Racing with SCCA/MARRS

First got to drive the car this past Friday, and raced it Saturday and Sunday. Prior to Friday, my goal for the weekend was to not be last. I know the SSM racing is close because the cars are spec cars with dyno’d and sealed engines, identical suspensions and tires, but during the practice I realized I was both far from the fastest and far from the slowest, so I raised my goal to “mid pack.” Practice Friday was a good amount of track time, but much of it in the rain or a wet track, and none on a truly dry track. That gave me a good sense of the car’s handling characteristics at a reasonably slow speed, and it was quite easy to drive. It still needs some seat adjustment – with work, we can probably push the seat back 2 inches which should make a significant difference. Saturday weather was beautiful and the 12-lap SSM race was last (later afternoon). Qualifying in the morning I got lucky and qualified 21st out of 47 cars. The race was reasonably exciting with a larger spread in terms of speed than I expected, but I was able to pass a few (mostly who went off…) and finished 18th (WOW!). On Sunday, the 20 lap race had me qualified at 23rd based on my best time from the Saturday race, but the race was far more exciting and I really got to play with my race craft. Towards the end of the race, I was close behind another car, but both of our tires were too hot and not working well. I took a chance and backed off – a lot – and then tried to catch back up with stickier tires. Watch the last 5 minutes of the video to see what turned out to be a close finish.

I really enjoyed the weekend and the people with whom I raced.

Here’s the Saturday race:

 

And here’s the Sunday race (watch at least the last 5 minutes):