My first race (Spec Miata)

[dp35]

As some of you know, I recently did the SCCA driving school and got my racing license.  This past weekend I rented a Spec Miata from a front running team and signed up for the double header SCCA race at Thunderhill.  Spec Miata is the biggest and most competitive class in the SCCA, with up to 70 cars in the class, all racing at once.  This time there were "only" 58 cars in the field. 

I choked in qualifying for the first race and went slower than I had in practice.  I qualified 19th out of the 58 cars, which was worse than I was hoping for but better than any of the other rookies.  In the race I got schooled on the start, got hit in the second corner, and ended up 25th at the end of the first lap.  The good news was that I had slower cars in front of me that I could pass, so I did.  A few others broke or went off the track, and I ended up finishing 16th.   

The next day (Sunday) I got some good coaching from my car owners (who finished 1-2 in Saturday's race) drove way better and qualified 8th.  In the race I got passed by a few cars at the start.  But I got all those spots back pretty quick and was looking to move up more.  That's when the engine lost power and cars started blowing by me.  I had to shut it off before it blew sky high.  Had I held the position I was in I would've finished 7th.  That would've been sweet for my first weekend.

Learning how to drive a car without much power that fast is weird and cool.  My lap times were low 2:08's, which is faster than I ever went in my Porsche 996 at that track, and about the same speed I went in the Atom when I first got it.  In a Miata! 

Here's the video of my Sunday race:   http://www.vimeo.com/4833271

If you want to see more - here's a good video of Sunday's race from car #54, who qualified behind me, passed me at the start, and finished 6th.  He basically had the race I shoulda/coulda/woulda had:  http://vimeo.com/4831263

Next - I'm looking forward to applying my new & improved driving skills to the Atom.  Can't wait!

[CalScot]

Shame about losing power.

How about BW this weekend? Keep the adrenalin flowing.

I signed up for that exotic car race event you hooked me up with. I run it at Mojave Airport on Friday where I then will travel over to BW Friday night. I will be drag racing an Enzo, 430 Scud, GT40 and several other whacked out monster machines. Several bikes will be running as well. I am paired up with a turboed Hyabusa for one run. Ive got no chance but it will be fun. I guess there is a news channel and a several camera crews with scantilly clad models there as well. Should be interesting

[Heywood-Yablowme]

Spec Miatas are amazingly fast for such low power levels. The club I run with has a bunch of them.When we have open track time,it is like a swarm of fruit flies attacked! Some are so-so fast,and some are downright incredibly fast! The first time I was behind one on track,I tried to wait as long as they did braking. That was my first off..

58 cars on track at once.Wow. I have watched a bunch of Spec racing on videos and it is incredible how they are able to pass with no power advantages. A lot of skill involved for sure.

My Miata does not comply with Spec rules,so I can't run with them,other than track test sessions. 

Track time is fun time!

[dp35]

Peter - I can't do 2 weekends away from the family in a row, so I can't make it to BW.  Have fun, stay safe, and beware of idiots going wild.  Fast cars & scantily clad women?  You'll hate that. 

Curator - I know what you mean about following SM's in the Atom.  A lot can be learned that way.  The opposite is also true - learning how to drive an Atom fast makes it easier to get in other cars and go fast.  The Atom is a great training tool because it doesn't tolerate bad habits.