2009 San Diego Tour Thread

[Mako Koiwai]

Bill ... yes, more then one way to skin a cat. Of course you remember how out of control Klammer looked at the Innsbruck Olympics DH. All over the course ... looking out of control ... because ... he was going sooo fast!

[Jason Isley BS RX8]

And you're absolutely right, Jason, you made the right call. Now, if you can, because I know it will pain you to lower yourself and put yourself into the shoes of a 'Tard, look how it appeared to me: I came through the finish (I NEVER saw missing cones; sure seemed to me that I barely made it past the cone on the left, before the finish, which was the real heart-stopper) and as I get near the the last turn to the right, by your announcing car, I see a cone. I don't want to be called for that cone (I have no idea, at this point, that I hit one in station 3) so I stop, point it out to the course worker, get him to acknowledge that I didn't hit it, and move on. But I hear you saying that I've hit a cone. I think you mean the one in the finish shoot and and get mad because, in my mind I've done everything right and am getting a bad break. I couldn't get anyone's attention in the trailer to not count this cone against me, nor did anyone tell me I hit one earlier either. Anna Goeke comes over, trys to straighten things out, and in the mean time, our car is setting in grid w/my tires cooling off. I'm then given a choice of keeping my run or taking a re-run. Since it appears to be a good time for a first run, I keep it. Only later did I find out I've been called on a cone earlier but at this point, I'm given a re-run based on what Jason U. described above.

Now I know you're a clutch driver (really you are and there's no sarcasim meant here) but I've not been one lately, and to be told that your run "in the bank" and good enough for the win, is now no good, and you have to go back out and do it again, after it's been announced that George has already won, well, that's a lot of pressure to deal with, and I'm pleasently surprised that I did.

Just for the record.

That is why everything the announcer says is unofficial. I 100% understand your confusion and frustration. Very often drivers, particularly fast ones, will just nick a cone and not even know it. You are absolutely within your right as a competitor to question any call, sometimes you win, sometimes you get the cone. My only confusion came from why you got the rerun. I thought years ago they did away with the rerun for cones after the finish unless it "affected" your run, with the time you posted I said no way he was slowed down by the cone.... It never for a second occurred to me that you might have gotten an advantage from the missing cone, good eyes by someone to catch that and call for the rerun. However, I am not so sure anyone else in CSP wanted to see you get another shot.

[Marshall Grice]

Sunday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R0pkjc6ONI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Pete Loney]

Sunday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R0pkjc6ONI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, it's amazing how much you are not on the throttle time wise due to the course layout.

goes Something like: vroooooom.....................................vrooooooom.............................................vroooom............................vrooooom...................

Thanks for sharing...

[Chuck Fowler]

Sunday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R0pkjc6ONI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, it's amazing how much you are not on the throttle time wise due to the course layout.

goes Something like: vroooooom.....................................vrooooooom.............................................vroooom............................vrooooom...................

Thanks for sharing...

you relly like going vrooooooom, don't you Pete

[Michael Heinitz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqcImLRpcoM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...another one from Sunday

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Good showing of Jr Kart class alums!
Me
Nicole Nagler
Kyle Williams
Cameron Kahangi
Michael Eguina

The tech guy (not Robbie) was telling me how he didn't like JR karts (I think he thought Jon's kart was mine) because they are so slow. After getting the tech sticker I told him "I don't know what you drive but I'll bet this Fj kart is faster than you" and walked away.

Probably a member of SDAD, primary objectors to karts in general and Jr. karts in particular. :mrt:

[Stacey Christopher]

Good showing of Jr Kart class alums!
Me
Nicole Nagler
Kyle Williams
Cameron Kahangi
Michael Eguina

The tech guy (not Robbie) was telling me how he didn't like JR karts (I think he thought Jon's kart was mine) because they are so slow. After getting the tech sticker I told him "I don't know what you drive but I'll bet this Fj kart is faster than you" and walked away.

It may be true that the 5-7 year old karters are slow at first, but what PSCC did and Team BLEW is also doing having a separate kids course will go a long way to making them much quicker and used to a cone course when they run a regular event. Easy to do at El Toro, but possible at CalSpeedway, too. Note that they choose to continue on the Jr course on the Championship day, no impact on the event. I think Robert cut his time in half from where he started and his confidence obviously grew. They are our future, both as drivers and some like Christine that will give back as valuable contributors to events and the region.

Well said, Rick!!!!

Kencey really enjoyed the separate track (and looks forward to the next one)!! She was relieved to know that she did not have to run on the "big" track that Sunday. She thought that it was really huge! Plus, she thought that it would take her forever to run it. (That is, after hearing the run times of the cars and comparing those times to what she had heard at Fontana events).

[Steve Ekstrand]

One of my biggest fears with Robert was just his holding up the show. Everybody has to have a first time (though it doesn't have to be in nursery school for most). Robert's went pretty well on a tough course to follow though it was slow.

After our big weekend at El Toro, there is no more crawling slow times for Robert and Kencey. And after Will and I took our kids to Willow Springs for a private all day session, I don't think his twins will slow things up much at all.

I still didn't put Robert on that 95 second monster course at El Toro. Just didn't see the point when the kids had their own right sized course on the other side. But when we do put him back on a real course for all to see, I think the region will be pleasantly surprised at how fast the little ones can go once they get their skills and confidence up.

The only real negative is locking down the cars for a few minutes. I think the investment of those minutes to produce another generation of core people and great drivers is definitely worth it.

I've posted the video before, but here is Robert in his fourth weekend running the kart. In Pre-K, 5yrs 4 months at the time. 2.75hp kid kart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MALuS0FT_GA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Aaron Goldsmith]

Sunday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R0pkjc6ONI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, it's amazing how much you are not on the throttle time wise due to the course layout.

goes Something like: vroooooom.....................................vrooooooom.............................................vroooom............................vrooooom...................

Thanks for sharing...

Yeah.. that's pretty much how we had to drive the STi. That is NOT how you drive the BMW. Though I'm pretty sure if you looked at Tom's run it would be more like VROOOOOOooooooooooo...ooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooo...ooooOOOOOOooooooooo...oooooOOOOOOOOOOOooOOOOOom.

[John Edwards]

This video is of the Fiat 850 Sedan running Sunday in GP at this years National Tour. Our group got caught in most of the rain - lotsa fun! Event w/street tyres, the Fiat nearly got away from me several times on the first run. Oh yeah, I only had 1 wiper on the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELZx36qApfc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

John...

[Bryan Heitkotter]

Yet another video post...

Saturday - http://www.vimeo.com/3830194" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sunday - http://www.vimeo.com/3861810" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another fun-filled San Diego course. This one seemed a bit easier than last year's Tour courses. Or maybe the Mazda is that much easier to drive than the old E-Stock MR2. I love all the elevation and camber changes. They make each run feel like more of an adventure.