits and called it for the session. Set a lap of 1:38.680 only 0.08 seconds behind Paolo.
Sat Race 1:
Pretty clean start of the race although cars did bunch up quite a bit into T2. I took advantage of the situation and choose a line in the center of the track with Paolo Incampo to my right and Hugh McNenly just ahead of him. Later I learned that Hunt McMahon #611 and fellow Spec Boxster driver was also on my left. Paolo was trying to get out from behind Hugh and moving my way at the last second all the other cars went for the brake pedal and I stayed on the gas and shot into the chicane ahead of all 3 cars. Whew.
I ended up following Joe Mansfield in a blue 968 Firehawk car for a good portion of the race until he passed an orange/red 964 which held me up for several laps and let Joe run away from me. I finally got around the 964 and finished 1st in class and 30th overall out of 48 cars. Set a lap of 1:39.385.
Sun Qualifying 2:
Uneventful session where I chased Joe Mansfield around. The rear of the car was still loose but I had a better handle on where it was happening. On my flyer lap I ended up catching traffic going into T6 and lost time behind them for the next few turns. Kind of unfortunate. Set a lap of 1:38.490.
Sun Race 2:
This one was pretty exciting. The grand stands were filling up with spectators as the Rolex race started right after us. The start of this race was chaotic. When the green flag dropped and I came across the start/finish line there was a bunch of smoke and a lot of dust everywhere hurting visibility. I saw Joe Mansfield in the blue 968 dart to the right as I saw a black 911 come into view moving slowing as we closed in at over 115mph. I followed his lead. As we approached T1 cars were diving left and right, apparently 3 of them jumped over the curbing onto the pit exit road. As we approached T2 into the chicane the cars bunched up even more. I again was taking the middle line and certain that I was about to get squeezed in from both sides. Somehow I managed to sneak through the chicane and was in the middle of a 4 car drag race to T4 right hander from the left edge. I was certain that I would be the odd man out but somehow the 3 alongside me overcompensated for one another vying for the apex and I snuck through on the outside ahead of everyone.
I tried to settle into a comfortable pace but was fighting the car more than I wanted to in T6 and T7, the rear end was really dancing around on me and I was sure I was hearing weird rubbing sounds from the left rear suspension. I ran a pretty good race keeping some higher hp cars behind me by opening up a generous gap from T1 to T5. I was following Harry Kintzi in the black 993 for a good portion of the race and was starting to catch up to him. On the last three or four laps my tires were really losing their grip and my advantage in T1-5 was gone. By the last lap I had a GTB2 997S on my rear bumper and he was looking for a way around me. I did my best to keep him there charging through the turns as fast I could muster. I took the apex to T4 at 90mph and lost the rear end and spun the car into the grass. This allowed the 997S car past as well as Joe Mansfield in the 968 and one more. I finished behind them in 31st position overall out of 42 cars and first in my class. Set a lap time of 1:38.709
And now for some pictures from the race...
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
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