Thunerhill was a blast...

MobileWrks · 11-20-2005, 02:14 PM

I met alot of guys there, and saw some really bad a** cars. The roar of some of them on the track. Here's a couple of pix i took while there... Ill post somemore a little later..[img]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads6/S40201311132528400.jpg[/img]

MobileWrks · 11-20-2005, 02:16 PM

earlyapex · 11-20-2005, 03:12 PM

Thanks for posting a few pictures. I really wanted to make it to this event, but my engine isn't back together. Did they run the ARC racing school?

MobileWrks · 11-20-2005, 04:17 PM

dtfastbear · 11-21-2005, 06:57 AM

Eric,

We did run the ARC race school. It was a lot of fun - there were only 6 students and 4 instructors, so there was a lot of one-on-one instruction. We did passing drills on Saturday and then a lot of practice starts with "racing" to turn 5 in the morning then turn 7 in the afternoon.

The students all did very well, and there were no scary moments in the practice starts.

I highly recommend this two day school for anyone who wants to get more comfortable running in open passing groups or wants to dip his toe into w-2-w to see what's it's like.

Dean

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

My 3rd and 4th track days -- still grinning. In addition to the ARC school, NCRC ran a few races which showed Tyson as a real threat (best time ever!) and Jack capturing the season time trial trophy. This was not without drama as he exited the track twice, one a spectacular pirouette on T2 followed by a recovery and he maintained his position! Watching folks you know race was really fun.

Also met Mul, Doug Andrews stopped by, and Ed showed up with a beautiful 67(?) targa for its first day on the track. His buddy, Harvey Wiedman (yes, that Harvey) was there and we watched the racing together.

For the newbie here, the first day Jack was my instructor and showed me the line. Tyson took me up the learning curve on day 2. Dean (dtfastbear) also gave me pointers at the end of day 2. Here are a couple of gratuitous photos:

Turn 3 exiting setting up for 4:

Jack is smiling because I'm going slow enough to herd sheep.

Here's one of the zoomer at speed, probably T6 or T7:

Tyson helping me exit T14 setting up for T15:

I thought this sequence was interesting. On day 2, we ran the T5 cyclone. It's a sharp, slow crest. At the top, you can see the car unweight - mine is sits pretty low now, look at the gap from the top of the tires to the fenderwell. Bad time to try steering:

Then after the apex, on the downslope:

Tyson left nursing the tranny that he and Haydon band-aided last Tuesday night, hopefully he made it home without incident.

I had an absolute blast and am about to slide down the slippery slope...

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

Early in the pits:

Pre-Grid, ready to race:

Arnoud's GT3 Cup:

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Plumley

I thought this sequence was interesting. On day 2, we ran the T5 cyclone. It's a sharp, slow crest. At the top, you can see the car unweight - mine is sits pretty low now, look at the gap from the top of the tires to the fenderwell. Bad time to try steering:

Yeah, don't hammer the throttle with the car turned there either. That's what I did at the top of 2 at Sears...

Quote:

I had an absolute blast and am about to slide down the slippery slope...

Whack a chunk of concrete first. Makes it easier to slip slide away...

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
Whack a chunk of concrete first. Makes it easier to slip slide away...

I should be so lucky!

Time to evaluate the options - I'll post a thread on this later - light prep to a pristine Carrera or sell it at max value and build a 964 track slave....

Jack Olsen · 11-21-2005, 09:04 AM

Tyson and I made it home just before midnight. The only drama was when I ran out of gas four miles out of Castaic. But of course, that's coming downhill, so the car was able to coast all the way to the Castaic Mobile station.

Tyson's ring and pinion did a lot of complaining, but held together for the 480-mile sprint.

One week. 500 track miles. 2000 highway miles. Lots of gas and a couple of high-speed spins. I'm still groggy, but it was an awesome week.

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

Running out of gas twice in one day?

Glad to hear Tyson's diff held up and you guys made it home safe.

After you left, the track was empty. I went out three more times, and on the last session, I had the track to myself. I mean really, there was no one else on the track. Finally, the red EVO came out for the second half, but we were on opposite sides.

My own private track - what a treat!

Worn out and having put in a couple of good laps, I rolled off at 4:50. Wow. I'm hooked.

dtfastbear · 11-21-2005, 10:15 AM

Once again, great to see you all! Although these were track days #49 and 50 for Laura and I this year, the weekend was as much or more fun than any other this year. The weather was PERFECT and having no real mechanicals to speak of, good friends and more than enough track time makes for a memorable weekend.

Don - it was fun to ride with you at the end of the weekend to see how much progress you'd made in a little less than a week. Truly stellar! Concentrating on the right line and smoothness will reward you down the road as you build speed.

My only regret is that I can't drive the miata 4-5 seconds a lap faster so I could play with Jack and Tyson in the races...

See you all next season!

Dean

dandrews64 · 11-21-2005, 11:25 AM

Stopped in with a friend to say hello on my way through. Looks like a really fun track.

Nice to have met Mull, Tyson, Don, Jack, and to have chatted briefly with Dean & Laura. You all helped corrupt my friend into the idea getting out there with his wife in their hotrod accord.

Looking forward to next season and learning more about how to drive this 911. Laura's voice still rings in my ears - "stay out - stay out" when entering turn 3 at Sears Pt. Doug has patience issues.....