Hi all,
I did the Wicks event at AMVIV. I entered in the intermediate group. Overall, the event was fun. Watching the race was a blast too, I didn't stay till the end of the day as I needed to hook up with the wife and child....

The Wicks set up is great for beginners for sure. There's no fire extinguisher requirement, so it means you can drive up and get out on the course.

I found the in car help to be knowledgable and insitefull, but as I've done a few events like this, I know what to do, excecution is where I need work. After two runs, my instructor said go it alone and just work on the technique.

The in class stuff was geared to a more basic level of instruction than I need, but to be fair, it seemed well suited to most in the group.

But I gotta say, the inner track at Las Vegas is no Laguna, or Infineon, or Thunderhill. It's a short course, with 9 turns, mostly set up into two sequences. If you want an elevation change, you need to drive over one of the berms! But because of the tight nature of the turns, and the coupling of the turns, one can work on technique just fine, and that's what I did.

I found the course to be a challenge for gear selection. If I started the turn sequences in second, I was bumpting the rev limiter or needing to shift at just the wrong moment. If I did them in third, I wanted more power to play with. So the gear really depended on traffic. If others were in front slowing me down, I started the sequences in second, and if the course was clear and fast, I started them in third. I only could use forth at the end of the straight, and then just for a moment, so I rarely did, as the event wasn't timed.

But this was the first time out since the corner balance and setting the ride height. The handleing was great, and the G-Tech reported a lot of turns at the hight .8 Gs and ocationally kissing (every now and then with toung!) the low 0.9 Gs. And this was with GS-3Gs. I ran 38 psi front, 36 rear, but think that maybe they needed a few more PSI.

One other thing, the first session out, it felt like I was driving a buick. Note to self: Set the adjustable shocks much stiffer BEFORE the track work begins! But after the first session, I went up two clicks, and two more for the session after. What a difference. The car was pretty neutral, and I could lift a bit to really rotate through the turns, once a little to aggressivly. But WTF, isn't that what track days are for?

My only complaints are that the track gas station was closed, and even if it wasn't, they only had 91 unleaded and 112 leaded. No 104. I could have used the extra octane.

Matt

 

I flaged the corners on turn two and turn 3!!! that was fun as hell...


sorry for the black flaging guys....

 

Thanks much for the help. All the corner workers did a great job!!

Also to all students, EVERYONE did a great job!! Most of the black flags were for instructor arms out the windows and for some passing that was not in proper zones but it was really a great day !!

 

You scared the hell out of me when you gave me one

All in all, the track day was incredible Running advanced was fun, especially when I had the chance to run with the entire race group while they were practicing.

 

I got one of the bozo flags of the day. Never did learn the come into the pits to get some space trick. I know it now! I just couldn't get the guy in front of me at one point to give me the pass signal. Then, when he finally did, it was about halfway down the straight. I went for it anyway and ended up passing in turn one. Oops.

It was my first track day. I had a great time. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

 

A BIG to the corner workers. Without them we would not have even had an event. I too found the course to very technicial and with the # of cars in group 2 it was hard to get into a rhythm, so at times, I would just putter down the front straight to get some space, then nail it through the rest of the course really trying to work on the line and carring momentum into the next set of turns. I thought the "in class" was much better than Laguna in December and "Dave" was a great teacher.....he too was out of the car buy the 3rd session......"you know what to do....go practice being smooth". However, some of the folks really needed to watch their mirrors more.....it's easy to go fast in a straght line. All in All........Great Day 'til the wind came up
Can't wait 'til the next track day.......hopefully Thunderhill in May.
Blake....how's your left front tire......

 

I only did the lunch laps, and look at the CLAG I picked up!



_Dave_

 

I think some of that may be from me!

Matt

 

I went out on the track for the first time at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and I had a great time. I definitely understand what all the hype is about when it comes to tracking our Minis. These cars were meant for the track and I think everyone that owns a Mini should try a track event atleast once to see what these cars are capable of. It's nice to be able to push your car pretty hard in a controlled environment (especially after having the WMS exhaust installed).

I agree with Matt about the awkward timing of shifts between 2nd and 3rd gear in the turns. The first round I did most of the track in 2nd at a high RPM and an occasional shift into 3rd. It got pretty tiring going between 2nd and 3rd every couple of corners, so I decided to do the track in 3rd for the rest of the day. With a 15% pulley, alta intake, and the WMS exhaust, I had plenty of low end torque to get in and out of the turns with plenty of power.

As for Phil Wicks and the group, I felt like I got my $350 worth. The day ran on schedule and we got 6 solid runs in. I had an instructor that really didn't know anything about Mini's but was knowledgeable about how to drive on a track. In retrospect, I probably should have asked other instructors to observe my progress throughout the day to really get accurate feedback on areas of improvement, but I was just so excited to be out there I just wanted to drive.

Just rotated my tires and the wear pattern is pretty wacky. Since the track was mostly right turns, my front left tire is just shredded. This event was definitely worth shaving about 5K miles off my wheels. It should be interesting at the next track event to see how my car performs with some coilovers and maybe a sway bar. Good times!

 

Definitely go for the suspension mods. I have the H-Sport comp bar (rear) and H-Sport springs. The car felt great on the track. The only drivetrain mod I have is a Milltek cat-back. I felt like I could keep up with everyone out there in the intermediate group. In the turns at least. There were definitely a couple of cars that had no problem overpowering me on the straight.

I spent most of the day in 3rd too. With a brief stint into fourth to get up to around 95. I did try downshifting into second a couple of times on turn 8 to ramp up the power before the straight. Need more heel toe practice 'cuz that didn't go so well for me.

Good times indeed!

 

(double post from the road racing thread)

I can tell you all that Phil is aware of and appreciates your feedback about the events this year. The North American Mini Cooper Championship Race Series (NAMCCRS - sheesh, what a mouthful) is just getting started and as you know still has some rough edges. We're proud of the fact that there were no incidents during the trackday in Las Vegas beyond a couple of spins and mild off road excursions, and lay the credit for that mainly on the shoulders of our wonderful crew of volunteer instructors. After a shortfall at Laguna, we were able to achieve a 1:1 ratio of novices and intermediates to instructors in Las Vegas and will work hard to keep that ratio in the future. Congratulations are due to all the drivers and teams who competed in the race. You are all winners as far as I'm concerned.

Our next Western Region venue is Buttonwillow on October 30th. Phil Wicks Driving Academy will again run a trackday along with another NAMCCRS event. Buttonwillow is a fabulous track just west of Bakersfield, so we expect to see lots of MINIs from Northern and Southern California as well as pilgrims from Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Arizona.

We will again be part of AMVIV in 2007. I can tell you we are working on making a two day driving/racing event on Saturday and Sunday and will be moving the venue from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, just 45 minutes from the Strip. We'll have more exciting news about the 2007 season later, but what a great way to kick it off!

Thanks for sticking by us through our growing pains as we build the organization to meet your expectations. There are bigger and better things to come. Please feel free to PM or email me or Phil or Pete Taylor, our Director of Racing with your comments and suggestions and I hope to see you all again soon at a Phil Wicks event.

Jerry Bradbury
Director US Western Region
Phil Wicks Racing
jerry_bradbury@yahoo.com

 

Jerry,

Do you have any more info on the TV package that was announced at AMVIV?

 

Hi Scott,

Not at this time. Phil will be announcing the media deal he has negotiated at a later date. Stay tuned. It will be great to have our sport getting out to a wider audience via TV.

Cheers,
Sid

 

So did Mrs. Wicks let the cat out of the MINI a little premature at the AMVIV banquet?

 

Gee Jerry, didn't think this was insulting Noree at all. Was just hoping that the info released at the banquet was correct.

 

Here's the press release from Phil Wicks Racing.

And here's a sample of the UK series action at Snetterton.

It looks like it will be up to us to bug our cable providers to carry MavTV. From the race video, it looks like it would be worth the trouble.

 

Excellent news Jerry !

Thanks !

PS I thought Noree alluded to some US coverage?

 

Hi Scott,

From the Press Release:
“Televising the U.K. Series here in the USA is the first step toward developing the U.S. series to be of similar stature and success,” said Phil Wicks.

We're not quite ready for the big time on this side of the pond. Coming soon, though.

But it's not too early to start talking about the NAMCCRS 2006 season finale at Buttonwillow Raceway, just west of Bakersfield, California, on October 30th. Fans who have followed the UK series this summer will get to see the UK champion in person as he goes toe to toe with Randy Webb, Oregonian Caelin Gabriel and America's best when the NAMCCRS wraps up in Central California in October. Will it be Bradley, new kid Freddy Nordstrom or will Arthur Forster repeat as the UK Series champ? The season is just getting underway and it's anybody guess at this point.

Scott, you should organize a caravan down to support your local boy, Caelin Gabriel and the MINI Madness car in the finale.

 

I really hope to make the finale. I was a little dissapointed with the Vegas venue (lack of spectator area/seating) so am hoping the new venue for next year will be better for us track-side supporters.

Any idea which track config will be used at the finale?

 

As the NAMCCRS events get bigger, accomodation for spectators will improve. For now, it's mostly viewing from the paddock, whether it be Laguna Seca, Sebring or Las Vegas. The upside of that, of course, is that the spectators get to mingle with the racecar drivers and teams and get an up close look at the MINI racing machinery. Pretty cool! I think I prefer that to sitting in the grandstands anyway, but that's just me. And I always bring a folding chair.

I can't give out any details on the Buttonwillow venue until the contract has been signed. I'm sure you understand. I'll post the track configuration as soon as I know it. Suffice to say it will be an exciting weekend!

 

Gotcha Jerry......thanks again