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My thoughts on the TT championships


loudes13

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My thoughts on the TT championships

 

1. I'd still like to see the download session be an impound, where I can see competitors cars. Even if I just got to see the car and face together.

 

2. Make the grid based on your time from the previous session - not overall best time. This encourages people to not skip a session, and to try going fast in every session. It's also an incentive to go out in the rain. I also think it will be fun to try and slot yourself on 'pole'.

 

I hope everyone is as excited as I am!!!

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Im probably too excited... heh

 

been watching tons of track video to the point where I literally do laps in my sleep

 

We'll see if it pays off for me

 

I encourage everyone to check out the other cars. Might learn something that you can adapt to your own car at the very least

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Are we going to have a download session for each TT group, or one for both?

 

(Matters to me because I will be climbing in the TTF car right after TTU...)

 

Jon K

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Im probably too excited... heh

 

been watching tons of track video to the point where I literally do laps in my sleep

 

We'll see if it pays off for me

 

Ken,

 

I did the same before August, but it was still rough when I got there, I would hate to see how lost I would have been if I didn't look at videos, cause I still felt lost, by the time I got used to the place, the brakes were gone.

 

Jon K (Looking forward to representing South Carolina in TTF with you)

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I just cant think of a better way to study the track beforehand

 

Don't blow my doors off to bad with the Neon look forward to seeing ya there

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I just cant think of a better way to study the track beforehand

 

There isn't.. but I have to say I really enjoyed the challenge of learning Mid-Ohio. (I hope I get it right someday)

 

Don't blow my doors off to bad with the Neon look forward to seeing ya there

 

I think we are going to be pretty close actually.. looking at your Road Atlanta times you are about 4 seconds ahead of my best lap there.. but that was the 2nd weekend in the car, and 3 years ago..

 

I ran 2:05s with it at CMP in Feb.. but on 5-year-old tires... I have run 2:02s at CMP with it.. so, It may be a good race.

 

Joe Craven and Bill Marquardt should be right there with us.. but it will be a fight for 2nd place if we can't find out how to catch Dan Gardner who is going to be the tough one to beat.

 

Jon K

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Worth what was paid for it

 

I think in TT we did a good job there this month and that was with wildly different vehicle speeds and a high number of cars. Others may disagree. I really think if the groups end up sorted by class like Greg proposed and grid close to class then with some sensible pacing on the opening lap and some prudence demonstrated when we go hot we should get good runs. I know my ego is at home if there is TTU or TTR car behind me. I am taking care of that in the grid or the first lap. By session 3 day of day 1 we were pointing guys that had filled mirrors up towards the front the grid. With sense we should be able to avoid lap 2 shooutouts that will aggravate us all. If we grid by time that's even cooler but i appreciate the logistic problem there.

 

So even though its a national championship i hope we continue to show the same good judgement and cooperation i saw a few weeks ago.

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I think in TT we did a good job there this month and that was with wildly different vehicle speeds and a high number of cars.
I thought so also. I felt much more comfortable there than i had at Autobahn. We did good "out laps" and I was managing to get 3-4 clean laps per session before catching people. (Compared to Autobahn, where I got 2 clean laps in a weekend...)

 

There were a couple of points that did get messed up for me, but that is part of being in this group. other than being divebombed by a slower car while I was patient with an even slower and disabled car.. and a Spec Focus getting his "event" in who decided to pass me on the out lap, only to get in my way big time in turn 1.. (Future notes for drivers using TT to get an event: tell them about how we do our out-laps..)

 

So even though its a national championship i hope we continue to show the same good judgement and cooperation i saw a few weeks ago.

 

I hope this is the case as well, with all of the sessions going to one outcome it will lend to being patient, and the two groups will help that. My origional worry was that late in the week as things got desperate fast cars would start forcing the issue to get by slower cars, causing problems. two groups is going to really minimize that possibility.

 

Jon K

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If the "issue is forced," then all hope for a good time is gone, anyway.

 

Splitting it up into 2 groups will be a big help and I expect to see a lot of tail lights in my group, but I'll be back there pedaling as fast as I can.

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Jon, sorry about that whole disabled car thing... the Fish was not behaving that weekend! But if we're going to have issues, better then than at Nationals.

 

You are not going to cut your hot lap in TT if you run into traffic, so good judgement is called for in these situations. Jon exhibited this patience but the passing driver maybe did not realize what was going on. I was suprised when he passed both of us before 11.

 

The reality is if you hit traffic at just about any point during a lap, you might as well take it easy until a few turns before the main straight since that lap is screwed anyway... get past the cars you know you belong in front of but that's about it.

 

S

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I just cant think of a better way to study the track beforehand

 

There isn't.. but I have to say I really enjoyed the challenge of learning Mid-Ohio. (I hope I get it right someday)

 

Don't blow my doors off to bad with the Neon look forward to seeing ya there

 

 

I ran 2:05s with it at CMP in Feb.. but on 5-year-old tires... I have run 2:02s at CMP with it.. so, It may be a good race.

 

 

 

Jon K

 

Is this the infamous JonK of Seat time or am I getting you confused with a different JonK that runs a Neon and lives in SC.

 

JMBaggie

 

BTW I had the Miata running 2:00's at CMP, I'm still working on it. I should be able to find the high 58's next time.

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If the "issue is forced," then all hope for a good time is gone, anyway.

 

I think so too.. and that lap.. but I have seen the red mist at events, and especially when you tag "national championship" on it.. Not really an issue anyway, the group is split, and I know we all see that we have lots of time to get a good lap in.

 

Jon, sorry about that whole disabled car thing...

 

No worries about the broken car thing.. It happens when we push our cars to the limits. I have been there, and I know that in that situation, you are doing what you can to not get hit/be in the way.

 

For the rest of what you said, x 1000.

 

Jon K

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Is this the infamous JonK of Seat time or am I getting you confused with a different JonK that runs a Neon and lives in SC.

 

None other.

 

I will be co-driving Biggley's WRX at the 24 hours.. you gonna be there?

 

Jon K

(Seat-Time top dog, AMS Evo Driver, autocross addict, Neon/Formula Continental driver at your service.)

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Is this the infamous JonK of Seat time or am I getting you confused with a different JonK that runs a Neon and lives in SC.

 

None other.

 

I will be co-driving Biggley's WRX at the 24 hours.. you gonna be there?

 

Jon K

(Seat-Time top dog, AMS Evo Driver, autocross addict, Neon/Formula Continental driver at your service.)

 

No I am going to ATL with the wife for the weekend. I have only done one autoX this year. Spent most of the first part of the year putting the MX-5 back together for TT's this year. Took it to th Rock was not at all happy with the performance of the vehicle so between the Rock and CMP put new engine and clutch in. It has been fantastic ever since. Road ATL was an absolute blast.

 

I plan on tacking comp shcool at the Rock in Oct and racing next season in PTE. Maybe one day when your in Charlotte give me a call and we'll do something.

 

JMBaggie

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I think we are going to be pretty close actually.. looking at your Road Atlanta times you are about 4 seconds ahead of my best lap there.. but that was the 2nd weekend in the car, and 3 years ago..

 

I ran 2:05s with it at CMP in Feb.. but on 5-year-old tires... I have run 2:02s at CMP with it.. so, It may be a good race.

 

Joe Craven and Bill Marquardt should be right there with us.. but it will be a fight for 2nd place if we can't find out how to catch Dan Gardner who is going to be the tough one to beat.

 

Jon K

 

Hopefully we'll have something for them then

 

My CMP time was at my very first trackday there, and I did maybe 1.5hrs all weekend. I did study some track video before I went there, but nothing nearly as in-depth as I'm doing for MO

 

I've gone 1:54s at Road Atlanta on newer tires and a little more confidence. I had a nasty day 1 spin that really shook me a little bit the rest of the weekend this past time out and only went 1:56s

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My thoughts on the TT championships

 

1. I'd still like to see the download session be an impound, where I can see competitors cars. Even if I just got to see the car and face together.

 

2. Make the grid based on your time from the previous session - not overall best time. This encourages people to not skip a session, and to try going fast in every session. It's also an incentive to go out in the rain. I also think it will be fun to try and slot yourself on 'pole'.

 

I hope everyone is as excited as I am!!!

 

There will be plenty of car impounds after our run sessions. It is possible that the first impound will include all vehicles. I and the tech team will work out the best way of impounding vehicles based on available resources and time (resources include parking space in the tech area with the next race group coming off track within 20 minutes of our run groups)

 

Alan, I understand the benefits of gridding as you have suggested, but I don't think at this time that they outweigh the potential problems of fast drivers that had a problem/mechanical in a session then messing up the following session for multiple drivers by having to pass multiple cars in the first two laps. In the SoCal region, we pre-grid all sessions except for the practice session. For the first three competition sessions of the day, we use your method. For the TT Shootout at the end of the day, we use the overall best time method. On Sunday, we use the overall best times for the first competition session, then fall back to best time in the previous session for the next two sessions, and again, best overall time for the Sunday TT Shootout. The reason that we "jump" back and forth is because it is logistically easier to use the prior session's results for pre-grid. However, we have found that by far, we have the highest numbers of fast lap times and track records when we grid based on overall fastest times.

 

At this time, I plan to pre-grid by fastest overall times.

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If there is an impound, you can check tire pressures, but otherwise, a car doesn't get messed with until the car is cleared from impound. There will be enough time to work on your car before the next run session.

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Will the driver have to be with the car in impound, or can he leave a representative? (I am going to Assume that the space/time issues will mean impound isn't longer than 20 min anyway right?)

 

Jon K

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Good question Jon. I'm planning on running TTU and SM, which are one run group apart from each other. A bit concerned about being held up in impound when I need to be getting ready for my next run group.

 

S

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Yea.. I am running TTU and TTG, so I will have 20 min between groups to get the car/grab a drink/strap in.

 

I have crew so the people won't be an issue, I just don't want to get in trouble/cause a problem if I am not with the car.

 

Jon K

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Exactly. Except for me SM runs before TT... so I can see a need to keep me with a car there in impound because there is a minimum weight for the class, versus TT where there is no minimum weight rule and I can have a rep from my crew in attendance. Anybody?

 

S

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Will the driver have to be with the car in impound, or can he leave a representative? (I am going to Assume that the space/time issues will mean impound isn't longer than 20 min anyway right?)

 

Jon K

Yes, you can leave a crew member, but they need to know about the car, and be able to answer any questions that could come up. If they can't, the car will stay in impound until the driver/owner is free to answer them.

 

Impound may take longer than 20 minutes. My point was that Alan requested an impound of ALL cars together, which would most likely present a space issue for the next group's impound. These issues will be easier to decide after final run groups are declared, and we see how much space we have, etc.

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Exactly. Except for me SM runs before TT... so I can see a need to keep me with a car there in impound because there is a minimum weight for the class, versus TT where there is no minimum weight rule and I can have a rep from my crew in attendance. Anybody?

 

S

Shane, you will need to work something out with your SM group Race Director.

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