After something like 4 years and 40,000 brake jobs, I finally found myself back on the track. (Well, ok, it's not really a track, it's more a course, but when I brag to my buddies, it's a track!) What am I talking about? Auto-crossing, of course!
The BCCC arranged another slalom at the Driver Training Center in Pitt Meadows on Saturday, attracting not only Corvettes but a number of Subarus, a couple of Porsches, a Fiero or two, an S2000, and a Beemer. The drivers appeared to be a mix of BCCCers and UBC car clubbers. I'm not sure where the two drivers driving the propane 'vette came from - other than Victoria - but boy were they fast! At the time I left, I think that their car, with an approximate 40 second lap time, was the fastest of all the cars. And I think the S2000 was second fastest!
Actually this was my second autocross in four years, the first coming at Pemberton during the fantastic Thunder in the Mountains. I loved it, and after the nerves calmed down a bit, I think I - and the car - performed pretty damned well.
There were less nerves this time as I headed out on to the admittedly tight track - that's what every, even the Subaru drivers, were saying: the course was tight. And it was, especially the two right-hand turns that formed the apex of the far part of the course. However, despite some serious close calls, I never did peg off that end cone. Other cones - well they weren't so lucky.
Despite the squealing, the occasional side-ways sliding, and the almost complete wipeout of the stop box, I did manage to improve my times every run in the morning. Granted, I'm sure it wasn't as pretty as the Porsche GT3 on slicks - man that was a beautiful car to watch - or even as fast as the 1975 Porsche, but my runs weren't the slowest of the combatants and I know I kicked some C4 butt - and maybe even some offshore butt too!
Please forgive my ugly competitiveness!
Unfortunately, my day did end early, as I lost my clutch on the way to Subway! Or at least, I noticed it during the lunch break. Rather than do more damage, I retired my ride, watched another set of runs (when Vic made the course a little less tight), then limped home. Despite the setback, I am very glad I came out. It makes me want to (fix my clutch, yes, but also) upgrade the suspension and steering, and get some better tires (not slicks - that'll put me way out of contention).
When does next season start?
No comments:
Post a Comment