Just got back from The Mitty
04-30-06, 09:21 AM
#3
Downing's RX-2 and the Car and Driver RX-3(?). One of the three original 79 RHD RX-7s that ran at Daytona on the original green and white paint scheme. There were also a hand full of Argos and early Kudzus. Some 1st gen SCCA GT cars and a 3rd gen SCCA GT2 car. The Team Spencer Grand Am GT RX-8 was there making laps as well. That car was very impressive. Actually the Team Spencer cars (they also ran an Argo and a 93 Kudzu) were some of the only cars truely driven in anger.
Apparently Downing just sold the white open cockpit 4 rotor Kudzu he had at Rotary Revolution last year. That car and the Team Spencer 3 rotor closed Kudzu actually put on a decent race Saturday. The GTO car was spun on the last lap of it's second race Saturday at the end of the back straight and was barely kept off the wall.
All-in-all a very good event with lots of history on display. Not just the Mazda stuff but Porsche 956 and 962s, Nissan GTP and GTO cars, a Benetton F1 car, lots of old Trans Am stuff, etc, etc.
We were told that Mazda will be the presenting sponsor for the next two years and they would try very hard to get the Renown 787 to make the trip. It is supposed to be a lock to get one of the sister 787s regardless. We also learned that the Renown car has recently received some body damage while being run in a historic event in Europe.
Apparently Downing just sold the white open cockpit 4 rotor Kudzu he had at Rotary Revolution last year. That car and the Team Spencer 3 rotor closed Kudzu actually put on a decent race Saturday. The GTO car was spun on the last lap of it's second race Saturday at the end of the back straight and was barely kept off the wall.
All-in-all a very good event with lots of history on display. Not just the Mazda stuff but Porsche 956 and 962s, Nissan GTP and GTO cars, a Benetton F1 car, lots of old Trans Am stuff, etc, etc.
We were told that Mazda will be the presenting sponsor for the next two years and they would try very hard to get the Renown 787 to make the trip. It is supposed to be a lock to get one of the sister 787s regardless. We also learned that the Renown car has recently received some body damage while being run in a historic event in Europe.
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05-01-06, 03:15 PM
#10
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http://www.kyrotary.com/images/themi.../IMG_1539.html
I hope to get time to make a full write up soon, but here is the short story of my old blue 1979 tub chassis GTU RX-7 last weekend at Road Atlanta:
Saturday qualifying: - qualified 1st in class out of 11 cars in our GTU class
Sat All Mazda race: Finished 7th overall, had a hell of a battle with two IMSA GTP 2 rotor Lolas, ran between the two of them most the race, then the one behind me finally out braked me about a half lap before the checkered flag. I was driving the hell out of my car, sliding most of the turns, keeping ahead of that prototype. I finished just ahead of Jim Downing driving the 4 rotor 792 GTP car (only because he didn't qualify well and was not driving full tilt since he didn't own the car.) The 792 should be capable of running 15 seconds a lap faster than me.
Sat Historic GT qualifier race: I finished 1st in class
Wonderful Saturday night party, lots of beer, wine and seafood. Great band. Thanks Grassroots Motorsports and Classic Motorsports Magazines for sponsoring the party and organizing the race weekend.
Sunday Japanese car Feature race: turned out to be mostly Datsuns (Nissans) vs. Mazda, about 20 cars total - I won that race overall. I felt like I was on top of the world.
Late sunday Historic GT race: At the start, a late model TransAm Camaro committing suicide almost took me with him, but I just barely escaped him taking me with him by mere inches. I was running 1st in class, then my transmission started shifting bad, then the tranny broke - no operating gears left, I had to pull over to the side of the track and watch everyone else go by me. That quickly deflated my ego and brought me back down to reality.
Overall, I had a wonderful weekend. I was able to turn consistent 1:35 laps.
If anyone has any photos of me car 79 in action at the Mitty race, please email them to me at:
speedturn "at" knology.net (replace the "at" with @)
Thanks to those on this forum who stopped by and visited with me in the paddock, I enjoyed talking with you.
I hope to get time to make a full write up soon, but here is the short story of my old blue 1979 tub chassis GTU RX-7 last weekend at Road Atlanta:
Saturday qualifying: - qualified 1st in class out of 11 cars in our GTU class
Sat All Mazda race: Finished 7th overall, had a hell of a battle with two IMSA GTP 2 rotor Lolas, ran between the two of them most the race, then the one behind me finally out braked me about a half lap before the checkered flag. I was driving the hell out of my car, sliding most of the turns, keeping ahead of that prototype. I finished just ahead of Jim Downing driving the 4 rotor 792 GTP car (only because he didn't qualify well and was not driving full tilt since he didn't own the car.) The 792 should be capable of running 15 seconds a lap faster than me.
Sat Historic GT qualifier race: I finished 1st in class
Wonderful Saturday night party, lots of beer, wine and seafood. Great band. Thanks Grassroots Motorsports and Classic Motorsports Magazines for sponsoring the party and organizing the race weekend.
Sunday Japanese car Feature race: turned out to be mostly Datsuns (Nissans) vs. Mazda, about 20 cars total - I won that race overall. I felt like I was on top of the world.
Late sunday Historic GT race: At the start, a late model TransAm Camaro committing suicide almost took me with him, but I just barely escaped him taking me with him by mere inches. I was running 1st in class, then my transmission started shifting bad, then the tranny broke - no operating gears left, I had to pull over to the side of the track and watch everyone else go by me. That quickly deflated my ego and brought me back down to reality.
Overall, I had a wonderful weekend. I was able to turn consistent 1:35 laps.
If anyone has any photos of me car 79 in action at the Mitty race, please email them to me at:
speedturn "at" knology.net (replace the "at" with @)
Thanks to those on this forum who stopped by and visited with me in the paddock, I enjoyed talking with you.
05-04-06, 04:56 PM
#11
_________________________
Speedturn - That's a great photo before the bridge!!
Look forward to your write up.... wish someone had taken some video's??
Congrat's on the class win in Historic GT.
//Oliver
Look forward to your write up.... wish someone had taken some video's??
Congrat's on the class win in Historic GT.
//Oliver
05-12-06, 08:35 AM
#16
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It is pretty easy to put a tag on a car in Alabama - no vehicle inspections - so I keep a current tag on my race car. Sometimes I will sneak it out on the street for test drives, to make sure everything is running and feels right before I load up and trailer it hundreds of miles to a race. Keeping a current tag is handy 
There are 360 Mitty pictures at this website: http://newpics.huntsvillecarscene.com/gallery/1416301
You can see the wide range of racers that show up at this huge event.
There are 360 Mitty pictures at this website: http://newpics.huntsvillecarscene.com/gallery/1416301
You can see the wide range of racers that show up at this huge event.
05-14-06, 01:51 AM
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I didn't realize you did so well in the races. John told me you finished up towards the front of the pack, but you did a very fine job out there among the competition--congrats!
John told me I need to cover this event. Maybe with some more advance notice, I'll block the weekend for this event next year.
John told me I need to cover this event. Maybe with some more advance notice, I'll block the weekend for this event next year.
05-14-06, 08:34 AM
#18
Yes, Speedturn drove very well. He was one of the more entertaining cars to watch in the all Mazda race. At historic events it's sometime hard to see how cars match up because some are really driven and others not. There was no question of his intent to go fast and it was greatly appreciated!
05-15-06, 06:35 PM
#19
Nice pics
Cool, I have seen you run at VIR before. I'll be missing the gold cup historics this year... I opted to go to Le Mans instead.
Originally Posted by speedturn
http://www.kyrotary.com/images/themi.../IMG_1539.html
I hope to get time to make a full write up soon, but here is the short story of my old blue 1979 tub chassis GTU RX-7 last weekend at Road Atlanta:
Saturday qualifying: - qualified 1st in class out of 11 cars in our GTU class
Sat All Mazda race: Finished 7th overall, had a hell of a battle with two IMSA GTP 2 rotor Lolas, ran between the two of them most the race, then the one behind me finally out braked me about a half lap before the checkered flag. I was driving the hell out of my car, sliding most of the turns, keeping ahead of that prototype. I finished just ahead of Jim Downing driving the 4 rotor 792 GTP car (only because he didn't qualify well and was not driving full tilt since he didn't own the car.) The 792 should be capable of running 15 seconds a lap faster than me.
Sat Historic GT qualifier race: I finished 1st in class
Wonderful Saturday night party, lots of beer, wine and seafood. Great band. Thanks Grassroots Motorsports and Classic Motorsports Magazines for sponsoring the party and organizing the race weekend.
Sunday Japanese car Feature race: turned out to be mostly Datsuns (Nissans) vs. Mazda, about 20 cars total - I won that race overall. I felt like I was on top of the world.
Late sunday Historic GT race: At the start, a late model TransAm Camaro committing suicide almost took me with him, but I just barely escaped him taking me with him by mere inches. I was running 1st in class, then my transmission started shifting bad, then the tranny broke - no operating gears left, I had to pull over to the side of the track and watch everyone else go by me. That quickly deflated my ego and brought me back down to reality.
Overall, I had a wonderful weekend. I was able to turn consistent 1:35 laps.
If anyone has any photos of me car 79 in action at the Mitty race, please email them to me at:
speedturn "at" knology.net (replace the "at" with @)
Thanks to those on this forum who stopped by and visited with me in the paddock, I enjoyed talking with you.
I hope to get time to make a full write up soon, but here is the short story of my old blue 1979 tub chassis GTU RX-7 last weekend at Road Atlanta:
Saturday qualifying: - qualified 1st in class out of 11 cars in our GTU class
Sat All Mazda race: Finished 7th overall, had a hell of a battle with two IMSA GTP 2 rotor Lolas, ran between the two of them most the race, then the one behind me finally out braked me about a half lap before the checkered flag. I was driving the hell out of my car, sliding most of the turns, keeping ahead of that prototype. I finished just ahead of Jim Downing driving the 4 rotor 792 GTP car (only because he didn't qualify well and was not driving full tilt since he didn't own the car.) The 792 should be capable of running 15 seconds a lap faster than me.
Sat Historic GT qualifier race: I finished 1st in class
Wonderful Saturday night party, lots of beer, wine and seafood. Great band. Thanks Grassroots Motorsports and Classic Motorsports Magazines for sponsoring the party and organizing the race weekend.
Sunday Japanese car Feature race: turned out to be mostly Datsuns (Nissans) vs. Mazda, about 20 cars total - I won that race overall. I felt like I was on top of the world.
Late sunday Historic GT race: At the start, a late model TransAm Camaro committing suicide almost took me with him, but I just barely escaped him taking me with him by mere inches. I was running 1st in class, then my transmission started shifting bad, then the tranny broke - no operating gears left, I had to pull over to the side of the track and watch everyone else go by me. That quickly deflated my ego and brought me back down to reality.
Overall, I had a wonderful weekend. I was able to turn consistent 1:35 laps.
If anyone has any photos of me car 79 in action at the Mitty race, please email them to me at:
speedturn "at" knology.net (replace the "at" with @)
Thanks to those on this forum who stopped by and visited with me in the paddock, I enjoyed talking with you.
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