VIR North Course March Memories 2008 Race

Ron Earp

Admin
VIR North Course March Memories 2008 Race<o:p></o:p>
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The Southeast SCCA points racing has started for 2008 (actually started in October of 2007 for a early bonus points race) and our first event was this past weekend at VIR. We didn’t run the full course as we normally do, but instead ran the North Course which eliminates the long back straight and the uphill esses, two parts of VIR that I really like. The North Course isn’t my favorite track here in the SE, but it is still fun.<o:p></o:p>
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There was a lot of racing on that weekend – one 45 min sprint race, two 1.5 hr ECR enduros, and one 30 min sprint. Julie, my wife, was sick so I only signed up for the 30 min sprint (which is the point series) and that way I could spend a whole lot more of the weekend at home. <o:p></o:p>
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Jeff young rented a paddock room and garage this time around and these thing are awesome!!! They have a hotel room above the garage with all the normal things you have in a hotel room, and the best part is they are directly on the track, I mean, right there.
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Walk out of the balcony and you are on the front straight. Here are some shots from the balcony of the hotel and from the side window in the garage – the window looked right out on the exit from Hog’s Pen and onto the straight.


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Also got some pictures of the newly painted Z (yes, we painted it in the driveway, looks great from 10 ft) and Ed the Dog, Team Stinking Turd’s mascot. Graphics on the car were all done by our crew man, Jeffrey Rousell (who is also building a 260z) and he is starting a little graphics company to do race car graphics. If you need any I can put you in touch. He did some nice work, the new skull looks awesome (especially because it isn't bubbled and peeled by the fire the car had two years ago.....)

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Pretty awesome setup. Hotel, garage, bar, resturant – all on track at VIR and you don’t have to leave the track at all. Nice stuff, very nice, for $100 a night. And on Sunday some buddies really needed the space to put a new clutch in so it comes in handy.<o:p></o:p>
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As you can see from the photos the weather wasn’t too good. We qualified on Saturday AM when the track was a good bit drier than in the photos but it was still damp and wet. 75% of the North Course was familiar to me but the other bits I’d not driven on with a race car or in race conditions. As such, it was a bit like learning a new track. Air temps were quite cold, about 40F, and it was hard to get any sort of heat in the tires. Not knowing a whole lot about setting up with cold temps I had the initial tire pressures too low and I think it exaspirated the low-grip situation. <o:p></o:p>
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In any event, the qualifiying session went fine and the car ran pretty well. I get a 6<sup>th</sup> place qualifying position in class, like 12<sup>th</sup> overall. Not too bad, not too good. The bad of it meant that I’d be starting the race right in the middle of the IT7 cars, not my compeititon, that are generally a bit slower than my car (ITS class), but hard to pass. Some strategy was needed…..<o:p></o:p>
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Race day on Sunday the weather is a lot better, sunny, about 45-50F, and a dry track. I’ve thought about the start and talked it over with Jeff. Not a lot of places to pass on this configuration thus he gave me some ideas: <o:p></o:p>
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*On the start jump as many cars and you can and don’t get hit!! <o:p></o:p>
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*Passing – on turn one go in deep and let the RX7s go on the inside much shallower, then, get a run out of one and pass them in two/three. <o:p></o:p>
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Well, off to the races.

Part one:
YouTube - March Memories VIR 2008 SAARC Earp Z Part 1

Part two:
YouTube - March Memories VIR 2008 SAARC Earp Z Part 2

Part three:
YouTube - March Memories VIR 2008 SAARC Earp Z Part 3

Whole thing but only the first one is somewhat interesting. The start goes off well and I manage to get around a couple of cars. Within the next two laps I can get around most of the IT7 traffic and race in the clear for a bit. My favorite thing is I use the exact move in turn one that Jeff suggested to me and it worked like a champ, got around an IT7 car that was giving me fits on the first couple of laps.

About ½ through the race the carbs start to act up and the power drops off a bit, makes matching revs really hard to do. But, racing still continues and I hold on to the 4<sup>th</sup> place position while the fast pack continues to put distance on me. At the end another class of cars catches up with me (BMW I wave by, 2 ITB Golfs really getting it on) and I try to stay out of their way and let them race.<o:p></o:p>
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Jeff had an awesome race qualifying 4<sup>th</sup> and moving up to third before it was all over – a podium finish!. He was only about 0.5s behind the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> place finishers so I think we might be seeing some TR8 action on the podium quite a bit this year – knock on wood!<o:p></o:p>
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All in all a good weekend. My daughter Sydney is now six and she made me a good luck charm that is on the shifter of the Z. I always touch it before the race and she likes to hear that. Thus far the Z has brought home a second and a fourth since the charm installation so I'd say that has been a tremendous speed improvement!!

I have some work to do on her before the next race at CMP in two weeks but it is all doable. The 2008 schedule is really front loaded and 75% of our racing is done before June, makes it tough if you have a big issue.<o:p></o:p>
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Malcolm

Supporter
Sounds a good race weekend Ron. That "pit garage" is a bit beter than what we get here, looks fab. Can you get one for November? I found myself willing you to make a move on the cars in the video clips as knowing the circuit I found myslef saying, go now go now! And you did and got him! The turn off from the grand course to the north course looks quite a bump. But it still gives a form of uphill esses but entry speed would be well down. Thanks for posting, hope Julie is fully well soon
 
Ron,how far in advance did you have to reserve the garage/room?Was it really only $100 per night?Will it be that rate in the summer or was that an "off peak"(not in the middle of theseason)rate?That is quite a bargain for the convienience of not having to drive anywhere during the weekend and fight traffic!

Dave D.
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Ron,how far in advance did you have to reserve the garage/room?Was it really only $100 per night?Will it be that rate in the summer or was that an "off peak"(not in the middle of theseason)rate?That is quite a bargain for the convienience of not having to drive anywhere during the weekend and fight traffic!

Dave D.

I think those are ~$100 a day regardless. They are a bit hard to get so you must book in advance. The upstairs has two beds that will fold up into the wall and open up enough space for 4-6 sleeping bags and folks. They aren't huge, but the time savings they offer are fantastic. There is also a hotel at VIR over at turns 5-6, nicer, but a bit more expensive. It isn't as convenient as the garages for track/car access, but still beats driving home or to Danville or Roxboro for hotels.

Malcolm, that transition up the hill is quite a jolt but manageable. On the passing and so forth my camera angle is so narrow you can't get a feel for what is around me. While some of the passes it looks like I should have "gone now" indeed a car was beside me and we were three wide in a turn. Making it four would have been a bad idea. No rear view camera so while it looks tame after the first four laps or so there were RX7s all behind me, as well as a couple of ITS cars, waiting to make a move. Fortunately they were not too close...and the fast group of ITS cars (my class) had already made their break and my catching them wasn't going to happen.
 
I second the benefits of the garages at VIR, and the need to book early. We have started booking a suite and garage before the track day registration is even open if the event is big. You can always cancel the reservation if something falls through, but if you wait, you'll be out of luck.

And Cheers to Ed, we are greyhound people here at the Salmon house too! Best dogs on earth.
 
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