Hi All - my name is Keith Joslyn and I'm new to FF. Well, kind of new, in the late 80's I ran a CFF for two seasons until I ran out of budget. I'm back in a 98 VanDiemen that I purchased from David James (a heck of a nice guy) and this weekend I got to try the car out at the Glen for a one day regional. I'm coming from a couple of years in F500 so speeds and lap times are about the same and I'm really excited and looking forward to next year running a few majors and maybe a pro race or two.
The car easily ran a 2:06 qualifying and for my first time out I was quite happy with that. I need to work on the shifter position a little for my long arms and that does not look like an easy task. I was looking forward to dropping a second or two in the race but mother nature and the IT run group before us did not cooperate. It was lightly drizzling while on grid and the course officials said to look out for debris in the carosel. The drizzle stopped by the time we took the track. It was only Dr. David James and I, and a handful of V's so it was a great opportunity to get comfortable in the car without a lot of traffic. The green flew and David jumped me at the start. He lead up the back straight into the bus stop where I had a big wiggle and recovered just in time to watched him spin in front of me just entering the carosel. OK, I tell myself, no need to have two cars to repair this winter (I crashed the F500 pretty good at the Runoffs) so take it easy. The track dried by the end of the race, but I was treading lightly in the carosel and there was V traffic which kept me from improving my lap times, but I did squeeze out another 2:06 so I'm confident with a little better conditions and a some adjustments to the sway bars I'll be able to get to a decent time.
The FF is truly a work of art compared to the F5. I'm a little afraid of all the adjustments it has - but I'm looking forward to the challenge of learning more.
Keith