Sorry for the late update...
The Sunday before last was the first points event with the WDCR. There were over 230 people in attendance and it was nice seeing some old friends again.
The course was an interesting design with two slower sweepers and several transitional elements in between:
B-stock had 6 people in the class. Shawn and I were still on our nationals set of V710's and they had over 80+ runs BEFORE we started this event. Luckily temps were over 90F, so the tires would hopefully heat up quickly and provide plenty of grip. Everyone else in our class were on brand new tires.
My first run out, I focused on being aggressive as I didn't want to get stuck in "rain mode" since my previous event was the wet one with AI. I drove the car aggressively through the course and thought I clipped a cone in the back section. Finished with a 50.953+1 according to the person giving out times (later learned the cone was reset w/o penalty). All the other competitors including my co-driver were in the 51's & 52's for their 1st runs. I knew I could go faster and I needed a clean one in the books.
My 2nd run out seemed similar to the first except I was a little less aggressive in the area where I previously thought I hit the cone. I also almost went sideways in the slalom along the top end of the course but was able to save the run and stay on course. Finished with a clean 51.1. However, my co-driver was now down to a 50.8 while another competitor was at a 50.6. On my third run I was agressive throughout but again went sideways in that top slalom (lots of gravel off line in that area). This run ended up being slower still - a 51.2! Aaargh!!!!
Shawn ran a dirty 50.3+1 and Dave didn't improve. All other competitors were still in the 51's & 52's.
On my fourth and final run I decided to go for broke. I stayed ahead of the course and got on the throttle early throughout. The back end still wanted to step out on me during the top slalom but I kept my foot planted and drove through it. In the turn before heading downhill to the finish I was a little too aggressive in how soon I got back on the gas. The front end pushed a bit before tucking back in. I kept the aggression up until I went through the finish lights. I ran a 50.913. CLEAN!!
Shawn ran a 50.9xx on his last run and stood on his earlier 50.8. Dave didn't improve on his earlier 50.6, but another competitor Frank moved into 4th with a 50.956 -- just 4/100ths behind me. In the end, 0.4 seconds separated the top 5 spots in the class!!!!
Summary:
3rd out of 6 in class
30th out of 232 in PAX
Results:
'B Stock' - Total Entries: 6 Trophies: 2 Car Color Times Total
1T bs 88 Dave Wade 2004 Mazda Rx-8 Gray 52.867+2 50.685 51.564 58.993+1 50.685 -
2T bs 190 Shawn Roberts 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 51.381 50.845 50.365+1 50.910 50.845 0.160
3 bs 90 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 50.953 51.149 51.286 50.913 50.913 0.068
4 bs 99 Frank Weichold 2005 Mazda Rx8 Grey 57.523+5 61.441 51.111+1 50.956 50.956 0.043
5 bs 98 Learic Cramer 2009 Nissan 370Z Yellow 53.569 52.192 51.093 51.424 51.093 0.137
6 bs 77 John Wise 2004 Mazda Rx-8 Yellow 55.493+dnf 53.402 52.633 52.132 52.132 1.039
Link: http://www.wdcr-scca.org/SoloAutocro...5/Default.aspx
Some pics:
Shawn
Katie
Chike
Learic (370Z)
Strano (F-stock Shelby)
