Thunderhill - report on latest shenanigans

[Michael Murphy]

Hey guys it was great to see y'all out there at Thunderhill in May (not!). It was a scorcher, with ambient temps over 100 degrees both days. I had my car dyno'd and it only made 150 hp, with the garage temp at 129 degrees. I have some tuning work to do.

I had a nice time running in the TT group and improved my lap times progressively with a best time of 2.04" on Sunday morning... just before a Radical SR3 borrowed my line at the turn in to Turn 8. Exit stage right for me. My lap timer tells me I was doing 95 mph when I left the track. I lost one rear and one front fender but otherwise no harm done. Here's some video for you bench racers to critique:

http://youtu.be/ErF388MpP-E

I rode the (then uncompleted) west extension on a bicycle. It promises to be a great track for Sevens: lots of elevation, very swoopy. Be sure to give it a shot when you can.

[rnr]

2:04 is a great time for 150hp. Did the radical get a talking to about the incident or do they just ignore it?

I rode the (then uncompleted) west extension on a bicycle. It promises to be a great track for Sevens: lots of elevation, very swoopy. Be sure to give it a shot when you can.

I drove the full 5 mile course with the GGLC a couple of weeks ago and the new section is quite interesting. Premium on grip with relatively short straights. The super late apex turns and unmarked surface did make it hard to find braking and turn-in points. I think once you have the line down and have confidence for the blind turns it will lead to some very fast times.

[moosetestbestanden]

Well that didn't pass the doesn't suck test. This was a NASA event? So, what happened in the driver's meeting after, or did the 2 of you go before the king?

Do tell.

[Elv15]

just before a Radical SR3 borrowed my line at the turn in to Turn 8. Exit stage right for me.

Grrr. That does suck. Glad to hear that the damage was not too bad. The 2.04 lap looked sweet!

[Michael Murphy]

Thanks Guys. The TT coordinator brokered an amicable arrangement with the radical driver. He paid for most of the damage, which wasn't that much, and was very decent about it. The whole incident was handled quite appropriately. This incident illustrates the risks of running cars with greatly different performance capabilities in the same group. The Radical was turning laps 20 secs faster than me and he came up on me in a flash. Unfortunately at just the wrong place and time. My concentration was fixed on the apex and exit of Turn 8 and I did not check my mirrors before turning in - particularly since I did not know anyone was there. I guess both drivers ran out of talent just before they ran out of road.

[Sean]

It might just be the camera position, but it appears from the video that maybe your left-side mirror was mis-adjusted?
Glad to hear (read) that it all turned out okay.

edit -- Holy crap - 20 seconds per lap faster is one hell of a delta!

[moosetestbestanden]

Thanks Guys. The TT coordinator brokered an amicable arrangement with the radical driver. He paid for most of the damage, which wasn't that much, and was very decent about it. The whole incident was handled quite appropriately. This incident illustrates the risks of running cars with greatly different performance capabilities in the same group. The Radical was turning laps 20 secs faster than me and he came up on me in a flash. Unfortunately at just the wrong place and time. My concentration was fixed on the apex and exit of Turn 8 and I did not check my mirrors before turning in - particularly since I did not know anyone was there. I guess both drivers ran out of talent just before they ran out of road.

You're too modest. Radical guy knows, or should know, better, and as a former NASA instructor you know that. NASA is pretty clear about whose responsibility it is to insure safe overtaking. Had it happened elsewhere on the track where the blind corners are your explanation might make some sense. You know that you had every right to that apex and radical guy had to back off.

Good that he made good. All's well that ends well I suppose. Chalk it up to The Ghost of Stokes :-D