I’ve been quite busy
and haven’t had much time to post lately. At least I have been driving my car
again!
When Pat finished my
engine swap in the Civic, I took the car to Sajan’s shop, Synoptic Tuning, for
a dyno tune. The numbers did not disappoint, as the new engine made 184 whp.
I lent my car to
Pierre and Jam for the SPC road race at St-Eustache, which was to be held at
the same time as the ASE time attack. Pierre and Jam would do their runs, then
swap on my race tires so I could go out for my own runs. They each managed a
top-10 finish with the Civic, but my own lap times were disappointing. Also,
Pierre managed to scrape the wall and leave a few nice scratches on the righ
side of the car (he has offered to pay for repairs). I was personally hoping to
dip into the 59-second range, but my best lap was a 1:01.7. It didn’t help that
the vtec was not engaging at the correct RPM (this would later be corrected by
Sajan).
After that
unsatisfying day, Pascal convinced me to enter the car at last weekend’s Spring
Classic at Tremblant. This event is the subject of my previous, more detailed
post. Suffice it to say, the car performed well, but it sure puffs a lot of
smoke when I release the gas pedal!
I went out to Monday
lapping before yesterday and still could not go faster than 1:01.7. I compared
the data to last year’s laps, and the car is not significantly faster at the
end of the straights. I don’t know if I’m still making 184 whp, or if I screwed
something up. The car is presently at Marc’s and hopefully, he will be able to
figure out what’s going on after fixing my power steering. At least I got to
drive a C6 Corvette ZR1 for a few laps. The power of that car is simply insane! It must be the most powerful car I have ever driven, with 638 hp.
Other than that, the
weather has been pretty great and it feels like summer is already here. Alex
and I are quite busy at home making preparations for the baby in August, and I
will take a weekend off from racing to do some baby shopping and assemble a
mountain of furniture from Ikea.
Alex with a Princess Cake (eaten by Vince) at Ikea
My next track event
will be the BMW school at Tremblant on June 9th and 10th.
Cool cars spotted:
Early Porsche 911
Aston Martin Vainquish
Aston Martin DB9
Ferrari F430
Porsche 997 Turbo S
Porsche 968
Mercedes 190e 2.3-16
AMG C63
AMG C63
Coupe
AMG CLS 63
Lamborghini Gallardo
Audi R8 V10
Audi RS4
C6 Corvette
Z06
Rolls-Royce
Phantom
At Tremblant:
Porsche 997 GT3
Porsche 997 GT3 4.0
(!)
Porsche 997
Porche 997 Turbo
Porsche 944 Turbo
Audi R8 V10
Porsche 993 Turbo
New BMW M5
C4 Corvette ZR1
AMG C63
AMG CLS63
Ferrari 328
Ferrari
Mondial
Ferrari 360
Ferrari
F355
Lamborghini
Diablo (!)
Lotus Elise
Supercharged
Lotus Evora
Acura NSX
All these GT3’s were
parked near each other in the spectator parking at Tremblant:
Pascal and I decided
to sign up for the Spring Classic race weekend at Tremblant. We knew that even
if there were not many cars in our class, at least we would be able to
race
against each other.
The weekend was made up of a practice session, a qualifying session, three
sprint races and a 45-minute “enduro”, so there was a good amount of track time
available. By the time we were both registered, we realized that we were the
only two cars in the GTE class, for cars that lap between 1:55 and 2:00. The
weekend was turning into another Vince vs. Pascal type event!
Last year, my best lap was a 2:02, but that was with my old motor. The new
motor made quite a few more horsepower and I was curious to see how this would
affect lap times.
Pascal was 2 seconds per lap faster than me in the practice and qualifying,
down in the 1:58 range. Of course, we qualified before last and last. It’s hard
to keep up with GT3’s, Vipers, Radicals and M3’s!
We lined up for the first race and I managed to get the jump on Pascal in turn
2 and make the pass. I kept him behind me for the first lap, but he
draft-passed me at the end of the straight on the second lap and then gradually
pulled away. I was unable to keep up. I though I caught a lucky break when a
full-course yellow came out, as I would be able to catch right up to Pascal,
but Pascal would have none of it, and we kept racing for a while until we
finally caught up to the group being led around by the pace car. The race ended
under yellow, and that was that. Pascal 1, Vince 0.
Here is a video of that race:
It looked like the next race would be a bit more fun for us, as the G70-class
semi-vintage cars would be running with us. This weekend, the G70 class was
made up entirely of E30 M3’s and Porsche 944’s. This meant that there would be
more cars running at around our pace. Sure enough, when I arrived at the grid,
I wasn’t in last place… there were several cars behind me, some because they
were slower, some because they had not put in a qualifying lap. There were also
two cars between Pascal and me, so it would be harder to get ahead of him.
Harder does not mean impossible: I had another great start (my video camera
battery had died at this point, but Pascal has some video) and managed to pass
several cars in the turn 1-2-3 combo, including Pascal, and I even managed to
put one of the 944’s between us. I was quite excited about this, and Pascal was
busy fighting with a 944, which meant he was too busy to catch up to me.
Eventually, the 944 tried an insane pass on Pascal in corners 1-2 on the
outside, in the marbles, and wiped out. Luckily, the car did not crash. Pascal
then slowly began to reel me in. After a few laps, he was quite close behind
me, but it’s not that easy to pass a car with almost exactly the same
horsepower. What made matters worse for Pascal was that there was a standing
yellow flag covering the second half of the straight, thereby removing Pascal’s
best chance at passing me. I wanted the race to be over, as I was narrowly
hanging onto my lead. I saw the “one lap to go” signal, and just focused on
running a very clean lap. The yellow was still there on the straight, so I did
not worry about him passing me at the end of the straight. I managed to hold on
and take the checker, less than a second in front of Pascal. That last lap was
my best of the weekend, a 1:58.6. After all the DNF’s, we ended up 12th and
13th out of 21 cars. Pascal 1, Vince 1.
We drove home to Montreal together and I watched Pascal’s video in the car as
we chatted about the day. We headed back to the track Sunday for the final two
races.
Alex with me and the two Civics
For race 3, I decided to try some Toyo RA1’s instead of my Nitto’s. This turned
out to be a mistake, as the tires had less grip and one of them was not
properly balanced, leading to an annoying vibration. Also, one of my power
steering hoses had come unbolted on Saturday and I had no power steering fluid.
I thought Carl or Kevin would arrive with some more fluid, but after an evening
at Pascal’s, neither of them made it to the track in time. Running without
power steering actually made me smoother with my inputs in corners 1 and 2, and
I think I actually improved my line there in race 3. It was cooler in the
morning and I felt the car was making more power. Unfortunately, I was no match
for Pascal, and he just pulled away and left me for dead. My poor tire choice
and average driving meant that I had wasted a chance to dip down into the 1:57
range. Pascal was well ahead of me by the end of the race and had managed a lap
in the 1:56’s. Pascal 2, Vince 1.
For race 4, I had added power steering fluid (thanks Kevin) and put the Nitto’s
back on. It would not be enough. I did not have a great start, as I got caught
up with faster cars that were somehow starting behind me. Pascal was again
slowly pulling away and I again found myself alone. I experimented with
different gears in different corners, and was driving like I was at a lapping
day. A few laps before the end, I was somehow catching up to Pascal. It turned
out he had a wheel bearing that was starting to go. I unfortunately ran out of
laps before I could get close enough to attempt a pass. Pascal 3, Vince 1.
All in all, it was a fun and not too stressful weekend. If Pascal had not been
there, it would have been quite boring for me.
When the race was over, I didn’t even change my tires or anything… I just
loaded up the car, softened the shock settings, and drove home. I am still
amazed with the Civic: I can thrash it on the track in wheel to wheel racing,
then just drive it home. It’s a pretty amazing car, and I look forward to
seeing what else it can do this summer.
Last Friday, my men’s team won game 2 of our playoff series.
I didn’t play a great game offensively, but I contributed on defence. Winner
take all this Friday evening!
I was back at the track yet again Saturday instructing with
the BMW Club of Quebec. Again, I had no car. The Civic was almost ready, but I
did not have my new header yet, so Pat could not complete the job. I did get to go out for a few minutes in
Amélie’s nicely modified E36 M3. I forgot to shut off the traction control, so
I was not as “quick” as I might have been. I did get to enjoy several laps
chasing and being chased by a Porsche Cayman R. There were some pretty nice
cars there, including a very rare Porsche 911 GT3 4.0.
GT3 4.0 RS
A rare M535i
1M
E30 M3
Alex and I dropped by Rob’s place and it was a good
opportunity to photograph our cars, as they were all clean at the same time.
E46 x 2
Rob and Alex and her baby bump
Both clean
On Monday, it was back to St-Eustache for ASE’s lapping
night. Sadly, I still did not have a car. AARRGHHH! There were some neat cars
on hand, as usual.
Viper
Old person's Vette?
I should have my Civic back tomorrow. There is a time attack
at St-Eustache Monday and I REALLY want to be in it! Also, Jam and Pierre may
borrow the car for the road race being held the same day. If all goes well with
the car, I will probably enter the Spring Classic at Tremblant the following
weekend. Stay tuned!
Apart from my failed attempt to run a 12-hour enduro a few
days ago, there have been other car-related events going on.
First, there was ASE Lapping Club’s first Monday night
lapping. The weather was clear and there were dozens of cars. The evening went smoothly
and I think there were quite a few happy campers. Here is a neat pic that shows
how popular M3’s have become at our events.
M3-M3-AMG-M3-M3
The Civic is still awaiting its new engine. Unfortunately it
will not be ready before the BMW Club of Quebec track day at St-Eustache this
Saturday. Here is a rare pic of both my cars together.
A rare pic of both cars together
On Friday night, my basketball team played in the first game
of the finals. After being down 28 points in the second half, we came back part
of the way to lose by 7. We have to play quite a bit better in game 2 this
Friday, or the season will be over.
The next morning, I woke up at 4:30 am to head to Calabogie
for the second AISA school. I did not have a track car, but I made arrangements
to go out for a few laps in this:
It’s a Formula Mazda powered by a carburetted 13b rotary
engine. It weighs something like 1150 pounds. I took it very easy during my few
laps on the track, but I was still able to understand why people love formula
cars. The car I sat in after lunch felt huge and heavy.
Here is a video of my slow but exciting laps:
There was once again some rare machinery on display at the
track. Here is a pic of maybe the rarest car there, a Panoz Esperante:
There were other neat cars at the Calabogie school:
After a full weekend of track activity (and a trip to the
dentist), I headed back to St-Eustache for our second lapping evening of the
year. The weather was beautiful and again, there were many cool cars out there:
It doesn’t feel all that great to go to the track every few
days without my track car. I hope I will get it back quite soon…
After weeks of planning, our team, made up of
9 members, was set to head down to New Jersey Motorsports Park for the Devil in
the Dark enduro. We arrived at the track Thursday evening and unloaded the
Civic in a near-empty paddock. We noticed that the temperature needle was
sitting a little higher than usual at idle and realized that the rad fan motor
was dead. A trip to Advance Auto parts solved this issue. We headed to the
hotel, where we were joined by the rest of the team at around midnight.
On Friday, there were 4 hours of open track
testing followed by a 40-minute practice session, then 20 minutes of qualifying
and an hour of night testing. The 12-hour race would begin at noon Saturday.
The team was made up of three drivers and six
crew members. I would be driving along with Carl and Jean-Michel (Jam). The
crew was made up of Marc, Choo, Shawn, Patrick, Alain and Pierre. We planned to
drive my Civic.
The weeks of planning involved deciding which
parts to bring as spares and what tires to use for qualifying and the race. For
the practice day, we decided to save our good tires and mounted some used Toyo
RA1’s. Since none of us had been to the track before, we decided to take turns
during the practice runs. As in the race, Carl would be starting out, followed
by Jam and myself.
Carl making the car "pretty"
Pit action
Seeing double?
Not that warm in New Jersey!
Carl went out and began to learn the track.
After a few laps, he was in the 1:42 range. This was far behind the fast cars
in the class, but, in my opinion, the Civic 1.6 is not really properly
classified. For example, a Spec E30 BMW, which has a 168 hp inline six, is one
class lower than our car. Also, there was an Integra Type R with aftermarket
brakes in our class. Anyway, we were there to do the best we could with the
equipment we had.
Carl in the Civic
Carl was happy with the setup of the car and
handed it over to Jam. Jam went out and was instantly on pace. He did a bunch
of laps in the 1:41’s and then dipped under 1:40. Hew came in all smiles as
well.
I went out and realized quickly enough that
this track was not going to be that hard to learn as far as where to be on
track, but it was going to take a while to get to the point where we were going
flat out through several of the corners. I was a bit slower than the others for
most of the session, but as I got a bit more comfortable, I managed some
1:42’s. It was my first time using the radio system too, and I thought it was
pretty neat, although the track required almost constant concentration (there’s
a lot of turning at high speed!) and I didn’t talk on the radio that much.
One of our "competitors"
Carl hopped back into the car and his lap
times dropped under 1:40 as well. I knew from looking at past results that we
had to be lapping around 1:36 to be on the pace, but I figured we would
eventually get there. Usually at these types of events, I run my best lap times
late in the weekend, in the actual race.
Jam went out again and again hit the 1:39’s.
We decided to see what the car was like without the rear wing, as we were
wondering if we were sacrificing top speed without gaining any handling
advantage. Jam went back out and clicked off a 1:38, but he said the car was
more twitchy. I was able to confirm this when I headed out and had a little
tail-sliding moment in corner 1. My session was interrupted by full-course
black flags on a couple of occasions and I was having trouble getting in a
rhythm. Luckily, after one of the black flags, our buddy Seb Rochon was
gracious enough to let me follow him at a lower speed (lower for him, at
least!) to show me the line. I realized I had not been taking the best line
through the final slower section of the track. Thanks Seb! I was not pushing
terribly hard because I was not too sure about the rear-end stability of the
car. Sure enough, I had another couple of slides, but managed a 1:41 before the
end of my stint.
The crew in action
Carl went out and was complaining on the radio
about the rear tires being shot. The car was a bit of a handful by now. After
Carl came back in, we reinstalled the wing. All three of us were more
comfortable with a but of rear downforce.
By then, the test session was over and we had
to plan the evening’s track time. The crew were all over the car and installed
the first set of Nitto NT01 tires that would be used for the race so we could
scrub them in. We got everyone registered and the Civic got its first SCCA log
book. I was told to install a fuel test port and a rear town strap before the
next SCCA race. No big deal, and we were done with tech and registration well
before most other teams.
It was time for the first official race
practice. First out was Carl, then Jam, then me, with tire changes between each
driver to scrub all 6 front tires. We were happy with the grip level and the
car felt planted again. Carl then went out for qualifying and after a few laps,
he pitted in, satisfied with his time of 1:39. Qualifying is largely irrelevant
in endurance races anyway. The only session left was the night practice, which
would be divided between Jam and me.
Jam went out and we noticed that our new HID
headlights were nice and bright. We were unprepared, however, for how
ridiculously bright some of our opponents’ lighting set-ups would be. Jam was
on the radio saying that he could not see anything a) when the very bright
shift light came on in our car and b) whenever anybody came up behind him.
After a few laps, Pierre, who was wearing the headset allowing us to
communicate with the driver, turned to me and said that the engine had blown.
He said it so casually that I thought he was talking about a different car…
indeed, I could not imagine our stock Honda motor blowing up. He then confirmed
to me that he was talking about our Civic, which was now stopped at the end of
the front straight…
Jam was towed in and I still refused to
believe that the engine was toast. After the car was delivered to our paddock
area, we opened the hood. There were no fluids anywhere or apparent holes. I
was quite certain that we were just dealing with a timing/distributor issue.
The timing belt was still intact. The distributor cap was removed, but the
rotor was intact. Pierre began to remove the spark plugs and, by the time he
got to the fourth one, we knew there was a problem as it was very hard to
unscrew. When he pulled out half a spark plug, we knew the engine was finished.
The crew did not miss a beat and began pulling
the engine and Carl and I began the search for a replacement. We didn’t have a
spare engine with us… in fact, I never imagined we would need one. I was pretty
much speechless by this point. I couldn’t believe that after all the planning
and driving and spending, that we might miss out on the actual race.
The crew hard at work...
... pulling the engine
Carl and I shopped around the paddocks, but
could not find any B-series Honda engine for the car. We had the time and the
manpower to install a replacement, but no engine! Over the next couple of
hours, several plans materialized.
Plan A: fellow racer Andrew mentioned he had a
non-vtec B18 sitting in his garage an hour away, but that it did not belong to
him. He would try to contact the owner of the engine and get back to us with a
price.
Plan B: Pierre had a spare Type R engine at
home (in Gatineau, eight hours away!) that was 90% uninstalled from his Civic.
His plan was to have a mechanic friend get that engine and drive towards New
Jersey while Choo and I drove to meet him halfway. It was a bit of a crazy
plan, but if it worked, we would have a functional Civic by about race time.
Plan C: maybe the craziest plan of all… remove
the B20 engine from Choo’s Honda CR-V and install it in the race car, only to
remove it after the race and re-install it in the CR-V.
After an hour and a half, our blown engine was
out of the car and sitting on the ground. The crew was waiting anxiously to
install our new engine, whatever it might be. Plan A failed because Andrew
never reached his friend. He came by to apologize. Plan B failed because Pierre
and Jam’s friend could not be convinced to undertake the crazy adventure of
picking up the engine and driving all night to bring it to us. Plan C failed
because it was a little bit insane and I did not want to put the guys through
this many hours of work to end up with a car of unknown performance.
We headed back to the hotel still trying to
think of a solution that would allow us to race. However, by the time that we
settled into the hotel room, we began to realize that we were not going to get
to run the race. I was slowly getting used to the idea. Carl did not seem at
all bothered, as he was still having a fun weekend away from the office. Jam
was really down, so Carl and I tried to cheer him up. We reminded him that this
kind of thing could have happened to any one of us. We all eventually dozed off
and had no plan to wake up very early.
We woke up around 9:00 and had a ridiculously
high-calorie breakfast at Denny’s, where my Mastercard was declined (maybe
because of the hundreds of dollars of fuel charges in the previous two days).
We headed to the track and started to pack up. My plan was to watch the race
start at noon and then pack up and leave with the Boyer’s and Marc. Carl and
Choo planned to stay the night after watching Seb’s team and maybe helping them
out. There was no way to cancel the hotel rooms anyways.
The Civic, minus one engine
We were in a pretty relaxed mood and the race
start was quite exciting. Although I thought I had got over our failure to make
the start, I began to feel some pretty strong emotions when the race actually
started. It was very difficult to see the race happen without us and to see our
empty pit spot…
You can see our pit spot.. it's the empty one!
Sitting in our empty pit spot as the race waabout to begin
We watched the Audi R8 disappear from the
track on the first lap and then a multi-lap battle for the lead between a
Cayman and two M3’s. We went over to the far side of the track and one of the
guys noticed that Seb and Serge’s M3 had not come around. We then saw the car
pull into the paddock spot… not good. It turned out that they had blown a
transmission after about 90 minutes of racing. Like us, they did not have a
spare. Their race was over too. Both teams from Quebec were out and we ended up
packing up our trailers, side by side.
Seb's M3
Pushing the Civic back into the trailer
Carl and Choo had no reason to stay anymore
and all members of both teams got ready to drive home. We finally headed out in
the middle of the afternoon and I eventually rolled into my parking spot at
home at around 2:30 am.
Remarkably, I do not feel that terrible about
the whole weekend. There are many possible outcomes that are worse than blowing
a motor. For example, someone could have been injured or the car could have
been destroyed in a crash. Carl was happy that we got to visit and drive on a
new track. I was happy to learn a bit more about endurance races. I really
think that we could have had a good race with the car we had and, especially,
with the amazing crew we had. I think all nine of us had a memorable weekend,
even though we came back from New Jersey empty-handed. I know it’s a cliché,
but I really can’t help but think about what we are going to do differently
next year…
