Well, it's been a difficult race season, with the majority of races getting cancelled. I washable to get one last race weekend in at Watkins Glen this past weekend. It was with the Vintage Racers Group (VRG) and the Historic Racers Group (HRG). It was not optimum racing weather in upstate NY in October. It was cold and rainy at times, and then just plain cold. One morning there was frost and the temperature at the track was 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Had some electrical problems early, the car was running on 7 cylinders, and finally got that straightened out by switching some plug wires.
Had difficulty all weekend adjusting tire pressures to get good grip as the temperatures varied between the 30's and high forties with an occasional 50 degree burst. Let me tell you, running at 125 mph in an open car with just a small windscreen when the temps are in the forties is a little on the chilly side. Probably should have blocked off some of the radiator as well, as I could get the temps up on the grid, but they fell a lot on the track at speed, which had a negative impact on teeing performance.
In the feature race on Sunday, which was a memorial race for one of the SCCA Stewards who was integral in getting our small vintage racing group going (HRG) and had passed away earlier this year, I finished 7th overall and 5th in group. It was a nice clean race, which he would have ben proud of, as he would take you aside and have a discussion about any aggressive racing.
Our group ran pretty well, most cars the did not finish a race broke down without leaving
oil or parts all over the track. Unfortunately that could not be said for some fo the other groups. We went out after a group of Formula Fords that had left
oil all over the track and there was only one small lane at times that was not covered in speedi dry, which is slick as hell when it is just above freezing and the track was already wet to begin with.
Here is a video from one race, you may want to lower the volume as in addition to the wind noise from the car, there was a cross wind as well. During the feature race on Sunday we were battling a 20 mph wind in addition to 45 agree weather.
https://youtu.be/_3aDBqlDuOo
Time to start winterizing the car and planning for off season prep.
Jim
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Last race of the year at Watkins Glen
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