2002 Battles 911s @ PNW Historics- Video is Up

lafngrvy

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Had some great racing with friends in their 911s. Take a look and leave a thumbs up if you enjoy:

 

Oldbmwcoupes

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What a great car! I loved watching you hold your position against some fairly heavy hitting track cars. Nice driving!
 

JFENG

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organizers sometimes need to bundle to make up decent sized grids. Here in NE sometimes I end up running with V8 powered Devins, 240Z’s, B-sedan cars, and even 2-liter rear engined sports racers (I’m in a pea-shooter F-Prod Alfa).

In these circumstances you just race “your group,” and try to use slower/faster traffic to your advantage.

SVRA sorts it all out with PIC ranking (place in class), so it matters not if I get lapped by a T33 or blown into the weeds by an IMSA CSL
 

JFENG

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And yes … you sometimes do get whiners who ask to run in a slower class because it helps their egos to race against cars with 1/3 the power to weight ratio and half the tire width. We ain’t racing for 24k gold medals so IMHO a few sandbagging competitors isn’t the end of the world.
 
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lafngrvy

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And yes … you sometimes do get whiners who ask to run in a slower class because it helps their egos to race against cars with 1/3 the power to weight ratio and half the tire width. We ain’t racing for 24k gold medals so IMHO a few sandbagging competitors isn’t the end of the world.
It usually isn't a problem but I have found that the ego needing a boost is often connected to a brain that is shut off on the race track. There is also the safety issue when the speed differential is large. If people in the slower cars aren't watching their mirrors it can cause accidents.
 

GolfBavaria

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It usually isn't a problem but I have found that the ego needing a boost is often connected to a brain that is shut off on the race track. There is also the safety issue when the speed differential is large. If people in the slower cars aren't watching their mirrors it can cause accidents.
My thoughts exactly.......x's 1000 thumbs up! I thought that a bit odd and you were still making him/her earn it out there....LOL Great job, love to see you race in person some day but unfortunately not in CA anymore but I will be back to Laguna Seca for the vintage racing (probably not this year but who knows), it's been my favorite since a kid.
 

JFENG

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the safety issue when the speed differential is large
It’s both a potential problem but also a part of racing in a multi-category group. I am not sure it’s so different than the old days of GTO/GTU or modern IMSA races where there can be a 15 sec/lap spread between DP and GTD. Learning to watch your mirrors and deal with traffic is part of the challenge, no? And the rules for vintage racing here in the USA mean most drivers who have more right foot than brains usually get put on probation/suspension until they learn to be better drivers of get tired of wrecking their cars.
 

lafngrvy

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And the rules for vintage racing here in the USA mean most drivers who have more right foot than brains usually get put on probation/suspension until they learn to be better drivers of get tired of wrecking their cars.
If only that were true then the world of vintage racing would be a better place. It has been my experience that these "rules" are only sporadically enforced and those with more enthusiasm then brains often get away with damaging other peoples cars and never pay any price whatsoever. Case in point- the Alfa that hit me in this race. When I went to talk with him about his error in judgement he claimed I swerved and hit him. ??? Or take the Lotus that went off track last year and came back on and T-boned me. Nothing happened to him at all. In fact he repeated his error this past race and hit another car. Start at 9:20:


There is a reporting mechanism through VMC that is supposed to catch these crashers out and prevent them from jumping from sanctioning body to sanctioning body but it is rarely used.
 

JFENG

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If only that were true then the world of vintage racing would be a better place. It has been my experience that these "rules" are only sporadically enforced and those with more enthusiasm then brains often get away with damaging other peoples cars and never pay any price whatsoever.

There is a reporting mechanism through VMC that is supposed to catch these crashers out and prevent them from jumping from sanctioning body to sanctioning body but it is rarely used.
OMG!
The video from the Z-car is totally unambiguous that the Seven over-drove the corner, couldn't slow down to avoid a rear-ender, escaped to the inside, and then steered it straight back onto the track.

Here in New England, there's a gentleman's agreement that the Lotus driver would pay for repairs to your car. Only a very few of our members are known to have not honored that rule. And no question our club (VSCCA) would put that driver on probation or suspension. I didn't realize race organizers weren't reporting these things to VMC. I've also seen racers thrown out simply for driving too aggressively (before they caused any harm). I have seen a handful of 'special' people get away with murder on the track, usually because they are a big time $$$ supporter or a special chummy relationship (ex. an founder/owner of another big club).

Well, sorry to see your video. Absolutely no excuse for driving like that in vintage, when there's SCCA, SM, NASA, and so many other places to treat cars like disposable tools. It's bozos like that that make nice people with awesome cars think twice about coming out. And I'm not just referring to the folks with the big dollar cars like the McNeils or the Wangs. A $50k Alfa for me is the same proportional value as a Jag D-type to Derek Hood (yes I know about the scandal).

LOVE your cars. A TISA race car has always been a bucket list car for me. I just have to finish with my Alfa/Lotus addiction and then I'll be able to go German.

John
 
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