The second round of the 40th Anniversary VARA championship took place at
the famous Willow Springs International Raceway. A track known as the
FASTEST road course is 2.5 mile circuit with 7 out of 9 corners that you
drive very fast. Turn 8 is a wide right hander that you take as fast as
you dare. We go through at 170 + (that is 280 KPH for my latin
friends!) and then you hold your breath, look far, far into the right,
point at a rock about 10 feet before pit entry, and dive into turn 9. To
hold the car you need all the power pushing you through to make the
aero work and never lift because the car, and centrifugal force of the
rotating mass (remember all the weight is in the center of the car)will lead you to a spin
.
The second round of the 40th Anniversary VARA championship took place at the famous Willow Springs International Raceway. A track known as the FASTEST road course is 2.5 mile circuit with 7 out of 9 corners that you drive very fast. Turn 8 is a wide right hander that you take as fast as you dare. We go through at 170 + (that is 280 KPH for my latin friends!) and then you hold your breath, look far, far into the right, point at a rock about 10 feet before pit entry, and dive into turn 9. To hold the car you need all the power pushing you through to make the aero work and never lift because the car, and centrifugal force of the rotating mass (remember all the weight is in the center of the car), will lead you to a spin.
now...Willow Springs to Socal racers is synonym with: air movement, blow, breath, breeze, chinook, cyclone, draft, flurry, flutter, gale, gust,tempest, typhoon, whiff, whirlwind, zephyr....etc. When you are "committing" to turn 9 and a gust of 40 mph lateral wind takes over and at the corner apex your fuel pump decides to take a break some unthinkable things go through your mind... did I came here to risk my life?....
The wind became the challenge to all over the week-end. It was great to see the Martini MK driven by Joe Harding. Paul Lisec RALT's blue car seemed to run great after the fire incident in March. Richard Wilkinson 's John Player's Special look, as always, great (but he confessed the "driver" needs a tune up). Robert Merrit RT-5 Seem to be the fastest though.
We started with a failure on Saturday morning and it was one thing after another for the whole week-end. We found a bent wheel during practice so we had to change both fronts to match the wheel off-set. Even Joey Cabrera from our Sponsor MOTUL Lubricants gave us a hand to finish the car. Then the clutch gave up. No slipping, just broke ( I assume the springs plates). Once in gear the car would move but to change from one gear to another it would require some rapid throttle and wrist play. Without a clutch, an engine miss, and later a failed fuel pump somehow we made it through the race. On Sunday ( I think) I finished 4th... I started from the pits, since I had no clutch my crew chief Frank Alvis gave me a push and I slammed 2nd gear...as I was getting into the track the official wanted me to stop...which I couldn't...I new the contenders were coming to start their race and I didn't want to ruined their start. I hurried through the first 5 corners on cold, slippery tires, to get to the back straight so I could let everyone else pass. Then , after all the cars in the group went by, my race, without clutch, started. Little by little I started to pass a few cars, then on lap 5 as I accelerated out of turn 1 my engine would run out of fuel. I started thinking that we forgot to fuel it? every lap would be the same at turn 1. About two laps from the end, the car started to run out of fuel on turn 1, 3 and 4. It is a bit hard to drive with no clutch and with an engine wanting to stop running sporadically. Regardless I was determined to keep running until it stop, which it did. I passed the checker flag , ending the race and the engine starter puttering...finally giving up on turn 4. I was able to roll down hill all the way to turn 9, short of the pits. Having to be towed back to the pits is no fun, but we finished the race and thats what we came for.
Tired, wind burnt, and a bit frustrated it took us a long time to pack the trailer...but the barbeque with Martin and his family, Carlos D., Callin, Race announcer Alex, Supermodel Wendy Ferrari and crew chief Frank Alvis was the best. And even the wind stop at 6 pm... .Lets get ready for the next round.
