Road Atlanta race report

#1

Well since nobody else has posted about the Road Atl event I guess I’ll start it off. This was the debut for me in Spec E30 and coming from a well prepared e36 m3 that i ran in BMWCCA i wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the little e30. before this weekend I had never driven an e30 on the track. Well I had a blast and the car performed well. We had some nasty weather on Sat with rain coming off an on all day. Our qualifiying session was very wet. I was able to qualify 2nd driving very cautiously. I wanted to make sure I had a car to race later on in the day. Carter got screwed and didn’t get a qualifying time and I think Mr. Patton only got 1 lap during the session. As for the race the weather was really iffy. I went out on full depth Toyos just knowing it was going to rain. Carter went out on drys. I guessed wrong and Carter guessed right. At the start I opened a nice size lead on our pole sitter Steve Foushee (in his first ever race). With two laps to go Carter caught and passed me coming from the back. It was a great drive from and he is super fast in that thing. I would love to say that my tire choice cost me the race but even if I was on drys I would have had nothing for Mr. Hunt. But I was pretty happy to hold on for second considering this was only the 3rd session in a brand new car.

Well, on to Sunday. We had a good size field on Sunday since we had some people that took the comp school on Sat. Carter was on pole, followed by Robert Patton, Kelly Childress (the rook) and myself. This race included my first ever standing start, which was a blast. I got off the line well but when I shifted to 2nd the shift knob flew right off and continued to roll around the car for the rest of the race :woohoo: There were a couple of Miatas in the mix that kelly and I had to deal with, including one particular Miata that gave me a pretty hard shot in the rear going into turn 3. This guy would eventually hit Kelly as well. I also had a nice oh shit moment at turn one as I did a little off roading. I gathered it up and continued after kelly once more. Eventually I would catch kelly with two laps to and secured 3rd place. Throughout the time we were dealing with that Robert and carter checked out. They had there own little private battle that I’ll let them give the details on. In the end it was Carter by a nose at the finish, securing two wins for the weekend. I felt good about the progress I made in the car over the weekend and believe that after a few more events I might be able to keep up with the likes of Carter and Robert. Overall it was great weekend and it was good to meet the Spec e30 guys. I’m really glad I decided to go this route instead of some of the other options I looked at. And congrats to all the newbs that completed their first race without incident. great job!

Damion

Post edited by: dmoses, at: 2006/08/14 14:53

Post edited by: dmoses, at: 2006/08/14 14:56

#2

A rookie’s perspective…

The race was a split start on Sunday with the 944 cup cars performing a rolling start after all other lightning cars (including spec E30) finished their standing start. When the grid was being set, the volunteers neglected to move me to the back to the end with the rest of the competition school attendees. So after the orientation lap we got lined up for the standing start. Even though Spec E30 wasn’t separated out from the rest of the field, the inside line behind a couple of cars had Carter, Robert, Myself, and Dameon in a row.

As the starter raised the flag, Keith’s eternal words of advice and encouragement rolled through my mind: “Whatever happens… don’t Stall�. The flag drops and off I went (whew!), by the time everyone started getting sorted out a few cars were able to get between me and the dynamic duo (Carter & Patton). It was between turn 10a and 10b of the first lap when the Miata that Dameon mentioned decided I needed a little help keeping my speed up the hill. Welcome to racing…

Had a pretty good battle for most of the race with Dameon slowly gaining ground. In hindsight, I probably game him a little too much room in Turn 1 when he got by me. Next time I’ll remember to try to shut the door, but that will come with experience. I tried a countermove up the hill, but didn’t have enough momentum to get it done. I was on Dameons bumper through six and we caught a Miata right in the brake zone where he promptly locked up all four and got all crossed up. Dameon got caught up a little bit out on it and I was able to slow down turn tight in second and try to drag race them down the back straight. Unfortunately, in a fit of ignorance and inexperience, I failed to properly use the Miata as a pick to block Dameon behind and take the position back. As a result Dameon had the inside line going into 10 retaining the position. As we crested the hill, we saw the white flag. Not enough time left to try to get my position back.

I can’t explain how much fun the race on Sunday was and want to thank Carter and Keith for coming down and helping inaugurate a bunch of newbie’s into the series.

Post edited by: kchildre, at: 2006/08/14 15:32

#3

If ever there was any doubt that I need to finish that spec e30 sitting in my garage, it evaporated like the rain on sunday.

What a completely cool bunch of guys!

It was great talking with you in the pits and watching you race.

A truer, nicer group of sportsman cannot be found.

Ben

#4

My weekend started kind of bumpy. I followed classroom instructor Dan Unkefer to Road Atlanta and was glad he was there. About an hour into the 6-hour trip, my '89 Chevy van ate its drivebelt, stopping the coolant from circulating. As the needle hit the red, I pulled to the shoulder. An hour later, we had a new belt installed. Working on the tow vehicle on the side of the interstate isn’t fun.

We arrived a little late and the guys thankfully had reserved a spot in the paddock for the "banana car" as Damion affectionately (I hope) called it.

Morning practice was spent bedding new front and rear HT-10’s. Having more bite at the rear definitely took some getting used-to, as trail braking is much more pronounced now.

Yes, I had the car ready for a dry qualifying session but as I left the Comp Evaluation classroom, the rain was coming down. Spec E30 friend, and E36 driver Jack, helped me thrash on the car, swapping to the rains. After all this work, and getting into my suit, I got stopped at the track entrance. The checker was out.

Starting at the rear was fun and everyone drove well. In the Mid Atlantic Region, we only have Spec E30 and 944 Cup in the group so driving around the Hondas, Miatas, an MG, a Legends car, a sports racer, old RX7’s, etc. made the first lap very interesting. At the start, Robert got balked by slower cars and I got through. And being last on the grid means you’re not holding anyone up if you back off a little before the green.

My car was perfect (changed tire pressures - thanks Brain) for the race and I was able to slowly get up through the pack. I gambled on the tires and as the sky got darker driving to the grid, I thought I had made a mistake. The light sprinkles on the windshield really got me down…but got no worse and even stopped as we drove onto the track for the warmup lap. Damion was driving well…and smart - it being his first Spec E30 race. Hundreds of laps at Road Atlanta helped I’m sure and I was able to get a good run on Damion coming out of turn 7, that leads onto the backstraight. Damion’s car is well-built (they did the auto to 5-speed swap in an afternoon) so I couldn’t quite get past. Damion protected his line into the 90 degree left hander at the end of the straight and kept the position. On the next lap, I got a better run in 7 and was able to get past.

On Sunday, I was able to get two good flyers at the end of the qualifying session. Once again, my standing start wasn’t great. Robert was directly behind me on the grid and as we shifted to second, he pulled up on my left. Going into turn one, a right hander, I was thinking that I would have the preferred position. Robert pulled me going up the hill so I tried to use an RX7 as a pick but Robert cut across my bow. A good move.

I decided to follow for a lap or two (remember patience, rookie drivers), to look for a place to make a move. Coming out of 7 I got a bit of a run but couldn’t stay in the draft. Robert pulled me just slightly but never got away. On the second lap, Robert braked a little early at 7 and I ducked inside. He tucked-in behind and followed me down the straight.

We ran several hot laps together, me pulling out slightly but him making up the distance each time. I posted my best time of the weekend (1:48.0) and Robert got down to a 1:47.9.

After several interesting laps, the white flag flew.

Ok. Be smart. No "VIR Choke" this time.

I kept the pedal down until the second-to-the-last turn. Robert was still close but it would be very difficult to get past so I backed out just slightly. The moaning left front wheel bearing had me thinking too, and the last two turns are right handers, the last one being about 90 mph with concrete walls on both sides.

Robert made up some distance but I was ahead at the checker. Whew! That was some WORK.

Many thanks to Robert and his wife for the good hospitality and it was fun meeting new friends and racing at Road Atlanta again. You local guys are lucky to have such a great track.

Also, the Rookie Spec E30 drivers did a great job in their first race weekend. I received many compliments (as usual) about Spec E30 and about how our drivers are good racers and all-around good folks in the paddock.

While our growth hit a slight bump, seeing the enthusiasm, well prepared cars, and solid driving recharged my racing batteries. Spec E30 is growing well in the Southeast Region, with good cars and good drivers.

'See you at Mid Ohio.

Carter

Post edited by: Carter, at: 2006/08/14 20:54

#5

My goal was to complete both races and bring the car home unscathed. I’m really feeling good that I was able to do this. I enjoyed the weekend and the fellowship. Thanks to all of you for your advice and your help. I look forward to years of friendship and good clean racing.

I will get better. :wink:

#6

Yep, it was a fun weekend. However, a 5 lap 12:31 minute race and 8 lap 16:05 minute race leads to the inevitable reason for finishing behind your buddy excuse number 1 " I just needed one more lap." Seriously…just one more lap. Really…one more lap. Please…one more lap. Thanks to all that came out for the event . And, judging from the phone calls that I’ve fielded in the past two days we’ll have more racers joining us soon. Right, Victor and Ben? Come join us. Regards, Robert Patton

#7

Robert,
Why were the races so short?

#8

From all the airborne Mazda and Porsche body parts :angry:

#9

Sean, the 16 minute race was on the final lap when there was a bad wreck. Sunday’s 12 minute race was shortened as either we were behind schedule or as a penalty by the race director for the time it took to clean-up from Saturday’s race. Regards, Robert Patton

#10

Ahhhhh…all drivers OK?
we had that bad Juju in Thunder group at VIR
too many red flags lately…

#11

Well, rookie Kelly has already reported from life at the sharp end of the E30 race group, (how DID he sneak in up there anyway?) so let me offer what it looked like from the back row.

Laura Patton, Mark Nichols, a Miata driver, and myself constituted the remainder of the comp school rookies, and as such we started at the tail of the standing start, with a pack of 944s on the other side of the track for the split start.

I was gridded behind Mark on the outside, with Laura to my right. When the flag dropped he took off. I followed him into a 3-4 wide melee going towards turn 1, but he was picking off cars so I stayed on his bumper and we cleared a few by the time we reached the top of the hill. I think Laura was close behind me, but got trapped behind some of the cars that we were able to clear at the start.

Things went single-file pretty quickly, and the highlight for me was several laps later, getting a run on Mark going up the hill in 10B, pulling up inside going down towards 12, and Mark gave me room to share the corner onto the front straight. Good thing we practiced that maneuver the day before, otherwise don’t think I’d have tried it. Ended up passing about 6-7 cars all told (NOW I finally wished I owned a video camera!) and late in the race, some of the faster 944s starting catching us.

One guy was taking me on the inside going into 3, so I stayed wide left to give him room. Heard his tire squeal and saw his car in my wide-angle coming my way! Damn, was sure he was gonna collect my door, but he gathered it up, I edged farther left, and we avoided contact. Nobody told me that these goobers could hit my car even when I do everything right!

I need to learn some more racecraft, because there were two Miatas between me and Keith Smith. The Miatas were dueling and I didn’t have enough power to pull them anywhere, and trying to get a run thru 12 didn’t work. Everytime I thought about trying to outbrake one of them, he’d pull out to try and outbrake the other guy, and 3-wide into 10A didn’t look like I was close enough to give it a go, so I had to bide my time.

I did get to watch their thrilling finish, as on the last lap they went up 10B side-by-side and stayed that way to the finish line, trading the lead by 1-2 feet back and forth several times. Just like it looks on SPEEDTV!

Anyway, I’m hooked, and how many weeks is it till Roebling?

#12

Chuck,it is seven weeks until Roebling Road, but only five until Mid -Ohio. Don’t you have some business to do up there as I could use some pit crew help…Just thinking that I might make the trip. Regards, Robert Patton

#13

Carter wrote:

We replaced just the rear rotors and pads for CMP thinking that the front were fine and lemme tell you it was a whole different car. Going down the front straight into turn one the car would just starting wagging it’s tail under braking. It is nice to be able to get the car to rotate though!

sounds like everyone had a good time! Does anyone have some video footage?

Post edited by: MikeD, at: 2006/08/15 16:39

#14

here is some video I found from a spec miata. You can see kelly for a lap or so then you see come by. it was an interesting race for me. You can see when i get hit by a miata in the ass and you get to see my adventure going off in one. Through all of that I still managed to catch kelly. You also get to see keith for alittle while.

http://ryalsracing.com/media/Road_Atlanta_8_13_06SunRace.wmv