[pmcrespo]

NASA Pro Racing Northeast Region July 16, 2011. Round 4 of the 2011 racing season. My second race of the season. We were racing at Pocono Raceway using the NASCAR Long Course configured to run counterclockwise with starting at the NASCAR front Straight leading to the NASCAR 24 Degree banking Turn 1 followed by the always treacherous and somewhat banked Turn 2 (Tunnel Turn). Then before you even have a chance to fully track out, a heavy braking zone for the sharp left hand (abt 110 degree turn) into the North Infield once one gets passed the insane bump awaiting at the entry.



The North infield entry and exit are extremely challenging with numerous bumps. The especially violent catapulting bump is now present entering the North Infield when running CCW. Turn 1 banking is rough at best with plenty of challenge to find the best/smoother line. The Turn 2 (Tunnel Turn), braking zone, and sharp left combinations take some car control skills and, uhmmm... "Co...mmitment".



Very jetlagged, I made it to the track on time, but AGAIN missed practice with some tire drama. This weekend I found myself running used Hoosier A6 in front! Nonetheless, I was able to again qualify 1st in GTS-2 Class. Another very strong qualifying time placed me up towards the front in the grid and in front of faster class cars as the race group was combined with all classes in one single race. Unlike yesterday's start (see video), I was on-point here but missing about 100 horsepower to keep up...



The race was fairly clean with some great racing, even if it was with out-of-class Corvettes, Mustangs, and M3s. The race ended under Yellow after an incident entering the front straight that fortunately left behind an unhurt driver.



The #75 Porsche 968 driven by yours truly today walked away with the first new track record of the 2011 season shaving over 2 seconds from the old record.

[center]Enjoy the VIDEO![/center][center]http://youtu.be/0ACVFlVPGPQ?hd=1[/center]

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[Rap]

Another nice run. I enjoy watching these videos, thanks!

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[pmcrespo]

Thanks! I can't let Ben and Eric have all the fame, fun, women, and glory! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> I try to run in their shadows and get a little for myself! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/3gears.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[RS Barn]

I just got a call from NASA asking to limit Pablos coffee intake and add lots of carbs to his diet. Otherwise they will need to add balast or make him run 215/50/16" tires

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[94SilverCab]

Bravo!!!

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[pmcrespo]

LOL... Shhh.... Dont give them any ideas! As it is, they have already gotten used to putting compliance GPS based horsepower measuring "black boxes" in my car every single time out even though they are supposed to be placed "randomly" throughout the field!



In fact, the GTS "Cheating" arguments and disagreements over the black boxes and "extra fast" GTS cars got so out of hand this day, that the NASA Director stopped the ENTIRE event for 15 minutes midday to send 3 cars out for 2 laps; all with boxes in them so that they can then be dynoed onsite immediately thereafter, at NASA's expense, to validate claim vs. BlackBox vs. Dyno rwhp figures. So one GTS3 BMW, one GTS2 BMW, and of course, me, got sent out to duke it out for a few laps while the entire event sat there and watched asking what was going on with the riot on the paddock and the 3 cars racing all by themselves minutes afterwards.... LOL... it was awesome! I felt, well.... famous!



At the end of the day, the black box showed #75 made 202 rwhp vs my dyno showing 204.4. So at least in that instance, the box was accurate. I am still waiting to hear on the results of the boxes from the last 3 races.... hopefully they are consistent as I have been gradually reducing weight to get closer and closer to the sweet spot in class.



On Sunday I raced with 112 pounds of ballast and a full tank of gas yielding a 2,990 race finish weight (with driver and gear). At 205 rwhp, this gets me to 14.59 power to weight ratio... close enough to the GTS2 14.50 limit with a few gallons of fuel to spare just in case...

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[Eric_K]

Nice race Pablo! I knew eventually you'd get by V8's that blew by on the start.



Do you know what data system NASA using for their "blackbox"? Interesting to see that it was fairly accurate in your example.

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[pmcrespo]

Thanks Erik. I understand it to be a TraqMate based module. The folks at TM have been working directly with NASA throughout many regions to test the system. For what I can see, the variation can be material. A lot has to do with which data sets are considered to make the HP calculation. One really needs to have a fairly slow corner (2nd or 3rd lown in the RPM range), followed by a flat straight that takes the motor through its full rev range. This is supposed to neutralize most of the aero, and other external factors that can throw it off.



I am still on the fence on it... so I am really hoping I get the results from last weekend soon and see how consistent they are.

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[Cloud9...68]

"At 205 rwhp, this gets me to 14.59 power to weight ratio"



I realize the horsepower figure is a the wheels, and the weight includes the driver, but still, 14.59 lb/hp sounds so dreadfully anemic! Isn't that about where a Nissan Sentra is <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> ? As I've said dozens of times, I'm utterly flabbergasted at how fast these overweight, underpowered machines (and I also realize this statement applies to all the other cars in the class) can zip around a track. It's a real testament to the alchemy that is done by the suspension wizards, and to the skill of the drivers, of course.



But still, I'm a little surprised the rules require you to carry so much weight. It must be to allow heavier, more modern cars to be competitive (but newer cars tend to have more horsepower, so I'm still a little confused as to why cars like the 968 and 3-Series BMWs aren't allowed to run in the neighborhood of, say, no more than 12 lb/hp). It's just odd to me that you have to add ballast to meet the class rules...

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[pmcrespo]

In the GTS series the 6 classes are determined by this power to weight formula. Details at http://www.nasagts.com. One can choose any class between GTS1 (the slowest) and GTSU which is unlimited. This allows the series to be easy to run without a lot of crazy rules about what color hubcaps I need to run for compliance....! Kinda like what Ben goes through in SCCA.



We chose to run GTS2 as it fit us well to sort out the new to us car without having to spend a lot of money to increase power. The next fastest class is GTS3. Perhaps the most popular one with tons of Porsches, pesky BMWs, Audis, etc. We even had a Volvo that was allowed to run. For this class you need to be at a wt/rwhp of between 11 and 14.49. Obviously to be competitive one needs to be as close to 11 as possible. #75 can get down to abt 2,830 lbs with me in it (170 with gear) and 1/2 a tank. This means that I would need 257 rwhp to be at 11 in the formula and be competitive. Most GTS3 guys are running north of 250 ponnies with the appropriate ballast to be at 11.



My engine is stock with a catback and a chip. Best Dyno has been 212. I run slightly detuned at 205. So getting an additional 45 rear wheel ponies on a Dynojet is an expensive proposition and one can argue the it theoretically will be more expensive to run with added wear and tear, as well as less reliable....



The realy beauty that you do touch on is, that even in GTS-2 trim, we find ourselves putting #75 squarely in the middle of GTS-3 fields. A tetstament that when well setup and driven to its potential, the 968 is an awesome platform. Of course, I am sure that if you put me in a well sorted new technology based Boxster or Cayman with a PDK, state of the art ABS, and an aero package to boot in GTS2 trim, our beloved 968s will have an uphill battle. For the money, I still think the platform is among the very best.



Who kows, maybe I'll find someone to sponsor a supercharger for next year, and we can move on to kick butt in GTS3 <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rock.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Cloud9...68]

What a nice, succinct explanation. I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek, as I understand that both "adding lightness" and adding horsepower are very expensive propositions. It's just that 14.59 lb/hp sounds so weak, but it's all about exit speed anyway, right? Anyway, congrats on your success; if there's such a thing as reincarnation, my first choice would be to come back as a racer like you, Ben, Eric, and the other guys.

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[pmcrespo]

You dont have to wait that long! You are closer than you think! Cross over to the dark side! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ninja.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[RMW]

What differential are you using?

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[RS Barn]

Pablo,

IMHO Don't explain any more.

It's nice to help newbies, but all the time and expense of developing a winning race car package shouldn't be public domain.

I'm pretty tired of people wanting the benefits of years of work for free. At the same time they seem to critique what has been tested and look for someone new to take on that task at their expence.

Pete

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[Cloud9...68]

"You don't have to wait that long! You are closer than you think! Cross over to the dark side! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ninja.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />"



Sigh. It would be so great if there was a "parallel universe," such that you could live one life doing the responsible family man head-of-household thing, and another one in parallel where you could do whatever the heck you wanted (within the law and reason). For me, my "parallel life" would definitely be that of a race car driver. I'd be Pablo, in other words! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />





I know many people manage to do both, but for me, raising a family on essentially a single engineer salary, racing has always just been a dream. However, it is getting closer, and I plan to dip my toe into it once I get my car put back together, hopefully this fall. I'm planning to start by completing the series of courses at the local driving academy, and then, back account permitting, giving it a go on a limited basis.

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[Rap]

Are you a Seinfeld fan?

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[Cloud9...68]

Can't say I really am. I caught his show a few times, but didn't watch it on anything resembling a regular basis. Why do you ask?

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[benspeeder]

Pablo - great videos buddy and some excellent driving. You have that car hooked up on the aero grip and suspension/chassis setup. I wish we could run wings and spoilers and real slicks in SCCA - makes the game more fun to figure that stuff out for the car.



For perspective I'm making 20-25 more HP and run the same times so that's a testiment to driver ability and setup on the #75!



Go CRESPO <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/EmoticonCar.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[pmcrespo]

Thanks for the compliment Ben. The aero, when properly executed and balanced, is indeed effective in a big way.



Nonetheless, you are still driving the wheels off your car and getting the same times with excellent car control skills and great racecraft. So right back at ya!

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[benspeeder]

I had to laugh at the 450HP C6 vettes who couldn't even figure out where you were on the track. That one guy in NASCAR 1 could have caused a mega wreck - nice anticipation of cluelessness. Looked like you guys were running around 130mph when he drifted right over your front bumper.

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