pdxjim

You at COTA now?

montoya

Oh boy! Sorry I didn't answer you for so long- obviously I didn't go to COTA. Too much money for too few sessions! The cool thing about the West Coast Major Tour is that I get to race against National Champions at every race, I don't need to go to far off races for the competition. I love trying out new tracks, but if it's just for that, it has to make sense from a point or series stand point.


So, now I'm at Willow for the first Super Tour of my season, practice today- Jack Olsen who posts here has one of the best guides for this track. Little history vignette at the beginning which is nice:

montoya

Practice yesterday had me on the struggle bus. Willow is a difficult track to find your marks and requires commitment and precision at high speed. We were grouped with other "wings and things" for practice and had a lot of traffic in every session with a wide variety of speeds from Formula Vee to P2 cars. It was very difficult to get a clean lap. Then I missed a session when my nose pan disintegrated:


Chris installing a new nose pan

Eventually I found some speed but the car was having power understeer in the wrong corners. We made a setup change and instantly I and the car felt better but still traffic kept me from laying down good times. Eventually I stayed out to the final session with a stiff wind and bad tires got down to some decent times. Below is the comparison to my best from last year where you can see the impact of head wind and tail wind and draft in this overlay:



Qualifying at 8:20 this AM, we only have 15 minutes so getting a clean lap with warm tires will be hard!

Final pic from yesterday for you Cup lovers (me included):

montoya

Race day morning was clear and cold with temperature around 40 degrees at 8:00.


Qualifying today went well! But then it did for a lot of people- the track was fast and with new tires grip was available from the second lap on. I set a personal best, but it was only good for 11th- here are the qualifying time sheets:




So I qualified 11th, but in fast company for sure. From 3rd to 12th only a second between everyone, nice!

And that's pretty much how the race went! While there was some movement up and down the ladder, I finished where I started, in 11th! I drove a clean race, passed a couple of cars and subsequently was also passed by my team mate Tom Burt and a young gun, Dustin Decker who came from way back! His pass on me was aggressive, around the outside of 2, and I held him off until the exit of two, where at 97 mph, there is only room for one car! He went on to pass Steve Fogg as well, no slouch and someone who has finished in the top 5 nationally- I made a run at Steve as well, but he held me off. All in all, while not a top ten finish, good hard, and most importantly clean racing- So I check off one of my goals! We get to go again tomorrow!

Here are the results:

montoya

Sunday! I decided to go for it on Sunday with another set of new tires. My thinking was that I will have two sets of two session tires to use at my next race at Thunderhill, and that new tires for qualifying are the advantage that I need to get up the grid and have a chance at a top ten finish in the race. So, it worked out perfectly! Improved my grid spot from 11th to 5th!



So that's a personal best and more than I was hoping for! TJ I think set a new track record, clearly the track this morning was fast! Here's the video of my two fastest qualifying laps:

fatbillybob

I watched your race. There were some good close battles in the field. I was in T2 and T1.

montoya

Very cool! Did you watch Saturday or Sunday? Sunday was a big oops for me!

Ugh- Here's what I posted on Facebook:

Serious dent to my pride for sure, especially being 'that guy' that gets a good qualifier and blows it on the first lap-ugh! Racing is a tough sport and the lessons are harsh. Not to mention at the pointy end of the field our class is really competitive with no room for error. I'll be thinking about this one for a while- don't plan to repeat it if at all possible!

Here is an answer to a comment on the video on YouTube:

I have looked at side by side comparisons of my first lap from Saturday and from Sunday- at first I thought it was my pause to throttle or too much steering input, but it's not really different on either day. It's some combination of too much speed for the conditions (overcast, so track temps lower on Sunday), the pause to throttle (even though that is how most drive this section of track) and too much focus on the cars in front rather than my marks. It really sucks to make such a rookie mistake with such a good qualifying position and wrecking someone's race to boot. If you see anything else let me know. I try not to make the same mistake twice and learn from these things as much as I can. That's why I post the good and the bad- sometimes data with video is the only way to understand or see your mistakes.

Let me finally add here- This is really my first race start with two National Champs behind me and one in front of me. The top 5 of our Major races here are really top notch, so starting up front with this bunch is really hard, no quarter given for sure. Yes, coming loose like I did was a rookie mistake I don't plan on repeating. But, I felt good as the lap progressed and I really was within my limits and in control, not overly aggressive or feeling over my head. Then this, Bummer!!

montoya

And here's the race from Saturday to move to something more positive.


Race notes:

I set my fastest lap 15 laps in. This points to two things- I'm under driving the course and track conditions were probably the coolest in any of my three previous race weekends here. Regarding under driving, you can see the qualifying results the next day that yes indeed, I had more time to find in T1 and T2. A couple of lapped cars caught me out more than others late in the game. Early in the race, I'm working on Alex (teal car) and his pace through 9 is slower than expected, allowing my team mate to catch us both in T1 as I am trying to set Alex up for a pass. We had a prior agreement that if he caught us I would yield in 1, which was what I did, but that delays my pass on Alex for two laps (although a fun two laps!), and I loose contact with Tom and those in front. Finally our youngest racer Dustin makes an aggressive pass late on the outside of two! I had no choice but to yield- oh well, a clean race and not top ten, but close!

fatbillybob

I think you were off throttle in the unsettled part there thus the back end goes. I did not know that was you. Oh well...you are OK and that is what counts. In racing it's not if but when. I don't care what anyone says SCCA racing is a contact sport. I'll look for you at BRP or Sonoma in June.

montoya

It would appear so, just maybe a split second too slow to throttle. There is always a pause, but perhaps following so close to Todd I was just a hair later than normal.

Definitely look me up at Buttonwillow!

Here's another view:


I think looking at it from here, locking it down earlier in the spin might have been helpful. Hard to say for sure- but with 19 cars behind me it's tough to not get collected in a spin like that.

montoya

Some deeper analysis into the data and videos on Sunday clearly shows my error. It actually is pretty obvious. I thought there was a pause going to throttle at 5 but there is NEVER a pause! And yes, lack of that acceleration and weight transfer are the reason for the spin.

Take a look at the videos stills Lap 1 on Saturday you can see the quick transition to throttle- look at the throttle and brake bars, brake is releasing while the throttle is starting:



Then here is Lap 1 from Sunday, same point in on the lap and there is no brake and no throttle, not good:



The question is why? All my lap data from the weekend and I never miss this quick transition literally over a 100 laps, and yet at the start I do it, why? Mentally there are a couple of thoughts that contributed to the tentativeness:

1. I'm following very close to Todd- National Champ, friend and teammate- I don't want to screw up his race.
2. I am not driving aggressively- see above
3. Maybe I'm a little intimidated driving in such company
4. Lack of focus- lot's of distractions before the start (family at the race, camera issues etc)

These are all possibilities, but I think it's simply that Todd is turning in later than I normally do into this turn and going to throttle earlier than I do. I follow his line, actually brake earlier, but my muscle memory says wait on the throttle! A classic case of driving the car ahead and not the track. Finally, the focus thing- that is probably the big one. Letting myself get distracted and off my normal preparation routine is a big factor that led to this error. I'm not driving with an intensity and focus that I know I should have.

So what can I learn from this? Well obviously drive your marks! But more importantly it's to be aware that other drivers around may have a different line, turn in, braking etc. The start of the race is not a time to get sucked into a new line! Especially when running with guys you don't normally run with that are maybe more aggressive than you! Finally, don't get distracted, follow your routine and let others know you can see them after the race, be focused and ready!

So, it's tough lesson and the healing has not begun, but I'm feeling a little better after this analysis. This racing stuff is tough! Looking forward to redemption soon! Next up Thill in 3 weeks!

montoya

Final review of the spin on Google Earth. This is the trace of my line when I spun and one from an earlier session- You can see two completely different lines. This new line as I followed the car in front was new and unfamiliar. While better, I was really driving my old line, and waiting until it was 'safe' to accelerate. Interesting to see it this way so I thought I would share.

montoya

Thunderhill Majors weekend. I always love going to Thunderhill, it's a great track with some of the best amenities on site that we go to. Only issue is the food off track, LOL.

We arrived on Thursday for Friday's test session, but that turned out to be a rain out. I did two sessions in monsoon conditions that left me soaked, and learning nothing about how the track would be the next day in the dry.

Saturday qualifying was a disappointment mainly since I was unable to get my timing down well and ended 20th, 2 seconds off my best here last year. A good portion of the time lost is in the fast sweepers T8 and T9- T8 is flat out in our cars with good tires and the right conditions, and I was needed a full lift. I went out on tires from Willow Springs, and even though they had just a couple of heat cycles, it always seems that the rubber needs one or two sessions to bed into the new track. Having said that, I also was not driving the track well as my Teammate Tom Burt was on the same tires and qualified 6th. Oh well, I left myself a lot of work in the race, here's the qualifying results:

24Chromium

I suggest you try Farwood restaurant in Orland. It's 15~20 minutes north on the I-5, but well worth the drive.

montoya

Thanks for the tip Lar!! I will need to try that next time!

So Saturday's race was better- I managed to get my time down but still struggled a bit in 9- I'm downshifting and really should roll more speed in without a downshift. Got up to 12th, but could make no impression on those in front, and eventually played a game of chicken going into T8 with Perry Richardson on the last lap who started from the back of the pack. He's very fast around here and why he couldn't wait to make the pass in T9 I'm not sure. To his credit he did apologize for the maneuver, which is more than I can say for a lot of people! Then I have a tiny lapse in concentration going into 10 on the last lap that leaves me 16th- ugh! Cannot check any of my goals this day. Let's hope for better today...