Crap..just checked the SCCA club racing results website...for Laguna (Spec Miata)
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Crap..just checked the SCCA club racing results website...for Laguna (Spec Miata)
My mediocre Laguna Seca time of 1:53.3 back in a race a few years ago..has been made to sound outright SLOW since the Spec Miata guys are now hitting 1:45.X times at Laguna now. Yes, the berms were adjusted (made smooth) on a few key turns..at Laguna last year..but still. Man, I feel old now. Ugh. I need head work..and a new opportunity to play there with the new faster configuration.
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dood, don't do that...
It takes a huge amount of time, focus and resources to be dedicated enough to be at the front of a spec class like that (or any competitive class).
If you wanted to do that, you'd have to have "the knowledge" of the trick of the day, be prepared to do that work, drive in every race you could possibly do (every other week? every week?) and "live" spec miata.
The driving thing is another issue but suffice to say that all things being equal, there's NO substitute for seat time in racing conditions and unless you've "kept up" with that time, the gap will be there.
IIRC, in the Civic, we had to work hard to run 2:09s at T-hill in enduros (and long race pace was in the 2:12s). In Mike Quan's car last year we did 2:06s and our cruise pace was 2:09 which was a pretty easy pace to run to (busting under 2:09s would prompt a radio call from the team manager heh). Same drivers, same SPEC of car (SOHC 1.6L) but tweaks and advances learned over the last 2-3 years of racing moved the thing that much faster. The concensus was that 2:05s would have been there in a sprint race, think our old car's best lap ever was high 2:08s.
If you wanted to do that, you'd have to have "the knowledge" of the trick of the day, be prepared to do that work, drive in every race you could possibly do (every other week? every week?) and "live" spec miata.
The driving thing is another issue but suffice to say that all things being equal, there's NO substitute for seat time in racing conditions and unless you've "kept up" with that time, the gap will be there.
IIRC, in the Civic, we had to work hard to run 2:09s at T-hill in enduros (and long race pace was in the 2:12s). In Mike Quan's car last year we did 2:06s and our cruise pace was 2:09 which was a pretty easy pace to run to (busting under 2:09s would prompt a radio call from the team manager heh). Same drivers, same SPEC of car (SOHC 1.6L) but tweaks and advances learned over the last 2-3 years of racing moved the thing that much faster. The concensus was that 2:05s would have been there in a sprint race, think our old car's best lap ever was high 2:08s.
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My friend Navid
Who was in the 25 hour multiple times..has taken his evo to Thunderhill and ran 1:59 times...and this was a car that still had interior. Suffice it to say that things are speeding up.
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that's racing...
the whole point is to go faster...so the cars go faster every year heh.
But keeping up means just that, you have to be immersed in the thing just like any other sport. The benchmark moves forward every year and if you aren't 100% involved, you fall behind.
You gotta decide if being competitive is your main goal or if steady improvement and having fun is your main goal. Those two things aren't always the same.
But keeping up means just that, you have to be immersed in the thing just like any other sport. The benchmark moves forward every year and if you aren't 100% involved, you fall behind.
You gotta decide if being competitive is your main goal or if steady improvement and having fun is your main goal. Those two things aren't always the same.
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here...
you've probably seen this but look at the spread at the nationals...all folks serious enough to make the trek to bumfuque nowhere and there's still 4 seconds difference in the field:
<img src="http://pictureposter.allbrand.nu/pictures/NASA%20racer/NASAs%20stuff/SCCA%20SM.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.allbrand.nu/pictures/NASA%20racer/NASAs%20stuff/SCCA%20SM.jpg">
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3/4s or more of us SM guys are just there because it's fairly cheap, and has big fields
so there's always folks to race with no matter where in the pack you are. You make it sound so frustrating, but the racing and camraderie are great even if you don't have the tweak of the month, or a full-on pro built motor, and 'victory' means just finishing in the top ten.
I will never be able to drive the Caddell or Cross, and I get the personal pleasure of being regularly trounced by Topeka mid-packer Steve Gorriaran (even though those times make him look like piker). We'll probably be watching Caddell drive in a paid pro seat in a few years, just the way Herr moved up from SM into a pro seat.
I will never be able to drive the Caddell or Cross, and I get the personal pleasure of being regularly trounced by Topeka mid-packer Steve Gorriaran (even though those times make him look like piker). We'll probably be watching Caddell drive in a paid pro seat in a few years, just the way Herr moved up from SM into a pro seat.
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actually that's sort of the point I'm trying to make...
Steve's beating himself up because he's comparing himself to the top guys there but I don't think he's even had the time or resources to begin to dedicate to that sort of effort recently.
As long as it's fun and you go home with that feeling of satisfaction, that should suffice. Chasing those ultimate laps by dedicated guys is a no-win mental place to get into.
As long as it's fun and you go home with that feeling of satisfaction, that should suffice. Chasing those ultimate laps by dedicated guys is a no-win mental place to get into.
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Hard to say what the new "smoothed out" berms are worth
but the underside of my poor Avant would appreciate them. :-)
As I (vaguely) recall, on my one recent weekend there I was about a second faster on the smoother berms, and that's without really exploiting them to the fullest. I'd guess thay are worth 2-3 seconds to somebody who actually knows what he's doing.
Even without cheater head work, all the newer SMs have new and improved intakes and exhausts compared to our ancient ones.
As I (vaguely) recall, on my one recent weekend there I was about a second faster on the smoother berms, and that's without really exploiting them to the fullest. I'd guess thay are worth 2-3 seconds to somebody who actually knows what he's doing.
Even without cheater head work, all the newer SMs have new and improved intakes and exhausts compared to our ancient ones.