On Friday (08/10/01), I went to my first non-AutoX track event. It organized by the Bremerton Sports Car Club (http://www.bscc.net) at the Bremerton Raceway in (you guessed it) Bremerton, WA. The weather was sunny and unusually hot (for WA) - pushing mid 90's, so we expected cooling (engine, brakes, etc.) would be important. Only 15 or so people showed up, so with that small of a turnout, we got a lot of track time. I learned a lot, had way to much fun, made my adrenal glands work overtime, and I didn't break anything. It was a good day.
The track consisted of two parallel airport runways with paved connectors at various intervals. Orange cones indicated where you were supposed to be (and not be) as well as corner apexes and braking distances at the turn-ins. Upon entering the track, there was about a 3/8-1/2 mile straight followed by a 180 degree carousel (turn 1) that cut over to the other runway. The back straight was only straight for about 1/8 of a mile and from there it was a series of "S" curves (turn 2) with a hairpin at the end(turn 3). Then the track crossed back over to the first runway and the next lap began. They warned us... "Three braking zones in 1.2 miles is gonna be hard on brakes." Just what I need with a 2-ton car :-}
I was (of course) in the novice group, so I spent the first session watching the experienced guys fly around the track. We talked a little bit about the basics and observed the lines the cars were taking on the track. After that, each of the novices hopped into the passenger seat of one of the experienced guys' cars and rode for a couple laps. I rode in Bill's Porsche 944 (trailered and prepped), and after the "S" curves, I couldn't believe we were still on the track. The track looks a lot different at speed than when you're standing around observing or looking at the map.
Then it was time to get into my car, fire it up, and head out of the pits. I took the first couple laps REALLY conservatively to get an idea of how the track was laid out and get used to my driving my car like I've never been able to drive it before. <grin> On the first lap, I still managed to misjudge the hairpin at then end and trample a cone or two. Glad I had the bra on the front of the car :) I took that corner at about 20-25mph from then on. I kept it in 3rd (except to briefly grab 2nd to pull out of the hairpin) for the first two sessions, so I never went above 95mph or so on the front straight. I tried to remember all the stuff I've learned from various people/books about driving, and I think I may have actually used some of it :-) I was also trying to be "nice" to my brakes for fear of overheating or warping them, hoping that they'd last the day. I think the hardest thing to remember was not to lift off the throttle (let alone go for the brakes) if you think you're going too fast in a corner. I was pretty good about it, but every "normal driving" instinct told me to brake or at least slow down in the "S" curves...
So by the 4th session, I was getting pretty comfortable with the car and the track and had had a few things pointed out to me by the experienced people. At that point, I was pushing 105-110mph on the front straight, nailing the brakes at the first braking cone to slow down to 35mph, double-apexing turn 1, grabbing 2nd on the way out and on full power by track out. I hit about 90mph by the braking cones for turn 2 ("S" curves), stabbed the brakes to haul the car down to around 60mph to enter turn 2. I tried to clip the apex cone on each part of the "S" curves, but I found that I need to learn where the passenger-side front is on my car as I crunched the apex cone on one of the right-handers twice. On a good lap, I could maintain 65-70mph through the "S" curves and power out of the last one, hitting 80mph before having to brake for the nasty hairpin that required about 25mph at the apex. I'd then zig through the exit of the hairpin, breathe for a second, and make the 90 degree left onto the front straight starting at 75% throttle, and exiting under full power in 2nd gear (about 40mph) on the right-hand edge of the track. And I did that over and over and over to my heart's content ...
The ... um... exciting (or scary, depending on your viewpoint) parts came during the 6th (15-20 minute) session at the end of the day. By that time, I was feeling pretty good about things and being fairly consistent. I began to experiment a *little* trying to see where I could shave off some time. I decided to try going deeper into turn 1 and see how that worked. I ran full-throttle up to the 2nd braking cone and then *stood* on the brakes. 115-35 with no fade(after several hot laps), and comfortably made my entry into turn 1. That felt good, but I don't know that my current brakes could take that kind of punishment repeatedly. I also managed to keep an M3 behind me, only gaining a car-length or two each lap, for about 5 laps. Then I had to let him by. When the race-prepped Porsche 911 (993) showed up in my rear-view, I simply got over to the right on the next straight and watched him fly by after I waved him around. Such a beautiful sound. I also played tag with an instructor-driven (94?) MR2 Turbo for several laps where he'd begin to catch up in the twisties and then he'd become a little dot in my rearview on the straights.
Right about then, I was experimenting with my line in the "S" curves because others seemed to really leave me or catch up to me through there. I made some progress by trying to be as smooth as possible and staying on the throttle. Then it happened, all so quickly. I've had some time to analyze it and this is what I think happened: I made the (leftward) entry into turn 2 a little faster than previously and went pretty wide on the ensuing right-hander. As I was swinging the car back to the left (near the 5th X in turn 2 on the map), my tail got a little loose. I started to give it a tad more throttle, and it didn't feel better. I then listened to my (bad) instincts and lifted off the throttle very slightly, but enough to transfer some weight to the front tires. The front tires bit, and the rear got completely loose and snapped back clockwise. I spun and ended up to the right of the 6th cone of turn 2, pointed toward turn 1, but still on the paved part. That was about a 270 degree spin and I didn't have the presence of mind to push the clutch in, so I stalled it and skidded backwards for the last 6 feet or so since engines don't like to go backwards. I was mildly shaken up (more ticked off), but the car started right up and I quickly pulled off the track and headed down to the paddock to cool off the engine/brakes and think about why I spun. I decided to call it a day since it was late, I was tired, and everyone else was packing up. I spun my car at over 60mph. Not something I'd like to repeat, but it was pretty cool.
$60 entry fee/lunch $90 R4S pads (about 25% left) rotors are fine $21 gas $5 new brake fluid $30 oil and filter change (synthetic) $100? about 3000 street-miles' wear on tires ---------------------------------------------- $306 Total ... worth it? Of course :-)
Pictures:
All taken from Turn Station 3 in the above map. Also
note that this is a compilation of pictures from many laps.
last of the S curves
begin braking for hairpin
still standing on the brakes
turn in for hairpin
leaning into the turn with the front passenger tire screaming at me
a little off of the apex cone on this lap
closer to the apex this time, and I've got a Porsche on my tail!
beginning to apply power after the apex.
almost floored in 2nd, finishing turn
coasting before the left onto the front straight
turning toward straight, could be closer to apex cone
beginning to apply power - look at that body roll!
Porsche on my tail again
different lap, almost the same place
one of my first laps (slow) - note the lack of body roll
full power down the straight, turbos singing a beautiful melody
stick a fork in me, I'm done - headed to the pits to cool down
|
This website brought to you by picture_page, and the letter 4. A good buddy of mine put it well: "Unauthorized duplication, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing. And it could be bad for the pixels." As I've put a lot of time and effort into creating this webpage and website, I would prefer that you not redistribute, sell, or claim as yours any of the content of this site. I know I can't stop you if that's what you're going to do, but I'm asking nicely. If you would like to publish some of the content of this site in your own work (printed, electronic, or otherwise), please e-mail me and we can work something out. |
|