Two winged S2000s ready to duke it outSince SpeedVentures was also hosting an event at Thunderhill (Willows, CA) on Saturday, Aaron had to hit the road after lunch, at which point the Redline crew would take over. Now, I am a huge fan of Aaron and SpeedVentures. Redline, not so much. I feel like the SpeedVentures crew are the professionals of HPDE hosting out in California. Aaron is super competent and business minded, everyone is very professional, and they do little things to make the day more pleasant. Like freely giving out passes to other run groups that aren't full. Like free bottled water and lunch. Last time I went to an event with Redline, I had to pay over $20 out of pocket to buy the overpriced lunch and $3 bottles of water throughout the day. This past weekend with SpeedVentures, I never had to pull out my wallet at all. It's a nice feeling.
Sure, one could argue that you could just bring your own lunch and your own bottles of water. But I bet you that person doesn't drive an S2000 to the track. You try to haul all your tools, jack, jackstand, brakes, rotors, etc. in the measly five cubic feet of trunk space. Try it, then see how much room is left over for an ice chest. Come to think of it, I don't think I could even fit my ice chest in an empty S2000 trunk.
Anyway, the point is this: when Aaron said that the SpeedVentures crew were going to leave in the afternoon, I had an ominous feeling. Redline guys, in comparison, seem total amateur. I don't know why, but for some reason there seem to be less point-bys, more offs and more serious collisions in Redline events than SpeedVentures events. Maybe people who track with Redline just have more testosterone. Or maybe they have more ego than talent. Who knows...
Well, during the fourth Black Group session (after the SpeedVentures guys had left), a Porsche started smoking on the track. The driver was quickly meatballed (a flag that says, "hey your car is breaking down and you better pull off the track so you don't spill your guts all over the track and make it slippery for other people"). Well, either the driver didn't see the flag, or didn't want to get dirt on his precious Porsche so he continued on his merry way spilling coolant right at the blind crest leading into the esses. What happened next was a massacre.
A 350Z slid over the coolant, was launched sideways, and somehow managed to avoid wrecking his car. A Suzuka Blue S2000 was not so lucky. He entered the esses going over 100mph, pitched sideways, hit the dirt berm on the right and was launched 5 feet in the air and landed 20 feet downstream shedding bits and pieces of its body all over the track. Fil also lost control and after seeing the fat of the Suzuka, elected to spin the other way. Then the Silver S2000 lost it and slid sideways into the dirt berm crushing the left side of his car. I somehow managed to keep the car straight (maybe the four cars that traveled before me managed to clear out some of the coolant making it less slippery).
Upon questioning, it turns out that the Porsche driver knew he had a radiator hose that would intermittently come off. I am absolutely amazed at his negligence. Wait, you knew you had a problem with your car that could spill this super slippery fluid all over the track and you not only took it out to the track with this problem, but also stubbornly decided to keep the car on track while your car was smoking and after being flagged knowing full well that you were spilling coolant all over? Thanks to your amazing judgment, we've got three damaged S2000s, one of which is completely totaled.
Fil's car only suffered minor damage. His two right tires became unseated from the wheel, and had to be remounted, and his front control arm was bent. Luckily, there was no frame damage nor any serious body damage at all. But still, what a headache that could have been avoided with some common sense and dignity and respect for fellow drivers. Hopefully, Aaron will handle this appropriately. I think this Porsche driver needs to be suspended from future events. I mean, he did indefinitely terminate the Suzuka's track time.
Aside from this major catastrophe, the rest of the day went rather smoothly. I was able to test out my new APR GTC-200 wing, but because I hadn't driven this course before in this configuration, I had no baseline for comparison. From what I can tell, I am now slightly understeering during high-speed turns, then oversteering as I lose the aerodynamic downforce in low-speed turns. But at a place like Streets of Willow where the road is so uneven and there are so many camber changes, it is hard to tell what's really going on.
Something happened this day that I want to remember. During my last session, it started to sprinkle and the track became just a little bit damp. As I drove through the series of turns leading into the bowl, I went just a bit faster than I would have if I had realized the track was slightly damp. Up to this point, I thought I had figured out the limits of my car. Any faster than this set speed and I would oversteer or understeer at certain parts of the track. But during that brief moment, my car reached a new level.
It wasn't oversteering or understeering in that just the rear tires or front tires were sliding. Rather, all four tires were sliding at approximately the same rate. It was nothing like the sliding around I had done previously. Instead, the tires were slipping just the right amount to produce levels of grip I had not felt before, even for the damp conditions. I was on the very edge, and I could manipulate where the car would go by the slightest of throttle and steering adjustments. At that moment, the car was under my control in a completely different level. I wasn't merely piloting the car, instead the car was an extension of me.
Reflecting back on this moment, I realize that this is probably where professional racers are 100% of the time. Not just in those corners leading up to the bowl, but everywhere. And not just at corner entry, or mid-corner, or corner exit, but throughout the corner. Slipping ever so slightly at the very edge of maximum adhesion, walking that fine tightrope in the windy fog. At that moment, I developed a profound respect for these drivers that are in this zone for an entire race with all the distractions of having to fend off competitors. I tried the best I could to find that zone again, but all I got was understeer, oversteer, countersteer and just sloppy driving.
At the end, my best time of the day was a 1:30.596, which is a decent time, but not nearly as fast as I could or should be going. I hope to be in the sub 1:30s next time.
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