Barbados!!!

I'm in Barbados and I'm loving it. This place is beautiful and the weather is great. As I mentioned in previous entries, Alex and I are here for Alex's cousin's wedding. The wedding took place Saturday at the Crane resort (a beautiful, if isolated, place) and, apart from a few drops of rain (maybe more than a few), everything went very well.

Alex was a great sport as she accepted to come to a local tarmac rally on Sunday, which implied getting up early the morning after the wedding. There is a huge international rally here at the end of the month called Sol Rally Barbados. The event attracts more than 20 teams from Europe. The event we attended was the Automotive Art Shakedown rally. Even though it was only a warmup event, there were 50 teams lining up for 10 tarmac stages. I was excited, as there are not many tarmac stage rallies to attend in North America (I don't feel like going all the way to Newfoundland to see the Targa).

There was not much info about this rally on the Internet, but I found out where the service area was going to be and that there was a local bus that could take us there. Alex and I arrived at lunch time and got to see many cars coming in for service. The service took place at a quarry in the town of Black Bess. I don't think that many tourists came by this place. There was a snack bar that was probably there for the quarry. I took a look at the menu and when I asked the employee what a fish cutter was, she looked at me like I was from another planet (it's just a fish sandwich). There were many typical rally cars, like WRX's and Evo's, but also some unexpected entries, like a Peugeot 205 and 306, several Toyota Starlets, a couple of classic Ford Escorts, including an RS2000, a few BMW's and various other cars, mainly Japanese, including an EK Civic Type R. I will post photos in a few days when I can upload them.

It was great to see rally cars set up like road race cars... R-compound tires, big brakes, high revving normally aspirated engines. I really would be interested in participating in this type of event if we had them back home. At the very least, I can try another hillclimb in Vermont and get some of the feeling of running in an asphalt rally.

Here is a photo of a Starlet from last year's event:

Old-school Toyota

We met RC, one of the organizers, and he graciously offered to drive us out to one of the stages. There had been no spectators at the service area, but when we arrived out on the stage (called Pickerings), there were hundreds of fans. We were positioned at a hairpin and got to see various driving styles, including the Scandinavian flick, the road racing line and the giant-crowd-pleasing-tail-slide technique. Out on the stage, I noticed that the Bajans like to tune their cars old-school: high revs, high compression, probably big cams, race gas, flares over the wheels. The cars looked and sounded awesome. We only had time to watch one stage, but I was satisfied. Alex had a good time, because we went to isolated areas in Barbados where no tourists probably ever ventured. We have been to Barbados before, but we never went that far inland to such an isolated area. We grabbed a bus back into the city and met up with the wedding party for a beach picnic. It was a long day, but very enjoyable. I was happy to incorporate a car activity into the trip.

Before the wedding, I was in charge of driving the bride around. I had a borrowed Toyota Starlet (not the cool RWD kind like the ones in the rally). I never 100% got the hang of driving on the left but I managed OK (Alex was in charge of telling me when I was on the wrong side or too close to the curb). The roads are quite narrow, but at least they're smooth. Most of the cool cars here seem to be JDM imports. Subarus are very popular, as are Toyotas, Suzukis and Nissans.

I left my race car in the hands of my competent friends Pascal and JP. I hope they're doing a good job, because we have the Sundown Grand Prix enduro 5 days after my return on the 16th. I'm curious to see how the car performs with the 1.6 liter engine.

Cool cars spotted:
DC5 Integra Type R
Toyota Supra Twin Turbo
Toyota Starlet RWD
Lancer Evo VIII
Lancer Evo IV
WRX STi

AISA school a success!

I again apologize for the long delay between posts. I have still been really busy as there has been a lot going on: Alex's PhD thesis defence, the AISA school, the trip to Barbados next week, getting the race car ready and, on top of it all, buying a condo (more on that later). I will touch on each topic separately.

Getting the Civic ready

I spent Saturday the 11th painstakingly removing all the vinyl stickers from the race car so that we could eventually apply new decals this year. It was a cold day outside, maybe 4 degrees, and I spent many hours with the heat gun. Luckily, JP had a good trick to remove the residue left behind from the decals: gasoline. I can't believe how well it worked. We did an oil change and the car was ready for testing. Here are a couple of photos of the car at the track:

Ready to roll!

Track time!

The car performed well at the track. We got in about an hour of lapping total in the weekend and there were absolutely no problems. I can confirm that the car is a lot slower with a passenger than without one, now that it has the 1.6 with only 111 ft.-lb. of torque!

I dropped the car off with Pascal St-Cyr last night and he is supposed to install the bushings and maybe the shocks and springs, if they arrive in time. If not, the car can be driven pretty much as-is. We have to change front pads and discs, the passenger side mirror which I broke last fall, and figure out what tires we will be using. There won't be much time after my trip to work on the Civic, so I'm glad that all seems in order for now.

AISA School

The AISA school was a great success! Students had nothing but kind words to say about their experience at the track driving school held over last weekend at St-Eustache. I was the head instructor for the 300-group, made up mostly of people with a good amount of track experience, some seeking a race licence. I worked with Quebec racing legend Claude Bourbonnais as well as experienced instructors Martin, Phil and Yves. We had a good group, a couple of whom had fast cars (C6 Corvette, BMW 135, Porsche 997 turbo) and all went smoothly. Carl and Dave did a great job planning and supervising the event. Here are a few pics (my camera is getting old, I know!):

JP driving my Civic

Students' cars from the 300 and 400 groups

Students at a briefing between sessions

On a side note, one of the instructors, JF Coulombe, brought this lovely BMW to the school. It's funny, as I had been thinking a BMW 320 would be a neat project car. This one was euro model in really nice condition (only 2 headlights, small bumpers). I told him to make sure he called me the day he decided to sell it. He half-jokingly mentioned I might be interested in a trade against the race car. I would't be ready to do that at this point, as I believe the race car brings me more enjoyment than a semi-classic car would. Someday though, I would love to have a car somewhat like this one.

Euro-spec!

Cool E21

Alex's PhD

After five years of hard work, Alex is now Dr. Alex. I knew she could do it, but I am still terribly proud of her. Her thesis defence was on Monday and it went really well. So well, in fact, that it is nominated for one of the best theses of the year by the university. Not bad! All those brains, and good looks too!

Alex will be doing post-doctoral research in Chicago starting this summer, and she will be travelling back and forth to Montreal for a few months or a year. What race tracks are near Chicago?

Trip to Barbados

Next week, we head to Barbados for Alex's cousin's wedding and a little bit of a vacation. I can't wait! I will have to bring some work with me, but I still look forward to some relaxing beach time.

New Condo

When we found out Alex was getting some grant money, we sort of started looking at condos for sale in our area to see what we could afford. The first few we visited were either quite dark, quite small, or not ideally located. Then, we went to an open house of a condo that seemed to have it all... only to find out that there was already an offer in even before we had visited.

A few days later, we spotted another place that was more expensive than what we wanted to pay, in a really prime part of town, and decided to make a low offer. After a quick back and forth, our second offer was accepted. All seems fine with the financing and the building inspection went well, so it seems like we will be moving in July. So, for about the price of a Lamborghini Gallardo, we will be getting a condo... a Gallardo would have been nice though....


Cool cars spotted:
Lotus Elise x 2
Lamborghini Diablo
Rolls-Royce Phantom
Bentley Arnage
Bentley Continental
Ferrari F430 x 3
Ferrari 550
Porsche 997 turbo x 3
Audi RS4 x 3
Audi S5
Audi S8
Audi S6 Avant
Audi R8 x 3
Saab Turbo X wagon
BMW M3
BMW M5
BMW M Coupe
BMW Z8 x 2!
C6 Corvette Z06
RHD Toyota Aristo
Nissan Pulsar GTi-R
Nissan Skyline GT-R
AMG SL55
AMG SLK55
AMG C55
AMG S55
AMG ML63
Dodge Viper coupe

OK, basketball season is over... time to think about the car!

Well, we lost. By one point. Our season is over because of one stupid point. I scored a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, but it was too little, too late. I also missed a 3-pointer with about 50 seconds to go. I also missed two foul shots during the game, and a couple of other shots that should have gone in. Pascal's grade-9 team went to the regionals and finished 5th out of 16. They only lost once, but because of the order of the draw, they were eliminated early. The NCAA final game was not exciting at all. NC took an early lead and it never really shrank.

OK. Time to think about car stuff! I'm going karting with Rob tonight. He has an enduro tomorrow night with a group of colleagues (I don't know why I wasn't invited!). I'm getting over a cold, but I figure when the adrenaline kicks in, I'll be fine.

Our race school is slowly filling up. The theoretical course will take place Friday the 17th, while the on-track action will take place the 18th and 19th.

I still have not done even the tiniest bit of work on the car. I received the OBD1 conversion harness I had ordered on Ebay, so I will be able to run the reprogrammed ECU as soon as we take the car out. This weekend is a long weekend and I hope it is warm enough so I can work on the car a bit. It was snowing today, so I don't know what to expect. It sure doesn't feel like spring.

Cool cars spotted:
Porsche 997 turbo
Lamborghini Diablo
C5 Corvette Z06

Basketball season winding down, racing season looming

Well, my grade 8 girls' basketball team did not make it past the first round of the playoffs. We lost 57-31 against the team that beat us by 40 earlier in the season. The girls played quite well in the second half, but it was too little, too late. The grade 9 team, coached by my friend Pascal, won the regional championship last weekend.

My own team will be playing game 3 tonight in our best of 3 semi-final. I really want us to win! Last week, we lost by 9 and I had a poor game offensively.

In other news, Alex found out she will be receiving funding for her post-doctoral work in Chicago, which is great news, professionally and financially. I guess there will be a few more road trips in my future!

I've slowly started planning the race season. The first event we will run with the race car will be the Sundown Grand Prix at Mosport on the weekend of May 18th. I have decided on a new name and car number for this year:

Another home-made logo

For the first race, Carl, JP and I will share driving duties. I hope we will soon be able to sort out who will do what to get the car ready. I just received the OBD1-OBD2 conversion harness so that we can reprogram the car's old ECU. I also received my Energy Suspension bushings, which will have to be installed. Hopefully, the car will be ready to test out in two weeks at the AISA school at St-Eustache.

I saw the new Kia Soul on the road. Looks nice. It seems that Kia has understood that great styling is something any car maker can afford, and that it sells cars.

Cool cars spotted:

Audi RS4

Audi S5

Audi S6 Avant

BMW M3

BMW M5

Ferrari Testarossa

Maserati GT

Bentley Continental Convertible

Triumph TR5

More non-car stuff...

The automotive season is fast approaching, yet I have found myself mostly involved with and thinking about basketball the last couple of week. My girls team are in the playoffs and we will be playing in the quarter-final on Tuesday... against the only team in the league that beat us by 40 points. I know we are a better team than we were when they beat us, but I still consider a win to be a long shot. I've tried to explain to the girls that they have the talent and skills to win the game, but they know it will be tough.

My school's other team, coached by my friend Pascal, will be playing in the league final tomorrow. I will be dropping by to "assist", which will involve mainly keeping an eye on the timing and scoring.

The team on which I played is also in the playoffs. We have a best of three semifinal. We won the first game by 20 and lost game 2 last night by 9. The other team's best player had missed the first game. I personally had terrible games offensively (scoring 4 and 2) because I missed a bunch of shots that I should have been hitting. I played solid defense both games and got at least three blocks yesterday. Unfortunately, most of the team was shooting poorly yesterday. We went down 8-0 at the beginning and then basically maintained the deficit the whole game.

I've also been watching March Madness, and it's much more interesting when you're already in a basketball mindset, and when you look at the game from the perspective of a player and a coach.

Car stuff:
I haven't really done anything about my race car, except order bushings, which I hope JP will have time to install before our first race on May 16th. We should be able to take the car out in three weeks at the AISA race school at St-Eustache, where we will be instructing. Carl has ordered us some Koni race shocks and Ground Control springs and sleeves. In other words, the car will soon have a completely new suspension setup, which will definitely take some getting used to. We'll see soon enough how different it feels.

I've been watching racing on TV as well. I downloaded the first four rounds of WTCC. The racing is ridiculously close. There are tons of position changes and a 3-second lead is considered huge. Seat has been winning quite easily so far, but it will be interesting to see if BMW or Chevy can make up lost ground.


The first F1 race will be on tonight. I love that a new team, Brawn GP, is qualified 1st and 2nd. I think that Barrichello and Button, who were in the wrong place at the wrong time with Honda, are suddenly in a great position to show their worth. I can't wait to see how this plays out. I also love that they have reduced aero grip and returned to mechanical grip with slick tires.

My opinion on the Nissan 370Z: I don't like it in pictures and have not seen one in the flesh. However, it is shorter, 5 cm wider, lighter and has more power than the 350Z. As a result, I like it.

At a dinner party the other day, someone I barely know who was sitting next to me remembered I was into cars and asked me what he should buy next. He now drives an Audi A3 and days he doesn't like the way it drives, which sort of surprises me, given how pleasant I found the car when I drove an identical model a couple of years ago. I asked him what he thought about having a summer car and a winter car, mentioning the Miata. He actually owned a 1990 Miata then it first came out and had fond memories of it. I told him to go test drive a Lexus IS250 (good value in my book, solid resale for a luxury car, sporty), a BMW 3-series (to see if he liked it any more than the Lexus and was willing to pay the extra dough) and a Honda Fit. I figured if he liked the fit almost as much as the others (it is very pleasant to drive as well), he could buy a nice used Miata, maybe even a Mazdaspeed edition. I wonder if he'll follow my advice.

It's spring, and the hot cars are out in Montreal.
Cool cars spotted:
Lamborghini Gallardo
Ferrari F430
Viper SRT10
Audi s4
Audi S6
Audi S8
BMW M3 (tons)
BMW M5
AMG C63
AMG CLS63
AMG G55
Mercedes 190e 2.3-16
Porsche 997 turbo

Updates

It's been a while since I last posted and I apologize. Here are some updates on various non-car related topics:

Alex and I have booked out flights and lodging for her cousin's wedding in Barbados in early May. The Sunday after the wedding, there is a rally (the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages) at which I hope to spectate. Alex has no objection and, because Barbados is so small, I doubt logistics will be a problem if I want to spectate some stages. Barbados is a left-hand-drive country, so there are many cool JDM imported performance cars, like the Nissan Pulsar GTI-R and Toyota Starlet Turbo. Should be fun! Also, Alex's cousin has asked me to be her driver on the day before the wedding and the day of the wedding. I have to organise the car rental. It will be my first time driving a RHD car on the left (I've driven motorcycles on the left in Thailand and RHD cars on the track though). Alex and I are really looking forward to this vacation.

Here is a photo from the 2008 event:

Alex has handed in her PhD thesis and will defend her thesis before her committee on April 20th. After that, she is 100% done with her PhD. I am very proud.
The basketball team I coach won two of their four last games. One win was 41-21 and the other was 48-3. We then lost against the 2nd and 3rd place teams, 32-21 (after leading 10-2!) and 42-28 (that was today). The girls played well in the two losses and I have no complaints. We will make the playoffs (8 of 10 teams make them) and will likely play our first game against one of the teams that recently beat us. If we have a great game, we can take these teams!

The team I play on has been losing a bit more than we've been winning. We will still make the playoffs, which start next week. I have scored 7 to 11 points in the last three games, with one three-pointer in each game. Our injured captain is back, but another of our players cut up his finger in a snow blower... ouch!

I went running twice last week, the first time this year. It wasn't that bad: 9 km on Mount Royal in winter conditions followed by 10 km on the road a few days later in spring conditions. I felt pretty good, especially the second time, and clocked a mid 46 on the 10k, which is again decent for an early season training run.

Now to the car stuff:

My new club, the AISA, has a few members now, including some former provincial champions. Our April 18-19 race school at St-Eustache is steadily filling up.

Pat Boyer finally had time to take a look at my busted race motor. There was a broken valve. I have to order a new valve, retainer and head gasket so Pat can finish the job. Luckily, there is no significant damage to the head itself... dodged a bullet there.

I haven't done any work on the race car. Procrastination...

Yesterday, I got to try out my friend Raymond's new M3 4-door. Wow and wow. That car accelerates, and I didn't even rev it that high where the real power is. It does not feel light, but it sure feels tight. Also, as is common in BMW's, the ride is firm but not uncomfortable. It's a really nice car and it drives beautifully. He also has a 335 and I hope to drive that one too so I can see how they compare (the 335 actually has more torque than the M3).



Cool cars spotted:Bentley Continental GT
Bentley Continental Flying Spur
Porsche 997 turbo
AMG E55
AMG C63
Jaguar XF-R
Audi S4
Audi S5
Audi S6 Avant
BMW M3
BMW M5
Nissan Pulsar GTI-R
Toyota Celica Turbo RC
Mitsubishi Evolution
Subary WRX STi

Sad day for Saab

It's a sad day for the automotive industry. One of my favourite carmakers has filed for bankruptcy prevention. I love Saab cars, but I think that Saab under GM was mismanaged. The cars were nice (I know because I've driven pretty much everything in the model range on the track while instructing at Saab corporate days) but they didn't really stand out compared to the competition from BMW, Audi, Lexus and Acura. I loved the classic 900 (1978-1993) and I really like the NG900 (1994-2002 model). I liked that they were hatchbacks, the way they they looked but, most of all, the way they drove. I had a 1989 Sport 900 hatchback and, although it was not the most reliable car, it was such a pleasure to drive. It was the first car I had ever owned that really seemed to be geared towards driving enjoyment, which should be distinguished from ultimate performance. The car had very average acceleration and not a ton of grip. Also, it was not that fun to drive at 10/10ths... I know because I tried it on the track. However, just driving down the street, or especially on the highway, was an extremely pleasant experience. This is one reason that I've been seriously considering a 2000-2002 9-3 for my next car. It's a hatchback, it's turbo, and it looks cool. The newer Saabs are less distinctive looking and not hatchbacks. I believe this has made GM's decision to scrap the brand easier.

ICE RACING!

I went ice racing in Minden, Ontario last weekend with Alex and Carl. I just haven't had time to write about it until now.

Carl and I each rented a rubber-to-ice class car from Lee, a chap we know through the Honda and Acura Driver's Association (HADA). Lee charges us a rock bottom price to rent the cars and he lets us stay in the little chalet he rents which is only a mile from the Minden Fairgrounds where the event is held.

The events are extremely well-organized. Carl and I attended last year (see my post about it: http://vincentbasile.blogspot.com/2008/02/ice-racing-addictively-fun.html ) and had a fun time. It takes over five hours to get to Minden from Montreal, so it's not a trip we plan to make more than once a year. Still, in the dead of winter, almost any road trip is an improvement over the standard weekend at home and it's quite easy to convince Alex (who just handed in her PhD thesis a couple of weeks ago) to come along, despite the prospect of hours of car talk on the way and at the event.

We got a good nights sleep Friday as we had to be up early on Saturday for our races. We planned to race only on Saturday so we could be home early enough on Sunday. Carl got a CRX that was decorated like a police car, while I got a 1988-91 Civic hatch. These cars would normally be in different classes as the CRX is in the short wheelbase class, but running in the second driver race (a class that exists so two people can share a car and still get lots of seat time) allowed us to race against each other. We went out for a short practice in the morning and I realized that my car didn't really like to turn and understeered like a pig. This was not helped by the fact that the handbrake didn't work. I was sharing the car with another renter named John (who coincidentally I had raced against at the two 2008 Mosport enduros) and we played with tire pressures before he went out for his race.

My next time on track was for my qualifying race. The start order was drawn randomly and I got 7th out of 20. As I waited on the false grid, my Civic began to piss coolant and overheat. I pulled out of the line while John and Lee added coolant to the car. I managed to head out before the race start, but I was last. Carl started about 12th. The race was uneventful and I never saw Carl. I passed a couple of cars, but I still had no handbrake and the car would not turn except at ridiculously slow speeds. My car was scraped a couple of times as I was being lapped by the fast guys.

I was to start about 17th for my second race. I was gridded behind another Civic similar to mine for the standing start. When the green flag dropped, the green Civic in front stalled and, before I could pull around it, I was bumped from behind, pushing my car forward. I had to use reverse to pull back far enough to pass the stalled car. I ran my race pretty much alone and, to add insult to injury, the green Civic caught and passed me near the end of the race. Alex had decided to join me in the passenger seat during the race and she could see how pissed off I was. It probably wasn't as fun for her as it could have been... At least Carl didn't lap me.

For my final race, I lined up near the back. I could see Carl a few spots up from me and hoped to be able to catch up to him at some point. From the first lap, I could feel the car was different. It turned out that John switched the rear tires around between the races and suddenly, the car had some lift-throttle oversteer. It was suddenly drivable! I had much more fun in this last race and even managed to catch Carl and pass him. After that, my adrenaline was pumping as I fought to keep him behind me. I managed to hold him off as we finished near the back of the field, with a huge smile on my face.

Ice racing is wheel-to-wheel racing, there is no doubt about it. It just takes place at lower speeds. This is the cheapest way to experience wheel to wheel racing in real cars. If we had a series like this closer to home, you can bet Carl and I would have a car for the series.

All in all, it was an enjoyable weekend, made all the more so by the fact that Alex tagged along, despite the promise of mostly car-related activities and not much else.

Here are some photos:

This is Carl in his rental CRX, affectionately know as HADA five-0

This is me in my rental, one of my all-time favourite cars: an EF Civic

Our final race of the day (my Civic near the back, Carl a few spots ahead)

Me finally catching Carl...

...and trying to pull ahead!

Alex goofing around on the couch at the chalet

Our host Lee, fellow renter Miles, and Carl chilling on the couch at the chalet

BIRTH OF AISA

Home-made logo

In the hopes of having the school where Carl, Dave P. and I instruct accredited so that we can give out road-race and lapping licenses, we incorporated a non-profit organization called ASSOCIATION DES INSTRUCTEURS DE SPORT AUTOMOBILE over the holidays. It took us several weeks, but the club is now affiliated to the FSAQ and ASN-Canada-FIA. Our first official event will be a road-race and lapping school at St-Eustache on April 19-20. I made a small website for the club.

Cool cars spotted:
AMG C63
AMG G55
AMG CLS55
Saab Turbo X
RHD Mitsubishi Delica Offroad
RHD Mitsubishi GTO
Audi S8