Just got done running the afternoon session at Beave-run. Very fun course with most of it being taken flat out in the Yaris... accelerate hard up the front up-hill straight, gently tap the brake at the top of the hill and down-shift to 3'rd for turn 1-2-3-4 combos. Turn 1 is kind of sacrificed to help you line up for turns 2-3 combo but I was able to flat foot the whole thing by running onto the curbings and using up a bit more track (and dirt/grass). Then lift/down-shift to 2'nd and turn in early for turn 5. Back on the throttle, shift to 3'rd through turn 6 and keep it flat through the blind downhill turn 7 into the back straight. Track out of 7 and over to the right to line up for turn 8 which is right about where you reach 4'th gear. Keep it planted through the turn 9 kink and get ready for the aggressive braking zone into the increasing radius turn 10-11. This is the only hard braking zone on the track and once it's over you're back on the throttle power shifting through the up-hill front straight. You reach 3'rd gear right before the blind kink turn 12 and up-shift to 4'th just past the start/finish line.
In the morning session the track was still a little wet and I was a little tentative. The top speed as indicated by the SG-II was 93 MPH in the morning. In the afternoon I delayed slightly at the start before taking off at the start since I had a big V8 Camaro ahead of me who I hadn't seen run. By the first hot-lap I had already hit 98 MPH max as indicated by the SG-II, but just smoothing out the steering inputs on the back straight and waiting longer before braking into turn 10. I pretty sure the times should be better than the morning. People watching say I was gaining slightly on the Camaro but it didn't matter since he ended up spinning out in turn 10 and I got passed him without being slowed down too much.
Now we're on the way to Design Engineering in Avon Lake, OH where they are hosting us for a car show and dinner. It's a mandatory check-point worth 50 points in the overall standings and then we continue on to South Bend, IN for our last event, the Skid-Pad tomorrow AM. Loren is up for the dry skid-pad so I'm officially done with the track driving in the car and managed not to wreck, YEAH!! : )
Pics:
Morning run group waiting to go out
Setting up for turn seven
Second session coming down the back straight (turn seven)
Second session catching up to Camaro
Turn eleven on the next lap (just got past the spun Camaro)
Signing off for now!
-Jeff
[this is good]
Tell us about your post-DEI passage contol on I-80? :)
Posted by: D Watts | 05/09/2008 at 04:16 PM
I don't think Jeff wants to talk about that. But, I'll blog it in a bit.
Posted by: Loren | 05/09/2008 at 05:00 PM