07-25-2010, 08:17 PM
Please join me to congratulate RS Barn for taking the top podium in class at Friday's 2010 Pirelli Ultimate Track Car Challenge at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).
Piloted by yours truly [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] , the RS Barn Firehawk performed flawlessly and very, very strongly. Taking severe abuse in conditions that had many race cars not making it through the day, the Firehawk never missed a step. In temperatures that consistently hovered to 107 for what seemed the entire day, the 968 successfully battled through 1 warm-up session, 2 practice runs, and 3 official Time Trial sessions. Small adjustments to tire pressures, damping, and a few other items was all it took to keep it perfectly balanced in the corners, and unbeatable at the top-end. Stint after stint, the engine pulled stronger than any 968 I have driven in every single visit to 7k rpm.
The 1st place finish came after edging the consistently top podium finisher 240 hp 2,400 pound Carbotech sponsored Integra Type R masterfully driven by John Whitaker (a sportsman and a gentleman). The .4 second victory advantage did not come easy around the 3.27 mile highly demanding VIR Full Circuit. With the driver a bit rusty off the gates at a track where only few full-out laps had ever been run, we managed to improve times deep into the late afternoon as track conditions worsen and a set of Hoosier R6s melted away. The final session saw most all the 17 JV competitors throw everything they had at it pulling all the stops. We somehow drifted, slipped, and sliced our way with our best, and winning, time of the day in this final session. Our time was also 2nd best across all JV (door slamming) competitors.
Kudos to Scott Good (NASA Great Lakes GTS2 Champ) are also a must. He put on an incredible display of driving talent and skill, in his first visit to VIR, to take the final step on the podium in Independent JV to put a Porsche on the board (944S2) in class.
Congratulations RS Barn! Thank you Pete for offering me the awesome ride.
Also thanks to Max for all the support day in and day out. Your flawless work kept it all together during a long tough racing day.
Lastly, my hat off to good friend Will Triol (also at 2008 UTCC in Buttonwillow California) and "Team Manager" Martha Zapata that kept us going through the grueling conditions across all fronts.
Cheers!
PS: I will post pictures and in-car video soon....
Piloted by yours truly [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] , the RS Barn Firehawk performed flawlessly and very, very strongly. Taking severe abuse in conditions that had many race cars not making it through the day, the Firehawk never missed a step. In temperatures that consistently hovered to 107 for what seemed the entire day, the 968 successfully battled through 1 warm-up session, 2 practice runs, and 3 official Time Trial sessions. Small adjustments to tire pressures, damping, and a few other items was all it took to keep it perfectly balanced in the corners, and unbeatable at the top-end. Stint after stint, the engine pulled stronger than any 968 I have driven in every single visit to 7k rpm.
The 1st place finish came after edging the consistently top podium finisher 240 hp 2,400 pound Carbotech sponsored Integra Type R masterfully driven by John Whitaker (a sportsman and a gentleman). The .4 second victory advantage did not come easy around the 3.27 mile highly demanding VIR Full Circuit. With the driver a bit rusty off the gates at a track where only few full-out laps had ever been run, we managed to improve times deep into the late afternoon as track conditions worsen and a set of Hoosier R6s melted away. The final session saw most all the 17 JV competitors throw everything they had at it pulling all the stops. We somehow drifted, slipped, and sliced our way with our best, and winning, time of the day in this final session. Our time was also 2nd best across all JV (door slamming) competitors.
Kudos to Scott Good (NASA Great Lakes GTS2 Champ) are also a must. He put on an incredible display of driving talent and skill, in his first visit to VIR, to take the final step on the podium in Independent JV to put a Porsche on the board (944S2) in class.
Congratulations RS Barn! Thank you Pete for offering me the awesome ride.
Also thanks to Max for all the support day in and day out. Your flawless work kept it all together during a long tough racing day.
Lastly, my hat off to good friend Will Triol (also at 2008 UTCC in Buttonwillow California) and "Team Manager" Martha Zapata that kept us going through the grueling conditions across all fronts.
Cheers!
PS: I will post pictures and in-car video soon....
