[Jim Child]

Congratulations to Eric on an excellent performance at the Portland USTCC race today. From the USTCC website:



"Local star and track expert Erick Krause behind the #39 RSBarn/MC Autobody/EKR Porsche 968 brought home the APEX-i Top Rookie of the Race honor finishing fifth and ahead of Rookie Points leader Auston Harris."



I've raced with some of the USTCC guys in NASA. They're very quick. Nice job!! We're all looking forward to a full race report!

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[Mark]

very nice. A big thumbs up to you.

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[S_Cal968]

Well Done! Congrat's! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Eric_K]

Thanks! It was a great event and a definite departure from the typical club race. I'll do a write up and post a video or two soon. Standing starts are quite exciting! Some of those guys are very fast but with development a 968 could definitely be right in there.



Eric

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[Jason Judd]

Eric,



Congratulations!



Better watch out, they might not be calling you a Rookie for much longer.



Best,



Jason

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[flwbyu]

It's nice to see a 968 in the mix. Congratulations Eric! It's nice to see that all of your hard work payed off! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[sasilverbullet]

You rock! Keep pressing on...

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[chris]

Congrats! Looking forward to some more vids <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[bob blackwell]

Way to go Eric! Keep up the good work, Bob Blackwell.

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[Eric_K]

Thanks guys. The video link is at the bottom.



The Top Rookie description is more than generous. I’m still chuckling at that one.



This race was a support race for the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland. As such we were pitted among all kinds of transporters and very expensive setups. It was fun to be at an event with this kind of atmosphere. There were people everywhere and all kinds of vendors and things to see. Unlike a typical club weekend, a jet blower cleaned the track between sessions and there were big screens setup around the track. I had never seen my car on tv – while driving! The most bizarre part was autographs. There was a surprisingly popular USTCC autograph session. They had to turn people away!



Prior to the weekend I had only run one session on the spec Hankooks. The wheel & tire size are quite a departure from what I normally run on the rear of my car, so I struggled with the feel and balance of the car initially. After adjusting the sways bars a few times and getting a feel for the tire on the limit, it started to click. I was third fastest in the final practice but fell to fifth in qualifying, despite going a second quicker.



Having never done (or practiced) a standing start, I was a little nervous on how it would go. Luckily, the car just hooked up and took off. I got a good jump on the SRT4 that qualified 3rd and the BMW 330 spun in the chicane. I exited T3 in 3rd place but the SRT4 was faster than I thought and had overlap before I could take the inside line away. I tried to keep the eventual 3rd place finishing Civic behind for another lap, but it was just too fast. He could drive around me on the straights. But hey, that should be expected when I’m running my 12 year old original stock motor against those things. The USTCC front runners are fast. I spent the rest of the race just out of reach of the leaders. I saw most of the race from a few seconds back and it looked like it was a good show. I saw 3 different leaders and several passes between them.



I was pleasantly surprised how open and friendly the NASA/USTCC guys were. I did also get the Top Rookie award, so I walked away with a trophy and fun time.



Here are the first 3 laps of the race:

USTCC Start (53MB .WMV)



Eric

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[chris]

Wow, what a wild start!



Looks like a good race, you were really attacking those apex'es <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ether_joe]

hey, congratulations Eric!



I haven't looked at the video yet. I have a question - were there any evos/wrx on the course with you, or other cars with AWD?



I was on the track with a buddy in his 968, and the AWD cars were really pulling hard exiting the corners. Had a hard time keeping up.



I'd be interested in your perspective on our RWD cars versus the AWD ones out there, especially coming out of the corners?

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[Eric_K]

There was an EVO VIII on the front row. It takes off like it is shot out of a cannon. Its running on restricted boost and heavy but it is still way fast. It has an excellent driver. Its a good 1.5 sec a lap quicker.

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[RPM]

Very cool. Did you increase the cooling capacity of the car?

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[Eric_K]

Oil cooler & radiator are stock. Here are a couple snap shots from the paddock.

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[mike]

Congratulations Eric! Nice job. I know your car is well developed and races with several different sanctioning bodies. Are there any class mods that are allowed that you have not made to your car that would have allowed a NA 968 to run with the well developed EVOs, SRT4s, Civics...? Thanks for carrying the 968 flag and representing so well for us.



mike

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[Charles Geer]

Congrats Eric: Great Job

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[Graham]

Brilliant!



Well done Eric!



What power do the hondas run then?



Graham

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[Graham]

By the way, don't suppose you want to sell your endurance lights now you've had to revert to stock due to class



They look mint!



Graham

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[TheMirror]

Outstanding, dude.....



Take it from the rest of us. As we spend dollars to make our streetcars go a little bit quicker on our favorite onramps, you're living the dream that we would all love to do. Keep it up and believe me, we'll help if we can.



Cheers,

-Mirror

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