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Originally Posted by jkracer
jr.
what was your road racing weekend like last Fri and sat.
later
rohn
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The Illinois and Michigan Viper clubs had a driving school at Gingerman racetrack in South Haven Michigan on Friday. I was able to help 2 rookies all day that have never been on a roadcourse before. One was aggresive and the other more cautious. Mr. aggresive found his way off the track with a few....starting to lose it.....trying to save it.....then a tank slap banging my helmet around in the car as we spun off the track zipping across the wet grass. They both kept working hard and improved session by session. We had a serious storm come through around lunch that ripped awnings off trailers and made me think this days over.
It cleared up in an hour and racing continued.
They had a run group for the instructors and I was able to test the SRT-4 for the first time on a roadcourse and the first time with a FWD car. For absolutely stock it is a blast. To really be serious the car needs suspension, lowering, brakes and more power! The stock brakes just don't cut it on a roadcourse and came in smoking bad while bubbling the water out of the center cap. I thought they were going to start on fire from the look of it!
Dealing with the push and snapping off the throttle to try swinging the back end around is a new feeling. Trailbraking is a different balancing act then RWD.
They had a Comp Coupe set up for promotion through PVO. They were running it and testing throughout the day. Man I wanted to test her so bad
That Viper is wicked coming down the straight. It never stops pulling and the balance through the corners is O so yummy looking. I never have had the chance to run something like that and if I got my hands on it, I would become the car. Hanging on the edge with that car all day long would feel like listening to a symphony.
I Talked extensively with the Motec engineer about the datalogging offered through the ADL dash in the CC. Being able to study brake points, throttle position, G's, steering, etc. in racing nowadays is the only way to fly.
I pushed these 2 guys all day and after getting black flagged for too many OCE's, I remeber coming in pit lane and Jim Walker saying "You're pushin em aren't you" I said "You bet I am" :thumb: Watching them improve and enjoy themselves was the most rewarding thing I have felt since being involved in racing. Once the track was completely dry I made sure that I showed them what their Viper was capable of on a roadcourse. That was also very rewarding, watching them freak out a bit.
There were 60+ Vipers and around 20 some rookies. At the end of the day they really picked up the line and started to put the pieces of the puzzle together at this track. They both came up seperately and both thanked me for pushing them. Helping out on this day was the best! The only drawback was that now I'm amped and can't stop thinking about getting back on the track again.
It has made me want to pursue renting a ride in a Comp Coupe and playing chess with the boys in SCCA Pro. Maybe I can get to Viperdays and test one.
I didn't get the chance to talk to you much at San An and looking forward to hanging out at an event. Thanks for asking how this event went.
Jr.
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