In 2009 I started on my quest to advance from SCCA’s Solo II onto NASA’s Time Trial program. I had been autocrossing seriously since ‘06, and after claiming the Nothern New Jersey regions A-Stock championshop in ‘07 and ‘08, I wanted to build upon what I had learned. After a year full of track days, a brief date with a tirewall, many weeks of sourcing replacement parts, upgrades, a visit to the tuner, and a painfully long winter, the car and I was finally ready.
Not only was this event my first TT event for ‘10, but it was also my first track event for the year. So I considered it a shakedown for the car, but more importantly a shakedown for myself. The first morning of a weekend event is usually pretty hectic. A frantic search to find empty spots in the pits, unpack the tools, tires, jack stands, and all loose items from the car (I can never believe how much crap fits into an Evo!). Slap on the brand new BFGoodrich g-Force R1s (from Tirerack) and the Hawk HT-10 race compound pads (from KNS Brakes), run through the self-tech, and finally hand over everything to registration.
With just the instructor group having been on track before us, we grid up and head out on to the cold track in a slow train. I have never drive on the BFG R1s until now, so with the pressures set to 35 psi cold I started to try and get a feel for them. Our venue for the weekend was the Lightning circuit at NJMP. Between the two, I would say that Thunderbolt is my choice, but Lightning isn’t too bad and certainly has a few tricky corners that take a while to master. By the second corner I realize that the car is very soft – damn it! I had forgotten to set the rebound on the Ohlins. Deja vu – I made the same mistake on my previous track day as well. That’s another thing to add to the list of crap to do in the morning. Anyway I decide not to obsess over it and focus on the upcoming corners – a sweeping right hander that leads into a left. As I transition into the left hander my rear steps out, but my attempt to counter steer and feed in the gas were futile. I did the standard practice of putting both feet in and watched in embarrassment as the corner workers started waving their yellow flags. As I headed back towards the pits I found the car to be yet again a handful on the next left-hand corner. Hmmm… As I headed for the pits noticed my engine oil light on the dashboard, so I threw the car into neutral and let it coast towards the course worker waiting for me at the hot pit. Before the car came to a halt the engine stalled – I knew immediately what had happened!
A few years ago at an autocross I mowed down a cone, and in retaliation it struck my oil filter so hard that it bent the filter and thus compromised the seal between the filter and the housing resulting in an oil leak. An OEM filter may have avoided the situation, but I was using a Purolator filter at the time which is narrower but taller. With the oil spewing from near the passenger side front wheel, every left turn I made caused oil to splash towards the path of the right side wheels, thus making it over steer like a bitch.
Back at the hot pits, as the course worker checked for any signs of damage or loose wheels, I ducked underneath the car and saw the problem – my brand new AMS oil cooler had a gaping whole on its side. That was the least of my concerns; I had just potentially ceased my engine, and cooked the turbo. Is that a perfect start to the season or what?!
More details and videos later…
2010/04/18 NASA-NE TT at NJMP Lightning – Fastest Lap from Charith Perera on Vimeo
2010/04/18 NASA-NE TT at NJMP Lightning – Jake’s Spin from Charith Perera on Vimeo.
2010 is going to be an amazing year in racing. Improving ones versatility can do wonders for improving skill. The faster a driver can hop into a vehicle that’s not familiar and adapt to it, the better the driver will be at tuning their senses for input. Its no secret that the more input you can get from a vehicle, the more informed you are of what’s really going on, and thus the better equipped you will be to becoming faster.
Valentino Rossi who has dominated MotoGP for the last decade recently conducted another test with Ferrari in an F2008 and nearly matched Kimi Raikkonen’s lap record at Catalunya. He has also shown success in a WRC car. What appears as a smooth flat surface to us could very possibly be as rough as the crater filled moon to him. Its time to stop living in ignorance and time to start heightening those senses, maybe even pick up a sixth sense on the way.
For 2010 the Evo will be dedicated for track days, time trials, and the occasional run to the grocery store. The car will be prepped to satisfy the ruleset for NASA TTB. I will participate in all NASA NE TT events if possible in hopes of being in contention for the championship.
Upgrades will be as follows:
- 17×9 Weds Sport SA-70 wheels – Snagged for cheap locally. Curb rashed and scraped, but still light at 17.8lbs
- Retuned suspension – The car feels great, but not perfect. I’ll be working with a local tuner to get it setup to my liking
- AMS upgraded Oil Cooler kit – An attempt to keep the oil temps low on those long hot summer lapping days
- Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator – A small weight reduction, but hopefully will also aid in keeping the car cooler
- Autopower 6-pt rollcage – Last year I got lucky when I popped out of the carousel at Summit Point’s Shenandoah circuit. This time I’m not taking any chances.
2010 will also see me return to my first racing addition: Solo II. This year I will be co-driving the Holunfie Honda S2000 in STR with owner and bike junkie Dan Cheung. Dan took a break from competitive Solo II racing after he sold off his STU Subaru STi and started racing his bikes in an attempt to satisfy his adrenaline fix. This year with the introduction of the STR class he’s back in a nicely setup AP1 Honda S2000. Last year I nearly sold the Evo in the hope of picking up an S2000 for track. Although it’s FR setup and god-like handling are matched only by a few other cars, the versatility of the Evo allowed me to be competitive while being sideways in the snow, dodging cones, or flying through the uphill esses at VIR.
And last but not least, I will be logging valuable seat time in a CRG Rotax Kart owned by Ramon Pitter. If open wheel racing is the ultimate goal, then karting is the foundation. My first test in a kart was in 2008, and although the kart wasn’t setup for me I got a taste of what all the fuss was about. Information overload, lightning fast reflexes, and huge gonads; all active ingredients for the adrenaline junkie. But I’m not looking for that. I’m looking to learn how to deal with the information overload, to build lightning fast reflexes, and to grow some giant balls. Perfect! Ramon is yet to compete in a Kart race. With the two of us logging seat time we hope our half-brains can come together and build a good setup for him that will make him competitive.
So if all goes according to plan I’ll be ripping up tarmac in the Evo, chasing cones in an S2000, and logging seat-time in a kart. Now that’s what I call a New Year’s resolution! Here’s to twenty-ten!