I thought we already established that burnouts are lame... (Heidfeld crashes his BMW)
04-25-2008, 10:08 AM
#17
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04-25-2008, 11:19 AM
#18
Racer
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Pride before the fall. I've learned that lesson a time or two. Most embarrassing moment time...
Just so happens it was MSR a couple of weeks ago. My first time on the 3.1. Didn't sleep well Saturday because I kept driving the new part of the track in my head all night long. I couldn't WAIT to get back out there. Running a little late on Sunday morning but made it there before the driver's meeting. Had coffee, but not enough apparently. After the meeting, I check tire pressures & torque the lugs. Then my run group is called so I grab my helmet & gloves and head up. Get to grid & start to prep. My helmet & sunglasses have to be in a certain spot or I can't reach them after I'm harnessed in... Get belted in & put on my helmet, glasses, gloves. Whistle blows, 5 minutes... I start the car. Put my wing up, turn PSM off, PASM on. I'm ready. SO ready. But I have this feeling, I'm forgetting something... I recheck everything. Mean while, my instructor jumps in the car and she's getting settled in, hands me my part of the headset. We're ready. Thumbs up. What the heck am I forgetting??? We're signaled out so off we go. I'm driving my line, warming my tires. So far so good. Thinking, my instructor is going to move me straight to white after this session... Green flag, we're off. Tire are sticking, feeling GREAT. Heck with white, surely they'll beg me to join the instructor group after this amazing run... Brake hard after Big Bend, smooth & fast through the rattler, nail turn 5 & 6, brake on rumble before turn 7. That's when we heard something. Sounded EXACTLY like a bunch of gravel flying up under the car. Except there was no gravel on the track. Take turn 7, more noise. Something's wrong, but the car feels ok... We discuss it for a moment and she says, it's ok, keep going. After turn 8, she says, "we've got luggage". At first I thought that was some kind of racing lingo, I didn't know what that meant. But no, it was exactly as she said. We had luggage in the car. I had left my overnight bag & a track bag in the car! What an idiot!!! The big bag was zipped and fairly secure in the back hatch. But the track bag doesn't even have a zipper. There was ALL KINDS of stuff in there and it was now flying around the cabin. I slow down and start pointing cars by... a very humbling thing in itself. And then panic sets in... the contents of the bag starts rolling though my mind... OMG. I ask my instructor, "Did anything fly out of the car". She says she doesn't think so. OMG! "Are you SURE?". She thinks everything is ok, tells me the corner workers will deal with it if anything did fly out. I start imagining the scenarios... my underwear flys out hitting the windshield on the car behind me... debris flag come out, corner worker calls in, "We've got some panties in turn 7. Black." NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now I'm thinking... they'll never let me drive again...or worse...I'll be demoted to green! We get back to paddock and I scramble around trying to account for everything. Ok, it's all there, breathe.... Now I can laugh about it.
So there you have it. That's my moment. WHAT'S YOURS? This should be good...
Just so happens it was MSR a couple of weeks ago. My first time on the 3.1. Didn't sleep well Saturday because I kept driving the new part of the track in my head all night long. I couldn't WAIT to get back out there. Running a little late on Sunday morning but made it there before the driver's meeting. Had coffee, but not enough apparently. After the meeting, I check tire pressures & torque the lugs. Then my run group is called so I grab my helmet & gloves and head up. Get to grid & start to prep. My helmet & sunglasses have to be in a certain spot or I can't reach them after I'm harnessed in... Get belted in & put on my helmet, glasses, gloves. Whistle blows, 5 minutes... I start the car. Put my wing up, turn PSM off, PASM on. I'm ready. SO ready. But I have this feeling, I'm forgetting something... I recheck everything. Mean while, my instructor jumps in the car and she's getting settled in, hands me my part of the headset. We're ready. Thumbs up. What the heck am I forgetting??? We're signaled out so off we go. I'm driving my line, warming my tires. So far so good. Thinking, my instructor is going to move me straight to white after this session... Green flag, we're off. Tire are sticking, feeling GREAT. Heck with white, surely they'll beg me to join the instructor group after this amazing run... Brake hard after Big Bend, smooth & fast through the rattler, nail turn 5 & 6, brake on rumble before turn 7. That's when we heard something. Sounded EXACTLY like a bunch of gravel flying up under the car. Except there was no gravel on the track. Take turn 7, more noise. Something's wrong, but the car feels ok... We discuss it for a moment and she says, it's ok, keep going. After turn 8, she says, "we've got luggage". At first I thought that was some kind of racing lingo, I didn't know what that meant. But no, it was exactly as she said. We had luggage in the car. I had left my overnight bag & a track bag in the car! What an idiot!!! The big bag was zipped and fairly secure in the back hatch. But the track bag doesn't even have a zipper. There was ALL KINDS of stuff in there and it was now flying around the cabin. I slow down and start pointing cars by... a very humbling thing in itself. And then panic sets in... the contents of the bag starts rolling though my mind... OMG. I ask my instructor, "Did anything fly out of the car". She says she doesn't think so. OMG! "Are you SURE?". She thinks everything is ok, tells me the corner workers will deal with it if anything did fly out. I start imagining the scenarios... my underwear flys out hitting the windshield on the car behind me... debris flag come out, corner worker calls in, "We've got some panties in turn 7. Black." NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now I'm thinking... they'll never let me drive again...or worse...I'll be demoted to green! We get back to paddock and I scramble around trying to account for everything. Ok, it's all there, breathe.... Now I can laugh about it.
So there you have it. That's my moment. WHAT'S YOURS? This should be good...
Last edited by Blondurant; 04-25-2008 at 11:51 AM.
04-25-2008, 12:04 PM
#19
Agent Orange
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Here's mine... OK, not too proud of it but here goes:
I get to Watkins Glen, unload EVERYTHING out of the car on a tarp and cover it up. Go through tech. When they check the wheel nuts, the guy comes over to me and says, "did you just drive here like this?" I said "yeees, why?" "Well the nuts on your passenger side rear wheel are not torqued AT ALL. They were about to fall off!" Holy ****! I just drove 4 hours to Watkins Glen at excessive speeds with a loose rear wheel that I didn't even notice... The guy mentioned that I should call the shop that did my tech inspection and complain. At that point I was just happy to be alive. How it happened I don't know!
After torquing the wheels I pass tech and head back to the pits. I was so shaken that I ran over the little foot pump I carry. It ended up stuck inside the front bumper an inch from the tire, which it would've punctured, had I not stopped in time, and just millimeters from my front oil cooler, which would have also been punctured had I not felt that I just drove over something... I had to jack up the car pull the foot pump out of there.
Thankfully after that I had some breakfast, took a few deep breaths and had the best time ever at a race track that day
I get to Watkins Glen, unload EVERYTHING out of the car on a tarp and cover it up. Go through tech. When they check the wheel nuts, the guy comes over to me and says, "did you just drive here like this?" I said "yeees, why?" "Well the nuts on your passenger side rear wheel are not torqued AT ALL. They were about to fall off!" Holy ****! I just drove 4 hours to Watkins Glen at excessive speeds with a loose rear wheel that I didn't even notice... The guy mentioned that I should call the shop that did my tech inspection and complain. At that point I was just happy to be alive. How it happened I don't know!
After torquing the wheels I pass tech and head back to the pits. I was so shaken that I ran over the little foot pump I carry. It ended up stuck inside the front bumper an inch from the tire, which it would've punctured, had I not stopped in time, and just millimeters from my front oil cooler, which would have also been punctured had I not felt that I just drove over something... I had to jack up the car pull the foot pump out of there.
Thankfully after that I had some breakfast, took a few deep breaths and had the best time ever at a race track that day
- classic.
04-25-2008, 12:56 PM
#22
Rennlist Member
:
04-25-2008, 03:35 PM
#29
I start fishing for it with my foot on the straight - and around buzzards neck, I GOT IT! I swiftly pushed it towards the back of the car by going underneath the driver's seat. My heel hits the seat adjuster bar, and my seat goes all the way back. Now I can barely reach the pedals with my tippy-toes.
Great.
Now I have to limp to the hot pit. Finally get there, unharness, get out, find that @#^*! remote and get back in. Straps on. Ready to go. DOH! Forgot to move the seat forward. CRAPPPPP! Unstrap. Seat up. Re-harness. Excellent. Only lost 1/2 the session... bah.
Stoopid remote.
-td
04-25-2008, 03:50 PM
#30
Rennlist Member
Pride before the fall. I've learned that lesson a time or two. Most embarrassing moment time...
Just so happens it was MSR a couple of weeks ago. My first time on the 3.1. Didn't sleep well Saturday because I kept driving the new part of the track in my head all night long. I couldn't WAIT to get back out there. Running a little late on Sunday morning but made it there before the driver's meeting. Had coffee, but not enough apparently. After the meeting, I check tire pressures & torque the lugs. Then my run group is called so I grab my helmet & gloves and head up. Get to grid & start to prep. My helmet & sunglasses have to be in a certain spot or I can't reach them after I'm harnessed in... Get belted in & put on my helmet, glasses, gloves. Whistle blows, 5 minutes... I start the car. Put my wing up, turn PSM off, PASM on. I'm ready. SO ready. But I have this feeling, I'm forgetting something... I recheck everything. Mean while, my instructor jumps in the car and she's getting settled in, hands me my part of the headset. We're ready. Thumbs up. What the heck am I forgetting??? We're signaled out so off we go. I'm driving my line, warming my tires. So far so good. Thinking, my instructor is going to move me straight to white after this session... Green flag, we're off. Tire are sticking, feeling GREAT. Heck with white, surely they'll beg me to join the instructor group after this amazing run... Brake hard after Big Bend, smooth & fast through the rattler, nail turn 5 & 6, brake on rumble before turn 7. That's when we heard something. Sounded EXACTLY like a bunch of gravel flying up under the car. Except there was no gravel on the track. Take turn 7, more noise. Something's wrong, but the car feels ok... We discuss it for a moment and she says, it's ok, keep going. After turn 8, she says, "we've got luggage". At first I thought that was some kind of racing lingo, I didn't know what that meant. But no, it was exactly as she said. We had luggage in the car. I had left my overnight bag & a track bag in the car! What an idiot!!! The big bag was zipped and fairly secure in the back hatch. But the track bag doesn't even have a zipper. There was ALL KINDS of stuff in there and it was now flying around the cabin. I slow down and start pointing cars by... a very humbling thing in itself. And then panic sets in... the contents of the bag starts rolling though my mind... OMG. I ask my instructor, "Did anything fly out of the car". She says she doesn't think so. OMG! "Are you SURE?". She thinks everything is ok, tells me the corner workers will deal with it if anything did fly out. I start imagining the scenarios... my underwear flys out hitting the windshield on the car behind me... debris flag come out, corner worker calls in, "We've got some panties in turn 7. Black." NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now I'm thinking... they'll never let me drive again...or worse...I'll be demoted to green! We get back to paddock and I scramble around trying to account for everything. Ok, it's all there, breathe.... Now I can laugh about it.
So there you have it. That's my moment. WHAT'S YOURS? This should be good...
Just so happens it was MSR a couple of weeks ago. My first time on the 3.1. Didn't sleep well Saturday because I kept driving the new part of the track in my head all night long. I couldn't WAIT to get back out there. Running a little late on Sunday morning but made it there before the driver's meeting. Had coffee, but not enough apparently. After the meeting, I check tire pressures & torque the lugs. Then my run group is called so I grab my helmet & gloves and head up. Get to grid & start to prep. My helmet & sunglasses have to be in a certain spot or I can't reach them after I'm harnessed in... Get belted in & put on my helmet, glasses, gloves. Whistle blows, 5 minutes... I start the car. Put my wing up, turn PSM off, PASM on. I'm ready. SO ready. But I have this feeling, I'm forgetting something... I recheck everything. Mean while, my instructor jumps in the car and she's getting settled in, hands me my part of the headset. We're ready. Thumbs up. What the heck am I forgetting??? We're signaled out so off we go. I'm driving my line, warming my tires. So far so good. Thinking, my instructor is going to move me straight to white after this session... Green flag, we're off. Tire are sticking, feeling GREAT. Heck with white, surely they'll beg me to join the instructor group after this amazing run... Brake hard after Big Bend, smooth & fast through the rattler, nail turn 5 & 6, brake on rumble before turn 7. That's when we heard something. Sounded EXACTLY like a bunch of gravel flying up under the car. Except there was no gravel on the track. Take turn 7, more noise. Something's wrong, but the car feels ok... We discuss it for a moment and she says, it's ok, keep going. After turn 8, she says, "we've got luggage". At first I thought that was some kind of racing lingo, I didn't know what that meant. But no, it was exactly as she said. We had luggage in the car. I had left my overnight bag & a track bag in the car! What an idiot!!! The big bag was zipped and fairly secure in the back hatch. But the track bag doesn't even have a zipper. There was ALL KINDS of stuff in there and it was now flying around the cabin. I slow down and start pointing cars by... a very humbling thing in itself. And then panic sets in... the contents of the bag starts rolling though my mind... OMG. I ask my instructor, "Did anything fly out of the car". She says she doesn't think so. OMG! "Are you SURE?". She thinks everything is ok, tells me the corner workers will deal with it if anything did fly out. I start imagining the scenarios... my underwear flys out hitting the windshield on the car behind me... debris flag come out, corner worker calls in, "We've got some panties in turn 7. Black." NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now I'm thinking... they'll never let me drive again...or worse...I'll be demoted to green! We get back to paddock and I scramble around trying to account for everything. Ok, it's all there, breathe.... Now I can laugh about it.
So there you have it. That's my moment. WHAT'S YOURS? This should be good...