Now a more interesting route looks like 66 south out of Palapa to Kolad then east on that nice twisty route through Mulshi and Paud. Oh, to dream about having your MINI and no one else on the rode...

Do that offer the riders a blindfold?

 

At long last I can append a tale of competition to this thread. Mercy what a long wait.

After Mumbai, and Pune, and two more round trips to Matawan, and some fence mending with the RMV and my NER friends. After the grudging departure of a long and arduous winter and the blessed onset of spring, finally and at last I attended the 2nd NER SCCA Points event at Devens.

I arrived with all required documents and certifications, a clean car, a grin on my face and a song in my heart. We again had thirty novices joining us to bring the total competitor count to an impressive one hundred and sixty one (161)!

When the smoke had cleared, the assembled group - all volunteers and ranging from seasoned veteran to first-time attendee - had somehow managed to orchestrate nine hundred and ninety-four (994) runs...

Despite coolant on the course, despite the fact that my novice coursewalk was perhaps a little slower than it should have been, despite Murphy's Law, and despite the crowd every competitor got six runs. As far as I know we all had fun also!

Gollum and I had a good day, performing the obligatory spin on the 2nd run and finishing at the top of the HS field by a decent margin.

My friend PZ has crap tires on the Mazda at the moment, which prevented him from doing his usual number on my brains in the latter part of the day, but for the upcoming Match Tour he'll be co-driving Gollum so our rivalry is by no means defunct.

The good news is that my best time in HS also raw-timed GS, FS, ES, and DS. It would have put me in the trophies in CS actually, with a 4th place. Pretty stout for a little pedal car!

The bad news is that Kim-Soo Gopnik raw-timed me by TWO SECONDS in her FJB kart. Her Dad kept reducing the number of teeth in her back sprocket, and she kept grinning and going faster. Oh sharper than a serpent's tooth...!

Hey I beat her on PAX, but that is cold comfort, and even that will not last long.

So we've finally lost our virginity in this vicinity and about time.

Now how does the Match Tour work again???

Cheers,

Charlie

 

And on the Smeagol side of the equation, I'm getting 40.5 mpg on my semi-weekly slog down to the Jersey coast...

Ya gotta love a car that can whip around an autocross course on Sunday and then save money with stingy fuel mileage the rest of the week.

Life is good!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Hmmm.... Looks a fair weather for the Devens Match Tour this weekend.

I hope some Minis show up for H Street!

Paul and I will have fun anyway, co-driving Gollum.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Well I just worked the Super Shootout at the Match Tour, and what a rush it is to see the best at work.

Billy Davis in the CSP car flying through the pair of slaloms towards the end of the course, and slithering around the tight right hander towards the final offsets appears to bend the laws of physics. Just a tiny dab of brakes and he's gone. Bloody marvelous.

Paul Kozlak came down, David Feinberg came over, and when all the smoke had cleared NER defended Devens with verve.

I won HS on Saturday, which only proves that Paul couldn't quite master the car in four runs. No aliens came to visit our class and disturb our friendly rivalry.

Since my PAX within Heat 2 on Saturday didn't get me directly into the Shootout (15th) I got two more runs on Sunday.

Sunday everyone was faster and me too. The good news is that whereas I could go no faster than a 63.5 on Saturday I managed a 62.2 this morning.

The bad news is that although I briefly held top spot in the Sunday heat I was then hammered back by a succession of talented ladies, including Jenna, and Lana, and Steph. When the dust had settled I was shuffled back to 8th and thus had to race no more.

I did of course have the chance to coursework for the hotshoes as they settled the final pecking order...

Wiley was peddling The Works Cooper (formerly Craig Wilcox's car), but not quite quickly enough. Bob Davis shone on course, Jeff Martynuska likewise, and too many more for me to list. The infamous Panda (G-Fab Racing) had three or four pilots over the weekend including Todd Keane, PJ, Jenna and of course David White. During the two days Panda shed an alternator, and finally expired with a throttle cable mounting point failure, but not before putting an authoritative stamp on at least two different classes.

As I was ******** cones for one of the most challenging sections it was a blast and a clinic, and a whopping sunburn.

Too damned much fun.

And oh by the way, I think David Oliviera talked me into trading my HS Mini for a GS Mini. He had many good things to say about the turbo-triple, and I shall have to go and test drive one.

Gollum has 46k miles already, and the triple has torque, and if I wait until next year the trade in will not include the "CPO" option for the dealer (Certified Pre-Owned).

This could get sticky!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Hmmm....

So I drove an F56 with the B38 motor.

Hmmm....

Looks like there just might be a Gollum III thread starting later this summer.

That's my car on steroids - no question it's a GS car. It's about halfway between my lovely R56 and the fire breathing R53 with the 210 HP tune in it.

It's a whole different ball game.

I must admit I am hooked.

But since no-one has done this for autocross yet, that I am aware of, I have to do the research...

Like:

What's the right width and offset for the 15" wheels? Are there any out there? 16s?
What EXACTLY is Dynamic Damper Control?
Why is it apparently mutually exclusive with Sport Suspension? And what EXACTLY is Sport Suspension?
Would the venerable Koni 8920 (yellows) or equivalent be available? When?
Could I get a rear bar? From whom? When?

So we'll see - my friend at MoP is tracking these details down, and also considering what value the dealership might assign to Gollum II on a trade.

But right now, a few more observations...

The engine is ALL THAT!
2nd is taller (64 @ 6k rpm - I did not go any higher)
6th is bloody 2,500 rpm @ 75 mph - my car turns 3,100 at that speed.
Better seating due to much stronger side bolsters.
Everything that I am used to in Gollum II was there - nothing jarred my preserves.

Did I mention that the B38 is terrific?

So possibly come the end of August or early September will come the next chapter.

We shall see.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

my only concern would be the reliability of a first year new car, new chassis, new motor. car with turbo should be a hoot - enough to displace the focus st? we'll see! i doubt there's anyone campaigning the car yet - everyone's waiting to see who'll go first

 

My research to date suggests that the same recipe applies:

Dynamic Traction Control
Sport Suspension

NAM'ers appear to have discovered that the Dynamic Dampener Control is about midway between the basline and the Sport Suspension (or so claimed MotoringFile anyway).

I'll consider running it with those two options alone (and wheels and tires) at the end of this year, and see what turns up in the aftermarket over the winter.

I'll have to put on an exhaust anyway though 'cause ya cannot HEAR the darned thing run!

I've inquired of Sam Strano (news to him, most of this) and perhaps he'll have an idea or two - he provisioned the current Gollum and I do greatly respect his knowledge.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I saw your post about the F56 on SCCAForums, I was surprised. I'd be surprised if it could live up to the Focus ST, but I may be prejudiced because I'm up against one of the fastest drivers in one. He just romped away with the Pro solo by 2.5 seconds over my very talented co-driver. I doubt the extra torque of the F56 could make up that deficit.

I'm not expecting much of the F56 in GS.

I still want to test driver an F56 Cooper in manual some time, our local dealer doesn't seem to have had any in.

 

To be honest, National level competitiveness is not my top priority in considering this move. I don't want to buy a dog in the class however.

Regionally GS is a fun class, and I'm already competitive in the R56 so the F56 would be even better.

As a daily driver the F56 just put a huge grin on my face - perhaps I am a little power-depraved still, despite my lengthy protestations to the contrary throughout the "don't need no stinking powah" thread...

With 47k miles on Gollum II I have to either bite the bullet and pay the darned car off, or reset that odometer reading with a new vehicle. At that pace the R56 will be dust before I pay for it (six year note, which was a little silly I must admit).

I wouldn't mind being a guinea pig for the GS Mini - that alone plays to my slightly contrarian nature!

But we shall see - the jury is still out.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

And the jury came back - GUILTY!

And thus a production number, and a 60 day clock.

And thus I must re-prepare Gollum III when he appears.

And perhaps get the site Admin to create a G Street forum?

NER Events 5 and 6 will be H Street, but Event 7 might be the inaugural GS outing.

With three event left I will abandon the HS regional crown, but it will be in good hands.

And I won't arrive in time to irritate Warren Barck and Nick Finn much as they complete their fight for GS honors, so no harm no foul all around.

I may be daft, but I am grinning. No more on this topic until the new car arrives, as I shall have to start a new thread.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Are you going to be at Nationals in the GS MINI?

 

I really doubt it - I'm not sure I'll have a full setup by then, and having gone last year I've set this year as being just for fun.

The Match Tour just completed is most probably the only non-NER event I will take up.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Devens Match Tour - 2014

 

Wow what a perfect summer day, and a top notch day of racing.

The Kozlaks were there, exercising the 'Vette, and Pat Salerno stopped by, and when the smoke had cleared our own Billy Davis had the top Pax on the day.

We had over twenty novices, and I had the pleasure of doing the novice walk, and I am pretty sure that many if not all had a very good time.

We had some guests with noteworthy cars, including another immaculate S2000 parked next to an Accura NSX. We had Phil Gott departing from the impossible challenge of autocrossing a Challenger RT and popping up in a fire engine read TR4a with a nasty bark and plenty of speed despite being early days in the development process. We had a nice mild-mannered little Subaru coupe with 350 AWHP which is also just being tweaked into shape and is thankfully returning.

And the weather was perfect and God was in the heavens and even Chang was able to raw-time KimSoo - his STC Civic against her FJB Kart. I bet she'll ask for a smaller rear cog after this event.

Rob McAlpine designed the course - which was actually the previous day's Miata course tweaked and run backwards. I liked it very much, and was not alone as one of our guests asserted that it was a National level course and praised it. There was of course a few places where one could hang oneself. I remarked loudly during the Novice course walk that one must understand that the course designer - if great - must necessarily be a sadist (at this point I did not realize it was a Rob course, but never-mind).

I had company in H Street, but not Paul, and so it was a fight for 2nd for my dear colleagues and I went gunning for G Street.

Not so much.

The top of G Street was a 61.7 and I could only muster a 62.1 so thus doth perish hubris. Results are here.

I did have the great pleasure of taking three fellow competitors for a ride on the passenger side at various points, and I hope they enjoyed the ride as much as they said. When I was just starting out a ride from a fast competitor was fun but was kinda overload - I couldn't really draw any specific lesson from it.

And so on to the next, with the shortening fuze now burning downwards to the arrival date of Gollum III, who is due in these parts in about 30 days.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

So after some waffling I finally figured out that one of the last dances that I have with Gollum II should be another Evo School.

Thus on the 12th I shall be doing a Phase II, and on the 13th a Challenge School.

It will be my second time for this agenda, having done the same thing a couple of years ago with the R53.

The Evolution schools are a gift that just keeps on giving, and by tightening the loose nut behind the wheel I can take the results forward into G Street when the F56 arrives towards the end of the month.

Then on the 20th of July, the last NER Points event and indeed the end of the tale of the H Street version of Gollum.

Because the new B38 based successor is slated to arrive the following day.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The tail end of the Gollum Tale seems destined for crescendo.

It makes me wonder if I am a fool for forsaking this H Street car for the gloomy thickets of G Street where the mighty Ford ST cars and the treacherous Celica lurk.

For how could the successor be as tossable, as durable, as predictable, as familiar as this car? Sure Gollum II has no *****, but beyond that he's just stellar!

And so the Phase 2 school on Saturday was a blast. Forwards and backwards through a course that spanned technical to a blast into a braking zone. A course that unwound like a Nautilus in one direction, and constricted like a python in the other.

And what a speedy crew of stalwart students! From the trusty Miata to a truly awe inspiring R8 Audi we were sporting some serious hardware and featuring stout hearts.

If you aren't looking ahead and rehearsing your plan after a Phase 2 course you just didn't pay any attention at all, and if you are not faster, then you were either a god going in or you should find another hobby.

Did I mention that I had the great pleasure of having Tony Crea as an instructor, which not only made me faster as he's good at it, but also put a face to one of our valued contributors. Domo arigator gozaimatis Tony - which means (in Japanese, the language of the Dojo) thank you for teaching us. Please forget that first run Tony...

And thus, enlightened as always and having been well served by my current trusty steed I crept home, rigor mortis set in, and I slept until 3 am this morning.

At 6 am I was putting through three different courses at about 20 mph, enjoying the quiet of a warm summer dawn, and marshaling my body and brains for the Challenge School.

Where Phase 2 is an advanced course, the Challenge is serious as a heart attack. Fast cars, fast drivers, and multi-time National Champions Mark Daddio and Heyward Wagner made for a breakneck and occasionally death-defying program that was aimed at getting the best of a course in three runs against serious competition.

Death defying you say? You raise your eyebrows at this obvious hyperbole?

Try having your windshield taped so nothing closer than 60' can be seen, and then being invited to run a fast/slow course with plenty of vicious traps backwards!

This ain't the beginners course - and on the heels of the Phase 2 the students were ready, and fast, and having fun. Mind you two days of perfect weather, great camaraderie, and shared passion in abundance made it easier for all of us I think.

By the end of the second day, I had Mark in my car setting a time (mind you Mark had just set a scratch time in a B Mod car of less than 44 secs I think - how the HELL can a person go from a BM to an H Street?) of 52.4, which was .2 quicker than his morning best. Then he got out of my car, and courteously and effectively coached me so that I could meet or beat that mark..

To Mark's immense credit as a teacher and as a demonstrator of what my car can do that day, I almost did. I came up with a last hero run of 52.6 and declared that a huge milestone. Now I just need to remember the lessons, and to keep the confidence that today has given me.

See ahead - that is my reminder.

Not look ahead, see ahead - there is a difference.

And thus I am sunburned, sore as hell, and tickled to death. I am likewise very grateful to Tony and to Mark for teaching me in a way that I could understand and apply.

Gollum was flawless all weekend, and Mark made me grin on his first run driving the car as he said that it turned in like a demon, quicker than most of what he's ever driven. That's a Mini...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Sounds fun and tiring...
To think, all's I did this weekend is buy a new set of tires...
You'll be fine in Gollum III, as I am sure the stories will tell.

 

Thanks Charlie! It was a pleasure meeting you as well. You and Gollum II did a great job on Saturday. Don't underestimate your insight and skills (and what you already know). Just remember that sometimes we need to slow down to go faster, and we're all guilty of that, especially in the heat of battle where one has a finite set of runs...

Additionally, we all benefit from instruction at times. As I said, even F1 drivers have coaches.

BTW, your quick wit was welcomed at the school. You outclassed many others in this category. I think I could go toe-to-toe with you though.

We'll discuss some of the other things in the coming weeks.

 

LOL - thanks to you Tony, I was able to build confidence on Sunday rather than slinking back to my cave with my tail tucked up.

I think we left it that you are looking for a 15" solution, so I should try and find another home for Mark Chiles' Panasports - correct?

All the best,

Charlie

 

Paul and I teamed up to run Gollum in his last H Street event up at Devens - and it was a great and bittersweet day. I ran 56.7, 56.7, DNF, break, DNF, 56.5, 56.5.

Two DNFs! And not on the first run of the day? How is it possible that I forget the course after two runs?

What happened is that I was target fixated on the finish and looking ahead so far that I twice missed the last little three cone wallom before the line. In the morning I didn't know what the problem was, and even thought perhaps a scoring error had occurred. When I resumed in the afternoon I was a little nervous - and got red flagged two thirds of the way around the course. That gave me a chance to see the end at 8 tenths which should have sorted me out, but it didn't. My re-run featured me doing the same damned thing again - but this time I caught it when it happened, and could fix it.

Paul got in to the 56 range too, and with his last run (he had the hammer) I really wanted him to beat me, but he was just a touch to quick on the turn onto the final runway and lost a few tenths waiting for the car to stop sliding and start going in the right direction.

A hot day, a fun day, with 154 competitors and 34 novices - all of whom had fun as near as I could tell.

I sure do like racing with this crowd, and I'll miss dueling with Paul in H Street starting the next event. A few of my esteemed competitors in G Street are taking notice of my imminent arrival but I think mostly because we may have a pretty good dogfight almost right away.

I look forward to it.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Ah the sad duty of restoring Gollum to OEM state.

It's a bit tricky to refit that spare tire - a clever mount.

The car seems reluctant - when parked last night it wept from the port side washer nozzle, just a little, which it has never done before. This afternoon it clenched around the right front wheel nuts after I had changed back to the 15" holies on the left side.

I insisted, and Gollum declined. First my cheap torque wrench failed, and then with the better quality wrench the adapter to the 3/8" socket sheered off. I can take a hint so I quit trying. The wise lads at MoP can finish that job for me tomorrow, which will be the last day.

The R56 was hands down the best low powered sports car I have ever owned - which is a pretty fair compliment for a gussied up econo-box!

I'll remember our many adventures in perpetuity.

Thanks Gollum!

And that dear readers is the end of this thread.

For the next chapter, you will find more miscellaneous ramblings, racing stories, and shameless rumination here.

All the best,

Charlie