64lusso

Anybody catch the SCCA runoff's on SPEED TV over the weekend? SCCA class T1 is for mildly modified street supercars and is made up mostly of Corvettes but former national champion Freddy Baker ventured out in a GT3 and finished a very convincing second to longtime GM Corvette engineer John Heinracy who always smokes the field. While it's hard to make judgement without really knowing the cars or the players, it seems like the GT3's main advantage was end of straitaway speed as the corvettes seemed about equal on handling and braking. Baker had his rear spoiler mounted at a pretty extreme angle, has anyone tried the factory rear wing shims? If so have you found anything else you need to do to balance the car out?

996FLT6

I got the 8 degree shims for the rear wing. Seems more stable at higher speeds and cornering(excess of 110 mph). I like to get the Motorsport front lip spoiler too-where to get that? Regards. Mike

ryce

I got a lip from TRG; I haven't mounted it yet but it was about $100, significantly less than the OEM street lip.

996FLT6

Thanks I gove TRG a call : ). Regards. Mike

rsnodgrass

From seeing the car up close at the race Freddy didn't have his wing adjusted w/ shims. It was just ratcheted up quite a bit w/ the metal wing adjustment inside each side.

I haven't checked my GT3 but I'm guessing that is how you adjust wing and then add shims to distribute the load better. I doubt shims would have been legal in the class since they aren't shipped with the car, which is perhaps why he wasn't running them

Z06

rsnodgrass,

Have you raced in the T1 series?.........What engine mods are allowed?.....Did you happed to notice what size tire was on F Bakers car?

ryce

The GT really seems to catch cars at the end of the straights. Some of the turbos will pull even or perhaps a bit stronger out of the hole but the GT seems to pull on the turbos, the vettes, the supercharged nsx's and just about everything else once it gets on the pipe. Man I love that motor, its one of the automotive wonders.

Philip in AL

It is my experience that the GT3 certainly brakes better than the TT

Holger B

Probably mostly due to the lower weight.

rsnodgrass

Z06: yes.

No engine modifications beyond changing the computer mappings and blueprinting to factory spec are allowed. It's a Touring class so the goal is to keep costs down for competitors. Suspension changes are allowed but only if you select a whole package (i.e. you can't custom chose spring rates, swaybars, etc...they have to be an approved match). Safety equip required: cage, fire supression system, etc. The Z06 comes stock w/ a bladder system that's essentially a fuel cell. DOT tires required. Exhaust may be changed.

Z06

I have a little more top end speed over the stock Z06's at one of the Solo 1 tracks, it's checked with a radar gun. 188/190 vs. 193/194 K/h.

I do go a little bit deeper then the stock Z's, but i think the GT3 is a little more stable threw braking and at turn in.

The T1 series is very competitive and from what i heard allot of fun.

64lusso

I think I caught a glimpse of another GT3 in the field somewhere near the back.
rsnodgrass: I saw the interview with Cindy Lux and I think it was one other guy from your team, I thought they were saying naked racing now I see the subtle difference:-) which number color/were you? For those of you interested check the Speed TV website as I am pretty sure the races that were first broadcast last Sat and Sun will be on again this Wednesday.
I was also surprised to see the Cup cars in GT2 which is basically a tube frame class these days for the front runners. Class was won by a 944 and the cup cars were around mid-pack, they must have a exception in the rule book that allows cup cars to race.

BHunt 72T

rsnodgrass: I watched the race too (on television). Any idea's on why Heinracy is that much quicker than everyone else? Is the car set-up that much better that the other Corvette's? Is he just that great of a driver? A second a lap quicker that the next closest car is a TON of time, especially in a nearly stock class like T1. Being that you were in the race with him, I'd be interested in your thoughts... especially since you're in a Vette as well. thanks.

rsnodgrass

I was the black #75 that got hit on lap 2 (inside of the Keyhole) and turned around...during the same incident where the Robbins black car flew off track.

Heinricy's a very good shoe but his car has LOTS of development. After all he's in charge of development of the Corvette platform at GM. It's hard to beat factory support. I also wonder if they build an engine just to last that one race...at the end he was smoking pretty bad.

The top 10 folks in the field this year were all VERY good, it's a highly contested class. This was my first year in T1 and it's a bit intimidating to step up from a 200hp car to well over 400hp on a race track. Next year should be fun. It was great to see Freddy out w/ the GT3, there just isn't enough diversity in the class anymore...mostly Corvettes (can't beat the price/performance). Hopefully next year there will be a few other different cars.

More info:
www.cindilux.com
www.naykidracing.com

64lusso

I met John way back in 84 when I did my first SCCA drivers school at Nelson Ledges, I was in a SS/B Citation X/11 (anybody remeber those?) and so was John only his was loaned to him from Bob McConnell who had won the runoffs with it the year before. John was already a very good dirver even then but he also had a real good car. I also wound up racing Joe Aqualante (head of Phoenix racing who does John's car prep) some later that year who also raced a X-11 at the time. Joe has been working at building his car prep business ever since then and I am sure input from from the factory engineers (ie:JH) has added to what he knows about how to set up those cars, I would be a little surprised if any special factory pieces made their way to his shop but I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility.
I would be willing to bet if you add up John's seat time in high performance cars both as part of his job and in racing over 20 years it would triple or more the next closest guy in that field so if you add that to his natural ability and the well prepped car it's not to hard to imagine why he has been so dominant these last few years.
So Ryan, you were the victim of that 'redmister' forgetting where his brake pedal was? That must have been a a strange view, looking up at the underside of a Vette as it passes over your car, I sure hope you don't have to do that again! In his comments at the end of the race JH mentioned that his trans temp warning light had just come on before the end of the race so I suspect that it was loosing trans oil onto the exhaust that was causing the smoke.
Jay