Rennen
10-18-2005, 11:33 PM
No, not that Nationals...
This Nationals:
http://www.directwx.com/gallery/data/media/22/IMG_6017.jpg
http://www.directwx.com/gallery/data/media/22/IMG_6018.jpg
http://www.directwx.com/gallery/data/media/22/IMG_6019.jpg
Last weekend I decided on a whim to go compete in the first ever SCCA Rallycross National Challenge event in Hastings, Nebraska. My car was classed in RallyMod 2, which pretty much allows any modifications on a 2 wheel drive platform as long as it keeps an internal combustion engine..... So I definitely expected to get my ass kicked, as my car is stock with interior gutted. My class was relatively small, and none of the other cars were extremely prepared, but during the test and tune on Friday I saw that I would have my work cut out for me. Two drivers showed up from California, both in FWD cars with minor modifications and real rally tires, there was also an very fast Mustang, but he was on regular street tires, and there was an old retired SCCA GT3 prepped Mazda RX-3.
The region was extremely hospitable, and there was a party after registration Friday night with free food and an open bar :eek: We were also treated to an Imax showing of the movie "From Dust to Glory" which is a very good documentary about the Baja 1000 races. Afterwards, I got slightly more drunk and duct-taped a Superbeater logo on my hood :cool:
Anyway... RACING! The first day of competition runs was on Saturday. This was my first time out on a course this large, and I had just made a few changes to the car the week before (re-connected rear swaybar, and swapped the VLSD over from my black car), so I had no idea what to expect. I went out on my first run, and the car handled gloriously. It was one of those rare occasions where the car would do everything I asked it to right when I wanted it. The long sweeping fast course allowed me to dial in just the right slip angle and hold it throughout the turns. I came in after the run grinning from ear to ear.... only to be shocked by my time. I was less than a second off of 1st place, and considerably ahead of others. My second run was more of the same. On my final run of the day, I had the entire course nailed perfectly...... until the final section of tight 180s near the finish, where my hand slipped during countersteer and I ended up in the loose dirt and grass, almost causing a spin. That mistake cost me 1st place for day one, but I was so stoked to be actually competitive, I didn't care. My combined time was 5 seconds off of first, and I was 3 seconds ahead of the third place car.... and over 20 seconds ahead of my co-driver in my car.
The second round of the event was Sunday morning. The course was great, and the car was doing well, always defaulting to oversteer. However my mind wasn't in it that day, and I made a few small mistakes on each run (like the one pictured above). There were a few patches of really deep loose dirt kicked up by cars with rallytires, and once I got in that my car would bog, and I would have to shift down to first gear to make it out quickly. My mistakes allowed the guy in first place to start pulling quite a lead on me, but I still managed to fend off the 3rd place guy to keep my position.
So my $200 pile o' shit took home a 2nd place trophy from a National level SCCA event!
-Matt
This Nationals:
http://www.directwx.com/gallery/data/media/22/IMG_6017.jpg
http://www.directwx.com/gallery/data/media/22/IMG_6018.jpg
http://www.directwx.com/gallery/data/media/22/IMG_6019.jpg
Last weekend I decided on a whim to go compete in the first ever SCCA Rallycross National Challenge event in Hastings, Nebraska. My car was classed in RallyMod 2, which pretty much allows any modifications on a 2 wheel drive platform as long as it keeps an internal combustion engine..... So I definitely expected to get my ass kicked, as my car is stock with interior gutted. My class was relatively small, and none of the other cars were extremely prepared, but during the test and tune on Friday I saw that I would have my work cut out for me. Two drivers showed up from California, both in FWD cars with minor modifications and real rally tires, there was also an very fast Mustang, but he was on regular street tires, and there was an old retired SCCA GT3 prepped Mazda RX-3.
The region was extremely hospitable, and there was a party after registration Friday night with free food and an open bar :eek: We were also treated to an Imax showing of the movie "From Dust to Glory" which is a very good documentary about the Baja 1000 races. Afterwards, I got slightly more drunk and duct-taped a Superbeater logo on my hood :cool:
Anyway... RACING! The first day of competition runs was on Saturday. This was my first time out on a course this large, and I had just made a few changes to the car the week before (re-connected rear swaybar, and swapped the VLSD over from my black car), so I had no idea what to expect. I went out on my first run, and the car handled gloriously. It was one of those rare occasions where the car would do everything I asked it to right when I wanted it. The long sweeping fast course allowed me to dial in just the right slip angle and hold it throughout the turns. I came in after the run grinning from ear to ear.... only to be shocked by my time. I was less than a second off of 1st place, and considerably ahead of others. My second run was more of the same. On my final run of the day, I had the entire course nailed perfectly...... until the final section of tight 180s near the finish, where my hand slipped during countersteer and I ended up in the loose dirt and grass, almost causing a spin. That mistake cost me 1st place for day one, but I was so stoked to be actually competitive, I didn't care. My combined time was 5 seconds off of first, and I was 3 seconds ahead of the third place car.... and over 20 seconds ahead of my co-driver in my car.
The second round of the event was Sunday morning. The course was great, and the car was doing well, always defaulting to oversteer. However my mind wasn't in it that day, and I made a few small mistakes on each run (like the one pictured above). There were a few patches of really deep loose dirt kicked up by cars with rallytires, and once I got in that my car would bog, and I would have to shift down to first gear to make it out quickly. My mistakes allowed the guy in first place to start pulling quite a lead on me, but I still managed to fend off the 3rd place guy to keep my position.
So my $200 pile o' shit took home a 2nd place trophy from a National level SCCA event!
-Matt