After a challenging but successful trackday with NASA @ BlackHawk Farms here I took 1st in class and set a class record, we were headed to Autobahn for the Redline event. The next day I switched to my street tires, got teched and was ready for Street AWD practice. Because of the previous days issues, the car still had 93oct in the tank that needed used up before I could switch to 100 and up the boost. My best practice lap was a 1:39.9 I think on pump gas.
I filled up with 100oct, switched maps, turned the boost up to what ended up being 24psi and was ready enough. For the first TA; I was gridded 8th of 15 in Street. They did not tell us how they were dividing us up, I just got pointed at and said go - even though I wasn't even belted in! I frantically got belted in and to the start/finish where I had to wait for everyone else in the first group to do the same!
I ran a 138.3 which put me into first! But only because I was the first car to complete a lap...haha. The car was understeering badly in T2 and 'patience' and was running with 3/4 tank of fuel so I knew it had more time in it. I made it through impound where they only looked at my tire wear rating went back to my paddock area.
I ran over to hear the times from the 2nd group in Street and it was a slugfest! Cobb ran a 35 flat; Prof Awesome ran a 1:34.7 I think and Fortune Auto was right there with a 1:35.7. Then all hell broke loose.
The cobb car caught fire somewhere on the back-straight, an S2000 blew a motor in the final turn - T14 - obviously spilling fluids on the track. Coincidentally, T14 was the same spot last year at this same event where I nearly rear-ended another Evo because he was crossing the track from right to left in mid-turn about 30mph when I was coming in at 80+mph with no flags at all. Anyways, they didn't black flag for either issue this year and things kept going. The next car through the turn was a FWD civic that slid through the turn, narrowly missing the broken S2000 and stalled in the grass. The next car was a black evo that again slid through the mess but pinballed off of both stalled/broken cars. This finally brought out the black flag. It was a mess and I was soooo happy I wasn't out in the 2nd group and potentially been involved.
So, while they cleaned up the 4 broken cars I went back to make setup changes for TA#2. I turned the boost up a few psi as I'm tuned for it. I made a few suspension changes, studied my traqmate data and was about to make some alignment changes when the rain set in. The track never dried out and all the times stood. I think with some luck I could have ran a 36-37 which would have had be challenging for 3rd perhaps, but that's how it goes sometimes.
I ended up 4th out of 9 in Street AWD. I bettered my time time from last year by 3 full seconds but unfortunately just didn't have the horsepower to challenge the top guys. If I had been at full tilt, my car puts down about 360whp @ 3250lbs, the top 2 cars I know put down 400whp (mustang dyno) and 525whp! Even if I wasn't prepped fully for the series, it's still great to get out and run and compare your car and laptimes to some of the fastest cars in the country. If only the Redline series made more than 1 stop within 16 hours of my house perhaps I'd build my car specifically for the series...
They did let Street go back out for TA#2 even though the track was wet, so I went out to try and set the fastest lap in the wet - 2:06! - and then had some Drifting fun. Vids to come!
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