CFRA @ Thunderhill Raceway Park

Friday

Open Testing

I decided to go up a day early to take advantage of the open testing day at Thunderhill. To drive on an open testing day, you have to be qualified in some way to get a testing card. Since I've done 3 days of the SCCA Advanced Street School, and have gotten approval, I'm qualified. But I still wasn't sure what to expect.

It was pretty close to 100°. There was a Porsche 924 club there, plus a number of other cars, and so the track was being split into 30-minute sessions, alternating between the 924 club and the open testers. For me this was actually OK because 30 minutes is a good long session, after which both car and driver can use a break. I probably wouldn't prefer to have to wait a full 30 minutes to go back out each time, but that wasn't a big deal.

There were no problems for me being out on the track with the mix of cars that were there. There were really only 3 extremely fast cars that I had to really be on the lookout for. One looked like a Winston Cup sort of NASCAR thing, big and loud. Another looked like one of those NASCAR trucks that race. And there was an open wheel race car of some kind, which was either fast or slow depending on either who was driving it or what they were working on. In any case, it wasn't a big deal to stay out of the way of these cars. I could see them quite a ways back and would just be ready for them to close quickly on a straightaway, and point them by in the next corner.

At the very end of the day I thought I noticed a little vibration in the brake pedal at certain places. I hoped it was just the heat and the track surface, but I was worried it might be a warped rotor. My first set of rotors lasted 30,000 miles with 2 sets of front pads. And now it's only 4,000 miles later!

Saturday

CFRA track day using the 1.9-mile course where turn 8/8A leads back to the main straight. I was assigned as one of the mentors for Mike Machado who was a guest in a silver Boxster S. Mike rode with me in the first session and then I rode with him. I soon figured out that Mike didn't need any mentoring from me. He knew the line well and drove harder than I did.

Of the several Boxsters there (Behram, Kevin, and Mike), mine was the only non-S. Still, we had a few occasions to drive in a pack and I thought I did pretty well, dropping only a second or two per lap when trailing the silver S's of Kevin and Mike.

When I went out in the first session, I definitely felt the brake pedal vibration approaching turn 1 (over 100 MPH), but it subsided as the day went on. It was still there, but the brakes were strong and it wasn't disconcerting.

In the afternoon session we went out for the "qualifying session" which is where our hot lap timers are reset by the scorer before going on track, and then the best time is recorded at the end of the session. Points are awarded by class. I did what I felt was a pretty good lap of 1:32.76, good enough for 2nd place in GT-5 class behind Rick Gaan in a '94 911 RSA. Rick was several seconds ahead of me, though, so it's going to be hard to find that much time.

Michael Saal's Speed Yellow Boxster S was still in the shop with the power steering repair nightmare going on, but he still came to the track to drive and instruct, and for qualifying he borrowed Behram's car for a few laps so that he could record a qualifying time and get points. Michael did a 1:29.13 in the unfamiliar Tiptronic Boxster, which Behram used to do a 1:26.66, for a one-two Boxster S finish in GT-6. (The classes are based on the cars' bluebook values, which is kind of a cool way to classify cars. You can spend your money however wisely or foolishly you wish! The Boxster is in GT-5 and the Boxster S is in GT-6. If a car is too modified to classify as a street car, for example if it must be trailered to the track, then it's placed in a completely different class, GTU-x, I think.)

After qualifying, the inaugural CFRA exhibition race was held. The group R drivers gridded and did a parade lap behind a brand new 996 Turbo pace car. After the photo op pass by the pits in formation, they did another partial lap in order, and then the pace car pitted as they hit the main straight. The green flag was waved and the engines roared. It was interesting to see the attrition during the race. Rick got the jump on Behram at the start, and they both trailed Pete in the Winston Cup car at first. Behram subsequently passed Rick back, and then Pete's car had trouble and had to slow down. Doug's Miata had developed a problem earlier in the afternoon, so he just took the green flag, did a lap or two, and then retired. Joel's 240Z developed a sputtering sound towards the end and he lost position. In the end, Behram took the checkered flag, followed by Rick, Charlie, and Ed.

Here are some pictures I took during the race. They're in sequence.

parade lap [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	photo op [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Rick, Behram, Joel, Ed [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]
June, Ken [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Rick, Behram, Joel [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Rick, Behram, Joel, Ed [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]
Behram has passed Rick [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Behram [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Behram [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]
Ed [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Rick [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Ed, Joel [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]
Behram, Rick [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Behram [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Ed [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]
Ken [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Laurn [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	June and Ken battle [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]
Joel [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]	Joel [640 x 480] - [1024 x 768]