mark kibort

The Runoffs are being held this October at Sears Point Sonoma Raceway.... we already have over 350 drivers signed up, and in my group (GT2) 25 cars in class, and 50+ cars in the group.
quite a few porsches too. Old Viper driver, Scotty White, from World Challenge GT, is showing up in a GT3cup car... funny seeing him drive a racer with the engine in the back.. I bought a couple of new tires for the event.. lets see if it can help me at least stay in the mid pack range. lots of fast hardware showing up!

924RACR

Good luck out there! Looks like GT2 is getting a pretty strong turnout this year; am headed to the Gingerman Majors in a couple of weeks, fairly small event this year but something like 7-8 GT2 cars signed up, half the big bore/ground-pounder run group! You might be looking at a pretty fun, action-packed race come October...

Me, I'm glad Runoffs are left coast this year, gives me a couple of years to sit out/take it easy and get ready for the return to Road America. Now if only the entry fees would do the same...

mark kibort

Looks like 57 cars in our group now, and 25 in GT2 class alone, in this group!!

mark kibort

Record number of cars af the event.... just talked to a Vet buddy waiting in line...... the paddock is full, and 80 trucks are waiting to get in right now. i might have to drive my car to the track like the old days! its almost as bad as the nascar weekened!

mark kibort

video up

had a blown shock after turn 5 on the opening lap, ending the day. but, when I went into the pits to find out if it was something broken, I then went back out just to get laps after knowing I could just go about 80% safely. (thought I needed a certain number of laps to qualify for runoffs). anyway, a bmw stuffed it into the turn 11 wall , race went full caution by the time I went back out after missing 2 laps.. so, if you are going to break, that was the race to do it in. now, rebuild those 20 year old konis and get ready for laguna at the end of the month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54L4...ature=youtu.be

mark kibort

with the start lap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54L4...ature=youtu.be

Kurt R

No comments about Friday's Spec Miata incident?


I saw this on Jalopnik
https://jalopnik.com/spec-miata-and-...rac-1827314179

mark kibort

that was pretty lame! I just dont see how that is possible, if anyone is actually paying attention.

fatbillybob

Nobody does that on purpose. It is obvious neither driver saw each other. There may be some reasons for that, helmet, HANS, containment seat small window...tow drier loosing the SM in other traffic. I drive a big diesel PU as a daily driver. Often little cars and motorcycles are invisible to me. What other mitigating issues like did the small white SM get lost in the white wall on the right? Or the truck having to shoot across the track to the right side incident? The white SM was actually predictable staying mostly on the racing line until impact and at less power. Should there have been a yellow and white flag for slow moving vehicle on track?

I was in Kibort's group at this race weekend. That's a rough corner. The runoff there is huge so driver's get extra brave there making passes. The road goes uphill towards the flagger then goes flat. So you got more brakes due to the uphill and as you go deeper you loose them. There are many who outbrake themselves or spin here. In Mark and my group race the white tow truck was deep in runoff moving right to left toward the flag station when by the time I got in visual range a white gt3 car was out of control moving at speed toward the left broadside of the tow truck. Code brown moment for both drivers? I could see the right wheel of the GT3 car broken. It looked like a near miss and as I crested the hill under yellow the GT1 car behind and right saw the yellow late and shot past me and into a spin where I drove under them on the inside at yellow flag speed.

So stuff happens there at a seemingly simple point in the track. I'm sure the SF region will get it all ironed out before the Runoffs in October.

mark kibort

I tried to come find you in the pits. where were you located? i was up in the upper garages.... what a ZOO this weekend was.
Yes, Im sure this was a "one of those things" kind of incidents. i remember Kirberg, running into the back of the towtruck in a world challenge race back in 2004 near turn 6 at laguna. usually, the tow drivers are Excellent about driving off line and guiding cars around them. this time, maybe it was just all the chances added up to cause a collision. certainly dont like to see a competitor get taken out like that.
see you at the Runnoffs , if my car survives .... had a blown suspension that ended my race early, but the race was a bust with that bMW hitting the wall and finishing under caution.... so i picked a good race to break in. , so it's all off the car right now and at the Koni shop. hopefully it will be all better by laguna at the end of the month.

fatbillybob

I was in Garage 8. Since I have never been to Sonoma the last 5 laps under caution were kinda nice. I was able to go really slow examining all the features of the track. I would like to walk it at Runoffs. By Sunday's race I was getting it. Sonoma is a tricky track. See you at Runoffs! I'll be running T1 and T2 underoptimized in either class in my 1 car. Get your hotel rooms they are going fast and they are expensive!

mark kibort

Too bad, i drove by a few times and didnt see your car.. (hard to miss!) one of the disavantages of parking up top. but, there are some advantages too! yes, sears is an aquired taste but running what you did and seeing the improvement, shows you got it down basically, now just do the fine tuning! I cant wait to run my car with a new suspension. the koni shop is on it now. see you there! thanks for the tip about the hotel.. ill get that going now too!