Round 3 - Driving Impressions Pro-IT

[Greg Amy]

Ed, IMO, it wasn't all Steve's fault*. See below video link; start watching at ~24:00 when we came upon to lap said "Make And Model That Must Not Be Mentioned" (MaMTMNBM - tm) nearly like we were beamed down by the Starship Enterprise. Notice said MaMTMNBM making blocking moves to keep both ITS cars in arrears.

[ame]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8402032115544622275&hl=en[/ame]

Caution: language. Hey, just sayin'...

The other "incident" happens at 41:45 when I let a lapping ITS car** pass on the left side of the exit of the left-hander, and I could See Andy Bettencourt was going to take me on the inside of the right-hander on exit. Then, a MaMTMNBM (tm) decides to try and pass me on the outside of the subsequent right-hander. I was taken totally by surprise by such a bonehead (IMO) move, and was left with very little options.

And, in hindsight, scroll to the very end of the video to see exactly why I was driving like ass starting about 18 minutes in. It's definitely one of those cases where "ignorance is bliss"...

* I will grant that Steve's move was aggressive, and I agree it's his responsibility for a clean pass; hell, I've done that too in the same place before and didn't pull it off. But, I think in this particular case it was somewhat warranted, given Steve having spent 1-2 laps witnessing that driver's effort to block me (and causing me to lose the position to Steve as a result).

"Passing driver" and all that, but dude, seriously...

** After the first incident, I got the car collected, but things didn't "feel" quite right. I was evaluating the situation (while still pulling 1:04s and 05s) when up comes Maynard, the overall leader. I let him by. A lap later we got a full course caution and all my competitors up front gained a lap on me, and my race was Well and Truly Over at that point. Thank you, come again. As competitors came rolling up on me I simply let them by, while simply trying to nurse the car home for a finish.

On edit: BTW, Ed, I wanted to apologize for that nose-stick I did to you in the Uphill (?). I thought I had it timed properly, but nope...thanks for leaving the hole open anyway... - GA

[ulfelder]

Ed, not sure what you're referring to - did I say I wanted the <unmentionable> to vanish? If anything, he wanted me to vanish; I was already on the inside curb when he turned down on me. All I was asking was a car-width.

Greg, you nailed it: Having seen the way the guy was driving, I wanted to get around him pronto and be done with him.

Steve

[RSTPerformance]

What a weekend for RST Performance Racing and the Audi’s… We had several long nights the past couple weeks building new motors for both the Audi’s and getting them prepped for battle. We were very excited for this race as we love the format and the “new” Lime Rock with plenty of green flag race laps meant we were guaranteed one of the best races of the season!

The weekend had plenty of ups and downs, but overall was a great weekend…

It started on Thursday night while packing when a major thunderstorm hit my brother’s house (literally I think a lightning hit his house, it was scary!!!). We lost power and had to pack with flashlights in the rain, not the most fun I have had packing to go racing, but we got everything packed and had a easy ride down to the track. When we arrived we saw plenty of room blocked off for the IT crowd, THANK YOU!!!

Friday morning I took out my new scooter and went to use it and was chased down by Lime Rock security telling me that I could not use the scooter even though it was registered. I figured that was just my luck as I bought it with my girlfriend so she could drive it to work and I could use it at the track. I bitched to the right people I guess as the rule was quickly changed, THANK YOU!!!

Saturday PROIT qualifying.

The track was perfectly smooth and while many people had a hard time adjusting to “new” visual markers, I didn’t feel like I had a problem. I did however have lots of traffic to contend with on my way to qualifying first in ITB (11th overall) on a damp surface with a 1:05.9. I also had a high RPM skip (around 5800rpm) that wasn’t helping on no-name, or the front straight. Stephen had to break in the new brakes, and wasn’t able to get any quick laps in while the track was dry so he was a bit slower but still qualified 4th in ITB. I think the stewards may have given us some extra time as it was a “long” 15 minutes, THANK YOU!!!

Saturday afternoon PROIT race.

Very late green flag (or I was further up in the field than normal…lol). In the first turn on the first lap a CRX spun, not sure how or what the story is with that but I saw him spin out of the corner of my eye and quickly looked in my mirrors to see where the pile up would be next lap through. Everyone seemed to make it through though!!! Stephen told me after the race how he went off drivers left to avoid an accident and ended up falling to the tail end of the field. Somehow after a couple laps I found myself looking in the mirror and not seeing ANY cars, let alone an ITB car…

We had checked all the grounds and cleaned them up for the race, but as the race went on the car started breaking up around 5500rpm. I knew that I had a huge lead but it would be a matter of time before Stephen caught me. As my lead was shrinking to that blue/silver Audi my car decided that it wanted to shut off going through the uphill. I came almost to a stop as cars flew past. Then she re-fired and away I went. I had lost a a lot of time and a few positions so I was no longer in the lead. With the car not running at full speed people started passing me every lap.

Then we had the full course yellow… I remembered why I probably won’t run a “normal regional” at Lime Rock… I have no idea how long that yellow was to pick up 1 car that was in a bad location, but it had to have been at least 10 minutes… I am still not sure why it took so long.

When we went back to green flag, things got worse for me… Not sure what started to fail first but both the LF CV joint and the LF brakes started to fail. I had one very scary moment when I went into big bend and the brake peddle went soft (never happens in the Audi) and the car slid sideways past several cars in the braking zone. Somehow I missed everyone, but at that moment I knew I had a problem. I backed way off and realized my race was done. A few laps later another ITB car bounced off the curb in west bend while passing me and hit me hard on the passenger side. This sent my car for a ride and I found myself watching the go carts in the infield while I tried to pull the car out of a spin. Ice racing came in helpful as the car slid back and forth until I finally got the car settled down going down the hill. It was one heck of a ride but I don’t think that it helped the failing CV joint. The car started vibrating and I thought I lost a wheel bearing so I pulled in and watched the last 2 laps.

My brother came through the entire field and held off Ken in the very fast BMW2002 for his second ITB PROIT win in as many races. He clocked his fastest lap at a 1:03.5 and he knows that he can get faster (ITB track record is a 1:03.2). We predict lap times in ITB to fall into the 1:02’s at some point.

The trip home… I won’t even talk about the trailer lights issue we had…. Errrr.

In all the excitement and story telling Stephen forgot to pick up his trophy… where/when can he get it? I want to go to the next PROIT at New Jersey but I am not sure that will happen, it is one of my best friends 30th B-Day. L We wil be at the following PROIT in NJ.

All in all it was a great weekend. The race length was great and the whole group put on a good show!!! Special thanks to Flat Out for a great lunch, and to Driving Impressions for my new neck brace!!! A huge thank you also goes to Randy and Tom on our crew for all the late nights getting the cars ready to go. Without you we never would have made it!!!

With my budget, I think this might be my future for the next couple years, great job!

Raymond

PS: HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY DAD!!! (It was on Saturday at the PROIT race)

[lateapex911]

If I was Steve, i would have done the exact same thing. Obviously when the leaders are coming thru, you aren't in a tight race in your class, AND you are getting lapped, it's always best to just let them thru.

And seeing as how the Miata (errr, sorry, the cute initial thing is too much pain to type!) left a full car width at the entry to Big Bend, when there was no overlap, you'd think he wouldn't then slam the door when there WAS an overlap.

[Ed Funk]

Ed, not sure what you're referring to - did I say I wanted the <unmentionable> to vanish? If anything, he wanted me to vanish; I was already on the inside curb when he turned down on me. All I was asking was a car-width.

Greg, you nailed it: Having seen the way the guy was driving, I wanted to get around him pronto and be done with him.

Steve

Sorry, my senility got in the way again, I mis-read your post as blaming Greg, I apologize for casting aspersions, I'll try to stick with casting dog legs!

Nevermind---

[Ed Funk]

Just watched Greg's video, again, Steve I'm sorry for the snide remark! Greg, I'd swap that tire on the rim and run it on the rear, get some more use out of it that way----

[ulfelder]

No problemo, Ed.

BTW, I'm not an anti-Miata guy by any means -- Miatas are Flatout's bread and butter, and I've raced them a dozen times or so (and enjoyed each drive!). I take it on a driver-by-driver basis, and I'm not sure what this particular driver was thinking ...

Steve

[tony senese]

As a Miata driver opps.... er ah, MaMTMNBM driver, I am embarassed watching that video. There is absolutely no reason EVER to cut abruptly back to the right when exiting Big Bend unless you are blocking. I can't say the rest of the moves were blocking, but it is obvious your car (Greg) and Steves car are much faster than the SM's. There is no excuse for what he did, period.:eek:

It was my first SCCA race and overall from my seat it was very good, hard, clean racing, but obviously different for others.

Was that driver protested? Was there any penalty?

Tony Senese
SM #99

[Greg Amy]

Was that driver protested? Was there any penalty?

Negative. Steve talked to him afterwards. - GA

[JLawton]

Negative. Steve talked to him afterwards. - GA

I'd like ot hear the results of THAT conversation....

Steve??

The thinkg that got me the most was the Miata taking the defensive line into Big Bend........ Only one reason to do that......... Maybe he thought the class was SM/SI/SRX7.....

[raffaelli]

27:17 of Greg’s video. That’s me letting the smoke out.

[ulfelder]

I'd like ot hear the results of THAT conversation....

Steve??

Well ... don't want to beat up on a guy who's not here to express his side of the story, but the driver said a few things I found puzzling:

- He said he was "getting a run on" both Greg and I out of the Diving Turn. How you get a run on cars that are 3.5 sec faster than you I'm not sure.

- He said he "left the inside open" for me in Big Bend. As Jake mentioned, that's part of the reason I went for it; he'd taken the inside line at BB the prior lap (balking Greg), so when he left a lane open this time I thought he was getting with the picture and allowing us through. All this flashed through my mind under braking (you know how it goes), and that's why I crept alongside him in the middle of the corner.

- The obvious question, of course, is: If you left the door open on entry, why'd you slam it shut on the exit? Yes, I asked. He really didn't have an answer.

Steve

[dominojd]

It was my first SCCA race and overall from my seat it was very good, hard, clean racing, but obviously different for others.



Tony Senese
SM #99

Hey congrats on the 2nd place in your first SCCA race.

[dominojd]

27:17 of Greg’s video. That’s me letting the smoke out.

Chris that was a great job not oiling up the track. At least some people still think while racing.

[raffaelli]

Thanks Joe. As soon as I saw the smoke, that voice in my head said 'get the oil off the track! Then I heard ' get somewhere where you are not the guy to cause a double yellow'. That is when I tucked on the the access bridge.

I was not the guy that caused the pace car.

[cchandler]

Here's my view............

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76JE5NRwH0k"][/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76JE5NRwH0k[/ame]

[Greg Amy]

Here's my view...

Ouch. (I still can't believe I went between those two sideways, and touched neither...)

Wack-A-Miata

Oh, if only I was clever with Photoshop...

[dtanthon]

NNJR and the NJRRS want to thank all those that made the Driving Impressions Pro-IT Round 3 a success.

Thanks to Bob Zecca of Driving Impressions for believing in this series. A true champion for our type of racing. Thanks Bob!
Thanks to Andy, Nick, Steve and the rest of the FlatOut crew for the fine BBQ lunch provided with the waterworks and Lightning.
For 2009 we will try for the same schedule at LRP, but you never know what 2009 may bring.

Also, remember that there are only 6 classes in Pro-IT, ITR, ITS, ITA, ITB, ITC and SM. Check the rules, SM includes SSM.

The checks for Round 3 will be mailed shortly. Please get me your W9 form if you didn't already. I have the leftover trophies in the RV so they will be at the final 3 Pro-IT events (1 in August and 2 in October, all at Lightning).

Round 4 will be in a few weeks at NJMP Lightning, August 23, back to 30 minutes of qualifying and a 40 minute race on Saturday.

Hope to see you at the next rounds.

Thanks,
Darrell

[ulfelder]

Here's my view............

Oof, that is such a bummer. Wish I'd backed out and passed the guy on No Name, but hindsight is 20/20 ...

Steve

[Robert Zecca]

Dear Guys,

Sunday night I wrote a long winded response to our event this past weekend and some how it never got posted? Either way here it goes again.

This past weekend we held Round 3 of the Driving Impressions PRO IT series at Lime Rock. We had 38 cars and I must tell you that I am very proud of each and every one of you. You guys put on a great show. This reminds me of racing in the 70's when most of you including that guy Bettencourt was mere tots. We had huge fields, close racing and rivalries. There was Datsun vs. Triumph, Sharp vs. Tulluis and 7,000 spectators on the hill at Lime Rock and even though we do not have any famous drivers except for Bettencourt we put on the same great show that fans and sponsors want to see. Now we have BMW vs. Mazda and teams of cars from Flatout Motorsports, BMW's of Autotechnic and 3D, Audis from RST Performance and many others. This is the involvement we need for the future. You guys did it!!! and proved that we can have large fields, have fun and race door-to-door all around the track.

There are many people I want to thank including the board of NNJR for backing us plus our sponsors. Hawk, MPT, Zamp Helmets, MOMO and Edwin of RaceShopper.com are all behind us. Another big thanks goes to that guy Bettencourt and his incredible crew from Flatout Motorsports. They put on a great lunch and got all our drivers out in one place and we got to share a great time together as friends before we went out on the track. This is what I love to see and what makes me push hard for this series. THANK YOU ANDY, YOU ARE TRULY A FIRST CLASS INDIVIDUAL!!

The racing was great..... the BMW of 3D lead the field as Rob Driscoll and Andy Bettencourt was always up there dicing thru the field. At the end there were a few unhappy drivers in the paddock but overall things went very well and the show is what the fans want to see and this is the future of SCCA. Last July Phillip Royale editor of Sportscar wrote about us in his column and he realizes that we are on to something. I honestly believe that within two years we will be a support race to World Challenge or another large series. This can be incredible. Guys..... we need to work to this goal, grow our fields, drivers, and workers, grow SCCA and our regions and bring back racing to the glory days or road racing. We have taken the first steps and with the support of one another we will get there.

PLEASE come out to Round 4 at NJMP and keep our momentum going. I will work hard on my end and together we will reach our goal. Thanks again for your past support and I hope to see you soon. If you need any equipment please give me a buzz. I appreciate your support.

Sincerely,
Bob Zecca
www.teamdi.com
1-800-275-4667