I arrived at Watkins Glen International Raceway Tuesday night and participated in a Driver Ed event Wednesday and Thursday. You can read about it here. When the Driver Ed event ended things started getting busy. Thursday night I had to:
The sound of a heavy rain on the RV roof woke me up at 4:00AM. Well, I was glad I didn't spend too much time cleaning the car. I went back to sleep and woke up at 7:00 to more rain. I guess the first task is to put the rain tires on. I opened the RV awning, parked the car under it, and brought the train tires over from the trailer. Late last year I spent $50 on an electric impact wrench, the cheapest model Harbor Freight sells. It works great and spins off the lug nuts in a few seconds. Once the rain tires (Bridgestone RE 71 on the stock 944 turbo S wheels) were on the car I took out my race gear. I wear an open face helmet when I instruct so that I can speak easier, but I wear a full face helmet to race with. Put away the open face and take out the full face. I have to remember to put the window net in the car, and to make sure that I have the balaclava too (if you have a beard or mustache you must wear a head sock, or balaclava). Finally, since it was raining pretty hard, and I don't like wearing a wet driving suit I decided to wear my old suit so that I can have a dry suit for Saturday.
Track Map of Watkins Glen
After the driver meeting I got ready to drive while group 4 was on track. After a few minutes I headed to grid. I was the first one there, pretty cool to be first out on the track. Once out there I was pleasantly surprised to find the track surface was grippy, and I felt confident I could drive without being too afraid of sliding off the track. I did the warm up lap under yellow flag conditions, then worked on going faster. My lap times were in the 2:55+ range, which was almost funny considering I can do under 2:20 in the dry. After one lap I came up on traffic. Fortunately, no one wanted to race, so passing was easy. I saw Tom Macaluso and Bob Slawson on the track, both were going very slow. Later I found out they was on Hoosier dry tires and had zero grip. The session got black flagged after a short time, so I went back to my paddock space. I headed to the garage to get the timing results, but there were some printing problems, so no results. I went out for the second session and it was raining harder. This time I was not out first and visibility was a problem. When I got close to a car in front of me I could not see anything. Then my windshield started fogging up. I had to turn on the defroster to see out. I was thinking of a strategy to pass the car in front when the session was black flagged. I didn't even do one clean lap. We did the out lap (under yellow), the track went green, then it was black flagged when I was in the boot. The grid workers held us on pit road. I saw two cars off the track at Turn one. One of them was a distinctive yellow and green 911. On not, that's Mike Piera! His car came in on the end of a wrecker with body damage on two corners, too bad for Mike. Later I spoke to him about the incident and he said that he hit a puddle at the end of the straight, spun off the track into the wall, bounced back across the track and hit another car. What a shame.
By the time I got to the garage the results were posted. In the first run I was third overall, with a lap of 2:52.8. Hey, maybe the rain isn't such a bad thing! The second run, being so short, was silly, no one in the group was faster than 3:00 minutes. I was fifth in that run.
The third run was very strange. I was gridded fifth, we went on the track, did the warm up lap under the yellow flag, then took the green. I passed one car, but I was having visibility problems. Eventually I passed another car. I was working on a third car when I saw the black flag. The next flag station was not showing any flags, so I was a little confused. As I came up out of the boot the flag station showed a yellow flag. The next station had no flag. What is going on? The station at T1 showed yellow. As we climbed the esses I saw a car off the road driver's right. OK, so that was the reason for the flags. I passed the disabled car, saw no flag at the next station, so I passed the car in front of me. Then, in the boot, the black flag was displayed again. This time all stations showed black, damn! One green lap! At least my lap was decent, 2:49.3, getting faster and good enough for third overall and first in class. I know that won't hold up very long, but I'll enjoy it while I can! Even better for me, the times from the third session (this one) are used to grid you for practice starts, warm up on race day and qualifying.
As I came off the track the rain stopped. Hmmm, what should I do about tires for the practice starts and fun race? The track is very wet, but without additional rain the track will dry quickly. I think about cganging to the dry tires, but I decided to leave the rain tires on. The fun race doesn't count for anything, it might rain some more, and I just don't feel like changing the tires. That was a mistake. During the fun race the track dried further and my street tires just didn't cut it. I started third and finished in ninth, but I had fun and the car worked great. The street tires started going away after three laps but they aren't designed for that sort of driving.
Ffriday ended. I was tired, but happy. I put away my wet gear, cleaned the car a little, ate dinner, watched some TV and went to sleep.
I gathered all the equipment for the tire change - jack, impact wrench, torque wrench, and of course, the race wheels. At 7:30 it was dry so I changed the wheels. I ate a small breakfast then headed over to the garage to say hello to my friends. While I was talking to them it started to rain again. Now I was really confused, stay on dry tires or change back to rains? Decisions, decisions! I headed back to the RV to try and figure out what to do. Then there was a knock at the door. It was fellow Rennlist member Chris White and two friends, Dick and Dan Shea. Chris volunteered to be my crew cheif for the race and he brought the rest of the crew with him. I was showing off the car to Chris and Dan when it started raining heavier. That made it easier to decide on tires. With help from my new crew we changed the wheels in record time. Dick torqued the wheels and looked the car over while I got changed into my driving gear.
At 8:45 I headed for the grid. I was gridded third but the first two cars didn't show up, so it seemed I had the entire track to myself. Once on the track I started driving harder, trying to gently find the limits of grip in the rain. Normally, the warm up is the shortest session of the event. However, at this event, the warm up was great. No one went off the track and I did more laps in that session than any others. The car felt great, no problems at all, and I did my fastest time of the weekend (in the rain), a 2:45.573. Again, that was good for third on the grid, behind the 2:45.539 of John Paton in his D class 944 turbo cup car, and the 2:41.956 of Ron Savenor in his E class 911.
Back in my paddock spot I was very happy. Sitting in Chris' RV, watching the rain, I was getting hopeful that if the weather stayed wet, I would have a great race. Passing during a race is always difficult, it's even more difficult to pass in the rain. Visibility in the rain makes it tough to get close to cars (and still see), the rain negates any horsepower advantages anyone might have, and few people have the confidence to attempt a late brake pass. So, since I've been in the top five all weekend, if it stays wet I should do very well.
Group four is on the track for qualifying. The rain stops. No! I was talking to Chris and the crew, trying to come up with a strategy, and getting the tire changing gear ready. I half jokingly suggested that I would go out on wet tires, do a few laps and if it stayed dry I would come, change to dry tires and do some more laps. Then it started raining again, and sky got very dark and it easy to see that wet tires would stay on the car. Fine with me.
Time for qualifying, the most important practice session. Qualifying was scheduled for 25 minutes, plenty of time to turn the one good lap. I always try to have a plan, and this time it was to go out hot, try to turn a lap at 2:40, then stop. If the weather improves, go back out and try to better my time. So, we're lined up on the grid, and out we go. I am third, behind John Paton and Leonard Stann in his F class 911. I want to push hard right away but Paton is holding me up. I think about passing, but he isn't going to make it easy. Instead of fighting with Paton I decide to back off, let people pass me, and gain track space in front of me. I let one, two, then three cars pass me. I hang back until I see a car gaining behind me. I have plenty of open track in front, time to get on it. I ease up out of the boot, then push hard in the left and again in the last corner, the fast right. The car worked well and I came onto the front straight at full throttle and with good speed. I pushed hard and turned a good lap, in the 2:43 range, my fastest time of the weekend (so far). After that lap I came up on traffic, and I lost time getting past. Again, I waited to allow clear track ahead. Next lap I pushed even harder. I was getting a good feel for the track, where the grip was and where it was slippery. This lap I delayed braking going into T1. I felt the ABS pulse, slowed the car, turned it, and got it straight. I didn't make a great turn and the car drifted up onto the curbing. However, I was able to get on the power and I pushed hard up the through the esses. About half way through the esses I went to full power and the car slipped coming onto the back straight but I was able to stay on the power. Coming into the braking zone for the bus stop I moved right, as I felt there was more grip there. Ease through the bus stop, then very easy on the power heading down into the boot. There was a lot of water in the left turn going into the boot, so I was very gentle through there. The other corners were OK, and my hot lap showed a 2:41.01 on that lap. Excellent! I ran into traffic on the next laps, so no chance to improve. Then the rain started to slow. Hey, maybe if I wait on pit road for a few minutes, the track will dry, people will come off the track, and I can do a real flyer. So I drove into the pit and sat there. The rain was definitely letting up. I waited for a few minutes then headed back out onto the track. Unfortunately, as I came onto the front straight the checker was out, so my plan didn't work.
As I headed off the track, some cars from my group were called to the scales. I wasn't one of them, so I went back to the RV, and changed out of my driving suit. I went to the garage area to get the results. The scrutineers were still weighing cars, so I had to wait a long time for the results. The wait was killing me! I really wanted the qualifying results. Finally, a runner dropped off the sheets. I grabbed one, and it didn't take me long to find my name, third out of 43 cars! Top time was Ron S, with an incredible 2:38 lap! Second was Richard Ryan in a D class 944 turbo with a 2:40.922. My official time was 2:40.992, so I did get that 2:40 lap. I was .07 out of second, pretty close. Even better (for me) was that my other E competitors were a few rows back, Louis Benstadt, who I had a great race with at Summit Point, was third in E with a 2:43.883. If the rain continues I should be in a real good position. I didn't have anything for Ron, but I know I can go faster than I did. Perhaps I could come in second overall!
Unfortunately, ever since the qualifying session ended, the weather started improving. First the sky got light, then some patches of blue, finally, lots of blue sky. Listening to the weather radio, the forecast was the same, clouds with periods of rain. The indecision was killing me! Finally, I decided to put the dry tires on, so on they went. I checked the tire pressures and added some air. The driver meeting was at 1:00 PM and we were told the races would be timed, 25 minutes each. We were also told that if the weather deteriorated, competitors would be given 15 minutes to change to wets. Fine with me, I can easily change tires in 15 minutes.
Before the first race started, there was a brief thunderstorm, and I almost changed the wheels back. However, I forced myself to relax in the RV. The thunder passed and the sky cleared. Without rain I was not very hopeful for a good finish. I looked at the line up, and I knew that there were many faster cars behind me on the grid. I wondered how long it would take them to catch me. The very fast D class cars would be on me before the end of lap one. I figured it would take the other fast cars longer, but could I hold them off?
About ten minutes into the first race I got ready for my race. Chris and the crew were in the stands with a radio. I drove over to the grid. The grid workers told me I was in position three (out of about 50 cars). I have to admit that it was a very cool feeling to be driving to the front of the field. I got to the front and one of the workers directed me backwards into my position. Then I got out of the car and I chatted with the other drivers while we waited for the first race to end. Here is the line up:
I knew that John Paton and Bob Scotto would pass me very quickly. I told them that I would not try to race them, that I would give them a point by so we didn't impede each other. The super fast Oliver Zitzmann was a little further back in the field, but he is so fast that I knew he would pass me quickly, so I told him that when he caught up to me I would give him a point by so that he could get around me easily. Then I found the guys in the field that I usually race to wish them a good race. I hoped that they would be busy battling with each other and that would make it easy for me to pull away. They didn't see it the same way and they were hoping to catch up to me quickly and then pass me.
The first race ended, and I got into the car and got ready. The number two car in my class never came out, I don't know what happened, perhaps it was something mechanical? Anyway, the splitter directed my to the left, on the front row. It was very cool being right behind the pace car! I used most of the pace lap to warm up the tires and brakes and to look at the track surface carefully, as this was the first time I would be on dry tires. The track appeared to be mostly dry. There was water in the esses, and more in the boot. When we came up out of the boot the pace car slowed down, motioned to us (the drivers) to tighten the pack, then waved good bye and pulled off. I was right next to Ron Savenor as we made the last left turn and headed towards the front straight. We were going slow, around 40 mph, but my heart was going fast, probably about 200 bpm. Onto the front straight we came, and I had a great view of the starter. Ron started accelerating, I did too. Then, a little before I was ready, the starter through the green flag. The race was on!
I stood on the throttle but my start was not very good, Ron pulled away and two cars behind me passed and pulled away too. Going into turn 1 I lost another position. Bob Scotto passed me, and so did two F class 911's. The first few corners were pure mayhem, cars everywhere, no way to take a nice line through any corners. All I could do was drive hard and stay in my position. As we came out of the bus stop chicane and headed down into the boot I remembered the water so I moved far right to try and stay on the dry part of the track. There were no cars next to me as I made the left. When I got near the apex of the corner, the car started to slide. I was heading towards the edge of the track and I wasn't sure I was going to make the corner. I got off the throttle and the rear of the car started to swing around. Oh no, this felt bad. I went against my instinct of stepping on the brake and forced myself to gently apply some throttle. That helped the rear tires grip and the slide stopped. The car stayed on the track and I accelerated towards toe of the boot. I looked in my rear view mirror, and I saw Lou B and the other cars gaining on me. This is not the way I planned it.
Coming onto the front straight I had two cars right in front of me and a pack of cars gaining behind me. Time to drive! I was able to pass one 911 on the front straight (E class cars have more HP than F cars). I made a good corner in T1 and gained on the cars in front of me. Normally, when the track is dry, I can take the right corner into the esses at full throttle, and I can stay at full throttle all the way to the bus stop chicane. However, these were not good conditions and I had to feather the throttle as I turned onto the esses. Still, I was gaining on the 911 as we swept up through the esses At the end of the esses, on the back straight, I moved right and was able to motor past him. It's nice to have more HP than your competition, it makes passing a lot easier!
I was more careful on my trip into the boot and the car did not slide. I concentrated on driving fast smooth laps. Looking in my rear view mirror I was able to see that Lou B caught the F cars I had passed and he was now battling with them. Perfect, let them fight it out while I pull away. With clean track ahead of me I was able to go a little faster each lap. My lap times dropped from 2:20 to 2:19 to 2:18 down to my fast lap at 2:17. Chris, on the radio, told me I had a seven second. With five minutes to go my rear tires started going away, but by that time I had enough of a lead that I was able to slow down without worry. After a few more minutes I heard Chris tell me the checkered flag was out. Coming onto the front straight with the checker out was a real thrill for me. I knew that I was in second place in E, what I didn't know until I got the race results, was that I was in fourth place overall. The cool down lap was pure enjoyment for me.
This was my best finish by far.
So, with my race over, I watched the last two races,
packed up, showered, attended the awards ceremony, then got on the road.
I didn't get started until 8:30PM and I finally got home at 3:00 AM.