Racing 2014

[Kona Bear]

Re: Racing 2014

I look forward to your posts & updates.
How does one get into this type of racing? Start with karting?
Sorry if have answered this question before. If so could you link me to your answer.

Cheers,

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

Many ways to get into it as its just amature road racing.

The most common are Karting,Solo 2/Slalom, Time Attack, Rally we have guys racing with us that have started in all of these and some that jumped straight in.

You first take your road race license course thru the NASCC
http://nascc.ab.ca/

Or you can get licensed by taking a high performance racing school like Bridgestone Academey out east or Bertil Roos, Barber etc etc.

Then you are a novice for a year (3 races) and as long as you don't do anything stupid you are then fully qualified.

If you are serious about a certain class of racing find someone who is running that class and volunteer to crew for them for a weekend. This really shows you what happens during a race weekend and what you will need to compete. 95% of the people racing are always willing to help and will sit and talk with you for hours on end. We all just want more people to come out and race against as that's what makes it fun.

If you want to stop by the garage one weekend and see the car and talk about it pm me and we can set up a time. I have 2 guys currently that are going to do this as they are interested in racing in the upcoming seasons. (beer is usually available)

Roger

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

A little update on the old car from its new owner.







Had a suspension failure at pretty much the worst spot at castrol

Video Below. (He was alright but car needs some love)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater

[stefan]

Re: Racing 2014

Wow. Scary moment there! Good to see he is ok

[danno]

Re: Racing 2014

Wow that looks really scary. Glad he's ok, considering what happened he's lucky there isn't more damage.

[bydesign]

Re: Racing 2014

It will buff out.

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

Well had a local race weekend most guys didn't show up as some had raced in portland the weekend before and some are still afraid of Castrol. Thought it would be a good time to shake down the car a little more work on matching its handling to my driving style.

Saturday practice
-Went alright put on some old tires and just went out to see how the car felt with the alignment we had done. Car was good and did a time of 1:18.6 without trying to hard that time is 1.5 sec faster than my fastest lap in the old car. Also did a nice spin into T2 as the car doesn't handle the bumps in the braking zone very well. If you watch the video you can see me messing with the brake bias trying to get the car to settle more.

Q1
- Put on a new set of stickers with the intention of just breaking them in properly and that should give me 2 hot laps to try and set a good time. Put down some good laps without locking up the tires so have to be quick but not push hard. Ended up with a 1:17.813 a new lap record for FC and maybe the track i believe.

Race 1
- Only 4 cars take the grid as one has already broken (Chain failure on a bike powered car). On the start the white Radical in our group doesn't understand that i would like the inside line going into one as I am on pole. I give up waiving at him and just let him take the spot. He is fast in a straight line but slow in the top end of the track where all the tight stuff is. After falling off the track and spraying me with rocks i back off. Jorgen in his Renault is the next to break (Engine failure) and then the Radical pulls off after his offroad excersion. Just me and Teague left to finish off the race. Cruise to a victory and a best time of 1:17.9 on the old tires.

The rest of the weekend with so few cars running turns into a test and tune playing with setups I am 2sec/lap faster than my nearest competition so a lot of driving by myself and working on lines etc.

Race 4
This radical did this dirt shower trick to me more than once this weekend and i was trying out some different camera mounting spots. Once again different mounting locations proved to be bad as both cameras are now broke due to vibration i assume.

Overall a good weekend working on the car we will see what my dad can do at the august race weekend as he will be taking over the driving duties.

The weekend after that i will be back in the cockpit for Mission BC.

Random pics from the weekend my wife needs some help with taking pics,

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

TV coverage for the Sunday race in Spokane is now up online. Better than last years coverage but that's not saying much. I am only in the first couple minutes then again starting at about 28min to the end.

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

And some mixed video In car and TV coverage of the last lap battle between myself and Greg

[Ur0Drivr]

Re: Racing 2014

That's awesome Roger!

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

Some more pics from the July Weekend.

[kujiwara]

Re: Racing 2014

Looks super exciting and fun! Must say a matte black helmet is pretty cool

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

Well the old man did alright over the weekend he had me worried early on but he picked up the pace as the weekend went on.

Don't have much time to upload stuff as we have a quick turn around going to Mission this weekend but here is a video of the flag to flag battle with my Dad and Teague.

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

Well the Castrol Race weekend with my dad running.



Its already been over a year since he raced and before that he had taken probably 2/3 seasons off so he is a little rusty to say the least.

Saturday Practice
He goes out its pretty cold and slippery he takes it easy and does a lap of 1:31.0 so very slow. But he is also having some problems getting used to the shifter which i also had problems with when i first drove the car.

Saturday Qualy
Well not hoping for much just get some more seat time and hope he shows improvement. He gets down to a 1:24.1 which is 7sec/lap faster but still not where he needs to be. Should be around a 1:19-1:21 for him. My best lap is a 1:17.8 and Zac put down a 1:16.7 that morning. His main competition is Teague and he Q'd with a 1:18.7.

Race 1
Well we start pouring over the data making sure he has his corner speeds up even if he gets them close he should have the advantage on the straights with the Zetec having more torque out of the corners. Race is just him and Teague as Zac is having a misfire/motor issue and can't get it sorted.

He takes the lead early on but is quickly passed in T4 as he seems to still be slow thru 3/4 but he stays at a decent pace behind Teague only falling back a little. 3/4 of the way thru the race Teague has a spin going thru 7 and my dad takes the lead. He manages to hold on for a race win. He got his time down to a 1:19.9 which is what i wanted him to hit this weekend the 1:19s.

Race 2
Pour over the data some more and try to get him to work on turns 5/6 as they will be most important for over all lap time. Dial in some more rear wing to help him thru that section. Once again only him and Teague as Zac is done for the weekend. Race is closer this time but Teague is still a bit faster and doesn't make a mistake so he stays in front. Old man comes in with a time of 1:20.2 so no improvement.

Race 3
Sundays first race we move to a fresh set of tires that i scrubbed last weekend so this should help out. He gets down to a 1:19.0 much better than i thought he would do this weekend. He manages to get in front of Teague and hold him off for the win.

Race 4 Points Race
So armed with good tires and some more laps he plans to break into the 1:18s but Teague also puts on a fresh set of tires. This race is good flag to flag and they are both very evenly matched on overall lap time. (The video in the last post). Old man can't pull out the win as he says he missed the last lap sign but he does get into the 1:18s with a 1:18.4.

Race 5
They both switch back over to old tires for the last race and it seems Teagues old tires are worse he can't keep up with my dad. My dad pulls in some good laps at 1:19.4 on old rubber which is very good for him.

Over all a good weekend took him a bit to get back into it but with the data system we can at least tell him where he can improve and he is within a second of my best time and normally he was about 2 sec down so the data is helping.

Pics from the weekend



















Up Next Mission Race Report

[RSS]

Re: Racing 2014

Well Final Race Report of the Season.

Mission Raceway


Decided not to go up a day early for the test day as i wanted to save more holidays for xmas with the family and being a little cocky i thought i could beat most of the guys with out the practice.

Q1
No practice on these race weekends so first up was Q1. We go out on slicks as the weather has been holding on pretty well during the day with dark clouds passing us by. We go out for the out lap and they black flag us all in right away as the timing system is not working. We sit in the pits for 5 min then they let us back out right as it starts to drizzle. Well race cars on slick in the rain is about as easy as driving your street car on a hockey rink at about 100kph. The rain isn't that heavy to start but it gets worse by the corner. I try to stay out as long as possible not for lap times but just to learnt he track as i have never driven there before. Somehow qualify fourth overall with only 1 person in my class ahead of me.

Race 1
We are all sitting in the pits looking at the sky as it has been drying ever since our Qualifying but just 2 min before we are called to pre-grid the skys open up and it pours. So much so i am thinking of not going out as I don't know the track and visability will be poor. Just as the 5 min call comes it clears up and stops raining. Run to the grid and get ready to race in very wet conditions. Even with rain tires it is terrible out there and I am just trying to hold onto the car. I will upload this video later but its pretty hairy out there. I manage to hold on to 4th passing some people and then letting other people past. I am just happy to finish and get a second in class for my efforts.





Enjoy this picture as you can see my helmet fogging up badly in the wet and if you look behind me you can see a car about to spin off the track. (He made a great tidal wave when he got into the grass)



Q2
Well next morning looks promising as it dried out after our race and is nice and dry in the morning about 17C out so perfect weather for the cars and track. It lasts right up until 5 min before we go out and it rains. Go out on the wets and qualify 4th again. 2nd in class.

Race 2
Finally its going to be a dry race. But one issue is i have never driven on this track in the dry and i have no reference points for dry weather conditions. Also since it was wet in qualifying I have 2 slower class cars between me and the car in my class that is in front of me. The plan is to try and pass the slower class cars early and follow around the local guy in my class for a couple laps to help learn then push later in the race when i feel more comfortable. That plan kind of goes out the window on lap 4 when i think hey these guys are slow and its time for me to pass them. Get out in the lead for about 8 laps then the brake pedal starts to get squishy. Start trying to coast more and use less hard breaking but it is no use and the pedal gets softer and softer. As i see the guy in my class closing in i let him by as i don't want to fight with anyone when i have no brakes as it could lead to a bad accident. Luckily after another lap or 2 we get a full course caution. They had to clean up a couple cars so we got lots of time under yellow and lots of time for my brakes to cool. Plan is to stay close to my competition until we get the 5min sign then try and pass at the end (if i have brakes). All goes according to plan with the brakes but couldn't get by him as its a pretty tight course. Still had a great close race with him so fun had by all. Best lap time is a 1:19.2 with the track record being a 1:18.263.

Video


Pics








Q3
Bleed the front brakes and dialed in some more rear to try and avoid the same fate as yesterday and head out for Qualy. Now having some laps under my belt time to start working on lap times and getting closer to that track record. Do about 10 laps before getting stuck in traffic. Get down to a time 1:18.7 so less than 0.5sec off the track record in my class and good enough for pole position. But the rear brakes began to get soft before the end of the stint so bleed them as well before the next race.

Race 3
Start from poll and get a car between me and my main competition for the weekend (Michael Lensen Red Car #18) so i decided to try and push and get a good gap then try and coast it out. Problem is on the end of lap 2 my clutch goes to the floor and is no longer working. So i try and drive around it as i only use the clutch on downshifts anyway. I seem to have re-figured out all my shift points except for the last bust stop before the front straight. I can't seem to do it smoothly as i am doing to many things at once thru there. I miss the downshift a couple times over the next 5-10 laps and then I hear the gear box start to make noise. So i decide to shut it down before i hurt anything. Pull off while leading and was still running 1:19.2s with no clutch.

Pack up and head on home.

Was a good season and we look to shave some weight off the car for next season and maybe work on the brakes/pad combos to find something a little more to our liking.