Ron Goes to Mid-Ohio

[ninetyfourintegra]

Mine is a much shorter version of Mark's novel.

In order to 'save money' a friend (Patrick, super-charged Black/Yellow Miata that I run against in PTD) and I formed a team to race this year. In order to qualify for Nationals you need 5 starts (5 race starts or 3 race starts and 2 TTs). The loophole in the National Supps is that if you race as a "team" regionally, BOTH drivers are qualified for Nationals after the "team" makes 5 starts. So by us running TT and PT this past weekend we both already have 4 starts, for the price of one entry each. Sounds good so far, right? In addition, he said we can use his car, stay in his RV and he'll tow - he lives in Akron area. So, now I don't have to fix my car yet, tow my car, plus oil/fluids, etc, sounds really good so far, Right? Now this is a car that won the TTD National Championship in 2008, was running first in the PTD national championship before being spun in stuck in China beach in 2008, towed out to Utah and ran 2nd in 2010 and was running/swapping 1st/2nd in PTD running a 1:39:xx in Nationals 2011... the car is stout, figured out and friggin fast. I'm pumped to see how we compare on a common platform, not to mention finally drive a RWD ar (even though its a Miata). This sounds, really great, Right?

Friday we unload, get teched, get all the paperwork in, have a nice dinner and then wrench on the car until 11:30... Saturday is friggin wet, cold and windy.

Saturday - TT.
A precursor to the TT was that I ran the PT warmup, track was wet but not raining, so I call for drys. Learn that RWD Miatas do NOT like trail braking at least not to the extent that I do in my car, especially in the wet. Barely hang onto the car the whole session. No level of comfort (physical or mental) with the car.

Dry(ish)only expected for warmup, so it counts, but a DQ in the session DQs session 1 and 2, so don't screw up
Still learning that RWD Miatas still do NOT like trail braking even when track is drying, Since its the only session I plan on for the day I run a the whole session. 1:50, enough to stand on for the win. No comfort still, no sense for lines because track is wet to drying and some sections (ie Madness) are dry but other are ice (ie: esses).

Sunday - Race
Do warm-up on Patrick's square setup to see how track is since Patrick was running TT. Track was wet and slick. Less comfort than Saturday for me.

Qualify on my tires (205 F, 225 R) and can't get the car to turn in and really bad push. Patrick does TT on the same setup and can't drive it either. Decide to run the square 225 setup for race. Patrick does TT and sets a track record (1:43) and says car is perfect, go win the race.

Go out for TT (immediately before race) to get a feel for the setup and actually see the dry line. Patrick coaches me on car placement and its starts clicking, comfort increases.

Go out for race, jitters are gone from doing TT session, tires are warm, brakes are hot. We get into formation. I'm in the second wave. behind SM. Unfortunately the Pole sitter (in my opinion) for our wave didn't hang back enough. The left lane goes on the SM green... Expecting a cluster-f$% thinking they'll all check up I don't go (right lane all held position). Instead of waving off the start (likely a good move since SE30 and HC were doing a standing start, SM was already flying), they throw a quick green to us, but now I'm about 10+ cars back from my leaders because of qual spots and the jumped start. Not cool. but being on hot everything I just dive into T7 splitting cars all the way down to turn apex, I get back to about 4 deep in class. Patrick sees me being aggressive backs me down over the radio before Madness/esses, I only slightly oblige. By the time we come back to T7, I'm in 2nd with the leader still 3 cars ahead. Car is really starting to click, I'm getting the hang of it, I'm finally "comfortable" in the car (physically and mentally).

Working through traffic I am passing cars everywhere and anywhere. Outside of the carousel, outside of keyhole, inside of T1, 3 wide to the outside of the kink. On lap 4, I am two cars back from the leader coming into Thunder Valley, make a pass to the inside on the left hander, after the bridge, close up to the next car, he moves right to block the inside of the carousel (sucks racing a Miata that is NOT a SM, in a race with over 30 SMs in it). Fine, I out brake him to the outside, come around to his outside, and I have the line for the left onto Pit straight. My eyes are out passed the S/F line to see how/where I can set up the leader, then I see the car turn down out of the corner of my eye. I head for the dirt (which, there isn't a whole lot of there) to avoid but we hit.

I don't honestly remember if we hit, separated and hit again before being turned to the wall... but what I do remember was seeing the wall and thinking "I'm not going to miss it this time"... I hit a ton. I 'think' the car went WOT when I hit and I remember reaching for the key to shut it off. Same SM driver that filed body contact against Patrick on Saturday, so thinking it was a partial revenge move, too bad we had different drivers in the car. When I hit, I didn't bounce or slide, I just came to an immediate stop. Both cars went to the wall together but I was the only one to make direct contact, so I went in with twice the mass and got crunched from both sides.

<since typing this, I've just seen the video. it appears we hit, I hit the curbing getting left side in the air and then we go to the wall.>

Stunned and on the radio with Patrick, I didn't really know what to say, other than "I killed it, I'm so sorry". He went through a whole list of things but mostly it was, get out of the car. Door was jammed shut, I couldn't get out of the window, so I crawled out of the passenger side. The corner worker was giving me hand signals to make sure I was clear of traffic before stepping out towards the race line. When I looked over the wall, the LF wheel was destroyed, suspensions demolished. The other driver got out of his car before me but then climbed back over the wall, got back in and finished the race. I don't know why he got out. I would have simply grabbed a gear and kept going but whatever.

Bottom line, I'm fine. The car is not. It took over a week to get the car from MO's the graveyard because we couldn't get it into his RV/Hauler. Besides the LF suspension being almost entirely ripped from the car, the frame looks twisted as the roof is cracked and partially ripped from the car, The description I am now using is it is like a taco with a bite taken out of it.

Had I not wrecked I am entirely certain we would have won and I would have set a new track record (which 'was' mine but now is not), the car was amazing with the setup they have. I don't honestly know how I hung with that car in mine as much as I did.

The learning curve was probably steeper than I thought, but once I was on the right setup and in the dry, it came together in < 5 laps... so maybe it was mostly conditions that made it feel like it took forever. I am done for the season. Next year might be doubtful too depending on the $$ it ends being to replace the Miata.

[cmk]

Wow.  Really sorry to hear this Ron, but glad that you are OK.

Miatas make damned good cars on track, though, eh?

[marka]

Howdy,

That really sucks Ron.  I'm sorry to hear it.  Hopefully you can get the car right and you guys can remain friends, etc.

If you don't want to talk about it, I'd totally understand, but I'd be interested to know where you were relative to the guy on the outside... Were you up alongside his door or ??  Also kinda interested to know if you and car owner talked seriously about what would happen in the event of something like this or places that got rocky...  Mostly just looking toward enduros with other folks where one of us owns the car and wanting to avoid problems on that one.

Glad you're ok.  Sounds like a pretty hard hit.  Stopping dead is never a good thing.

Mark

[jerdeitzel]

Glad your okay! I hope you can get this behind you quick and move on. I was wondering what you were doing this year.

[ninetyfourintegra]

We were actually planning on Enduros, starting this year with the 8hr Road Atlanta and then making a run for the 25hr based on results for 2013. So the notion of sharing a car wasn't pure crazy talk to simply save money, there was a semblance of a plan in place.

It was more or less a handshake deal on "if you wreck it, you pay to fix it and lend time to help", this went both ways. I knew full well this could happen, but honestly never anticipated the utter destruction that was caused. Could I be a dick since there is no contract in place? Probably. Those that know me, know that would never happen (actually typing that line was the first time the thought crossed my mind). I'm actually struggling with trying to not 'over deliver' on a replacement but some of that is I don't want this to linger and I've already experienced my share of "build vs buy" calculations and I believe even a higher advertised price will likely end in a lower overall out-of-pocket expense to me...

As for the incident, I was ruled no fault. Doesn't really change anything though. Looking at the incident in the context of making a left-hand turn, the first contact was my RF wheel to half of his LF wheel, quarter panel and leading edge of the driver door. Looking at the incident of a larger event, passing a rookie can be a scary proposition, one that by being a Monday morning quarterback, says: Don't make a pass that isn't textbook. Sequence of corners that are not separated by clearly defined straights are apparently difficult for some to determine when you've been passed and what to do when that has occurred.

So, for you newer drivers. Just because you are on the inside doesn't mean when someone is faster they need to follow your slow ass around the corner, especially when that turn leads to a straight and/or positional placement for the line on the next turn. Racing isn't HPDE/track days, there are no point-byes, expect you are going to be passed ANYWHERE even a place 'you' might think is insane. I think back to that motorcycle race recently posted on the daily thread where no one passes on the inside of the last turn, except for the guy that won the race...

Be aware of the cars that pass you, especially when it is from another class coming through, as you are a pawn. Your purpose is to provide a block to the next car coming at you. That next car is focused on getting to the bumper of that car that just passed you by getting past you ASAP.

This:

NASA PTD August Highlights #2 on Vimeo

Was way crazier than my race/incident. Note at about the 3:00 mark there is a gray Miata that I am passing outside/inside on the last corner (except in last weeks incident I was basically where the black/yellow car was all the way through the corner). Now imagine he decided that it was his corner and turned down to the apex.

BTW, that black/yellow Miata I'm chasing, that was the one I was driving.

[roundel]

Finally got around to reading this. 



Glad you are ok. 

[fastbackss]

Bummer Ron - a sobering read, especially given that I too am "renting" for the season. 

I hope this is a temporary setback and you guys get back after it next year.
-Mike

[ninetyfourintegra]

The Miata will be back, well "a" Miata will be back. I just won't

[Habib88]

"That's sucks" doesn't probably cover how you feel about the whole thing.  I'm sorry it happened to you guys  .  Not that I had any doubts, but its good to see you doing everything you can to help.  You were found not at fault which is good, but what about the other guy?  Or was the whole thing just written off as a racing incident?

[roundel]

You were found not at fault which is good, but what about the other guy?  Or was the whole thing just written off as a racing incident?

I was curious about this as well, but wanted to see another car getting wrenched on before probing into it. 

[ninetyfourintegra]

I don't honestly know what happened to the other guy other than the DQ. He was on a rookie provisional so the consequences are a likely a bit higher. I'm not sure that they post/make public other penalties. I know of the penalties (fines, etc) from other incident years ago only because I knew the driver and heard it direct from him.

I will be watching the entry lists with curiosity.

[marka]

Howdy,

Dunno if you're still looking for these...

http://www.roadraceautox.com/showthread.php?t=39437

Mark

[Lazylaser]

<since typing this, I've just seen the video. it appears we hit, I hit the curbing getting left side in the air and then we go to the wall.>

Do you have a link to the video?

[ninetyfourintegra]

It's a snip from a car following, so not mine, and I am still working out the logistics of the damages. Trust me, I have no qualms about showcasing my inabilities behind the wheel. This one just has too many moving parts that aren't mine.

[Lazylaser]

No problem. I understand.

Some day, when its all figured out we'll watch it and share a laugh.


Sorry that it happened, glad you're alright. I hope you and the car's owner can work things out and stay on good terms. Boy oh boy, how racing can get REAL expensive real quick.

[Markus]

Hey Ron -

This is Mark with the blue/white/red Miata in NASA TTE.  I had to leave early on Sunday for a business trip, so I just found out about this now.  And I feel awful.  You and Patrick have had a great rivalry in PTD over the last couple of years, so I thought it was really cool when I saw you two working together at the April event.  I'm sorry it ended up this way, but I guess that's racing...

Best,
    - Mark

[ninetyfourintegra]

Thanks Mark. I never really thought about how what we did would be seen from the outside. We have such different cars that performed so similar that we've worked close over the years with an open book between us pushing each other hard.

That's why this was just not what I (we) wanted.  I think it would have been easier had we wrecked each other vs one wrecking the others car...

[ninetyfourintegra]

The ruling was a DQ for the race, no further punitive penalties. The driver had no, none, nada, zero, zip, clue I was next to him according to his video and the RD. When he turned in and made contact he lost grip of the wheel (possibly from surprise of the impact??) and couldn't recover which is why we stayed tangled all the way into the wall.

[Blair]

Hey Ron,

If I'm not mistaken, Patrick doesn't live too far from me. If you guys need any help, just let me know.

[ninetyfourintegra]

Maybe enough time has finally passed.
https://vimeo.com/41334530