“Track Side,” A day in the life of a Track Junkie…, This is humorous series of articles written by my good friend Matt Y, who is a devout SCCA track junkie, running his ’87 VW Golf GTI (more affectionately referred to as, “the General Li”). These articles give you a look into what racing is really like. It’s not always fun and games… Sit back, relax and see what it’s like to be “Track Side.” — Eric M, GTA Webmaster – 8/6/2002
The weekend was successful – the Hoosiers are truly a phenomenal tire AND all my fears about flat-spotting and short lifespan weren’t realized (yet). The only disappointment is that the Glen is a FAST track and the General Li isn’t much in the way of top-end but I digress…
Saturday, July 20
Having postponed routine maintenance too long already, I finally arranged with an old friend, Virgil, to take a voyage to his house in order to change the hubs and wheel bearings on the old General Li. These are known failure areas on VWs and should be changed frequently – in my case, it had been well over a full season which was a bit less than frequent. While we were at it, we swapped in new calipers that I had purchased but never installed. The good news was that the swaps went well but the front pads were about worn out. At least I had a few days notice to procure new pads…
Thursday, July 25
With the new Hoosiers came the recommendation from Radial Tire Co to use a different alignment setup than for the Toyos. Rick @ RC Imports was kind enough to help me with the alignment – OK, he did all the work BUT I served the crucial role of displacing my exact body weight in the drivers’ seat to ensure that the alignment didn’t change when I was in the car. While he was underneath the car he made a rather disturbing discovery that the engine and trans were about to separate – the bolts that held the two together had backed out significantly!! Those bolts were tightened as were all the motor mount bolts to ensure that nothing had vibrated loose. All told, Rick was able to dial out about a degree of negative camber in the RF leaving the fronts set at -3.2.
Friday, July 26
I picked up my rental child around 1 pm and we started making our way north to Watkins Glen. The trip itself was relatively uneventful and we arrived around 8:30 pm after a few food and bathroom stops (the “kid” is 16 and perpetually ravenous). At registration we were surprised that the weather was in the 60s with a strong wind!! Quite a shock from 80s and humid in the DC area.
Once registered, the only drama came from trying to “dock” the trailer in the fairly tight paddock. After about 20 minutes of attempts, the trailer was finally parked and we headed off to Watkins Glen for dinner.
Saturday, July 27
Since ITA ran in group 6, we arrived a bit late – around 10 am. The only necessities were checking fluid levels and mounting the video camera. Otherwise we sat around with fellow racers Payton and Brian, their respective spouses and Brian’s Dad quietly passing time and watching the grass grow greener.
Practice
The first few turns on a relatively unfamiliar track with new tires, brake pads AND a new alignment gave me a bit of trepidation as we rolled out for our practice session. The immediate difference was that the tires gripped like glue and that they turned in NOW, no waiting. While this was a nice change, it made the car more darty than I was used to with the slushy Toyos. After a few laps I started to get more comfortable and tried hard to remember the Glen and it’s many tricks.
Following that session, I discovered that my times were dreadfully SLOW but at least I knew what to expect from the new tires and was ready to exploit them more fully during the qualifying session.
Qualifying
Back on the track, I started to brake less into the turns knowing that the new tires stuck better AND I decreased the amount I turned the wheel since the tires didn’t slide as much which meant that I’d get the same amount of car movement for less steering input. I worked hard to get the car faster in the bus-stop – entering from the middle of the track, braking less than seemed necessary and hanging on for dear life!! The heel and toe of the “boot” were especially tricky since they’re both very deceptive and I found myself over-driving and thus slowing my already slow car even more than necessary.
The results were a bit better with times that were at least respectable although much slower than I’d hoped for – 39th on the grid out of 57 cars with a small herd of ITS and SM cars in front.
Then came the fun part…after a nice dinner with Payton, Rachel, Payton’s parents, Brian, Kris and Richard, we met up with a small herd of racers at Watkins Glen’s infamous Go Kart racetrack. Let’s just say that racecar drivers and go karts aren’t a good combination – someone’s going to end up facing in the WRONG direction. During our second heat, that someone was ME – thanks guys!!
Sunday, July 28
The day started out overcast and cool. Around 11 am, the rain showers set in and the temperatures dropped significantly. Hhmm – not a good omen for racing BUT Payton had faith that the weather would break and Brian, with his satellite equipped motorhome confirmed that the weather radar showed the storms had passed. As we headed for the grid, the sun broke out of the clouds and the temperature got HOT!!
Race
Being 39th on the grid had a few advantages like being gridded next to the bathroom so I could “prepare” for the race. I found myself behind another ITA GTi 16v that had once been painted orange (copy-cat) although the driver confessed that they’d omitted the “stars and bars” on the roof due to good taste.
As the race started, I found myself in my usual pack of RX7s and MR2s although this time we were also mixed with ITS and SM (Spec Miata). I almost immediately found myself getting passed by RX7s on the back straight – cars that I’d out qualified but that had more top-end. Racing through the Boot was especially exciting however since a good entry into the heel meant that even an underpowered car such as mine could give the RX7s and MR2s a few headaches. The only real excitement (personally, not overall) came on the 2nd or 3rd lap exiting turn 1 – I protected an inside line while an RX7 tried to pass me on the outside. I turned in and hammered the throttle which caused the car to push out a bit. The RX7, still next to me but NOT past me found itself in a bad place and he put his RF tire into my LR fenderwell – no damage although the wiggle that’s on the video is rather amusing.
However after only a few laps I found myself practically alone except for an SM that was quietly catching me as we entered the back straight. Being friendly, he came up behind me and “bump drafted” me although the VW is so non-aerodynamic and heavy that it cost both of us some momentum. On the next lap, the SM passed me before the bus stop. As he passed the car in front of me, I saw a frantically waving hand – a sign that something ahead was amiss and I braked in anticipation. At the exit to the bus top, another SM (yes, there are LOTS of them and most of them are red) had hit the Styrofoam wall and flipped. Ugh – time for the infamous Watkins Glen black flag all which means an eternity in the pits and reduced race time. Fortunately the black flag all was mercifully short. In the interim, the SM driver that provided the bump draft, Wade pulled alongside and we chatted. His first comment was “I though your car was faster than that” – doh!! As we resumed the race, I found myself AGAIN in a pack of SMs, RX7s and MR2s – don’t these things EVER go away? The good news was that I found myself catching one of the MR2s – and one from the Washington DC region at that (which potentially means a better finishing position and more points towards our MARRS championship). I followed the MR2 for a lap hoping to find a weakness. I found that I gained many car lengths in the bus stop – the MR2 braked later but then stayed off the throttle practically to the exit!! I used this to my advantage and became a permanent tangerine-coloured fixture in his rear-view mirror. Exiting the heel of the boot, the MR2 made his first big mistake getting the car rather sideways. This gave me the opportunity to power past him as we entered the toe – woohoo – I finally passed SOMEBODY!! As we passed start/finish, the starter displayed the “one lap remaining” sign. Now the pressure really started. The MR2, while behind me seemed intent on re-passing me so I made every effort to be fast but not foolhardy – a tough thing to do when you’re already running a 11/10ths of your ability. The good news is that I was able to fend off the pesky MR2 and I finished well back in the pack (remember, we were running with the FAST ITS cars) but I ended up with a 4th in MARRS finish which is a personal best.
Epilogue
As I say following EVERY trip to the Glen – I don’t have enough motor!! I said that last year and went so far as to take one of my spares to an engine builder. Of course I haven’t done anything else but I have good intentions. The Hoosiers are great tires – they stick much better than the Toyos and aren’t nearly as fragile as I’d heard – of course I’ll know more after I run them on the familiar tarmac of Summit Point.
The next event, this coming weekend, is MARRS 7 at Summit Point…
~Matthew
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