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Greg's Dark Blue 911

Gingerman Raceway - August 28, 2000

I've been itching to get back to Gingerman one last time this season. I found an event sponsored by CGI Motorsports that claimed lots of track time. I was not to be disappointed. They limit their events to 24 drivers so that's just 12 cars in each of the two run groups!! The turn-out at this event was mostly BMW M3s and Hondas, mostly S2000s and Acura NSXes. I also found I had the second oldest car at the event!

The weather started out foggy and it didn't clear up until after lunch. I was surprised to find the car very hard to control and even spun once coming out of turn 2. I blamed that on the track being slippery due to the moisture in the fog. I realized I was wrong when I spun two more times in the afternoon once the fog burned off and it was warm and sunny. I also found I had trouble with the brakes locking up. After talking to some friends we determined that my A032Rs are likely just past the maximum number of heat cycles they can handle and just don't have as much grip as they used to.

Due to this my lap times were pretty slow. I thought I had a few good laps in the afternoon where I was doing a lot of things right but I was till 1 or two seconds slower than my best times.

This was also my friend Craig's first time ever on a road course. I think he had a good time and will definitely be back! There are plenty of pictures of him here with his red 911SC.
Click on thumbnail to view full-size image

My 911 unpacked and ready to go.
A view of the paddock with four S2000s in view.
Another part of the paddock with a bunch of NSXes.

Craig getting his 911SC ready.
This Ferrari 512TR is really wide! Wider is better?
That's a damn good looking car!

A yellow 993 with a big wing.
Three red Honda S2000s in a row?

Since I had a lot of spare time I took a bunch of pictures of cars on the track. These are almost all from the novice group as I spent just about all the time in the advanced group actually driving. Once again a bunch of pictures of Craig on the track.

Craig on the main straight.
Just after turn 1.
In turn 2.

An S2000 on the main straight.
The Ferrari on the main straight.
An S2000 going through turn 2.

A turbo charged Miata going into turn 1.
A different S2000 between turns 1 and 2.
A Viper going into turn 1.

A BMW 3-series sedan in turn 2.
One of the many M3s at the event.
Here is the M3 that blew a coolant hose and spewed coolant in turn 3 limping back to the paddock.

A red Acura NSX in the main straight.
The Ferrari chasing the NSX in turn 2.
I wasn't the only one who spun a bunch of times. I know the Viper spun at least once and a bunch of other cars spun too. I saw at least a couple NSXes in the grass during the sessions I was out. The best spin of the day had to be the driver of this Miata. He was coming into turn 1 WAY too hot yet tried to make the turn. Well, he was doing ok, at first, then the car car spun and he managed to find a lot of mud in the grass just past turn 1. Here are the results.

Check out the side of the car and the driver's shirt.
Mud everywhere.
The seats and rollbar.

Here is the other side of the car.
Even got grass in the brakes.
Speaking of spins, instead of boring you with yet another uneventful lap around the track I compiled all my spins and one of my runoffs into the grass into one short video. The tires just weren't sticking so I'm definitely getting new tires after this event. Sorry about the beeps, I'm using the new Canon ZR10 camcorder and the beeping was quite excessive this time for some reason.

QuickTime Movie - Approx. 6.7M
RealVideo - 56K modem or faster stream (1 minute 52 seconds)