Road Atlanta with NASA in March. Not a good weekend. Qualified first in the rain, but killed my front splitter on the last lap of qualifying. Tried running the race, but oil temps were over 245 degrees and the thing pushed like a dump truck. After about three laps I had to back off and try to save the motor/oil temps. Decided to skip Sunday. Has taken me two days to mount a new splitter after straightening the sheet metal behind the nose and the brackets for the splitter. Now ready to race again so we wait

 

Tow days to clean out the oil coolers and radiator of all the good old Georgia red clay and grass. Hands full of crap in front of the radiator. Brake ducts totally blocked and had to be replaced. Then I got the splitter installed and am ready to go racing again. Of note, my splitter is spaced about 1.5" down from the lower bumper, even with the wheel height.

 

Loaded and ready to leave for Roebling Road in the morning. Looking forward to a very good weekend. The ITS class has a excellent field of very competitive cars. More later.

 

First SCCA race of the year, interrupted by terrible weather. Rain Sat stopped Q just before my group, So we raced Sun morning on a drying track. Took third and was quite happy to run 1:30s on that track. Sat night had 60-80mph winds that destroyed about 10 pop-up awnings...frames looked like a pile of pretzels!!! We lost the cover to our rear air unit on the motor home but no other damage, thankfully. I could not believe how much the thing moved even sitting on the hydraulic levelers.

Beautiful weather Sunday, Saturday not so much. Group 7 did get to run three times on Sunday..I did not qualify since the water in T5 was deeper than the height of my splitter, so most of the "S" cars started from the back. Not a bad race on a drying tracn:giles:

Q Sunday was better, I qualified third behind another RX7 of Bill Gallup and the Miata of Chuck Hines. Bill decided to start in 2nd gear, and I in 3rd, so my bump propelled both of us by the Miata of Chuck. T5 Bill went wide and Hines followed allowing me to take first for almost a lap. As I'm fond of saying, no good deed goes unpunished...I overcooked T4 and went grass cutting and that ruined my race. Hines broke a couple of laps latter, and Bill and his brother settled first place with Richard beating Bill by about 6'. Even after the blow job Sat evening, a good time was had by all!!

 

Good day testing at Road Atlanta yesterday. Ran 5 sessions and could run consistent 1:43s in the heat. Feel of the car is getting better and better. Now for more changes prior to the next race.

 

got video?

 

Had to get an 8 year old to set up my GoPro. Will have at the next event.

 

Front struts finally came in...wahoooooo!

 

Oh well, I finally finished the car and raced at Barber. Car handles great with the Koni shocks. However, I also finally decided that I am burned out after 15+ years of racing...too old and too much work. Therefore, I have posted my SpeedSource RX7 on racing junk for sale. If interested, check there as there is a complete spec sheet and pictures. Good racing!

 

No takers on the car, so I made some more changes to the front suspension (spherical bearings) and did a lot of other setup work. Ran the test day at Road Atlanta last Friday and did a lot of adjusting on the shocks. Finally got the car very close to where I want it. With good tires Saturday, I qualified with a 1:47 in heavy traffic...I hate being in the slowest class of the group as I am accustomed in SCCA to being in the fastest. During the race I got on pace with 1:43 laps and had the second fastest lap of my class...then I spun in T5! Would have been no problem but I flat spotted all four R7s...but I think they will suffice for practice.
Learned a great deal this weekend. Now trust the car not to kill me as I know what it will do over the high speed bumps on T4 and T12. Next race will be the Jim Stark April 23/24 at Roebling Road.

 

Good racing at Roebling Road last weekend. 11 ITS cars, and I qualified outside front row next to a TR7(!). Out braked him going into T1 and led for two laps before my rear tires started going off. My mistake on tire pressures and I loosened the car after qualifying....dammit man. Still got third. On Sunday, I qualified 5th but two of the front runners did not run so I started third, behind a MX5. Ended up bumping him into first and we ran first and second for several laps. I could see I was faster but started having breathing problems (think I was hyperventilating) and came into the pits. Time to get to the treadmill and work on shape!!!
Car was extremely good during the race on Sunday. Did everything I wanted it to do and was fast and comfortable...all I could ask for!!

 

Video of Roebling Road...Vimeo.com
Sat #164332789
Sun #11827528

 

Another successful weekend at Road Atlanta. Ran two practice sessions after changing all the springs and sway bars to dial in the car. Liked the handling much better than with the stiffer setup. Ran Saturday's race and won my class, but with the faster traffic never got a clean lap! I'm finally going in the right direction with suspension and I'm way more comfortable in the car than before. Now some tweaking of the front bar (I think there is too much front roll stiffness) and I'll be set for the next race. Video to follow.

 

July 23rd race at RA...Changed front bar and added rear bar after qualifying. Have finally gotten comfortable in the car and am competitive! Ended up 3rd after a last lap pass going into 10A on the last lap. Good clean racing and super competitive. Honda ended up winning, 240Z next, then my RX7 and another behind me. Wow, ITS in the SEDIV has gotten competitive!!!

 

Are you going to Barber 20 August 2016? I will have my 1st gen there running GT3 in the Time Trial.

 

Yes, will be there. look me up. I will have beer

 

Chuck, sorry I didn't make it down to Barber last weekend; I ended up spending last weekend in the hospital with pneumonia. I hated missing that race; I had my car all ready to go. I hope my lungs get well enough to run Talladega on October 1-2.

 

After the ARRC, my SpeedSource RX7 will be going on ebay and racing junk.

 

bummer to hear you're getting rid of the car. I hadn't been posting in here, but following the thread. You moving to bigger and better things, or getting away from racing for a while?

 

Depends. I have access to another project car but at 72 years old I don't know if I have it in me

 

I'd say being able to race into your 70s is a victory in itself. Good luck in whichever direction you choose!

 

Update from the ARRC (American Road Race of Champions, Road Atlanta)
Car is on pole for the ITS race tomorrow.

 

Great to hear. Good luck with the race.