Coming back to Nelson Ledges was great too. My old friend from my very early autocross days now works at the track there. He did a bit of a 'block' job by parking his LeMons car in a covered parking spot waiting for us to show up! Apart from enduring the jeers of some good friends from Austin, it was a great help. Thanks Bryan! Getting back out on that track was a very emotional experience for me, as it's been over 10 years since I've been there, in such time I've driven dozens of other tracks.
In some ways, it was fitting that it was the final track event, and that we needed to make up a small gap in points. We came into the day five points behind in the SUV class, and needed the wins to seal up the class win. As anyone who's been to Nelson knows, the kink on the back straight is a pretty fast and daunting corner. I remember doing it flatout in every car I'd ever driven there - none of which were particularly fast. A Ford Escort, ITB Alfa Alfetta, and ITA Mazda RX-7 were all easy-flat out through the kink. As I approached the turn for the first time in our MAZDASPEED5, only one thought was going through my mind: "Don't Lift!!"
Well, that was exciting! After turning in, I realized I had slightly over-committed. It was a bit of a chase, all the way across the track - as the Van was bouncing and skipping along the surface. The final bounce was in the grass, but it finally caught traction and I bombed into turn 12. In the crowd, everyone had thought I had made a huge mistake. Luckily, Fish was up there to set everyone straight: "He meant to do that - watch, he'll do the exact same thing for the next laps." Luckily, from the stands it looked the same - but I did make a little baby-lift on the subsequent laps!
Despite this, I ended up in 7th overall, and my best individual lap of 1:15.4 was only about 2.8 seconds off the OVERALL leading Porsche GT2 of Leh Keen. We beat the X6M handily, and now class points were tied! Despite a little off in the afternoon session - We managed 10th overall and the class lead. Leaving Nelson was bittersweet, my sister and her husband had shown up, and it was just comfortable to be there again. I look forward to getting back, and I hope someone buys the track and invests some long needed money into it. The layout is one of the greatest in the country, fast and flowing!
The final event was upon us, the dry skidpad. It was a bit damp at the start, but by the time I went it was dryish. I had never done anything like that, so I was a bit nervous. I tried a couple different techniques, and really wanted to get the MAZDA5 over 1.0G, but in the end I had to settle for .991G and 8th overall. It was enough for the class win, and moved us up to 15th overall!!
For the awards banquet, which was held inside the Tire Rack warehouse, all the guys who put this awesome vehicle together got to swing down from Countryside to be there. It was great to share the victory with them, as they put such an amazing vehicle together! Fisher and I sat in awe of the week that preceded - probably closer friends for it, and with a clear directive to be back every year we can make it!
At the banquet, Eric Vates, the project lead for teamzoomzoomnation.com filled us in on the Honda take on our effort. They had a turbocharged Honda Oddessy minivan that ran in '06 and '07. They lost the budget to run the van, and it's been sitting ever since. Honda took note of our effort, and the guys who built the van emailed Eric to thank him - our performance prompted Honda to restore some budget for the effort, so we get to go toe-t0-toe with our rivals next year. Some upgrades are in order - it's going to be even crazier!
Fisher and I have some great ideas for next year, of a multi-car Mazda based team. Details are in the works, but it proves to be an exciting and interesting concept. Either way, we look forward to joining the roving circus again next year, and to seeing all our friends there again!
After a couple days to decompress, it was up to Road America for some MX-5 Cup testing. The day went relatively well - until my student and friend found the wall in the kink. After we loaded the car, we spent the rest of the day milling around looking at the ultra-exotic hardware assembled for the SVRA weekend there. If anyone is near Road America this weekend, GO THERE and drool. Audi R8 LeMans cars, Williams and Bennetton F1 cars, Vintage Trans Am, Can Am... you name it!
Speaking of Trans Am... I really would love to run something at the upcoming Harrah's Autobahn Grand Prix weekend. Since Trans Am was my childhood dream, and impetus for pursuing a career driving, it would be a dream to compete in that race. Hmmm!
See everyone at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next weekend for Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup! GoTeamMER.com!
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