Bildon Racing News...

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Watkins Glen, July 28-29
MARRS 5 / NYSRRC Races

Saturday:

We started off the weekend with a car that was way out of alignment due to the installation of some new shocks while the regular set were being revalved. So the first session was pretty much just a "do you remember WGI?" session.... the car had a TERRIBLE push and it was obvious that it had too much toe in. Turns out that it was somewhere around 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, I think. So after the first session we were a dismal 10 seconds off the leader's pace.

Session 2.....

Crew to the rescue! The crew pulled out the swivel plates to align the car and return it to it's proper settings and hooked up the VAG box to reset timing in the car. This change was to make a big difference in engine power for the next session.

So off we went for qualifying. Big improvement...the car would now "turn in" properly and I was feeling more confident with the handling...now I could push it. Furthermore the timing change made after the first session returned much of the power that had been missing in our previous efforts at Nelson Ledges this year. It was still a little down on low-end and mid-range torque from where I remember it being when it was a front runner in Atlanta but that issue would be addressed on Sunday.... so we Qualified 13th out of nearly 30 ITB cars...not great, but there was still a lot in the driver's seat that needed adjustment...the speed would come.

Sunday:

We had most all of the day to look at the car as our race was the second to last. So we began to go through the engine looking for problems. We noticed that one of the vacuum lines leading to the fuel pressure regulator was not connected to the right port on the throttle body...why? ....this was to have a rather significant effect on the engine's performance in the race. We also worked on repairing our radios that had been having terrible reception lately. We found a shorted piece of coax.

So off to the races.... The Porsche Boxster pace car pulled us around WGI at a rather brisk pace during the pace lap and the field was bunched up nicely...so an immediate start looked likely. Coming into the final turn the green flew and the field accelerated away in an orderly fashion....my "row" of cars was pulling ahead of the inside row to the right so I was already picking up positions as we approached the bridge... I felt a crash from the rear like I was sitting still... the rear of the car was lifted and the car went sideways, it then headed straight for the outside guardrail at probably 50-60 mph...in the grass the steering had no effect....Bang! left front crushed....Bang! left rear cruched....I saw parts fly and the hood was bent up. For sure my day was done. ;-(

The field was brought into the pits as they blacked flagged the session and I got out to assess the damage. Ugly...but no oil, no water..hey....this thing might still run. But it had smacked the left front wheel hard and the left rear had kissed the wall too...would it turn?

I got the word from race control that they were going to let me start the race from the back of the pack, one lap down. So I took the injured GTI down into turn one and accelerated away hard trying to feel for damage. It was definately towed in and the back wanted to come around quickly...but hey! This was just like session one ... I can drive it.

Sitting in the pits the crew adorned the battered car with racer's tape just to complete the "crashed" effect. I was sitting there evaluating the situation.... I wasn't pissed so much at the bone head who had tried to win the race on the first lap as I was at the fact that the vacuum line to the FPR we had moved in the morning had made a dramatic change in engine response. The mid-range torque was back! The speed at which the engine would rev up was much improved. So much so that I accidentally over-revved the car on the warm up lap. Had I not had this "accident" I was expecting great things from the race.

Anyway, the race re-started and I passed 10+ cars on the first lap and then systematically picked off 3-4 per lap for the next few laps of this 12 (now 11) lap race. The car's handling was terrible but I was on a mission....I knew that being a lap down I would finish nearly last but this was the time to guage how competitive our car was with it's new found power. It was also an excellent opportunity to practice working though traffic in a safe, yet swift fashion.

With only a few laps left ad still catching the cars in front (but at a much slower rate) the car began to suffer from it's misalignment...tires were squeeling, the car was pushing more and the rear was starting to dance around under braking worse than ever....I decided to ride the last couple of laps out conservatively as another trip into the Armco wasn't needed today....I had proved my point to myself and the team...the car could be fast again.

The final results showed us in nearly last place....only in front a few DNFs and injured race cars. However, on the track I had caught and passed all but the top dozen cars from dead last (35th). That was a good feeling....what if I hadn't been stuffed into the wall on the start? hmmmmm


 
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