[Eric_K]

Two weekends ago was a double race weekend in Spokane. It was brutally hot, 105 on Friday, low 100s Saturday and mid 90's on Sunday. I ran practice and qualifying on Friday and two races on both Saturday and Sunday. The car and I survived without too many heat related problems, but it certainly wasn't easy.



SRP has a massive front straight, which really puts my car at a disadvantage to the higher horspower cars I'm usually up against. I qualified well (best @ 1:44.6) but would get passed by a bunch of cars at the start of each race and would have to use the rest of the 30 minutes realing them back in. It is really hard to pass cars that are significantly faster down the straight.



This video is from the last three laps of the last race on Sunday. I'm trying to chase down a Mitsu EVO for 2nd in class. You will see he has more straight away speed, but the 968 is better everywhere else.



Spokane Video



   



It was also Stephen's (sguy here) racing debut. He skillfully drove a Civic in the two Novice races.

   



Eric

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[Renalicious]

Woo! Another exciting video! Thanks Eric!



That looked pretty frustrating to catch up to the Evo every lap, only to have it pull away on the straights. You could feel that if there were a few more laps and a few more corners you could eventually pass him <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> It's amazing that you hit 5th gear in two sections on that track, and looked like you could have even gone into 6th on the front straight.

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[rustech]

Very nice, thanks for the great video, I never get tired of seeing them!

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[sguy]

Great Job Eric! Now I wish I watched more of your races throughout the weekend. I noticed how much more stable your car is braking especially into turn two and at other times in the corners (I see the same stability braking with my car on the track and it makes it easy to push into the corners). The CRX I drove was setup well, but still was a FWD and braking into turn two was a real dance, with the backend leading. I'm looking workward to driving a "proper" car next time. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Cheers, Stephen

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[Renalicious]

Are there any videos of the CRX? The more there is to watch the better <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[mike]

Wow! That is one lonnggg straightaway. Nice job Eric! Thanks again for sharing with us. And congrats to you sguy on your first race.



mike

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[chris]

First of all, thanks for another vid! Love these.



Looks like the EVO and you both carried the same speed out of the turn, but yeah, he just had more power. You clearly out braked him and out turned, but as soon as you both got on the power......must be pretty frustrating. Great driving overall



Turbo time! lol <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Jim Child]

Nice video Eric! I sure hate when one of those fast on the straights, slow in the corners cars gets out in front. I was struggling with that exact problem in a race a couple of weeks ago.

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[flash]

fun stuff - you were definitely outdriving him - he just had more power



did i hear a slight "crack" as you shift into 4th? don't you have the powerhouse gears? are they notchier? a shifter thing?

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[Eric_K]

Yes, the gearbox is making some noises. The syncros have seen better days. After 4 race seasons and 36 hours of enduros it is well past due for a rebuild. Apparently, the EVO eats trannies like it is going out style though.

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[flash]

lol - as long as it wasn't my imagination



do you have the PH2 gears in there?

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[Eric_K]

Nope, it is the stock gear set. I would like the short gears, but last time I called PH2 I was told they were no longer available.

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[flash]

hmmm - must have been jason then - not available? now that is going to suck - i fully intended to get them - i should have done it when i had the box apart, but as i already had sunk 6500 into that project at the time, i had to draw a line somewhere

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[sguy]

Ren, I have a link for the video of my first race on Friday. Unfortunately, the camera was not working for some reason on Saturday for my second race. The video has not been edited, so you can skip over the beginning sitting in pre-grid and we did two pace laps because the grid did not close properly for a start on lap one (novices you know). I could not keep up with the BMW's, but was able to pass everything else in the field. I had some problem with the video link before, but give it a try. I'll get all the video from the races soon on disk. The person I was renting the CRX from is Zach Weins. I've know him for several years racing autocross and he started track racing with his car last year. Everyone at the races and track were super and helped make this a fantastic experience.



Friday, July, 20, 2007, Spokane Raceway Park. video, Stephen Guy's first novice race: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...9128190901



Cheers, Stephen Guy



My goof, the race was July 13, it just seems like yesterday.



Cheers,

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[mike]

Nice race Stephen! Did you feel a little guilty passing the Porsche in a Honda? Probably not too long anyway. Maybe the camera didn't work for the second race because you were out of tape or battery from leaving it on after the first race. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



mike

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[Eric_K]

Nice driving Stephen. It looked smooth from the outside too.



I can't let Stephen be the only guy to pass that little Porsche. Here is a few minutes from Sunday's Group 1 race. I have had many a battle with the RX7 in this video. He has a little advantage on the straight but nothing like the EVO. It takes a small bobble by him and a banzai braking move to get by him (at least for a while).



Spokane Group1 Race Video



Eric

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[Renalicious]

Wow Eric, that was INTENSE! Great driving <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Steve, you're not kidding about the video not being edited! It looked like you had a pretty clean race out there, and a lot of fun throwing a little ricer around <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/happy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Are there any races planned for Seattle? I really want to come out and take some pictures / video and meet the crew <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[rhudeboye]

Great job Eric.



Is the 968 your first track car?

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[sguy]

Mike, I don't think gulit is what I was feeling when I passed the Porsche. He is actually an experienced racer who was re-applying for a license after many years and the conference officials put him in a novice race to observe. That's why he was racing in Eric's group the next day. The CRX would be a very satisfying car if it was RWD.



Ren, the next outing for me will probably be the Aug. 18-19 weekend at Portland. Eric is planning on racing and has agreed to let me drive his car for my last Novice race and (hopefully) an upgrade race on Sunday. Eric is a great guy and I'm really excited about driving his car. The car will be busy that weekend.



Actually watching the whole video of my first novice race gives a good indication of all the time that racing does not have just fun, excitement and passing other cars, but lots of preparation and waiting too. But that makes the intense parts that much better.



Cheers, Stephen

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[Eric_K]

Is the 968 your first track car?

Yes. First was a street/DE car, now the race car.



I will probably be racing @ Pacific Raceways this weekend, although I will only be there on Sunday because of other commitments.

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