"Tribute to Le Mans" or "The 3-hours of Fonta

[Spec-944#70]

Yes Tiimy/Dilly won!!! I had a great time and it sounds like Timmy is writing something big so I'll let him fill in the details. My team did O.K. for our very first Enduro. Timmy/Dilly and my team finished on the same lap ( 78 ) and we were about 40 seconds behind. Not bad after 3 hours!!! I learned alot and will need to step it up next time. My car ran great for the full 3 hours. With all the track time on Sat during the race it got me down to a 2:07.1 on Sunday!!! Like tons of people have said it's all about seat time!!!

I'll comment more after Timmy's disortation. Timmy/Dilly Congrats and great race!!!!

PS Timmy did the trophy stay on the roof of your car all the way home????

[Tim Comeau]

Yeah, We had a great time! Wish more 944-spec cars could have been there. I had threatened to strap that 37" tall trophy to the roof like a deer! Seat time is the ticket. I set a personal best of 2:03.3 on Sat morning. Anyway, this was my second 3-hour Enduro with the Covict car. It was a shoestring budget effort, as always. But, we found a way to pull it off, and I found myself on the starting grid of the most important race of the year for the POC. I've worked this event every year since 1996 as a crew member, pit marshal, pit steward, grid helper, what have you. Now, it was finally my time to race. Very personally fulfilling just to start that race!

Anywho, The car was being uncharacteristically troublesome last weekend. I had a LR wheel bearing nut loosen up, which damaged the wheel bearing, then we over torqued it, to be on the safe side, which was worse for it. Loosened it up a little and it was quieter. But the noise from it was a constant reminder of a weakness in our entry.

My transponder wasn't hitting all the time. Seems that the wire loop at Fontana is buried deeper than other tracks? So I had to drop it right down to the lowest part of the car. You can understand my concern about the timing system not recording every single lap!

The brake ducting I had so painstakingly installed worked fantasically! It was blasting a bunch of air to the brakes, which was blasting a bunch of brake dust out and down the sides of the car, which came right into my fresh air duct I had mounted in the window frame! One session and a lung full of metallic brake dust was enough for me. Off came the brake ducting.

We rounded up 2 PCA members to help out in the pits. Gary Burch and Alan Jackson. They did great!

So off we went. The start was messed up. Totally spread out field. Oh, well..... it 's a 3-hour race.

Eric started out ahead of me on the grid because I had no time posted during qual(transx). By the end of the first lap, I had caught up to him, and we went down the front straight and all the way through the banking, side by side, just to give the announcer, Joel, something to say about our fun little class! BTW, I couldn't hear it, but I understand our class did get some good air time! Marketing! Marketing! Marketing!

So, I pulled out a good-sized lead during my stint in the car, which was good because it turns out I would need to use that buffer! About 1 hour and 15 minutes into my 1:50 stint, the car just snap spun on me. Luckily, it was a lower speed, 3rd gear turn. The car spun and I was headed, backwards, for the tires and K-rail concrete barriers! I was thinking one thing.........."Come on seat back brace.......do your thing!" By the time I impacted, I believe I was doing around 20 mph? I think the car hit perfectly square, too. Got a good bounce off the wall, kept the engine running, first gear, and I was OUTTA THERE! I didn't want to be sitting there on the track, on the line!

Great.......here comes an unscheduled pit stop.....I told Dylan and the crew that I had spun and hit the wall pretty hard. "Check the rear of the car!" They were looking at me like "Where's the damage?" Like I was crazy. I had them check the tires in an effort to isolate the cause of the spin. Gary said they were fine. Off I went, driving cautiously, thinking that I had overheated the tires? My lead over Eric had been erased. Turns out a broken down car had been dragged across the track and left some oil there! Now it made sense. It took 2 or 3 more cars to spin there for the course officials to realize there was something on the surface. I don't blame them because you can't see it. Full course yellow........and I got by the pace car just before it entered the track!! That meant I could run around the track at full speed to catch the back of the pack. I think I gained most of a lap back on the overall leaders, who were stuck behind the pace car.

We used alot more fuel at Fontana than we did at the Button Willow 3-hour race. I used almost a full tank in 1:50 minutes or so. The reserve light was coming on and off. Flashed the lights for 2 laps, then pitted. I added 15 gallons of the 20 on hand, and checked the fuel gauge. It read full, so I'm glad I hadn't attempted to try to put in the last 5 gallons because it would have almost surely overflowed and incurred a massive time penalty! Checked the oil, added some, the crew set the tires down to 40psi, tire condition was good, Scooped out a bunch of water (by hand)from the cool suit jug and added some fresh ice for Dylan. We planned on doing one 10 minute pit stop and we actually used 10 minutes 45 seconds. Off Dylan went to duel with Eric's second driver, POC member Chris Wiles. I went up to timing and scoring to check our position.........Holy Crap!!!! Both 944's were on lap 55 and only 10 seconds apart!! My car was in 16th position overall at that time.

Man.....what should I do? There was about one hour left. Should I go to the back side of the track, where I could get right next to the track through the fence, and wave at Dylan to hurry up? If I did, would he try too hard and spin? Would that increased speed kill the left rear bearing completely? I have no finger nails right now...........

But Dylan started eeking out a lead on Chris by about 1 second per lap. Turns out poor Chris had a pedal extension coming loose on the accelerator! It was swinging over and interfering with the brake pedal! In the end, Dylan finished only about 30 seconds ahead of Chris. Dylan came across the finish line with the headlights on! Another successful enduro for Comeau Racing Enterprises. I was on top of the pit wall waving a towel around in circles at Dylan.

Would it have been worth it for Chris to have come into the pits and have the pedal extension removed? Dunno. He reported afterwards that he was running right with Dylan until the pedal trouble....

Before the race, I was thinking that I should just maintain Eric's pace so that we could nurse that wheel bearing to the finish line. It's a good thing that I did open up a gap, because we needed it when I pitted after my spin

You just never know in enduros.

Anything can happen........................... and it usually does.

[jjgrow]

Congratulations to both cars! Just finishing is an accomplishment. Maybe these cars can be reliable

[PeanutinCA]

No need to fret Mr. Tim. I decided to "nurse" the car as you suggested after the axle nut had "come loose" on me during my 3 laps in the car on Friday. Thanks mate. He says to me, "the cars in good shape, go for it". I'm driving it for the first time both Tim's car and Fontana, I'm thinking, damn this car is loose. 3 Laps later the thing goes sideways on me and starts making a horrible noise, JUST AFTER doing about 120 through 1 and 2! Trying to take out your competition in your own car doesn't really help you much? And as for the bearing post tightening, he doesn't tell me anything more about it until he hands me the keys for my stint. DOH!!! "Hey, by the way Dylan, slow it down to about 110 through 1 and 2 because the wheel bearing doesn't sound so good". THANKS!

 

As for my stint. I thought Chris had gone off in front of me "due" to the pedal? That was my out lap from the pits when that occured? Chris' times were consistant with his best there up until the end of the race. He does have that track dialed in his 911 for sure!

 

I thought about rattling off some faster laps after that discussion earlier about both us driving your car for comparison. But decided it was the more mature race to maintain a lead and just bring it home in one piece and not try to bee a hero and surpass your lap times. Turns out, we were running almost identical lap times by about 1 second difference. Me being about 1 second behind you on average. Pretty good pairing if you ask me?

 

Now for that cheater car of yours! Kidding. When my own car would occassionally work (still the fuel starvation), I was getting the same top speed into turns 1 and 2 as in Tim's car. His car is very "smooth", but I don't think it's a cheater. No vibrations, very quiet, light power steering etc. In fact I think mine handles better than yours Tim? Your car feels soft/loose in the rear end? What's you setup back there?

 

So now it's up to everybody to step up to the Comeau times by driving!

 

Still smiling from a FUN FUN FUN old race. Why didn't Anderson's come race? You have the experience and licenses don't you guys?

 

P.Dilly.

[Car524]

All props and cudos to the team of Timmmee and P. Dilly. As much as I wanted to get close enough to P. Dilly to have a real race with the “thunder from down under”, the end result wasn’t the one I was looking for. As I started into to turn 1 on my 7th or 8th lap I saw the Zebra car leaving the pits and coming onto the track. We entered turn 3 with P. Dilly right on my rear bumper, I actually had the lead!!! After a few race moves I managed to fend off Dilly to the Button hook turn. As I pushed down on brake pedal, to set the car, the car started to accelerate…. right off track. The car handled the dirt just fine and I started back towards the track. It turns out that the screw holding a metal plate on the gas pedal broke and the brake pedal became the gas pedal. By the time I got back on the track and sort of got the problem to go away P. Dilly was a memory. This is not my way of saying that I could have made P. Dilly my Biaatch. However, I might have been able to put on a better show and the outcome might have turned out the right way. All kidding aside, Dilly drove the tires off that little car no “ifs” about it. Both cars finished the race and after 3 hours it was close. Timmmmeee and Dilly are great drives and the 924 of Timmmee is really dialed in. It was a good time for a fraction of the cost of real fast cars. The only problem I had was sore arms from all the “point by’s”.

CW

[Spec-944#70]

Now for my turn. I hit the tire barrier in the same corner as Timmy. (Still no debris flag!!) It was just a slight tap on the rear passenger side. It actually kept me on the track so I motor'd on as just backed off a tad till the corner dried up. We did our 10 min pit with no issues and got Chris on the track. He did have the peddle issue but if we would have pitted to remove it we never would have been able to make up the time. We were hoping for the bearing to fail or for Dilly to have an off. (Neither happened and we we not hoping for injury it was just Chris couldn't catch Dilly) The peddle ext is now off the car!! It was a great time and my car ran great. Heat went to the halfway mark and just stayed there. We added about 1/4 quart of oil for insurance and gased up.

Tim is correct in not just keeping my pace because if he slowed down that much and then had the incident it may have been a different story. I learned alot during this whole process and will try to make the 25 hour event at TH in Dec. (Whose with me!!! Call or email soon!!) The enduro's are an equalizer of sorts because even though Timmy's team had the faster drivers we still held our own and made sure Timmy had to run the race at a decent pace because as Tim said you never know what can happen. I had a blast and learned alot as now my lap times are 2:07.1. I get faster each time I go out there and my skills are greatly improving. (Still have a way to go but I'll be there - Dilly you'll have you hands full when you get your car running right!!)

See ya'll at BW!!!!

[Car524]

Timmee's new wheels...

 

Timmmmeeee!!!

CW

[nkwright]

Sounds like a great time! I'm glad both cars finished. As for the Anderson guys, we (David & myself) are both POC licensed. It was a scheduling conflict and a minor car repair issue.

 

I took my stepson go kart racing at Moran Raceway in Beaumont for the weekend. Had a great time. Unfortunately, the spark plug lead came off halfway through the main event and he was out. Too bad, he was running a solid 4th and was ahead of all of his points competitors. That's racing!!??

 

John wants to repair a minor oil leak.

 

Thanks for asking. The AMW #69 will be at BTNWillow with David driving his second race.

[PeanutinCA]

Where are the photos Timmy? I forget what that trophy looks like already!

 

P.Dilly.

[Spec-944#70]

Timmy has it in his bed next to him!!! (Same place I'd have it!!)

[PeanutinCA]

Timmy has it in his bed next to him!!! (Same place I'd have it!!)

 

OK, I don't think I want it anymore

 

Are we going to arrange weekend visits or something?

[Tim Comeau]

You can come visit the trophy any time and pick it up. You'll have a hard time letting go of it though..........it's kind of sticky.

Dylan, the rear of my car is 30mm bars, Welt sways set 1 inch from the end. Koni's with unknown rebound setting. No corner balance yet. It'll get faster!

[David J Marguglio]

So am I to presume from the R7 on the side of your car that the POC has not given us our own class? I thought we had given them everything that they had asked for, Eric? What's the story?

[Spec-944#70]

The BoD is holding us to the 6 cars in an event and at WS we had 4. They won't count the 5 in the Clinic as they were not licensed yet. But I do beleive we had 6+ cars at CSW. I'll research it and let the BoD know so they can make it official. We're close but it takes some time. The POC was impressed by the close racing from me and Timmee and look forward to seeing many more of us in "Tribute" next year!!

It'll happen soon, very soon,

[PeanutinCA]

Sorry Eric but it was only 4 racing.

 

Cup Race.

Tim S.

Eric S.

Dylan S.

Dennis P.

 

Time Trial.

Eric S.

David H.

Tim S. ???

Dylan S. (DNR)

 

I think the next event in August is hard too being so far away at Laguna but, you never know?

 

P.Dilly.

[Spec-944#70]

We can add Tim C as he did the Enduro plus the TT put us over. That's 6+ at the event as GSR in my book! I'll send an email to the powers that be and give a gentle push.

Keep fingers crossed as I think they're ready to give in.

[PeanutinCA]

No offense mate but, if 9 people didn't qualify us for the class because they were not registered to "race" (the clinic guys). How will you convince them to count the entries spread across the enduro, race and TT to qualify the GSR "race" class? Remember, it was 8 entries per event level, i.e. 8 for TT AND 8 for Cup Race.

 

You might try and say there were 6 spec guys, obviously they exist and they will start to attend more and more.

 

Actually remember Steve Rea was there too but his car broke. That's another 1.

 

I'm a little dis-heartened after the clinic weekend with the "rules" interpretation.

 

P.Dilly.

[David J Marguglio]

I see your point PD and I agree that the next TWO events will be tough to get a large crowd to attend (Laguna and Phoenix). Perhaps our best chance is BW in December. If they wont give us our own class now, will they at least conceed to give us our own class on the weekend the we have 8 or more attending and make it effective for that weekend? If so, lets pile on for December.

[PeanutinCA]

I would have been nice to be running for a championship this year with POC. Make some "more" incentive to come run. Anyway. This is the NASA board, I'm braking my own ideals here. I think it should be discussed elsewhere. Not in the backyard of the santioning body that welcomes us with open arms.

 

P.Dilly.

[John Anderson]

Maybe I'm off base here, but I just had a long conversation with Glen Uslan about three days ago. He assured me that the POC now has a full on Spec Class. I asked if there were any conditions, as in what if only two cars show up He assured me then, there would be a two car spec race! As of now, unless he informed me wrong, or I miss understood, there is a Spec Class in POC. Anyone want to check this out?

[Tim Comeau]

John, the rules for the POC's version of our spec class, called 944 GSR (G spec racer) are in place. The POC still wants more 944's to show up before they grant the class independence from the R7 race group.