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| Home > Speed > Stories > Mosport 2004 |
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3rd time's the charm - Mosport Year 3
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So here it is, my third time in three years at Mosport International Raceway for
the annual PCA Club Race. To say I've had a bit of bad luck is an
understatement. The typical pattern is to start off the weekend on a high note
with a great test & tune day, ending in a death spiral. |
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#88 at rest in the fog |
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Mosport is one of North America's great tracks, with high speed sweepers, downhill off-camber turns and blind corners, very technical and fast, a real racer's track. I love driving there. |
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Year one found me with a huge vibration in the car on left turns. Especially
including turn 2, the scary fast downhill double apex sweeper that has
collected many a driver in the close by tire walls. Discretion overcame valor
and an early departure was made. |
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Number of race laps: 0.
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Year two was a variation on the theme: Great test & tune day followed by a quick
descent into the "Alpine Mosport Experience". A transmission main seal blew,
leaving its contents of Swepco fluid on the paddock ground. A promised
replacement seal didn't materialize, but only after we removed the engine and
tranny at the track. Once again, we were southbound to the U.S. on Saturday
morning. |
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Number of race laps: 0. |
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A couple weeks earlier, I did a race weekend in the GTS Challenge series at
Summit Point. No problems with the car, except for finding another cracked
Fuchs. I finished 2nd in both races with the car feeling strong. So I was
looking forward to a good weekend in Canada. |
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Fellow Team ECI member Mark Weining and his wife Karin were also making the trip
this year. This would be Mark's first visit to Mosport. Mosport is fast and
technical, so to do well in the race, Mark wanted to do the pricey test & tune
day. Which was fine with me. I had taken a week of vacation for this. The goal
was a nice non-stressful time away from my new job. A few days of some hot
lapping, some close racing and kicking back in the paddock with friends. |
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Yellow Sprint Group taking the Green |
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Yeah right.
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Next year I'm going to Cancun and drink fruity rum drinks. And if I pause just
before leaving for the airport, open my BBQ grill, deposit a couple of thousand
dollars in cash and light it... well, I'll still have a better and cheaper
vacation than Mosport. |
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Unlike last year, the trip to Canada was uneventful, with no new additions to my
driver's license point total. Though I should have had an inkling of what was to
come. Exiting from our lunch stop in upper New York, I noticed my trailer's
side door hinge had detached from the door and the door was loose. The bolts
had vibrated out and were missing. Luckily some spare bolts were found in my
junk can and we were quickly back on our way. |
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It was only 6pm when we arrived in Bowmanville, Ontario. So I headed for the
track where we could setup and drop the trailers. The track was still open and
I headed for the same spot in the paddock I've used the last 2 years. It's a
nice location, good view of turns one and two, electricity, grass under the
canopy and the rest room only 50 feet away. |
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Mark however wasn't convinced. For the next 20 minutes as I was dropping my
trailer and getting settled in, I'd glance up and spot Mark circling the
paddock and eventually come to rest next to my spot. "Mark you okay with the
location? I'm not done yet. I could go somewhere else if you want." "No, it's
fine." he'd say, but then he'd get that uneasy look in his eyes and 5 minutes
later he'd be circling the paddock again. |
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I can't fault Mark for this. It proved to be a popular activity. Time and time
again, we'd watch as folks arrive and circle the paddock, stopping and then
resuming their paddock lapping. The folks across from us, finally settled in
after a half hour of lapping. They next proceeded to rope off a large area with
caution tape. This proved for naught as their friends arrived the next day and
disapproved of their choice. They pulled up their camp and together started a
new lap of the paddock, finally ending up 50 feet from their previous spot. It
must be when Americans get North of the border they get disorientated.
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See, the car actually was on the track
. Mark W is coming up behind |
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All in all, Thursday the test day, wasn't too bad. Just some minor things, like
cracking another Fuchs wheel. That makes 3 in 3 race weekends so far. The long
term trend doesn't look good. But on the bright side, I'm running out of wheels
to crack. I had another set of Fuchs, but they had sticker Michelins on them
and I wasn't going to waste them on testing and practice. I was saving them for
qualifying and the races. That meant a set of skinny 205 7inch wheels all
around for the rest of the weekend. |
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Later in the day I got black flagged and could honestly say, the thought of last
year's black flag (and start of the death spiral) never crossed my mind.
Instead it was the typical racer's indignation: Why are you picking on me! I
didn't do anything! I was just drafting! really! |
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This time it was for some oil leaking from the back of my car. Nothing much, but
it was spreading onto the muffler and smoking and they called me in. I had
been battling a small oil leak for some time now. No surprise, it's a 911,
don't they all do that? |
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Earlier this month, I had found a crack in my oil breather hose and fixed that.
Returning from Summit Point a few weeks ago, there was a small spot of oil in my
trailer under the car. My mechanic didn't see anything obvious and guessed
that it was the "S" oil hose from the tank. "They harden with age and the
clamps just won't stay tight. Let's replace it after your race. You should be
good for this weekend." |
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Back in the paddock and under the car. Yep, looks like it's seeping at the
clamp. And the clamp was loose - it had been tightened in the pre-race
inspection. I tightened it and reminded myself to keep an eye on it. Later in
the day I checked and oil was still seeping and spreading all over the rear
part of the car. I added another clamp to the 1st one and cleaned up the car.
After another short run session, the rear of the car was clean and oil free.
With the skinny tires on the rear, the car was over steering a bit, but we
survived and were ready to start the official race weekend.
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But all my problems have been solved and I'm ready for tomorrow, That's an huge improvement over the previous years. |
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Home > Speed > Stories
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with sympathy, or money. Trophy girls also accepted.
(c) 2004 Cris Brady - All Rights Reserved |
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