Another great weekend at Phoenix International Raceway!
Last weekend I ran at PIR. Since spec e30 hasn’t caught on very well in the AZ region yet I ran in GTS. Accordingly, I ran 225 Toyos, a Conforti chip, and removed the plastic shield behind the drivers side headlight (which were the only deviations from spec e30). There were (if I remember right) 5 cars running GTS last weekend: 2 e36 m3’s, 1 e46 m3, 1 e30 with a m52 conversion, and me. There was also another e30 325e (with some "unspecified" head upgrades) running in the Pro Sedan class. Well, the e36’s and the e46 were well beyond the capabilities of my car, as was the e30 with the m52. The race on Saturday was fun, but I got stuck behind a spec miata which I could not get around for the life of me, and was totally overshadowed by Sunday’s race, in which I found myself in bumper to bumper racing with the 325e e30 & a few 944s.
On the Sunday race, after losing two spots due to my engine dying during the pace lap (see other post - "dying car"), I had a fantastic start. At PIR the start is on the front straight, which is right before the awkward transition into the infield course. Going through that transition is normally a 2-car wide endeavor. Well, looking ahead on the start I noticed that the e30 with the eta motor (who had qualified 3 rows in front of me - I’m not very familiar with this track) went to the outside, and no one followed. I chose to follow, and coming out of turn two I found myself right on his bumper - having passed 6 cars on the first 2 corners by going around on the outside! Now, I know that races are never won on the first corner. However, picking up spots at the start is a great feeling. Well, I followed the eta around for 7 or 8 laps. I was surprised that I could not out-excellerate him coming onto the oval, but was finally able to get by him by taking a sharper line on the last turn of the infield. Once around him, I was able to put ~ 50 ft in between us over the next 6 laps. Then, as I moved off-line to let the e36s through who were lapping me, the eta snuck through as well! I guess I was being overly accommodating! Once by, then pulled away from me until he got hung up by a spinning 944, which allowed me to catch up. I tried and tried, but with spent tires I just could not get close enough to make battle. In the end, I wasn’t able to get around him, and wandered back to the pits thinking "I just got beat by an eta". Frustrating - yes. Fun - hell yes! In the end, I know I should have been the faster car. However, I was driving a track that I’ve only been on a few times, which offers very little banking on the oval, which I simply could never get comfortable with in my car all weekend.
I think I mentioned 944s above. Yes they were there. Yes I passed several of them on the start. Yes, a couple of them repassed me during the course of the race. I’m still not sure what it is about those cars - I’m faster than some and slower than others? What do you guys find on the east coast? I did very well against them at Buttonwillow last month (after rear-ending the Evo 8 :laugh: ).
And aside from the minor car problems, which hopefully the new fuel pump I put in yesterday will resolve, it was a great weekend. Oh - and if I wasn’t wrapping up the 2nd of a 2-race probation for the minor rear ending of an Evo 8 at Buttonwillow last month (totally my fault - but in my defense they have MUCH better brakes than we do!!!) that miata would have had an e30 bumper implanted in his rear quarter panel in payment for the blocking he was doing on Saturday.
:evil:
Steve