Bill Dearborn

How many have ever run the 2.4 mile Short Course the Cup drivers run? I think the Cup car lap record is 1:10:3 which means we lowly HPDE types are about 20 seconds slower around the track. Here are a couple videos taken on Tuesday afternoon:




First video was with the Intermediate Open Track Group 2 which has slower drivers. The second was with the Advanced/Instructor Open Track Group 3 which has some pretty fast drivers. That is kmagvette's fast silver C5Z in front of the camera car in the second video.

The only problem with the lap times is the logger randomly combines several laps together from time to time.

The camcorder battery died near the end of the second video but you can see how much fun was being had by driver and passenger.

Bill

JeremyGSU

Nice driving Bill, I like the videos.

If I can make a suggestion, get a mic for that camera and run it into your truck to get rid of that wind noise. I had to turn my stereo down because it almost gets unbearable to listen to.

My favorite part in. Video one, hey I'm having some brake issues. Great! Let's go out!!! LMAO!

I'd be curious to know what is done to that C5 Z. Seems to be running well.

Bill Dearborn

I would like to put a mic on it but it is a Flip Video camera without a mic input line. However, the pictures aren't bad for a $78 camera.

The comment about the brakes and tire pressure was referring to some issues I had in the morning session. I had just changed brake pads and put on my Continental Slicks and had spent about 20 minutes on the track running at .7 because I had the pressures too low. During the session I felt a vibration start when I was on the brakes. When I got back into the garage I found a large crack in my left front brake rotor. Check the attached pictures. The rotor was cracked from the edge all the way into the hub and it cracked completely through both sides. It wasn't cracked before I went on the track. So between excessive pad wear and some serious rotor damage I wasn't sure what would happen in the first session after lunch. Once I got through that session I could see things were going to go OK for the rest of the day so poured the coals to it in the subsequent sessions.

The C5 belongs to a forum member has coil overs, Pirelli slicks, a roll cage, aftermarket big brakes front and rear and this year a cam in the engine. He says he still can't keep up with my car on a straight but he gets around corners better than I do. You may have noticed me make a comment and wave my hand after going around T11 onto the front straight. I was commenting to my passenger the back end was slipping in the corner and I couldn't keep up with him.

Bill

GeorgeZNJ

We've run the short course a couple of times over the years, fun, an fast. Good video, nice driving.

kmagvette

Hey, whose that guy in the silver C5Z at the end of the second video? You are doing much better than 1:30 on the short course, traffic was a problem...once it cleared times were in the 1:22->23 stripe to stripe, assuming the clock on the video camera was close to accurate.

drivinhard

It's been awhile since I've been to the glen but I always thought the boot portion was overrated. The 'ole "without the boot, the glen has no soul". Other than getting down into the boot, it's not really an exciting piece of track. I have always wanted to run the short course, seems like it would be pretty fast/furious

kmagvette

Think it is "Without the boot the Glen has no sole"...but that could just be me. Personally I love the boot...short course is fun occasionally, but given the choice I would much rather run the full course. Of course this is my home track and where I get the vast majority of my track time so maybe I am somewhat biased...perhaps 8 is a bit of a boring 90, but 6, 7, and 9 are a blast....IMHO of course.

drivinhard

10 would be pretty challenging getting in there a bunch faster not having gone through the boot.

It's not a bad piece of track but pretty straightforward. The rest of the track is not so point and shoot, it has that "you're going somewhere" feeling all the old school tracks give you.

VatorMan

The boot is what makes the Glen, well, the Glen. Best parts of the course are the straight to the bus stop, the bus stop and then the boot. If you want another long straight, run VIR.

Bill Dearborn

That was fun wasn't it. In the second video as I was following you through 11 the back end stepped out just a shade. That was when you started pulling away. You can see my hand wave in the video and I told Tom that I couldn't come off the corner as hard as you were doing. I am going to send my data file to Trackaroo to find out what I can do about the application missing the start finish split marker so often. The GPS data indicates it is there and it sees it some of the time but not all the time.

I prefer the long course as well. On the short course it is fun to just bury your foot to the floor as you come past the apex of the carousel turn. However, once you get the braking correct for T10 due to coming into it at 30 to 35 mph faster you are just missing 4 turns with each having some unique challenges.

Bill

Wicked Weasel

I got to run it a few years back. Very cool for a day.

Han Solo

Done about a gazillion laps there with racing sims. Use to turn 118s in Nascar Racing 2003. Imported the track to GTR2 and turned 111s-112s with the C5R. Would love to drive it for real but a little to far to tow for me..

larryfs

The back straight speeds are impressive with the C6. 150 MPH is pretty serious.

I never ran the short course. How different is that last left hander with carrying the extra speed?

JeremyGSU

Bill, I was really just joshing with you. I figured if it was serious enough then you wouldn't have gone on track. However, it ended up being serious! I've never see a crack that big. Was that on the two-piece or the regular rotors? I remember reading in another thread that you had cracked I believe Coleman 2-piece rotors and they didn't last any longer than your regular one piece.

Racingswh

Not for you. We've all seen the vid's!! lol!!

To the OP. Thanks for posting these up. Always fun to watch!!

Racingswh

You're not joking. Did you catch that one time he was up near 160 MPH at 6:57 in that 2nd vid chasing that silver Z? 157 mph with a passenger to be exact. That's flying!!!

Guy in the silver Z was flying up through the esses.

Bill Dearborn

That was a stock rotor that had seen a few track days last year and a couple this year after I cracked the Coleman rotor. I had to change brake pads Monday after my last track session and the rotor wasn't cracked then. I left the wheels off overnight and came back to the garage to find a puddle of brake fluid under the other caliper so had to go through everything again to make sure I didn't have any leaks and I know for sure that rotor wasn't cracked. About half way through the next session I felt a vibration like the ones you get if pad deposits build up but it must have been the rotor when it cracked.

The Coleman rotor cracked differently and I was hunting for a grinding feeling that would happen after I put a few laps on the car. I kept coming in and checking the brake pads since it felt like I had a worn out pad but they were fine. The last time I checked there was a crack on the outside of the rotor so I replaced it but didn't really inspect it till I got home. That was when I found out how bad it really was. The internal fins were separated both rotor faces with 5 or 6 fins being separated from the inside face and 3 or 4 being separated from the outside face with a small crack going down the outside face. I think the fins separating from the faces(cheeks) caused the vibration I was feeling and culminated in the crack I finally found on the outside face of the rotor. The lesson that I get out of that experience is it may not be sufficient to check the faces of a rotor for cracks but may be necessary to use a good light and inspect between the faces for cracks.

The attached pictures show the cracks in the fin area.

Bill

Bill Dearborn

Yes, he was probably wide open which is how you are supposed to drive through there. When I first started all of my instructors told me there was no car in the world that was so powerful that it couldn't be driven wide open from the exit of 1 to the entrance to the bus stop. I could do that with my C5Z but can't quite get there in the C6Z. It takes bxxls.

Bill

Wicked Weasel

it does take some *****. I usually have a shift which I consider a lift right before 2 then ease my foot to the floor on the uphill. First time I was matted coming out I remember saying wholly chit I hope I dont run out of room. I clipped the edge of the grass as I headed down the back straight hitting 160+.

Bill Dearborn

Yeah, that is the feeling. The car is accelerating and pulling cornering Gs and you are trying to hold to a line that sweeps right out to track edge near the guardrail and then the track narrows by a couple of feet just as you track out. In my C5Z I ran onto the grass right where the pavement narrowed one time and had to judiciously ease it back onto the pavement. If you stay too close to the flagger at the exit of 4 there is a bump that will really disturb the car and make it dance around a little.

Bill