JoostBaksteen
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EDK's Real Life Racing Exploits
- Thread starter EDK
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Just some quick notes on my weekend. I had an awesome time, it was great to drive on and learn one of the iconic American tracks. I managed a fast lap of about 3:03 the first day, and dropped than to 3:01 on the second day, with a goal of getting to 3 minutes flat. Just as I started to get into rhythm and bring my times down on day 2, there was a caution that bunched up the field, and by the time I was in clean air again, the car was lighter on fuel, which meant it was much more tail happy and hard to match lap times (that happened to all of us).
The field was about 50 cars, I raced with Northloop in an E30, a team I also raced with at Laguna Seca a couple years ago, they are out of Minneapolis. We had one penalty lap (based on car value/added parts) and could not make the full 1 hour 45 minute stints needed to make it on 3 fuel stops. We finished 6th the first day, 7th the second day, when we also had to do some tire and brake work late in the day.
Some small bits of video for you guys, I plan to put up some longer runs later.
First is a bit of a tank slapper I had on the first day, complete with hitting the wiper switch while trying to recover it.
Second is my fast lap, from day 2. The vid quality is not as good on day 2, I think there were some vibration issues with the mounting location.
The field was about 50 cars, I raced with Northloop in an E30, a team I also raced with at Laguna Seca a couple years ago, they are out of Minneapolis. We had one penalty lap (based on car value/added parts) and could not make the full 1 hour 45 minute stints needed to make it on 3 fuel stops. We finished 6th the first day, 7th the second day, when we also had to do some tire and brake work late in the day.
Some small bits of video for you guys, I plan to put up some longer runs later.
First is a bit of a tank slapper I had on the first day, complete with hitting the wiper switch while trying to recover it.
Second is my fast lap, from day 2. The vid quality is not as good on day 2, I think there were some vibration issues with the mounting location.
JoostBaksteen
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Wow... good save with the wipers, I think that actually helped to balance out the car 
BTW: I never new there was a chicane/extra corner after the long right hander, definitely makes it a safer track. But nice lap! Looks like you had some good fun and terrifying moments
BTW: I never new there was a chicane/extra corner after the long right hander, definitely makes it a safer track. But nice lap! Looks like you had some good fun and terrifying moments
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That looks like fun Kevin!
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I raced in a 24 Hour race this past weekend at Oregon Raceway Park in Grass Valley, Oregon. It's about 2 hours to the east of Portland. The track is pretty crazy, designed into some naturally hilly landscape, allowing for a lot of undulations and elevation change.
To give you an idea of just how crazy, here's my fast lap in the light.
We had 6 drivers on the team, and I was slated to drive 4 hours. The race started at 9 am, and my scheduled stints were at 11 am and 9 pm. So one light stint and one in the dark.
It turned out that the night time course was to be a short course, with fastest lap times in our car being around 1:20, as compared to the 2:08 range on the long course. One of our drivers was having trouble with motion sickness, and another decided he'd rather not drive at night. Since the race winner was based on most laps completed, NOT distance, we decided to stack the deck in our favor and run the fastest guys in the dark stints.
I drove the first of those at around 9 pm, and was in the car for the changeover from long to short course. The night driving was pretty crazy, a lot of guys running off track, spinning, and the leading car even crashed out of the race during my stint. If you look very carefully, that crashed out leading E30 is a lawn ornament on the right hand side at the 54 second mark of the above video! They put down a bunch of oil dry and just drug it into the weeds.
I had slept around 5 hours the night before, after coming to the track and helping get things ready, then crashing at a motel for the night. I stayed up until 1:30 am, helping with the fuel stop for the next driver change after my night stint. Jason woke me up in his camper at 4:30 am, asking to use my phone that had the lap data. We'd been running high in the running order, top 5, for most of the race. And we were trying to work out strategy for the finish.
Once I was up and about, Jason asked me about driving another stint to help finish the race strong. I bought the stint from one of the other drivers who traded out of the night time slot. The video above is from that stint. I got out of the car in 2nd place out of the 33 car field.
We were having lots of problems, we had lost the muffler bracket from a small off track excursion in the night, fixed it with a spring, and kept getting mechanical flags for sparks from it dragging in the bumpy parts of the track. We had corded a left rear tire in 16 hours and swapped both rears for our spares, then lost a front tire by the 20 hour mark, and swapped the fronts when I got in for my last stint. A wheel bearing had been making some noise since about the 8 hour mark, and the starter stopped working 6 hours in, so if we spun and stalled the car, we'd be stuck on track.
Jason took the final stint. Halfway through his stint, the transmission stopped going into 4th gear, and the wheel bearing was about to give out. We remained in second with a 20+ lap deficit to a Mustang in first, and a 4 lap lead over a VW Golf in 3rd. Jason slowed his pace to preserve the car, and we hoped it was enough. He was driving around the track in 3rd gear only, had the brake bias turned all the way to the front to keep heat out of the wheel bearing that was going, and was dragging the brake through the corners to keep the wheel bearing stabilized (these cars are known for wheels falling off when the bearings go!).
After an hour of that, he managed to bring it home on the podium in second place, with a nearly 2 lap lead over the Golf in 3rd.
After a 13 race drought since our Laguna Seca win in November 2011, we were finally back on the podium!
I'll post some crazy night videos when I have a chance, but was great to be on a 24 hour race podium the weekend of Le Mans, even if it was in a crap can MR2 that barely held itself together.
To give you an idea of just how crazy, here's my fast lap in the light.
We had 6 drivers on the team, and I was slated to drive 4 hours. The race started at 9 am, and my scheduled stints were at 11 am and 9 pm. So one light stint and one in the dark.
It turned out that the night time course was to be a short course, with fastest lap times in our car being around 1:20, as compared to the 2:08 range on the long course. One of our drivers was having trouble with motion sickness, and another decided he'd rather not drive at night. Since the race winner was based on most laps completed, NOT distance, we decided to stack the deck in our favor and run the fastest guys in the dark stints.
I drove the first of those at around 9 pm, and was in the car for the changeover from long to short course. The night driving was pretty crazy, a lot of guys running off track, spinning, and the leading car even crashed out of the race during my stint. If you look very carefully, that crashed out leading E30 is a lawn ornament on the right hand side at the 54 second mark of the above video! They put down a bunch of oil dry and just drug it into the weeds.
I had slept around 5 hours the night before, after coming to the track and helping get things ready, then crashing at a motel for the night. I stayed up until 1:30 am, helping with the fuel stop for the next driver change after my night stint. Jason woke me up in his camper at 4:30 am, asking to use my phone that had the lap data. We'd been running high in the running order, top 5, for most of the race. And we were trying to work out strategy for the finish.
Once I was up and about, Jason asked me about driving another stint to help finish the race strong. I bought the stint from one of the other drivers who traded out of the night time slot. The video above is from that stint. I got out of the car in 2nd place out of the 33 car field.
We were having lots of problems, we had lost the muffler bracket from a small off track excursion in the night, fixed it with a spring, and kept getting mechanical flags for sparks from it dragging in the bumpy parts of the track. We had corded a left rear tire in 16 hours and swapped both rears for our spares, then lost a front tire by the 20 hour mark, and swapped the fronts when I got in for my last stint. A wheel bearing had been making some noise since about the 8 hour mark, and the starter stopped working 6 hours in, so if we spun and stalled the car, we'd be stuck on track.
Jason took the final stint. Halfway through his stint, the transmission stopped going into 4th gear, and the wheel bearing was about to give out. We remained in second with a 20+ lap deficit to a Mustang in first, and a 4 lap lead over a VW Golf in 3rd. Jason slowed his pace to preserve the car, and we hoped it was enough. He was driving around the track in 3rd gear only, had the brake bias turned all the way to the front to keep heat out of the wheel bearing that was going, and was dragging the brake through the corners to keep the wheel bearing stabilized (these cars are known for wheels falling off when the bearings go!).
After an hour of that, he managed to bring it home on the podium in second place, with a nearly 2 lap lead over the Golf in 3rd.
After a 13 race drought since our Laguna Seca win in November 2011, we were finally back on the podium!
I'll post some crazy night videos when I have a chance, but was great to be on a 24 hour race podium the weekend of Le Mans, even if it was in a crap can MR2 that barely held itself together.
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I drove a '95 Mustang V8 at Laguna this past weekend and had my fastest lap ever on the track that I have the most racing experience on. Lap time is a 1:51.309, here's a YouTube. Interesting to note that I was short shifting to save fuel and talking on the radio, maybe that helped me relax and be smooth. 
Our team took podiums both days, 3rd place on Saturday and Second place on Sunday, in a 40 car field.
Our team took podiums both days, 3rd place on Saturday and Second place on Sunday, in a 40 car field.
- 16,271
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Another year, another Laguna Seca race on the first weekend after New Years.
I raced in the MR2 this past weekend, and we took 1st in our class along with 6th overall on Sunday. I started the day for us on a wet track from a long night of rain, with a bit more rain in the stint. This was a good battle I had with a couple of FF cars mid stint.
Also, here is a video from Oregon Raceway Park in September, we took a class win there as well. We ran that track in the Reverse direction on Sunday, I have not had time to get that video up.
I raced in the MR2 this past weekend, and we took 1st in our class along with 6th overall on Sunday. I started the day for us on a wet track from a long night of rain, with a bit more rain in the stint. This was a good battle I had with a couple of FF cars mid stint.
Also, here is a video from Oregon Raceway Park in September, we took a class win there as well. We ran that track in the Reverse direction on Sunday, I have not had time to get that video up.
Laguna in the wet looks crazy! 
As does ORP Reverse! Great driving and racecraft. 👍
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Yeah, traffic was dictating some different things at times, the MR2 does not have much low end torque, so as soon as you are below 4,000 RPM, you need to shift down.
In the full dry, you often grab 4th on the way up to the cork. But then take the cork in 3rd. So sometimes you can stay in 3rd from turn 2 exit until the final turn, 11.
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Yeah, that was kind of scary, I had to really check up. Not sure I have ever used 2nd gear out of turn 6, I normally exit it doing at least 70 MPH, 85 when it's done right.
That Del Sol can be fast sometimes, but the guy driving it in that stint was not good. He got a not so friendly gesture from me in turn 2 earlier in the stint. He chopped across me on the main straight and blocked a run I had. I think he was trying to get out of the way of other cars, but he trapped me behind him and let a train go by.
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I raced at The Ridge in Washington this past weekend in a '95 Mustang, same car I ran before at Laguna Seca and Thunderhill. We finished 6th overall in a 70+ car field Saturday, but had a wheel bearing and brake caliper both fail on Sunday. The caliper was with an hour left and no spare on hand, so we had a DNF.
This was my fast lap of the weekend, from Sunday first stint. Hope to make more videos with some battles and traffic later, was a big field with a lot of action.
This was my fast lap of the weekend, from Sunday first stint. Hope to make more videos with some battles and traffic later, was a big field with a lot of action.
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I started a new series on the main page today, check it out if you get a chance.
https://www.gtplanet.net/gtplanet-member-motorsports-spotlight/
https://www.gtplanet.net/gtplanet-member-motorsports-spotlight/
- 16,271
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We had a race at Laguna Seca last weekend. We went back to a supercharger in the car a couple races back. We are using a 1.8 liter block from an early 90's Corolla, with the Supercharged MR2 head and a Previa SC.
The car is FAST, but the bottom end of the motor did not hold up for the weekend. My stint was cut short to 1 hour 20 minutes due to a front main seal leak, and then the car lost rings in cylinder 2 and was pushing oil out the exhaust at 2 hours in on Sunday.
This is my fast lap below, and it came just 4 laps after green flag. Lots of traffic after this lap in my stint, but I think the car had about another 1.0 available. As it was, this was the third fastest lap in the field for the weekend, the fast lap was the Mustang I have driven before, with a lot of recent upgrades on that car. it was around 0.5 faster.
Below is a 1:47.3, and more than 5 seconds faster than the best I have done previously in the MR2.
Important to note that there is extra tarmac outside the rumble strip at the turn 6 exit, which helps with carrying more speed up the hill to the corkscrew.
The car is FAST, but the bottom end of the motor did not hold up for the weekend. My stint was cut short to 1 hour 20 minutes due to a front main seal leak, and then the car lost rings in cylinder 2 and was pushing oil out the exhaust at 2 hours in on Sunday.
This is my fast lap below, and it came just 4 laps after green flag. Lots of traffic after this lap in my stint, but I think the car had about another 1.0 available. As it was, this was the third fastest lap in the field for the weekend, the fast lap was the Mustang I have driven before, with a lot of recent upgrades on that car. it was around 0.5 faster.
Below is a 1:47.3, and more than 5 seconds faster than the best I have done previously in the MR2.
Important to note that there is extra tarmac outside the rumble strip at the turn 6 exit, which helps with carrying more speed up the hill to the corkscrew.
Dragonwhisky
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Motor? Sounds like 6 hives of very angry bees in that car.
Nice lap though.
Nice lap though.
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Forgot to mention that we have an intercooler off a sprinter van mounted to the roof, and there's a fair amount of vibration.
It's the width of the roof and 12-15 inches tall, mounted at about a 30 degree angle.
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Forgot to mention that we have an intercooler off a sprinter van mounted to the roof, and there's a fair amount of vibration.
It's the width of the roof and 12-15 inches tall, mounted at about a 30 degree angle.
Jeez, does it act as a spoiler too? Maybe like the roof-wing of the Midget in GT6?
Finally got to watch the video and it looks like you have Verstappen-syndrome: you're driving beyond the car's limits!
Jokes aside, very nice lap, thanks for sharing it even though things didn't go as planned. I saw those right side tires on the new tarmac exiting 6! And I was also looking in your mirror more often than you were.
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We had a race in Seattle at Pacific Raceways (Formerly SIR) last weekend.
Here's a couple fast laps for me. The track is old school, Trans Am ran there in the 60's and the road course has not been changed. Provides a window into the narrow margin for error on those tracks.
Here's a couple fast laps for me. The track is old school, Trans Am ran there in the 60's and the road course has not been changed. Provides a window into the narrow margin for error on those tracks.
01GTP
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Good to see you on track again, Kevin. We're still only watching the action at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen, albeit in person.
In those corners loosing grip, it looks to be in the front end "pushing", or as they say, "understeering". Am I correct about the handling or is the rear the culprit?
Thanks for sharing!
In those corners loosing grip, it looks to be in the front end "pushing", or as they say, "understeering". Am I correct about the handling or is the rear the culprit?
Thanks for sharing!
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The car definitely oversteers a bit now, with more HP. The rear tires wear faster as well.
I think you are picking up on trail braking into the hairpins, if that's the part you are talking about (Early in the lap, turns 3a and 3b).
If you are talking about the sweepers, I corrected to keep the car from doing a 180.
Kenny, it's great to hear from you, and I hope all is well. I was just telling the tale last night of my trek to Connecticut for my first LAN back in.........'07?
01GTP
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That would be the sweepers. And now that I listened to the video it's obvious. 
I joined gtplanet late in '07 ,so '08?,
Unfortunately in 2011 hurricane Irene came here instead of you and while we were online at the time I had to go because my basement was filling with water.
IIRC that was the R246 Tokyo track we were on and I just stopped and left the car on track. I had to leave Chuk's.
FTW, Kevin.
I joined gtplanet late in '07 ,so '08?,
Unfortunately in 2011 hurricane Irene came here instead of you and while we were online at the time I had to go because my basement was filling with water.
IIRC that was the R246 Tokyo track we were on and I just stopped and left the car on track. I had to leave Chuk's.
FTW, Kevin.
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We took 2nd in B class and 9th overall on Friday.@EDK racing at Laguna Seca this weekend!
Here's my fast lap from yesterday, was a couple tenths faster than Friday.
We lost a transmission on Saturday a little over 1 hour in. Changed it out and I had an hour late in the day with a lot fewer cars on track. The final drive ratio was lower in the replacement transmission, but we think it actually made the car a bit slower, we needed to use 5th at the end of the main straight, the extra shift and the gearing of 5th seems to slow you down.
I had many laps in the 1:50's in that stint, but did not beat the one from the morning.
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