Jasmine gets driven in her first race and Larry learns how out of
practice he is...
In an attempt to get out of debt, I stopped racing about five years
ago. Instead, I teach performance driving about once a month with one
of the local car clubs. This gives me track time and keeps my driving
skills up. I found out that what really happend is that I've become
very good at driving at eighty or ninety percent, but I've lost my
skill at pushing the car right to the edge of it's performance
envelope, and I've totally lost my skill at driving in race traffic.
When I started restoring my MGBGT, since the car saw more time on the
race track than most race cars, I decided that putting a roll cage in
it was a good idea. While I was at it, I had Paul make the cage be
race legal, just in case a race came up that I just could not miss,
and it was the only car available to drive. As luck would have it, due
to a rule that was not in the rule book until after I complained about
it, the cage was not legal for the local race clubs. A couple months
before my fortieth birthday I found out that not only was my cage
legal for the International Conference of Sports Car Clubs, but Team
Continental, one of the member clubs, would be holding a race at one
of my local tracks, the weekend before my fortieth birthday. I decided
to "go for it".
Preparing the car was the usual nightmare. Anybody who has tried to
turn a street car into a race car in less than a month is very
familiar with what I was going through. This was exacerbated by a
tight schedule at work, forcing me to work some very long hours. I
also found out that there would be another MGBGT in the race, and that
it had a ported cylinder head, the one major performance improvement
that my engine was lacking. I asked around about getting heads
ported. One shop said that they could do it for about $1500. My
regular machinist said that he has someone who does it for about $600,
and that it would take about a week. I figured that I had about two
weeks, which would give me two weeks to get it on the car, and the
carbs jetted properly, hopefully on a dyno. I got the cylinder head
the Tuesday before the race.
This gave me time to drive the car to work two days before retorquing
the head and readjusting the valves. On the drive up to the track the
car was not running spot on, it seemed to have a flat spot between
3500 and 4000 RPM. Some months ago, on 505 I was able to see 5500 RPM
in 4th gear overdrive, about three weeks ago, I could only see 5000,
on the way up to the track this time I saw 5200. When I got to the
track to drop the car off, after meeting Elena at the hotel, the car
would not restart. Sid Olsen told me that if you are venting your
float bowls into a catch tank, and the end of the hose gets submerged,
the car will not run.
Since I haven't run a race in a few years, I had to run under
observation with the novice group on Saturday. The one time that I had
run this configuration of the course, the best lap time I'd achieved
was about a 2:35. A few weeks previously I was running a similar
configuration of the track, except that we were running the bypass
rather than the cyclone. The best laptime I got then was about a 2:40
or 2:45. My primary goal on Saturdy was to keep out of trouble, with
my secondary goal being to drop my lap times. I managed to bring my
laptimes back down to 2:35 in both qualifying and the race. The race
was pretty uneventful, with only 8 people in the novice race, it was
basically a practice session with everyone running alone.
The dinner that Team Continental put on Saturday was
*AWESOME*. Tri-tip steak, salmon and chicken entrees. The veggies had
whole roasted buds (not cloves, buds) of garlic. There was beer, wine
and soda. Carrot cake for desert. It was without a doubt, the best
meal that I've ever been served at a racetrack.
My first event on Sunday was the last qualifying session for group 2,
apart from a stint in Jeff Zurschmeide's stock car two years ago, when
I didn't know I had pnumonia, it was my first time on track with a
race group in about five years. I found all sorts of places where I
was going a whole lot slower than the "other" race cars. On the other
hand, maybe because my tires got worn down to racing depth, or the
cool morning weather, or having gotten a decent nights sleep, I
brought my fast lap down to 2:30.768, in contrast the other MGBGT
driven by Greg Bell turned a 2:29.456. Later that morning in the
Vintage qualifying I turned about a 2:33.
The production race was a major wakeup call. I think that it was on
the first lap, in heavy traffic, I was following a 924 through turn 3,
when Greg, in the other BGT took the inside line and passed several of
us. D'oh, this is a race, not an "open track play session". I think
that it was on the next lap that I passed the 924 going to the inside
in turn 2. I believe that it was on this lap that "racing
happened". Combining my memory, with discussing what happened with the
other drivers, this is what I think happened:
I was no longer caught behind the 924 (who it turns out was having
engine problems) charging hard to try to catch the other BGT. I came
out of turn four flat out. Meanwhile a rabbit was passing a toyota on
the inside through the cyclone. The driver of the toyota slowed way
down in order to stay on the track. I remember expecting them to be
out of the cyclone by the time I got there. When they were still
there, I think that I went for the inside line behind the rabbit. I do
remember the toyota "cutting across my bow", locking up the brakes,
hitting her in the left rear corner and watching her spin off to the
inside. Jasmine seemed to be OK, and I didn't get black flagged. I
did notice that the tire rubbed on right hand turns, especially if I
was braking. I pretty much ended up running by myself most of the
race. I almost waved the I Prod B-210 by when I remembered that he was
in my class. We diced briefly, he passed me, then I passed him. A
couple of laps later, I spun in turn 14. I drove back onto the track
felt some bumpiness in the tire and going through turn 15 had a sudden
spin onto the main straight. Suspecting a flat tire I pulled into the
pits, as I was at the pit entrance anyways. I looked up and saw the
checkered flag. Checking my left rear tire confirmed that it was flat.
I had several hours until the Vintage race. I used that time to get
my fender out of my tire and to replace my flat with a spare. At that
moment I was VERY glad that Elena had driven her car up, allowing me
to bring spare tires.
The Vintage race was mostly uneventful. Larry Olsen was driving the
other BGT (yes both MGBGTs were being driven by Larrys). I don't
remember who was driving the Olsen's MGB roadster. Unfortunately the
other MGB had mechanical problems so the driver had left earlier in
the day. Larry had to start from the back of the grid since the
starter was out on the GT and passed me on the first lap. I think
that I actually held him off until after turn 7. After that the race
pretty much became a high speed parade for a while. I wasn't quite
able to close in on Larry ahead of me and Sue Quakenbush in the
Frogeye sprite couldn't quite catch me. I *briefly* considered
backing off so the sprite could catch up so that I'd have someone to
race against when the pinto went off at 3 and the track went full
course yellow behind the pace car. I was closing in on the pace car,
with Larry a couple cars behind him, when he waved the cars behind him
by. I closed in and they seemed to be waving me by to the right, but
with only "racing room" off to the right. I got past them, but by
then Larry was long gone, and the frogeye had caught up. Our high
speed parade resumed when due to utter and complete brainfade I went
two wheels off in turn 14. I kept the car pointing straight ahead, but
the frogeye had momentum on me and beat me in a drag race down the
straight.
Yes, I lost a drag race to a Frogeye sprite with a 1098. I'm getting
my engine dyno tuned as soon as I can, damn it. Over the next lap Sue
and I turned our fastest lap times of the race, according to my hotlap
timer. I could turn a faster lap time than her, but she was actually a
little faster in the straights and I wasn't enough faster than her to
pass in a place that would be considered "cricket" in a vintage race.
The trip home was mostly uneventful. Jasmine was not happy running
between 3500 and 4000 RPM. The overdrive also would not engage, which
meant that at legal freeway speeds I was running at between 3500 and
4000 RPM.
The good news was that my car preparation goals were to get my car
fast enough that I could at least keep the other MG in sight for a few
laps. In actuallity, I was able to keep it in sight for most of the
race. I also had an awful lot of fun. Yes, racing is my absolute
favorite thing to do. On the other hand I have learned that I am very
out of practice driving at "ten-tenths", and even worse in race
traffic. Five years of only "playing nice" has caused my racing skills
to atrophy. It's very frustrating to no longer be good at my favorite
thing to do. It's major incentive to get my debts paid off so that I
can go racing again.
I'm not sure whether it's a good or a bad thing that in order to race
my MG I'd need to take it up to Oregon or Washington. The other BGT
(which I actually raced against in the Cortina when the previous owner
drove it) does have more power, but it was only a little over a second
a lap faster than my car. At least on my home track. It handled
better, but it was lowered with stiffer springs, and it did have
better tires. I'm sure that if I were to get my engine properly tuned
(Sid Olsen said that I should use the #5 needles rather than the #6),
put on better tires and got a little bit of coaching, I could make up
most if not all of that second and a half a lap, especially if I were
to upgrade my springs. With my gas tank empty, my car is only about
35 pounds over minimum legal weight, I could take this out of the car
either by removing the rear bumper or getting in decent shape. If it
were any more convenient to go racing, I doubt that I could resist the
temptation. We'll just have to see if Team Continental puts on a race
at Thunderhill over my Birthday weekend next year.
Pictures are posted at http://www.red4est.com/lrc/lday00
--
Million Monkey Software -
Our code sucks, but you should see this thing we wrote called Hamlet.
lrc@red4est.com www.red4est.com/lrc
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