Let the 2016 racing season begin!
Of course, here in SoCal, we track the racing "season" by the calendar and not the four seasons, so I kicked off 2016 yesterday at Willow Springs International Raceway with the Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Southern California (AROSC).
One of the most interesting aspects of this race is that the cars are not all Porsche (as they are in POC and PCA racing). Thus, the race field had Spec Miata, Super Spec Miata, BMW E30 Spec, BMW E36 M3, several Alfa's, along with four other Spec Boxster's for a total of 21 cars in the field.
The cars were ranked into three classes based on hp/weight along with overall finishing places.
I also asked Brad Roberts to come out to provide coaching and data analysis to help me find some more speed around the track with the goal of lowering my lap times.
Summary:
Practice Race: Started 4th, finished 2nd of 21 cars
Main Race: Started 2nd, finished 2nd of 21 cars
Standing Start Race: Started 2nd, in 1st place when pulled off due to low fuel
During Practice 1 and 2, Brad and I were working on adjusting my braking, throttle, and line thru Corner 1 so I wasn't really focused on turing the fastest laps so my best time put me in Fourth for the Practice race. During the Practice race, I was able to move up two spots and finish 2nd behind a very fast E36 M3.
Starting 2nd in the Main, I had a great start and was able to get out front and actually lead the race for a lap or two, then the E36 caught and passed me. For the remainder of the race, I battled lap after lap with a Super Spec Miata to get 2nd. The SSM and I must have changed places 8 times. I finally figured out how to keep him behind me on the last two laps to hold onto 2nd.
In regards to the standing start race, I had never done this before. After the Main race checkered flag, whomever wanted to participate in the standing start race came down the front straight where the starters lined us up in view of the starters tower.
Brad and I talked about the best way to launch a Boxster and we decided on having the engine RPM up in the power band (around 4500 rpm) and then drop the clutch and let the rear tires do all of the work.
I'll admit, I was a little hesitant about doing this as it seemed that it would be very hard on the car. We all know that the Boxster isn't a drag racer and I didn't want to fry the clutch, break a CV joint, or damage the transmission. Remember, I need to drive home in this car! Brad laughed and said that this was a once in a lifetime chance and I had to do it! He was right, who would pass up a chance to do a drag start for a race? Not me.
Starting on the front row, I did exactly as planned and revved the engine to 4500rpm and dropped the clutch at the first move of the flag. The already hot and sticky rear R-compound tires grabbed and I got a half-car length jump on the Super Spec Miata next to me right out of the hole! Then the rear tires started to spin and the engine jumped to redline so I grabbed second gear as fast as I could. The rears hooked back up in 2nd gear and as they say; I Was Gone Baby! I hit 3rd and 4th flat out as I entered Turn 1 in 1st place.
Experiencing a standing start was the goal of the last race so I pulled off while still in 1st place after two laps when my low fuel light came on.
We will talk about my awesome spin at 90mph in Turn 1 when I post the video!
The House Automotive Spec Boxster at trackside;
AROSC medallion is really nice!
First place in my class; second place overall
