It is unarguably eccentric, perhaps even crazy, to be passionate about the ability to drive a car around pylons on short courses.

If one holds that view, no better example of this eccentricity could be found than the annual pilgrimage to National Finals which for most competitors will require 5-7 days including drive time, and thousands in expenses, for six minutes of competition.

Now since I am bull goose looney and immediately on the defensive let me point out that the folks that flock to the NHRA finals, or gather at Mohave or another salt flat (http://saltflats.com/) probably spend far more for even less, so on the spectrum of lunacy autocrossers are not at the extreme edge.

Yesterday I invested only twelve hours (of which about 2.5 are drive time) and the entry fee for those six minutes, so the fact that we were blessed with 90 degree summer weather would be outright whining. Consequently I wouldn't mention that doing back to back twelve hour days on that runway has taken a bit of a toll - my legs are reminding me of the price of exercise.

The good news was that the volunteer force of course setters had done so after the previous day's school, so the course was set on my arrival. Although I did manage to set grid, that was a "by" of unintended proportions, resulting in a swift start to the day.

The course walked well (I have never met a course I didn't like, so take that accordingly) and I was working the first run group, and driving in the second which was fine and meant I'd have a leisurely third heat for lunch and another to pack up.

As corner captain for One and armed with worthy volunteers we were just hitting our groove when the event was halted due to an operational issue. The improvements which resulted meant that we might as well go directly to run group two, and tuck the partial run group in at the end, resulting in a 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 sequence. It all made perfect sense to me, but there went my leisurely packing up. Changing four tires promptly at the end of the day in that heat is the price paid for the glory of adhesion on course however, so again - I am not permitted to whine...

When the smoke had cleared there were the expected, and the unexpected. Great battles, small and large. On the small side we had two classes with only two competitors as I recall. One was engaged in settling the question of whether Stacy or Bill will be the fastest in the "Dragon" A Mod car on that particular day. The other of course was HS where Paul and I peck away. STX is always a hoot, did I mention we had a Lamborghini Superleggera, and of course we had the fun of watching local man Grant Reeve whip our distinguished guest Pat Salerno in SS.

Despite how hard that last feat truly is, Grant's driving did not take top Pax - that honor was reserved for Billy Davis. Perhaps Billy, having joined the touring band of Evo Hotshoes and done a great job of instructing on Saturday felt the need to put the final stamp of rightness on the whole weekend with that gentle reminder that he is damned fast. Many other acts of brilliance occurred, but my brains are tired so I'll spare you further.

Except one - as corner captain for One I could see the karts clearly as they finished the first runway and entered the sweeper onto the main runway. That turn, over slightly rough asphalt, was a great test of courage and skill for the karts as they can in theory slide through it almost without lifting, and lose as few revs as possible lining up into the next element.

Among the many well driven karts I observed one performance made me grin like a banshee - which was of course Kim-Soo at the grizzled age of nine years, having graduated to an unlimited kart (with a throttle stop) only last year, tossing her kart into that right hander and cheerfully catching the slides while keeping the throttle open. She lost few revs when it was perfect, and when she missed by a little it was like watching a drift competition shrunk to diminutive proportions.

Her raw times are now getting too close to mine, so I may have to stop liking her. An H Stock Mini should be able to beat a junior kart darnit now stop that! :-)

With regard to the pecking away part, Paul coned his last fastest run (65.1) which same elapsed time would have scared the holy living hell out of me if I hadn't seen him nick one as I sat waiting on the line. It was the fastest run of the day thus far. Perhaps that gave me some freedom to take chances, because my run was a 64.9 and I sure as hell took a few chances.

So we all survived, and had fun, and the saga continues!

Cheers,

Charlie

(Results)

 

Charlie-

No worries, I spotted the camera bracket in my car. Feel free to grab it at the next event.

The school was fantastic and the next day was a great chance to apply what we learned. Here's my best run from Sunday.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYuEInPhRT4

-Jeff

 

That's a relief! Nice video, thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

With apologies to the Wallenda clan for bastardizing one of the most famous quotes from their patriarch.

The next event is the Match Tour on the 20th, where we shall have no less than four HS drivers including my co-driver from the Mid-Atlantic Championships.

I've Gollum II slated for a little fussing over on the 19th, courtesy of Mini of Peabody and their satellite "Car Spa" business. Nothing much - I decided to go ahead and replace the lamp on the right-hand side of the bumper which fell victim to a cardboard box in the passing lane earlier this year. I suppose that is asking for a major league cone strike but what the heck. I am bored with the complaint from the tach LEDs every time I start the car.

I'll have him detailed too, because one can never look too good for a National event.

And finally I have asked for a compression check. Since the last tank was a 42+ mpg run which is the highest the car has ever done I want to know the baseline numbers. Many miles, and hopefully many years from now, that set of numbers may come in handy.

And then we shall see what this Match Tour format is all about!

Cheers,

Charlie

Ps: Does anyone know where the original Gollum is these days? The gent in Philly that bought him turned around and put him back on the market rather than wear him out in a long and boring commute - but I've no idea what new home he went to... Jefe, do you still have him?

 

Sometimes life does not go as planned.

The weekend of the 20th I did not compete at the Match Tour, due to a death in the family.

PZ, ever the gentlemen also changed classes - so we went from four HS cars to 0, and the RTF ranks swelled slightly. Next event is now the Racing Against Leukemia charity fund raiser up at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which is always a hoot as all four disciplines of motor sport come together in one place. Where else could one do rallycross, autocross, road rally and road racing within such a small area?

The prep work did go as planned however, so I now have baseline numbers for compression for the car - which are:

---- Cyl1, Cyl2, Cyl3, Cyl4
Dry - 168, 171, 169, 171
Wet - 212, 216, 211, 212
-----------------------

So that is what a R56 Justa in perfect health can pump at 18,000 miles...

Now - should I run with the Miata Club this weekend?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Well I am sore and sunburned and cheerful.

After a six week hiatus Gollum and I went and absolutely wallowed in motor sports for two days up at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon for you old farts).

The occasion was the annual charity fund raiser called RAL where all branches of the SCCA New England Region converge for two days of merriment.

From the Rally Cross crew to the Autocrossers (and those special souls with boundary issues we call "Double Crossers") to the Road Rally folks and of course the Road Racers - all donated time, money, humor and competitive spirit to create a most memorable series of events.

Aside from being a family reunion of sorts, the RAL weekend features a dinner and movie Saturday night, rides in a Spec Miata at FULL speed around the road course during the lunch break, track "tours" behind a rather fast pace car at end of day (yes, one of the autocrossers SPUN at the entrance to Turn 3 during a "tour"), special raffles from many generous businesses and individual, and assorted and unspecified extracurricular entertainment within the infield (I've not heard that the golf cart racing tradition continued this year thought).

And the autocrossers alone raised over $10k for the cause, with a personal sacrifice by one of our members putting us over the round number. I refer of course to the "should Brian L. be forced to wear a SMALL RAL tee shirt better suited to a child during the next points event" contest which generated more "Aye" than "Nay" and raised damned near $100 alone!

My attention over the weekend was of course focused on remembering how to drive after such a long break, and then continuing my battle with PZ over whether the Mazda 3 or the Mini should wear the HS crown.

With perfect weather and a sub 30 second course in the VIP lot of the Speedway I had Saturday to accomplish task 1. That Paul was doing his Regional Executive job and could not take any runs on Saturday gave me just the unfair advantage I sought.

Saturday morning was fun runs at $10 a pop, and allowed me the chance to get the rust off with about four looks at the course. That brought me to Saturday afternoon which is a special event for the NER autocross calender based on the generous donation of a Pocono Trophy awarded to Jeff Gordon in 1991 (he won) which the Club now uses as the prize for a single elimination shootout among a combination of the fastest qualifiers and the most effective fund raisers.

The way this works is after lunch on Saturday we show up and take three timed runs almost like a regular event. An elimination tree with 16 slots then is populated with the fastest 13 qualifiers and the top three fund raisers. Since one driver qualified on both counts we actually slipped 14 qualifiers into the tree, but that was of little concern as Gollum liked the course and we earned top PAX in the qualification round.

Now mind you, Kimsoo (the young lady with the fast kart, whose father has been one of my teachers) went out while I was standing watch at Turn 1 and early in the day ripped off a 28 second raw time - thereby serving notice that she was taking no prisoners - not even her father Chang, who was at that moment slightly slower on PAX than she. More on that later...

So for the second time in my ten years with NER I was in the Jeff Gordon Challenge, and so the elimination rounds began. Every dog has his day it is said, and this day I was the dog because the car and I had found a nice repeatable little route through the course that just happened to be between 27.8 and 28 flat, and that just happened to PAX to a very good number indeed. To two runs later we were down to four competitors.

One of the pairings in the quarters (or was it the semis?) was Chang in the STC Civic and Kimsoo in her FJB kart. I was in the grid so I did not see it, but the word is that Kimsoo had fuel starvation issues on course and did not win because of it. Now someone who does not understand the love that binds these two, or perhaps someone with a more Machiavellian mind than I have, might project into that happenstance a dark motive. Someone might point out that Chang is after all the crew chief for Kimsoo and might therefore have a conflict of interest. I of course simply grinned, and thanked Chang for eliminating his daughter from the tournament before she had a crack at ME!

And so Chang and I went into the final. I lined up behind him, doubting that I could be consistent enough to deliver one more sub-28 second run, and struggling not to hear his car leave the line and to ignore the cheerful announcer, and generally not to blow it.

And then my last run for all the marbles, death or glory. And death it was! Gritting my teeth into the off-camber left midway through the course I was a fraction late pitching Gollum into the slide that just evaded both the apex cone and the outer wall. The result was one of those "see it in slow motion" moments where I knew I was taking the last couple of cones in that wall and there wasn't a damned thing I could do about it except repeal the laws of physics. And yep blammo! and I was back on the throttle and pissed at myself and finished the course with a 28.2 AND a cone or two.

So I rolled out of the shutdown area and pulled up next to Chang and the Civic, and stuck my hand out the window to congratulate him and was incredulous to hear that he ALSO had a dirty run.

And a few seconds later I heard the announcer declare that I had won the day. I had struck two cones, but one of them was a pointer. My dirty run was fractionally faster than Chang's dirty run, and so I now have a monstrous trophy with Jeff Gordon's name on it in my custody for the next 12 months.

Now that's momentum, right? Not only did I have a practice day to get ready for PZ, I even had a psychological edge as he had been doing the work of the angels for the Regional all day and I had earned a shiny object. Surely Sunday must be a walk over to an HS win?

Never that easy. If you have read earlier chapters in this tale you knew that was not going to work, right?

Sunday (apart from hangovers on the part of some of our younger and more committed members) was a normal points event, but with only 55 competitors in NH as opposed to our normal 130-160 at Devens, and with a short course as opposed to the 60+ second Devens courses, we managed four runs in the morning and five more in the afternoon.

And it was Katy bar the door and Devil take the hindmost all damned day. PZ announced his intentions from the first couple of runs as usual, when he was within a few tenths on the new (and surprising flowing) "mini course" that we squeezed into that 400' square lot.

As usual, I went faster, and then he went faster.

And then miraculously, after lunch when I am normally slow and cannot find the aggression needed to attack the course, I went down to a 27.8 and PZ got stuck at around a 28.1 and just could not beat that Mazda any faster.

Perhaps NHMS gives the Mini a slight edge, because my margin of victory (about .4 secs) was I think the largest I have had this year...

So Gollum and I had a clean sweep with top 10 PAX performances both days, which is a pretty giddy feeling. A couple of my friends cracked wise with me during the events on both days and essentially told me that my "eager beginner" routine was outdated and an had better fess up to being fast. Perhaps so, but it feels funny. Perhaps after ten years of practice, and the generous instruction of many friends, and equipped with a really good car, I have sort of made it.

Perhaps I am officially a big frog in a small pond??

The next points event is Devens next weekend, and we'll be there and with all the ferocity I can muster, and then a weekend off, and then Nationals.

And even with Paul unable to attend, and with only a small class at Lincoln, I already know what is going to happen to this big frog out there in that Nebraska pond...

Greg Reno is gonna kick my butt!

Should be a blast...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Aaaahhh, I sure you won't croak out there...

 

LOL, thanks Eddie.

One thing from last Sunday that I didn't mention was that I had Billy Davis as a co-driver. I made him run in the pro class as I expected him to beat me in my own car and I didn't want to upset the points battle I have going with PZ.

Billy got down to a 28.2, but never really figured out how to get the most from the Mini. He is magic in the CSP Miata and a truly gifted driver, but that change was SO dramatic that it seemed to stump him just a bit.

I took him out on one of my runs and showed him how a use the lift throttle oversteer to get the car to slide a bit so that no brakes are needed, and he tried it, but to no avail.

I really am looking forward to Nationals, but my expectations are very modest. If I set my mind to a trophy spot I expect that it would mess with me and very likely make it harder to concentrate on getting the most from the car.

Kind regards,

Charlie

 

Nice work! And does that mean you get a drive in the CSP roller skate sometime?

 

I haven't the cojones for that!

I don't remember the last time I drove a RWD car in anger. Unless you count the Spitfire in '77.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

that's something i'm still learning myself! with the gs/hs merger in mind, i'm looking at a dominant hyundai genesis coupe and focus st that are dominating in my region and have me by a solid 3 seconds.. must be doing something wrong

 

Charlie,
Glad to hear that you and Gollum are getting used to each other and having fun. Have you felt the need to adjust your dampers or alignment, or just been playing with tire pressures?
Keep the updates coming, it is always a good read, especially when a MINI comes out on top.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Thanks Mike. That's a no on the adjustments, with the exception that on Saturday during the Jeff Gorden elimination rounds I forgot to check my tire pressures before the first run. When I remembered I was a bit startled to discover that the rears had swelled to 56 psi. I bled them down to 54 because the car was behaving beautifully on that small course, so the lesson was my normal 52 is actually not a hard upper limit.

I don't think I'd go that high at Devens though, as the faster course would very probably have me in "drift mode" which I doubt would be helpful.

The shocks I have not touched...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Before dawn I climbed into Gollum having prepped the previous evening and was greeted with the intoxicating scent of sticker Hoosiers.

That is a very nice way to start a day.

Alex@TireRack.com had put up with my muddled attempts to purchase a set in time to break them in before Nationals, and I am most grateful for his patience. (Note to self: when purchasing over $1,000 of tires with credit cards that have $500 limits, just don't!). I am also deeply appreciative of the quality of the mount & balance at Auto-Dyne in Beverly MA, who overcame their initial skepticism regarding the racing application and did a "just in time" job on Friday as soon as the tires arrived on the FedEx truck. Thank you both!

Thus I secured the unfair advantage for the day, as Paul is still running the Goodrich slicks he won last year, which have over 50 runs on them and are certainly no longer fresh. What are stickers worth? At the end of the day I had PZ by about .8 which is the greatest margin of victory all year.

I really am enjoying the last hurrah of the A6 this year, and will sup on that potent wine to the last drop.

As you will see, the course was diverse and entertaining, with elements that seemed quite fast as well as one of our "how do I get through that?" walls and a nice safe pinch before the finish. I was contemplating 3rd gear during the coursewalk, but as usual didn't need it. The car was on the limiter in that section, but only for a second.

The first run was a 67.9 at about ninety percent - to get the mold release and label adhesive off the tires and warm them for a more serious attempt.

When the day had ended and after a total of seven runs I had hammered on the door of a 66 but not been admitted. My 5th and 6th runs were 67.099 and 67.021 respectively, but my attempt at a hero run fizzled to a 67.221 when I mistakenly over braked and activated the anti-lock system.

We had a full crew of top drivers for the day, as those intending to compete in Lincoln were also polishing their skills and equipment in anticipation of the great western trek. In particular Jeff Hurst brought his quick Rx-8 up from New York to see how he would fare in contrast to local hot-shoe Jeff Anderson driving David Thomas' rotary.

Jeff fared badly all day, until he came to the line for his last run with NO clean runs in his first six attempts. He then took the win! I am told that this is not unusual for Mr. Hurst, although I confess my own nerves could not tolerate such a strategy.

Another entertaining spectacle contained the Mod classes, where Stacey Strout and Bill Goodale traded fast times in Bill's A-Mod, and William Schambach and Bill Gendron battled in their awe inspiring B-Mod cars. El Viejo took the prize in that contest once again demostrating that gunfighter reflexes and years of experience are not mutually exclusive.

Among the surprises of the day was Matt Murray sharing his hugely quick BMW 1M Coupe with Rachel Baker - who returned the favor by beating this past National Champion in his own car!

Lynn and Bud Collins also put on a great show in C Stock, preparing for Nationals in their immaculate Solstice. Both are outstanding drivers, and admiring their skill always reminds me also of Paul and Lynne Kozlak who are similarly gifted.

It is now time to let my legs relax and recover, hope my sunburned schnozz heals quickly, and bag the A6s for the long trip to Lincoln.

Wish me luck!

Cheers,

Charlie

PS: Here's a 67.3 for your dining and dancing pleasure...

 

Oh by the way, Kimsoo was around 70 seconds, which in FJB kart terms means she was at about Mach 2...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Before I need to heap scorn on this fine steed to create excuses for being hammered in Lincoln let me be honest for a sec.

I love this car. It has and does exceed my expectations. It has a lot less power than that Works R53 but it's an honest effort. It pulls without whimpering all the way to whenever I get bored and shift...

And it stops on a dime and turns like a cat on Velcro. Even with only the H Stock mods it is a hoot and a holler and must be used with discretion.

So there you go - in love for the second time. I've more luck with Minis than in some other realms!

So let the record reflect that I was grinning hugely after a run to Gloucester on this date, and at this time...



Cheers,

Charlie

 

In the last day I've spent a bit of time reviewing a video of a friend's R56 on course...

To my complete amazement, this D Stock MCS (formerly Craig Wilcox's car) rose up onto the outside two wheels while negotiating a medium speed slightly off-camber left hand turn. This occurs 53 seconds into the video.

The car is well set up of course, and shod with BF Goodrich R1-S tires.

I'm somewhat at a loss to draw any broad conclusions from this event, except perhaps to note that improbable stuff happens.

Cheers,

Charlie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RASb7IiDIZQ

 

I was there for that...I was doing timing and scoring, but my friend visiting from the UK was working that corner and came in totally amazed...this was his first time at an autocross and could not get his head around the grip needed to get the car on two wheels. I three wheeled or pushed through that turn on all my runs with my Dunlop shod RTF justa.

Your friend also was top pax for the day.

 

I can't quite get my head around it either.

Jojo and Todd Kean co-drove the car. Jojo went bicycling, and Todd earned top PAX.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

OK, it's Wednesday, and I am departing for Lincoln on Friday...

Time to start the countdown checklist...

1. am I registered? (check)
2. do I have paddock space? (check)
3. do I have a fresh set of Hoosiers? (check)
4. can I beg, borrow, or steal enough money? (check)

That's a good start!

5. can I start to load the car, even though it's too early? (yep)

I guess I have a few friends whose loyalty exceeds their good judgement, as the SCCA Poll to pick the winners at Nationals shows that I've received a few votes. I am touched, but not in agreement. My money is still on Gregg, and if I can get close to Ryan Leach and Tim Carritte it will have been a very good event indeed.

Now out to the garage...

Tomorrow when I go for coffee I want the car to be full of the effervescent scent of DOT-R rubber... That will add fuel to the fire of anticipation which is already preventing me from working the day job with any vigor.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Good Luck Charlie!

Hoping you and the rest of the North East Contingent have a great event.

 

Ahhh..yes forgot that was a two driver car. It is always nice to see a mini top pax!

 

Good luck Charlie! Safe travels. Metal side up; rubber side down.

 

Thanks for the well wishes - I'll be careful on I-80 and mind my manners in the paddock.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Arrived at Lincoln a day early - I have trouble taking off ramps you see. A 900 mile day Friday, and an 800 mile day today. No problem - except that there are 0 hotel rooms in Lincoln due to the football game, and my reservation does not start until tomorrow. I had to retreat to Omaha to get a roof over my head. 100 degrees in Lincoln at 4:30 pm, and the State Police were lining I 80 looking for people that had already started drinking before the game...



41.93 mpg on the trip, with 40 psi all around and the cruise control set at an indicated 75 (that is a true 70.5). I've about 200 lbs of gear on board apart from my own carcase.



Cheers,


Charlie