The track day and racing thread

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drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

NitroSpazzz posted:

I've probably mentioned this before but your track rat porsche is awesome.

As soon as I realized Joey was running WRL my interest in it jumped dramatically. I got in touch with my team last night, we're looking at adjusting the schedule to run the BIR WRL race...not sure if we'll run BIR twice next year or drop the Chump one.

Yeah, when the idiot who owns the series fires you by fedex, then keeps changing the reason why, then accuses you of stealing proprietary data (I mean wtf?) you do what you have to.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2013 15:11

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 02:30

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

User Error posted:

WRL looks promising. We'll probably still do the chumpcar race at our home track next year, but I don't have a whole lot of faith in Condren keeping things running that far into the future

My interaction with Joey is limited but he has always made a positive impression.

Last year a bunch of us from our team went to the USGP in Austin. A few days before, we went to TWS and Joey let us drive the track out of the pure goodness of his heart. He also found my fitbit which fell off my belt and got lost in the grass. He really is a bloody good bloke, as we say back home.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2013 19:02

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

parid posted:

California is an amazing place to retreat to in the winter for racing. I was at Laguna Seca last weekend, 60s and pure sun. (Woo 6th in the west coast championship)

Congrats!

# ¿ Dec 19, 2013 02:35

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

parid posted:

Yeah 13 hour tow for me. It was a 5 day weekend for ~4 hours of wheel time. Worth it for sure but hard for a lot of people to make that commitment. Could be worse.

There was a team there from the Belgium vw owners club. Apparently government regulation makes things like chumpcar impossible. Track time is all FIA regulated and, if I heard right, was something like $5,000/hr. Its literally cheaper for them to fund the building of a car remotely and to fly in to race ( plus the whole bucket list thing if racing at Laguna ).

Its too bad as trading for time at Spa would help me with my list as well.

Spa rental is actually ~�10k/hour according to my friend who races historic F1 and sportscars. An entry in the Monaco Historics is ~�4k per race, and those races are 10-12 laps.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2013 12:05

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

parid posted:

I'm considering a trip to Le Mans this year. I have no idea what tickets to get. They feel like a bargain compared to F1 last year. Is the front straight worth it? I imagine covered grand stands would be nice when it starts raining. What the best way to spend the night? Camping? I'm flying in so I can't really bring gear.

I'd look for a full service catered campsite - something like the ones RLM do: http://www.lemansrace.com/rlm-travel-club/

# ¿ Jan 5, 2014 20:50

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

I thought this was a good article about WRL: http://sopwithmotorsports.com/blog/...torsports?.html

# ¿ Feb 24, 2014 20:55

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

DJ Commie posted:

I enjoyed it, especially the hard truths about SCCA's own control issues, really could have done more than deify WRL at the expense of intentionally never mentioning Chumpcar. LeMons is a great stepping stone to get cars built and masses of people in them, Chumpcar is another stepping stone towards making the racing more of a centerpoint, and WRL takes that idea further. It would have been far better in that article to use that as a progression rather than the snub. Sure, Chumpcar is and has been entirely mismanaged with regards to internal politics and respect towards staff, and WRL really seems to be the next iteration of the idea, but really it is far more positive than that article makes it seem.

note: I am involved tangentially with WRL, and I'm definitely not saying that it is any less awesome than it is, but more that snubbing Chumpcar is and never was the goal, though some people seem to not understand that part fully.

I'm probably about as tangentially involved with WRL as you are and agree with that

I do really like the fact that we finally have somewhere to race without the word crapcan coming into it. I get that for some people, ChumpCar is about taking an awful piece of poo poo and putting a roll cage in it, but at the same time, others of us want to take it a bit more seriously.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2014 01:17

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Honestly I think the reason they haven't mandated an SFI 38.1 device is because they're expensive and grassroots racing is trying to keep the costs down. But count me among those who wouldn't get in a race car without one.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2014 13:31

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Seconding the pad suggestion, and it's also worth getting a spare set of pads IMO, especially if you're going to do multiple stints in a day and you sweat - putting on a helmet with damp pads is horrible, and if you can take one set out to let them dry and swap them over you'll be a lot more comfortable.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2014 03:40

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Some of the Sheep posted:

I have the same issue with the ears. It's easily fixed with a balaclava. This also helps alleviate sweating issues too - your helmet won't start to stink over time and the balaclava can just go straight in the wash.

I actually assumed everyone wore nomex balaclavas anyway! But you're right, more than one balaclava is a good idea if you're doing multiple stints in a race.

# ¿ May 1, 2014 19:51

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

ColdPie posted:

The competition course, but the schedule is pretty mixed. I've never been on the full course, they're always using the main straight for drags.

What are you racing next week? I'll be in the #88 Golf GTi. Very stoked about the new Schroth Enduro harness we have this season, my teammate tells me it's the poo poo.

# ¿ May 23, 2014 01:18

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

As NitroSpazz says, WRL is a *great* new series. Driving standards were fantastic all day, everyone showed respect and gave each other room, and I had some great battles out there. I had a great 2.45h stint in the car, going in second, and some awesome battles with people on a very wet, and then eventually a drying track. We were in 5th place overall and leading GP2 when 5th gear decided it didn't really enjoy life any more and we had to park the car rather than blowing holes in the tranny. Heartbreaking (especially as only half the team got to drive) but that's racing I guess. Happy for NitroSpazz that they managed to do what we couldn't, gutted that the 'box broke because if it hadn't that place was ours.

Managed to say hi to ColdPie briefly on Friday too.

If WRL races in your area, seriously consider giving them a try. Joey puts on a class operation and if we didn't do any more chumpcar races and just stuck to WRL I wouldn't mind.

Now I think we might be about to make the switch to the dark side and race prep an E36 M3, because I don't think anyone on the team can take the pain of yet another transmission problem putting us out of contention again, and it's happened a few times too often with the Golf (even though we all adore driving it).

NitroSpazz - take the windscreen out like Noel did with his Neon? Thankfully the Golf didn't have that problem, but the passenger side windscreen wiper did decide it wanted to join its companion over on my side of the car for about half the race which was pretty annoying.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2014 16:39

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Aw gently caress the M3 we were going to buy sold between me checking it out at lunch and my team mate getting there after work.

# ¿ Jun 3, 2014 01:47

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Octopus Magic posted:

LeMans cars actually require the ambient temp of the cockpit to be less than 90� or so, and are AC equipped, although they're not the traditional AC.

I'd say a good external oil cooler is more important than an aftermarket radiator, especially with turbo equipped cars.

The Corvettes have always used GM parts bin AC, actually.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2014 03:30

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

animeliker posted:

Anybody got a link for used SA2005 or SA2010 helmets in the GTA? Or should I just go new? These are for time attack/lapping, I am currently using a donated Arai M2000 (I wasn't too familiar with regulations, and I didn't realize that my SHOEI helmet from 1988 was actually illegal for track days ).

I wouldn't ever trust a second hand helmet. Is it a horrible thing to say if you can't afford a new helmet you probably can't afford to take your car on track? You don't need a CF one, anything that's passed Snell should be at least as good as any other. If you have to miss a trackday because you spent $300 on something to protect your brain, think of it like insurance.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2014 03:03

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

animeliker posted:

There are $300 dollar helmets? Aren't new ones between $600-$1000?

If you wait until October or November you'll probably find some great bargains once the SAH2015s start arriving and everyone discounts their SA2010s to get them out the store.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2014 12:35

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Bape Culture posted:

Can anyone recommend me a new helmet?
I'd like something open face that looks really nice.
Those Ruby things are amazing but probably a bit pricey.

Open-faced helmets are stupid. Buy a closed-faced one that fits, then get it painted. You'll look a lot better.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2014 14:58

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

User Error posted:

When you're racing these heaps you basically have to not crash or break down and you'll do OK.

What region are you in? Because in the Central region that simply isn't true. TBR, ABR, Chump Faces, BAR etc all field bloody good cars and finishing in the top 10 is not easy. Then again a 22 car grid sounds terrible.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2014 16:00

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Huh, I stand corrected. Regarding car counts, I have no doubt Condren's behavior and WRL (which is an awesome series and very serious about the no contact rule) is going to hurt ChumpCar entry lists. I don't know that our team will do another Chump race again.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2014 22:28

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Phone posted:

Anybody else going to the 24 hour Chump race at VIR in a few weekends?

# ¿ Jul 28, 2014 01:26

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Have sent that link to the rest of the JAB crew (ie the ones who live in the Twin Cities).

# ¿ Sep 3, 2014 22:08

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

I wrote a thing about the Brainerd WRL race, comparing what sort of physical workload I had in the car with Kurt Busch's experience doing the double: http://arstechnica.com/cars/2014/10/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-grassroots-racing/

Bonus Nitrospazz action in this one too.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2014 18:48

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

IOwnCalculus posted:

Awesome read, though you keep calling the Coca-Cola 600 the "Daytona 600" a couple times

Ugh I thought I caught all of those. Fixing it now. And thanks!

# ¿ Oct 3, 2014 20:47

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

No, I've got too much going on here and the rest of the team are doing Hallett instead - the Golf isn't competitive under ChumpCar's new rules so we may never do another one.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2014 20:32

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

There's an F1 thread in SAS. This thread is for discussing track days and races that we actually take part in.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2014 15:15

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Nait Sirhc posted:

I'm pretty sure it's a kit. Most people were speculating that, the owner wouldn't say and just kept flashing the look at everyone

With those doors there's not a chance it's real. And omg those doors :vomits:

# ¿ Oct 16, 2014 14:09

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Yikes! Glad you're OK, nitrospazz.

parid - if that relies on having a good connection to the pits I think you'd be hosed at Road America without a gigantic antenna.

I wasn't able to make the WRL race at Hallett this weekend but the rest of the team did, and despite some problems in yesterday's race the Golf actually held itself together today and we got 3rd place in GP2!

# ¿ Oct 20, 2014 02:57

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

extreme_accordion posted:

That's at the carousel.
The explanation I heard from our council and vscda drivers was this: on it, and have to lift, you're hosed because the forces on the car will pull you out or spin you. 3rd gear and 30-50% throttle.

In the Golf I short shift into 4th before turning in, but that's a fwd car. It's a lot of fun in the wet because there's more than one line around there. Hope WRL gets a Road America date some time soon.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2014 16:15

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

parid posted:

Looks like Laguna is getting even more accessible. ChumpCar has a full 3 day weekend next year (yeah 4th of July but still).

Yeah but they'll waste days one and two with autocrossing and tractor racing and leave the actual endurance thing to the Monday.

NitroSpazzz - see you at BIR!

# ¿ Nov 25, 2014 15:43

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

NitroSpazzz posted:

Anyone running at Brainerd next weekend with WRL? We'll be there with the E30 vert. Not sure if we'll have matching bodywork or not but we'll be there. Looking forward to the first race of the season.

Car #86 as usual I believe.

JAB will be there with the Golf, I'm not flying up from DC for this one though.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2015 22:31

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

NitroSpazzz posted:

Ouch, bet you won't forget that again.

Had a pretty good weekend at BIR with WRL in the E30 Vert. 4th in our class both days and the car ran flawless the whole time. Clean racing all weekend from everyone other than two small incidents yesterday in the rain. I was able to set a new personal best lap time Sunday morning but a bit over a second from last race. We're leaning towards racing only WRL from this point on, headed to Texas World Speedway at the end of the year...94 cars registered

Somewhat sorry I missed it, although not really because to be honest I hate that track so much (i know you Minnesotans like it because it's yours). JAB did good without me, 1st in class on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday (lost 20 minutes changing a rear stub axle). Nick asked me if I wanted to drive at TWS but it's in three weeks and I've got to go to LA next weekend so can't make it.

Honestly though, after running a lot of Chumpcar races, and then WRL, I don't know why you'd pick the former now. Having separate classes means no stupid 4" thick rulebook designed to try and equalize Yugos with E36s.

# ¿ May 6, 2015 02:05

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

reddit liker posted:

lone star le mans is coming up soon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1eMkVih_dY&hd=1

also pretty cool promo video from nismo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdI71CwNak

That's pretty loving cheeky of Nissan given they've pulled out for the rest of the year. But par for the course with Darren Cox, who seems to be the definition of all mouth and no trousers.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2015 12:02

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

I have no complaints about wearing glasses with my HJC AR-10 (pretty sure that's the model). Take them off to put the helmet on, then put the glasses on.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2015 22:19

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

jamal posted:

When are we going to have strava segments for cars?

That's what AutosportLabs are going for with Podium: https://www.autosportlabs.com/announcing-podium-race-it-share-it-prove-it/

# ¿ Nov 23, 2015 21:08

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

NitroSpazzz posted:

That is exactly why we jumped ship and got out of Chumpcar completely this year. We were sick of spending a week reading over the new rules every winter to make sure out car was still legal. Come race WRL for a couple races and you'll be happy you did. I'm pretty sure NCM is one of the races we're running next year.

Same with JAB. Dunno if we're racing the Golf this year though.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 04:17

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

NitroSpazzz posted:

Working on another car or taking a season off?

An E36 is in the works, but it might not be ready for this year.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 23:37

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

parid posted:

It's worked for at least 6 drivers I have had through my team, and dozens more I have met through other teams. Driving isn't dark magic. You don't have to navigate some bizanteen certification process. Take the class. Keep your eyes open, and start learning.

Does HPDE time hurt? Far from it but it's hardly required. If you want to go racing, go racing. Lemons, Lucky Dog, WRL, AER, or ChumpCar will all be happy to have you.

I think WRL expects someone to have done at least a couple of track days if they've never raced before. I know Chump didn't.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2016 14:10

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Speaking of WRL it turns out the JAB golf hasn't been retired and we should be racing it at Mid Ohio in April.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2016 20:40

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

track day bro! posted:

Dont you guys have something like http://www.ards.co.uk/ in the US? If you want to do any wheel to wheel stuff here the test is mandatory.

That's because in the UK all motorsport is organized under the MSA. In the US there's SCCA and NASA, both of whom will want you to have done the equivalent course with them (including paying several thousand dollars for tuition), which is why there's now a market for grassroots series like ChumpCar and Lemons where there's no licensing and you don't need to drop $5k on a four day course.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2016 13:44

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 02:30

drgitlin: Jul 25, 2003; luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

Anyone have a recommendation for good racing insurance? After the WRL COTA race where a dude got burned and had to be airlifted out of the track it seems like a prudent idea.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 21:55

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