fryd

Here is a synopsis if my (first) race weekend thus far:

Thursday - Go out in the car with Ernie at 910am. Ernie's driving the car to scrub in the slicks and show me how to drive his car. 8th lap, clutch blown and we're back in the pits. Tranny and clutch need to come out, so I'm driving a 1985 944 (150hp), and having fun, driving 1.48 or so...That's the day.

Friday - Ernie and crew were up till 130 and then back at it at 6am cuz not only the clutch went, but the flywheel as well. Car is ready by 915. I'm on the track (first time ever in this car or ANY Cayman!). Red Group. 30 or so cars. 20 of them are Cup Cars. 10 "slow" cars like me. 996 Carreras, etc. I manage a 1.3896. 3rd in the group. 24th overall. 3rd in "I" class. Coming in to the pits I notice some weird rubbing or flapping noise. We check the car over, tighten all the bolts, and go back out for second session. Same problem, only worse. I get black flagged and brought in. Undertray is broken and loose and flapping underneath the car. I get 1 lap in the 2nd session. 3rd session. Three "practice" rolling starts and then a 10 lap "fun" race. I'm gridded at the back cuz I had no real time the 2nd session. Pass a couple of people during the 10 laps, finish 15th in the group of 20 cars that ran (2nd in "I" class) with a 1.38 flat best. Still feel I've got another couple of seconds in it....

Qualifying and 2-45 min races tomorrow. Sunday is the 90 min Enduro.

Come out if you're around. Car is 001. May not be able to post tomorrow as am staying at the track. More Sunday!

Sputter

wow, is that the 944 he posted for rent on the club site?
It sounds like you're having fun regardless of the shape of ernies car.

fryd

Not sure if it's the same car or not, the # is 91. And yes, I'm having lots of fun!!

Sputter

I'll look for you on the track Sunday and try to get a pic or two.

Mark Lue

If your having fun driving the 944 after tracking a GT3 thats saying alot. If you really want to race maybe you should sign with Ernie to run the 944 in the 944 spec series, a full season would likely be cheaper than renting the Cayman once or twice, just a suggestion.

fryd

Im having fun racing. Not sure about having fun driving the 944, compared to driving the GT3.

Cayman is close in time though...we did a 1.355 yesterday in the sprint race 2, and my best thus far in my (street) GT3 is 1.3514. Although with slicks would prob be 1.5 sec. faster.

fc-racer

How did the weekend go? Did any of the storms hit while you were racing?

fryd

We were lucky for the most part in that only sprinkles hit during the races. I improved gradually during the weekend practices and sprint races from 1.38 to 1.355 in the Cayman, which would have been good enough for top 5 qualifying of H class, but we were running in I (too lengthy a discussion for this thread!), and were 3rd/4th...out of 4 in I. And H was in the Yellow group race and we were in the red group red. Red group included all the (997 and 996) Cup Cars, and all the modded turbos (911, 944, etc.) Here's the stats for the weekend:

Fun Race Fri (10 laps): 15th out of 20; best lap time 1.39096
Sprint Race 1 Sat (30 mins): 24th out of 29; best lap time 1.3713
Sprint Race 2 Sat (30 mins): 14th out of 20; best lap time 1.3559
Enduro Race Sun (90 mins): 14th out of 16, best lap time 1.3449 (co-driven with Tim Sanderson)

So, a pretty good start I think. Car is in one piece. I'm in one piece. I didn't get a "13", so can keep racing and take the "x" off my back next race.

And I can say that Mantis (Ernie and team), were fantastic. What a family atmosphere. Everyone working and cheering for eachother. Big recommendation from me for anyone looking to take the plunge and see what it's like!




Fun Race on Sat:

fryd

And by the way...you think cup cars are fast, you should see Roy Chong in his modded 951 turbo. He was turning 1.25 lap times until he blew a tire at the top of 4, and ended up on his roof at the top of 5! And lived to tell the tale. I'm sure he's called he cage welder today to thank him for his life!

Christien

I'm loving these stories - thanks for posting them!

If you don't mind my asking, what's a ballpark price on what all this is costing? Just curious in case I decide to go down the same road in a few years. If you'd rather not discuss, just ignore, no problem.

fryd

check your PM..

webbie

Good to hear that you are having fun. I thought you are going to run with the other cayman in the same group, until I see you are in I group.

Mark Lue

Yup I know Roy, he gets a kick outa beating all the newer porsche machinery with that 944 turbo. Don't be surprised to see it back again next year.

fire_n_ice

Hey man congrats on your weekend and thanks for sharing the experience with us. Sounds like a successful start!

fc-racer

Congratulations Dave on a fantastic start to your racing career! A 1:35 is fast, especially when you're doing that in a race. Sounds like you had a lot of fun and we appreciate you sharing the stories with us; it was really fun to read how things were going through the weekend. Cheers!