After what has been one of the worst of my life...More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a consistent winner when he was there this year, typically coming in ahead by MUCH larger margins. October was great for your ego, but it hardly needs more inflation.
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to those who
were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much gratitude for my
friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage for doing the prep), I
went out to the track with the rain tires already mounted, and praying
for rain, because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his schedule, I
missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the (dry) qualifying
session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry tires, and I
was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised to.. ...well, it
wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six, the rain started. It wasn't
a hard rain, but it was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00
to about 1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts dry
and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on my year-old
tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To
be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but
after the session was over, I discovered that someone had put one of the
carb components in upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing
up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun I've had in
a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to no chance that it
would rain any more that day, and starting on pole (for my class; we
were in a group with the FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings,
about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at
the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the inside and past
me before we got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for
6 laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was able to
get completely past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there
on, I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch my lead.
But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when Collin Jackson came
up to lap me, and I very nearly waved him through along with Collin, so
I had to build my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over Keith
(it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the potential to match
his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously challenged.
Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace, so he purposely
dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I took a cue from talking
to him before the race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and
it was a good change that gave me much better grip when braking. So my
race was: first seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not
really), and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he
can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I
THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always
remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time
out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a
lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much better
he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership.
Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was
in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and
we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.
:-)
After what has been one of the worst of my life...
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to those who
were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage for doing the prep), I
went out to the track with the rain tires already mounted, and praying
for rain, because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his schedule, I
missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the (dry) qualifying
session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry tires, and I
was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised to.. ...well, it
wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six, the rain started. It wasn't
a hard rain, but it was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00
to about 1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts dry
and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on my year-old
tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To
be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I discovered that someone had put one of the carb components in upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing
up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun I've had in
a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to no chance that it
would rain any more that day, and starting on pole (for my class; we
were in a group with the FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings,
about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at
the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the inside and past
me before we got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for
6 laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was able to
get completely past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there
on, I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch my lead.
But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when Collin Jackson came
up to lap me, and I very nearly waved him through along with Collin, so
I had to build my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over Keith
(it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the potential to match
his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously challenged.
Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace, so he purposely
dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I took a cue from talking
to him before the race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and
it was a good change that gave me much better grip when braking. So my
race was: first seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really), and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he
can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I
THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time
out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a
lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much better
he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership.
Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was
in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and
we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.
:-)
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to those who
were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage for doing the prep), I
went out to the track with the rain tires already mounted, and praying
for rain, because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the (dry) qualifying
session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry tires, and I
was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised to.. ...well, it
wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six, the rain started. It wasn't
a hard rain, but it was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00
to about 1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts dry
and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on my year-old
tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To
be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I discovered that someone had put one of the carb components in upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing
up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun I've had in
a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to no chance that it
would rain any more that day, and starting on pole (for my class; we
were in a group with the FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the inside and past
me before we got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for
6 laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was able to
get completely past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there
on, I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch my lead.
But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when Collin Jackson came
up to lap me, and I very nearly waved him through along with Collin, so
I had to build my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over Keith
(it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the potential to match
his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously challenged.
Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace, so he purposely
dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I took a cue from talking
to him before the race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and
it was a good change that gave me much better grip when braking. So my
race was: first seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really), and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he
can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I
THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time
out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a
lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much better
he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership.
Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was
in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and
we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.
:-)More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a consistent winner when he was there this year, typically coming in ahead by MUCH larger margins. October was great for your ego, but it hardly needs more inflation.
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he
can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I
THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much betterSounds like a quite enjoyable weekend.
he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership.
Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.Scuba diving is similar; I’m under a “use by” age of 80 for that, although I’ll try to play it by ear…Stan Waterman had a particularly spectacular dive for his 90th birthday, which is the opening in his biography, “Sea Salt”.
:-)
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to those who
were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage for doing the prep), I
went out to the track with the rain tires already mounted, and praying
for rain, because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the (dry) qualifying session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry tires, and I
was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised to.. ...well, it
wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six, the rain started. It wasn't
a hard rain, but it was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00
to about 1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts dry
and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on my year-old
tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To
be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I discovered that someone had put one of the carb components in upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun I've had in
a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to no chance that it would rain any more that day, and starting on pole (for my class; we
were in a group with the FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the inside and past me before we got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for
6 laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was able to get completely past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there
on, I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch my lead.
But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when Collin Jackson came
up to lap me, and I very nearly waved him through along with Collin, so
I had to build my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over Keith
(it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the potential to match
his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously challenged.
Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace, so he purposely
dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I took a cue from talking
to him before the race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and it was a good change that gave me much better grip when braking. So my race was: first seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really), and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he
can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I
THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much betterSounds like a quite enjoyable weekend.
he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership.
Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.Scuba diving is similar; I’m under a “use by” age of 80 for that, although I’ll try to play it by ear…Stan Waterman had a particularly spectacular dive for his 90th birthday, which is the opening in his biography, “Sea Salt”.
:-)
-hh
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 3:37:47 PM UTC-7, Thomas E. wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to those who
were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage for doing the prep), I
went out to the track with the rain tires already mounted, and praying for rain, because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the (dry) qualifying session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry tires, and I was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised to.. ...well, it wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six, the rain started. It wasn't
a hard rain, but it was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00
to about 1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts dry and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on my year-old
tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To
be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I discovered that someone had put one of the carb components in upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun I've had in a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to no chance that it would rain any more that day, and starting on pole (for my class; we
were in a group with the FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the inside and past me before we got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for
6 laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was able to get completely past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there on, I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch my lead. But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when Collin Jackson came
up to lap me, and I very nearly waved him through along with Collin, so
I had to build my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over Keith (it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the potential to match his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously challenged.
Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace, so he purposely dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I took a cue from talking
to him before the race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and it was a good change that gave me much better grip when braking. So my race was: first seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really), and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much better
he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership. Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.
LOL!:-)More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a consistent winner when he was there this year, typically coming in ahead by MUCH larger margins. October was great for your ego, but it hardly needs more inflation.
Did I forget to mention I was on year-old tires? No... ...I think I mentioned it. ;-)
And before you go on about preparation, I did win all three races. :-D
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 8:29:23 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 3:37:47 PM UTC-7, Thomas E. wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan BakerLOL!
wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a consistent
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to
those who were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was
no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting
the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much
gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage
for doing the prep), I went out to the track with the rain
tires already mounted, and praying for rain, because I was
going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his
schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the
(dry) qualifying session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a
second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry
tires, and I was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised
to.. ...well, it wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six,
the rain started. It wasn't a hard rain, but it was enough that
my lap times climbed from 1:19.00 to about 1:33. It is very
easy to throw away a race when it starts dry and then
progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts
getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on
my year-old tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster
than the next FF (To be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack
of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I
discovered that someone had put one of the carb components in
upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing up at the
airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun
I've had in a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to
no chance that it would rain any more that day, and starting on
pole (for my class; we were in a group with the FCs, as well as
one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a
5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at the wheel). Keith made a
fantastic start and went up the inside and past me before we
got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for 6
laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was
able to get completely past him before the braking zone for
turn 1. From there on, I just had the pace on him by enough
that I could stretch my lead. But he "impersonated" a similarly
coloured FC when Collin Jackson came up to lap me, and I very
nearly waved him through along with Collin, so I had to build
my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over
Keith (it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the
potential to match his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously
challenged. Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace,
so he purposely dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I
took a cue from talking to him before the race, and dropped my
front tire pressures to 10psi and it was a good change that
gave me much better grip when braking. So my race was: first
seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really),
and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not
quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5
seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track,
racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold
beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54
seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming
back if he can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for
one more year; I THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will
always remember the way he schooled me going through turns
4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able
to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or
two. All I learned was how much better he was. Al was also the
RDC member who nominated me for membership. Oddly, I think the
fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was in part
responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race
and we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy
camper.
:-)
winner when he was there this year, typically coming in ahead by
MUCH larger margins. October was great for your ego, but it
hardly needs more inflation.
Did I forget to mention I was on year-old tires? No... ...I think I
mentioned it. ;-)
And before you go on about preparation, I did win all three races.
:-D
With the only Honda FF engine in the field and without McColl there.
Strange, as soon as McColl disappears you appear. Coincidence, I
think not.
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 4:05:10 PM UTC-7, -hh wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I THINK he's kidding).
It was all of that, yeah. :-)Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much better he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership. Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and we talked out what had happened and why.Sounds like a quite enjoyable weekend.
That, too, sounds like a life well-lived.If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.Scuba diving is similar; I’m under a “use by” age of 80 for that, although I’ll try to play it by ear…Stan Waterman had a particularly spectacular dive for his 90th birthday, which is the opening in his biography, “Sea Salt”.
:-)
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 8:29:23 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 3:37:47 PM UTC-7, Thomas E. wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to those who were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage for doing the prep), I went out to the track with the rain tires already mounted, and praying for rain, because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the (dry) qualifying session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a second. Still, I was just
happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry tires, and I was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised to.. ...well, it wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six, the rain started. It wasn't a hard rain, but it was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00 to about 1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts dry and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on my year-old tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I discovered that someone had put one of the
carb components in upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing
up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun I've had in
a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to no chance that it would rain any more that day, and starting on pole (for my class; we were in a group with the FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at
the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the inside and past
me before we got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for 6 laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was able to get completely past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there on, I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch my lead. But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when Collin Jackson came up to lap me, and I very nearly waved him through along with Collin, so I had to build my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over Keith (it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the potential to match his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously challenged. Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace, so he purposely dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I took a cue from talking to him before the race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and
it was a good change that gave me much better grip when braking. So my race was: first seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really), and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track, racing with my
friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming back if he can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for one more year; I THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will always remember the way he schooled me going through turns 4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or two. All I learned was how much better he was. Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership. Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was
in part responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race and
we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy camper.
LOL!:-)More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a consistent winner when he was there this year, typically coming in ahead by MUCH larger margins. October was great for your ego, but it hardly needs more inflation.
Did I forget to mention I was on year-old tires? No... ...I think I mentioned it. ;-)
And before you go on about preparation, I did win all three races. :-DWith the only Honda FF engine in the field and without McColl there. Strange, as soon as McColl disappears you appear. Coincidence, I think not.
On 2021-10-12 8:01 a.m., Thomas E. wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 8:29:23 PM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 3:37:47 PM UTC-7, Thomas E. wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan BakerLOL!
wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a consistent
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to
those who were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there was
no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from getting
the car prepared until the very day before the race (and much
gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to use his garage
for doing the prep), I went out to the track with the rain
tires already mounted, and praying for rain, because I was
going to use my year-old slicks if it was dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his
schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made the
(dry) qualifying session, and Erle out-qualified me by nearly a
second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry
tires, and I was past Erle by turn one, and from there, cruised
to.. ...well, it wasn't an easy victory, because on lap six,
the rain started. It wasn't a hard rain, but it was enough that
my lap times climbed from 1:19.00 to about 1:33. It is very
easy to throw away a race when it starts dry and then
progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the forecasts
getting progressively better as the day went on. I qualified on
my year-old tires a tiny bit more than 4 seconds a lap faster
than the next FF (To be fair, Felim's engine had a serious lack
of power above 5,000rpm, but after the session was over, I
discovered that someone had put one of the carb components in
upside down, so that the fuel outlet in it was facing up at the
airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most fun
I've had in a long time. By race time (1:30), there was next to
no chance that it would rain any more that day, and starting on
pole (for my class; we were in a group with the FCs, as well as
one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp and Collin Jackson--a
5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs at the wheel). Keith made a
fantastic start and went up the inside and past me before we
got to turn one, and from there, we had a great battle for 6
laps until I finally got a much better run off turn 9 and was
able to get completely past him before the braking zone for
turn 1. From there on, I just had the pace on him by enough
that I could stretch my lead. But he "impersonated" a similarly
coloured FC when Collin Jackson came up to lap me, and I very
nearly waved him through along with Collin, so I had to build
my lead all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths over
Keith (it's great to see Keith back in a car that has the
potential to match his skill as a driver to the fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously
challenged. Keith admitted that he new he could match my pace,
so he purposely dropped back a bit to "play" with Erle), but I
took a cue from talking to him before the race, and dropped my
front tire pressures to 10psi and it was a good change that
gave me much better grip when braking. So my race was: first
seeing if I could hang close to the leading FCs (not really),
and then seeing how long I could stay unlapped by Collin and
the two leading FCs (alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not
quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than 1.5
seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track,
racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a cold
beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after 54
seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps coming
back if he can bribe his doctor into approving his medical for
one more year; I THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I will
always remember the way he schooled me going through turns
4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd be able
to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn a thing or
two. All I learned was how much better he was. Al was also the
RDC member who nominated me for membership. Oddly, I think the
fact that he and I had a small incident in turn 8 was in part
responsible for it; the fact that I came over after the race
and we talked out what had happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy
camper.
:-)
winner when he was there this year, typically coming in ahead by
MUCH larger margins. October was great for your ego, but it
hardly needs more inflation.
Did I forget to mention I was on year-old tires? No... ...I think I
mentioned it. ;-)
And before you go on about preparation, I did win all three races.
:-D
With the only Honda FF engine in the field and without McColl there. Strange, as soon as McColl disappears you appear. Coincidence, I
think not.
There's scant evidence that you think at all.
I registered before I knew whether or not Alan would be there. How was I
to know he was unwilling to get vaccinated? I was simply bound and
determined not to miss this last weekend of the season after what has
been the most horrible summer of my life.
And you once again revert to your belief that the Honda is some kind of magic.
On Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:50:30 AM UTC-4, Alan Baker wrote:
On 2021-10-12 8:01 a.m., Thomas E. wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 8:29:23 PM UTC-4, Alan BakerThere's scant evidence that you think at all.
wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 3:37:47 PM UTC-7, Thomas E.
wrote:
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 2:35:00 PM UTC-4, Alan BakerLOL!
wrote:
After what has been one of the worst of my life...More wins against weak competition. Alan McColl was a
...I finally got a race weekend in!
And before anyone asks, the entire event was restricted to
those who were double-vaccinated... ...which is why there
was no Alan McColl participating.
Despite a bad back and workload that prevented me from
getting the car prepared until the very day before the race
(and much gratitude for my friend Phil, who allowed me to
use his garage for doing the prep), I went out to the track
with the rain tires already mounted, and praying for rain,
because I was going to use my year-old slicks if it was
dry.
And then mother nature was as fickle as she could be.
Given that Phil was towing my trailer to the track on his
schedule, I missed morning practice on Saturday, but made
the (dry) qualifying session, and Erle out-qualified me by
nearly a second. Still, I was just happy to be there.
The race that afternoon started off with all of us on dry
tires, and I was past Erle by turn one, and from there,
cruised to.. ...well, it wasn't an easy victory, because on
lap six, the rain started. It wasn't a hard rain, but it
was enough that my lap times climbed from 1:19.00 to about
1:33. It is very easy to throw away a race when it starts
dry and then progresses to rain. Every braking zone is an
adventure. :-)
So race 1 was a win, and I was fastest FF by a full
second.
Sunday started with qualifying in the dry with the
forecasts getting progressively better as the day went on.
I qualified on my year-old tires a tiny bit more than 4
seconds a lap faster than the next FF (To be fair, Felim's
engine had a serious lack of power above 5,000rpm, but
after the session was over, I discovered that someone had
put one of the carb components in upside down, so that the
fuel outlet in it was facing up at the airstream).
Sunday's first race (Race 2 of the weekend) was the most
fun I've had in a long time. By race time (1:30), there was
next to no chance that it would rain any more that day, and
starting on pole (for my class; we were in a group with the
FCs, as well as one Brabham BT-40 with wings, about 200hp
and Collin Jackson--a 5-time champion at the SCCA runoffs
at the wheel). Keith made a fantastic start and went up the
inside and past me before we got to turn one, and from
there, we had a great battle for 6 laps until I finally got
a much better run off turn 9 and was able to get completely
past him before the braking zone for turn 1. From there on,
I just had the pace on him by enough that I could stretch
my lead. But he "impersonated" a similarly coloured FC when
Collin Jackson came up to lap me, and I very nearly waved
him through along with Collin, so I had to build my lead
all over again. :-)
Race 2: the win and fastest FF by just a couple of tenths
over Keith (it's great to see Keith back in a car that has
the potential to match his skill as a driver to the
fullest).
Race 3, I led FF from the start and was never seriously
challenged. Keith admitted that he new he could match my
pace, so he purposely dropped back a bit to "play" with
Erle), but I took a cue from talking to him before the
race, and dropped my front tire pressures to 10psi and it
was a good change that gave me much better grip when
braking. So my race was: first seeing if I could hang close
to the leading FCs (not really), and then seeing how long I
could stay unlapped by Collin and the two leading FCs
(alMOST to the end of the race.. ...but not quite).
So race 3: another win and fastest FF by a little more than
1.5 seconds.
But the best part of it all was just being back on track,
racing with my friends. Dinner on Saturday night, and a
cold beer after the racing was finished on Sunday.
We congratulated our racer emeritus, Al Ores, who, after
54 seasons of racing, has finally decided to call it a
day...
...at the age of 88 (although he did mention perhaps
coming back if he can bribe his doctor into approving his
medical for one more year; I THINK he's kidding).
Al has been a member of the RDC for... ...forever, and I
will always remember the way he schooled me going through
turns 4-5-6 my first time out in my first FF. I thought I'd
be able to follow the "old man" for a lap or two and learn
a thing or two. All I learned was how much better he was.
Al was also the RDC member who nominated me for membership.
Oddly, I think the fact that he and I had a small incident
in turn 8 was in part responsible for it; the fact that I
came over after the race and we talked out what had
happened and why.
If I can still be racing when I'm 88, I'll be a very happy
camper.
:-)
consistent winner when he was there this year, typically
coming in ahead by MUCH larger margins. October was great for
your ego, but it hardly needs more inflation.
Did I forget to mention I was on year-old tires? No... ...I
think I mentioned it. ;-)
And before you go on about preparation, I did win all three
races. :-D
With the only Honda FF engine in the field and without McColl
there. Strange, as soon as McColl disappears you appear.
Coincidence, I think not.
I registered before I knew whether or not Alan would be there. How
was I to know he was unwilling to get vaccinated? I was simply
bound and determined not to miss this last weekend of the season
after what has been the most horrible summer of my life.
And you once again revert to your belief that the Honda is some
kind of magic.
Riiiiiiiiiiight! Regardless, McColl was winning by much larger
margins over similar competing drivers.
The Honda is not magic, it's just a much better fit. There are many
reasons that the top level FF teams have almost universally switched
to Honda. Believe or not, Honda can build a much better engine that a
design that is over 40 years old.
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