Bimmers Across The Border 9

[bmwqc]

Mesdames et messieurs.

BAB IX aura lieu chez le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec le 10 à 12 août 2007. Cette évenement combinera d’un École de Conduite Haute-Performance avec une course BMWCCA Club Racing. L’espace est disponible et l’enregistrement est OUVERT chez http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/ultimate-calendarView.aspx?EventID=318 (http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/ultimate-calendarView.aspx?EventID=318)




Ladies & gentlemen,

BAB IX will take place at le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Quebec on 10-12 August 2007. This event will combine a High-Performance Driving School with a BMW CCA Club Race. Space is available and registration is OPEN at http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/ultimate-calendarView.aspx?EventID=318 (http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/ultimate-calendarView.aspx?EventID=318)

[Gregster]

If calabogie goes well then Ill sign up!

[johnmdanskin]

If calabogie goes well then Ill sign up!
there are 70 applications so far. this is far from full, but you don't want to wait too long. This is boston's most popular event.

[Nano]

One of the few events I am registered at.

[bmwqc]

One of the few events I am registered at.

Please note that the new bylaws at Mont Tremblant limits the maximum number of cars to 30 at any one time on the track.

[Lee]

Please note that the new bylaws at Mont Tremblant limits the maximum number of cars to 30 at any one time on the track.

Yup. That new bylaw is a killer. Hmmm... Let me think. 90 students require 60 instructors. That makes 5 run groups. Already one more run group than the usual format. Then there is the Club Race. Probably 50 cars as usual, which makes for 2 extra run groups. Even if opening lunch time for the extra instructor group (which is what we intend to do for MidsummerHeat), I wonder how they will stuff the two extra racer groups. Run until 7PM? :D

[Phil]

One of the few events I am registered at.

I'll be there in the club race (#52 JS E30 M3).

Who else is going?

Rain today means sun on the weekend!

Phil

[Lee]

I'll be there probably on Friday only. I have your rear pads in a box. I will bring them.

[Phil]

As of Tuesday evening, there are 54 BMW club racers signed up. Lots of great racing Friday (4pm, two sprints), Saturday (3:50pm, two sprints), and Sunday (two enduros, first at 11:30am).

Worth the trip just to watch!

Phil

[Mozbee]

I just jump to be the photographer for the event. I'm Francois who was on the photographers' team last year. I'm also looking for a place to stay during the weekend. Is there anyone who is interested into sharing an accommodation? I'll pay my part and I can sleep on the floor if that's the available place. If you want to be in communication with me please click on my name and send me an email.

Thanks!
Francois Belisle

[Phil]

We had a perfect weekend for racing at Mont Tremblant and a record field of 56 entrants spilt into two groups (A-stock and some prepared; B-modified and some prepared). As a stock car, I ran in group A. I brought two sets of dry tires to the track and one set of intermediate wet tires but the latter never came out of their plastic bags. The dry tires were Hoosier R6 DOT-R tires and the second set were BFG R1 DOT-R tires. The BFGs were new to me and most everyone else and I was the only competitor using them.

Friday was mostly for practice and set up. In the morning, I heat cycled the BFGs by incrementally driving them harder until I turned a few laps at race speeds. Once in the pits, I took tire pressures and tire temperatures with a pyrometer to gauge set up. Then the BFG tires were removed and stored for 24 hours replaced by the Hoosiers for the remainder of the day. Each set of tires drove somewhat differently especially at the limit and this took getting used to. Taking the pressures and temperatures allowed me to adjust tire pressures and fine tune the car's handling. For example, the ideal hot pressures are 38 pounds and the ideal temperatures are around 180-200 degrees across the tread surface. Believe it or not, a half pound of air pressure more or less can have a detectable impact on temperatures, pressures, and, therefore, handling. By the last race I had the car pretty well dialed in, but not perfect yet, and I was able to set a personal best lap time. But the tires were variable during the race and I could not push them every lap.

We had practice sessions, qualifying sessions and three races--a fun sprint race at the end of the day on Friday, a feature sprint race on Saturday, and an enduro race on Sunday. Each race my times and position improved. By Sunday, I managed to finish ninth overall and third in class. Each race was a lot of fun and I always had one or more cars to dice with so the racing was always close and challenging. For the Saturday feature, I made an inside pass on the last corner of the last lap before the finish. It was a very exciting move as the car I was passing had more horsepower and I had to really outbrake him to take the corner. For the Sunday race, I had another great race with several cars. After the five minute refueling stop one competitor came out of the pits and I was right on his bumper for 20 minutes. As we got the signal for the last lap I focused on finding a way around him and really closed up behind him trying to force an error or make an opening. I tried that inside pass again on the last corner but he shut the door so I could not make the move safely. I only found out later that there was a driver change at the pitstop and I was racing against a pro racer who was at the event to coach some of the drivers.

Sadly, the event was not without its mishaps. There were an unusually high number of incidents with car damage including two racecars which were heavily damaged and one driver who suffered a mild concussion. In my class, the two top competitors had minor car-to-car contact and there was a very spirited discussion at the stewards' inquiry. Then the second place competitor filed a formal protest claiming the engine of the winner was illegal. The protest fee for an engine teardown is $1600USD!

Thankfully, my races were all close but clean. After each race, the guys who I was racing with laughed and applauded one another for the fun competition.

I had my own share of unexpected excitement over the weekend. During Sunday practice, and in the quest to go faster, I began to experiment not braking entering one of the high speed sweeping turns (number seven). Well that was a mistake! The balance of the car was affected, I apexed too early and ran wide of the exit into the dirt at high speed. After a bumpy ride I made it back on course determined not to repeat that particular experiment.

Back to work today. And on to Mosport in three weeks.

[Andrei]

Lol. Remember Phil, E30 M3 in JStock trim is not a Champ car. You gotta brake for 7. Even if the car is pedal powered :)

The guy in from was Aaron, right? He was at Calabogie, as well.

[Phil]

Lol. Remember Phil, E30 M3 in JStock trim is not a Champ car. You gotta brake for 7. Even if the car is pedal powered :)

We'll see. Definitely not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced or the poor.

Its a very different line if it works at all.

The guy in from was Aaron, right? He was at Calabogie, as well.

Yes. He was very consistent lap after lap and chopped me off (closed the door) pretty good too!

I just wish we had one more lap to play.....

[bmwqc]

Yes. He was very consistent lap after lap and chopped me off (closed the door) pretty good too!

I just wish we had one more lap to play.....

Any self respecting racer would have the common sense to drive defensively in the closing stages of a race to protect his/her position (i.e. using the inside line). With the inside line closed off, trying to pass on the outside is next to impossible unless you are a lot quicker than the car in front.

[Lee]

He, he. This weekend I saw some guys do the inside in corner 1 with two wheels on the grass. But that was at the start though.

[Phil]

There's inside and then there's well inside--the curbing and dirt combination. But even if you get your nose in front going way inside the cornering angles of both cars increases the chances of contact. I'm not interested in that.

Then there's the outside move. Forcing a competitor inside to defend a line might actually work in Namerow given you might just take the inside line for the next corner, turn one. Don't know; haven't tried it yet.

Did try an outside pass a few years ago at Mosport. In turn two of all places!

[johnmdanskin]

was the protested engine stickleys?

was the concussion phil sansossio's?

[Lee]

was the protested engine stickleys?

was the concussion phil sansossio's?

Chuck Stickley was not protested. He was blackflagged in the Enduro was he held the pole position, for being too loud.

There were at least three mechanical failures during the races. For the first two cases, stewarts may not have given their final conclusion.

- Bruce Weinstein hitting the guardrails in #7, snapped halfshaft.
- Phil Sansossio hitting the wall in #11, faulty steering column.
- Serge/Cherif into the gravel pit in #8, faulty knuckle bolts.

Eric Einrich's engine legitimacy in JS was protested by a fellow JS competitor. Protests are never taken lightly. The protestors must pay upfront the $1600 fee for taking the engine apart, inspection and reassembly by a neutral technician.

Some racers also had brain fades such as Gould who literally smashed his blue e36 racecar on the concrete wall right after the Kink corner, and in view of the checkered flag. He was second to last and had nothing to gain by mashing the throttle and loosing his car right after the Kink. He also experienced a missshift in a previous race/qualifying session in Namerow which resulted in Ann Hameritte hitting him in the left hand corner, while she suffered major damage to the right hand front corner of her e30 M3. No driver was blamed. It just shows that you must know who you follow.

There was also a banzaï move from another competitor (Vince Leo I believe, not sure) who successfully passed someone on the inside at the entry of Namerow, held the inside and tried his luck a second time. He then hit Sansossio in the right hand rear quarter, making him spin. Sansossio clearly had the corner.

Marks of contact on Henrich's driverside quarter panel. A huge round and black donut that loks verry much like a tire mark... Conditions of the contact were discussed late on Sunday. Possibly due to a contact between Heinrich and Fergurson. Conditions of the contact to be determined.

Not to mention an incredible number of "four wheels off" during this weekend. Perhaps the track was greasy, the weather too hot, or the racers too "excited"... Let's just say that there have better better race weekends :rolleyes: .