I was there with Tom on Friday and stayed for the Saturday event. Best news is that the power is back. Tom discovered that my timing belt had jumped a notch or two, which is why it had no power. The old beast was back and ready to mix it up with some good cars. Friday was really heavy duty. Each run group, determined by driver experience, Tom was in HPDE 1, I was in HPDE 2, got eight half hour sessions on the track. All three courses at Pocono were in use. See map below:
North circuit runs clockwise, south and east circuits run counter-clockwise. I typically ran only 20-25 minutes each session, because the car would begin to overheat. Had some really great dices with a couple of cars, including a 944 Turbo, and an Integra R. But the best action was with this 964 Porsche below:
We were really closely matched. I passed him a couple of times and he returned the favor. Only later did I learn he was running R-compounds. I was also having some pretty good dices with a race-prepped Prelude, right behind me with the SCCA badge in the picture below, also running R-compounds, and the grey M3 with red tape that you can see toward the back of the photo below:
The south course is particularly awesome, because it includes the tighter of the two banked curves. I was hitting 110-115 at the end of the straight on the south course. Below is a picture of the banking and my Subie about to be eaten by an Evo:
Unfortunately, about halfway into the 8th session, on the south course, I came through the turn that leads from the infield road into the speedway a little too hot. Accelerator on the floor, tires screaming, maybe 85-90 mph and the rear end beings to come around. I try to counter steer, but there is no road left, I'm on the grass. Very very bump ride, hit a small drainage ditch, came to rest in the pit straight. The bead was knocked off the front tire, so it was flat, Rear tire bead was full of grass and dirt. Luckily a wrecker was there, and he said that if I would jack up the car, give him the wheels, he would clean them up overnite, and deliver them back to the track the next morning, and pick me up at the motel on the way. All for 20 bucks.
The next day was also really good, although not as intense. Got the wheels back on. No damage, not even any change in the handling. The second day was run on what they call the double infield. It is a single course and uses both the infield road for the north course and the infield road for the south course along with the pit straight, parts of the north and east straights and wide low banked oval at the top of the map and runs clockwise. Because they only were using one course, we only had 4 sessions. I really like that course, though. A lot of really interesting turns. Top speed at the end of the back straight for me is also over 110 mph.
In my class session, I asked my instructor about my "off" the day before. Asked him what you should do if you have an all wheel drive car, you're accelerating out of a turn onto a straight, the accelerator is on the floor, and the rear end starts to come around. He said "Go slower."
Continued my dicing with the 968, until he blew his engine. Then had a couple of intense sessions with the M3, until she got to driving it a little better. She was so much faster than I on the straights that when she picked up some speed in the corners, I had to "point her around."
It was a great weekend. Beautiful weather, great driving, good people. It don't get much better than this:
