The end of the Spring 2011 series in Tucson and again figuring out that running early isn’t worth it. More grit equals less grip.

Comps: 47.068, 46.728, 46.787 (+1), 46.268 (+1)
TOs: 52.971 (+1), 46.836, 46.283, 46.237

Best part of the day was Andrea coming to ride along in TOs and having a blast doing so. There are some changes in store for the car soon!

As far as the series I finished 8th out of the 10 drivers in the PAX category that ran at least 3 of the 4 events and qualified for the series. Not all that great but getting better.

Comps: 68.369, 66.366, 66.371, 66.378 (+1)
15th fastest time out of 99, 19th PAX
12th of 22 in SPM category, 895 points

It was hot and I was too hard on the tires. And my need for stiffer springs was very apparent. That’s all I got on this one.

Some photos from the experience:

CSP Miata being put together Friday night.

Ready for action.

Action shots.

Video of all six runs

More pictures

Results:
Saturday: 57.626, 57.275, 55.850
Sunday: 53.237, 51.903, 51.566 (+1)
107.753 combined, 3rd out of 10 (trophy position!)
0.383 out of second but almost 8 seconds out of first.

It was a great weekend. I elected not to drive back until Monday morning so I went to the beach for a few hours after everyone cleared out Sunday afternoon and that might have been the best idea I had all weekend. Very relaxing and an excellent end to a very fun weekend.

My best event in Tucson yet:

Comps: 55.174, 54.595 (+3), 55.097 (+5), 54.594 (+1)
TOs: 55.593 (+1), 54.348 (+2), 53.995 (+2), 54.431 (+1)
8th/54 raw, 10th PAX, 9th/14 in PAX Category, 953 points

Left time out there since I hit a lot of cones, but I am definitely working better with the car and it’s new-found capabilities. On to San Diego!

The R32 also got a full clay bar and detail today for the first time in its life. The paint is smooth as glass and hopefully I will get a chance to take some good pictures before it gets dirty again. Also, hopefully, now that it is very clean I will be more motivated to keep it clean.

First go ’round at Firebird with the new suspension and race tires resulted in my best finish yet at a AZ Solo event. Since the surface is different than Marana (read: much bumpier) I got to fiddle with settings on the coilovers to see how the car reacted.

Comps: 37.190 +3, 37.258 +1, 37.657, 37.052
TOs: 36.945, 36.436, 36.384 +1, 36.439

My last competition run was the 17th fastest time out of 103 entrants and the 12th fastest PAX time. I finished 7th out of 14 in the Sportsman category with 953 points.

There’s one more tune up, the Border Region event at Marana Airport this coming weekend, before the San Diego National Tour.

Happy New Year // Watched the Red Wings beat the Coyotes // Ahhh crap, someone stole my credit card… // Tucson SCCA Meeting // Dodgeball // Got a present for the R // New Autocross Tires! // Autocross in Phoenix // Tucson SCCA Meeting // Dodgeball Tournament // TUS -> IAH -> DCA // Sherlock Holmes // Fantastic Lunch with the all the family in VA // Watched the Terps beat up Longwood // Downtown Silver Spring // RJ Bentley’s College Park, hooray Yuegling! // DCA -> IAH -> TUS // Tried to see how much tire I could stuff under the R32 // Autocross in Tucson // Old Chicago //More R32 parts… // New Season of Dodgeball! // Work Deadlines… // Work Annual Reviews // Hooray refunds from CC disputes! // House Hunting!

Whew.

That’s what I get for running on crap tires.

Comps: 79.085 (+1), 66.763 (+2), 67.682 (+1), 67.175
TOs: . 68.369 (+1), 67.941, 67.237 (+1), DNS
Street Tire: 2nd of 10, by less than a tenth!
Overall: 18th fastest time out of 50, 20th PAX, 922

First run was a bit sketchy with ABS working overtime and everything locking up. I think it was a combination of the gravel, the cool weather, and the lack of usable tires. I haven’t added it up, but these tires have quite a few runs on them and are long past their sweet spot. Oh well.

I did what I could and focused on applying what I learned last week. It definitely helped. I’m excited for next year – already mapping out car changes, new tires, and what National Tour(s?) I can make. =)

I ended up 2nd in Street Tire for the Fall series with 2789 points, 11 behind first and 27 ahead of third. I’m a little disappointed because it was within reach, even before this event, but instead of dwelling on that, time to build on what’s been learned and go faster.

We also killed some tires.

Sunday it was time to put this new knowledge to work. I ran in Open, partly to try and rain on Dave Webb’s quest for 3000 (I failed, but Doug didn’t) and partly just to try something new since I already wrapped up 1st in ST2 (remember though: big fish, little pond…).

I ran… okay, but had a good breakthrough in TOs. I think, as with Evo School in March, it will take a little time for everything to sink in – we’ll find out tomorrow at the last Tucson event of the year.

Comps: 34.697, 35.292 (+2), 35.438 (+1), 34.510 (+1)
TOs: 35.033, 34.140, 34.566 (+3), 33.795 (+1 cone and a very stupid missed shift…)
DSP Open: 3rd out of 3, 974
Overall: 28th fast time out of 101, 28th PAX also, 931

Now I cross my fingers that these tires can survive one more event, and help me get the points I need to take over 1st within Street Tire in Tucson.

I only managed 3rd in Street Tire this event, after coning away my first three competition runs. Disappointing. I also dipped down into the 52 second range in TOs (again, with a cone), once again leaving time to be had during the runs that counted.

Comps: 54.722 (+1), 53.587 (+1), 54.025 (+1), 54.120
Street Tire: 3rd of 11
Overall: 22nd of 47 fastest time, 23rd PAX time
TOs: 53.195, 53.236 (+1), 53.478 (+1), 52.674 (+1)

That leaves me 18 points out of 1st for the series but I’m also only up 7 points on 3rd. Looks like I have some work to do December 13…

The third of four events in the Fall series. The course was short, and flew by even faster than the times would indicate. I coned away my best competition run, but still managed to hang on to the top spot in Street Tire 2.

Comps: 33.537, 33.509, 33.593 (+1), 33.172 (+3)
Street Tire 2: 1st of 12 by .511, 1000 points
Overall: 27th fastest time of 81, 30th PAX time
Time Only: 33.428, 33.001, 33.104, 33.155 (+2), 32.995

With the 1000 points in class, I have wrapped up the win in the series (2955 points total). The series is best three out of 4, but there’s no one in the category that can qualify (at least three events) and beat that total. That’s all well and good, but it’s sort of like being the big fish in a small pond; I’m still behind other drivers in my class by a good margin. I also recall getting whooped just last month by my own car with another driver so I will not be letting up for the December event, that’s for sure. I think I have started to figure more out about what is optimal for the car’s new setup. Playing with tire pressures – specifically, running a pretty big difference front to rear – finally got back some of the rotation I was looking for in the back end of the car. Now I just have to keep building on the relative success.