Warminster SCCA Autox

[1QWIKBIRD]

Really good weather and low turnout because of the holiday weekend combined for a great day at Warminster. As usual it was a series of connected slaloms down and then back. It was fast, but not as fast as it looked. Times ranged from the mid 70's to the 57-58 range. We got 5 runs which is alot for Warminster, usually you get three bites at the apple. I ran 3rd heat.

First run:
Tires were cold and covered in marbles, but I paid no attention to those two facts and set sail, almost looping the car on 2 occasions and collecting cones along the way. It must have been pretty bad because when I got back to grid the saftey stewart came over and gave me some "advice". Lesson learned cold tires covered in old rubber and debris = take it easy. Time:69.xxx off course

Second run:
After that debacle I figured I back it down, get a clean one in. I dropped the air pressure in the tires down to 33F 31R to get some grip. Well a strange thing happens when the light goes green. My short term memory goes out the window. Luckily, the tires were now clean and warm so my run was much better, but I did collect a cone one one of the slalom on the front side.
Time: 64.xx +1 cone

Third run:
I figure clean up the cone and clean up a couple rough spots and I'm golden. Dropped tire pressure again to 31f/29r. I cleaned up the front side, and a few other areas, but I picked up a cone on the return trip. So I am faster, but still dirty.
Time: 62.xx

Fourth run:
Getting down to the end. I need a good clean run. Top guy in class is killing with a 58.xx in an EVO. But the fight for second is close, I need a clean run though to grab the spot. A clean 62.xx should do the trick. I drop tire pressure again to 30f/29r. So I go out and click off a 61.7x, but pick up a @#$@#% cone:evil:

Fifth run:
Final shot, gotta be fast and clean. Number two guy is running time similar to me, but he's picking up cones too. So a good clean run will decide the winner. Tire pressures stay the same. The green light flashes and I instantly get dumb. I was fine on the way out, but on the way back I pushed a little too hard and rear came around and I think this lady who was chasing cones shat her self because I ended up locked down but heading her direction. :rofl: Wasn't as close as she made it look, but I got her attention.
Time: Off course

So at the end of the day my 61.7x with a cone (2 second penalty) was good enough to steal third out of 12 or so cars. I don't know what the number 2 time was, so I don't know if my 61.7x would have held up if it had been clean.

I took some video of the first three runs, then the battery crapped out. The link is in the video section. When results are posted I put the link in here.

Results
http://www.phillyscca.com/solo2/results/2008/SO083108.shtml#final

Good day, but could have been better on the stats sheet.

Chris

[198esp1]

just watched that ps abuse you were doing , holy slalom batman. i heard that alot of the ss guys were complaning that the return side was way to tight. it looked like the car never settled down always changing direction which they also said the course needed less elements on the back side. A guy said something like 50% of the runs were dirty. and a good designed course should only be like 10% it looks like you were late turning into a lot of the elements out there. remember to turn before the cone let the car slide a little. and if you turn early and hit a slalom cone you arnt going fast enough.

[1QWIKBIRD]

just watched that ps abuse you were doing , holy slalom batman. i heard that alot of the ss guys were complaning that the return side was way to tight. it looked like the car never settled down always changing direction which they also said the course needed less elements on the back side. A guy said something like 50% of the runs were dirty. and a good designed course should only be like 10% it looks like you were late turning into a lot of the elements out there. remember to turn before the cone let the car slide a little. and if you turn early and hit a slalom cone you arnt going fast enough.

I was trying my best. The front side wasn't too bad, but the return section was tough. The ladder section was really tight and then there big offsets. I take comfort in the fact that lots of cars were punting cones all day, and the SS guys were having trouble staying clean. On my 3rd and 4th run I had no idea where I even hit the cone, so I couldn't even attempt to focus on one area. So I just kept pushing harder and trying to stay clean. Oh well.
Not a great day for the big fat chicken, but not horrible either.

Giants Stadium on Sunday........look out......

[198esp1]

if I dont play in a volleyball tournament sat there is a chance ill go sunday. you should call ron to see if whats to co drive ( free evo instructor ) ill talk to you later. how are the tires holding up i have some tire softner left if there getting hard.