[CamaroFS34]

Now, I know B1mmer has an internet connection down there, so what I want to know is why he and Mr. NoCones aren't bragging about the red car being ahead of the pack going into Sunday's runs?

Or are they trying not to jinx themselves?

From what I heard, Buckley was leading after the morning runs, but Hertweck stepped it up and took the lead for the afternoon. AFAIK, GH is second right now, and Buckley is 3rd, though my contact (Pat Griffith) couldn't exactly remember.

This should be a good story when they get home!

Karen

 

[autxr]

Anyone know why the SCCA decided to NOT show us saturday results? Can they do anything right?

Thanks for the update Karen!

Scott

 

[CamaroFS34]

Results are up!!! Wow.... Buckley's gonna be shelling out some $$$$!

http://www.scca.org/amateur/solo2/prosolo/2003/ftmyers/results.html

Karen

 

[Conemasher]

Congrats Bryan on your win! Congrats to all of Team McGeorge Toyota as well, with Eric and Rod gaining wins also. Heard there was quite a bit of carnage out there as well. Hopefully some will elaborate when they get back. I know Richard West's Subi needed to be trailered home after his Challenge mishap.

 

[autxr]

Carnage? I'd like to hear about it too!!

Very nice driving Bryan! Nothing like going out and beating the best of the best. I will say though, GH, had it on his last run if it weren't for one pesky little cone!

Bryan, I think it's time to head out west this summer, it would be nice to head into Topeka with 40 pts for the Pro finale!

Scott

 

[afghan]

Nice job Bryan!

 

[nxracer]

GH, had it on his last run if it weren't for one pesky little cone!

Always remember cones count.

Ticking a slalom cone or driving over one scores the same, one can never really tell how much slower a clean run would have been.

Nice driving Bryan :bowdown:

 

[ConeKiller]

After 3 1/2 hours sleep I am back at work this morning. Didn't leave Ft. Myers until 5:30PM.....

Richard West may need a new front Clip. He damn near folded the radiator in half. I'm sure someone will have pictures soon.

Eric Peterson's wife backed the car into a stack of cynder blocks. Two course workers were hit by a black corvette. The Christmas tree was nearly hit by someone spining before the finish.

As for my driving... I gave the Kumho's all they were worth. I would love to see my time during the challenge, 'cause the car was *hooked* up. :headbang:

Made it to the round of 8, before the car was so good, I was running over cones... I've got to learn to drive better in the challenges...

GH was out in the First round of the challenge to Mark Chiles, I think Foley made it through round one. Bryan got spooked at the light by the F125 cart and drew the big red light on the tree. But I can't blame him... It was tough to launch with all the sand the cart and Youngers were leaving at the start line....

I'll add more as I think of it....

Cool thing is top 4 were almost identical in times on the right side course... all 34.2xx


Rick

 

[autxr]

My goodness it was an eventful day! Sounds like the SCCA is going to have to revisit some safety rules.

That said, was this a matter of proper event safety, or a matter of drivers (or course workers) forgetting to take their brains on course?

Scott

 

[preparedcivic]

First, Congrats to Bryan for winnning his first biggie. Doing the fly-drive plan in GH's car was much better than 2500 miles for a weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, except for being almost tagged as a terrorist for trying to carry on my helmet..."Sir, this is considered a dual-use item." WTF?

I went out in the first round, probably running right around our dial-in, as Richard West was carrying a ton of sand. I was middlin' on my first run on the left, but smoked the right. GH stopwatched me at a 33.4, which even if he was a little off, it was still a solid run in the 33's. Oh Well.

There certainly was a lot a funky stuff going on. About a years worth of strange stuff, between busted cars, dented cars, cars going off course almost running workers over because the got lost on a course that really was pretty easy to follow. Maybe it was a full moon?

No I gotta figure out what events to run for the rest of the year.

 

[NoCones]

Thanks everyone for all the kind words...obviously, I'm completely stoked about winning my first national event.
Finally breaking the hex that my co-driver has had over me for the last 9 months or so is pretty nice too

The carnage that was witnessed was indeed scary stuff...this course was just too fast for the runoff room available. Heading out, we were just murdering the rev limiter in 2nd (Aaron and I figure my car hit the limiter around 500 times over the weekend...seriously :AF. I'd have considered 3rd, but all the transitions didn't leave much opportunity for safe shifting. after the turnaround, it was balls-out...into 3rd well before the finish. Super-fast 3-cone slalom leading up to the lights...that's where there was a ton of spinning going on...that slalom was was super-high speed. I was coming in there having shifted to 2-3 gates prior. No brakes leading in, just a lift, then to the floor to pull through the slalom. I never remembered to look at the speedo thru the finish lights, but I would imagine I was going 70, even correcting for the small tire diameter.

Can't wait to review the in-car video of my last run...lots of hooping and hollering after seeing my 0.4 pickup and realizing that GH's 33 was a coner. Then, I realized that Rick still had to finish and Rob and Aaron were lurking in the 2nd driver line. Rob had my stomach churning right up thru the last run.

It was fun finally making the challenge too. First round, Danny Shields (SM2 M Coupe) red-lit 1.8 secs after my launch...nice to get a free practice.
2nd round, I beat Jesse Naughton (ES MR2) by 0.001 on the first run. Then, I nicked a cone on the way out and punted one on the way back...after all my swearing as I finished the run, I realize that Naughton double-coned too and I beat him by 0.4 on raw time...got to move on!
3rd round, I got Sheidler in the shifter kart. He got me by 0.27 on the first run. I figured I really needed a balls-out 2nd run to have any chance and hit a 0.479 on the light and the weekend was over.

Is it time for Petersburg yet?

 

[ConeKiller]

See the graphics work!

 

[nxracer]

The National office is meeting on the carnage today.

 

[ConeKiller]

What's to meet about?

 

[nxracer]

I guess why it happened and how to stop it.

 

[preparedcivic]

BIG IMHO...

The course speeds would have been OK had there not been fixed objects, like fences, shipping containers and concrete blocks lining the edge of the pavement. That said though, where the Z06 went off was at one of the slower parts of the way back. I agree, on a good run for any of us in a Celica it was a 4 wheel drifting 70mph finish. On one of my weinie runs I was doing an indicated 67.

With the hazards present, it would have been better to have notched things down 5 or 10% on the return part of the course.

 

[ConeKiller]

The funny thing is we have been running esentially the same Pro course for the past 4 years. The only other incident was Kim Fine losing the M Coupe under the fence. (Kind of funny looking at the car on the other side of the fence and wondering how it got there with no visible damage to the fence).

So if it was fine 3, 2, and 1 year ago.... why is it different now?

A whole bunch of SEB members ran there the previous three years and there were apparantly no complaints to the point that the course was significantly changed.

I think some of it goes back to the site 'manager/dictator' that designs the courses.

Thre *REAL* question is, are we going back there? I would personally prefer a more norhtern 'southern' ProSolo venue. Back to back in Greenville, SC would be nice....

 

[autxr]

Amen to Greenville, I'd be able to make that drive with only a half day of of work...

Scott