Lime Rock

I was at Lime Rock for a 1 day event with Metro NY PCA. Let's step back just a little and see what I've been up to for the past three months.  The last time I was on the track was Summit Point, back in June. My car ran great, but the RV had some brake problems. Since then, I sold the old RV and bought a newer one, a 1995 27' Tioga. It's based on a Ford E350 van, and has a 460 FI engine. Should work well for towing.

Anyway, I did too many events in May and June, and by the end of june I was burnt out. I wanted to take July off, then start up again in August. Work got in the way, and I had to miss a 2 day event at Watkins Glen. That was too bad, but I did make it up to the Glen, working on the Roock Racing GT2 911. That was an experience, but it only made me want to drive my own car, not crew for someone else's.

My next scheduled event was 9/20 at Lime Rock. Plenty of time to get the car ready (need new tires and front brakes) and get the new RV ready to tow (complete tune up, all new fluids, class III hitch and brake controller). Surprisingly, everything went well, and I was all set to go 3 weeks in advance. Then business started getting in the way. One week before the track event, I found out that I had to make a trip to London on business. When was I supposed to leave? Of course, on 9/20, on an afternoon flight. DAMN! Was I going to have to miss another track event? No! I was able to schedule a late flight, 9:10PM. That did require some schedule changes, I wouldn't have time to drive at the track, then pack up and trailer home, then make it to the airport in time for my flight. So I decided to drive up to LRP (about 150 miles from my house) on the day of the event. I would leave the track around 3:00PM and drive to my mother-in-law's house, which is very close to Kennedy airport. I'd leave my car there, take a shower (important to do after a day at the track) then take a cab to the airport. I would arrive in plenty of time to catch the flight. I wouldn't be able to take all my normal stuff like big jack, jackstands, air tank, etc, but how much stuff do you need for a 1 day event?

So, at 4:30AM, I was on the road to Lime Rock. I don't drive the car on the street very much, with the turbo cup suspension, and the race seat it is not very comfortable. However, on smooth roads, it's not too bad. The Kirkey seat is by no means comfortable, but it's OK for 2 hours. After that it gets kind of hard to sit in. Anway, the trip up was fine, and I was parked at the track by 7:15. It's been a long time since I had to unpack the car and put all the stuff on the ground, but it was actually kind of nice. I was ready to go when the track opened at 9:00AM.

It had rained heavily the night before, so the track was very wet, and had a lot of leaves on it (very slick), but it was warm, bright day, and I knew the track would quickly dry. The first session was slick, I had to be very careful using the throttle exiting corners, and the brakes were touchy, but it felt great to be out on the track again. After the session ended I checked the tire pressures and adjusted them. They are brand new Kumhos, and I didn't get a chance to heat cycle them. The drive up, and the first session in the wet track would work fine to season them.

For the next session I took a friend along for a ride. The track was now nice and dry, and up to temp. Time to work on some things. Ever since I started driving at Lime Rock, the real fast guys have been telling me that you don't need to brake for the diving turn. Well, maybe they didn't need to brake, but I certainly needed to! Or did I really? I decided to see if I could make that corner without braking. I started using less and less brakes, and eventually I was able to make it though without braking at all. I just had to lift off the throttle a little, make a quick turn of the wheel to get the car to head towards the apex, then start adding throttle. By the time I was at the apex, I was able to use full throttle, then rocket out towards the track out point.

Here I am with
my friend EJ Liotta in the car. We're passing the Lime Rock sign on the front straight. Photo credit Vince Ponzo

During that run I passed quite a few cars, but one car in particular was very hard to catch. Believe it or not, it was an older 944, with a normally aspirated engine! I must have 50-60 more HP than that car, and I could not catch him. Well, I was slowly gaining on him, but in every corner he was faster than I was. I would gain on the front straight (due to the extra HP) and I could stay with him on the left hander, then again onto 'No Name Straight' but he pulled away on the uphill corner, then some more in West Bend. I need to work on those corners! Eventually, my HP won out and I passed him. Later, I met the driver in the paddock, and I told him how impressed I was with his driving. His name is Vince Simone, and the car is red and green class H Club Racer. I've seen the car before, but I had not met Vince. He was very nice, and a great driver.

Here's a good shot of me trailing Vince. We're braking for T1, Big Bend. Photo Credit Vince Ponzo.

After that run, I went for some rides with some students. Both were good drivers and neither scared me (which is a good thing). One was driving a new Boxster S - that is one impressive car!

For my last run I went out solo. I was pushing it harder, and I was now able to take the diving turn at a high rate of speed. I could see the results immediately, I was now making up ground on almost everyone in that corner. Major fun! After 10-15 minutes of that, the car started making some thumping noises, and didn't feel quite right. Instead of pushing it, I decided to come in and take a look. I pulled onto pit road, and opened the hood. What I saw made me feel a little sick. The nut that hold the front strut into the camber plate had loosened and come off. The strut had come out of the camber plate, probably in the left hander when that side of the car unloads, and was just wedged into the shock tower. Basically, there was just about nothing holding the left front wheel on. If the strut moved much more at speed the results could have been very, very bad. Luckily, it didn't, and even better, the nut was just sitting in the engine compartment.

Now all I had to do was put the strut back in the camber plate, then bolt it back on. Hmmm, since I traveled light (remember, how much stuff do you need for a 1 day event?) I needed to borrow a jack and jackstands. Once I had the wheel off, I had to figure out how to put it together. The strut was pretty stuck in position. How to get it unstuck, and back into the camberplate without taking the front end apart? When I built the assembly, I had the front end all disassembled. I didn't want to do that, as I had to leave in about an hour. Well two friend, Tony Nuzzo and EJ Liotta gave me a hand, and with a lot of struggling, we got the front put back together. I had to guess at the camber setting and the ride height, but for the trip home it didn't have to be that accurate.

By 2:45 I pulled out of the track, and started my trip to Queens. It was pretty cool to be sitting in the car, with the A/C nice and cold, and quietly cruising home. The trip was going well, when my cell phone rang. It was my boss, with some news. One of the companies we were going to meet could not make the meeting. Since I was to meet with them to provide technical information, there really was no need for me to make the trip afterall! So, instead of travelling to queens,  I just went home, and surprised my wife and daughters. It would have been nice to have stuck with my original plans of driving the motorhome up, and staying at the track all day, but what can you do?

Now I have a few weeks to properly align the car, and get it ready for my next event. That will be the PCA Club Race at Summit Point, WV, on October 8.