NJMP Nov 8/9

#21

I’m going to try to get there when the gates open Saturday morning. Save me a spot.
Bob

#22

I will be getting there Saturday morning. I might bring camping gear but i have a feeling most were thinking it was going to be too cold. If no one else is staying then i will just drive back home for the night and Drive back down the next morning.

It is just over an hour drive for me each way.

#23

Just putting this ( http://vimeo.com/2200113 ) up for now, my luck continues. I’ll write something up about the track/weekend later on…good weekend though (other than the obvious issues)

#24

Sean - at least you didn’t hit the armco. Look forward to the rest of the story.
Ed

#25

Hey Guys,

It was nice to see you guys this weekend,
I don’t know if you heard about the last lap of the last run group of the day.

One of the PDA rental Mustangs put two wheels off coming on to the main straight. The driver over corrected and the car went front first in to the pit wall. then it turned and slammed the rear in to the wall. Lucky both the driver and instructor are OK.

It seemed all the e30s had some sort of issue this weekend, but it could have been worse.

Chris, did that race count for you?

#26

OK, quick recap of the track/weekend

Track is a lot of fun, some fast corners that test your fortitude and then some tricky technical bits that have you wondering how the hell to best get through. They even managed to make some good elevation changes.

LOTS of paddock space. We had to park on just the road ways because of 3 days of rain turned all the grass to mud and everyone still had plenty of room.

Saturday qualifying was WET, like pit out was a 6-8" deep puddle wet. But the track is still new, so the wet line was pretty much the same as the dry, just slower.

For the race, it stopped raining, but the track didn’t dry out much, a few rivers and standing water still existed to keep things interesting. We were mixed in with the spec miatas for the start and I was on the front next to a miata on pole. Since our cars actually produce torque, I got the jump on the green and had a few good laps out front with no spray to deal with… until things went boom. Parked the car behind a flag stand and got out to watch the race. Christian and Raymond were pretty close with each other, but then Raymond braked a little too late and went off at the turn I was at. By the time he got through the mud and going again, the gap between the two was a bit much to overcome in the time left, so Christian got his first win, Raymond in 2nd and me in 3rd minus an engine.

On Sunday, the weather cleared up but was still a little damp in the morning. I think Raymond was letting one of his sons use his car in DE so that left Christian by himself racing for the day. I left early so one of them will have to chime in on the rest of that day.

Even with the rain and losing another engine, it was a good weekend. The track and facilities are great and will only get better when the grass finally grows in etc. Had an amazing year end cookout on Saturday night, with steaks, sausages, chicken, soups, beer, wine, moonshine (it is in SOUTH jersey :slight_smile: ) and pretty much every other type of food and beverage. The NE is going to have 2 races at NJMP next year, once on the lightening circuit and one on thunderbolt so I definitely recommend anyone who can make it to try to.

#27

+1 on the fun track. This was my first event in the rain and I had a blast!

#28

Well, Sunday was sunny, in the 50’s and a great day to finish the season. Qualified 16 out of 23 (944 Cup, Super Cups, Miatas and One Lone Spec E30), a personal best.

Split start, all the 944’s in one and me in the middle of the Miatas. This was my fourth race, so just looking to get experience in traffic and stay clean to send the provisional in.

Diced with 2 Miatas for a while, let em by, knowing they had a run for position. Got way loose on Turn One late in the session and half a lap later realized it was coolant leaking as the temp headed for the peg. Took the checker in pit row, and headed to the trailer. Got a finish out of it.

I second Sean, great track, gonna get nothing but better. C’mon up, guys!

Christian

#29

Christian, sorry to hear you didn’t get to finish the race. Did you find the cause of the overheating?

Took the head off the engine today and found the damage. Broke the rod on cylinder 6 and it put a nice hole in the block right under the starter. I have no idea what caused the rod to break, which is the next thing to figure out.

#30

Ouch :ohmy:
If that’s not a good excuse for a winter rebuild I don’t know what is.
Just be careful…we’ll looking at your first dyno results…:wink:

#31

Ouch, Sean. Must have been some kind of oil issue, unless that was a real high mileage bottom end. Best of luck getting a new block and getting it on the road.
Ed

#32

Yep, got credit for the finish, just one lap less than the field over the time of the race. Pulling the head tomorrow to see if it’s just the gasket or we gotta go deeper.

Rookie mistake from a slow coolant leak and letting it get hot. Let ya know.

Tempted to install a BIG light for coolant or OP. Know of a source?

C.