Hotlanta - View from the Paddock
08-23-2008, 07:44 AM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Hotlanta - View from the Paddock
Due to unforeseen circumstances, roof repair from a tree strike and the fantasy my employer has about me working on his projects, I have been remiss in getting Hotlanta out in a timely fashion. The event was a blast though. The compound was staked out and well populated by the time we arrived at 0730 on Friday. Kanmer had us in a great spot with power, decent breeze and a view. Friday was mostly spent giving checkrides and taking Bob out for track familiarization ride in the FRC while I gave a chase checkride to several TT provisional licensees. It seems Kanmer needs more then one ride to remember important things like tapping the brake before T3 - he reminds me of ZO6cool in this regard. Josh was recruited to work registration all day Friday. Seems he was an easy recruit for a job with an air conditioner.
The split paddock is great for the space it allows to all participants. This time they switched the paddocks for the racers and HPDE. We are waiting with bated breath for the side time trial will be put on in December with NASA. The downside is the split paddock makes it harder to hang out with everyone and mooch food/water/tape/wire/etc. off of ROAR and Maddog. It was a real disappointment not to be around the NASA-FL guys, their bubble pit and bikini wrestle offs are about the best seen to date at a NASA event, there is never a dull moment around their paddock space.
The weather was much, much better then the August NASA event last year. It showed in the lap times and attitudes in the paddock. It was still hot (Atlanta in August, duh) but with drinking water and staying in the shade when possible it was quite pleasant. The fields in all classes were full with wait lists for most categories.
Over the weekend 50 cars took the grid in TT. Times ran from the mid 1:20s to 2:03s so courtesy and awareness were vital. TT did lose a session due to an incident but overall casualties were light (easy to say when you are not the one that hit the wall) with mechanical problems (e.g., blown engines or torque tubes) taking down several cars over the weekend. It seems in the morning practice session I finished off the torque tube in the FRC. When I went to go out for the first "money" run it was making a terrible racket in the driveline. Naturally I gridded and started the session since it was only "noisy" when I lifted off the accelerator, shifted or loaded the car up in the corner. Amazingly, all on my own, I figured out it was stupid of me to put the car at risk of major damage so I pulled off after 2 or 3 laps. The fact I was unable to keep pace with the TTC cars had nothing to do with it. Several new track records were set in TT and there were many new faces on the TT grid. As a matter of fact, several old faces did not get in since they delayed in signing up.
The HPDE groups were also at capacity and until people sorted out a few things the inevitable trains happened. The mix of cars, capabilities and comfort levels seem to require a little sorting to get smooth. The good news is Road Atlanta is such an awesome track to run it makes the little annoyances worth the effort. The race groups also had their share of "Road Atlanta" tax with several cars getting the chance for post race upgrades. The races were great to watch though and overall went well.
Team England hits the track again in September at Barber and Rockingham. Hopefully we will have something track ready by then.
The split paddock is great for the space it allows to all participants. This time they switched the paddocks for the racers and HPDE. We are waiting with bated breath for the side time trial will be put on in December with NASA. The downside is the split paddock makes it harder to hang out with everyone and mooch food/water/tape/wire/etc. off of ROAR and Maddog. It was a real disappointment not to be around the NASA-FL guys, their bubble pit and bikini wrestle offs are about the best seen to date at a NASA event, there is never a dull moment around their paddock space.
The weather was much, much better then the August NASA event last year. It showed in the lap times and attitudes in the paddock. It was still hot (Atlanta in August, duh) but with drinking water and staying in the shade when possible it was quite pleasant. The fields in all classes were full with wait lists for most categories.
Over the weekend 50 cars took the grid in TT. Times ran from the mid 1:20s to 2:03s so courtesy and awareness were vital. TT did lose a session due to an incident but overall casualties were light (easy to say when you are not the one that hit the wall) with mechanical problems (e.g., blown engines or torque tubes) taking down several cars over the weekend. It seems in the morning practice session I finished off the torque tube in the FRC. When I went to go out for the first "money" run it was making a terrible racket in the driveline. Naturally I gridded and started the session since it was only "noisy" when I lifted off the accelerator, shifted or loaded the car up in the corner. Amazingly, all on my own, I figured out it was stupid of me to put the car at risk of major damage so I pulled off after 2 or 3 laps. The fact I was unable to keep pace with the TTC cars had nothing to do with it. Several new track records were set in TT and there were many new faces on the TT grid. As a matter of fact, several old faces did not get in since they delayed in signing up.
The HPDE groups were also at capacity and until people sorted out a few things the inevitable trains happened. The mix of cars, capabilities and comfort levels seem to require a little sorting to get smooth. The good news is Road Atlanta is such an awesome track to run it makes the little annoyances worth the effort. The race groups also had their share of "Road Atlanta" tax with several cars getting the chance for post race upgrades. The races were great to watch though and overall went well.
Team England hits the track again in September at Barber and Rockingham. Hopefully we will have something track ready by then.
08-25-2008, 08:41 AM
#2
Race Director
TT...............sooner or later
08-25-2008, 12:37 PM
#3
Drifting
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Cruise-In VI Veteran
Originally Posted by varkwso
Josh was recruited to work registration all day Friday. Seems he was an easy recruit for a job with an air conditioner
Originally Posted by varkwso
It seems Kanmer needs more then one ride to remember important things like tapping the brake before T3
Originally Posted by varkwso
he reminds me of ZO6cool in this regard
It was a great event. RA is a phenomenal track. I will be back there for sure. Not sure when as we are running Daytona in Dec.
We had a great compund going with about 11 cars. Even the Flamingoes were commenting how much fun they had. Max is even looking forward to going back.
Originally Posted by ALLTHROTTLR&NOBOTTLE
TT...............sooner or later
Bob
Last edited by Kanmer; 08-25-2008 at 12:40 PM.
08-25-2008, 12:54 PM
#4
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W. Detroit Events Coordinator
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Cruise-In VII Autocross Champ
RA in Dec is on my list, looks like you guys have a lot of fun.
08-25-2008, 05:25 PM
#5
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
08-25-2008, 07:14 PM
#6
Drifting
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Ya know...if you guys promise not to tell Nancy, I might try to swing both RA and Daytona. It would be hard to pass up another RA this year. SHHhhhh...its a secret!!! 
08-25-2008, 08:11 PM
#7
Melting Slicks
.... 
