Vince's Stuff: A perfect evening at Calabogie

Two satisfied customers

I have barely driven the RSX since I bought and I am leaving for Italy on Tuesday for our 6-week family trip. The clutch was fixed a week and a half ago but there was no track night at ICAR last Tuesday for some reason. As a result, I was a bit desperate to find a track event to attend. The only one I could find that fit my schedule was a track night at Calabogie. Was it worth it to drive three hours each way to drive for two hours on track? With a 40% chance of rain? My buddy Rob was willing to join me so we decided to go for it. Was it a risk to travel that far with a car that has come back from its last two track nights on the back of a tow truck? Yes, but I felt good about the car being reliable after the last repairs (clutch, cooling fan) and in the worst-case scenario, I could ride home with Rob and figure out the car later.

Rob and I met in the West Island at 1 pm, aiming to get to Calabogie around 4. We had to register and be at the driver’s meeting at 4:40. The format was simple: open pit lane from 5 to 7 pm. No sessions, come in when you feel like it. We arrived at the track on time, I emptied the car, checked the oil, dropped the front tire pressures to 25 psi, and installed my GoPro with my new stiffer mount. That was it. The other cars were the usual mix, from Miatas and Golf R’s to Corvettes and GT3’s, some street and some race. My goal: to drive as much of the two hours as possible (I even brought extra fuel, because I was pretty sure the car can’t run for even close to 2 hours on a tank). As far as lap times, I expected to be several seconds faster than I had been in my only session with the car at Calabogie, 4 weeks ago, on all-season tires, when I had managed a 2:45. I now had almost new Nankang CR-S track tires, so I hoped to get down under 2:40. My lifetime best was a 2:32. I have the data file on my phone, but the date of the file is wrong, so I don’t know when I ran that lap since I have had RaceChrono… maybe in Choo’s Civic in 2021 after I destroyed my own engine at Calabogie? I know I also hit 2:32 in 2013 with my old race car running in the SPC class, on the official street tire of that series. Anyway, I was wondering if it was realistic to shave 6 seconds off my time of 4 weeks ago, but I was feeling confident.

Officially, there is no lap timing with this group. I respect that, but I also wanted data about my laps (and to try out my new/used Dragy Pro GPS receiver), so I decided to start the Racechrono app and leave my phone in the glovebox. It would record data, but I wouldn’t see it while driving.

I brought my tools and my fuel jug to the pit lane and headed out. From the beginning, there was a slight pulsing in the brake pedal, but otherwise the car felt really nice. I wondered whether I should have changed my aging brake rotors before the event, but what was done was done. Fortunately, the pulsing gradually went away over my first laps. The track layout was still fresh in my head. I was catching some cars, others were catching me… I felt I was right near the middle of the pack on lap times. After a few laps, I was caught by a NA Miata that appeared in my mirrors unexpectedly. Even with a passenger, it was quicker than me. When I pointed it by, I could see that the car’s corner entry speed was impressive. I tried to pick up some hints and, according to my data, I immediately dropped a couple of seconds on my best lap. When I finally looked at my watch, figuring I must have been getting close to the 20-minute mark since I hit the track, it was closer to 30 minutes. I came in for a short break, even though I was feeling fine. There were several others also on a break in pit lane. I didn’t check tire pressures, I didn’t check the oil, or anything… I was happy with the car, the temperature needle hadn’t budged. I opened the glovebox and checked my phone and was very happy to see I had a best lap of 2:35, a whopping 10 seconds faster than I had run on street tires. I was really happy with this, and didn’t care whether I beat that already very satisfying lap time during the remainder of the evening.

I headed back out and had some fun exchanges with some GR86’s, race Miatas and Golf R’s. One of the GT3’s kept blowing by me, but most cars took a lot of time to catch and pass me. When I came in for my second break, I checked my lap times and the best was a mid 2:35, so no improvement. I didn’t mind. Rob was there, and we chatted. He was having trouble with his GPS receiver and wasn’t sure about his lap times. I told him to just use the one in the phone, at least he would have some data, just a few tenths less precise. He said “Is it possible I’m running 2:35’s?”. I have known Rob for over 30 years, so I didn’t feel bad telling him “It’s possible, but I don’t think so…”. Rob’s M3 is like his baby… he just doesn’t push the car like he used to push his Hondas in the old days. The car is in mint condition… everyone wants to buy it if he ever sells it, and he never will. That’s fine, I respect that, and that M3 can definitely go faster than my RSX… it’s a faster car to begin with, and it’s got more modifications than the RSX, although his BFG G-Force Rivals are less grippy than my Nankangs. It’s just that the way he chooses to drive that car, in a way that it will never crash or even deteriorate, is not conducive to fast lap times. Anyway, to settle the matter, we decided to head out together. I let him lead, and I could immediately see that I was much faster in the slower sections and a bit faster almost everywhere else. The M3 pulled away a bit on the straights, but that was about the only edge he had. After a couple of laps, I was ready for the point by, but he wasn’t giving me one! I kind of forced the issue at one point, pulling out beside him at the beginning of the front straight, and he got the message and lifted. After another lap, he had disappeared from my mirrors. We later calculated he must have been running about 2:43. I was having a great time. Eventually, my GoPro battery died. I guess that is one thing I could technically have planned better… I could have had a spare battery or camera in the glove box. Also, I should have brought some drinking water, although it was only about 17 degrees, so I was not that thirsty anyway.

With about 25 minutes to go, I was debating whether I should pit again, when I noticed the fuel gauge was at about 1/8th. I came in and added fuel for a final run. All was going well and time was flying by. One of the best features of this format is that you could push the car from the first lap, since everything was already up to temperature. I ended up clocking my best lap in this session, a 2:33.29. I don’t remember one lap feeling better than the others… I guess things just came together on that lap.

I got so many laps, it was beautiful. I was comfortable in the car, I had time to think about a lot of things that I am often too busy to think about: Am I gripping the wheel with a light touch? Where is each corner worker station? Am I rev-matching everywhere I can? How can I optimise this corner? Is it worth driving on the rumble strip here? It is so liberating to just drive and not constantly be worrying about the car. The event ran so smoothly, no one misbehaved, everyone gave timely point-bys (except maybe Rob!)… I just got to focus on having fun. For the first time in a while, I had completed an event with no stains on my clothes or dirt under my fingernails.

Indeed, Rob and I were both super happy about the way things had gone. The weather had remained lovely during the whole 2 hours. We grabbed the included snack (egg rolls or something fried, surprising choice but tasty) and quickly packed up the cars for the long drive home. It was so easy, given that we had minimal tools and no spare wheels. We stopped for a burger and gas in Ottawa. Rob mentioned something that I have said before: "You know, I'm not even jealous of the guys who show up in GT3's". Indeed, when our own cars perform so flawlessly, we are getting what we really want: a useful tool to participate in the hobby we love. As I have said before, I get envious when I see people with reliable cars when my car is broken and unable to turn laps. I'm not envious of anyone when my car runs so well.

On the last leg of the journey, I drove through some of the heaviest rain I’ve ever seen, which added to my travel time, but the car and I dealt with it, and I was home before midnight. Looking back on the day, I really can’t see how it could have gone better.

What, in fact, makes a great event at the track? Roughly, in decreasing order of importance: no one in our group gets hurt, no one crashes, no major failures on the car, being with friends at the event, lots of track time, minimal time working on the car, the car performing well, the driver performing well, great weather, minimal flags, courteous and competent people on track with you, getting it on video, gathering lap data. All of these elements were present here, which is probably why things worked out so beautifully.

When I think about it, so many things could have gone wrong with our plan: the car could have refused to start at a crucial time, the brake vibration could have got worse, not better, the overheating issue could have not been solved, the serpentine belt could have shredded itself, the weather could have been a disaster, something totally new could have broken at the track, etc. None of those things happened, and instead, we ended up with a perfect event. In the circumstances, I don't feel so bad going six weeks with no track time.

Here is a video, it doesn't include my best lap, but still cool (I'm happy with my new camera mount):