Greg Fishman

Mark,
Another thing... Get a cool suit, makes an unbelievable difference. I borrowed a friends for a session and can't believe I didn't get one earlier.

tchandler

I just bought the Sparco 5 and really like it. The difference in weight between this suit and the sprint is dramatic. Sparco 5 is very lightweight and breathable. Highest rated 2 layer suit. sfi3.2/5 Will wear the sparco short sleve nomex T-shirt underneath. I worried about the black color, but as everyone mentions, it's nomex they are all going to be hot. If I need to I will buy a "cool-shirt" with cooler later.

John H

Mark
I too will be at both the Mid-Ohio in May and Putnam in July races. I think Greg touched on what I was trying to say. It seems much more difficult (I am not sure that ius the right word) than it really is. Maybe "daunting" is the correct word to use.
Racing is much different than lapping at a DE at the start especially or when passing or being passed in the corners. However, during the enduro I did at CMP, you'd think I was out there by myself when watching the video. (And no it wasn't because I was blocking a train of cars behind me). My theory is that the faster cars are gone and it takes awhile for them to lap you. The slower cars are behind you and it takes awhile for you to lap them. If you get spread out from the guys at or near the same laptimes, you never see them or get close enough to pass. I think when we were at the Fall Fling, I saw you on the track maybe one session (when you passed me going down the back straight). We were always on opposites sides of the track it seemed.

Put it this way, I was way more nervous on the Friday practices because I did not know what to expect than I was on Saturday and Sunday. I was still nervous but the fear of the unknown was no longer the bigger part of it.
All of that being said, bottom line is, if you send in your application and do your interview with Susan Shire, you will be at Mid-Ohio in May. Her enthusiasm is very contagious.

Mark in Baltimore

Greg - Oh, man. Hell, I had a feeling I wasn't going to be able to get away with just spending $450 on a suit.

tchandler - Okay, that was the kind of feedback I was looking for regarding cheaper vs. more expensive suits. How much are the cool shirt systems?

John - Thanks for your words. You're right about the unknown. I have a limited idea of what it'll be like out there, but I really don't have too much trepidation, mostly just excitement at the prospect of wheel-to-wheel racing. I want to drive cleanly, not have any incidents, and be aware of all of the other cars around me. Not being a rolling road block would be a bonus.

Yeah, I only saw you at the Fall Fling once or twice. We should have made a point to start near each other so we could run more closely. What a treat that weekend was!

DJF1

Good luck Mark!!! Not to worry, once you are in the starting grid all straped and ready to go the butterflies go away and on your first start the adrenaline takes over! You have no time to think "oh s**t what i'm I doing here" ! You are too busy tryign to stay on the track
I agree with Greg about Putnam, tons of run off areas, BUT if you have not driven the track at least I felt like a fish in the shark pond... Problem is that D cars usually run with the big boys , the fastest group, while the D class cars are the slowest on the group. Even with the "DE" day before the race practice etc which was only a DE by eufimism as I was bumper drafted all day long, I found it very difficult to learn the track and get into any kind of meaningfull rythem as I was watching my mirrors all the time. Even worse when practice time came over I was getting passed left and right and at a certain point I got so frustrated that i pulled out of the practice as I could not get a clean enough track to learn anything. Needless to say that the sprint race was a waste, i pulled out of the race as i was just a moving obstacle. The only time I actually started picking up speed and started to get some faster laps was at the Enduro which provided me with trak space , I could concentrate up front and finally had some fun!
By comparison my first race was at my home track at TWS so getting to know the track was not an issue. I had more fun and was able to mix it so to speak with other cars! If I did not have gearbox problems on one sprint race I had a very nice dog fight with 2 other cars which taught me a lot about passing and driving racing lines which have nothing to do with the normal line you are taught...
So I would advise you to actually do your first race at the track you feel most comfortable with so you can start learning how to race and have fun!

Good luck and we need reports of your first race!!!

Mark in Baltimore

Danny,

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and advice! Actually, I remember reading your post about your first club race many months ago, how you said that it was much more thrilling than doing a DE and how excited you felt on the grid. At the time I thought, "It'll be years before I'll do a race." When I bought my 993 thirteen months ago, I never would have imagined that I would be racing it so soon.

Time flies when you're having fun.

tchandler

www.racerwholesale.com has the "racer" cool suit system for $398.00 includes the ice chest, tube and shirt with surgical tubing to keep you cool. I to am getting to do my first pca race in May at Laguna Seca. With the purchase of the car, trailer, extra wheels, suite...etc I ran out of money until 1st qtr bonus.

Seems there is always something to buy.

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks, tchandler! Good luck in your race.

Robert Henriksen

Only if you're planning on letting me give you a ride through the marbles at Putnam

Alan C.

If you are still looking you might want to give Dave Schardt a call at
937-299-0610 x305. www.fast44.com Dave has the Momo line and I think he may still have a few close outs. I bought a 3 layer from him and I'm very happy with it. Good guy to do business with.

Greg Fishman

Good idea, Alan. I second that recommendation.

swftiii

Guys,

Thanks for the help on suits and as always Rennlist not only talks you into the more expensive product, but also recommends more products that you "HAVE TO HAVE".

As for the nervousness, I don't know about Mark, but it will be quite nerve racking and I don't know if the butterflies will really go away, but thanks for the comments.

Later Guys

-Skip

Mike in Chi

Hey Mark (and Skip)

glad to hear you will be burning money at a ridiculous rate like the rest of us.

As to keeping it clean, I do dry cleaning and it works fine.

Mine's a three-layer sparco.

I went with a baggy fit (think Jacque Villaneuve) as I was told they are cooler than than those sleek trim fits. They were right on with that recco.

I chose Royal Blue. One of these days I will add the diagonal yellow stripe.

Mark in Baltimore

Alan - thanks for the recommendation. BTW, I've always liked the graphics on your car.

Skip - Cheap suit, out. More expensive, out. Cool suit, in. Yeah, Rennlist excels at "the bump". Who needs a salesman?

Mike - Where have you been? Funny as always. Thanks for your suggestions. I may go with royal blue, too.

DJF1

Hey Boss... i thought that was reserved for my car only

I wish I had them on when I watched the incar video from your runs

Mike and Skip not to worry...you guys are going to have a ball! As for cleaning my suit which is white by the way ( yeah i wanted to be special as there are not many white whales in this world) dry cleaning and airing works well. I would also advise on investing on a very expensive 20 dollar boiler suit that will unable you to work on the car between sessions.