Redline Time Attack: Infineon

[Grip]

Anyone, besides me, going to be there? I'll be competing in Ent RWD so it'd be nice to run into any of you who decide to show up....

...despite the rain

 

[GR40Freak]

I was going to compete in RWD Modified for WORKS, but engine problems and a last minute road trip killed that idea.

Colin

 

[Cobra SS]

I was going to compete in RWD Modified for WORKS, but engine problems and a last minute road trip killed that idea.

Colin

Colin, did you ever get the Turbo kit on?

 

[Grip]

I was going to compete in RWD Modified for WORKS, but engine problems and a last minute road trip killed that idea.

Colin

Still gonna show up? I actually think we've met at Infineon before during the Historics. You came by to show Paul your hood and I mentioned having one just like it on my old '95. Wicked car you have there.

 

[Cone Sweeper]

So jealous of you guys over on the west coast! I was happy to run with Redline TA at Sebring this year and it was a blast!! Wish ya luck man and def post up some pics and video's of the car.

 

[Grip]

So jealous of you guys over on the west coast! I was happy to run with Redline TA at Sebring this year and it was a blast!! Wish ya luck man and def post up some pics and video's of the car.

Well, none of the magic-saves got caught on video (stupid GoPro...) but some good pics came out...

 

[Cone Sweeper]

White looks so nice on the track! Did you have fun out there?

 

[Grip]

White looks so nice on the track! Did you have fun out there?

Actually it was pretty...well, let's call it "eye-opening"...particularly after this happened...

Still dunno what the repair bill will be....still love the track. Can't decide if I like it over Laguna Seca though.

 

[Sleeper_08]

That is why my car does not venture on the track if it is raining.

Call me chicken if you like but driving these cars on the car in the wet, especially with a SC, conflicts directly with my #1 track day objective - drive the car home.

Hope the bill is not too high.

PS - I thought it never rained in California?

 

[Grip]

That is why my car does not venture on the track if it is raining.

Call me chicken if you like but driving these cars on the car in the wet, especially with a SC, conflicts directly with my #1 track day objective - drive the car home.

Hope the bill is not too high.

PS - I thought it never rained in California?

Up here, by the bay, etc there are times when all it does is rain. It's like British weather during the winter.

Looking back on it, it would have been way smarter not to do it...but it's done, and I can say I did it. Though it got to a point where I was barely concerned with going fast, and just wanted to get the car back in whatever pieces remained. It was BAD dude lol. Lakes and rivers everywhere.

 

[whyask]

hahahah gota love The Bay Area.... Glad to see the car made it home in One piece !

 

[loots06]

Actually it was pretty...well, let's call it "eye-opening"...particularly after this happened...

Still dunno what the repair bill will be....still love the track. Can't decide if I like it over Laguna Seca though.

Is it more than just he bumper cover? Any damage to the quater panel.

 

[06silverbullet]

Actually it was pretty...well, let's call it "eye-opening"...particularly after this happened...

Still dunno what the repair bill will be....still love the track. Can't decide if I like it over Laguna Seca though.

dude that sucks, hope its not topricey, shame it's otherwise a very clean car.

 

[Philostang]

Sorry to see the damage...brings back bad (recent) memories...

Hey, doesn't look too bad though. At least your rear window didn't blow out...trunk lid didn't crumple...quarter doesn't look like it got mangled...tail light not smashed...

No matter, any track incident like that sucks all the same. Hope you have her fixed up soon and with minimal cost.

Glad to see that you had her back on track after the incident. It's important to get over the hump quickly. My little wall-dance was done in the rain as well. The next day it was dry, and I set a personal best lap time on that track.

Best,
-j

 

[ArizonaGT]

^^^Seeing that smashed up Tungsten reminds me too much of my own wreck

 

[Vapour Trails]

That is why my car does not venture on the track if it is raining.

Call me chicken if you like but driving these cars on the car in the wet, especially with a SC, conflicts directly with my #1 track day objective - drive the car home.

The first and only HPDE I've participated in it rained both days with temps hovering around 5C, a little scary to say the least in a RWD car with 450whp or so.

I learned the race line will be especially slippery. You can find a lot more grip going off the racing line. Once you adjust you entry speeds and determine the throttle touch necessary to accelerate out of turns and even in a straight line, it's not that bad. The key is to be smooth, smooth, smooth as every mistake is amplified.

If you master driving in the rain, everything else is easy. I would actually encourage you to try it; just remember discretion is the better part of valour.

 

[Philostang]

I would actually encourage you to try it; just remember discretion is the better part of valour.

How true...there's nothing extra "cool" or "manly" about driving in the rain, so there's nothing especially cowardly about choosing not to do it. Each person has to make a serious assessment of his or her own skills and risk tolerance when they pull out on track (wet or dry). Like everything else about driving, the rain only gives these things a heightened sensitivity.

For the record, I wasn't really driving hard when my incident happened. In fact, I had barely just gotten out on track. I got caught out on a number of little factors that (taken individually) wouldn't have proven all that important were they not occurring at the same time. I planned to do a write up of the incident, a kind of incident debrief, to share with folks. Maybe it would give others a different perspective on what they're doing. Work has been especially hectic, so I can't say when it'll be done.

In many respects, my incident was the classic: first session of the weekend, cold track, cold tires, cold driver, and a dose of cold rain for good measure. Throw in rushing that morning with car prep, lack of mentally readjusting from my last event, and a bit of ignorance and you get a banged up car. There's more to it, but that's the basic recipe for a snafu.

Best,
-j

 

[Ken04]

That is why my car does not venture on the track if it is raining.

Call me chicken if you like but driving these cars on the car in the wet, especially with a SC, conflicts directly with my #1 track day objective - drive the car home.

Hope the bill is not too high.

PS - I thought it never rained in California?

+1 for this. Plus; it's not fun as the speeds are much slower, you can't see and there are a certain percentage of, shall we say 'idiots' who don't know the wet track is slippery. Even though my car is not a DD I still won't do a track day in the rain. Not worth it.

 

[Gray Ghost GT]

Sorry to see the damage - the rain has a way of creating 'unfriendly' conditions. I got bit too in the rain (bent some metal) at NJ Motorsports Park in my C5. Nothing too serious, but it sucks. I'll keep my car control training to the wet skid pads now. Good luck with the repairs.

 

[Grip]

LOL...I love the open-tracking community. Why? Because no matter how crappy something is, everyone's gone through it and usually a worse version of it. Right after I pulled off track, all the old guys came up smiling talking about "back when" wrecking all KINDS of expensive stuff in that very same turn. Kinda made me feel like I was "indoctrinated" ...like I was part of something lol.

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes..

“If you don’t walk back to the pits with the steering wheel in your hand once in a while, you ain’t really trying.”

-Mario Andretti

Sorry to see the damage...brings back bad (recent) memories...


Glad to see that you had her back on track after the incident. It's important to get over the hump quickly. My little wall-dance was done in the rain as well. The next day it was dry, and I set a personal best lap time on that track.



Best,
-j

In the airborne community, we have a saying "get 'em back out the bird." This refers to a policy where if someone has a bad jump (chute tangled/damaged, hard landing, doesn't open, etc) you have to get them up and out again or the fear sets in and they'll never jump again. So...I had to get back out the bird.