Dimer
27-03-2015, 02:04 PM
Finally, after two years we were back on the starting grid of the Toyo Time Attack Series with our NSX.
We finished the engine on Saturday and Sunday it was race-day. As you can imagine, we had no time for testing. We spent Saturday night preparing the car for scrutineering on Sunday morning and finished her just in time. We take Time Attack very literally.
The day started with the first training session. We knew we had to take it easy. The objective was to feel how the car reacts, don't try to push it 100% and keep it in one piece. This sounded easier then done. After one lap the steering wheel was pulling to the right and a there was strange wobble from the right front wheel. We decided to pull back to the pits, but couldn't find anything. Back out again it immediately was back. Upon returning to the pits we took the wheels off for inspection and found that one of the wheel spacer was badly damaged. We managed to repair it in time for the second training session.
During the second training, in the second or third lap there was a code red and everybody had to return to the pit-lane to line up. As it took a long time before the track was clear, our engine started to get hot and spilled some coolant. When we were allowed back on the track we got the black flag as they saw the pool of water when we took off and were concerned we had a leak. This meant the end of training session 2.
Next up was Qualifications. We still didn't get a lot of tracktime and the setup of the car was far from finished. But we went out to do the best we could. We had close to no grip on the front wheels when braking and even with the slightest push on the pedal the wheels would lock. We drove to the pits and took some air out of the front tires. Already after the first corner it proved to be a huge improvement. But when coming on to the straight, the chequered flag was waved and the qualification session was over. Unfortunately we couldn't set a fast lap and were not qualified for the finals. We know that if we have found the right settings and the car is nicely balanced it has big potential!
We have learned a lot from this day. First and foremost is that testing is key. So we will go back to the workshop, fix everything that's on our shortlist and go for a full day of testing before the next race.
Here are some pics:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/11080955_304439669680232_9091259392374975991_n.jpg ?oh=d6cd440de57e2fa7f9af307c99c17a54&oe=55AF4C03&__gda__=1433711709_4bed1281b9533e3a82c9e3713aca3ac 5
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/1555357_304450119679187_7742572663685305762_n.jpg? oh=fb7cc5f71dd1545cf5e21cd35050fb24&oe=55BD5FB2
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10338735_304688266322039_4837571680398723429_n.jpg ?oh=a333c48a0c393e8a7020689b856a2834&oe=55AC109E
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/18912_304428193014713_8275567846900695986_n.jpg?oh =9d391612b5e28716a671343ed26ba333&oe=5577E665
We finished the engine on Saturday and Sunday it was race-day. As you can imagine, we had no time for testing. We spent Saturday night preparing the car for scrutineering on Sunday morning and finished her just in time. We take Time Attack very literally.
The day started with the first training session. We knew we had to take it easy. The objective was to feel how the car reacts, don't try to push it 100% and keep it in one piece. This sounded easier then done. After one lap the steering wheel was pulling to the right and a there was strange wobble from the right front wheel. We decided to pull back to the pits, but couldn't find anything. Back out again it immediately was back. Upon returning to the pits we took the wheels off for inspection and found that one of the wheel spacer was badly damaged. We managed to repair it in time for the second training session.
During the second training, in the second or third lap there was a code red and everybody had to return to the pit-lane to line up. As it took a long time before the track was clear, our engine started to get hot and spilled some coolant. When we were allowed back on the track we got the black flag as they saw the pool of water when we took off and were concerned we had a leak. This meant the end of training session 2.
Next up was Qualifications. We still didn't get a lot of tracktime and the setup of the car was far from finished. But we went out to do the best we could. We had close to no grip on the front wheels when braking and even with the slightest push on the pedal the wheels would lock. We drove to the pits and took some air out of the front tires. Already after the first corner it proved to be a huge improvement. But when coming on to the straight, the chequered flag was waved and the qualification session was over. Unfortunately we couldn't set a fast lap and were not qualified for the finals. We know that if we have found the right settings and the car is nicely balanced it has big potential!
We have learned a lot from this day. First and foremost is that testing is key. So we will go back to the workshop, fix everything that's on our shortlist and go for a full day of testing before the next race.
Here are some pics:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/11080955_304439669680232_9091259392374975991_n.jpg ?oh=d6cd440de57e2fa7f9af307c99c17a54&oe=55AF4C03&__gda__=1433711709_4bed1281b9533e3a82c9e3713aca3ac 5
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/1555357_304450119679187_7742572663685305762_n.jpg? oh=fb7cc5f71dd1545cf5e21cd35050fb24&oe=55BD5FB2
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10338735_304688266322039_4837571680398723429_n.jpg ?oh=a333c48a0c393e8a7020689b856a2834&oe=55AC109E
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/18912_304428193014713_8275567846900695986_n.jpg?oh =9d391612b5e28716a671343ed26ba333&oe=5577E665