Track Day Report: Back to the Ridge July 30
Summary
Date: 7/30/2016
Location:
The Ridge Motorsports Park, Shelton, WA
Group:
Cantrell Motorsport, administered by
The Ridge Racing School
Conditions: Morning: Cool, overcast with slight breeze. Afternoon: Partial to full sun and breezy.
High temps: Morning: Mid 60s. Afternoon: Mid 70s
Fast lap time: 2:10.668
Much cooler than expected, a little breezy in the afternoon. Car ran without a hitch. Very well-run event. Cantrell/Ridge Racing combination works great. One slight off; two wheels in the gravel tossed me to the other shoulder in turn 2. Right rear liner got detached and chewed up; got black flagged; jacked it up, got it off; back out next session. Made some improvements; work still to be done to optimize spots throughout, but entertaining.
Details
I think everybody expected this to be a very warm day, but the weather pattern shifted a little and sent in overcast skies over Shelton. It was a welcome surprise I think for everyone. The wind kicked up a little, which caused some personal heartburn (I explain that at the end of these notes), but it was a fantastic day at the track.
Cantrell days are, in my opinion, among the best from a driving perspective. I like that the other drivers are all very experienced (if not mostly expert) and Colin allows let by with a point anywhere on the track. Most HPDE club events only allow passing on the straights. I prefer unrestricted point by passing because I can let fast cars by under braking, mid-turn, etc. -- losing the least amount of time/momentum.
The A group had some very fast cars including a Radical, an Audi R8, too many turbo Carreras to count, a racing Viper, a new Vette. Very fast. The B group was also fast -- I was definitely the slowest car in the group, although once I got a little rhythm, I was holding my own and had a good amount of open track. It was fun to chase cars. It helped me build speed.
There?s nothing really new to report about the car. There were no real anomalies. I experienced no heating problems. The NT01s lost a little grip late in each afternoon session, but I was pushing the car a little more.
My one observation is that, for me, the car does better with lower tire pressures ? up to point (which I don?t think I have yet hit). My hot pressure target is now 37 lbs. I started the day shooting for about 38 lbs, with the ?cold? pressures set early at 31/30 (left front/right front) and 32/31 (left rear/right rear). However, I found the car to started slide a little mid-turn late is the a.m. sessions, which I did not like. When I came back to pits after my last a.m. session, I dropped the pressures all around to 37 psi. While it?s hard to say exactly why, I did drop about 5 seconds on average in the afternoon compared to the a.m. fastest lap times. I might continue to experiment a little with slightly lower pressures when I come back next month.
My fastest data-logged lap time this visit was 2:10.668. My fast laps in the afternoon were around 2:11 to 2:12. While not exactly fast, that?s at least 5 to 6 seconds faster than my best laps my first visit to The Ridge. I was pretty happy with that. I can tell that there are at least several low-hanging seconds out there, but this car is really only so fast (and I am only so skilled). I figure some time can be shaved by:
- braking later going into turn 1 (see the track map)
- consistently turning in later to turn 2 and holding speed
- getting the turn-in timed correctly at 8a and then standing on it from 8b to braking in 11
I am a little frustrated with turn 6 and have learned about a ?double apex? approach to ?The Carousel.? I?m going to see if I can use that to get through there faster. It?s one place where just about every car just comes up from behind like I?m standing still, but I cannot seem to muster much more than 55-60 mph mid-turn. As I try to get more, the car just pushes on exit and I cannot come close to apex.
A specific lap time (let's say 2:05) is not really my goal in and of itself for me. It just represents a benchmark regarding my process of learning how to optimize my way around a course. What I do notice is that it is a very entertaining process at The Ridge. I never felt that at Pacific Raceways.
I have not been taking photos at track days, mostly because the cars are basically all the same (Porsches, BMWs, the odd Viper or Vette, odds and ends). I'm planning to attend the Club Lotus event in Portland Sept. 2. That track day always has lots of great cars. It front ends a vintage race weekend and an all-British meet. One run group at the Lotus event is dedicated to race cars, which vary from formula racers and prototype sports cars to vintage Cortinas. Having said that, here are a couple of pit pics from the Cantrell day.
Colin?s semi and a bunch of his customer cars:
My car cooling off after the first session:
That brings me to my mild heartburn. Notice the REI shelter there? That was the first time I?ve used it. It got windy enough in the afternoon to bend the telescoping polls. The structure folded over on itself. Damn! My chair did also get blown over by a gust, but seriously, the thing should have been able to take the bit of wind we saw. It could not have gusted to more than 20 mph.
About my car's number: When possible, I?ve settled on using the 42 as my identifier. There?s a, well, literary reason for that. Can you guess why I would pick that number? 56 is my other favorite number, but if I can get 42, I?ll take it. Hah.
I finally figured out how to properly export video from the CMS tool with the selected data included. Here?s video from the session with my best lap time at the end. It covers 3 laps. I think it?s interesting that I do better when I?m chasing cars, even if I have to let someone by. Best lap is the last lap in this set, but they are within a couple seconds.
[video=youtube;jols2ftkuiE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jols2ftkuiE [/video]
At the end of the same session (my overall best), I put two wheels off after a strange sequence involving a yellow Porsche going off track in the same spot where I put two wheels off a lap before I did it. The dust up may have caused my fender liner to detach (although it might have come loose before). It got a little chewed up, but was easy to get off once I got it up and the wheel off.
Here?s a video of that strange sequence (off occurs at the 2:57 mark):
[video=youtube;zgdH1G3ftXk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgdH1G3ftXk[/video]
The lesson that I took away: Once you?re in a cool-down frame of mind, it?s best just to go into the paddock and get some water, especially since that session was really nearly over anyway. I went off because I lost concentration. Live and learn.
![[thumb]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumb.gif "Thumbs Up [thumb]"){kind=icon}
![[dunno]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_dunno.gif "Dunno [dunno]"){kind=icon}
![[:(]](/images/smilies/frown.png "Frown [:(]")
