After practice (11 laps) I report back to Greg. He says all
the cars are reporting back a loose condition, so they are going to do a
cross-weight adjustment on all the cars.
In Pro 4 Modified, there are two classes. The main class is
allowed modified versions of the 4 cylinder engine found in all the Pro 4s.
They also have coil over shocks and use a cut slick tire which, although isn’t ideal for grip, I suspect it is very good for balance and gearing with these
low powered cars.
The second class, and the one I am in today, uses a standard
engine and a standard shock/spring (including leaf springs on the rear!) package
as well as big wide slick tyres. Because the spring and shocks are stock items,
the only way to adjust cross-weight would be to space the spring (Not an easy
processes) or, as Greg does, adjust the tyre pressures on opposite corners of the car.
We miss the second practice, hoping that the track will
rubber in, the weepers will dry out and the whole place will be more like a
race track by third practice. At third practice I roll onto the track, the
green flag waves, I floor the gas and watch as my left front wheel starts to
depart from my race car. I hit the brakes as the wheel continues on its
merry little adventure, oblivious to the yellow that is now waving. It tries to
follow the banking but eventually decides it has had enough and ambles back to
the infield. “You appear to have yourself a lugnut issue!” Explains the man
with the tow truck as he arrives to move my stricken race car back to the pits.
“Indeed.” I replied.
“Did anyone get the times?” Greg says back in the pits.
“Kelvin did the fastest half a lap I have ever seen!” He jokes, “Well you told
me to driver the wheels off it.” I retorted. We examined the hub, there was
minimal damage. The wheel bolted back up ok and we were ready for qualifying.
It occurred to me, as I was strapped in, waiting with the
qualifying line-up, that I hadn’t actually asked anyone what the qualifying
procedure was. As a direct result of not asking anyone, no-one had told me and,
therefore, I did not know. I made the assumption that it would be like the old
NASCAR qualifying; out lap, two greens, slow down, then in. I think this was
right. It is what I did anyway and nobody told me otherwise.
The car was still loose as hell. I could just hang on to it.
I know its two laps on cold tyres but still.
Back in the pits Greg has another look around the car. He
finds a bent right rear shock absorber. You can hardly see the bend but the
shock won’t compress. He bolts on a replacement and we are ready for heat one.
I line up 4th for heat one and figure I am just
going to lunch the car into turn one and hope it sticks like I would expect. If
it doesn’t, then I am on the outside of the race track so, when I spin, it
shouldn’t affect everyone else.
I drive it in and sure enough, it drives like it should, a
little loose but much better than before. In a few laps I have driven around
the other three cars and am leading. I now want to go back to seeing how much
speed I can carry on a tighter line. The answer comes with another spin. Not that
much it seems.
The problem with low powered cars is that momentum is
everything. You need to carry as much speed through the turn with the minimum
amount of sliding, steering lock, brake or anything else that will slow the car
down. But this is also part of the fun. It requires really precise lines and
allows you the time to see the differences and consequences of car position. It
gives you the time to really look at these situations. Time which you don’t
have in faster cars. In fast cars you have to do these things on instinct or
because you KNOW they work.
So I go to the back for causing the yellow. I start looking
at different ways of getting around the race track. I pass a few cars and
decide that the best line is early into turn one and two, and then late into
turn three and four. This is because the backstretch opens out much more than
the front stretch despite my findings, I am unable to catch the lead group. In
fact, I am watching them get away. I start moving braking and throttle-on zones
around. Braking hard and late puts the car sideways. Earlier and less seems to
be the way to go. I find I can mash the gas pretty hard without upsetting the car.
The race ends, I finish 4th. (see the video here)
Next up is the Trophy Dash. A Trophy Dash, I found out as I drove around,
is when a group of cars get put into a four lap death or glory race to the
flag. The winner gets a pot.
I don’t know how the cars are selected but I guessed we were
picked for being slow. There were four of us and I was on the pole. My intention
was to come to the flag slow and floor it just before the green dropped. A good
and cunning plan, but the car couldn’t pick up from as slow as I wanted to go.
The outside car got a good run off of turn four and I was quickly dropped back
to last.
***All the crap you see written here is Kelvin's opinion and not that of his associates, race team or marketing partners.***
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