> Well, as one who did uncharacterstically well on 11/7
> I certainly got my come-uppance yesterday. Things
> seemed much harder (in group 5)Sat than when I ran (in
> 2?) on 11/7. I got nothing out of my first 2 runs,
> rushed back to the pits, put on a set of *street
> tires* and went several seconds faster. All of a
> suddenI had grip !! Running on tired, tread-free
> Kumho's was definitely not the right choice. A full
> tread tire made all the difference and I won't repeat
> the mistake.
I ran on tired, tread-free Hoosiers, and while there wasn't much to choose
between them and street tires, I think they were a better choice. Worse hookup,
but better lateral grip was the consensus.
> There was a line, but it demanded patience beyond my
> ability. The rule book suggests a course at least 15
> feet wide; technically the cones were > 15' apart, but
> the usable course was < 15' IMHO. Irrelevant, I know,
> but get off-line and the word "rallycross" came to
> mind.
But really, is the *right* line ever any wider? Wasn't the penalty just more
obvious/severe?
> Kudos to those who figured it out (easy part) and were
> disciplined enough to drive the line.
> There were comments last week about the technical
> difficulty of the course at 3COM. Would the same folks
> object to Oakland on the same grounds that it is no
> preparation for Nationals? Or is the course design
> more important than the surface?
It is more to the point that the course design is under our control and the
surface isn't. As for technical difficulty, there was quite a bit of it in the
course design. Hitting the entry point into the 'B' pillar left was critical.
Taking the smooth line through the kink and around that whole left sweeper
sequence was important. Picking the right exit line from the middle right
hander to set up the chicane straight made a huge difference. And I saw several
cars in the second and third run groups drop SECONDS as they tried to back and
fill their way through the finish. If you set that sequence up correctly, it
was a very fast three cone slalom instead.
KeS
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