the suspense is killing me

[jcmotorsports]

ok, the suspense is killing me!! how did things turn out this weekend at nhis? who won? any interesting events or races???? i am awaiting the return of my car from the body shop! i should be ready for lrp.
john costello

[Andy Bettencourt]

So early in the season that the two Autotechnic E46's were not done and Kip's new 944S wasn't either, Nick decided to race the track record!

After some VERY promising test day times, the 04 lost a motor in the school due to a cooling problem. Nick switched to Steve Ulfelder's 05 after I told him how fast I thought it was after just 3 laps checking it out.

Conditions were great and Nick qualifed at a rediculous 1:13.8xx. Set a new track record at 1:14.1xx.

As predicted http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif, Tim Estes was FAST. He finished second without incident. Nice job!

ITA was AWESOME. I'll let a participant in that race do the details.

AB

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Andy Bettencourt
New England Region, R188967
www.flatout-motorsports.com (http://www.flatout-motorsports.com)

[This message has been edited by Andy Bettencourt (edited April 18, 2005).]

[Greg Amy]

As Andy indicated, ITA was a great race. The top 5 qualifiers were within a second of each other, and the race was a hoot. Rick Benazic (Acura Integra) won ITA with Richie Hunter (Acura Integra) 1.3 seconds behind. See my perspective in the Nissan forum ("Waiting for Greg...").

ITC was a runaway victory by Chris Johnson in a Ford Escort; car #1 was posted as a DQ for "GCR 11.6.3", which I can't seem to find in my copy of the GCR...any insights?

A big hearty congrats to my buddy Rob Breault, who drove his ITA BMW Z3 to see his first SCCA checkered flag! - GA

[benspeed]

Couldn't have asked for a better day of racing. Great conditions for both qualifying sessions and the race. The ITS start went well-Stewart in his bimmer made it from 10th to 4th or somthing. Awesome jump. Nick and Tim checked out - kudos to both. Extra kudos to Nick - jumping in a different car and breaking track record - that is one heck of a drive. Dave Maynard held third and had a minor spin about 15 laps in - lost a spot to a Larry's bimmer and then regained. I had a good run with Tisdale until a brain fade on the bowl where I went in too deep and tried passing on the outside only to put two wheels off - not a recomended line. Lost about 15 car lengths and was slowly reeling in 3,4,5 to about 5-6 car lengths when the race ended. The three bimmers were running a nice race with positions swappping cleanly. Tisdale made a late race pass and finished 4th, Larry 5th, me 6th Jeremy (?) 7th in a rX7 Greggory 8th in a Mazda. Brian Bagnal is really running fast and was in there as well as Stewart who was new to the track. Hope I had that right.

The quality of equipment is even better than last year with some very nice new cars. The field was something like 27 cars in ITS. No wrecks and no full course yellows - just great racing! Congrats to everybody on an excellent first race.

Tim - you need to give us the lowdown on ITB.

Start your engines - we're racing again!

[tims90rx7]

What a great day at the races!

The ITS/ITB race was clean and well run by all. I think Andy has a better idea of how I'm going to run then I do! (Just keep thinking that way....)

All was mostly quiet from my position. The highlight of my day was actually leading out of turn three on the first lap...I knew it wouldn't last!!

Had a good battle going with David Maynard. He was pushing hard and getting closer with each lap. A lap or so before he spun he was able to pull along the side of me as we exited 3 as I missed a shift climbing the hill. As we crested the hill I could tell that he would be able to take me as we entered six. Just before we got to five a local yellow came out. David backed off to avoid passing under the yellow. Hats off to him for smart, courteous driving. I think he could have easily made the pass in the heat of the moment and made an argument that he was already nosing past me as the flag came out. I was lucky that the flag flew after I screwed up a shift or he would have had the position. Mature move David, thanks!

I would have taken you the next lap anyway!! :-)

Other then that a pretty calm race from my spot. I was happy to still be able to see Nick at the end...

Big thanks to Matt Miskoe and Mike Carr for help with a small (ok, pretty much drained it)coolant leak after the first qualifier. Yet again it is the help of some of the great people at the track that keep me running.

Hope to see all at lrp in May.

Tim Estes
ITS RX7

[16v]

http://www.the16v.com/SCCA/05/05nhis1/race/images/DSC_6526.jpg

lots more to come

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Doug
NER.org (http://www.ner.org) webmaster
the16v.com (http://www.the16v.com) Photography
briansgarage.com (http://www.briansgarage.com)

[RacerBill]

"GCR 11.6.3"

Just checked. Online version of GCR on SCCA website only goes up to 11.4

???????????????????

[gran racing]

Same with the hard copy I have.

So what were the results in ITB?

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Dave Gran
NER ITB #13
'87 Honda Prelude si

[gran racing]

What was Anthony S. driving in ITA?

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Dave Gran
NER ITB #13
'87 Honda Prelude si

[dazzlesa]

anthony was not in ITA. He had a new integra in SPU. RICK

[TimM ITB]

Well, I probably couldn't have had a better weekend - great company, great weather, no full course yellows, and my first win. No doubt that the field was small for ITB (only 7 starters), but I've been told to "shut up" and be happy for the win. The results, I think, go like this -
Tim Mullen - VW Golf
Paul Curran - Volvo
Matt Boldoni - VW Sirrocco
Paul was a good ways ahead of me for the first 10 or so laps, but I could see that he was having trouble in 1 and 2 as his rear kept "stepping out". I give Paul a bunch of credit for keeping the car on the track as he was scaring the crap out of me behind him - I can't imagine what it felt like inside his car! Anyway, finally got him in the bowl and then held on from there with 4 laps left. Amazing the amount of new sounds you hear in the car when you realize you're leading and there's only a few more laps left! AND, all of the things you keep telling yourself NOT to do so you don't go dirt tracking, etc!!
Anyway, thanks to Paul for a clean race, and look out for Shawn Fohs in the future (who had the pole in a scarey fast Rabbit) but broke with 5 to go.
Don't know about LRP on Mother's Day weekend, but definitely going to Pocono in May.
later,
Tim Mullen

[benspeed]

Way to go Tim! Didn't know that you had your first win - congrats!

[racerdrew43]

Not sure about the GCR section, but the DQ involved the driver/car not stopping for impound after the race.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Then 11.3 should cover it.

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Andy Bettencourt
New England Region, R188967
www.flatout-motorsports.com (http://www.flatout-motorsports.com)

[Rabbit05]

CONGRATS TIM !!!

I hope to see ya at Lime Rock . I am trying to convince my Brother to do the school so he can get his license so we can run some Enduros , SO... if i can get my motor together in time ,I'll buy ya a beer!!

John VanDenburgh
ITC Rabbit 05

[gran racing]

Tim, a win is a win. Feels good, huh? Hope to see you at LRP in May.

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Dave Gran
NER ITB #13
'87 Honda Prelude si

[nlevine]

I was impressed (and moderately depressed) by the times folks were turning in ITA this early in the season! Those Acuras were honking out there, and Greg certainly showed off the potential of his Nissan in ITA (before the motor went south). The "other" Nissan - the 240sx - also showed some good speed.

It was also nice to see another glutton for punishment, I mean trend-setter, out there in a Z3 - congrats on your first race, Rob, and I hope you get your electronics woes straightened out soon.

-noam
#18 ITA BMW Z3



[This message has been edited by nlevine (edited April 19, 2005).]

[JLawton]

Originally posted by TimM ITB:
No doubt that the field was small for ITB (only 7 starters

Tim, great job! Any time you can beat some one like Paul, it doesn't matter how big the field was!! Matt did very well too. He hasn't missed a beat! Now if he and Eli can get Dick to spring for an A3........... http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif

Besides the perfect weather, the event seemed VERY well organized. Both Tech and Registration flowed smooth. Good job to the organizers!

Now if I could only get my sh** together!!



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Jeff L
#74 ITB GTi

[67ITB]

Congratulations to Tim M on his win in the self proclaimed “grocery getter”
I was also told to “shut up” and enjoy 3rd place. Believe me I was very happy and surprised with the results after such a long break. Thanks for the kind words Jeff, other than a few new dents that Eli put in the car its still the same car. So I did feel right at home in it. Jeff did you ever figure out what was wrong with your car? Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
As for building an A3 that would mean I would have to start my spare parts collection all over again, not to mention that we have not even finished building the new engine for this car yet.... Eli and I are still working on putting the other Scirocco back together.

Again congrats to Tim on a great win. Its great to see a VW in 1st place
See you at Limerock

Matt Bal

[Doc Bro]

Thanks to Noam and Greg for their kind words. My first racing experience was truly great because it was safe and I finished the race. I also improved on my qualifying. I am totally hooked. My car handled really well, but the "advanced" BMW electronics are putting me at war with it. I really don't care in some regards because I'd rather be last on the race track than first on the couch and I know we'll get it fixed eventually. Thanks to everyone of my competitors who raced me clean and were patient with me and my inexperience and electrical gremlins. I'm really proud to be a part of this community.

Rob
#36 BMW Z3

[RSTPerformance]

Originally posted by Doc Bro:
I really don't care in some regards because I'd rather be last on the race track than first on the couch and I know we'll get it fixed eventually. Rob
#36 BMW Z3


Rob,

You don't even know how lucky you are!!! This is the first year since I started raceing that I didn't run up at NHIS. It was awefull.... I was at work all day depressed as ?:"{ and jelious of all of you!

Got to say congrats to TIM for winning in ITB I heard you guys where all fast and into the 19's!! I knew it was only a matter of time before that VW was winning! Congrats to shawn for getting his car super fast! Shawn be carefull though your VW is resembling those with flat pistons http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/wink.gif Don't want to see you getting into trouble! Matt take the third, staying up with Paul is the best feeling I can remember in the past. I remember when I first finished behind him. I was so excited that I could still see him at the end of the race! So you and Eli will both be running in ITB at the same time? Maybe I will have to get to at least one local event this year.

Stephen Blethen

[1990whiteg60]

Good job Tim on the win.

I wasn't going to say anything, but I want to atleast make some things clear so people don't assume that I am cheating, becuase to my knowledge everything on my car is legal.

Last year I was runing in the 22's with a POS car, so after spending close to $10K on rebuilding my car from the ground up I wouldn't think a 2.5 second improvement in time is unreasonable, especially since the lap record in ITB is 17.1.

I went from a neuspeed autocross suspension with 350# springs in the front and 275# springs in the back to bilstien road race coilovers with 650# in front and 450# in the rear.

I had a stock motor and tranny with 175K miles, now I have a fresh motor built to IT specs with a quaife.

I had a stock exhaust manifold and downpipe to a straight exhaust, now i have a tt race header with a custom tt header back exhaust.

i have ecsta v710's this year instead of victo v700's.

i have an 80mm cis setup instead of the 60mm one the PO had in the car on mistake.

If those improvements alone arn't enough to gain over two seconds a lap take into consideration the only other time i ran at NHIS was my FIRST RACE IN A CAR EVER!

I have a lot of experience behind the wheel becuase I raced gokarts for 9 years, but up until last year i have never raced a road course or a car before.

Stephen this isn't directly at you, others where saying things at the track if you want bring a flashlight and take out a plug and check for yourself.

Shawn.

[RSTPerformance]

Shawn-

I was at the track and saw you run a few laps...

You'll get some crapola from people... we certainly have before... Only big difference is it took us 3-4 years to get to the front, experimeting and developing the cars. Last year we went to the ARRC and on my first ever visit I qualified on Pole 1 second ahead of the field (with exception to my bro who qualified .01 behind me). Then in the race I went from several seconds in last place all the way to 2nd only to have the hub shear off...

Best way to get people to quiet down a little is to go to an event such as the ARRC where if you do well your car will get torn down. It also is the "unofficial national IT championships." Well worth the $200 for a gasket set.

You certainly did a great job, and from what I saw drove a very good clean smooth line. You surprised a lot of people coming out of the box for the season with an increadably fast car as compaired to last year. Also you might not realize this but you probably ran compairable times to the fastest laps that any "legal" rabbit has ever turned at NHIS. This is also amaizing to people as you havn't been around our woods that long, and most including myself did not know that you raced carts in your prior life (If you consider racing cars your life).

I think Stephen was just warning and to expect rumors... Just go through the car and double check everything and you will be fine. We investigate issues that people bring to our attention to be sure that we are legal.

Good luck and do what my bro and I have done for a while... when people question the car smile, cause if your legal it truley is a compliment http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif

Raymond

PS: Good Luck with Scott, Mike, and the Canadians... They will love the competition and they are all tough compeditors http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif I will see you next year or at the ARRC http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif

[TimM ITB]

Shawn;

hey - thanks for the kind words about the win. Too much fun!

give me a shout via email if you can, I am at [email protected]

thanks,

TimM

[gran racing]

Shawn, guess it's just human nature to make assumptions like that. Too bad especially when a car is legal. Part of the issue is that there are cars out there that...well, are questionable and lead to these types of assumptions. And as Jake et al found out all too well there are one or two http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/rolleyes.gif flaws with our existing protest system.

Like you, I've been playing around with my car this winter (well, I didn't have quite as much fun as you). Guess rumors like what you experienced are to be expected. My theory is if you're open with what you've done to the car (as you were) and don't have a problem with opening the hood or what ever, things should be cool.

Stephen / Ray - keep us posted if you do a local event this year (hopefully at LRP). I was looking forward to getting beat up on by ya all this year other then at the ARRC.

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Dave Gran
NER ITB #13
'87 Honda Prelude si

[RSTPerformance]

Originally posted by gran racing:
Shawn, guess it's just human nature to make assumptions like that. Too bad especially when a car is legal. Part of the issue is that there are cars out there that...well, are questionable and lead to these types of assumptions. And as Jake et al found out all too well there are one or two http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/rolleyes.gif flaws with our existing protest system.

Like you, I've been playing around with my car this winter (well, I didn't have quite as much fun as you). Guess rumors like what you experienced are to be expected. My theory is if you're open with what you've done to the car (as you were) and don't have a problem with opening the hood or what ever, things should be cool.

Stephen / Ray - keep us posted if you do a local event this year (hopefully at LRP). I was looking forward to getting beat up on by ya all this year other then at the ARRC.



Probably nothing at LRP because of cost and track time. Maybe cheap date or something. Unfourtunatly I have chosen to go to places like VIR and Mid Ohio because the cost difference is very minimal and per lap it's actually cheaper than LRP. Next year though.....

PS: I like Shawn a lot He is a great guy and I had a huge pleasure hanging out with him. I am just letting him know That I have heard things and I want him to make sure he dot's his i's and crosses his T's. People have made rumers about me as well and it is depressing. And if you think my Audi is fast you wait, other Audis are going to pop up like the McNaries and they will be faster than me for sure. My car isn't even close to its potentiol. Imagine if Anthony serra got his experience with car set ups into my car!! I will always dream http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif


PSS: Sorry shawn for saying that earlier http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif

Stephen

[1990whiteg60]

Thanks for being understanding guys. Stephen I didn't take offence to what you said, so don't worry about it. I enjoy hanging out with just about everyone at the track, and I may have come off a little harsh in my post, but it's frustrating when you spend so much time and money and try to do all of the homework you can to make improvements on your car, and then when you do improve people automatically accuse you of cheating before they even know what was done to the car. Yes I have got faster, but there are many factors that contribute to that, and figuring out how to setup a car, and getting use to turning both ways and not just one was a big help. I do plan on attending the ARRC, so hopefully i'll get to race against those audi's once this year. Trust me, I am going to check over everything on the car again to make sure it's legal now that people are doubting me, but as far as I know everything should be ok. See you guys at the next race, Shawn.

[pfcs]

way to go Shawn! Give em Hell! Phil (I always knew you would)

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phil hunt

[Vantage #51]

Hi All,
We are planning to do the pig roast with a couple of worn out old A-2 Golfs, might give you a bit of a yardstick to compare your driving/car to.Looking forward to the close competition.
Derek and the Vantage team.
Truro N.S.