Open classes:

MINI Coopers took the first nine places in H Stock.
A MINI Cooper S was second to an Audi TT in D Stock.
A MINI Cooper S placed fourth in Street Modified Front Wheel Drive.
A 1960 Austin Mini finished fifth in D Modified.

 

I can't believe a MINI or ITR didn't win D stock!

 

Well NAM member OasisT took second in DSTOCK both in National Championship and in ProSolo Championship. Both Championships the Audi TT marginally took the win. That Audi was an 08' 3.2 VR6 AWD, lot's of tq, hp, grip and low center of gravity. Craig was only beat by .4 and if he didn't cone a run it would of been .2 of a sec, which is great. My opinion the AudiTT should be in CStock, but whatever.

The SMF R53 MINI is a well sorted out car and with great drivers, but SMF was weak this year.. Only person giving that MINI a run is Bryan Karwin in the Karcepts Civic.

D-Stock Ladies Craig's car(OasisT's MINI) won 1st place with Mindi co-driving it. I believe the Audi was in DSLadies too but I'm sure the driver skill lacked.

HStock, made me want to get a Justa, that class was so tight..

 

If the Audi TT were under-classed in DS, I'd think there would have been more than one running in DS. There might be more than one in DS next year though.

With such a continuing domination of HS, I'm still wondering why the MCs haven't been moved up at least to GS. The MCSs were kicked all the way up from GS to DS for 2010.

 

"All the way up from G to D was really only one small step up. E and F Stock are both faster than D Stock. D Stock is only 1.0% quicker than G Stock.

Moving the non-S Cooper just because it is winning isn't so easy without unfairly killing it altogether. G Stock is 2.3% quicker than H Stock and has cars with far more horsepower than a Cooper.

(Percentages of quickness are based on 2011 PAX numbers.)

 

First off, gotta say congrats to Mindi for winning DS Ladies against a tough field. Also, congrats to all the guys in HS, that was a heckuva battle between Reno and Fienberg both in Mini's. Now for DS....

After day 1, I was a bit disappointed to be back 0.420 going into day 2, but, I felt I ran as good as I know how to for that course. Temps were in the mid-upper 90's with not a cloud in the sky so it was brutally hot. In an attempt to keep the fronts cool, we swapped fronts between every run since we both purchased a new pair of fronts for the event. Amazingly, I ran a 66.8, 66.9 and 66.9 for day 1. Even though I felt I drove better on runs 2 and 3, with things being so hot, times simply were not dropping. The driver in the TT was a single driver.

On to day 2, it was around 85 or so to start the heat so much cooler. I still decided to bring 2 pairs of fronts and swapped out every run. The driver of the TT went out and coned on his first run with a class leading time of 69.1. I was really hoping to put some pressure on him with a good clean run. I ran through the course and really felt like I nailed a good one and came in with a 69.1(0.011 quicker than the TT), but, after coming back to grid, was given the bad news that I had a cone. Unfortunately, the TT put down a clean 69.3 so I knew I really had my work cut out for me. On my 2nd run, I went out and was laying down a good solid run when going through some transitions and ice mode kicked and and threw me off line. I decided to run the rest of the course at 105% to see if I could gain some time in any given area, no such luck, came back with a clean 70.xxx good enough to put me back in 2nd going into the 3rd and final run for the championship. The driver of the TT slowed down with a 69.4. I needed a 68.950 for the win. On my 3rd run, I really felt I ran a solid run, gave it my all and really felt like it was better than my 1st run, unfortunately, it wasn't enough at 69.3. I really don't have any regrets coming out of nats, I felt I drove as well as I have ever driven at nats given the temps and courses versus the competition.

Not taking anything away from the TT driver, because, he definitely earned a championship this year, but, I really think the TT is simply too much for the class. Unfortunately, its gonna take $30K+ prep for the TT, and, its gotta be a 3.2L 6spd which was last made in 2008. That car is a beast and is said to slalom/transition better than the Mini. I ran against that TT for 5 events this season and lost at 4 of the 5 and would have lost at all 5 events if he hadn't coned. I had new tires at all the events with the exception of one. At all of these events, I must say I really drove to the best of my ability. Last year(in my 06 Evo in BSP), I didn't lose a single event with the exception of my 1st event where we had some tuning issues where I placed 2nd to the future SM National Champion. This year, I felt I drove as good as I ever have, and, won every event with the exception of the events where the TT attended. Also to note, the 2009 and 2010 D-Stock National Champions were also running in class and placed 3rd and 4th(congrats to Jon Ma in his 2007 Mini Cooper S) and they were 1.2 and 1.8 seconds behind the TT. One more thing to note, in 2010 at the National Championship, the TT almost won class last year with the driver only running 1 event prior to Nats, he was a mere 0.1 seconds behind Jon Ma in the Mini. At that event, the TT had very limited prep/tuning. I knew after running against the TT all season long at Tours and Pros that I had to have the best event of my Nationals life(which I felt I did) as well as a lot of luck to beat him. Unfortunately, I was lacking on the luck side for 2011. ;-)

Either way, I am keeping the Mini and might try again next season in D-Stock. One thing is for sure, I am not going to spend $40K on a TT where I'd have $65K in two D-Stock cars, especially since I am positive the Mini is more fun than the TT could ever dream of being.

 

Thanks for the write up, and I'm glad you felt that your driving was where you wanted it to be. Congrats for the 2nd, and for scaring the leader as much as you did. I'm certainly proud that the re-classed Mini is being pushed as successfully as is the case, and thank you for that.

A major tip of the hat to our new DSL champion!

Kind regards,

Charlie

 

My first trip to the Champs left me with completely mixed emotions. Great seeing everyone I've met over the last couple years at East Coast Tours and meeting new folks in both D and HS. Not thrilled with my driving during the event though. Our 2002 Mini is still competitive at the sharp end of the HS field and I completely dropped the ball on the second day in particular. Motivation to further develop Simon (The Mini) and get a better handle on the Hoosiers. Maybe showing up in Nebraska having never run the A6 before was not the brightest move, lol.

I'll take the trophy, but I want more! Hope to see some folks from the forums in Nashville at the end of the month. We will be back next year and will do everything in out power to move closer to the top spot.