Anyone going to Road Atlanta

[LFC]

Might as well keep the ball rolling.
Cape Motorsports: 2
Jordan Taylor
Jared Beyer

[RussMcB]

Preregistered: http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.c...25EB9E5DCC3879

[glenn cooper]

and if I have to pop for Russ's entry I guess I'm on board for that as well.

Russ, I'll just need you to fill out this little Power of Attorney form, it's really only a small-ish technicality. Say, is your home paid off?

GC

[Brands]

I had planned on being there but I want (need!) to keep some $$ under the bed for now. I don't usually like going to races when I'm not competing but I'll probably pop in on the Friday.

[RussMcB]

I know what you mean, Ben. I have no business spending money on racing, but my car's in good shape and the track is an hour away. It's very tempting.

Hey, does that mean you have a national license now? Good deal.

Glenn, thanks for the offer, but I couldn't accept (especially after reading the fine print. :-).

I drove my race car in an autocross yesterday - a mini shake down test. It went well. I discovered 2-3 minor problems, which was good. It's much nicer fixing problems leisurely at my convenience rather than at the track in between sessions. It was good to discover the engine feels strong and healthy.

I'll know better next week if I'm in for sure. I think I could do the race for about $350 if nothing goes wrong. That doesn't sound too painful. I'm dreading seeing my lap times compared to FB front runners (and FC, FE, FM, etc.). I have a feeling that is going to be depressing. I will be prepared with a long list of valid excuses, though (with wimp driver at the top).

[Richard Dziak]

Russ, racing is not always about winning. It's having a good time doing what you're doing. There are many men out there that would love to have a race car like yours. Just go out and have a good time. If we all got paid big bucks to do this, and had numerous sponsors most of us could afford to race more, but in the present economy, $$$$ seem tight to everyone.

Just remember even in Indy Car & F1 and at the Indy 500 someone always finishes first and someone always finishes last. The main thing is to finish the race.

Go have a good time.

[jerry freeman]

Russ,

If you start to feel depressed about your lap times just go to mylaps and look at my times from the regional. You'll think your driving a F1 car compared to my car.

Jerry

[Mike B]

Any news from the test day? What about FC?

[RussMcB]

My test day went well for a while, then we had a problem with the dry sump scavenge pump. We were not able to fix it, so I'm done for the weekend. Luckily we caught it early, so didn't hurt anything. Basically, the bottom of the crankcase started filling with oil and we noticed a power drop. We took out the scavenge pump but couldn't find a problem. I'm going to take the car home and troubleshoot it there. There was a chance I could solve the problem at the track, but didn't want to risk it.

That wss a disappointment, but prior to that the car was going great. I drove it, then Keith Roberts hopped in for a while. It sounded great and looked good through the fast turns leading onto and off the front straight at Road Atlanta. Keith is a great driver and I got some very good feedback about the car. It should be even faster next time out.

Glenn Cooper is here testing. He seems to be going well. No other FB cars on track yet. Sorry, don't know any FC news. Saw Charles Schaffer's sharp car. Weather is great. Trans Am cars are here. They aren't like the series of old, but it's a decent field with a few nice Jaguars, Corvettes, etc.

[Jnovak]

Russ, what dry sump system are you using?

Thanks ... Jay

[LFC]

Jordan Taylor & Jared Beyer both did the friday test day, both said there was so much traffic they never got anywhere near a clear lap. Jordan lapping in the mid 24's and Jared in the 30's Jared having never been there before. Glenn Cooper lapping in the 26's, so its hard to say where everyones at until the groups spread out, should be interesting.

[LFC]

Unofficial:
Jordan Taylor RFR 009: 1.23.2
Glenn Cooper VD RF98: 1.23.7

[cooleyjb]

Fun meeting some of the people in the paddock yesterday. Brian Belardi and Liberty Motorsports (who had one heck of a northern contingent), Glenn Cooper, Chas, the group at Inspire.

Nice Q-time Glenn.

Sorta weird going into a paddock at Road Atlanta and seeing what seemed like half the open wheel guys being from where I just moved from back in WI.

Good luck to everyone this weekend. Hope the track is a bit emptier now that testing is over. It was insane how many open/sports racer cars were on the track yesterday.

[LFC]

Unofficial:
Glenn Cooper VD RF98 1:22:5
Jordan Taylor RFR 009 1:22:8
Jared Beyer VD 281 1:29:0

Should be a close race.

[Ivinsea]

Amazing!

How can a 10 year old design be as quick or quicker than a brand new one?

I am sure there is more to be learned about the new chassis as well as future development, but I would have thought the new design would be a significant step forward.

[Lee Stohr]

http://www.mylaps.com/results/showru...688&perclass=1

Glenn Cooper 1:22.3
Jordan Taylor 1:22.8

Good job Coop ! Keep that old car of yours in front tomorrow !

[ghickman]

Amazing!

How can a 10 year old design be as quick or quicker than a brand new one?

I am sure there is more to be learned about the new chassis as well as future development, but I would have thought the new design would be a significant step forward.

Just because it's a 10 year old chassis doesn't make it less competitive. This vintage of Van Diemen is an excellent platform to work with. It's highly developed in all areas....Couple this with Jay Novak's conversion and you've got a winner. Coop's also clearly a very good driver. As time goes on I believe that the purpose built cars will have a slight edge over a well built light weight conversion IMO.

GH

[Purple Frog]

I've been hanging around Road Atlanta since it opened. Unless you've been to Road Atlanta, it might be hard to grasp the meaning of those numbers.

Low 22s in a small bore formula car is almost unbelievable. That is really hauling the mail. I'm sure I'm not the only one in awe. And, this class is really still young...

[Lee Stohr]

The fastest qualifying times at Road Atlanta were set last year for F1000, Justin Pritchard in the Piper did a 1:21.2. Fastest DSR time was 1:17.8, Jean Luc in a Stohr (of course Race lap records are a few tenths slower.

[Matt King]

http://www.atlantascca.org/documents...-3-10-2009.pdf

[Jnovak]

Amazing!

How can a 10 year old design be as quick or quicker than a brand new one?

I am sure there is more to be learned about the new chassis as well as future development, but I would have thought the new design would be a significant step forward.

Good question, the reality is that this particular Van Diemen design is pretty robust. The front structure is extremely rigid & when you couple that with our rear structure (which is stiffer than the original VD rear) you have a very solid chassis structure to work with. Additionally we really worked hard on modifications to improve the rear suspension geometry. While our kit uses the stock control arms the geometry has had MANY modifications to improve it. Take a close look at Glenn's car & you can visually see the differences. We also modified the rocker geometry to make it better. Again the rockers are stock but the placement of the rockers & the shocks has allowed us to make the rocker geometry much more robust.

And of course, it does not hurt to have Coop in the car!

Hopefully we will have some new updates available for the ARRC to make this car even better.

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[Nicholas Belling]

I heard the RFR 009 was dealing with clutch issues during qualifying and had to retire from the race after half a lap into the start of the race with a clutch failure.

[VehDyn]

Looks like Coop may have had a problem as well.

http://www.mylaps.com/results/showru...861&perclass=1

[RussMcB]

I haven't heard anything. The lap chart might indicate an incident with the front running FA (& FB?) cars at the beginning of the race.

http://mylaps.com/results/showlapcha...861&perclass=0

[JByers]

Russ,
You are right about the first lap, I got into Keith under braking going into 10a which caused us to spin into the dirt at exit. This caused the rest of the field to stack up under a waving yellow where Glen sustained damage and could not continue.

Apologies to Keith & Coop,

Jason

[LFC]

It seems everyone broke, the clutch went at the start on Jordan RFR, not sure what happened to Glenn, and Jared completed only 13 laps.

[glenn cooper]

Well I learned a pretty valuable lesson. Just cause my car can hang in the draft of a pair of FA's down the backstraight at Rd Atl, does not neccessarilly mean I can decelerate as quickly as one of them!

We got down into the braking zone for T10 and there were all sorts of yellows waving for the pair of spun FA's. Unfortunately I was pretty tucked under the wing of the Ralt of Burke and couldn't see the full picture. By the time I got to the brake, it was apparent I was gonna pack into them, so I spun it around (or maybe it started to come around on it's own). I ended up in the grass, backwards, drivers right, and just barely smacked the wall with the left front wing, which caused some nose mounts to break off. No continuing with those bits half attached...

I will say it was great to paddock directly across from the St Clair squad w/ FA pilots Jason Byers and Lewis Cooper Jr. Got to know crew guy Jose pretty well, too. Good folks there 4 sure.

I had my Hero cam up and running for the first time ever. Of course I had to enlist the aid of a 20something to do the install honors. I read the instructions, but still could not fully grasp what was being explained. I don't mention this to slight Go Pro/Hero in any way, no sir, merely to point out that it's quite possible that I am too old to be playin' w/ 'lectronical stuff ...

I am very impressed with the quality of the finished product. It worked perfectly, first time. Go Go Pro!

Hopefully I'll have the complete 56 seconds up here soon. I may have to get one of the neighbor kids to show me how, but by God, I'm gonna do it.

See ya'll at VIR in a few weeks.

Say, are you guys up north racin' yet? D'Oh!!

GC

[Mike B]

Say, are you guys up north racin' yet? D'Oh!!

GC

Just vicariously...

Soon, Coop. Soon.

[RussMcB]

Pics.

[glenn cooper]

On the test day as I was getting on track from the hot pits, I saw a flash of green in my mirror. As I started up the hill, I realized that yes, it WAS the McBride F-thou, and it was (Southernism in 3-2-1 seconds) "Gittin' it". Absolutely railing up the hill outa T1.
It made me happy. This was a long time coming, and I couldn't wait to finish the session and head over to talk w/ Russ. After about 4 laps, I was on him, actually Keith Roberts driving, and he pitted. this was when the previously mentioned oil situation occured. Bottom Line? The car was lookin' tiz-ite!
Good on ya, Russ McB.

GC

[RussMcB]

On the test day as I was getting on track from the hot pits, I saw a flash of green in my mirror. As I started up the hill, I realized that yes, it WAS the McBride F-thou, and it was (Southernism in 3-2-1 seconds) "Gittin' it". Absolutely railing up the hill outa T1.
It made me happy. This was a long time coming, and I couldn't wait to finish the session and head over to talk w/ Russ. After about 4 laps, I was on him, actually Keith Roberts driving, and he pitted. this was when the previously mentioned oil situation occured. Bottom Line? The car was lookin' tiz-ite!
Good on ya, Russ McB.

GC

Thanks, Glenn. Your comments are greatly appreciated. My car sure could use some good press regarding its performance.

The first few session on Friday's test day were very encouraging. I drove the car pretty tentatively, just to make sure the new engine and systems were working well. I have done so little driving in recent years that it is going to take me a while to get comfortable at the limits of adhesion again.


I had three notable high points during the weekend:

1. The car felt good to me in the first session. Even shifting at 11,000 RPM it felt great. I really like driving a six speed car.
2. The car looked and sounded great when Keith drove it. He provided great feedback - that the car was good, and we identified some easy changes to make it better, such as camber (and maybe good tires some day).
3. Hearing Glenn express amazement at how well the car was going when he saw it on track. I considering letting him think I was the driver, but Keith was standing there, so I probably could not have gotten away with that. :-).