This weekend was one of the scariest on record for me. I had high hopes. Seems I was also sufficiently distracted to forget to turn the camera on and off at the worst possible moments.

First of all, this was to be the first race weekend with my new S54 motor. I've been flogging a Euro S50B32 for a couple of years and it was long overdue for retirement. 

Second, Allan, Mark, and I were all in close contention for the C-Mod Championship. With three 150% points races, there was a lot on the line.

Friday lapping was wet and treacherous. For my first venture on track, the pit-out marshal said "Please be careful. We're written off 3 cars on the past 15 minutes". The conditions were like driving on black ice that had oil dumped on it. I did two short stints and decided to pack it in.

Sprint 1

Saturday was less wet, but things did not come easily. Sprint 1 was mostly dry but the track was very cold. I was running slicks but they were outside of their ideal operating temperature. On top of that, this was my first race with the new motor and I needed to spend time getting used to the car again. I spent most of the race fighting carefully with Mark Marquis up until a couple of competitors came together in corner one. After a couple of laps with a local yellow in corner one, Mark got hung up with not being able to pass Louis Payant due to the yellow. I managed my momentum and slingshot past Mark just after the incident. Mark cot stuck behine Louis in the keyhole and I never say him again. By the end of the race I was really closing on the 88 car leading but I would have needed about 2 more laps to get him. I happily finish with 2nd overall as well as in class.

Sprint 2

Sprint 2 was rainy and unbelievably slippery. Everybody was sliding everywhere. After starting second, the leader spun (a couple of times) on the start and I led the race briefly before being passed by an IP car of all things. Unfortunately Mark Marquis lost it going into Thunder Valley and slid his car into a concrete wall. After a lengthy full course yellow, we restarted. I was running second for a couple of laps until I repeated Mark's move almost identically. Thankfully the rest of the tightly packed field managed to get past me and I got back into the race near the end. I fought my way back through the field for a 3rd in class, 10th overall. Special thanks go to Bill Heumann for passing me on the wet grass just before I slid there on my own. Nice driving Bill!

Enduro 

Sunday's race went much easier. I qualified 2nd to Mike Akard even with getting punted off the track during qualifying. On the start my new motor rocketed away from Mike's DM car (a complete reversal from Road Atlanta) and I saw very little of him after that. The German Motorworks guys provided a flawless pit stop and I cruised to the finish with a 19 second lead. Good thing too as something was breaking in my suspension no doubt due to being punted earlier in the day. Whenever I hit the brake the car would go clunk and slop to one side a bit. So I slowed down a babied it...

Rookies take note: If a guy thinks he can catch you he will try his best to chase. But if you can build up enough lead on him, then they tend to back off a bit. So you only have to push hard to build that initial lead. Then you just need to maintain that gap. This allows you save the car in case you need it later.

So with this win finally under my belt, I suspect I now have enough points to collect my 2nd C-Mod championship. Hopefully they update the web site soon.

Other Incidents

Sadly and unnecessarily, all 4 Raven cars present were damaged. John Dimoff was hit in the rear fender blind spot coming out of the Keyhole. Unfortunately he was penalized though we still don't fully understand how. Mark Marquis had his disasterous spin in the rain. Steve Gailits' 320 also had the side sheetmetal removed coming into Thunder Valley (not his fault). And of course my punt going through the carousel.

During Sunday qualifying, I was coming up through a pack of cars on the back of the track. As we approached the Carousel, I was behind a slower Spec E36 car. Rookies please take note: This is a qualifying session and I have just been held up several seconds lapping traffic. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that this will not be a hot qualifying lap. So I am in no hurry. I am in the process of giving the Spec E36 some space while I set up to pass him coming onto the straight. At this point the 88 car decides that this is going to be his hot qualifying lap and smashes right into my right rear wheel arch spinning me and taking out a 3rd car with him. I wonder how his lap time was? My fender was dented but luckily nothing was rubbing. I checked the car over and went back out to qualify. 

After a lot of debate, the race Steward finally decided in my favour. Apparently my testimony was not sufficient, and that of the punter showed that it was my fault. Thanks in the end to the driver of that Spec E36, corner worker, and another car from behind, I was proven to be not at fault. Now I just have a repair bill to deal with.

Below is a video requested by a fellow racer. A tight pack of cars was going into corner one for a pass gone horribly wrong.