So last week I prepped my car for a Roebling Road Phil Wicks event. Spun off track 2 time going into corners too hot after a high speed sweeper, oops! Finally got some ride alongs and instruction on course and started putting some nice smooth laps back to back. Blistered a tire on the LF and swapped and rotated some KUMHO V700s on the car. Did a Solo 1 run(from dead stop, start to finish 1 lap) which puts me at extreme disadvantage with a minus 30-70hp MC against the higher HP MCS, but I managed to pull the 7th fastest lap time(even with the dead cold Kumhos on the rear slipping all over the place). The 8 fastest cars were then put in a shootout for 5 laps and whoevers lap time improved the most was deemed the winner. I probably had an advantage in this event because of the standing start for a MC being such a slug, but once you get rolling, the MC doesn't have as much of a disadvantage, and my lap times could improve dramatically. So anyway, I won the event....The car was just hooked up so well that I might have even had the fastest lap time out there anyway. I have some traqmate data to review(thanks to my GM for loaning me his traqmate). Man, whatta blast....

BTW, I was the only MC in the field!

I thought you guys would enjoy a Justacooper victory...

 

NICE! That's fantastic! Congrats on a hard fought victory.

 

Copied from Bluezeke's post in driver's section

For those interested, here's the results from Sunday's Time Trials:

One Lap TT

Group 2: Stock Coopers
Group 3: Stock Cooper S
Group 4: JCW's & Modifieds
CM: Counterfeits (Miata)

Lower Right: Top 8 Finishers move on to 5 Lap Timed Event




5 Lap Timed Event

First column times: Qualifier's single lap time multiplied times 5
Second column: Car #
Third column: Qualifier's time gain over 5 Lap benchmark in First column (greatest gain wins)

Winner: Chad Matthews in a modified Cooper!

 

Great job! Show those supercharged folk that there's more to mods than a pulley!

R50 FTW

 

I was just on the phone with a customer and told him his 1st best MOD for a Just-A-Cooper is a driving school! This is more proof, it's the NUT behind the Airbag that needs the most adjustments.

Great improvement Chad

 

Awesome job Chad...

Art

 

Score one for Team JustaCooper! =)

 

Thanks guys...and I totally agree that our cars can be very competitive (even in near stock form) in an AutoX and a race track. No matter what the outcome(unless you wrecked your ride), you'll have a big grin!

 

I thought I was going to have a faster time than the stock Cooper S with sticky tires at the time trial at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant (a very fast road course).

But, I didn't pull it off.

Me: 2:09.971
Cooper S: 2:09.402

 

so some guy that needs to learn how to driver a MCS... big deal

 

LOL, you were in one of those MCS's? Come on, admit it....how about there were eight cars and there was only one MC....

 

Well this part just scares me, going to a track you ought to start out with an instructor, and any group I will run with 2 off track excursions means your day is done. Safety first, you'll never be the fastest if your car is buried in the wall.

That said good improvement, I've ridden with instructors who understand the concept of conservation of momentum, the less power you've got the more important it is to hit each corner right. And on most tracks even the MCS is regarded as a very low power vehicle. Always fun to watch a well driven MINI keep up with a 400-500hp modded and race prepped Corvette.

 

Agreed...this wasn't any fault of the event coordinators, I was an instructor for the beginner group and after this incident opted out until I learned the track better...mine for going too fast without learning the line. I was going into that corner too hot and was corrected by getting ridealongs and having someone drive my car. I don't want to learn that way again, but one things for certain...I learned what not to do in that corner.

 

right.. why would anyone buy a porsche 911 carrera when you can buy a MC..

 

You apparently don't get the whole Justacooper thing

It's about being the underdog

 

Well said.

mb

 

very nice job Chad! wish I could've swung it this time but stuff just didn't work out that way (sigh). Hopefully I can go to the next one.