I just obtained a Preliminary Schedule from GrandAm.

The 6-hour ST race is scheduled for Saturday, October 6th - from 2:30PM to 8:30 PM.

(Night practice is scheduled for Friday night @ 7 PM.)

Guess we need to put the headlights in the cars!

 

Randy - so sorry you can't come - 50 cars and 78 people already pre-registered! This will be a big blast of a MINI party!

So, do you have the new intercooler set-up for tree rivers?

 

Steve

Where did you find this information????? You are planning to attend, correct??

Thanks

Mark

 

Bright headlights! Going to be fun!

 

Randy and Alain

Good luck to you guys as well as Owen and Simon. Have a safe drive, we look forward to the post race report !!

Bob and I will be "watching" the race on my "phone".

Mark

 

Marc:

I emailed the Grand Am site this AM - they sent me a PDF of the schedule - said that they'd get it up on the Grand AM site today.

Yes ... I'll be driving down to VIR on Thursday (10/4)

 

Leaving early Thursday morning to drive over the border .....


.... hopefully no rain in Quebec this weekend!

 

The past few weeks I've been unable to visit NAM that much... and here it is, another GA race!

The lobbying got RSR some well-deserved concessions. It's amazing how much work, beyond race day, goes into making a winner. I'm really excited about the progress this team is making, on multiple fronts. I'm really feeling good about 3R!

M7 sold an Extreme Scoop in which testing, by myself and DrObnxs, revealed a notworthy difference. Data-logging showed that this scoop made for performance gains (improved molecular density) over the stock scoop, and also with the GRS IC. Getting air in, and ensuring that the diverter is channeling it all through (no leakage out the sides) is imperative. Just an idea as I've seen these scoops in the Marketplace. As I understand it, M7 is working on a revision to the DFIC that is to be more track friendly...

Best of luck guys! Be safe and have fun. Wishing for cool weather...

EDIT: Just checked, and it appears that the wish has been granted as high temps are to be only in the 60's! There is a chance of precipitation, but heck, we've got Alain :-)

 

Go get em boys!

Fyi....better enjoy the 3R temps...we tested the 997 at Miller on Monday and its was 105.....but its was a dry heat.

 

Nice Practice 3 times, guys! Way to go! Qualify well and good luck in the race!

Allez, allez, allez!

 

Sorry for no `at the track` updates . . . my computer access card does not work in Quebec???

Any way, the second practice session was a rainout, therefore the slower times.

Line up:

197 Alain Lauziere and Simon Dion-viens
198 Randy Smalley & Owen Trinkler

Simon and Randy will Qualify the cars tomorrow morning @ 9:15

The brakes have been a b***h. This track is tough on brakes. Nursing the brakes is part of the race strategy tomorrow. Air temps are cool so the IC issue has not rasied it`s ugly head. We have installed the Pace products water 2 air IC on the 198 and so far, so good. Temps are down a lot.

Will try to update tomorrow as I can.

Randy

 

Good luck! Lower gear?

 

Good luck guys. RSR to the front!!!

 

Decent qualifying, Randy - you're in the race! Persevere and win!
Tell Tim to bring the cars to Norwalk on Sunday for the Summer Splash - we will offer appearance money! BIG BUCKS !

 

Good start, good start - Simon and Randy running together on lap 4 - good grief the live timing live audio announcer Alfredo is very foreign sounding!

anyone else listening?

Keep moving up! 16th now for Simon

 

These acuras are getting to be too much annoyance.

 

Paul, I'm listening also. The guy is cracking me up at times. It sounds as though, as Randy said earlier, this track is pretty tough on brakes.

 

Yeah, he is a trip! Name : Alfredo Nin. yayayayayayayaya



I just sent him an email to shout out to all the MINI Cooper fans :

alfredonin@hotmail.com >>>>>>>> woa!!!!! he just read my email on LIVE RADIO!

(peter)

 

Owen Trinkler, and Randy Smalley, car # 198..........white flag lap! in 7th place!

Finished 7th ! and car # 197 finishes also!!!!! Great results!

Congratulations, Team RSR!

Cripes, the race announcer called out another email from me! How vicarious is this?

 

7th place!?

What happened? When I went-out to do some yardwork, the 197 ad 198 cars were like 17 and 18th. I see where the 198 car that got 7th finished ahead of cars pulling faster lap times. Rain, accidents?

Either way, nice job moving up the field!!!

 

I see where the 198's fastest lap was on 53, with a low 1:17; which is nice improvement from earlier, I think lap 4 or 5... Did Alain get in the car with some damp roads?

 

Congrats RSR on a fine finish!!!!! You make us old farts proud to be MINI owners.

 

Great job! 7th place, knocking on the door!

 

Great job RSR!

What happened to the #197 car?

It appears the Pace water to air IC worked well?

 

Only one word to describe this race . . . BRAKES !

The 197 did not finish the race. Simon qualified the car and drove the 1st stint. On lap 55 he came to the pit with the brakes on fire. We had to use the fire extinguisher on the left front brake. The brakes were done with no possibility of repair. The car went behind the wall. Unfortunately, Alain never got behind the wheel.

This brake scenario was played out on virtually every car on the track. Only 15 cars were on the track at the end AND every car from P13 down was in the pit with brake problems. Brake fires were common place.

There were NO cautions, no accidents . . . the race went flag to flag.

-------------------------

As you know, the 198 placed 7th ,our best finish of the year. We are very pleased! We were also the Number 2 finisher in the 'Koni' group . . . that is, we were the 2nd placed car on Koni shocks which earned us some well deserved bonus money.

The pre-race plan (for both cars) was for driver #1 to SAVE THE BRAKES. We chased brake problems all week. The track has 6 braking points that just rip the brakes up. Their is no time for cool down.

We would nurse the brakes and do a driver / fuel change at the 1st caution that occurred after the fuel window opened. . . and then sprint to the end.
That caution never came.

Randy drove the 1st stint with a plan to run 1:20's. After 27 laps he came to the pits and turned the car to Owen who stepped up the pace to the 1;17's and 18's. The car slowly moved it way through the pack to P7.

The car definitely had better times 'in it'. Randy qualified the car in the 17's and had Owen not continued to save the brakes I'm certain there were some 16's and maybe even a 15 in there. However, finishing the race in a good position was the goal. The P7 came from restraint and not from the right foot!

Lastly, 3 of the top 5 were Canadians with lots of 3R experience. The top 6 were also 3R veterans... this was our 1st time.

Special thanks to Alain who hopped in his car and drove to Montreal and picked up some extra brake rotors for the race as we destroyed all ours, including ours and Alain's spares !

Another special thanks to Alain's wife, Naomi. She was a very gracious host and cooked lunch for the driver's and crew all week. It was greatly appreciated.

Randy