Monday, May 29, 2006
Qualifying 2/Race 2 - 5/28/06 - Grattan Raceway
Sunday morning dawned clear, hot, and muggy for Round 2 of the championship. In pre-qualifying preparation on Sunday morning Jim was able to diagnose two issues with the car that had plagued me in Saturday afternoon's race. First, he diagnosed and fixed a gear selection issue that was causing me to miss over half of my downshifts into 3rd gear on Saturday. He also corrected a second issue with the throttle that was costing the engine 300-400 revs down Grattan's long front straightaway.
I gridded for Sunday morning's qualifying session with the car feeling the best that it had the whole weekend. After watching the qualifying for the other open wheel run groups I had also discovered some different lines to take through some of the turns. The improvements to the car and line/braking point discoveries I had made prompted me to set a goal for myself to get into the 1:32's in the morning session.
The car felt good in the morning session and I did not have any off-track excursions. I did have one significant moment when a missed downshift after "the jump" caused the car to jump sideways quite a bit. Thankfully I caught the car and continued the session.
I brought the car back to the pits after completing 11 laps in the morning session. I checked my time to see that I had run a 1:31.8, an improvement of 4.8 seconds from my Saturday qualifying time. That was only 3.5 seconds off the pole and within a second or two of some very experienced First/Vee drivers. Needless to say, I was quite happy and looking forward to the afternoon's race. I qualified fifth in class (kudos to Jared Smith on taking the pole) and seventh overall.
The afternoon's race did not go quite as I had planned, but I was able to bring home a fourth place finish in class thanks to no off-track excursions and Jared Smith's unfortunate failure while leading the race (very tough luck -- he was having a great run). I got a decent start and was able to beat the eighth place qualifier into turn 1 on the first lap. However, I took it too easy on my tires through the next section of the course and was passed by two cars at "the jump". I was able to keep the red car (I believe it was Chris Satterley) in my sights but I was not able to reel him in and came home a decent 7th overall and fourth in class. My best lap was a 1:33.5 (about 1.7 seconds off my morning time). I learned a lot during the race, specifically that I need to race the racetrack rather than the cars around me. When you're concentrating on things other than proper braking, shifting, and turn-in points it will slow you down. Of course, they told us this in racing school but sometimes you have to learn things yourself!
All in all, it was a reasonably successful weekend. Two fourths puts me in a decent points position to start the season and I learned a tremendous amount about the car and the brakes. Hopefully everything I learned this weekend will help me get closer and closer to the sharp end of the field as the season goes on.
Thanks to Rob Howden for his coverage and sponsorship of our series (check out FormulaCar Magazine and www.eformulacarnews.com) and thanks again to Grand Rapids Auto Auction for making this weekend possible for me. I'm proud to have Progressive Basics on the car for the next three events this season and I'm looking forward to bringing them some strong results!
I gridded for Sunday morning's qualifying session with the car feeling the best that it had the whole weekend. After watching the qualifying for the other open wheel run groups I had also discovered some different lines to take through some of the turns. The improvements to the car and line/braking point discoveries I had made prompted me to set a goal for myself to get into the 1:32's in the morning session.
The car felt good in the morning session and I did not have any off-track excursions. I did have one significant moment when a missed downshift after "the jump" caused the car to jump sideways quite a bit. Thankfully I caught the car and continued the session.
I brought the car back to the pits after completing 11 laps in the morning session. I checked my time to see that I had run a 1:31.8, an improvement of 4.8 seconds from my Saturday qualifying time. That was only 3.5 seconds off the pole and within a second or two of some very experienced First/Vee drivers. Needless to say, I was quite happy and looking forward to the afternoon's race. I qualified fifth in class (kudos to Jared Smith on taking the pole) and seventh overall.
The afternoon's race did not go quite as I had planned, but I was able to bring home a fourth place finish in class thanks to no off-track excursions and Jared Smith's unfortunate failure while leading the race (very tough luck -- he was having a great run). I got a decent start and was able to beat the eighth place qualifier into turn 1 on the first lap. However, I took it too easy on my tires through the next section of the course and was passed by two cars at "the jump". I was able to keep the red car (I believe it was Chris Satterley) in my sights but I was not able to reel him in and came home a decent 7th overall and fourth in class. My best lap was a 1:33.5 (about 1.7 seconds off my morning time). I learned a lot during the race, specifically that I need to race the racetrack rather than the cars around me. When you're concentrating on things other than proper braking, shifting, and turn-in points it will slow you down. Of course, they told us this in racing school but sometimes you have to learn things yourself!
All in all, it was a reasonably successful weekend. Two fourths puts me in a decent points position to start the season and I learned a tremendous amount about the car and the brakes. Hopefully everything I learned this weekend will help me get closer and closer to the sharp end of the field as the season goes on.
Thanks to Rob Howden for his coverage and sponsorship of our series (check out FormulaCar Magazine and www.eformulacarnews.com) and thanks again to Grand Rapids Auto Auction for making this weekend possible for me. I'm proud to have Progressive Basics on the car for the next three events this season and I'm looking forward to bringing them some strong results!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Qualifying 1/Race 1 - 5/27/06 - Grattan Raceway
I started off the 2006 season this morning at Grattan Raceway in Belding, MI. Shortly after 11AM I pulled onto the track for my first laps of Grattan Raceway and my first laps in a Formula First since September of 2005. Grattan is a very tricky track with lots of elevation changes and that makes it a difficult track to learn, especially in one session. As soon as I took to the track I noticed that the engine was lagging at low revs but once the revs got higher the engine seemed OK and I was able to reel in one of my Formula First competitors after just a couple of laps on the track. I went to pass the other FST at the last sharp right hand corner on the track, outbraked him, and then outbraked myself and spun the car into the grass on the outside of the turn. I kept it running, shifted to 1st gear, and accelerated out of the grass and back onto the track.
Unfortunately, as I accelerated and upshifted the engine started lagging quite badly and it also developed a very disconcerting popping noise. After a slow lap to evaluate the situation, I pulled off and ended my session in hopes of diagnosing the problems with the engine. Jim (of SR Racing), after initially worrying that the engine had blown, removed the valve cover and noted that one of the pushrods was no longer pushing the rocker arm and the car was only running on three cylinders. This was quickly resolved and the car was ready for the race that afternoon. My best lap of the session was a 1:36.6, approximately eight seconds off the Formula First pole. I only turned three laps at speed in the session.
I started the race 5th in First and 12th overall (of 18). I had a good battle with a Formula Vee during the race and eventually passed the Vee after 6 or 7 laps. Unfortunately, two laps after that I spun in turn 4 and the car stalled in the middle of the track. After a few anxious moments the VW motor rattled to life and I accelerated away once again. After that, it was an uneventful run to 4th in class and 10th overall. My fastest lap in the race was a 1:34.2, approximately six seconds off the fastest First lap of the race.
It was a challenging day, but we're looking for better times tomorrow and less spins! Check back on Monday for another update and don't forget what Memorial Day is all about.
On a personal note, it was an awesome experience to have my brother and his wife, my dad, and all of my grandparents at the track on Saturday to witness my qualifying session and the race Saturday. For my mom's folks, it was their very first time at any race track and it meant a lot to me that there were able to be there and be part of it. Thanks again to everybody that has supported me!
(Pictures of Jaygo Racing at Grattan will be forthcoming later this week after a few technical problems with the camera)
Unfortunately, as I accelerated and upshifted the engine started lagging quite badly and it also developed a very disconcerting popping noise. After a slow lap to evaluate the situation, I pulled off and ended my session in hopes of diagnosing the problems with the engine. Jim (of SR Racing), after initially worrying that the engine had blown, removed the valve cover and noted that one of the pushrods was no longer pushing the rocker arm and the car was only running on three cylinders. This was quickly resolved and the car was ready for the race that afternoon. My best lap of the session was a 1:36.6, approximately eight seconds off the Formula First pole. I only turned three laps at speed in the session.
I started the race 5th in First and 12th overall (of 18). I had a good battle with a Formula Vee during the race and eventually passed the Vee after 6 or 7 laps. Unfortunately, two laps after that I spun in turn 4 and the car stalled in the middle of the track. After a few anxious moments the VW motor rattled to life and I accelerated away once again. After that, it was an uneventful run to 4th in class and 10th overall. My fastest lap in the race was a 1:34.2, approximately six seconds off the fastest First lap of the race.
It was a challenging day, but we're looking for better times tomorrow and less spins! Check back on Monday for another update and don't forget what Memorial Day is all about.
On a personal note, it was an awesome experience to have my brother and his wife, my dad, and all of my grandparents at the track on Saturday to witness my qualifying session and the race Saturday. For my mom's folks, it was their very first time at any race track and it meant a lot to me that there were able to be there and be part of it. Thanks again to everybody that has supported me!
(Pictures of Jaygo Racing at Grattan will be forthcoming later this week after a few technical problems with the camera)
