Went down to Buttonwillow on Friday (May 6). Speed Ventures put it on, and they had 70 drivers show up. The weather gods smiled, making it sunny with few clouds, sandwiched inbetween two storms. It really rained the day before, got some flooding in Bakersfield. But we got a beautiful day -- about 70 deg.

It was the full track with bus stop (config #1), CW. Aaron B opted for 4 run groups -- rather than the three he was hoping to do. So track time immediately got reduced for each group. Then the 8:00 AM drivers meeting didn't happen until about 9:00, so we were burning daylight. But the big time sink turned out to be the track, or rather the dirt / grass areas next to the track. All the rain had made the non-asphalt parts very muddy. Any car that went off course most likely could not get back on by itself -- even some all-wheel-drive cars couldn't maneuver in that slippery goo.

In spite of admonitions in the drivers' meeting to stay on the track, people left it with regularity. If a car went off track, it sat there until the end of the session. Then, after every session, we'd sit and wait for 10 - 15 minutes while the tow truck rescued the stranded vehicles. Cars without tow hooks made it worse, as the tow folks tried to figure out where to grab the cars. And the drivers had no clue. (People were told in the drivers' meeting to put tow hooks on, or know where their car could be safely hooked, but who pays attention?) Fortunately there were no incidents of two cars going off in the same place during the same session.

People were also told to put numbers on their cars. They could even pick one at random if they hadn't signed up for one.

And they were instructed in the passing rules for each group. I started out in Blue, where you can pass anywhere on the track, but you must get a point-by. So what happens? No fewer than 3 cars passed me without a point-by, during the first lap or so of a session while I'm warming up the RA1's.

One in particular really frosted me. Coming up on Sunset (the left-hander onto the S/F straight), Some bozo in a white Mitsubishi with no number came around me on the left and dove into the apex of the turn, with me just slightly ahead of him. If I hadn't been watching my mirrors, I would have apexed right into him. His speed and lousy line were such that he almost left the track coming out of the turn. I really wish he had.

I reported him, but don't know if anybody ever did anything about it.

Bozos aside, I had a great day. I stiffened up the sway bar one notch, and the car felt very sure-footed. Much better than at Infineon a month ago. Two other S2K's were there. Met a nice lady in a black '02, said she goes by s2kredhead. Also met Nobody, with another black stook, but this one loaded for bear -- supercharger, bad-ass wing, and who knows what else. He was running the same wheels and tires as me, but had the 275's on the back, where I have the 255's. He was also turning laps about 10 sec faster than me, so very impressive. My best was a 2:20.

I'm going to try to make the Roval later this month. That looks like a lot of fun.

 

Hey Stuart, the guy in the white Evo wasn't by chance wearing a big-a$$ hat in between sessions, was he? If so, I know exactly who that was. Sorry about all the dumbasses; folks like that definitely ruin it for everyone else.

I'm sure Aaron spoke to them, but they often pay no attention. The was a guy in a GT3 last time there, that Aaron repeatedly asked to vacate the red group as he was holding everyone up and not allowing people past him. Run after run, he'd head out with the red insisting he belonged there.

The thing with the tow-hooks is inexcusable on a muddy day. The selfishness of some folks is amazing.

I know that Aaron does his best to tell folks what's what, but he's in the unenviable position of having to discipline his paying customers. While he absolutely will not tolerate blatantly unsafe behavior, he sometimes is a bit soft on cautioning the inconsiderate. It's a very fine line he has to walk.

You guys were clockwise, yes? I'll bet at least a third of the offs were at Star Mazda... tricky turn in that config, with all the speed you can pick up coming down lost hill and into that nice little straight before it.

Glad you had fun anyway. If you let the jerks ruin your day, it's much worse.

See you on the Roval.

btw: Kathy (S2kredhead) never shows anymore up when the rest of us are gonna be there. I wonder if she's trying to tell us something.

 

Hey Stuart! It sure was weird seeing the car I was driving in next to me on a trailer in the dusky hours of the morning. If you sandblasted your rims and hit 'em with Krylon we'd have identical "Evil Twin" cars.

The first session was hell for me. The dampness of the track was camoflauged by the 8 different pavement shades at BW and I was sliding all over the place even when I was being cautious. How anyone managed a 2:10 with water on the track (all through the esses, at the apex of Riverside, etc.) is beyond me. I suppose having tread would have helped, as would familiarity with the configuration.

In any case, there were a lot of spin-offs and several frustrating delays as the single 20 year old tow truck attempted to get the cars out of the mud. Off-track incidents and point-by's were inversely proportional to run group. I went as a passenger with a very competent (but cautious) driver in Yellow and you'd have think the other drivers on the track were 16 and had just finished watching The Fast and The Furious. (Speedventures isn't advertising in Super Street now, are they?) I was seriously expecting a Darwin award to be given out by the end of the day.

 

Perhaps this was the mud splattered Evo you speak of?



Though I appreciate the way Aaron conducts the SV drivers meetings, there are a lot of people who DO need to be lectured in the morning, reprimanded after each session or sent home.

There's absolutely no reason why someone should go off in Yellow. Too many of 'em suffered from 'beginner's ego' and didn't understand that their objective should have been to learn the track and get comfortable with their car. As a passenger the yellow run group I saw four cars I saw that had gone off....one before the esses and three! over lost hill--the latter guy lost control UNDER A CAUTION FLAG and almost hit the Z that had spun there. The driver of the Z had gotten out of his car.....!

 

Evil Twin -- I like that.

I don't know my Mitsu's all that well, but I'm not sure it was an Evo. Also, this car has a number. Of course, maybe this car had a number on the left side only.

 

Not to be prejudice, but it seems like a lot of the Evo's I happen to encounter on the trap have a huge chip on their shoulder. They seem to have this impression that they own the track and that their cars are the fastest thing on the track.

 

No kidding. There always seems to be one EVO that crashes or has to be towed out at every event.

I love the car, but alot of the owners don't really know how to drive the car.

 

AWD + Turbo + Electronic goodies that aid for traction = Fast for noobs

The car basically drives by itself

 

I drove Bitterman's Evo in the rain at Streets, and the bloody car didn't even know it was raining.

The car is really easy to drive, but I like the feel of the S2k much better. The Evo still felt like a souped up econobox. (which is exactly what it is)

 

Evo drivers are incredibly considerate when compared to STi drivers.