You be the judge (most recent event, top 15):


1 Jeff Kiesel M Sprite 42.126
2 Bob Weisickle M Austin Healy 100-8 43.253
3 Joel Villarreal CP Camaro Z28 43.585
4 Jesus Villarreal CP Camaro Z28 43.746
5 Barry Spencer M Sprite 43.892
6 Tom Smiley BP CORVETTE 43.905
7 Andy McKee SM2 RX7 44.129
8 Tom Ellam P1 Mazda 44.194
9 Mike DeJesus CP Mustang 44.489
10 Mark Kiesel P1 Ferrari 360 44.501
11 Guy Ankeny CP Camaro 44.51
12 Speedy Knudsen BP Corvette 44.578
13 Teresa Neidel-McKee SM2 RX7 44.65
14 Rick Brown BP Corvette 44.659
15 Vic Sias SM BMW M3 44.669

 

me too ....

those damn gold chains must be weighing them down too much

I kid, I kid ....

 

I think I'm going to quit autocross...maybe take up something less frustrating, like golf

It's been three events since I made a run without an "oh shxt" type of mistake...I'm on a serious roll, right before Packwood and Topeka

Today's course was about as simple as it gets, with only three elements, and I still couldn't get it right.

For those who stuck around for the afternoon, did the course get bad or were they able to control the gravel with the blower?

 

I did funruns in the Merkur during the 4th group...there was more gravel, but it wasnt as bad as it has been in the past.

 

Maybe it is just your car.... Your co-driver just won the Tol Pro in an S2K. You know the 2006 weighs more right?

 

That's good to hear. I hope we are now starting to get rid of the gravel and that the surface is firming up. It did seem better this morning, for sure.

Nice job in the Francavilla car, Glen. You almost took it today, in a car you've only driven a couple of times...the rest of BS better hope that you don't get serious about running the RX8 in class!

 

I wonder if he's going to cancel his Packwood reservations, now, and join Team Honda?

Nothing wrong with the car, which has proven fast enough on more than one occasion, purely pilot error...I just can't seem to concentrate lately, must be getting old or something...of course, the V710s are now over 70 runs, including a 5 heat cycle, 20 + run day at a club event...

 

you can't get away with sloppy inputs and not being in the right place at the right time on a slippery surface like you can on a high grip surface

 

Now you tell me!!

Oh well, my weekend could have been a lot worse...

 

Hey, you were mighty close to a trophy at least BTW, what kind of 60 ft times were you getting in that P car ? I think I needed a bigger right foot. My first Pro, awesome fun !

john

 

LOL, Third after the morning, fourth after the afternoon, and seventh after it was all said and done. I drove very poorly on Sunday, my head was not in the game, what else is new

We were hovering in the 1.85s range most of the time. The lowest one I remember was a low 1.8 that Clyde turned.

 

Hmmm, I guess I needed a much bigger foot. I was turning times in the 2.1 - 2.2 second range [ s2000 AP1 ]. Still a blast [ well other than wasting a .503 rt by launching with the parking brake on ! Talk about power off oversteer ]

take care
john

 

It's not a matter of the quality of the inputs, it's a matter of the timing of inputs...I just continue to underdrive/overdrive certain elements, without being able to consistently hit the happy medium...


1.80-1.85 in the Boxster is a pretty smokin' 60'. I guess Toledo has good grip?
What were the courses like, that AS was almost able to straight time SS...or was that a byproduct of Matthew being back in his normal form...alien?

 

Thanks Mike. I'm sure that me driving an RX8 everyday helps...the sad thing is I was 1.5 seconds slower in the DSP car than I was in the BS car.

 

Matthew is an alien for sure. I met a bunch of drivers whose names I had seen / heard before but had never put faces to, and he was one of them. Of course one of his first comments was, "You're the guy talking about how the 285 Hoosiers suck on the RX-8, aren't you?" It sounded like he was still planning to run the RX-8 at Nats?

We're usually in the low 1.9s, being in the low 1.8s was pretty excellent. The Solstice GXPs were in the 1.9s somewhere, and wynveen was complaining about his 2.1-2.2s so you were not in bad company. I would not characterize the Toledo surface to be "grippy." The launch was grippy because it was going against the grain of the brushing on the concrete... but elsewhere I would say it was a low-grip surface. It only got reasonably grippy as the debris / dust got kicked up. But if you were a couple inches off the line, it was skid-city... sound familiar to anyone? We were launching at 6,000 RPM by the end of the event and still not getting a ton of wheelspin.. usually over 4500 RPM is a smoke screen.

I need to figure a lot of things out with this car. I felt as though I was slaloming very well and was executing the turnaround very well, but was having problems keeping the rear end behind me. On my runs where I was very smooth with my inputs (yeah right) it was working well. By Sunday morning I was fried from lack of sleep for three straight nights and was being sloppy and abrupt with my inputs, and it showed in my dog-slow times. My performance was embarrassing.

Sorry forgot to describe the courses.

Nice long straight (per usual) leading into a high-speed, 29-pace slalom. The slalom opened to a high-speed chute which led to a turnaround. The turnaround I would characterize as very tight, we were in the 27-30MPH range going around it (wild *** guess, we didn't have the DL1 with us). The turnaround went into a fast chute which had a pinch cone on the exit, then what basically amounted to two offsets (tight-ish) and a fast finish. Not very complicated, but they were technical because of the narrow line. IMO the courses were very strange visually, pointer cones used in strange ways, gates that seemed misplaced, that sort of thing. Given the spacing of the slalom and the two low-speed sections I am not surprised a Z06 won SS. I can, however, see how an AP2 would be a better car on that course than an AP1. IMO, it was a course in which a C4 corvette would have blown us all out of the water.

 

sorry Woody, sloppy inputs also includes sloppy timing

mid & rear engine cars typically run those 60 ft times

 

I would keep in mind at a Prosolo unlike the drag strip the 60' mark can be +/- 5' so times can vary a lot from site to site because of that as well as the surface.

 

On a similar note, it would be nice if they could be a bit more consistent with where they locate the tree. It was directly in my A-pillar on the right hand course. But at DC it was far enough away that I could see it just fine.

 

That would be nice. I was launching with my head at a 45 deg angle in El Toro. BTW, nice job being consistent with your signature.

 

. . .

Forgot to mention that the Toledo Pro was was the first time in over seven years that I spun a car at an autocross.

 

I spun the RX8 a couple of weeks ago and spun the Z06 a number of times...probably have spun at least half a dozen times in two and half years of autocrossing! Pretty amazing you've only spun once in over 7 years!

Good news is I still have a co-driver for Packwood and Topeka. Now, we just have to figure out how to get ULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOSE up to Packwood, to run with us. Maybe he can get a co-drive with Joe G.?

 

Yea! Cmon Jason!
Party in Packwood. The town just got electricity and running water. I figure getting a stoplight is only 10-20 years away.
LOL!
Just joking! Here's the latest party house that was rented. It was nice!
http://www.tmcproperties.com/photos.cfm?id=83
I think that is already rented though.

Lots of good shows going to happen.
SS should be a great show with all the different cars that are going to show up.
Viper/GT3/ZO6/Elise. Nat champ coats a plenty in that class. Probably going to be the most exciting.

R we going to have another CS/BS "straight time" battle now that I don't have to sandbag anymore?
Course I hear CS pax is going up next year. We better be careful and not show our true hand 2 much! Ahh....F-that..Top pax or bust!

CSP might be a mini pre nats depending who shows up. Kumho NC versus 275 Hooho? Can a 13" rim still get it done?

The new AMOD rocket from BC might be in attendance.

Hmmm....I don't know what else I have heard so far.

FM

PS: Alan is not going to straight time me in his ZOK GXP...NO WAY am I going to let that happen....

 

Uh...6500ish...I couldn't get it steady where I wanted it by the time the horn blew, so I held it where I could. I was also launching at about 5250 in DC. We must be doing something different with the clutch even though we both describe it the same way since the revs have been a bit different and out 60 foot times are essentially identical save a flier here or there.

When John spun, I felt a little bad for him...but at the same time I was kind of proud, too. He was trying to get a little more than might have been there and it was nice to see him really gunning for that last little bit. The other cool thing was what it did to one of the wheels. (pic taken after adjusting pressures for the next run)



For me...well, I accomplished what I wanted to for the weekend. It's easy when you set the bar really, really low...like "just show up so you will qualify for the Finale." Of course, that almost didn't happen, but what are you gonna do?

Someone whose comments I trust and was working the course near the turnaround gave me some very detailed feedback about my Saturday afternoon runs that might have messed with my head a little bit. On the right side, I thought I had nailed the slalom, was "okay" in the turnaround and all f'd up on the return. The left side return felt the same, but felt like I left a little more in the slalom and was clueless about the turnaround. In the morning, I had looped both left side runs there and made a conscious effort to get on the brakes 15 feet earlier than I wanted to and felt slow all the way through it. The feedback was quite the opposite. He told me that I looked noticeably slower through the slalom on both sides than the fastest guys and my lifts were of longer duration. But he also said that from the turnaround to the finish, I looked as faster or faster than anyone else in AS. I had the same shitty times on Sunday as I had Saturday afternoon, but the slaloms felt like total crap.

I don't know. I think it's easier when you just get in the car and drive without making an effort to outthink yourself. If I've plateaued at hack status, so be it. This sport is more fun when it's fun. I would have been happier had I done a little better, but for the first time in a long time, I made the drive home happy. When it really just becomes fun again, it's so much better.

 

Any Toledo RX8 attendees out there ? I was wondering what the BS guys were doing relative to 60' times ?

thanks
John

 

typically 2.05 - 2.30 sec depending on the driver