Car-related post!

And now, to car-related items!

There is not much going on in the world of cars and racing for me as the off-season begins. The BMW has been winterized and last night, even when driving on ice-covered roads, the car was sure-footed and confidence-inspiring. There is still the occasional clunk from the left-rear suspension, but I have ordered the parts that I believe will finally rid me of the problem. I hope Marc will have time to install them in the next couple of weeks.

The Civic is still at Marc's house. When he has time, he works on it. We just ordered a bunch of bushings that he will install. I have decided that I would like to enter the car in a 12-hour enduro at New Jersey Motorsports Park at the end of April 2012 and the car will need several modifications (mostly small ones) to be legal for the SCCA's ITS class. The Civic will probably not be a strong ITS car, but it will not be as outclassed as it would in ITE, which is essentially an open class with highly modified cars. One of the bigger jobs would be adding a harness bar to the roll cage and removing some braces create too many contact points on the chassis. Marc can also take care of this.

The planning of such a race is a daunting task, but I have decided to start early and see if I can round up three other drivers and a bunch of crew members. Seb Rochon of Bimmershop has won this event before and it would  be nice to have him around next year to give us some pointers on our first enduro over three hours. Speaking of three-hour enduros, I realized the other day that the Civic has now run ten of them, and finished them all. The car may not be that quick, but it's pretty reliable!

In November, I submitted a couple of articles to the AutoJournals web site (http://www.auto-journals.com/) and I found out this week that the journal about the M3 was accepted. Neat! I don't really have much to add to the initial journal entry so far, as the M3 is a street car without too many issues, but I will try to think of something interesting to say about it in the future.

Other thoughts, in no particular order:
- I like the Hyundai Veloster. I think it looks awesome.
- Toyota: your new Camry and Yaris look just like the old ones. What gives? You used to style cool cars, like the Celica and Supra!
- I have seen a few Boxster's on winter tires. I'm glad to see people actually driving their cars in winter!
- Another racing buddy has bought an E36 M3 as a track car. I am jealous!
- Marc has a rear-wheel-drive 1986 Corolla GTS sleeping in his parents' garage. I wish I could buy it! Talk about a practical classic car!
- I saw a new Saab 9-5. I didn't know there would be any new Saab's. I thought they were bankrupt!
- I came across some cars on display in a shopping center near my office. Highlights : an Alfa Romeo Montreal and an Aston Martin Lagonda... wow.

Lagonda

Montreal

Neat JDM truck

Clean 80's Jag

Cool cars spotted:
AMG C63 Coupe
AMG C63
AMG G55
Mercedes 500E
Hummer H1
Saab Viggen
Audi S8
Audi RS4
Porsche Targa 4S

I finally have some free time...

So I can write in the blog after almost three weeks since my last post. To keep things simple, I will not mention anything automotive in this post and then I will make a second post about car stuff.

I have been pretty busy at work, since my intern finished her internship a few weeks ago. Luckily, I will have a new intern in January.

I haven't played basketball in a few weeks, due to scheduling and my family Christmas party in Ontario, but I've been to quite a few games with my grade 8-9 girls. The Diamonds are having a pretty good season, as we go into the holiday break with a record of six wins and two losses. We have lost twice to the undefeated first place team (just like last year) and we only have one more chance to beat them in the regular season. We will almost certainly play them in the regional playoffs. Our brilliant assistant coach Darlington says he is treating the whole season as a practice for that one playoff game, which makes sense. The only game against that team that really means anything as far as winning a regional championship is that final.

Even though the girls have several wins, the team's play has been inconsistent. We have managed to raise the intensity level of the team, and we now have to work on correcting mistakes to minimize turnovers. I will be taking the coaching Level II training in January, since the league requires this level to coach grade 10-11, which I may end up coaching next year. I have been watching basketball documentaries (Gunnin' for that Number One Spot, The Heart of the Game) which, combined with the fact that my 21-year-old assistant coach knows ten times more than me about the game, makes me want to improve my knowledge of basketball and my coaching skills. I realize that I never really had a great coach from the age of 12 and that I mostly just showed up and played. I think this is something I can address though, by reading books, watching videos and attending training seminars.

As far as running goes, I have simply not done any. This is a bit sad and I have no real excuse. Any 2012 marathon I might run is so far off I barely even think about it. I will try to get some runs in during the holidays.

Alex has successfully completed her first semester teaching as a professor at Concordia University. She put in many hours and did a good job with her students, while continuing to work on future publications with her collaborators from around the world. She is still busy and will even have to work during the holidays, but she seems more and more comfortable with the work load.

All that is left is to wish any readers a happy holiday season!

Winter is almost here.

It did snow one day last week, enough that the city was blanketed in white. However (and thankfully), it all melted, so now we're back to late fall weather. The ground is pretty soggy though.

Snow day

Ready for winter driving

I have been pretty busy with work, but I don't have many other activities to worry about: the auto racing season is well and truly over and I am not training for any running event. The hobby that is the most time consuming these days is basketball.

My men's team has continued to do well. After our initial tie-game, we have won four in a row, despite the fact that only five players have shown up in the last two games. My shooting continues to be quite poor, but my defense is still pretty solid. I just wish I had more time to practice. I try to shoot around with the girls at practice, which is better than nothing.

The Diamonds are doing pretty well. After the two initial wins, the girls played against Regina Assumpta, the top team in our age group. They played a solid game, but ended up losing 46-43, which is not bad. At least we saw that we can compete at that level. Yesterday's game against Jean-Grou did not go as well, despite the fact that we won by 3. I couldn't really complain about our girls' level of intensity, as they were working hard. However, the sheer number of missed layups, turnovers and bad decisions on court almost negated all our defensive efforts. When they double-teamed our best player, she struggle to be productive on offense. Considering we have already beat this team by 25 earlier in the season, it was not our best performance. 

The holiday season is approaching but, as usual, I will only be able to relax after the last day of work before Christmas.

Cool cars spotted:

Audi S6 V10
Audi RS6
Audi R8
Audi RS4
Alpina B7
Lexus ISF
G55 AMG
SL63 AMG
Ferrari 458 Italia
Maserati Quattroporte
Bentley Continental GTC
BMW M6
Nissan GTR
Saab Turbo X

Some professional pictures of last week's track day.

Here are some of Jeremy's excellent photos taken during my track day at St-Eustache on November 13th.

Posing with the Civic

Kevin, Vince and Rob, enjoying the warm late fall weather

 

Illusion of speed

Lining up the Jetta for the pass

Esses!

Artsy pic

Another cool artsy pic

Late fall colours

More laps in the Civic!

Rob's Mustang, ready for action

 

A short break for the Civic

Before more laps

And yet more laps!

And then a few laps driving Rob's Mustang... pretty sweet!

Cool blurry pic

Passing a Mustang on the back straight

The Esses again

Between an Evo 9 and a turbo Jetta

Last driving video of the season

Here is a short video of a couple of laps at the track last Sunday. My camera stopped before I could record the fastest laps of the day, so the times in this video are not that great:

A perfect day?

I have been watching a lot of racing these days and browsing many automotive websites. People are talking about their winter plans, but it hasn't even snowed yet. I found this to be pretty depressing from a track driving point of view, so I decided to organize a track day that would take place today. Carl helped me set it up the rental of the track at St-Eustache and all I had to do was find 14 other enthusiasts willing to pay a small fee for one last track day in 2011. With the help of our club's Facebook page and the MontrealRacing web site, I managed to scrape together the required number of drivers and the day was on. Apart from a delay in getting the keys to open the gate of the track this morning, things went really well. I think the people who showed up had a great time. The weather was great and there was a lot of track time on offer. I personally burned a whole tank of gas in the race Civic. The track was dusty in the morning, but improved steadily throughout the day. When Pascal's WRX STi began to smoke due to an oil seal leak, I offered him some seat time in the Civic. I told him that if we wanted to set a better lap time than me, he would need to lap in under 1:02.50. He went out for a few laps and came back with a huge grin on his face. When I asked him what lap time he had achieved, he just pointed to the lap timer and showed me a 1:01.83. I was a bit pissed off, as I thought it would be hard to shave off 0.7 seconds to best his time in the remaining sessions. I went out right away and clicked off a 1:02.1 on my first lap. It took me several tries (many laps in the 1:02.0 range) before I finally managed to match his time of 1:01.83. We were both laughing at the end of my session.

I also got to go out for a few laps in Rob's 2000 Mustang track car. It was surprisingly easy to drive and I had quite a good time. The power was really manageable and the car felt stable and safe. All in all, it was a great day and I am proud that I was able to organize a track day so late in the season. I have to thank Marc, Kevin and Pascal for all their help.

8:00 in the morning, hoping 15 people will show up

The Civic ran like a charm all day

This is how you want your tires to look at the end of the season

A comparison of my speed throughout my best lap in comparison with Pascal's

The perfect day ended with a quiet BBQ dinner with Alex followed by some quality couch time (including watching the Abu Dhabi F1 race!).

As for my basketball teams, things are going really well too. My men's team now has two consecutive wins (after a tie in the first game) and we are still undefeated. My girls' team has now played two games, winning by 25 against a division 2 team (same division as us) and by 30 against a division 3 team. Darlington continues to impress me with his coaching and knowledge. Our next game is against the team that is usually considered as the one to beat in the division. It will not be easy.

Running: I haven't been out running again as I have been busy with work, but I plan to go out at least once this week.

Cool cars spotted:

AMG C63
Lamborghini Murcielago
Porsche Boxster Spyder
Porsche 996 GT2
Porsche 997 tt
Maserati Quattroporte
Ferrari F430
Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale
Ferrari California
Flat black Bentley Continental GT
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Aston Martin Vainquish
Mercedes 190e 2.3 16
Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works
Lexus ISF
BMW M6
BMW Z4M
Audi RS4
Toyota MR2 Mk. 1
Toyota Supra tt
Toyota Celica turbo AWD JDM

Finally got my butt off the couch.

It's been more than five weeks since the marathon and I hadn't gone on a single run until today. The weather was lovely, so I left work a bit early so I could get in a 13 km run on Mount Royal before dark set in (a bit after 6:00 pm), as the Olmsted path is not lit. I went out a bit slow, but quickly got into a decent rhythm. My heart rate did not remain very low, but I was able to maintain the high 150's and low 160's for quite a while. I completed the distance in under 58 minutes for what I believe is the first time ever. Now, a couple of hours later, I feel fine. I needed that, especially since last Friday's basketball game was cancelled and I haven't had much physical activity. I guess this just proves that I should get out for a run more often.

Other than that, Alex and I have both been busy with work. I know the holidays are still a few weeks off, but I look forward to a little break. We have booked a trip to Mexico for spring break and are looking into a trip to Holland (and possibly the Nurburgring?) in April. These dates are still a loooong way off.

I have been watching BTCC races over the past few days. It makes me wish I could afford to do a bit more racing in the Civic. It doesn't look like there will be any other opportunities to drive the car again this year. Bummer. At least I have the BMW, which is extremely pleasant to drive on the softer winter tires. I swapped the pads on the car for some used street pads, as both Alex and I were sick of the constant squealing of the performance pads that came with the car. I have to say that I am extremely impressed with the performance of the pads I just removed (I don't even know what brand they are, but I suspect they are Hawk HP Plus due to the noise). I have driven 20 000 km on them and they still have a ton of thickness left. Also, I can feel a definite difference in the bite of these pads versus the street ones I just put on. Too bad they squeal like a scared piglet! Also, too bad the brake pad wear sensor broke when I removed it (and, of course, I did not have a spare one on hand!).

I have to say that I am still fascinated with my new phone. I hadn't realized that it was going to be like having a little laptop in my pocket at all times. It's crazy having this much information available all the time. Also, it's like I'm always carrying around a decent camera in my pocket in case I spot something worthy of shooting (OK, mostly cars!). In fact, even though we are in November, there are still some pretty cool cars on the road:

I spotted this BMW 1M on German plates, complete with a Nurburgring sticker. It must be a European delivery car:

Euro delivery 1M

Front view

I saw this nice AMG SLS in virtually the same spot:

Lovely SLS

And I photographed this BMW 3.0 CS at a red light. OK, I admit the camera cannot deal with every situation!

E9 BMW

Cool cars spotted:

Audi R8
Audi 200 Avant Quattro
AMG G55
AMG SLS
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati GT
Lamborghini Gallardo
Nissan GTR
Nissan Skyline GT-R R32
Opel GT
Toyota Supra TT
Toyota MR2 (mk.1)
Alfa Romeo Spider
E28 BMW M5
BMW 1M
BMW 3.0 CS
Shelby GT500
Ford Mustang Cobra SVT
Bentley Continental GT
Porsche 997 Targa S
Porsche 997 GT3 RS
Porsche 997 Turbo
MGB-GT