Some pictures from Tremblant. awesome race weekend even in cold and rain.
05-26-2003, 03:39 AM
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Some pictures from Tremblant. awesome race weekend even in cold and rain.
I'll let Vince B post the writeup on his victory, but here are some pictures
flat black GT3R
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/gt3r-overing.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/gt3r-overing2.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/gt3r-overing3.jpg">
Mr "Hilfiger"'s ferraris
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/f-challenge1.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/f-challenge2.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/f-challenge3.jpg"><ul><li><a href="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/">more pics, not cropped or sorted</a></li></ul>
flat black GT3R
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/gt3r-overing.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/gt3r-overing2.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/gt3r-overing3.jpg">
Mr "Hilfiger"'s ferraris
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/f-challenge1.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/f-challenge2.jpg">
<img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/f-challenge3.jpg"><ul><li><a href="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/">more pics, not cropped or sorted</a></li></ul>
05-26-2003, 08:07 AM
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Another long race report by Vince
<center><img src="http://1.8t.org/~vk/tremblant/P5240029.JPG"></center><p>This past weekend I had my first two road races of the year. The series is a local one made up of 4 double events all at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant, about 90 miles north of Montreal.
For those of you who don't know this track, it used to be used for Can-Am and Formula One in the 60's and 70's, before the Canadian GP moved to the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. It's recently been renovated and made safer and I expect we'll see some high level racing there in the next few years (they already have Grand-Am).
Although I live in Montreal and have quite a few track events under my belt, I'd never been to this track, even as a spectator. the reason was that there simply were not that many events held there (the owner's main purpose is not to make money with this track because it's more like his hobby). The events have mostly been BMWCCA and Porsche Club events, the prices for HPDE were too high for me (higher than road race) and I usually try to get bang for the buck.
So this was to be my third ever road race weekend after getting my EMRA license last year. My friends were anxious to see what I thought of this track compared to Watkins Glen. These 2 tracks are often mentioned in the same breath as the great tracks of the Northeast.
Just to give you an idea of what I was expecting: the classes are divided into brackets based on lap times. Small bore racing is almost non-existent in Canada (which is why I prefer to race with EMRA) and my expected lap times put me about 15 seconds per lap slower than the fast time allowed for the class (D Production, 2:00 lap and up), so I was not going there to win anything (I have a 92 hp EF Civic CX). I just wanted to drive this track, get some general experience as well as some specific experience on this track for when I eventually return with a whopping 127 hp D16 in my car.
I had studied the video of the track for a couple of weeks before the event and at least knew if the turns coming up would be right or left. The weather prediction was for rain, so I put on my Hankook Z2000 (not especially great in the rain, but they had alot of tread). It didn't rain in that first session. Surprisingly, the track was much as I expected it to be from the video (not the case with WGI). I didn't feel lost or "all over the place" even on my firs session. Also, given that I have a low powered car, I was often running flat out without much risk. The only scary part of the track was the 1-2-3-4 combo (all right handers, blind apex on top of a hill, downhill plunge before braking zone, high pucker factor). I had read about people going flat out through 1-2-3 and I still find it hard to believe. The picture shows turns 1 and 2.
I realized in the paddock that I had the lowest dollar operation of any team, bar none. There were a few tractor-trailer teams with elvators for the cars and huge hospitality areas. I was the only person who drove to the track with my race car...
The lineup for tech inspection was ridiculously long, and I asked permission to cut in front of the line when my session coming up, which they let me do. They only started inspecting cars at about 8:40 and we were due on track at 9:30. There were about 25 cars in front of me (and about 30 behind) in the line. I was nervous as I always am for tech, even though I think my car is 100% legal safety wise (and there are virtually no rules modification-wise in this series). The tech inspector seemed inexperienced and failed to check many things. He did check my kill switch, and I thank my sponsor TRAC Racing for wiring it properly (not the lazy way that many people do around here, which doesn't necessarily shut off the engine). I had to take the initiative to show him my helmet rating, fire extinguisher, socks, etc. The only thing I was missing ws a 2nd throttle return spring, but they didn' t insist. The chief steward popped his head in the car, looked at the cage and put an approval sticker on it. Things they didn't check: shoes, suit, doorbars, steering wheel lock removal, seat mounting, tail lights, and more. Anyway, the car flew through inspection (almost literally if you count what a short time I spent there).
I found myself sharing the track with some high powered cars, including a Porsche GT3R and a Ferrari 360 Challenge, but the straightaways are long and it was easy to be passed safely in many locations. I was the slowest car on the track by quite a margin. Although I was feeling quite confortable in my first session, I was not that fast (despite many flat out sections). My friends timed me at 2:19. As a comparison, the old Honda Michelin Challenge Series cars of the late 80's (mine is one of these cars) used to lap in the 2:09's on the old surface (arguably slower than the new circuit) so I knew I should be going alot faster.
I went out for qualifying 2 hours later, still on my "wet" tires, yet it still wasn't raining. I was pushing a little harder, but still taking it easy through 2-3. I got a couple of clean laps and qualified with a 2:16. I was dead last of course. When I looked at the qualifying times for the vintage class, I realized that I could have had some close racing in that group (MGA, MGB, Midget, 2002, 914, etc.). It was a bit disappointing not to have any other cars of similar power to weight ratio with whom to compare my performance.
By the time the race started, it was pouring rain. This equalized things somewhat and I was only lapped at the very end of the race by the GT3R and two more cars. I was being cautious, as I was hydroplaning a bit on some of the flat out sections. I mostly wanted to get to the finish in one piece. I finished last among finishers, but many people had problems so I actually ended up 7th out of 13 cars. My fast race lap was 2:27, only 7 seconds slower than the next slowest car (as opposed to 11 seconds of difference in the dry). I was relatively satisfied with my day, although I was hoping to get a dry day on Sunday.
Sunday morning it was raining of course. I went out in morning practice to try to learn a bit more, but I know I wasn't that fast. For qualifying, it was still raining, although a dry line was developping. I noticed that when I followed the 200 hp cars through the caroussel and through 10-11-12, I was not losing any ground. My low budget suspension was doing the trick. I felt like it was a good session and the times proved it: 2:17, only 1 second slower than my dry qualifying Saturday.
When I gridded for the race, the track was almost completely dry. There were very few cars on the grid for some reason. Many people blew engines this weekend, as this is a high speed track. The fast Honda guys were doing about 225 km/h on the long straight (I was seeing maybe 175). A BMW 2002 blew his engine on the warmup lap! There was only one car behind me on the grid (he hadn't qualified) in a BMW 318. I let him pass me on the first turn but surprisingly, I kept up with him for 3 laps. He eventually pitted and came back out behind me. All was going well and although I had no one to race with, I was getting faster and wanted to lay dow a decent fastest lap. Then on lap 6 of 10, I had fuel starvation in the carouessel (which unbalanced the car quite a bit when the power cut!). I couldn't believe it, I had a half tank of gas at the start of the race. The problem got worse each lap, but at least I could anticipate when it would happen (when you applied power after heavy braking). I got caught out one time and put two wheels off, but it was a slow corner and there were no consequences. I got lapped by the leaders (a tube frame Corrado and a 200 hp Golf) on the last lap (which was good, it meant I wouldn't have to do the 10th lap and possibly run out of gas). When I pittet, I was told that I was 3rd overall, which was hard to believe (it turns out there were only 5 finishers). I was glad as this meant I would probably get a trophy.
My best race lap had been a 2:14, which was starting to get respectable. It was a shame I couldn't push more in the second half of the race, but it was my own fault for not managing the fuel load properly. I waited anxiously at the awards presentation for my name to be called. I knew many of the fellow racers and alot of them considered my car to be a sort of joke (most Hondas here have 160-230 hp, as there is almost no limit to engine preparation and swap rules in any of the local series). I hadn't told them I finished 3rd in my race (they were running in a different series held on this same weekend) and imagined they would be quite surprised to see me, the guy who drove to the track, checked my oil, changed my tires and got on the track, winning my class. Imagine my disappointment when they called out the wrong name as class winner (an RX7 guy who had gone home). I went to see the presenters after the last award and showed them the time sheet that had me beating the RX7. They apologized and gave a a first place trophy from the box (not even the right class on the trophy). This was quite a disappointment, getting my trophy for winning my class (simply by finishing, of course) with the little engine that could. At least my girlfriend cheered and my buddy snapped a photo of me (alone) on the podium.
Despite this mistake, I have to say that I was satisfied with my weekend. I got to try out a new and exciting track, I gradually improved over the weekend and I got an unexpected trophy. Also, the car performed admirably, nothing broke (destroyed a brake pad, probably scored the disc, but at 15$ per replavement disc, I'm not too worried).
How does it compare to the Glen? It's much less dangerous in that it's less technical and there are fewer things to hit. There were very few incidents considering there were 10 races. It's easy to have fun even in your first session, while at the Glen I was totally lost in my first session. It's got exciting elevation changes like the Glen, and a very high average speed. I think both tracs are excellent and people should visit both if they can, but I would recommend Tremblant to a beginner before the Glen.
Thank you to my sponsor TRAC Racing and my crew Will, Alex and Rob.
For those of you who don't know this track, it used to be used for Can-Am and Formula One in the 60's and 70's, before the Canadian GP moved to the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. It's recently been renovated and made safer and I expect we'll see some high level racing there in the next few years (they already have Grand-Am).
Although I live in Montreal and have quite a few track events under my belt, I'd never been to this track, even as a spectator. the reason was that there simply were not that many events held there (the owner's main purpose is not to make money with this track because it's more like his hobby). The events have mostly been BMWCCA and Porsche Club events, the prices for HPDE were too high for me (higher than road race) and I usually try to get bang for the buck.
So this was to be my third ever road race weekend after getting my EMRA license last year. My friends were anxious to see what I thought of this track compared to Watkins Glen. These 2 tracks are often mentioned in the same breath as the great tracks of the Northeast.
Just to give you an idea of what I was expecting: the classes are divided into brackets based on lap times. Small bore racing is almost non-existent in Canada (which is why I prefer to race with EMRA) and my expected lap times put me about 15 seconds per lap slower than the fast time allowed for the class (D Production, 2:00 lap and up), so I was not going there to win anything (I have a 92 hp EF Civic CX). I just wanted to drive this track, get some general experience as well as some specific experience on this track for when I eventually return with a whopping 127 hp D16 in my car.
I had studied the video of the track for a couple of weeks before the event and at least knew if the turns coming up would be right or left. The weather prediction was for rain, so I put on my Hankook Z2000 (not especially great in the rain, but they had alot of tread). It didn't rain in that first session. Surprisingly, the track was much as I expected it to be from the video (not the case with WGI). I didn't feel lost or "all over the place" even on my firs session. Also, given that I have a low powered car, I was often running flat out without much risk. The only scary part of the track was the 1-2-3-4 combo (all right handers, blind apex on top of a hill, downhill plunge before braking zone, high pucker factor). I had read about people going flat out through 1-2-3 and I still find it hard to believe. The picture shows turns 1 and 2.
I realized in the paddock that I had the lowest dollar operation of any team, bar none. There were a few tractor-trailer teams with elvators for the cars and huge hospitality areas. I was the only person who drove to the track with my race car...
The lineup for tech inspection was ridiculously long, and I asked permission to cut in front of the line when my session coming up, which they let me do. They only started inspecting cars at about 8:40 and we were due on track at 9:30. There were about 25 cars in front of me (and about 30 behind) in the line. I was nervous as I always am for tech, even though I think my car is 100% legal safety wise (and there are virtually no rules modification-wise in this series). The tech inspector seemed inexperienced and failed to check many things. He did check my kill switch, and I thank my sponsor TRAC Racing for wiring it properly (not the lazy way that many people do around here, which doesn't necessarily shut off the engine). I had to take the initiative to show him my helmet rating, fire extinguisher, socks, etc. The only thing I was missing ws a 2nd throttle return spring, but they didn' t insist. The chief steward popped his head in the car, looked at the cage and put an approval sticker on it. Things they didn't check: shoes, suit, doorbars, steering wheel lock removal, seat mounting, tail lights, and more. Anyway, the car flew through inspection (almost literally if you count what a short time I spent there).
I found myself sharing the track with some high powered cars, including a Porsche GT3R and a Ferrari 360 Challenge, but the straightaways are long and it was easy to be passed safely in many locations. I was the slowest car on the track by quite a margin. Although I was feeling quite confortable in my first session, I was not that fast (despite many flat out sections). My friends timed me at 2:19. As a comparison, the old Honda Michelin Challenge Series cars of the late 80's (mine is one of these cars) used to lap in the 2:09's on the old surface (arguably slower than the new circuit) so I knew I should be going alot faster.
I went out for qualifying 2 hours later, still on my "wet" tires, yet it still wasn't raining. I was pushing a little harder, but still taking it easy through 2-3. I got a couple of clean laps and qualified with a 2:16. I was dead last of course. When I looked at the qualifying times for the vintage class, I realized that I could have had some close racing in that group (MGA, MGB, Midget, 2002, 914, etc.). It was a bit disappointing not to have any other cars of similar power to weight ratio with whom to compare my performance.
By the time the race started, it was pouring rain. This equalized things somewhat and I was only lapped at the very end of the race by the GT3R and two more cars. I was being cautious, as I was hydroplaning a bit on some of the flat out sections. I mostly wanted to get to the finish in one piece. I finished last among finishers, but many people had problems so I actually ended up 7th out of 13 cars. My fast race lap was 2:27, only 7 seconds slower than the next slowest car (as opposed to 11 seconds of difference in the dry). I was relatively satisfied with my day, although I was hoping to get a dry day on Sunday.
Sunday morning it was raining of course. I went out in morning practice to try to learn a bit more, but I know I wasn't that fast. For qualifying, it was still raining, although a dry line was developping. I noticed that when I followed the 200 hp cars through the caroussel and through 10-11-12, I was not losing any ground. My low budget suspension was doing the trick. I felt like it was a good session and the times proved it: 2:17, only 1 second slower than my dry qualifying Saturday.
When I gridded for the race, the track was almost completely dry. There were very few cars on the grid for some reason. Many people blew engines this weekend, as this is a high speed track. The fast Honda guys were doing about 225 km/h on the long straight (I was seeing maybe 175). A BMW 2002 blew his engine on the warmup lap! There was only one car behind me on the grid (he hadn't qualified) in a BMW 318. I let him pass me on the first turn but surprisingly, I kept up with him for 3 laps. He eventually pitted and came back out behind me. All was going well and although I had no one to race with, I was getting faster and wanted to lay dow a decent fastest lap. Then on lap 6 of 10, I had fuel starvation in the carouessel (which unbalanced the car quite a bit when the power cut!). I couldn't believe it, I had a half tank of gas at the start of the race. The problem got worse each lap, but at least I could anticipate when it would happen (when you applied power after heavy braking). I got caught out one time and put two wheels off, but it was a slow corner and there were no consequences. I got lapped by the leaders (a tube frame Corrado and a 200 hp Golf) on the last lap (which was good, it meant I wouldn't have to do the 10th lap and possibly run out of gas). When I pittet, I was told that I was 3rd overall, which was hard to believe (it turns out there were only 5 finishers). I was glad as this meant I would probably get a trophy.
My best race lap had been a 2:14, which was starting to get respectable. It was a shame I couldn't push more in the second half of the race, but it was my own fault for not managing the fuel load properly. I waited anxiously at the awards presentation for my name to be called. I knew many of the fellow racers and alot of them considered my car to be a sort of joke (most Hondas here have 160-230 hp, as there is almost no limit to engine preparation and swap rules in any of the local series). I hadn't told them I finished 3rd in my race (they were running in a different series held on this same weekend) and imagined they would be quite surprised to see me, the guy who drove to the track, checked my oil, changed my tires and got on the track, winning my class. Imagine my disappointment when they called out the wrong name as class winner (an RX7 guy who had gone home). I went to see the presenters after the last award and showed them the time sheet that had me beating the RX7. They apologized and gave a a first place trophy from the box (not even the right class on the trophy). This was quite a disappointment, getting my trophy for winning my class (simply by finishing, of course) with the little engine that could. At least my girlfriend cheered and my buddy snapped a photo of me (alone) on the podium.
Despite this mistake, I have to say that I was satisfied with my weekend. I got to try out a new and exciting track, I gradually improved over the weekend and I got an unexpected trophy. Also, the car performed admirably, nothing broke (destroyed a brake pad, probably scored the disc, but at 15$ per replavement disc, I'm not too worried).
How does it compare to the Glen? It's much less dangerous in that it's less technical and there are fewer things to hit. There were very few incidents considering there were 10 races. It's easy to have fun even in your first session, while at the Glen I was totally lost in my first session. It's got exciting elevation changes like the Glen, and a very high average speed. I think both tracs are excellent and people should visit both if they can, but I would recommend Tremblant to a beginner before the Glen.
Thank you to my sponsor TRAC Racing and my crew Will, Alex and Rob.
05-26-2003, 07:31 PM
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Nice report, I signed up for Aug 9/10 PCA DE, only $280.
How does it compare with my favorite track, Mosport? Info on track said no food or beverage available, does this mean no vending machines?
05-27-2003, 06:50 AM
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Re: Nice report, I signed up for Aug 9/10 PCA DE, only $280.
There are no vending machines. You may be disappointed with the facilities. Within a 5 minute drive though you can find whatever you need. I've never been to Mosport yet, but I think you will like this track at least as much from what I've heard. Watch the video on the website a little to know approximately where the track goes next. Good luck.
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