Robert W. Bausum Jr.

Well it was an awesome weekend at Road Atlanta.

There should be some interesting conversations based on the outcome of the weekend. (I'm such a tease.)

For my self I have not improved upon last year as far as lap speed. I did improve on the rolling starts.

Most of the actual race was a DE for me. I spent many, many laps just trying to catch an F class 911 that pulled away from me on the back straight over, and over and over again until his straight line speed had him about 3000 feet ahead of me. (best guess)

The double yellow was interesting and welcome as I need a lap or two to cool down my tires. I thought it was going to give me a shot at the 911 again but he had beaten one other 944 Turbo. Unfortunately I was unable to take advantage of the new closeness of the field as we got the green flag with only one lap remaining.

Truly a fun weekend.

Jack667

One word - WOW!
My first club race was a blast. I worked out a strategy before the start, based on the small group in "H". I had a long talk with the guy who qualified behind me, and that really paid off (for both of us) during the race. The overall plan worked well - drive hard but take no chances. I had my best lap ever during the race (ever = 6 days at RA), as I actually exceeded my goal of getting under 1:50 by squeaking under 149.5. Result = 2nd place among 5-6 registrants (more on that to come later, surely), but only 4 drivers during the race. One guy never made it to the track (AFAIK), and another guy ran all weekend, but lost his clutch right before the race, so he didn't even grid. My disappointment that there were no trophies was quickly forgotten after I won the top prize at the end of the awards session - a raffle for 1/2 off a set of Hoosiers. Thanks Bob Woodman!!!!!

Stuttgart

I must agree. great race, great weather, great people.

We swithed from pirelli's to yokohama's and boy did that make a difference. It changed the whole feel of the car. With the pirelli's it was real twitchy and took major concentration to drive on the limit, but with the yoko's the car was much easier to manage. Just hang the back end out and hit the pedal on the right. They also helped me dropped my lap times about a second

The only ****ty thing that happened all weekend was getting forced into the grass in turn 1 by the dumbass in the kelly moss gt3rs during the race.

I also got the chance to meet some of the other 'lister's over the course of the weekend.

penguinking

some of my pics from saturday's races

penguinking

another

penguinking

more

penguinking

there was this superfast 914 that was keeping up with the Cup cars - i caught a glimpse of it in the corner

penguinking

Jack,

pretty sure i caught this pic of your car coming down the straight - not sure cause there were a ton of 944's out there

penguinking

the insane 944 that was smoking everything on the track...i dunno if you can even call it a 944 anymore this thing has so much work done to it

penguinking

the engine bay

Jack667

Penguinking -
Yes - that's my 944 behind Tim Pruitt in the 29 car. Thanks! Great pics. Check *THIS THREAD* for more photos.

penguinking

hard to see right here but this thing has a carbon fiber intake manifold - thought that was pretty neat to look at. among other things, the moton suspension and custom fabbed intercooler/radiator setup - basically the whole front end of this thing has been reworked

mm86911

This was my rookie debut at Road Atlanta and I'm still smiling! It's been said this is the second most fun you can have in a car - I agree, plus it lasts longer!

I was in run group 3 and qualified 23/49, finished race 18/49 and in class (E) qualified 9/16 and finished race 7/16. My qualifying lap was 1:44.682 while pole position was 1:39.774! The new S04s stuck like glue.

Typical with most track events I had a few minor issues: LH front sway bar end link broke going into turn 5 - good thing it didn't happen coming down 12. Cheap Weltmeister hardware (the weak spot weld on the bar strap snapped). The guys at Kelly Moss were gracious enough to weld it for me in time for qualifying. During the fun race a 911 went into the gravel at turn 5 and I was the proud recipient of 2 broken headlights and windshield (Bob B was behind me and got some of the same).

Word of caution to anyone running a fuel test port with the shut-off valve - make sure you RED Lock-tite the handle screw. Vibration will cause it to loosen and expose the o-ring allowing a fuel leak. I was smelling fuel down pit lane and left a puddle at impound - I was very lucky. Removed the valve completely since only SCCA requires it.

Great weekend, great people and good fun. Aside from the minor issues above my car ran flawlessly all weekend. Special thanks to Matt Forte at Motor Werks for car setup and tuning and Performance Imports for track support. Both shops helped me throughout the weekend and kept my car together.

Here's a couple of pics from the weekend - first one is Bob B chasing me in the esses on Friday. Next is the race where Buddy in the F class Carrera passed me in turn 1 just before the full course yellow. I took advantage of the monster brakes and was able to regain the position at 10A on the final lap!

mm86911

At turn 1 before the double-yellow

JPhillips-998

That "Superfast 914" is Tim McKenzie from the Eurosport stable in Chicago. It is a GT4R. He IS superfast everywhere. You should have seen his passes outside of turn 1 at Sebring! Whew....

Congrats to everyone that raced, Mid-Ohio in May seems like such a long way off.