[Dallas/College Station]Texas World Speedway with The Drivers Edge Dec 9th & 10th

[RichS]

I just got a notification that there is space open in all groups!

http://www.thedriversedge.net/02_tracks.htm

I'm expecting XTN, CodyMac and Roger to be there!

I think Matt White has already said he'll be there.

I've got a room at the Manor House Inn for Friday and Saturday night.

If I'm lucky I'll have my Track Pack installed by then which I've heard is good for at least 30 seconds a lap.

Anyone interested in driving up together (from Austin) on the 8th?

[mattwhite]

I'm in. Reserved a room at the Courtyard Marriott near Rock Prairie.

[xtn]

Ill have to check with the wife tomorrow night.

xtn

PS - Roger told me he doesn't read elisetalk very often. Do you keep in touch with him some other way?

[RichS]

I just left a message with Roger. Hopefully he'll be able to go.

I'm thinking that a track weekend is a great Christmas present for you from your wife XTN.

[FlyLo]

I'm running with the TWS Motorsports Club this weekend. Out of town for the DriversEdge event.

[RichS]

Just spoke to Roger. He's going to check it out.

He might end up surprising us when he gets there.

[RichS]

It's just a week away....

Who is going other than Matt?

Cody? Roger? XTN?

[codymac]

Originally Posted by RichS

It's just a week away....

Who is going other than Matt?

Cody? Roger? XTN?

I'm saving my money for some HYIP investments.

[xtn]

Unable. DANGIT! Due to having spent too much time on elisetalk.com and therefor getting behind with my work.

I soooooo much wanted the YouThreeTroubleMakers club to unite in magnificent glory once again.

Rich, if you want to get faster, just imagine me on your tail!

xtn

[JeffersonRaley]

I'll be there. I guess that means I should book a hotel...

[RichS]

I kind of screwed up and thought that College Station was near Dallas.

I have to be in San Francisco on the 11th, so I booked flights out of Dallas instead of Austin.

D'oh!

Just changed my flights so that I can be back in Austin to fly out to SF.

Jefferson, did you want to play follow the leader (or more likely, lead the follower) on the way out? I'll be leaving on Friday early enough to catch the Friday night meeting.

[YAUDI]

How did this event go? Man I miss the track...

[RichS]

It was really great!

Here's my (long) story:

I got lucky as hell and landed with Jefferson as my instructor. Of everyone that I've had in the right seat so far (and this includes folks from the Lotus factory) Jefferson did the most for me. Jefferson is an awesome instructor.

The track configuration was pretty cool with the high banking (not that I really used it, it was faster down low) and turn 7 was a lot of fun.

The first day I started out in Green (this was my first Driver's Edge event) and truthfully it was a little slow... The first session there was no passing and everyone was driving pretty cautiously.

The second session was even more annoying than the first as there were folks who must have been pretty nervous now that passing had been introduced. At one point I actually almost coasted past someone in a corner they were going so slow.

The third session I put myself at the very front of the grid and managed to get a clean lap which was nice. There were a couple of breaks in traffic later in the session which enable me to get some clean time to work on my line. By the end of the third session Jefferson decided to move me up to Blue.

I did the last session of the day in Blue which was a LOT better than Green. Folks actually gave passing signals (although there were a few that let a lap go by before they gave them) and it was much easier to develop some technique and get a feel for the car. It's very hard to develop the correct line and technique when you are going 40 MPH around the track (and there were some folks doing that in some sections of the track in Green).

Day two was more 'eventful' as the track was wet.

The first session was spent trying to find where the grip was on the track.

The second session was actually the best session of the day for me. While the track was still wet, the line had started to dry out which made for an interesting session as you could drive the correct line while also learning the limits of the car pretty easily as the wet track reduced the speeds. I also remembered to turn on my camera for this session and managed to get some good video of an NSX giving it too much gas and going for trip off track near the tire walls. Everything must have gone well during this session because Jefferson said I was ready to solo although I never ended taking him up on it (I really felt like he was still helping me and the extra weight in the car wasn't really going to make a difference as we were driving slowly because of the wet track).

The third session was my turn to spin. The track was drying out enough that I thought I could push it a little more. Coming out of 7 I got on the gas a little too early and got the rear end lose. As it started to come around I eased off the throttle, but the car was too far gone and Jefferson and I became passengers. We slid a few miles backwards through the grass and mud (at least if felt like that) and managed to get more mud on the inside of the windshield than the outside. After coming in for the black flag there really wasn't much left of the session. The worst part of this session: I didn't have the camera on so I didn't get any video of the spin!

The track was really drying out by this point and I was looking forward to my last session of the weekend. Then it started to mist. Then it started to rain. Then it started to rain hard. Then it POURED for a minute and went back to rain... Needless to say there was standing water all over the track and any grip that had appeared during the third session was totally gone. After my spin from the last session and with so much water on the track I was driving much more cautiously and ended up giving quite a few passing signals.

During the weekend I also drove the slalom course with Scott (who had never driven an Elise or Exige before). That was quite fun. My last run was faster than my earlier runs and I thought I must have knocked down half the cones. At the end of the run I looked down the line and they were all standing!

There were some unfortunate things to happen during the weekend. More than one car left on a flatbed (some mechanical errors, other driver errors). Fortunately there was no car to car contact (at least that I heard about) during the weekend which was pretty good considering how slippery the track was.

[xtn]

Wow Rich I'm jealous. Really wish I could have made it. I don't think I've ever really had a whole conversation with Jefferson, but he must be really cool. He gave my wife a ride for one session at MSR last month and she came away really excited! Did he rub your knees too?

Sounds like a great time! I agree with you that it got a lot more fun in Blue. I guess green will always be full of trains. I think that's just the nature of things. TDE really does a good job of training, but there's going to be that learning curve that really takes longer than you think. I remember before my first track weekend I thought I knew all about it. I had read the books, after all, and I had done autox. I soon realized that there are a lot of beginner habits that have to be instilled in everybody, and it doesn't all happen in one or two sessions. It took me a while to get the comfort level up, and get my eyes up and out to take in the big picture (flag stations, other traffic, etc.) instead of just the patch of asphalt right in front of me. I'm glad to be in Blue now, but I wouldn't take back the time in Green. I think those trains are an essential progression tool.

Hope I can get Jefferson as an instructor next time! Can't be letting you get more skill than me!

xtn

[TTP]

Originally Posted by YAUDI

How did this event go? Man I miss the track...

I must say the RA-1s are awesome! They are so consistent and running the same set up as you gives the car much more grip. They are FANTASTIC. I got down to 2:00.xx in my 2nd session and the track was still pretty cold in the upper 40s.

There's definitely more time to be shaved and sub 2mins was realistic in my fourth session on day 1, but I didn't get chance do so due to my tranny/clutch issue. Initial diagnosis seems to be a release bearing failure. It's at Autostrada right now. We (Tony, Matt W, Dat, I) trailered my car back to Austin Sat night. We have a great group of friends!

Matt W was flying as well on the same set up and he managed conistent 2:00.xx times as well as sub 2 times. I'm sure he'll post the vids soon.

How is HK? How are the massages?

[RichS]

Originally Posted by xtn

Did he rub your knees too?

No knee rubbing. Does that cost extra?

[JeffersonRaley]

You mean that wasn't your knee I was rubbing?

I uploaded video to google here

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...86526141&hl=en

It is from the second session on Sat when David Ball and I were playing. Unfortunately I had camera problems (dead batt) and this is the only video I got all weekend. Otherwise I could have made an awesome compilation of high speed spin videos! I managed to spin exiting 7, in the 5/6 complex and under braking in 3. All were evil high speed snaps in the wet that would make fun video.

Also - once RichS's car felt great with the firmed up track pack suspension. Between that and following Ball with his tricky Ohlins, I am more tempted than ever to take the plunge. Those would be great to have in the high speed transition corners. Especially compared to the worns shocks I have on now. It wasn't as noticeable at MSR, but TWS has enough rough spots that you can really feel how many miles they have.

[xtn]

Jefferson the next TDE I sign up for at MSR, probably in the Springtime... is there any way I can specifically request you as my instructor? Well, they've already soloed me, but I mean can I get your services for a few sessions anyway?

xtn

[cosmosm3]

Originally Posted by xtn

Jefferson the next TDE I sign up for at MSR, probably in the Springtime... is there any way I can specifically request you as my instructor? Well, they've already soloed me, but I mean can I get your services for a few sessions anyway?

xtn

That depends...what kind of "services" will you offer him for a few "sessions"? jk...

Dat
Hook 'Em!

[xtn]

Originally Posted by cosmosm3

That depends...what kind of "services" will you offer him for a few "sessions"? jk...

Dat
Hook 'Em!

He's already had my wife for a session.

xtn