The official WG club race thread!
#122
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Originally Posted by TD in DC
Now do you see why I am a true HWFM team mate?
Now, that Larry Herman on the other hand.
Well, let's see.
One of us podiums in every race despite large competitive classes. The other podiums in every race due to small, albeit competitive, classes. I will admit that I did win first in class in my first race, but I refuse to discuss the fact that I was the ONLY entrant in my class.
If you qualify for HWFM, it is only because that is what everyone else is saying to you.
Now, that Larry Herman on the other hand.
Well, let's see.
One of us podiums in every race despite large competitive classes. The other podiums in every race due to small, albeit competitive, classes. I will admit that I did win first in class in my first race, but I refuse to discuss the fact that I was the ONLY entrant in my class.
If you qualify for HWFM, it is only because that is what everyone else is saying to you.
__________________
Larry Herman
2016 Ford Transit Connect Titanium LWB
2018 Tesla Model 3 - Electricity can be fun!
Retired Club Racer & National PCA Instructor
Past Flames:
1994 RS America Club Racer
2004 GT3 Track Car
1984 911 Carrera Club Racer
1974 914/4 2.0 Track Car
CLICK HERE to see some of my ancient racing videos.
Larry Herman
2016 Ford Transit Connect Titanium LWB
2018 Tesla Model 3 - Electricity can be fun!
Retired Club Racer & National PCA Instructor
Past Flames:
1994 RS America Club Racer
2004 GT3 Track Car
1984 911 Carrera Club Racer
1974 914/4 2.0 Track Car
CLICK HERE to see some of my ancient racing videos.
#124
Todd,
Too funny to not be true. But, this ought to make you feel better.
Twice (once would be bad enough) my car entered the track dead last. For the start of the first sprint I was held on the false grid because the kid helping me couldn't get the radio working. So I'm sitting there watching 25 or so cars enter the track ahead of me - kind of like the infamous "I was 7th" video -but I have no video of me screaming at the grid worker to share with you here because, in addition to not hooking up the radio, he couldn't get my camera started either!
For the enduro we made a last minute decision to share my car with my friend and fellow SP3 competitor Steve Katz as the alignment on Steve's car got totally messed up during the 2nd sprint on saturday. Steve is very detailed oriented and always punctual, but we somehow got screwed-up on the start time and as Steve is backing out of the garage, I look up and see that the race has actually started (the cars are rounding turn 11 for the front straight!).
After starting a lap down, and after driving for 15-20 minutes, Steve is black flagged because the window net is down. As I'm walking to our slot in the hot pits Steve has been black flagged again, this time it's a "stop-and-go" for having entered the pit lane too fast during the preceding black flag stop! (sound familiar?). At the halfway mark, Steve pits for our driver change and to take on fuel (last year I did not need to refuel, but this year the engine isn't getting gas in the sharper (left) turns and is sputtering on the uphill at no. 7, so we decide to top off the tank). I hold the fire extinguisher and funnel while Steve pours the gas. There's a slight over-pour. We mop that up and I get into the car.
I'm belted in and hooked-up and as I start to leave the pits I check my mirrors and notice that the fuel door isn't properly closed, so I stop (envisioning yet another black flag) and the door gets closed. While heading up the esses, I notice that the hazards are flashing, I can't drive and find the hazard switch at the same time (have no idea where the damn switch is) and, while I'm told that it's permitted to drive with the hazards blinking, being considerate of my fellow competitiors, (I felt that it wasn't safe or fair for the other racers to think they're approaching a "broken" or slowed vehicle when there was nothing actually wrong with my car), I pit again to turn off the freakin' blinkers.
Flashers off, I re-enter the race. After a couple of laps we have a double-yellow and I would like to seize the opportunity to re-adjust my shoulder harnesses which are off my HANS yolk ON BOTH SIDES - (yes, the same young man who hadn't properly put up the window net for my co-driver, didn't close the fuel filler door, pushed in the hazard lights button while hooking up my radio and tightened my belts, hadn't positioned or tightened the belts over my HANS device) - but, our friend & fellow 'lister Comat is really charging hard as he (understandably) wants to use the D/Y to close up with the leaders in his group (SP1?). After the pace car picks up the field I get a chance to adjust the harness, find a car that I had been "dicing" with during practice on friday and saturday, and we drive as hard as we both can swapping places 2 or 3 times through the checker.
As of today, I still have not seen the enduro results, but was told that we may have finished 2nd in class, which - if true - would be thanks to Steve's great driving over the 1st half of the race.
Now, I experienced none of these problems during my own rookie race at WGI when I was basically on my own (I did have a friend in the pits to give me a water bottle and check tire pressures for my single 5-minute pit stop). I was on time to the grid, didn't miss a start, had no black flags, etc., etc. . . . however, my clutch did break with about 20 minutes left in the enduro.
Are we having fun yet? Hell yes!! See you at Hyperfest?
Too funny to not be true. But, this ought to make you feel better.
Twice (once would be bad enough) my car entered the track dead last. For the start of the first sprint I was held on the false grid because the kid helping me couldn't get the radio working. So I'm sitting there watching 25 or so cars enter the track ahead of me - kind of like the infamous "I was 7th" video -but I have no video of me screaming at the grid worker to share with you here because, in addition to not hooking up the radio, he couldn't get my camera started either!
For the enduro we made a last minute decision to share my car with my friend and fellow SP3 competitor Steve Katz as the alignment on Steve's car got totally messed up during the 2nd sprint on saturday. Steve is very detailed oriented and always punctual, but we somehow got screwed-up on the start time and as Steve is backing out of the garage, I look up and see that the race has actually started (the cars are rounding turn 11 for the front straight!).
After starting a lap down, and after driving for 15-20 minutes, Steve is black flagged because the window net is down. As I'm walking to our slot in the hot pits Steve has been black flagged again, this time it's a "stop-and-go" for having entered the pit lane too fast during the preceding black flag stop! (sound familiar?). At the halfway mark, Steve pits for our driver change and to take on fuel (last year I did not need to refuel, but this year the engine isn't getting gas in the sharper (left) turns and is sputtering on the uphill at no. 7, so we decide to top off the tank). I hold the fire extinguisher and funnel while Steve pours the gas. There's a slight over-pour. We mop that up and I get into the car.
I'm belted in and hooked-up and as I start to leave the pits I check my mirrors and notice that the fuel door isn't properly closed, so I stop (envisioning yet another black flag) and the door gets closed. While heading up the esses, I notice that the hazards are flashing, I can't drive and find the hazard switch at the same time (have no idea where the damn switch is) and, while I'm told that it's permitted to drive with the hazards blinking, being considerate of my fellow competitiors, (I felt that it wasn't safe or fair for the other racers to think they're approaching a "broken" or slowed vehicle when there was nothing actually wrong with my car), I pit again to turn off the freakin' blinkers.
Flashers off, I re-enter the race. After a couple of laps we have a double-yellow and I would like to seize the opportunity to re-adjust my shoulder harnesses which are off my HANS yolk ON BOTH SIDES - (yes, the same young man who hadn't properly put up the window net for my co-driver, didn't close the fuel filler door, pushed in the hazard lights button while hooking up my radio and tightened my belts, hadn't positioned or tightened the belts over my HANS device) - but, our friend & fellow 'lister Comat is really charging hard as he (understandably) wants to use the D/Y to close up with the leaders in his group (SP1?). After the pace car picks up the field I get a chance to adjust the harness, find a car that I had been "dicing" with during practice on friday and saturday, and we drive as hard as we both can swapping places 2 or 3 times through the checker.
As of today, I still have not seen the enduro results, but was told that we may have finished 2nd in class, which - if true - would be thanks to Steve's great driving over the 1st half of the race.
Now, I experienced none of these problems during my own rookie race at WGI when I was basically on my own (I did have a friend in the pits to give me a water bottle and check tire pressures for my single 5-minute pit stop). I was on time to the grid, didn't miss a start, had no black flags, etc., etc. . . . however, my clutch did break with about 20 minutes left in the enduro.
Are we having fun yet? Hell yes!! See you at Hyperfest?
#125
Absolutely!
The second sprint race on Saturday was the highlight of the weekend fo rme.
This was the most fun I have had at a race yet. The Glen is awesome, and I had plenty of cars to race. This video is the start of the second sprint. I was racing very closely with cars for the entire duration of the race, but my camera shut down about 10 minutes into the race, so, unfortunately, I don't even have some of the best footage.
I was running 2:27s-2:28s for much of the race, and Cris Brady, who took first in class had a fast lap of 2:25.
The new camera setup is pretty cool. You can see out the front and out the back. When you cannot see the car, it means it is right next to me.
I was fighting some demons at the Glen and trying to shake off memories of my wreck, as is painfully obvious when you watch the video. I am turning in too late in several places, and I am backing off the throttle too much. I watched that stupid wreck video too often and it imprinted the wreck on my brain.
The good news is that I did not wreck. In fact, my car once went into the exact type of drift it did when I wrecked last year, but this time I knew exactly what to do: I breathed off the throttle a bit and opened the wheel immediately, which made the whole thing a non-event.
My car felt unstable through the busstop later in the race. It wasn't my imagination because late in the race I had the worst tankslapper I have ever had in my life. Upon exiting the busstop at a very good clip (well into 4th gear), the rear end popped out to the left, which I caught, and then it swung violently back to the right. At this point I am facing walls and I thought to myself that there is no freakin' way I will allow myself to wreck here, so I caught the car again and it then swung back to the left. Now I am facing the right direction so I nailed the gas and took off down the turn to the right as if nothing happened. wheewww.
My start sucked. The green flag had apparently been out for long before I really got on the gas. Radio would really help here.
I obviously have much to learn, but this was incredible fun, and I each race I learn more and more. Nothing like going through T1, the climbing esses and the busstop three wide to get the heart pumping.
Constructive comments welcome, but be nice because I am still very much a rookie!
Enjoy.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...42095302097428
P.S. Special thanks to Chris M. for helping me trouble shoot a problem Friday morning. He is always helping me out one way or another. Also, special thanks to Cris Brady for looking over my shoulder.
The second sprint race on Saturday was the highlight of the weekend fo rme.
This was the most fun I have had at a race yet. The Glen is awesome, and I had plenty of cars to race. This video is the start of the second sprint. I was racing very closely with cars for the entire duration of the race, but my camera shut down about 10 minutes into the race, so, unfortunately, I don't even have some of the best footage.
I was running 2:27s-2:28s for much of the race, and Cris Brady, who took first in class had a fast lap of 2:25.
The new camera setup is pretty cool. You can see out the front and out the back. When you cannot see the car, it means it is right next to me.
I was fighting some demons at the Glen and trying to shake off memories of my wreck, as is painfully obvious when you watch the video. I am turning in too late in several places, and I am backing off the throttle too much. I watched that stupid wreck video too often and it imprinted the wreck on my brain.
The good news is that I did not wreck. In fact, my car once went into the exact type of drift it did when I wrecked last year, but this time I knew exactly what to do: I breathed off the throttle a bit and opened the wheel immediately, which made the whole thing a non-event.
My car felt unstable through the busstop later in the race. It wasn't my imagination because late in the race I had the worst tankslapper I have ever had in my life. Upon exiting the busstop at a very good clip (well into 4th gear), the rear end popped out to the left, which I caught, and then it swung violently back to the right. At this point I am facing walls and I thought to myself that there is no freakin' way I will allow myself to wreck here, so I caught the car again and it then swung back to the left. Now I am facing the right direction so I nailed the gas and took off down the turn to the right as if nothing happened. wheewww.
My start sucked. The green flag had apparently been out for long before I really got on the gas. Radio would really help here.
I obviously have much to learn, but this was incredible fun, and I each race I learn more and more. Nothing like going through T1, the climbing esses and the busstop three wide to get the heart pumping.
Constructive comments welcome, but be nice because I am still very much a rookie!
Enjoy.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...42095302097428
P.S. Special thanks to Chris M. for helping me trouble shoot a problem Friday morning. He is always helping me out one way or another. Also, special thanks to Cris Brady for looking over my shoulder.
#131
Rennlist Member
Does the track go green all at once so that those in the front who see the green know to get on the gas and those near the rear who cannot see the green either risk a false start by guessing it's green, have a radio and hear that it's green and get on the gas or get passed by those guessing or with radios?
#133
It goes green at the same time. You can do one of the following:
1) Be close enough to the front that you can see it go green
2) Get a radio and be told that it goes green
3) Look at another flag station and watch them pull down the double yellow
4) Guess
From what I saw, if you are far enough away that you can't see it go green, the flaggers really don't care too much about it if you jump the start.
1) Be close enough to the front that you can see it go green
2) Get a radio and be told that it goes green
3) Look at another flag station and watch them pull down the double yellow
4) Guess
From what I saw, if you are far enough away that you can't see it go green, the flaggers really don't care too much about it if you jump the start.
#135
Originally Posted by 1957 356
The field was so large that Todd and I were not even to T11 when it went green. I couldn't see the flag.