My Boxster racing car story

[southernstar]

Congrats on the car and the results. I can tell you that there is a ton of envy happening right now from me and many others on this site for both your car and your results. Keep us posted!

Cheers!

Brad

[Kroggers]

Last Sunday was race 3 and 4 in the 2013 PRCF Sports Cup here in Finland, and whilst the Boxster performed outstandingly - the nut behind the wheel did not



RACE 3:

After the qualification round, I registered a best lap time to put me 4th on start grid.

I had a strong start and managed to get close to the leading car going into first corner - a right hand bend with me on the inside, and the car spun round and I ended up in the dirt! Our regulations specify that if you spin off (all 4 wheels outside the track) you get a drive through penalty. So I drove in and got the all clear - putting me in last position. Whilst I did not end up outside the track with the spin, both my front wheels were out when the spin stopped + I opted to drive forward and off the track to get back on which put me off the track! By the end of the race I finished overall 4th and 1st in class, having overtaken 5 cars - I am actually happy with this result

You can see the in-car video from this race on YouTube - CoolCava Racing Boxster - Porsche PRCF Sports Cup Race 3 - 2013 at Alastaro - YouTube

My fastest registered lap in this race was 1:30.323


RACE 4:

As I had clocked a good lap time in race 3, I started 2nd on the grid for this race. I decided to not go in so hot on the first corner this time, and as such by end of first lap I was overall 3rd. About half was into the race with me in a good lead I killed the Las Palmas hairpin bend at Alastaro (It has this name due to all the sand) and ended up in the dirt again

Whilst the spin in race 3 was driver error - going in to first corner to hot with cold rubber is not smart! I am not sure about the Las Palmas trip. I need to analyse the video and recorded data to find out more, but for some strange reason the brakes did not behave as normal for just this one time. The pedal went harder than normal and it felt like I did not have full stooping power? It is also possible that I stood on the stop-pedal to late - but I think I did not. Any how, I did not manage to make the turn! Any idea on this one???

Another visit in for a drive through penalty and out again. This time I was to far into the race to get all the way back up to the lead again, but I did finish overall 5th and 1st in class.

You can see the in-car video from this race on YouTube - CoolCava Racing Boxster - Porsche PRCF Sports Cup Race 4 - 2013 at Alastaro - YouTube

My fastest registered lap in this race was 1:29.617 - That was the fastest lap for that day for a not Cup car!!!

Now I have spent two days trying to clean all the sand out from the Boxster!

[insite]

looks like a fun course!

to me, your incident looked like you didn't get your right foot squarely on the brake pedal. you then repositioned your foot on the pedal & went deeper than you had planned. after that, you missed your turn-in point, even though i think you could have negotiated the turn.

i see you brake a little, then adjust your leg & brake a lot.

[stephen wilson]

It's hard to tell on the video, but if you're heel/toeing and catch the gas pedal that can also happen.

[Kroggers]

Next Sunday will be race weekend time again, with race 5 and 6 in the PRCF SportsCup. This time we will be at the all new extended Botniaring in Finland which is now the longest and fastest circuit over here - should be fun

In between last race and this weekend I have done some small alterations to the front of the Boxster. I was not happy with the front splitter as it was - it did not sit flat (as you can see in some of the pictures posted before) and the tape did not look to nice. So I took on the largest fiberglass project I have done to date, and I am quite happy with the end results!

[southernstar]

Very nice work, Kroggers!

[Kroggers]

Time for an update on the racing and current situation

Since last post I have raced at the new extended Botniaring and the street circuit in Seinäjoki. And in points I am currently leading the season!



But there are still 5 race starts remaining to the season, so things can still change big time

The new extended Botniaring was fantastic and fast. As you can see in the attached the old existing circuit is highlighted with blue, and the extension which is taken off after turn 3 is in red making the circuit much longer with a very fast long left hand bend.



This race day was also interesting in that it was the only day that week which had rain - days leading up to the race was warm with sun and even during the morning as we drove to Botniaring it was sun. As we arrived and started to set-up the rain came over and remained with us until we started to drive home after the event - then the sun came out again! So we got to race on a new circuit in the rain...

I changed to wet weather wheels and changed the suspension set-up a bit. I do like my new Tarett sway bars - so quick and easy to set it for the conditions, such as rain



But the day was a success and I managed to keep her on the track without any scary incidents. Here is an in-car video from the day - CoolCava Racing Boxster - Porsche PRCF Sports Cup Race 6 - 2013 at Botniaring - YouTube

Report from Seinäjoki will follow soon...

[bar10dah]

Kroggers, I always look forward to your updates. Outstanding!!

[Kroggers]

Originally Posted by bar10dah

Kroggers, I always look forward to your updates. Outstanding!!

Thank you, always nice to know someone is reading what I post here

[Kroggers]

OK, time to get up to date. Last race weekend we had was the weekend 27th and 28th of July and was in Seinäjoki here in Finland...



This one was a real adventure for me. One weekend a year the little town Seinäjoki in the North-West of Finland hosts a large event named "Race and Rock". During the day they have a large race event on a street circuit in an industrial area, and then during the evening there is a musical festival in the town centre...

This was my first ever race at Seinäjoki and also my first street circuit race. I had been told that the circuit which is obviously on closed public roads was nothing like a normal race circuit - warn and bumpy tarmac, concrete barriers and ditches at the side of the road etc. So, not very forgiving if you do something wrong, and known to take victims in almost every race



But once I started to learn the track I got faster and the event got more fun. There were some sections where the surface was really bad making for some interesting cornering and breaking, but that just made it more interesting.

I will admit that I did not like the concrete etc when I first drove the circuit, but I fast got used to it and almost forgot the barriers were there by the end of the last race

The "holy crap" moment for me and when I almost had to change my underwear was when in the second race of the weekend the car directly in front of me suffered some engine issues and covered the ground and my car in oil! I managed to keep the car on the tarmac, but unfortunately he did not...



You can see the fun and oil excitement in my in-car video from the race on the CoolCava Racing youtube channel - CoolCava Racing Boxster - Porsche PRCF Sports Cup Race 7 - 2013 at Seinäjoki - YouTube

But all in all a great weekend racing at a great event. I was told after the first race that there were over 20000 spectators there - largest crowd I have ever raced for

Took 2nd overall and 1st in class for both races that weekend which is also nice...



Was also nice to win a bottle of bubbly that I could take home and share with the family We did consider (my team mate Timo took 1st in class and 1st overall in his 996 GT3 Cup car) opening the bottles for a traditional spray everybody, but a 5hr drive home after would not have been so nice

[southernstar]

Thanks again Kroggers for the chance to share in your experience vicariously - I am truly envious!

Brad

[steved0x]

Agreed, I love reading these updates.

[MaxD]

You definitely have a following

[Kroggers]

Thank you all, then I will try to keep you all up to date on progress until the day I decide to stop racing (which I hope is far in the future!)...

Next race event is Saturday 24th of August. We are back at Alastaro again for the semi-finals for the 2013 season. Alastaro and I have a bad relationship - I have spun the car in every race we have had there, so I am having mixed feelings about this one...

[Jittsl]

Looks like you are having lots of fun. Keep them coming.

[Kroggers]

Originally Posted by Jittsl

Looks like you are having lots of fun. Keep them coming.

I was having a lot of fun - until the weekend, when I had what can only be the worst racing weekend so far!!! But this morning I woke up happy and ready to keep going

I think I will title this race report as "You bend it, You mend it", and my bad luck at Alastaro continues

Some times things just do not go the way you want them to go and you maybe make decisions that feel correct at the time, but after the event you sit down and wonder "why did I do that!!!" But I always try to look on the bright side and keep on going - and that is what I am going to do this time as well...

The event started on Friday with practice. This was the main event of the 2013 season, and was combined with the Porsche Club Festival. I was making good lap times on the Friday and even set a new personal best for me at Alastaro - until my transmission said "This is not fun" and emptied a load of oil over the track and rendered me stationary - and out of the race for the weekend (or so I thought)...

Once back at the paddock I jacked up the Boxster and discovered that the left side output flange was not looking to fresh...



Rather than try to fix it at the circuit, I parked the car on my trailer and settled down to have a race free weekend....

But this is where things started to get interesting! As this was the Porsche Club Festival, my team mate Toni had also taken along his old race car - a nice short wheelbase 911 with a RSR replica kit on it. And after some discussions it was decided I would enter the race in this car - ohhhhh, how I wish I had never done this!



Saturday morning for the 20min warm up session was the first time I got to drive Toni's car and whilst it was fun it was not my Boxster and I felt nervous about the brakes which were a bit erratic...

I took the car out again for qualification and recorded a best time of 1:32:66 which was much slower than my time in the Boxster. But still the brakes were bothering me and this is when I should have parked the car and walked away, as half way threw race 9 (first race start of the day) the brakes again gave me a fun time and ended in disaster.



So, now I have two cars that need to be fixed and I ended the race weekend with a "Did Not Finish" and a "Did Not Start"!

Back to the Boxster, it is up on stands and a closer look at the transmission is under way.







Just under two weeks to next race and season final - will the Boxster be race ready in time?!?

[southernstar]

Sorry to hear that Kroggers, but finger's crossed that you will have all in order for the next race weekend. As always, keep us posted.

Brad

[Kroggers]

Thank you Brad...

I have spent some time going over the race in my head and the crash, and here is my view on it all.

My analysis is that I drove as I would have done in my Boxster without taking consideration for the fact that it was in fact not my Boxster I was driving (I am still new to raceing, this is my 3rd season and still have a lot to learn) - I took a line I had done many times before in that corner with the Boxster. But with the Boxster I can go deeper and brake later in that corner and follow the inside line to get past another car - this as we did see is not a good move with an early 911. I also got "knock back" on the brakes in the car on that corner (which is also what made me spin earlier in the race - did not mention that ), and my reactions are not used to it so I react in the wrong way when it happens - again used to a Boxster with ABS etc.

I did know that Toni's car did suffer from knock back, as I discovered that during qualification. Toni told me to pump the brakes when it happens, but to him this was a instant reaction without thinking - not so for me

So in my analysis, the crash was my fault, but more due to the fact that I was driving a car I was not used to and had not practised enough in to make reactions automatic and second-nature. When faced with issues and a race situation I defaulted to Boxster-Racing-Mode...

Here is a picture from the last race we had at Alastaro where I take the same corner in the same way in my Boxster with no issue - the only issue was that I tried to do it again in a car that was not my Boxster



But that issue to one side, we have sorted out a solution to make sure I race for the season final in Sweden - the current box will be fixed, but for now we have picked up a used spare box. After the race season we will rebuild both and have a spare box in future

[Kroggers]

Thought I would give an update on current situation...

Main point is that I will be able to race in the season final at the end of next week, and try to protect my season lead

The damaged transmission has been removed from the car and the LSD puled out for closer investigation - and this does not look nice!!! Has anyone ever seen an LSD fail like this before? What could have done this?







The spare transmission has now been installed into the car and all that remains is to get it all connected up and the car back on the ground for a quick test...

[LAP1DOUG]

Oh yeah, you are using the 5 speed box. Is that a Torsen type, or clutch pack?