[Jase007]

whayes:

Nice E30 m3!!!

Wish I was there to check it out.

[arob]

Originally Posted by LPM911

Rob-- Nice pics!!! I like the one of that silver 964 the best

Figured you'd like that one.

[antonioconceicao]

Originally Posted by type954

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=100880

(none of these are me by the way, I just liked the pic of the cars I parked next to)

Hey Jim
great time at SP, thanks for the pic , that 875 was park at t3, he manage to pull out from the gravel thanks to AWD that is a plus when you need it

Antonio

[Cliff Claven]

i wasn't there and didn't see the incident cuz i had left before it happened, and so i'm not making comments on who did what to whom or who was at fault. but regardless i agree entirely with two points, and this applies to everybody, whether you're out of region, or in region, an instructor, a noob, a close friend, somebody i barely know, etc.: (1) when you go two off you should not try to save it and jerk the car back on, especially when the grounds were as wet as they were this weekend, but drive off in a controlled manner; and there were lectures during the meetings all weekend to the effect of "if you go two off do not expect to save it" and "don't try to be heroic" (i think this is verbatim); and (2) if you make a major driving error and end up wrecking someone else's car, you should man up and sincerely clear the air. it's always better to show concern and respect for other people, rather than being demonstratively uncaring, especially when you've caused them major harm through a blunder. sometimes not enough people practice good manners anymore. maybe it's a failure in the schools, or with parents, or with roll models, or society generally, too few people showing or teaching proper manners.

[LPM911]

Originally Posted by Jazzbass

It was very similar to the same situation at the Club Race when Lane got punted by the jackass in the cup car. No apology, no nothing - and we all knew whose fault it was.

The incident in red/black combined sucked. Although I couldn't make out that there were two cars involved at first, I did witness one car spinning in my rearview mirror as I entered T3. I wasn't aware that it was a 2 car incident until we had come in for the black flag. The incident itself just plain sucks.

As Jazz mentioned, I have some experience with this earlier this year when I was hit during the club race enduro co-driving another dorki car. While the physical damage to the car sucks, the part that still burns me the most is the other driver's failure to acknowledge his mistake. Offering to pay for the damages he caused would be above and beyond the call, and not expected at all.

But after the chief steward's ruling him at fault, which he should've already known, it was his complete lack of owning up to his mistake which still pisses me off. A little class would've gone a long way in my book. When the guy that hit me came over, he didn't even stop walking as he shook my hand and only said that he was "sorry that it happened". If had even pretended to give a rats ass about me, the car, and the fact that he rear ended me in T10 I would feel quite a bit less bitter about the situation now.

To give the benefit of the doubt, perhaps the offending driver was still frazzled from the incident himself. Which is completely understandable. I know I was in no mood to talk to the guy that hit me after we got back into the paddock, I still needed some cool off time. And while I'll probably never hear from the driver that hit me again, I hope that everything is made right between the two cars/drivers that had the incident at this DE since the two will very likely see each other at future DEs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that a genuine apology for making a mistake can go a long ways to reduce resentment towards the offending car. I hope that I'm never on the other side of the fence, but if I am, I hope I have the wherewithal to quickly assist the other driver in whatever means possible. I may not have the financial ability to repair their car, but I would like to think that I would offer them my time to help out with DIY repairs.

[michael lang]

Originally Posted by FTS

Whoa! really lucky the car behind you was able to avoid you. Which run group is this Tim?


I hope nothing else happened to anyone else; I left rather early after my session.

well, it really wasn't as close as it appears in the video. luckily he was very far off to the left which gave me plenty of room on the right to get by. i really wasn't worried too much because it looked like he was doing a pretty good job of getting his car stopped as quickly as possibly. thanks for putting that video up though, that was the first time i have seen my line from someone else's video. that was educational.

[94teener]

In the end, I had a great time at the event. A little eventful for me, but thanks to some great people it ended on a really high note going into the winter.

The very first session for me ended after 4 laps or so when I had just made a pass after T9 and going into 10 hit the gas and .... nothing ... just the whistling of the wind in the car. Hit the gas again as I'm starting down the front straight and nothing, no gauges, no engine, nothing ... I go from low horsepower to no horsepower, so I pull over to the left as far as I can and wait. Get a tow back into the pits (sorry about the black flag ), pop the engine lid. Everything looks OK, but no power. Turn the ignition key halfway, and jiggle the positive battery cable and viola, everthing comes to life. Undo the positive battery connector, clean everything, put it back together and I'm in business .... or so it seems.

Second session, my instructor was nowhere to be found, OK I say, it's gonna be one of those weekends. I had him paged twice, still no instructor, I find Dirk and explain my predicament. Blue is out now for 4 or 5 laps and I'm not.
Fortunately, Tony graciously offers to ride with me for the remainder of the session. I get a few laps in and at the end of the session, going through the pit to exit into the paddock, I'm stopped and pointed to park on the right ... what did I do now??? I'm asked, "You wanna go out in green to get some more time?" So they find another instructor for me as I'm sitting there watching the green group go out. Tuffy walks over to my car and says, "OK, let's go!" Tony and Tuffy back to back, I would've really liked this ... but the car had NO GRIP!! I'm really, really slow, drifting, sliding, didn't even feel like it was my car ... great way to show what little driving skill I have to Tony and Tuffy .

Last session of the day, my instructor is finally reunited with me. As I'm going to pick him up, my prescription glasses literally fall apart. C'mon, you gotta be kidding me! I remember that I have a pair of prescription shades in the glove box.. whew. Session starts, the track is pretty wet, and even more treacherous with my lack of tire grip. Not a really great first day. Sunday has gotta be better.

Sunday morning I reduce the tire pressure, instructor is at the designated meeting place. Alright ... we're one a roll! Car feels good again, have some grip, make a couple of passes, playing around with John Fort, keeping the Pfeiffer orange 914 in site ... great. Then as I getting on the gas around 6-7-8-9 the car feels like it's missing, John is waiting for me to pass again, but I've got nothing, car is sputtering, not the battery this time. OK, I guess I broke something in the engine for real. As I pull into my paddock spot, comptemplating my next move I hear shouts "TURN IT OFF!! TURN IT OFF!!" Fuel is dripping, no, pouring out on the ground by the driver's side rar tire. Turns out one of the float pivot screws came undone and created a mileage reducing orafice squirting fuel out as fast as I could feed it with the gas pedal. The tank was full at the beginning of the session, it was half empty by the end of the session. Unknowingly, I was on the way to becoming a human barbeque going down the front straight.


I know this is long winded, and I really don't talk a whole lot, but I just wanted to really thank everyone this weekend and especially Dave Coleman. As I was walking around the paddock saying I needed a screw (yea, that didn't sound too good), Marvin points out Dave to me and says ... that's your man. Dave not only had the part, but ushered me into his '54 Studebaker, took me to his shop, gave me the tour, really good advice (about an hour's worth), drove me back to the track, disassembled my carb, replaced the screw, reassembled and adjusted it. He says "Now you're taken care of". I say, "Now I want to take care of you" (when this all began I asked if he took credit cards. He says "NO, cash only"). So natrually I want to give him compensation for his time and trouble. All he says is "Go have some fun". No really Dave, I want to take care of you for your efforts. " Go have some fun" he says again. I'm really floored and speechless. Stand up guy as far as I'm concerned.

So now I can make the last session. I had told my instructor earlier I was done for the day so I get yet another instructor for the last run ... John ?? can't remember his last name. I tell him what I need to work on T3, T5, shifting. After a few laps he says, I really don't see anything wrong ... just don't tilt your head. I had grip, carrying a lot of momentum, car ran flawlessly, great run for me.

Four instructors, two mechanical failures, almost two mental breakdowns, wrong car setup ... but as someone earlier said, Alls well that ends well.

Sorry this post is so long, but again, just want to give a really BIG THANKS to such a great group of people and again, especially Dave Coleman. See you next season!

[Jase007]

Dave C. is a good guy. Glad you were able to salvage your event and that the "team" pulled together to help fix your problems. In my experience, track people will typically bend over backwards to help get you going again.

[tdatk]

Originally Posted by michael lang

well, it really wasn't as close as it appears in the video. luckily he was very far off to the left which gave me plenty of room on the right to get by. i really wasn't worried too much because it looked like he was doing a pretty good job of getting his car stopped as quickly as possibly. thanks for putting that video up though, that was the first time i have seen my line from someone else's video. that was educational.

Really sorry about that Michael,
After jazz's post on that "2 off" I reviewed the video a few times, and I can see where I could have drove straight off,but I thought I had a chance to carry the corner on pavement until I touched the rumble strip.....then it was an instant spin,both feet in. It felt like shit to bumble right in front of you guy's and I was really happy I didn't pop back out.
We were going back and forth all weekend and that was a lot of fun.I enjoyed it. I have learned alot from that spin, safety wise, and you can be assured I will stay focused and work on "what if" scenarios over the winter.
I owe you a beer, or at least some upholstery cleaning.
Tim

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by whayes

This was my first time with Potomac. Great group and great drivers. Thanks.

Some pics my wife took

(the E30 M3 is mine)

That's me in the black 944 in the later photos. You were flying in that M3. It was a lot of fun giving chase.